Legend of the Book Keeper (13 page)

“You think I’m an idiot? It
was
completely full when we left. I don’t know what happened . . . I . . .” Glancing out his window, Cody discovered the answer. Gas was sputtering out of the car onto the road. A bullet had punctured the tank. Cody knew they had been fortunate.
Another inch and we would’ve been blown to kingdom come.

With a final sputter the car came to a complete stop on the desert road. The trio wasted no time. They grabbed their things and jumped out of the car. Endless desert surrounded them on all sides. The spewing of rocks warned them that the van had caught up.

“Run!” They took off heading in no particular direction. But their escape was short lived. Sand flew into the air by Cody’s feet as a gun blast went off. “Stop, or the next one sails through your head.” Cody halted and put his hands up. Turning around he saw that the dwarf and Jade were doing likewise. Standing before them stood three men: the dark-skinned man wielding a raised gun as well as the hefty and scar-faced men from the hotel lobby. A chuckle sounded from behind them. The three men took a step aside, allowing a fourth man to step between them. The man—was Dunstan.

“Well, well! So we meet again, young treasure hunters!” He pronounced with a jolly enthusiasm. “I told you we’d meet again, and here we are.”

Jade peered at him venomously. “I knew the instant you barged into our compartment on the train that you were evil and crooked!”

To her surprise, Dunstan simply smiled. “Gosh! Awfully harsh words from such a pretty lady.”

He chuckled calmly. “You are quick to label us as
the bad guys
. Seems a little unfair considering we hardly know each other! If only we had time to sit and have tea like civilized Brits I’m sure everything would make sense.”

The dwarf let out a loud
hmph!
“To the seven circles of Hades with your tea!”

Dunstan smiled at this remark and turned to the speaker, acknowledging him for the first time. “Well, well, well. This is certainly a pleasant surprise! I did not expect to find you here so soon . . . Sir Randilin.” The look on the dwarf’s face hardened, traces of fear forming on his brow. A smirk appeared on Dunstan’s face. “Oh, yes, my little friend. I know all about you. And your . . . loyalties. Shall I inform the children of what kind of man they are traveling with? Shall I let them know about certain . . . dark deeds? You see children. . . .”

“You keep the blazes out of my life! You hear me! My past is none of your bloody business!” spat the dwarf wildly. “You think you’re so clever. You’re a lot braver with your goons’ guns pointed at our heads.”

The sternness of Dunstan’s face faded away. “Indeed, having your precious life held in the palm of my hand does give an old man some added confidence.” The tanned man cocked the pistol. Dunstan took a step back and motioned him forward.

“Now my good friends. Unfortunately time does not allow for as pleasant an exchange as we would all like, so we must get down to the meat of the matter. If you would be so kind as to hand over the Book to Rodriguez here,” he said, motioning to the man holding the gun, “then we can all be on our merry little ways. Agreed?”

Out of the corner of Cody’s eye, he saw something move. He was sure he caught a glimpse of a shape before it disappeared into the darkness. Cody glanced to Jade and the dwarf in desperation. “What do you know about the Book anyway! You don’t know what you’re doing!” Cody yelled.

Dunstan smiled. “Oh, my naive child. I know a great deal more than you do, I have no doubt. Indeed, I believe it is
you
who is completely ignorant about the power sitting carelessly in your backpack right now. So, come on now, be a good chap and hand it over . . .”

Cody hesitated, scanning the blackened horizon for an escape route. Dunstan’s smile disappeared. “Come on Cody, I was really hoping we could be civilized about this. I am much too fond of you to have to order your execution. Hand over the Book. . . .” Cody took a step back; again a shape in his peripheral vision caught his attention. The henchman, Rodriguez, took a step forward. His muscular arms reached out and squeezed Cody by the collar. It was useless to struggle.

The man violently ripped the backpack off Cody and dumped it upside down. Cody and Jade’s remaining rations fell out along with the ruby pocket watch. The man reached in and pulled out the worn leather Book; the scarlet ‘A’ glimmered in the moonlight. At the sight of the Book, Dunstan let out an ebullient yell, “Magnificent!” His eyes shimmered greedily in anticipation of his prize. The subordinate paced back toward his leader, keeping his eyes and gun fixed on the three prisoners.

Dunstan reached out with gluttonous eagerness and snatched the Book from Rodriguez’s hand. For a fleeting moment his face morphed into a demented smile and his eyes blazed with intensity.

“You’re a darned fool! You have no hooting idea what you’re dealin’ with,” spat Randilin bitterly. Dunstan, who seemed momentarily to have forgotten that anything else existed in the desert apart from him and the Book, looked up and smiled. “Oh, my dear little friend, loud and feisty to the end, aren’t you? However, you are also mistaken. If only you knew the man I am working for. I assure you, we are extremely well equipped.”

“To the grave wit’ being equipped! And to the grave wit’ you, too! That Book will destroy you! And that’s only the beginning!” yelled Randilin, his voice growing raspy.

Dunstan stood still, seemingly amused by the comments. “Well, time will tell, will it not? Chance keeps life exciting!” He nodded to the gun wielding man, who stepped toward Randilin. “Unfortunately for you, my dear friend, you will not be around to see your gloomy prophecy play out. I’m terribly afraid that I’m going to have to have you killed. Nothing personal, of course, but as they say here in America, business is business!” Cody watched in panic as the bald man raised his gun flush with Randilin’s forehead, his finger tightening on the trigger—then chaos broke out.

Cody dove forward and collided with the man, knocking him off balance. A loud bang echoed in the night sky as his shot discharged just wide of Randilin’s head. The second, bulky assailant jumped forward to grab the fallen gun, but Randilin wasted no time. He lowered his head and charged. A loud
Umph!
sounded as the wind was squeezed from the large man’s lungs.

