My heart skipped a beat. It reminded me of the words my father had written in his journal. I had thought my father’s clue was referring to a way to use the spear to determine destiny … but this Guardian was writing about not having a preplanned future at all. Maybe that’s what my father had meant, too. I could almost feel everything shifting. There might be a way out that wouldn’t involve me having to choose what would happen in the future.
“Do you think it’s true?” My voice quivered. “I mean, could we undo it all?”
“This Guardian seems to think so. Look at the very last line. I think he’s even telling us how to do it.” Asher read aloud: “To release the fire of free will, the first sparks of knowledge are seen through the flame.”
“Yeah, but what do you think it means, though?” Simone asked, one eye now open.
“You were awake?” Asher frowned and sat back in his seat.
“Come on,” Simone complained. “If I’m going to help, I think—”
“We don’t need your help,” Asher retorted. “Other than getting us into the house, there’s nothing we need from you.”
Simone glanced over at me, expecting me to defend her. I looked away.
“Okay, I get it,” she said. “I know neither of you trust me, but I can help. I’m the one who got you the journal … remember?”
I considered what she was saying. She already knew I was bound to the spear. What was the point of excluding her from this? She might be able to help.
Nudging Asher’s knee, I said, “Let’s hear her out. Simone has good ideas. Sometimes.”
A faint smile of satisfaction crossed Simone’s face. “I was thinking that we should get a match and—”
“Burn the page?” Asher interrupted. “Are you crazy?”
“No, not burn it,” she responded indignantly. “I’m not crazy.”
“We look at it through the flame,” I said, realizing what she meant.
“Exactly!” Simone said. “Cassie gets it.”
“Maybe …” Asher hesitated, stared at Simone, and then shook his head. “No. Remember what your dad wrote?”
“There’s more you don’t know, Simone,” I explained. “We think my dad had been trying to work on this clue already.”
Asher recited the note from my father’s journal from memory: “Fire to open the doors of destiny. Clues point to the skull of the angel that resides with the lost souls of Naples.”
“Right.” I nodded. “So, it sounds like the flame is hidden with skulls … or something. And I don’t think it’s an ordinary flame, either.”
“An angel’s skull?” Simone’s eyes lit up. She loved all sorts of spooky things. She used to beg me to go on ghost tours of Rome with her, which I never did. “That’s so … awesome.”
“Yeah, well, things aren’t always what they seem,” Asher replied. “And I can’t imagine it’s an actual skull, let alone an angel’s skull.”
“So maybe we should still try a match.” Simone reached across the aisle toward Asher’s backpack. “Don’t you have one in there?”
“No,” Asher said, blocking the bag with his legs. He turned to another page in the journal and continued reading.
We all stayed quiet for a few moments. I kept thinking about how this could change everything. There was now another way to fix things. To release destiny. If it really worked.
“Oh, boy.” Asher looked up at us. “Now I really don’t think the match idea of yours is right. The next entry in the journal … it isn’t very long, but it’s written in 1842. It talks about the flame having been lost and a secret group searching for it.” He turned the book around to face me. “Read it.”
I looked at the words. “I can’t,” I said. “I don’t know French.”
“I do.” Simone peered over my shoulder and looked at the page. “Wow!” she exclaimed. “It seems like they really were able to do something about freeing destiny.”
“Why?” I asked. “What does it say?”
She paused to read a little more. “This guy writes that the Hastati decided to use the spear again and there were unintended consequences, but they couldn’t undo them. He says that since they no longer have the flame, the way to release destiny has been lost.” Simone glanced up at me and Asher. “I guess they couldn’t just use a regular fire. But what kind of flame lasts for centuries?”
Asher shook his head and shrugged. “It doesn’t make sense to me, either.”
Simone went back to reading. “It ends with the writer praying that their luck changes or that the Fates choose to help them.” She flipped the page. “That’s it. He doesn’t write anything else. I don’t think they ever found it.”
“So let’s say it’s some special type of fire and we figure out what it is, then what?” I asked. “We just stare into it and hope that something gets revealed?”
Asher slumped back in his seat. “I don’t know.”
I sighed, realizing that the way to release destiny depended on finding a fire that had probably been extinguished centuries ago. We were grasping at a dream. The idea that there could be a way to release destiny was too good to be true.
It looked like I was back to having to choose the fate of the world. It was my responsibility, and I would do what I had to do. If only I knew what choices to make.
The train began to slow down as we approached Naples, the last stop on the main line, but we were nowhere near ready to get off.
“Shouldn’t we try to find the angel skull that your dad mentioned?” Asher was insisting. “He said it was in Naples, and we’re here anyway. If it can help us figure out how to release destiny so that no one controls it anymore, then—”
“No,” I answered for what felt like the tenth time. “What’s the point in finding out how to free destiny when we don’t have the spear?” My jaw clenched at having to explain what seemed so obvious to me. “Plus, think about what you’re saying. An angel skull? Some long-lost fire? Those all sound like wild-goose chases. We need to focus on getting the spear, because once I have it, then I can change the future. That’s something we know can happen. Go for the sure thing.”
Simone scrunched her eyebrows. “Why do you want to change the future?”
