Book of the Arionon

Chapter 1

Visions of Arabic assassins wandering the darkened byways of Cairo assaulted Abraham Mazandarani’s brain as he fingered the edge of the antique curved sword. He touched the bone hilt and handle, idly wondering how many men died at the end of this sword. Or did the owner die before he could use it? He squinted at the aged object hoping he could see blood encrusted in the cracks.

Brahm! He heard his nickname yelled, causing his dreams of glory to vaporize in an ancient mist. Maiah came around the end of the row of weapons waving a book in his face. He put up his hands to ward off his evil twin.

Mia! he cautioned, using his sister’s shortened name. You’ll wake the dead.

This one is really cool. His sister excitedly put the heavy tome in front of his face.

Brahm rolled his eyes. Mia loved every book. Her nose forever lived in one. Is it in some ancient language of the gods? Ra or Ba’al maybe?

It’s in Egyptian, you knucklehead, and it is a love story. Do you know how rare those are?

An old man interrupted the two sniping teenagers. He grabbed the young man’s left arm and flipped it over mumbling quickly in Arabic.

What’s he saying? Brahm asked his sister, the linguist. He was happy to speak English well enough to get along in New Jersey.

Something about your arm.

The old man started to rub the sixteen-year-old’s left forearm where Brahm sported an unusually shaped raised birthmark. It seemed to be what attracted the Egyptian. The man took Brahm’s chin in his wizened fingers and moved the boy’s head back and forth, appraising him.

Brahm wasn’t sure what the old man looked for in his face. The teen looked like a lighter version of his Persian ancestors with his dark brown hair and eyes. His twin’s short-cropped pageboy-styled hair was darker, but she boasted the bright blue eyes of the French Tonneliers.

Uh, Dad. Brahm tried to talk through his squished cheeks. Help.

His father looked up from his own browsing and, wandering in his son’s direction, started an animated conversation with the shop owner.

He wants us to follow him. He says he has something of ours.

Of ours? Mia picked up her prized book. What could he possibly have of ours? We have never been to this shop before.

Teymouri Mazandarani shook his head and motioned for his kids to follow.

The old man led them to an elaborately carved box. The mark. Yours the mark.

The boy struggled to understand the man’s heavily accented English as he peered onto the top of the box, following the man’s finger.

Brahm gasped as his sister covered her mouth with her free hand. For truly, the center of the box exhibited a symbol that exactly matched his birthmark. The proprietor grabbed Brahm’s hand again and laid his arm across the top of the box to compare. There was no doubt.

Brahm wasn’t about to mention that his twin bore the exact same birthmark on her right calf. The fact that their birthmark was on the box scared him silly.

Tey stared at the box and his son’s arm. I can’t believe it. I wonder if…

Wonder what? Mia put her hand on their dad’s arm. Brahm was still too shocked to say anything.

Nothing. Tey waved his daughter off. What’s in the box?

The man shrugged. Never open. We try, try. Hundreds, thousands years try. Box not open.

Brahm scoffed at anyone trying for thousands of years to open this particular box. He pulled his arm back to his side and began to study the chest. It was about three feet long, half as wide and a foot deep. Intricate and foreign-looking carvings covered every inch of it. He ran his fingers over the edges then searched amongst the carvings for a keyhole or some mechanism to push.

I say no open, the man insisted. Generations try, fail always. It yours, mister. It wait for you. You have mark.

It is not ours, sir, started Mia in her best attempt at speaking Arabic.

Her father interrupted. Where did it come from?

No know. Been in family many, many fathers. No one buy as no open. It wait for you, the man repeated.

Dad, whispered Mia. The mark. It must be true.

How much for the box? Tey walked off with the proprietor.

Mia turned to her brother. I’m scared. This is just crazy.

I agree, but I also have the same opinion as the old man. It has to have something to do with us. Why else would it bear our birthmark?

Brahm continued to search for a way into the chest while Mia fingered the mark. I have always thought it odd we had matching birthmarks in such a perfect shape. However, seeing it on this box is like seeing a ghost.

Tey returned. It is ours. Let’s go. He picked it up, straining a bit under its weight.

Brahm followed, wondering what adventure awaited inside the box.

***

Paulette Tonnelier Mazandarani stared at the top of the chest. Living with her whacky Iranian husband was never dull, but this one iced the cake.

You have to admit, ma chérie, that mark bears a perfect resemblance to the birthmark. I think the legend is true.

What legend, Mama? Paulette’s youngest son, Rahim, scooted to get a better view. She always thought his eleven-year-old curiosity would someday land him in a grave, or worse, in prison.

Yeah, Mom. Her oldest son and owner of the mark brought her back to the conversation. What legend?

She glanced from one person to the next. Three sets of brown eyes and one set of blue stared back at her.

Paulette sighed. She had only told Tey the legend in a drunken state while they were in college. It was the weird family secret no Tonnelier wanted to tell.

The legend isn’t a legend. It is a silly story without meaning.

Tey interrupted, If you don’t tell them, I will. This box is a leftover from that legend and may have even come from Amorgos or Olympus. The kids deserve to know.

Olympus? asked Mia. Like Mount Olympus?

