Legend of the Book Keeper (7 page)

“Around back,” Cody whispered. The two scurried around the house until they came to the rear. Jade’s focus was captured by the piles of dirt in the backyard. “What do you think this is?” she asked. Cody shrugged, “I’m not sure; I had originally thought he had been digging holes for the dead bodies hidden in that room. Whatever it was for, it will now serve as his own grave.” Jade shivered at the grim irony of the statement.
Hold it together, girl.

Removing the yellow tape barricades, she followed after Cody and crawled through the window. With a light thud she fell to the floor on the other side. Had she fallen a few inches farther, her face would have landed on the objects littering the floor: Cody’s jacket and shoes, still slightly damp.

“Cody, you left evidence! They are going to be onto you now. I can’t believe you were so stupid!”

‘I’m sorry, but I was a little bit too preoccupied trying not to get mauled and mangled to worry about covering my tracks. Next time my life is flashing before my eyes I’ll try and do better!” For the first time all night Jade let out a slight smile. “
Touché.
. . . Now let’s see if Wesley left us any more clues and get out of here before Messiner and the other officers return.”

Without another word they ventured forward into the dark house.

Standing in an all-too-familiar alleyway, two red eyes probed the scene of the night’s earlier murder. Through the drapes of the front bay window, it could perceive the shape of two children rushing up the stairs. The figure took a slow stride toward the ancient bookstore: the children were impeccably brave—or unforgivably stupid. It licked its lips. They always grew dry right before a feeding.

A pile of books carefully concealed the restricted room. Cody quickly pushed the books to floor, once again revealing the oak door. Jade followed Cody through the small opening. Both were disappointed to find the room completely trashed. “Looks like Wesley’s murderer was looking for something,” Jade observed. Cody felt the weight of the scarlet-lettered book in his backpack and remembered the unexplainable sensation it had given him in Jade’s room.
What are we getting ourselves into?
Jade scanned some torn pages littering the floor. “Well, whoever was here last probably took anything of value. Let’s take a look quick and then get out of here.”

Cody pushed aside a pile of shredded books. Underneath was a torn picture, the photo he had seen earlier of Wesley and George Washington. Looking over at the shelves he noticed that each of Wesley’s unique location devices had been systematically destroyed.
Apparently someone doesn’t want us to find this hidden passageway.

Cody was examining one of the devices when Jade called him, “Cody, come take a look at this.” He scurried over to Jade who was kneeling beside the overturned p
odium. “What do you make of this?” She pointed midway down the neck of the podium. Cody knelt down and examined the wood. There didn’t appear to be anything unusual. Squinting his eyes, he noticed a light marking tattooing the wood. A faded capital red ‘A’, was scarcely visible. The marking matched the symbol on the book’s cover.

“Well, this podium was designed to hold the book, so it makes sense right?” Jade didn’t look as convinced. Without a word, she raised the podium above her head and chucked it against the wall.
CRASH!

“Jade! What do you think you’re doing? Someone’s going to hear! We’ve got to . . .” He halted midsentence. A faint glimmer caught his eye. Stepping over to the podium rubble, he reached down and retrieved a shiny object that had been concealed within the podium’s trunk.

“What is it, Cody?” Jade asked.

The object was circular, the size of Cody’s palm. The face was tinted with gold. The back was formed with smooth ruby marble, and intricate symbols were engraved along its side. “Um . . . maybe it’s . . . a pocket watch?” He passed the object to Jade. Sure enough, four elegant looking clock hands, three long and one short, all moved. The longer hands were colored red, gold and purple, and the short hand was a darker shade of red. Surprisingly, instead of numbers there were pictures. Jade couldn’t make out what they depicted. The light in the room flickered. Jade looked out the door.

“We better hurry, the sun is starting to rise. And . . .” She stopped. Cody could see the gears in her head spinning, “Quick Cody, walk around me in a circle.” Cody opened his mouth to object and remind Jade of their time pinch but she again insisted. Dropping his shoulders, Cody quickly paced around her.

“Happy? Okay now we really need to get out . . .” With lightning swiftness Jade’s arm shot out and grasped Cody, pulling him toward her. “What are you . . .”

“Shut up and look!” Jade pointed to the clock hands “They aren’t moving, see? But what about when I do this?” She began to slowly circle Cody, holding the device in front of her. The hands began to rotate along with her. “The long red hand points toward you no matter where I move.”

