The Lost Heir

by Allison Whitmore

  “To hide out if we don't find Theophilus,” Seth said.

  Isabella smiled up at him. “Yeah.”

  “Hey, I found something,” Cleo said from beside a long table that stood against the wall in the corner of the room. “It says The Light Council. That must be what they call themselves.” She'd pulled every drawer open but only seemed to find one thing of interest. It was a small stone paperweight-looking thing. “Should I keep it?”

  “For sure,” said Seth.

  Before Isabella could throw in her opinion, the earth shook anew. “Not again.”

  “We gotta get out of here,” said Seth.

  Darkness cloaked the room.

  “How exactly are we gonna do that? We can't see anything,” said Cleo as they felt their way toward each other in the middle of the room. “Why are we always stuck underground during these stupid earthquakes?”

  “Hang on,” Seth said, shifting around as if hinting for something in his pockets. “This is how.” A light shone from a black device, providing a soft flashlight.

  “Is that your cell?” asked Cleo, relieved. “Thank God. I'm out of battery.”

  Seth grabbed Cleo by the hand. “Stay close.” To Isabella's surprise, Cleo did not resist the gesture or the command. Seth moved close to Isabella and extended his other hand. Isabella didn't want to take it; the energy around it billowed with heat. She shook her head. Maybe it was him who was reading her. Maybe that was why she couldn't get a read on him like she could everyone else. She did not like that idea at all.

  “What's wrong with you?”

  “I don't think so.” He grabbed for her hand anyway. “Ouch,” she said, feeling the cool heat increase and her head become light. Ice in her blood. A blaze on her skin. She loosened her hand from his and stepped back.

  “Iz, what the heck is wrong with you?” said Seth.

  “Iz? Izzy is bad enough.” Fire burned in her belly. He took her hand again. She really didn't care if he called her that, but she wanted nothing more than to rip his hand off, for some reason.

  Then he caught her eye and that immediate coolness he did so well enveloped her and mellowed out the hot-cold contrast that was battling within her. Could he control what he was doing or was it on instinct? Maybe she was imagining the whole thing. He held her gaze for a moment longer then smiled. The earth calmed again. “You okay?” He interlaced his fingers with hers, and content settled over her.

  She nodded. “Yeah.”

  “Can we figure out what to do, please?” Cleo asked.

  The floor jolted again, tossing objects off the shelves and causing Seth to lose his footing and break contact with Isabella and Cleo. His cell light went out. Panic filled her veins as an earsplitting screech from Cleo tore through the room.

  “Cleo!” Isabella shouted. No response.

  “It's us, Isabella,” a voice whispered in the darkness. Isabella froze.

  “Grandmother?”

  A misty purple light spilled into the room and illuminated a frightening scene before her. Isabella's grandmother and Cleo's parents, stuck behind what looked like cages made of glass. Their mouths moved but no sound came out. But hadn't her grandmother just spoken to her? Why couldn't she hear her now?

  In tears, Cleo scrambled to her feet and pressed her hands to the glass where the images of her parents were. “Mom? Dad?”

  Follow me. Follow me. Follow me, screamed in Isabella’s mind as clearly as if it were being spoken in her ear. A weight pressed down on her, and she felt her eyes shutting. She grabbed her necklace and willed herself to stay focused. She had to do something.

  She turned to find Seth banging on the glass on the other side of the room, where his parents appeared to be stuck as well. Isabella's grandmother kept mouthing, “Find him. Find him.” Why couldn't she hear them?

  A violet light snapped across the room, like it had in the theater back at Brightwood. Then the panels changed, and their parents were gone.

  A laugh filled the room. “You can't always trust the things your eyes tell you, but you can trust me,” a smooth male voice intoned, and then the room went dark again.

  Cleo ran toward Isabella. Seth followed.

  “We gotta go!” Isabella shouted to others as the walls started closing in on them. They listened to her and ran from the room as the jaws of the octagon inched closed. They thundered down the corridor toward the trap door that went back into the theater. When they were about half way there, Isabella felt heavy, as if she were drowning in a heated pool of water. She stumbled onto her knees. Seth and Cleo, who'd run past her seconds before, turned at the sound of her collapse.

