by Amy Sparling
“Cinnamon, really?” I crinkle my nose.
Henry nods. “You should give it a try. It tastes better than you might think.”
“Okay, I guess I will,” I say, taking the coffee mug the chef hands me. It smells like coffee and Big Red gum. I take a tentative sip and the nod. “Not bad at all.”
Kyle holds up his coffee mug. “Told you!”
“What can I get you?” the chef asks me while he moves the scrambled eggs around a large pan with a wooden spatula.
“Nothing. I just want cereal,” I say. A full homecooked breakfast always makes me sleepy and sluggish, and today I need to be alert for my brainstorming session on how to spy on Alexo. I glance back around the room.
“I take it Alexo isn’t back?” I ask.
Henry shakes his head. “I haven’t heard from him.”
“Missing Theo, huh?” Kyle says, frowning. “Damn, I wish I had a girl who missed me.”
“We all miss you when you’re not here,” I tell him while I pour a bowl of Lucky Charms.
He snorts. “Yeah, but not in the same way.”
Russell says my name, his deep voice booming over the sound of sizzling bacon. I turn to him. “What’s up?”
“Malina came to us this morning,” he says slowly, and it triggers all kinds of panic in me. Is he going to mention the secret laptop and the book? Has Malina been snooping through our stuff? Then he exhales and says, “She’s worried about Jayla. Says she hasn’t left her room in two weeks.”
I frown, trying to remember the last time I saw her. She definitely wasn’t at the party the other night, and she hasn’t been at the pool lately, either. “That’s weird,” I say.
Russell nods. “Do you know what it could be about? Is she upset? Sick?”
I shrug and grab a spoon from a nearby drawer. “I have no idea. We’re not exactly…friends,” I say, suddenly feeling guilty for keeping my distance from the other girls.
He nods. “Have you heard anything from the other girls? Any idea why one of them might stay in her room for days on end?”
I genuinely try to think of something, but Riley and I pretty much keep to ourselves. “No, I don’t. I’m sorry. I could go check on her if you’d like?”
“You can certainly try,” he says, sipping from his coffee. “But don’t get your hopes up.”
“We’ve all been by her room,” Kyle says, frowning. “She’s ignored all of us, and she’s even ignoring Nia who was her friend before she started working here.”
Okay, now that seems kind of weird. “Maybe she’s overwhelmed with how great this place is,” I offer, trying to come up with a solution that makes sense, because now even I’m getting a little worried about her. “All this luxury and free stuff… it’s kind of crazy and maybe she just needs some time to cool off and unwind and like, feel normal again.”
“Are you overwhelmed being here?” Russell asks.
The answer is yes, a thousand times yes. But I say, “No. I love being here.”
This makes all three of them smile, even Henry who has been looking sternly upset since I walked in here a few minutes ago.
“Let me know if you hear anything new,” Russell says.
“I will,” I promise.
***
When I get back to my room, Riley is there. She’s dressed for the day in jeans and a blue flannel shirt, which says she means business, because normally she’ll lounge around in her pajamas for as long as possible.
“You’re still alive?” I ask as I close the door behind me, carefully balancing the bowl of cereal in my hand. “I figured you died, or was abducted by aliens since you ignored me all night.”
Riley rolls her eyes. “Sorry. I just needed to focus on this book. I have the first two chapters translated.”
“Wow.” I leave the cereal on my nightstand and go over to her. She’s sitting on the floor, which is her usual style ever since the days of never having enough desks at the group home to do homework. The laptop is in front of her, and the Greek book is open in her lap.
“Here you go,” she says, handing me the laptop. “It’s really just an introduction—nothing we don’t already know.”
I read the document silently. It starts out talking about how immortality has been invented and harnessed, and that it is a real thing. I kind of skim a little bit because just like with ancient history books, they go on and on and on instead of getting right to the point.
All of chapter one is just an introduction, filled with poetic ramblings about the kinds of greatness and power one could have if they were immortal.
