“Yes, ma’am.”
“See you girls downstairs,” she called, but stopped and turned back around. “Oh, Heven, I don’t think I need to remind you that this is the girl’s floor only. There are to be no boys in your room.”
“Yes, ma’am. I understand.”
“Good. See you at dinner.”
I sighed and pushed the door open. It hadn’t latched all the way, so I didn’t have to use my keycard to get back in. When I walked in, I saw Kimber scurry away from my side of the room. Saying nothing, I glanced at my suitcase, the clothes were askew and the lid was open. I gaped.
Kimber had been going through my things.
“What do you think you’re doing?” I asked, putting my hands on my hips.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“You were going through my stuff!”
“Why would I want to do that?” she asked, sounding bored and trying to play it off.
But I could see her aura. She was lying through her teeth.
I sighed. “Look, I don’t like this situation any more than you do, but we are stuck with each other until this trip is over. Do us both a favor and you stay on your side of the room and I’ll stay on mine.”
“Whatever.”
I went to my suitcase and began straightening the clothes. What had she been looking for anyway? I couldn’t possibly have anything that she would want. My stomach sank when I thought of the scroll. Since I was already on the floor beside the bed, I carefully slid my hand between the mattresses in search of the bronze tube. It was there. I breathed a sigh of relief. Kimber didn’t even know about the scroll, so I wasn’t sure why I was even worrying.
I watched her gather up a clean change of clothes and storm into the bathroom, angry at me for reasons I really didn’t understand. Kimber could go through my things all she wanted, she wouldn’t find anything. Even if she did happen to see the scroll, she wouldn’t have the first clue as to what it was.
* * *
Sleeping without Sam was not something that came easily. Sleeping right next to your best-friend-turned-enemy was even worse. Kimber insisted on sleeping with the bathroom light and TV on. It was beyond frustrating. I was enjoying the time here in Italy so far, but our days were full of people, places and noise. It would be nice to have a break at the end of the day. For my head and eyes to have a break. Even though I hadn’t told Sam yet, I was pretty sure what my new ‘supernatural’ ability was. If you could call it that. I closed my eyes and called up an image from the Sistine Chapel’s famous ceiling. It came easily, quietly. The images took perfect shape in mind with the slightest of clicks. I had been practicing this since I caught on to my brain’s newest ability. Every time it became easier and clearer.
I had a photographic memory.
Why this would be considered a ‘supernatural’ ability was beyond me. It seemed kind of lame and was one of the reasons that I had yet to tell Sam. I mean, gheesh, he turns into a super-powered animal with super hearing and strength. Fire doesn’t harm him, water cannot drown him, even ice cannot freeze him.
Those are superpowers.
Using my brain as a camera just seemed lame.
It didn’t stop me from practicing and seeing how much my mind could hold. Airis seemed to think that this ‘power’ would be useful, and considering that we are being hunted by demons for the Treasure Map, I figured that it couldn’t hurt to use everything available to me. Who knows when this little ability might come in handy.
From the bed next to mine, Kimber snored lightly. Moving slowly, I got up and tiptoed to the TV and shut it off. The room plunged into darkness except for the light shining from the bathroom. I went to the door and pushed it closed so that only a slim ray of light shone into the room. Relaxing already, I slipped back beneath the covers and thought about Sam. I reached out to him with our Mindbond, which had seemed to grow stronger since he broke the Dream Walkers thread, to know that he was already sleeping.
I closed my eyes and willed myself to relax. A while later, a sound roused me from my half-sleep and I lay there, unmoving with my eyes closed, trying to figure out what I was hearing. It sounded like someone was ruffling through a bag or a box.
And whomever it was… was right next to me.
My suitcase! Someone or something was searching my things. On impulse I threw out my fist, while yelling, “Kimber, wake up!” My fist connected with something solid. I turned my head and gasped at the large figure looming over me.
I heard Kimber moving. “Turn on the light!” I ordered as the intruder began to scramble backward.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” Kimber demanded, but she switched on the lamp beside her bed.
We both gasped.
There was a demon at the foot of my bed.
It seemed familiar somehow with its long, black hair, full of twigs and leaves. He was naked and I wanted to gag. His hands were deformed and twisted… I strained my memory for this demon and what he could do… and suddenly I cursed the fact that I hadn’t always had a photographic memory.
The demon jumped on the foot of the bed, causing the mattress to dip. When it opened its mouth, I remembered exactly what this thing could do.
“What the hell is that?” Kimber cried, clutching the blanket around her.
Sam! I shouted. Hurry, Sam!
A strange mist began floating out of the demon’s mouth, a heavy curtain of fog. I bounded off the bed, trying to stay out of its reach, knowing that if I got lost in it we would be in trouble.
“Run, Kimber! Get out of here!” I said, reaching between the mattresses and pulling out the scroll.
The demon made a sound, the screech of an angry bird and more mist began filling the room, reaching toward us.
Kimber gasped, but made no move to flee. I looked at her to try to reassure her that this thing wasn’t going to hurt us. She must be scared out of her mind at seeing something like this.
Only she wasn’t looking at the demon.