  “What's wrong?” Seth cried, falling to his knees beside her.

  “Isabella?” Cleo called as Isabella's eyelids drooped shut.

  “I'm fine.” The fixtures on the walls lolled from side to side. She couldn't stay upright. The room blackened. You can trust me. I promise.

  She reached for her necklace. It was warm; its buzzing hummed in her blood. She pressed her eyes shut and spoke in her mind to the voice. Tell us where they are. Tell us where he is.

  Nothing was uttered for a long while until finally she heard in a faint whisper, Underground.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Puzzle Pieces

  “Drink,” someone said. Isabella heard a glass shatter on the floor.

  “OUCH!” a different voice wailed. Xander? That was Xander.

  “Be careful, idiot,” Micah’s voice said.

  “Izzy’s the one who whacked the glass away.”

  Isabella blinked several times. “Did I pass out again?” The theater. They were in the theater, and she found herself sitting up on the oxblood-red carpeting between the trap door and the stage.

  “Yes,” said Seth to her right. Micah was at her left. Cleo’s face loomed right in front of her, and Xander sat in a chair in the first row of chairs in the aisles, hunched over in a huff. Isabella pushed herself to her feet.

  Isabella’s head, chest, eyes, ears, and stomach all throbbed. It was as if her entire body cavity had been invaded by whatever it was back there. “We have to find him.”

  “Whoa,” said Seth, helping her up. “Slow down.” Too groggy to retort, she let him lead her to a seat next to Xander. ”Who are you talking about?”

  “The lost heir,” said Isabella. “Unless you guys found Theophilus.”

  Xander slurped loudly on a soda as Cleo shook her head at him and cleaned up the broken glass. What was wrong with everyone? Xander looked at Isabella. “Do you want some?” He offered the cup to her, but she held up her hand.

  “There's a bottle of water in my bag,” said Cleo. Xander got up to get the bag and handed it to his sister. He seemed to know never go in a woman's purse, even if she is your fifteen-year-old twin sister.

  “Here.” Cleo handed Isabella the bottle of water.

  She uncapped it gulped it down gratefully, relieved. “Thanks.”

  “The cops are still everywhere,” Micah supplied, sitting down next to her. His voice lulled her head to his shoulder. Seth and Cleo pulled up two chairs like the ones they used in rehearsal and sat in front of her.

  “Why aren’t they in here harassing us then?” Isabella asked, yawning.

  “We told them you’d freak out if you saw any of them. They’re right outside. We’re sorry. We know you wanted to stay away from them,” said Micah.

  Isabella peered over her right shoulder toward the closest window, spotting the flock of pale blue.

  “I think they’re gonna put us in temporary foster care or something,” said Micah.

  Isabella bolted upright from Micah’s shoulder. “What? Can’t we stay with someone we know?”

  Micah shrugged. Seth stared at the door where the police were. He wouldn’t look at her. Micah and Xander looked dejected. Cleo looked angry. Great. How the heck had this happened? One minute she was in the hallway then all of a sudden she was in the middle of the theater and her life was being destroyed in yet another way. She was no
t going to let that happen. What was family if not this hotel? If not her legacy? Ghosts and all. The voice had told her to go underground and that was where they were going to go.

  “I, for one, refuse to step foot out of this hotel,” said Cleo. Well, she had half of Isabella’s plan right.

  “Did you tell them what happened?” Isabella asked.

  “About what?” asked Cleo.

  “About seeing your parents down in that secret room? My grandmother?” she asked, irritated. She thought Cleo was supposed to be the smart one.

  Cleo and Seth shared looks of confusion. “We didn’t see anyone in there,” said Cleo. “But there was a blackout, and you fell twice. The first time, I fell, too. It was in the room. The second time you collapsed and went into this trance in the hallway. We didn’t see anyone though.”

