Donjon: Book 7 in the Kings Keep Series

By Graeme Butz

Alec returns to Kings Keep for second semester, only to find his group disintegrating at the hands of an apparent enemy within.

More mysterious messages appear, together with a new face who may hold the solutions and a new roommate for Rod that sets Alec seething. Is Rod finally over his bizarre behaviour? Have his strange paintings finally been decoded?

An orienteering activity and performing arts production bring out the best, and worst, in the students.

Startling new revelations about the invisible world make it impossible for Alec to give up on the cosmic battle. In their final week, he and his friends learn that they will not return to Kings Keep for Year 8.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris AU
• Release date: Sep 18, 2015
• ISBN: 9781514440414

Graeme Butz

Graeme Butz is a former high school teacher and community worker who lives in the Blue Mountains near Sydney, Australia. He spends much of his time working on his bush garden, reading, listening to music, visiting Op Shops, writing the next book, and talking to his ‘visitors’ (parrots, wallabies, lizards and snakes). Occasionally, he spends time beachcombing on the New South Wales south coast and helping with reading support groups in local schools. Written while still a teacher, the Kings Keep series—its characters, events and narrative—were all extensively piloted on junior high school students (and underwent serious revision) to ensure language- and content-appropriate plot and text for the target age group.

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Copyright © 2015 by Graeme Butz.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Rev. date: 09/17/2015

Xlibris

1-800-455-039

www.Xlibris.com.au

723685

CONTENTS

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Dedication

To Ming Tir, go-to-guy, without whose techspertise these books would not have made it through cyberspace and into print.

CHAPTER 1

The passenger traffic at Central Station was just part of the blur for Alec as he and Rod exited the country-link train to begin the second semester at Kings Keep. Rod was still concerned about any intention Alec might have to compromise the water-hole gate to solve his family’s financial problems. The two had spent the second week of the holidays barely talking, and it was actually a relief for Alec to return to school for more friendly conversation. He desperately hoped that being room-mates again would renew their strained friendship.

Rod, in turn, was impatient to reconnect with the reptile group, but obligingly stayed with Alec at the designated assembly point. Spotting Mitchell, Alec waved him over, his eyes now scanning for Su Xen.

‘We need a meeting – now,’ Alec insisted, ‘before we get to school. Something’s come up. Where’s Su Xen?’

‘Good to see you, too,’ said Mitchell, with a slightly offended tone. ‘I think he’s over … oh, there he is – hey! Su Xen!’ A shrill whistle from Mitchell turned many heads, Su Xen responding to the less-than-polite invitation with a wave.

‘We do need a meeting,’ Mitchell agreed. ‘You guys have to help me out. I nearly bombed my half-yearly. Dad hit the roof. … Oh, sorry, you first.’

‘Hi, guys,’ Su Xen said warmly. ‘We need a meeting, preferably now.’ Mitchell and Rod both laughed at the echoed thought, but Alec was too burdened to see the humour. Rod was about to speak, when a double slap on his back and Alec’s changed the focus of attention.

‘Well, here we are, then,’ a grinning Alistair exclaimed. ‘Just like old times. Déjà vu and all that. How is everyone?’

Su Xen smiled awkwardly. Rod smiled enthusiastically and patted Alistair on the shoulder, while Alec glared resentfully. Mitchell was uncontainable.

‘Just like old times? How is everyone? Are you for real? Weren’t you killed by drop-bears or eaten by yowies or something? And where’s your fancy three-piece suit? What’s with the Vinnies-label casual gear? Gone all bohemian on us, have you?’ He looked away quickly. ‘Oh, there’s Bec. Must dash.’

Mitchell pushed forward, shoulder-barging Alistair as he strode purposefully towards Rebecca, leaving a silent group looking at each other.

‘Can’t please some people,’ Alistair finally said, shaking his head. ‘Just trying to make polite conversation. Can’t a guy move on without being forever condemned for his past failings?’

Rod jumped to support Alistair. ‘Don’t mind Mitch. He’s pretty intense. It’ll take time. Good to see you again. I like the casual look. Suits him, huh guys?’

With another awkward smile from Su Xen, a look of disbelief from Alec, Rod and Alistair began chatting away about the holidays. Alec forcibly towed Su Xen some metres away.

‘Can you believe that guy? All folksy and sugar-sweet, like we’ve been nothing but best mates all year! What’s his game?’

