The Lost Heir

by Allison Whitmore

  When they emerged from the Landry House, day had turned to dusk, and Dago was nowhere to be found. Isabella and Micah led the way to the commissary, both anxious to get Seth and leave.

  “What are we going to do about Johnna?” asked Micah. “We have to get rid of her.”

  “I'll take care of it,” said Cleo.

  When they reached the bottom of the hill, a cloaked figured emerged from around the corner of one of the soundstages. They froze and, without thinking, linked hands, with Isabella at the center.

  “What were you thinking, leaving the hotel like that!” said the figure, dropping his hood from his head.

  “Colin!” Isabella shouted.

  “Shh!” He rushed to their side as they dropped their grips on one another. “We need to get back to the Underground.”

  “We need to find Seth first,” Isabella explained.

  “What do you mean? Where is he?” asked Colin, looking over their shoulders.

  “He and Johnna went off in another direction, so we need to go get him now,” said Micah.

  “Well, we can come back for him after we get you to the Underground. There's a portal beneath the studio, accessible in two spots, the main being through the back of Stage 2,” he said.

  Isabella's mind spun. Of course there was a portal into the studio. It had been connected to Renee and Sinclair, too, hadn't it? “We're not leaving Seth,” insisted Isabella.

  “No way,” said Micah.

  “I can get him,” Colin said as two more hooded figures approached them. “Neeta, Franklin. Take them back now.”

  “We're a cohort,” said Isabella. “Aren't we supposed to stick together?”

  Colin groaned. “You need to hone your cohort skills so we don't have to worry about things like this in the future.”

  “What do you mean? We could just call him, but my phone’s dead,” explained Cleo.

  “Your phone is pointless in the Underground, anyway,” said Micah.

  “I meant he would just know to come back without any of this. Especially to you.” Colin addressed his sister but did not quite look her in the eye. “You all go with Franklin. Neeta and I will get a couple of those cart-car things.”

  “Oh, they're called mules,” Xander explained.

  “Whatever they are,” Colin said. “We need them. We'll meet you at the fountain in the center of the studio and then go. I'll take us Celluloid Alley from there.”

  “What did I tell ya?” Xander asked.

  “Colin—about the vault,” Isabella said. “It's... I think you're the only one who can open it. I need your help.”

  Colin looked at her. “What are you talking about?”

  “I found the key that opens a box with the map to the vault. Once we get there, we can restore the Fire.”

  He stared back at her. “How did you manage to get that key?”

  “Theophilus. He's back.”

  “What? How did we miss that?” Colin asked his friends.

  “He's in his shop,” said Isabella. “We're meeting him there to open the box.”

  “All right. Franklin, go. Take them to find their friend and meet us at the fountain immediately afterwards. Avoid Jack or anyone else who works here. They could be dangerous.” He looked at Isabella in particular. “We can't fight him up here like we can in the Underground. Remember that always.” Isabella held onto those words tightly, but wondered, if she was weak sky-side, wouldn’t Jack be, also? He wasn't at the studio, anyway, was he? “Colin?”

  He turned around to look at her. “See you soon,” said Colin.

  They searched every corner of the commissary and found no trace of Seth or Johnna. As they exited the building in a slight panic, two men came up the walkway in sleek black suits and expensive ties, along with a security guard. On either side of them were two other familiar men, Dago and Archie. Isabella's stomach dropped as her eyes fastened on a handsome face with a fresh scar: Jack.

  The scar that Colin had left sat proudly on his cold face. His eyes darted around, closely examining each of the kids. He pinned Micah with his gaze for a moment longer than he had with the twins before shifting his eyes to Isabella. Archie turned his lips up in a way that did not seem human.

  “All right, you're out of here,” a security guard said, coming around from behind the group of men toward Isabella and the others.

  “No, no, no. I know these children,” said Jack, cool but disciplined.

  “But, Mr. Heel...”

  Jack raised his hand, instantly silencing the man.

