City of Gold (37 page)

Across the way, against the side of the towering wall, was Hagar, the stable boy. Beside him were a dozen horses, saddled and ready to ride. “Perfect. Let’s go!”

Hagar noticed them as they approached. He began waving his arms above his head and calling out to them. Dace frowned. “You fool! Stop making noise! Someone’s going to hear you!” he muttered. The stable boy continued to run toward them yelling. Dace sliced at his neck with his hand, signaling to stop. “Quiet, you fool!”

As they got closer the boy’s words became clearer: “Stop! Run! It’s a trap! It’s a…” A spear soared from the shadows and pierced him in the back. He collapsed to his face in the dirt.

Dace and Tat drew their swords. A legion of golems appeared from the darkness. Above them on the rocky dunes, a row of archers appeared with drawn bows.

Dace reluctantly lowered his weapon. “How could they be waiting for us unless…they knew our plan.”

Xerx had just come to the same realization. “Cody’s walking into a trap.”

94

An Icy Prison

THE GREAT HALL WAS EERILY QUIET as Cody entered. He scanned the dark room. It was empty. He looked down the lane of massive pillars. There it was. The diamond-embossed Book:
The Key
.

The King left the Book in the Great Hall!
Cody immediately felt the power from
The Code
surge through him as it was brought closer to its sister. Cody approached cautiously. His eyes scanned the room for any sign of the Hunter.

He reached the podium. His fingers stretched out. His finger traced the gold
E
on the cover.

“You disappoint me.” The haunting voice echoed in the Hall. Cody jumped back. His head spun but there was no one in sight. “Is this how you repay my hospitality?” The voice seemed to echo from all directions of the Hall at once.

Cody felt panic rising in his chest. “Show yourself!” he screamed out in distress.

Two hands wrapped around his shoulders. “As you wish,” the Golden King whispered. The doors to the Great Hall burst open and Tiana and Jade were pushed into the room. Foz and Hansi held knives to their necks.

The Golden King circled around Cody. “
Seamour Frazan
.” A layer of crisp blue frost began forming on the wall and ceiling. It continued to spread, climbing up the walls and joining together as one. Cody could see his breath. The thick ice had completely insulated the room.

There was no way out.

95

Forged in Hatred

CODY STARED INTO THE COLD RUBY EYES of the Golden King. “I thought we had an understanding? I thought you were ready to do great things. But how do you repay my generous hospitality? By trying to steal what is rightfully mine.” The King’s voice was like a calm downpour that hinted that the hurricane was not far behind.

“Everything you told me was a lie. This whole city is nothing more than an illusion,” Cody countered shakily.

The Golden King’s eyes flashed with primal rage. “It’s
NOT
a lie!” he spat, but the eruption pacified as soon as it had begun. “It is the perfect utopia—the second Eden. It’s the natural course of advancement that my brother was too weak to realize.”

“Where’s the line? I’ve seen the horrors of your
advancement
. You’re
making
human beings,” Cody stammered.

The Golden King beamed with pride. “The highest pinnacle of all creation—
life
.”

Cody felt a chill, “You create life only to bring death. What about the innocent people? What are you doing to them?”

“Souls,” the King responded, “the missing piece. I had learned to form the framework of a human body; to mold each limb and muscle. Yet the ability to fill it with a soul, with
life
, eluded me. It was perplexing,
infuriating
…until at long last I discovered the perfect solution.”

Cody thought of the pretty, large-dimpled servant girl and was filled with disgust. “You implant the life of an innocent person into a cursed hollow soldier.”

The King’s jeweled eyes blazed with pride. “Brilliant, wouldn’t you say?” He glided up to his throne. “It was many long years ago. I was young and foolish. I was obsessed with creating life. If I were to succeed, I knew it would be irrefutable proof to my arrogant brother that the Divine Creator’s pinnacle act, the creation of life, was not only achievable—but able to be
perfected
. That
I
was divine master over creation!

“So, I began. For years I experimented, discovering the High Language for physical life, for animals. I was on the doorstep of succeeding. I had created a body—but it was
empty
. I was devastated. I could hear my mocking brother laughing at my bitter failure. In my bleak desperation I did the inconceivable. I infused part of
my own
soul into my creation: all my hate, all my malice, all my anger toward my brother. ”

Cody felt his palms grow damp and a chill came over him. “The Hunter.”

The Golden King nodded. “My beautiful first-created life. It was like a child to me. You could even say it has my eyes,” the King said.

Cody shook his head in revulsion. “You’ve created a monster; an unstoppable demon. Can’t you see? You’re creating a world you can’t control; a chaos you can’t tame.”

The Golden King laughed. “I was wrong about you, Cody. The same weakness that flowed in my brother’s blood is in you, too.”

Cody looked at Jade and Tiana who were still held captive at knifepoint. Jade’s eyes locked with his. There was a tear in her eye as she nodded.

Cody turned back to the Golden King. “Then, I guess we have nothing more to talk about…
Fraymour!
” A ball of fire shot at the Golden King.

With a word the flames fizzled into a puff of smoke.

The Golden King sneered. “Like my foolish brother…you have chosen death.”

96

Duel of the Book Keepers

CODY ROLLED TO HIS LEFT and sent two more fire balls flying toward the King.

“
Seamour
.” A wall of water rained down from the ceiling, swallowing and extinguishing the flames.

Cody looked to the roof. “
Gadour!
” A large boulder suddenly appeared in the air, crashing down toward the King’s head. The King remained still—CRACK.

Two inches above the King’s head the boulder suddenly split down the middle; the two halves fell on either side of him. The Golden King smiled.

Does he have some sort of force field?

