Raymond did not move, certain the Skybax would not harm him.
Careening to a halt, the tip of its beak only a few feet from Raymond, the Skybax touched down lightly on its hind legs. Flapping its mighty wings for balance, the creature kicked up a terrible wind. Raymond held his ground, his hand slowly reaching up.
For a moment, Raymond’s gaze locked with the Skybax’s. The boy’s hand lightly grazed its beak. He saw something in the creature’s eyes, a pain he had seen reflected in the mirror every day since he had lost his father. There was a darkness in the Skybax’s eyes. It seemed almost as deep as the nightmarish abyss in which Raymond lost himself every night as he dreamed about the tragic events on the Redemption.
Raymond sank to one knee and fished his father’s pocketwatch from his boot. He stood, ignoring any danger, and held it out for the Skybax to see.
With another ear-piercing squall, the Skybax reared back, flapping its wings frantically. Raymond could not tell if the creature was angered or frightened. All he knew was that his gesture, which even he did not fully understand, had been rejected.
The Skybax turned and glided off, leaving Raymond to watch after it with a haunting sense of longing.
CHAPTER 7
Sollis arrived at the boys’ quarters the next morning. It was a sunny day. Raymond was at the window searching the clear skies for any glimpse of the wounded Skybax. But the majestic creature did not appear.
Hugh sat on his bed, leaning against the headboard. His arms were crossed over his chest, and a wicked smile played across his handsome face. “Come on, Ducky. Surprise and delight me.”
The Edmontosaurus laughed, enjoying the challenge Hugh presented. “First, I have an announcement. Bix was called away on an urgent matter. She will return as soon as she can.”
He asked the boys to sit at the table in the middle of the room. There he set down several scrolls. One was a map of Dinotopia.
“The island was once connected to a major land mass,” Sollis said, pointing to where the break had occurred. “When perpetually dark skies and freezing temperatures threatened to wipe out the many species of dinosaur, the Saurians took refuge in the cavernous underground referred to as the World Beneath. They emerged when it was safe. For tens of millions of years they have evolved into sentient and wise creatures.”
“Some of whom look like ducks,” Hugh said.
“The fortunate ones,” Sollis replied.
Raymond smiled. He noticed that Hugh did not use Sollis’s height as a means to taunt him.
“We will be studying all manner of dinosaur over the coming months,” Sollis said. “Today, I will tell you more about the island’s geography. One must first consider that Dinotopia is completely cut off from the outside world. This island is surrounded by an impassable coral reef. A system of tides and winds prevents navigation, making it impossible to leave the island by boat or even by balloon, as was suggested by a recent Dolphinback.”
“Ya mean we can’t ever leave this place?” Hugh asked, stunned.
“No egg rolls from the nest,” Sollis said. “This was not explained to you?”
“No,” Hugh said. He looked as if his future had just been snatched from his hands.
Raymond shook his head, equally startled. “I assumed the choice was ours.”
“I am sorry to be the one to tell you,” Sollis said. “Though I would ask you to consider this: you have been with us for many days. If the thought of returning to the outside world did not occur to you, it may be because you have no desire to do so.”
“I dunno about that,” Hugh said quickly.
Later, after their first day of lessons was finished and Sollis had departed, Hugh turned to Raymond. “I won’t believe I’m a prisoner. They just want us to think there’s no way to escape. The Dinotopians have a nice little setup here. They like fresh blood now and then to keep things goin’. It also lets ’em find out what’s goin’ on in the outside world. But no way to get out? I don’t believe that for a minute.”
Raymond was saddened by his friend’s words. “Has anyone here lied to you?”
Hugh shrugged. “How’d I know?”
Raymond ignored his friend’s sarcastic reply. “Saying we’re trapped is only one way to look at the situation. Think of what Dinotopia has to offer. All that’s wrong with the outside world is kept from us here. War was done away with centuries ago. There is food for all. People are content.”
“So you say,” Hugh replied. “You’re believin’ all this. Me, I was schooled on the streets. My teachers told me, ‘You never get somethin’ for nothin’. If someone has a gift in one hand, they got a dagger in the other.’”
