Trust: The Hero Chronicles (Volume 2)

I planned to arrive two hours before anyone else. This would give me enough time to begin my search of the records room. I had no idea what I was really looking for, but I had to try. I would start with the lineage book and any other one that had that diamond looking symbol on it.

  The long drive there was filled with the singing of my parents’ lullaby in my head so I could get into the vault. I pulled up to the gate and was greeted by Mr. Weathers, the caretaker. He was wearing a pair of denim overalls and a red flannel shirt. He looked like he was ready to go out on a hunt.

  “Nicholas, what a pleasant surprise. It’s so good to see you.”

  “I know I’m early, but I wanted to look around the records room before my first Council meeting.”

  He just stood there giving me the most peculiar gaze. I started to feel uneasy. Maybe he was a spy for the Council or Xavier. Maybe he would report me right away.

  “Interesting,” he said.

  I didn’t like the way he said that. Just then James Caldwell popped into my mind. Nothing would make him happier than catching me coming to the vault early to snoop around. I had to think fast.

  “Oh, if that’s a problem I can come back. I just wanted to learn more about my heritage.” I put my truck in reverse.

  “You can go in. It’s your past. Nothing wrong with a curious mind.”

  “Then what was so interesting?” I asked.

  “I thought it was interesting that somebody like you was now part of the Council. That’s all. Feel free to look around. I love to look around when I have time to kill, and I always have that. I don’t get too many visitors or guests, and what a shame, because I have so much to talk about.”

  He opened the gate with a big smile. I drove up the mountain drive toward the empty lot. What did he mean when he said that it was interesting that I would be part of the Council? I parked my truck and walked back down to the little house next to the gate to get some answers. His comment was bothering me. I knocked on the back door. The door opened before I could get a second knock on the door.

  “Come in.”

  The small guard shack was a lot bigger than it looked from the outside. It was very nice and well-decorated. It was not what I was expecting. It had several oversized orange couches and some of the most beautiful paintings I had ever seen. Along two of the far walls were some ornate bookshelves that spanned the whole wall, filled with all types of books. This home looked like a miniature combination of a library and an art museum.

  “Please, Nicholas, sit.”

  Why was I in here? I was wasting time. But I had a feeling that he knew something, so I would have to be careful talking to him.

  “So how long have you been here?” I asked smiling.

  “Guarding the vault has been a forty year mission for me. You know, being a Thusian, this is my sacrifice; at least I think it is.” He never took his eyes off me.

  “I have a question for you,” I said.

  “I know you do,” he responded with a smile, taking a sip of something from a tea cup. “Oh, how rude of me! Would you like some tea? It’s from the Himalayas.”

  “No, I’m fine. Why did you think it was interesting that I was on the Council?”

  He paused. “I just assumed you had better things to do with your time now.” He sipped his tea again.

  What did that mean? Maybe being alone out here for this long had made him mad. While I was here, I might as well see how much he knew about the people who came and went from the vault. Maybe I could skip the vault altogether if he truly knew everyone that visited here. He might know if any of Bryce’s parents or grandparents had come here before. Even though the majority of Thusians had no idea about the Council or what they were, I figured it was worth a shot. But I would have to ask about other people first, just in case this was some sort of trap.

  “I think it’s amazing how you remember everyone who comes here. Do you remember Riley Moore’s mom and dad?”

  “Oh yes, they were such a delight.” He gestured for me to have to some tea, but I shook my head. “I considered them to be trusted friends. We used to have long conversations discussing history and other things like that. It was wonderful.” He looked off into the sky out a nearby window, reflecting on his friends. “I also enjoyed their Irish accent. It was delicious.”

  Delicious? Okay, he was starting to sound like Joy Lemmins. Maybe I had found her a match. Who knew her match would be a hermit living in the hills by himself for forty years?

  “So do you remember my mom and dad?”

  “Remember them? I loved them both dearly. Two of the kindest, most gentle souls I have ever encountered. I can truly say they made me a better person just by knowing them.”

  I swallowed hard and pushed on. “I have some other questions, if you don’t mind,” my voice cracked. I cleared my throat and continued, “About some other people that may have come here over the years.” I had to test him further.

