The Prince's Trap Read online

Regardless, he stayed by her side. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he believed that his presence made it more likely that Celia would rise out of her current state and welcome him with a snide comment regarding his idiotic actions that put her there. The thought of her taking her first moment of conscious thought in weeks to chide Landon on his stupidity made him smile.

  Whether doing the homework his tutor assigned him at the small white table near Celia, or reading in the hard chair rather than in his usual alcove at the Library, or just sitting in silence, Landon felt it was his duty to be with her. Whenever he could, he read to her, just like his mother would have done. He began with Alice in Wonderland, his mother’s favorite and one he knew was good read aloud, thinking it would at least entertain her. The doctors said that even though she didn’t respond, she could hear him. He then moved on to The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and now found himself reading The Prince to her.

  It was a short book of twenty-six concise chapters about principalities in sixteenth-century Italy that described ad nauseum the many ways a prince could obtain, maintain and lose his royal power. Landon had already read it three times since finding it on his bed that night. It fell far outside what he would typically read. It had no adventures, no interesting characters, and intrigue and excitement were well beyond sight, but he hoped each time he read it that he’d understand why someone left it for him and maybe, discover some clue as to who gifted it in the first place. But he had yet to find anything hidden in its pages.

  The clap of Dr. Brighton’s wooden-soled leather shoes echoed off the walls and the high ceiling of the Gymnasium as he approached. Landon saw him stroll casually toward him, looking dwarfed by the massive stone pillars that lined the hallway. Even though the sun had already risen above the mountains, it was still early. The majority of the people in the Gymnasium would not wake for at least another hour or two, yet Dr. Brighton and Landon were just about to start their Saturday of training in the Secret Garden.

  “Good morning, Professor,” Landon welcomed him with a glimmer of excitement unexpected in the early hour. When he woke up that morning, he decided to disregard everything he’d learned since his first mission and allow himself to just train with his professor. That became easier when he saw Dr. Brighton coming toward him. The memory of their sessions and conversations in the Secret Garden during the past fall sparked a wave of nostalgia that made him eager to find out what they’d work on now.

  “Good morning, Landon,” Dr. Brighton returned with a smile. “Should we be on our way then? It’s only going to get hotter as the day progresses, I’m afraid.”

  “After you,” Landon said as he pulled open the large door that led into the forest at the northern part of the valley. Dr. Brighton gave him a nod of appreciation as he passed through the doorway.

  The valley was masked in a thin haze, the morning mist not completely dissipated, and the air was hot and heavy, making it difficult for Landon to breathe. It weighed on his lungs, immediately forcing him to gasp for oxygen. Dr. Brighton seemed to proceed unaffected while Landon could already feel the exhaustive rays of the sun sapping his energy. Any semblance of the crisp coolness of the night hours had already been eradicated, imposing the incessant heat of summer on Landon.

  As they neared the edge of the forest, he could feel the sweat building on his body. The hair on the back of his neck began to cling to his skin, and his feet and ankles were drenched from the morning dew.

  The forest provided no respite from the heat. Landon thought that the thick canopy of leaves, which now filled the branches of the oaks, maples and ash trees, would shade him from the sun and allow for more comfortable travel, but what he did not anticipate was that even though the sun was blocked by the forest’s verdant ceiling, that dense layer of greenery trapped the moisture. It was like a sauna. Landon thought he could literally feel the water vapor collect on his skin and drip down his face, arms and back, gravity not only pulling down the water, but also his strength. They had not even reached the Secret Garden to begin their training, and yet Landon was drenched as if he’d worked tirelessly for numerous hours.

  Dr. Brighton and Landon navigated the unmarked road with all its twists and turns, and soon were through the forest and standing before a wall of rock. As Dr. Brighton lifted his hand to force open the boulder guarding the entrance to the Secret Garden, Landon felt excitement course through him. He always loved this part. It was like walking through the wardrobe into Narnia or passing through the looking glass; one moment he was in the valley and the next he was transported into a wondrous world.

  As the boulder rolled aside, Landon felt a warm breeze come through the opening and cool him slightly. It was needed after their sticky journey through the forest, but mere seconds later, the breeze subsided and Landon was left with the oppressive heat.

  The Secret Garden was lush with life. The dense pack of plants that formed the meticulously kept Japanese garden led up to Dr. Brighton’s three-story pagoda with his cloistered apartment on its top floor. Although not as resplendent as it was in the spring, with the cherry trees coated in pink and white blossoms and the other trees and shrubs displaying the vibrant green of new growth, the Secret Garden was splendid in the summer. The plants were at their peak, large and majestic, with luxuriant, deep green foliage. There was an ancient quality as if the place had been left undisturbed for centuries.

  They walked down the path in relative silence, making their way toward the arbor that had become their typical training ground. There was something strange about the garden that Landon couldn’t rightly put his finger on. Something seemed out of place. As they passed over the small wooden bridge that traversed the babbling creek, Landon’s senses heightened as he tried to discern what was amiss. Is this a trap? Does he know I’m the mole?

