“Oh no, I’m not lying. These are all my cards on the table. I’m leveling with you, remember?”
“Why?” I say through my teeth.
“Because there’s something that I need to exist, something that I need in order to stay youthful and continue my rule, and a fully matured Chosen is the only one who can obtain it for me.”
“So, what is it? This thing that keeps you alive?”
“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, shall we?” He pulls the chain on the information, drawing it back, so he can feed me little bits at a time.
“The question is, will you help?” he asks and stands behind Sam, bracketing her shoulders with his hands. She cringes and closes her eyes.
“I said leave her alone!” Of course I have no choice in whether I’ll help him or not. Will I do it willingly? No. Will I do it for Bishop and Sam? Yes. How can I not do everything he asks when he’s holding the two most important people in my world hostage?
“You haven’t told me what it is I need to do.”
“First, I need you to run a small errand. Nothing major or out of the ordinary for you.” He looks back to the TV, which is now playing video of Sam, Bishop, and me breaking in Gabe’s apartment, the video recording I thought Miss Swift had destroyed. Apparently there are additional hidden cameras that even she doesn’t know about.
“Go on.”
“So that we’re not wasting time, let’s get you ready to go.” He waves a group of people into the room. From what they’re carrying—garment bags, makeup cases, and mirrors—I can tell they’re stylists and are here to prepare me for my errand, an errand that will require Wandering.
They drag a curtain on a track in the ceiling between the Grand Master and me, and he disappears from view. Immediately the stylist strips away my grime-covered workout clothes and scrubs me with a washcloth, which she repeatedly dips into a bucket of water. I cover my naked self, wanting to fight, but I think of Sam and what he may do to her next, so I eventually just close my eyes, sending myself to my happy place, if I even have one of those anymore.
Grand Master Levi continues to talk from the other side of the curtain. “Your errand is to Wander back in time and retrieve the crown of Unika, where it’s displayed at the World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893 in Chicago.”
I perk up at this because it’s finally happening. This is when I go back to retrieve the crown, but when I saw the scenario play out before, I had no idea I’d been coerced to do so.
“This is the last known location of the relic,” he continues. “There it was shown as part of the Western Electricity Display in the Electricity Building. There were many things the people of the time were deeply fascinated with, among them Egyptian artifacts and electricity. Here’s a map of the buildings for you to memorize before you leave.”
He hands the map around the curtain, and I clutch a towel around my now-clean body and snatch it out of his hands. He retreats to the other side while the stylist starts blow-drying my hair and dressing me.
I study the map, holding it close to my face. The Electricity Building was one of the only exhibition halls that Bishop and I didn’t see. Perhaps Gabe toured our class there after we ditched them.
“Why can’t you just go back and get it yourself?” I ask him through the curtain. “You’ve already been there, lived in that time.”
“Why would I when I have one of the most powerful Wanderers of all time at my disposal?”
I roll my eyes.
“I made you to serve, and now it’s time to pay up.”
Snorting softly, I mumble, “I should have killed you when I had the chance.”
“I’m afraid you don’t have it in you, Sera. If you did, I’d be dead. I imagine that in time, I’ll break you down with whatever means necessary, and you’ll be subservient to my every whim.”
I tighten my jaw, ready to attack him with more words, but I imagine Sam on the other side, fingers broken, and Bishop, wherever he is with Dr. Shockey, so I hold my tongue.
“At any rate, pet, you’ll need this little relic to move on to the next task.”
The stylist pulls back the curtain, revealing my makeover to the Grand Master. I’m dressed in the clothing of the time, namely the same eggplant-colored dress I saw my future self wearing yesterday. Someone pins a wide-rimmed hat on my head and shoves my feet into a pair of boots. As usual, I’ll fit right into the 1890s, and no on will know who or what I am.
“You look lovely. I knew that color would complement your beautiful skin.” He scans me appreciatively and I want to kick that creepy look off his face.
From the corner of my eye, I see my scorpion Animate crawl out from my old pile of clothes, across the floor, and under my dress. The Animate mounts my foot, tangling himself within the laces of my boot.
Sam looks over at me and I search her eyes for confirmation that she’s okay. I attempt to push into her mind to exchange thoughts with her, the way I have with Hologram Turner, and I’m surprised when it doesn’t work. It seems I haven’t developed this skill yet.