  He nodded, welcoming more questions.

  “Do you know Genevieve? You know, the girl that came here with Riley Moore.”

  “Oh, yes, Genevieve Marlee-Anne Pereira. Axel Pereira and Angela Patel-Pereira, her parents, were great people.”

  I don’t think I ever knew Genevieve’s full name, but I was sure her parents hadn’t been here to meet Mr. Weathers. Genevieve told me that her parents didn’t know about their Thusian side. Riley had told her everything about her past. His memory had to be slipping. I sank back in the chair, defeated. I was pretty sure this wasn’t a trap now, but it was a dead end. I wasn’t looking forward to the task that I faced. Looking through thousands of books was not going to be easy.

  “Thanks for talking to me, Mr. Weathers,” I said. I got up and walked back toward the door. Then another question came to me about something he had said when the four of us were summoned here.

  “Mr. Weathers, the last time we were here, you said that you were happy to see such a unique group of people here. What did you mean by that? You’ve seen all of the Council members hundreds of times. The only others who were different that day were Cora, Genevieve, Riley and myself.” Crazy or not, maybe his mind could give a single rational explanation.

  “Finally, the question I was hoping you would ask,” he said. “Nicholas, I think you know the answer to this, the most important of questions.”

  I had no idea what he was talking about. “I do?” Great, he was speaking about more craziness and nonsense.

  “Let me rephrase it for you. I thought it was interesting that you four unique people were together.”

  This had to be a trap; it had James Caldwell written all over it. He was on to me. I had fallen right into it. I grabbed the door handle to escape.

  “When did you have your Realization, Nicholas?” he called to me. “Are you sure you know when it was?” he asked. I stopped in the doorway. I cautiously walked back in, not sure if he was friend or foe, but since I was the only one here with him, it couldn’t hurt to see where this was going.

  “My Realization happened the day of the earthquake. But you already know that. Everyone knows that.”

  “Do I? Self-Realization starts when the individual knows they have some sort of talent or talents. Did you know then that you had any talents?”

  “I had to know something. It’s not every day a fifth grader pulls two classmates and a teacher out of an earthquake-ravaged school.”

  “You’re right, but did you know about the talents you used to save them? Think hard, Nicholas. It’s important.”

  I had to have known something helped me, but I always got angry when people called me a hero. I never thought I was anything special, just ordinary. I thought it was blind, dumb luck that I saved them. If I didn’t go through my Realization then, that would make Riley and Genevieve’s search for the 4th all wrong, because they picked the wrong person to help them look. I wasn’t part of the group of four.

  “But if I didn’t go through it then—” I stopped midsentence.

  “Nicholas, think about who el
se may have had their Realization that day. This will help answer all of your questions.”

  Well, I knew Riley and Genevieve had theirs, but I didn’t want to say that aloud just in case it was still a trap. “How am I supposed to know that? I’ve been hiding most of the time.”

  “Nicholas, I can’t tell you. You have to discover this on your own.”

  Discover what? My mind was spinning. The only other person I could think of was Cora.

  “Cora?” I said.

  He smiled, nodding yes.

  But how could Cora be part of the group and not me? She didn’t know what she had to do until later that week after the earthquake. Her Realization of her talents came when she made her Final Sacrifice.

  “Now, it’s time to think about your Realization. When was it?”

  Who cares? I thought. I’m not even part of the group anymore.

  “Nicholas, stop feeling sorry for yourself and focus. When was your Realization?”

  The first time I remembered having something odd happen to me that would clue me in on having a talent was right before I moved to Winsor, when I saved Andy from being hit by Marshall’s Mustang.

  “I guess it was about a year and a half ago,” I said.

  “All right then. You have all of the pieces of the puzzle now.”

  What? I was even more confused.

  “Listen here,” I said to Mr. Weathers, becoming frustrated by his riddles. “I don’t know what you’re trying to get out of me. If you’re working with Xavier or the Council, you can tell them it’s not going to work.” I was becoming upset because I felt like this mad old man was setting me up and wasting my time.

