Finally, having made himself completely comfortable, he turned to Cody and Jade, “Allow me to introduce myself,” he said with quiet calmness. “My name is Dunstan.” He paused, apparently feeling that a first name would suffice, and a purpose for the intrusion was a minuscule and unimportant detail. He turned to the window. “Nice weather we’re having, don’t you think? Especially for this time of year.” He spoke with the tone of boredom awkwardly blanketed with an ill-fitting disguise of pleasantry.
“Um . . . yes . . . Sir. Very nice weather. Can’t complain,” replied Jade uneasily. The man looked at the piece of paper in Cody’s hand. “I couldn’t help but overhear you reading as I came in. Sounded like poetry. D. H. Lawrence, perhaps? Good poet, nice and British,” he said in the same disinterested tone. Cody shot a side-glance over to Jade. “Um . . . actually no . . . it’s a . . . map . . . of sorts,” he responded nervously, internally kicking himself for revealing too much information. For the first time something spiked the strange man’s interest.
“A map you say? In words . . . like a riddle? Interesting .
. . very interesting. So you guys are on a quest? A treasure hunt, perhaps?” The man’s tongue came out, resting on his upper lip as he leaned forward. Cody could feel Jade’s hand lightly shaking against his leg as she answered. “It’s nothing though. Just two kids with wild imaginations. You know how that can be.”
At this the man let out a surprisingly jolly laugh. “Oh, don’t you kids worry about me. If there’s one thing we Brits know a thing or two about, it’s treasure hunts! I had in my mind once to head off on a search for the Holy Grail! Can you imagine that! Instead I was forced into a much more meaningful job. But just between you and me, every now and again, I still get that hankering for some Grail hunting. It’s in the blood! Your secret is safe with ol’ Dunstan. I promise I won’t mention it again.” With this he heartily slapped his leg and let out another jolly laugh.
“So, what was that meaningful job that put an end to your quest?” asked Cody as he quickly stuffed Wesley’s letter back into his pocket. Dunstan smiled, revealing his uneven yellow-stained teeth. “I’d tell you . . . but then I’d have to kill you . . .” He paused, his stern eyes burrowing their way into Cody’s soul. Cody realized both he and Jade were holding their breath. Suddenly the man’s mouth morphed into a sly grin and he, again, begin to laugh. Cody and Jade joined in half-heartedly.
“So where did you youngins say you were from again?”
“We didn’t. But we are from Havenwood, Utah. You ever visit there?”
The man looked to the ceiling thinking for a moment. “Havenwood . . . Havenwood . . . can’t say that I have,” he replied at last, the words dripping slowly from his mouth. “But I did know a chap who lived there. What was his name? Wesley, Wesley Simon. Yes, I think that was it. Good man. Nice and British! You ever know the man?” Cody jerked at the mention of the name. Surely this man can’t know. Can he?
“Um, can’t say I know a Wesley Simon. Sorry.”
The man didn’t seem to be bothered by the reply; he raised his thick blond eyebrow. “Well, when you get home you should look him up. Believe he owns some sort of old bookstore. You two rascals would probably enjoy that, could get some more of that poetry!” With this he gave an exaggerated wink and let out another chuckle. “Elderly man though, should probably visit him soon, never know how long a man like that will live,” he added sternly. He gazed stilly at the children.
A voice sounded over the loudspeaker: Ladies and gentlemen. We have come to the end of our trip. Welcome to Las Vegas. Please return to your seats. We will be arriving at the station shortly.
Dunstan stood slowly and reached for his hat, having rediscovered his good humor. “Las Vegas! Never been to a city like it. And, I’d bet you thirty pounds that you’ll never find a city as wonderful!” Jade smiled, having been put to ease at the man’s high spirits. “But don’t they call it Sin City? Doesn’t sound like such a wonderful place to me.”
Dunstan grinned. “True, true. But you see, the key is changing your perspective. Nothing is ever how it first appears. Once you step back and look at what is not obvious, then that’s the very thing that will become what is obvious, and you will never see it the same again!”
