“EARTHQUAKE!” shouted Xander.
Cleo screamed. Thud.
“Micah!” Cleo was leaning over Micah’s seat. “Help me get him up, Xander,” Cleo said, slapping Micah across the face.
Seth darted down to help them. By that time, Micah had snapped out of it and, like a colt, lumbered back to his feet.
“We’re underground,” Micah said. Isabella could feel his panic rising as her four companions neared the protective overhang where she stood. She clutched her necklace to dissipate it. Theophilus had said that Seth and Micah were empaths. Were Cleo and Xander, too? She knew without a doubt that they were. They all were, but what did that mean? She tried homing in on Jack. Maybe the necklace would connect her with him, but it soon turned cold.
“We’ll be fine under here,” she said, trying to reassure him. When Seth moved beside her, a sense of calm washed over her. It was almost as if something inside of him was working to keep them all relaxed, but that made no sense. A violet stroke of light cracked across the room. “What was that?”
Her friends did not respond. After the earth quieted, they stayed there together, not speaking, not moving, until Dago returned from the projector room and switched on the lights. “It’s nearly five o’clock, so you better get a move on.”
“It can’t be that late,” insisted Cleo.
They all pulled out their smart phones. 4:54. How had time slipped by that quickly? It seemed like just moments ago Xander was complaining about not having lunch at one o’clock.
At a much slower speed than before, Dago drove them to the front of the gate in his van. “Be careful, kids. I’m warnin’ ya. Just be careful. And keep a good head on your shoulders.”
“Thanks. We will.” Cleo smiled.
They turned to go, but Dago was still standing there. “Something wrong?” asked Isabella.
“Yeah, I’m afraid there is. But just go home.” Then he was gone.
“He’s definitely on Team Crackpot with Theophilus,” said Seth.
“Maybe,” said Isabella.
“What do you mean ‘maybe’?” Seth’s eyes focused in on hers.
Micah had already attempted to get the guard’s attention at the gate. “No one’s in here.”
“That’s okay,” said Seth. “We can walk from here.”
Cleo looked down at her feet. “Guess I can return these later.”
***
The sun was beginning to set and the bright day had begun to dissipate as dusk slowly fell over the Culver Hills village center, if one could really call it a village in the middle of Los Angeles. The air grew dense and musty. All the street lamps were off except one, which flickered in a slow, steady beat. Only a small number of cars cruised the road as the kids walked down Main Street toward where the Foxworthy Hotel was perched at the top of the hill. This dark stillness was not usual for this time of day. Something was off.
“Get off me!” The voice filled Isabella’s ear a block away from the hotel trolley stop. Her gut tore in two with fear. ”Give that back.”
Isabella slowed down to see Cleo marching back toward the same two bullies she’d rescued Pythian from the other day, one of whom had Xander by the shirt collar as the other was rummaging through Xander’s backpack. Cleo’s shoes lay in a clump.
“There are so many goodies in here. Gum drops. Chocolate snatches. Debbie cakes. And my personal favorite—this camcorder. Oh, wait… no. There’s a little digital camera, too. Looks like Christmas came early for us. Isn’t that right, Sloane?”
“Put my brother down, or you’ll be sorry,” Cleo shouted.
As requested, the boy shoved Xander, sending him tumbling into a nearby thorn bush. “Ahhrrk!” Cleo went straight to his side.
It looked like the kid with Xander’s backpack might consider going for Cleo’s purse, but before that could happen, the other boy, Sloane, said, “Dude, let’s get outta here.” Seth, who was bigger and taller than both of them, and Isabella, whose nostrils flared like a lion, hustled after them.
“I know those guys,” Isabella told Seth.
“Go back and stay with Cleo,” he said.
“Watch me, Superman.”
They looped around the corner as the bullies flew up the service road that led to the back of the hotel. Before they could get too far, four figures in black appeared; from where, Isabella could not tell. Two grabbed the boys. Another took Xander’s backpack. Seth and Isabella both stopped. Cold licked Isabella’s heart. Not an eerie cold, but like a soothing glass of cold lemonade on a scorching day in July.
