“We’re nearly there,” she said brightly. “Normally, we keep a few membership kits in the Youth Center, but…” She trailed off as we approached the last door on the left, which she again opened with her access badge, and then switched on the overhead light.
The room was a luxuriously furnished library, with shelves along three walls. The fourth wall was glass, with a stone fireplace in the center of the panels. The chairs in front of the fireplace looked out on a meticulously manicured garden enclave, enclosed by the white walls of the surrounding buildings. Two massive, well-muscled Dobermans were taking a leisurely drink from a smaller version of the white fountain that Trey and I had seen in the atrium of the temple.
Eve closed the door behind us and leaned against the edge of the large desk in front of one set of bookshelves. Another, much less ostentatious desk sat to the right and she nodded toward the small office chair in front of it. “You might as well sit, Kate. We may have a bit of a wait.”
It took a second for the fact that she had said Kate, not Kelly, to register with me. “I’m sure Charlayne will keep your cousin entertained,” she continued. “The silly girl was so flattered when I asked her to sit with me in services this morning. What I don’t understand is why her name is even in your file. She clearly doesn’t remember you at all.”
I took a deep breath as she was chattering and began considering my options.
Option one—take her out while it was still just me against her. Eve was thin and had almost no muscle. I was pretty sure I could have her down quickly, especially if I caught her off guard. She was a good ten pounds lighter than me and I doubted she had martial arts training. The downside was that Trey and I would then have to make a fast run for the exit, and I had no idea which of the other Acolytes she had alerted.
Option two—pull the medallion out and hope I could get a lock on the location back home in the kitchen. Given that Conwell was strolling around with a CHRONOS key on his chest, I was reasonably sure that this was a stable point. That would be the best bet for getting me out of the building, but I wasn’t willing to risk the chance that they might hurt Trey.
Option three—jump back to the kitchen five minutes early, convince myself that this trip was a very bad idea, and go back to bed. I could send Trey a text and cancel—his dad and Estella would be disappointed, but that was a small price to pay if it kept him safe. As tempting as this seemed, I kept thinking of Katherine’s caution about the mental effects of reconciling even a few minutes of conflicting reality. Could I really handle five hours of dueling memories? And what about everyone else—would Trey and all of the other people I’d encountered have the same problem? I had to admit that I didn’t know enough to risk it.
The first option seemed best, but I wanted to get a bit of info from Eve before making my move. I was curious—who were we waiting for and what had tipped her off about my identity? The self-satisfied smile on her face as she sat there on the desk suggested that she actually might be stupid enough to want to brag about how very smart she’d been to put all the pieces together.
I pulled the office chair toward me, then turned it around and straddled it, rolling slightly toward her perch on the desk and leaning my arms against the padded backrest. She wrinkled her nose at my unladylike position while I calculated how effective the chair would be as a weapon if I stood and brought the heavy base up hard and fast beneath her chin.
I was about to ask how she knew who I was, when I suddenly realized who she resembled. “So you’re Brother Conwell’s daughter? The one who was Chosen at such a young age?”
The smug expression faded for a moment, and then it was back. “Could be.”
“Of course you are. You favor him nearly as much as I do my aunt Prudence.”
“If you knew you looked like her, did you really think you could walk in here and no one would notice? Especially wearing a key of CHRONOS? Security called the office the moment you walked in.”
I was very surprised she knew about CHRONOS, but I tried to keep a blank face. “I thought that might happen.” I shrugged, hoping she was gullible enough to swallow the lie. “But it’s probably for the best. Otherwise, I’d have wasted a lot of time trying to prove to you who I am. This way, we can get straight to business.”
Eve raised her eyebrows ever so slightly. “Business?”
I nodded. “I’ve learned all I possibly can from my grandmother. From what I see, she’s waging a hopeless battle and I don’t like to be on the losing side. What I don’t know yet is whether your side has anything better to offer. When will your father be here? I really should be talking directly to him, I think.”
