Finders Keepers

by Peter Speakman

“Parker, I saw this in a book of magical objects. It’s part of the Babel Stone.”

  Parker closed his eyes. “Do I even want to know?”

  “The Babel Stone is…Look. There’s this part, right?” He held up the stone. “And it’s like a microphone. And then there’s another part, like a big clay tablet, somewhere else. And whatever you say into this part gets carved into the other part. When that part gets filled up it starts over again from the top. It’s been rewriting itself since, like, for thousands of years. It’s an ancient magical tape recorder.”

  “But what’s it doing here? I mean, somebody must be…” Parker instantly stopped talking. He took the stone and set it on the old apple press and motioned for Theo to follow him out of the barn. When they were clear of the stone Parker turned to his cousin. “Somebody’s spying on us.”

  “It’s gotta be Vesiroth! But who could he use to spy for him? The only one who makes any sense is your—” Theo stopped before he finished his sentence.

  “Go ahead,” said Parker. “I already know what you were going to say.”

  “He showed up out of nowhere, Parker,” Theo blurted. “He’s not even supposed to be here. He’s supposed to be in jail. In California.”

  “There’s no way. He would never do that to me!”

  “Sure, he wouldn’t. Just like he would never steal money from old people.”

  Parker felt the anger rise up in his throat. He reared back and shoved his cousin as hard as he could. “Shut up, Theo! You don’t know what you’re talking about!”

  Theo’s eyes darkened and his hands tensed into fists. He might have actually punched Parker if he hadn’t seen how hurt his cousin really was. “Okay.” Theo unclenched his fists and held up his hands. “Okay, I take it back.”

  Parker turned away so Theo wouldn’t see the pain on his face.

  Theo said, “All I know is that whoever’s on the other end of the Babel Stone knows everything we said today. If they’re working for the Path, Vesiroth’s going to know he’s walking into a trap. We have to tell Professor Ellison right now!”

  “No.” Parker let out a deep breath. “There’s too much at stake. Professor Ellison barely puts up with us as it is. If she finds out about this, she may cut us out of the whole deal, and I don’t think she can pull it off without our help.” He looked to the barn. “Let’s just carry on with what we’re doing for now. Grab the Babel Stone and put it somewhere safe. Somewhere it can hear us talking but not about anything important. We’ll decide what to do about the spy later.”

  Theo frowned and dashed back into the barn to get the stone. Parker didn’t like the thoughts that were racing through his own head, but he couldn’t stop them. Finally, he went into the house. He walked through the kitchen and into the enclosed porch his parents were using as a bedroom until they could find a place of their own. Then he locked the door behind him and began to systematically search through every bag his father had brought into the house.

  If the other part of the Babel Stone was here, Parker would find it.

  26

  DUNCAN GAZED OUT AT THE EIGHT thousand Chinese warriors gathered before him. He had always wanted his own army. Too bad they weren’t real.

  Duncan and his men were in China’s Shaanxi Province, underneath a massive hangar that protected the famous Terracotta Army from the elements. It was a force of life-sized statues—soldiers, horses, generals, and wagons, all made of fired clay. They were created sometime in the third century and buried with the emperor Qin Shi Huang to provide protection in the afterlife.

  Qin Shi Huang was long gone but his army was still here, uncovered by archaeologists and standing at attention in deep trenches broken up by dirt walls. Duncan doubted the clay warriors did the dead emperor any good, but they sure were impressive to look at.

  “Make sure to grab all your crap,” the ten-year-old told one of the Path henchmen. “We don’t want to create an international incident.”

  The man in the dark suit nodded brusquely before joining his two brothers in collecting the excavation gear. Duncan left them to their work and jumped onto one of the clay walls. As he walked he looked down on the terra-cotta warriors in their sculpted helmets and armor, waiting patiently for an attack that would never come.

  The satellite phone clipped to Duncan’s belt beeped. He didn’t have to check the caller ID. There was only one person on earth who had the number.

  “Hiya, boss,” he said as he answered the phone. “What’s shakin’?”

  Vesiroth was blunt on the other end of the line. “Did you find the lamp?”

