"He's gonna come after one of us next. I know it." Bria looked to Hayley. "Why don't you seem scared?"
"Being scared won't help," Hayley said as Sydney was saying, "Again, not necessarily, Bria."
"If Kenda hadn't been there, she would have died."
"Okay." Sydney motioned for Bria to settle down.
"It's not okay. What if Jaden hadn't left her purse at the gallery last night? Kenda found her floating in the pool."
"I was unconscious. I was still breathing."
"What if the Man in White comes after me when Nico isn't home?"
"We need to stay calm," Sydney said again. "Let's figure this out."
"Bria is right," Hayley said. "Maybe we shouldn't be alone right now."
"I was fine all morning and afternoon," Jaden said.
"Anything else happen last night?" Hayley asked.
"No." Then she sighed. "Kenda stayed with me, so that made me feel better. We watched Netflix. And somehow I managed to fall asleep."
"Any dreams?"
"No. And I slept nine hours. I never do that."
"You probably needed the sleep," Sydney said.
"Let me tell you what I found out today. Chimera is a place. Well, not a place, but it's mentioned in folklore." One by one, she lifted the books and showed them to the others. "Get this. I've been all over the internet, trying to find out something about a place called Chimera and came up empty. Then I get here and ask Crissy and she brings me these. They were special ordered by my aunt."
Bria sat back and hugged herself. "That's kind of creepy."
"No way," Sydney said. "Are you sure?"
"You can ask Crissy yourself." She lifted up the nameless book. "Only thing is, this one is written in some language no one understands."
Hayley reached for the book and paged through it.
"I'm not exactly sure what it's about. But it must be relevant. It looks just like the other book."
"Chimera?" said Sydney. "So what did you find out in the other book?"
"Get this," Jaden began. "The story goes that there are supposedly four daughters of Maliki Bakari Adelaja, the ruler of this place called Chimera. Maliki means king, by the way. The daughters were Adia, Winda, Kesi, and Sauda. Chimera existed in a world similar to earth, but from what I understand, it's not on earth. The Maliki had a brother, Brell Adelaja, who ruled the neighboring kingdom of Sheol. The brothers didn't get along. Maliki Brell is said to have hated Maliki Bakari. Where Bakari believed in goodness and love, his brother was only interested in power. After the death of their parents, and the dividing of the kingdom into two kingdoms, war broke out. Brell wanted all of the kingdom, but Bakari thought they should share it." She paused to check her notes on the laptop. "Now this is where things start getting interesting. Brell sought the aid of a warlock to help him get power over the entire kingdom. This warlock practiced dark magic. He told Brell that he could put a spell on Bakari's kingdom. Send it into a sort of hibernation. The hibernation would last two centuries. In this time, Brell could destroy his brother and court and people. The land would be wiped clean and the kingdom would be his. Only, Bakari had his own magician. It was a white witch. Before the warlock could enclose all of Chimera in ice, the witch sent the king's four daughters out of their world and to earth. It is said they, with the witch, were supposed to travel here where they'd be safe. With the princesses gone from Chimera, Brell couldn't destroy the kingdom. When the time was right they'd return and restore their father's kingdom. But something went wrong. The witch was injured somehow and the daughters were sent to earth unprotected. And the warlock knows. He came to earth, he followed them here to kill them. So they can't return to Chimera."
As one, they looked at her.
"I think the figure who spoke to me last night, the one encased in ice, was the Maliki of Chimera. He called me Kesi. That's the name of one of his daughters."
When nobody said anything, she went on.
"I know it sounds crazy—"
"Sounds crazy?" Sydney asked. "It doesn't just sound crazy. It is crazy. You think the three of you are the what? Reincarnated daughters of this Maliki of Chimera?"
"I didn't say that."
"But you think he's real," Bria began, "and that he thinks you're his daughter, Kesi."
Jaden shrugged. "The three of us have the same dreams. We've seen the Man in White, who I think is this warlock of Brell. Hayley painted him so vividly that Bria and I had very dramatic reactions to her painting. All of these things seem crazy. There has to be an explanation. Why is it so hard to believe the explanation may be as insane as what's been happening to us?"
