I just have to ask. “Ruah? That’s such an unusual name. Do you know if it means something?”
Katrin smiles. “A beautiful name, indeed. It means ‘breath’ or ‘spirit.’ In some contexts, it refers to the Holy Spirit.”
CHAPTER 17
Ancient Greece in Reykjavík?
The woman who meets us at the desk is not Ruah. It’s someone named Margret.
“Welcome, weary travelers!” She looks behind us. “No luggage?”
Doug nods. “We travel light. Except for Arcade’s books.” He points to my cardboard box.
“I have your key cards right here. You’ll be in room 230, which has a beautiful view of the sun shining on our city. It’s our Solstice Suite Special.”
Doug chuckles. “Wow. This town has a lot of specials.”
Margret scribbles our room number on the key envelope. “Yes, but I do have some bad news. The room was available because we had the blackout blinds sent out for cleaning. I’m sorry, but you won’t be able to darken the room to sleep.”
“That’s okay,” Zoe says. “We got a lot of sleep on the elev—”
“PLANE,” I interrupt, drowning out Zoe’s voice.
The woman winks at Zoe. “That’s what I hoped. The good news is, this is a twenty-four hour rental, so your checkout time won’t be until three o’clock tomorrow.”
“How are we going to know it’s tomorrow if it doesn’t get dark?”
Great question, Doug!
Margret laughs. “We can send you a wake-up call an hour before checkout if you like.”
“That’s perfect. That will give us a nice long break to read,” I say. “Thank you so much, ma’am. What do we owe you?” I gesture to Zoe, the one with the money. She gives me a funny look and pulls out her wallet.
Margret puts her palms up. “Paid for by my good friend Ruah. She had to go, but she told me to tell you, ‘Happy travels, and I will see you soon.’” She pulls a paper from behind the desk and hands it to Doug. “Here’s our restaurant menu. Your package includes twenty-four-hour, all-you-can-eat room service. So don’t leave here hungry, okay?”
Doug’s eyes light up almost as bright as the Triple T Token. “OKAY!”
“Arcade, this is the best long break ever!” Doug pulls open the sheer curtains in our suite and we all stare out at the sun.
“Can you believe it’s . . . what time is it?” I look at the alarm clock next to the hotel bed. “Three-fifteen? In the morning? This could really mess with a person.”
Zoe falls back in a comfortable recliner chair. “This is nice. Getting away from all the stress. Ever since that token came into our lives, it’s been one crazy trip after another.”
“Zoe, this is a crazy trip. And as soon as we get back, we’ll be right back into it again. We have to find out about the maker of the Triple T mold.” I walk over to the coffee table and pull the three books out of the box, giving Ancient Greek Architecture to Doug and Greek Craftsmen to Zoe while keeping Arcadia Adventures for myself.
I sigh. “Now this is the life. A nice bright hotel room and a bunch of good books. Enjoy!”
I plop on my back on the bed and pull all the pillows in behind me. I crack open the book, looking for a clue, any clue, about ancient Greece, metalworking, and a boy who always works.
But all I see is a blur.
“Hey! What’s going on here?” I pull my glasses off my face and wipe the lenses with my sweatshirt. I try them on again. Nothing! I wipe them with the edge of the pillowcase. Nothing but blur!
“This is cool, Arcade. It says here that the ancient Greeks invented the theater. So they were the first Broadway! This New York City boy feels a connection already.” Doug jumps on my bed and shakes me. “Arcade? Did you hear what I said?”
I look up. “Yes, I did. Broadway. Theater. Yeah . . . huh.”
“What’s wrong?”
“Arcade?” Zoe is sitting next to me now. “Are you sick?”
I take my glasses off and pull the book as close to my face as I can. But it doesn’t matter. I can’t read the words on any of the pages.
“I’m having a problem with my glasses. Or something. This is really frustrating.”
Zoe retrieves her book from the recliner. “Here, try this one. The font is a little larger. I’ll turn the light on brighter.” She clicks the lamp a couple of notches until it blasts me like a surveillance light at a police station. “With that in here and the sun out there, you have to be able to see it.”
