The Watcher Key

by Troy Hooker

  Safely over the gate, Emma put her hand down and the blue bubble shield faded into the air.

  ***********************

  “I don’t know. I told you already,” Emma said for a third time to an exasperated Gus, who had nothing to do but listen to the attack from the other side of the gate.

  “How did you conjure up that much Light?” Gus persisted, still pacing. “We are only on the outskirts of the City and there aren’t any pools until we reach the Kingdom Hall.”

  “I told you—” she started to say again, then stopped out of frustration. “I don’t know how it happened. It just did.”

  “Maybe she has been practicing,” Lillia chuckled.

  Emma turned red.

  “You know we aren’t allowed to practice until we go through Mentorship next year!”

  “Oh, don’t get your curls all tangled. I was kidding,” Lillia scowled. “But it looks like you’re obviously going to be in the Magen clan.”

  The mention of the Magen brought sudden fear among the group. What had they just done? Their first brush with the effects of the Darkness was not good. Sam was nearly lost in the blackness indefinitely, and then he and Emma were nearly devoured in front of the others by infested wolves. This truly was no place for inexperienced Descendants of the Light.

  They may be facing more dangers within the gates of the City, but it was no time to reflect. There was plenty yet to do, fear or not.

  Their attention turned toward the jungle-like garden in front of them. Behind the mass of foliage lay the old city’s center, an enormous castle-like structure that attempted to keep the out-of-control vegetation at bay, but was losing the battle.

  The garden was grossly overgrown as well, with thick green vines forming a scraggly hedge that spanned nearly the expanse of the courtyard, choking out most of the color from the scattered flowers that clung to survival under the invasive weeds. In the center of the garden stood a crumbling statue of an unknown warrior surrounded by stone tables and remnants of benches that were too overgrown with vines to sit.

  Emerging from the protection of the gate, they picked their way carefully through the winding hedges, looking very much like rats working their way through a maze of underground sewers.

  Looking for a way through, they tried every possible inch of the hedge that would lead them past the statue, but to no avail.

  Finding the thinnest spot in the hedge, Emma and Lillia were able to weasel their way through the twisted vines without too many scratches or torn clothing. When Sam’s turn came, he did his best to slip through like the girls did, but his frame against the densely compacted vegetation made it more difficult to maneuver. At last, after a few tears in his new robe and a rather good-sized gash across the cheek, he freed himself and waited for Gus to go next.

  The moment Gus thrust himself into the hedge, however, it became instantly clear he would become hopelessly stuck in the twisted vines.

  They attempted to help him any way they could, but the vines would not let him go. Lillia tried her best to clear the area around him with a Light bolt, but it wasn’t nearly as strong as it was next to the Lazuli pool, and she only managed to singe a few of the thicker tangles. Emma took from her pack a small knife and began sawing to remove some of the smaller branches, but she knew it was going to take much longer than they had time for. Gus was thoroughly stuck, and none too happy about it either.

  It was Sam that came up with the plan to have Emma attempt another protective shield around Gus. Like the wolves, the shield would hopefully push the branches back enough to allow him to slip through.

  “I don’t think I can produce another one,” Emma said sadly as Gus thrashed about in the thicket, attempting desperately to free himself. “And that was different! Sam was in real danger—I didn’t think, I just did it.”

  Grabbing her shoulders and spinning her to face him, Sam looked deep in her eyes, like she had done so many times to him before to get him to step out of the box he had created for himself. He had been so closed-minded, but now he was beginning to see so much more.

  “You can. You did it before,” he spoke softly to her, even as she began to show the initial signs of panic. “Now you just have to find that same passion to do it once again. Think about those wolves on the other side of the hedge about to get Gus. Use that to help free him.”

  She sighed and held up her hands in front of her, not exuding much in the way of confidence.

  “I will try.”

  They all watched as a slow trickle of blue emerged from her hands, then sank back into her palm … emerging once again, stronger, and growing to a semicircle bubble around Gus. The branches resisted the Light, then parted slowly as if making way for a king stepping through the crowd.

  Gus pushed into the Light and easily freed himself from the branches that bound him. Emma’s eyes were closed, but something told Sam she could see what was happening anyway. They all watched her with fascination as she followed Gus through the opening with her shield of Light, then skillfully drew it back into her hands. Then she opened her eyes and a smile crept to her face.

  “I think I’m getting the hang of it,” she said.

  It was the second time they had seen the shield flow out of her palms, but they were still stunned with the results. No one they knew of in Lior had been able to successfully manipulate Light as well as she did before Mentorship. It was a feat that was not only discouraged because of its danger that could come from inexperienced Light manipulation, but also because it was nearly impossible without extensive training.

  After that moment, the others viewed her a little differently. She had saved Sam from the wolves, and now freed Gus from his prison of vines. It had taken Gus and Lillia years to even produce a small amount of Light that emitted from their palms since they had first attempted it, but Emma had mastered it in only two separate moments. Although she tried desperately to hide it, there was an obvious glow on her face that followed her around, not out of pride but out of accomplishment.

