Book 6 - Mystery of Shadow Mountain - Chapter 36: What Irony

         I stare at the gem trying to figure it out, but all I can think about is Annabeth.  Sitting off to the side of the room, I watch while Mala and a few of her Defenders caring for Annabeth.

         Fifteen minutes later, Mala walks over to me and says, in a soft tone, “Annabeth will be fine.  We washed the wound, applied some herbs and healing ointments, and wrapped her head.  I am sure she has a concussion, but I am certain she will have a full recovery.  I will advise you to stay here until tomorrow to make sure she can fly back to your island, safely.”

         “Alright,” I reply quietly.  “Thank you for all your help.”

         “Glad my people and I can be at your service,” Mala nodded.  “I’m sure you will want to stay with her.  Call me if you need me, I will be in the other room or close by.”

         I nod to acknowledge Mala and she then walks out of the room.  Next, I pull up the chair I was sitting on and sit at Annabeth’s bedside.  Still holding the gem, I set it on the nightstand.  Looking on at Annabeth, my mind is blank and empty of everything else but that of Annabeth.  One might think that I have bigger problems to think about with Vixxen, Shadow Mountain, and the secrets within, but I just do not want to think about them right now.

         In the lightly lit room, it is comfortable and quiet.  Now, I wait.

         With my right hand, I gently hold Annabeth’s left hand.

         Only a mere five minutes go by before Annabeth opens her eyes, yet it feels like an eternity had passed.  Though come to think of it, an eternity is timeless, so technically would never pass.  I then chuckle.

         Annabeth manages to say, “What was that for?” she the quips, “Was that for me and my inability to swim when trapped in a water chamber that is filling up to impending death?”

         I smile and laugh as well as hang my head down for a moment before saying, “No, it was for something I thought of.  I could only think of you while I waited.  Nothing else mattered.  As soon as you opened your eyes, I felt relieved and made a joke to myself comparing the time I waited for you to wake up to that of eternity.  The punch line being that eternity is technically timeless and therefore will never pass, thus making my statement invalid.”

         That made Annabeth chuckle, though she slightly grimaced as she tried to adjust her head.  Though her eyes are open, her eye lids still cover most of her eyes.  She may be awake and aware, but she no doubt is still tired and needs more rest.

         “When I opened my eyes,” Annabeth spoke.  “I was going to ask if this was Valhalla, but because you made a joke, I know I must still be alive because you would have been harping on how stupid you were for dying and I would have said that you just wanted to be with me is all.”

         I smile the return, “Well, having you with me is like having a little bit of Heaven on earth.”
         Annabeth smiles and sighs, “You surenow what to say to a girl.”

         “Yeah,” as soon as I said that, Annabeth rolls her eyes because she knows something else is coming; I add, “I’ve had to grow up with two sisters.  I’ve had plenty of experience dealing with girls.  If I said something and got socked in the side with a jab or right cross, I knew not to say that again or at least in range of their punches.  If I said something different that ‘grossed them out,’ made them roll their eyes, shrug their shoulders, roll their eyes, and or walk away, then that was the better thing to say and I should say similar things to that when I find the girl for me.”

         Annabeth took a deep breath in and out that sounded half like another sigh, “If I wasn’t so incapacitated, I would punch you right now.”

         “See?” I smiled.  “What did I tell you?”

         Irritated that she proved me right, she let out yet another sigh and then sarcastically retorted, “I would also jab you with my left hand,” Annabeth pauses to raise her left hand with my right hand in it.  “But it seems to be previously detained.”

         Noticeably still irritated, she still cracks a smile from my gesture of the hand hold; I then say and try not to smile, but epically fail, “Why do you think I held your hand?”

         Me holding her hand or not, she jabbed me in the chest with my own hand because she was holding it.

         “Hey,” I catch myself from calling out too loud.

         “That’ll teach you,” Annabeth looks rectified but then more prominently grimaces and rhetorically comments, “See what you are making me do?  Some boyfriend you are.  Your causing me pain.”

         “I’m sorry,” I apologize.  “Where does it hurt?”

         With her right hand, she points to the left side of her head.

         I stand up over her and give the left side of her head a kiss.

         Standing up, she then says and points to her lips, “Here.”

         I smirk but give her a kiss.