Asher and I exchanged a quick glance. Simone didn’t know about the chain of events I’d created. She had no clue about the path I’d put the world on.
“Neither of you is going to tell me?” Simone asked after a couple of moments of silence. “Okay, maybe you’ll trust me later, but I do agree with Cassie. Getting the spear gives us the biggest bargaining chip, and Cassie can always use the spear to get out of any jam.”
“So we all agree?” I stared at Asher until he gave me a slight nod. “Good, we stick to my plan,” I said. “Get out of the train station, and head to the port. Once we find a boat, we sail down the coastline past Positano to Simone’s house.”
“Shouldn’t we dock somewhere near Simone’s house and sneak in through a servants’ entrance or something?” Asher suggested.
“I already told you that it’s not that type of house. Let me draw it.” Simone grabbed a newspaper that had been left on one of the seats and pulled a pen from her purse. “It looks like this.” She drew little waves around what looked like a small mountain with a house built on the edge. “It’s connected to the mainland by some jagged rocks, but the house is at the very top of the outcropping, and there are sheer drops of about three hundred feet on each side. That’s why my mom had it built there. She usually comes and goes by helicopter. No one gets in by land unless you’re a professional rock climber.”
“In that case, I can get in,” Asher stated with a cocky attitude.
“Uh-uh,” I said. “You’re not going without me. We have to find a way for me to get in with you.”
“Right, so back to my idea.” Simone drew a small semicircle at the bottom of the cliff she’d drawn. “There’s a sea cave on this side of the outcropping. Mother had a staircase built into it that takes you right up to a door in the kit
chen. It’s how boat deliveries are usually made.” She tapped the newspaper. “If we can get a small boat, we can go through there.”
“So it’s basically what I said at the beginning,” Asher said. “We use the servants’ entrance.”
“No, it’s …” Simone paused for a moment. “Fine … maybe it is. Does it matter? We can still get in that way.”
“But won’t they see us coming by boat?” I pointed out the obvious. “I mean, there has to be security, right? Won’t they try to stop us?”
“I’ll tell them we have permission.”
“You think they’re going to listen to you?” Asher shook his head. “This isn’t a good plan.”
“It is a good plan!” Simone argued. “You haven’t heard all of it yet.” I could tell she was trying to come up with ideas as she went along. “The guards do whatever my mother says without question and if I can get her to call … and … and …”
The train’s brakes squealed as we entered the station. Simone stuck the newspaper under her seat.
“She can tell them to follow your orders,” I said, the entire plan falling into place in my head. “They just have to hear it from her.”
“What?” Asher looked at me as if I was crazy. “You expect her mother to—”
“YES!” Simone exclaimed. “That’s perfect.”
“We can’t contact Simone’s mother. That’s suicide.”
“Who said anything about contacting her, my dear,” Simone said in a voice identical to her mother’s. “I will give the orders by phone, and they’ll obey.”
I nodded. She could imitate her mother and have the guards do what we wanted. We’d be able to search the house and get the spear. I’d be able to change the future. The thought of having the spear sent a shiver of excitement through my body.
The train finally reached the platform, and the three of us got out. The Naples station buzzed with people hurrying off the train cars while others ran to catch them. We avoided making eye contact with anyone wandering around the platforms … afraid someone might recognize us from TV—or worse: that actual Hastati might be patrolling the area. We headed out, trying to mix in with the throng of passengers rushing to the glass doors of the main terminal’s exit.
“Wait.” Simone stopped a few feet in front of the tourist information desk. “Before we go out there … I need to get some things.” She took off toward a small kiosk without saying anything else.
“What is she doing?” Asher whispered.
“Don’t know.” I quickly turned my back on a security guard who was walking toward us and pretended to study a map of the metro stations. I noticed a display of travel brochures and grabbed a small map of the city as the guard sauntered away down the corridor behind us.
A few minutes later, Simone returned holding a paper bag. She had already wrapped a brown plaid scarf around her neck.
“Seriously?” Asher said incredulously. “You went shopping?”
“No.” She pulled out a cap with a Juventus soccer team logo on it and thrust it into his chest. “I got us disguises.”
Opening the bag, I saw several sunglasses, hats, and a couple of scarves. It was perfect.
“I’m more of an AC Milan fan,” Asher mumbled, putting on the cap and pulling the brim down low. “But this’ll do.”
“Thanks, Simone,” I said, putting on a blue cap with the word ITALIA written in big letters. “It was a smart thing to get.”
You would have thought I’d given her a million dollars. She flashed a smile and gave me a big hug as we headed to the station’s main exit.
Stepping through the glass doors, we were greeted with the noise and congestion of Naples and a line of white taxis three cars deep.
I looked down at the small map I had picked up. The port was at least a thirty- to sixty-minute walk from where we were.
“Cab?” Simone asked.
I slipped on the sunglasses and nodded. It would be better to take our chances with one random taxi driver than wander the streets of a city we didn’t know.
Asher waved over one of the taxis, and the three of us climbed in the backseat, making sure we didn’t let the driver get a good look at our faces.
“Al porto per favore,” Asher told the driver, directing him to the port.