“The executive meeting is usually an hour or a bit more—I expect it will end on schedule since we don’t like to waste Sister Paula’s time.” Her use of the president’s first name was so clearly an intentional bit of name-dropping that it was hard to keep from rolling my eyes at her pretentiousness.
“Daddy doesn’t know you’re here yet—I don’t like to disturb him when he’s preparing for services, and I thought you’d be a lovely surprise when he comes in after the meeting. They can be so stressful.” She pushed herself up to sit on the big desk, and crossed her legs at the ankle.
“But you aren’t really in a position to bargain with anyone, are you, Kate? From what I’ve heard, you won’t even exist if I take your key.”
I gave her my best wicked grin. “I’d like to see you try.” That was only a tiny lie, since I was growing fond of the idea of wiping that perpetual sneer from her face. “But even if you succeeded, and I don’t think you would, do you really believe my aunt—or my grandfather—would be happy with your decision? When I’ve come here freely, of my own accord?”
That one set her back a bit. “I can’t see why they would care one way or another. From what I’ve been told, you’ve never met either of them.”
“True,” I admitted. “But for many people, blood is thicker than water. Are you aware that all four of my grandparents were—” I stopped. I wasn’t sure exactly how much she knew about CHRONOS and the origins of Brother Cyrus, so I kept it vague. “Were originally of CHRONOS? This key isn’t around my neck simply to ensure my continued existence. I activated it the very first time I held it.”
She tossed her blonde hair back over her shoulder. “That’s not possible. It takes months—years in most cases.”
I arched one eyebrow and held her gaze as I reached into the collar of my shirt, pulling the medallion from beneath the layers of fabric. “How many Cyrists have blood as pure as mine, Eve?”
A flicker of doubt passed over her face. She eyed the CHRONOS key with an expression that bordered on lust, and it occurred to me that she had probably rarely been allowed to hold one. Katherine had located ten of the twenty-four that had been in the field when headquarters were destroyed. Even if the Cyrists had found all of the remaining keys, which seemed very unlikely, that left only fourteen, divided among the thousands of Cyrist temples. I doubted they would have more than one in any region.
“What color is it for you?”
“Kind of pink,” she said, watching me warily.
“Really? My dad sees it as pink as well. It’s blue for me.” I gave her a little smile and centered the medallion in my hand, pulling up the display instantly. Eve drew in a sharp breath as the navigation control board appeared between us and then she lurched toward me.
I pulled my finger off the center. As the control panel vanished, I slipped the medallion back beneath my shirt and she relaxed. Her reaction answered one question, at least—apparently I could use the CHRONOS key from this office if I had to.
“Don’t worry,” I chuckled. “I haven’t the slightest intention of leaving.” I gave her what I hoped came across as a sympathetic smile. “Katherine—that’s my grandmother—says she’s never seen anyone able to activate the key as quickly as I did. Was I foretold in your Book of Prophecy? According to your criteria, I should be among the predestined. Or does it even exist? I’ve hear
d rumors…”
“It exists,” she snapped. “Each Grand Templar has a copy. And you’re not in it.”
“Are you sure? I find it hard to believe that Cyrus wouldn’t have foretold my arrival, wouldn’t have known that I’d want to learn more.” I pushed the chair a bit closer and lowered my voice a bit. “Or will they not let you read the entire thing? I’ve heard that the Chosen are only given little snippets of prophecy—like the paper inside a fortune cookie.”
Her jaw tightened. “Most Cyrists only see the Book on the day they join the Chosen. I live here, however.” Her glance drifted slightly over her left shoulder, to the shelves behind the desk. “I haven’t read all of it—that would take ages—but I most certainly can read anything I want.”
I gave her a skeptical look. “Well, if that’s true and if you know where the Chosen are listed, then why not check while we wait? One less thing to be taken care of when your father arrives. I mean, either I’m in the Book or Cyrus made a rather large mistake.”
