Journey to Jahennah: Chapter Five

If time had worked as it did in the human world, they might have been sat for hours. Lila and Kenji were eager to hear all about mythic, Tortaris and the mysterious other realm of Jahennah. At the same time, Orva was keen to learn as much as possible about how the world had changed since she had been trapped in Tortaris. They worked out that the mythic had been trapped for about two hundred years and it had been sixty-two years since Lila’s grandmother had come through the portal, meaning that Jessie Sparrow was eighteen years old when she had tried to help the mythic escape.

Lila tried to listen to Kenji explain the concept of Wi-Fi, but it was hard to focus on his words; her mind was with her grandmother and the poor fairy that had lost his life in the portal over half a century ago. If the mythic had known that the portal was booby-trapped, would things have turned out differently? A human had been with them; would they be roaming the real world now if Jessie had gone through the portal with Basil?

“- seriously Orva, the internet is amazing, anything you want to know is just a few taps away!” Kenji patted his pockets and sighed. “Ugh, I left my phone on charge this morning. Lila, do you have yours?”

Lila shook her head. “Rule number one of visiting grandparents: no mobile phones.”

The distance in her voice stopped Kenji and Orva’s conversation and they watched her curiously. She cleared her throat.

“I think we should try and leave Tortaris,” she said.

Orva smiled sadly.

“Look out the window,” she said.

Lila raised her eyebrows but moved to the curtain and peered through the glass. She couldn’t see anything. She looked back at Orva, puzzled.

“Tortaris is enormous,” she said. “This village is only one of hundreds, homing thousands of mythics.”

Lila was still confused. But Kenji understood.

“Where are they all?” he asked quietly.

“Hiding,” she replied. “They remember what happened the last time a human appeared in Tortaris. It’s no coincidence that the moment you approached the village, they bolted their doors. Even the bravest are too scared since we lost Basil.”

Lila thought back to when they had reached the first hut, the eerie silence, the slam of a door. Had their arrival caused such fear and terror that the mythic would rather hide away than associate with them? If so, how could they possibly convince them to try and leave?

“Okay,” she said slowly. “Then how about just the three of us go? We could go to the human world, find the portal to Jahennah and then come back. Maybe if the mythic here knew we’d found the others, they’d listen.”

“Where would we even begin to look?” Orva said wearily.

“The clock,” Kenji said suddenly. “It said the words ‘London, England’ on it. Maybe that’s a clue!”

“It’s somewhere to start!” Lila said. “Magic leaves traces, right? Ebony will have left them too, they could lead us right to Jahennah!”

A sudden, intrusive thought stopped her in her tracks.

“We don’t know where it is,” she murmured.

“Where what is?” Kenji asked, who had jumped to his feet and was hopping from foot to foot.

“The portal,” Lila said. “The one to get us out. It isn’t stuck in one place, it moves around. We don’t know how to find it.”

She slumped back in her chair, deflated. For a moment, she had been so excited at the thought of being able to help the mythic. Kenji stayed on his feet, frozen.

Lila looked miserably at Orva and was surprised to see her deep in thought. After a minute or two, she sighed deeply.

“I know how we can find the portal,” she said.

Lila and Kenji stared at her.

“Ebony has a number of minions in Tortaris,” she continued. “They act as informants, monitoring any suspicious activities and notifying her if anything is out of the ordinary. In return, they live more comfortable lives, with the promise of a reunion with their loved ones in the future. Most of them are extremely faithful to Ebony’s cause because of this, but there are others who only care about the benefits.

“One of their responsibilities is to know where the portal is and move it to a convenient location when she arrives. They can’t enter the portal but they can find it and freeze it in place for her.”

“And you know informants who would do that?” Lila asked.

“Well…” Orva said hesitantly. “Yes. But it would be risky.”

“How come?” said Kenji.

“These mythic are informants for an evil woman who trapped them and hid their loved ones. They’re not of sound mind and they’re untrustworthy. Many of them would do anything to see their partners again. Turning in traitors would get them much closer to their families.”

The three of them were silent for a few minutes.

“Well,” Lila said, getting back up, “we are just going to have to take that risk. Who is our best chance of getting through?”

“Ziyadah,” Orva replied. “He was the one who stopped the portal for us last time.”

“But didn’t he betray you?” Lila asked incredulously. Orva shook her head.

“It was another informant that told Ebony about the plan. Ziyadah isn’t particularly sympathetic towards Ebony’s ideas, but he likes to live a luxurious life. Provided we present him with an adequate gift, we should be able to trust him.”

Orva bit her lip and Lila could tell she wasn’t sure she believed those words.