  When they reached the covered arbor, flashes of memory passed through Landon’s mind. The stone floor held a different meaning now. Rather than recalling his training sessions with Dr. Brighton where he had learned to tap into and control his abilities, he now saw phantom images of Celia forcing Landon into her mind and making him aware of the painful secrets hidden deep in the Gymnasium. Some he was still unwilling to completely accept.

  “Landon, everything all right?” Dr. Brighton’s voice startled Landon out of his trance, forcing the wisps of memory to fade and disappear. His professor stood quite a few yards ahead of him and looked quizzically at him.

  “Yeah,” Landon replied quickly. He realized he stood at the very edge of the arbor. He’d unknowingly stopped just before stepping onto its stone floor, subconsciously unwilling to cross the threshold onto the tainted ground. But knowing that his delay would only draw suspicion, he took a deep breath and caught up to Dr. Brighton.

  It was a lofty ambition to think he could completely forget everything he’d learned over the past few months. It was now obvious to him that even though he wanted this day to be like the ones before he’d joined the Pantheon, too much had happened and it was impossible to put his knowledge aside.

  Dr. Brighton led them through the arbor and on to another location. Where could he be taking him? They never went beyond the arbor. What wondrous things or strange surprises could be waiting for him in the deep recesses of the garden?

  “Where are we going?” Landon asked Dr. Brighton, who was determinedly proceeding to his intended destination. “Why aren’t we training back at the arbor like we always do?”

  “You’ll see,” was all Dr. Brighton said in reply.

  After they continued up the path for another five minutes, Landon noticed they were reaching the edge of the garden. The ground began to get hard and rocky and the lush greenery faded as they crossed into inhospitable terrain. All he saw ahead of them was the rocky face of the mountains. From his vantage point, it appeared that the path collided with the garden’s northern boundary, but as they got closer, Landon noticed a small di
vision in the rocks.

  As they approached, Landon was blasted with a torrent of wind funneling through the opening. His hair and clothing whipped around as the powerful gales beating against him made it more and more difficult to move forward. Landon raised his arm to shield his face and squinted to protect himself from the dust and dirt being kicked up by the powerful wind. Yet part of him welcomed the gusting air, which cooled him and made quick work of the massive amount of water soaking his body.

  Dr. Brighton continued into the fissure, leading Landon to an unknown place hidden within the mountains. Landon had never ventured this far north of the Gymnasium. He was a bit nervous to discover what he might find, but was also excited about their journey into the unknown. He felt like Lindbrock from A Journey to the Center of the Earth, with twinges of anxiety coupled with enthusiastic vigor at what might lie ahead pulsing through his body, making his fingers dance in anticipation.

  The pass was narrow, and the rocks jagged, jutting out of the walls in an almost otherworldly manner. Crude and rigid, the path looked like something a giant’s mangled blade had sawed into the solid earth.

  Landon’s eyes watered as the wind continued to blow into his face; the pressure of the tight space only quickened it on its path to the garden. After walking for what seemed like an hour through the monolithic crag that extended high into the sky, Landon and Dr. Brighton finally emerged into a massive open area. The wind still whipped through the open space, but it was much less violent than before. Landon soon became used to it, and found it tolerable. Here the air had space to move, and it was calm enough that Landon’s eyes stopped watering and he could stop squinting.

  Once he wiped the tears from his eyes, Landon finally was able to see where Dr. Brighton had taken him. The circular opening was wide, but confining. Enveloped by sinister mountains of dark, rugged stone, the cliff walls were like giants towering over them, leaning in to such a degree that Landon thought even the pressure of a finch landing on one would cause the cliffs to fall inward and crush them both. If he hadn’t come in from the garden, he would have thought there was no escape from this depression in the earth. He was standing in a coliseum of rock and dust.

  Dr. Brighton took a few steps forward and turned to face Landon, his long hair writhing around behind him in thick tendrils. “We will be training here for the day.” He had to yell to be heard over the wind even though they were only a few feet apart.

  Not loud enough for Dr. Brighton to overhear, Landon asked himself, “Why?” When he looked around he couldn’t see any reason to train here instead of the arbor. Why here?

  Dr. Brighton moved a bit closer to Landon, and his eyes flared for a split second. Suddenly, Landon’s clothing relaxed and his hair settled. The same held true for Dr. Brighton. He had somehow quieted the wind.

  Landon’s mouth dropped in amazement and surprise, yet Dr. Brighton acted as if nothing was different.

  “The concept is simple enough, but it will not be easy to complete,” he said, now easily heard without the wind stealing his words. “I just want you to stack the rocks.”

  Landon looked around. “Where are they?”

  “Well, there’s one.” Dr. Brighton pointed to a large boulder resting against the side of the rock wall. “And another, there. There’s that one. And then the last one is that big one way over there,” he said, identifying four boulders of increasing size.

  Landon let out a low, awkward chuckle. He has to be joking, he told himself. He has to be.

  “Oh, and to make it more fun,” Dr. Brighton added with a sadistic look in his eye, “stack them in reverse order, meaning I want the small one on the bottom and the big one on the top.”

  In disbelief, Landon shook his head unknowingly. Yep, he’s lost it, he thought.