‘I admit it’s strange,’ Su Xen agreed, ‘but maybe it’s like he says. He’s trying to leave the past behind, turn over a new leaf?’ He looked hopefully at Alec, who clearly wasn’t buying it. ‘Like you and Rod,’ Su Xen added, ‘you got off on the wrong foot, but were best buds in next to no time. You know Alistair’s a loner. He could use a friend, and a fresh start.’

‘Rod changed,’ Alec replied quickly, pointing an accusing finger back at Alistair. ‘That guy’s done nothing but give me grief for two terms. I tried to befriend him, I really did. But he’d kill you as soon as it suited him. You can’t be friends with someone you can’t trust…’

‘Anyway,’ Su Xen cut in, trying to maintain neutrality in the face of Alec’s rising anger, ‘we need a meeting about what happened at the Mountains lodge. Remember we four agreed that, this semester, we’re strictly students? No more castles. Remember?’ Alec nodded, somewhat perplexed as to where this was leading. ‘Well, Minh’s got other ideas. He’s decided that King’s Keep – the cliff face, not the school – is a real keep, and agrees with Mitchell that it needs exploring. I’ve refused to go with him on this, but he’s determined to try first chance he gets – that’s probably tomorrow, before school starts officially on Monday. You said the area beyond the fence is mined. How do we stop them killing themselves to prove his theory?’

Alec let out a long sigh. He recognised immediately that his little group’s dramas were far from over.

‘Okay,’ he decided, ‘first chance we get, meeting in our room. Just the eight of us – you and Minh, Bec and Robyn, Mitch and Tara, Rod and me. No-one else. Agreed?’

‘Agreed,’ Su Xen replied, relief evident in his voice. ‘I hope you’ve got a plan. I’m stuck.’

‘I haven’t got a clue,’ Alec confessed. ‘If necessary, you’ll have to shadow Minh all term. This whole thing is way out of hand. Mr Grey said we have to go back to being students, and I agree that’s the best way to come through this without getting killed.’

‘Butterfly effect,’ Su Xen muttered. ‘Things have changed. And when one thing changes, it affects everything else. We can pretend like nothing happened, but now we know about the time-tear, and Celador, and BB, and Damon, and … all that. Unless Mr Grey’s managed to wipe out BB, you and Rod could still be targets. We’re in a new world now. Once you have new perspectives, you can’t just go back to old and simpler times.’ Alec sighed again.

‘You’re right. We don’t know what we’re facing until we get to school. I have to see Mr Grey straight away and find out what’s changed while we’ve been away. Then we meet.’

Su Xen nodded, and headed back to sit with Minh, Sal, Djalal and Ali. Surveying the growing number of returning students, Alec’s jaw dropped to see Robyn’s arm hugging Rod closely to her, with no obvious resistance. Then he noticed Mitchell with his arm draped casually across Rebecca’s shoulders.

Alec closed his eyes, shaking his head. Things were moving fast, and he could make no assumptions about anything, or anyone. His mind drifted back to the end of first semester at the lagoon. He and Rod had done the seemingly impossible – closed a tear in time, and a gate, that threatened to allow the past to invade the present and alter the future. But then his mentor, Mr Grey, had told him to become an ordinary student again, as if nothing had happened. Su Xen had just made it clear that would be mission impossible. And what about Alistair? He was acting as if nothing had happened. Could this ‘new leaf’ be believed? Alec had serious doubts.

Ms La Garde’s unmistakable summons brought the students together for roll check. As they formed their snake-like queue, Alec recalled his early experience when Rod had sent him flying on the platform. Things had certainly changed between them in six months – from conflict on day one, to best buds, and now … ‘frenemies’? He also noticed that Celia had a motorised scooter instead of a wheelchair. ‘How are you getting that thing up the stairs?’ he wondered.

The ride to the school was uneventful, in marked contrast to first term when Rod had disappeared from the moving train. Had Alistair really gone back and rescued Rod from his ‘black hole’? And if he did, just how did he do that? Whatever happened that day, it had given Rod and Alistair a strange bond, one that Alec was not at all comfortable with.

Alec stood up from his seat before the school train reached its destination. He was going to reassure himself that at least Mitchell was still Mitch. But the sight of Rebecca’s head resting on Mitchell’s shoulders as they shared phone photos and giggles made him sullen all over again.

‘Su Xen, you’re right as usual – the world’s changed,’ he told himself. ‘Change and challenge. Every day brings new ones. But where are my choices here? Do I have any? I feel like I’m a victim of circumstance. Bec and Mitch. Rod and Robyn. Am I losing them to lovey-dovey relationships? It’s like no-one wants to talk to me. Somebody, talk to me. Anybody.’

