The Seventh Seal (The Chronicles of Daniel Stone Book 1) Page 10
‘What’s happened, Professor?’
‘All in good time, my boy, get some rest.’
With that the Professor stirred a little green powder into his tea. ‘Drink up.’
James McFarlane slept until first light.
Albertus made his way back upstairs to his chamber still mulling over the task he had given me when his thoughts were interrupted. He had a visitor.
‘Hello, Sarah, please come in… can I offer you some tea?’
‘No, thank you, Albertus, can I speak openly with you?’ said Sarah, clearly walking an emotional knife edge.
‘Of course, you know you are as much part of our family as Michael and Da—’ He stopped himself, fearful she would cry.
‘Tell me… what are Daniel’s chances of surviving? I want the truth.’
‘Oh, Sarah, you should not speak like this, if we—’
‘Don’t give me ifs and buts; is Smee capable of killing my boy?’ Tears were now filling her eyes and there was a long pause as Albertus lowered his head.
‘You don’t need to say anymore, I thought as much…’
‘Sarah, you need to understand that Smee has no emotion; he is driven only by his desire for power. There is, however, something you should understand about Smee, understand where all this anger comes from. Odling lost his mother when he was ten years old in childbirth; his father, Victor, was devastated and whilst Victor was a good man the loss of his wife hit him hard. He blamed the child and Odling took the brunt of that hatred too.’
‘What happened to the child?’
‘Victor said he let a childless family have him, that he couldn’t face him and that he just couldn’t overcome his grief, but in all honesty we don’t know.’
‘Didn’t you question that a new-born baby had disappeared?’
‘I know it sounds callous now, but at the time Victor was a highly respected man and the Keeper of the First Seal; he was beyond reproach.’
‘Do you know, for people who control the world you are really stupid at times.’
Albertus ignored her sharp and obvious observation, a little embarrassed.
‘We are trusting by nature that is true… after Victor lost his wife and Odling his mother their relationship became incredibly strained. Victor placed higher and higher expectations on the boy and he was confused and grieving himself; Odling was struggling with his own demons and he also now had a father that had turned into one too.’
‘Why didn’t you do something?’
‘Oh, Sarah, we tried, but in the end Victor and Odling were on a path of destruction… one day Victor got up, kissed Odling on his head and walked out of the door; he was never seen again. Some say he left the castle crying and walked all the way to the Northern Ice Fields in tears; he cried until he had drained his very soul then lay down and died. I don’t know if that’s true, but I can well believe it.’
‘What about Odling?’ Sarah was now feeling confused herself. She could see this young boy afraid, scared and alone, exactly in the same situation as Daniel… except the little boy she was feeling so sad for was now the man threatening to kill her son.
‘He was placed with a local family in the castle, but his sweet core was now rotten; he couldn’t trust any other Theran, he became introverted and isolated. That led to bitterness against us all. He blamed everyone for his situation and, well, I have to say we did have a hand in the making of the monster. If we had tried harder maybe we could have balanced a different outcome, but…’
Albertus stopped talking, looking up into the air in deep thought, thoughts that he didn’t want to share. He, like us all, carried his own pains in his own way.
‘Oh my god, that poor boy must have been devastated, but why are you telling me this, Albertus? That boy is long gone, his soul is lost and the man that he became is the monster that has my son.’
‘I know… I’m telling you because you should understand the man. If you understand that which at some point you must defeat, you will have a weapon better and more powerful than any drows that a Keeper can wield. So Daniel is safe with Smee as long as he thinks he has some worth.’
‘Some worth,’ she hollered at him.
‘I’m sorry, a bad choice of words, but you asked for the truth and the truth is what I gave you. Smee is a complex and dangerous man, but as I said if you understand this you will… we will find a way to stop him. Sarah, try to sleep, the Council will meet tomorrow and we will formulate our plans to get Daniel back. You must know I would give my life for his if I have to.’
