The scraping sound of stone on stone echoed in the dark cavern. Everyone huddled up behind me to get a look at the strange compartment now jutting out from the wall.
“I heard that one of the Guardian amethysts was stored here on campus.” Bryan grabbed the flashlight from his sister and shined it in my face. “But the question is, how on earth did you find this hidden compartment?”
“I uh …” I sputtered as I racked my brain for some sort of explanation.
Could I really trust this guy? He was president of one of the three societies. Granted it was a student chapter of arguably the least evil of the secret societies, but still. Closing my eyes, I repeated the question in my head. Maybe my angel powers could tell me something. Warmth lapped at my skin, calming my nerves in the freezing cold tunnel. When I opened my eyes, I swear I saw a smattering of twinkling light burst over Bryan’s head. But when I blinked, it vanished.
After eons of silence, I finally held up the postcard. “I got this from my brother a few months ago. I’ve been trying to figure it out ever since.”
“No way.” Brooke shoved Bryan’s shoulder, and the beam of light faltered. “But I don’t get it.”
He aimed the spotlight at the window on the postcard. “Here. It’s the exact same scene as on the stone carving. And this is St. Lucia’s church in Italy.”
“Oh.” A collective gasp resounded from the group.
“You mentioned the Guardian Amethyst. Is it here?” Tony’s voice came from my right, but I barely make out his profile in the dark.
Bryan turned the flashlight back to the compartment and edged closer. “No. It’s been moved.”
“Seriously?” I slapped my hands on my thighs. “I’ve been searching for months. And all for what? A stupid empty box?” Dust blew off the wall at my little tantrum, revealing another carving next to mine, at the entrance of the tunnel. With shaking fingers, I brushed the remaining dirt away. “You’ve got to see this. Do you think the whole tunnel is lined with them?”
A picture formed as the dust cleared. Another jewel, but by itself this time.
“Why would there be two carvings about the amethyst?”
Reaching out, I touched the carvings on the second tile, too. Nothing happened.
“I think it’s a diversion of some kind.” Bryan angled the light around the cavern. We were standing in a circular stone vestibule. Similar carvings of the amethyst were lined up around the enclosure, forming a semi-circle. “Three years ago someone figured out the location of the American amethyst and the Guardians moved it to a safer location.”
“You don’t think?” Saltwater pounded my eyelids as the realization struck me full force. “James.” I croaked, clutching the postcard to my chest as a tear slid down my cheek.
“Of course.” Tony smacked himself on the forehead. “The location of the amethyst must’ve been on the pages he ripped out of that book at St. Lucy’s church.”
“But I don’t get it. Why was he looking for the amethyst?” My voice wobbled as I glanced in Bryan’s direction.
In two strides he was in front of me, reaching for my hands. “Because the Guardian Amethyst has one job. To protect the Seer.”
My lungs froze and my heart skipped a beat. “He must’ve found out. He risked the wrath of Nexis just to protect me.” A sob wracked my chest as the tears flowed freely now, leaving hot tracks on my cheeks.
Chaos erupted from the rest of the group, but Bryan just wrapped his arms around me and held me tight. “It’s what any big brother would do to protect his sister.” He whispered into my hair.
Nestling between his bomber jacket and his soft sweatshirt, I let the not-so-silent tears fall. I had no idea how James figured out Mom’s little secret before his eighteenth birthday, but it didn’t matter. I knew my brother. The fact that he’d risk his entire future and even his life to protect me was so like him. And if I were in his shoes, I’d have done exactly the same thing even if it got me banished to Europe.
All at once, the tears stopped. I finally knew the truth.
“Wait, does that mean Lucy is the Seer?” Laura asked.
“And her brother isn’t?” Brooke chimed in half a beat later.
“I’m afraid so, kids.” Tony leaned against the back wall of the vestibule. His elbow grazed an amethyst tile and the sound of scraping stone filled the cavern once again.
Bryan lifted one arm to aim the flashlight at the opening. The other arm slid around my back and together we turned to face an archway that opened into a long corridor—leading straight into darkness.
“Looks like we just found a secret Watcher passage.” He flashed the light down the tunnel.
“Should we investigate?” Wiping my tears on Bryan’s sweater, I couldn’t see anything but blackness beyond the end of the beam.
The group fanned out down the arched tunnel, cell phones in hand, blue light leading the way.
“Look. There are more pictographs on these walls.” Lenny’s fingers dug into a layer of dirt, revealing a bearded man, arm outstretched, knife held high over a child on a pile of branches.
My heart skipped a beat or two, then pounded wildly against my chest. “Does that mean Abraham was a Seer?”
“No, he was one of the first Messengers. This must be a Watcher tunnel.” Brooke leaned closer to Lenny, the bluish light reflection off her glasses.
“Cool, let me see.” The light illuminated Laura’s orange hair, casting strange colors on the stone picture. As if the branch altar were alive with fire.
“Come see mine. I’ve got Jacob’s ladder.” Tony’s voice echoed off the stones.
Five heads jostled each other to get a peek of the two foot square carving. On tiptoes, I craned my neck around until I could see the whole picture. A robed man, wrestling with lines in the shape of a wing, on a ladder.
Somehow, an electric current zapped the musty, dank air. The