“There’s not much I can say to that,” Raymond said.
“Didn’t think there would be. I’m just lettin’ you know: you do whatever you want with your back. I’m watching mine.”
Several weeks passed. Raymond applied himself to his studies with great vigor. It seemed the more information he crammed into his head, the less severe his nightmares were when he went to sleep. Yet he could not get rid of them completely. The loss of his father from his life was still fresh and hard to bear.
When Raymond felt saddest, he would turn his attention to the sky and look again for the wounded Skybax. He could not forget it. Often, he’d make sketches of the great winged creature during lectures. Soon he was overwhelming his teacher with questions about the Skybax’s many mysteries. Sollis commended his student on his dedication to learning.
In contrast, Hugh barely paid attention during Sollis’s teachings. Several weeks passed before the Saurian came to understand the kind of motivation Hugh needed.
The morning was very dreary. Raymond was unable to keep himself from yawning. Hugh stared at a particular spot on the wall of their quarters with an unfocused gaze. Rain fell outside their window.
Sollis unraveled a scroll and cleared his throat. “‘Boredom is a worthless currency. Why is it then the price we often pay to get what we want?’”
“If I knew that, I wouldn’t be sitting here, would I?” Hugh asked.
“Ah,” Sollis said, encouraged. “You approve of the sentiment?”
Hugh shrugged. “Sounds like whoever said it was a plain talker. I always approve of that”
“You’re bored, aren’t you?”
“Oh, no, Ducky.” Hugh yawned. “I wouldn’t say that.”
“Of course not. It would be impolite. And at your heart, you are a diplomat.”
“A diplomat, eh?” asked Hugh, surprised.
“The words I read to you are from Laegreffon, a popular philosopher and diplomat. Do you understand what he’s getting at?”
“O’ course I do,” Hugh said. “To get what we want, we sometimes have to do things we don’t like. We have to be patient.”
“Tell me. When you were in London, what did you do?” asked Sollis.
“Besides stealin’?” Hugh let out a ragged breath. “I don’t know if you’d understand.”
Try me.
“Well, in London, everythin’ was different. There ya was a fool to play by the rules. Ya could work till ya dropped, and it hardly made a difference.
“See, me dad was a cheap-jack, hawkin’ chains and carvin’ knives at the fair. Me ma was a crossing sweeper. Five or six shillings a week for riskin’ her neck. I can still see her, dodging in and out o’ traffic, sweepin’ the filth from the street so the rich wouldn’t get it on their nice shoes.
“Me dad died before he was thirty, and me ma was struck by a carriage. I had me share of the workin’ man’s life, too. I was a mudlark, goin’ into the Thames when it was at low tide, prayin’ I wouldn’t cut me feet on glass. I searched in the muck for coal, rope, bones, and copper nails. That’s when I was ten. Before that, I was used as a climbin’ boy.”
The Edmontosaurus nodded gravely. “Why then would you wish to return there?”
“’Cause there ya knew what was what. There weren’t no secrets. No one holdin’ out false hope.”
/> “I see,” said the teacher. “You do understand that there are no secrets here, either. And as far as hope goes, Laegreffon said it best. ‘Hope can be a fool’s game, or the salvation of us all. Your choice.’”
“Right then,” Hugh said. “So tell me this. What happens to me at the end o’ the six months if I don’t get a shinin’ letter o’ approval from ya? What’s the penalty?”
“There’s no penalty except what you bring on yourself,” Sollis said. “You have great potential that you are gleefully wasting. ‘Life is opportunity. Why settle when there is so much out there?’”
Hugh’s gaze narrowed. “So ya say there’s no secrets in this place. Just knowledge I haven’t got yet.”
The Edmontosaurus nodded.
“All right,” Hugh said. “Prove it.”
Sollis took the boys to Waterfall City’s magnificent library. The building was filled with endless corridors and murals. The walls of the reading rooms were three stories high and lined with scrolls. Many visitors were looking through the titles. All that marred the library’s perfection was Waterfall City’s usual dampness.
