Circle of Stones

It didn’t look like much. Not what I’d expected at all. It was just a small, soft bound black book. The only thing odd about it was that it was lying in the middle of a stone circle deep in a forest. If you didn’t know what you were looking at you’d just think a hiker had lost their notebook.

But I knew what it was. I’d been looking for it ever since I’d found a very old book in the dusty old house my family leased for the summer when I was 12. It had been wrapped in a disintegrating black cloth and tucked into the wall. A loose board had snagged my pants, revealing it’s hiding place. I always thought it felt like fate.

That book had a dull brown cover but the pages were edged with gold and filled with beautiful, vibrant drawings that spoke of an artifact that connected a human with beings from another dimension. It would grant one wish in exchange for a trade from this world. My family had rolled their eyes, scoffed at my belief and told me it was just a fancy old book of fairy tales. But the words and pictures in that book had reverberated with truth deep into my soul. They opened a possibility of magic and being special to a lonely, awkward girl.

Many years later I was still lonely and awkward but I’d expanded my knowledge on the artifact. I’d discovered some of the different shapes it had claimed. It had been a sword. A scroll. A golden staff. Across many cultures this artifact had reached out to humans and led some to live huge lives, others simple ones, but always special in some way. The only indication all of these items and people were connected was a small mark on whatever shape the artifact had taken, an infinity sign with wings and two swords crossed over it. I could see that mark embossed on the front of the little black book in front of me.

As I reveled in the moment I considered how I’d gotten here.

It hadn’t been easy. My family’s ridicule had only been the beginning. I’d been laughed out of more investor’s offices than I wanted to think about. I had years of research and evidence (ok, somewhat sketchy evidence) but very few would even listen to my theories or proposals. I couldn’t offer an exact object to search for. Or even a particular civilization because it transcended that. It had been everywhere and everywhen. For all I knew it could’ve been at Atlantis. A year ago I’d been about to give up. I was broke, disheartened and had exhausted all the leads I’d had.

Then the universe intervened. Or so I thought.

I was picking at yet another bowl of stale packaged ramen when there was a knock on my door. Standing on my doorstep was a tall, pale man with dead looking eyes, fastidiously dressed in a dark suit, old fashioned cape and chauffeur hat. He was holding a very official looking letter. It was a luscious cream color and felt heavy as he handed it to me. My name was written in exquisite black calligraphy across the front. I smothered a giggle as I wondered if it was my invite to Hogwarts, just many years late. The giggles stopped when I flipped it over to reveal a red wax seal stamped with the very symbol I’d been chasing for years. With shaking hands I carefully broke the seal and stared at the letter, not sure I was reading the elegant script correctly. Not Hogwarts, but even better.

“Dear Ms. Tobin,” it read. “We are a small private group dedicated to the search for the existence of unique beings. Over the last several years your name has been tied to this pursuit several times. We would like to offer you a grant of $20,000 to help you continue your research. Enclosed you will find the check and the contract. If you agree to the terms please sign where indicated and our representative will return it to us.”

I stared at the letter in disbelief. Things like this didn’t happen in real life.

The check certainly looked legitimate. Pulled from an account labeled The T.N.N. Institute. They must be very private, I’d never heard of them in all my years on this quest.

After a few dazed moments I registered some subtle throat clearing from the creepy delivery guy. I quickly signed the contract and handed it off to him.

With renewed excitement I dove back into my quest. But my enthusiasm began to wane as I continued to hit dead ends for several months.

I returned to my research and dug in deeper. I knew that all of the recorded incarnations of the artifact had been found within a stone circle. The accepted theory was that within them there was a thinning of the veil between worlds. It seems that there is often a sliver of truth tucked into what had become myth.

However, it was believed there were only a handful of circles that actually held power. One on each continent. But no record of which were the true power circles. I spent hours pouring over my huge files on stone circles without any missing clue jumping out at me. Once again it seemed I was heading towards failure.

But it turns out having money really can make a difference. I’d sent out hundreds of emails with a drawing of the infinity sign symbol offering cash for any credible information brought to me. There’d been a few disappointments so I didn’t expect much when I got a call from a woman in Oregon.

She’d found an old diary in a box of donated books at her museum. It had been written by a Portuguese sailor that had jumped ship and explored the area during the late 1700’s. In it he mentioned a strange symbol he’d seen etched into a boulder deep in a forest. Two connected circles with wings and crossed swords. There it was.

