Seizure(46)

The tour group was gone. Even flaring, I heard nothing but the sounds of our own breathing and movement.

“There.” Shelton crossed to the rear wall, crouched, and tapped the stones. “Listen. Hear that trickling?”

I hurried to his side. Yes! My wolf-ears pulled in a faint whistling, underscored by a soft murmur. “Incredible.”

“Moving air.” Shelton squeezed his eyes shut. “Or maybe running water?”

“Let me look,” Hi urged.

The wall was constructed of roughly shaped stone sealed with crumbling mortar. Ancient, but solid looking.

“Bottom row,” Hi pointed downward. “At your feet. The mortar looks different.”

I squatted and peered at the base of the wall.

“Hi’s right,” I said. “This stone has darker mortar, with more cracks. Like it was sealed at a different time.”

Ben’s whisper cut through the darkness. “Hurry.”

Something velvet brushed my face. The slightest touch.

I froze.

My glowing irises spotted a dancing wisp of light. A silvery curl that reached out and stroked my cheek, then drifted away.

Ghost stories flashed through my mind. My breath caught. I was about to scream when my higher centers reengaged.

Spiderweb. One single strand. I watched the tendril puff away from the stones, relax, then settle back into place.

A draft! Air was circulating from somewhere behind the wall. Without my powers, I’d never have noticed.

“It’s here!” I said. “There must be open space behind these stones!”

“Someone’s coming!” Ben hissed. “Move!”


I jumped to my feet and shot to the stairs. Marlo’s feet were descending the steps.

Averting my eyes, I tried to douse my flare. For a panicky moment, the power wouldn’t fade. Then the sensory doors slammed shut.

SNUP.

I stumbled into Shelton, who steadied me. Spittle clung to the corner of his mouth, but his pupils were human. A quick look confirmed that Hi had also shut down.

“What’s going on in here?” In the light of his small flame, I could see Marlo’s frown. “Ya’ll getting high or something?”

The charge was so absurd, I laughed out loud.

“Sorry,” Hi stuttered. “We, uh, dropped our candles and couldn’t see.”

“All of ’em?”

Hi shrugged. “We’re extremely clumsy.”

“How come that one’s lit?”

“There you are!” A yellow glow preceded Brincefield down the steps. “Everyone’s waiting outside. Sadly, I think the tour is over.”

“On our way.” Slipping by Marlo and Brincefield, we raced up both sets of stairs, passing Tree Trunk on the way out.

“That way guys.” Chris pointed to the exit. “We ran a little long. Time to call it a night.”

“It was great.” Thrown over my shoulder. “Thanks so much!”

Outside, I gulped fresh air. Divine.

The others emerged quickly, and we hustled across East Bay.

“Don’t be a stranger!” Sallie called.

I gave her a five-finger wave good-bye. Chris was padlocking a sliding iron gate while chatting with Brincefield. Beyond them, Marlo and Tree Trunk were shuffling away down the sidewalk.

“Man, I hate basements,” Shelton whined as we hoofed it up the block. “Nasty, stinking graves.”

I checked my watch. Five past ten. Five minutes past curfew.

“Crap! I’m late.”

“Me too,” Hi said. “My mom’s gonna rip me a new one.”

“I found something right before—”

Ben cut me off. “Let’s talk aboard Sewee. For now, we haul ass.”

As we hurried to the marina, my mind was already testing excuses.





GROUNDED.

Kit bought none of my explanations.

“I said ten.” He pointed to the mantel clock. “What does that say?”

“Ten forty. But the tour ran long!”

“Did you call?”

“I couldn’t interrupt the guides.”

“Text?”

“They, um, had a no cell phone policy. Plus, we were underground.”

“Not good enough,” Kit said. “Two weeks. Lockdown. End of story.”

I groaned. Kit arched a brow, daring me to continue. Defeated, I stomped to my room, Coop on my heels.

“You gave me no choice,” Kit called after me.

“We’ll see about that,” I muttered.



“Change of plans,” I said. “We go tonight.”

“It’s always midnight break-ins with you!” Hi pulled his hair in frustration. “You’re like a Colombian drug lord!”

I’d called an iFollow conference. The boys were not cooperating.

On the ride home, I’d told them about my air-behind-the-wall discovery. Everyone got excited. Nevertheless, we’d decided on a cautious plan of attack. No big risks.

Yet there I was, not thirty minutes later, pushing for another high-stakes gamble.

“Why not just visit the dungeon again?” Shelton whined. “Take the official tour. See if we can sneak away like earlier tonight.”