Her dad raised an eyebrow, More like Greek god Olympus.

Mia squinted, Isn’t that the same thing.

Far from it. Paulette closed her eyes. It was going to be a long evening. Call in for room service, she told her husband. This will take a while and I don’t want anyone else to hear.

She didn’t want their Egyptian hosts to think her family was crazy. They already thought Tey was half off his rocker with his research into Biblical history and his searches for proof of God’s existence. She followed him to all the odd places on Earth every summer so he could find new fodder for his Old Testament classes. It never ceased to amaze people that an Iranian-born Persian was the eminent Old Testament scholar and professor at Princeton’s seminary. It never ceased to amaze her that he came to Oxford, swept her off her feet, and carried her away to America.

But for now, she had a different tale to tell.

In the middle of the seventeenth century, she began.

That is the sixteen hundreds, interpreted her husband.

We aren’t dumb, Dad, commented Brahm.

I know, but Rahim probably hasn’t been taught that yet.

Rahim crinkled his nose at his older sibling.

Paulette took back the stage. My great-great-however-many-greats grandmother purchased a strange necklace from a peasant boy. This necklace sent Princess Elise d’Orleans, niece of King Louis XIII, and the boy, Pierre Tonnelier, through a magic portal to a place called Amorgos.

Really? asked Rahim.

Wow! exclaimed Brahm. That’s wild.

That is the story. His mom shrugged her shoulders. Supposedly, Elise and Pierre spent two years in Amorgos fighting off evil elves—

Evil elves? interrupted Rahim. That is so rad, man!

Rad man? What are you trying to be? Brahm poked his little brother in the side.

Cool.

That isn’t cool, Mia pointed out. Can Mom continue?

Well, according to the legend, amazing creatures from Greek mythology filled Amorgos. Elise and Pierre met minotaur and witches as well as gnomes and satyr.

You mean like in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe? Rahim’s eyes bulged from his head.

Paulette smiled. Yes, just like that. Elise led the minotaur, gnomes and satyr to defeat the evil elves and restore peace to Amorgos.

Elves aren’t evil, insisted Rahim, they fight the orcs and goblins.

Maybe in Tolkien’s Middle Earth they do, but in Amorgos, elves were the bad guys.

So, the princess was the hero? asked Mia.

Her mom nodded. Reluctantly, tells the legend, but she led the charge. The folks of Amorgos called her their Redeemer.

What about Pierre? Rahim poked his mom in the knee. What did he do?

He was a warrior of immense abilities and could swing a heavy broadsword as easily as you and I swing a tennis racquet.

You are really cutting out a lot of the story, Paulette, Tey prodded his wife.

Okay. Amorgos actually started on Olympus, she explained. According to the legend, Zeus himself banned the creatures of Amorgos from Olympus to Earth. Then, mankind banished them again to Amorgos. They wandered from Olympus to Earth to Amorgos using what they called a portal stone.

Like a rock? asked Mia.

A knock on the door interrupted the story. Tey opened it to allow the two servers to put their dinner trays on the little table. Paulette stopped talking as everyone noisily grabbed their plates and fought over the French fries.

Mia asked again, through a full mouth. Is a portal stone some kind of rock?

I assume it was more like a jewel. Paulette took a bite of her sandwich. Remember, it was in a necklace that Pierre sold to Elise, so it must have been something the princess would have thought good enough for a royal.

Wow! Her daughter leaned in, eyes wide in wonder. How old were they? Did they fall in love? Was he handsome? Was she beautiful?

Whoa! Paulette had to laugh at the girl’s enthusiasm for a good love story. "Slow down, Mia. They were in their late teens. Yes, he was very handsome and she was very pretty. You have the Tonnelier blue eyes, Pierre’s eyes, honey. There are still portraits of them in the Château de Saint-Germain en Laye. Even though my family hasn’t lived there for many generations, that is where Elise and Pierre lived."

You told us we were nobility and that your brother would have been a marquis had the French kept the aristocracy, but do we go back to royalty? Mia’s eyes nearly popped out of her head.

No one has used titles since the French Revolution, so it really isn’t important, but yes. Paulette dipped her sandwich in the au jus, wondering briefly for the thousandth time how different her life might be if the French aristocracy still existed. If France were like England, my brother would be considered the current Marquis du Laye, although that doesn’t even buy a cup of coffee. The nobility lost everything in the Revolution.

Tey pointed his soda at his wife. Tell them about the Mark of the Palidine.

Paulette took Brahm’s arm and turned it over. It is said that Elise and Pierre had one thing in common. A birthmark called the Mark of the Palidine. Since no one in recent history has seen these marks and they aren’t evident in the portraits at the château, we can only assume this is that same mark.

Your birthmarks are identical, kids. Tey gave a nod to his son’s arm. No doctor could explain that. Nor could they explain why they are so precise. They are almost tattooed.

In fact, Paulette noted, your pediatrician accused us of inking them on you.

You always told us it was because we are twins, remarked Mia.

I know. What else would I tell you? I didn’t believe in the legend any more than my parents or grandparents.

