The Key of Knowledge

by Michael Lackey

  Lucy lifted the pistol with both hands in front of her body. "Not with both hands!" Jaso snapped. "That's why you have two pistols."

  Again, Lucy lined up the pistol with the target. This time she did so with only her right hand, though it was slightly shaking. "When you have the target, gently squeeze the..." A loud, rippling shot rang out, piercing the air. Micah ducked down behind the table as Jaso finished his sentence. "...trigger."

  "Did she hit it?" Micah asked with a laugh. "Five bucks says she didn't!"

  Jaso took the pistol from Lucy, checking the safety and then laid it on the table. "Let's go see."

  They approached the target and Lucy let out a squeal.

  "She hit the target!" Jaso exclaimed. "I'll collect that five bucks later, Mr. Jones."

  The target had a single bullet hole three inches from the top of the bullseye. "With practice, you will hit the center without giving much thought to it," Jaso told her. "Always remember the safety after firing! The last thing we need is you shooting yourself, or one of us accidentally."

  Lucy nodded her head, still smiling with pride that her first shot had actually hit the target.

  In the several weeks following, Micah and Lucy would train every day. He would help her with her aim as he was learning the feel of his Sentai Blades. One day, Lucy asked him, "Jaso said you had your training with guns. You any good?" She pulled a pistol from her thigh holster and handed it to him. Micah took the gun and slowly moved in close to her. He trailed her body gently with his fingers from her cheek down until he reached the other holster. Lucy took a deep breath as Micah pulled the other pistol. In one move, he not only had the firearms spinning, but both guns were blaring. The blast of gunpowder lit up the room like fireworks in the dark of night. The lingering smell of blast powder burned her nose with a stinging odor, but she hardly noticed it in the air. He stopped firing, and both arms dropped to his sides, smoke swirling up from the pistols. In the blink of an eye, Micah moved behind her lowering the guns back into her thigh holsters with a twirl on his fingers.

  She could feel the heat of the steel warming her legs and the warmth of his breath on the back of her neck as he leaned in and whispered, "Check the targets."

  She tried to keep herself stable and finally caught her breath and composed herself. Lucy walked to the target area. "Looks like you're at fifty percent. Six targets, twelve shots. I see one hole in each. I thought you'd be better."

  With a smug grin, Micah told her, "Look closer."

  Lucy walked closer to the first, shaking her head, then moved to the second to see all targets had two holes overlapping. He hit every bull's eye twice, almost in the exact same place.

  "Wow!" she said and she started walking back his way slowly clapping her hands in approval.

  "Those felt really good in my hands," he told her.

  Catching her off guard, she stuttered, "What? Wh... what did?" Her cheeks flushing a dull red as she gripped her shirt.

  "The pistols. Your Gramps had good taste in firearms," he said pointing down to her holsters.

  Lucy quickly collected herself. "Oh... Right! The pistols," she said releasing the breath she was holding in. "They are beautiful, aren't they?"

  She turned away from him and face-palmed. "Stop acting like a stupid school girl!" she mumbled under her breath.

  "Did you say something?"

  "I said you copped a cool twirl," she said closing her eyes. She mouthed the word 'stupid!' as silently as possible.

  The two finished their routines and began to tidy up the training room.

  "How is the research going from the diary?" he asked, pulling a chair from the table. "Are you getting any closer to the location of a key?"

  "I'm meeting with Stan and Gerard tonight. I have a few questions about some things I found," she told him. "Gramps talked a lot about his first days here and finding Gerard, but I've not seen much about the keys yet. They said he believed he had been close, though."

  "I hope that through that diary, you and your grandfather can set things right. This place is great, but I would like to be free someday," he told her.

  Lucy gave him a slight smile, "Maybe they can make sense of some of this stuff," she said. "Because most of it seems like gibberish."

  7 Road Trip

  Later that night in the Great Hall, Lucy was admiring some paintings from the fifteenth century. She found one that caught her attention showing a group of people. One looked like Christ himself, with a man kneeling in front of him offering a key. Could this be a sign? As she was mulling over her discovery, Walter summoned her. "Miss Ducit. Mr. Hamilton and Ms. Stanley are ready for you in the library."

