The Key (Part 3)

"We found them, sir", announced one of the henchmen ecstatically, staring at his screen in awe. A man standing in purple robes at the edge of the cliff nodded subtly. He was looking over the vast ocean. He sensed a tragedy had come to pass somewhere nigh but it did not concern him. The daughter of Ansari had stolen his prey. He needed to find her and make certain that she would never get in his way again.

He swiftly turned to face the bearer of good news. "Men!" he bellowed as he waited for his servants to face him; "The cornucopia blesses us this day, for we find ease in our travel and soon hunt our bounty. We shall see it done this time. You all shall, at my behest, lest you shall behold the wrath of your lord."

With their pale faces, the various men there scurried along in terror as they struggled to operate the complex machinery placed in front of them. The man in purple turned back around. As he gently stroked his black cuff, the cuff of dishonor bestowed upon him, his only words were: "I, Klato of the Living Will, am a subject of the rebel, and I shall not taste defeat again."

~~~

The sun had slowly receded toward the horizon. As we walked through a grassland, my new partner in crime led the way, changing direction every few minutes. I had too many questions fogging up my mind although she had flatly refused to answer any of them, muttering, "There’s too little time. We must hurry and I must focus".

I stared at the clouds and the soft glimpses of stars that had begun to appear. Saiba, as her name had turned out to be, was gaiting ahead of me as I scurried forward to catch up. Behind me, I felt a whisper in my ear, “Hello, little Josh. You’ve grown so tall”. In a trice, Saiba gripped my wrist and pulled me towards her, but as she tried, a gunshot whizzed past me and hit her right in the arm.

“Little Saiba, you always were a stubborn one”, spoke the same voice, “Your father wouldn't have been very proud of your spontaneity”. That seemed to be the trigger. Almost as if a spell had been cast upon her, Saiba lost her composure and instantly lunged at the nothingness next to me. Surprisingly enough, she was hurled back to the ground with extreme force. A moment ago, where there had been thin air, stood a man in a purple robe, holding a revolver. As I would soon discover, he wasn't the only one there. We had been surrounded by tall men in suits, each wielding the same weapon.

Saiba lay motionless on the ground. “She has been dealt with, sir,” observed one of the henchmen. The man in the robes gave a nod of validation. Without any explanation or hesitation, they started in the same direction Saiba had been taking me earlier. A subtle nudge of the barrel against my waist was enough for our ambushers to signal me to move forward.

As we trudged on, I began to take notice of the people around me, especially their leader. He looked in his mid-thirties, yet his brown eyes and curly graying hair betrayed the look of an old, tired man. His face was tan and his attire seemed to compliment his golden complexion. For some reason, he kept fiddling with his black cuff, and every time he did, he would mutter to himself in some language I had never heard before.

Abruptly, this party of henchmen came to a stop. All the men who had been pointing guns at me till a few seconds ago began to tremble, and they had good reason to. All this while, I had felt a presence grow stronger and stronger. It didn't strike fear in my heart. I knew it was capable of causing great catastrophes, but to me, its aura remained calm and tame. To these goons, however, the presence seemed quite the opposite. They had finally begun to sense it.

Their leader walked up to me. He spoke in a tongue I did not comprehend. He took a pause, followed by the most chilling words I have ever heard, “My great-grandnephew, you must not fret. Klato will preserve you, for Klato knows your worth”. My mind, as if not already like a cascade, was now an avalanche of unanswered questions. He stared into my soul as if searching for an answer and as he did, his bodyguards had already scattered across the field, tossing rocks and digging at the ground seemingly looking for a lost treasure.

His unblinking gaze finally retreated after about two minutes. All he had to do was clear his throat and the crowd that had been in chaos moments ago was now lined up and silent as the wind. “The gates we look for are not meant for insignificant earth dwellers. They had been built for the Gods of the old themselves. What we seek here, lies not beneath us, but above”.

He pointed to the sky. Within minutes, the same blimp that had caused my panic the day before appeared. A ladder fell from the top. One by one, we began our ascent.

At the zenith of our destination, I was once again embraced by their leader as he muttered into my ear, “Your ignorance is what keeps you sane, embrace it and you will not be harmed. Especially not when Klato wields what lies beyond this door”. Finally having the courage to speak, I questioned, “What door?”

With a smug expression, he led me down the hallway we had just entered and paused, surely enough, in front of a door.

He signaled for one of his men to open it. When I had expected it to open into a room, I was dumbfounded to behold clouds in the twilight sky before me. Klato, as I presume his name had been, took a step into the sky and somehow, where he stood now, materialized a marble stepping stone. Just like that, everybody followed his lead up till what we could make out to be a gateway made of beauteous chiseled marble.

We went through. As I looked at the intricate mosaics that decorated the walls, reflecting the sunset’s dimming orange light, it became clearer to me where the dangerous presence had been radiating from. I didn't know what was happening. All I could tell was these people knew exactly what they were doing.

“I presume your old partner did not tell you why you’re going through all this new trouble”, Klato remarked, “I will try and keep it as simple as I can: I am not of earth. Your home world is a mere reflection of the lands I come from. Like yours, my world was created under mysterious circumstances. The final answer to that mystery, to all the disarray and suffering, is what you will help us find. Little Saiba must have told you that you possess the key. She was wrong. You are the key”.

Suddenly he looked up at the high ceiling. Sure enough, I could see a silhouette in the shadows which had been following us all the way from the gates.

A whisper: “You being here keeps them safe. Safe and arrogant. Run.”

That was Saiba’s voice. How had she made it here? The last I saw her, she was lying motionless on the ground with an excessively bleeding wound. I had considered her gone, yet here she was, protecting me once again. I couldn't believe my worth was so high that a person was willing to sacrifice her life for me. I couldn't breathe or move. Then suddenly she appeared, just as Klato had, out of nothingness and pushed me back. My thoughts had become a flurry of emotions. Confusion overtook my body and I bolted towards the exit.

As I ran, all I heard from behind me was chaos. From what I could tell, Saiba was single-handedly fighting off ten people. This time she didn't lose her composure. The distinct wrathful scream of Klato however, stood out. No sooner had I left the gate, the yells of anger became screams of terror. The realization finally hit me. I wasn't the key to the secret, I was the key to their safety. The silhouette that had been following us, only stayed in the shadows because of me.

As soon as I got down, the exhaustion became more apparent to my body. In the horrid realization of my deeds, I walked on as I trembled at the thought of all the lives I had taken today.