Chapter two gets a little better.
The finite amount of immortality stones insures that only the slightest fraction of humanity will achieve the greatest fate available: immortality. The Creator has transposed two hundred lapis stones, or immortality stones as they are hereby referred as, and two hundred stone mates. The wearer of the lapis stone must have a human mate wear the pair, or the immortality connection will be broken, and the immortality lost.
I read through the rest of it, but Riley is right. None of it says anything we don’t already know, and there’s certainly not any information about how to stop being a human life blood once you’ve become one.
“This is only chapter two,” I say, handing her back the laptop. “The good stuff probably comes later.”
“You’re right,” she says, and there’s optimism an excitement in her eyes. “I just totally love astronomy, don’t you? Although black matter is kind of hard to comprehend, but I’m hoping they explain it better later in the book.”
She winks at me, back to talking code in case anyone is listening. I sigh and stare at the book in her lap. I’m thrilled that she’s translated so much of it so soon, but it’s also a little discouraging because I haven’t even started on my mission yet.
“We should probably put it back soon,” I whisper. “What if someone notices it’s missing?”
She nods. “I was thinking the same thing,” she whispers back. “I downloaded the pictures of the pages to the computer so it’s time to ditch this thing.”
By the time we finish reviewing what she’s translated, my cereal is soggy and ruined. But I’m not hungry anymore. I’m eager to get this book back so we’re not implicated if any of the guys should go looking for it. Then I’ll start on my own mission while Riley gets back to hers. I already have a plan, too. I’m going to sneak into Alexo’s bedroom. He’s not here and he probably won’t be back any time soon, so the best way to spy on someone when you can’t spy on the person is to spy on their stuff.
Piece of cake, right? A giddy thrill rushes through me.
“I’ll go put this back,” I say, tucking the book under my arm.
“Take these too,” Riley says, handing me a stack of romance novels that will look innocent enough should anyone see me in the hallways.
“You can stay in here if you want,” I tell her. “But I might take a while coming back…I have…something to do.”
She eyes me curiously. “Something a princess should do?”
I grin. “Precisely.”
I don’t run into anyone on the walk to the library, which is a relief but it doesn’t stop my heart from beating erratically in fear. I slip in through the massive and heavy library door, closing it softly behind me. The romance novels go on a lower level, but I’m still scared I’ll get noticed in here, so I keep them with me as I make my way toward the ladder on the right side of the room. Once this spooky immortality book is back on the shelf, I’ll be able to breathe easier.
I climb up a few steps on the ladder. A sudden voice makes me jump out of my skin.
“Read anything good?” The voice is feminine, soft. My brain immediately knows it’s not Alexo or one of the guys, but I can’t help the little squeak of fear that escapes me. I whip around, nearly falling off the ladder.
It’s Jayla. She’s wearing black leggings and a black long sleeved shirt while she sits in the corner of the room, her knees tucked up to her c
hest.
“Not really,” I say, answering her question. My voice is raw and scratchy, probably from hyperventilating. Now that someone has seen me get up on this ladder, I can’t exactly leave. I turn back and scale up to the top as quickly as possible, sliding the book back into place while my body shields exactly which book it is from her view.
Then I climb down and replace the rest of Riley’s trashy romance novels. I can feel Jayla’s eyes on me as I work.
“Romance novels,” I say, shrugging one shoulder. “They’re always better than real life.”
She just stares at me. Her dark skin is paler than usual. Deep purple circles rim her eyes, and her normally gorgeous black hair is messy, pulled into a ponytail that looks like she’s forgotten all about it for the last few days.
“Are you feeling okay?” I ask, scared to get any closer to her. She looks violently ill.
She shakes her head, her eyes drifting to the floor.
“I can call an ambulance for you,” I say. “You need a doctor.”
“I don’t need a doctor,” she says, her voice stronger than she looks. “I need something, but a doctor is not it.”
A shiver slides up my spine. Her voice is eerie, fearful. “Can I get you some water or something?” I ask.
