The Prince's Trap

by Griffith, P. D.

  CHAPTER NINE

  THE OBSIDIAN

  CAGE

  Following after him, Landon again became aware of his partial nudity. He realized he wasn’t going to have the opportunity to go back and get his shirt, and the thought of prancing shirtless around the halls of the Gymnasium wasn’t terribly appealing. I hope no one stares at me, he thought as he tried to keep pace with his professor.

  Once they’d reached the woods, and Dr. Brighton had closed off the entrance to the Secret Garden with the boulder, they began to maneuver through the thick and humid bush. But moments later, Landon felt a hand on his shoulder beckoning him to slow down. When he looked back, Sofia’s expression told him she wanted to talk . . . privately.

  “Sorry to keep you,” she started, “but I was wondering if you knew how Celia was doing? Have the doctors said anything about when they expect her to wake up?” She spoke softly but Landon could hear the worry in her voice.

  “No,” Landon replied. “They told me they really have no idea what’s wrong with her, and so they couldn’t give me anything on when she might come out of the coma.”

  “Well, I hope she gets better soon,” she said. “I can tell you two have a strong friendship. I can only imagine how hard this is on you. But I’m sure she’ll come out of it with you by her side.”

  “Yeah, I hope she wakes up soon,” Landon added as he looked down at the path. Dr. Brighton was nowhere in sight.

  “And Landon,” Sofia added in an even softer voice, causing Landon to move closer to her, “the Sentry is nearly finished questioning the general research staff. He’ll be targeting the Pantheon members next. Prepare yourself and guard your thoughts as best you can.”

  Landon looked at her with a baffled expression. “Why are you telling me this?” he asked.

  “Sentries don’t discern between which memories are pertinent to their investigation and which are not,” she explained. “They think they have rights to every thought, but everyone has secrets and memories that are theirs and theirs alone. No one has carte blanche to another’s mind. So guard yours diligently. Make sure anything you don’t want them to find is something they can’t access.”

  “But how can I stop them?”

  “Trust me, you can. Just focus and he won’t be able to break you.” Sofia turned to Landon with a knowing expression on her face. “Who knows? Maybe he’ll find a few things he’ll wish he hadn’t when he gets to you.”

  Landon looked at her, a bit concerned. What does she mean “he’ll find a few things he’ll wish he hadn’t”? he wondered. There was nothing but incriminating memories and a painful past for the Sentry to find when his turn in the chair came around. Every day Landon thought of his impending interrogation, marking it as the day he would accidentally destroy his and Celia’s lives.

  “Landon,” Sofia said, cutting into his thoughts, “get on your way and catch up to Dr. Brighton. And don’t tell anyone what we spoke about. We’re not supposed to talk to anyone about the Sentry’s progress, and I may get in serious trouble if he, or anyone, suspects we were talking about it.”

  Without arguing, Landon sped up the path, taking one last look at Sofia before turning and running to catch his professor, who he hoped was not too far away.

  He caught up to Dr. Brighton just before they reached the tree line. As they walked briskly across the open valley to the northern entrance, the Gymnasium came into full view. Faced in marble, the Neo-Classic facility looked like the Reichstag had been transported straight from Berlin and had grown to a monstrous size. The four square towers could be distinguished from the exterior, and above the northern entrance, there were six pillars tapering up to a triangular façade that had an intricate frieze carved into the stone. The glass dome over the Atrium could easily be seen sticking out of the middle of the compound.

  “So how much time do we have until the assembly begins?” Landon asked as they neared the entrance.

  Dr. Brighton looked at his watch and answered, “Twenty minutes, why do you ask?”

  “Well, I’d maybe like to grab a shirt beforehand,” he said sarcastically. “I’d rather not sit half-naked with the entire student body if I can help it.”

  “Don’t be late,” Dr. Brighton responded. “And you might want to think about taking a quick shower while you’re at it. You reek.”

  Landon immediately became self-conscious, attempting to inconspicuously smell himself to see if Dr. Brighton was telling him the truth. He was right. Landon wondered how Sofia and his professor were even able to stand him at the table during lunch, he smelled so bad. All the dirt, sweat and sticky humidity had left him ripe.

  Without another word, he rushed up to the fourth floor of the dormitories, luckily without seeing anyone in the hallways, and went straight for the showers. He spent a bit longer in the shower than intended and had to dress quickly and rush down to the cafeteria. He was just in time, sitting down with Katie Leigh and Riley at a table mere moments before Dr. Wells entered. The faculty and staff sat in chairs along the back wall. Landon caught Dr. Brighton’s eye as he sat down.

  The students, who were all anxiously murmuring to each other while they waited, fell silent instantly. They were itching for some excitement.

  As always, Dr. Wells motioned with his hand to quiet the already silent crowd.

  “Students!” he began boisterously, “we have reached the time of the Qualifiers. As with every year previous, you will be asked to complete a series of tasks, testing not only your abilities, but your wits as well. They have been scheduled to begin one week from this Monday.”

  A small number of students began to mutter with their friends, unable to wait until the announcement was over to voice their excitement.

