The Passage to Piora

By Annett Heibel

Ten-year-old Starlit Carrara is in search of seven Tools of Power. To recover them, she must travel through space and time–where she learns that thieves might not always be criminals, and that good and evil are not always so easily discerned…

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Apr 4, 2015
• ISBN: 9781483553030

Book preview

information.

Chapter 1: The Queen of Stones

THE BIRTHDAY PRESENT

When Starlit unwrapped her birthday present, she already knew what it was. She had been begging for it all along.

When you turn ten, we will give it to you as a birthday present, her father had promised and kept his word. The item in question was a smartphone.

It has already got a chip inside, her father said calmly and leaned back in his chair at the breakfast table. With a look of amusement on his face he watched Starlit. She hadn't even finished her blueberry pancakes because she was so excited to open the package, placed next to her plate.

You just need to turn it on, and you are all set, Starlit's mother added from the distance. She stood at the kitchen sink washing her hands. As she did that quite often, Starlit had gotten used to it. She had also grown used to the fact that her mother disinfected door knobs and shopping carts before touching them, …or that she spent hours ironing everything from curtains to underwear, …or that she laid out everyone's clothes for weeks in advance. The only thing she couldn't get accustomed to was her mother's ban on pets. Everything Mrs. Carrara touched had to be clean, and in her opinion, pets made a mess. That's why they were not allowed in the house.

Once Starlit held the smartphone in her hands, she forgot about the mess she had made around herself. Pieces of wrapping paper lay scattered across the floor and the table.

What is this? Mrs. Carrara frowned. Are you going to put the paper in the trash?

Starlit grabbed the wrapping paper and got up from the table to dispose of it. A small sigh of annoyance escaped her lips while doing so.

Can I go out? she then asked.

What about your art project? When are you going to finish that? Mr. Carrara asked.

Right! Starlit felt like releasing an even bigger sigh of annoyance. How could she forget? Spring break was almost over, and in two days from now, on Monday, Starlit had to turn in her art project: a green iguana made of clay, fired and painted. So far she had finished head and body, but the claws were still undone.

Starlit had loved iguanas before the project. Now, she was tired of them. Her father had made her study the art of sculpturing and the anatomy of an iguana's body. And her mother had made her research its history, habitat and diet. As Mrs. Garnet Carrara was an ambitious architect and Mr. Beryl Carrara an ambitious sculptor, they both had to teach a lot about ambition and art.

I will get to it this afternoon, I promise, she said and rushed to the back door in the living room, which led to the yard. And thanks for the phone! she yelled.

The spacious yard only accommodated a single tree. It was a thick oak tree surrounded by a perfectly mowed green lawn. The branches of the oak carried a stunning tree house. It had a terrace and a spiral staircase wound around the trunk.

Starlit had declared the tree house hers and hers only. It was her only consolation, even if only a small one, for moving from California to Vermont half a year ago, for having lost her old friends and not having gained new ones so far. Particularly the loss of her best friend Moro still made her sad.

Moro had long red hair and always wore a bracelet and a necklace made of red corals. Together, they had shared a love for Greek mythology, especially the story of Medusa, the snake-haired goddess whose gaze turned people into stone. Moro had believed the myth that corals were splashes of blood from Medusa's beheading.

I wonder what happens when you melt corals, she'd asked Starlit while they were putting up a tent in Moro's bedroom. Would we turn into Medusa if we got in touch with her living blood? Moro's grey eyes had opened widely in excitement over the possibility. Yet, the girls had never found out, as the corals were too valuable to throw them into a fire. However, Moro gave Starlit a coral as a goodbye present.

After the move to Vermont, Starlit started to develop a liking for stones inspired by Moro's coral. She began to collect other stones and to display them on a shelf in her tree house. Fire stones, granite, quartz, shale or glass stones belonged to her small exhibit, but also an amethyst and her immediate favorite: a lapis lazuli. So far, she kept her collection a secret because she could only imagine what her parents would do if they found out. They would probably drive her to the nearest Lapidarium and make her study stones during summer break.

Starlit climbed the spiral staircase to the tree house and threw herself on a bunch of blue pillows on the floor. Blue was Starlit's favorite color. Her blue T-shirt and blue pants blended in with the pillows and blankets spread around her. She loved the wooden smell of the tree house and the rustic feel to it. In contrast to the concrete walls of the single-floor family house, the tree house was slightly crooked. It was more playful, less clean and had a better view of the yard and the adjoining park. It was surrounded by an air of freedom.

While lying on her stomach, Starlit propped herself up on her elbows and looked at the display of her cellphone. She saw herself as a reflection: a girl with wavy, dark, long hair and – what else would you expect? – blue eyes.

THE VIRTUAL VISITOR

When Starlit turned on the phone, it reacted with a ping. A picture of clouds in the sky appeared on it. Then, suddenly, out of nowhere, there was a girl, a real girl in a grey gown, jumping from one cloud to the other. Starlit stared at her with her mouth open. The girl was about 14. She had long, strawberry blonde tresses, and as she came closer, Starlit noticed she wore a coral necklace – just like Moro's, but of a salmon-colored shade. In fact, the girl as a whole reminded her of Moro. Her pale face was round, with even rounder lips and a snub nose. Her eyes were large and grey.