I headed for Oregon. At arrival I’d set off with my backpack and a map into a primeval looking forest. Ironic that my dad’s weekend survivalist treks that I’d hated had given me the skills I now needed. Well, along with a little imagination. Turned out the sailor was a rather fanciful writer that liked to give obscure, somewhat forbidding names to markers he passed.

I started with The Devil’s Cauldron. After some searching I decided it was a hot spring known to frequently reach boiling point. As I moved east the reference points seemed to jump in front of me. Hag’s Tears was a rock formation similar to an old woman’s face that had a spring trickling from eye shaped concavities. Death Mask was a cave entrance that looked like a skull.

This was my destiny. I knew this. The pull was so strong I wasn’t at all surprised one morning when I crawled out of my tent and there was an orb bobbing in front of me. Not a wisp of light like I’d read about, but an orb. A dark, opaque orb that twisted and turned. An orb that at certain moments looked like a face watching me. A face with empty sockets for eyes and dagger-like teeth.

Unbidden the memory of the warnings I’d read floated to the top of my mind. Following a Wisp was not a good idea. I knew that. I felt a flare of alarm but quickly smothered it. I couldn’t let fear stop me at this point. There were always obstacles to strike fear and turn away the unworthy. It was just light refraction. I’d leave markers to get back. I’d be fine.

It floated about ten feet away then stopped. This was it. I gestured to the orb. “Ok, lead the way.”

I followed it down a faint path. Soon that path became lost to forest debris. I stepped over branches and slid down hills as I tried to keep up with the orb as it dodged around giant redwood trees.

I ran into a dripping cobweb that coated my face and blocked my vision. While trying to wipe it off I tripped over a large rock and landed heavily on the ground. I lay there for a moment and realized that my harsh breathing was the only sound I could hear. No birds, no rustling of small animals, nothing.

I raised my head to see a small clearing in front of me. There was the stone circle, the boulders craggy and dappled with moss.

I slowly stood up and took a step forward. It looked like every other stone circle I’d been in except for one small detail. There. On the boulder closest to my right. The symbol I’d been looking for. It was etched in the rough stone in front of me. Faded from time, it was difficult to see with the mottling of the rock. I traced my finger over the infinity shape and felt a shudder of vibration in the air.

I looked up and there it was, lying on a bed of lush, verdant grass encircled by a ring of large, bone white mushrooms in the middle of the stones.

I’d wondered what shape it would take for me. A little black book was not one I’d considered. After a moment’s thought it made sense. I had been seeking it for knowledge. For those that sought power it had been a sword or staff. For wealth a hand of gold or lamp.

After taking a few moments of reflection on my journey here I eagerly stepped into the stone circle and lifted the book off the ground.

My heart thundered with anticipation as the book appeared to shimmer in my hands. Vertigo made me sway and close my eyes. The book’s pages rippled like it was encouraging me to open it.

I opened my eyes and held my breath as I pulled on the black ribbon holding the book closed. It slid apart and the book fell open.

Wait.

There was nothing there.

It was a blank book.

Rage, betrayal and disbelief blasted through me.

Then the pages began to glow with a soft golden light. Maybe this was it? What I’d been looking for? Words written in the same elegant black script as my grant letter appeared. Yes!

“We have filled our part of the contract. You have succeeded in your goal of knowledge gained and found proof of the existence of superior beings and magic. Now it’s time for you to fulfill your part.”

Wait. What?

Something dropped on the ground next to me. It was my letter. I picked it up and words I hadn’t seen before floated on the page.

“The signer of this letter hereby agrees to a trade. Their wish will be granted and in return they will give over their life and soul energy to strengthen our people and kingdom.”

Underneath the initials T.N.N. more words appeared. Tír na nÓg.

I felt nauseous. It made sense now. The Land of The Young. The trade I’d read about. The warnings of looking too hard for things that should remain hidden. They were giving humans their deepest desires then using their life force to fuel eternal youth.

I tried to throw the book away from me and run from the circle in panic but my body was frozen. I watched in horror as my body began disintegrating into glowing particles. Those particles were being pulled into a swirl of achingly bright light on the pages of the book. I had a few seconds to glance up at the sun and……

In the middle of a stone circle, in the middle of a vast forest a little black book lay on the brilliant green grass. With a subtle pop and flash of luminescent light it vanished.