As the truck picked up speed, it became harder and harder to talk without raising our voices. Every time we tried to say something, it was like we were in a wind tunnel, so eventually we just stayed quiet.
The highway was pretty solitary. Only occasionally would a car zip past us, its headlights slicing through the darkness before the night swallowed us up again. We were in what my dad would call in Spanish, la boca de un lobo … a wolf’s mouth. A dark and dangerous place. I looked up at the star-filled sky, and my thoughts drifted to my dad. I wondered if he knew we’d escaped or if he thought we’d been captured or killed by the explosion. If only there was a way I could somehow reach out to him and let him know I was fine.
When we’d been taken under Dame Elisabeth’s protection, I thought we’d be safe until we decided on the best plan, but now things were spiraling out of control. We were separated from my dad and grandmother. Simone had found us, and no matter how much I wanted to trust her again, I couldn’t help worrying that I’d let a traitor into our midst. Plus, we were now wanted fugitives.
If only I had the spear, I could choose what would happen next. Control the immediate future. It would be so much simpler.
But that was a fantasy. I wasn’t completely sure how to use the spear without creating a bigger mess in the long term. Every action had consequences.
Without realizing it, my eyes closed. A strange sensation washed over me, and it felt like I was caught between being awake and dreaming. I could still feel the bumps in the road, the wind whooshing past my ears, and the chill in the air, but I couldn’t move. Pressure built in my head, like a headache, but much sharper and centered right above my eyebrows.
Along with the pain a familiar image formed—one I’d witnessed briefly when I’d used the spear, then again in an earlier echo tracing: a man—Tobias?—looking out a window toward a brilliant blue sea. But this time the image didn’t float away. I felt like I was diving into a photograph.
I focused on the room. Tobias stood by an arched window overlooking the sea, and there was a large bed a few feet away. I tried turning my head to see more of the room and anyone else who might be in it, but my vision only let me see the room from one angle. I noticed a large gold mirror hanging on the wall across from me. I stared at it, allowing my eyes to focus on the image being reflected. Asher was across the room closing a closet door and—
A pain shot across my cheek as a hand smacked me … hard.
“Ow!” My eyes popped open, and I scrambled to get away from the shadowy figure hovering over me. A soothing hand touched my shoulder.
“Cassie, you’re okay now!” I heard Simone shout, right next to my ear.
I realized I was in the truck, and we were still driving down the highway. I placed my hand over my stinging cheek. “Who slapped me?” I called out.
“I’m sorry,” Asher said. “It was the only way I could snap you out of it.”
“You were moaning and wouldn’t wake up,” Simone said. “What happened? Does it have to do with the spear?”
I stayed quiet. She might know that I was bound to the spear, but I wasn’t going to tell her that I’d actually changed the future and was now having “echo tracings” of the vision I’d experienced.
“Don’t worry about why it happens,” Asher said. “But if you ever see Cassie go still like that, you do whatever it takes to snap her out of it.”
“Preferably, something that doesn’t hurt,” I added, rubbing at my still-throbbing cheek.
“What happens if no one is around and it happens again?” Simone asked.
“Nothing good,” Asher responded. “Nothing good.”
Eventually, the truck began to slow. I leaned over the side and saw we were approaching a small town. I could see a supermarket up ahead.
“Should we jump out?” Simone asked.
“Not yet.” Asher slipped his backpack over his shoulders. “But we should get ready to do it before he parks.”
A car approached. Its headlights got closer.
“Duck down,” Asher ordered. “Don’t let them see you.”
I curled up on the floor of the truck, Simone’s head right next to mine.
“We can look for a train station once we get out,” Simone said. “I brought money with me.”
“Uh-huh.” I nodded.
“Or we can try to get a hotel room for the night and head out in the morning,” she said. “Whatever you think is best.”
The car went around us as the truck briefly stopped to turn onto a residential street.
Asher sat up. “Let’s go!”
“Now? We’re still moving.” I glanced around as we slowly passed some apartment buildings.
“Just bend your knees and roll when you hit the ground.”
“Can’t we just wait until he stops again?” Simone asked. “I’ll break a leg if I jump.”
“We’re getting farther away from the city center and—”
The pickup slowed down to almost a crawl as it pulled into a long driveway.
“Now!” Asher leapt over the back of the truck’s tailgate and hit the ground running.
Simone and I stepped over it, balancing on the rear bumper before dropping down to the ground. We both stumbled onto our knees but quickly popped up and ran toward Asher.
The three of us made our way back to the main part of the dark and mostly desolate city. We stayed in the shadows, even though it seemed like the entire town’s population had gone to bed.
“Do you think we’re headed toward the train station?” I asked after we’d walked around aimlessly for a while. “Maybe we’re going in the wrong direction or the town doesn’t even have one.”
Asher jumped on top of a bench and then leapt like a cat to the top of a small brick wall. His body silhouetted by the moonlight, he walked along, balancing on the wall to try to get a better view. At the end of the block, he dropped back down to street level to meet us.