Hugh looked bored as Raymond raced about, translating what titles he could. Hugh barely listened until he heard Raymond call out, “The Secret for Transmuting Base Metal into Gold.”
“Wot’s that, ya say?” Hugh said, whirling.
Raymond took down the scroll and handed it to his friend. Hugh opened it with trembling fingers. His mind whirled with the possibilities. If he knew the secret for turning base metal into gold, he could become wealthy beyond imagining. He turned to his teacher, who was following close behind.
“This is some kind o’ bloomin’ joke, now innit?” Hugh asked.
“No,” Sollis said. “Someone took the trouble to write it down, didn’t he?”
Hugh growled in frustration as he saw the scroll was littered with characters and formulae he could not read. “Raymond! Quickly. What does it say?”
Raymond was about to respond when Sollis stopped him.
“No,” Sollis said. “Hugh, if you want the secret so badly, you can learn to read it for yourself. What you have in your hands is a copy. There are others on the shelf. Borrow this one and see if you can unravel its mysteries.”
Hugh frowned. He spent the rest of the day doing his best to come up with a way to entice Raymond into helping him. But the younger boy refused.
The next day, Hugh plopped down in his chair and was all smiles as Sollis arrived to begin his teachings. “Ah, well. Never let it be said I wasn’t dragged in kickin’ and screamin’. All right, governor. Educate me. I bleedin’ dare ya!”
CHAPTER 8
Sollis had a feeling that something wonderful would occur today. A month had gone by since Hugh began to apply himself to his studies. During that time, the boy made several attempts at translating the secret for turning base metal into gold. On his last try, Hugh was so close. Sollis told him as much. Hugh did not become cross or frustrated. Instead, he applied himself that much harder.
“All right,” Hugh said nervously as their lessons began. “I think I got it.”
“Then read the scroll,” Sollis said.
Hugh did as he was commanded. When he was finished, he looked up anxiously.
Sollis was grinning. “Perfection!”
Hugh shouted in delight and hurled the scroll into the air. Laughing, he leaned so far back in his chair that he fell down. Raymond moved to help, and Hugh dragged the boy down with him. Hugh grabbed him in a bear hug. Raymond struggled playfully to extricate himself.
“You’re crazy!” Raymond cried.
“It’s true!” Hugh said. “Bloomin’ starkers!”
Sollis laughed. “My friends, I believe both of you have earned a well-deserved day off. Take it with my compliments.”
Hugh reached out and messed up Raymond’s hair. “Let’s go!”
The boys took to the streets, and Hugh cried, “It’s a glorious day, Raymond!”
Following behind, Raymond had to agree. The sky was clear blue—not one cloud. A soft breeze drifted over the streets from the canal waters.
“Hey!” Hugh said, turning and placing his hands on Raymond’s shoulders. “Want to have some fun?”
“Sure!” Raymond said. “Like what?”
Hugh laughed. “Watch closely.”
The older boy began to eye the passersby like a natural predator, though his expression seemed innocent.
Suddenly, Hugh was jostled by an older man who laughed, then begged pardon. Hugh patted the man’s tunic and said nothing was amiss. After they’d proceeded another block, a mischievous glint lit Hugh’s eyes.
“Tell me you didn’t,” Raymond said.
“As you will,” Hugh said as he revealed a pocket-sized timepiece in his palm. “I didn’t.”
Raymond snatched the timepiece and ran back in the direction of the older man. He caught up to the man and returned it. Raymond fumbled a bit as he explained that the item had fallen and that he and Hugh found it. The man thanked him.
Moments later, Raymond saw Hugh on the steps of the city’s great library. Hugh held out two similar timepieces, a bracelet, and a ring. Raymond sighed, wondering what was to become of his friend.
He sat down on the steps. “Why are you still doing this? There’s no reason for you to steal.”
“No reason?” Hugh asked. He leaned in close. “There’s every reason. I have to keep sharp. True, I translated the scroll. I understand its words. But I’m no metalworker. Nor am I a chemist. Once I’m back home, I’ll have to hire people to do the actual work of makin lead into gold. I’ll need money for that.” He rattled the stolen belongings. “This is how I’ll get it.”
