Legend of the Book Keeper (20 page)

Cody shook his head. “But I don’t understand, how can there be stars if we are in the center of the earth?”

The guard laughed, “More so, how can there be a sun? Nah, they ain’t real stars. Can’t get rich off a real star now, can ya?”

“How so do you mean? If they’re not real, then what are they?” responded Cody.

“Gems. Pure, perfect, gigantically gorgeous gems. You bring just one of those stones up to Upper-Earth and you’re a king.” Cody made a mental note to himself:
Get sky gem = become king.

He continued on his way. True to Wolfrick’s words, he found Jade packing up some cooking materials with the slight guard known as Hex, and an older, redheaded man with a thick mustache that Cody assumed was Sheets. When Jade saw Cody approaching she gave a large smile and motioned for him to come.

When Cody arrived, Hex and Sheets were clutching their bellies and laughing hysterically. Sheets stuck a finger out toward Cody. “Well, if it ain’t the valiant hero of the story himself!” Hex let out another laugh before tossing his arm around Cody’s shoulder. “Indeed it is, my good man, Sheets! Although he appears to be wearing more than his usual
mighty warrior armor
!” The two men burst into another fit of hysteric laughing. Even Jade chuckled in good humor. Cody stared uneasily between the three of them, apparently missing the joke.

Jade smiled. “Good morning, Cody. I’ve just been entertaining these gentlemen with the heroic tale of you dashing for your life through Wesley’s apartment wearing nothing but tighty whities.” At this the two guards entered into more wheezy laughter.

Cody’s skin became clammy and he suddenly felt cold. “Well, what are you telling them that for? You think you can just go around talking behind my back? You’re a real friend, aren’t you, Jade!” Without waiting for a response, Cody stormed back toward his tent. The moment the words had exited his mouth he knew he was over-reacting, but he didn’t care. Jade had embarrassed him in front of the masculine troops and turned him into the butt of jokes. In fact, his
butt
had become the butt of jokes. He was furious at her for mocking him that way. He knew he should go apologize, but he wasn’t going to give her the satisfaction. Not after the way she humiliated him. And what was she doing acting so cozy and flirtatious with those men anyways? Nope, she would receive no such apology from him. He was the victim.

As the convoy resumed their trek Cody found himself walking alongside some of the guards on horses. He overheard that Randilin had contracted blood poisoning from his whip wounds and was in rough condition. As a result, he had been given the carriage for the trip. Sally eventually had worn down Dace and had been allowed to ride in the carriage with him. Several yards in front of him, Cody watched as Jade’s black hair swayed back and forth with her steps. She was engaged in a conversation with one of the other mounted guards; it was a conversation that looked a little too friendly for Cody’s liking. Cody had not spoken a word to her since their morning scuffle. Nor did he have any desire to.

As Cody walked behind the pack, Wolfrick apparently decided that no more supervision was needed, and had trotted off to ride beside some of his peers, leaving Cody alone. Cody spent the next hour making systematic lists of all the ways Jade had mistreated him over the years. Only when Dace trotted up beside him on his paw-footed horse was Cody’s focus distracted. Dace coolly dismounted the horse with a single hop and began walking alongside Cody. “Rough morning, eh, brother?” Cody glared at the guard captain irritably, but the good-natured smile on his face slowly dispelled his frustration.

“I’ve had better.” Dace followed Cody’s eyes toward Jade. “Ah, things not so peachy with the lady friend, I take it. Chin up; once we arrive at the capital, you’ll have enough to divert your mind.”

“The capital? Of what? It seems like I have three million questions but no one ever answers them. So you guys have
cities
down here in the center of the earth?”

The captain ran his fingers through his long, sweatdamped hair. “Well, unfortunately, I must add to your growing list of disappointments, as I am still the captain guard and you are still my prisoner. However, I do think you have earned some explanation. Besides, things are a bit tense in the capital of late and it’s best that you are prepared.”

Dace clenched his jaw as he debated where to start. Cody waited anxiously, eager to finally receive some understanding. At last Dace began, “Okay, much of this will probably not make sense to you right now . . .”

“Don’t even think of telling a story about fish,” snapped Cody.

Dace raised his eyebrows in amusement before continuing, “Just bear with me and be patient. Also, there are several crucial details that I am unauthorized to divulge, further adding to my inability to explain things to you. However, I will do my best with what I have. As to where you are, as I informed you yesterday, you are in the center of the earth, or as we locals call it: Under-Earth. You arrived here from Upper-Earth through the Second Passageway . . .”

“So I’ve heard several times. If the water well within Area 51 was the Second Passageway, then where is the First Passageway?” Cody questioned. A mysterious smirk molded onto Dace’s lips, “Where is it, indeed? And furthermore, where are the Third, Fourth, and Eleventh Passageways? Our two worlds are not as divided as you may think. However, the exact location of these passageways is restricted information; so much so, that I am unaware of them myself.” An image of a groundhog’s complex network of tunnels flashed in Cody’s mind.

“Well, why would you keep an entrance in the middle of Area 51? It’s impossible to get in or out of there!”

Dace grinned. “True. It is. I believe the answer is already in your question. The difficulty of entrance is precisely why it
is
there. Sometimes the best way to keep something hidden is to hide it right under the nose of those searching for it. We don’t even bother with guarding it; you people are doing a fantastic job of that already. You also assume that the passageway was placed within the complex, and not vice-versa, with the base being built
around
the passageway . . .” Cody had to admit it was clever. Area 51 was the destination for supernatural objects once they were found, not a place where one looks to uncover them.