  Dr. Wells beckoned for silence once more. “As such, all formal training will be cancelled next week, allowing you time to prepare yourself for the arduous tasks ahead. Good luck everyone, and remember, you are all that is holding you back from reaching your full potential.”

  With that, Dr. Wells turned around and disappeared behind the door that led into the kitchens, leaving the students to their own devices.

  Commotion ensued as the student body rose from their tables en masse and began to file out of the cafeteria. The sound of benches scraping against the floor, and shoes scuffing against the tile only added to the din of numerous conversations. Landon, Riley and Katie Leigh followed suit and joined the crowd, like three cattle in the herd, as everyone slowly exited through the single set of doors.

  “That was it?” Landon asked Katie Leigh and Riley. He felt a bit irritated that he had been required to leave the nice lunch he was having at the lake with Sofia and Dr. Brighton for such a brief announcement.

  “What else was he supposed to say?” Riley questioned.

  “Yeah,” Katie Leigh added. “And the trials are always kept secret so people aren’t able to prepare for a specific thing. They want you to be ready for anything, so the announcement is always simple and to the point.”

  “Oh. Couldn’t they have posted it on a bulletin board or something?” he said snidely. “And we get a week off? So what are you guys going to do without training?”

  “Well, personally, I’ve got some things I need to look into for a project I’m working on,” Katie Leigh replied with her usual air of importance, but then gave Landon a quick glance that made him realize she was referring to their secret project. “But we should probably get together a few times and practice. The tasks may be secret, but they always seem to cover a few key areas when it comes to the trials.”

  “That’s more than I planned on doing,” Riley said. “I just had sleeping on my ‘To Do’ list. But Katie’s right. We really should practice a few things, especially if we want to get in the tournament this year.”

  “Riley, you really must get over your delusions of grandeur.” Katie
Leigh responded as if it was the hundredth time she’d said it, and then added unkindly, “You have about as much of a chance of getting in the tournament as Peregrine’s got at seeing again,” effectively crushing Riley’s spirits.

  “Sooo,” Landon attempted to relieve the tension, “why don’t you guys tell me when you want to get together, and I’ll join in if I can. You obviously have a better idea of what to expect than I do. Right now, though, I’m exhausted and need a nap.”

  “Will do,” Riley replied with a smile. “I want to see what you’ve got. It’ll give me an edge once the betting begins.”

  “The what?”

  “The betting,” he replied straightforwardly. “Why do you think I told you that the Qualifiers were so much more exciting than the First Frost Frenzy? I’ve already heard people talking about how they think you might take the whole thing this year, what with you getting the better of Brock last winter.” Riley’s voice rose as excitement consumed him. “And I’ll have the inside scoop on what to expect from you!”

  Landon hated it when people expected him to do something. People should never assume excellence without first asking whether the person wanted to excel. And Landon was already hard enough on himself. He didn’t need other people to be disappointed in the process; he got enough of that in the Pantheon. “I wouldn’t get your hopes up,” he responded quietly as he parted from Riley and Katie Leigh and headed up to his room.

  When Landon entered his dorm room, he found Brock sitting on his bed, thumbing through some papers and books. Without a word, he made a beeline for his bed, curled up under his sheets, and turned away from his roommate. The exhaustion from his morning of arduous training allowed him to quickly fall into a deep sleep.

  Landon found himself in a dark recess of a hallway, hidden in the shadows. He looked around wonderingly, trying to figure out where he was. The hallway was dark, the floor covered in slate tile, and the walls painted a deep grey. The only light came from narrow tracks in the floor that pulsed every second or so. Cautiously, Landon stepped out into the hall, his eyes darting from one side to the other. He couldn’t see anyone else around, and he still didn’t know where he was, so he began to walk down the hallway, following the direction of the pulse.

  The hallway seemed to be never-ending. There were no doors or anything lining the walls, just random turns that he followed, thinking the light would eventually guide him out—or to some explanation. The entire time he walked, Landon had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. The air was heavy and cold, but seemed as if it was charged, bristling with static electricity.

  Still following the pulsing light, Landon turned a corner—and found himself at a dead-end. The light surged into a black wall and disappeared. Stepping up to the solid black pane, Landon looked down, watching the light stop at his feet. He reached out to touch the wall. It was ice cold and tingled on his fingertips. Hesitantly, he began to run his hand across the surface, searching for a switch, a doorknob, anything that would lead him out of this place.

  Suddenly, a spark blazed in a flash at the tip of his finger. Landon pulled away at the pain of the electric current surging through his body and looked at his hand to make sure the damage was minimal. Then Landon noticed out of the corner of his eye that the pulsing light was slowly creeping up the wall, forming a glowing division on the black panel. The instant the light reached the ceiling, the wall split at its newly formed seam and opened up into a new room.

  Landon watched as the light took a new path down the floor, noticing as it split and navigated around some large object. From the way the light circumvented the object in such angular lines, he imagined it was some sort of cube, but it was impossible to see in the darkness at this distance.

  With wary steps, Landon approached. When he reached the point where the light divided, he stood before a massive glass cube made of foggy, dark obsidian. Overcome with curiosity, Landon slid his hand across the surface, feeling its smoothness. It didn’t seem to carry the same electric charge as the wall. What could this be? he wondered.

