Cody nodded his head slowly, rubbing his tongue along his upper lip. “I think so. But I don’t understand what relevance this has to do with my training. Who cares if I am just mimicking?” Cody replied indifferently.
The old man’s hand shot out and stung across Cody’s cheek. “It is of complete relevance. It is the very essence of being a creator. Let me tell you another tale boy. There was once a brilliant young creator who had become so skilled and powerful that one day he claimed to be the god of the universe. The divine creator heard of this and challenged him to a contest in order to determine who would hold the title of god. The divine creator suggested that the highest pinnacle of his creation had been making man out of dirt. So the young creator, confident in his ability, bent over and grabbed a handful of dirt to create a human life. The divine creator laughed and simply said, ‘Get your own dirt.’ Brilliant as the young creator was, he was still trapped within the framework of the world he lived. Don’t forget this parable, son. By using the Orb’s energy we gain power, but we are still limited. Unfortunately, there have been some who have let the Orb’s power infest them like a cancer; distorting and twisting their minds until one day they wake up and believe that they are no longer merely man—but a god. Can you think of anybody?” Stalkton prodded.
Cody looked down. “The Golden King.”
Stalkton nodded. “Oh, yes, the Golden King he calls himself. It makes me sick to my stomach to hear of such blasphemy to the Orb . . . then again, it could also have been the two dozen rock-cakes I consumed this morning. They tend to give me the worst gas . . .”
“Sir,” Cody asked, suddenly remembering the question that had been floating around his mind since his meeting with Randilin, “I was wondering if you could tell me about something . . . about . . . the Hunter.”
Cody suddenly wished he could retract his words. The pupils in Stalkton’s eyes grew as he stumbled backwards, coughing. His head started jerking as though he was having a seizure.
“The Hunter is a demon,” he finally coughed out, his voice shaking like a flag in a hurricane. “An unholy Beast; the literal embodiment of evil. But it has been banished. So we have no need to speak of it. Ever!” he spit out, an unfamiliar edge in his voice.
“Banished, you say? How was it banished, if you’ll forgive me for asking? I mean, theoretically, could it ever come back?” Cody pressed cautiously.
An almost demented appearance seized Stalkton’s stern face. “Back? Why would you even bring up such an outrageous idea?” he snarled harshly. “It was banished by the Good King Ishmael himself during the truce with the defeated Golden King after the Great War. It was a compromise. The Hunter cannot be killed; it can only be contained. The Golden King agreed to trap the Hunter at the bottom of the Great Sea of Lava where it would rest for all eternity. His one condition was that, as a fail safe, if ever a man should read from The Code or The Key whom was not its rightful keeper, the Hunter would be awoken from its slumber,” Stalkton finished softly. Cody gulped.
“And, if someone were to read from The Code other than its rightful keeper, what would the Hunter do to that person?” Cody asked timidly.
Stalkton shuttered. “It would hunt them without ceasing. The Hunter needs no sleep; it only needs flesh. It is a flawless predator. When it catches a scent, inexorable doom awaits its wretched prey . . .” the priest’s voice faded to a whisper, his thoughts carrying him back to ancient memories. After a moment he shook his head. “But enough of this; it is only hypothetical talk. You didn’t attempt to read from the Book before it was yours, right? Surely you weren’t foolish enough to have read from it while Wesley was still alive . . . were you?” Stalkton asked, the terror bursting from his eyes.
Cody felt his palms sweating. “No, Sir, absolutely not. You have nothing to worry about,” he lied.
Stalkton’s shoulders slumped and he let out a long sigh. “Thank the maker. You had me worried. If you had read the Book before it was yours, then we’d all be doomed. But as it is not the case, we are never to bring up this topic again. Is that clear?”
“Yes, Sir” Cody responded tensely. A sharp cramp formed in his stomach. What have I done?
“Now, was there anything else you wanted to learn, our time is nearly up?” asked the priest as he lowered himself back to the floor.