Looking at the blank stares, he gave a mysterious grin. “Consider it another riddle for you treasure hunters! Well, I better get to my seat. I hope we meet again, and then you can tell me all about the treasure you discovered! God bless the Queen!” With this odd salutation he opened the door and stepped out; pausing, he turned back one more time. “Oh, and you chaps should probably invest in a new pocket watch if you are going to be doing much treasure hunting. The one you have there seems to be broken,” he pointed to the ruby pocket watch that they had left sitting beside Jade on the seat. “At least in England they are supposed to move clockwise! Not counterclockwise. Anyways. Luck be with ya!” He closed the door behind him and disappeared.
The moment he was out of sight the two friends glanced at the pocket watch. The man had spoken the truth. The clock’s hands were spinning ploddingly around the perimeter of the device. With a soft clicking noise the clock hands once again returned to a stationary rest. The short hand was now pointing upward at eleven-forty. They had a new direction.
Followed
The train station was an anthill of people; Jade grabbed hold of Cody’s arm to avoid separation. She had become familiar with the routine of busy transportation having visited her father in England on several occasions. However, for Cody, the venture represented the first time he been farther than fifty miles from Havenwood. As he glanced out over the sea of noisy, rushed people, he secretly hoped it would also be the last time he was so far from home.
Pushing their way through the mob of people, they finally found space outside the station. Cody scanned the horizon. The sight was breathtaking. Flashing lights flickered a dazzling tapestry of every possible color as they danced madly to and fro while large fountains spat majestic pillars of water thirty feet high. He heard the faint crackling of fireworks although he could not see from where.
Jade squeezed his arm. “Okay, you and I need to get a room.”
Cody choked, gagging over his own gobs of spit. “Excuse me?” he asked blushing bright red.
Jade didn’t notice. “A room. You know, four walls and a door? We need to go find a cheap one where we can talk things over and maybe get some more rest. There’s no point buying a new ticket north until we have a plan. We need to take another look at that riddle. That creature is fast, but the train should have bought us some time.”
“We also need to talk about our good friend, Mr. Dunstan,” added Cody. It had just occurred to him that with all Dunstan’s cheery disposition and talk of Wesley, he never had given them the reason for his intrusion. The fact that he had lied about having been to Havenwood was unsettling as well.
As they set off toward the hotel strip, Cody was thankful for the rest they had gotten on the train, his legs felt stronger and reenergized. They walked in silence, the reflection of the bright lights flashing against their faces. Internally Cody kicked himself. He wasn’t sure what was going on with him. His reaction to Jade’s hotel room comment was now the second time that day he had made a fool of himself toward her. What’s wrong with me? It’s just Jade; why do I suddenly feel so weird? Pull yourself together! He opened his mouth but Jade cut him off sharply.
“Don’t talk. Just walk,” she ordered.
Cody looked at her in surprise.
“Trust me . . . ” she whispered, “we’re being followed.” Cody suddenly felt an ominous presence behind them. He desperately wanted to look back but didn’t dare. Who could it be?
The first thought that materialized was the Beast. The image of those piercing red eyes caused his palms to become clammy and tremble. No. The idea of the monstrous creature prowling around unnoticed in Las Vegas quickly negated that possibility. Dunstan, perhaps? It was the logical guess. “Just keep walking, we’
ll lose him in the crowd.”
Walking as calmly as they could manage, and fighting the overpowering urge to take off running, they briskly headed toward the noise and lights of the main strip. They could hear the soft patter of footsteps behind them. Neither of them dared to look back. Just keep moving.
At last their road merged with the central hotel strip of the city. The street was an irritated hornet’s nest of people chattering and cars zipping past. As they stopped, the shadowing footsteps behind them froze as well. They could hear heavy breathing. Whoever’s following us is not far behind. The shadow of a body loomed over them. Its arms slowly extended out toward their shoulders. Jade caught Cody’s eye and nodded her head. Three . . . two . . . one. On the third nod they took off running, sprinting for their lives. The shadow’s footsteps drummed after them, but their unannounced burst had startled the stalker and given them a head start.
