When they walked out of his room, his aunt was walking back in the door to the house. "Renno, we have loaded it up, but you''ll need one more thing before you go. I hope my sister still has it." She started moving to the other bedroom, opposite the one he had just left. "It belonged to our father."


    Mayza opened the door and put a sad look on her face when she saw the condition of her sister. "Poor thing," she said. "Have you seen an amulet that looks like a half circle with a dragon in it? She used to wear it on a necklace." Renno nodded, walked in and opened the drawer by the bed, looking down at his sleeping mother. He pulled it out and handed it to his aunt. She took it from him and motioned for them to come out of the room. Renno closed the door behind all of them.


    Once back in the main room, Mayza pulled a matching necklace from her neck and held both of them hanging out at arm''s length. "You will both wear one of these. You''ll need them both, but if one of you gets captured, this makes sure that both parts of the amulet will not fall into your father''s hands, Gia. He should never have either, but both halves in his hands would allow him to do something very terrible."


    Both Renno and Gia were staring at the necklaces. Everything was moving so quickly instead of asking questions or expressing confusion, they both just reached up and grabbed one from each of Mayza''s hands and put them around their necks. They both placed them under their shirts as a sign to Mayza that they were going to keep them hidden and safe.


    "I think I somewhat understand something, now," said Renno. Renno''s cousins were moving stuff from their wagon into the house. Mayza and Gia looked at him, expectantly. "When she was not here ---in her mind--- she would talk like someone was trying to take something from her. Now I feel like it must have been the necklace, and it makes me more curious. What is so important about these dragon necklaces, Aunt Mayza?"


    "Renno, there are so many questions you will want to be answered on this journey. I only know a small part of the answer to only a few of those questions that my father told your mother and I when we were young." She smiled at him, "But what I can tell you is that they are a key that when combined opens the door to many answers and many more questions. Behind that door is your family history and your future." She now looked at Gia, "and it holds answers for you about your mother. Oh, how I miss her."


    Renno gave her a smirk of a smile, "Thanks, I think."


    Now it was Gia''s turn to ask a question. "Auntie," she paused and smiled, realizing that calling Mayza "Auntie" had been automatic. Something left over from childhood. "How did you know my mom? And..." She trailed off.


    Mayza had returned the smile when Gia smiled, but now her face took on a look of concern. "Gigi," she said, returning the name usage from twelve years back. "Your mother and I were biological scientists for the Ministry. We studied this plague when it was only affecting a few. This is also how your mother and father met. He was a Second Minister at the time. Your mother and I worked closely together and we both discovered the truth of the new plague." She paused. "Well, part of the truth. We discovered it was in the fertilizer. We thought someone nefarious was poisoning people through the Ministry''s fertilizer, though we did not know why. We were too innocent to realize it was the Ministry itself at first. We tried to catch them in the act, being young and brazen. When we saw it was your father and the Minster overseeing the plague being added to the mix, she was furious." Mayza looked like she was looking deep into the past not seeing the world around her. She took a deep breath and zoned back in on Gia. Are you sure you want to know, dear? It is not good. It still breaks my heart."


    Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    "Auntie, I have to know." Gia looked at Mayza intently.


    "Very well. She told me to pretend like I didn''t know for a while and she would talk to him ---your father--- and find out why. She came to me one night, eyes full of tears. I was putting more of it together from stories my father had told me about our kind, but she found out from him, and it broke her heart. She could not believe all the hurt we, the Ministry of Science, were inflicting on the people were said we were helping. She told me that he told her that it would not hurt them because it would only hurt those of the old blood. He said they were not even worth calling people, and they should all be eradicated. She handed me a vial of the plague itself and told me to hide it and when it was safe to go, I should go to Moren and work with their scientists and healers to find a cure, but that she was going to fix this. She was a good planner, but your father knew her too well. I was told what happened by your father, and I had to pretend to not know anything about it. It was so hard. It still hurts so much. I loved your mother like a sister. He told me that she burned down several silos of fertilizer and was killed in the blaze. I still don''t know how much of that I believe, but your mother was never there anymore. A few weeks later, I claimed I was leaving with grief, which was true. I did as she asked and I have been in Moren since, helping all that came to us, as your mother asked of me."


    Rather than fall down and cry like some would in this situation, Gia''s jaw muscles tightened, and a rage ran through her eyes. "This time, he will burn with his product of death even if the whole Ministry has to burn with him."


    Everyone said quietly for a few moments, until Mayza broke the silence.


    "Now, the Ministry soldiers were headed in the direction of Fairington when they spoke to me, so no matter which way you are going, go the opposite direction from Fairlington for at least a day," Mayza advised them. She looked at both and smiled. "You have more responsibility on your shoulders than anyone your age should, and I am sorry for that, you should go soon. Many lives depend on your making it to Kestrin before the Minister." She then hugged them both, one with each arm.


    After the embrace Renno put his bag of clothes onto the cart and latched it to his belt. Gia fell in line beside him. They both waved to Mayza and Renno''s cousins and started walking towards Kag''not, which was in the opposite direction of Fairington. Renno had no clue which way they needed to go to reach this Kestrin person, but he had a feeling that Gia would have plenty of time to fill him in on this journey. Renno and Gia looked at each other, one more look at Mayza, then back to the long road ahead of them. In unison they both took a deep breath and focused on the path ahead of them.