  “This is Isabella Foxworthy, Mr. Peck,” he said to the pointy-faced man in the suit beside him. His grin stretched off his face in a way that made Isabella's heart turn to ice. “I've been looking to have a chat with her for quite some time now. And these two here.” He pointed at Micah and then behind him. “Those are Gerard's sons. The taller one has that chiseled look we seek for film, wouldn't you say?”

  Isabella whipped around to see Seth standing a few paces behind them, alone and red-cheeked, as if he'd been running. “Seth!” She ran to his side. He clutched her hand immediately. The others gathered around them.

  Her heart thumped wildly in her chest. Where was Colin? What was Jack doing there in a suit? Of course, she'd seen him from her window, walking around the lot, and she'd heard talk about a new man in charge at the studio. Apparently it was Jack. But how? She'd assumed he was able to stay younger Underground because of his powers of manipulation, but did they work sky-side, too? The idea that Jack’s powers worked up there worried her like nothing else. “Where's Johnna, Seth?”

  “At her father's office. I told her I was coming to find you to bring you back there. She wants to get him to let us watch a movie in one of the screening rooms. This time, I stopped myself from saying ‘been there, done that,’ so I could get away.”

  “Why were you running?” she asked.

  “I don't know. I could tell you needed me.”

  “Touching confession from our little movie star in the making,” said Jack.

  “What do you know about film?” Xander asked Jack to Isabella's surprise, the last person she expected to stand up to Jack.

  “My father started this studio alongside the lovely Renee and the dashing Sinclair,” said Jack, eyes back on Isabella.

  “Your father?” asked Seth. “This studio is over a hundred years old.”

  “My ancestor, rather. A great-grandfather. I thought young Micah was the clever one of the pair.”

  “What do you know about us?” spat Seth. “Where did he come from, Izzy?” he whispered in her ear as Jack came closer. Seth pushed her a bit behind him. “Everyone get behind me.” For the first time, Isabella noticed Franklin had not moved from the spot where he'd originally been standing with the group. He stood there, watching, as if petrified by Jack's presence. Her cohort stood at attention, as if ready to use the powers they had only just learned against the man who’d attacked them violently at Empath Hall.

  “Isabella, dear,” said Jack, “you are as beautiful as ever. Such a shame that our last meeting was so rudely interrupted.”

  Isabella swallowed the bile in her throat and then looked Jack dead in the eye. “I'm not joining you or whatever it is you want from me.” A fire ignited inside her. She would not let him get to her.

  Jack laughed. “They have surely lied to you about me. I'm not here to harm anyone, my dear. I'm a harmless studio executive, trying to keep my family legacy alive. All I request is a few minutes of your time. I want to help you maintain your legacy and get your hotel back to where it needs to be. Believe it or not, our goals are one in the same.”

  A burning sensation shocked her without warning, causing Isabella to immediately reach for her necklace to calm and quiet her fears. It wasn't there. She gasped.

  “Lose something, dear?”

  “No!” she yelled defiantly.

  “You will soon enough, unless you allow me to help you,” Jack continued.

  Then, from behind them on the
hill, she heard a voice cry out. “Isabella! Franklin! Let's go!” Colin pulled up on a mule with Neeta behind him.

  “Those are private vehicles,” started Peck. “Are you authorized—?” Jack held up his hand to silence the narrow-faced man. Dago and Archie stood there wearing somewhat vacant expressions.

  “Isabella, get in now.”

  Jack did not react to the man who put a scar on his perfect face. He just continued addressing Isabella directly. “My dear, don't buy into everything the Brotherhood is whispering in your ear. When darkness was devoured by fire and innocence was engulfed, who was the one to pull you from the embers? It wasn't your lost heir, that's for sure. Not once have I tried to harm you, Isabella. I've come to watch you excel. Together, we could empower the world. Or at least this little corner of it.”

  “You're insane!” Seth shouted, pulling her toward Colin.

  “Let's go, now!” Colin demanded. The others ran to Neeta and got into her vehicle as Isabella jumped into Colin's next to Seth and Franklin.