Cody shook his head as he walked to the door, but stopped, and turned back to Stalkton, “As a matter of fact, there was one more word I was hoping you could teach me.”
Stalkon’s white eyebrow rose, “Yes, and which word was that?”
Cody closed the door behind him, once again leaving his elder teacher alone in the room of darkness. Cody walked into the middle of the hall and scanned the balconies. He found the object of his desires on the third level. “Hey, Xerx,” he called up.
The irritated young face of Xerx stuck over the ledge. “I’m busy, what do you want?” he called down angrily.
Cody grinned. “Just to warn you to keep your head up. Gadour!” A fist-sized rock whizzed toward the ceiling, pounding Xerx square on the forehead.
Soul Snatcher
Guilty or Innocent? Find out all the latest on this evening’s dramatic trial!” the voice of Fincher Tople called over the sea of people filling the streets, “Get your UnderEarth Rumblings! Containing exclusive, classified information from the jury themselves!”
Cody rolled his eyes. That guy’s really starting to get on my nerves. As he walked the steps into the palace, Cody could see a large line of people waiting to enter the courthouse. Life in Atlantis was being put on hold in favor of the trial. Several men stood outside the courthouse holding signs: Don’t Let History Repeat Itself, Send Randilin to the Gallows!
Cody closed the palace door behind him, blocking out the noise of the crowd. He paused at the stairs to his chamber. He was still ticked off at Jade for not standing up for him and his accusation of Kantan. He knew their lives were at too much risk to stay mad for long, but for the moment, he couldn’t bring himself to make peace. Walking back down the stairs he set off aimlessly into the palace. Anywhere quiet would do.
“Cody! My dear, sweet, little thing!” came a friendly voice. Cody felt two pudgy arms wrapping around him and heaving him off the ground. “I’ve been wondering when I’d see you again!” Cody turned to face the voice. Sally Peatwee looked just as she had before, rosy cheeks and her two frizzy French braids hanging down to her waist. However, the redness and bags under her eyes proved that she’d been doing a lot more crying than sleeping of late.
“Oh, hey, Sally. It’s great to see you again! I wasn’t sure if you had stuck around here or gone back to your café.”
Sally’s eyes squinted, foreshadowing another crying fit. “They’ve allowed me to remain here until after the trial. I just couldn’t leave Randy. Not now.” Tears started streaming down her face. “It’s just not fair! Randy isn’t evil inside. We’ve all made poor choices! Randy’s dark incident was .
. . I mean, I was there! I saw the horror with my own eyes! He wasn’t himself that night! He didn’t know what would happen! I mean, he couldn’t have . . .” Sally’s voice was suffocated by fierce hysteric crying.
Cody gave her another hug. “It’s going to be okay. We have a strong testimony for his defense. I’m sure we can convince the jury. But we should both probably rest for a bit and go over our stories. Do you know anywhere quiet I can go around here?”
Sally grabbed her left braid and dried her tears with it. “Hard to find anywhere quiet on this ghastly day. But the garden should be empty; the entrance is just at the end of the hall,” she replied jittery. Cody thanked her and set off down the hall, hoping that what he had told her would indeed be the truth. Reaching the end of the hall, he came to a set of royal purple doors. On each door was a golden figure, a winged creature with a human head. The creatures were wielding flaming swords.
The potent aroma of pine and timber welcomed Cody as he passed through the doors. His eyes widened. The sight before him was not so m
uch a garden as it was a rainforest paradise. Thick green foliage and bright multi-toned leaves and flowers filled the dense courtyard. Up the sides of the walls, leafy vines had slithered up, completely covering the bricks in rich greenery.
“Ah, I see you have discovered the beauty of Atlantis at last.” The plump-faced Prince Foz emerged from the trees, carrying a bucket of water. “Come. Follow me.”