The darkly-tanned man was overpowering Cody on the ground. Jade dashed in and unleashed a solid kick to the man’s ribs and he let out a loud groan. From above a humming sound droned and the wind escalated, sending sand flying into a whirlwind. Cody glanced upward to the sky to see a black helicopter. In the driver’s seat was the blondhaired sentry from the hotel lobby.
A helicopter? These guys are serious!
From the ground he felt legs whisk past him, Dunstan was dashing to the chopper; in his hands was the Book.

BANG!

A thunderous crash erupted over the commotion. The wind softly ceased to blow. A thick silence settled in on the desert like a fog. Then, as soft as the twilight breeze, came a skin-tingling sound—a soft growl.

Cody felt the warmth of his body drain out; he began to shiver. He cautiously peered toward the abandoned vehicles on the road. Perched on top of the van, like a horrifying gargoyle, stood a menacing, colossal shape; it was cloaked in a dark purple robe. Dunstan and the dwarf both cried out in terror. Cody attempted to do the same, but his mouth had run completely dry—the Beast had found them.

The terrified crowd stood lifelessly, paralyzed by fear. Suddenly, in a blinding instant, the large fiend lowered its head—and sprang forward. With a sharp crunching sound, its giant mass came crashing down on the chest of the scarfaced henchman. The man screamed in agony. With a wild squeal the Beast sank its fangs into the man, silencing him instantly. Rearing its head up, blood smeared across its black lips, it’s burning red eyes locked onto Cody.

Jade watched in horror as the gigantic Beast galloped on all four legs toward her friend. She opened her mouth to scream, “Run!” but no sound came out. Instead, she stood disoriented as the Beast closed in. To her astonishment, Cody dropped to the ground and curled his body into a tuck position.
Playing dead!? What are you doing, Cody! Run! RUN!

The Beast lowered its shoulders and lunged. Jade couldn’t handle it; she squeezed her eyes closed, a salty tear running down her face. She waited for Cody’s agonizing shriek. Silence. She slowly opened her eyes; Cody was lying on the ground just as he had been before, untouched. She turned toward the helicopter, and in an instant, she understood why.

The Beast had jumped over Cody, and was now in pursuit of the stampede of men racing toward the helicopter. Dunstan was in the lead, closely pursued by Randilin. The two remaining goons trailed several feet behind. The sound of the Beast’s claws ripping into the dirt brought Dunstan’s head around. His face was ghostly white. The crowd had almost reached the helicopter, which was hovering above the ground, but the Beast was closing in. Still looking behind, Dunstan’s foot unexpectedly caught a rock and he tumbled to the ground; the Book flew out of his hands and skirted across the dirt floor.

The bulky henchman scooped it up like a baton and continued the mad dash. He fired a round of wild, blind shots at the Beast, but they had no effect in slowing the rabid predator. The man crunched down and launched himself toward the helicopter—half a second too late. With remarkable grace, the colossal Beast lunged over the fallen Dunstan and punctured its large claws into the man’s back. He let out a sharp scream as he came crashing to the ground.

From where Jade stood she couldn’t make out what happened next. Below the helicopter erupted a fury of motion and yelling. Dust ascended like a spirit and clouded the scene. From within the dust shield she heard an unmistakably gruff voice calling out, “Start the van! Start the wretched van!” Randilin came billowing out of the haze, a bloody gash oozing across his left cheek, and legs chugging away with all his might. Nestled in his arms was the Book.

Cody whizzed past her and she instinctively turned to follow. Judging by the heavy sound of the feet trampling across the desert ground, Jade knew that the Beast was chasing Randilin. What she didn’t know, or want to know, was how close that chase was.

As they reached the van, Jade heard the roar of the helicopter as it cruised over their heads, the sound of the propeller slowly softening as it raced across the skyline and out of sight. Jade jumped into the front seat as Cody filed into the passenger seat beside her.
Thank heavens! They left the keys in the ignition!

Cranking the key, the engine rattled loudly before settling into a low hum. Jade glanced out the window; Randilin was huffing and puffing, his face beet red. The Beast was not far behind and rapidly gaining, but Randilin had a jump on it. Cody reached over his seat and slid open the side door. Jade braced herself, she had her learner’s driving permit, but had yet to drive anywhere farther than a stone’s throw of her house, and never without her mother in the passenger seat. She had no time to ponder the situation; a loud thud shook the van—Randilin was in.

She slammed the gas pedal to the floor. The tires spun franticly, searching in vain for traction. For a moment the van sat still as the tires spun like treadmills. Jade’s eyes raced to the window where she saw the chilling red eyes of the Beast sailing toward the open side door, blood smeared around its gaping jaws. With a loud screech Jade’s head was hurled back against the seat, and the van shot off, not a moment too soon.

“Drive! Drive like your whole ruddy life depended on it!” yelled the breathless Randilin from behind her. Jade didn’t need to be reminded; she knew her whole life
did
depend on it. Looking into the mirror she saw the horrifying Beast in the middle of the road, charging after them with amazing speed. It was gaining—and fast.
I don’t believe it! What IS this thing!
Sparks ignited as the creature’s razor-like talons scraped fiercely across the pavement. It reared its large hoggish head and released a wild, piercing squeal that echoed in the night air.
Faster! Come on—faster!
The creature’s red eyes were boiling with savage hunger as it galloped feverishly closer and closer and closer. The warmth from its heavy breath began fogging up the rear window. “Jade. For heaven’s sake, step on it!” Randilin screamed. With a hard jolt the car kicked into a higher gear and rocketed forward. Jade exhaled a sigh of relief as she watched the large robed figure fade into the distance behind them.

They had escaped.