So, Pierre and Elise, who had marks like ours, defeated these evil elves. Then what? Brahm popped another fry into his mouth.

They returned to France and married. King Louis XIII granted Pierre the title of marquis.

Ha! Mia grinned from ear to ear. I knew they fell in love.

Yes, my dear, they fell in love. I am sure there is a beautiful love story in there somewhere, I just don’t know it. It wasn’t normal for a peasant to marry a princess back then.

It isn’t so easy today either, remarked her husband.

Paulette smiled. Her father and brother had been dead set against her marrying Tey, the Middle Eastern Christian with a penchant for adventure. They thought the daughter of the ancestors of the last Marquis du Laye should marry higher, and wealthier. The defunct title of marquis didn’t pay the bills.

What happened next? asked the male twin.

The legend says Pierre could speak every language on Earth, a great magical gift from Amorgos, and an amazing power for France. He served the king for many years. Paulette and her family had always been proud of the first marquis’ duty to his country. Their entire family’s societal standing and lineage traced back to Pierre’s uncanny and inexplicable ability.

Although not magical, your gift of languages, Mia, must come from Pierre, her father commented.

The girl glowed with pride. She had an innate ability to pick up languages very quickly. At sixteen, she already spoke English, Greek, Farsi, French, and was picking up Arabic rapidly. She planned to try Spanish in school this fall.

Brahm didn’t want to be outdone. He stood and pretended to wield a sword. Maybe I have a secret ability to use a sword.

Paulette laughed. We will not be finding that out anytime soon.

I don’t know, ma chérie, shrugged Tey, maybe we could get him fencing lessons.

On top of the expensive tutoring in math and science? I think not.

Mia butted in. I want to know more about the legend’s love story. Did Pierre and Elise live in France for the rest of their lives and make babies?

Now there’s the rub. When my great-great-many-great-grandpa André Gaston was but a babe, her mother answered, his mom, dad, and two older siblings, Elam and Illieya, disappeared and never returned.

They went back to Amorgos? Rahim clapped his hands in excitement. They fought more bad elves?

Who knows? But they left André Gaston with the Bagot family, who raised him to be the second Marquis du Laye and the ancestor we trace our family back to, explained Paulette. The Bagots are still close family friends. If the title was still used, my brother, Christophe, would eventually pass it to your cousin, Amaury, for what it’s worth.

How come you aren’t the marquis?

Because, Rahim, you ignoramus. His brother nudged him in the ribs with an elbow. Girls don’t inherit unless there are no boys.

For the most part, yes. Some things are still steeped in the old traditions but not always, explained Paulette.

Tell us more, Mom, implored Mia.

Legend says Elise and Pierre brought back five orbs that told of the five great prophesies to guide them on their journey.

What were the prophesies?

I don’t know, Abraham. But they had to do with a mighty sword, a suit of armor, a shield, and a magic bow made from the tree of a nymph prince.

That is so cool! Rahim jumped up and down flapping his arms wildly.

Yes, it is. They also brought back a bicorne horn and a piece of glowing rock called luminite.

Luminite? Like luminescence?

Paulette nodded at her eldest son. I imagine it is a rock with high amounts of luminescence so when the sun goes down, it would glow and provide light. We understand the science behind it today but in sixteen-fifty, it would have seemed like magic.

What is a bicorne horn? asked Rahim.

A bicorne is a mythical creature that is part panther and part cow.

That’s gotta be ugly, commented Brahm.

His sister nodded then asked, Where are those things now?

Well, Mia. That is a great mystery. No one has seen them for generations.

Brahm patted the box confidently. Until now.

***

After dragging the darn thing halfway across the world, Brahm stared at the elaborate chest sitting on his bed. Amazingly, they were able to take it on the airplane with them as the contents couldn’t be seen with an X-ray. Everyone assumed what Tey told them – it was simply a highly decorated piece of solid wood. Since the airport machines couldn’t prove otherwise, Brahm lugged it onto the plane and somehow managed to smash it into an overhead compartment.

He looked nervously at the box, wondering how in the heck he would open something several generations of Egyptian shop owners could not.

Everyone expected him to open it. He was the mechanical genius of the family after all. He and his buddies built catapults every year for the Pumpkin Chuck, a fundraiser, tossing pumpkins hundreds of feet. He had built his own thermoelectric generator for his science class in fifth grade and a little refrigerator in the sixth. Shoot, he’d even made fire with a lemon.

But this wasn’t a piece of machinery. It was clearly a puzzle box. All puzzle boxes had a piece that slid out to start the unlocking process. He had several his dad collected from around the world. The boy first applied all the tricks from those to no avail.

Brahm flicked open his laptop and Googled puzzle box. After three hours of researching and trying several more techniques, he tossed his laptop aside in frustration and laid down. Obviously, his science classes hadn’t prepared him for this stupid chest.

Soon he slept, dreaming of magic boxes, dragons, and fencing lessons.

***

Tey came bounding in the house. You will not believe this, Paulette.

What? She wiped her hands on a tea towel and turned to kiss her exuberant husband.

As you know, I sent a sliver of the wood from the box to have it carbon dated. He plopped his butt on a stool at the kitchen island and stuck his finger into a bowl of honey mustard sauce.