Clearly drained and swinging from one emotional state to another as effortlessly as a pendulum swings on a clock, Sarah forced a soft ‘thank you’ smile and left his chambers.
11th September 2012, Thera
I returned to Tolemak early the next morning, having stayed overnight in the Dragon’s Breath Inn. Albertus soon caught up with me.
‘Good morning, Elias, I trust you achieved all that was needed?’
‘Yes, indeed; all is as you requested. Everett is ready.’
‘Good, very good, I don’t like all this subterfuge. Paris and Jade are already suspicious of me. Walk with me to the Council chambers; we are due to start shortly,’ Albertus said, with a hint of nervousness in his voice.
We headed into the tower and climbed the stairs past the Professor’s laboratory and Albertus’ rooms up into the Council chambers. The small solid oak door was accented only by an old, worn triangular brass knocker and was slightly open. Inside the other Keepers were waiting, standing in a small group and Sarah was standing looking out of one of the four windows with her back to us. All five Keepers turned around as we entered.
The chambers were large with a concave roof. The walls were ornately decorated with colourful tapestries, telling the story of the universe from its birth. In the centre was a large round wooden table with an inlaid triangle, the apices of which touched the edge of the circle. Even with the large table the eight of us looked so small within such a large volume. The tapestries whilst beautiful and decorative also performed, in such a large space, a very important function: that of acoustics. Without them speech and hearing would have been rendered almost impossible. Albertus was first to speak.
‘Ladies, gentlemen, please take your seats, I’m afraid, Sarah that you are not permitted to sit at the table; I realise this may seem a little old-fashioned, and well… it is, but there are customs that are important for us to uphold… I hope you understand. I should also request, by law of the Council, that you leave, but if the Keepers are willing I think given the circumstances you should be welcomed here today.’
Albertus looked around the table and counted the nods of acceptance from the six remaining Keepers.
‘Very well, let us proceed…’
He picked up a gavel and struck it on a block on the table and then in a loud commanding voice spoke.
‘I, Albertus Magnus, current Keeper of Peace at Tolemak, hereby declare this Council open… ladies and gentlemen, we have much to discuss—’
Sarah broke in before Albertus could get into his stride. ‘Albertus, may I say a few words before you begin?’
‘Of course…’ Albertus sighed, a little frustrated at the interruption.
‘Thank you… I realise I have been somewhat erratic in my behaviour. Elias, you have probably taken the brunt of it and I know I don’t need to explain myself… but I am sorry… I… I… just… just please bring him back to me…’ Sarah began to cry.
The whole chamber was silent with heads held low; the silence screamed around it, its deathly hush stopping time for what seemed like forever until Albertus began again.
‘We will do whatever we can to bring him home. I hope you understand our resolve on this.’
Sarah nodded and continued to sob as Albertus began his opening speech.
‘In the five years since we lost our dear friend and Keeper of the Seventh Seal, Michael Stone, we have lived in ignorance of the threat of Odling Smee. I take all the blame for the
ignorance; you have a right to expect better judgement from the Keeper of Peace and for that I offer my unreserved apology. It is my lack of foresight that has now led to the escape of Smee and the abduction of Daniel; hence you have all received the call back to Tolemak for the convening of this meeting.’
The room was silent as Albertus explained the deal of exchange on offer for the life of Daniel. Paris was the first to speak.
‘Albertus, Smee is not stupid; we can only bluff him for so long, without the seal we won’t be able to get close enough to free Daniel.’
‘I realise it represents a significant hurdle, but we have a bigger problem than the Seventh Seal.’
Albertus paused. His audience was hooked, locked into his every breath and every twitch of his facial muscles as they moved in on the table, trying to get closer to what he was going to say next.
‘Well, come on, Albertus. Spit it out, what could be bigger than the problem we are already facing?’ broke James.
Albertus regained some composure and for once let James put him down.
