The Lores of Lyra - Burning Star [Book III]

Chapter 7 - Dreams and Memories

Chapter 7 – Dreams and Memories

The interior was a funny place. Amelia had been shown around in the one room place, which apparently took place in a cave. She was far in, and the darkness surrounding her gave her the creeps. She’d gotten a sense of direction to the exit, but she knew that some of Thomas Scar Son’s men would guard it.

Amelia was mostly baffled about the floor. It seemed smooth, which a cave wasn’t supposed to be, and when she’d asked about it, the woman had simply said it was shaped this way because of the water. The statement confused Amelia even more since there was no water in here.

She clutched the pendant around her neck with her right hand. Thomas had been thrilled to place it on her. Apparently, her willingness to bear a treasure older than Astron itself was parallel with her willingness to help them out.

 Of course, he’d been polite about it. He didn’t pressure her to make a decision. Instead, he’d gone all out on the friendly side. He’d presented her to the little group: an old man named Benjamin, Thomas’ wife Linda, and a younger girl who seemed to be Amelia’s age, named Beatrice. There were more people around here—Amelia could feel it. But so far, everyone she’d met seemed incredibly friendly.

“What we need you to do is simply try,” Linda said. They were still trying to get her to agree, a task that seemed never-ending on their end. In Amelia’s mind, it had become rather tedious already.

“Will you let me go?” she asked.

“Only after we’ve secured Astron’s future,” Thomas said.

Amelia stared at the little group of people with wide eyes. There was no doubt in her mind that these people must have lost their mind. She gulped and blinked her eyes, trying to convince herself that it was a dream.

“So, what do you say?” Benjamin asked. He was an old man. His toothless smile was frightening but still friendly. Amelia found it to be a strange combination, which seemed the perfect description for this whole group. They scared her out of her wits, but still seemed to be polite in their attempt.

“Let me get this right,” she said, trying to gather her thoughts enough to form one coherent sentence. “You want me to use my ‘powers’ to manifest the Tome of Lyra, and then rewrite it?”

All of them nodded eagerly, causing Amelia to groan in frustration. There was no getting around it, they were convinced she could do it—that she was the only one who could accomplish it. It shouldn’t have come as a surprise to her, but the conclusion that they were all insane, utterly delusional even, struck her by surprise. She almost felt sorry for thinking it in the first place.

It was a mean thought, she knew that, but there seemed to be no other reasonable solution. She had only been in their company for only a limited time, but they seemed intend to act crazy. It would break their heart, but she couldn’t play along. She couldn’t do what they asked of her.

“I can’t,” she said. “I’m sorry, but I can’t do what you ask of me. I’m not in a position to help—you’ve got the wrong person.”

In unison, their hopeful faces dropped, replaced by expressions of despair. Amelia felt horrible for crushing their hope, but she knew there was nothing she could do to help them. Her powers were a silly party trick, not some magical ability to save the universe. She could make a flower appear, and then turn it to crystal—that was it. If she let herself believe these people version of her, then she’d be just as delusional.

“I-I’m sorry,” she said, hoping to bring a bit of understanding into their eyes.

Thomas walked over to her and placed a large hand, thick with callous, on her shoulder. He sighed. “I know that this must be confusing to you. It’s a lot to take in at once, but we’re not fooling you. We need you and your powers. They’re the only way to save Astron’s future.”