She was staring at the scroll in my hands.
“Kimber, we have to get out of here,” I insisted, stumbling toward her, grabbing her arm to make her understand. The mist was getting closer, beginning to curl around us. I coughed.
Then something strange started to happen. The mist continued to fill the room, reaching for us, but it couldn’t get close. It wrapped completely around us, but it was like we were standing in an impenetrable bubble.
I looked at Kimber for some sort of an explanation, but she was focused on the demon advancing toward us, angry that his mist wasn’t working.
The door slammed open, smacking the wall with a bang and Sam stormed in the room. Cole followed behind and began coughing at the stuff that filled the room. Before I could say anything, Sam was driving his fist through the demon’s back, his hand coming out of its chest. Instantly, the demon disintegrated and vanished, taking the weird, choking mist with it.
Sam reached for me, pulling me close. I breathed a sigh of relief. I guess giving him my room keycard every night before bedtime was a good idea, because without it, he would have had to break down the door. He was wearing a hoodie sweatshirt with a kangaroo pocket in the front. Without second thought, I slid the scroll into the pocket.
“What the hell was that?” Kimber asked.
“I have no idea,” I lied, hoping I sounded convinced.
Kimber’s aura flared with disbelief, but there was curiosity there too, which seemed a little strange to me. She glanced back down at my hands and frowned. “Where did it go?”
“I guess Sam scared it off.” I knew full well that she was talking about the scroll, but I played dumb.
“Yeah, sure,” she agreed.
“Are you okay, Kimber?” Cole asked, reaching out to place a hand on her shoulder.
She shrugged him off, angry. “I’m fine.”
Why wasn’t she more scared and surprised? Why did she seem interested in the scroll?
Cole flipped on the lamp between the two beds.
He whistled between his teeth. “You girls are messy.”
The room was trashed. Both our suitcases had been overturned, our clothes scattered everywhere. My shower bag had been dumped, its contents littered the floor. Kimber’s shower bag was also emptied all over the bathroom. My eyes collided with Sam’s and he nodded.
Guess they’ve figured out we’re here.
Take the scroll with you tonight. As soon as we get to Rome, we have got to get it to the catacombs.
He nodded and turned to meet Cole’s stare. Something seemed to pass between them. When had they started working together? Did they actually like one another? Cole looked at me and smiled. “Want some help picking up?”
He knew that we didn’t do all this; he was just playing along for Kimber’s benefit.
Kimber huffed beside me.
“No, thanks. You guys better go back to your room before you get caught in here,” I said.
“Wouldn’t want you to get in trouble for breaking the rules,” Kimber snapped.
I wouldn’t put it past her to call our chaperones herself.
If you need me… Sam said, pulling me close once more.
I’ll be fine. They won’t come back tonight. At least I hoped they wouldn’t.
When the boys were gone, I looked at Kimber. “How did you do that?”
“Do what?”
“Stop that mist from surrounding us.”
Her arm froze, just briefly as she bent to pick up her clothes, but then she said, “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
She was lying and her aura told me so. I watched her as she went around the room, picking up clothes and it dawned on me that she wasn’t picking them up. She was searching for something.
“What are you doing?”
“Uh, hello? Some creepy man broke in here and trashed our stuff. I’m picking it up.”
My eyes narrowed. She was taking this awfully well. And she was lying. I didn’t stop that mist from surrounding us. It had to have been her. She made a small sound and I looked over in time to see her slipping a familiar box into her shower bag. It was that same box I saw sitting on her dresser in her bedroom. What was in there? Why was it so important?
Kimber caught me staring and turned around, hands on her hips. “What?” she demanded.
“Nothing,” I mumbled and began to pick up my stuff.
Something was going on with Kimber and I had a feeling that whatever it was wasn’t going to be good.
Chapter Sixteen
Heven
After days of sightseeing in Florence, Venice and Pisa (the leaning tower of Pisa was so cool), finally, we arrived in Rome. The places we had been to were stunning, and we had such a wonderful time, but the constant strain of looking over our shoulders was wearing on us. Thankfully, no more demons had attacked, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that we were being followed and watched.
After breakfast at our hotel (even though we changed hotels we still had to stay with the same roommate), we were heading out for another day filled with sightseeing and activities. I was looking forward to the main attraction of the day: the Colosseum.
From the minute we pulled up on the bus, everyone was enraptured. The place was enormous, and even in ruins, it was amazing. I could only imagine what it had looked like when it was new and not crumbling. We spent the morning with a tour guide who filled our heads with stories of the history of the things that went on here. Executions, gladiatorial combats and classical mythology drama were just a few of the things that the walls of this place had seen. It was a great distraction, almost enough to make me forget about what we were to do while we were in Rome.
Sam, you brought the scroll, right? After the demon attack and Kimber searching my things, I decided that the scroll would be safer with Sam and he’s been keeping it close since then.
It’s in my backpack.
I tried not to stare at the dark green pack slung over his shoulder too much, but it was hard. Lunch time came and we all gathered to get the bagged lunches that the teachers kept in big coolers and then spread back out to find places to eat. Having lunch at the Colosseum in Rome was not something one could do every day. Sam, Cole and I found a spot away from the others where we could talk.
