The Watcher Key

by Troy Hooker

  Sam dug in his backpack and found his canteen and followed Gus’s lead, drinking deep of the cool water from the stream now far below them.

  “I am always up for a death-defying hike,” he said, wiping the water dribbling on his chin.

  Emma had taken her shoes off and was in the process of emptying large pebbles from them. “

  “I am surprised at you, Gus. You wouldn’t normally have made it this far.”

  Gus turned red.

  “Well, not as if you would have noticed because of my eating habits, but I have been trying to get in shape. I was thinking about trying out for the football team,” he said with much insecurity.

  Sam cringed, waiting for the outburst of laughter, but it never came. Instead, he saw that the two girls were truly happy for him.

  “Really? You should have, Gus!” Emma said sincerely.

  Lillia looked authentically surprised.

  “Wow, that’s cool … Gus, a jock.”

  Gus puffed up his chest.

  “I wouldn’t be mean and self-absorbed like the other meat-heads, but I figured it would have helped me stay in shape.”

  “And perhaps find a girlfriend,” Emma winked at him.

  At that, he stood up, picked up his pack and put his canteen away.

  “I would jump at the occasion, but too bad it’s not possible,” he said curtly, then turned and began up the path once again, with Lillia suddenly following right behind him, her face drawn down in an obvious frown.

  Sam quickly put his own canteen away and waited for Emma to put her shoes back on. He wondered if Gus really thought he couldn’t get a girlfriend. There were always girls that looked past the outward appearances, but it seemed like Gus was talking about something other than getting a girlfriend with his looks.

  “Gus doesn’t think he could find a girlfriend? With that brain, why couldn’t he?” he asked Emma quietly as she laced up her shoes.

  “It’s not really that he couldn’t. It’s more like it would be frowned upon in Lior. We aren’t really supposed to have close contact with people in Creation.”

  “You mean like you and me,” he said flatly.

  “Well, yeah, but you’re … different,” she said defensively. “I know you’re one of us.”

  Sam pressed her.

  “How can you be sure? I haven’t shown any signs of manipulating Light yet—or anything—so how can you know?”

  She stood and picked up her pack.

  “I just do.”

  Then she smiled and brushed past him, leaving only him and the grand vista before him.

  The last stretch of pathway up the plateau was more littered with rocks than at the bottom, but they made good time anyway. With his new boost in confidence from the group, Gus was pushing himself even harder than before, ignoring the narrowing pathway beside the plateau, so much so that Sam and Emma had trouble keeping up with him. Perhaps the little time they had spent in Lior had given Gus a new sense of vitality.

  As they crested the top, it was nearing late afternoon, and they took a few moments to look at the view overlooking the valley from where they came.

  The Darkness sat like a great black monster below them, sinking its foggy fingers into any crevice of the valley it could find. Beyond it, the outline of the clear blue pools could be seen and the crescent beaches around them. Further to the left stood the majestic snow-capped Agam Mountains and somewhere among them, tower seventy-one’s Lightbase.

  Leaving the edge of the plateau, they crossed a series of grassy knolls before coming suddenly upon the Woods of the Ancients. Their trunks were easily two times wider than the large trees they saw in the forest below, and they were nearly twice as tall. It was almost as if giants should be living in them and tending to them.

  “They are the oldest living trees known in all of Lior,” Gus started into his tour voice again for Sam’s benefit as they approached the forest. But Sam wasn’t the only one interested, as they had only ever read about trees this large, not experienced them up close.

  They entered the forest timidly, as if the huge living skyscrapers would somehow uproot themselves suddenly and come crashing down upon them. Instead, the gigantic pine needles dropped loudly but gracefully as a gentle breeze surprised them from behind.

  “They’re huge! Look!” Gus held up a fallen needle that looked more like an arm-sized stalk of young bamboo.

  It was alike to a normal pine needle in every way, except that it was a hundred times heavier. Sam picked up a needle, feeling the coarse, sticky surface. Then he snapped it in half, amazed at its frailty.

  They moved on through the silent forest, the only sound made from crunching needles underfoot. It wasn’t long before they reached a small stream that followed the trail until it broke off into a small green pasture, bathed in soft light from a break in the understory of the great pines above.

  The stream flowed from a small pool in the center of the pasture, which was fed from a rock outcropping on the far side of the pool. The water flowed freely from the side of the rock and danced gracefully into the pool. Sam reached for his canteen and bent toward the cool, clear water.

  “I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Lillia said suddenly. “Look.”

  She pointed beyond the small outcropping of rocks, where Sam hadn’t even noticed the grey half-circle stones poking out of the ground.

  “Oh …” he said stupidly, seeing the ancient gravestones gleaming eerily in the sunlight.

  Suddenly, Emma bolted from the group and, hopping over the small stream, clambered her way up the rock cropping and disappeared into the graves. A moment later, she popped her head out from the top of the rocks and motioned excitedly.

  “It’s here! The Forever Light! Come look!” she cried.

  Lillia hopped over the small stream and ran to Emma, the boys following behind.

  The three climbed up the rocks and onto the graveyard, which only numbered twenty or so graves. The markers were obviously ancient in nature, and all were only remnants of their former glory, now crumbling stones where once great memorials had been erected.