  “You just discovered that Cora had her Realization the day of the earthquake. Think what that means,” he said, not paying any attention to what I had just said.

  “But she didn’t. It was days later, when she performed her Final Sacrifice and took me into hiding.”

  “We are not talking about her sacrifice, are we? We’re talking about her Realization of talents. Her Self-Realization was that day when the earthquake happened.”

  “How do you know that?” I demanded.

  “I know because the Council members trust me. Cora told Ester she had a feeling that she would have to do something right away when she heard that the earthquake struck your hometown. She had already made preparations to take you into hiding before Ester and Chase visited her. She was already planning on breaking up with Marcus. Ester and Chase never wanted her to flee with you. It was Cora’s decision. Ester told me that Cora felt like she couldn’t make a wrong decision when it came to your safety and protecting you.”

  Now I knew he wasn’t crazy, because he knew about Marcus. His story didn’t match Cora’s story, but he had to be right because no one told Cora to do anything unless she already was willing to do it.

  “Genevieve, Riley and Cora all had their Realizations the same day. No other Thusians had their Realization that day and are still living now. So that brings us back to you,” he said. “You said you went through yours a year and a half ago. When did you first meet up with Riley and Genevieve?

  “They caught up to us in Winsor.”

  “Are you sure that’s when they were first around you and Cora? Think.”

  I knew that they had just missed us right before we left for Winsor. The look on my face must have tipped him off that I knew what he was getting at.

  “Then you must know what this means, don’t you?” he asked.

  I backed away, stumbling out of the door, falling to the ground. I was the 4th. We had been looking for me all this time. I was the one, and Bryce wasn’t. We assumed I had my Realization the day of the earthquake like Genevieve and Riley did. Cora was never considered because of my publicity during the 10-10 Earthquake.

  “But why should I trust you? You said that you knew Genevieve’s parents. But that’s impossible because Riley told her about the Thusian stuff, not her parents.”

  “Nicholas, did your parents tell you? Some choose not to tell their children until they get older, if at all. But the fact remains—”

  I finished his thought. “That’s why it was unique for all of us to be together, right?”

  He nodded his head yes. How did he know so much?

  “You couldn’t know all of this just by sitting here as a guard, even if people did talk to you about all of this stuff.” Then it hit me. He was a Keeper. His secret was bigger than mine. That’s the only way he could know all of this.

  “Mr. Weathers, you’re a Keeper.”

  He smiled, never confirming or denying.

  “I thought the Keepers were all dead.”

  Again smiling, “Some things can’t be eliminated, Nicholas, no matter how hard they try.”

  “Then you must know why The 7 was formed in the first place. Because it doesn’t seem like anyone knows for sure.”

  A car’s headlights lit up the window.

  “You’d better go. I don’t think it’s best for you to be seen in here with me. And Nicholas, you have to discover on your own why The 7 was formed. No one can help you. Once you do that, you will know your purpose.” He walked out the side door to greet the car pulling up to the gate.

  Great, something else I had to figure out. I ran up along the driveway to the entrance of the vault, keeping close to the woods so no one would see me.

  One thing I know for sure is I’m the 4th, I thought, running along the driveway in shock.

  I waited in my truck until the car parked. Right after that car, more people arrived, some people in cars or trucks and a few in helicopters. I decided there were enough people for me to go on down. I didn’t want to be there. I had to go tell the others. But leaving would cause unwanted attention for us.

  I was greeted by some of the members as I walked through the vault. Even James Caldwell acknowledged me, which came as a shock. The large stone seat that was mine was right next to James Caldwell, and it was extremely hard. I looked around and everyone else had pillows and blankets that made their chairs look much more comfortable.

  “Well, good evening. I would like to welcome our newest member, Alexander Nicholas Taylor Keller.”

  I hated when people used my full name. The group clapped in a very controlled, subdued manner. Walter Reed gave a high-pitched whistle with a big smile.

  Ester continued. She called on the same woman, Sydney Reese, for an update of their financial holdings. She said pretty much the same thing that she did before. Ester then called on Michelle Lightfoot to discuss the Thusian lineage. She, too, said pretty much the same thing. Not much had changed since the last meeting.

