City of Gold (18 page)

The sight of open ground was like stumbling upon a watery oasis amidst a scorching desert. Cody stretched his arms, finally free from the constricted space of the passage. Across the vast flat clearing was a single cottage as though dropped onto the desolate wilderness by accident.

However, it was what was
behind
the cottage that caused Cody to gasp. Sprawling endlessly out of view was a smoldering, bubbling expanse of lava. The air above the fuming sea was hazy from the heat.

“Stop!
Don’t
take another step!” called an unannounced, irritated voice. The door of the cottage burst open to reveal a stumpy man. The stranger marched toward them huffing and puffing with every step. His hair was frizzy and stood on end. His skin was coarse and uneven like bubble wrap paper with boils and burn marks covering half. His face was wild and in place of where his left eye should have been was an empty, gaping hole.

When the man reached them he was muttering angrily at them. “Just barging in on Igg! No appointments! Whatever happened to common courtesy…?” his words returned to incoherent gabbling.

Dace stepped forward to greet the man. “I am Captain Dace of Atlantis. We have urgent business in El Dorado. Can you assist us?” Dace scanned the barren, unoccupied wasteland. “If you are not too busy, of course.”

The hermit’s chest puffed like a blowfish. “
Can
Igg assist you? Do horn-backed lava beetles travel in packs?” he exhorted. “Who’s traversed the Great Magma Darlin’ more times than any living soul?”

Dace shrugged. “You?”

“Darn right you are, mate! Just so happens, you’re in luck! As Igg doesn’t have any company or business to attend to—the-one-and-only Igg K. Stalkton at your service!”

“Stalkton?” Cody questioned in surprise. “Are you related to…”

“…that crazy ol’ High Priest? Do rock cakes taste best when roasted?”

Thankfully for Cody, the man once again was content to answer his own questions. “Me younger brother he is—and bonkers as a marooned seaman, too! Forever alone in that restrictive monastery…Not Igg! Nope! Can’t steal Igg away from the fast life of grandeur and adventure!”

Cody suspiciously scanned the surroundings unable to find any trace of either grandeur
or
adventure.

“We must reach El Dorado by nightfall. If not, my best friend will be killed. Can it be done?” The skipper cast a disgusted look to Cody. His boil-covered finger rose and scratched the inside of his gaping eye socket as he spoke. “I can get ya’ there yesterday if ya’ asked tomorrow!”

“What the heavens is
that
?” Cody exclaimed staring at the jumbled piece of junk floating on the lava. The one-eyed skipper stretched out his arms like a cross. “Behold…The Igg!” He proclaimed. His face molded into a frown as all eyes fell on him. “Not
me,
ya’ land-lovin’ morons,
that
!” he motioned to the floating scrap-pile. “The mightiest vessel of them all!”

Cody looked between the human Igg and boat Igg. “You named the ship after yourself? Wait…
that’s
a ship!?” Cody asked in astonishment.

Igg’s grin widened. “That she is, sonny! And a blasting good one at that, too!” At his words, there was a loud cracking sound and a chunk of the stern of the makeshift ship broke off and sunk beneath the bubbling lava. Igg fingered the inside of his empty eye-socket again and coughed awkwardly. “Although she may be in need of some minor repairs….”

42

Across the Great Sea of Lava

STICKY PRESPIRATION SPILLED OFF CODY’S BODY and soaked into his already drenched shirt. No matter how many times he wiped his forehead it remained coated with sweat. He looked out across the breadth of bubbling lava as the rickety ship rolled peacefully over its steaming surface. The sky had gone dark shortly after departure.

No one needed to acknowledge what every person thought: they were down to their last day. Cody hoped Igg’s boasting was more than vain fluff.

“Pretty isn’t it—in its own way,” Tiana said, announcing her presence. She stood beside Cody looking out over the fiery sea. “You thinking about her?” Her question caught Cody off guard.

“Jade? Yeah…I mean…to have come this far. How do I know she’s still okay? It’ll be the first time I’ll see her since…well, never mind.”

Tiana placed her hand on his. “The first time you’ll see her since you ran after the Book and left her standing in the middle of the battlefield? And, you don’t know how she will respond to you?”

Cody involuntarily laughed. “Well, sort of…actually,
exactly
that. How did you know?”

Tiana propped herself onto the ship’s railing, flinging her feet around and dangling them over the edge. Cody’s heart jumped. “If I
didn’t
know that, then I wouldn’t be a woman,” she said with a smile. “And, I was standing right there, too, remember?”

Cody played the scene for the millionth time. “When I left her, she yelled something to me. I heard her, but the noise drowned out some of her words….”

Tiana’s eyes narrowed. “I remember…but it’s not my place to repeat it. Some things are best heard from Jade’s own mouth.”

Cody nodded in disappointment. “I’m glad you decided to come, Ti—even if you almost cut my head off. You
meant
to miss…right?”

Tiana’s lips formed into a slight grin and she kept silent. A foul smell proclaimed the coming of Randilin. “And a bloody shame she
did
miss,” he barked. “Follow me, there’s something you should see.” The dwarf spun, and shuffled across the deck in the other direction.

