There Comes A Prophet by David Litwack Page A

what the first keeper said would be on the scroll. Look." He pointed to the first word. "Adamsville. That's where the next keeper can be found."
    Orah brightened. "Adamsville. I've heard of it. The man who owns the yarn store in Great Pond is married to a woman from there."
    "Do you know where it is?"
    "Not yet, but I can figure it out. What's next?"
    "The symbol, which tells us how to find the keeper within the city."
    Below the name of the city was a drawing of three identical objects, two side by side and a third behind and slightly above. Each was circular at the bottom but tapered toward the top, which ended in a dome.
    "What is it?" Nathaniel said. "It looks like mountains, but mountains aren't that rounded. And what would mountains be doing in the middle of a city?"
    He began to panic. He'd worried he might lack the courage to be a seeker, but he never thought he'd be stumped by a clue.
    Orah laughed. "I know what it is."
    He whirled toward her. "What is it? Tell me."
    "Not now."
    "Tell me now. Do you really know?"
    "I'll tell when the time is right."
    "Don't do this, Orah."
    Sparks glimmered in her eyes, reflecting the firelight.
    "And who was it had me believing all day that he was going to be a vicar?"
    Nathaniel lowered his head. "I'm sorry. I thought it was for the best."
    She reached out a finger and lifted his chin. "And much as it pains me to admit it, you may have been right. What comes next?"
    "The pass phrase."
    This part was obvious. It read: The first born says to tell you he is doing well, blessed be the true light. May the true light shine brightly upon him and disperse the darkness.
    "When we find the second keeper, we greet him with the first phrase and he responds with the second. In that way, we'll know to trust each other."
    Orah turned back to the parchment and read the next words aloud.
    To the North, behind the rock face
    To the East, towering o'er the lake
    To the North, through forest of stone
    To the East, the entrance shall be
    She gaped at him.
    "The rhyme," he said, "which will lead us to the keep."
    "But it makes no sense. It's not even a proper rhyme."
    As they concentrated, hoping to wring more meaning from the scroll, the words began to fade. In another moment, the parchment was blank.
    Nathaniel kept staring, willing the words to return. Then he remembered the advice of the first keeper.
    "Each scroll contains one verse of the rhyme. The keeper said: 'Don't try to make sense of the rhyme until you've received the final scroll. The rhyme must be whole to be understood.'"
    When he glanced up, he saw twilight had faded and night was ascendant. The time for storytelling had ended.
    In the darkness, under the stars, the burden of the seeker's reality came tumbling down upon him. He was a seeker, newly emerged after so many generations-a dream come true. And the mystery of the keep rested on his shoulders. Why then, in the darkness and under the stars, did he feel so small?

Chapter Thirteen
    Pact of the Ponds
    On the morning of the third day, Nathaniel awoke to a low-lying fog that soon burned off with the sun. They were on the road quickly, taking no pause for breakfast. As they entered more familiar terrain, his heart lightened. He'd been farther than ever from Little Pond and relished the return home.
    He lifted his face to the sun and proclaimed his feelings aloud. "How good to be back. How wonderful to see our families again."
    How reckless he'd been to rush off the week before. And how lucky it had ended so well. But when he glanced at Orah, her face had turned grim.
    "We must learn," she said, "to never think that way again."
    He stopped and faced her. "Why won't you let me enjoy our good fortune?"
    "And what good fortune would that be?"
    "We've challenged the vicars and returned unharmed."
    He resumed walking with a hint of a swagger, but Orah cut him off.
    "Unharmed, but not unburdened."
    He sighed, heaving his shoulders up and down more dramatically than necessary.
    "I know. But