The Buried Symbol (The Ruins of Issalia Book 1)

by Jeffrey L. Kohanek

  “Parker, what did you do?”

  Parker’s head snapped up, his eyes locking with Brock’s. “Nothing. I told him I didn’t know anything about Engineering, which is the truth. I also told him that I was never alone with the catapult, which is also true. I told him I’d do my best, but couldn’t promise anything, which was a lie.”

  Brock stared into Parker’s eyes, searching for the truth. “How can I be sure? I want to believe you, Parker, but I need to be sure.”

  Parker nodded. “I grew up with Corbin. I’ve known him for most of my life. However, I never felt like I could call him a friend. He’s not a good person. If he weren’t being groomed to be the next Archon, I’d gladly be done with him forever.” He paused, looking pained. “My father, who is Archon Ringholdt’s chief advisor, has made clear what I must do. You see, since I’m also bound for the Hierarchy, I have to bow to the whims of Corbin Ringholdt and follow him around like he is a god. I need him to see me as an asset, not as a threat.”

  Brock’s eyes narrowed. “So, you can’t stand the pompous jerk either. You pretend to abide by his rules, hanging out in his little clique, so you can ensure your career?”

  Parker nodded.

  “Okay.” Brock nodded back. “I can buy that. But how does it prove you’re not out to destroy our chances in this competition?”

  “That’s simple. It’s because I think you can win.” Parker smiled. “Your winning this competition would infuriate Corbin. I’d love to see you put him in his place, knocking him down a notch. As long as I’m not culpable or seen as working against him, it’s perfect.”

  Brock smiled. “Well, winning is what we plan to do. If you want, I can spread rumors that you weren’t any help at all. I’ll get Cam and Benny to do the same. Those rumors should get to Corbin and keep him from thinking you were part of our success.”

  Parker smiled again. “Thanks, Brock. That would help a ton.”

  Brock grabbed the glowlamp off the hook and flipped the latch on the stall door. The big door creaked as it swung open. They stepped outside and Brock closed the door, using the key to secure the lock. As they crossed the dark grounds behind the Academy, Brock noticed his breath steaming in the evening air.

  Parker spoke again. “Brock, I know you’re doing your best to beat Corbin in those mock trials. However, he’s been groomed for that stuff his whole life. He knows every Empire law and how to manipulate the system when it suits his needs.” Parker paused before continuing. “What I’m trying to say is that you shouldn’t get down on yourself for losing to Corbin when it comes to Hierarchy. That’s his domain. I suggest you focus your efforts elsewhere. I just wish I knew why you keep getting matched against Corbin in that class. It’s as if Pretencia has it out for you, too.”

  He looked at Parker, raising an eyebrow.

  “Oh, he does, doesn’t he?” Parker shook his head. “For such a nice guy, you sure know how to get under people’s skin.”

  “Thanks,” Brock said sarcastically. He reached out and pulled the Foundry utility door open. “It’s a talent I was born with, I guess.”

  CHAPTER 62

  A knock on the door woke Brock, his eyes fluttering open. He glanced over at Cameron, who was still sleeping. A slice of morning light was streaming through the curtain onto the pillow that Cam’s head was beneath.

  He slid out of bed, padded across the room, and opened the door a crack.

  “G’morning Brock.” Benny whispered. “I stopped by to see if you were awake.”

  “I am now.” Brock whispered back. “It’s Seventh Day, Benny. Why are you awake so early?”

  “I couldn’t sleep. I’m too anxious about the catapult. I also wanted to give you the book back.” Benny held The Wailing War up so Brock could read the binding.

  Opening the door wider, he waved Benny inside.

  “How far did you get?” Brock whispered as he dressed.

  “I’m caught up to you. There’s still a lot to read though. It’s a big book.”

  He took the heavy book from Benny. “You’ve got that right.”

  Brock opened his desk drawer, spotting the other book he had taken from the archives. As he placed The Wailing War in the drawer, he grabbed the second book. He held it in his hands, examining the rune on the cover.

