Islands of Glass and Steel
Morgan’s Knot – A Serial Fantasy
Episode IV
Adrian followed the twins out the front door of The House of the Four Seasons into a frigid fog shrouding the island in a syrupy mist. They sauntered past the garden, overflowing with vegetables and flowers, along the path beneath an allee of arched oaks to the gate. The haze muted the brilliant reds and yellows of autumn, and the tops of the trees dissolved into low rolling clouds, but the hush of the morning was disrupted by a chorus of deep ‘caws’ from deep in the forest along the ridge.
“Crows are so obnoxious!” laughed Molly.
“The calls we hear around the island are rowdy, but those sounds are gloomy and haunting,” replied Adrian, as Brandy bounded out of the haze and trotted up to the children.
“It’s nice to see you doing something normal, like going to school. At least I won’t have to look after you!”
Adrian knelt down to hug the red dog, “I’m glad to see you. I guess I have to agree, after all we’ve been through in the past few months, going to school isn’t so bad!”
“Everything seems so calm on Morgan’s Knot. Let’s hope it stays that way!”
“Right you are,” smiled Molly. “We’ve had enough excitement for a while!”
Presently, the gleaming orbs of the bus blared through the fog just ahead of steaming tires screeching to a stop on the path outside the gate. The strange vehicle resembled a real bright yellow school bus with red orbs flashing around the roof, but, like every other vehicle on the island, it was unique. Giant wheels lifted the rear end above smaller wheels in front, which made it appear to lean forward, ready for speed. There was no engine compartment, but Cappy, the bus driver, sat in a narrow booth thrust out from the body of the vehicle like a vulture’s beak. He grinned at Adrian and the twins through the window and reached up to pull a cord that made the horn sound a loud ‘Aaauuuggga!’
The driver opened the door and laughed, “Lovely morning, isn’t it?”
“A bit damp, don’t you think?” giggled Megan as she climbed the steps.
“Perhaps,” laughed Cappy, slamming the door. The old man wore a neatly trimmed white goatee and his green eyes sparkled through old-fashioned pilot’s goggles that flared around a rather bulbous red nose. A long rainbow scarf coiled around his neck, and his bony hands gripped the steering wheel, eager to leap from a starting line, but he waited until his newest charges found their places. He loved providing a truly memorable diversion for the children on their way to and from the old school, and they all responded by treating him with kindness and respect.
They found seats at the back with Morgan, Josh, Ian, and Kelly. Morgan turned to Adrian and smirked, “I’m surprised you don’t just transport yourself to school through the vectors!”
“Alius and I have been banned from riding the vectors without permission. After meeting Zepallo, my Mother cornered the Professor and demanded that we not be allowed to use our powers unless it’s absolutely necessary.”
Morgan smiled, “I can see her point. We all worry about you, especially when you’re on one of your missions.”
“I know, but flying through the vectors sure is fun!” mumbled Adrian, turning to stare out the window. The bus turned west and rumbled up the twisting path through the forest. Everything beyond the trees lining the road melted into liquid shadows.
Although he was ready for Mrs. Green’s geometry exam, he dreaded tests and wished he could have slipped out through the kitchen door into summer. He reached up to wipe the moisture condensing on the window with his sleeve and looked out through the hole to spy a tall figure dressed in black robes at the edge of the road. A pale face with intense blue eyes gleaming from the shadow of a black cowl smiled, and a slender white hand waved. In an instant, they passed around a curve, and Adrian wondered whether he had imagined a mirage in the mist. A chill ran up his spine and crashed into the base of his skull, “Zepallo?”
Suddenly, the geometry exam seemed irrelevant, and he needed to talk with Alius before classes started.
The strange bus lumbered into a clearing in front of the stone buildings housing the Upper and Lower divisions of the School. The children often wondered whether the same person who created the funhouse had designed the school. The heavy stone exteriors were punctuated by dozens of oddly shaped windows fashioned into stars, diamonds, triangles, circles, ellipses, and weird amoeba forms, none of which lined up. No two rooms were the same size or shape, and no hallway traversed a straight line. Massive stone stairways curled in spirals and landings appeared at odd levels under arched ceilings painted with intricate murals of plants and trees that grew and withered with the seasons, inhabited by animated animals from mythological tales.
