Apotheosis of the Immortal (18 page)

Chapter 34

“Tell me, what
is it that you want?” The man spoke in a very unusual dialect, never turning to look at William behind him. William was silent. He was completely mesmerized.

Clank, clank, clank.
The man went back to work on the huge stone.

“I want to be like you.” William had finally pulled himself together and surprised himself with how forcefully he spoke.

“You want to be like me? You don’t even know me.” The black giant still didn’t look up from his work.

“I want your power.” William was tired of playing games. The man put down his tools and looked at William for the first time.

“And just what power would that be? Do you want to carry around big rocks? Do you want immortality? Are those the furthest reaches of your ambition?”

His words made William feel small and foolish.

“Don’t feel bad,” the giant continued. “Everyone wants power, but the greatest of powers have to be earned. They can’t just be given away. Power only comes through sacrifice, in one way or another.” As he listened, William noticed the giant’s eyes were solid white

“Teach me.” William’s voice was stern. The man looked at him for a long minute.

“Very well. My name is Odam. If you can handle it, I will teach you to wield true power.” There was solemnity and strength in his voice. William’s excitement grew with every breath; he was going to be powerful!

“Let’s start with this rock.” Odam gestured to the monolith he had been carrying just moments ago.

“I can’t lift that.” William believed the man was making fun at his expense.

“How do you know? You haven’t even tried.” Odam’s voice was hollow and monotone. “If you’re not up to it, you are welcome to leave.” William could tell the giant was completely serious.

William thought it was useless, stupid, in fact, to even attempt it, but this man was persistent. He stretched his arms, preparing them for a big lift. He squatted in front of the massive stone and reached his arms as far around it as he could. Clenching tightly, he thrust his legs and back upward with all his might.

The stone didn’t budge. He’d known he wouldn’t be able to lift it, so his feeling of disappointment seemed strange. He burned with humiliation, sure this man was mocking him.

William looked up at Odam, who was busy picking at the apricot in his hand.

“I don’t know, maybe it’s too big,” Odam said, his face expressionless. William knew Odam had never expected him to be able to lift the rock. He was growing frustrated. “Here.” As he spoke, Odam handed him a chisel and a stone. “Cut one centimeter off of each side and make sure the edges are smooth.”

What game is this man playing?
William thought.
He knows as well as I do one centimeter won’t make any difference at all.

“Or you’re always free to leave,” Odam said, probably sensing William was questioning his instruction. William thought it was ridiculous, but he wanted to impress the man; he wanted to learn real power. So he went to work chiseling the huge gray stone in front of him.

Chapter 35

William had chiseled
relentlessly for days. He was exhausted. Finally deciding his work was complete, he called for Odam. He waited and waited.

After nearly an hour, Odam came slowly strolling out of his hut.

“I’m finished,” William said proudly. Odam walked slowly around the stone and carefully looked over every inch.

“Good work. Did you lift it yet?” He was staring expressionlessly into William’s face.

Of course not,
William thought. His frustration with this man was escalating rapidly. “Well, I haven’t tried, but I don’t see how I could. It’s barely smaller than it was a few days ago.” William knew his tone of voice revealed his frustration.

“You haven’t tried? Then you certainly could not.” Odam stared into William’s eyes again as he spoke.

William couldn’t tell if Odam was trying to teach him some mystical secret or if he was just toying with him, but he thought it was worth staying a few more days to find out. So, once more, William bent down in front of this monolithic stone and tried with all his might to lift it, but, once again, it didn’t budge.

“It must still be too large.” Odam spoke as if he was a bit surprised.

William searched his face for a hint of humor or sarcasm, but found nothing. The man himself was a stone—a monolith.

“Take off another centimeter,” the giant ordered.

William was furious. It wasn’t going to do any good, and the work had peeled the skin right off his hands—he had worked them nearly to the bone.

William swallowed hard and went back to work. He worked diligently, but his progress was much slower; he could barely hold the chisel now, or the stone. Finally, more than a week later, he finished his task.

Before he called for Odam, he reached down and tried to lift the stone, but still couldn’t budget it. He called for Odam and sat down, lying back on the huge stone, nearly too exhausted to sit up. He didn’t know how much time had passed before the tremors of the large man’s footsteps roused him.

“I still couldn’t lift it,” William exclaimed as he noticed Odam’s presence just above him.

“At least you tried this time.” Odam’s voice was slightly condescending. “Cut it again,” his voice thundered. Without waiting for a response, he through William an orange and walked back into his hut. On the outside, he was emotionless, but Odam deeply hoped this man could renew his faith in mankind and muster the strength to find what true power really was.

“Cut it again! Cut it again! This is useless, and this man is insane!” William shouted inside his head. Still, he had no choice. He had seen true power and he wanted it. He wanted it so much he was even willing to continue with this ridiculous exercise. Grabbing his tools, he pulled himself up and began banging away at the unforgiving stone.

Chapter 36

Out of the
corner of William’s eye, he saw a middle-aged looking man, very tall, with a thick build, vault over a downed tree and maneuver through the dense brush with ease.

“I have been watching you hammer that thing for days. I thought you would have given up by now. You are starting to remind me of that crazy bastard inside the hut,” the man spoke articulately. “Whatever you’re after, you are wasting your time. He’s not going to teach you anything; he just wants to see how long he can make you kill yourself banging that damn stone. I’ve seen it happen before.” The man widened his eyes and grinned slightly as he spoke, making William feel even more like a fool.

