The Paladin Prophecy

#73: LEARN THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN TACTICS AND STRATEGY.

Will loped along as if they were walking, but Nick was already in distress. He was incredibly cut and buff, but his body was trained for different challenges: short bursts of power in the vault or floor work, the controlled propulsion of the rings and bars. There was almost no overlap with the demands made by the pounding animal drumbeat of a road race.

“I hate you for this,” said Nick. “Hope you know that … if you don’t, I’ll be sure to … remind you every few hundred feet.”

“Have your legs always been that stubby?”

“Hey, Laughing Boy, you try a dismount from a static hold … into a flyaway double back salto … with a five-forty somersault … and see if you can stick the landing … without snapping your neck like a chicken wing.”

They followed the path into the woods, where it rose and fell over a series of rolling ridges. The trees grew deeper and darker, marching into the shadowy distance in every direction. Will had never been in woods so thick or seen trees with so much life, variety, and character. The smells startled him, a savory mix of damp dirt, decaying leaves, and molds. The earth preparing for winter.

His new shoes felt light on his feet, every bit as good as he’d hoped. He kept the pack in sight as they kicked up the pace at the first kilometer.

“Tell me about Todd Hodak,” said Will.

“Dude, Todd’s real name should be Richard … because he’s a dick. His picture’s on the cover of the dick-tionary. He registers a constant nine-point-five on the Dickter Scale. In other words … if I’m not making this clear, Todd’s a massive dick, on the highest order of dick-titude.”

“Yeah, I’m getting that.”

Nick sucked in a huge gulp of air, wincing in pain. “Dude was born on third … and thought he hit a triple.”

“What’s the deal with Todd and Brooke?”

“Families know each other … old money, like Moby Dick old … Daddy Ho-Dick’s a big Wall Street dude … runs one of those hedgehog funds.”

“A hedge fund?”

“Yeah, for hogs … so Brooke gets here and silver-spoon Todd comes on strong … with the moose jaw, Ranger Rick vibe.…”

“Please tell me she didn’t fall for it.”

“Dude, Brooke can handle the full-court press … but Todd’s so helpful, showing her around … introducing her to his fellow ass-hats … that he covers his stink with Old Spice … but once she catches a whiff of the real Todd? Thanks, but no thanks … Todd won’t take ‘no thanks’ for an answer … but Brooke won’t give it up … stupid, meet stubborn … game on, baby!”

Nick nearly stumbled. Will caught his arm and kept him upright. “So did they get together or what?”

“That’s the weird part … doesn’t happen … she does everything but nail a crucifix to her door but … fourteen months later Todd’s still trying to crack the safe … he keeps harassing her … and Brooke’s too proud to blow the whistle.”

“You’re right,” said Will. “Dick with a capital D.”

“Todd puts the dick in dick-tator … which is an insult to dictators. And why … pray tell … do you ask?”

Will tried to sound casual. “No reason.”

“That was awesome … who’d ever suspect that … beneath your chill So Cal facade … beats the heart of a hopeless Romeo.”

Will scowled at him. “Don’t be a dick, Nick.”

“By the way, Ho-Dick owns every cross-country school record … the one place where he really is … the cast-iron stud monkey he sees in the mirror.…”

They climbed the last ridge, and the body of water Will had seen on the maps came into view: Lake Waukoma. The running trail led down to the shore and then snaked along the edge just inside the tree line. The lake looked much larger than Will had pictured, half a mile across at its widest and more than a couple of miles long. The sky had turned a slate gray, cloud cover rolling in, and the water mirrored it. A fresh wind stirred up whitecaps, tossing around lines of red buoys that marked a racing course on the surface. They passed an old wooden boathouse stacked with sailboats and various rowing sculls.

The pack rounded a corner ahead of them, Todd Hodak cruising just off the lead. He ran strong, with textbook form: even stride, perfect balance, upper and lower body working in unison. He was drafting off a tall thin kid who had gone out as the rabbit. Probably on Todd’s orders.

“Ever had your blood tested since you’ve been here?” asked Will.

“Yeah,” said Nick, wheezing. “Once or twice … Do we have to run this fast?”

“Yes. Did they find anything?”

“Lemme think … oh, yeah. It was red … why?”

“They want to give me a physical,” said Will.

“They do that every year with the athletes,” said Nick, staggering like he was about to keel over. “Did I mention … that I hate you?”

“Not in the last twenty seconds.”

To their right, away from the lake, the land rose abruptly beyond the trees into a long limestone ridgeline, broken by tall ribbed columns of rock. Each column was striped with horizontal striations of vivid reds, yellows, and creams.

This whole gorge must have once been an ancient riverbed, thought Will. The water carved its way down over the ages, leaving these strange artifacts behind.

On the face of the ridge above them, Will noticed a number of black pockmarks. “What’s up on that ridge?” asked Will. “Are those caves?”

“Sacred Lakota burial grounds … ask Jericho about it … maybe it’s a casino and outlet mall now … and I hate you.”

“And this is all school property?”

“Over twenty thousand acres,” gasped Nick. “Bigger than my hometown …”

The island in the middle of Lake Waukoma came into view, along with the strange structure rising from its center. Will had seen photos of castles on the Rhine in Germany, and apparently so had whoever built this joint. Gray stones and concrete formed a high solid wall surrounding the central core that branched into two towers. Lights burned in the windows. A bridge from the entrance led to a landing and dock at the shore, where powerboats bobbed in the choppy water.

“That’s called the Crag,” said Nick.

“Does the school own it, too?”

“Private residence,” said Nick. “Crag is a Scottish word … that means big-ass house … in the middle of a lake.”

“Tell me you’re not trying to do homework with that brain,” said Will.

“Some bazillionaire lives there … big-time donor to the school. Haxley.”

“That’s the name on the medical center,” said Will.

“But he’s never around … that’s like his fourteenth home.”

“Somebody’s there now,” said Will. “Ever been out there?”

“Hell, no,” said Nick, huffing. “Private property … trespassers verboten … guarded by vicious dogs and … snipers … and I really … really … hate you.”

Will glanced at his watch, calculating time, pace, and distance. “We’ve got a click and a half left. Will you be all right getting back to the Barn from here?”

“Nuh-uh. I just bonked,” gasped Nick. “Total lactic meltdown.”

“What’s the worst that could happen?”

“I’ll go blind. Die from hypothermia. Then bears will eat me.”

“Good,” said Will. “So I won’t worry.”

“Where are you going?”

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