Legend of the Book Keeper (35 page)

Kantan held up his hand to calm his sister, “Quiet sister. The girl speaks reason . . .” Cia’s jaw dropped in disbelief.

“
But
. . .” continued Kantan, “If I may, allow me to point out that Wesley managed to live quite comfortably up on the earth’s surface. How does your logic deal with that fact? Or that your friend Cody here has been able to form objects out of nothing and control the elements with only a few words and a tattered Book?”

“I . . . don’t know. But there is obviously an explanation. I’m sure, if you would just give me some more time to work it out I could . . .” Jade mumbled.

“STOP! The one thing we don’t have in all of this is
time
!” yelled Cody over the crowd. “Regardless of whether or not the Orb is a divine essence or merely a scientific energy; we still have a rotting corpse lying on this bed that needs to be buried. What are we going to do about it?”

Cia brought her face down an inch from Cody’s, “We will do absolutely nothing. As we have said, people don’t die here; we don’t exactly have many burial options. Our only cemetery is in tribute to the Great War, and I’m not about to defile my father’s life by burying him like a common solider. Nor will I allow the faith of our city to be broken by the announcement of his death.”

“You kids must understand,” continued Kantan, “Atlantis is on the brink of war. If our people were to think that the power of the Orb was fading or even non-existent, as fabricated a thought as it might be, then we would not stand a chance against El Dorado. There no longer would be the need to keep the Orb’s power sacred. People would flood toward El Dorado like cattle, free to use the power as they desire. Don’t you understand, the truth of our father’s death would be disastrous! We will continue to operate as we have. The lie must not be broken.”

Kantan held out his long hand. Cody hesitated. He felt the pressure of all the eyes on him. The soft hand of Cia pressed onto his shoulder, “Please, Cody . . .” Cody looked back to Kantan who remained unblinking. Finally, with a sigh, Cody reached out and shook the Prince’s hand. “The lie will not be revealed.”

Kantan gave an arrogant smirk. “I am glad we can all agree. Now, I think it’s about time we gave our father some privacy.”

Cia opened the door for Jade to exit before filing out behind her. Kantan stood unmoving, staring at Cody. Cody reluctantly turned and moved toward the door. As he exited he took one last glance at the dead King’s agonizing slumber. For the first time something caught his eye. In the King’s gaping mouth Cody thought he saw something illuminating in the light. Something he had seen before. He squinted to make out what it was but Kantan’s body pushed against him, forcing him out of the room. The door closed with a slam, leaving the good King Ishmael to lie alone in his stone-walled tomb once again.

“I can’t believe the guards wouldn’t let us see Randilin. His execution is in
two
days! We need to tell him about Ishmael. There’s got to be a way to overturn the ruling,” spouted Jade as they returned to the palace. “You know what? I’m starting to think that maybe we’re on the wrong side. Maybe El Dorado is the good guys. I mean, look at how corrupt and manipulating these people are.”

Cody stopped at the door to his chamber. “I don’t know, Jade. They aren’t all bad. Let’s not give up hope on Randilin. Tomorrow we will come up with a plan. But we’re going to need our sleep.” A deep yawn from Jade added the exclamation point to his statement.

She took a slight step forward, her arms reaching hesitantly toward Cody. But then, as quickly as the motion had begun, it was abandoned, and Jade scurried awkwardly into her chamber. Cody suddenly found himself standing alone in the corridor. He shrugged.
Women.

Cody pulled off his sweaty shirt, which was damp from the busy day, and flopped down onto his bed. Tomorrow was going to be critically important and he was anxious to get to sleep and recover his strength. The moment he laid his head on his pillow, there was a knock on his door.
Who could that be? Maybe Jade was coming to apologize for embarrassing me in front of Tiana? Or maybe it was Tiana herself?
Cody’s palms started sweating. He rolled out of bed and walked over to door, pulling it open. Standing bashfully in the hallway was Princess Eva.

“Oh, my goodness,” she exclaimed quietly and looked downward to the floor.

Cody uncomfortably felt every square inch of his exposed ba
re chest. “Um, do you want to come in? I mean, one second, I’ll go change.” Cody quickly retreated into the room and threw on a fresh tunic. When he returned to the door, Eva was still standing timidly with downcast eyes.

“Why don’t you come in?” Cody asked. She gave a humble bow and shuffled into the room. Cody took a seat on the corner of his bed and patted the mattress beside him. “Come have a seat.”

Eva’s eyes widened and Cody immediately realized his mistake. “Or, you can stand if you’d prefer,” he muttered. Eva didn’t move. By the look in her eyes, Cody could see something troubled the simple girl. She looked up, and for the first time he was able to look closely at her face. Without Cia’s radiating presence beside her, Cody realized that Eva possessed a unique beauty of her own. Not flashy or eloquent like her sister, but still very warm.