  “That’s crazy,” said Isabella. “Yes, you did. You were banging on the glass,” she said to Seth. “And you were crying.”

  “You probably dreamed it,” said Cleo.

  Isabella shook her head. “The room started collapsing right after it happened.”

  “The room did start to close in, that’s true,” said Seth. “That’s when we all ran. Just before you fell again.”

  “Ugh! Fine. Let’s just get out of here.”

  “Even though we’re surrounded by police?” said Seth. “Maybe we should just go talk to them.”

  “I don’t think so, Seth,” Isabella said, leaning forward, hands folded in front of her.

  “I don’t like idea, either. I just have no idea what else we can do.”

  “We can’t let them separate us,” said Micah definitively, surprising Isabella.

  “You know your brother’s right,” Isabella said directly to Seth. “And I’m not going to foster care, so what do you suggest we do?”

  Seth shrugged. ”I was hoping you could help with that.”

  Isabella looked confused.

  “We were all hoping,” Micah added. At that moment, Xander hobbled over and joined the group, leaning slightly on his sister.

  “Theophilus is out there,” Seth said, lifting his eyebrows and folding his arms across his chest.

  “What?” Isabella nearly shouted, sitting up straighter. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “They’re holding him for questioning,” Seth explained.

  Isabella sighed. That made sense. He’d been with them before they disappeared. Theophilus had to know what was going on and what her visions meant. Maybe they hadn’t been real. But maybe the messages were real. The voice in the hallway was certainly real. She felt it hot in her veins.

  “Of course, I’ll talk to Theophilus, but we have get him away from the cops without them taking us into foster care.”

  “How are we going to do that?” asked Micah.

  “Just follow my lead,” said Isabella.

  ***

  “You do remember that you just fainted,” Seth reminded Isabella as they followed her, rung by rung, up a weak ladder en route to the projection room.

  “It’ll be fine. I’m sure you’ll just catch her if she falls.” Micah teased his brother.

  Seth’s foot slipped on the third rung. “What the heck is that supposed to mean?” he asked, regaining his balance.

  “Can we just focus on getting to Theophilus, please?”

  She figured that they could get his attention discreetly from a spot the cops would not suspect but that Theophilus would be attuned to, since he used to run the projection room in the old days. Unfortunately, when they got there, they saw Theophilus being put into handcuffs.

  “Why are they arresting him?” Micah said in disbelief.

  “He’s obviously a suspect,” said Isabella, swallowing thickly as she touched her charm through the material of her shirt. She saw a small figure moving through the fray of cops. “Did you guys just see that kid?”

  “What kid?” asked Seth.

  “There he is again.” The little black-haired figure turned around, pinning her with his eyes. Isabella’s nose twitched as his gaze bore into her. “Pythian,” she whispered. A small smile touched his lips, and then he was gone.

  “Who did you see, Izzy?” Xander asked with concern in his voice.

  Was Pythian even real? All of the things she was seeing made her question her sanity more than ever, in a way. But then, in another way, knowing that the Empath Society was real, she knew there was more to it all. She couldn’t be crazy. It was all connected.

  “No one important. Come on. There’s only one choice we have left. We have to go underground. Now.”

  The others nodded.

  Isabella knew they had to get down to Renee and Sinclair’s speakeasy room. “Seth, that room in the painting we saw, remember?” she asked. “We should go there.”

  Micah’s eyes went wide. “What room are you talking about? Please tell me it's not the one I'm thinking.”

  Getting to Theophilus would be impossible now, and she knew they had to find the lost heir. How he could help them she wasn’t sure, but her grandmother had said to find him. Theophilus wanted to find him, and she wanted to find him. There was something pulling her to do it. He had to be the answer.

  ***

  The five teenagers dipped back into the trap door without anyone seeing them and headed down the corridor, hoping to retrace the steps she and Micah had taken several nights earlier. Finally, they came to a small set of stairs near an old boiler. They walked down the steps and came to a large, wooden door with an old-fashioned handle.

  “Guys, this is it,” said Isabella, knocking.