Cody caught up to the short prince. “What are you doing out here, Foz?” Cody asked. His strides fell into sync with the Prince’s as they walked deeper into the forest. Foz stopped at a patch of beautiful, red flowers and poured some of the water from his bucket on them. “I’m here for much of the same reason I suspect you are; to relax and gather my thoughts. I’m going to be testifying for Randilin this evening, did you know? It’s a choice that will not sit well with my family, but I can’t let other people stop me from doing what I think is right. Besides, these plants aren’t going to water themselves, eh?” he laughed, throwing some more water onto the greenery.
“Are you the gardener? I thought you were the doctor here in Atlantis?” Cody asked curiously as they came to a stop in the middle of the garden.
Foz laughed. “The answer is yes. I’m both. Although my official duties are as city doctor, let’s face it, living in a city of immortals that are incapable of even catching a common cold does not result in a very full schedule.” Foz extended his arms to the forest. “This is my real passion. Beauty. This is what the power of the Orb is all about. Perfection, the way it was always intended to be.”
Cody looked around at the plants surrounding him. He knelt down and picked a bright green flower with large, smooth petals. “It’s called a jade flower,” Foz explained excitedly. “One of my personal favorites.”
Cody smiled, and tucked the flower gently into the sash of his garment. It would make a perfect peace offering to Jade.
Another plant caught his eye. The plant had thick, skyblue leaves with yellow and orange blotches on it. All the leaves together reminded him of a stained-glass window. Cody reached out to touch it. Foz’s hand came slapping down on his with a smack. “Don’t touch that one; it’s not safe!”
Cody grabbed his throbbing hand and gazed curiously toward the panting Prince. “What do you mean, it’s not safe? What kind of plant is this? It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.” As the light danced off the plant’s leaves, Cody felt the uncontrollable urge to touch it. It is so beautiful . . . just one touch . . .
Foz clutched onto Cody’s arm and guided him back toward the entrance of the garden. “That plant is called the Derugmansia. But its more common name is the Soul Snatcher. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve tried to remove it from the garden, but despite all my attempts, it always grows back. Within those beautiful leaves is an immeasurably high concentration of poison, equivalent to roughly twenty bites from the adult black mamba snake on Upper-Earth. One of those leaves makes contact with your lips and twenty seconds later you’re being ushered into the afterlife. Now here we are.” They had returned to the palace entrance. “We both need to change before heading over to the courthouse. Guess I’ll have to return afterwards to finish watering all the plants.”
Cody looked back at the garden and smiled, “You know what, Prince Foz, I think you have a busy enough day as it is. Why don’t I save you some trouble?” Cody held out his arms and cleared his throat, “Seamour!” A thick rain poured down upon the plants. Foz gave a sly grin.
“Show-off.”
The Trial
The courtroom was filled to capacity. The back of the room was like a can of sardines as more and more people attempted to squeeze into every inch of unoccupied space. Despite the mashed-together crowd, the room was silent. The air was growing toxic from lack of carbon dioxide; the masses held their collective breath. The anticipation leading up to the trial had been fanatical. Now that it had finally arrived, people seemed unsure how to handle it.
Cody looked across the sea of people from his reserved seat. At the end of his row was Sally; the bags under her eyes were freshly red. To Cody’s direct left was Prince Foz, and beside him was Jade, a green flower tucked daintily behind her ear. All the who’s-who of the city were in attendance. Cody saw General Gongore Levenworth and Dace standing with a bald man with tanned skin who Cody assumed must be the captain of the Mid-City guard. Poe Dapperhio sat at the front of the courtroom proudly holding a feather quill; he would be the trial scribe. Cody hoped he wrote more eloquently than he spoke.
Even Xerx was in attendance, leaning against the back wall with his arms crossed; a large purple bruise bulging from the center of his forehead. On the adjacent side of the room was a parallel boxed seating compartment. In it sat Lady Cia, looking radiant as ever, and her sister, Princess Eva. Where was Prince Kantan? Cody realized that the Prince wasn’t the only one missing. In the middle of the box was an empty throne. Cody felt his anger toward the King rising. War or no war, Randilin’s life had value and deserved the respect of the King’s presence.
