Emerge: The Captive: (Book 3)(65)

“Why did you lure us here? If you knew Livia was coming for you, why did you let her close in on you?”

“Why? For this moment right here, son. You want to escape, don’t you? Listen, interpreting the future is a terrible business, Quinnton. It’s just not my bag.” The Scholar laid a strong but finely wrinkled hand on his shoulder. “Deciphering prophecy takes more patience than I’ve ever had. That’s why I’ve always left it to my wife, my daughters and granddaughters. In this instance I am but a messenger. We are headed for dark times, and circumstances must play out in our favor. What happened here today was just a bit of fun for this old man.” Alexander ushered them up the stairs to the street.

“I brought you two here right now for this moment. This is the stuff that makes history, Quinn. Have you learned what you need to know to face the future as the man you should be? Or are you still running scared from your tired old fears? Maybe I thought you needed a kick in the pants. Eh? Your new gift. It is exactly what you think it is, but you have to get a grip on it soon, my boy. It’s important. There is another dreamwalker who will teach you. He will find you soon. Trust him. He is worthy.” Alexander clapped him on the back and turned to Santi.

“What does all that even mean?” Quinn struggled to decipher the old man’s babble.

“You’ll figure it out. Santi, dear girl, he’s going to need you to give him a push. You get out of Soma soon. If not today, then as soon as you can manage it. Take the prophet and the little one and you get yourselves out.”

“How?” Santi asked, but the old man just shrugged and gave them a wink before he turned and blended into the crowded street.

“That was like meeting Dumbledore. Come on,” Santi said. She squinted into the sunlight. “Where are we?”

“Just a few short steps away from freedom.” Quinn grinned. “Let’s go.” He grabbed her hand and darted across the Superior Avenue traffic.

“How far?” Santi asked.

“Two blocks up Huron Street to Terminal Tower.” If they could get there before Livia recovered from whatever Alexander had done back there, they could disappear forever.

Santi kept up with him as they ran along the busy street. The city teemed with people heading to work, going on about their lives, oblivious of the fact that Santi and Quinn were running for theirs.

“Almost there.” Quinn pulled her along behind him as they darted through the glass doors of the tower entrance.

They took the steps two at a time down the escalator until they reached the underground train station.

“She’ll be recovering soon,” Santi said, her voice full of fear and dread.

“Maybe Jayesh will buy us a little more time like he promised.”

Santi nodded as they approached the busy train platform.

“A train isn’t the answer. We need to disappear. She has people everywhere.”

“We’re not getting on a train.” Quinn pushed through the crowd of morning commuters. It would be nearly impossible, not to mention foolish, to go where he was about to go with so many mortal eyes on them, but he was desperate.

“Here.” He jumped off the train platform and reached to help her down. Stay against the wall and follow me.” He slid along the concrete wall heading into the darkness of the Terminal tunnel where the trains turned around in a loop to head back in the direction they came. Santi didn’t ask questions; she just followed.

In the darkness, Quinn found the crevice in the wall and opened the panel to reveal an analog keypad. He prayed he could figure out the code to the secret tunnel to the island. He tried a few different sequences but the door didn’t budge. His father monitored the access codes at all entrances leading to the underground. He tried every imaginable date, anniversary and password he could remember, but nothing worked. Then he entered the date of the day he joined his family when he was just a baby. The thick concrete wall slid open. It seemed his father had been thinking of him.

“Let’s go.”

“What is this place?” Santi whispered.

“It leads to Kelleys Island, straight into the underground facility there. We’ll be home in a few hours. It’s a long way … and there may be some swimming involved if it’s flooded.”

“Swimming? Are you serious? This goes under the lake?” She followed him into the darkness. When the concrete wall slid shut behind them, he knew they were home free.

“Do you feel it?” Santi asked.

“She’s furious.” The tug of Livia’s gift was pulling them back. She was livid, and if she ever found them, they would regret this moment with every breath Livia allowed them to take. “We have to keep going, Mina.”

Santi nodded and they headed into the darkness of the tunnel. The farther they went, the darker it grew. It would be black as night a mile in and it was over twenty-five miles to the crypt. They’d be at it for several hours, but Livia wouldn’t be able to reach them now. They ran into the darkness like a horde of demons chased them.

~~~





CHAPTER

TWENTY-TWO





Sasha: Ankathari


The Chola Valley Temple


“Are you ready for this?” Imogen asked as she brushed Sasha’s hair.

Sasha glanced nervously out of the window of her sister’s bedroom. The sun seemed to be setting at an accelerated rate—to the time of her heart hammering in her chest.