  “You know how badly I don’t want to be here right now, don’t you?” Micah asked, his voice thin.

  “It’s okay,” said Cleo. “We have each other at least.”

  “I don't think knocking will help,” said Seth, stepping up beside her.

  The Empath Society emblem was etched into the wall connected to the door.

  “The symbol!” Micah traced his finger over the intricate design, seeming to forget all about his panic. About ten seconds after he touched it, a soothing voice came over a loudspeaker.

  The woman’s voice asked, “What travels alone but is never alone? What leads and follows but only in the light?”

  “I think we're supposed to give her an answer.”

  “What is this this, Hogwarts?” Cleo joked.

  “Not funny!” Micah said, panicked again.

  “Okay,” Cleo said seriously, patting Micah's shoulder. “What did she say again?”

  “I don't know,” said Seth.

  “The answer is a shadow, you guys,” said Isabella. She took in their expressions of surprise. “I'm good at stuff like that. It's no big deal.”

  One door opened, which led to another, heavy and iron, but it instantly opened upon Isabella's touch.

  They stepped inside and light filled the room. Before their eyes loomed the replica Victorian library that she and Micah had discovered days before.

  “Wow, this is it?” Seth muttered as he followed closely behind the group. Isabella looked around and saw that things hadn’t changed much since she had last been there.

  “Maybe we can find something in here that will give us some answers,” said Cleo.

  Seth climbed onto one of the sofas and threw his feet in the air. “You two were cozying up in here and didn't invite me along.”

  “Hey, we didn’t get invited, either!” chirped Cleo and Xander in unison.

  “We did invite you, but you were busy,” Isabella reminded him. “Flirting with...” Isabella lifted her eyebrows and looked at Cleo, who blushed.

  “If there's anyone he flirts with in here, it's not me,” Cleo retorted.

  “Oh, brother,” Micah groaned.

  “What?” asked Xander.

  “Everyone's always in love with my brother.”

  “I don't see why.” Isabella caught the wounded expression on Seth's face and would have said sorry if she didn't feel too embarrassed to do so. He needed his ego deflated a bit
, anyway. Still, she felt a little bad. The room went quiet for a while, so she spoke up again. “They won’t find us here. We’ll just hide out.” She started looking around the room again. “That’s weird,” she said, mainly to herself as she noticed that the tables and poker table that were present during their last visit were no longer there.

  Music jumped out of the speakers, and tables emerged through panels in the floor. Cleo and Xander stepped back in shock as Seth sat upright on the couch, in awe. “Oh, there they are!” boomed Micah.

  “Look at that poker table! This place looks so cool. I am never leaving,” declared Xander.

  “Yeah, but what about food?” Micah complained.

  “We’ll figure it out. Maybe we can take the elevator up to my apartment’s kitchen and grab some. We just have to make sure the police aren’t in there looking for us.”

  Micah shrugged. “Do we really have to wait?” Seth glanced at him and nodded.

  “You’ll get used to it,” Cleo said, resting a hand on his shoulder, causing Micah to turn a little red. They played a few rounds of poker.

  “We need to find out how to get to the Empath Society. I know there’s more to it, but I really don’t want to think about it right now,” said Isabella wearily.

  “Okay then, how about this for a topic of conversation?” Micah asked, folding his cards over and standing up. “Where exactly do we sleep?”

  The soothing voice Isabella and Micah heard the last time they’d been there said, “Sleep. To sleep is to rest. To rest is to realize, and in life, realization comes with the plenty. Knock three times on the shelf of knowledge and you shall lay your head upon a pillow. Good rest, everyone.”

  “Where do we knock?” asked Micah, looking confused.

  “I’m not tired,” said Xander, examining the maps on the wall.

  “I think the bookcase,” said Cleo. “The shelf of knowledge, right?”

  Isabella went to the largest bookcase in the room and wrapped on it three times. “It’s not doing anything,” she said, shrugging. ”Wait a minute. Look.” Across the room was a wooden owl atop a small table.