by Steve Bevil
“No,” said Lafonda, catching her breath and propping herself against one of the hallway’s adorning white pillars. She gestured with her head. “Maybe he headed up the stairs?”
“My thoughts exactly,” said Malick, joining them from behind. His face was red and he paused to catch his breath. “Don’t look so surprised guys.” He paced the hallway; peering inside the dark and empty classrooms. “Like I was going to let you have fun without me.”
Slowly, Nathan shook his head as he smirked at Malick.
“And don’t forget about us,” said a familiar voice and Nathan quickly spun around. He had a huge smile on his face as he watched Angela, Alan, and Leah walk through the door.
“I’m definitely … not dressed for this,” moaned Angela, almost out of breath. Her face was flushed as she tried to fix her hair.
“I can’t believe you got me to run all the way here,” grumbled Alan, while primping his black leather blazer and spiky blonde hair. “And what if the driver decides to leave with our suitcases and bags?”
“Don’t look so surprised, handsome,” said Leah, walking up and kissing Nathan on the cheek. She winked. “We’ve got your back.”
“Okay,” said Malick, cynically rolling his eyes. “Now that we are done with our little reunion, let’s head upstairs and see if our little boy-genius needs any help.”
“B–but wait,” said Angela, “shouldn’t we check to see if he’s in one of the rooms down here?”
“Nah,” said Malick, quickly shaking his head. He shrugged before climbing the stairs. “If he’s down here, I’m sure we will hear somebody scream — or in his case — growl.”
Angela sighed and rolled her eyes before following them. “Remind me not to wear boots next time,” she said, gently taking her steps. “My feet are going to kill me later.”
Reluctantly, Alan climbed the stairs behind her. “Yeah,” he said, still fidgeting with his clothes and hair. “Mental note: when traveling with Jonathan, don’t wear nice shoes, nice clothes, don’t bother to do your hair.…”
“Shush!” said Malick, after reaching the top of the stairs. “Did you hear that?” He turned to look at Nathan. Nathan listened intently. “I think I heard shuffling.”
“Come on,” said Nathan, walking past him and onto the floor. “Jonathan may be in trouble.”
“Yeah, but he put himself in trouble,” whispered Alan. Angela turned around to stare at him. “What?” Slowly, he followed behind the group, as they searched the second floor hallway. “Don’t tell me it hasn’t occurred to anyone else that we were all safe and sound until Jonathan bolted out of the car?”
“Be quiet, Alan,” whispered Angela, as she quickly checked one of the rooms. She gently closed the door. “Guys, I think this floor is all offices.”
“Yeah,” said Lafonda, closing an office door behind her. “And no sign of Jonathan.
Malick stopped peering into rooms and had a pensive look on his face as he stared blankly down the long hallway. “I know I heard something,” he said. “But everything is quiet.”
“Almost too quiet,” said Lafonda, peering into another room. She stopped to stare at the heavy wooden door. “The name plate on this door says the office belongs to a Dr. Miguel Villalobos.”
“Maybe we should check another floor?” asked Nathan.
“You guys, quick — over here!” shouted Angela. She stood in the doorway of an open office.
“What the heck happened here?” said Malick, stepping inside the darkened office. Carefully, he stepped over the files and books that were strewn across the floor. “This office is trashed.”
“Looks as if someone was looking for something,” said Nathan, pausing to pick up the knocked over lamp that lay nestled in the crevice of the caved-in desk. “Look at the cabinets and desk drawers. They’re all open.”
“And it looks like they might have found it,” said Leah, “the hard drive is smashed and the computer screen is broken too.”
“What’s up with all these storage boxes?” blurted Lafonda. She stopped to pick up the lid for one of them and noticed the broken, black picture frame underneath it. She picked it up and then held out the picture of the white haired, middle-aged man with dark, pointy glasses. “I guess this office belongs to this guy.”
Angela continued to hover in the doorway and squinted. “Why does he have a crooked smile?” she asked.
“He does?” asked Lafonda, quickly looking again.
“Yes!” said Angela dramatically, glancing around the room. “It gives me the creeps.”