She slapped his hand away. That is for the chicken. What about the carbon dating?

That box will not contain the remnants of Elise and Pierre’s trip to Amorgos or anything else from seventeenth century France.

Why not?

Because that box is thirty-five hundred years old. Not five hundred.

Paulette gasped. Her heart skipped a beat as the meaning of her husband’s words sank in. Then if it is that old…

It probably came from Olympus itself.

Chapter 2

Brahm pulled on his face in aggravation. He had been at this box thing for two months. He had used every conceivable method found in engineering, puzzle making, logic, and even a few Druid chants he read on the internet. His homework lay on his bed, languishing again as the mystery of the chest drew him in.

Abraham and his friends, Doogey and Pop, had tried everything except dropping it from a tower to open it. They’d put it in Doogey’s pool, rolled it around the living room, knocked every square inch with a hammer, and even tried burning it. Plus, unbelievably, the sliver his dad took for carbon dating grew back! He had even spent his seventeenth birthday taking a crack at it, thinking that might be a special day to the box.

No one could even tell where the pocketknife gouge had been, which was very creepy. It was as if the wood was impermeable to any compound found on Earth. Nothing opened this damn crate!

He flung both his arms across it and laid his head on the edge moaning in annoyance. He heard a distinct click and sat up again. Carvings started to move and change position.

Mia! Dad! he screamed at the top of his lungs.

The rest of the family ran into the room one at a time to watch as the figures moved and turned. The carvings finally stopped their gyrations.

How did you do that? whispered his dad.

I don’t know. I just laid upon it in frustration and it opened.

That makes no sense.

It makes perfect sense. Paulette fingered the top of the box near the mark.

Brahm stared at his mom. He was the brilliant mechanical engineer in the family that could take anything apart and rebuilt it or create mechanical gizmos from an erector set and play dough, not his mom.

She turned his arm over and put it over the crate. Did you touch your birthmark to the center mark on the box?

Brahm looked at his arm and then the chest. Oh! For God’s sake! How stupid could I be? Only a person with the mark can open it. He slapped his forehead, thinking of the time wasted on every other idea.

What’s in it? Only Rahim would be more curious about the contents than the mechanism. Brahm tentatively reached out and lifted what he thought would be a lid.

His family all gasped as the darn thing actually opened.

Inside lay a dozen items carefully placed in black molded cloth.

The largest item in the box was a book. It looked as if it was covered in wood or very hard leather. Heavily riveted clasps wrapped around the book. A colorful stone sat in the middle of a raised silver center. Strange markings etched the silver.

The blade of a sword laid along one edge of the box. Its missing hilt snuggled next to a necklace with a stone the size of a robin’s egg. The necklace’s clasp looked like two ram heads. The crate also contained a piece of flawless red stone or crystal about the size of a hockey puck cut with beveled edges.

The box held a strange foot-long black blade that looked like some kind of volcanic rock or obsidian. A set of square black and purple stones with bizarre markings carved into them laid around all the other objects, filling in blank spaces. A thick silver rod about an inch in diameter lay opposite the sword.

But the strangest item was a pearl the size of a child’s head.

Tey gave off a low whistle. This is definitely not Elise and Pierre’s.

Mia picked up one of the smooth black and purple rocks with weird markings. This is a rune, I bet.

Rahim grabbed for the sword. His mom slapped his hand away. I don’t want anyone touching anything in this box. She took the stone from her daughter and put it back.

Then what do you suggest we do with it? Her husband raised his brow at her.

Take it to the university. Let the lab have at it for a while.

Tey shook his head. I will take a few pieces but not all of it. It might be too dangerous.

Oh! You will let danger stay in this house but not at the lab?

Paulette, ma chérie, that is not what I meant. Knowledge of the legend outside this house is dangerous.

Geez, Dad, confessed Brahm. I’ve told Doogey and Pop. They’ve been helping try to open the box.

Do not tell them you opened the box or what is inside.

Brahm nodded. He immediately understood. If all this portal stuff was real, that information could be very dangerous indeed. The last thing they needed was Zeus or someone like him coming back to Earth.

***

Mia sat with the giant book on her lap. She’d snuck it out of the chest to look at it. Her curiosity was too great to ignore. It was harder for her to open the crate as her mark was on her calf. But being so athletic, she finally found an angle that allowed her to line her mark up with the one on the box.

Dad finally let you look at it?

Mia nearly jumped out of her skin. Heck no, Brahm, and you scared me to death. Don’t creep up on me like that.

I didn’t tiptoe. I simply walked into your room. He closed the door. If you aren’t supposed to be reading it, why is your door wide open for everyone to see you?

Mia sighed. Because, moron, no one is home. Dad is at work and Mom took Rahim to karate.

I am home.

Like I said. No one is home.

Brahm pretended to stab himself in the heart and fell to the floor. Mia ignored the drama queen. But then again, she tried to ignore her brothers as much as possible as the normal course of her life.

He eventually sat up. How did you get into the chest?

I have a birthmark on my leg, doofus. It was a bit awkward lining it up to the lid but I managed.

He nodded to the book. So, what does it say?