She nods slightly anyway, probably reading my face, and I cross my arms in an effort to keep them restrained and to myself. I wouldn’t want a stray fist to fly at the Grand Master’s gut.
“Any questions?” he asks.
I shake my head and avoid his eyes. “Let’s finish this.”
::30::
A Show
The guards lead Sam and me out of the Seer’s meditation room and back into Olde Town. News of what I’ve done to the Grand Master has apparently spread faster than wildfire; everyone’s buzzing. This is still high school, after all. Should I expect anything less?
When we enter the city, they drag Sam away from me and down the dark corridor to the library. That must be where they’re keeping Bishop. At least they’ll be together, hopefully safe from the ministrations of the evil Dr. Shockey.
The students gather in Olde Town to gawk. They huddle in groups, stand on chairs, and hang from tree branches to capture a better look at me. As I scan the faces, they boo me in return—maybe because they don’t know any better, or because they’ve been prompted to react. They’re brainwashed, after all, but whatever the reason, they must see my act of challenging, fighting, and hurting the Grand Master as treason to the Society.
I hold up my head, knowing that the course I’m on is true, even if they don’t realize they’re on the wrong side. I scan the students and pick out Macey in the crowd. Her team stands behind her, and they’re all booing and pumping their arms too. At this sight my heart breaks, but I can’t blame her. If I were in her situation, not knowing the truth about the Society, I might be doing the same. My eyes burn as tears threaten, and I remind myself that I chose not to tell her everything to keep her safe.
When the Grand Master and his guards have sufficiently paraded me around the city for everyone to see as a show of power, they guide me to one side of the plaza beneath the shadow of the obelisk.
Rex stands on a bench chair, elevating himself above the crowd. He waves his arms, hushing the roaring group. “Students, I know you’re as shocked and saddened as I about this afternoon’s display of lack of respect to our gracious and generous leader.” He gestures to Grand Master Levi, who drops his gaze to the ground in a nauseating display of humility. “But even in light of his serious injuries, he would like to say a few words.”
Grand Master Levi leans on his skull cane, wobbling convincingly with uncertain footing across the way, and two guards lift him up and onto the bench beside Rex. His arm, the one I injured, is wrapped within layers of gauze with red blood seeping through. It’s fake, of course, to hide the true nature of his arm from the students.
Rex braces the Grand Master’s back to carry the weight of him. With the Grand Master acting like this, like he’s truly been hurt, he’s playing on the sympathy of all the students and everyone here as they wait quietly and patiently for his words.
I roll my eyes at the display, but keep my mouth shut, thinking of my tea
m being held captive by Dr. Shockey.
“I speak to you this day about forgiveness,” the Grand Master says, projecting his voice over the crowd. “Forgiveness of a child that lets her emotions control her. Even though you’ve disrespected myself, this Society, and all of the people here, I forgive you, Seraphina Parrish.”
My mouth drops open at his words. The crowd erupts in applause and cheerful shouts. He’s won them by leading them to believe he’s humble, generous, and forgiving. Everything he’s not.
Every muscle in my body tightens with anger and humiliation. His megalomaniacal manipulation will never end, not until I set us free. My goal to fulfill the prophecy entrenches itself deeper into my soul, and I decide that I will go on this errand only to retrieve the crown for myself. Then I will use it to set every one of us free from this life by fulfilling the prophecy.
“I’m sending Sera on a Wandering pilgrimage, where she will repent, seeking amends for her shortcomings.”
“Such a freaking liar,” I whisper, the words twisting from my lips.
Guards help the Grand Master from the bench, and he staggers to place a hand on my shoulder and smiles weakly. Very unlike the man who threw the remote control in the Seer’s meditation room, or tortured Sam just a little bit ago.
“Sera, think long and hard about the mission I’m sending you on. I truly think it’s a matter of life and death,” he says loud enough for everyone nearby to hear, and I don’t miss the double meaning. It’s my team’s life or death if I don’t bring back the crown.
I nod because I have to. For someone who can’t control her emotions, I’d say I’m doing a pretty darn good job. At least I manage to do it when it counts the most.
The Society guards clear a long path, and Grand Master Levi steps away with a look on his face that’s more like a parent who’s sending a child off to college. Seeing the students and teachers lapping up his playacting makes me feel sick to my stomach.
Rex steps forward and hands me my relic. It’s a coin, one that passed through Chicago in 1893 during the exposition. I take it and close it tightly within my palm.