“What do we do?” Isabella whispered.
“I would tell you to go back, but you’d just make too much noise arguing with me, so I say just shut up.”
“If you tell me to shut up one more time…”
“Not now.”
“Right.”
The two figures holding the boys seemed to melt into the darkness of the trees.
“Where the hell did they go?” Seth asked, protectively pushing Isabella behind him.
She did not fight it. She was starting to become frightened, less of the situation and more of herself. Things had been off more than usual today. For the first time since her parents’ death, she’d felt completely protected, and she wasn’t sure it was all due to the necklace she had been wearing. It was so bizarre.
She was attuned to Cleo and Xander, who were usually never around at the holidays because, like her friend Lana, their parents traveled at that time. She’d felt everything from them: Xander’s exhaustion; Cleo’s boredom and overprotectiveness of her brother. The Logan brothers, however, were different. One minute, she felt Micah’s agitation with Xander, but the next, it would grow cold. And Seth—that boy, she couldn’t get a handle on at all. The only thing she got a sense of was fierce protection, particularly for Micah, but for her as well. She really did not know why.
That was never part of it; she had never felt the direction of a person’s emotions until now. She’d never felt so hot and cold about it. The five of them, connected by a string. It made no sense. Why would she be connected to these random kids?
The two figures in black who had stayed behind whispered to each other. Seth stepped to the side, taking Isabella with him. ”We should go back.”
But he was too late. The men had spotted them and were heading their way. Neither Seth nor Isabella dared to move. In an instant, the tallest of the figures, a young man of about twenty, stood before them. His skin was a beautiful caramel color, his eyes a startling green, and his hair—Isabella saw, as he pushed the hood off his head, he had a nest of shiny curls. He wore a goatee, and his eyes drooped with intellect.
“Colin Timothy. This is Max.” He thumbed at the guy behind him. “Just wanted to give this back to the kid.”
He pushed the backpack into Isabella’s arms. Her vocal cords decided to twist into a knot, so she was unable to say thank you.
“And to tell you to be careful. Tonight is going to change things for you.”
That did it. No more evil cats holding her tongue hostage. “What the heck does that mean?”
“You’ll see. If you need us, ask Theophilus where to find us.”
“Wait a minute,” Seth said, pinning Colin with a heated gaze. “Who are you guys?”
“The Midnight Brotherhood. Be careful, Isabella. And you—make sure she listens.”
“Sure,” Seth replied.
Then they, too, faded into the night.
Seth and Isabella looked at each other, not saying a word. For some reason, words did not seem appropriate at that moment.
When they returned to their friends, Seth spoke quietly as Isabella returned Xander’s backpack to him. “Let’s go home.”
The trolley was nowhere in sight, which was more evidence to Isabella that something was not right. From the bottom of the hill, the hotel was as dim and desolate as it had appeared from the center of the village. With heavy legs, they began up the hill. They climbed the front steps and walked into the lobby. Cand
lelight dotted the room. Elyse was the first person to approach them; her waitress apron was undone, her hair out of place.
“Thank God you’re all right.”
“What’s going on?” Isabella asked.
“I…” Elyse burst into tears.
“Elyse, tell us now! What happened?”
Elyse wiped her face. “I don’t really know. Everything blacked out for a while. It went cold, and I got really tired. It almost felt like I fell asleep for a while, but then when I woke up, I was standing in the same place I had been before. Right inside the Lily Field ballroom. And then—”
“Please, Elyse. Where is my grandmother? Why isn’t she down here, trying to figure out what’s going on?”
“They were supposed to be speaking to a small gathering of people, but—” Elyse let out a soft sob. “They were all there, but when the lights came back on they were gone. We checked their rooms, tried reaching them on their phones, but no one picked up.”
“Who?” asked Seth and Cleo in unison.