  Lucy followed the little bot into what once was the Thomas J. Watson Library. Now, it was home to the scholars of the Synod of Reaping. The library was a huge room, wider than it was long. Tables were in rows and Lucy counted at least ten chairs around each one. The walls were lined with bookshelves taller than she was, with ladders on wheels to move around and reach the books. Seated at a table near the center Lucy saw Gerard and Stan.

  "Lucy! So glad to see you. I hear your training is going quite well. Are you getting the feel for those pistols?" Gerard asked as he stood and offered her a chair.

  Lucy just gave a nod.

  "Looking good, kid. Those pistols seem as if they have always been yours," Stan added with a wink. "Haven't seen much of you since your training started."

  Lucy sat down and dropped her backpack on the table. She pulled Conrad's diary from the backpack and slid it to the center. Several different colored bookmarks were sticking out from the pages.

  "I think you were right about Gramps tracking the first key. He had been back-tracking a lot of details for a while," Lucy said as she opened the diary and read:

  "'Entry date: Saturday 28th October 1995. I followed up on a lead today. It brought me to the beautiful city of Atlanta, Georgia. The city is buzzing because their baseball team is close to winning the World Series. With all the people on the streets, it makes it easier to cover my tracks. The first key definitely is the Key of Knowledge and it's guarded. By what or by whom I do not know. That explains why my calculations keep coming up wrong from the parchments. It may be moving. I need to find this first key so we can be closer to stopping Ruina Baxter before she pulls us all into darkness.'"

  Lucy looked up and said, "That is all he wrote on that date, and he didn't write again for eight days."

  Stan seemed to drift off into a memory, "I remember that Atlanta trip. He didn't mention anything about the key. He just said it wasn't what he thought."

  Lucy flipped through the pages, "How long was he in Atlanta? Do you remember?"

  Stan thought for a moment. "Six days, I believe. Maybe seven?"

  "So, if he didn't record anything in the journal for eight days, we don't have anything to go on. No clues as to who he met with, or where he went or what went down," Gerard said. "What would have kept him from writing down what he found?"

  "He did scribble something on the opposite page. It's just one word 'Blackfall'. What do you suppose that means?" Lucy asked.

  "It means we are going on a road trip," Gerard told her as he looked to Stan. “You ready for this?”

  Stan just lowered her head and groaned. "The Pallidus people scare me. No one should be that pale, and don't get me started on those gray eyes! Whatever you do, don't stare. They hate to be stared at."

  "Atlanta is so far away. How are we supposed to get there, especially unnoticed?" asked Lucy.

  Gerard smiled and stood, "The Synod have many hidden resources. We can thank Conrad for most of them. Go fill in Micah and you two be ready in a couple of hours. Meet us on the roof. We will be in Atlanta before morning."

  LUCY FOUND MICAH IN the workshop with James working on some new tinkers. When she walked in, she was struck silent by the sight of Micah shirtless, and a little dirty as beads of sweat ran down his back. She followed each one as it followed the contours of his muscles. As she leaned on the door
frame she found herself drifting off to a place she believed to be heaven. She saw him turn and speak to her. Angels voices arose filling the air with joyous sound. The corners of her mouth would not deny a smile and she didn’t want to stop it. He called her name and she felt a jolt race throughout her body. Starting at her head and swirling around her heart. Her knees weakened as she her him call her again...

  “Lucy! You in there?” James shouted as he tossed another wire nut, bouncing it off her forehead.

  "I came to... I was sent to see Micah... GET Micah, I mean. Gerard said we are going on a road trip. We are to meet him on the roof," she said trying to regain her composure and rubbing her head.

  "Well, if you guys are going out, you will need your armor," James told them.

  Micah had joined them now. Both, he and Lucy look at each other with confusion. She filled him in on the road trip.

  "Well, come on. I know they don't want to wait on you two," James said as he led them to a set of doors. "Lucy, yours is in the left room, Micah yours on the right. I hope it works. I didn't know you would need them so soon."

