City of Gold (32 page)

Cody’s muscles cramped. He was trapped. The King was no fool. To resist was to jeopardize their escape plans.

“I was—
am
—eager,” he said, quickly correcting himself, “it’s just…”

The King’s face was smug and victorious. “Don’t you desire one small glimpse of the endless power?”

Checkmate. There was nothing else Cody could say. “I suppose just one glimpse,” he conceded in defeat.

He unzipped his backpack and removed the Book. The scarlet ‘A’ was glowing like a volcano ready to erupt. His fingers tingled as heat exuded from the leather cover.

A bright light gleamed from across the room causing Cody to shield his face. The diamonds forming the
‘E’
on the cover of
The Key
began to illuminate. The Golden King’s eyes widened with zealous anticipation. He stroked his crystal fingernails down the Book’s spine, arching his back and soaking in the pulsing energy.

Cody’s hand trembled as he opened the front cover. The Golden King slowly opened
The Key
. Like
The Code
, the lettering was unfamiliar and the words a strange language. Cody glanced between the two Books with confusion. “How do we
use
them if we can’t understand the writing?”

The Golden King’s eyes burned fiercely. “How, indeed?”

Cody took a deep breath and began reading. To his surprise, his mouth pronounced the words effortlessly, as though he had known them all along, but he couldn’t comprehend the meaning. The King’s voice rang out as he began reading as well.

Reaching the end of the first page they stopped. Nothing happened.

“Well, now what?” The moment the words left Cody’s mouth the room shook.

A beam of light shot from the scarlet ‘A’, shining a stencil on the ceiling. Beads of sweat poured down Cody’s forehead as the heat from the book increased.

“What’s happening!?” he asked nervously as the Book continued to vibrate out of control. The blinding light from
The Key
reflected off the King’s eyes. They were full of child’s wonder.

Cody screamed as
The Code
suddenly flew from his hands. At the same moment,
The Key
soared from the King’s hands. The two Books stopped in the center of the room and hovered in midair.

There was a deafening explosion.

The room was quiet. Dunstan stared straight ahead at the empty chair across the desk. He was alone.

A rattling noise buzzed in his ear, pulling him from his thoughts. The table began to shake. Dunstan placed his hands on the surface to steady it but the rattling increased. The entire room began to tremble. Glass shattered as a picture was shaken off the wall and forced to the ground.

The object on the center of the desk began to glow, filling the room with blinding rays of light.
What the blazes…?
Dunstan shielded his eyes and took two steps away from the desk. The light continued to grow brighter.

He took another step back and bumped into a man. Dunstan turned and looked straight into the face of his master. Another picture tumbled to the floor with a shattering crash.

The master smiled. “At last. It has begun.”

79

Visions

CODY SHIELDED HIS EYES as white light pelted against his eyes. As the light dimmed he realized that he was no longer standing in the Great Hall and the Golden King was nowhere to be seen. The room he was in now was somehow familiar. Across the room was a lone, sturdy table. The only other furniture was a half-built rocking chair.
I’ve been here before
.

He sensed a sudden presence behind him. He spun around and saw a man. Cody recognized him as well. The pieces came together in his mind. He was standing in the Caves of Revelation, which meant the man before him was called
The Thirteenth
.

Only, he looked different. He looked younger. His skin was smooth and unblemished. There was no sign of the bullet that had ended his life.

“The Books of the Covenant have been united,” the man muttered.

“You!?” Cody asked, “How are you here? You were killed. I saw it.”

The man tilted his head curiously. “Was I really? A pity, I suppose.” He turned and scuffled across the room, lowering himself into the rocking chair. Cody scanned the room. The walls were once again covered with shelving and bins, however, the stone tablets which had previously filled them were few and scattered.

“I don’t understand.”

The man in the chair chuckled, “No, no, I don’t suppose you do.” He began rocking slowly back and forth. “As to your question of
who
I am—that is entirely unimportant.” He stopped his rocking and smiled. “What is important is what I can tell you.”

Cody realized he was leaning forward and drifting toward the stranger. Losing his balance, he stumbled forward. “What can you tell me?”

The man smiled. “A great
many
things. The problem is that you just don’t know the right questions to ask!” His laughter drained. “So allow me, if you will, to bypass your unarticulated petitions and give you the answers you so greatly desire.”

Cody rubbed his head trying to piece together what he was hearing. Without anything to say, he merely nodded his approval.