Nathan and Malick both stood over the broken desk and then examined the hard drive. “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” asked Nathan.
“W–what?” stumbled Malick.
“Look at the hard drive,” said Nathan. “It’s completely pulverized. And the desk — almost broken in two.” He stared intently at him. “The last time I saw this kind of damage was the night all hell broke loose at camp.”
“Now, don’t go jumping to conclusions, Nathan,” said Malick. “This probably has nothing to do with us.”
“Umm, I don’t know about that,” said Angela. She pointed to the brass nameplate on the door. “Apparently, this office belongs to Dr. C. W. Colvers.”
“Wait, what? Dr. Colvers?” said Alan, stepping from the safety of the hallway to look at the door. “I thought Jonathan said he was at Oxford?”
Suddenly, there was a faint knocking sound coming from behind the door. “Umm, Angela,” said Alan, backing away. “I think your door is knocking.”
Immediately, the room went silent as Angela slowly peeked behind the door. She stopped when she noticed there was another door. “I guess this is a closest,” she said. Hesitantly, she reached to open the other door, but jumped back when she heard the faint knocking again. “Okay, how about somebody else open it?”
Cautiously, Nathan approached the door and there was a soft clicking sound as if someone were trying to turn the doorknob. Quickly, Nathan yanked the door open and out fell a man with white hair and pointy dark glasses. The man hit the ground, face forward, with a loud thud. Slowly, the man rolled over and appeared slightly bewildered as he looked up at the group gathered around him.
“Umm, Angela,” said Alan, peering over Nathan’s shoulder. He glanced at the picture still in Lafonda’s hand. “I think we found the owner of that crooked smile.”
Slowly, Lafonda got on her knees and, together with Nathan and Angela, helped him sit up. “Dr. Colvers?” she asked.
Lafonda looked helplessly up at the group when he failed to answer. “Quick, check his wallet,” said Alan, nudging Angela forward.
“I’m not going through that man’s pockets,” whispered Angela, nudging back. “Eww!”
“Uh, uh, yes,” he said finally. His speech was slurred and his eyes looked dizzy beneath his glasses. “I’m Dr. Colvers … who?”
“I’m Lafonda Devaro,” she said, softly. “We’re friends of Jonathan’s.”
Suddenly, Dr. Colvers appeared to try to get up, and his eyes seemed to gain focus again. “Devaro?” he said.
“Don’t tell him your name!” blurted Alan.
Quickly, Lafonda turned to glare at him and then shook her head. “Dr. Colvers?” she said, sounding concerned. “What happened? Where is Jonathan?”
One by one, everyone started to look up toward the ceiling, as particles of dust started to fall all around them. “What the…?” muttered Alan. He stuck his hand out into the air. “Where’s all this dust coming from? And what’s that sound?”
“She destroyed everything,” mumbled Dr. Colvers, staring at the ceiling. “We were working late … and I was leaving for the airport when she attacked us.”
The windows in the office suddenly rattled. “It sounds like it’s coming from upstairs,” said Angela.
“He shoved me into the closet,” rambled Dr. Colvers. He tried to get up again, but crashed back down. “But my intern … she got away.” Fear suddenly swelled in his eyes and h
e began to shake. “But she went after her. She had pictures of the symbols on her computer too.”
Nathan followed Dr. Colvers’ fixed gaze at the ceiling and then immediately took off running toward the stairs. He could hear footsteps behind him as he headed up to the third floor. Nathan’s stomach tightened as he ran across the loose paper that covered the hallway. His heart began to beat fervently against his chest after he noticed the trail of blood on the walls and on the floor.
Growling sounds echoed throughout the hallway, followed by a spine-chilling, deafening sound. Before Nathan could reach the open door, a small black animal hurled out of the office and crashed against the wall. “Jonathan!” gasped Nathan, as he materialized back into human form.
In a swirl of blue and white lights, Jonathan lay unconscious. Quickly, Nathan knelt down beside him, but soon a high-pitched scream filled the hallway and Nathan rushed inside the room. “Let go of her!” he yelled, quickly coalescing the bright blue flame in his hand into a rolling fireball.
