The Map - Part I

There was a loud thump on the outside of the library door, as if someone had run into it, expecting it to be unlocked.

Darin lifted his head only briefly, and then went back to searching the books.

The doorknob jiggled a bit at first, then more frantically.

“Hey!” a girl’s muffled voice shouted. “Who’s in there?”

Shaking his head, Darin lifted another thick geography book off the shelf and continued looking. It was about time someone in the house had noticed the closed library, he thought.

The girl began to pound on the door. “Open up!” she commanded.

“I’ll just be a minute!” Darin called. Smirking, he added, “You people should really think twice before you install a lock on a library door. I mean, it’s not like anyone’s going to sneak inside and…oh, wait.”

“I’m sending for the authorities!”

Darin rolled his eyes. “Oh, don’t worry, they’re already on their way.” He smacked another book closed. Where was that map the old man had told him about? He was sure it was in one of the Arthikan geography books, and this was the only place he could think of to find it.

It was getting late. Darin glanced out the big glass window facing the property’s back garden. The moon had already risen, and the stars were bright against the night sky. He sighed, ignoring the constant shouting from the girl outside the door. If what the old man had said was true, and he didn’t find that map…he didn’t like to think of what might happen.

There was an especially loud bang against the door, and it caused a few books to tumble off the shelves built around the library door. The girl uttered a curse on the other side. But Darin hardly noticed. His attention had turned to the fallen books. He hurried over to them, hoping against hope that God had used the disturbance to lead him to the correct book. But no, these were just cookbooks. Darin stood and looked at the empty spaces where they belonged, and he did a double-take. There was a metal door built into the back of the bookshelf, previously hidden behind the cookbooks. A keypad was attached to the metal door, but Darin didn’t even try to guess the code. Of course the map was locked away! How could he have been so stupid?

A sound came to Darin’s ears and his stomach turned over. A horse whinnied in the distance. The guards had found him.

Darin’s hands shook as he put the cookbooks back in front of the metal door, making sure it was well-hidden. He hadn’t expected the guards to find him so quickly, and there was no chance he was going to allow them to find the map’s hiding place—even if they didn’t know the code!

The sound of the riders came closer.

“Excuse me, miss,” Darin said, calmly walking up to the door. “Think you could step away and allow me to leave quietly?”

“You’re insane!” the girl screamed, causing Darin to step back in shock. “You stay in there until the authorities arrive! I’ve got a gold candlestick and I will use it!”

Darin almost laughed. Now the girl wanted him to stay inside?

“Then I’ll have no choice but to use my dagger,” he said in a low voice, hoping to scare her. He unlocked the door, grabbed the handle, and expected to push it open easily, but it was shoved closed again with surprising force.

“I said stay in there!” the girl yelped. She sounded frightened, but also brave enough to defend herself.

Hoof beats thundered against the ground, paired with distant shouting. Darin glanced worriedly over his shoulder at the big glass window. Thankfully, the road was not visible from the back side of the house, but Darin imagined the guards would soon be surrounding the entire property in search of him. He kept a firm hold on the door handle with one hand, and reached down to pull his dagger out of his boot. Leaning close to the door, he said, “Listen, I’d love to stay and fool around, but I’m on an important mission.” He was about to use real force and push open the door, but stopped.

Someone was pounding on the front of the house.

“Help!” the girl yelled. “I’m being robbed!”

Darin didn’t wait another moment. He spun around on his heel to face the glass window, and remembered the old man’s words: When plan A doesn’t work, there’s always plan B. With the ancient voice clear in his head, Darin charged at the window, throwing his arms up to shield his face, and crashed through the glass. He knew he’d have to come back another time, once he learned the code to open the metal door. That is, if he didn’t get himself captured before then. If that map fell into the wrong hands, it could mean the downfall of Arthika--Darin's homeland. . .