The girl wore an expression on her face as if she were looking for someone. Starlit tapped with her finger on the phone. The girl suddenly turned to her, drew to the screen and pressed her nose against it from the other side. She was looking into Starlit's tree house as if it were a showcase. Starlit was able to count her eyelashes – that's how close she was - and in her pupils, she noticed flying birds: one bird in each pupil.

Finally, the girl rested her eyes on Starlit. Her face displayed relief; as if she had finally found what she was looking for.

Oh, there you are! she said with an accent that Starlit had never heard before. How are you? And if you were allowed to have a pet, what would it be?

Starlit's heart skipped a beat. She caught her breath. Not only did the girl speak to her. She also seemed to have looked for her and to know a thing or two about her. How was that possible? Who was she? And why did she have birds in her pupils?

The girl seemed to guess her questions.

My name is Deístra, she explained. I am the Queen of Piora, the largest empire of the inner earth Agartha."

What? Starlit exclaimed, a little flustered. Where is that supposed to be?

Well, there is an earth inside your earth, a world inside your world. We call it Agartha. It's a fantasy to most terrestrials, but it's a reality to those who found an entrance to it. That concerns only few people, however. In general, innerterrestrials choose not to reveal theirselves.

Starlit hesitated. Theirselves? Shouldn't it be themselves? Deístra seemed to make grammatical mistakes now and then, but not to the extent that Starlit couldn't understand her. Yet, it wasn't the mistakes that bewildered her. It was the content of what Deístra said. Starlit had never heard of a place called Agartha, let alone Piora. She pondered whether to believe it or not. Nonetheless, the fact remained that a girl called Deístra was looking at her from the display of her cellphone, and that Deístra's voice came out of its small loudspeaker. After a short pause, Deístra slowly added:

The birds in my pupils are tattoos. In Piora you can get moving tattoos anywhere you want, even on your pupils. It doesn't hurt at all. And I decided to get bird tattoos because I believe my soul has the shape of a bird.

Starlit felt like Deístra had just thrown another big word at her. One of these words that wasn't just made of letters but loaded with an entire concept: 'soul'.

She decided not to let Deístra get away with it:

What exactly is a soul? She consequently asked.

Well… Deistra began and tilted her head to one side a little. Imagine you were lying in the dark on your bed and there was no time and no space around you. And then imagine you had neither arms nor legs, neither body nor face. Whatever is then awake in you, that's your soul. It's a life spark that lives inside of you like a bird in a cage. When your body stops working, however, it may decide to fly away.

And what is the soul bird doing in my body? Starlit asked.

During the day, it gives you thoughts. During the night, it gives you dreams. Its favorite place to linger is behind your eyes because your eyes are the window to the outside world, and the soul bird likes to look out the window.

Starlit imagined a blue bird sitting behind her eyes, her head being its tree house.

What happens when the soul bird flies away? Where does it go to? she eventually inquired.

Your body dies once the soul bird leaves it. I don't know where it flies to because the bird is invisible. Maybe it flies back to the ARTIST. We are different from humans inasmuch as we are not born by mothers. The 'ARTIST' creates us. We always stay the way we are made. We don't visibly age. We don't visibly grow. Deístra raised a finger and lifted her left eyebrow before she went on:

But no one knows who the ARTIST is! He is supposed to live in a cave on the highest mountain of Piora, but nobody has ever seen him. Legend has it that the ARTIST lives with one foot in our world and one foot in yours. Yet, if you ask me, I doubt that. He hasn't created anything in years, and I dare say, he is no longer around. In any case, I may look like 14 to you. Though with reference to your concept of time, I am already 1.000 years old.

What? Starlit opened her eyes wide in astonishment. So, you cannot die? Starlit was curious. She rose up to an upright sitting position. Deístra confronted her with one surprise after the other.

Well, yes. I can. I can die from accidents, illness or poison. I will die if a knife punctures my heart. Yet, I do not age and cannot die a natural death. Starlit looked at Deístra with interest. She couldn't believe that the girl she saw was 1.000 years old.

You haven't answered my questions yet, although I answered yours, Deístra remarked.

Oh, right, the pet! Starlit replied apologetically. Well, if I were allowed to have any pet I wanted it would be a polar bear. But unfortunately, they are massive and need a cold climate to live in. It would be fantabulous if I could have one which stayed the size of a newborn and could adapt to life in our yard… one that would climb around in my oak tree, eat leaves and visit me in my tree house.

Deístra raised both of her eyebrows. I didn't expect that, quite frankly. I thought you would suggest a cat or a dog. However, I might be able to grant you your wish. Yes, I think I can make you the gift of a small, adapted polar bear, if you want.

Really? Now, Starlit raised her eyebrows. Yes, but if I do that, I will ask you for a favor in return.

„What favor?" Starlit wanted to know. She shifted about nervously on her blue pillows.

THE REQUEST

„I am missing some very important things. Deístra began. „They were stolen from me, and I need help to get them back.

„What things?" Starlit took the bait.

„My items of power. Deístra elucidated. „There are seven items of power without which no king or queen can reign. They are passed down through succession. They are tools but not for practical use, just for decoration, and they bestow certain powers upon their owner. I am powerless without them, and if I don't get them back, Piora will fall apart.

Starlit was startled. Many questions came to mind. Deístra seemed to guess these questions as well. She sat down on one of the clouds and made herself comfortable. Then she slowly