Cody had, in fact, been banking on the hope that Jade, in the heat of the action, might have forgotten all about his earlier foolishness. Fate had thrust the Book into his possession and along with it a mountain of responsibility. Yet, it seemed to Cody that all he had accomplished since then was to leave a trail of dumb choices and put people’s lives at risk. His thoughts went back to the words the mysterious agent had spoken in the Area 51 corridor. The part that hurt the most was that the man’s words had been true. At first, Cody had secretly cherished the excitement of discovering the Book. It had given him a sense of purpose, of significance. It was his moment to prove that he wasn’t a worthless, plain, ordinary boy, that he was special. But now he wanted nothing more than to throw the Book into the bottom of the ocean and return to his ordinary life; back when beasts weren’t trying to consume him, assassins weren’t trying to murder him, and things made sense. Most of all, he wanted to go back to a time when Jade didn’t know how weak he really was.
“Hey, Cody.” He was pulled away from his thoughts. Jade was looking directly at him, and despite her noticeable attempts to conceal it, a very slight smile had formed on her thin lips, “Thank you for taking that bullet for me. It was very brave.” Any dismal thoughts taking up space in Cody’s head evaporated quicker than they had come. He was on top of the world. And, just when he felt his usual swagger returning to his bloodstream, Jade shook her head, “Don’t let it get to your head, you moron.” But her voice lacked her previous harshness. She had to admit, it was almost impossible to stay mad at Cody.
Although they didn’t talk any further, the tension between them had vanished. Jade halted, holding out her arm to halt Cody. “Do you hear that?” He did. The sound of feet moving at a rapid pace; or were they hooves? “Look!” A cloud of dust was rising from behind the rock dunes and heading their direction. “Run!”
They took off sprinting down the river. The sound of hooves was getting louder. “It’s no use, they’re too fast. We need to hide!” They looked around them for a hiding place, but they were surrounded by endless rocky terrain.
“Hide where?!” Thud. Between Cody’s feet landed an arrow lodged into the dirt, its shaft still vibrating. He heard the sneering of horses behind him.
“Slowly turn around and put your hands behind your back, or the next one finds a home in your back.” Cody raised his hands and cautiously turned to face the speaker. Before him were ten men on horses, several of them had bow and arrow leveled at him. The men were all broad shouldered and clothed in light chainmail armor. Hanging from their sides in scabbards were large swords. Cody recalled the bizarre image of Wesley running toward the stairs with a similar sword. Who are these people? Even stranger than the men were the horses; their faces were oddly stubby and narrow with their muzzles coming to a point in a wet black nose. The hair covering their sturdy bodies was longer and shaggier than Cody had ever seen. There was a scraping sound as one of the horses pawed the rocky ground with its hoof—and Cody suddenly realized that it wasn’t a hoof at all . . . it was a paw. Instead of hooves, all the horses’ front legs had furry paws like that of a badger. Things just keep getting stranger!
The speaker smoothly dismounted his unusual horselike steed and noiselessly landed on the ground. Off the horse, Cody could see that the man was not very tall. He had a youthful face that was aged only slightly by the presence of light stubble on his chin. His wavy hair hung neatly down to his shoulders. The features of his face gave him an almost mousy appearance. In that moment, it suddenly occurred to him that they all had subtle rodent-like qualities. Until seeing the mounted strangers, he had been unable to pin-point what made Randilin and Sally’s appearance somewhat abnormal. Where are we?
The man approached Cody with a confident strut, his voice was confident and calm, “Hello, my friends. My name is Dace Ringstar, captain of the Outer-City guards. Identify yourselves.”
Cody looked over to Jade, but her eyes were already fixed on him, indicating that this time it was up to him to choose the course of action. Would there be any benefit of lying? Finally, Cody spoke boldly, “My name is Cody Clemenson and the girl with me is Jade Shimmers.” Dace smirked, “Yes, I know, we’ve learned that much already from your friends. I just wanted to test your honesty. Wolfrick, Hex . . .” He signaled to two of the guards behind him who dismounted their horses. They too were of shorter stature.