“We have to get this scroll where it belongs,” I whispered, looking around at the crumbling travertine walls.
Cole pulled a copy of the itinerary out of his back pack and looked it over. “I’ve got it all figured out,” he said. “We’re supposed to go to the Via Appia Antica tomorrow. There’s an entrance to the catacomb of San Sebastiano on that road.”
I nodded. “We’ll have to figure out a way to slip away from the group.”
“I haven’t figured that out yet,” Cole said, taking a huge bite of his sandwich.
I closed my eyes and called up the information I read about the Via Appia Antica in the tourist book I had. “Via Appia Antica is a national park now. There’s a long road that runs through it. It is super popular with cyclists and runners. There are a bunch of cafés and shops along the road until you head out into the countryside. The catacomb entrance is south on the road.”
When I opened my eyes Cole and Sam were staring at me. “When did you memorize all that?”
I blushed. “I didn’t. It’s my newest ‘super power.’ I have a photographic memory.”
“Cool!” Cole replied.
Sam frowned. “How does it work?” Why didn’t you tell me?
I was embarrassed. “I just look at something once, and I can recall it exactly.”
Does it hurt? Sam asked. He didn’t seem put off that I kept it from him.
Not at all. No more headaches either.
“This might come in handy,” Sam said aloud, covering the fact we were having a conversation of our own.
I’m sorry I didn’t tell you right away.
“You’ll never flunk a test again!” Cole laughed.
I get it, but you don’t ever have to be embarrassed with me, okay?
I nodded and leaned into his side, feeling a little guilty. Sam reached out and snagged the itinerary from Cole.
“It says on the itinerary that we can rent some bicycles and ride along the path. Maybe we could do that and pretend to get separated from the group for a while,” Sam suggested.
“Sounds good,” Cole said.
I nodded. “Now we just have to keep the scroll safe until then.”
“What’s the deal with Kimber?” Cole murmured, his gaze going past us.
I didn’t have to look to know he was watching her, just as she was probably watching us. “I’m not sure yet, but it might be good to stay clear of her. She’s acting weird.”
She stopped that mist from wrapping around us.
How?
“Nuh-uh, no brain talking without me,” Cole said, realizing what Sam and I were doing.
“Sorry,” I mumbled. “I get the impression that she knows more than we think.”
“Like about the Map?” Sam asked.
“Yeah,” I said, slowly. But how could she know anything? Suddenly a sense of anger filled me. Why did everything have to be so confusing all the time? We were here in this beautiful place and I wasn’t able to enjoy it completely because I was so preoccupied with everything else. I probably wouldn’t get the chance to come here again and I wanted to look back with good memories. I reached into my bag and pulled out the travel diary Gran gave me. It was filling up with notes and drawings. I couldn’t wait to add the pictures that I had been able to take.
As we finished our bagged lunches, I pulled out my camera and began snapping pictures. I smiled to myself because I knew that my brain was now kind of like a camera and these sights wouldn’t be forgotten. Still, having a photograph for my book was special.
There were a lot of missing stones and marble from the structure creating holes and crumbling windows. It was in one of these crumbling spaces that something caught my eye. A movement. Someone was sitting in what I assumed was once a window. When he caugh
t me looking, he leaped off the other side and disappeared from sight. I gasped and looked at Sam and Cole to see if they had seen him too.
“What is it?” Sam asked, his hand moving to my back.
I blinked and looked back up to where the person had been. He was gone.
“Heven?” Cole asked, worried.
I shook my head and forced a smile. “Sorry, guess my eyes are playing tricks on me.”
Sam frowned. “What did you see?”
I laughed lightly. “Thought I saw someone sitting up there.” I pointed to the empty space.
Cole laughed, but it was a little strained. “Maybe you’ve had too much sun.”
“You’re probably right.” Except now all three of us were wondering if something was actually there. We all knew that it wasn’t out of the realm of possibilities.
I sighed. Isn’t this what I was trying to avoid? Now, instead of just me not enjoying the trip, it was all of us. “I’m sure it was nothing. Let’s try and have a good time.”
Students were moving around, exploring for the little bit of time we had left until we had to board the bus. By unspoken agreement, our conversation ended. I looked out over the Colosseum, entranced by its beauty.
In the center of the arena, the floor was missing and you could see down to the underground passages where the gladiators once awaited their fates. It looked like a complex stone maze with walls running in every direction. Across the center of the arena was a modern walkway.
“Let’s go get a closer look at those passages,” I said, tugging Sam along with me.
The walkway was long and went directly from one side to the other. We walked across, pointing out the hidden passages and tumbling travertine walls. I tried to imagine what it had been like for a gladiator, waiting down in the narrow stone rooms, hearing the roaring crowd and the clanking of armor and weapons. Had he been scared? Terrified that he wouldn’t live to see another day or had he been anxious to get above and show everyone what he could do?
I thought I heard a sound from the shadows below and peered down, but saw nothing.
Charade (Heven and Hell #2) Page 24
