Brink of Dawn (A Chosen Novel Book 2)

by Jeff Altabef

  “That’s not it.” Then the answer hits me. “Stuart wants us to use our abilities. We can’t bash it to bits or pry it open by hand. What did the leprechaun say in The Underground?”

  “Why use your hands when you can use your minds.” Connor grins. “That’s it. We need to use telekinesis. If we concentrate on lifting it, it’ll budge.”

  We circle the marble tile.

  I concentrate hard on the edge. Energy pulses around me as I use my mind, wrap the edge of the marble with a mental band of pure power, and tug. The marble sways and then it shifts from the opposite end where Connor stands. He’s moving it also. I bear down and the marble circle starts to rise. My head begins to pound and my entire body coils together.

  The disc lifts, and I shout, “Slide it toward Connor!”

  We push it two feet toward him and let it drop. Troy reaches into the newly created hole and removes another crystal chip. “We have to move faster. We’ve already spent forty-two minutes.”

  He reads it.

  “Music soothes the soul;

  You’ll need to hear it toll;

  Find number 671 in the book;

  You don’t have much time to look;

  One verse is all you’ll need;

  Play the proper notes to succeed.”

  Troy hands the disc to Akari, who twists the two crystal chips together. They make a snapping sound when they lock in place.

  This test has to be about either Blake or me. I spot pipes out of the corner of my eye. Toward the other end of the church, a massive organ stretches toward the ceiling on both sides of the altar. Thousands of pipes peek out from the carved mahogany.

  “The pipe organ.” I point at the metal tubes. “We need to play a song on it.”

  We jog toward the altar and the organ.

  “What’s this book he’s talking about? Is it the Bible?” Blake glances at Connor, who’s become our religious expert, or at least our Christian expert, by default.

  “No, the Bible doesn’t work that way. This is an Episcopalian Church, which is basically the same as the Church of England where I grew up. They should have a hymnal around here that’ll list songs by number.”

  “Got it!” Troy grabs a blue book from a table and flips it open to hymn 671: Amazing Grace.

  At least I know that song, and it fits. All the clues are connected to us somehow. ‘Peer into evil’ could mean we need to match wits with the Deltites. Cuthbert is the saint of unity and Amazing Grace could describe us when we learned we were Chosen—I was blind and now I see.

  I nod. “Blake, you’ve got to blow wind through those pipes and play the first verse of that song.”

  The color drains from his face as he looks up at the plethora of pipes. “How?”

  “The longer pipes will make the deeper notes and the shorter pipes the higher ones. Just pick a few and play the tune.” Troy thrusts the book at him. “You can read music, right?”

  Blake grabs the hymnal. “Of course I can read music. I took piano lessons for eight years. I’m actually pretty good.”

  Some color returns to his face as he studies the notes. He puts the book down and stares at the pipes. Wind rustles and a low rumble blares from one of the longer ones, then another note from a different one. After a minute he seems to have the hang of it.

  “We don’t have much time.” Troy looks at his phone. “Only thirteen minutes left.”

  “Okay, okay, here goes.” Blake narrows his eyes and the beginning of Amazing Grace fills the church. When he finishes, nothing happens. “I don’t know what I did wrong. It should have worked.”

  “You played it too fast,” says Connor. “I’ll sing it, so you have the right tempo.”

  Blake starts and Connor sings, “Amazing....”

  My mouth drops. He can sing.

  Full of emotion, his voice has a slightly raspy quality that only makes it more authentic. The cathedral echoes with the song. It’s not perfect, but when they finish the first verse, a hydraulic hissing sound escapes from a marble crypt off to our left.

  The lid lifts.

  One more crystal chip left, which means it’s my turn.

  We don’t have much time left, but I can’t run to the creepy coffin, so I’m the last to arrive. It looks just like what I would have guessed—totally gross. A skeleton lies on his back, dressed in a white robe, long bony fingers crossed over his chest, wisps of gray hair stuck on his skull. The smell is also exactly what you’d expect—musty, full of decay and death.