“What have you done with our friends? They’re innocent!” yelled Jade. At this, Dace gave a puzzled look. “Innocent? Are you in jest or in earnest?” Jade’s defiant stare confirmed the latter. “I think it’s time you learned with whom you’ve been running, Sweetheart. Your friend Randilin happens to be the most wanted, dangerous criminal in the world.”
Several of the guards pulled their horses aside to reveal a man shackled by both his arms and feet. The back of his shirt had been torn open and the fresh scabs of lash marks lined his back where his flesh had been torn off. The man was Randilin.
“You let him go! I don’t care what he is; he’s saved our lives and he’s our . . . friend.” Cody began to lunge forward but stopped as the guards tightened their grip on their bows. Dace held up his hand to stop his bowmen. “Unfortunately I have orders to follow. And your friend Randilin is now under arrest . . .” he paused. Cody felt his arms being grasped from behind, “. . . as are you.”
Beneath the Dirt
Cody’s wrists burned as the rope binding his arms rubbed against his skin. Fortunately, Sally had thrown a lively fuss and convinced Dace to allow him and Jade to ride in the pulled carriage with her instead of walking. However, her fit didn’t persuade Dace to provide Randilin with the same courtesy. Delirious from pain and blood loss, he had been bound by his hands to the back of Dace’s horse and forced to stagger behind. Sally had tried her best to free him; knocking two guards completely unconscious before she was eventually subdued. She had finally conceded to stay in her carriage, but the look of rage and disgust never left her face.
The caravan departed. Cody had no idea where they were headed, but then again, there seemed to be very few things that were known to him of late. Yet, there was one particular question that was perplexing him the most. Why had Wesley sent him here? He was getting used to accepting the unexpected, but after all the tension and dangers of the journey to arrive here, wherever here was, he hadn’t expected to be treated like a criminal and subjected to torture. What were you thinking, Wesley?
Sally continued to rave about the injustice of the situation and Cody decided it was unwise to interrupt her tirade. Instead he looked across the carriage at Jade. Her head rested against the window as she looked out over the rocky terrain. She was unaware of Cody’s stare. The one bright spot of their adventure was that it had drawn him even closer to Jade, a feat he previously thought impossible. The picture of her slight smile as she told him he was brave ranked as one of the greatest moments of his life; although he would never, under any earthly circumstances, hint of it to Jade, of course.
The carriage came to a halt. Cody opened his eyes; he had dozed off, but was unsure of how long. Jade had an equally groggy look on her face. Outside the carriage, they heard raised voices engaged in heated argument, although Cody couldn’t make out the words. Finally the disagreement stopped and the carriage door opened. Dace stuck his head in. “We have decided to stop for the night. We are almost within sight of the city, however, Randilin has slowed our progress and I do not believe he can reach the city in his condition. Tents will be provided for you.” Before Cody could question, Dace disappeared.
Cody stepped out of the carriage. The sun’s light was still shining bright, leaving Cody to question Dace’s concern for nightfall. He quickly searched for Randilin, but he was nowhere to be seen. A lone tent had already been constructed and a gruff looking guard wielding a spiked mace stood at attention in front of the entrance. Cody guessed that Randilin was contained inside and hoped he was okay. Jade joined his side; she, too, was thinking of Randilin’s safety.
&n
bsp; “Hey, Jade, come make yourself useful. We need to unpack the supplies for breakfast tomorrow,” a guard called across the clearing. Cody remembered the man’s name as Hex. Jade followed in obedience as the soldier led her through the camp and out of sight. The other guards assembled their tents and bustled around. Cody stood dumbly and watched, unsure whether to help or stay out of the way.
“Cody, over here. I wish to have a word with you.” It was the youthful voice of Dace. Cody walked over to where the captain of the guards was standing. “Follow me.” He led Cody a good distance away from the camp and up one of the rocky dunes. Reaching the top of the dune, Dace flopped down and sat upon the ground. He motioned for Cody to join him.
“First of all, I wish to offer an apology for the treatment of your friend, Randilin.”
Cody sneered disdainfully. “An apology is sure easier now, after you’ve already whipped him to death and dragged him half way across this god-forsaken desert. You’re nothing but a bully.”