“Hugh—”
“Don’t say it. I know Sollis claims there’s no way to leave Dinotopia. But I’ve heard there’s a map room somewhere on the island. It’s bound to have a course charted through the reef.”
Raymond considered mentioning the breakers and the deadly winds, but he knew his words would not stop his friend.
A noise came from behind the boys. They were blocking the exit of a green-skinned Triceratops. Hugh led Raymond away from the library steps.
Soon they were leaning against a fountain. A dozen feet away, an apprentice to a Dragonhorn player was performing a sidewalk concerto.
“I want you to come with me,” Hugh said. “We’ll go into business together. We’ll be rich. What do you say?”
Raymond squeezed his eyes shut. From overhead he heard the caw of a Skybax, and his eyes opened at once. But it was not the wounded Skybax—the one he was still hoping to see again.
“Come on,” Hugh said. “Haven’t you ever done anything the remotest bit exciting? Have you no fire in your spirit?”
“I suppose…I’ll have to think about it,” Raymond said distantly.
Hugh nodded, not paying any attention to his friend’s serious expression. “Sure, sure. Take your time. Just remember what Laegreffon says: ‘No experience is wasted.’ I’ve made mistakes, but I’ve learned from them. ‘Every action has its purpose.’ I can hardly believe it, Raymond. Finally, I’m going to be someone!”
“You already are someone. Don’t you understand that?”
“Come on, don’t be a stupid git. Either this is all an act or these people are bloomin’ pitiful.”
“What do you mean?” Raymond asked.
“The Dinotopians,” said Hugh. “They can’t be so bloomin’ good. I mean, if I was to believe that, I’d have to believe some of the other stuff they said, like there bein’ no way out o’ this place. Then where would I be?”
“Right where you’re going to be anyway, Hugh. They’re not lying to you. All they’re trying to do is help you find what’s inside you. Help you to learn about this place and be happy.”
Hugh was still not listening. “You know the best part?” Hugh asked. “I’ve been takin’ stuff for weeks. Found a little hidey hole to stash it all in. Ain’t no one here’s got the first clue it was me that�
�s been takin’ their things.”
“You’re wrong,” Raymond said.
Hugh stared at him. He kept silent while a procession went past, several dinosaurs and a gaggle of humans. Hugh’s joyous mood was finally fading. He waited until they were alone again, then he snarled, “What are you talkin’ about?”
“They’ve known all along it was you doing the robberies.”
“Ridiculous! I been slicker than ever.”
“That’s not the point. These people don’t steal. It’s not in their nature. They knew it had to be you doing the stealing because there’s no one else who knows how. What they don’t know is why. In any case, they decided it would be best to let you get it out of your system.”
Hugh’s dark eyes narrowed. “You’re just tryin to get me to mess up, aren’t ya? Ya want me to make a mistake and get caught!”
“No. I’m your friend,” Raymond said. “I’m trying to help you see what you’re doing to yourself.”
“Ya think ya know everythin’, don’t ya? Just like all these people. Well, how ’bout we make a little wager? If you’re right, if they know all ’bout what I’ve been doin’, I’ll burn the scroll. I’ll learn just for the sake of learnin’. I’ll try to fit in. How’d that be?”
“Don’t do me any favors,” Raymond replied. “Do it for yourself.”
Hugh smiled. “Is it a bet?”
“All right. Sure,” Raymond said, giving up.
“Don’t ya want to know what you’ll have to do when ya lose?” Hugh asked as he turned to go.
“I won’t lose,” Raymond said unhappily. “I’m sorry, Hugh.”
“You’re gonna be in for a rude surprise,” Hugh warned playfully as he jaunted off.
“One of us will be.”
Over the coming hours, Hugh decided to test Raymond’s claim that the people of Dinotopia were turning a blind eye toward his petty thieving. Hugh walked into the shop of a metalworker and picked up a beautifully adorned bracelet. “I’m takin’ this. Got any problem wi’ me stealin’ it?”
“No, young sir. You must need it more than I.”
Dinotopia: Windchaser Page 4