All of the children, from both sides of the island, were attending school together, and the two buildings overflowed with young charges. The first week of school found new students wandering aimlessly through the buildings without knowing how to find their way to the next class.
Adrian jumped out of his seat, pushed through the door, and ran into the Upper School, searching for Alius, who was loading her book bag into a wooden locker next to Mrs. Green’s room, “I have to talk with you!”
Alius looked up, “Good morning to you too! What’s so important?”
“I just saw Zepallo standing beside the path through the forest!” panted Adrian.
“Are you sure you’re not just imaging things?”
“No, I’m sure. He smiled and waved at me!”
“You’re sure?”
“I have no doubt that he’s here on the island…or, at least, he was.”
“We have to tell the Professor but he’s not here today. I’ll bet he’s at the observatory.”
“I have to go,” whispered Adrian.
“But we have a test next hour, you can’t miss that!”
“This is more important.”
“We’ve been banned from using the vectors.”
“As I said, this is more important,” snapped Adrian, striding along the hallway and down the stairs to the nearest door to the schoolyard.
“I’m coming with you,” sighed Alius reluctantly, slamming the door to her locker in frustration. She followed Adrian out into the fog to a blind spot behind the building, where no one could see them. “We’re going to get into so much trouble, I can’t believe it!”
“I know,” said Adrian quietly, “but the Professor needs to know about Zepallo.”
“Alright. One for all and all for one!”
They joined hands and closed their eyes. The vibrations from the vectors were very strong around the school. A moment later, they vanished.
The colors flew past in a blur but the deep tone of the positive vectors was interrupted by the whine of the dark energies. The two tones grated against each other like a cello and a saxophone playing dissonant notes. The sound made Adrian’s teeth itch and he glanced at Alius, who could not mask the panic in her eyes.
They were aiming for the path in front of the observatory. Instead, they landed in the barren pasture to the south of the black column in an opaque cloud swirling into a menacing ghoul crawling through the meadow.
Alius stammered, “What just happened?”
“I don’t know. We’ve never missed our mark before!”
A deep voice growled through the haze, “I wanted to talk with you two in private.”
They spun around to find Zepallo standing on a rock beside the path. A large black raven sat on his shoulder. “What are you doing here?”
“I’m recruiting seers.”
“You already know our answer. We believe in the Balance,” replied Alius, her voice seething.
“My dear, the world is changing and my time is coming. I just wanted to invite the two of you to join me in charting the future. I’ve already talked with your friend Raffe.”
“Leave him alone!” insisted Adrian.
“Raffe has a thirst for knowledge that verges on obsession. I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone so hungry for information and insight. He’s intrigued with the Dark Powers,” smiled the Dark Lord, “and I’ll be pleased to guide him.”
“I know about the lure of the Black Crystals and I also learned that the truth in the Light is far stronger than anything you can create from the dark side.”
“You have no idea of what I am proposing.”
“It doesn’t matter,” said Adrian. “We won’t follow you.”
“I thought I was being more than polite by extending my offer again,” sighed Zepallo. Wisps of his cold gray aura wafted closer, probing, “I could have taken you while you were traveling along the vectors!”
“You could kidnap us, but we won’t join your cause,” replied Alius.
“Just think what we could accomplish together. The world needs leadership, and you two certainly have the talent to become powerful and famous. I’ll show you the way.”
The young seers glanced at each other before Alius replied, “We’ve already given you our answer. Now go away!”
“As you can see, not all the natural creatures believe in the Balance,” smiled the Dark Lord as he stroked the raven on his shoulder. The black bird’s tawny eyes blazed as it let out an angry guttural “Caw!” that tore through the fog like a dull scythe.