  “What is it?” Benny whispered.

  Brock’s hand slid over the embossed rune. “I don’t know for sure. It’s….something I took from the library.”

  Curious, Benny sat beside him, inspecting the book. “Open it and see what it says.”

  Brock opened the book, looking up at Benny.

  Benny squinted at the inside in confusion.

  “What language is that?”

  Brock smiled. “I have no idea.”

  Benny was still confused. “If you have no idea, why take the book at all?”

  Brock closed it to look at the cover. “I don’t know. There’s something about it. Something about this symbol.”

  Benny leaned in, staring hard at the rune. “I don’t know that one. I have a super good memory. I know I’ve never seen that rune before.”

  “I agree,” Brock said. “But, it’s still somehow special to me. I can’t explain it.”

  “Are you two going to blabber all day, or can I get some sleep?” Cam peeked from under his pillow.

  Benny stood. “Sorry Cam. We were just about to leave.”

  Brock stuffed the book in the drawer and followed Benny out the door.

  Once outside, Benny squirmed in anticipation. “Let’s get some food, and then we can go finish the catapult.”

  Brock smiled. Benny was thriving on this catapult project. He realized why his friend wanted to be an engineer so badly. It was certainly his passion.

  They grabbed a quick breakfast of porridge and fruit before making the trek out to the catapult. The prior evening left a layer of frost on the ground, their footsteps crunching as they crossed the yard behind the Foundry. As they neared the outbuilding, Brock noticed footprints in the frost leading to their stall. He thought of his conversation with Parker and anxiety began to twist his stomach. He pulled on the door and it opened. The stall was empty other than the catapult and a few tools.

  Benny noticed that Brock hadn’t used the key. “Didn’t you guys lock the door last night?”

  Brock pulled the other door wide open, allowing more light into the stall.

  “Oh, I locked it alright. But locks are beatable, Benny.” He held the key up for Benny to see, the only key that existed for this lock. “This is an easy lock to pick, a single tumbler.”

  Benny stared at his precious catapult, concern in his eyes. “Why would somebody break in here? Do you think they want to steal my ideas? The competition is tomorrow; that doesn’t leave much time.”

  Parker’s confiding in Brock was likely intended to be a private. However, Benny needed to know. He told Benny of how Corbin wanted Parker to sabotage their catapult. He left out other details, but he got the point across.

  Benny put his palm on the catapult as if to feel for a pulse. “I was awake when Parker came into our room last night. I put out the light, and we both went to sleep. When I woke today, he was still in bed. I don’t think he left the room.”

  Brock nodded. That’s what he wanted to hear, not wanting to believe Parker would betray them.

  “Okay. For now, let’s not worry about who was in here. Let’s figure out what they did.”

  They spent the next few hours tightening nuts and bolts. Some were completely missing, two so critical that the launch arm would have torn off when tension was applied.

  It was past noon when they finally finished. However, they weren’t about to leave their precious catapult now that it was finished. Instead, they decided to take turns sitting with their creation to keep it safe from further tampering. Brock told Benny to go eat and then to find Cam. When Cam came to relieve Brock, he would go get food.

  Benny left with Brock pacing outside the stall, lost in thought. He soon spotte
d a group crossing the yard as they headed toward the far end of the outbuilding. At the front of the group was Corbin Ringholdt. As he waited for Karl to unlock the stall, Corbin stared at Brock. A smile crossed Corbin’s face as their gazes locked. While Brock remained stoic, he felt the heat of anger bubbling within.

  The door swung open, and the five boys disappeared inside. Brock stared in their direction for another minute, his emotions storming. He walked back into his own stall, resting his hand on the catapult. A spark of inspiration struck him. He picked up a chisel and began carving the wood frame. He dug and scraped at the wood, shaping it to meet the image in his mind.

  He stared at the symbol he had carved, running his fingers over the grooves. It was a perfect replica of the symbol from the book cover. He still didn’t know what it was, but it spoke to him. It was something special. He could feel it.

