The Cypher Read Online Free PDF Page B

It started to smell funny, like musty old basements. The feeling of curiosity and familiarity he felt before was being replaced with exasperation, like when he tried to remember a song or tune or the name of an actor and he couldn’t.
    The Atheliol should be finished already. The pictures were complete. What more was there for him to do? He was done with it and with the room.
    Except it wasn’t. The Atheliol seemed to be mocking him. There was more, a little detail he hadn’t figured out.
    He picked up the Atheliol again and pressed the corners. He was sure that changing the shape would solve it. As the corners gave way under his hands the Atheliol turned into a sphere, and the feeling of exasperation disappeared completely. Thomas was relieved, the splinter off the finger, the little rock taken out from the shoe.  
    “Done!” he said. ”That was easy.” The pictures flowed perfectly into each other. He placed the sphere back on top of the pedestal with satisfaction.
    With a soft hum, the Atheliol began to rotate and as it gained speed, the pictures began to tell a story, like flipping drawings on the pages of a notebook.
    “The battle of Troy,” the sneaky butler offered from behind Thomas. “Good work, young sir.”
    On the Atheliol, soldiers charged a wall protected by mythical beasts. A warrior jumped over the wall and fought with a Minotaur that held captive a young girl. Once the Minotaur had been vanquished, the girl handed out a parchment to the warrior and the Atheliol stopped spinning as it returned to its original form. Thomas pursed his lips. If he remembered correctly, there was a horse involved at the Battle of Troy. The Atheliol didn’t show a horse at all.
    Bolswaithe mumbled as if he’d read his mind. “They forgot the horse.”
    Before Thomas could respond, his grandfather walked through the door. “Ready?” he said holding a manila folder and sporting a big smile.
    Once outside the gates, Thomas turned to his grandfather. “What took you so long?”
    Morgan shrugged his shoulders. “I just filled out a questionnaire and talked with the head librarian. Strict lady, I think she’s Russian.”
    “You talked with her for three hours?”
    “Tom.” Morgan checked his watch. “It’s just 6:01. Half an hour. Is that too much for you?” He shook his head and got into the driver’s seat of the car.
    As Thomas entered the car, he couldn’t believe it had been so little time. It had felt way longer.
    Thomas looked at the mansion as they waited for the gates to open. Bolswaithe was sweeping the entrance but he turned and waved goodbye as if he knew Thomas was watching.
    “Goodnight, Thomas.” the gargoyle intercom said as he passed underneath it, and Thomas closed the car window without answering.

A Doctor’s Visit

    About an hour and a half later, the ringer buzzed followed by two loud knocks on the front door. “Please get that, and if they’re salesmen, turn them away” Morgan yelled from upstairs.
    Thomas left the book he was reading and peeked through the side window. A man dressed in a long winter coat and a flashy paisley cravat on his neck was standing on the porch. He had a sparse pointy goatee and sported a narrow moustache — the long ends were pulled to the sides and pointed slightly upward. He wore a black top hat, held a cane, and a golden monocle covered his right eye. The man leaned toward the window and Thomas retreated. He was not going to open the door for such a strange-looking man.
    After a few moments, a business card was slipped under the door. The logo on the card displayed the same Egyptian eye that Thomas saw on the mansion’s stained-glass window.

    “Who is it?” Morgan yelled from upstairs.
    “A man called Franco?” Thomas answered. “I think he’s from the mansion. His card says ‘Guardians Inc.’”
    Morgan was already wearing his pajama pants, so he only got halfway down the stairs. “Let him in Tom. He’s the boss of the company. The head