Legend of the Book Keeper (46 page)

Cody’s head was throbbing. “You set him up. You set us all up. But, why? Why murder your father?” asked Xerx desperately. The flames in the archway crackled; they were now sparse enough to see the Hunter in full view as it paced back and forth in anticipation.

The Prince took a step forward, backing the two boys toward the wall. “To do what your friend Randilin did many years earlier—what I thought was right. My father was weak. Look around you! Atlantis, the most advanced city in the world? It’s falling apart! Beggars roam the streets. Thieves and gossips are multiplying. The citizens, much like the physical city itself, are caving in on themselves. We used to be great! There was a time when Atlantis was synonymous with glory, with power, with respect! What now? We are nothing more than a dusty old city, a shattered fragment of our former self. The power of the universe has been reduced to petty rules and chants. All the while, the greatest power ever discovered rests in a steel cage above us. My father had the power to make things right—and did nothing. Atlantis is ready for a change and I will be the one to give it to them.”

“You’re wrong,” spat Cody. “Your father was a great man. He knew the power of the Orb better than anybody— and feared it. He didn’t use its power because he realized that mankind was never meant to. All it does is corrupt!”

“Corrupt?” responded Foz venomously, “Is that what you think? You think my uncle, the greatest King to ever rule, was corrupted? Do you think it is corrupt to offer his subjects wealth and pleasure? Is it corrupt to provide his people with a utopia where everyone has, and therefore everyone is equal? No, what is corrupt is to have infinite power and not share it with anybody—not even your own flesh and blood. Times are changing. You don’t want to find yourself on the wrong side. Now hand over the Book.”

Cody looked to Xerx whose back was pressed against the stone wall, his face plagued with fright. On the floor Lamgorious Stalkon let out a soft moan of pain, the blood pumping slowly out his wounds. If Cody didn’t move fast, Master Stalkton would be dead.

“What good will the Book do you anyways? Only I can read from it.” For a moment Foz was caught off guard, his face reflecting a hint of uncertainty

“You’re lying.”

Cody took a bold step forward. “You know I’m not. If you read from the Book, that demon will be drawn with an uncontrollable frenzy to devour you. You need me alive.”

The Prince snickered. “Maybe so . . . which is precisely why you will be coming with me to El Dorado. Do you think the infinite wisdom of the Golden King would act without a fail safe? I may need you alive . . . but I don’t need your friends alive. Give me the Book and come with me now or I will leave the Hunter to feast on Stalkton and Xerx. Three . . . Two . . .”

“Stop! I’ll give it to you. Just don’t hurt anybody!” cried Cody. “But first you must call off the Beast.”

“Give me the Book or you’ll watch your friends eaten, one-by-one,” responded Foz flatly. Cody took a timid step forward. He knew he had to think fast, but he felt as though his thoughts were trudging through a sea of molasses. He took his backpack off his shoulder and slowly unzipped it. The fire in the door still flickered weakly. The Hunter’s jaws snapped as it sprang toward the flames before backing up. It would not be contained much longer.

“Don’t be a fool, Cody!” yelled Xerx who lunged forward a moment too late; Cody had pulled
The Code
out of the backpack. He paused, staring strangely at the object in his hands.

Suddenly, Stalkton coughed, catching everyone by surprise. Through torturous, raspy breath he spoke, “No . . . use . . . lying . . . Book . . . decoy . . . real . . . Book . . . underneath . . . mat . . . corner of . . . room.” His head fell back to the floor lifeless.

Foz laughed. “Clever Cody . . . but foolish. It was I after all who convinced my ignorant sister Cia to store the real Book here in the first place. Bring it to me or Xerx dies.” Cody stepped over to the other side of the room, and came back carrying the scarlet lettered book.

The look on Xerx’s face as Cody passed was filled with disgust. “You are selling us out. You disgrace Wesley’s name,” he said venomously, spitting on Cody’s feet.

Cody looked into his eyes. “It’s for the good of us all. I’m sorry.” With his head hung low, Cody held out his hands, and Foz eagerly grasped his coveted prize. He greedily stroked the spine of the book.

“At last! The secrets of creation will once again be united!” There was a thump as the Hunter came billowing through the archway, landing beside Cody. Its long black tongue stroking across its dry lips. Foz grinned, “You falsely assumed that I had such authority as to control the impious will of the Hunter. It answers only to the Golden King. I’m sorry Xerx, but this is farewell . . .” The Hunter took a stride forward.

“Don’t move!”

Cody spun around to see Dace standing behind him with a legion of soldiers, weapons raised. “Turn around slowly, and put the Book on the ground,” ordered Dace, sweat glistening from his forehead.

Foz laughed. “Do you really believe you can compete with the power of El Dorado? Why resist when defeat is inevitable?” he challenged.

Dace stepped toward him. “We fight because the light has not yet been consumed by the dark. We fight to preserve the good and resist the evil misuse of the Orb’s power. We fight, so that traitorous slugs like you do not go unpunished. Now stand down, you have no escape.”

The Prince turned to Cody. “Don’t think this is a victory. You’ve only delayed the inevitable. You
will
come to El Dorado. And when you do, the Golden King will be much displeased with your resistance. Until we meet again.”

