Adventures of Jacko the Conjurer by Jamie Ott (love books to read txt) 📕

“You’re kidding right? There’s food all around. Look at this!”

He pulled a large sack of the brightest green olives from his bag.

“They’re the best I’ve ever had. Try?” he offered.

Jacko, who’d had fresh olives before, wanted to resist, but took one anyway. And like he remembered, it was bitter, but Julius’ olives were oily-smooth like he’d never had before.

“That’s really good,” said Uncle Bally with enthusiasm. He’d always had a taste for briskly things.

“There’s something about this place. Maybe it’s just well preserved, but everything tastes real good. I don’t know how to explain it. Look at this,” he produced a small jar with light greenish-clear fluid into Uncle Bally’s hands. “I grinded them and sieved them myself.”

“Very nice,” said Uncle Bally, looking thoroughly impressed. “This forest is a luxury, compared to where we’re from.”

“This place doesn’t have a wide variety – like I’ve never seen any deer, squirrel or rabbit, but there’s an overabundance of pheasant, peacocks, and ducks. When I first came, they littered the forest like rocks at every turn. Now, they know I want to eat them, so they’re more careful. But they have a very specific routine that follows day break and twilight. They wake, they walk to drink and spend the day foraging, and then they walk back to their sleep spot; almost never changing their route, except when one of theirs is hunted. But they still don’t change much.”

He placed a small pan on the mesh grill he’d set atop the fire. Jacko’s insides quivered when he poured a bit of the olive oil into the pan and tossed in the chunks of duck meat.

Jacko could tell Uncle Bally was just as affected by the sight of oiled, hot meat.

The rest of the evening, they ate savory duck and olives with pine needle tea. Jacko and Uncle Bally licked their fingers as they told Julius a little more about themselves, leaving out the bits about the gods and demons and wars.

As it turned out, Julius had lived on a small farm outside Edessa, a city in the north. His mother and father went to the coast to find his brother, who was a fisherman. It didn’t make sense why they left him behind, but he figured it was better not to ask. He didn’t want to ruin the first enjoyable evening he’d had since his uncle’s house got blown up.

They sat in silence, staring into the flames of the fire and sipping more tea.

“Gaia gave Hera a garden on her wedding day,” said Jacko dreamily. He didn’t know why he said it; it just came to him.

Julius dropped his jaw.

“What?”

“Nothing, but why did you just say that?”

Julius looked surprised.

“I don’t know. What’s so special about it?”

“Nothing. Nothing at all. Just some dreams I’ve been having.”

“Oh yeah,” Jacko perked up. “Like, what?”

“War, devils, gods, angels, all fighting. And a boy whom I’m kin to, and try to save, but for some reason, I never see if I succeed. The dream always fades at that point.”

He observed Julius’ eyes which were white-like by the light of the bright fire.

“Have you ever met someone who didn’t seem,” he paused coyly, “human? Maybe had really hard or shiny looking skin? Maybe seemed like he had supernatural powers?”

“I don’t believe in the supernatural. I understand, not, what you ask.”

Jacko and Uncle Bally looked at each other a moment. They read a million thoughts in each other’s minds. He didn’t know what the purpose of meeting the boy was, but he knew that he wasn’t going to let him out of his sight.

“Well, I’m so glad to have run into you. Really, you’re so nice and, well, listen, my uncle and I are headed to the mountain. At the top, there’s a safe haven. My family is already there. You should come with us!” he said with too much enthusiasm.

When he looked about ready to protest, he added, “I mean it’s nice out here, but wouldn’t you like to have a hot shower and sleep in a bed? Wouldn’t it be nice?”

“I don’t know if that’s a good idea,” he looked away. “Actually, I kind of lied about how I got to be here. It’s just that it sounds really bad.”

He sighed and then continued, “It was my mother who brought me to this forest. Only, we camped about a 100 miles south of here. She wasn’t bad, like you must think; she was a great mother, and I know she loves me. She used to tell me stories about Hera. That’s why I was surprised when you mentioned her. My mother likes the old stories, too.

Anyway, we went to sleep, and that night, I had a dream. In it, she who came to me, telling me how to reach the Garden of Hera. She told me as long as I stayed here, I’d never starve or suffer. When I woke the next morning, she’d gone. I looked for her for days, but then she came to me again, in my dream, and said to come here and stay until it’s time; not to look for her anymore.”

“I thought you didn’t believe in the supernatural?”

“I don’t, but I think that dream was real. Besides, she might come back for me.”

“Aren’t you tired of being alone?” asked Uncle Bally.

“Sometimes my mother talks to me. I hear her whisper through the leaves of the trees, and at times, her soulful vibrato in the rushing river water. So I’m not really alone.”

They didn’t press the matter. But that night, they slept feeling better than they had in a while. Jacko told Uncle Bally that nothing would dare get them in Hera’s garden, and he believed that was exactly where they were. His uncle must have believed him, too. For the first time, he didn’t stay awake, keeping watch while Jacko drifted; instead he was out the minute he laid down.

To their surprise, the next morning they woke to Julius puttering about the camp.

“Sorry if I woke you. He placed a pan on the fire and cracked half a dozen eggs into it.”

“Are those duck eggs?” asked Uncle Bally.

