Chapter 1 - Part 2

“ ‘When Alaric thought his son, Tatic, was old enough he had him crowned.  Alaric continued to supervise the kingdom, but left primary control under King Tatic II.  Thus the reign of the King Alaric I ended.  Alaric lived for many years after relinquishing his crown, but circumstances of his death remain shrouded in mystery.’ ”

Howell finally finished reading and stood up, tucking the book inside his jacket pocket.  The sun was starting to set and he would need to get inside soon.  Walking over to a section of the roof, Howell grabbed the hot metal trapdoor and quickly jerked it open.  Sliding down the ladder, he pulled the door shut behind him.  The entire top floor of the apartment complex was deserted because of its closeness to the city ceiling.  Because of some city law, the top floor had been walled off and was no accessible from the inside.

Leaning out of one of the broken windows, Howell reached out and grabbed onto the fire escape ladder.  When he had been younger he would have to jump in order to span the distance.  Now Howell could just barely reach the rusted metal ladder.  Several of the rungs were missing, a sign that this place was falling apart like everything else in the edges.

With practiced ease, Howell slid down the ladder to the third floor and jumped to the balcony of the closest apartment.  Pulling himself over the railing, Howell knocked on the cracked glass door.  After several minutes it became apparent that no one was going to answer.  With a shrug, Howell jumped the space that separated that balcony from the one that belonged to the apartment next door.

His jump was slightly off, and he rattled the metal balcony as he landed and grabbed the rail to keep from toppling off balance.  Straightening his mismatched, patched clothing a little, Howell knocked on the sliding door.  There was a muffled sound coming from the apartment and so he banged louder.

“If that’s you, Ash sweety, then please come in,” the old voice called out.

“Hey Mrs. Westler,” Howell said as he pulled the door open.  “How’d you know it was me?”

“Because you’re the only one who ever knocks,” the old woman said.  “Now then, is it already school time?”

“Yep,” Howell answered.  “School starts tomorrow.  So, if you need me to again, I can run errands for you in the evening.”

“Well, I have one for you right now, young man.  If you’re not too much in a hurry.”

“Not at all.”

“Can you please get me bottle of juice from the store?”

“Grape?”

“You must have read my mind.”

With a laugh, Howell left through Mrs. Westler’s front door.  That woman was as old as his grandma and seemed to live off of grape juice alone sometimes.  As he made his way down to the first floor, he stopped at several other apartments.  When he finally did make it out to the street, Howell had two library data books to return and an old clock to be fixed along with his order of juice.