„ There are no days in life so memorable to those which vibrated to some stroke of the imagination."
Ralph Waldo Emerson
We followed Azeem and his men as they led the way into the tunnel. I wondered why only the male Grigori had joined us on the trip. The only female Grigori I"d seen, other than Ermina, had been in the look-out posts back at the hotel.
Spence came up beside me. „Da da da dah-dah, da da da dah-dahh, da da da dah, da da da dah, da da da-dahh."
„ Star wars?"
„Crap. I was going for Indiana Jones," he said. This place is wicked."
I wanted to agree but I had a different feeling and it had me on edge. I couldn"t place it, something stale, almost. I took off Lincoln"s cap and stopped walking. Spence"s attention had already drifted elsewhere and no one else noticed. I let them walk on ahead and turned back to the opening. Something was definitely not … then I realised what I should have sensed as soon as we entered the tunnel. Though on a much lesser, scale, it was that same musty feeling I"d had when I"d felt the senses on our arrival.
The sun beamed into the ominous tunnel and I walked back towards the opening I saw the robed exile standing there, bathed in bright light, head bowed beneath a hooded drape.
Waiting for me.
„Friend or foe?" I said, stopping a few metres away from him.
„Neither."
His voice was young, but tired, very tired.
„You"re an exile, aren"t you?" I asked, suddenly unsure.
„I made my choice, yes." And yet somehow I didn"t feel like it was real y an answer.
„Who are you?" I took another step towards him. He didn"t seem concerned.
„A messenger."
„What do you want?"
His head moved to the side. I thought he was going to look at me, but then he stilled again. „Nothing. I want for nothing."
„Then what are you doing here?" I asked, confused.
„Wanting. Nothing."
„Right …"
Escape from the institute much?
„What"s your name?" I tried, starting to feel impatient.
„You can call me Jude," he said, stil not revealing himself. I wondered if something horrific lay beneath the robes, if he were wounded or scarred.
„Okay, Jude. Do you know where the Scriptures are?"
He nodded once. „You must see the room which goes beyond your eyes."
Why the hell does everyone have to be so cryptic all the time? It"s like some angel/exile criteria.
He turned to leave.
„Why are you so familiar?" I asked, stil unable to shake the feeling that I knew this exile somehow.
„I was famous once," he said, and though I stil couldn"t see his face, he sounded oddly amused.
-
When I caught up to everyone else again, they were piling into a small room. Azeem"s Grigori were walking back past me.
„Where are they going?" I asked.
„To guard out front," Azeem said.
„Oh," I responded, briefly considering telling them about Jude but deciding not to. He was gone.
„This is truly remarkable," Nyla was saying as I walked into the room they were all gawking at.
Lincoln came to my side. „Where did you go?"
I didn"t think anyone had noticed. „I"l tell you later," I whispered.
Along with everything else.
He raised an eyebrow but let it go.
I looked around the room, really just a dirt floor and cracked stone walls covered in paintings and symbols that looked thousands of years old, which were precisely what made it so remarkable.
„This is an amazing discovery," Azeem said, „but I cannot see anything in here to help you. It is possible this is the – or a - pre-chamber to Moses" tomb, but I cannot see where it would lead," he said, circling the room, running his hand along the walls.
„We have to allow ourselves to see it," I whispered to myself, repeating Jude"s word. „Oh my God! I know what to do."
I looked at Lincoln. „It"s like the front, but more. This place – it"s made by angels."
„Glamour?" Lincoln asked, trying to keep up.
I shook my head, „Imagination."
The two things seem the same but glamour is external, a trick of the eye. Imagination is within us, a perception. To reveal it, our own imaginations have to be open to new interpretation.
And before anyone could ask, I released my power into the room. A blanket of amethyst mist floated over everything and began to work its way through the apparent barriers. This room was a defence, just another layer.
The intensity of my power built and built and started to encircle the room, rebounding off the walls until the mist became its own windstorm. Everyone hit the decks.
I pushed it out, pushed it to break down the entire fabric of what was surrounding us. It looked real. If we tried to walk through it our legs would not take us and if we put our hands to the wall our minds would tell us it was solid. But it was not.
I felt the sweat start to bead on my forehead and the strength flow rapidly from my body. I wasn"t controlling this well. I started to see the room break away, but only in my peripheral vision. When I tried to see what was beyond, I couldn"t.
I wasn"t strong enough.
But I didn"t need to be. Without looking I threw my open hand out to the side. He caught it firmly. The room started to fill with new colours and his grip tightened. I knew the mist –
though multi-coloured like everyone else"s, it contained the most vibrant green, just like his eyes. I was stil weakening but squeezed Lincoln"s hand back as together we demanded the veil be lifted.
I"m not quite sure what happened next, just that everything went dark and I was going down.
The next thing I felt was someone kicking the soles of my shoes. I was lying down.
I opened my eyes. I was on the ground, head in Lincoln"s lap. I looked down, Spence was lining up to kick me again. I moved my foot just in time.
„You know, I real y think everyone needs to assess the way they treat their fellow Grigori
– especially when they"re unconscious."
