Legend of the Book Keeper (10 page)

“We also need to talk about our good friend, Mr. Dunstan,” added Cody. It had just occurred to him that with all Dunstan’s cheery disposition and talk of Wesley, he never had given them the reason for his intrusion. The fact that he had lied about having been to Havenwood was unsettling as well.

As they set off toward the hotel strip, Cody was thankful for the rest they had gotten on the train, his legs felt stronger and reenergized. They walked in silence, the reflection of the bright lights flashing against their faces. Internally Cody kicked himself. He wasn’t sure what was going on with him. His reaction to Jade’s hotel room comment was now the second time that day he had made a fool of himself toward her.
What’s wrong with me? It’s just Jade; why do I suddenly feel so weird? Pull yourself together!
He opened his mouth but Jade cut him off sharply.

“Don’t talk. Just walk,” she ordered.

Cody looked at her in surprise.

“Trust me . . . ” she whispered, “we’re being followed.” Cody suddenly felt an ominous presence behind them. He desperately wanted to look back but didn’t dare.
Who could it be?

The first thought that materialized was the Beast. The image of those piercing red eyes caused his palms to become clammy and tremble.
No.
The idea of the monstrous creature prowling around unnoticed in Las Vegas quickly negated that possibility.
Dunstan, perhaps?
It was the logical guess. “Just keep walking, we’ll lose him in the crowd.”

Walking as calmly as they could manage, and fighting the overpowering urge to take off running, they briskly headed toward the noise and lights of the main strip. They could hear the soft patter of footsteps behind them. Neither of them dared to look back.
Just keep moving
.

At last their road merged with the central hotel strip of the city. The street was an irritated hornet’s nest of people chattering and cars zipping past. As they stopped, the shadowing footsteps behind them froze as well. They could hear heavy breathing.
Whoever’s following us is not far behind
. The shadow of a body loomed over them. Its arms slowly extended out toward their shoulders. Jade caught Cody’s eye and nodded her head.
Three
. . .
two
. . .
one
. On the third nod they took off running, sprinting for their lives. The shadow’s footsteps drummed after them, but their unannounced burst had startled the stalker and given them a head start.

They ran directly into the most populated gathering on the street and slipped through the mob by darting left and right. Cody clasped hold of Jade’s hand as they pushed their way through the labyrinth. Emerging from the crowd they came to the busy main street where taxis and limos bustled by. Without warning Jade yanked Cody’s arm and began to run. The next moment was a blur of lights as the sound of whooshing tires whizzed around him. “What do you think you’re doing?! Stay off the road!” screamed a furious cab driver, swerving sharply and narrowly avoiding them.

Reaching the other side of the street, they paused only for a brief moment before Jade grabbed hold of Cody’s arm again. They dashed to their right, up a flight of stairs, and through the revolving doors of Caesars Palace hotel. Without looking back to see if they were still being tracked, they sprinted through the lobby. The desk attendant stood up to shout something, but they were already out of earshot.

Sprinting down a long hallway, past several gift shops, they halted; they had come to a dead end. A crowded casino was their only escape; the sound of bells and hollering blasted through the doors from within. Standing directly in front, blocking the entrance was a bulky security guard.

“What do we do now?!” Jade asked exasperated. “We aren’t old enough to enter and we surely can’t go back. Think! We don’t have any time!”

The sound of agitated voices followed by hurried footsteps floated toward them from the lobby. Cody glanced around fervently for a solution, but they had nowhere to go. They were trapped.

He clenched his hands tensely—and paused. The feeling of cold leather pressed against his fingertips. He peered down to his hands in surprise—he was holding the Book. He gazed at it in astonishment; he could not recall removing it from his backpack. Suddenly his fingers began to tingle and he felt his throat clot up, blocking his air path. He dropped to his knees, clutching his neck, as the lump scaled its way up his throat. As the bulge reached the top he wretched his head irrepressibly, “
Bauciva
!
Gai di gasme!
” He heard himself utter the words as though a distant bystander to the scene.

Jade cranked her head, “Shhh! We need to . . . oh, my gosh. How in the world?” Cody followed the trail of her wide eyes toward the empty wall—only it was no longer empty; directly across from them, made entirely out of fine polished wood—was a door.

Cody shook his head disbelievingly. He was absolutely positive that there had been no door there a minute ago. He shoved the book back into his bag.
What’s happening to me?

Jade dragged him through the new door and he once again found he was breathing Las Vegas air. “Come on, let’s go.”

They began to run. “Jade, what happened back there? That door just appeared . . . out of nowhere. How . . . ?” Cody’s voice trailed off.

