Max Quick

by Mark Jeffrey

  But Casey barely heard her. Queen Jadeth and her protégée Casey would soon depart to embark upon Casey’s very promising future. The world would fall in love with her, kings would court her, and wars would even be fought over her, like a modern-day Helen of Troy.

  And this was the moment, right now, in which it all would begin. Already Casey was dreamy eyed, as though in a trance.

  “Casey, listen—” Max started again, but this time she cut him off.

  “No, you listen! You don’t know how hard it is, being a girl nobody likes! You can’t know!” She paused and then spat icily, “People are mean, Max. Including me.”

  That stung him.

  And then Ian noticed something very curious. Johnny Siren had been watching this exchange with a look of stark horror on his face. Something about it was deeply troubling to him.

  “I’m sorry, I really am,” she said, seeing Max’s expression.

  Jadeth’s black eye glinted with triumph. She placed her hands tenderly on Casey’s shoulder and grinned broadly.

  “Casey,” Max pleaded, “listen to me. Don’t side with her. This is really, really wrong. I understand you’re mad, but this—”

  “Look what’s happened because of what you did,” Casey screeched. “You’ll eventually hand the Pendant over to Jadeth! So—it’s done! She’s won! You lost, Max! You lost.”

  Jadeth petted her head and cooed sympathetically. “Well said, Casey. Well said, indeed.” Casey was clearly shaken and her face was red. This torrent of words had come suddenly roaring out of the deepest places of her soul. Even she seemed a little shocked at how vitriolic it had been.

  But Max hadn’t given up yet. “Casey. Listen. It was you who figured out that it was actually Ian on the other side of the door with the wolves—you saved his life!”

  Casey didn’t answer. She suddenly wrapped her arms around Jadeth and buried her face, sobbing, into Jadeth’s clothes. Jadeth shot a look of pure malice at Max.

  “We wouldn’t have made it this far without you, Casey. We care about you.”

  “I don’t care anymore, Max.” Casey sniffed. “I really don’t. Jadeth understands. You don’t.”

  Jadeth grinned serenely and stroked Casey’s head.

  Meanwhile Ian could tell that something inside Siren was breaking. The sight of Casey being swept up by Jadeth’s words was forcing him to see something clearly for the very first time. Ian was sure of it.

  “Jadeth,” Siren said, his voice croaking to life. “You don’t need to do this to Casey. Leave her out of it.”

  Jadeth’s gaze flashed a warning. “Cyranus. Be silent. This little one is mine to do with as I please.”

  “She’s not yours, Jadeth—”

  “Oh, but she is! She chooses to be mine. Freely! See for thyself.” Jadeth continued to stroke Casey’s hair gently now. Casey buried her face in Jadeth’s cloak again. “She gives herself to me, just as thou did.”

  “I was never yours,” Siren growled.

  “Oh, thou were indeed. Thou were always my slave.”

  Siren stared at her icily. He knew it was true. He could see it clearly now. His lust for eternal life had allowed Jadeth to easily manipulate him from the very first moment.

  “Casey,” Siren said, speaking to her directly now. “Listen to me. Jadeth is not telling you the truth. She’s just using you to manipulate Max. To get the Pendant.”

  Jadeth’s eyes blasted pure fury. “Cyranus,” she said, voice shaking and dripping with hate. “Dost thou forget thyself? Already thou treadest perilously close to losing thy hard earned prize.”

  Siren suddenly stood an inch taller. He still was wrestling with himself internally, but another look at Casey visibly steadied him, filled him with courage. She was watching him now with guarded, yet rapt attention.

  Siren completely ignored Jadeth. “Don’t make the same mistake I made, Casey. Don’t become a slave. It isn’t worth it. Nothing is.”

  “How dare thou!” Jadeth exploded. “Thy prize is forfeit! This one will not suffer insolence of this kind from a talking beast such as thee!”

  Siren approached Jadeth and did something completely unexpected.

  He smiled.

  “I don’t care. You keep it. I’ve done everything wrong my entire life. But this, right now, this is one thing I’m doing right. And there’s nothing you can do about it, Jadeth.”