“Do you think jumping around on top of walls like some sort of bad-movie ninja is a good idea?” Simone said. “I thought we were trying to be inconspicuous.”
“It’s called reconnaissance, and I was careful.”
“Uh-huh.” Simone rolled her eyes.
“See anything?” I asked, trying to ignore their obvious dislike of each other.
“No, it’s too dark, and there are too many buildings around,” he answered. “We should keep moving.”
“If Gisak is being questioned, can we really trust him not to say anything?” Simone whispered as she walked alongside me.
“Look who’s asking,” Asher answered with disgust dripping from every syllable.
“Ugh.” Simone glared at him. “Look who’s asking,” she repeated, mimicking him exactly.
“I don’t sound like that, by the way,” Asher said as matter-of-factly as he could to Simone. “Your impression of me is way off.”
“I don’t sound like that by the way,” Simone said, copying his voice once again with her unusual talent of impersonating people. “Your impression of me is way off.”
“Stop it,” Asher warned, but Simone seemed to take his frustration as an invitation to do it again.
“What … you don’t like the sound of your own voice?” she asked, feigning innocence while still speaking like him. “Imagine how we feel hearing you.”
“Enough.” I spun around like a mother scolding her children. “This isn’t helping anything. We’re tired and lost. Let’s just keep walking until we bump into a sign or something that points us to a bus or train station.”
“Psst,” a hushed voice called out from a doorway across the street. “Bambini.”
We froze.
A figure stepped out of the doorway—a nun wearing a blue dress and habit.
“Vengano,” she said, waving us over.
I pulled back, deeper into the shadow of the building beside me.
“Psst,” the nun called out again.
“Should we go over?” Simone asked. “I mean, she can probably p
oint us toward the train station.”
“Yeah, but what if she recognizes us?” Asher whispered.
“So, we aren’t going to ask anyone how to get out of here?” Simone shook her head. “If we keep walking around, we might end up running into the police.”
“But even a nun might turn us in if she thinks we’re criminals,” I argued.
“Fine, then what if I go? My face wasn’t on TV. You two can stay here.”
Asher and I looked at each other. Clearly, neither of us loved the idea of trusting Simone with our safety.
“Come on,” Simone huffed. “You’ll be watching me the whole time, and I’m speaking to a nun.”
“Fine.” I nodded. “Just find out about the train station and come right back.”
Simone smiled and hurried across the street.
I watched her talking to the sister. The conversation grew lengthy. It had to be about much more than just getting directions.
Simone looked over her shoulder and pointed to us.
Asher and I took a couple of steps back, withdrawing further into the night.
Had I made a mistake in trusting Simone? What if Asher was right about her?
The nun nodded, reached into her pocket, and gave something to Simone. As she ran back to us, the nun went back into the building and closed the door.
“What was that all about?” I asked as Simone approached.
“Train station is closed. She said they start again in the morning, but that we can spend the night in the church.”
“I don’t know …” I didn’t trust anyone at this point. Not a nun. Not Simone.
“What did she give you?” Asher asked, suspicion in his voice as well.
“Huh?” Simone looked down at her hand. “Oh, it’s the key to the side chapel door. She thinks we’re runaways. Told me she once lived on the streets and it’s not safe. Said that Naples is even more dangerous.”
“Naples?” I didn’t understand why she’d mention that city.
“Yeah.” Simone nodded. “I asked about a train to Positano, but she said the train only goes as far as Naples. That we’d have to take a boat or a bus the rest of the way.”
“You told her where we were headed?” Asher exclaimed. “How stupid are you?”
I couldn’t believe she’d given away so much information, either.
“How else was I supposed to find out about the trains?” Simone argued. “I’ve only gone to Positano by either boat or helicopter. Plus, she thinks we’re runaways. It’s fine.”
“Whatever,” Asher said dismissively. He gazed over Simone’s shoulder to the small church. “We do need a place for the night, and she never saw our faces.”
“You’d actually stay there?” I asked incredulously. “What if she turns us in because we’re runaways?”
“I don’t think she will,” Simone said. “She seemed like she really wanted to help.”
“It’s better than waiting at the train station or on the street, where the police might see us,” Asher replied.
I didn’t like it. There was too much at stake. But then again, what else could we do at this time of night.
“Aghhh.” I gripped the sides of my head in pain. I was being sucked back into another echo tracing of my vision, but this time, I was going to fight it. I couldn’t slip into that trancelike state … there was too much to do.
My body shook involuntarily, and I felt myself start to laugh as hands tickled the sides of my torso. The pain vanished, and I saw relief in Simone’s face.
“Better than a slap, right?” Simone arched an eyebrow. “Good thing I know where you’re ticklish.”
I nodded, unable to speak. Exhaustion weighed me down like someone had draped a lead blanket over me.
“Cassie, you’re not looking that great,” Asher noted.
“Gee, thanks,” I muttered.
“Such a gentleman,” Simone added.
“I mean she looks tired. We should all get some rest,” Asher explained. “We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow.”