I focus, squint, and stare. “Nothing.”
“I don’t get it, Arcade. You could see the time on the clock. Am I blurry?” Zoe waves her hands around. “How about Doug?”
I look at both of them. “No, you guys are clear.”
“Man, it’s a good thing you’re seeing Elena’s dad tomorrow.”
I try to shush Doug, but it’s too late. Zoe pounces.
“Really? Elena’s dad? Why are you going to see him?”
“Calm down, Zoe. Her dad’s an optometrist. He’s going to get me some new glasses.”
“Oh, I see.”
“No, Zoe. I need to see. That’s why I’m going. Plus, Elena promised to tell me how she knew to give me these books on Greece. She can’t, you know, know, can she?”
“Well, she has been stalking you,” Doug says, “and it seems just about everyone knows about it now.” He counts on his fingers as he names some names. “The Badgers, Michael Tolley, and now probably Kevin or Casey. Whichever one Kenwood Badger was talking to on our front porch.”
I lay back on the pillows and stare up at the ceiling. “It’s just like I said, things are closing in! I’ve gotta find out the truth about Triple T.”
“What kind of truth?” Doug asks.
“Why do I have it? And what’s the purpose? I have to find that boy.”
Zoe removes the useless Greece book from my lap. “Well, right now we can’t do that. So we might as well enjoy the nice accommodations.”
I sit up and think for a minute, then it hits me. “Zoe, you might be right for once. Since we can’t read, let’s go explore Iceland!”
Zoe points to the clock. “We can’t, remember? Curfew. It’s still night.”
Well, the sun has a funny way of showing it.
Doug orders up some great Icelandic food—hot dogs—from the twenty-four-hour room service, and we munch away while we watch the sun pretty much not move.
“Light is interesting, isn’t it?” Zoe washes her hot dog down with a swig of water. “I feel so much better than I did at home. I wonder if they have much crime here in Reykjavík in the summer? I mean, you can see everything, and evil hates the light.”
“I wouldn’t want to be here in the winter then,” Doug says.
I scratch my head. “Yeah, but then it’s cold. And you heard what Katrin said. Everyone reads in the winter. Readers don’t become criminals. I’d love to be here in the winter, but with new glasses!”
We sit in silence for a few moments, taking in the light from the long-EST day in the world.
“Hey, guys,” Doug sits up on the bed and turns around to face us. “I have to tell you something.”
His voice sounds crackly, and kind of serious. Which is not normal for Doug.
Zoe leans forward. “What’s up, Doug?”
He clears his throat and looks down at his hands that are folded over his crossed legs on the bed. “I got a call from my gram’s care facility. I tried to tell you about it the other day, Arcade, but we got interrupted by Elena.”
My stomach turns. “The disturbing call?”
How could I forget about that?
“Yeah, that one.”
Zoe reaches out and puts a hand on Doug’s shoulder. “Is your gram okay?”
I’m afraid to hear the answer.
“She’s . . . her body is working okay. And she likes the place. It’s just . . .”
“What Doug? You can tell us. We’re here to help with anything.” I run my fingers over my empty gold chain.
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Doug rubs the back of his neck. “Thanks, Arcade, but there’s really nothing you can do. There’s not really much I can do either, since . . .”
“Since what?” I stare out into the bright night in Reykjavík.
No darkness can possibly find us here. Can it?
“Gram’s been forgetting things.”
I sigh. “Ah. Older people forget sometimes. My grandma says it’s because they have so many wonderful memories, and their brains need room for those, so they forget unimportant things. Like where their keys are. Stuff like that.”
Zoe shakes her head at me and puts a finger to her lips. “Go on, Doug. What is she forgetting?”
Doug drops his chin and holds his head in his hands. “Big things. Like what city she lives in. What her name is. And . . . that she has a grandson. They’re doing tests to find out what’s wrong, but the people at the facility asked me not to visit until they can get her stabilized. I guess she’s really upset all the time.”