Cody believed Dace was telling the truth. His mind rattled around, brimming with all the other countless questions that haunted his mind. “What about these people calling themselves CROSS. Are these your people? Why are they trying to kill me?” The question produced a blank stare on Dace’s face. “If there is a group called CROSS, then it is news to me. I know of no such group.”

Cody was now shooting rapid fire: “And how could a water well possibly bring us all the way down here alive? What did Randilin do that was so bad as to be treated this way? And what kind of unholy creature is this . . . demonlike Beast that’s been chasing me . . .” Dace’s face became deadly serious. Cody noticed Dace’s fingers had made their way around the hilt of his sword.

“What was that you just said?” Dace’s voice was shaky and sullen. Cody bit his lip. He did not mean to disclose any information that might lead to the discovery of the book. He stammered, “Um . . . the beasty man in the CROSS robe I meant. He’s a monstrous killer.” Cody knew his lie had fallen completely flat. Dace sat perfectly still, his intense gaze unbroken. Cody was trapped. Thankfully, luck was once again on his side. The rest of the company had stopped at the top of a large rock dune and Wolfrick was calling out for him, “Hurry up, son, come feast your eyes on the breath-taking beauty of the capital!” Dace gave Cody a nod to go, but the look in his eyes revealed that their conversation was only temporarily on hold.

Cody ran up the dune to join the guards, thankful to at least be momentarily liberated. When he reached the top, he gasped. Resting at the peak of a giant sand mound was the capital. In fact, it did not look like a city at all, but rather a gigantic walled fortress. A thick, stone wall rose forty feet high and stretched out for miles. Situated periodically behind the walls were giant towers. At the front of the wall was a thick stone gate. Encircling the wall’s perimeter was a water-filled moat the size of a small river.

From his position, Cody could not see much behind the walls, only the odd roof tip or tower peeking over the fortifications. However, two structures towered above the rest. One was a large, white-walled building constructed in a circular shape, forming into a large red dome on top. But this structure was not that which stole Cody’s gaze. A giant oval-shaped formation dwarfed the rest of the structures. The unorthodox building resembled an egg resting on a golf-tee. It was made from some smooth, shiny metallic substance that Cody couldn’t pin-point. Along the sleek surface of the structure were large engravings and designs. The base of the structure must have stood thirtystories high. In all, the futuristic design looked noticeably out of place within the otherwise ancient, medieval looking city. A blinding light glowed from the oval causing Cody to squint his eyes.

“Never seen anything like it before, have you?” whispered Dace. It was not a question, but a fact.

Cody kept his eyes fixed on the marvelous metropolis. “What is this place?” Lights shone from within the city as it began to wake for the day. Dace held his hand out. “Believe it or not, I have no doubt that at some point in your life you’ve actually heard about this great city before. It’s the most famous city in the world, surface or not. . . .” The comment startled Cody.

“No way. I have never heard of anything as amazing or beautiful as this before. What do you mean?”

“Oh, don’t be so sure of yourself. It is commonly known in Upper-Earth, or at least speculated about. To you surface-dwellers it is simply known as the
Lost City
. However, for us underlings, we know it by another name. It is the illustrious capital city of Under-Earth . . . the majestic city of Atlantis.”

The Rumblings of War

A
tlantis. The fabled city. Lost since the beginning of time—now found. The sight was surreal to Cody. Humankind had scoured every inch of the globe in search of this legendary metropolis, and as Cody’s caravan inched closer and closer to the colossal city he realized they would continue to search forever in vain. Atlantis was not a city of the earth, it was one with
in
it. Now Cody found himself thousands of miles underground approaching the greatest archeological discovery in history.

He desperately longed to share the excitement with Jade, but he wasn’t going to give her the satisfaction of watching him crawl back apologetically like a meek child. The moment she decided to come apologize to
him
for mistreating him in front of the guards, he would be happy to resume the friendship. Until then, he was on his own.

The closer to the city the convoy reached, the more Cody began to appreciate the immensity of it. However, he also had the foreboding sentiment that the scarlet ‘A’ on the cover of the Book and Atlantis were somehow linked. Did the Book belong to them? Was it written by them or about them? Should he return it? Or keep it hidden? These questions remained undecided, but Cody knew he was running out of time.

Cody looked up at the immense stone doors and then down at the moat which now separated them from the city. From a distance the moat had seemed flush with the ground, but now that Cody stood directly in front of it he could see th
at the water was actually at the bottom of a twenty-foot crevasse. Cody imagined that any attempts to siege the city would be ill advised and disastrous for the attackers. The city was an impenetrable fortress.

Dace trotted ahead and stopped at the foot of the moat. Suddenly the heavy doors began slowly creaking open. Dace reared his horse and brought it alongside Cody. “When we get inside,” Dace commanded, “I want you to follow close. Don’t stop moving for any reason. Understood?” Cody nodded in affirmation. He didn’t need to be told twice; not after the fiasco in Area 51.

There was a loud thud as the city doors were opened fully. The sound that followed was a cranking noise of something sliding over a pulley or some such contraption. Cody watched in amazement as a large wooden plank began emerging through the doors. It was a retractable bridge that slammed into place. Dace whistled loudly and the caravan began filing over and into the city.

Walking through the gate Cody felt like he was passing through a time machine into some forgotten ancient era. All the accounts Cody had ever heard of the fabled city told of its far superior advancement. They spoke of how it had evolved into a higher form of species than any on earth. And yet, as Cody stepped through the gate, he saw a dusty, oldfashioned city. The houses were constructed of stone and latched with straw roofs and the streets were comprised of primeval cobblestone. Along the walls torches were mounted, wielding flame.
The most advanced city in history doesn’t even have electricity?!
The thought stunned him.