The man leaned forward. “The Prophecy is true—and truth can only be contained for so long. As you now see, there is also much more to your cherished Book than simple ink and leather. For one who is willing, it is the very doorway to release the Truth.”

“But how do I use it? I
am
willing. I want to find the truth. More than anything!“

The man raised his bushy left eyebrow. “Do you, son? Do you
really
?” The man stood from the chair and glided toward him. “Unlocking the Truth demands a payment worthy of obtaining such a power.” He reached out and placed his hand upon Cody’s chest, over his heart. “The one closest to you must pay that price.”

The area changed into a bright burning sun. Cody could see the silhouette of a person falling helplessly into the light, long hair streaming from her head. Then, suddenly, she was gone.

Everything went black as the firm voice of
The Thirteenth
rang out, “Unlock the Truth!”

Cody rubbed his eyes; he was back in the Great Hall and somehow the Book was back in his hands. His legs quivered and he fell against one of the large pillars.

Across the room the Golden King was standing motionlessly beside the podium holding the golden Book. His eyes peered down at it as though nothing else in the room existed.
Had the King seen the same vision he had? Had he also met The Thirteenth?
At that moment, though, the answer wasn’t important.

Pushing himself to his feet, Cody scampered toward the doors, unnoticed by the hypnotized King. The vision had been painfully clear. Cody felt a lump festering in his stomach as he ran.

“
The one closest to you must pay that price
.” The apparition’s haunting words echoed in his mind. There was finally a mystery that Cody could figure out on his own: for the Prophecy to be fulfilled—Jade would have to die.

80

A Tight Spot

“HOW DID IT GO?” Jade questioned the moment Cody entered the room. Her green eyes were soft. It was the first time he had seen them so tender since he had been in El Dorado, as though scales had fallen off. He had his Jade back.

“Oh…it was fine. Just regular training,” Cody replied softly. He knew in that moment that he would never tell her what he had just seen.
There’s got to be another way.

Jade’s thin eyebrows pulled down toward her nose. “You may be able to fool Ms. Starky with your lies, but I know you better than anyone on earth, above or below. Something’s wrong.”

Cody dropped his eyes. “It’s just…”

“
Behind you!
” Jade screamed. Cody spun around. Four hooded Wielders appeared through his window. Cody jumped to his feet and pulled Jade behind him. “You can’t take her from me!”

“Easy, buddy!” cried the lead Wielder. He stepped forward and removed his hood—Xerx. The young monk cast a glance at Jade before turning back to Cody. “
G.T
. summons you. We must make haste. We don’t have much time.”

Cody and Jade heard footsteps and exchanged nervous glances. Xerx held up his finger and mouthed, “
Wait
.”

The next instant a convoy of four Dark-Wielders appeared with a silver crate floating between them. They moved with ghostlike silence.

Xerx kept his finger raised, as Cody, Jade and the three Resistance members held their breath. When the Wielder procession had fully passed, Xerx swung his hand down. “
Now!
”

The Resistance members dismantled the Wielders with chilling precision before the crystal beings even realized they were under attack.

Shattered crystal limbs and fragmented chunks littered the ground as the silver crate fell to the ground. The sound of a thud echoed in the air. Xerx stepped forward. “We have to be quick. More Wielders will be here any second to investigate the sound.”

Xerx knelt and rubbed his hand across the ground. “
Dastanda
.” The dirt began caving in on itself, forming a pit of sinking sand. The other Resistance members quickly set to dropping the remains of the Wielders into the pit, which instantly swallowed them, leaving no trace.

Xerx motioned to Cody and Jade. “Quick! Into the crate; another sentry of Wielders will pass by here soon.”

Jade’s face dropped. “Are you joking? There’s no way we can both fit inside that tiny crate.” Xerx held up his hand to silence her. The sound of approaching Wielders could be heard around the next bend.

“Hurry!” Xerx motioned them forward frantically. Cody jumped into the silver crate and fell to his back. Jade crawled inside on top of him. They both inhaled a deep breath before being thrust into total darkness as the lid was closed.

They heard muffled voices but couldn’t decipher the words. Jade buried her face into Cody’s shoulder as they waited in silence.
Did they fall for it?

After what seemed an eternity the crate was lifted.
We’re moving—it worked.
Cody relaxed. Although it was too dark to see her, he felt the warmth of Jade’s body curled up on him.