  I wrinkle my nose. At least there aren’t any spiders.

  Connor hands me the crystal chip, which I read for everyone.

  “The test is almost finished:

  Your achievements should not be diminished;

  Find the angel in copper;

  He’ll be holding a horn proper;

  You’ll need wings to take flight;

  To save your friend from his plight.”

  When I finish reading the riddle, I hand the chip to Akari, who adds it to our collection. This test is for me, but what does it mean? A copper angel? I scan the church and don’t see any copper statues at all, but....

  Troy wanders off to the left muttering to himself.

  “Troy, where are you headed?”

  He calls back over his shoulder as he picks up speed. “I could swear I saw the twisted arrows sparkle in this baptistery.”

  How will that help us?

  He crosses into the small prayer area, where a red light blinks by the open gate that protects the space. Something’s wrong. The last riddle is for me. What did it say exactly? ”Save your friend....” My friend?

  “Stop!” I yell, but it’s too late.

  He has already entered the baptistery, triggering a motion sensor and causing red laser beams to crisscross the opening. He reaches for the twisted arrows symbol, which is just a projection against a wall, and pulls off a plain post-it note.

  The color drains from his face as he reads the message.

  “Troy will be the first to die;

  There’s no time to be sly;

  Do what you must to save your friend;

  All four crystals are needed in the end;

  The Chosen must work hand in hand;

  Only together will they understand.”

  My eyes lock on the blinking light. It’s attached to a timer and what looks like a brick of plastic explosives. A countdown has already started—four minutes and 35 seconds, which is the amount of time left before our hour is up.

  The world spins and the air whooshes from my lungs. For a heartbeat I’m about to fall, but Connor props me up.

  A chuckle drifts from the far end of the church, and I catch the vague outline of the homeless man before the door slams shut. Stuart must have paid him. That’s why he knew which statue we needed and how to get into the cathedral. He must have triggered the projection to lure Troy to the baptistery.

  I see red and resist the urge to chase him down. We don’t need him; we need the fourth crystal.

  I shrug Connor off and race to the gate and the laser beams.

  Troy holds his hands out. “Don’t break any of the lights, Jules. I’m sure that’ll trigger the bomb.”

  “Don’t worry, we’ll figure this out.” I can’t utter any other words because I’m sure my voice will break, and that would be bad.

  He smiles with his lips but it doesn’t reach his eyes. “Me worry? Never. I’ve got the easy job.” He sits with his legs crossed. “You’ve got the harder one. Just don’t come back without the crystal.” He closes his eyes and hums, just like I’ve seen Sicheii do hundreds of times. He’s reaching out to the spirit lands to find guides for strength and wisdom.

  My heart aches.

  He’s always sacrificed for me. In the third grade, he took the blame when I unscrewed the bolts that held the teacher’s chair together. In fourth grade, he stood up for me when I got into a fight with a middle schooler, even though it was totally my fault. He joined the Order of the Twisted Arrows to pr
otect me. He left home and traveled across the country just to help me, even though he probably can’t, and now he’s only put himself at risk.

  I’d trade places with him if I could.

  I swallow my fear. “We’d better get started then. All these tests require us to control our special abilities. This one has to be the same. He mentions wings, so I probably have to possess a bird.”

  Connor nods. “An angel with a horn is a common Christian symbol. Usually you’d find one outside. The angel is supposed to trumpet the arrival of the savior, so everyone knows he’s coming.”

  “Well, we use copper weathervanes in New England on top of roofs,” Blake adds.

  “That’s got to be it. We need to get on top of the roof!” I take a last look at Troy, who opens his eyes long enough to smile at me, and then I bolt for the door before I lose it.

  Three minutes 45 seconds left.

  We plunge into the cold night and stare up toward the roof of the Cathedral. “I can try to climb it,” says Connor, “but the stone face looks smooth.”