“I see you boys get around,” said the slender blonde woman dressed in black. She wore silver-rimmed, dark sunglasses that gleamed in the growing sunlight. “Kind of far from Cahokia Falls, don’t you think?”
“I said let go of her!” threatened Nathan and the fireball in his hand sparked a brighter flame.
“So, you’re the Firewalker I keep hearing about,” she chuckled, as she tightened her grip around the young intern’s neck. A trickle of blood ran down her arm and the intern tried to get free, but the slender woman still appeared too strong. “You might be a danger to the Fallen Ones, but I guarantee you, if you’re up for a round two, you’ll end up like your Spirit Walker friend over there.”
“Try me,” said Nathan, firmly. His other hand clenched into a fist at his side.
With her right eyebrow cocked confidently over her silver-rimmed sunglasses, she grinned, but her stance faded abruptly. “Oh,” she said, stunned, as she watched Malick, followed by Lafonda, and then Alan and Leah, step into the room. “I see you bought more friends this time.”
“I think he’ll be okay,” said Angela, out of breath and running quickly into the room. She tossed her curly blonde hair from her face. “He’s unconscious still, but I think he’ll make it.”
Alan gave Angela a slight nudge and she finally noticed the woman in black. “Oh,” said Angela, surprised. She frowned, eyeing the woman’s long black-leather trench coat. “I see we have company.”
The woman in black’s captivating hazel brown eyes peered over her dark sunglasses and she appeared to be looking straight at Malick. “You know, I’ve always been a girl for a good party,” she smiled.
“Yeah, and a sucker for bad taste,” said Angela.
With her right eyebrow arched, she glared at Angela over her glasses and then slowly inched backward toward the large office window. Forcibly, she pulled the intern with her, her hand still wrapped tightly around her neck. “Well,” she said, ripping the flash drive out of the intern’s hand and pushing her violently to the ground. “My work here is done.”
“Now!” yelled Lafonda. But before Nathan could throw his fireball, a series of blue energy balls came crashing at him.
The woman in black laughed as Nathan and the others ducked. In the blink of an eye, she threw another series of energy balls at the large office window. Like an exploding bomb, pieces of wood and glass flew everywhere as Nathan and the others dove for cover. “Ciao boys — and ladies!” she grinned. Quickly, she cradled her arm, before stepping out on to the ledge. Her long black trench coat blocked out the sun as she jumped out of the window.
11
FAMILY LEGACY
A gust of wind pushed through the large, shattered window. Papers flew all around the disordered office as Nathan, Lafonda, and Angela peered out below. “Be careful of glass,” said Lafonda, as she shielded her eyes from the morning sun.
Carefully, Angela leaned over the windowsill. “I can’t believe she’s gone,” she said, moving to secure the strands of curly blonde hair that danced in her face.
“Are you sure she’s not lying squashed at the bottom?” asked Alan, rushing to look out the window.
“I guess we just met our blonde femme fatale,” said Leah, joining at his side. Her eyes searched the scene below, through the lifting fog.
Alan sighed and then turned his back toward the window. “And apparently, she doesn’t die easily either — like the rest of our supernatural cronies.”
Nathan smiled. “Are you using one of my words?” he teased.
“Umm, I think he picked that one up from me,” said Angela.
Alan peered over the windowsill again. “I know you guys said she was highly trained, but this goes far beyond a few flips and some cart wheels.”
“Yeah, she might have some skills,” said Angela, pausing to fix her hair. “But her clothes were definitely too tight and with all that black … she definitely has bad taste.”
Suddenly, there was a soft moan. “Are you okay?” said Lafonda, talking to the intern. Bewildered, the intern tried to get to her feet. “You definitely have a knot on your head. Are you bleeding?” Urgently, Lafonda pointed to the ruby red spots on the floor. “There’s blood.”
“No,” she muttered finally. Slowly, she stood up and then placed a weak hand on her forehead. “At least I don’t think I am.”
Lafonda helped the intern to her feet, but looked confused as she looked around the room. “It’s not Jonathan’s,” said Angela. She turned pensively toward the hallway.
“And, how do you know?” asked Alan, with beady eyes.