  Most did not have any writing, either because it had been worn off or because it was never inscribed in the first place, but a few displayed short phrases in an unknown language.

  “Shemitic,” Gus said, looking at one of the stones, his breath winded from the sprint up the rocks. “The ancient Descendants spoke Shemite.”

  No one seemed to have a clue what he was saying, nor what Shemite meant, but hearing about the ancient languages from his geography class a year earlier, Sam thought he would take stab at it.

  “Was that Hebrew? From the Old Testament Israelites?” he said as he ran his hand across a smooth, grey headstone.

  “Good guess. Actually, Hebrew is a descended dialect from Shemite. Interesting, really, how so many dialects developed from the early attempts at writing,” he paused, peering at the stone Sam was touching. “I think this was a name. Ara—something. Aram? Yes, that could be it … no … he would have been the son of the shipbuilder after the flood, but that would be more Hebrew.”

  Sam let Gus argue with himself and walked toward the outer edge of the graveyard where Emma and Lillia were. When he came upon them, they were peering down at a small circular stone buried half into the ground, a steady wisp of blue light rising up from a hole in its center like a flickering candle in slow motion.

  “The Forever Light is said to have started after the first Descendant was buried here,” Emma said, waving a hand over the wisp, causing it to divert around her hand like smoke. “They were the first of our kind to come to the old city—the first half-angel half-man.”

  Lillia sat in the soft green grass, tilting her head back to let the sun warm her face.

  “Until the Giants killed them.”

  “Some of the children of the Watchers and women fr
om Creation were born different than others. Bigger,” Gus explained, joining them. “They were often children of the more powerful Watchers.”

  “Giants … of course,” Sam said playfully, but fully believed them at this point. With all that he had seen since coming to Lior, the mention of larger-than-normal beings just seemed to fit right in.

  “An angry lot, too,” Gus said. “Personally I am glad they live in the eastern ranges.”

  Lillia stood and yawned loudly, then stretched.

  “Boggle said there have been sightings around Warm Springs lately, though.”

  Gus whirled around to face her.

  “There’s no way that’s possible!”

  Lillia rolled her eyes.

  “Uh, yeah Gus, I wouldn’t have said it—”

  “I’m sorry Lillia, I didn’t mean to—”

  “It’s fine,” she said. “I did hear Boggle correctly.”

  “Why you askin’ Gus? Afraid of larger men?” Emma joked with him, hoping to lighten the mood.

  “No … well yes—who wouldn’t be afraid of large men—but that’s not why I was worried,” Gus said in a hushed voice. “The last time the Giant groups were found near Lior provinces was the last time the Dark Lords were building up their armies of Metim … when Old Lior City was attacked and destroyed. They moved West because the Metim were taking their territory.”

  They took in his words, Sam choosing instead to watch the soft wisps of the Forever Flame. It seemed as though the information they had been getting all along was turning out to be outdated. The Darkness, Metim, no return instructions to Lior … They were truly on their own, and the danger of the situation was beginning to mount.

  Lillia broke the silence as the light began to fade from the opening in the trees above.

  “I don’t mean to cut this off, but isn’t it getting late?” she said, pointing at the waning light in the tree canopy. “Unless you want to spend the night in the ancient graveyard.”

  They all stood quickly as they gazed at the massive shadows projecting on the forest floor behind them. They didn’t have far to go according to the map, but if they wanted to shelter inside the City, they needed to get moving.

  According to Gus, the entrance to the City on the Grave of the Renown’s side was the larger of the two and the most secure, and may require some finesse to get through as it led directly into the courtyard of the former City Center.

  Upon leaving the gravesites, the massive trees began to thin out to reveal more open grassland. They passed two streams before leaving the woods completely, so they filled their canteens, unsure if any existed within the City walls.

  Emerging out of the huge trees brought them the last bit of afternoon warmth, so they shed their outer layers before hiking up the small rise in front of the City. Two large guard towers greeted them first, and although tempted to explore them, they moved on toward the now visible wall of the City.

  The closer they got to the City, the more they could see the damage to its exterior, including several crumbling portions of the wall and a large gaping hole in the center of its immense wooden gates.

  “One of the lords—they didn’t know which—was able to disguise himself as a merchant man under a special cloak that a mystic gave him to mask his Darkness. He walked right past the guards,” Gus said, puffing up the last rise before the entrance of the City. “Then he unleashed a cloud of Darkness so powerful that the City was under total blackness. No one could see in order to fight the Metim being let in through the front gate. The PO was blindsided—couldn’t mount any sort of attack. It was over before it began.”

  They traversed the stone steps to the gate entrance landing. Beautiful ornate stone statues several stories tall of carved winged creatures, much the same as those inside the City Center in Lior City, lined the walkway to the gate. Although most of it was overgrown with thistle and creeping vines, it was still impressive.

  The hole in the gate seemed the best place to enter, even though it would require effort just to reach it because of the height. After a bit of arguing about who would be the first to climb into the hole, Lillia finally convinced them she was the one to scale the gate since she was the best climber.