  I grab his arm; he only wants to help, but that’s not how we’re going to pass this test. “Let me try.” I reach out with my mind. I need it to switch into super-concentration mode, like it did when Blake needed the cure, so I can see the auras from the other life forms around me. That’s the only way I can find a bird to possess.

  Time starts to slip away. My head aches. “It’s not working.” My heart feels as if someone has pulled it from my chest, stomped on it and jammed it back into my body. “Why isn’t it working?”

  Connor grabs my hands, and for a second I focus on his face. His eyes radiate into mine. “You can do this. Just let it come to you. Troy will be fine.”

  He sounds so confident and relaxed, it puts me at ease. I close my eyes and absorb his strength. When I open them again, his aura flickers on and so do the auras of the others. Light also emanates from animals: a cat stalks across the street, two rats race in the other direction, a squirrel climbs a nearby tree.

  I study the trees around us and find a hawk perched on an oak along Central Park West. The hawk is Sicheii’s animal spirit guide, and I can’t help but think he’s here with me somehow.

  I project my mental energy toward the bird. He’s beautiful with a strong beak and intelligent eyes. I push into his mind, and suddenly the world looks sharper. His vision is extraordinary. I will him to look at the cathedral’s roof. A copper statue stands on top of the slanted tiles with an angel who holds a horn.

  The hawk has to fly toward the statue, find the crystal, and retrieve it for me, but how do I command him to do it? Time fades, along with Troy’s chances. My connection with the bird weakens.

  Then Connor grabs my hands again. His strength and energy flow through his fingers and into mine.

  My connection with the hawk strengthens and now I’m inside his head. Fly, I mentally tell him, but he doesn’t budge. Get the chip. Still he just stares at the statue, both claws clutching the branch.

  How do I get him to do my bidding? Obviously, words won’t work. That’s stupid. He doesn’t know what they mean. I picture him flying toward the roof and sense him stir.

  That’s it. I have to use images.

  Concentrating with all my ability, I picture the hawk unfurl his wings and beat the air. A second later he launches himself from the tree.

  It’s working!

  Two beats of his wings and he circles the statue. He sees the crystal at the base of the angel even though it’s pitch black out.

  I imagine him swooping low and grabbing the disc, and a heartbeat later he’s done it. He circles directly overhead and lets the crystal fall from his talons. It seems to float toward me in slow motion. I grab it and give it to Akari.

  She locks it in place.

  My mental clock tells me we still have thirty seconds left. Troy should be safe. I can breathe again.

  Connor’s fingers are still laced in mine. Heat scorches my body, but I pull my hand free.

  When I race into the church, my heart lumps in my throat. Troy sits cross-legged in the center of the baptistery, the lasers still in place while the clock continues to count down.

  Twenty seconds left.

  No! This can’t be!

  Nineteen seconds left.

  “We have all the crystals! The bomb should stop ticking down!” My heart hammers against my ribs.

  Troy opens his eyes, shrugs and waves at me. “Run, Jules! I knew what I signed up for when I joined the Order. This is my choice.”

  He’s sacrificing himself for me again, but I won’t let him.

  Akari holds the interlocked crystals in her hand. “The last clue! All the other riddles helped us in some way. We have to solve that last one.”

  She’s right. What are we missing?

  “There’s no time!” says Blake. “That bomb will level this place.”

  I need to concentrate, so I close my eyes and time stops. My mind spins at supercollider speeds. The words to all the riddles float around me in a slow motion twister. The last two lines were always the most important. They tell us what to do.

  What are the last two lines from the post-it?

  “The Chosen must work hand in hand; Only together will they understand.”

  What does that mean?

  Sicheii’s face appears in my mind’s eye. Maybe the cathedral is a spiritual place and the separation to the spirit lands is thin, or maybe I’m so desperate I’ll imagine anything. Either way he’s relaxed with a confident smile and a twinkle in his slate-colored eyes.

  “What do I have to do?” I ask him. “There’s no time left.”

  “What else do you know about Stuart? Use everything you’ve learned.”