It is a history as well as a book of spells.

Spells? Like magic?

Mia nodded. Yes, like magic.

Cool, Brahm scooted on his knees to look at the book upside down. What language is that?

Greek. You are such a nitwit.

I speak math and engineering.

Then you should recognize gamma, alpha and lambda, sneered his sister. Those are all used in your precious math formulas.

Brahm grunted. Just read it to me.

Fine. Mia shifted on the bed so her brother could sit next to her. It is about the Arionon.

Is that another place? Like Amorgos or Olympus?

No. It seems to be a body of government on Olympus.

I thought that was the pantheon.

You know that? she teased.

I do pay attention in other classes besides math and science.

Coulda fooled me.

Mia.

Okay, she conceded. This is their book of rules. How to govern the land. How to treat the people. How to control the unruly.

Like the Constitution?

I suppose, but like an earlier version, she agreed. It lays out the various castes, putting witches on top and things like centicore on the bottom.

What is a centicore?

According to Wikipedia, it is a horse with a chest of a lion and ears that grow in its mouth.

Brahm made funny faces with his mouth and tongue. Yuck.

Beast of burden, probably. But the really cool part is the spells.

Well, do one, he demanded.

Mia stood, putting the book on her bed. She looked around her room and spotted her old trusty stuffed marlin. Her dad had given it to her when she was a baby. She had chewed off its nose eons ago and its shiny fish body had lost all its sheen, but she loved that old thing.

The teen put out her right hand. "Veho!"

Noting happened.

What was that supposed to do?

Make it come to me.

Brahm stood. "Veho!"

Nothing happened.

The girl tilted her head to the side. I guess either there is no magic on Earth, or we are inept.

Speak for yourself. I am not inept. Brahm ran from the room.

Mia continued practicing until he returned.

What is that?

The silver rod from the box.

Mia got it. A wand!

If Harry Potter can do it, so can we.

Brahm took a deep breath and pointed the long, heavy rod at the marlin. "Veho!"

The old stuffed animal flew across the room and smacked Brahm in the face.

Shit! he yelled, dropping the rod.

Mia screamed and kept on screaming until Brahm put his hand over her mouth. Shhhhhh. You’ll wake the dead.

Mia panted. She had never been so scared in her life. Put it back! Put it back!

Brahm picked up the rod, took the book off his sister’s bed, and ran out of the room. Mia sank to the floor, curled up in a little ball, and hid her face in her hands.

Her twin returned a few minutes later and crouched down next to her. We tell no one.

All Mia could do was nod and sob. Watching Harry Potter do it on television was one thing. Making an object actually fly using a magic wand from Olympus turned out to be anything but cool.

***

Nothing. The lab can tell me nothing. Tey hung up his coat and tossed his keys on the counter. Just a bunch of rocks. Although they think the giant pearl must be worth Ft. Knox. Ricky wanted the red stone for his girlfriend’s engagement ring.

It’s the size of your palm! Paulette picked up the keys and put them on their hanger. How is Colleen to wear that on her finger?

A guy can dream, can’t he? Even if it is some weird rock and not a ruby.

Did you take the book? his wife asked.

Heck no! Tey shook his head violently. They can read it. I can read it. Mia could even read it if I let her. It is in Greek.

So?

So, it’s a book of spells, he explained. I can’t let that get into the hands of the lab rats. God only knows what they would do with it.

Probably burn it as heresy, Paulette suggested.

He agreed. Exactly. They are a bunch of Christian scholars looking for clues into the Bible’s past. This wouldn’t sit so well with them.

Paulette sighed. It isn’t sitting so well with me.

It is your family legend, her husband pointed out. It is real, and it is exciting to be unraveling it.

Let’s make sure it doesn’t unravel us.

Spoilsport.

***

We're going to Greece, Tey announced one morning.

Brahm stopped eating his cereal, letting the milk dribble back out onto his spoon. He knew that meant only one thing. They were going to go search for the legendary portal. If his dad had made this pronouncement around Spring Break, the boy wouldn’t have thought anything of it. They went overseas every summer. However, hearing it from his father just before Thanksgiving clued him in that this was no normal trip. They never went to Europe over the winter holidays.

His little brother didn't quite grasp the situation and jumped up and down clapping his hands.

He watched his twin put her hand on Rahim's forearm trying to get him to sit back down. Dad, do you think that's a good idea?

Their mother shifted uncomfortably in her seat. Brahm could tell his parents and already discussed this and Mom was not happy with the decision.

Tey nodded his head. "If we do nothing, we invalidate the whole entire history of the Tonnelier family and their memory. It may have been a coincidence that we found that box, but then again, it might be fate. If we do nothing, we will spend our whole lives staring at that chest of evidence that Elise and Pierre’s story actually existed.

It happened, he continued. It had to have happened. The chest is very, very old. You two have this unusual, identical mark that no doctor has ever been able to explain. When you were born, I did as much research as I could into the meaning of your birthmarks. One doctor refused ever see us again as she thought they must be the sign of the devil. By the time you were two years old, I had found nothing and gave up on the research.

Mia looked outraged. Why didn't you tell us all that?