They ran directly into the most populated gathering on the street and slipped through the mob by darting left and right. Cody clasped hold of Jade’s hand as they pushed their way through the labyrinth. Emerging from the crowd they came to the busy main street where taxis and limos bustled by. Without warning Jade yanked Cody’s arm and began to run. The next moment was a blur of lights as the sound of whooshing tires whizzed around him. “What do you think you’re doing?! Stay off the road!” screamed a furious cab driver, swerving sharply and narrowly avoiding them.
Reaching the other side of the street, they paused only for a brief moment before Jade grabbed hold of Cody’s arm again. They dashed to their right, up a flight of stairs, and through the revolving doors of Caesars Palace hotel. Without looking back to see if they were still being tracked, they sprinted through the lobby. The desk attendant stood up to shout something, but they were already out of earshot.
Sprinting down a long hallway, past several gift shops, they halted; they had come to a dead end. A crowded casino was their only escape; the sound of bells and hollering blasted through the doors from within. Standing directly in front, blocking the entrance was a bulky security guard.
“What do we do now?!” Jade asked exasperated. “We aren’t old enough to enter and we surely can’t go back. Think! We don’t have any time!”
The sound of agitated voices followed by hurried footsteps floated toward them from the lobby. Cody glanced around fervently for a solution, but they had nowhere to go. They were trapped.
He clenched his hands tensely—and paused. The feeling of cold leather pressed against his fingertips. He peered down to his hands in surprise—he was holding the Book. He gazed at it in astonishment; he could not recall removing it from his backpack. Suddenly his fingers began to tingle and he felt his throat clot up, blocking his air path. He dropped to his knees, clutching his neck, as the lump scaled its way up his throat. As the bulge reached the top he wretched his head irrepressibly, “Bauciva! Gai di gasme!” He heard himself utter the words as though a distant bystander to the scene.
Jade cranked her head, “Shhh! We need to . . . oh, my gosh. How in the world?” Cody followed the trail of her wide eyes toward the empty wall—only it was no longer empty; directly across from them, made entirely out of fine polished wood—was a door.
Cody shook his head disbelievingly. He was absolutely positive that there had been no door there a minute ago. He shoved the book back into his bag. What’s happening to me?
Jade dragged him through the new door and he once again found he was breathing Las Vegas air. “Come on, let’s go.”
They began to run. “Jade, what happened back there? That door just appeared . . . out of nowhere. How . . . ?” Cody’s voice trailed off.
Jade tugged against his arm. “I . . . don’t know. Nothing is making sense. But it doesn’t matter; I think we’ve lost him. Let’s get inside somewhere before we’re seen again.” They turned to enter the hotel directly in front of them. Cody glanced up to see the large flashing sign above the doorway. It read: Treasure Island Hotel. Cody grinned.
Dunstan would be pleased.
A Mystery Solved
Unmoving, Jade stared down at the hectic city street; the sea of lights extended far into the distance from her fifteenth floor window. She breathed slowly and intentionally, still trying to calm her racing heart. They had waited for several minutes in the lobby as a precautionary measure, but eventually felt confident they had lost their mystery pursuer.
Cody sprawled out on one of the two single beds and greedily unwrapped a granola bar. “Hey, Jade, heads up.” She reached up and snatched the flying granola bar that Cody had propelled her way. “When’s the last time we had a bite to eat?” An answer came in the form of her growling stomach. Ripping open the wrapping she stuffed a large bite into her mouth.
Cody ungracefully crammed in his third granola bar, chocolate chips spraying out like debris from a volcanic eruption. “So, what . . . do you . . . figure we . . . should do . . . next?” he mumbled between bites.
Jade pulled out the ruby pocket watch and set it on the desk. As it had before, the short red hand still pointed up at eleven-forty. Snapping the blinds closed to ensure their privacy, she walked over to her own bed and plopped down, sinking into the blankets, “Well, what do we know so far?” She began in a diplomatic tone, “First off, whatever this pocket watch is, it obviously wants us to head north. To where? I’m not sure. Then there’s the issue with our British friend, Dunstan. Perhaps he simply was a jolly, lonely old man. But my gut tells me that there was more to his visit than meets the eye. I don’t think its coincidence that he shows up in Havenwood on the very day that the city experiences its first murder in decades. Speaking of which, that brings us to Wesley’s riddle, which I am sure is the key to of all this.”