"When I said I'd help, I meant help resolve this," Sydney said, "not makes things worse."
"How does this make things worse? It's the only thing that makes sense."
"Tell me you're not buying this?" Sydney looked to Hayley.
"Oh man, my head hurts." Hayley rubbed her temples. "I don't know, Jaden. This is a little weird, even for me."
"But?" Jaden said. "I can hear a but in there."
"I don't know. Crazy as it sounds, there's the ring of truth in there."
"Come on," Sydney said. "You're too smart for this." She turned on Bria. "What about you?"
Bria shrugged. "I'm not ready to rule anything out. This is the first lead we've had. Why not pursue it and see where it takes us?"
"I don't believe this. You're all lunatics." Sydney rose and disappeared behind a shelf of books.
Well, Jaden thought, they didn't have to believe her. Or maybe they did. She had no idea. But it stood to reason, if she was supposed to do something to save the people of Chimera, so were Bria and Hayley.
"I'm gonna see if I can find out anything else about Chimera," Bria said.
"And I'm gonna see if I can find a translation to this book." Hayley pointed at the nameless book. "Did Crissy say where the books came from?"
"No," Jaden said. "And I was so surprised, I didn't think to ask."
"Well, that's where I'll start." Hayley rose and went to the circulation desk.
Sydney returned with a stack of books, but Jaden didn't ask her what she was focusing on.
Two hours came and went. They'd all been reading, except Hayley who periodically went to the counter to have powwows with Crissy.
"Anything?" Hayley asked after she sat down.
Bria cleared her throat quietly. "I found the same story Jaden found. Only the website I was reading said the warlock's name. Prodigy."
"What website said that?" Hayley asked.
"It's an online encyclopedia of supernatural folklore put together by some history professor. Beryl Chambers." Bria pushed her laptop to Hayley, but Sydney grabbed it first.
"Sorry blondie, but I recognize that name."
"Who is she?" Bria asked.
"I don't know about history professor. From what I know, she's a rich lady who lives up on the cliffs in some old mansion. She just bought it a few months back."
"That creepy mansion where that kid killed his family?" Hayley crinkled her nose. "Who would want to live there?"
"Have you seen the gardens?" When nobody said they had, Sydney continued. "They were beautiful once. There's an actual maze on site. It used to be beautiful."
"When were you there?"
"She contacted me after she moved in. There were some legal matters she wanted me to handle for her."
"Let me get this straight." Jaden knew she was interrupting, but everyone seemed to be missing the point. "This Beryl Chambers talks about Chimera on her supernatural themed website, moves a few months ago, Bria moves here nine months ago, now here I am. This can't be a coincidence."
"What, do you think she pulled out her crystal ball and lured you all here?" Sydney asked.
"I didn't say that?"
"So what exactly are you saying? From where I'm sitting, it sounds pretty woo woo. And never mind that. If you did an extensive search online for Chimera, why didn't you find this site?"
Jaden shook
her head. "I don't know. But I searched everywhere."
"Okay," Hayley held her hands up. "That's enough. Arguing isn't getting us anywhere." She jerked a finger at Sydney. "Jaden has a point. You can't tell me you don't find all this strange. A little too convenient?"
Sydney didn't answer at once, then she rolled her eyes. "It's a little strange, yeah, but that doesn't mean she lured you here."
"I didn't say she did," said Jaden. "I was simply pointing out all of the odd coincidences."
"We still have a few hours of daylight." Hayley looked at them, one by one. "Why don't we do a drive by and see if we get any weird vibes?"
Bria was shaking her head in the negative before Hayley had finished the sentence. "We can't do that. What if she sees us coming on the ferry. Or what if we get caught?"
"The house doesn't face the line the ferry travels, so she won't see us."
Sydney nodded. "This is an idea I can get behind."
"But you've been there before," Jaden said. "Why do you want to go back?"
"Curiosity. If some cosmic force has drawn the three of you to her, I wanna see what happens when you're all in the same vicinity. Will she sense your presence? I'm genuinely curious."