“Your parents,” she said finally, shifting her gaze between Seth, Micah, Cleo, and Xander.
“What do you mean, our parents are gone?” Cleo screeched. “You must mean some other people. My parents would be doing their talk to the group.”
“They were. In the theater.”
“That’s not possible. They wouldn’t leave us without an explanation,” said Seth.
“But it’s true,” said Xander, his voice monotone.
“No, it’s not,” said Cleo.
Xander moved in front of all of them, grabbed his sister’s hand, and said, “Yes, it is. I can feel it.” He turned to Elyse. “Izzy’s grandmother’s gone, too, isn’t she?”
Isabella’s heart chilled. It was true. She could feel it as well. That’s why Catherine wasn’t sitting here, trying to solve the mystery.
Elyse’s eyes slowly met Isabella’s, and she silently confirmed it with a fearful nod. Isabella’s head pounded. She took hold of her necklace and concentrated on Catherine. She was okay. They were all okay. The only question still lingering, however, was where were they?
Chapter Twelve
Into the Darkness
Isabella opened her eyes at the touch of Xander's hand on her shoulder.
“You okay, Isabella?” asked Micah, who was sitting across from her.
Seth turned and frowned at her when he heard Micah's question. Elyse spoke in hushed, comforting tones to a red-faced Cleo, who was ringing each of their parents' lines, including Catherine's, over and over without reply. Isabella realized that she must have blacked out only for a second. Not wanting anyone to make a fuss, she shook off Xander's hand and took a deep breath.
“Yeah, just kinda out of it right now.”
“Yeah,” said Seth, looking out of the picture window beside them. He stood up and started toward the elevator for their bedrooms. Micah followed.
“Where are you guys going?” Isabella called out.
“Upstairs,” sniffled Cleo. “They're probably checking to see if this is a big joke.” She got up and headed in their direction. Xander followed his twin. He looked back at Isabella then waved her on to follow. She shook her head and looked down at her lap. Xander left with his sister. None of the kids looked back at her.
Elyse sat in front of her and squeezed her hand. “Do you want some water or something, honey?”
Isabella shook her head when she saw Rolf approaching from the corner of her eye. He gave Isabella a sympathetic look and then waved Elyse to follow him to help with some emergency.
She looked at Isabella. “It's okay,” Isabella said. “I'll be fine. Thanks.”
Elyse and Rolf disappeared, leaving her alone. Alone like she was apparently meant to be. Tears prickled then spilled down her cheeks, hot and without shame.
She pulled out the necklace Theophilus had given her from beneath her shirt and held onto it. The warm buzz returned, but it was accompanied by a feeling of peace. She closed her eyes and saw her grandmother. She was on a train next to Micah and Seth's mother. They looked over some sort of coordinates on a map…
Isabella’s eyes snapped open. She took a breath then shut her eyes again to try to get a glimpse of them. Nothing.
She squeezed her eyes harder. Still dark. The necklace started to burn her palm. She let it go for a moment and then tested it again with the tip of her finger. Cool. It was cool and did nothing to her senses at all, this time. Maybe the thing was broken. It was really old.
She sighed, recalling the vision she had seen. Seth and Micah's mother with her grandmother. This wasn't a simple disappearance. Maybe it had to do with the lost heir and whatever her grandmother, Robert and Theophilus had been talking about. There were a lot of odd things going on right now. That could have something to do with it.
“Uncle Robert,” she gulped. “No, Theophilus.” She had to ask him. She took out her phone and dialed his number, but there was no answer. She tried Robert next. Still nothing.
She scrolled through her address book, heart drilling, and then dialed her grandmother's number. Cleo had been calling, but did she have her grandmother's cell phone or was she calling her office? Maybe she'll pick up. No answer. Isabella wanted to throw the useless phone out of the window. And she might have, had the enormous window beside her been open, rather than just a solid pane of glass.
Caution tape barricaded the elevator that led down to the theater. “What? Nobody's dead…” Isabella whispered to herself, irritated.
