I nodded at his shadowy face, but the dark and light shapes blurred until he was unrecognizable.
“C’mon.” He tugged my hand, like he’d done so many times before.
This time a strange cold seeped into my skin. Even his soft voice, his warm touch, couldn’t melt my heart. If I was the Seer, or even if they thought I was, would I meet the same fate as Joan of Arc did—a trial by fire? Or would it just happen to someone I love instead? The cold enveloped me, sapping away all my steeled-up resolve.
We found ourselves in another circular vestibule with a spiral staircase, much like where we’d entered at the library. My heartbeat a little faster and electricity buzzed through my veins. Faint sparks erupted from my fingertips, drawing my eye to a hidden doorway on the left. The sparks buzzed like fireflies, circling the door as if they were trying to tell me something.
“C’mon Lucy, we’re almost there.” Bryan’s hand was warm in mine as he dragged me to the stone staircase.
Shaking off the strange firefly sparks, I was the last to climb the stairs. At the top, I stumbled across the uneven doorstop, landing on my knees in the dewy grass. Tony and Lenny pushed a stone panel back into place until it looked like there was no door at all.
Stars greeted me in the cool night sky. “Where are we?”
“The Nexis tower.” He wrapped his hands under my shoulders, pulling me up in one swift motion. “Behind you.”
I gasped and whirled around, my face inches from the observatory tower. “Cool, unless Nexis knows about this secret tunnel. Or is looking for it. You know they have a telescoped trained on the campus, right?”
“Seriously? Get back. We don’t want them to spot us.” Laura yanked me against the brick wall with the rest of the group, her voice low. “I don’t think they’ve found this passage before we did. That door hasn’t been opened in a long time. If what you say is true, I bet they’ve been searching for this all year.”
“Creepy, sis,” Lenny whispered. “Do you think that tunnel goes anywhere else?”
“Like where?” She rolled her eyes at him.
“Like a secret passage to a Nexis underground lair? Woooo.” He reached out and waved his hands in her face like a cartoon ghost.
“Or a Watchers’ den where they monitor us like puppets in a play.” Yep, that was me—always blurting out exactly what I was thinking. But if we found a secret entrance in the chapel, there had to be others. Maybe I was the only one here who’d ever been recruited by the Watchers, even if only for one night.
Crickets chirped happily in the crisp night air, oblivious to our earth-shattering problems.
Bryan looked at me, head cocked. “Why would you think something like that?”
I dropped Laura’s hand. “Strange symbols, underground tunnels, forgotten legends. At this point, it seems like anything is possible.”
Lenny nodded. “I’m with Lucy. I don’t like this at all. There’s gotta be more to it.”
“Maybe.” Bryan scratched his chin, glancing away from me. “I’ll look into it.”
“You do that.” I shrugged off his dubious maybe and glanced around at the rest of the group. “They’ve got an eye in the sky, and we’re stuck here. Now what do we do?”
A flash of something gleamed in Tony’s eye. “What if I can distract them somehow? And find out if Felicia’s working for them at the same time?”
“I’m listening.” Beside me, Bryan’s voice turned gruff. He reached for my hand, as if for the first time I might be able to give him some measure of strength. I squeezed back. His puffed-out chest deflated.
Tony whipped out his cell. “I could call her up and say we’ve found some kind of secret chamber on the riverbank. Maybe they’d leave the tower.”
Bryan shrugged, with my hand still in his. “I guess it’s worth a shot. Let’s put it to a vote. Just nod if you approve.”
Laura nodded on my left, then me, followed by Lenny and Tony. Brooke peered over at Bryan and bit her lip. Slowly, she nodded, too.
With an emphatic nod, Bryan gave his final approval. But his lips twitched, as if it wasn’t his first choice. Again, I squeezed his hand. His eyes softened as he stared down at me.
“Here goes.” Tony dialed the number, gulping in a deep breath. Suddenly his lungs heaved, and his voice turned breathy as he panted into the phone. “Felicia, you won’t believe it. We’ve found something, a secret chamber under the Watchers’ field. But it’s too dark tonight. We’re going to meet up at dawn tomorrow to explore it. You in?”
At my side, Laura stifled a giggle. Bryan just shook his head and slumped down against the brick tower.
“Great. Bring all the flashlights and candles you’ve got, okay?” He clicked off the call and stuck the phone in his pocket. “Now, we wait.”
“Brilliant.” Laura golf-clapped at him. “You should really take up acting or something.”
He raised his eyebrows, taking a slight bow. “I just might.”
“Shush.” Brooke slammed her finger to her lips. “They might hear us.”
“Sorry.” Laura mouthed, still smiling at Tony.
I slunk down the side of the tower on the grass next to Bryan. The wind whipped at my face, and I wrapped my arms around my knees. His hand found its usual place on my back, rubbing circles, only this time it wasn’t for my comfort.
“What if this actually works?” His hushed words floated up into the cold breeze. “We’ll have to treat her like a traitor. This can’t be happening after all these years.”
“We’ll figure that out when the time comes.” My words weren’t really about Felicia. My brain was still back in that tunnel, piecing together all of my brother’s actions over the past three years. I still couldn’t wrap my mind around how much he’d sacrifice for me.
Vibrations trembled behind the stone tower wall, then stomping, probably heavy footsteps down a certain wrought-iron