  With Gus back on his feet, they found themselves in the center of the overgrown garden. They passed the statue of the helmet-clad warrior, who was resolutely but gracefully holding his arms in the air as if producing a bolt of Light. Closer observance showed he was missing a hand, and his shield lay in pieces on the ground—dark green vines wrapped around the larger of them.

  At the other end of the garden, the City Center loomed in front of them, and there were obvious signs of destruction from a simple glance at its exterior. Once a great magnificent architectural centerpiece, fortified with a thick brick and iron gate and dotted with numerous guard posts atop its now crumbling walls, the City Center now only lay empty for the mice and birds to make their nests.

  They crept slowly along the vast exterior of the outside of the center, half out of the desire to explore the rest of the garden butting up to the structure, and half out of fear for what they may encounter. Ever since the encounter with the wolves, each was on edge and more aware. The wolves had been outside the gate when they attacked, but it was possible others could have entered through another route.

  The center was sprawled throughout the City, which Gus had informed them was the model for a castle built in the mid sixteenth century in England.

  “It was a conspiracy all in its own as to how the plans were leaked into Creation in the first place,” he argued, which as he talked, suddenly gave Sam an idea.

  Reaching into his backpack, he pulled out his journal that was given to him by the Sterling’s and the others. He had written a few entries already since arriving, but as they traveled, he had felt compelled to write more. Now, he opened it to a blank page as they walked and began tracing the outline of the Old City’s City Center, including the overgrown garden.

  When they had reached the end of the immense outer wall, another wall appeared, separating the center from the rest of Old Lior City. F
ortunately, the majority of the wall was completely destroyed from the attack over fifty years ago, and the four friends easily picked their way through the rubble and into the heart of the City.

  Chapter Fourteen

  The Holobook

  The Old City had seen destruction. There were only a handful of standing buildings, and the rest were either heavily damaged or completely demolished, leaving only outlines in the overgrown grass like remnants of ancient cities after a thousand years of erosion.

  Sam wondered how powerful the Dark forces must have been to make entire buildings nearly disappear. He imagined the day when the Metim and Dark Lords walked through the streets, bolts erupting from their palms as they destroyed anything in their paths and murdered anyone they could see. Judging from the expressions of fear and sadness on the others’ faces, he could tell they were thinking the same.

  No doubt the others were also considering the fact that Dark creatures could still be lurking amongst the ruins, and he shuddered at the thought of being caught in the open with only one of them able to fight back with any true accuracy—a shield as her only weapon.

  Moving through the City proved to be swift, even with the rubble from the buildings all around them. They saw no sign of life, and strangely, no sign of Darkness—not even the remnants of its deathly effects. Gus pointed toward the town center where the remains of a large market once stood. In the center were numerous vendor stands, some still standing, like tiny miracles in the midst of certain destruction.

  Just beyond the vendor stands, a lone white building high upon a grassy mound stood gleaming in the afternoon sun. It was taller than any of the other structures in the City, including the City Center, partially due to its domed roof with a majestic spire that rose well above the rest of the City. Much like the intact fruit and tea stands, it too looked curiously as if no damage had come to it. As they neared the white building cautiously, Gus echoed what all were thinking.

  “I believe that temple is where we will find our library,” he said, shielding his eyes against the brightness of the building’s reflection of the sun. “I am surprised it is still standing, honestly.”

  Sam looked at the glorious building, which looked as though it could be dusted off and put back in operation. “Why would they leave this one and completely destroy everything else?”

  Gus thought for a moment, then glared at the earth and rubble in front of the building. “Possible it was untouched because the pools of the City’s Lazuli are beneath it.”

  “Dark Lords hate Lazuli,” Emma added.

  “That’s what we are counting on.”

  It was simple in its construction, but magnificent nonetheless. Apart from the dome in the center, the rest of the design reminded Sam of a bland version of the Greek Acropolis. Atop its main columns near the stairway to the arched doorway were the words “hen be’ene Yahweh” chiseled into the stone above their heads.

  “I believe it says ‘Grace in the eyes of the Lord,’ if I’m not mistaken,” Gus said.

  “The Creator Himself,” Lillia added quietly.

  They climbed its wide steps to the entryway then gingerly walked through the open door into the foyer, Lazuli lanterns out in front of them.

  Inside, there was surprisingly more light than they had anticipated, which illuminated the large stone statue of a dragon in flight in the center of the room. Below was a winged creature looking up toward the dragon, not as one would of a lower position, but in awe. Surrounding the magnificent stone creatures were four stone columns that glowed with flowing Lazuli light.

  Both statues were completely intact, and except for the small mountain of dust that covered everything, the rest of the temple looked as though it had not aged one day since its last use.

  They progressed through the foyer, pausing only briefly to look at the statue. Then they passed through another entry into a much larger room that contained a semi-circular amphitheater and stage, much like the one from the City Center. On the far end of the amphitheater was yet another entrance with a wooden door, and instinctively they headed toward it, a winged creature carved ornately into the frame above the entrance.