“You go, Cody, I think I’ll stay here for awhile,” Tiana urged. Cody squeezed her hand before darting after Randilin, who was already standing against the adjacent railing between Igg and Chazic. The Enforcer had removed his shirt, once again revealing the large, upside-down arrow tattoo. He, however, appeared strikingly modest in contrast to the other. The Sea-skipper stood stark naked.

“Oh!” Cody cried.

The naked captain turned to face him; Cody’s eyes shot toward the cave’s ceiling. “Feast your eyes, son.”

“
Excuse me
?” Cody exclaimed, keeping his eyes firmly focused upward. Igg turned around and pointed out over the lava. Cody looked the direction of the skipper’s finger.

There was a small island jutting out of the sea. In the middle of the island was a scorching, red pool. The lava churned slowly in a sunken whirlpool.

“The prison of the banished demon,” revealed Randilin solemnly.

Cody’s heart rate accelerated to double-time. “The Hunter?”

Randilin nodded. “Indeed, the very embodiment of evil itself. Banished to eternal torment beneath the boiling prison of lava. For two thousand years it waited in agony; it’s hunger increasing with its rage. Patiently waiting….”

“To be released by a foolish child,” finished Cody gloomily.

Randilin agreed. “Aye. When Ishmael defeated the Golden King he attempted to kill the Beast. For a week Atlantis tried everything—but the Hunter didn’t die…couldn’t die. As a last resort, it was banished. Only when someone other than the Book Keeper attempted to read from The Code would the creature be released to forever hunt that person. It was meant to prevent the Golden King and his minions from stealing the Book. No one foresaw that the Book would be stolen by, well,
someone
else,” he finished.

Cody felt nauseated, and not from sailing. “Can
he
control it? The Golden King?” he asked.

This time Chazic answered, “No one knows. But I’ve often wondered: how much, and how long, can anyone truly control pure evil?”

Cody hoped he never had to find out.

Cody silently gazed out at the rocky cliffs passing by both sides of the ship as Igg, still disturbingly nude, navigated through them. After passing the Hunter’s prison, Cody had sought privacy. Unfortunately, Xerx had cornered him, eager for another training session. After an hour of lecturing, Cody had finally managed to sneak off to a quiet corner.

He had much on his mind that demanded attention. The reminder that he was the Hunter’s only target, and processing his new relationship with Tiana, had his brain spinning. More importantly, he thought of Jade. He thought of the last words she had said to him.

Suddenly movement on the cliffs caught his eye. He perked up, peering through the darkness at the towering peaks. Standing motionlessly on a jutted-out ledge was a man—his wide, eyelid-less eyes looked lifelessly down on Cody, who felt an odd sensation as though the gaze had penetrated his soul.

“Randilin! Tiana! Come quickly! There’s a man!” Cody yelled. There was a stampede of footsteps from all parts of the ship. “A man! Look!” Cody repeated, pointing to the cliffs as The Company reached him. But when he looked back to the ledge, it was empty.

“I swear I saw someone! He’s the one who’s been following me. He’s…”

Dace silenced him. “I trust you, Cody. If you say you saw a man—then there was a man. What did he look like?”

As Cody described him he saw Randilin’s face tighten. Before Cody could question the dwarf, Igg scurried to the ship’s ledge. “
Shhh
! Something’s coming….” Cody noticed it, too. Ripples in the lava washed against the ship, growing larger and more frequent. “Extinguish the lights…
quick
!” They dashed about the ship putting out the lights. Chazic heaved the ship’s stone anchor over the edge, bringing the barge to a jerking halt.

Igg came running back to the ledge. “Everyone get down! Nobody make a sound.” For the next few moments there was silence. Cody held his breath as he pressed himself against the deck of the ship, bobbing as the barge rose and fell gently with the ripples. Minutes passed like hours. No one dared break the quiet.

Then Cody felt it. The looming presence quietly passed the ship on both sides. Cody looked up, but from his position on the floor he could only see the tips of dark objects passing slowly one after another.
What’s going on?
For several more minutes the silent parade continued like a funeral procession.

Cody couldn’t bear it any longer. He quietly pushed himself off the deck and crawled to the ship’s ledge, pulling himself up by the railing.

They were enormous.

43

A Golden View

THEY GLIDED OVER THE LAVA with eerie grace; an endless procession of gold-masted ships. Cody ducked lower behind the railing and watched as one after another of the ships passed. There were hundreds of them.

He could see the shape of golden golems marching on the ship decks. In the crow’s-nest of each ship stood a Dark-Wielder chanting in the High Language to summon a steady wind against the large masts, propelling the boats forward.

Cody dropped back to the deck. He exchanged glances with Randilin who looked troubled. The dwarf pointed to the cave’s ceiling and motioned with his hands like fireworks. The simple gesture was enough; Cody understood too well. At any moment daybreak would hit, and the Orb’s light would expose their vessel.

Cody squeezed his eyes closed. They could do nothing but wait—and hope.