A wave of irritation passed over Dace’s face, but he took a deep breath and the harsh lines on his brow once again smoothed. “I ask you not to be so hasty to jump to conclusions. While I am in command of this troop, I am far from being in command of all. Decisions regarding the fate of your friend are far beyond my sphere of influence. In fact, by the very act of stopping and giving him rest tonight, I am disregarding my orders, a decision I will be harshly reprimanded for.”
Cody could read the sincerity on his face and instantly felt guilty for his haughty accusations. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know. Thank you.”
A cocky expression returned to Dace’s face, “Don’t mistake my decision as care for Randilin. If anyone deserves the fate he has received, it’s him. However, there is a fine line between justice and barbarianism and my conscience won’t let me cross it.” Cody stared down at the red dirt beneath him. As much as he hated himself for it, he was beginning to have an involuntary liking for Dace.
Dace looked toward the sky, back to the horizon, and then back to Cody. “Good night.” This peculiar statement rattled Cody. By way of answer, the entire sky went pitch black. “What’s going on!” cried Cody. The sky had instantly transformed from sunny midday to late evening in the span of an instant.
Dace laughed, “Don’t worry. It’s perfectly normal down here. It will make more sense tomorrow. Trust me.” Cody hoped so, because it certainly didn’t make any sense at the moment.
“Wait.” Cody pondered, “What do you mean it’s normal down here?”
Dace looked honestly surprised by the question. “You mean you genuinely have no idea where we are? Neither Randilin or Sally told you where they were leading you?” Despite the images of Randilin’s bloody back, Cody couldn’t help but feel some resentment toward the dwarf for having kept him in the dark. Then again, he was starting to learn that Randilin was a man accustomed to secrets. “No, they did not. They didn’t tell me a single thing.
I’ve been carrying this B . . .” he paused. He realized that so far there had been no mention of the Book. Perhaps Dace doesn’t know? Cody decided that it was best not to bring it up. He stumbled on his words, “this b . . . b . . . burden of not knowing for awhile. So where on earth are we?” Dace caught the awkwardness but, to Cody’s relief, did not question it.
“Actually, it is not a question where on earth we are, but rather, where in earth we are.” Dace allowed a moment for his words to sink in.
“So you mean, we aren’t . . . on earth? But that whirlpool in the well at Area 51, it couldn’t have led anywhere. It could only have led . . .”
“Down,” Dace finished.
“Surely you don’t mean that, I mean, you can’t be seriously saying that we’re, that we’re . . .”
Dace flashed a mischievous smile. “Oh, I am absolutely serious. I guess I should take a moment to offer you salutations. Welcome—to the center of the earth.”
The Lost City
Cody stared at the shadows as they danced across the roof of his tent like a puppet show. His conversation with Dace had come to an abrupt end when Dace was called to attend to a dispute between several guards accusing each other of cheating in a gambling game. The reality of being in the center of the earth had not shocked Cody as drastically as it probably should have. Perhaps he had finally thrown in the towel and opened his mind to the many unknown, crazy realities that were now his new reality.
After Dace left, Cody wandered back to the camp in search of Jade. Being unable to locate her, he decided to retire to his assigned tent. The commotion outside slowly died down and one by one the lights had been extinguished. However, he could still make out the shadow of a man sitting at the entrance to his tent. The man had an axe. I’m being guarded.
Lying alone in his tent, out of touch from Jade, and enclosed in the center of the earth, Cody began to feel very claustrophobic and very alone. He closed his eyes. He had the feeling that tomorrow would require all his strength.
The sound of voices awakened Cody from his sleep. Stretching and rubbing his eyes, he pulled himself out of his sleeping bag and exited his tent. Men were scurrying around and packing up the final pieces of equipment, leaving no sign of last night’s campsite.
“My boy, bout time you got up, you sluggard. Don’t know what Dace has me guarding ya for, can’t escape if ya ain’t ever gettin’ out of bed!” The comment had come from Wolfrick, the guard who Cody remembered had captured and bound Jade’s wrists the night before. Of all the troops, he was the biggest. His hefty size came from bulkiness, not fat. His reddish hair hung greasily over his eyes and formed a messy pony-tail that reached his mid-back. A thick, bushy beard that was fashioned into two, tight braids covered his face.