Her eyes flit to mine and her jaw goes rigid. “Leave me alone.”
“Okay,” I say, holding up my hands. This girl needs help. But she clearly doesn’t want any help from me.
Chapter 19
The next day, I wake up eager to get back to my personal mission. I spent the entire day before doing recon on the mansion and Alexo’s room. I pretended that I left something in Theo’s room, so I needed to walk down the forbidden hallway to retrieve it. To my disappointment, none of the name plates on the doors in that hall were Alexo’s. I was just about to give up when I noticed an unmarked door at the very end of the hallway. Opening it, I saw nothing but a long staircase going straight up to the third floor. But the sweet masculine aroma in the staircase told me all I needed to know. It was Alexo’s room.
Now, I am armed with weapons of deception: a half empty bottle of whiskey, a pair of men’s sunglasses and a DVD of Mr. Robot season one. Two things that belong to Theo. One that belongs to the bar in the sitting room downstairs.
I pour some whiskey in my mouth and slosh it around, wincing because this crap is gross. It feels like fiery vomit, and it’s actually worse when you don’t swallow it. I spit it into my sink and allow a couple of drops to fall on my shirt for maximum drunken stench. My plan is to act, look, and smell drunk. That way if I get caught going through Alexo’s room, I can pretend I got lost along the way to Theo’s room to return his stuff. It might be a stupid idea, but it’s all I’ve got.
I still haven’t heard from Theo, and I allow that to fill me up with courage. It means they’re not back at the mansion yet. I have plenty of time to snoop through Alexo’s things without the fear of being caught.
I wake up at five in the morning and make my way through the house, shuffling on my feet like I’m drunk, just in case any one sees me. I stay quiet though, my socked feet soft on the floor. Soon, I am at the end of the hallway, facing the door that leads to the stairs.
I take a deep breath and open the door. The soft glow of the sunlight from the third floor just barely illuminates the stairs before me. I close the door behind me and carefully walk up, taking each step achingly slow so as to keep quiet. My heart thunders in my chest, but I clutch Theo’s things tightly, holding on to the lie that I’m drunk and trying to find his room.
At the top of the stairs, I face a room that’s larger than mine or Theo’s. The walls are dark wood, with candelabras hanging every few feet. Alexo’s bed is the biggest bed I’ve ever seen, made up with white silk sheets and a ton of pillows. There’s a sitting area, a bar, and doors that probably lead to the bathroom or closets. At the top of the stairs is an office area with a high ceiling that has skylight windows.
I go for the desk. Every drawer is locked. He has no computer, and not even any televisions in his room. As I look around, I realize there are no modern devices at all in Alexo’s room. Everything is big, immaculate, and clean. I make my way to the end tables next to his bed, but there’s nothing in the drawers. It’s as if he’s never in here at all.
I take a deep breath and continue my search. The bar is filled with alcohol and nothing else. I check behind the few paintings on the walls but there’s no hidden safe or books on immortality. The entire room is spotless.
I scrub my hands over my face, smelling the stench of whiskey on my fingers. I groan in frustration. There’s nothing here. Not even a wall tablet, or an alarm clock. The closet is filled with suits and shiny leather shoes, and nothing at all of any interest to me. I pull open all the doors, but as I suspected, they lead to a bathroom and two closets. There’s no secret hide out, no bookshelf that might be a false wall to a hidden room. Frustrated, I look around the room once more, making sure I’ve left everything exactly how I found it, and then I make my way back to the stairs behind his desk.
And then I notice it. The door on the other side of Alexo’s desk. It’s made of the same dark wood paneling as the wall, but I still can’t believe I missed it on my first look around the room. I shove the DVD in my back pocket and put Theo’s sunglasses on top of my head so I don’t drop them.