„This coming from the girl who decked her man a couple of days ago!" Spence said, arms wide as if he didn"t understand the difference.
I blushed. Pathetic as it was, lying in Lincoln"s lap and having someone else call him my man, was embarrassing. Lincoln was pretending to look elsewhere for a moment. But he was biting back a smile.
„Eden, you"ve got some heavy mojo, I"l give you that, but ya got no staying power. Come on!" Spence said, throwing a hand out to me.
„Take your time," Lincoln said, smoothing the hair back from my sweaty face and sending a sharp look in Spence"s direction. "That was some major stuff back there."
He was right. I was absolutely spent, but I sat up anyway and let Spence pull me up. This wasn"t the time for feebleness.
I took in my surroundings. We were in a completely new room. Well, actually it was a very, very old room. Everyone else was slowly moving around the space, studying the symbols on the walls.
Azeem was kneeling on the ground.
„Is he praying?" I asked Lincoln. He nodded. Azeem was committed, I"d give him that.
On one wall there was a painting of Mount Nebo and it looked like a sheer curtain had been lowered over the entire mountain. The next wall showed the curtain partly covering a wooden box with a golden top comprising two majestic birds, perched, wings outstretch. On the third wall, there were three figures in human form. One was painted bright, one shadowy dark, and one … faded, almost translucent. The three figures, each wearing a small silver crown, stood around a large chalice, which rested on a very long stem. All three of them had an arm extended and were bleeding from the wrist into the cup. The other hand rested on the shoulder of the one to their left so they were all connected. I cast my gaze to the last wall
– it was completely faded or had never been painted.
Nyla and Rudya
rd were standing very close, holding hands and whispering.
„This one is not good news," Salvatore said, from behind me. I spun to see what he was talking about and found myself staring at the same things that had everyone"s unwavering attention.
„You think?" Zoe snipped at Salvatore, throwing a hand to the chalice that balanced on a long wooden stem, just as it did in the painting.
„Stop being a bitch," Magda spoke up, contributing her first words for the day.
„What? You got a patent on it or something?" Zoe returned, her anger causing sand to swirl at her feet.
Magda looked down at Zoe"s miniature sandstorm. „You wouldn"t get it off the ground,"
she warned.
„Lady, I could build a sand castle around you before you even knew what was happening," Zoe said, taking a step forward, daring Magda.
Maybe I did get up too quickly.
Magda was about to say something else, when Griffin stepped between them. „Stop it!" he yelled, staring at Magda. She looked away, her hand going to the sapphire around her neck as if it would somehow protect her.
My head was spinning. Zoe looked like she was about to say something else, but she stopped when I lost my balance and fell to one knee.
„We need to get Violet back to the hotel and I think we all need to get out of this place.
Now," Griffin ordered.
He came to my side as Lincoln helped me stand.
„I"m okay," I tried, but they just ignored me.
So much for being strong.
„Let me guess, Violet needs you both to rescue her now," Magda said under her breath as she charged out of the room and into the tunnels.
„What"s her problem?" I asked weakly, trying to understand once and for all what her issue was.
„She … she"s just tired," Griffin said. But I wasn"t buying that anymore. By the look on Griffin"s face, neither was he.
As we all walked out I noticed Salvatore stayed very close to Zoe, who was still fuming, almost protectively.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
„ Love is the only fire that is hot enough to melt the iron obstinacy of a creature"s wil ."
Alexander Maclaren
I woke up disoriented to find myself in my bed at the hotel, then startled when I registered someone was beside.
„It"s just me," Lincoln said soothingly, closing the book he"d been reading.
„Hey," I said, sounding croaky. I"d been dreaming a familiar dream. The same one I"d had often now. I concentrated and tried to hold onto it, draw it back to me. But once again, the moment I could almost touch it, it seemed to dissolve completely. The only thing left in its wake was the same feeling of isolation and sadness and the smell of lilies.
Lincoln was smiling, studying me. He twisted around, leaning on his elbow. The way he manoeuvred himself, carried his weight and breathed in through his nose and out again slowly – I was suddenly very aware we were in, or at least on, the same bed together.
„How are you feeling?"
Paranoid.
I returned his smile, though mine wasn"t so easy, and tried to push aside the feeling that I was missing something big. „Better, I think. What happened? Last I remember we were getting in the cars."
„You passed out when you were climbing in, almost took Azeem out with you," he said.
I couldn"t stop staring at him. His hair was damp and he"d changed into pants and a light blue shirt, sleeves rolled up so I could see the blond hairs on his bronzed arms. He looked divine.
He raised an eyebrow.
„Oh," was the best I could muster while trying to stop my wandering eyes.
„No one else could have done what you did back there. How did you know it was imagination?"
I heard the words but the way he spoke – quietly, intimately – made it feel like he was saying a lot more. Goosebumps ran down my arms prompting a domino effect as arm hairs stood to attention.
He reached over and opened a bottle of water for me.
„Thanks," I said, taking a sip. „I saw that exile. The one in the robes, he was waiting for us when we went into the caves."
He nodded, putting two and two together. „So that"s where you disappeared to."