More silence.
Doug wipes a couple of tears that escape down his cheek. “Is this how it’s all going to end? With Gram not knowing who I am, and then I’m just supposed to forget about her? I can’t do that, you guys. She’s too special.”
“Of course she is,” Zoe says. “And no, that’s not how it’s going to end.”
“How do you know?”
Zoe has a tear dropping down her cheek now too. She puts her hand on her heart. “Because I know you. And because . . . I just know. You’ll have to trust me.”
Doug sits up a little straighter on the bed. “Okay. Since you’re my almost-big-sister, I will. After all, you’re always right, right?” One side of his mouth turns up in a grin, then goes back to a frown. “There is one more disturbing thing.”
“We’ll get through it,” Zoe says.
Doug takes a deep breath and lets it out. “My aunt found out about Gram. She’s asking for custody of me since Gram can’t make good decisions about the adoption right now.”
“What?” I jump to my feet. “But we’re going to adopt you! Your gram said it was okay! It is better for you to stay in New York and—”
“Gram hasn’t signed the final paperwork for the adoption yet, and if she doesn’t know who I am . . .”
“No! This isn’t happening!” I start to pace the room.
My first sleepless solstice is supposed to be an adventure, not a nightmare.
I stop at the window and stare out into the bright sunlight.
What can I do? If only time would stand still . . .
I glance over at the clock. It’s five o’clock.
Some people get up this early to go to work. Curfew has to be over by now.
I feel a gust of wind brush by my cheek, which is weird since we’re inside.
Did I just feel . . . a breath?
I run for the door. “You two stay here, I’ll be right back.”
“Arcade! You better not leave the hote—”
The heavy hotel door slams behind me, cutting off Zoe’s words. I jog down the long hallway to the elevator. I push the button—How cool it is to use a normal elevator?—and wait for the doors to open. They do, and there stands Ruah! She’s wearing the white sweat suit and the Triple T ballcap, but this time she looks like she’s around my mom’s age.
“Thanks for the nice solstice room,” I stammer.
“You’re welcome. Why aren’t you in it with your sister and Doug?”
“I was on my way to the front desk. To look for you.”
“To thank me for the room?”
“Well, yes. But, no. I wanted to ask you why I have the Triple T Token. And who the boy is who made the mold. And are you some kind of spirit?”
Ruah smiles. “Arcade, you have traveled and you have been tested. You will know why you have the token when you have discovered the truth about yourself.”
“The truth about myself? Wait! I had a dream about that!”
“Good! And what did you find out?”
“I didn’t. I woke up! And in my dream, I couldn’t read or see anything. It was frustrating, Ruah! I wanted to see!”
She grins and nods. “You have gone wide and you have gone long. You must go high first, then deep. Soon you will see everything.”
A familiar ding sounds from inside the elevator.
“No! Don’t leave yet!”
I try to step in, but an invisible barrier stops me. I press my palms against it. “Ruah! I have more questions!”
She laughs. “Of course you do. Your name is Arcade Livingston, is it not? You have the wrong elevator, my friend.” She points to the elevator across the hall. Then the doors close, and she’s gone.
“Arcade!” Zoe runs down the hallway. “You can’t just leave like that!”
Doug follows, right at her heels. “Dude, no Icelandic adventures without us!”
I pace back and forth in the hallway. “Sorry, guys. I just had a feeling Ruah was in the building, and I had to catch her.”
Zoe looks around. “Well, did you?”
“Only for a minute! She never answers my questions! And she told me that I had the wrong elevato—”
Just as I say that, I feel a heavy clunk on my chest.
Oh, no. I want this day to be longer!
“It’s back, Arcade.” Doug taps the front of my black T-shirt. A bright light is shining through it.
Triple T has returned.
And the dark, quiet elevator Ruah pointed to is now gleaming light out of the cracks in the antique golden doors.
“Time to go back already?” Zoe steps up next to me.
The button on the wall next to the elevator turns into a coin slot, and light pulsates from it toward the token. Golden words flicker on the marquis above the doors. GET TRUTH.