  CHAPTER 63

  With the catapult under Cameron’s watch, Brock hastened to the dining hall. It was late afternoon, and he hadn’t eaten since sun up. Shirley, as friendly as ever, heated some leftovers from lunch for him. He stayed and listened to her chatting as he scarfed down the meal, chasing it with a glass of milk. When he was finished, he thanked the kind old woman before leaving.

  Brock went in search of Ashland, beginning at her room. He knocked at the door, but there was no response, so he descended the stairs and headed outside.

  Squinting in the late afternoon sun, he scanned the lawn from the top of the stone stairs. Students were scattered in small clusters throughout the wide space. After a bit of searching, he became anxious. He desperately wanted to see her.

  His heart leapt when he spotted her rounding the bend on the road that looped around the back of the complex. Descending the stairs, he cut across the lawn to intercept her. She smiled when she saw him, quickening her step.

  Just before meeting, they both stopped, looking into each other’s eyes. Ashland’s smile ignited a sense of joy inside of him.

  “I’m glad I found you. I was beginning to worry,” Brock said.

  “Sorry. I decided to take a walk, so I made the loop around the backside,” Ashland replied as she glanced down at her hands clasped with his. When did that happen?

  Her eyes flipped back up, their gazes locking. “I happened to see Cameron when I passed the Engineering outbuilding. He told me that you had left to get food. I was hoping you’d be out here by the time I circled around.”

  “Really?” he said, smiling. “You were hoping I’d be here. I find that interesting.”

  “Are you mocking me?”

  He pulled her close, her eyes drifting closed when their lips intertwined. Brock’s head spun in the rush of the kiss. His body reacted to the passion building up inside, causing his pulse to race. Reluctantly, he pulled away, still holding her with his hands on the small of her back.

  “I’m happy to see you too.” He gazed into her eyes.

  She smiled and pulled away, grabbing his hand in hers.

  “Let’s go for a walk.” She pulled him along.

  They walked hand-in-hand down the road that led to Fallbrandt. The leaf trees they passed were bare other than a few rogue leaves, refusing to give in.

  “I’m sorry that I haven’t spent much time with you recently,” he said. “It just took so much time to construct our catapult.”

  “Don’t worry. I understand.” She leaned over, hugging his arm close. “Remember that I was in your shoes a year ago, working with a team to build one of our own.”

  “Oh yeah. I forget about that,” he said. “So, how did you do?”

  “We did okay, ending up third.” She then turned and smiled. “They kept our catapult though. They keep the top three each year and tear down the rest for parts. Who knows, maybe they’ll use it for something important someday.”

  He smiled back. “That’s pretty amazing.”

  They walked in quiet for a while, just enjoying each other’s company until Ashland finally broke the silence.

  “Brock, I don’t really know much about you. I like you and I like who I see in you, but I don’t know anything about you.”

  He thought about what to tell her. “I’m from a port city in Kantaria, on the Indigo Ocean. I had…a difficult childhood. I was close to my mother, but she died during my fifth summer.”

  Ashland stopped and put a hand on his cheek. “I’m sorry, Brock. I can’t imagine how difficult it must have been to lose her when you were so young.”

  Feeling vulnerable around this girl, he shed a tear at his mother’s loss for the first time in years. She wiped his tear away and leaned in for a kiss. Her lips tenderly brushed his before pulling away. She flashed a smile, and he immediately felt better.

  As they resumed walking, he continued his story. “Prior to my mother’s death, my father seemed to love me a lot. After she died, he changed. In the years after, he became cold and distant. It’s as if he forgot how to find joy in life. Luckily, I had my mother’s sister to take care of me until she got sick this past spring. She died a few weeks later. I…I tried to save her. I was so close...”

  Ashland stopped again, meeting his eyes. “Wasn’t there a master healer at the city temple?”

  “Yeah. But he wouldn’t come to heal her.” Brock’s frustration at the situation resurfaced. “I couldn’t even get a medicus to help. When I finally convinced one, the price was quite steep, and then it was too late.”

  Ashland was confused. “I don’t understand.”