“Cyrus doesn’t make mistakes.” She walked around the edge of the desk and searched the fourth shelf up, which was filled with large and ornately bound volumes. Her hand closed around a much smaller book, however, which I recognized instantly as a CHRONOS diary. The only decoration was on the front, where the words Book of Prophecy were engraved in simple gold letters, with a Cyrist emblem below.
She opened the book and then, after a few seconds, snapped it shut again, an annoyed look on her face. “We’ll have to wait. I don’t have the…” She paused, searching for the word. “Oh, the adapter thing… I can’t remember what Daddy calls it.”
“Oh,” I said. “The little translator disk? I have one. Here…” I stood up and put my hand behind my ear, hoping that she would come closer before I actually had to remove it. She walked part of the way around the desk and then paused, waiting.
“Damn!” I said. “I dropped it again. These disks are awful—it’s like trying to find a contact lens…” I leaned forward and a few seconds later, Eve took the bait and joined me, bending down slightly to examine the carpet.
I felt guilty beyond belief but reminded myself that I really had no choice. I pulled the office chair upward and swung hard. One of the wheels flew off and rolled under the desk as the pneumatic base of the chair connected solidly with the side of her head. Eve fell backward and hit her head on the desk with a resounding thump before she crumpled to the floor.
I waited a second and then touched her eyelashes to see if she was faking. There was no flutter, so she really was unconscious, but it was impossible to say how long she would stay that way. Or, I thought, glancing around nervously, whether there were security cameras hidden in the room.
That’s when the barking began. I turned automatically to look and wished I hadn’t because both Dobermans were staring straight at me through the glass, teeth bared.
I took several steps toward the door and then remembered the access badge. It was on the desk, next to the Book of Prophecy. I grabbed them both, stuck the book into the waistband of my jeans under my various layers of camisoles, and ran as fast as I could for the door.
The hallway was still empty. I hurried down it toward the door to the gym, hoping that Trey was still there and not wandering around the temple with the other Acolytes. I waved the badge in front of the keypad as I looked through the small window.
I could see several of the group still seated at the tables, but Charlayne and Trey weren’t with them. The access pad beeped and I pushed hard to open the door, nearly hitting Trey and Charlayne, who had been about to open it from the opposite side.
“Hey, watch out!” Charlayne cried, jumping back. “See, she’s fine, just like I told you.” She moved toward me and looked down the hallway. “Where’s Eve?”
“There were no kits,” I said. “She’s going to look in the main office…” I grabbed Trey’s arm and pulled him out of the gym.
“How can she do that?” Charlayne asked. “You have her access badge.”
I stared at her for a moment. She wasn’t my Charlayne, not really, but I didn’t like lying to her. “Eve’s not your friend, Charlayne. I know you won’t understand this, but she was using you to get to me. Take care of yourself, okay?” And then I threw the badge as far into the gym as I could. As I’d hoped, she gave me a confused look and then turned around to retrieve it.
I slammed the door behind us. “Run,” I said, nodding toward the exit at the end of the corridor and grabbing his hand. “We have to get out of here now.”
We were about a third of the way to the exit when a door opened behind us. I looked back over my shoulder, expecting to see an angry Charlayne at the gym entrance. Instead, I saw a very angry Eve, with a trickle of blood running down her cheek. She was leaning against the frame of the glass door for support. Two even angrier Dobermans were trying to push their way past her. Eve’s legs gave out and she fell forward. One of the dogs yelped as she landed on him, but it didn’t deter either of them from their target—me.
We were still a good sixty yards from the exit and I knew there was no way that we could get out before they reached us. Trey, however, might make it if I could create a diversion, especially since his longer legs covered the ground much faster than my short ones.
I yanked the CHRONOS key out of my shirt, still running, as Trey pulled me by my other hand, trying to speed me up. “We can’t make it unless we split up, Trey,” I said. “Get to the car. I’m going to jump back to Katherine’s house. It’s our only chance.”