“Then again, it must be pretty exhausting being a criminal fugitive, I reckon.”
Wolfrick smacked his large hand onto Cody’s shoulder. “But lazy cow as ya might be, you sure got good taste in women, I’ll give ya that! Your pretty girlfriend’s practically running the place already.”
Cody flushed bright red. “She’s not my girlfriend. We’re just friends.”
Wolfrick gave him an exaggerated wink. “If ya say so, captain. She’s over on the north end helping out Hex and Sheets last time I saw. Asked me to send ya over when ya woke.” The large man turned and walked back into the camp, muttering to himself, “Just friends, he says. My mother-in-law’s false teeth, they’re just friends.”
Cody dashed in the direction that Wolfrick had pointed but immediately slowed himself. He didn’t want to appear desperate or concerned. He looked to the sky. In the daylight he could see the rocky surface stretching out as far as his eyes could see. They were literally in an enormous cave. Colossal stalactites hung from the ceiling like gobs of thick tar ready to break. Cody shuddered. One break and they all would be smashed into bloody pancakes. Something glittering above his head caught Cody’s attention; hundreds of shimmering sparks flashed before his eyes. It was as though he was looking at a starry night sky. One of the passing guards slowed down and followed Cody’s eyes. “Ah . . . I see you’ve taken notice of our stars. Beautiful, ain’t they?”
Cody shook his head. “But I don’t understand, how can there be stars if we are in the center of the earth?”
The guard laughed, “More so, how can there be a sun? Nah, they ain’t real stars. Can’t get rich off a real star now, can ya?”
“How so do you mean? If they’re not real, then what are they?” responded Cody.
“Gems. Pure, perfect, gigantically gorgeous gems. You bring just one of those stones up to Upper-Earth and you’re a king.” Cody made a mental note to himself: Get sky gem = become king.
He continued on his way. True to Wolfrick’s words, he found Jade packing up some cooking materials with the slight guard known as Hex, and an older, redheaded man with a thick mustache that Cody assumed was Sheets. When Jade saw Cody approaching she gave a large smile and motioned for him to come.
When Cody arrived, Hex and Sheets were clutching their bellie
s and laughing hysterically. Sheets stuck a finger out toward Cody. “Well, if it ain’t the valiant hero of the story himself!” Hex let out another laugh before tossing his arm around Cody’s shoulder. “Indeed it is, my good man, Sheets! Although he appears to be wearing more than his usual mighty warrior armor!” The two men burst into another fit of hysteric laughing. Even Jade chuckled in good humor. Cody stared uneasily between the three of them, apparently missing the joke.
Jade smiled. “Good morning, Cody. I’ve just been entertaining these gentlemen with the heroic tale of you dashing for your life through Wesley’s apartment wearing nothing but tighty whities.” At this the two guards entered into more wheezy laughter.
Cody’s skin became clammy and he suddenly felt cold. “Well, what are you telling them that for? You think you can just go around talking behind my back? You’re a real friend, aren’t you, Jade!” Without waiting for a response, Cody stormed back toward his tent. The moment the words had exited his mouth he knew he was over-reacting, but he didn’t care. Jade had embarrassed him in front of the masculine troops and turned him into the butt of jokes. In fact, his butt had become the butt of jokes. He was furious at her for mocking him that way. He knew he should go apologize, but he wasn’t going to give her the satisfaction. Not after the way she humiliated him. And what was she doing acting so cozy and flirtatious with those men anyways? Nope, she would receive no such apology from him. He was the victim.
As the convoy resumed their trek Cody found himself walking alongside some of the guards on horses. He overheard that Randilin had contracted blood poisoning from his whip wounds and was in rough condition. As a result, he had been given the carriage for the trip. Sally eventually had worn down Dace and had been allowed to ride in the carriage with him. Several yards in front of him, Cody watched as Jade’s black hair swayed back and forth with her steps. She was engaged in a conversation with one of the other mounted guards; it was a conversation that looked a little too friendly for Cody’s liking. Cody had not spoken a word to her since their morning scuffle. Nor did he have any desire to.
Legend of the Book Keeper Page 12