‘Sit down, Alec.’ Ms La Garde’s stern shepherding made Alec resume his seat and refocus his attention to the slowing train, but it was only seconds before his mind was wandering again. ‘Gotta see Mr Grey and find out what happened with BB, and why Alistair’s behaving like nothing happened. Then get the group together and update them. Hopefully we can talk Minh out of exploring the cliff – again.’

A rather rough shudder told him the train was at the school station. Alec looked up at his large old suitcase in the overhead luggage rack, and was about to reach for it when Alistair stood on the seat and grabbed the handle.

‘It’s okay, I’ve got it,’ he said cheerily, handing it down to a peeved Alec, who took it without thanks and pushed towards the open doors. His actions hadn’t passed unnoticed by Rod, who shuffled through the herd towards Alec.

‘Look, I get that you two have got history, but you don’t have to be so irritable with him. He’s making an effort to get on with you. At least make some effort too.’

A disapproving sideways glance was Alec’s only reply, but it was enough to prompt Rod to catch up with Alistair as they boarded the bus for the ride up the hill. Alec noticed Gabe Grey loading Celia’s scooter onto a trailer, and bolted over to reserve an early chat. He wasn’t ready for the reply.

‘Not now, Alec. We need to process you all back into school. First things first.’ Mr Grey climbed into the driver’s seat leaving a disappointed Alec to join the bus queue.

At least Mr Ritter was his usual jovial self, greeting each of the students by name. Alec found a spare seat beside a kid he didn’t know, and slid down, planting his suitcase between his legs and the seat in front.

‘Hi. I’m Jacques,’ said the olive-skinned kid, smiling pleasantly. ‘My friends call me Coco.’

‘Alec,’ came the minimal reply. A stony silence accompanied their short ride up the hill to the school buildings.

CHAPTER 2

Soon all were gathered in the foyer, the principal standing a few steps up for his announcements.

‘Welcome back to you all. As you can see, we have a few new faces. Please help them to feel welcome and settle in. Just to let you know, the rooms are all unlocked, and you are free to choose your roommates as you see fit – just remember, girls to the left, boys to the right. You will need to re-key your cards once you have decided on your rooms. More announcements after dinner. That’s all for now.’ He stood aside and waved them upstairs with his trademark flourish.

‘Capture our room,’ Alec said under his breath, charging up the marble flight, the corners of his battered suitcase bumping on the step edges. ‘That’s assuming we can still have private meetings in there. Who knows – even that might have changed. Need to check that with Mr Grey, too. Oh, and get a new room card – BB’s crowd have still got mine.’

Alec was quick to slide his cumbersome suitcase into his old room, then returned to the landing to watch the more orderly procession of the general body of students up the stairs.

‘Slow and steady doesn’t win the race to the rooms,’ he announced proudly, looking for Rod.

Instead, he saw Mitchell piggybacking Celia up the stairs, with Alistair carrying one of her cases, Rod with the other. Alec felt a little guilty at his selfish stampede for the room, but quickly excused it as necessary for the group’s greater good. Noticing Rebecca in conversation with Robyn, and seeing Mitchell otherwise occupied, Alec seized his chance to renew contacts.

‘Hi Bec, Robyn,’ he bubbled. ‘Had a good break? It was great to have you guys at the lodge for my birthday … our birthday. What else have you been up to?’

Rebecca looked away to Mitchell, Alistair and Rod as they reached the landing. ‘I’m fine, thanks. But you appear to have lost your manners. You could’ve helped with Celia’s things.’

‘They’ve got it all covered,’ Alec replied dismissively. ‘There’s only so many bags to carry, you know. You want me to go downstairs and drag the scooter up here?’

While Rod, Mitchell and Alistair delivered Celia and her luggage to Rebecca’s room, Alec turned back to make sure no-one else had any designs on his room. He was surprised to see Alistair and Rod walk past the doorway a minute later, and when Rod didn’t return, his curiosity got the better of him. He proceeded down the hallway, only to find that Rod had decided to bunk in with Alistair.

‘What’s this?’ Alec demanded to know, watching the two room-mates unpack. ‘Rod, I’ve captured our old room.’ Rod looked hard at Alec.

‘Alistair’s been on his own here for two terms. Time he had a room-mate.’ Alistair smiled at Alec’s stunned expression, and couldn’t resist a dig.

‘Don’t worry, I’ll give him visiting rights. He can check on you if you get lonely.’

Alec ignored the bait and appealed to Rod for a change of heart.

‘Rod, you can’t do this. You know we’ve got … business to attend to. Private business. Serious stuff. You know what I’m talking about.