  Deliberately, Siren took Casey’s hand and pulled her away from Jadeth. She went with him, although she was clearly still confused. Siren turned, and together, they started walking toward Max, Ian, and Sasha.

  Bows twanged. Knives zinged. And in an instant Jonathan Roseblood Cyranus was riddled with bolts, arrows, and knives. They pierced him in multiple places. He slumped to the ground.

  But he was laughing.

  Casey’s face was blank for several seconds. She simply could not process what was happening. Then, her mind caught up all at once. “Noooooo!” she screamed.

  Even as Siren’s life ran out of him, and his laughter was no more than a wet wheeze in his collapsed lungs, it was full of clear joy.

  Jadeth screamed in fury.

  Max stared in amazement. And Casey watched Siren as his breath began to fail. She didn’t know what to say. It had all happened so fast. After this gesture, she was embarrassed about taking sides with Jadeth, even for a moment.

  Of all people, it had taken Johnny Siren to bring her back to her senses.

  Johnny Siren, her father, at last. The father she had hoped for, the one she had told her mother about. Here he was, real in the end.

  “You did have a heart after all,” Casey finally managed to whisper.

  Siren nodded shakily. “That would seem to be so.”

  “Thank you,” Casey said.

  Siren laughed again and shook his head. “No. Thank you.”

  And with that, he died.

  Casey wrenched herself away from his side and ran over to Max. Her eyes begged for forgiveness, but he simply nodded and smiled: All was well. She needed no forgiveness from him.

  Casey turned now and faced Jadeth, with Ian, Sasha, and Max.

  “You heard my father,” Casey said. “As for your supposed gifts, you keep them.”

  Jadeth nodded. “So be it. Thou art a fool, like thy father.”

  Max was shaken, but maintained a firm grip on the Pendant. Centurions inched nearer like the closing of a noose. The rustling of their golden cloth-metal armor was amplified in the cavern, making Casey want to scream.

  Jadeth took a step toward Max and said, “There is no hope for thee, Max. No escape.”

  For a brief instant, Max considered making a dash for one of the Arches, diving into some other time, but a quick look around told him he would never make it. Centurions blocked the way at every turn.

  “Thou must give it to me. There is no other path open to thee.”

  She beckoned one last time:

  “Give the Pendant to me.”

  Max knew he could always just put the Pendant on.

  It would be just a quick movement, a flick of the wrist. It would be so easy! In a heartbeat, he could command them all. They would be compelled to obey.

  Even Jadeth.

  She was terrified that this was exactly what he might do. She saw that her prize hung by the thinnest of threads, the tiniest sliver.

  But it would be wrong.

  One should never seek to own the will of another, for any reason at all. There is never, never, ever a reason good enough.

  That was what Mr. E had said. And he had been adamant about it.

  But did he mean even in this situation? Where he might be able to prevent a great wrong from occurring? After all, that’s why he had created the Pendant in the first place.

  Wasn’t that a good enough reason? Never, never, ever a reason good enough.

  The centurions had crept to within arm’s reach. Even now, they might be able to snatch the Pendant if they moved quickly. But they were terrified of provoking him.

&
nbsp; Max sagged. If he used the Pendant, he would simply set himself up at the apex of the pyramid. It made no difference, really, whether it was his will or Jadeth’s that was imposed on countless others. The real evil was the pyramid, the hierarchy itself. If he used the Pendant, he would commit a far greater atrocity: He would become a parasite on the souls of others.

  It would change who he was.

  He would no longer be Max Quick.

  Jadeth was right. There was no other path open to him.

  He was not going to be the one to create the pyramid. At the very least, it would be someone else. That was the only choice that was within his power to make.

  The tyranny of the page is absolute.

  With one motion, Max stepped forward and placed the Pendant into Jadeth’s outstretched hand.

  Ian, Casey, and Sasha gasped.

  What was Max thinking?

  Even Jadeth seemed momentarily shocked. But her greed and arrogance quickly took hold. She slipped the Pendant deftly over her head. It hung around her neck, a blazing argent jewel.

  She grinned like a maniac.

  She raised her hand to her lips and spoke a few words into a ring she wore. There was a lurch of some kind in the very fabric of the world, like an amusement park ride suddenly returning to motion. They all felt it.