Without warning, the Hunter reared up onto its back legs and howled. The purple robe covering its body split apart with a loud tear. Two large bat-like wings spread into the room. A dozen insect trapper arms squirmed from its stomach. It thrust forward, grabbing Foz with its front arm. Cody dropped to the floor as the winged creature rushed over his head. There was a loud crash as the Beast smashed through the wall of the room. Cody looked up through the hole as the Beast flapped away through the night sky and out of sight.

A Prisoner of War

D
octor! We need a doctor! Does anyone other than Foz know medicine? Quick!” Cody pulled himself out of the commotion to the corner of the room and propped himself up against the wall. He saw motion in his peripheral vision too slow to react. Xerx’s hand came crashing against the side of his head. Another blow caught Cody on the chin, whiplashing his head against the wall. A third blow was halted as Dace’s strong hand caught Xerx’s fist.

“Stop! What is going on? What happened up here?” Dace demanded.

Xerx pointed to Cody. “He gave Foz the Book! He has doomed us all!”

Dace’s face registered concern. “Is this true, Cody? El Dorado has possession of
The Code
?” Cody wiped the blood from his nose and motioned to his backpack. Dace handed it to him and Cody pulled out the decoy. He placed his hand on it, and suddenly his body began to twitch. The blood from his nose flowed slowly back up his nose, and his bruises began to fade away.

“What the . . . ?” stammered Dace.

Cody offered a weak grin. “Prince Foz only has a decoy . . .
this
is the true Book.”

Xerx shook his head disbelievingly. “It can’t be. I heard you and Stalkton fight. They wanted you to have a decoy at the ceremony to keep the Book safe. The real Book was hidden here. In this room. I watched Master Stalkton hide it!”

Cody nodded. “I thought so, too. That’s why I tried to deceive Foz by giving him what I thought was the decoy from my backpack. It wasn’t until I pulled it out that I felt the surge of power rush through my fingers. I didn’t know how, but at that moment I realized that I had the real Book in my hands. Stalkton knew, too. It was all sleightof-hand. He must have switched them back when I wasn’t looking. He revealed the location of the other copy to Foz, leading him to think I’d been bluffing. Something tells me the Hunter wasn’t fooled by the move, but thankfully you guys arrived just in time.”

Dace’s face lost its tension and became tired. “Fortune has smiled upon us. But we have much to do. We have several field-medics in my troop that can tend to Stalkton. But for now, you need to come with me, we need to talk.”

Cody was surprised; the request was not spoken with confident authority, but rather as a tired plea. Cody was afraid to ask how the battle had fared outside the Monastery.

By the time Cody and Dace reached the central square, most of the dead bodies had been removed. However, the dried blood of brave men still painted the dirt with a wet scarlet coating. The air smelled of steel and flesh. The people of Atlantis were standing around the battleground in confused silence, as though they were waiting to wake up any second from some hellish nightmare.

As Cody walked alongside Dace, he recognized the greasy long hair of Sheets, who was kneeling down in the dirt. Cody placed his hands on the soldier’s large shoulder. When Sheets turned around, his eyes were red and wet snot was running down into his beard. Cody didn’t need to ask why. Below Sheets, lying on the ground with eyes closed was Hex—an arrow lodged into his neck. Sheets’ lip was trembling. “He’s . . . gone.”

Hex was not alone. The pile of dead bodies rose seven feet tall. “This is horrible. El Dorado is going to pay for what they did here today,” cursed Cody, fighting to hold his emotions in check. He stopped, a sickening feeling squeezing his stomach. “Dace, where is Jade?”

Dace’s eyes were sympathetic; he looked to the ground. “That is what I wanted to talk to you about. It seems this ambush was not about an attack on Atlantis at all . . . ”

“What do you mean? Answer me!” screamed Cody, feeling all eyes focused on him, “ANSWER ME!”

Dace put his hands on Cody’s shoulders. “There was nothing I could do. I’m so sorry Cody. . . . They’ve taken her.”

The words sliced through Cody like a dagger and seemed foreign, as though spoken in another, unrecognizable language. “What do you mean, they’ve
taken
her!? Who!?” Cody yelled, but his body suddenly felt too weak to maintain his fury.

“As the attack continued, I realized that oddly none of the enemy was moving toward the palace. In fact, they didn’t seem to have any plan of attack at all. I knew that something was wrong. They began a full-fledged retreat just as they gained the upper hand. I thought maybe we’d beaten them. Then I saw her. They had Jade. I don’t know why, but it was almost as if she had been their primary target all along. I tried to save her, but I was too late. They were gone before I could get to her. They have taken her to El Dorado. I’m so sorry.”

Cody felt his legs wobble beneath him. Foz’s words came rushing back to him,
“Don’t think that this is a victory. You’ve only delayed the inevitable. You will come to El Dorado
.
”

The Prince was right. The Golden King
did
have a fail safe. Cody felt stupid. How had he not realized? Why had he
left
her!

“I’m going after her. If I have to take on all of El Dorado myself, I’m going to rescue Jade. I’m going to make sure Foz pays dearly for this,” Cody uttered coldly.

“Yes, Cody, you have my word, we will
not
abandon Jade to the Golden King. But you must be rational. There is only one reason for them to kidnap Jade—you. They are trying to lure you to El Dorado.”

“Well, they have succeeded.”

“Cody, the Golden King must still not know what it meant when Wesley transferred ownership of the Book’s power to you. He can’t afford to kill you, without the Book Keeper,
The Code
is useless to him. If you go to El Dorado, he will use you. It’s what he
wants
. You will be dooming us all.”