         A moment later, looking into her eyes, I remark in a low tone but in my normal voice, “You are learning.  When someone who is helping you out of strange reasons of their own, subtly suggest something so they will do something else for you.”

         Annabeth then off handed says, “Well, when you hang around with the right vikings, you do pick up good habits.”  I stand up, still holding her left hand.  She continues, “Now… Now… Be gone with you,” she says waving at me with her right hand with a backhand motion.

         “What?” I question.  “Have I served my purpose by getting a couple of kisses out of me that you no longer have use of me?”

         “Yes,” she rhetorically retorts.  “I heard you talking with Mala about us staying for the night until I am able to stand and stay upright on my dragon, so in the meantime, you can see if you can get the directions to Shadow Mountain… Since we’re already stopped you can ask for directions.”

         Annabeth chuckles as do I, but then I think and say, “Wait a second, you were awake when I talked to Mala?”
         Faking innocence but telling the truth, Annabeth answers, “Yes.”

         Breathing quickly for a moment in sort of a huff, “I thought you were still asleep… And you let me wait for five minutes.”

         Annabeth closes her eyes and grins, “I know.”

         “Good thing I would wait long enough for someone to find the end of the earth,” I remark.

         Annabeth looks at me, “Would they not find the end of the earth?  That would mean you would only wait for a set length of time for me.”

         She then huffs but I defend my remark, “But didn’t that one viking from Berk, I forget their name, get exiled and tasked with finding the end of the earth, only to show up in the opposite direction almost every eighty days or so?”

         “Yeah, so what?” Annabeth said.

         “Well, if the earth is flat,” I state.  “Then wouldn’t they just fall off the edge, never to be heard from again?”

         Annabeth counters, “Whether it is flat, round, square or whatever… Even if the earth is flat, would they not just go on the back of flatness before reappearing on the other side?”

         I open my mouth to try and counter her argument, but I stop and think for a moment.

         “That actually makes sense, come to think of it,” I say then jokingly add.  “Hah, I picked a smart one.”
         “Oh get out of here,” Annabeth rolls her eyes.  “Find the directions to Shadow Mountain so we can finish this thing, this mystery.”

         “Alright,” I laugh, smile, and take her left hand with both of my hands and kiss her hand.

         As soon as I let go, Annabeth quips, “I thought you were going to kiss your own hand.”

         I laugh, “The thought did cross my mind, but I’m not that full of myself.”

         “You better not be,” Annabeth says.  “If it gets a laugh or a chuckle, fine, but it better never be permanent.”

         “To spit on my hand and shake on it,” I raise my right hand.  “That will never happen… Unless it is undercover or something related to a mystery, then I’ll do it.”

         Annabeth proceeds to try and kick me with her left foot, but I dodge just in time, “Just get out of here so I can get some sleep, good gravy.”

         “Alright,” I smile but then add seriously as open the door.  “I’m glad you’re okay.”

         Annabeth responds, “I’m glad I’m okay too.”

         “It never stops,” I shake my head.

         “With you?” she shockingly exclaims.  “Never.”

         “Oh,” I remember.  “Better take the gem with me.  Kind of senseless to figure out the directions without the map.”

         I wave to Annabeth as she waves back, “Yeah, so long already.”

         Exiting the house, I see Mala nearby with my friends.

         Asvord asks, “So… How’s Jarlabeth doing?”

         I give the blank brotherly stare, “Fine.”

         Asvord grins and continues, “Mala says we should stay the night and return to Mystery in the morning.”

         “Yeah,” I confirm.  “In the meantime, we can figure out where Shadow Mountain is.”

         “Where it is?” my younger older sister echoes.  “You mean we are that close?  Difficult to believe we are almost done.”

         “In retrospect, we are almost done,” I agree.  “But we still have a lot of work ahead of us.”

         Angie jumps in, “Like figuring out what the next and probably last clue is.”

         “Yep,” I reply.

         Mala then asks, “So, what do you suppose this gem is for?  I also notice that small crystal inside of the gem, is that of some importance?”

         Briefly explaining that we have found a crystal with every clue we have found thus far, I rotate the gem as the crystal bounces around, “While this is fundamentally the same situation as before with a gem and crystal, this gem, however, is considerably heavier and has a hole in it where the crystal was inserted.”