"I don't like this," Bria said. "It could be dangerous."
"Dangerous how? She's a fifty-year-old rich lady living in a mansion on an island. What could possibly go wrong?"
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Jaden was the last out of the car. She slammed the door shut, then leaned against it, huffing out a breath.
Hayley threw her hands in the air. "Don't look at me. No one else saw it. What the hell was that, anyway?"
"Looked like someone had thrown bits of glass all over the road," Bria said.
"How many tires," Jaden asked, as Sydney was doing an inspection of the car.
"Only the front driver's side," Sydney said. "Not so bad, considering."
"We should have turned back when we got lost," Bria hugged herself and peered out at the trees surrounding them. "We've been driving around up here for hours."
"Not hours," said Sydney. "Just an hour or so. And it's ten miles back to town." She pulled her cell phone out of her pocket. "We'd better call for help and get someone up here to tow the car. Unless one of you princesses knows how to change a tire?"
"Yeah right?" Hayley said. "Don't even look in my direction."
"What about you?" Sydney asked Jaden.
"No," Jaden said. "I wouldn't even want to try. I wouldn't trust myself to do it right."
They all looked at Bria, who shook her head, then continued to look out at the trees. "I don't like this. I've got a really bad feeling about this. We shouldn't be here. Anything could be in those trees, hiding."
Jaden went to Bria and put an arm around her. She'd had problems in her life, but an abusive ex wasn't one of them. "There are four of us. Nothing is coming out of those trees to hurt any of us."
Bria shivered, but nodded. "I guess."
"Would you want to face down Sydney?"
That got a smile from Bria. Then she laughed. "No way. I'm glad she's on our side."
"Me too."
"What about you?" Hayley was asking. "You know how to change a tire, Sydney?"
"Damn!" Instead of answering, Sydney held her phone out to them. "No signal. What about you?"
Jaden pulled her cell phone out of her purse, then swore under her breath.
"What do we do now?" Bria asked after they'd determined nobody had a signal.
"Let's get Hayley's car off the road then go for help," Jaden said.
"Help? Where?"
"Where else? Beryl Chambers' house. It's the only thing nearby."
As one, they looked at Sydney.
Sydney rolled her eyes. "This is not kismet or cosmic woo woo, or anything like that, so I don't wanna hear it."
Hayley got back in the driver's seat while Jaden and the others got behind the car and pushed until the car was in the dirt at the side of the road. After that unpleasantness was over, Jaden looked down at her sandals and frowned. They were covered in mud. "How much farther to the house?"
"It's right around that curve," Sydney said, pointing ahead of them.
And it was. They didn't have to go very far at all before the roof line of the house came into view. Then, gradually, Jaden could make out the top floor of the house through the trees. Though, to say this was a house wasn't right. This was a mansion.
The mansion was surrounded by trees. Even when they got to the driveway, the driveway was lined with trees. They were old trees that loomed high above them. As they walked, Jaden couldn't help but marvel at their age. They were so old, they seemed almost magical.
As in awe as she was of the ancient trees, Bria looked as though she might bolt at any minute. Jaden was pretty sure the only thing keeping Bria there was the fact that she didn't want to be alone out in the middle of nowhere. Jaden hated to think what Nico would say once he found out where they had her today.
The house was made of stone and wood, and looked as old as the forest it had been built in. It was beautiful, and a little scary.
"Incredible," Hayley said. "I've never been this close before. I've only ever seen it from town."
"It gets better," Sydney promised.
And it did. The entrance was nearly hidden under a series of wooden beams set across the walkway like a dozen small bridges. The front door was wide open.
Jaden stopped in her tracks. "Hey." She pointed ahead at the door.
"Would you look at that," Hayley said, grinning at Sydney. "It's almost like she knew we were coming."
"What should we do?"
A figure appeared in the open doorway. Jaden did a double take, then blinked several times.
"What the..." Hayley said, seeing the woman, too.