“A gift? Like a piece of jewellery or something?” Kenji asked.

“No. Ziyadah craves knowledge. He will want an enchantment, a piece of magic created by centaurs. He is eager to know the secrets of other mythics. If we offer him the right magic, he will be satisfied.”

“What will you give him? The Pod?” Lila suggested.

“No,” Orva said. “We must be very careful. Ziyadah is a sphinx: proud, arrogant, vain. Offering the secret of the Undetectable Pod might suggest we think he is a coward. He must consider our offering worthy of his excellence. A Mappamundi potion should do it. It’s like having a map to everything in your head for twenty-four hours. Knowing more than others is Ziyadah’s greatest pleasure.”

She rolled her eyes, then walked over to the sink, bending to open the small cupboard underneath and look inside.

When she turned back around, she had a round, glass bottle in one hand filled with a sparkling, turquoise liquid that seemed to have a life of its own, splashing and dancing in its container. In her other hand, she had a tiny vial. Carefully, she poured a few drops of liquid into the vial, then sealed it shut, returning the round bottle to the cupboard. She stowed the vial in the breast pocket of her waistcoat and gestured to the others to follow her out of the hut.

“We will have to follow the path for some time,” she said. “It will be quicker if I take you on my back.” She bent her front legs so that she was low enough for Lila and Kenji to climb up. Blushing furiously, Kenji wrapped his arms around Orva’s waist and Lila gripped the back of his t-shirt as they galloped down the path.

The journey was unsettling. They were at the next village by the time Lila realised why; there wasn’t even the slightest breath of wind. Her hair, which should have been whipping around her face, bounced gently on her shoulders, and her eyes remained dry and clear. On a human road in a human village in the human world, even at this cantering pace, her cheeks would have been freezing and her eyes would be stinging. But they weren’t. It was a bizarre feeling.

This village looked exactly like the first; twenty small stone huts standing sadly in clusters by the path. Again, not a soul was in sight, though Lila thought she saw a tiny, green face peering out of one of the windows as they went by.

They passed the tiny houses and Orva sped up again.

“We’ll have to leave the road soon,” she called back, her voice as steady as if she were stood still.

“Where do we go then?” Kenji asked.

“Across the soil until we arrive,” she replied.

“How will we know it’s Ziyadah’s house?” Lila said.

“Trust me, you’ll know.”

She turned so sharply she almost threw Lila and Kenji off her back, but they managed to keep their grip as Orva flew across the dirt, kicking up the soil and leaving a dusty trail behind them.

They continued for a while until Kenji shouted and pointed into the distance.

“What is that?”

Lila peered over his shoulder. A large, triangular shape had appeared on the horizon. As they got closer, the shape grew bigger and bigger until Lila realised that it was a pyramid, a full-sized Pharaoh's pyramid made of limestone bricks, towering over them intimidatingly. It could have been plucked from Egypt itself.

“A pyramid?” Kenji said, disbelief in each syllable.

“Ziyadah used to guard King Khafre’s pyramid in Giza,” Orva replied.

Lila’s jaw dropped. “Guard?”

“Yes, until it was discovered that he had stolen treasures from the tombs and he was forced to leave Egypt.”

She slowed to a trot as they drew closer to the pyramid. Lila stared at the enormous structure in front of her and shivered.

“Orva, how can we trust him?” she murmured. “He’s a thief and a liar.”

“All we can do is hope our gift is enough to win his loyalty.”

“And if it isn’t?” Kenji asked. Orva didn’t answer.

She stopped about fifty feet from the pyramid. Ahead were two tall pillars propping up larger blocks to make an entrance, a doorway nestled between them. The door itself was dark oak, completely out of place in the limestone. Lila slid off Orva’s back, Kenji jumping down next to her. None of them moved.

“Do we knock?” Lila said hesitantly. Orva shook her head.

“He knows we’re here,” she said.

As soon as the words left her mouth, the door opened. At first it was completely dark, then a shape appeared in the doorway.

At first sight, Ziyadah was very handsome. He had thick, dark hair, deep, brown eyes, and a half-smile that he had clearly practised in the mirror. His lion’s body was covered in smooth, golden fur and he slinked towards them with an air of self-importance. As he moved closer, however, Lila saw the sagging belly of the sphinx, the matted tufts of fur on his tail and his yellowing, cracked teeth as his smile widened. She guessed he must have been attractive once, but time and self-neglect had ruined him.

“Orva, welcome,” he drawled as he reached them, holding his head high and grinning arrogantly. He clearly hadn’t noticed that he was no longer appealing.

