Immortals Of Byolla Bay

Maggie sat in the backseat with me and held my hand while gently rubbing my back. I felt like things were going in slow motion. What I just saw happen could not have happened. It’s not possible. Magic belongs in books and movies.

But this isn’t the first time I have seen my ring glow though. The first time it did that was the night I met Rikki. When that Drake guy was talking to me though, I thought it was going to catch fire. My skin also heats up when Rikki touches me. I don’t understand.

“Kinsley, you don’t have to talk if you don’t want to, but I was wondering if anything happened while you were in the food court?” Maggie asked me carefully. My mind had been so preoccupied with my ring and Rikki that I completely forgot why I ran like a maniac into the dressing room anyways.

“Yeah I was sitting down by the taco stand when out of the blue my ring starts glowing and this guy shows up saying his name was Drake. He gave me the creepiest vibe I’ve ever gotten from anyone and somehow he knew my name without me telling him. When I walked away he said the weirdest thing, he said meeting me was definitely worth the wait, whatever that meant. I just knew I needed to get away from him.”

I looked over at Mag who had a grave look on her face, “And he just let you go? He didn’t follow you or threaten you?” I thought over our short conversation and shook my head, “He said my friends weren’t so nice and I needed new ones, like the kind that weren’t from around here.”

Rikki visibly tensed in the front seat and mumbled something under his breath that sounded like “he will die for that” and Mag reached up with her free hand and rubbed Rikki’s arm. They exchanged a glance in the rearview mirror that I didn’t understand. It must be a brother sister thing. I’m an only child so I don’t get the whole sibling subliminal language.

Maggie’s phone rang, “It’s daddy,” She said as she swiped her finger across it to answer, “Hey daddy..No she’s fine, she’s right here...Yeah we are heading straight to you. We told her you can explain things better than we could, plus there’s a few things that happened that we have no clue why either so we kind of need answers, too... Okay we will meet you in your study...Love you too daddy.”

She pushed the end button and put her phone back in her purse. “Kinsley our dad is waiting for you. Don’t worry he’s a kind man and you have nothing to fear. He’s just as worried as we are.”

She said that last part more to Rikki than me because she faced him as she said it. I nodded and put my head, which was spinning and making me nauseous, against to cool glass of the window. Watching the scenery pass by in a blur wasn’t helping calm my nerves.

How fast was Rikki driving anyways? He hadn’t said a word to me since we left the mall. He looks worried, which is making me anxious.

We pulled into the garage and Keri was waiting for us, her blue eyes clouded with worry. Rikki jumped out and opened my door, being extra careful not to touch me. Keri walked to me, wrapping her arms around me and leading me into the house, “Hello sweetheart. Ty is waiting for you in his study. Everything is going to be alright.”

She lead me to the back of the house that looked like it had a newly built on room. How did she get this done so fast? A man who looked a lot like Rikki, but with shoulder length bleach blonde hair and blue eyes like Keri’s, leaned against the door. “You must be Kinsley. I’m Gene, the older and better looking brother.” He winked.

I smiled at his joke. As handsome as he was, to me Rikki was still the cuter one. Gene had an accent, a thick one, that I couldn’t place. He opened the door for me and let me walk in first.

What they were calling a “study” was a wall to wall library packed full of shelves upon shelves of books, some in English, others in languages I couldn’t understand. There was an elegant white oak desk in the middle of the room, with an enormous cork board behind it with maps held up by thumb tacks. There were places circled on the maps and notes written above them.

A man cleared his throat and walked toward me. He had to be Rikki’s father, they could have been twins except for the thick blonde beard lining his face. He looked in his 30s, which was weird because he and Keri look way too young to have kids as old as Rikki, Mag and Gene.

He held out his hand, “Hello dear. My name is Ty. It’s nice to meet you, though I wish it was under better circumstances. Please have a seat.”