Bria's hand slipped into Jaden's and Jaden gave it a squeeze. She couldn't say why, but the woman of the house scared the crap out of her. On the surface that didn't make sense. She was small. Jaden could see that much even from a distance. She had long, jet black hair that came to her waist, and eyes the color of a stormy night. She looked like an exquisite Latina doll. Fine boned and unnaturally beautiful. Jaden had never seen a woman like her before.
"What should you do?" the woman parroted Jaden. "Come in, of course. I've been waiting for you."
CHAPTER TWELVE
Jaden looked at her new friends, but made no effort to move. Neither did her new friends, for that matter. If Jaden hadn't been so scared she would have laughed at the look of confusion on Sydney's face. She wasn't making any jokes now.
"I knew once Jaden arrived it would only be a matter of time before you came," the woman was saying. Then she snapped her fingers. "Well don't just stand there, staring. Come in."
Jaden swallowed. It felt a bit like a Shaggy gulp, but she couldn't help it. Things had gone from slightly weird to Twilight Zone weird in a matter of seconds.
Hayley was the first to start forward. When Sydney grabbed her arm, she shook it off. "This is why we're here," she stage whispered.
She was right, of course. But that didn't make it any easier for Jaden to start walking herself. Especially since she had to drag Bria along behind her.
"There are four of us and one of her," she reminded Bria. "She can't try anything on us. We outnumber her. And we have Sydney."
"I don't think she's like us," Bria said.
Jaden had an inkling that Bria was right, but she didn't tell Bria that.
They crossed the threshold into the house and Jaden's eyes goggled. She'd thought her aunt's house was impressive. It was nothing compared to this.
They walked along a furry rug into a large room with a fireplace that was bigger than Jaden's first apartment. The interior was dark, with shades of maroon and forest green, but beautiful. It was like walking into a Guillermo del Toro movie set.
"At last," the woman was saying. "You have no idea how long I've waited for this day."
Jaden was finding it hard to speak. Even Sydne
y was speechless at first.
"You never said anything about this when I was here before," Sydney finally managed. "After you moved in."
"How could I? We were missing two very important ingredients." She walked to Jaden and ran a finger gently over Jaden's cheek, then Bria's. "But they're here now."
Bria tried to bolt, a sentiment Jaden could relate to. But she held Bria firm.
The woman, this Beryl Chambers, looked completely normal. But she wasn't. There was something off about her. Something Jaden couldn't put her finger on it. But it scared her. In fact, the entire mansion scared her.
"Hold on," Sydney was saying. "You can't seriously be trying to tell me you believe any of this stuff about the king of Chimera and his daughters being reincarnated in the three of them."
"No, actually, I don't. Please, sit," Beryl said, motioned to the leather sofa near the fireplace.
Jaden walked over to the sofa and sat. Bria sat on her right while Hayley then Sydney were to her left. Beryl didn't sit at once. She went to a cart where bottles of sherry, whiskey, and vodka sat. She poured some sherry into five glasses, put them on a tray, then came over.
Hayley took her glass without preamble and swallowed half the contents.
"Are you crazy!" Sydney elbowed her. "It could be—"
"I assure you, it's not poisoned," Beryl said. "Killing you would defeat the purpose of you being here, and keep me trapped in this world forever. She shuddered. "And I don't want that. But where were we. Oh yes, I was telling you that I don't believe Jaden, Bria, and Hayley are the reincarnated daughters of Maliki Bakari Adelaja."
Jaden shivered when she heard Beryl say the name she'd only discovered today. Did this mean she had been on the right path?
"Thank God," Sydney said.
"The daughters weren't reincarnated. Their spirits rest within you." She looked at Sydney. "The four of you."
Sydney began to rise, but Beryl held her hand up. "Just because you've medicated yourself nearly into oblivion and no longer dream doesn't mean you've erased who you are, Sydney."
Jaden looked at Sydney, wide-eyed. "You have dreams, too?"
"Had," Beryl clarified. "She's on medication that keeps the dreams at bay. But make no mistake, she's as much a part of this as the three of you. Why do you think she's been sticking so close?"
Jaden (St. Sebastians Quartet #1) Page 9