Lotto and the Diamond Dagger

Staring down at the black notebook in her hands, Lotto carefully traces her fingers over the worn cover. She had searched for even the slightest clue of this notebook’s whereabouts for many years without avail and now here it was, right in the palms of her hands.

The notebook had belonged to her older sister, Mara. Inside were several years’ worth of notes, sketches, and clues Mara had compiled, all in the search of an answer that everyone in her life had told her was just a fantasy – a childish dream – but Lotto knew the truth. Mara valued her sister’s opinion above all others and shared everything she discovered with her – some would even argue that Lotto was the only person Mara ever truly cared for.

Though Mara was a full eight years older than Lotto, the two were inseparable from the moment Lotto was born. Their parents weren’t much to speak of – hardly present in their lives and completely disinterested in their well-being. In her time as an only child, Mara had developed a sense of hollowness, an emptiness that resulted from the lack of love and empathy in her young life. That all changed with Lotto, however.

Charlotte is her full name, but Mara dubbed her Lotto at an early age. In a way, it was as if Mara was casting aside any claim over her sister her parents may have tried to enforce. Though they were sisters by blood, the love that Mara felt for Lotto from the instant she met her was much more maternal in nature. As each of them grew, it became apparent that Mara possessed a keenness and intelligence that was borderline prodigal, while Lotto developed a tremendous taste for adventure.

It was, in fact, Mara’s brilliance and Lotto’s energetic spirit that would bring them to a discovery that would be the start of something neither of the sisters ever expected – and how they would come into contact with an item known only as the Diamond Dagger.

They stumbled upon this discovery in an alleyway nearby the apartment they lived in, on the outskirts of the city. Lotto was six at the time, and Mara fourteen. Though the alleys reeked of stale alcohol and were overrun with stray and feral animals, they were the best the sisters had for exploration and escape from their dysfunctional home.

On this particular day, Mara could not keep up with her sister’s energy to the same degree as usual. Her mind had wandered elsewhere, to a proposal put before her by her school. Mara’s intellect had not gone unnoticed by her teachers, and many felt that she would be much better suited at a nearby private boarding school for girls. The school’s principal, with the help of several of Mara’s teachers, reached out to members of the administrative board of the private school to invite them to come and meet the student they believed to be an intellectual prodigy. The board obliged, and it was quickly determined that Mara was eligible for admission.

Mara couldn’t deny that the idea intrigued her, even excited her, but there were two problems:

1. The cost of tuition was $20,000 per year.

2. She would have to leave Lotto behind.

She had tried to brush it off since even the notion of her scrounging up $20,000 was preposterous. Yet, something in the back of her mind told her the decision of whether or not to leave Lotto would arise, nonetheless.

As they ran through the alleys, this was the thought ringing through Mara’s head. The thought distracted her so deeply that she didn’t notice the suitcase that had suddenly appeared before her on the ground. It had rained just that morning, and as she stepped on the suitcase it slipped out from under her, sending her crashing down.

Lotto screeched to a halt and zoomed back to where Mara had fallen, helping her back to her feet and tearing up at the sight of blood oozing from her older sister’s hands and knees. Shakily, Mara brushed the dirt and debris away from her scrapes, caused by the uneven gravel floor of the alley. The sisters were quiet for a moment, before bursting into laughter at the scene and crouching to the ground to examine the suitcase.

It was made of black leather, with no decorations save for the faded image of a dagger on one side. It was small and tucked away in the corner, but the girls could make out the details of what looked to be diamonds on the dagger’s hilt. They clicked open the latches and lifted the lid to reveal two items: a black, bound notebook and something wrapped in cloth. Ever curious, Lotto snatched the wrapped item and quickly unwound the cloth to reveal a silver dagger with pristine edges, with a hilt encrusted entirely with shimmering gemstones – diamonds. It was rather small, practically the size of a letter opener, and weighed hardly anything despite the lavish hilt.

The girls stared in disbelief at the dagger in Lotto’s hands. It was more than beautiful, it was enticing, as if its very existence was pulling them closer to it – and it shone like starlight, despite the sky being painted over with gray clouds. Though it was a weapon in its form, it seemed to the sisters more like a delicate flower.

What they were witnessing was magic, and they both knew it.

Lotto’s eyes stayed locked on the dagger, her young mind grappling with the unknown power before her. Mara, however, had peeled her eyes away and was now reaching for the notebook. It felt comfortable in her hands, as if it were made specifically for her. She flipped open the cover to find a poem written in scrawly handwriting:

Time for one to make a decision

No chance for change or revision

But be careful not to stagger

And never trust the Diamond Dagger

While Mara sat re-reading the poem over and over trying to make sense of it, Lotto had caught sight of a flash within the suitcase. She crept over to peek in and was struck by what she saw.