Cody clutched his backpack. “Either that or it points to what I’m carrying with me. It’s like a navigation device for locating this Book! What about the other hands?” Jade grinned, “I’m not sure, but I have my suspicions that it wouldn’t be such a bad idea to follow the
short
red hand if you know what I mean.” Cody caught his friend’s contagious smile, “I think we just found the direction to the hidden passageway.”

BANG!
A loud crash shook the house. Dust freefell from the rafters. Cody saw on Jade’s face that they shared the same singular thought.
We need to get out of here. Fast!

Stuffing the device into his pocket, Cody flung his backpack onto his shoulder; Jade was already halfway through the door. “It might be Sheriff Messiner,” she whispered earnestly behind her. Cody bit his lip,
or worse.

They emerged, panting, from the dwarfed hidden door. Standing at the top of the spiral staircase, they gazed down to the front door. It was swinging on its hinges.

We’re not alone
.

The Beast

C
ody’s heart seemed to burst through his chest. He glanced at Jade, who for the first time that night, appeared frightened. “We’ve got to keep moving. We need to get out of here.
Fast
.” She didn’t answer. All the color in her face had vacated. Her eyes twitched. Cody didn’t need to look back at the door to realize their passage down the stairs was no longer an option.

Cody saw it; a figure obscured in the sanctuary of the dancing shadows cast by the swinging front door. A foul stench wafted up to their floor. “Cody, we need to run,” Jade whispered, but his muscles had already overthrown the mastership of his brain. He stood petrified as though turned to stone.

Cody could make out two red eyes and heard the faint sound of sniffing. The figure stepped out from its cover. Jade’s trembling hand suffocated her own terrified scream. The silhouette illuminated in the frame of the door was not human.

Concealing most of his face, the creature was cloaked in a dark purple robe, which draped over its back and came up in a low hood. From under the cape, the only things visible were two glaring red eyes and a boar-like snout. Beneath the cloak were four scaly feet and giant talons that glimmered from each of the six birdlike fingers.

With deathly silence, the creature rose up vertically revealing its true size. All the moisture in Cody’s throat evaporated; the Beast was easily the height of a fully-grown grizzly bear. A bulge pressed against the robe from behind the creature forming the shape of a shell, like an exoskeleton of a beetle. Cody heard Jade’s soft cry f
rom across the room; she still hadn’t budged from her spot.

Seconds masqueraded as hours as Cody and the creature remained locked in a stare. Cody felt like a helpless prisoner held in place by invisible hooks bursting forth from the creature’s eyes. Still void of sound, the hoggish creature lowered back onto all fours—and charged.

The horrifying sight was enough to wrench Jade from her trance.

“Run!” Grabbing Cody’s sleeve she yanked him down the hall; the sound of the creature’s feet could be heard thrashing rapidly up the staircase. In desperation the two friends reached the second staircase that led up to Wesley’s private chambers. “Up! Let’s go! Hurry!” The pair dashed up the stairs and slammed the door behind them, quickly fastening the lock.

“Cody, help me move this couch, we’ve got to brace the door!” Jade screamed over the scraping sound of talons scratching against the wooden floor. They heard a light growl. “Push!” With all their strength they shoved the couch toward the door. The crashing sound of the sofa hitting the door was echoed by a loud thud from the other side. The screws in the hinges loosened. Cody stood staring at the door, “It’s not going to hold for long, Jade, we need to get out of here!”

Jade looked around the room. “There has to be a way out of here!” Cody examined the room for the first time. Reflecting the disorderly nature of the store below, the room was a messy collection of scattered objects. Wesley was obviously a world traveler. There appeared to be objects from every part of the world and culture imaginable: An Egyptian vase, an African voodoo mask, a large elephant carved from wood.
It’s like he lived a double life
, Cody bit his lip,
or a very long life
, he thought, remembering the framed picture. Looking over to Wesley’s bed made it clear to Cody which of these countries was his favorite, a large British flag was pinned over it. Another loud thud on the door brought his sightseeing tour to a halt.

“Jade, we need a plan and quick!”

Jade looked around the room and the realization struck her hard. The only connections to the world outside the house were the small circular window and the door through which she had just dragged Cody.
I’ve led us into a death trap.