‘It seems that today is a day of apologies… I have been keeping something from you all for many years… I hope you understand that I have never made any decision for any other reason than to protect you. I had no idea that it would ever come to this; I thought it would be safe forever.’ It was almost as if Albertus was just talking to himself now, lost in a self-apology.
Jade brought him back with her calm voice.
‘Albertus, what is it, what have you been trying to protect us from?’
‘The Arcanum, dear friends, the Arcanum. I’m afraid it is much more than legend…’
We all gasped and became stuck, open mouthed, as our silent thoughts took flight on our breath and filled the chamber with unanswered questions.
*
The Arcanum was a deeply ingrained part of Theran folklore. The legend goes that when our forefathers were forging the seven seals they also forged a container, the Arcanum, to hold them. The seven seals were forged to represent the seven pillars of wisdom of the Theran people: honour, trust, respect, sharing, loving, growing and pride. They were used by the Keepers as they are today to maintain balance. Somewhere in the tales of old, however, the Arcanum appeared; we can only guess at its origins, but a bit like you have ghost stories it probably started, we believed, with some Theran with a vivid imagination trying to entertain his children with colourful tales. Through play yard whispers the legend grew bigger like a small stone rolling down a snowy mountain.
The Arcanum was a tale that intrigued and captivated because it took Therans into the unknown, into the quest for power. The Arcanum offered its owner the key to this; it represented the opposite pole of the purpose of the seals and in that sense to Therans it had no place, no use. The seals were forged out of a need to maintain balance; the Arcanum for power. That was all that was needed to sow the seeds for a wonderful tale.
Therans loved the story, the danger and intrigue; just like you Earthiens and Arthiens, we enjoy a tale or two and the Arcanum was a story that jarred the pillars of wisdom. It was like eating cake when we should have been eating vegetables.
The story then went that the Keeper of Peace, seeing the wars for power on Earth and Arthe in ancient times and fearing the potential power that the Arcanum could wield, ordered it to be destroyed and all record of its existence removed from our history.
It was, of course, of no real consequence to us whether the Arcanum existed or not; we are not seekers of power in any form — except the notable exception of Odling Smee — but our love for the story made it a legend and so it stayed just that, until that morning in the Council chamber when Albertus revealed the truth…
*
‘The Arcanum is much more than a legend, I’m afraid; it’s real,’ he repeated as if purging the secret from his soul.
Our silent gasps now found voice and the whole chamber broke out into noise as Keeper turned to Keeper in dismay, self-questioning and shouting at each other as if the deceit was perpetuated by the person closest to them.
‘Stop… Stop, the lot of you,’ shouted Sarah. She was in control now and focused on one thing: her son. We were all in shock and did as we were told, all now looking at her as she calmly spoke.
‘I know the legend of the Arcanum, but it doesn’t matter today. Today is about Daniel. Today I don’t care if it exists, but even if it does and Smee is trying to get hold of it, his chances will be improved if you lot don’t get your acts together and do what needs to be done next. We have to save Daniel and fulfil his destiny; he must be the next holder of the Seventh Seal.’
I’m not sure what caused more shock to us on that day, Albertus’ revelations about the Arcanum or the speech from Sarah, but a temporary, shock fuelled sense of calm now returned to the chamber.
Albertus smiled. ‘Thank you, Sarah, for teaching us all a valuable lesson in humility. You have shown us today what true human spirit is about. We should all do well to follow your example.’ He looked at us in turn.
‘Albertus,’ said Thomas. ‘The Arcanum? Why did you keep it a secret?’
‘Quite simply for your safety, Thomas, to protect you against the likes of Buckley and Smee. If you had been burdened with the knowledge of its existence I would not have been doing my job in protecting you. When we could see how Earth and Arthe waged their wars, we felt that the destruction of the Arcanum would one day be something we regretted; one day we might need to call on the power it could wield. So it was kept here for many centuries, hidden and only known to the Keeper of Peace.’
