City of Gold (26 page)

Tiana stood to follow but froze. From deep within the cave, she saw two glowing lights. The beams approached slowly. Tiana felt a chill come over her. The glow came from scarlet slit-like eyes.

She took off running, blinded by the dark. Her foot caught a stone and she tumbled to the ground. Pressing herself up, she ran with all her strength.

From behind she heard a low purr and then a wet crunching noise.

61

Disagreements

CODY TRIED TO SLEEP but tossed and turned restlessly thinking of the Golden King.
I don’t know what to believe anymore.
He felt so alone. The satisfaction of Jade’s jealousy had lasted only a fleeting moment before being replaced by the deep longing for her friendship; for things to be like they were in Havenwood.

Cody’s thoughts turned to Xerx. Cody recalled the young monk’s boyish enthusiasm in embracing his role as instructor. Cody had seen a whole new side to his former Brotherhood rival—and now he was gone. Cody pushed the fact out of his mind. The more he thought about it the more he was forced to accept the truth.

He turned his eyes to the window and was shocked to see a silhouette filling the frame. Tiana’s face appeared hovering over him.

“We’ve got to get out of here,
now
.” Her face was pale.

“What are you talking about?” he asked. Or at least that’s what he attempted to ask; what actually came out of his mouth was sleepy groaning and mumbling. Tiana grabbed his shoulders and slammed him back onto the bed. “Wake up!
It’s here
. The Hunter. You’ve got to believe me!” she pleaded.

Cody sat straight up. “You
saw
the Hunter?”

“Yes! Well, not exactly. It was dark…” she stumbled over her words.

Cody yawned. “I think you’re jumping at shadows. Are you sure you’re not just seeing what you
want
to see? Maybe these people really aren’t as evil as we were led to believe.”

Tiana’s jaw dropped, “Are you really that dense?! You of all people should know best; even in the pitch dark you can feel the Beast. You can feel its hatred; feel its hunger.”

Cody shuddered. It was true.

There was a soft knock on the door and it began to open slowly. Tiana dove onto the bed and grabbed the hilt of her dagger. The door opened.

Jade stuck her head in. “Cody? I heard you awake. I couldn’t sleep and wanted to apologize for the way I’ve been acting. It’s just been…” her voice fell flat as she saw Tiana crouched on top of the bed. “Oh, gosh…sorry to interrupt,” she said venomously.

Cody suddenly realized the misunderstanding, “Oh, no-no-no. This isn’t how it looks at all!” he explained.

Tiana stood from the bed. “I only came to warn Cody that he’s in danger. That
all of us
are in serious danger.”

Jade raised an eyebrow. “Really? Well, by all means then, do tell…” she said with sarcastic politeness. Tiana ignored the slight and quickly recapped what she had seen at the caves.

Cody ran his fingers through his thick hair. “It is strange; all these people disappearing. But what on earth would lead to the
Story-Weavers
being treated that way?”

Jade shook her head. “It
doesn’t
make sense because it’s not true. The story is a fat lie. Isn’t it obvious? She’s miserable here and wants to go home.” She stepped toward Tiana.

Tiana smirked. “Oh, I almost forgot. There was another man leading the execution with Foz…your beloved Prince Hansi.” The statement effectively broke Jade’s barrier of composure.

“How
dare
you…you miserable, meddling, sabotaging hag!”

Tiana’s face boiled red. “Wake up, cupcake! Dunk your oversized head in the pool of reality! Do you really think this fairytale life you’ve been sleepwalking through could be real?
You
, living like a princess? Loved by a handsome prince? Who are you trying to fool?”

Jade’s entire body shook like a wet dog and she ground her teeth. “Who’s trying to fool who? Tiana, loner of Atlantis, abandoned and left alone by the big, bad world. Do you really think you’re a golden girl now? You will always be the same selfish, miserable, lonesome girl you were the day I met you. All you’ve ever had was a pretty face…and now you’re not the only one.”

“I’ve always thought you were pretty, Jade” Cody blurted. His words silenced the room. His cheeks flushed as he felt the probing eyes of both girls. Suddenly reminded that Cody was in the room, both looked completely caught off guard by his intrusion into their argument. That reminder was an unwelcome one.

Without a word Jade and Tiana pivoted and left the room, marching in opposite directions. Cody, once again, was left alone. He collapsed back onto the bed.
Well, that certainly could have gone better.

Tiana stomped down the hall toward her chamber and slammed the door behind her.
I’m going to kill that girl.
She smashed her fist against the wall.
I’m going to kill that boy, too!
She wound up to deliver another devastating slug to the wall but stopped mid-swing.

She sensed a foreign odor and immediately knew she wasn’t alone. Reaching for her dagger she hurled herself to the side. Twirling in the air, she sent her blade flying at the attacker who was rushing at her from behind. The knife ricocheted off his head with a shrilling
cling
.

The Dark-Wielder collided against her, pinning her to the ground. Its firm crystal hands clutched her neck. She gasped as the Wielder squeezed tighter. “
Byrae!
” She managed to force out. A gust of wind billowed through the window sending her bed careening across the room. The Wielder looked up just in time for the footboard to collide with his face. Crystal fragments exploded like confetti all over the room.

Tiana rolled out from under the bed. Two more Dark-Wielders stood in her window frame. She jumped to her feet and dashed to the door. The Wielders pressed in toward her. She flung the door open and crashed right into Prince Hansi.