“Excuse me, Sir, excuse me. Ma’am, if you’ll excuse me. Official business. Reporter coming through!” Fincher Tople climbed over chairs as well as any unfortunate people who happened to occupy them as he worked his way toward the front. The crowd glared at him as his gangly limbs scurried overtop.
“All rise.” The doors at the front of the room opened. The first man who came through was a man with the conniving face of a panther: Sli Silkian—head of the AREA. His fine, black hair was slicked smoothly back and his eyes were cool and calculating. There was something about the man’s appearance that once again gave Cody the creeps.
Behind Silkian, and escorted by two guards, was Randilin. Looking worse than ever, he hung limply against the guards as they ushered him to his seat, binding his hands securely to the chair. Following him through the door was a plump, little man with only a few strands of hair still clutching the top of his head. The man waddled over and took a seat beside Randilin. His name was Geoffrey. Cody had been briefly introduced to him the night before; he was a member of The Brotherhood of Light. He was also the lawyer for the accused.
The final man walked through the door and Cody felt his face heat up. Prince Kantan approached the bench looking as smug as ever. Cody clenched his fists, so that’s where he was! Kantan would be the prosecutor in the case. Cody reached behind and felt his backpack, the indentation of the Book pressing against it. All it would take was one simple word. Cody imagined the pleasure he would get from watching Kantan burst into flames.
The panther-faced man took his position behind the pulpit. “I am Judge Silkian, overseeing the trial of Sir Randilin Stormberger, for the offense of high treason to the Crown,” the judge paused, his black eyes squinting under his bushy eyebrows, “and his role in countless, premeditated murders.” Jade cried out, covering her mouth with her hand. All eyes in the room shot her an angry look. A murderer? Cody stared at Randilin sitting in the front row; his head resting on the table as though sleeping, oblivious to the trial all together. Cody couldn’t believe it. Randilin was a rough man, but a murderer? It just couldn’t be . . . could it?
“Will the prosecutor please call the first witness?” Silkian asked with his smooth purr of a voice.
Kantan stood up and walked to the front. “Ladies and gentlemen. Today is truly a monumental occasion. The accused is a man who really needs no introduction. I could offer you shocking numerical data of the atrocities that this man has committed, but what is a number anyways? When we reduce precious life to a mere number, we become no greater than the man accused today. Instead let us examine the issue . . . a little closer to home. Will Ms. Skytin please come forward?” Cody began to panic. Kantan’s smooth voice was captivating, his serene words weaving a hypnotic spell over the audience.
An elderly lady took the stand. Cody noticed that it was the same lady that had sold him the blackened earthworm in the marketplace. Kantan glided over to the stand. “Ms. Skytin, do you know the accused?”
The lady’s eyes narrowed. “Oh, yes, I know him. I’ve thought about him every day for a thousand years. He visits me . . . in my nightmares,” she answered in a timid, shaky voice.
Kantan held his hand out to the audience. “I know it must be hard, but can you tell the audience how your life has been different because of the accused?”
The women shuddered. “It hasn’t just been changed, it’s been ruined! Because of this wicked man I have to live with this gimpy knob instead of my right arm!” she pivoted her body to display her missing appendage before continuing, anger infecting her voice. “My husband was killed in the war, so I’ve been forced, even with my handicap, to work overtime selling worms in the market just to support my family. My daughters, they can’t even remember having enough food on the table. Oh, but they remember him.” The lady pointed her trembling finger at Randilin. “They remember him all right.” The woman burst into tears and Kantan helped her off the stand and back to her seat.
When Kantan returned he approached the jury. “As you can see, the actions of the accused continue to devastate the lives of innocent people today; even blameless children.”
Suddenly Kantan’s eyes narrowed toward Randilin, his voice quivering with hushed rage. “Oh yes . . . I think it’s safe to say we’ve all been affected by the dark incident that took place that day . . . some will never recover.” An expression of anguish flashed over the Prince’s face before quickly vanishing. His devious grin returned. “I have arranged for three other individuals to share their tragic stories. Shall we continue?”
Legend of the Book Keeper Page 20