Money – a lot of money. Stacks of twenty-dollar bills banded together now filled the space where the notebook and dagger had once been. Alerted by Lotto’s sudden stillness, Mara’s eyes drifted from the notebook to the suitcase. She froze. Without even counting it, she knew exactly how much it was and what it was for - $20,000, the cost of tuition at the school.

Time for one to make a decision.

Lotto had shaken her trance inflicted by the sudden appearance of the money and had shifted her gaze to the poem in the notebook that Mara held. Lotto may have only been six, but even she could feel the shift in the air as Mara stared on at the money in the suitcase – she knew her sister was about to leave.

Though Lotto was much younger, Mara had always been upfront and honest with her, never shielding her from the truth. As the sisters sat in disbelief, Mara found the courage to explain to her younger sister the crossroads this money had brought her to. However, as she spoke the words out loud, she found her fantasies of private school largely diminished by the newfound interest in the mystery of the magic before them.

Lotto, empathetic as ever, held her sister’s hand tightly.

“You can go,” she whispered. “I’ll be okay.”

Tears streamed down both of their faces at the thought of separation, but there was a brightness to each of their gazes, a curiosity about what was to come. The warning of the notebook was not lost on them: Never trust the Diamond Dagger. In that moment, without having to speak the words to one another, the sisters quietly formed a resolve to unearth the truth of the dagger and the notebook.

That night was the first of many that the sisters would stay up until dawn, hidden beneath blankets on their bedroom floor, discussing the dagger and writing down their findings in the notebook. Though the dagger was enticing, they decided it had to be dangerous, or else why would the notebook leave such a foreboding warning? Summer break was upon them before they knew it, and though Lotto’s attention span was still that of a small child, Mara devoted all of her hours to researching the dagger.

Eventually, summer came to an end and Mara left for her new school, taking the dagger and notebook with her. She would come back on weekends, as the school was only an hour away by bus, and share all the new research she had found with Lotto thanks to the massive library and resources now at her disposal. Slowly but surely, the sisters compiled information on anything that seemed to even vaguely reference the notebook or dagger. As time went on, however, Mara began to lose her way.

In truth, Lotto felt her sister slip away long before the end of summer came and Mara headed off to boarding school. From the moment she first held the dagger, Mara became obsessed and that obsession only grew. Years passed and Mara’s visits home grew less frequent, but each time she came to see Lotto she had infinitely more information on the magical items than before. By now Mara had turned eighteen and was soon to graduate, making her eligible to become ten-year-old Lotto’s legal guardian.

Through her research, Mara had deduced that the dagger only appeared before those who had to make a major decision. She learned that the notebook had contained varying amounts of information, but that the warning at the beginning always remained the same. Her big breakthrough came after discovering a centuries-old journal of an explorer who had happened upon the magical items. His stories told of a seductive dagger that gave riches in exchange for your soul, and a notebook that held the key to its destruction. Upon hearing this, Lotto insisted they get rid of the dagger and Mara agreed – but in the darkness of the night and overtaken by the dagger’s power, Mara vanished without a trace.

Lotto searched for her for years, but to no avail. She sought out any and all information about the dagger and notebook, but she found nothing. Though she tried to tell her parents and the police what had happened, no one believed her. She remembered reading in Mara’s notes that the black notebook itself held the key to defeating the dagger, but the notebook had vanished with Mara taking any scrap of a clue along with them.

Until today.

Today, on the fifth anniversary of Mara’s disappearance, the notebook appeared in Lotto’s locker at school. When she discovered it, she bolted from the building, returning to the same alley in which they had first found the items.

For quite some time, Lotto couldn’t bring herself to open the notebook. She sat silent and still, the notebook clutched to her chest as if it would disappear if she loosened her grip.

Finally, she opened the notebook. All of Mara’s notes were gone, replaced by a new message:

Strong in spirit and pure of heart

To find your sister, play your part

Follow the map to where she hides

And sink the dagger into the tides

This time, there was something drawn on the second page. It was a roughly sketched map, with no words and only a red circle pinpointing a specific location.

Without a second thought, Lotto stood and began running. To where, she knew not, but she knew she would need an atlas. She would scour every inch of every map and search for the exact location drawn in the notebook. She would not rest until she made her way to Mara.

With a firm resolve, Lotto set out to find her sister – and to destroy the Diamond Dagger once and for all.