  “Now let’s talk about Riley and Genevieve. I believe that is the next order of business,” James Caldwell said. “I am still convinced they are searching for the Thusians to form The 7.” He looked at me out of the corner of his eye.

  “They are convinced that either Bryce Adams or Elle Canan is part of the group, even though they would deny it. They think that one of them will complete The 7, even though there is no way to confirm they are even Thusians, since neither of them is in our lineage book.”

  He paused, and then continued. “Obviously, everyone knows the problem with them continuing to try. Without the guidance of a Keeper, they will not be able to succeed, thus bringing on another catastrophic loss of life. The Seekers will gain power again over the Council and our brothers and sisters will die, never fulfilling their sacrifices. I make a motion for the Council to stop their attempts to assemble The 7 by any means necessary,” he said, pounding his fist on his seat.

  “All right, James. We can call for a vote, but first, do we have any discussion on this topic?” Ester asked. Everyone looked around at each other. Nobody made a sound.

  “Then if there is no discussion, let’s have a show of hands from those who are in favor of stopping Riley and Genevieve and anyone else who tries to form The 7 from this day forward.”

  My first day on the Council and they are voting to prevent anyone from t
rying to form The 7. They had to know I was part of it. Did they think that if I was now on the Council that I would all of a sudden do what they wanted? Riley warned me about not trusting them. I began to boil. This was definitely a trap. My anger was not going to be contained any longer. They couldn’t stop what had already taken place. The fire in me exploded, filling my entire body. About half of the Council had their hands raised when I jumped to my feet.

  “Yes, Mr. Keller, do you have something you would like to add to this subject?” Ester asked, almost like she expected this reaction.

  “What if we could figure out how to use the Thusian lineage book to aid in completing The 7?” I asked. I was hoping to buy myself some time. “Xavier and the Seekers are growing stronger and bolder each day. Cora and I were attacked at my house during the blizzard.” Some of the Council looked shocked, even scared, looking over their shoulders, while others didn’t show any emotion at all. I was hoping to delay this vote and get home.

  Walter Reed stood. “Before we take this vote, we need to protect our newest Council member and the other Thusians under attack. If Xavier has become this bold, we need to immediately send some of our most skilled and trusted Thusians to Winsor and kill him. This is our chance to end all of this and I will lead this charge.”

  “That sounds excellent, Walter, but we first need to carry out the vote on the motion on the floor,” Ester said.

  I still was standing.

  “The lineage book won’t help us. I have already stated that. Mr. Keller, do you need more time to think about it?” James Caldwell asked in his district attorney voice.

  “I don’t need more time. I have had enough of this joke,” I snapped.

  “You are all correct. Riley, Genevieve, Cora and I have been looking for the 4th to complete The 7 for some time. But what you didn’t realize is that we have already formed it and found the last part we were looking for. It’s me. I am the final piece.”

  Ester started to laugh along with some of the other Council members who were following her lead.

  “Very well, Nicholas, but there is no way to be sure, so you need to support the Council on this. A Keeper is the only one who can verify it, officially. We can get protection like Walter has suggested for all of you. We will forgive you four for lying to us. You are now part of the Council and you have to take it seriously. You shouldn’t proclaim to be something that you’re not or can’t prove, because there are consequences, Alexander, dire consequences.”

  “I know what you’re trying to do and I will not go along with it. We have completed The 7 because I had help from a Keeper. You think just because Keeper Wren was killed off that the Keeper tradition died with him? Thusians are bigger than any Council, divine or not.” The Council had stopped laughing.

  “And for the last time, my name is Nicholas,” I said, while walking out of the vault.

  The drive home from West Virginia went quickly. I didn’t dare stop to call, just in case they were coming after me. If they wanted to beat me home, they could easily. I just had to get home before the Council showed up. I couldn’t believe it. The whole time I was the 4th. How come we didn’t figure it out? Our assumptions about my Realization were part of the reason, but now what? First I had to tell everyone what happened. I was sure they weren’t going to be too thrilled about me proclaiming I was the 4th to the Council.