The Keepers looked within and at each other, their trust in Albertus had been dented, but there was no time for reflection on their feelings as he continued.
‘When we formed the alliance with Earth and the Protectors came into being, we transferred it to their safekeeping. It was an act of faith in them and a safety net for us. Paris, Jade, I sent you to Earth because I needed confirmation from Peter that it was not compromised, that it was still safe. That was the letter you collected.’
‘But why not just speak to Peter? Why send us?’ said Jade.
‘Because I wanted to know how it felt down there; I have a concern that all is not as it should be on Earth. I fear the late Frank Buckley was up to no good and he and Smee were close… well, as close as thieves can be. If Smee knows about the Arcanum… well… you don’t need me to explain the dangers.’
‘Do you suspect Peter, Albertus?’ said Paris.
‘I just don’t know, Paris. I do hope he has not turned bad; his father was such a good man and Peter has been a loyal friend, but Earthiens and Arthiens are so easily seduced by power, we can never take anything for granted.’
‘Excuse me, not all of us are easily seduced!’ exclaimed Sarah.
‘My apologies… I didn’t mean—’
‘I know,’ she said, forcing a soft smile.
Albertus picked up his train of thought again. ‘There is something not right on Earth, but Sarah is right, for the moment it can wait…’
‘Albertus, what does it look like… the Arcanum, I mean?’ asked Lucius.
‘It is indeed as beautiful as the legends describe: the most beautiful golden colour and bearing the story of the universe, as the tapestries in the chamber here, but unlike our Theran tales, it is not a large casket that needs ten men to move it; it is actually very small, so small it will fit easily into your hand. Its power, however, is immeasurable; the nature of the Arcanum is indeed strange.’
All of the Keepers were engrossed as Albertus spoke of the Arcanum. We were taken back to childhood, to wondrous places within the mind where a young imagination pieces together words and images into our very own stories. Albertus broke our thoughts, bringing us back to the chamber.
‘Now, my friends, I know you have many more questions about the Arcanum, but they must wait; it will play a big part in what is to come, but today we must discuss the rescue of Daniel…’
James was the first to offer a solution.
‘James, whilst your enthusiasm for battle is commendable and your courage unquestionable I don’t think that plan has enough finesse for the enemy we face,’ offered Albertus, now knocking him back down a peg or two after letting him off earlier.
Jade now stood up and we locked onto her commanding stare. ‘Albertus is right, when was the last time we fought together?’
Moments of silence ensued as the Keepers pondered.
‘Well let me tell you, never! We’ve spent our lives as Keepers acting alone and now, James, you want to rush down for a war against hundreds of battle-hardened men who operate as a single unit, a team. Whilst we have practised the Theran battle triangle we have never had to use it and we don’t have a Seventh Seal Keeper to control the triangle.’
‘Well we can’t stay here and practise for a couple of weeks,’ said James mockingly.
‘James, I’m not suggesting we do and put a lid on that sarcasm or I’ll come over there and—’
‘And what, Jade, what will you do—?’
‘Calm down, James, will you? You know how sensitive the girls are.’
‘Girls! Think we need babysitting do you, Lucius?’ said an annoyed Paris.
‘Hey, take it easy, Paris, he’s only trying to help,’ said Thomas.
‘Stay out of this, Thomas,’ retorted Paris.
‘Enough,’ shouted Albertus.
‘Jade is right; look at you, you’re no team. I’m sure you would fight together, but you would not be able to act as one, to have absolute confidence in a Theran battle triangle. You need to know that each of you is thinking in the same way.’ Albertus paced around a little nervously.
‘I hadn’t expected this problem, but nonetheless you can’t go into battle like this… We need the Professor; Elias, can you go and get him?’
I made my way out of the chamber. It was another beautiful and crisp autumn morning and the light flooded the stairwell as I headed back down the tower to the Professor’s laboratory, but he was already making his way up to the chamber.