  He took a breath and answered. “My aunt was Unchosen.”

  Ashland stared at him for a moment and then nodded. “I understand.”

  She leaned in for a deep, long kiss. When the kiss ended, she gazed into his eyes as if searching for something within.

  “Thank you, Brock. You just confirmed everything I thought I knew about you.”

  “And what is it that you know about me?” he asked.

  Ashland’s eyes lowered. “I know you’re a good person and that you have a good heart. I know you care about people and you’ll do anything to support your friends.” She paused, her eyes rising to meet his. “And now I know you see Unchosen as people who matter. You realize that they deserve to live full lives and have hopes and dreams like anyone else.”

  Not knowing what to say, Brock nodded silently. Something was happening. Somewhere along the way, something had changed. He now couldn’t imagine living without this girl. He considered telling her that he was Unchosen. Just as the words began to form on his lips, she spoke.

  “That’s where it happens.” She nodded toward the southeast.

  He turned to look in the direction indicated. There was a half-circle mound near the base of the mountain, just north of the woods. Noting the horizontal lines crossing the mound, he realized it was seating. It was an outdoor arena.

  “That’s where the Catapult Challenge will be held tomorrow,” she said.

  Brock glanced back toward the Academy. “I didn’t realize it would be so far from the school.”

  “Yeah. You’ll have to push your catapult all the way down here in the morning.” She smiled. “That’s not the worst of it though. You have to push it all the way back after the competition.”

  He glanced back at the Academy again. It had to be two miles away and at least a hundred feet uphill. “Well, I’m glad we have Cam and Lars then.”

  Ashland laughed. “That will help.”

  He smiled, her laughter lightening his heart. “Will you come down to watch?”

  Her face twisted in a grin. “You’re silly to think I might miss it. It’s one of the biggest events of the year. Don’t you know that they close the school for the afternoon? Everyone will be there.”

  CHAPTER 64

  Everyone was there. The rows of benches along the slopes of mound were filled with blue-cloaked students and scattered purple cloaks of academy masters. The hum of the spectators chatting filled the air as they waited for the event to begin.

  An engineering assistant came around with
water flasks, handing one to each team. Brock took a swig from the flask before handing it to Cameron, who took a big drink before passing it on to Parker. They were thirsty after an hour of pushing the catapult to the competition area.

  Brock gazed across the Academy lawn. He was already dreading pushing the contraption back up to the school. He thanked Issal again that they had Cam and Lars.

  He glanced toward Benny, who was rocking his shoulders while watching the last few competing catapults roll in. He had so much anxiety about the competition that he had relieved Cam shortly after sunset. When Brock opened the stall door in the morning, he found Benny sleeping under a blanket against a catapult wheel.

  Brock did a quick count of the catapults lined along the side of the field. Including the ones now rolling in, he counted 29 machines. That meant one remained. He looked toward the main road, partially obstructed by the trees lining it. The last catapult slowly emerged, turning onto the narrow road that lead to the field where they waited.

  “Oh no,” Benny mumbled.

  Seeing that Benny was staring at the last catapult, Brock looked harder at the contraption. Something about it seemed odd. After a moment, he realized how small the students pushing it appeared. The catapult was huge, easily twice the size as theirs. The launch arm of the machine wasn’t made of one timber like most, but of three timbers bolted together with the middle one offset so half of it extended beyond the other two. The basket on the launch arm bobbed high in the air as the machine rumbled along.

  When the huge catapult came to a rest at the end of the line, the students who were pushing it began clapping each other on the back. That’s when Brock realized it was Corbin’s team. Led by Karl Jarlish, Corbin and his cronies had constructed a massive catapult.

  A mixture of emotions stirred within as Brock watched Corbin and the others stroll to the judging tables for check in. Soon after, the lottery would take place to determine the launch order.

  Headmaster Vandermark stepped onto the field to face the stands. Master Nindlerod and another master engineer joined him. Vandermark waved his hands to quiet the crowd. When the chatter subsided, he addressed the audience.