“I need to go high, and I need to go deep. But before I do that, I need some new glasses.” I step forward, closer to the slot. “Please, take us home.” I reach inside my shirt and pull out the token. I give it a tug. It comes right off. Just like always.
“Not sure I’m ready to leave this bright place,” Zoe says.
I put a hand on her shoulder as I drop the coin in the slot. “Guess we’ll just have to take some of this light back with us.”
The token makes a clunk as it falls through the slot.
Is it going back to the mold? And if so, why?
The strange breeze hits my cheeks again as I make the open-door motion with my hands. The antique doors slide open. The elevator is bright inside.
I raise my palms to the ceiling. “Ready to get back to reality?”
Doug straightens up. “Ready to get back to reality? Which one is reality? Here? Or there?”
I push him into the elevator. “Dude, I’m the one who’s supposed to ask the questions.”
CHAPTER 18
Eye Chart
You sure you don’t want us to go with you?” Zoe and Doug walked on either side of me as we climbed the stairs to our brownstone after school on Friday.
“You know I love both of you, but this girl is tough. I need all my concentration to deal with her nonsense. You,” I point to Doug, “would just distract me. And you,” I point to Zoe, “are the stubborn-est. Though you might have a contender for that title.”
“But what if the token lights up?” Zoe shook her index finger at me. “We have a deal. No adventures without me.”
That gave me an idea. I looked both ways down our street. No one was coming. I reached behind my neck, pulled off my gold chain, and handed it to Zoe. “Here. Keep it safe. In case I get jumped by twins on the way to Elena’s dad’s office.”
Zoe backed away from it, her hands in the air. “No, Arcade. It’s not mine. I don’t want the responsibility! Last time you took it off, it caught your underwear drawer on fire!”
I put my finger to my lips. “Shhhh! You want the whole world to hear that? It’s going to be fine. It’s not heating up anymore.”
Doug laughed. “Yeah, now it’s just a big disco light.”
I shoved past them and put my key in the door. “Just hide it under your pillow or something. I’m the only one who can remove the token from the chain anyway. Plus, I don’t want Elena the stalker to find out about it. It’s safer here.”
Zoe put down her backpack and took the chain. She held it up. The Triple T Token spun around and around. “It’s such an interesting pattern on the front. Three Ts. I can’t help but wonder if the artist had something else in mind when he crafted his design. See how they’re connected?” She ran her fingers over the tops of the Ts. “They look like arches, but without the curve.”
“I’ve wondered the same thing too. That’s why I have to get back to that boy.”
“Do you really think he’s the maker of the mold?”
I shrugged. “That’s what Ruah said. And the sign did say GET TRUTH.”
“Well then guess what, Arcade,” Doug said, slinging his arm over my shoulder, “We need to GET SOME MORE TRUTH.”
I ran most of the way to 575 Columbus Avenue, keeping an eye out for twins. Young and old. When I arrived in front of the office building at three forty-five, Elena Salvador Castro was waiting for me.
No surprise there.
“Hello, Livingston!” Elena smirked as she leaned against a pillar with her arms crossed. “I figured there was a fifty-fifty chance of you actually showing.”
“Ah, well, if you really knew me, you’d know that I keep my word. Even when I’m being blackmailed.”
“Guess I should get to know you better, then.” She smiled and stood up straight.
I held my hands out and waved them around. “WAIT! NO! LOOK OUT!!!” I covered my head with my hands.
Elena dropped to the ground and put her hands over her head. “What?”
I laughed. “Never mind. I just thought you were holding up the building, being a super athlete and all.”
Elena fake-laughed. “You’re a funny kid, Livingston. Let’s go get you some new glasses.” She held the door open for me.
“Oh, no. Ladies first.” I grabbed the door handle and ushered her in.
We walked toward the elevator.
This is going to be weird. No chain. No token. Normal elevator.
Elena poked the up button, and a door immediately opened.
Arcade and the Dazzling Truth Detector Page 10