  As they stepped into their dressing rooms, they found a bag hanging on the wall which reminded Lucy of a something you’d see at a Cleaners. Each bag had their names on the outside along with the S&R symbol of the Synod. Lucy unzipped the long zipper down the front of the bag and swelled up with excitement "This is beautiful!" she squealed.

  Micah spoke next. "James, you have outdone yourself. This is far better than the gear I was practicing in," he said as he stepped out.

  It was clear Micah was pleased. Looking in the mirror, he noted how the new armor looked. A black vest with silver studs circling the sleeve cuffs above his biceps. It was sleeveless for mobility, so he could easily access his swords. The gloves had the same silver studs in two lines from the back of his hands leading up his forearms on the black leather gauntlets.

  "This is my favorite part of the whole thing," Micah said as he flipped the hood over his head and slid it just above his forehead. "It makes my eyes pop, yeah?"

  James gestured for him to lean down so he could check something. He grabbed the hood and pulled it down over his face, thumping him right in the head.

  "You can see through the material, you numbskull! Your hood is the most important part of your gear. You guys are new, and if the Countess or her men can identify you, she will hunt you down. Or worse, kill everyone you hold dear."

  Micah nervously tugged at the hood to pull it down further. "Well, when you put it that way."

  "Lucy! You okay in there?" James shouted.

  The door slowly opened, and she stepped out.

  "Are you sure this is for me?" she asked.

  "You look stunning..." Micah said breathlessly, his eyes wide.

  She had on a green leather corset with several straps buckled around it, over a white mesh blouse that sat under leather scalloped shoulder plates. Her hood was made from the same type of material as Micah's, but she didn't need to rely on hiding her identity as much since Martin had already informed the Countess of who she was. Her boots were a lavish forest green laced up over her knees. Black mesh trousers were tucked inside the boots.

  James beamed with delight. "There's only one thing missing!"

  Lucy grabbed at her corset, "I hope it isn't something else to wear, I'm sure it won't fit in here," she said as she blew a big gust of air from her lungs.

  James tossed her a belt, "I thought you might like this one, it belonged to Conrad. I just modified it to your measurements as best I could."

  Lucy caught the belt in her right hand and saw custom holsters dangling down. She squinted her eyes and said, "What is that written on the belt? Crimsunrain? What is that?" she asked as she started to fasten the belt around her waist.

  "That is what he called them, the pistols. They are Rainmakers. In his hands, nothing was left standing; his enemies would be rained upon by his wrath," James told her. "One last thing, for both of you. You may need these in the underground." He gently opened a box that sat on a nearby table. Inside, they saw four metal orbs the size of lemons. "These are light grenades. They won’t harm or damage anything but pack a punch of light like a small sun. Be sure to have your goggles down if one of these babies goes off," he told them. "The Pallidus people stay away from light. This will be enough to paralyze any of them in a dicey situation. Now, head on up to the roof. Don't keep the team waiting!"

  As they walked up the spiral stairs to the roof, Lucy asked Micah, "Have you ever been on a trip for the Synod before?"

  Micah shook his head, "Not one that could involve fighting and danger. I was sent on a supply run once, though. I have a talent for staying hidden pretty well." He stopped her and placed his warm arms around her shoulders, looking deep into her eyes. "Don't worry; I got your six."

  Lucy shot him a strange look of confusion. "What exactly is my six?"

  Micah laughed. "It means I've got your back. It's an old military term. You can count on me to watch out for you."

  "Then I will have your six, too," she told him.

  Opening the door to the roof, they could see a huge airship. The balloon that carried it was almost the size of the Met. Glorious guns could be seen lining the sides from portholes the length of the ship. The front of the ship was adorned with an enormous metal skull painted black. The brass outlining the cabin shone as brightly as the sun against the deep mahogany wood. A long walkway led up to the bow of the ship where Gerard was standing. He was dressed in his full body armor, and enough steam power coursed through the pipes to give him superhuman-strength. He looked to be thirty years younger. He still had his 'business as usual' vest on, but the armor added mechanical muscle that aided his arms and legs to move freely with him.