         Mala motions her left hand to ask without words to see the gem; giving it to her, she quickly says after a brief once over of the gem, “The hole is somewhat of a natural hole.  By what you have just told me about the other gems, they are fake and viking made.  Whereas this gem, on the other hand, appears to be real.”

         I nod as I had also noticed these differences too, “The other gems were smooth across the outside while hollow on the inside.  This gem has all the characteristics of a real gem.  How someone found a hollow gem stone is beyond me.”

         Angie requests to look at the gem.  Giving it to her, she says after feeling the gem for a few seconds, “There are engravings on this gem.”

         She hands it back and I feel over the gem, “You’re right.”

         Mala calls us over to a nearby work bench close to a workshop.  The Queen quickly mixes some water with some dark blue dye in a small bowl.  Adding a little bit of what looks like flour, she makes somewhat of a paste or paint like substance.  Taking a brush, she then asks for the gem, painting the paint onto the gem.  Mala gets some of the paint on her fingers, but then takes the gem and rolls it onto some paper on the workbench.

         “Genius,” I remark.

         “Thank you,” Mala replies.

         Mala just transposed the words on the gem onto the paper so it can be easily read.  Because the gem is transparent, reading the words would have been extremely difficult.  Now lo0king at the words on paper, they would have been backwards on the gem anyway.  Mala proceeds to wash off the gem and wipes it off.  We all then try to read what it says.

         Mala comments, “Looks like broken Berserkian from ages ago.”

         “Huh,” I interject.  “I can read it, but it is pretty rough.”

         None of us could really read it, except me because Annabeth has taught me to read Berserker, not to mention that this language has been the most used throughout the mystery.  I step forward.  Looking at the words, I make mention that I will have to insert a few words to make it sound smoother.

         Then reading out loud, I say, “You are nearly to Shadow Mountain, fellow Berserker and company, probably.  Maybe you could figure out what I couldn’t.  Whatever lies within Shadow Mountain, it must be used with the proper hands.  What better hands than a Berserker?”

         Cazi chuckles, “Like I said, clues with a sense of humor.”

         I continue, “See what you make of the clue I found: Sick of riddles you might be, here is one more.  In the Shadow lies the secret you are looking for.  Sick you might become.  In snot, pools you might lie.  Dragons don’t bother this place, but this place might bother you if you stay too long.”

         Letting the clue sink in for a moment, Cazi declares, “What kind of place is that?  Better yet, what kind of clue is this?  Is this guy or gal or whoever wrote all these clues a doctor and a geographer too?”

         It dawns on me.

         Cazi then remarks at my reaction, “If Annabeth were here right now, would she know exactly what you are thinking.?”
         “Uh, yeah,” I say as if that was a foregone conclusion, not just because we think similarly, but because of where Shadow Mountain is.  I slowly nod my head, “We have totally been to this island before.”  I then chuckle but not in a laughing manner, “And I for one should know where this place is, or should I say, Annabeth is the one who for sure would know where this place is.”

         At the mention of that of Annabeth and her connection with this place I have in mind, looking at my friends, everyone knew exactly where Annabeth and I would be thinking.  Mala is a bit lost for words.

         “Nice place to get shipwrecked though,” Cazi quips sarcastically.  “Though, if we are going to get shipwrecked this time, let’s do it on the other side of the island.  We should probably put up signs, saying, ‘I know you might be in a raging storm right now, but if you could really help yourself out by just going to the other side of the island -any side but this side- and get shipped wrecked over there.  Thank you for your time and come again.  Oh, and one note, just in case you happen to stay at this lovely island for a vacation, don’t go swimming in any of the pools.  This is a once in a lifetime place to visit.  If you go swimming, it will be literally a once in a lifetime visit, because you will dead!  Thanks, and don’t come again!”

         My friends and I all start laughing with Cazi; Mala still at a loss of words.

         “Sorry Mala,” I still laugh.  “But we have been here before actually.  A bit ironic, after all the work we have put into this mystery thus far.  How we know where Shadow Mountain is… Is a long story.”

         Cazi pulls up a chair, flipping it around to sit with the back in front of her, “Go ahead and start, Jarl.  We’ve got time,” Cazi smiles.