To what purpose? You had a weird birthmark. It's identical to the birthmark on your brother. There was nothing we could do and there was nothing we could change.

Their mother stepped in. When you asked us why you had the same birthmarks, we told you the absolute truth. We had no idea.

Today, because of the box, noted their father, we have a very good idea. Whatever it was that gave the Tonneliers and their children the ability to go through a magic portal to Olympus or Amorgos, or wherever they actually ended up, is in that chest. I believe from the bottom of my heart that because of the mark, you have that same capability. Not me, not your mother, not your brother, but the two of you. We have no idea where this portal could be. But the gods came down from Mount Olympus as that is written again and again and again. Therefore, that is where we start.

Why don't we start in France? asked Mia. It might be easier to search around the château than it would be to wander around a Greek mountain.

Your mother and I thought about that. Tey looked at his wife with her arms crossed and slightly turned away from the table. Brahm surmised that discussion didn't go well either.

Tey continued, "The château is a very public place. It houses the Musée des Antiquités Nationales de France. It would be very hard for us to wander around without being noticed. Plus, if we accidentally walk into the portal and simply disappear, it would not go well with the French authorities. Nonetheless, Mount Olympus is still very unpopulated. It is well out-of-the-way and we can wander pretty much with impunity."

Mia sighed. So, we're going to spend our two-week Christmas vacation wandering around Mount Olympus, hoping to stumble upon a magic portal that we can't see and don’t really know if it exists? That should be very easy. Sarcasm flowed freely from her tone.

It was her father's turn to sigh. Not quite. I have studied the region extensively and read up on the history, the actual history, not the Greek-God-history of the area. I think I found a good starting point. We will go to the ruins of Dion first. Dion is the ancient sacred seat of Zeus. No better place to begin our quest.

Rahim jumped out of his seat and started bouncing up-and-down. This is so exciting! My family is actually living a real adventure.

Your family lives a real adventure all the time. His mother leaned over to look her youngest in the eye. What do you call our summers in hot, dry places full of ruins and mystery?

Dad’s job, the youngest kid deadpanned.

Brahm ruffled his brother’s hair. This is far different than Dad’s job. He studies biblical sites and times. This is to track down a portal to another world. His guts tightened. Just saying the word portal caused alarm. He didn’t look at this adventure through the rose-colored glasses of his little brother.

This voyage could kill them.

Chapter 3

I am not sure how you talked me into this. Paulette stood on a balcony in Litochoro, Greece overlooking the sea. Normally she would be enthralled with the vista, but right now she felt afraid for their lives.

Tey stretched out his arms to the view before picking up his wife’s hand. The Greek economy is in the toilet. Our dollar is very strong here. We are on a two-week Christmas break from school. Great time for a vacation.

Except that you three are about to test the portal stone. Her voice showed her concern. You are out of your minds.

Brahm joined his parents on the balcony. We don’t know if it is a portal stone, Mom. We don’t even know what one looks like. He rolled his eyes, which raised her blood a few more degrees toward boiling.

You have a couple dozen rocks in the box. Paulette put her mouth in a grim line. Anyone of them could be a portal stone.

And none of them could be. Brahm had a point, but she wasn’t about to concede to her teenage son.

I am sure the runes are just runes, commented Tey. The pearl is a pearl, albeit a huge pearl, and the hockey puck is useless as an engagement ring and therefore any type of jewelry. The obsidian knife is a weapon, as is the sword. Therefore, the necklace probably holds the portal stone.

You said Pierre gave Elise a necklace, Mia reminded them all as she came through the patio door. That could be the same necklace.

Look, Mom. Her eldest son put his hand on Paulette’s forearm as if to comfort her. It did not. We are here in Litochoro. If there is any truth to the legend, the Greek Gods came to Earth from Olympus. Best guess, they came via Mount Olympus. We might as well finish our mission.

Mission, ha! The woman nearly shouted, her dismay building rapidly. Nothing her family said helped calm her down. You will all come back dead.

We won’t come back dead. If we are dead, we can’t come back. Brahm seemed a bit too composed for his mother’s taste. She knew he had to be just as nervous as she.

Paulette growled from the depth of her being. And who will rescue you if you never return? How do I go through the portal and get you?

Tey put his arm around his wife’s shoulders. Hon, Mount Olympus is a huge mountain range. We could spend a lifetime wandering around it and never find a magic portal even if the necklace holds a portal stone. We are taking a stab at it being in Dion. For all we know, it may be in Athens at the Acropolis or something.

Furthermore, Mia joined in, Elise and Pierre were in France. We could be barking up the wrong country.

Tey stuck his finger in his daughter’s direction. What she said.

Paulette sighed unhappily. Once Tey got the idea of spending Christmas in Greece looking for the portal to Amorgos, she couldn’t talk him out of it. He was like a dog with a bone.

I don’t like it and I think we are all being foolish. Just promise you will come back to Rahim and me.

Tey gave her a deep kiss. Nothing will keep me from you, ma chérie. You are my world.

Paulette returned the kiss, praying it wouldn’t be their last.

***

Brahm and Mia carefully packed their backpacks.