“Ziyadah,” Orva nodded.

“To what do I owe the pleasure?” he asked, stretching his front legs and yawning widely, splaying his chipped claws. “I had been basking in a state of glorious unconsciousness and sifting through a decadent blend of memory and imagination.”

“You can return to your nap shortly,” Orva replied stiffly. “I must speak to you urgently about Ebony.”

Ziyadah raised his bushy, unkempt eyebrows and continued to stretch lazily, considering Orva’s words before responding.

“If urgency is the tone in which you wish to speak,” he said, smiling smugly, “then perhaps a shift in subject matter would be prudent.”

Lila stared at him in disbelief. A shift in subject matter? Prudent? Who was this idiot? She glanced over at Kenji, who seemed torn between astonishment and embarrassment for the ludicrous creature in front of them.

Orva took a deep, calming breath before responding. “I really must insist. We have somewhere we need to be.”

Ziyadah jumped back dramatically and lifted a paw against his golden chest as if he had only just seen the others.

“Who do we have here?” he gasped exuberantly. “Surely not a descendant of Miss Jessie Sparrow?”

Lila nodded nervously. Kenji cleared his throat and stepped forward.

“Greetings, mighty Ziyadah,” he announced. “We have ventured across the vast - er - barrenness of this realm to request assistance in the whereabouts of the - um - inconsistently located portal to our world.”

Orva coughed to cover what Lila suspected was a snort, but Ziyadah laughed joyfully.

“How pleasant it is to hear a lexical symphony from the tongue of a youth, dear boy,” he cried. “He puts your limited vocabulary range to shame Orva.”

“The use of unnecessary vocabulary is not an indicator of intelligence Ziyadah,” she snapped. “On the contrary, pretentious words are often used as compensation for a lack of it.”

Ziyadah’s smile faded and Kenji hurriedly stepped back. The sphinx prowled back and forth in front of them, glaring at Orva.

“What do you want from me?” he spat, his superior tone gone.

“Ebony knows that Lila and Kenji are here,” said Orva. “They need to get back to the human world as soon as possible so she can’t find them. We can offer you a gift.” She fumbled in her pocket for the vial and held it up high so he could clearly see the turquoise Mappamundi potion, swirling happily in its glass case.

“You think that leaving Tortaris means Ebony can’t find them?” Ziyadah scoffed. “I thought more of you Orva.”

“If they leave, they’re not a threat,” she hissed urgently. “She’ll burn down my house or have me tortured, but Ebony won’t chase a pair of magicless children.”

Ziyadah raised his eyebrows and opened his mouth as if to speak, but then closed it and gave a knowing smile that made Lila’s skin crawl. He raised his head and straightened his back self-importantly.

“Very well,” he said loudly, going back to his previous drawl. “Present to me your offering and I shall decide whether I should grace you with my assistance in the abandonment of this realm by these two adolescents.”

Orva held out the vial for Ziyadah to examine. He stared at the sparkling blue liquid for a long time. Lila’s heart was pounding. What if he rejected their gift? She had once read a story in which a sphinx told a riddle and if the boy got the wrong answer, she would attack him. Would Ziyadah attack if the potion wasn’t enough?

She watched uneasily as Ziyadah cocked his head and looked at her, deep in thought. A grin spread across his face.

“I have made my decision,” he announced haughtily. “While this offering satisfies my personal requirements of a gifted item, it does not equate to the magnitude of the task with which you wish to burden me. I shall require something more.”

Lila’s heart sank. Their gift was good, but not good enough for Ziyadah to help them. What else could they possibly give him?

“I will propose to you a conundrum, a riddle,” he continued lazily. “Answer me correctly, and I will locate the portal to transport you back to your realm. Answer me incorrectly, I’m afraid I cannot keep the knowledge of your plan to leave to myself. If you choose to not provide me with an answer, you may depart to Orva’s abode across the realm.”

Kenji stepped forward.

“We brought you a gift!” he exclaimed angrily. “You said yourself that it was good enough, so why are you making us jump through hoops? Are you really so arrogant that you think you can play games with us? Our lives are at stake!”

Ziyadah’s grin disappeared and was replaced with a scowl. Slinking around Orva, he skulked menacingly towards Kenji until their faces were inches apart. Kenji held his ground, glaring into the hostile eyes of the sphinx.

“Don’t be a fool, boy,” Ziyadah hissed. “You are trapped here unless I help you, so show me some respect, or else you can answer to Ebony.”

Orva pulled Kenji back, placing herself between them.

“We accept your challenge, Ziyadah,” she said, bowing her head respectfully.