  Gus stood in front of the entrance, staring at his journal he had been studying since arriving at the temple.

  “I don’t have the schematics on this building, but I would bet an electron’s negativity that would be where the library is,” Gus said with a snort, his voice echoing loudly off the stone walls.

  Emma and Lillia rolled their eyes and shushed him, easily opening the wooden door to reveal another smaller room leading to a long hallway with many doors along its length. In front of them were stairs and another smaller hallway to the left of the stairs. On Emma’s suggestion that the doors may be offices for Council members, they agreed to try the shorter hallway first.

  Their guesswork paid off, for the shorter hallway led them directly to a balcony overlooking the rotunda library. Above them was a stained glass centerpiece, shining brilliant sunlight into the room. Along the walls below them were thousands of books, and from the looks of it, in perfect condition.

  “I guess your theory was spot on there, prodigy boy-genius. The library is still standing,” Lillia glanced sideways at Gus, who suddenly noticed that all of them were looking at him.

  “I can only speculate, but I suppose that yes, the Darkness was reluctant to attack the library because of the Lazuli reserves below it. The Office of Research must have overlooked it when they returned to study the City,” he said with the slightest twinge of self-satisfaction.

  Lillia hopped onto the railing and dangled her feet over the edge to the open floor below.

  “Or they decided to keep it secret from everyone …”

  Gus held his finger in the air.

  “That was my second theory.”

  Emma furrowed her brow.

  “But why would someone want to keep it protected—or hidden—enough to make up a story that it was destroyed?”

  “It is strange,” Gus said thoughtfully. “With the Lazuli pool directly below it, it would be near impossible for Dark creatures to get near it. Even Dark Lords would have trouble with it.”

  Lillia dangerously swung her leg back over the railing and hopped down.

  “Well, there’s a set of steps over there. Let’s stop talking about it and see if we can go dig up some answers.”

  Gus smiled awkwardly at her.

  “That’s the Lil’ I know,” he said to her, at which she immediately rolled her eyes dramatically.

  They walked down the marble staircase, marveling at the ornate carvings on the wall and the winged creature etched into the stained glass above them. The books were terribly dusty, but Emma discovered a few old scraps of cloth behind one of the desks to wipe books off as they searched.

  After an hour or so of reading histories of Lior, legends of how dragons and dinosaurs came into existence, stories of giants, and how the Darkness had corrupted them all, they were getting frustrated. It was long, grueling work, even if interesting.

  But they were discovering that most of the texts in the Old City’s library were nearly identical to those in Lior City, or they were written in dialects of the old language, which Gus had trouble translating. Their next goal was to search for Boggle’s lab.

  When her stomach growled loudly during an especially difficult translation, Emma put her foot down for a short break as they hadn’t eaten much of a lunch.

  “There’s a spot with a table on the far side of the room where we can sit,” Emma said cheerfully as she snatched up the backpack of food.

  “I don’t suppose we have any meat pies and mashed potatoes, do we?” Gus said jokingly.

  “I could go for a cup of coffee too,” Sam added as they sat down at the small stone table behind a particularly dusty shelf of books.

  “I vote that tonight we find a house that’s still stan
ding and use the kitchen to make a late dinner,” Lillia suggested, to which they all seemed to agree, but knew was unlikely.

  “But for now, we get to eat honey and nut butter sandwiches,” Emma said cheerfully while Gus pulled out a small bag of large red leaves and dropped one into his cup of water.

  “Oh! You have Gunia leaves!” she dropped the knife she used to spread the mixed nut butter on the bread.

  Gus smiled.

  “I do … and I brought enough for everyone,” he said.

  Watching the others, Sam dropped one of the leaves into his cup of water and watched it suddenly begin to turn red, then bubble rapidly like it was about to boil over the sides. He took a sip gingerly, unsure of what to expect. The liquid was sweet, like a strawberry would taste, but the large carbonated bubbles exploded in his mouth, unlike any soda he had ever had.

  “It’s like nature’s carbonation,” Gus said.

  “Good, isn’t it?” Emma half hollered across the table.

  Sam let one of the bubbles pop in his mouth before answering.

  “Yes, I am not usually one for pop, but this isn’t—” he stopped short. In the moment that he spoke, he noticed the large chips in the stone wall behind Gus, and then the outline of a hidden door behind a bookshelf that had been moved and then hastily shoved back into place.

  “Where does that lead?” he pointed to the concealed door behind Gus.

  They all turned to look at the hidden door behind the bookshelf, which was cleverly hidden if one wasn’t aware of its existence.

  “I wonder …” Gus trailed off, suddenly forgetting his sandwich and leaving the table to investigate.

  They all followed him to the shelf. Sam was right. Behind the bookshelf, which looked as though it was made to be able to slide back and forth, was a small crack outline in the wall in the shape of a narrow doorway.