„Yeah. There"s something weird about him. He knows stuff and I know he"s old, even for an exile, but there"s something else. He isn"t like the others. He"s not inclined to fight and I"m not afraid of him in the same way."
Lincoln looked concerned. „Don"t be fooled, we have no idea what his powers are," he warned. The comment was loaded. Clearly, I"d been fooled before.
„That room, those caves … it was all created by angels so that normal humans would never discover it. That place was only meant for us to find," I said, feeling shivers of a different kind.
„Us and exiles," Lincoln corrected. „They can see past the imagination of angels, too."
„Yeah," I said, taking a deep breath. I didn"t know how long I"d slept but it wasn"t enough.
„What time is it?"
„Almost five."
I sat up urgently. My stomach turned – I stil wasn"t at my best. „We have to go. Phoenix is going to be there in a couple of hours. I can"t believe you let me sleep this long!"
„Relax. We have time and you needed to rest. Everyone is meeting downstairs in an hour."
„Oh," I said, unable to resist falling back on the bed.
„You know, this isn"t how I imagined the first time you would wake up beside me," Lincoln said, smiling that smile.
I was about to launch into one of my mental mind checks, remind myself of all of the dangers. Lincoln for some reason had decided not to hold back anymore. He"d seemed so sure since what happened with Nahilius. I"d had my doubts. But then I remember what Nox had said. He"d confirmed it. We were soulmates.
This was what I wanted.
There was nothing to hold us back.
I thought if Nyla and Rudyard and smiled as I fantasised about how that could be Lincoln and me. Lifetimes of being together - free to love each other completely.
But then another line of thought had my smile fading fast, as Lincoln watched on, amused. I was sure I had panda eyes, bad breath and terrible hair.
He probably wants to run screaming.
I sat up. „Sorry," I said, quickly throwing the sheet off and standing up.
Kill me!
I wasn"t wearing my cargos, just undies. „Ah …" I started, feeling a rising flash, totally at a loss as to what to do. I didn"t want to shriek, but … O.M.G. I was standing there in front of my soulmate in my green Incredible Hulk Undies!
Lincoln was holding back a smile and his eyes stayed on my very bare legs. I guess it was better than focusing on my burning red face.
„I swear, I didn"t do that," he said, hands up in surrender. „Zoe brought you in and got you settled."
„Well, thanks for the warning," I said, grabbing a towel from the cupboard shelf and wrapping it around my waist.
„You got up kind of quick. Anyway, I"m part angel, not saint," he said, his voice thicker than usual and his smile twisting. He was getting way too comfy keeping those green eyes fixed on me, which would have been okay, if I wasn"t a fumbling mess.
I darted towards the bathroom.
„Where are you going?"
„Shower!" I called back. Then, realising he"d probably take that as his cue to leave, I made a decision. „Wait there, I"l be back out in a minute" I closed the door before he could answer.
It was time to level the playing field if I wanted to maintain any control.
I gave myself a smile in the mirror.
Let"s see who has the upper hand now!
Then my smile turned to a grimace. I looked horrific. My hair was all but in dreadlocks, my eyes had tired dark circles under them and there were random smudges of dirt on my neck and shoulders. I desperately wished I had Steph"s little make-up bag of everything handy.
I turned on the water and stripped off my singlet and underwear. I had a fast cold shower,
just wetting my hair enough to control the craziness before jumping out again. I used what I did have, which was pretty much just eyeliner, mascara and lip gloss. I gave my hair a quick towel dry and then flicked it back a few times. On my way to the door, I strategically wrapped the shirt white towel around me, letting it drape at the back. It covered the important parts.
Lincoln was standing by the window. He was looking out but he knew I was back in the room. I could tell by the way he stilled.
„That"s much better," I said, combing my hair with my fingers,
„That"s … good," Lincoln said, not turning around.
„Linc, what"s wrong?" I asked, innocently.
„Nothing." He cleared his throat. „I just thought … I didn"t want you to feel uncomfortable."
The truth. I was totally uncomfortable. I mean, it wasn"t about being close to him, that was easy, especially now that I knew being close to him, that was easy, especially now that I knew we could – but this stuff … well, I hadn"t done anything like this before.
„Me? I"m not uncomfortable at all. Why? Are you?"
Hold it together, hold it together.
I was sure he must have heard the tremble in my voice.
He didn"t respond. But he did turn around and when he did, it was worth it.
Seriously, big-time worth it.
He tried not to drift, he tried to hold my eyes, but he couldn"t and when they travelled down the length of my body my mission had been well and truly accomplished. Just in case, I put the cherry on the cake.
„Oh, there it is," I said, spinning around to the backside table to get my brush. My towel was draped at the back so it dropped all the way to the top of my butt. It didn"t show any more than a backless dress would, but it"s different when the only thing between you and stark nakedness is a loose sheet of cloth.
I turned back just in time to catch the corners of Lincoln"s mouth go up.
„You do realise I"m coming over there, don"t you?"
„No. Why?" I replied, but I was already laughing.
He took a few steps and by that stage he couldn"t move fast enough. Just as he reached me there was a knock at the door. Zoe called out.
„Everyone"s getting ready to go. You guys okay?"
„Yep," we called out in unison.
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