  “The Pocket,” Ian whispered. “She’s started time up again. The Pocket’s gone.”

  “Take them,” Jadeth ordered with a low chuckle, and centurions grabbed Casey, Sasha, Ian, and Max.

  The Pendant’s jewel blazed to life. It responded to Jadeth’s hungry mind. “PEOPLE OF THE EARTH, HEAR ME,” she cried out. Her voice seemed to be coming from everywhere at once. Her words must be penetrating the minds of everyone on Earth.

  “I hold the Pendant! Your will is mine to command! You shall serve me from this moment hence. I am Queen Jadeth, heir of Nibiru, your god and rightful master! What once was, is again. Ever have your ancestors been our slaves, and you are now returned to our service.

  “Now heed this command: Enter the Sky Chambers that are waiting for you around the world. That is our will. Let it be done!”

  Jadeth’s face shone with exultation, a clenched smile on her face.

  Max felt numb as they left the cavern. Casey, Sasha, and Ian seemed numb as well. Nobody looked at one another. Nobody said anything.

  Max was still numb as they were gruffly loaded into the Sky Chambers waiting in the lagoon. Centurions took Siren’s Sky Chamber—Cloudrider. The children were loaded into Jadeth’s golden bell-shaped ship.

  The nightmare had unfolded. The worst possible scenario had come true.

  This isn’t happening. This can’t be happening.

  But it was.

  Every passing moment was a new stab, another jolt to the brain.

  Jadeth had the foursome escorted with her, evidently so they could witness her triumph firsthand. She glanced over at them and gave a small half smile, clearly savoring the deepening shades of their rare and exquisite horror.

  When the Sky Chambers broke the surface of Loch Sheil, Max saw that the Pocket had indeed been dissolved. Time flowed normally. Water splashed in plumes around the craft as they ascended through the surface of the Loch. Wind rustled the trees along the shores.

  As they approached New York, Jadeth pointed to the sky with a cry of delight. Involuntarily, Max looked.

  The eclipse. It was finishing. Already, just a small half circle of black obscured the last third of the sun.

  The first daylight in five years spilled onto the city below.

  Through the viewing jewel, Max could see masses of people on the ground. There were hundreds of thousands at least, walking in zombie hordes into Sky Chambers. The streets of New York were mobbed.

  But there was no protest. Free will had been obliterated, consumed. Only the will of Jadeth remained.

  Max sighed heavily. He had failed Mr. E. His trust had been completely in vain.

  It felt like the world was ending.

  Workmen dropped their tools and left them where they lay. Truck drivers simply stopped in the road and climbed down from their vehicles. Mothers making dinner turned from their simmering food, not even bothering to turn the stove off, and walked outside. Kids dropped their toys and looked for the nearest Sky Chamber.

  Jadeth turned to study the four kids and smiled at their misery. Satisfied that their horror was utter and complete, she left the kids alone and joined Philomen on the far side of the room.

  Max, Sasha, Ian, and Casey all sat against the wall, thoroughly and completely depressed.

  Max broke the silence. “I know what you’re thinking,” he whispered. “I could have used it. I know I could have. But it would have been wrong. Mr. E went through a lot of trouble to get us to understand that.”

  “Well,” Ian said, “at least we know once and for all that you’re not a sleeper agent.”

  “I don’t blame you, Max,” Sasha said. “It wasn’t your fault—you did the best you could.”

  “Casey?” Max asked. “What do you think?”

  She smiled at him. Max was shocked for a moment. “You did the right thing. You could have become like her. But you didn’t.”

  “Well, that’s done now. And so is the Pendant. I wish there had been some other way,” Max said softly. “I really, really do.”

  The sound of a phone ringing broke the silence. It came from Casey’s backpack.

  The foursome looked at one another in bafflement. Max flicked a glance at Jadeth; she hadn’t heard. She was too busy pointing and giving orders.

  The phone rang insistently again. Casey dug it out of her backpack.

  “Who in the world could that be?” Ian asked.

  “No idea,” Casey said, fumbling to answer. “Hello?”

  “You four look like you could use some ice cream,” a familiar voice said.