  “Nope.” Duncan kicked a rock into a trench as he strolled. It bounced off a clay soldier’s head and vanished into the dirt. “We looked everywhere, but zero, zilch, zippo, nada. It’s not here. This was a wild-goose chase.”

  “That is most disappointing.”

  “Yeah, as much as I enjoyed digging through literally tons of dirt, I have to admit I was a little bummed myself.”

  “Very well. You will assemble your men and bring them back to headquarters.”

  “Will do.” He stepped over the body of a dead Chinese guard. You couldn’t just stroll in and start digging through the grounds near the Terracotta Army. It was a national treasure. “So. What’s the new mission?”

  “You will be told in good time.”

  The phone went dead. Duncan clipped it back to his belt and walked back to the men. “Where is it?” he asked.

  A Path member brushed dirt off of his suit and nodded to a small crate. “It’s here. The box has official government labels from three provinces. We should have no trouble getting it out of the country.”

  “Good.” Duncan nodded, satisfied. “You guys do fine work.” Then Duncan conjured up three razor-tipped darts and let them fly. The men were dead before they hit the ground. It was a real shame, Duncan thought, but it had to be done. He couldn’t have these guys blabbing to the boss.

  Duncan cracked open the crate. The glowing metal lamp, stained from its centuries in the clay, was intact and waiting. He didn’t need an army, real or terra-cotta. He was now in possession of the ultimate weapon.

  27

  AS THEY WAITED, REESE WENT through every drawer and cupboard in Professor Ellison’s kitchen.

  “I have never seen so much food outside of a grocery store,” she said, amazed. “Potato chips, shrimp, Ding Dongs, fresh Bundt cake, herbs and spices I’ve never even heard of, frozen pizza bagels, one-pound tins of caviar, hot dogs. It doesn’t even make any sense!”

  Like the rest of the house, the kitchen was immense, immaculate, and imposing. The refrigerator and the stove were stainless steel. Parker and Fon-Rahm were dwarfed at a table that seated twelve. There were lush flowers and bowls of fresh fruit, but somehow the room still seemed cold and sterile. The kitchen at the Merritts’ house was a jumble of pots and pans and random silverware. The refrigerator made so much noise they had nicknamed it the Beast. The stove was old and the sink didn’t always drain right. It was small, but it was alive. It was Parker’s favorite room in the house.

  Reese got on her hands and knees and crawled deeper into a low cabinet. Her voice was muffled. “How would Professor Ellison ever eat all this stuff before it went bad? Maybe it’s magic! Instead of shopping she just conjures up a ton of food every week. She has five different kinds of peanut butter! And look!” Reese backed out of the cupboard with a colorful box labeled in Cantonese. “Cookies from China! Do you want to try some, Parker?”

  “I’m not hungry.”

  “You’re not hungry? Come on, you’re always hungry. One time I saw you eat an entire box of croutons.”

  “Yeah, well, I’m not hungry now.”

  “Oooooooookay.” Reese cracked open the cookie box and sat heavily next to Parker at the table. After a minute’s silence she said, “I don’t suppose you want to go over the plan again?”

  Parker snorted. Professor Ellison had made them repeat the plan over and over again until they knew every step by heart.
It wasn’t complicated. They would see Vesiroth and Duncan and their army of Path goons as soon as they got anywhere near the house. The defenses would be triggered, hopefully taking out some of the Path members. While Fon-Rahm battled the Path, Vesiroth would probe the house and find that the weakest link was simply the front door. Working as a tag team, Reese and Parker would lead Vesiroth through the house and to the trap in the library, where Theo and Professor Ellison would be waiting with the final piece of the Helm as irresistible bait. Everyone had a part to play.

  Reese took a curious bite out of a cookie. “So,” she said with her mouth full, “I told my mom I was going to a lecture at the university. On number theory, whatever that is.” Reese knew all about number theory. She just didn’t want Parker to feel dumb. “Did you guys have any trouble getting away?”