  “Mr. Heel, there's been an emergency,” said a stout man in a blue blazer and earpiece as he ran up the sidewalk. Jack's attention shifted from Isabella and Seth as the man leaned over to whisper something into Jack's ear.

  Colin and Neeta sped off long before Jack had the chance to turn around. Careening down the hill toward the fountain, Colin steered toward what looked like an old, decrepit movie poster on the side of Stage 2 where they'd first seen Dago. It seemed like they were about to collide with the wall.

  “I thought it was in a small room at the back of Stage 2!” yelled Isabella as they continued straight for the poster and, with full force, were thrust through a large door.

  The poster marked the entrance of an underground network of caverns and rails that led directly to Celluloid Alley.

  They left their carts behind and climbed into a projection booth. Colin led them into the alley. “We're not far from Theophilus' shop. Let's go.”

  “Wait!” shouted Isabella as they crossed out of the alley and into the middle of the Avenue. Colin turned back to her. “What was he doing up there like that? Why didn't he try to stop us?”

  “He's playing a game, Isabella. Don't think you're safe because he let you get away this time. We have no idea what he's up to. Let's go.”

  They rushed to the shop and climbed down the back-alley steps, as instructed by Theophilus. They rapped on the door swiftly three times then slowly twice. After no more than two blinks, the back door flew open.

  “Children!” cried the white-blonde-haired man wearing his top hat, goggles, and Victorian coat.

  “Theophilus!” Isabella fell into his arms. Everything was going to be okay now. She squeezed tightly. Then she felt Seth and Micah enveloping her from behind to hug him, too. The twins, who did not even know Theophilus, joined in as well. It was as if, in him, they saw hope for the first time in days. Hope for their families.

  “Let's get inside everyone,” said Theophilus. “We have lots to do.”

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Heart Stings

  They walked past the pianos and harpsichords to the apartment that Theophilus had told them was hidden beneath his store. It was anything but small. In fact, it was cavernous, with hammocks in two different corners, a dining area in the middle, and false windows that made it seem as if they were in a hut in the middle of a tropical paradise. It smelled a bit like that, too; warm and thick, like water was near. Soft classical music played and, in the corner, taped on the walls were plans for inventions. Theophilus was certainly a unique person.

  The key easily opened the lockbox, and once inside, the group looked with relief from one to the other. “We start at the elevator beneath Shutter and Closet 6,” said Theophilus.

  “We should go now,” said Cleo. “The faster we find the vault, the faster we can get out of here and back to our normal lives, right?”

  “We'll need to eat, and you'll need to rest for a while first,” said Theophilus. “You must have your strength and your wits about you. Have they chosen their weapons yet?” he asked Colin.

  “Yes, but they have only had about a day to practice with them. They don't even know how to retrieve them psychically, so I had them leave them behind at headquarters. They're more dangerous to them at this point. I thought we'd have more time, but we had to get them above ground.”

  “Why did you do that rather than keep them with you?” Theophilus asked.

  “That's what we want to know,” said Seth.

  Theophilus got up to pour each of his guests a cup of tea. After that, he served buttered biscuits with cinnamon sugar, cheese, and grapes. They ate quietly for a while. Neeta and Franklin yawned simultaneously and admitted they'd been up for nearly three days straight, working with Colin. Theophilus pointed them toward two hammocks in the back.

  “We received a message that Jack had some kind of Underground tracker on Isabella,” explained Colin. “We couldn't tell what it was or if it was real, but, as you know, Theophilus, tracking other diadems isn't that hard if you're one yourself.”

  “Things are trickier sky-side, and the hotel is still the safest place for you. It's still somewhat blocked from Jack, as long as the fire burns.”

  Micah jumped to his feet, sweat beading from his forehead. “And how long will that be?” His voice was a controlled version of what it had been that day when he and Isabella were locked in the speakeasy room. He was losing his resolve.

  “Micah, relax,” said Seth with a heavy sigh. It was as if he'd been waiting for his brother to have an outburst sooner or later.

  “I don't want to relax, Seth. I want to go home. I'm tired, and I want to see Mom and Dad.”