Jade tugged against his arm. “I . . . don’t know. Nothing is making sense. But it doesn’t matter; I think we’ve lost him. Let’s get inside somewhere before we’re seen again.” They turned to enter the hotel directly in front of them. Cody glanced up to see the large flashing sign above the doorway. It read: Treasure Island Hotel. Cody grinned.

Dunstan would be pleased.

A Mystery Solved

U
nmoving, Jade stared down at the hectic city street; the sea of lights extended far into the distance from her fifteenth floor window. She breathed slowly and intentionally, still trying to calm her racing heart. They had waited for several minutes in the lobby as a precautionary measure, but eventually felt confident they had lost their mystery pursuer.

Cody sprawled out on one of the two single beds and greedily unwrapped a granola bar. “Hey, Jade, heads up.” She reached up and snatched the flying granola bar that Cody had propelled her way. “When’s the last time we had a bite to eat?” An answer came in the form of her growling stomach. Ripping open the wrapping she stuffed a large bite into her mouth.

Cody ungracefully crammed in his third granola bar, chocolate chips spraying out like debris from a volcanic eruption. “So, what . . . do you . . . figure we . . . should do . . . next?” he mumbled between bites.

Jade pulled out the ruby pocket watch and set it on the desk. As it had before, the short red hand still pointed up at eleven-forty. Snapping the bli
nds closed to ensure their privacy, she walked over to her own bed and plopped down, sinking into the blankets, “Well, what do we know so far?” She began in a diplomatic tone, “First off, whatever this pocket watch is, it obviously wants us to head north. To where? I’m not sure. Then there’s the issue with our British friend, Dunstan. Perhaps he simply was a jolly, lonely old man. But my gut tells me that there was more to his visit than meets the eye. I don’t think its coincidence that he shows up in Havenwood on the very day that the city experiences its first murder in decades. Speaking of which, that brings us to Wesley’s riddle, which I am sure is the key to of all this.”

Cody sat up. “Don’t forget the gigantic demon-pig creature that tried to bite your face off.” They both involuntarily shuddered.
Where was the creature now? Was it still hunting them? Was it close?
Cody laid Wesley’s letter beside the pocket watch. Somehow the two objects were interconnected, but neither knew how.

“Well, now that we are safe from any strange British interruptions, maybe you should try reading the letter out loud again. It can’t hurt.” Cody was depleted of hope, but couldn’t think of a better alternative, so he began reading the riddle slowly:

Fifty-three, less four, until the rite does write, Iron décor, future war, hides passage out of sight, Deep contrite, prevents invite, now precious yore, Must leave Tonight.

As he finished, he looked up to Jade, his face defeated. Her deep green eyes were an inferno. She ran her hand through her thick black hair. “It can’t be . . . ” her voice trailed off, deep in thought.

“What can’t be? What are you talking about Jade?” he questioned. Jade looked up, a wide smile on her face. “It’s been in front of us the whole time . . . Dunstan was right . . . ”

Cody couldn’t contain himself any longer; he grabbed Jade with both his arms and gave her a shake. “Dunstan was right about what? Snap out of it, girl! What are you going on about?”

Jade grabbed Cody’s arms on her shoulders and looked up at him. “The riddle, the clues. It all makes perfect sense. Dunstan was right; he said we have to step back and look at what
wasn’t
obvious, and by doing so, that’s what would
become
obvious. It’s worked! It’s so obvious now.” She was shivering as she did whenever she was consumed with excitement. “I’ve just figured out the location of the passage way.”

The front desk receptionist at the Treasure Island hotel looked strangely at the man before him. Something about the peculiar man gave him chills.
This night just keeps getting weirder and weirder
. Already he had seen two young teenagers dash franticly into his lobby, demanding a room.
Probably runaways
he had thought at the time. Even in Vegas, it was unusual to rent a room out to such young customers.

Now the man standing before him had something unusual in his appearance, but he couldn’t quite place what it was. The customer leaned over the desk and whispered, even though they were the only two men in the lobby, “I need a room. Just for tonight. Anything on floor fifteen perhaps?” The attendant looked strangely at the man in front of him, “Um, one second, Sir. Let me check the records.” Running his hands expertly across his keyboard he brought up the floor plan for floor fifteen. There was one room available. He opened his mouth to inform the odd customer, but stopped short. That particular floor was the very floor he had just checked the two teenagers in only half an hour earlier.
Something doesn’t feel right
.

The man in front of the counter sensed the hesitation. Rea
ching into his jacket pocket he produced a large wad of bills and dumped it on the counter. The attendant looked from the bills to the computer screen, and then back at the customer, “Yes, Sir, there is one room available. Just give me a moment while I make you a key.”