“Yeah, they’re a little game tasting, but they’re still pretty good.”

Jacko and Uncle Bally pulled out some apples and coffee to go with it.

“So I was wondering, is your offer still good?”

“You mean for you to come with us? Yes. Why have you changed your mind?”

“This is gonna sound crazy, but she came to me, again, last night. She told me to go with you to the mount.”

Jacko and Uncle Bally looked at each other again.

“What is it?” he said, sounding slightly annoyed. “You, two, exchanged looks like that before.”

“It’s nothing,” said Jacko, shaking his head.

“Like hell. You guys aren’t tricking me, are you?”

“No, why would we?”

He looked at them a moment, and then returned to pushing the eggs across the pan. Still, Jacko had the feeling of distrust from him.

Trying to lighten the tension Uncle Bally said, “You are quite the survivalist.” He poured Julius a cup of dandelion coffee. “And this forest is real luxurious. Who knew outdoor living could be so delicious.”

“You just gotta know what to look for. It’s real easy to live here. Everything is so fresh. Although learning fire was kind of a hassle, but I got it down,” he said, nodding to a little block of magnesium that lay next to his bag.

“Oh, hell, I can teach you to make fire the natural way, but first, I gotta take care of some business.”

“Oh, let me help you,” said Jacko, knowing that he didn’t need it.

He pretended to heave Uncle Bally for several feet, until they were blocked by some trees. Jacko said, “So how much you wanna bet he’s like me but doesn’t know it?”

“Well, you can’t tell him. Something tells me he’s even more stubborn than me. He won’t believe you, yet. But I think you did well by inviting him along. Better to stick together. Maybe he’s powerful, too.”

“What if he’s not really on our side? One thing you gotta understand is demons, gods, and angels all have human offspring, and not all are good.”

“I don’t know, Jacko. I get the feeling he may be sincerely ignorant. If you want my advice, we should bring him along. However, I’ll let you make the call since you’re the one whose neck is on the line.”

“Well, if you think he may be true, then yeah, we’ll bring him. But you gotta keep an eye on him. I’m not good at reading people like you.”

“No kidding, Jacko. I’m no idiot!”

He traipsed off, by himself, behind some trees.

Fifteen minutes later, they returned to camp.

“Is there water nearby?” Jacko asked.

“Yep, the freshest stream you’ll ever know. You can wash, and the water never stagnates, so it’s safe to drink, too.”

They followed him several hundred feet to the clearest water they’d ever seen. Instantly, Julius went down the side bank and dipped his water bottle in, collecting from the top, climbed back up, and took a long drink.

“Surely, you boil your water, boy! Are you crazy?”

“It’s the cleanest safest stream in the world. Trust me.”

Jacko moved closer to the edge of the bank and watched the water gush. It glistened almost like diamonds. He went down and stuck his cupped hand in the flow.

Julius was right. It tasted sweet-like with an essence of nectar. When Jacko splashed it on his head, face and hair, his skin seemed to drink it through his pores.

“This place is amazing,” said Uncle Bally, who’d managed to shimmy his way down. “You think it’s magical?” he asked Jacko out of the corner of his mouth.

“I do,” he replied certainly.

Then another memory came back to him as he watched his uncle, sitting on the ground, unwrapping his sore foot and splashing water on it.

“Come on,” he said, pulling him up.

“I don’t want to get into the same place we’re drinking.”

“No, if it is what I think it is, it won’t matter. This water will never get us sick.”

He helped his uncle limp his way down the mud.

“Stick your whole foot in the water, past your ankle.”

All the while, Julius watched, silently.

His uncle got a funny look on his face after a bit.

“What’s wrong?”

“My ankle doesn’t hurt anymore.”

He turned and walked up and down the bank a few paces.

“It’s almost like it was never sprained.”

“The River Styx,” said Jacko under his voice.

“The River Styx,” said Julius, who’d come down the bank and, now, stood beside him, “was a place where dead souls go.”

“Yes, but not according to the epic poem about Hera, who favored the goddess, Thetis. She gave birth to Achilles, who was dipped in the River Styx. That’s what made him indestructible, well, except his ankles and feet.”

“Maybe his ankle wasn’t as twisted as you thought,” said Julius. “You Americans have quite the imagination. You think we’re all superstitious. Look I’m Greco-Latin, and not even I believe this stuff.”

Though they didn’t argue with Julius, they couldn’t help but exchange knowing looks again.

They spent the rest of the day hunting pheasants and peacocks, which Uncle Bally, then, taught them how to smoke. It made their packs heavy, but now that his ankle was better, he could handle it.

That night, Jacko caught Uncle Bally smoking and watching Julius with a look of curiosity. He shifted his eyes to Julius. He looked too innocent to be a warrior. But then, who was he to judge? He asked himself and rolled over onto his side.

The next morning, they had their dandelion coffee and headed out after some eggs and apples.

For a brief time that day, the sun broke out, though it hardly looked cozy against the terrible cherry red sky. Instead it broke out into a violent orange that burned the eyes upon even trying to look upward. For a while, they even contemplated traveling at night. Luckily, it was only temporary. Several hours later, the clouds moved in and covered the sun almost completely.

Up the Rise

Chapter 9

Over the