CHAPTER ONE
(AT THE MELTON GALLERY)
The only remaining matchstick Ariel scrambled to locate was now buried in the shrewdness of the pitch darkness that invaded the souls that traveled through the long-abandoned gallery. The once extraordinary gallery that boasted of antique books, rare to come by, has now become an arid place devoid of the sound of men. A century ago, it teemed with creatures of men from all walks of life who came to pay their way through to have a feel of the books that gave the Melton Gallery its global voice. But now, it stands empty, the books ebbing into isolation with not a single soul to touch them let alone peruse them.
‘Count five steps from where you stand, toward your left arm, and genuflect as though to kiss the ring of a pope, reflect on the median between the top of your head and the tip of your left toe. You will find what you’re looking for.’ A slow but shrill voice broke through the darkness, instructing Ariel on what to do. ‘Who are you, and where am I?’ Ariel inquired as he obeyed the instructions of the voice. The room was silent but for the sound of mice mauling at something known only to them. He did exactly as he was instructed and was terrified by what his fingers kicked against; the matchstick. ‘How were you able to tell exactly where the matchstick fell, who are you, what do you want with me, why am I here and how did I get here?’ A deep fear he had not felt before took over and almost shut his entire body down. ‘My name is Thanes, and I’m about to save your life.’ The voice broke out again but in a tone that emitted a feeling of sadness. ‘You’ve now Lucifer to light your darkness, make sure you don’t waste the inspiration he gives you.’ The shrill voice echoed against the walls of the dark gallery. Ariel had a love for words but he hated them when they came to him in cryptic forms.
He is not an expert in deciphering hideous speeches but he understood the voice meant the matchstick he had helped him pick from the ground. He also understood lucifer in some places is referred to as, ‘the bringer of light’. With this in mind, he struck the match and was happy to find a lantern on a bookshelf. The lantern for the looks of how web-crusted it had become needed the flames to smile again, a gift he happily gave out.
Ariel looked at the bookshelves that graced the two sides of the long gallery and marveled at the books they contained. Almost every bookshelf was packed to capacity with books of different shapes and sizes. He is the President of the Meridian State and has been to many renown libraries across the Meridian State capital but none comes a grain close to what his eyes were now fixed upon. He was startled by the shadow of a figure which overshadowed him; a figure of a man standing in between him and the largest of the bookshelves, with an umbrella tucked under his right arm and a shotgun in the other. He wore a very timid face, and as though reflecting on the genetic makeup of the president, he stared deep in Ariel’s face. The man turned away but beckoned the president to follow him and he tagged along uncertain what would become of him if he tends to disobey. He followed the man as they descended a staircase into a room so small for three men to fit into; the room was carved for only two people. He bade Ariel sit down and offered him a drink which Ariel took and gulped down in no time. He was fatigued by something he would relish the opportunity to have a clue of.
‘I’m saving your life today, Mr President.’ the man said as he placed three voluminous antique books in front of Ariel. The first book had an inscription written boldly on the spine, ‘tareeka vedea maseeta’, which the man translated as ‘the order of the masons’. The writer was unknown. But the looks of the book and the writings date it back to the age of antiquity. The second book bore the title, ‘We Saw Isabella Flee’ which places the content of the book somewhere in the time of the Spanish inquisition.
The author was Augusto Romero Sento… The last name had a part of it scratched, it appeared someone intentionally did that to cover up a mess created. The last book had no cover and the language used was not in the achieves of modern discoveries. The president looked at the three books and asked what Thanes wanted with him. Thanes who had sat on a chair made of marble stone, artistically shaped to reflect the paintings in the room said nothing but nodded as though in affirmation to something the president should have said. ‘My people will locate me soon and it wouldn’t be pleasant for you. Let me go, and enjoy your peace while you can. You know I’m the president of the Meridian State and when they get a clue of my missing, they will throw every arsenal at their disposal to find me. And I can promise you, it wouldn’t take twenty minutes for them to locate this place and tear it down.’ Ariel for the first time spoke as the charismatic and fearless president he had been in the Torrington office. ‘You’ve been here for two hours, Mr President.’ Thanes said briskly.’ ‘What do you mean I’ve been here two hours? Ten minutes ago, I was in bed with the first lady, and I quiet remember the discussion we had on the nukes our intelligence intercepted which you probably might have heard or seen on the news.’ Ariel spoke, not believing what Thanes said. ‘Mr. President, I wouldn’t waste time explaining that to you, but take my word for it. We drugged you right in your bed with tinochromes to cast you into a dreamy state. The chemical is what has made you weak. Now, listen to me Mr President, today marks your 45th birthday and the final you would have celebrated had I not intervened. It took me three months, a week, three days, six hours, twenty-two minutes and fifteen seconds to work out this plan to get you here. I tried several times to get the message to you but I failed in all of them. One time I came close but was wrestled out by one of your damned men. I’ve never liked those muscled mutants. I’m a savant, and my time on earth is as unsure as King Arthurs’s bane. I’ve devoured all the books in the capital and out of boredom chose to follow my dog wherever he led me. It was four months ago that my dog led me to this cave of a place, only for me to witness this massive colossus of books which made the libraries at the state capital pale to insignificance.
It took me three weeks to read all of them and another week to figure out the connections these three books share.’ He said as he picked one of the books. ‘Mr. president, a carefully orchestrated conspiracy from before the time our nation was born named you as our forty-fifth President in all of these books, and the message cryptically scripted in these almost prophetic books seem to echo the phrase, ‘slay the forty-fifth ruler’ and ‘slay him on his forty-fifth human existence.’ This is the simplest of interpretations I could decipher the books to.’ Thanes ended panting, as he gulped down the soda drink, he had poured into a mug, draining it to the dregs as fast as he could. Series of thoughts raced through the mind of Ariel as he considered how porous the security in the Torrington office had become for such a raving mad man as this to have cooked a plan so well to kidnap the president right in his bed. ‘What language is it that that book has?’ Ariel broke free from his thoughts and asked Thanes for an answer. ‘Well, I don’t know, but all I know is that it makes sense to me when I read through it.’ Thanes replied.
TO BE CONTINUED...