“Because I checked him for injuries,” said Angela. Her fair skin suddenly became red after everyone turned to look at her. “Uh, Leah, can you help me check on Jonathan?” Leah nodded and Angela lowered her head as she swiftly exited the door.
“It’s our blonde’s,” said Nathan, “I mean the femme fatale’s.” Pensively, he looked around the toppled over room. “I saw the bite mark on her arm. She must’ve gotten it from Jonathan.”
“That’s great!” said Alan, dramatically, pausing to look around the room. “But can somebody tell me what’s going on here. Why did Jonathan come here in the first place? And isn’t she affiliated with the Order?” He bent over to pick up a pile of papers and tossed them on the desk. “What do they want now?”
“It probably has something to do with the pictures,” said Lafonda, while flipping over a chair so that the intern could sit down. Alan looked confused. “She was quick to take the flash drive from her, and Dr. Colvers said he had pictures of the symbols.”
Alan headed toward the door and then hovered in the doorway while watching Leah and Angela. “Jonathan did say he had pictures of the cave symbols on his phone,” said Alan, “but how did they know? Does this mean they’re going to come after Jonathan’s phone?” Fervently, he turned to look at Nathan. “He needs to get those pics off his phone and away from me!”
“That’s a good question,” said Lafonda. “How did they know? I guess that’s a question we’re going to have to wait to ask Jonathan, or Dr. Colvers.” She turned to look at the intern, but she still appeared out of it.
“What’s wrong, Nathan?”
Quickly, Nathan broke his gaze and then shook his head. “Besides flying across the world to get cloaked only to find out that the Order is still after us?” he blurted. Lafonda and Alan’s eyes suddenly grew wide and Malick turned away. “She said that I was a threat to the Fallen Ones,” said Nathan, softly, lowering his voice.
“Great!” blurted Alan. “So, that means cloaked or not they still will be looking for you.”
“Be quiet, Alan!” shouted Angela from the hallway. “You don’t know that!”
“I’m only stating the obvious here, Angela!” he said. “Stating the obvious.” Alan placed his hand on his forehead and muttered. “Why did I even come here?”
“Wait,” said Lafonda, pausing to pick up the knocked over floor lamp. She approached Nathan. “I thought you
said they were using the medallion to find the one they seek. Wouldn’t they know by now if that was you?”
Pensively, Nathan continued to stare in front of him. “Lucius said, in my dream, that he would take care of the Firewalker — and he seemed delighted that there were two of us.” He turned to look at Malick. “But they’re still looking for someone — someone with a special ability — someone different.”
“And what do you have to say about all this?” asked Lafonda, staring incredulously at Malick. “You’ve been awfully quiet, especially after our little run in with Ms. Acrobat.” She looked at him skeptically. “Why did it seem like she was talking to you when she brought up parties?”
Malick fidgeted with his jacket and looked over at Nathan before rubbing the back of his neck. “Hello?” said Lafonda, when he didn’t respond.
“Umm, guys,” muttered Alan, while examining the front of the door. “You might want to come look at this.”
“Not now, Alan!” said Lafonda, placing her arms across her chest. “Malick?”
“What?” asked Malick flirtatiously. “I guess I’m just popular with the ladies.
Lafonda’s brown eyes were soon as large as saucers. “Are you kidding me?”
“Umm, excuse me?” said the intern, aloud. “But who are you guys?”
Quickly, Lafonda turned around. She had a sympathetic look on her face. “Oh, I’m so sorry,” she said. “We’re with Jonathan — Jonathan Black?” The intern appeared to recognize his name, but soon looked confused again. “I’m Lafonda Devaro and this is….”
“Devaro?” the intern said abruptly.
“Okay,” said Lafonda, crossing her arms again. “Why does everybody keep doing that when they hear my name?”
“I think I know why,” said Alan, slowly, opening the door. “Why does the sign on the door say this office belongs to Dr. Avery Devaro?”
Several frown lines appeared between Lafonda’s eyebrows as she rushed toward the door. “What?” she said, dramatically. She read the name on the door. “But that’s impossible. My dad is supposed to be working over at the British Museum this summer.”