“I loved my father,” she said in her gentle voice, “He was not a perfect man. But he always took a stand for what he believed was right . . . and he was a good father.” Cody was blindsided by the unexpected turn of events. Jade had always teased him that he was the sensitive one in the friendship, but he had never been good at comforting people, especially with issues relating to fathers.

“I’m sorry for your loss, Eva. I am sad that I was never able to meet your father,” he offered, squirming on the bed.

Eva smiled, “I’m okay. Most daughters in your world only get fifty, maybe sixty years with their father. Is that not so? Who am I to complain about spending three thousand years with mine? Don’t worry; I have not come here seeking comfort. I have come . . . to warn you.”

Cody jerked his head. “To warn me? Warn me about what?” Cody asked surprised.

Eva dropped her voice to a whisper, “To warn you that my family is not in their proper state. They have contrived this lie to conceal my father’s death, but I fear they do so for selfish reasons. Fear has corrupted their thoughts. They no longer mourn for our father; they seek to use his death to gain power. Did you know that Kantan and Cia are twins? They are also equal heirs to the throne. I fear that they will suck you into the lie. They will use your power to further their games,” she finished firmly. Cody couldn’t suppress a smile; he was genuinely surprised. Eva shook her head, “I am not crazy. I may be the youngest of my siblings and have no heart for their politics, but I have walked for longer than your Upper-Earth history spans. I have to go, if my siblings were to discover that I’ve been here . . .”

Eva froze. There was a scratching sound outside the door. Cody jumped off the bed, and shielded Eva with his arm. “Shhhhh, get behind me!” The door-knob began to jiggle. Cody stepped over to his nightstand and placed his palm on the scarlet ‘A’ of the Book. “I’ll block the door with stone.
Gadour!
” he yelled. Nothing happened. The doorknob shook more violently. Cody yelled again, “
Gadour! Gadour! Bauciv! Seamour!
” Still nothing happened. “Something’s wrong! The Book isn’t working! It’s like something is preventing me from using the Orb’s power. I don’t understand. . . . Quick, to the window, Eva!” But he was too late. The door flung open.

Cody squinted, “Dace? What on earth are you doing here? You scared the bejibbees out of me!” Cody yelled in irritation, exhaling a deep breath.

Dace gave a quick grin before returning to an unusually stern expression. “Just keeping you on your toes. But I’m afraid we don’t have time for any more fun and games. Foz sent me to retrieve you; General Levenworth has called a secret war council. As the Book Keeper your presence is required.”

Eva stepped out from the shadows of the room. “A council? At this time of night? What’s happening?” she questioned timidly.

Dace’s lips folded into a grin as he saw the Princess, looking from her to Cody, and then back to Eva. “We suspect an El Dorado invasion. That’s all I know. We will be briefed at the council. Cody, they are waiting.” Dace gave Eva a low bow, and Cody awkwardly followed the example. The two exited the chambers, walking briskly to the war room.

Once out of earshot, Dace elbowed Cody hard in the ribs. “Ouch! What was that for?” Cody exclaimed, rubbing his side.

Dace winked at him, “First the cute green-eyed girl, now a royal princess? You
are
a sly devil! Although I should warn you, I’d be careful with that one. Ever since . . .
the accident
, during the Great War she’s been . . . different. Although I’m guessing you probably don’t need me to tell you that . . .” Cody nodded silently. “Yeah . . . different . . .” he uttered distractedly, the image of Eva’s innocent eyes immobile in his mind.

The tingling sensation in her skin prickled like the aftermath of a resilient fire. She held up her arms and examined the invisible feeling.
It’s happened again
. The faint voices of Dace and Cody could still be heard as they drifted away down the corridor. After several moments the voices faded into silence. It didn’t matter—she had already heard enough. Eva squeezed her eyelids closed, releasing a lone tear. She was different; a fact reiterated for her with painful frequency. Always spoken to as though a child, always spoken about as though invisible. She sighed.
One day they will understand
. Slowly the tingling in her skin faded away, leaving a slight glow in its wake.

A Growing Threat

I
nvasion is imminent! The only question is: when?” The rich, booming voice of General Gongore Levenworth rang authoritatively over the small room. To his left sat the bald man with ivory skin whom Cody had first seen during Randilin’s trial, and beside him sat Dace. To the General’s right were Kantan, Cia, and Foz. Silkian sat in the corner of the room silently, looking as slimy as ever. Two other men sat across the table from the General. They were both rugged in appearance and donning full soldier armor. Cody sat at the other corner of the table, sinking into his chair and feeling completely out of place.