I nodded, still a bit dazed by the echo tracing. Then, with Simone and Asher on either side of me giving me some support, we crossed the street and headed inside the church.
Shadows bathed the interior. The only light came from the flickering candles on either side of the altar. I lay down in the third pew from the back. Far enough away not to be seen if anyone were to peer into the chapel, but close enough to the door that I could make a quick escape if necessary.
Simone sat in the pew right in front of me, while Asher took the one behind me. In seconds, the chapel became still once again with only the sounds of my own breathing reaching my ears.
“Cassie.” Simone broke the peaceful silence. “Thank you for giving me another chance.”
“Uh-huh,” I muttered, exhaustion slowly creeping up on me.
“And don’t worry,” she said. “Between the three of us, we’ll figure out a way to get rid of that power so you don’t fall into any more of those trances and you can be normal again.”
I said nothing. Simone didn’t understand that it was much too late for that. I had set things in motion, and from now on, I was the only one who could stop them. The power was part of me.
There was nothing normal about me anymore.
“Cassie. Cassie.” Someone shook my arm. “It’s time to go.”
I opened my eyes, and for a split second, I thought I was seeing an angel. I blinked and realized it was Asher, his head framed by the glow of blue, red, and yellow light coming in through the stained-glass windows behind him.
“Simone. Where is she?” I said, my voice a bit hoarse as I sat up.
“I’m ready,” she answered from the chapel doors, which were cracked open, allowing the morning light to sneak inside. “Just keeping an eye out for anyone who might come over.”
“Why didn’t you wake me up earlier?” I slipped on my shoes. “I don’t need to be coddled.”
“Not doing that.” Asher walked down the center aisle. “You needed to rest, and it’s still early. We’ve got a big day ahead of us.”
“The nun is coming back!” Simone announced. “Pretend to be asleep.”
Asher darted to one of the pews, and I lay back down. I heard the door open, and by peering underneath the pews I could see the sensible black shoes of the nun standing in the doorway.
Simone spoke to her in hushed tones, but I could make out something about friends sleeping. I caught snippets of what the nun said. She offered to keep the chapel doors open every night and bring us food. She wanted to make sure we were safe because the streets were no place for kids. Simone thanked her but said we’d be fine once we got to our friends in Naples.
There was a little more chatter, which I couldn’t hear because a car engine roared outside.
Simone closed the door. “All clear,” she called out.
I stood up and saw her holding a basket. “What’s in there?” I asked.
Simone removed the small towel that was draped over the top. “She brought us some bread, cheese, and fruit to eat.”
“Why?” Asher popped up and walked to the door, opened it a little, and peered outside. “I mean, why is she doing all of this instead of turning us in ‘for our own good’?”
Simone shrugged. “She’s young, maybe only about ten years older than us. I think she just wants us to be safe. She offered to leave the chapel open at night.”
“I heard her say something about that.” I reached into the basket and pulled out a piece of bread.
Asher glanced over at us. “Well, we’re not staying.”
“Obviously,” Simone answered. “But at least we have food. And she told me the train station is only about five blocks from here. Just make a left outside and then a right at the second corner.”
“Then let’s go,” I said. “We might be able to catch the first train of the day. You said you had money for the tickets, right?”
Simone nodded and tapped her purse. “I took care of that before r
unning away. My mother always has extra cash lying around.”
Asher pulled the door open, allowing the morning light to stream in. “Okay, let’s get out of here.”
We darted outside, and in less than thirty minutes we were at the station boarding the 7:05 train to Naples.
We chose one of the empty train cars toward the back and settled in for the two-hour trip. As we stopped in other towns, more passengers got on, but no one seemed to take any notice of us. I kept my head turned to the window, Asher had his nose buried in the Guardian’s Journal, and Simone closed her eyes to nap.
As we got closer to Naples, I noticed Asher jotting down some things on a piece of paper. Then I heard him gasp.
I tapped him on the knee. “What did you find?” I asked. “Something that can help us?”
“You’re not going to believe this.” Asher looked at Simone, whose eyes remained closed. He lowered his voice a little more and leaned closer to me. “I was going page by page, so it’s taken me a while to go through it, especially since different Guardians write in their own native languages, but then I found this.” He could barely mask his excitement as he pointed to a page written in red, yellow, and black and covered in swirls of ink, so it was hard to even make out some of the letters. On two of the corners were small symbols like crosshairs.
“It looks like a long chain of random letters,” I said.
“Uh-huh. Now look at what’s written before that.” He tapped the left side of the journal. “It’s dated 1610. It’s written in English by a Guardian who is concerned with what is being chosen for the future. He believes that nothing should be predetermined because God intended for there to be free will, so fate shouldn’t be controlled by anyone. Look what he says here.” Asher put his finger on the bottom paragraph.
I have discovered a way to open the doors of destiny, allowing all possibilities to exist and for free will to once again roar like a fire. It will not be contained and will spread like a great blaze. Nothing will be certain … neither good nor evil.
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