Everything became still. The Prince looked at her, at the two Dark-Wielders, and then back at Tiana. Then, without a word, he brought the hilt of his sword down hard against Tiana’s temple. She crumbled toward the ground unconscious. The Prince caught her as she collapsed, and quietly lowered her to the floor.

Hansi leaned his face to her ear. “Didn’t your parents ever tell you not to stick your nose in other people’s business?” He motioned to the Dark-Wielders. “Dispose of her of quickly.”

62

Two of a Kind

CODY WAS UP EARLY. His eyes were bloodshot and weary, the residual of another sleepless, troubled night. His brain throbbed from being in overdrive. He needed some space to process the radical 180-degree turn of recent events. He grabbed his backpack and left his room. He needed time to think.

There was freshness in the air as the city awakened. The streets were empty other than the merchants who peacefully set about preparing their booths. He found a soft patch of grass and sat down.

He closed his eyes to soak in the tranquil atmosphere but an explosion of giggling decimated his peace. He forced his eyes open in frustration and scanned the area for the guilty culprit.

Down the middle of the marketplace two people were walking blissfully toward him, their limbs interlocked, oblivious to the world apart from each other. Cody recognized them instantly—and groaned.

Prince Hansi tossed his head back and released a deep laugh at the unheard joke offered by Jade. Cody packed up his stuff.
Excuse me while I go vomit
. He scurried away, unseen by the two irritating lovebirds.

He gazed out across the landscape. The faded walls of the Labyrinth Mountains teased the outskirts of his vision. He knew that, despite the peaceful appearance, there was a violent battle for the Borderlands somewhere at the foot of the cliffs and men were being slain by the scores below the walls of Flore Gub.

The vast landscape was a welcome sight after looking at only the stone walls of the city for the last week. It had taken him nearly two hours and an infinite number of steps, but he had finally found his way to the top of the city’s mammoth walls. Even his profound terror of heights was numbed by the exhaustion caused by the climb.

He reached into his backpack and pulled out the stone tablet—The Prophecy. At least that’s how Chazic had referred to it. Cody read it for the thousandth time:

The Power of Full Divinity,

Rests EnCoded Within Earthly Trinity.

Where Sacrifice of the Pure Angel Who Fell,

Is the Way to Retrieve the Pearl Within the Shell.

With Humble Heart and Golden Key,

The Universe’s Most Powerful Force Is Revealed to Thee.

And for the thousandth time, Cody could make no sense of it. He rubbed his forehead. Maybe there
was
no sense to make of it. Perhaps, like everything else lately, it simply existed to further confuse and muddle his life. He raised the stone tablet and wound his arm back, preparing to catapult it off the wall and out of his life. As he brought his arm forward a grunt from behind stopped him in mid-throw. “
Randilin?
”

The dwarf looked like Cody had never seen him before. Rather than the grimy hobo he had become accustomed to; he looked clean and polished like a long-neglected set of chinaware finally cleaned. His straggly hair had been combed behind his ears and even his beard had been given some much-needed care.

The dwarf frowned. “Ruddy well right it’s me; who the blazes else would I be? The bloody tooth fairy?” He snorted and added an entirely unnecessary curse, as if to assure his listener that despite his appearance, he remained the same grumpy scoffer as always.

Cody smiled. “I simply
love
what you’ve done with your hair.”

Randilin’s face flushed red and his thick fingers quickly pulled the hair out from behind his ears.

“I knew it looked ridiculous,” he muttered defensively. The dwarf plopped himself beside Cody. After a moment he huffed, “Welcome to my life, son.”

Cody raised his eyebrows. “Excuse me?”

Randilin held out his palms motioning to the surroundings. “
This
. Always frustrated. A disappointment to yourself and to others. Always alone.” Randilin pounded his chest. “Take it from me, I’m the patron saint of miserable lives!”

Cody couldn’t help but chuckle.

“What a wretched pair we make.” Randilin brushed his hair back behind his ears again and grinned. “Well, at least I still have my dashing looks.”

Cody smiled. “You’re right; I guess things could always be worse,” he laughed before pausing, “Randilin…why did you do it?”

The Dwarf’s ugly smile faltered. His shoulders slouched and he pulled his hair from behind his ears again. “Why did I sell out my only friends to a man I can’t stand? Why did I throw away everything for the sake of my own selfish, pitiful existence?”

Cody dropped his gaze.

“I wasn’t going to put it
exactly
like that…”

Randilin snorted. “I’ve been asking myself that same question every day for hundreds of years. But the answer is simple—I’m a bad man.”

Cody opened his mouth to protest, but Randilin shook him off. “Oh, don’t bother. I’ve long since accepted my own curse.” He took a deep breath, holding the air in his chest for several seconds before releasing it slowly. “Do you want to know the reason I jumped into the wishing well that day to return to Atlantis after centuries of banishment?” Cody leaned forward, anticipating the answer.

“Because of you.”

“
Me?
”

“You deaf, boy? That’s what I just bloody said! Because of you…because in you I saw the same curiosity and passion for life that I had so many years ago. And I saw a chance for you to become the man I never was.”

Despite the leathery skin and rigid wrinkles, there was a softness in Randilin’s face. But it didn’t last long. The dwarf’s hand shot out and whacked the back of Cody’s head. “So stop moping around like a ruddy child and man up!”