  Watching Landon already admit defeat, Dr. Brighton walked up and put his hand on his shoulder. With an encouraging squeeze, he said, “Don’t check yourself out already. You haven’t even tried yet. Just do what you can. I said it wasn’t going to be easy, but I have faith in you.”

  Landon didn’t respond. He was paralyzed by the enormity of the task before him.

  “Come on. You’re burning daylight.” Like kick-starting a dirt bike, Dr. Brighton pushed Landon toward the open training ground to get the exercise underway.

  Landon almost fell over, his feet lost under him as his body moved forward. Stumbling, he took a few long, awkward strides and then caught himself. He stood tall for a moment and took a deep, calming breath. That pause allowed him to affirm the task in his mind and accept what he had to do. If I’m not being challenged, what’s the point of training? he asked himself.

  Landon walked toward the center of the clearing, feeling he’d have a better gauge of where everything was. Oddly, after about two steps, the wind suddenly returned, almost pushing him sideways. Its unexpected resurgence forced Landon to look back at Dr. Brighton, who stood stoically with his arms clasped behind his back. He appeared totally unaffected by the wind—not a single hair or thread of clothing out of place. Landon surmised the wind had never actually stopped, but that Dr. Brighton had somehow shielded them from it, probably to allow for easier conversation. By moving farther away from him, Landon had exited the protective bubble.

  Landon reached the center of the deep chasm. He knew Dr. Brighton stood behind him, yet as the wind circled around him in a torrent of chaos, isolating him at its center; the rest of the world seemed to fall away.

  Landon closed his eyes and focused to shut down all his other senses, leaving only his tactometric perception to feel the world around him. Oddly this hole in the mountains seemed to fit just within his sphere of perception, its walls grazing the edges of his influence as if it were constructed for him alone. He could sense the rocks scattered across the ground, and he could feel Dr. Brighton behind him.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  STACKING STONES

  Landon still could not understand how his tactometric abilities told his body what was around him. It always felt like this fleeting sensation he couldn’t completely grasp, but somewhere in the back of his mind, he became aware of not only the size and shape of things, but also their weight.

  Landon wondered how he was going to do this. He suspected he would not be able to lift the largest boulder. Who could? It was so hard and massive and dense. Landon wondered if anyone would have the skill, training or strength to lift it. But Landon tried to look at the exercise a bit more positively, feeling certain that he could lift the first three boulders.

  Landon latched onto that confidence, deciding to move and stack the ones he knew he could lift before worrying about the last one. A part of him wanted to impress Dr. Brighton. Whenever an opportunity arose to show off his skill or strength, he wanted to prove himself. Making quick work of the first three rocks at the beginning of the exercise might earn him at least a smile from his teacher.

  Landon focused on the smallest rock, which in itself was the size of a garden wheelbarrow, that was leaning against the cliff wall to his right. He slowed his breathing and steadied his stance, centering himself. As if beckoning an audience to rise, he lifted his hand. The rock followed suit and rose off the ground, hovering a few feet in the air. Then, as Landon made a sweeping motion with his hand, the rock glided over the ground until it was floating in front of him. Once it was in a position he deemed acceptable, he released his grip on it. He could feel the vibration of the earth rise up from his feet as the rock’s massive weight reconnected with the ground.

  Landon looked back at Dr. Brighton for some glimpse of reassurance that he was doing a good job, but Dr. Brighton remained expressionless.

  Landon huffed and turned to the next rock, determined to gain some praise for his quick work.

  As with the first, Landon focused his abilities around the second boulder and raised his hand, willing it to lift off the ground. It was
substantially heavier than the first rock, but still easy enough for him to handle. His telekinetic strength was his strong suit; he could lift well into the upper echelons of the standard limitations without even breaking a sweat. According to the scientists, psychokinetics could withstand around thirty-five times their own body weight. Anything more and the physical pressure of lifting that object would force the body to collapse in on itself. Landon, however, seemed to be an exception.

  The boulder floated at least a foot off the ground as Landon moved it toward the middle of the clearing. Once it was beside the first stone, he mustered a bit more energy and lifted it just high enough to position it on top.

  When Landon released his grip on the second boulder, he felt a twinge of excitement. It was securely balanced on the first and didn’t move an inch. He couldn’t believe he had managed to stack the first two in one try. It was beyond even his most optimistic expectations. His confidence bolstered, he immediately went for the third stone.

  As expected, he managed to move it without issue to the center of the clearing and pulled it up in the air to rest atop the other two. He could feel the pressure of holding the large boulder aloft deep in his bones; the sheer mass of the objects he was lifting had started to take its toll on his body. His muscles were quaking slightly from fatigue, and tiny beads of sweat covered his arms and neck, but Landon was so focused he didn’t notice at first. Now it felt like the entire weight of the stone was resting squarely on his back, trying to squash him into the ground. Just as he got it high enough, a single droplet of sweat found its way into his eye.

  Before he could catch himself, Landon lost his grip on the boulder, and it crashed down on the other two. The force of the impact knocked the stone tower apart, and the earth shook as the rocks collided with the ground.