He ushered me to a chair I didn’t see originally in front of his ornate desk. Ty had a thicker accent than Gene. I made a mental note to ask where they were from after I get told if I’m crazy or not. That’s got to be the only explanation for what happened.

Ty leaned against his desk, “Alright child, I know this is difficult for you, but I need you to explain in as much detail as possible what happened.” I took a deep breath and went through the events that took place in the mall. “May I see your ring for a moment?” He asked. I nodded and took the ring off my hand.

Ty admired it and nodded his head, like he was answering an unspoken question and walked over to one of his bookshelves. After searching thoroughly he finally pulled out a leather bound book with wore out binding. He blew the dust off of it and sat it on his desk where he could show me the front cover. I gasped loudly. The garnet stone on the front of the book was the same one on my ring.

“It’s the same! What does that mean though?” I questioned Ty. He opened the book and flipped a few pages until he was at the page he was looking for. The pages were filled with marks, notes and words written in a language I didn’t understand.

Ty pointed halfway down the page and translated it for me, “In the beginning the clans were not divided. There was a king who ruled over our people and our land was whole. Soon we became greedy and thought of ourselves as too good to be ruled by a king, we wanted to be kings ourselves. My brother and I waged war against the king of our clan, and soon he fell.

We took over the kingdom and ruled together, for a time. It was not long before we grew tired of ruling as one. We could never agree on anything and constantly bickered which broke out into brawls. We decided the two of us should split up, each taking a side of our land and divided our people up. This was how our one unit became two.

My brother and I still fought and argued. Splitting up did no good to quell our anger. My brother was convinced we were being haunted by the king we killed and that’s why we could not get along. The last I heard from him, he was planning to take a trip to see a witch of some sort to drive away the unwanted spirit. My brother never returned from his quest.

His son took the throne after his memorial. My nephew has already done a better job than his father by signing a peace treaty with me. From here on out our clans will never be at war again.”

Ty cleared his throat, “I believe that ring is called the ring of the four clans. I always thought it was a myth until today. Let me keep reading so you can understand why I think so, okay.” I nodded slowly. My mind struggled to take in what I think he’s trying to tell me.

He continued, “We started a tradition to where we would bring all the boys from the clans together to teach them as one unit. This will be how we train them to fight with honor and how we chose successors to the throne out of our sons. My oldest son has proven to be a great warrior and today I chose him as the future king of our clan. Because of mine and my brother’s greed and lust for power, I must pass on the burden of reuniting our people to my son. May he continue the peace my nephew and I have established.”

He turns the page, “My father had dreams of me keeping the peace, but alas, the clans have split even farther. There is now four clans and only one am I at peace with. I have shamed our family name by allowing this to continue. My father spoke of a witch his brother disappeared trying to find. I believe I shall look to this creature for help in reuniting us as one.

A week later I found her. The witch turned out to be called an Oracle who thanked me for my kindness stating the last king who sought her out was my uncle. She killed him because of how demanding and insolent he was.

She told me our people’s future was bleak. There will be a son who will become king and seek out an Oracle in vengeance. This Oracle will grant him the power to wipe all of us out and nothing can stop him. But because I came to her with a pure heart and only the thought of my people’s well-being in my soul, she will give me a way to fight back.

She created a silver ring with a garnet stone on it, called the ring of the four clans. It can only be used after this troubling time ahead unfortunately, but it will unite the people once again into one clan just like it was meant to be. I have never seen the Oracle since that day and I gave the ring to my daughter for safe keeping. She will pass it on to her daughter when she is old enough for the responsibility.

My time is drawing near. I can hear the keeper of the stars calling me to the place he has prepared for me. It won’t be long now, but before I left I needed the story to be known.”

Ty now flipped to the front of the book where there was a drawing of my ring. “Here it is called ring av de fire klanene which is ring of the four clans, but also ring av sjeler which means ring of souls.” My mouth dropped open, “Are you trying to tell me my ring is some mystical ancient magical artifact?” Ty nodded without hesitation, “Yes dear, I know it is.”