  “At least we got to go back to the hotel for a while,” said Cleo, attempting a smile. “Have Christmas.”

  “We told you. We're Jewish,” said Micah flatly. “I want my parents. I just want to go home.”

  “Stop being a brat,” Seth told his brother. “We need to do this.”

  “For what?” Micah made a fist and pressed his fingers tightly together. “For your girlfriend? If it wasn't for her, they'd be home now, wouldn't they?”

  “Don't be like that,” said Seth. “And she's not my girlfriend.”

  “Get real, Seth. You spend half your time running after her and the other half staring at her when she's not looking.”

  “Creep much,” said Cleo.

  “It's not funny,” Micah said with a scowl.

  Seth started to speak, but Micah cut him off. “No. I'm not jealous. I'm just not cut out for this. I'm sorry, Izzy. I'm just not.” He stormed out of the room.

  “I'll go find him,” said Seth.

  “No, let me,” Cleo said with a hand on his arm.

  Seth nodded. He looked tired, too. To Isabella’s surprise, Neeta and Franklin had not stirred from their hammocks.

  Isabella could not look at Seth after hearing the things Micah had said. She knew it wasn't true, that Micah had just been trying to get under his brother's skin. She decided to ease the tension by shifting to something that had been bothering her since she'd read his note, though she’d hardly allowed herself to think it through fully until then. “Theophilus, I heard you talking to my grandmother about the vault, and you said you knew the way, but now we need a map. I don't understand.”

  “We need the map in our hands in order to access the vault. That and the Foxworthy heir. In case we get separated, I think it will come in handy for you as well, don't you think?” Theophilus winked.

  “I'm going to go find Micah,” said Seth, exiting the apartment.

  “I want to ask Cleo something,” Xander said. “Mind if I tag along?”

  They both left, leaving Isabella with Theophilus, the still-snoozing Franklin and Neeta, and her brother, Colin. Isabella had assumed they were in this with her, but maybe she’d been wrong. She thought of Jack and the troubles that lay before her. Jack was a chaotic force. He’d brought turbulence into their lives. Now they were all in danger.
>
  “This is all because of me,” said Isabella. “They don't want to be here. Hell, I don't want to be here.”

  "They care about you, Isabella. We aren't going to be separated,” said Colin. “Okay?”

  Isabella poured herself another cup of tea and thought about her friends. Each was in a pair of siblings; she, too, had a brother now. She finally allowed herself to accept that minuscule nugget of truth. He was someone else who she had in her corner, someone who was part of her life and her family's legacy. The others were her family now, too, but not like Colin was.

  Several minutes passed; the others had not returned. Isabella wondered if she should have followed them outside, too. But she knew that, at that moment, they didn't need her. “I have another question, Theophilus. Have you talked to my grandmother?”

  “I have. If we get this taken care of, they can all come home. I promise.”

  Isabella nodded. She knew this, but she wanted to hear it confirmed from someone she trusted. How had that happened? How had Theophilus gone from her eccentric piano teacher to a person she trusted so much? Down there it seemed easier to tell who was friend and who was foe, with the exception of the mind tricks the Greens of the Valley liked to use. Her mind conjured a dream she'd almost forgotten. She'd had it at the Brotherhood's lair. “Theophilus, did you know Jack, when you were a kid? I had a dream about him—at least, I think it was him—and a car running over a man. You were in the street, but you were very young. Younger than the twins.”

  “Ah, yes. The man was Hugo Varelli, my father,” said Theophilus. “You walked into the past. It's a gift diadems have. Perhaps you can dream-walk as well. Only time will tell what powers you and your cohort truly have. But we'll speak more of this tomorrow. You need your rest tonight.”

  “We just want to go home,” added Isabella.

  “I know, kid. I'll help you get the vault open,” Colin said. “I promise.”

  She smiled but was quickly lost in thought once again. Since he was the lost heir, did it mean that he was the rightful heir to the Foxworthy, too? She shrugged. “I’m just worried about the hotel, even with all that’s going on.”