“Exactly,” Seth said from behind her. Isabella gasped and turned around. He and Micah stood there, faces sallow, eyes weary. “We didn't find any clues upstairs. Did you want to check your place?” Isabella grinned in spite of everything going on. They came back to find her. She’d been sure they were going to forget about her and go off to find some relative to help them. But then again, they only had their Uncle Robert in the city, as far as she knew.
“Uncle Robert didn't answer his phone,” Isabella said.
Seth looked at Micah, who all of a sudden found the wood paneling in the floor interesting. “He's in the hospital,” said Seth.
“What?”
Seth nodded. “There was a message on our phone in the room. Theophilus said to meet him in the theater. He didn't say anything besides that, though.”
“Then what are we waiting for?”
“Uh, in case you hadn't noticed, the elevator is blocked,” said Seth.
“I know another way.” She headed toward a small corridor to the right that led to the outer area at the side of the hotel.
The boys had started to follow her when they heard Xander's voice call out, “Wait up!” The three of them turned to see Cleo and Xander charging in their direction – Cleo, now in a pink-and-black sneakers and jeans, and Xander in a hoodie and the same cargo pants he had on earlier appeared in front of them.
“We think we should stick together,” they chimed simultaneously, surprising Isabella. They weren't the type of twins to do things in unison.
“My idea,” Cleo said with a shrug, some of the regular fire in her voice subdued.
“It's true,” Xander confirmed with a proud smile.
Cleo lifted her eyebrows. “So where we going?”
Isabella hesitated. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to have them along. They weren't the brats they used to be. “To find Theophilus,” she said finally.
“He said to meet him in the theater,” Micah explained. He looked a bit red as he looked at Cleo. She smiled at him, and he cleared his throat. “So, um...”
“Come on,” Isabella said, cutting the tension and offering as much reassurance as she could, now that the necklace had calmed her voice. “Let's go find out what's going on.”
As they approached the entrance to the theater, Isabella could see from across the courtyard that the gates were lined with more yellow-and-black tape. There must have been yards of the stuff decorating the outside of the theater. Their parents had been inside, according to Elyse—something abo
ut a meeting for the New Year's Eve ball. In other words, a lie.
The main entrance of the hotel's old theater was on the opposite side of the lobby driveway, across a wide courtyard. Back when her great-grandparents ran it, theater patrons took the same road to the hotel but then curved around to a hilltop parking lot. Beside the theater was a small building that once housed the Culver Hills Historical Society museum; attached to it was the old caretaker's bungalow. Like the theater, after years of disuse, both now looked somewhat haunting. The exterior of the museum did have fresh paint, and lilacs and daisies bloomed in a small garden alongside it, but that somehow did not take away the eerie feeling they inspired. People huddled en masse. “People never come over here,” said Isabella. “This is so weird.”
“Those aren't people,” said Seth. “They're cops.”
Isabella touched her necklace through the material of her shirt. Still cool. She moved toward the rows of police, who were questioning various guests and workers outside the hotel. Isabella's eyes burned a bit, as sudden friction overtook the group. Her heart squeezed, and air escaped from her lungs. Why was the power of the necklace suddenly absent? Maybe she just wasn't focused. Didn't Theophilus say she had to be focused or trained or something like that? But she hadn't done anything before, and it had worked—twice.
The wind howled, flapping her hair in her face. The others stood by her side as if waiting for her to make the next move. Funny, she would have thought they would have designated Seth to be in charge.
“This place is lousy with cops,” said Xander. The others groaned. “What?” Xander frowned. “I always wanted a reason to say that.”
“This is no time for jokes, Xander! Mama and Papa could be dead!” Cleo said, her emotions getting the better of her suddenly. Isabella put a hand on her shoulder. “Sorry. I'm fine. I just don't understand why this Theophilus guy left us a message to meet him inside a crime scene. Why not just meet us in the lobby?”
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