“No!” he said, pulling me harder.
“Trey, please! I’m sure Eve has called security—get out of here! I’ll be okay.” I let go of his hand and shoved him as hard as I could in the direction of the door, hoping that I sounded more confident than I felt.
Then I spun around to face 180 pounds or so of snarling teeth.
The dogs were still running toward me, but when they saw the medallion, they slowed their pace and stopped barking. I touched my hand to the center. One of them whined softly, like Daphne had at the door of the library, and took a couple of steps back. The other one looked confused but kept coming toward me, his large teeth bared and looking much too sharp for my comfort.
“Back! Sit!” I said in my most commanding voice, which right then was about as authoritative as Mickey Mouse. The dogs weren’t impressed with me, but they were still eyeing the CHRONOS key warily and moving toward me at a slower pace.
I was tempted to look back to see if Trey had actually left—I hadn’t heard the door open, but the dogs were making it difficult to hear anything else. I didn’t dare break eye contact with them, however. So I stood my ground, pulled up the display, and tried to lock in my destination.
“Good doggies,” I whispered. They were only about ten feet away; I needed to hurry. “Stay…”
The larger and more aggressive of the two beasts apparently didn’t care for the “stay” command because he began barking again and lunged toward me. I countered with a left kick to his midsection.
Unfortunately, his jaws connected with my thigh at about the same time my kick sent him sprawling. I screamed as his teeth ripped through my jeans and raked two deep grooves in my leg. My hands shook and the display flickered in front of me, but I steadied them before I lost the stable point entirely.
I heard Trey calling my name from a distance and footsteps running toward me. “I’m okay! Go back, Trey!” The alpha dog was once again on his feet, his haunches tensed and ready to spring. If I tried to block him, I knew I’d lose the stable point again.
A split second later, the dog was in the air, headed toward the arm holding the CHRONOS key. I did the only thing I could do—blinked my eyes and hoped for the best.
15
I don’t remember screaming, but I must have, since it was a scream that brought Connor to the kitchen. In retrospect, a scream would have been a perfectly normal reaction to the fact that ninety pounds of vicious Doberman was so close that I could, very briefly, smell h
im and feel his breath, warm against the skin of my arm. After a moment had passed without teeth again puncturing my skin, I tentatively opened my eyes. I looked around the dark kitchen and then sank to the floor, pulling in ragged breaths and wrapping my arms around my chest in an effort to calm down.
Connor and Daphne were in the doorway a few seconds later. “What in God’s name have you done, Kate?”
I gave Connor a weak smile as Daphne came over to nuzzle me. “Remember that book you wanted from the library?” I pulled the Book of Prophecy out from beneath my shirt. “Turns out the Cyrists release the hounds on you if you don’t have a library card.”
I could tell from his eyes that he was very happy to see the book, but the sentiment didn’t reach the rest of his face. “You’ve got to be kidding me. Why on earth would you take such a chance just to get that? You’re bleeding all over the damned floor.”
He was right. It wasn’t a major injury—I’d had one cut that was nearly this bad back when I was just learning to shave my legs. There were, however, twin two-inch furrows in my leg, just above the knee. A dark stain on the leg of my jeans was growing, and blood was dripping into a small puddle on the marble floor.
“I’m just glad Katherine didn’t hear you—fortunately, once her meds kick in, she sleeps through anything,” he said, shaking his head. “I’ll get the bandages. You stay there,” he added forcefully, and rather unnecessarily, since I was highly unlikely to be traipsing off on another adventure with a bleeding leg.
I waited, my face buried in Daphne’s ruff, until Connor returned with a pair of scissors, a washcloth, antiseptic ointment, several gauze bandages, and a roll of medical tape. He pulled me up onto one of the kitchen chairs, cut away the leg of my pants, and began to clean the wounds.
“Ow!” I said, flinching from the washcloth, which he had apparently dipped in alcohol.