  It took Sam and Gus each lifting one of her feet high above their heads to get her to where she could reach the thick ledge where the hole began. They heard a thud, and then a loud call from the interior from Lillia that she was okay, and then they were left alone, waiting for her to return with a ladder or a rope of some kind.

  The sun was setting quickly beyond the gigantic pines, and they would need to find shelter soon. No one, including Gus, knew what type of danger they would find if they were stuck outside the gates when the sun went down. Even though the Darkness was a good walk from where they were, it didn’t appeal to them to test its boundaries.

  Almost immediately, Lillia returned with an old wooden ladder, and after situating herself back on the ledge in the hole, she started maneuvering the ladder to the other side.

  But as she worked the ladder, Sam thought he caught movement out of the corner of his eye behind them.

  ***********************

  Slowly turning, Sam was shaken to see a large beastly-looking creature that resembled a wolf, disfigured in its face and body, but looking more fierce and bloodthirsty than an average wolf, stealthily creeping out of a small patch of brush only a few hundred feet away.

  Another look behind the beast showed two more emerging from the bushes, identical in size, but different in their deformities, still equally as revolting.

  A chill went up his spine. Sam knew this was horrible timing for an emergency, because to get everyone over the gate required time and finesse of the ladder from both sides.

  He also knew from stories he heard while sitting on the front porch with his Grandfather that wolves sensed the best time to strike—when panic struck its victim and it began to run. Maybe, if he pretended to ignore the wolves, it would take longer for them to get in their ideal stalking position, giving them time to get over the wall.

  Sam connected eyes with Lillia, and he gestured silently toward the wolves while holding a finger to his lips to hush her. Quickly she sensed the plan and picked up the pace of maneuvering the ladder.

  Gus and Emma were oblivious, and it was better that way. If the wolves sensed their panic, they would charge early.

  The ladder in place, Gus climbed the wall slowly, testing each old rung to see if it would hold him. He did not yet know of the dangerous wolves behind him. Sam kept watch out of the corner of his eye as the three beasts crept silently toward them, their movements silent in the waning evening. His blood pulsed faster the closer they got.

  Lillia pulled the ladder up quickly, nearly pushing Gus down to the other side. Then she yanked it out from under him and pulled the ladder back down quickly, which prompted a surprised and appalled look from Gus. She mouthed a quick “I’ll explain later” to him, which seemed to satisfy him for the time being.

  Next was Emma, but her keen sense informed her something was wrong. She saw the stifled panic in Lillia’s eyes and how she kept glancing behind them at something in the distance. Emma turned around to see the three ugly creatures creeping up on them and let out a horrifying scream.

  At the surprised scream from the girl, the three wolves leaped to the hunt. The fastest one was also the least disfigured and knew the sound well. Instinct told him to attack when discovered, or he would lose the edge and miss a meal. The ugliest and shortest younger male behind him only had three good legs and one good eye, so he knew he would get the best meat from the kill. Bounding, they covered vast space in only seconds. The easy prey were only a few dozen leaps ahead of the wolves, racing toward the wall.

  Sam sprang as if by instinct and grabbed Emma, pulling her to the now dropped ladder in front of him. He knew the chances of both of them escaping were slim, but he had
to try. But something inside him told him to save her first.

  Emma would have none of it. After her initial panic, she calmed herself down and turned to face her attacker, slipping out of Sam’s grip. She forced her eyes to close and sent out a bolt of Light from her outstretched palm. Lillia saw what she was doing and stood inside the hole in the gate and shot a bolt as well. But the two bolts were not perfect shots. One hit one wolf in the foot, causing him to stumble only briefly, and the other only singed an ear of another.

  The front wolf didn’t slow his pace and was almost instantly upon Sam, knocking him to the ground with his great paw. Then he stood triumphantly over his victim and snarled and smacked his tongue, ready to take a chunk of the delicious meat lying before him.

  Emma’s mind raced with how she could possibly help him, but then something took her over—a wave of calmness flowing inside her like a lake after a storm. She whispered the words, “Help me Creator” out loud, then lifted her hands to fire another bolt of Light. What came out of her palm was not a bolt, but instead a shield, large and round enough to cover her and Sam, and flowing with an intense blue light. She dared not move, but kept her hand as steady as she could. She discovered it was movable as well, and could allow her to force the wolves back until she was at Sam’s side. Then she bent down and examined him, relieved to find only a small scratch on his right cheek where the wolf had just barely scraped him with its claw.

  “Are you okay?” she said with a shaky voice, stroking his brown hair with her free hand.

  He nodded at her, then looked at the shield above him.

  “How are you doing that?” he asked, watching the fearful wolves edge further and further away from the Light, pacing and whining. One wolf even lay in the grass to nurse his burnt paw.

  “I don’t know,” she said gleefully, helping Sam to his feet and walking him to the ladder. “Let’s go up together,” she said, walking him in front of her, careful to keep the shield behind them.

  For a moment, the wolves acted as though they were going to make another attempt at the fleeing prey, but then trotted away when they realized it would soon be hopeless with the painful shield around them. It was the cursed blue light that they feared the most of any predator or danger in the forest.