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was so mesmerizing and overwhelming that Sam couldn’t help but be intrigued. Magic was real and he was holding it in his hands. He couldn’t stop now, he wanted to know more; he had to know more, and now was his chance.
    Sam looked back down at the book and moved his finger to the next medallion. He touched it softly and, like the Water sign, it also began to glow, casting another image on the ceiling. This symbol was of three swirling gusts of wind that, to Sam, looked like fancy number nines. He knew this was the symbol for Air.
    He continued this process until the symbols from all four medallions were glowing on the ceiling above him. Sam sat there, eyes wide in amazement, taking it all in. He was looking at something truly phenomenal, something most people only dreamed about, and he was holding it in his hands. As he reveled in the moment, he noticed that the images were beginning to fade in and out. He held the book tighter and gave it a light shake but it didn’t seem to help, and to Sam’s dismay the symbols abruptly disappeared from the ceiling.
    He looked down and saw that the small sapphire at the center of the lock had begun to glow. Gradually, the faint blue became brighter and brighter until Sam had to turn away from the light and cover his eyes. The entire garage was now illuminated with the magnificent glow.
    Sam slowly turned back around, giving his eyes time to adjust to the light. Still holding the book tightly, he looked down at the sapphire stone. His eyes shimmered with the magnificence of the scene before him and his breath caught in his chest as he felt a wave of anticipation swell up inside of him. The light was so intriguing, so inviting to Sam, but most of all, it was familiar. He didn’t know how or why. He couldn’t explain it—it just was. He felt the light pulling at something inside of him, drawing out a part of him that wanted or needed to connect with it. Sam gripped the book tightly. His hands started to tingle in expectancy and his muscles were tense. He felt a surge of power beginning to swell inside his chest. The energy coursed through his body, reaching every limb to the point where he felt he might explode.
    Suddenly the sapphire went dark. The leaf lock snapped open, falling away from the book, and Sam felt a gush of emptiness sweep over his body as the energy left him. It was like he was a balloon and someone had just let all the air out of him.
    He sat motionless, holding the book before him. His hands were still trembling, but the tingling sensation had passed. He looked down at the open lock that now hung loosely from the book. Carefully, Sam opened the ivy clasp and slid the book free.
    Butterflies ricocheted around in his stomach, and his heart pounded so hard against his chest that he could see his hand twitching. He wasn’t sure if he was supposed to see what was inside this book but he had to know more. He took the golden leaf that protected the corner and tried to open the book.
    Sam soon realized that the book wasn’t a book at all, but rather a storage box of some kind. He lifted the lid of the unusual box and looked inside. It was lined in black velvet and smelled of lavender. Inside were several items: a silver ring, a photograph, a small scroll of parchment, and a leather pouch.
    He picked up the ring and held it in his hand. It was large, heavy, and would definitely not fit the finger of anyone in his family. He examined it carefully; there was a ruby red jewel in the center of a star that was surrounded by a thin circle. Four smaller elemental symbols were engraved around the ring. First the mirror in the cave, then the book, and now the ring—all with the same element signs. Fear crept through Sam as he worked through the similarities. There were too many coincidences; they had to be linked somehow. But how?
    How did the book get here? Did the stranger outside his window put it in the garage, or was he looking for it? Why were the elemental symbols on the