  “No. It was fine.” In fact, it had been awful. Parker had come up empty when he searched for the other part of the Babel Stone in his dad’s stuff, but he still didn’t know what to believe. It seemed to Parker like his dad was acting more suspiciously every day. When Parker laid out an elaborate scenario about an all-day paintball party he and Theo were supposedly invited to, his mom bought it but J.T. asked a million questions. Who was going to be there? When would they be home? Who was driving them? When he couldn’t take it anymore Parker blew up at J.T. and the dinner turned into a full-on screaming match. Why was J.T. always poking his nose into everything? In the end it had been a minor miracle that Parker and Theo were allowed out of the house at all.

  Parker had stayed quiet since the moment they set foot in the professor’s house. He and his cousin had barely spoken to each other before Theo left with Ellison. They could all see something was wrong.

  “Well, I for one am in trouble if Vesiroth doesn’t show up today,” said Reese. “Ironic, isn’t it? If he does come, it’s possible he’ll kill me, but if he doesn’t show up, my mom will definitely kill me.” She took a bite out of a brown cookie. “How do we know he won’t wait a week? Or a month? Why is Professor Ellison so sure it’s going to be today?”

  “The professor has her ways.” Fon-Rahm kept his eyes on Parker. “Vesiroth is not the only one with confederates in the world of magic.”

  Reese said, “Great. Professor Ellison has spies.” Parker’s eyes jumped at the word, but Reese kept eating, oblivious. “I guess I should have expected that.”

  “I don’t know why everybody’s okay with her all of a sudden,” said Parker. “Am I the only one who remembers what happened the last time we put our lives in her hands?”

  Reese closed the box of cookies. “I don’t know. With everything that’s going on…you have to trust somebody.”

  Parker stared off. “No, you don’t.”

  Reese looked to Parker and then to the genie. Something was not right. “Whatever. These cookies are terrible, by the way.” She looked more carefully at the cartoon dog on the box. “Wait. Are these dog biscuits?”

  As Parker stewed, Theo and Professor Ellison walked the endless halls.

  “Careful where you step,” the professor said. Theo looked down and saw a silver wire running between the walls about six inches off the ground. “I’ve prepared a few surprises for our friend Vesiroth and I’d hate to see them activated ahead of time.”

  “Booby traps? What about Parker and Reese? Aren’t you worried they’ll set one of these things off?”

  “Parker and Reese will have to pay very close attention. It would almost be better if they were off somewhere and out of the way, don’t you think?” Professor Ellison made a slight adjustment to the tripwire. Theo didn’t even want to know what would have happened if he had broken it. “All we have to do is get him to the library. He’ll be able to see the containment room from there, and he won’t be able to resist the Helm.”

  “How does the trap work?”

  Professor Ellison stopped walking and pointed at the library doors. “The entire room is a magic circle designed to separate a magician from the Nexus. It’s an ancient spell and it took me days to prepare. Vesiroth taught it to me himself. The trick is, the wizard must step inside the ring voluntarily.”

  “What happens to him once he’s in there?”

  “He stays in there until someone lets him out.”

  “You mean he’ll be a prisoner here? Forever?”

  “Yes. Well, until I can find something else to do with him.”

  She seemed far away.

  “Professor Ellison? When I get good, I mean, really good at magic, will I live forever?”

  “I hope not.” She turned her eyes to her protégé. “Have you ever been to the Grand Canyon?”

  The question threw Theo. “Um, no. My dad talks about taking us, but, you know, money’s been tight and…” He realized that Ellison didn’t care. “I saw a movie about it once.”

  “Fine. I want you to close your eyes and picture the Grand Canyon in your mind.” Theo shut his eyes. “You’re standing above it, and it goes on for hundreds of miles in every direction. It is far deeper than the largest building in the world is tall. It is a hole of almost immeasurable size. Can you see it?”

  Theo nodded. He could.

  “Now I want you to imagine that once every thousand years, you are allowed to throw one grain of sand into the Grand Canyon. Do you think it will take a long time to fill the canyon with sand?”

  “Well, yeah! It would take eternity.”