  “Mr. E?” Casey cried in amazement. “But how—?”

  “Did I get your number? I happen to have it in my speed dial.”

  “No, I mean—”

  “I know what you mean. How is everyone? Still in one piece?”

  “Well, yeah, but . . . we’re not doing so good. Where are you?”

  “Look to your right.”

  Enki—the Mr. E version, anyway, with the flowing white beard—was inexplicably standing against the wall, half hidden in shadow. He smiled mischievously.

  They all jumped to their feet.

  Why on earth was Mr. E so happy? What was going on?

  “Mr. E . . . ,” Max started, embarrassed. “I . . .”

  How could he tell Mr. E that he’d blown it? That he’d fumbled the Pendant to Jadeth?

  “You were wonderful! Splendid! Magnificent!” Mr. E grabbed Max by the cheeks. “Better than I dared to hope!”

  Max looked at him with utter astonishment.

  “But . . . but Jadeth has the Pendant!” Max said, pointing across the room. “I gave it to her and she’s using it on everyone right now.”

  “Yes!” Mr. E screamed. “I know!” He laughed like a madman. “It’s wonderful! Spectacular! You are to be congratulated—all of you!”

  The foursome looked at him, stupefied.

  How was Jadeth not hearing this? Max glanced across the room. She was still chatting with Philomen, oblivious.

  “Now,” Mr. E continued, “I must say. You are all missing something quite amazingly obvious right now. Isn’t something odd happening here? Something that shouldn’t be happening?”

  “Yeah. You’re dancing around,” Ian replied, moping.

  “No! Come on, think!”

  Casey lit up. “Wait a minute. Mr. E can’t leave his Book. So how is he here, with us right now, in the real world?”

  “Keep going!” Mr. E shouted. “Oh, you still haven’t figured it out yet, but you’re close, very close . . . !” Mr. E clapped his hands like a little kid trying to contain his joy.

  “You’re out here . . .” Ian muttered, his brain sizzling with effort. “You
’re out here, in the real world. But you can’t exist outside of a Book. So that has to mean . . .”

  “Yes?” Mr. E egged him on.

  “We’re in a Book! We never actually left the Pyramid of the Arches! We’re still inside of it!” Ian almost howled.

  “Bingo!” Mr. E screamed.

  “I don’t understand . . . ,” Max said.

  “Me neither,” Sasha said.

  “Oh, oh, oh!” Casey was jumping up and down. “This is really, really, really good news! Mr. E tricked Jadeth! And we helped him do it!”

  She sounded as mad as Mr. E.

  “Yes! Casey understands now!” Mr. E said.

  “The whole thing was a trap!” Casey continued.

  A trap? Max hardly dared to hope she was right.

  “So . . . none of this is real?” Max shouted. “We’re not really in a Sky Chamber right now? Jadeth isn’t taking over the world with the Pendant?”

  “NO!!” Mr. E threw back his head, laughing wildly.

  “We’re still inside a Book, right now.”

  “YES!!”

  “This isn’t real.”

  “NO!!”

  Max suddenly bent over, hyperventilating. Ian put an arm over him, as did Casey.

  “Huh,” Ian said. “I think he’s taking this worse than when he thought he’d destroyed the whole world.”

  Casey was laughing giddily now, too.

  “But . . . I’m confused. When did we actually enter the Book?” Sasha asked.

  “When you first arrived at the Pyramid of the Arches,” Mr. E said. “You just didn’t realize it.”

  “It was when we read the wall!” Ian said, snapping his fingers. “We entered a Book-reality copy of the hallway! Didn’t we?”

  Mr. E nodded. “The copy hallway is meant to fool you into thinking nothing happened, that you were still in the real world.”

  “Oh, that’s why there was suddenly another passageway with the moon inside of it,” Sasha said. “That only existed in the copy hallway, not the real one.”

  “I knew it!” Ian said. “I knew something changed when we read that wall, but I never guessed we’d entered a Book!”

  “Neither did Jadeth,” Mr. E said with a wry smile.

  But by now, all of this commotion had attracted Jadeth’s attention. She whirled and stomped across the room, anger seething through every particle of her being.