“Quale?” he replied, shifting gears and rolling out of the line of parked cabs.
“Which one?” I looked at the small map I had picked up. There was a large port and then a couple of smaller ones, but none were labeled.
“Il principale,” Simone answered quickly and vaguely. The main port. “We can figure out where to go after he drops us off there,” she whispered to me.
“Calata Porta di Massa?” the driver asked, giving us the specific name of a port.
“Sì,” I replied, figuring that was as good as any.
Simone and Asher relaxed back into the seats as the taxi blended in with the city traffic. The sounds of the city were muffled by the glass and an Italian ballad playing on the radio.
But I could feel my adrenaline building. We were close to getting the spear back. I could feel it in my bones. Even though I was still afraid of making the wrong choice, there was a growing sense inside me that when the time came, I’d be able to figure out the right thing to do. Something about having the power to control the future made me feel strong and fearless.
It felt good.
It felt right.
Perhaps Dame Elisabeth had a point, and this was my calling, my destiny. Maybe I could be the one to make everything better.
Didn’t I owe it to myself, and to the world, to at least find out?
The sun was shining brightly against the cloudless blue sky. It was a perfect excuse for the three of us to keep our sunglasses on, and it gave me a little more security that we wouldn’t be recognized.
The song on the radio had been replaced by a more upbeat tune, and the cabdriver was now drumming along on the steering wheel. Everything seemed to be going fine until a radio call from the dispatcher announced a reminder.
“All drivers, police have asked that you be on the lookout for two young teens, a fifteen-year-old male and twelve-year-old female, wanted in the death of a monk in Rome,” the dispatcher announced in Italian. “Report any suspicious passengers to the authorities.”
The three of us tensed.
My eyes caught the driver looking at the three of us through the rearview mirror. He had stopped drumming along with the song, but was now humming his own tune as he made a quick right.
I checked the name of the street we were on, Via Duomo, against my map. We were headed away from the port. Something was wrong.
“We have to get out,” I whispered to Asher. “He suspects something.”
“Ferma l’auto!” Asher demanded.
The driver glanced back, and Simone quickly pretended she was about to throw up.
“Ferma l’auto!” Asher ordered again.
The driver pulled over to the side. “Esci! Esci!” He shouted for Simone to get out, as the last thing he wanted was for her to get sick in his car.
Simone passed me a ten-euro bill and stumbled over to the corner.
I handed the driver the money and quickly followed Asher out of the car. We stood near the alleyway, pretending to comfort Simone. The cab slowly peeled away from the curb.
“Is he gone?” Simone asked, her hands still on her knees.
“Yeah.” I smiled as the cab continued down the street. “That was quick thinking.”
“Well, I figured that no one likes puke in their car, and I’ve faked enough barf attacks at school to be convincing.” Simone chuckled to herself. “Cassie, do you remember the time in Latchke’s class with—”
“With the beef stew from your thermos?” I giggled, remembering the shocked expression our teacher had at finding the mess next to his desk. “Remember I told him I had to go—”
“To take care of me! We ended up watching TV instead of taking that pop quiz.” Simone sighed. “That was awes
ome.”
It had been. It also felt like it was a very long time ago.
“Um, I hate to cut short this stroll down memory lane,” Asher interrupted. “But we should get out of here. We’re not in the clear yet. That driver could still report us.”
“Yeah, you’re right.” I opened up the map and pointed to a few of the side streets that led to the harbor. “We can go this way. Maybe go to this smaller marina over here. Just in case he tells someone that we were headed to the main port.”
“Okay, let’s go.” Simone adjusted her sunglasses and covered her hair with the scarf.
We had walked about a block and were waiting with a small crowd of people at a crosswalk when I spotted our taxi driver speaking to a couple of police officers. He was directing the officers to the place where he’d dropped us off.
My pulse quickened. “Oh, no,” I muttered.
“What?” Simone glanced around.
I motioned to the opposite corner. “I think he’s reporting us to the cops.”
“Stick with this crowd,” Asher said as the light changed and everyone began crossing the street. “They haven’t seen us yet.”
The people walking alongside us gave us cover until we reached the other side. We darted around the first corner we saw … Unfortunately, it was a dead-end street.
“Now what?” Simone asked.
“Stay here a second.” Asher peeked back around the corner. “One of them is walking this way. We need to go quickly.”
Just as I was about to move, I felt my feet become heavy, as if I was wearing fifty-pound shoes. The world around me started to spin, and I could feel my knees buckling.
No … not now, I thought.
“Cassie!” Asher scooped me up in his arms before I crumbled to the floor. I felt him carry me behind a large dumpster as I slipped into another echo tracing.
This time the image was of me on a motorboat in the middle of the sea. I couldn’t tell where I was, but the boat was anchored and in the distance there was a storm edging closer. Lightning lit up the sky between the dark clouds. I wanted to turn and head to shore, but it felt like I was stuck staring out at the horizon, forced to watch the tempest that would soon overtake my position. In this small snippet of time, I couldn’t even turn to see who was with me, but I knew I wasn’t alone … yet it certainly felt like I was isolated.
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