  The gears turned, and pistons pushed steam out of the vent holes as he waved to the duo to come on board. "Stop delaying, we need to head out," he told them. As they got closer, they noticed he was wearing a top hat made of aged leather with a set of flight goggles strapped across the brim. The handle of a massive sword could be seen over his right shoulder. "Glad you two could grace us with your company. Come on board and strap in. We take off in ten minutes."

  As they boarded the ship, a familiar voice rang out. "Cabins are below, store your gear and report back to me. I will need your help with the steam propulsion."

  "James? How did you get here so fast?" Lucy exclaimed.

  James laughed and said, "Who else would fly this bucket of bolts? The Countess took my legs not my brains! This is no ordinary chair."

  As he made his way from behind the wheel box, they noticed his chair.

  "Wow! Your wheelchair has legs, too?" Lucy blurted out with amazement.

  "My chair can sprout legs like a spider. While you two were lollygagging around, my chair and I came up the back of the building," James said with a chuckle.

  "Oh, that's not all it has," Micah told her. "Show her, James."

  She could see almost all of James's teeth from the smile he produced. He looked like a proud parent showing off his baby. James lowered his goggles. Turning a knob on the left, he pressed the pressure switch on the right, and suddenly the chair was fully armed with miniature guns on both sides and a tank like cabin where James was tucked away behind reinforced plate glass and brass.

  "Wow, it's a mini tanker!" Lucy was impressed.

  With the turning of another knob, pressure was released and the chair transformed back to a mobile unit, and James shouted, "Five minutes to lift off!"

  Lucy and Micah were stepping through the doorway leading to the cabins when Stan came into sight. "Separate cabins. Away from each other," she said with a raised eyebrow and squint of her eyes.

  "Yes, ma'am," they both said in unison and turned in different directions.

  Depositing their bags, they hurried back topside to help James. "Micah, you handle the thrusters. Wait for my mark. Lucy, when I give you the signal, pull that lever to give us lift off." He positioned himself behind the wheel and waved h
is hand. "Now, Lucy!" he shouted.

  Lucy gripped the lever and pulled it down releasing hot gas into the balloon. The ship jerked and was soon airborne. "Twenty percent, Micah! Forward!"

  Micah turned the dials of the thrusters, and a rush of air escaped from behind them, pushing the ship forward.

  "We will be in Atlanta in a couple of hours," James confirmed. "Rest up. If I need you..., well, I shouldn't need you."

  With the ship effortlessly sailing through the air, Lucy walked to the bow and held onto the railing. Her bright blue hair whipped behind her head and swirled to the front of her face. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She had the feeling of being free.

  "First time flying?" Micah asked from behind her.

  "Is it that obvious?" she answered.

  Micah folded his arms on the railing and leaned forward taking the air in through his nose. "This is the second time for me. It does seem to put you into a peaceful state up here. As if nothing is going on down below. They came to pick me up in The Silvertooth. That was my first time."

  Wrinkles formed on Lucy's forehead as a confused look spread across her face. "The Silvertooth?" she asked.

  Micah stood upright. "It's the name of the airship. If you look inside the skull's mouth, it has a tooth of pure silver. The others are just iron and steel."

  "Hey, you two! Before your 'on top of the world!' moment hits, we need to go over some things," Gerard called up to them.

  They walked down and saw the others standing together waiting on them.

  "Bout time you got here. I'm a cripple, and I can move faster than you two," James spouted.

  "If you're here, who's piloting the airship?" Micah asked.

  "Humph! It's called auto-pilot. What have you been teaching these kids?" James muttered, looking to Gerard.

  Gerard stood in front of them and said, "First thing: this is a recon mission, only resort to violence if they initiate it. According to Conrad's diary he came here sixty-three years ago to find information on the first key. A lot could have been forgotten, and in that period of time I’m sure they’ve changed a bit. Second: I feel he did find something and that's why his journal was sketchy and blank for a while. We go in, we ask our questions and we hope to God we find something we need."