Secret of the Giants' Staircase by Amy Lynn Green Read Free Book Online

watered-down talk of the priests. He was also a most miserable man. I decided I did not want to believe as he did, because I did not want to be like him.”
    â€œBut how do you know so much about God, then?” Jesse asked.
    â€œI made it my goal to find out all I could,” Parvel said. “Somehow, I knew that what I heard from the priests couldn’t be the truth, or at least not the whole truth. I started a private collection of texts from the Holy Scriptures. Just fragments, you understand. I have yet to find a complete copy.”
    â€œBecause it’s so old?”
    â€œIt is old, yes. Preserved from an age no one now remembers. But, more importantly, the king doesn’t appreciate the God of the Scriptures. He and his court subscribe to a very different kind of religion.”
    Instantly, Jesse remembered the dragon sculpture he had seen in Chancellor Doran’s parlor. Even thinking about it gave him a sick feeling, like someone was twisting his stomach inside of him.
    â€œI have found many scraps with fire damage on the edges,” Parvel said, shaking his head angrily. “I believe they burn all copies of it, Jesse. The most important book in all of history. Can you believe it?”
    â€œI believe it,” Jesse said flatly. “We’re here in the rain outside a swamp because the king is trying to kill us. It doesn’t surprise me that he’s willing to burn a few books.”
    â€œIn any case, God rewards an earnest search for truth. As it says in the Scriptures, ‘God did this so that people would seek him and perhaps reach out and find him, though he is not far from any one of us.’ I read those words, and ones like them. And I believed.”
    Jesse turned around, wincing as the rough bark of the tree scraped his neck. He looked toward the camp, where he could dimly see Silas and Rae’s sleeping forms. “What about people who don’t want to believe?”
    â€œYou can only choose for yourself, not for others,” Parvel said, shrugging.
    He keeps speaking in vague, intellectual terms, like this is a debate in his study at home .
    â€œBut what about Rae and Silas?” Jesse asked, getting right to the heart of the matter. “They don’t want to listen to anything about God. Silas especially. Rae seems to tolerate it, as if belief in God is a harmless myth. But Silas….”
    â€œYes, Rae and Silas,” Parvel said. He didn’t sound upset at all. Instead, he frowned thoughtfully, like Rae and Silas were logic puzzles his tutor would have him solve. “Rae thinks she doesn’t need God, that she can do without Him even if He does exist. Silas, on the other hand, doesn’t trust God. He doesn’t believe that He’s good. Besides, he wants revenge for his father’s death, and he knows that if God exists, He wouldn’t approve of revenge.”
    That was frustrating to Jesse. “What would it take to change their minds? What more can we do ?”
    â€œLet me tell you a story,” Parvel said, instead of answering. Jesse knew from experience, though, that the story would be the answer.
    â€œLong ago, there was a messenger in the court of King Marias who was sent to the city of Lidia to announce that an army of Westlunders was planning to attack it.”
    â€œWho were the Westlunders?” Jesse asked. Parvel often forgot that not everyone was as familiar with history as he was.
    â€œA powerful tribe from the western side of the mountains,” Parvel said. “Some even said they were giants. In any case, after hearing the report of the impending attack, the sovereign of Lidia refused to prepare for war. He left the city defenseless and sent the messenger away in disgrace.”
    â€œFoolish,” Jesse said. “What kind of ruler was he?”
    â€œHe believed the city walls were strong enough to withstand any attack,” Parvel said, shrugging. “He trusted that