Smirking at them, Ziyadah sloped back to the entrance of his excessive home and sat. Lila, Kenji and Orva waited uneasily for him to speak. A few seconds of absolute silence passed, then Ziyadah spoke in a deep, smooth voice quite unlike before.

“To find yourself inside the portal,

Think of the place where all are immortal.

Again and again we may suffer from lies,

Again and again the bravest one dies.

Think of the place where people can hide,

The place where you laughed, you gasped and you cried.

Think of the place that is also a friend,

But to get there a wooded land must find its end.

Some scratch against the forest’s smooth face,

So they can tell tales of courage and grace.

Think of the place you can visit alone,

That is not in your house but can feel like a home.”

Nobody spoke. Kenji stood open-mouthed, staring blankly. Orva closed her eyes, her eyebrows knitted worriedly. Lila gazed at the pyramid. A place where everyone is immortal, but someone brave dies over and over again? A place with lies but is also a friend?

“Could you repeat it?” she asked. Ziyadah nodded and repeated the riddle in the same, unfamiliar tone.

A wooded land must find its end. Like the end of a path? Scratch against the forest’s smooth face. That could be some sort of reference to tearing down trees, but that wasn’t exactly a scratch. And trees weren’t smooth. Lila crossed her arms and tapped her foot impatiently. She was sure that the chopping down of a forest was important, but why would you scratch against a tree trunk? She thought back to the park near her house, where trees grew beside a lake in the centre of large, flat fields. They were perfect for playing football or rounders with her family in the summer. She thought about one particular birch on the edge of the lake where two older kids from her school had carved their initials into the bark. They’d broken up two months later. How ridiculous to deem it necessary to mark yourself permanently onto a surface, to think it’s clever to write on a tree…

Lila stopped tapping. Write on a tree… But you don’t write on a tree. You write on paper. A wooded land must find its end. Wooded areas are destroyed to make paper. Scratch against the forest’s smooth face… pen on paper, literally scratching into the face of a tree! Something was missing though. Paper didn’t feel like a home. People weren’t immortal on paper. Or were they? So they can tell tales of courage and grace… And suddenly it hit her. People were immortal in the stories about them. How many times had she read her favourite adventures, had her heart broken over and over by betrayals, laughed and cried with her favourite characters? Ziyadah was describing stories. Not a physical place, but the places the stories took you. And stories could be found in…

“Books,” she said. Kenji and Orva stared at her in shock. Lila held her head high. “The answer is a book.”

Perhaps she should have discussed it with the others first, but Lila was absolutely certain she was correct, and this was confirmed in the way Ziyadah’s smile didn’t quite reach his eyes.

“Congratulations,” he said, arrogant again. “You are permitted to transport yourself through the portal to your realm.”

Opening his mouth wide, Ziyadah roared. Not a human roar, but a real, lion’s roar, wild and ferocious. It probably should have been terrifying, but it was so bizarre hearing such a regal noise from such a pathetic being, Lila had to stifle a giggle. A second later, they heard a familiar clap of thunder, and the clouds thrashed and swirled. A crack appeared in the sky and again they were surrounded by the bright, purple flash of light. As it cleared, the reddish-purple portal appeared in front of them, tall enough for even Orva to pass through. Ziyadah slinked to the edge of the portal and sat back on his haunches.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Orva grinned at Lila and Kenji wiped the sweat off his brow. The three of them edged cautiously towards the portal. They stopped in front of it, and Lila looked anxiously at Ziyadah. He gave a tiny nod.

“This portal is equal in transportation method to the time-telling device you arrived in,” he said. “Place your hand in and your body will follow.” He paused and sneered at Orva. “Might I suggest you connect yourself to one of these humans, lest you suffer the same fate as your deceased friend, Basil.”

Orva gave Ziyadah a look of pure hatred, then stepped towards the portal. Kenji moved with her and grasped her hand in his tightly, extending his fingers towards the portal. As he touched it, they were slowly pulled through, disappearing into the haze.

Lila took a deep breath and stepped forward, placing her hand into the portal. She felt the same prickling as when she had touched the clock at her grandfather’s house. A thought entered her mind and she looked back at Ziyadah in a panic.

“This portal will take us to where we came through, won’t it?” she burbled as she was pulled in.

He smirked. “Yes. Straight back to Pebble Avenue.”

A feeling of unease filled Lila’s stomach. She knew Ebony must know her grandfather’s address because she had put the clock in the basement. But why did Ziyadah know? Had Ebony told him?

She tried to ask him, but it was too late. The tingling took over, and all she could do was stare into the smug face of the sphinx as she was pulled through the portal back to the human world.