“I’ll take my leave but, rest assured, I’ll return to this lovely island, it seems so comfortable and inviting, with such wonderful people. In the meantime, ponder the options. My offer stands, consider it at your leisure. I am a patient man, within reasonable limits, but I will not allow you to stand in my way. Now, if you’ll excuse me, the faithful await my pronouncements.” With that, he bowed his head and disappeared.
Alius wrapped her arms around Adrian’s neck, her whole body shaking, “We’re not finished with him.”
“Nor he with us, but I’m glad we’re together. We have to get to Raffe before he does something stupid. Let’s go to the Professor’s.”
They trudged along the path through the fog to the observatory and climbed the steps. The old wooden door opened with a creak, and warm light from the parlor spilled out into the fog with an inviting glow. Ester peeked around the edge of the door and cried, “What are you two doing here?”
Adrian stammered, “We have to see the Professor.”
“You’re supposed to be in school. How did you get here? You’re not supposed to ride the vectors without permission!”
“We know, but this is an emergency,” replied Alius.
Ester made that ‘tut-tutting’ sound and opened the door just enough for them to enter, then closed it firmly against the chill. “He’s down in his workshop.”
Adrian and Alius walked through the parlor and the dining room to the carved doors of the elevator and descended to the white chamber where the Golden Crystal turned. The light was overwhelming, and it took a moment for their eyes to adjust before they marched along the passageway to the workshop door. They found Ponte at his bench working on an egg-shaped contraption that looked like a tangle of wires, switches, and tiny glowing crystals had hatched out of the top of the battered metal case.
The Professor turned and stared at the two seers, “What are you doing here?”
“We just had an encounter with Zepallo in the field south of the observatory.”
“Zepallo?”
“Yes, he wants us to join him,” said Adrian. “And he said that he’d already talked with Raffe!”
The Professor put down his tools, “Tell me what happened.”
Adrian explained seeing Zepallo on the path through the forest and their decision to use the vectors, “He asked us to join him again and said that he’d already spoken with Raffe. Evidently, Raffe’s intrigued with the power of the Dark Crystals. We’re supposed to be taking a geometry exam, but we both felt it was more important to tell you what happened.”
The Professor adjusted his glasses and peered down his nose, frowned, and sighed impatiently, “This is why we’ve asked you not to ride the vectors. I’m sure that your parents will not be pleased!”
Adrian stammered, “But Zepallo was here on Morgan’s Knot!”
“I understand. This is the third time that he’s approached you. Each time, it’s been the result of your journeys. Just as Simian has the ability to see along the vectors, Zepallo has found a way of sensing when you are traveling, and today, he tricked you into using the vectors to travel to him.”
The two young seers bowed their heads.
“We might assume that he wants to add your powers to his, and if that is the case, then it’s possible that he does not possess the strength to execute his plan for world domination. He needs you, and the only way we can ensure your safety is to ban you from traveling on the vectors.”
“What about Raffe?” asked Alius.
“Raffe, Mary, Gabrielle, and Dadeus will be here in a few days, and we’ll have a chance to talk with him when he arrives. In the meantime, leave this to the adults.”
Frustrated, Adrian replied, “Alright, we’ll wait until he gets here, but I think someone ought to warn them about the vectors.”
“I’ll be in touch with them this evening, and I’ll tell Dadeus what happened. If you two promise me that you won’t use the vectors again without consulting me, I’ll take you back to school and inform Mrs. Green that you were assisting me. I’m sure I can convince her to allow you to make up the geometry test you’ve missed,” smiled Ponte. “Do we have an agreement?”
“Alright,” sighed Adrian. “What’s this you’re working on?”
The Professor turned back to his egg, “I’ve been thinking about Simian’s ability to see along the vectors, and I began to wonder whether a mechanical device might be able to travel along the paths as a scout, somewhat like a drone aircraft that flies without a pilot.”
Alius grinned, “We’re being replaced!”
Ponte and the children laughed for a moment before the smile disappeared from the Professor’s face, “Alright, let’s get you two back to school.