The King strolled leisurely to his throne and reclined in it. He uttered a few words. There was a crunching sound. Cody looked to the ceiling as several giant icicles crystalized into sharp points.

A gust of wind came billowing from behind the throne. Before Cody could guard himself the wind collided against him, lifting him off his feet and sending him racing toward the icicles.

“
Gadour!
” A heavy rock formed in his hands. The weight of it anchored him back to the floor. He crashed to the ground with a loud thud. The rattle of the collision shook the Hall. The giant icicles jiggled—then came crashing down on him.

Cody shouted. A steel canopy grew over him. The icicles pelted down upon the shield, with loud clangs, denting the metal.

As the last icicle shattered on the ground, Cody rolled out and ran across the Hall. He pressed his back against one of the giant pillars, hiding himself from the King.

Cody panted, gasping for breath. Sweat soaked his brow. He glanced around the pillar. The Golden King was sitting casually in his throne with his guard down.
He’s just playing with me.

Cody pushed himself up.

The Golden King smiled with amusement. “Is this all you’ve got? I must confess, I expected more of a challenge from a fellow Book Keeper,” he taunted.

Cody mustered all his remaining strength and readied himself. “Chew on this one…
Duomi!
” A massive explosion burst toward the King.

“
Spakious
.” A hazy portal appeared in front of the King, swallowing the explosion. An identical portal opened behind Cody. The explosion detonated out of it, sending Cody flailing across the room and slamming into another pillar.

His head was throbbing and there was a deafening ringing in his ears. His arms shook beneath him as he pushed himself to his feet. He lifted his hands into the attack position.

The Golden King grinned. “Your resilience is commendable. But I grow weary of this game.” He uttered a string of words.

Instantly, Cody’s entire body was paralyzed and a sense of panic overcame him. “What have you done to me?”

The King stood from his throne and walked toward him. “A wonderful substance known as Dytalisia is now circling through your blood stream. As you have now noticed, one of its many side-effects is that of paralysis.” The Golden King stroked his cheek, his crystal fingernails drawing a bead of blood. “Did you really think you could defeat me?”

Cody tried to pull his face away from the King’s touch but couldn’t move his head. “Go ahead. If you kill me now you’ll risk losing everything.”

The Golden King brought his razor nails against Cody’s neck. “Perhaps,” the King smiled, “but I suppose there’s only one way to know for sure.”

Cody’s confidence crumbled and his face went white. The King’s nail slowly pushed beneath Cody’s skin….

“Nooo! Let him go!” The King removed his hand and turned toward Jade. Her eyes were moist with fear.

The King glanced between her and Cody. “Or, perhaps there’s another way….” His ruby eyes locked with Jade’s and he began whispering. Jade squealed and grasped the back of her neck.

The words in the vision came racing to Cody. “
The one closest to you must pay that price
.”

“No!” Cody tried in vain to twist his head but still couldn’t see her. “What are you doing to her?! Stop! I’ll do anything. I’ll give you
The Code
. Please!”

The Golden King paused, his silver tongue sliding along his lips. “I know you will…all in good time.” He turned back to Jade. She shrieked again, grabbing her head and dropping to her knees. “Get it out of me! Get it out of me!” She scratched violently at her head and screamed in anguish. A scarlet tear fell onto her cheek.

Unexpectedly, Tiana swung her head back, slamming it against Foz’s nose with a crunch. Breaking free from his grip she dove across the room. Somersaulting, she jumped to her feet and grabbed
The Key
from the podium. She held it out and flipped it open. Everyone in the room froze. Jade ceased her screaming and crumpled to the floor weakly.

The King chuckled. “Brave…but pointless. Only I can read from the Book. You know full well what will happen if you even try….”

Tiana smirked. “I know—I’m counting on it.” She began to read. Foz’s eyes bulged. “Stop her!” He lunged at her. The room began to shake violently, knocking everyone off their feet. A cloud of mist filled the Great Hall.

An object flew through the mist toward Foz. He caught it: the golden Book. Two glowing red eyes illuminated through the haze in front of him. The Hunter lunged forward and a piercing scream rang out.

Tiana threw Jade’s arm over her shoulder and pulled her toward Cody. They locked hands.

“
Spakious
!” Cody bellowed. A whirling warp-hole grew above their heads. Without hesitation they hurled themselves through the portal.

97

A Strange World

THE GOLDEN KING GAZED at the empty space where the three children had been moments before. Hansi approached him cautiously, as though trekking across a thinly frozen lake. “Father, nothing is beyond your power. If you desired to prevent the Book Keeper from leaving you could have done so with a single word. But you didn’t…why?”

The King smiled. “My dear son, this is not a failure—it is a grand victory. Everything has gone precisely as I have intended it to go. A single
doubt
that festers and grows can be more powerful than a thousand sharpened swords. The mind has always been a more dangerous weapon than a blade.”

Hansi fidgeted. “Indeed. But you had
The Code
within your grasp! And the Book Keeper!”

“The Book Keeper was never the goal.”

Hansi looked to his father curiously. “If not the Book Keeper, then who?
The girl
?” Hansi paused, color draining from his face. “
The-Creation-Which-Should-Be-One’s-Own
…” The King mouth rolled into the slightest grin.

“Precisely, my son. The most sacred creation which all have the power to create—is now mine….” Hansi stood a step backwards. An aura of lustful power and satisfaction was beaming from the King. Even the Hunter momentarily stopped feasting, casting its scarlet eyes toward its master. The Golden King ran his silver tongue across his upper lip. “Their own
thoughts
.”

“You implanted a thought into the girl’s mind?” Hansi’s face registered alarm. “What will happen to her now? What thought did you create in her mind? Father?”

The King turned and walked across the Hall without responding. As he did, he smiled. Yes, everything was going
perfectly
.