I don’t know if this is a good idea. Mia drew in a big breath and let it out slowly.

Me neither. He plopped on her bed. The bravado in front of his mom was just that, bravado. He actually shook in his boots. Following his dad around on digs was one thing; this was entirely another.

Then why are we doing it? she asked.

Because Dad wants to.

We know magic is real, Brahm. We know the spells are real. This is real. We are doomed. Mom is right. We’re gonna come back dead.

He clucked his tongue. Mom says that everywhere we go. It is her job as a mother.

Yeah, but everywhere else we have gone is on Earth! This is Olympus. Mia folded her extra jeans.

Or Amorgos.

Either way, do you want to meet Zeus or a minotaur? She stared at her twin.

He gulped down his fear. He didn’t want to seem weak in front of his sister. Not really.

The twins were silent for a moment.

Can you imagine two teenagers from the seventeenth century going to Olympus or Amorgos? asked Brahm finally. Pierre and Elise would have been completely overwhelmed. They had no clue about any of this stuff. They survived.

Because they had help.

Who says we won’t? he asked. "And who says we will even find the portal? As you so clearly pointed out, Pierre and Elise started in Saint-Germain en Laye, which is in France."

But Zeus started here. Fear permeated her voice. Plus, the portal stone took them to Amorgos to fulfill the prophesies. We are searching for a portal, there are no prophesies, and it may take us anywhere.

Who says there aren’t any prophesies? The runes could spell one out or something.

His sister harrumphed.

Mia, I have no idea what is out there, but if our great-great-grandparents can fight off evil elves in the sixteen hundreds, we can take a tiny trip through the mountains of Greece.

Mia bit her lower lip. Brahm picked up his backpack. He was happy he sounded more confident than he felt. The knot in his gut was far worse than when he sat behind a wheel of a car for the first time, even though that almost made him pee his pants.

What are you taking? Mia asked, eyeing all the stuff on her twin’s hotel bed. You are not going to need a laptop and your Bushnell solar charging pad in Amorgos. They probably don’t have the internet or WiFi.

Brahm smiled. His sister’s sense of humor had returned. I also have two power banks. They may have advanced way beyond us and are now living across the galaxy like Star Trek. I want to show them we aren’t completely ignorant.

I am packing extra clothes, deodorant, and toothpaste. His sister counted on her fingers as she spoke. If it is still the Dark Ages, I wanna have clean teeth, fresh armpits, and extra undies.

Girls… Brahm shook his head.

Besides, I can wear the necklace. But I can’t just have a giant pearl rolling around in my bag, so I wrapped my clothes around it and the red hockey puck. I put the runes in the side pockets of my backpack with my socks.

Brahm nodded. I wrapped the sword blade and the rod in my swim towel and will tie them to the part of my backpack that lays against my back. It will be uncomfortable but safe. They won’t fit inside.

Swimsuit! Great idea. Do you have the hilt?

Yup.

Throw in some extra clothes, you’ll thank me.

Throw in your phone, power bank, and your Cling Bling window charger. You’ll thank me.

***

Tey eyed the rolling duffle his daughter pulled out of her hotel room. What do you have in your mother’s carry-on? Can’t you fit all your clothes in your backpack?

I'm not packing just clothes, she pouted. That giant book takes up most of my backpack and I have other essentials that we may need.

She thinks that we're going to go to the Dark Ages, Brahm explained.

He thinks we’ll end up in sci-fi land so he has his solar charger, grumbled his twin.

Not a bad idea, son. Tey patted his pocket. I have my smart phone.

Me too. I have your power bank, here. The boy passed his dad the small electronic power cell. The man tucked it in his backpack. I think if we end up somewhere historical, we’ll survive just fine surrounded by magic, but we can wow them with our jazzy technology.

Mia put her hands on her hips. We have no idea what we're facing. We could go into the future where everything is like Star Trek, or we could go into the past where everything is still the sixteen hundreds. I wanna be prepared just in case.

Her dad grinned at her with a look of endearment on his face. Well, my love, what are you carrying in your bags?

Besides what I am wearing, I have three pairs of jeans and five shirts, plus my bathing suit and an extra hoodie. I've also packed my beach towel and a face cloth from the hotel. I have two boxes of snack bars, six apples, two bags of chocolate miniatures, a jar of peanut butter, a couple of instant oatmeal, and some cashews.

Tey’s jaw dropped as Mia took a breath. I have two tubes of toothpaste, four toothbrushes, two dental flosses, plenty of feminine things, a full shampoo and conditioner, and a giant thing of sunscreen. Mom always makes sure that we have plenty of sunscreen.

Tey closed his mouth again and looked at his oldest son who could only stare back.

I also have my nail kit and plenty of emery boards, she continued. I have my Zentangle book and some paper and pens, my eBook reader, smart phone, MP3 player, a week’s worth of underwear, ibuprofen, Aspirin, chlorine tablets to clean water, my water bottle, boo boo cream, Band-Aids, plus my make-up and the sun shower.

The sun shower? Her dad had no idea what she meant.

Yeah, you know, that plastic shower thingy we use when we go camping? You fill it with water and put it on top of the car to warm it up? If it's the dark ages, I am not going for very long without a shower.