  Noticing a transparency to the cube, Landon pressed his face against the black glass, holding his hands to the sides of his face to block out what little light there was. He couldn’t see anything inside. Then, as if out of nowhere, someone collided with the glass right in front of him. Startled, Landon was jolted backwards, his hand pressed against his chest as he stepped away to a safe distance.

  The person, visible only as a fuzzy outline inside the cube, was pounding against the obsidian barrier, banging in rhythmic intervals as Landon stared worryingly. The person was also saying something, but Landon couldn’t make out what from where he stood. Approaching slowly, he inched closer and closer.

  The words “Help me!” registered in his ear when he was about a foot away from the glass. They were feminine and familiar. Craning his head to the left and right, he tried to find an angle where he might be able to see who was inside. When he found one, he realized he was face to face with Celia. Her terrified and angry expression unnerved Landon to the core. “Get me out of here!”

  Then he woke up.

  “Could you be any weirder?” Brock’s voice jolted Landon back into reality.

  Landon sat upright in his bed, sweat covering his body. Looking around, confused, he noticed a book Brock had thrown at him resting on his mattress and a mild pain in his side. “How long was I out?” Landon asked as he rubbed his eyes, still a bit groggy.

  “I have no idea,” Brock replied pointedly. “I don’t keep track of you.”

  “All right, then,” Landon responded, brushing off his roommate’s poor attitude toward him.

  Landon lay back down on his bed, his head falling on his pillow, and stared up at the ceiling, losing himself in thought. The images of his dream swam around in his head. He couldn’t believe he’d seen Celia in that cage. He had difficulty discerning whether what he saw was just a dream or perhaps a vision of the future to come. The whole thing felt so real, unlike any dream he’d ever had before, that it seemed more than just synapses firing in his brain while he slept.

  Perhaps the Qualifiers announcement had just conjured thoughts of Celia. It was her plan, anyways, to win the Qualifiers and get on the Pantheon like Landon so that they would have two people on the inside. That was before her coma, though. Thinking about it, Landon knew he had to find a way to wake her up—before the Qualifiers. So far he’d heard nothing from Katie Leigh about the Prince or Project Herakles. Perhaps Celia’s plan to get recruited for the Pantheon was their best bet. But she’d have to come out of her extended slumber before the Qualifiers started.

  It had to be a dream, he decided as he slid from his bed and prepared to visit Celia in the medical wing. Sofia’s warning about the Sentry preparing to question the Pantheon field agents must have lingered in his subconscious, drawing out a fear he’d had since he learned why Washington Sykes was at the Gymnasium. Landon was days, maybe even hours, away from being interrogated, so the concern was top of mind. And naturally, his mind created a terrifying fate for Celia if Landon inadvertently incriminated her during his session. Yes, it was just a dream.

  • • • • •

  Landon sat across from Katie Leigh at a table in a study area of the Library. Riley paced behind them. Already Tuesday, the Qualifiers were only six days away. Katie Leigh had called them to practice, but Landon was still unsure what the plan was to prepare for the trials.

  “Well, the telekinetics trial seems to always be about control,” Riley offered as he passed behind Landon, lost deep in thought. “And Dr. Brighton likes his puzzles.”

  “Yes,” Katie Leigh interjected. “Last year, he required us to arrange that set of awkward blocks to form a cube.”

  “And the year before that, it was that inverted pyramid thing, right?” Riley asked.

  Landon looked up at Riley, perplexed. Had he heard him c
orrectly? An inverted pyramid? Was that one of Dr. Brighton’s go-to lessons? Was Dr. Brighton testing me?

  “Yes, that’s right,” Katie Leigh affirmed before falling silent, noticeably concentrating on potential assignments for the trial.

  Landon said nothing, but continued to wait until they came up with something for them to do.

  “You know it’s not fair,” Riley blurted out as he slumped down into the seat at the head of the table. “Brighton never seems to test us on our actual lifting strength.”

  That’s what you think, Landon thought as he attempted to rub out a muscle spasm in his forearm. His muscles were still sore from his strenuous private training session just a few days earlier.

  “They’re always these puzzles. And they’re timed! How are they really testing us fairly if most of the time we have to try and figure out some stupid brain teaser?”

  “How about this?” Katie Leigh started. “Why don’t we make houses of cards? That would at least test our telekinetic finesse, and it’s sort of like a puzzle. We can see who has the highest one after a half hour or something.”

  “Sounds good,” Riley responded first. “Where are the cards?”

  It was clear to Landon from Katie Leigh’s change in facial expression that she didn’t have any.

  “We could always use books,” Landon interjected.

  “Great idea!” she added quickly, darting up from her chair and rushing to the nearby bookcase. She pulled as many books she could off the shelf and stacked them in a large pile on the table. “You know, this might actually work better,” she said as she threw another stack of books on the table. “They weigh more and they aren’t all the same size, so it should really challenge us. Good thinking, Landon.”

  “No problem.” Landon rose from his seat and hesitantly attempted to neaten the stacks of books. He was leery of getting in Katie Leigh’s way.