Cody sat up. “Don’t forget the gigantic demon-pig creature that tried to bite your face off.” They both involuntarily shuddered. Where was the creature now? Was it still hunting them? Was it close? Cody laid Wesley’s letter beside the pocket watch. Somehow the two objects were interconnected, but neither knew how.
“Well, now that we are safe from any strange British interruptions, maybe you should try reading the letter out loud again. It can’t hurt.” Cody was depleted of hope, but couldn’t think of a better alternative, so he began reading the riddle slowly:
Fifty-three, less four, until the rite does write, Iron décor, future war, hides passage out of sight, Deep contrite, prevents invite, now precious yore, Must leave Tonight.
As he finished, he looked up to Jade, his face defeated. Her deep green eyes were an inferno. She ran her hand through her thick black hair. “It can’t be . . . ” her voice trailed off, deep in thought.
“What can’t be? What are you talking about Jade?” he questioned. Jade looked up, a wide smile on her face. “It’s been in front of us the whole time . . . Dunstan was right . . . ”
Cody couldn’t contain himself any longer; he grabbed Jade with both his arms and gave her a shake. “Dunstan was right about what? Snap out of it, girl! What are you going on about?”
Jade grabbed Cody’s arms on her shoulders and looked up at him. “The riddle, the clues. It all makes perfect sense. Dunstan was right; he said we have to step back and look at what wasn’t obvious, and by doing so, that’s what would become obvious. It’s worked! It’s so obvious now.” She was shivering as she did whenever she was consumed with excitement. “I’ve just figured out the location of the passage way.”
The front desk receptionist at the Treasure Island hotel looked strangely at the man before him. Something about the peculiar man gave him chills. This night just keeps getting weirder and weirder. Already he had seen two young teenagers dash franticly into his lobby, demanding a room. Probably runaways he had thought at the time. Even in Vegas, it was unusual to rent a room out to such young customers.
Now the man standing before him had something unusual in his appearance, but he couldn’t quite place what it was. The customer leaned over the desk and whispered, even though they were the only two men
in the lobby, “I need a room. Just for tonight. Anything on floor fifteen perhaps?” The attendant looked strangely at the man in front of him, “Um, one second, Sir. Let me check the records.” Running his hands expertly across his keyboard he brought up the floor plan for floor fifteen. There was one room available. He opened his mouth to inform the odd customer, but stopped short. That particular floor was the very floor he had just checked the two teenagers in only half an hour earlier. Something doesn’t feel right.
The man in front of the counter sensed the hesitation. Reaching into his jacket pocket he produced a large wad of bills and dumped it on the counter. The attendant looked from the bills to the computer screen, and then back at the customer, “Yes, Sir, there is one room available. Just give me a moment while I make you a key.”
“Are you sure?” Cody could not believe his ears; he had abandoned hope of ever unearthing the mysterious message behind the riddle. Jade nodded adamantly, “Yes, yes. It’s actually very straight forward; we just were going about it wrong from the beginning.” She paused, being pulled into thought again. Cody clenched his fists. “Well . . . where is it?” he demanded, pulsating with anticipation. Jade grabbed the letter off the desk and pointed to the first line. “You see, we’ve been doing the math wrong the entire time.” Cody felt offended. He recognized his academic prowess wasn’t equal to that of his friend, but even he was able to handle a simple mathematical equation such as fifty-three minus four. Jade noticed the dejected look on her friend’s face and smiled.
“Don’t worry, buddy, I missed it, too. You see, we were so caught up on the simplicity of the question that we jumped right over the word until. Do you get it now?” Cody nodded his head in affirmation, although in truth he had no idea where she was going.
Legend of the Book Keeper Page 6
