5 The Ritual (2/2)
”Idiot,” Arah commented, right before she saw how my own face turned pale, which prompted her to say, ”What's wrong with you?”
How could I tell her that my heart rate had gone up several paces at just the thought of how many enemies I would have to fight against? Even if I had an idea regarding who took Luca, twenty fairy types were just too much of a hassle to think about. Obviously, I didn't say any of this out loud so all I could manage was a shrug.
It was just a happy coincidence that Ty's cluelessness caught Arah's attention before she scrutinized my reactions further.
”Yeah, and those are only the known types. There might be dozens that we don't know about,” he added.
”Like dragons and giants, you mean?” Arah guessed. ”I noticed you didn't mention them.”
”They're not in this book,” Ty replied. ”Maybe they don't count.”
It would have thrilled me if dragons and giants didn't exist at all. Twenty monsters to take down was enough, thank you very much.
I glanced over to the remaining books and folders on the wall shelves. Just staring at them was giving me a headache.
”We'll be here awhile,” I said.
Awhile was an understatement. It was nearly dusk before we discovered the answer I was looking for.
Inside a cardboard box stashed in the study's corner, Ty found a leather folder. Inside this folder was a pamphlet so old the yellowing pages cracked at his touch. He brought this pamphlet over to us on the table so we could all inspect it together.
”It's in Latin,” Arah said, after a quick inspection.
”Um, I can't speak Latin,” Ty complained. ”I don't know anyone who does.”
”Yes, we do,” Arah countered.
”Who?!” Ty asked, surprised at Arah's nonchalant response.
”Dean,” Arah answered, before turning to me. ”Well, what does it say, smart guy?”
I ignored Ty's dumbfounded expression and focused on scanning the pamphlet, whose first out of three pages, Arah was lifting with a librarian's soft touch.
”The Summoning of Fairies Most Vile and Evil,” I pronounced.
My eyes lit up immediately. Here was the answer to my dilemma. How do I find a fairy that could take me to where Luca was? The solution was right before me inside this aptly named document.
”Hold on!” Ty called. ”How do you speak Latin?”
It was a fair question. Why did a fifteen-year-old like me learn Latin? Surely, reading Latin wasn't required to get top grades? My dad taught me. Just like with martial arts, he believed knowing how to read and speak Latin would prove useful one day. I guess he was right. I explained this to Ty but left out why I thought it was useful.
Inside this appropriately named document was a series of instructions detailing the steps required to summon one of the fair folk to our mortal plane. It goes without saying that I didn't tell my friends exactly what was written but gave them a watered-down version one might find in a Disney movie. I wanted to keep them safe in case something bad happened with my foolhardy plan.
Still, there was a reason Arah was number two in class. She surmised I wasn't being completely truthful and gave me that smoldering look she did with her eyebrow rising to hairline level.
”Dean… you're not thinking of trying this summoning ritual, right?” Arah asked.
”No,” I said. One word. That's all I could give her as she was channeling Dwayne Johnson a little too well and it was hard to breathe under her scrutiny.
”Trying something as illogical as this… it won't bring Luca back,” she insisted, despite knowing how she thought it might hurt me to think about this. ”It won't help…”
”Y-yeah…” Ty added weakly.
”It's not like that,” I insisted. ”I just… I lost Luca and my mom in a span of weeks. But my dad's still here,” I gestured to the mountain of books around us. ”I just wanted to feel a connection again…”
Sheesh, I could probably join Broadway with my half-believable channeling of pain and sorrow when what I was really feeling deep down was hope. Although she didn't know it, Arah was wrong. This knowledge was helpful. It was the key to everything.
Both Arah and Ty looked away embarrassedly. My lie may not have completely convinced them but it would buy me time before they thought to stop me. Not that they could as I resolved to enact my plan that very night.
The Summoning of Fairies most Vile and Evil revealed that the time of the ritual was crucial. it had to be during midnight, in the middle of summer. Whether it was a mere coincidence or fate driving me I wasn't sure but it turned out that this day was right in the middle of summer break.
So, that night, once Arah and Ty had gone home, I grabbed all the ingredients I would need for the ritual as well as the survival gear I prepared beforehand and headed out the back door.
After pushing my mountain bike out to the street, I sent Aunt Lena a text message that I'd be sleeping over at Ty's that night. She responded with, ”Have fun.”
That tiny stab of guilt about lying gnawed at me as I rode my bike across the darkening streets of the suburbs and onto the path heading into Elfwood Forest. However, as the forest's tree line came into sight, I comforted myself with the thought that I was doing this for my family.
According to the summoning book, the ritual must be completed near a ring-shaped formation of stones at a location where nature's influence was strong. Well, I knew a place that fit the bill perfectly—and it was almost midnight when I finished my preparations a short distance away from the Elfwood Circle Stones.
I touched the iron cross and chain I placed around my neck to make sure it was there. As iron repelled the fair folk, the chain would serve as my protection.
I glanced at my wristwatch. It was five minutes to midnight.
Kneeling down, I made sure that the ring of salt I placed in a circle around me remained unbroken. The salt should keep the fairy from playing tricks on my mind. No fairy glamour would befuddle me into fumbling my way to the goal.
I checked my watch again. Midnight was here.
From my pocket, I pulled out a thin golden chain connected on both ends by a round pendant about the size of a poker chip. It was one of my mom's old necklaces. I didn't like the idea of stealing her things, but I needed the necklace as an offering to the creature I would summon. According to the lore, fairies liked shiny things just as much as humans did.
I placed the necklace on the ground just outside my circle of salt. Immediately afterward, I got up, closed my eyes, and with as confident a voice as I could manage despite the foreboding atmosphere, I said, ”A scion of House Dapper offers you this gift on this auspicious night. If you accept the gift, then please reveal yourself.”
I opened my eyes.
Since, as Ty pointed out earlier, there were many types of fairy, there was a chance that I would summon something completely unrelated to Luca. However, thanks to the super weird mom-and-son talk from the night before, I was relatively certain about my chances of picking the right target.
A satisfied smile grew on my face as I said, ”Hello again, Doctor!”