Her dad could only laugh. This girl wasn’t even that prissy yet she had emery boards, make-up, and a camp shower.

Oh, Mia remembered.  I also have two giant bars of soap and four rolls of toilet paper. I would have put in more, but that is all I could fit.

Her twin rolled his eyes. You get to carry all that crap.

Did I say that I wasn't going to carry it? She glared at him. Mom's duffel bag has wheels but it also has a shoulder strap, so once we get to Dion, I will put it over my shoulder and then put my backpack on top of it.

You will collapse under the weight, Brahm pointed out.

Oh yeah. Who's the one that carts her heavy softball bag around? You're the one who couldn't lift a damn pound if his life depended on it.

Hey, I march with four tom-toms. Brahm gave his sister the evil eye.

I carry a bass saxophone and actually march. All the drum line does is stand on the fifty-yard line and bang away.

Yeah, well I am rebuilding a muscle car.

Like that is exercise! You lay across it and screw things in–

Okay, you two. Tey cut off his daughter, knowing what pettiness usually came next. That's enough and don’t cuss, Mia. Brahm, as long as your sister carries her stuff, she can carry what she wants. I think she went a little overboard, but she's right. If we end up in the pre-industrial age, were gonna be very happy she has toothpaste and toilet paper. Especially the toilet paper. He wandered into the bathroom and returned with two more rolls he stuffed in his own already overflowing backpack.

Mia stuck her tongue out at her twin brother. Brahm simply muttered under his breath that he still wasn't carrying anything for her, but his dad noted the boy did get his own TP.

***

The three sat silently in the back seat of the taxi. Brahm went over the scene with his mom and brother again in his head and wondered if they weren’t making a really big mistake.

Why can’t I go? asked Rahim.

You are too young. Their mom moved the smaller boy behind her.

But kids my age do these things all the time in Disney movies!

Those are movies, this is reality.

This is reality. Wow! Up until this moment, Brahm kept pretending it was just another grand scheme or adventure with their daring dad doing research in some far away Middle Eastern city, looking for clues about the Bible. Tey wasn’t exactly Robert Langdon but he’d been in several scrapes before with both poachers, the law, and the local clergy.

This didn’t feel like a Disney movie, and the scene of the flying stuffed marlin kept creeping into his head. It felt like danger and stupidity. He reached for Mia’s hand. She gripped his tightly with a cold and clammy hand. Being twins, there was always an emotional connection between them, and this was no different. Her fear flowed through his hands and straight to his heart.

Wanna turn back? his dad’s voice brought him into the here and now.

No, he croaked then cleared his throat. No. We have to know, else it will just bother us forever.

I am nervous, confessed Mia, but Brahm is right. We do it now or we will just want to come back later and try.

Teymouri smiled. I agree. We’ll just pretend we are Indiana Jones and we are off to explore the Temple of Doom.

Dad! Mia shuddered. Could you pick a movie without doom in the title?

Hey! Indiana came out okay and so will we, winked the crazy Iranian.

The taxi stopped. So will we, he repeated as he paid the driver and stepped out of the vehicle.

The three stood at the drop off point at the base of Mount Olympus. They stared at the remnants of the ancient sacred place of Dion, dedicated to Zeus.

So now what? asked Mia.

We buy tickets, act like tourists, and try to accidentally wander through a magic portal we can’t see, suggested the elder Mazandarani.

Brahm smiled. Seems easy enough.

Wish I had an invisible cloak like Harry Potter. Then no horrible creatures or evil elves could see us. His sister pretended to drape herself in a cloak like the young wizard of Hogwarts.

Maybe the long rod thingy is a wand, suggested her dad as he paid for three tickets at the little yellow booth.

Both Brahm and Mia stopped in their tracks. Brahm’s throat constricted and he nearly ceased to breathe.

Mia finally spoke. A bit long and thick, don’t you think, Dad?

Not for Zeus. After all, he must be a really big guy. Tey put out his arms to make himself bigger and made monster sounds. Brahm hoped his dad wouldn’t want to test the wand theory.

This is stupid. Mia tried to sound light-hearted. Her twin thought she almost pulled it off. You are both acting like kids.

Hey! Brahm pulled himself together. I am a kid!

According to your mom, so am I. Tey pointed out the obvious.

Mia stood straight as if gathering her courage, tossed her very full pack on her back and, dragging her mom’s carry-on behind her, walked ahead of her kin. Brahm followed her, trying to act even braver.

They soon found themselves on the gravel and wooden pathways built around the ruins of Dion. The old city lay partially submerged in scummy water.

Not much of a place, if you ask me. Brahm eyed the place critically.

Actually, it is very interesting, Tey mumbled, his face buried in the brochure that came with the tickets.

Anything look promising? Mia turned her head from side to side.

The trio stopped and looked down from their walkway into a courtyard with arched doorways in a wall surrounding dozens of two-foot-high square posts.

This is a Roman bath, according to the brochure, explained Tey.

Unless they accidently built this pathway right through the portal, we will not be able to find it. Mia slapped a metal handrail with her palm. We can’t get to the interesting stuff.