A new spark of excitement fills my bones as I make my way to the door, twisting the silver handle slowly. The door swings open, revealing another set of stairs. They also go down, just like the door I used to get here, but they lead somewhere else. It’s dark at the bottom, no sunlight filters in from wherever these stairs end. I reach for the handrail and then slowly lower myself down each step, feeling in the dark to make sure I don’t fall. The light from Alexo’s room gets dimmer and dimmer, and the stairs seem to go on forever. I can’t be sure but it certainly feels like I’ve been walking down many more steps than I walked up to get to Alexo’s room.
Finally, I step forward and there’s no more steps beneath my feet. Just solid, hard flooring. My vision is nearly pitch black. I turn around and look up at where I’d left the door open just a crack. There’s a sliver of light up there, but it doesn’t illuminate the area down here.
I turn back and hold out my arms, feeling for whatever lies ahead. I touch a wall in front of me, and feel down until my hand closes over a cool metal doorknob.
Curiosity claws at me and I’m dying to know what’s on the other side. This could be the answer to all of my questions. It could lead me to who is in control of Alexo.
I twist the handle slowly, and then the door at the top of the stairs slams shut.
Chapter 20
My breath catches in my throat. Footsteps walk away from the door at the top of the stairs.
“Damn drafts,” someone says. It almost sounds like the deep gruff of Russell’s voice, but I can’t be sure. But it does calm my pounding heart a little bit. If he thinks the door was open because of a draft, then he doesn’t suspect that someone is down here. I clutch the half empty bottle of whiskey to my chest, frantically reminding myself that I’m supposed to act drunk if I’m caught. I turn back around, my hand finding the door knob again. I have no idea what’s beyond this door, but I can’t go back up the stairs if someone is up there.
I take a deep breath and prepare to make an exit through this mysterious door. If I’m lucky, maybe it goes outside.
A shrill female scream freezes me to the floor.
I turn back around, staring at the sliver of light emanating from the bottom of the door at the top of the stairs.
“What are you doing to me?” a girl screams. I know her voice, and a shudder ripples through me. I can sense her fear, feel the terror in her voice.
It’s Jayla.
“Let—me—go,” she says with a huff.
“Ain’t happenin’, sweetheart.”
Now I know for sure that’s Russell’s southern twang of a voice. I know I should leave, turn around and run out
that door and forget I ever heard any of this, but I can’t. Curiosity takes over.
And if I’m being honest, even though I’m not friends with Jayla, I don’t like the sound of what’s going on up there. Whatever is happening, she doesn’t deserve it.
Carefully, I lean forward, putting my hands on the stairs in front of me since I can’t see them very well. I crawl up them slowly, only stopping when my eyes are level with the slit under the door. I see Jayla’s bare feet standing next to Russell’s heavy boots. There’s another pair of shoes—Nike’s with blue laces. Those belong to Kyle.
The sounds of Jayla struggling to free herself makes a knot form in my stomach, but she should know that she’ll never escape Russell’s grip. He’s too strong and she’s too small.
“You really fucked up kid,” Russell says with a tisk that sounds like he might actually feel bad for her. “You should have kept to yourself. Followed the rules.”
“You should have told the truth!” she says. “Tell me what I am! What did you do to me?”
The door across from Alexo’s office opens. It’s the first door I came in from, the one directly across from the hidden door I’m peeking out of. Fear solidifies in my bones as I watch the shiny leather shoes walk into the room and make their way over to Jayla and Russell. I study Kyle’s shoes, but he’s not moving. He’s also not speaking.
I wish I could see better, but as I press my face to the final stair, all I can see is the bottom of everything on this floor.
“Get away from me!” Jayla yells as Alexo’s shoes slowly click across the floor toward her.
“Jayla,” he says, his voice smooth as honey. “You knew the rules when you accepted this job, did you not?”
“What did you do to me?” she hisses.
“I gave you a place to live,” he says. “I gave you everything you could have wanted.”
“You cursed me!” she screeches. Her feet shift as she struggles to free herself, but Russell holds her tightly by the arms. “This bracelet is a poison!”