  “That’s the thing, Theo. It won’t. Eternity is doing that a hundred thousand times and then a hundred thousand times more and a hundred thousand times more. Our minds cannot even comprehend the brutality that is forever.” Theo opened his eyes to find Professor Ellison looking at him with something that might be defined as affection. “I have lived a very, very long time. That is nothing compared to eternity, and it is still horrific. Everyone I have ever loved has died; every place I have ever known has changed beyond recognition. I have no friends. I have no family. I have no home. I won’t live forever, thank the stars. I’m beginning to see the end even now, and in some ways, I welcome it.” She put her hand on Theo’s shoulder. “I wish for you a long life, Theo, and a good one. My hope is that you’ll die an old man of a hundred and two and not a century more.”

  She let her hand linger for a moment on Theo’s shoulder before she turned on her heel and started the long walk back to join the others.

  Two black SUVs pulled to a stop by the side of the road within eyeshot of Professor Ellison’s modest farmhouse. “We shall wait here,” said Vesiroth, staring at the house from the front passenger seat of the lead truck.

  The Path driver nodded and signaled to the truck behind them.

  “If we’re going in we might as well do it now,” Duncan said from the backseat.

  “Stop. Savor this moment. We may not face a foe like Tarinn again. Enjoy the calm before the storm.”

  “Whatever you say, boss.” He popped his gum and looked out the window. “I still think it was a mistake to not bring more men. Us and three guys? I can’t see how it would hurt to have backup.”

  “The members of the Path are loyal but weak. They would only be underfoot. I really only need the one.” Vesiroth gave the taciturn driver a once-over. “But it’s nice to have a few spares.”

  “The professor will be ready for us. If we did this in a week, or a month, she’d have let down her guard a little. Nobody can stay at red alert forever.”

  “You don’t understand”—Vesiroth turned his scarred features to face Duncan—“because you have faced uncertainty before. I have not. Tarinn and Fon-Rahm wait in that house with the object I need to take control of the entire world. They know we’re coming and they’ll be ready for us. We have the power of righteousness on our side, plus I have arranged a little surprise for Fon-Rahm. It might be enough, but, then again, it might not. I remain weak. We may very well fail. The prospect fills me with excitement.” His mouth twisted into a grim smile. “Whether we win or lose, this promises to be a day to remember.”

  2
8

  THEO STARED AT THE MONITORS. Vesiroth was out there, somewhere, waiting in the shadows, dreaming of a world without war and a world without freedom.

  “Anything?” As Parker walked into the room with Fon-Rahm and Reese, he didn’t even try to catch Theo’s eye. Things were still tense between the two cousins.

  “Not yet.” Theo rubbed his eyes. He took a quick look around the massive room with its priceless works of art and its endless dimensions. Were they really a match for Vesiroth? Fon-Rahm was hurt, Professor Ellison seemed unsure for the first time since he had known her, Reese was in way over her head, Parker was refusing to see reality, and Theo himself was just a student. They weren’t exactly an unstoppable force. And what if Vesiroth had learned everything he needed to know from his spy?

  Theo leaned into one of the monitors. Did he just see something move? Yes! There, by the side of the house. Someone was sneaking up the lawn.

  “Get Professor Ellison!” Theo yelled.

  Reese and Parker were there in a heartbeat. “What is it?” Reese asked.

  “It’s starting. Look!”

  Parker and Reese concentrated on the monitor. The figure took one more step toward the house and stopped. He looked down at his feet like something was wrong. Then vines erupted out of the ground and wrapped around his body.

  “Yes! Got him!” Theo shouted.

  Reese asked, “What will happen to him?”

  “Well, if the last time was any indication, something really unpleasant.”

  “Wait a second.” Parker squinted at the screen. “It’s not Vesiroth, and anybody from the Path would be wearing a suit. That guy is…” Parker froze. “Holy crap.”

  Before Theo could hold him back, Parker was heading for the door. “Parker! Come back! This is all in the plan!”

  “No, it isn’t!” As he ran, Parker shouted, “Fon-Rahm! I wish I had a samurai sword!”

  Parker rushed out the front door of the house, the sword materializing in his hands. He knew he was screwing up Professor Ellison’s plans, but he also knew he didn’t have a choice.