The War Chamber Read Free Page A

credenza, not finding what she is looking for.
    “What's happened to your crystal collection? Did you give up on that, too?”
    “Aw…I thought it was kind of juvenile. There's no magic in them. They're just rocks, like Dad says. Besides there's no scientific basis for any of it, not like my computer.”
    Dorothy believes otherwise, recalling the circumstances that allowed her to discover the magical Singer crystal and bring it to David.
    She had dug her shovel deep into the crusted earth for probably the thousandth time, not knowing exactly what she was looking for. She only knew, because a recurring dream had told her so, that she would one day unearth a sacred, coveted relic and bring it to its rightful owner. Just why she was chosen to do this was not clear. And who would be the owner was also a mystery.
    Nevertheless, as the dream recounted, two men from a long-ago era buried the small wooden cask deep in the dirt in an uncharted location and then disappeared, as though they never existed. She, then, would dig in a place she did not recognize and uncover the powerful object.
    It had taken 30 years of annual archeological digs in exotic and treacherous places to arrive at that moment. When her trowel hit a solid object, she knew she had found “it.” She brushed the soil off of the cask and opened it to reveal the contents.
    What rested inside was unique only in its shape and size, for there were trillions of such minerals buried deep in the earth. Upon seeing it, the average person would not think twice about it. Nor would she, if she hadn't had the dream. But its true owner would know it on sight and believe in its powers, and make them his own.
    Dorothy knew that David was the Singer's rightful owner because of his passionate reaction to it from the moment she placed it in his hands.
    “It's incredible. Look at it, Aunt Dorothy. Its microstructure is so complex. But what really amazes me is its shape. It looks like a miniature ship. Here's the mast where the sail would go, and here's the bow, the stern and the rudder.”
    But now, she treads softly on his fragile emotions, hoping to reawaken his fervor.
    “Of course, they're just rocks. The magic, if you want to call it that, is in the person using the crystals, and the reason he's using them.”
    “What if the person using them doesn't know what he's doing and screws up?” David's memory flashes to his encounter with Ishtar because of this very thing.
We reverse the dynamics of the situation,
Ishtar had said with unbridled optimism,
and correct the screw up.
    Dorothy signs her answer with special emphasis on each symbol.
    “Practice makes perfect, with crystals as with anything,” David reads aloud. “That's what Mom always said.”
If she were here, she'd be on me about it, too.
    “She was right. You know, David, this could possibly be a way to start working out your resentment about your mother. Start using your crystals again.”
    “What's that got to do with Mom?”
    “You forget how she used to encourage you to pursue your interests, no matter how bizarre they may seem to others. There's always a reason why something grabs at you and pulls you in, she used to say. Why don't you tell her about it?”
    David is stunned by his aunt's suggestion, but she was dead serious. “Talk to Mom? How could I do that?”
How could I have talked to Ishtar through a Moldavite? That was impossible, too.
    “She's right outside your window, David. I'm sure you'll find a way to communicate. As for me, I'm going to unpack and soak in a hot bubble bath for the rest of my life. Or at least until dinnertime.” Dorothy “
Aah
's” at the comforting thought of it and leaves the room with David as deep in thought as when she arrived.

Four
    The warmth of summer still pervades along the coast even as September transforms expectantly into October. The melodic chirping of crickets filters through the open windows of the Port Avalon Town hall, while ceiling fans move, but do