“No, he has real power. I’ve seen it, and I’ll do whatever it takes to get it.” As William spoke, the man’s grin turned into a wide smile.

“You’re right, he’s got power, but he’ll never share it with you. He thinks you’re an imbecile, out here pounding rocks all day while he sits comfortably inside. But I can show you how to get real power. Just come with me.” The man spoke like a silver-tongued devil as he lifted the huge monolith up in his arms.

“I won’t give you games or riddles; I’ll take you right to the source.” Seeing the man’s display of power and listening to his sales pitch was all William needed. He was tired of pounding rocks and believed it wasn’t getting him anywhere.

“The name’s Roman.” The oddly large man reached out his hand.

“Roman, you say? I’ve heard that name before. My name is William. It’s very good to meet you.” William was tingling with enthusiasm, and after this encounter with the infamous Roman, his desire for power was growing by leaps and bounds.

Odam overheard the men’s conversation from inside his hut and was terribly disappointed the man had been so easily led away. He had been the first person to seek Odam out in nearly a century.

It had been millennia since he had made an immortal or even met a human with the will and desire to find true power. Something about this man had given him hope. There was strength in him, however misguided.

“What do I need to do?” William asked Roman, increasingly anxious.

“That depends on how much power you want. I could give you power right now with just one bite… strength and immortality… but for even more power, you need to go to the source. He’s just on the other side of the island.” A faint smile lit Roman’s face.

“Just a bite?” William asked with a frown.

“Yes, just a bite, and then death will never harm you. Instead, death will be your ally,” Roman stared at William intently as he spoke.

William didn’t like the idea of being bitten; besides, it sounded too insignificant.

“Take me to the source.” As soon as William had finished speaking, Roman took off through the jungle with amazing speed and agility. It was an awesome sight, and it was impossible for William to keep up. After tripping a few times over vines and branches, and fumbling through a briar patch, William finally emerged from the forest onto a rocky cliff.

He was amazed to see Roman standing atop one of six monoliths sitting upright in a circle, each of which was more than twice as tall as a man. It was just as Jeffrey’s grandfather had described.

“The secret is over the edge.” Roman hopped down from the huge stone and pointed over the edge of the cliff.

Over the cliff? Is this man crazy?
William crept across the large flat rock constituting the top of the cliff and slowly made his way to the edge. Being afraid of heights, he nearly fainted when he looked over and saw the jagged rocks below.

“Not afraid of heights, are you?” Roman was laughing. “Oh, come on, it’s not that far.” He was now roaring with laughter.

“Are you asking me to jump off of this cliff? I’ll die.” William was shocked and frightened.

“Not always.” Roman seemed to be speaking from experience. “Well, there is another way. You can just take the path that leads around the cliff. It will also take you to the bottom.” Roman was grinning once more as he pointed across the cliff to a small, trampled path cutting through the dense underbrush.

William ran over to the path, filled with relief. For a moment he’d wondered if he had made a terrible decision, following this crazy man. The path through the jungle wasn’t a cliff that fell over onto jagged rocks that seemed something like tearing teeth as the waves crashed against them, but it wasn’t a stroll through the valley around Rothber Castle, either. William was beginning to despise the way this crazy man pressed through the thick jungle like it was nothing, going over and under, but mostly just straight through.

Stinging sensations raked across his body as he tore his way through more than one nasty thorn bush. This trail was barely a trail at all. Ducking under a large, overhanging tree limb, he was glad to see Roman had finally stopped. He was resting against a large tree growing on the side of a ledge. The tree was so close to the edge, its roots were hanging out.

“Where to now?” William was tired and he was beyond ready to acquire his promised power.

Roman said nothing, he just pointed over the ledge.

“Is this another joke?” William was tired of this man’s jokes.

“No joke. That is the only way down from here.” He grinned obnoxiously.

William took another look over the ledge. It wasn’t so bad. The fall would be roughly twice the length of a man, and the dirt at the bottom looked soft enough.

Desperate to find an end to this tiresome journey, William leapt over without another word. His feet hit the ground first, followed instantaneously by a loud cracking sound. William collapsed, grasping his left ankle and moaning wildly.

“Stop crying, boy!” William looked up in time to see Roman leap over the edge and land on his feet with ease; he seemed just to glide through the air. “Lord Adol is just inside, and if he hears you, you won’t have a chance. So muster some grit and let’s get moving.” The man moved on without giving William even a moment to catch his breath and get used to the pain.

William wanted to scream at the condescendingly clever bastard, but knew it would only hurt his cause. Grabbing a nearby limb, he pulled himself to his feet, and, placing nearly all his weight on his right leg, he hobbled after Roman.

For the first time in a few days, he thought about home and how much he would love to feel Esmeralda’s warm embrace. His son, Elijah, had broken his arm once falling out of a tree. He had been so brave. The thought heartened William and gave him a new strength.

“It’s just up ahead.” William could see the sharp, teeth-like rocks, but nothing else except the side of a cliff.
What now?
he thought.

“There is nothing here.” William exclaimed as they reached the very bottom of the cliff.

“Is that so?” Roman walked to the cliff face as he spoke and slammed his fist mightily against the rocky surface. A large, square piece of the cliff side slid back nearly two paces, leaving openings on either side.

William followed Roman through the crack on the right.