  I groan. Even in the spirit lands he refuses to answer my questions. My mind torques—all I know about Stuart whirls around me at the speed of light.

  One item burns brighter than the rest: he loves romance novels. He always has one with him. Troy said he crammed his apartment full of them.

  That has to be it. Air comes in gulps now. “We have to hold the crystals together. It won’t work unless we’re physically linked.”

  Blake’s face has turned to ash. “There’s only five-seconds left. If—”

  “Better grab the bloody crystal then.” Connor yanks Blake’s hand and pulls it on top of Akari’s. I cover them with both of mine, and energy flows through us. I feel Akari’s anger and Blake’s insecurities, and from Connor, a mix of strength and vulnerability, as if the two characteristics weave around each other to form one new stronger one.

  My hands start to burn and the crystals turn from opaque to blood-colored. The lasers disappear and the clock stops at two seconds.

  Sweat rolls down my face, and Blake sinks to the floor.

  Connor laughs. “Wow! That was absobloodylootely brilliant!”

  Blake rises unsteadily to his feet. “I have to find a bathroom,” he says as he meanders off.

  “I’m still going to kill Stuart.” Akari’s hands are clenched into fists, her eyes smoldering red-hot coals.

  I turn to face Troy. He’s cross. I’ve seen that expression before, but this is the first time it’s meant for me. He’s angry and disappointed at the same time.

  “What? Should I have let you get blown up?”

  He strolls toward me. “Two seconds, Jules! You should have left. What if that didn’t work?”

  I narrow my eyes. “Then we all would have been blown up! I did what I had to. I’m not going to apologize for it. I can’t let you die. I’m not the one who got stuck in the baptistery with a bomb! You did that on your own!”

  When the last words burst from my lips, I wish I could take them back. It wasn’t Troy’s fault he got trapped; Stuart did that to him.

  “Really?” Troy simmers, stomps past me, and dives on one of the pews with his head in his hands.

  “I think we could all use a drink,” says Connor.

  “We’re in the middle of a church.” Akari waves her arms in a
circle as if he hadn’t noticed.

  Connor smiles. “Yes, that’s true. And they always keep some red wine around here someplace. I’ll find it.” He saunters toward the altar.

  I bounce my gaze between Connor and Troy and feel like I’m stuck in a ping-pong match. Does one of them always have to be mad at me?

  Connor returns with an open bottle of red wine that swings from his hand. He hands the bottle to Blake, who takes a small drink and passes it to Akari, who also takes a sip.

  “Sake’s much better,” she says before pushing the bottle toward me.

  I shake my head. I’m not a drinker and I have no desire to start now.

  Connor shrugs, reclaims the bottle, takes a swig, and hands it to Blake.

  “Well, you have to give Stuart credit. He’s certainly gotten us to do a lot with our enhanced abilities in a short time.” Blake takes another drink from the bottle.

  “Aho ka, omae? There had to be a better way.” Akari’s face is still flushed pink, although the heat in her eyes has cooled to a low simmer.

  “I’m not aho ka... whatever that is. I’m just saying, he gets results.” Blake shrugs his thin shoulders. “His methods aren’t that different from our families. They injected us with the DNA not knowing what it would really do to us. Then they send us out to face the enemy without being prepared. At least—”

  “They believed that....”

  I have a hard time keeping track of the conversation between Blake and Akari because my eyes keep turning to Troy, who hasn’t budged since he sat in the pews.

  What’s he thinking? Is he all right?

  Connor takes a gulp from the bottle; a small red trickle leaks from his lips and down his chin. He uses the back of his sleeve to wipe it clean. “At least now he has to tell us the name of this bloody Prime Elector, so we can get on with the important job.”

  Blake tosses out guesses as to who the Deltite leader might be.

  My thoughts keep returning to Troy. How angry is he? Should I apologize?

  Connor must have noticed my attention fixed on Troy because he hands me the bottle. “Let me have a go at him, Juliet. I think he and I need to talk for a bit.”