First there’s a low rumble, but by the time I take off sprinting across the plaza, all those present chant the word “repent” over and over. The sound resonates deep within the city walls and awakens the Animate lions and raptors. They jump or fly to the fortified walls to watch the mayhem for themselves.
Finally I gain enough speed and the ground shakes beneath me. Historic buildings and walls snap and crush in on themselves as the plaza of stone behind breaks apart and rolls up behind me like a wave. It blocks the light above, just before it crashes down from the sky, catapulting me into a wormhole.
I fly, tumbling with no gravity to hold me in place, only speed, perhaps light speed, to send me back in time. The landing is messy because the wormhole spits me out on the shore of a lagoon where the ground is uneven and riddled with brush. I fall to the dirt, landing just a few inches from sliding into the water.
While I’m on the ground, I lift my skirt, unwind the scorpion Animate from my bootlaces, and place him on the rim of my hat. He walks across it and nests himself into the loopy bows in the back where no one will notice him.
I drag myself away from the lagoon and take in my surroundings. There’s a Japanese structure behind me, which I remember from the map that Grand Master made me memorize.
I step out onto the walkway, slipping easily into the crowd. The day is sunny with a light breeze blowing off the nearby Lake Michigan, the same as it was yesterday when I was here with my classmates for our field trip. And soon, I will see myself with Bishop, but this time from a new perspective.
As I make my way through the exposition, I notice many people funneling into the opening beneath a soaring archway of the Electricity Building, so I follow. Inside, the ceilings reach several stories high, lined by steel frames. Several companies and inventors exhibit, many of which I recognize: Westinghouse, Nikola Tesla, American Bell, Thomas Edison, and General Electric. When I reach the Western Electric Company display, the one the Grand Master told me about, the exhibit resembles an Egyptian temple.
I follow a tour group inside. The interior is dark, but my eyes quickly adjust. When I turn a corner, I find several display boxes built into the wall that feature Egyptian artifacts. Looking for the crown, I walk quickly from display to display, but it’s not until the final room that I spot it.
The crown sits on its own stand in the center of the room. A woman removes the glass box that protects it. Noting the box of tools at her feet, I make a quick assessment. She’s merely a preservationist, cleaning the relic.
She holds up the crown in white-gloved hands and appraises it, and then her gaze flicks to me as I approach. “It took you long enough. Your mother said you would be here sooner,” she says.
“My mother said…” My words drift off.
“Yes, Eliza Parrish.” She nods.
I step closer to see the color of her eyes. Violet.
“Several months ago, your mother summoned me from my Society post. When we met, she tasked me with restoring Unika’s crown. She presented me with the emerald, the one that was set within a sundial bracelet, one Terease passed on to her, and with that and the help of Elijah Vanderpool’s unfragmentation machine, I was able to restore the crown to its original state. Since then, I’ve been the Keeper of this relic, charged with its safety until the Chosen appeared. And here you are. You are the Chosen, are you not?” she asks.
“Yes, I think so. I mean, I should be after tomorrow, after the Oaths.”
“So then, it’s not done—not yet. The Masters haven’t completed the promise of a Chosen.” She continues cleaning the crown and looks down. “Come back when you’ve been marked,” she says plainly.
“I can’t come back; I need it now. You don’t understand—”
“No, you don’t understand. I cannot relinquish this until I see proof, no matter who you are. Eliza left me with strict instructions.”
I cringe, remembering the tattoos Dr. Shockey tested me for with the electrified light saber, the ones I saw on the leathery skin. I’ve seen no sign of them on my own body.
Instead of backing away, I push up my sleeve, as if to show her the marks that I know aren’t there. I’m not even sure where they’ll be, if and when they appear. She raises an eyebrow as I step forward.
“So, you do have them.” She meets me, and I raise my bent elbow. When she’s close enough, I smash my limb into her jaw. Her head jerks back and her wire eyeglasses fly off her face, but she’s barely affected.
“You should not have done that.” She tips her head forward and her determined eyes meet my gaze. “You will not win.” Her eyes narrow dangerously and she squeezes my arm, digging her fingers into my skin.
“I need that relic,” I say through clenched teeth. “My friends, my team, they’re in trouble.”
“That’s no concern of mine.” She uses all her strength to push me away, propelling me into a glass exhibit that shatters. Bits of broken glass fall in a cascade and crash to the floor around me, causing tourists perusing the exhibit to stop and stare in shock, before several run away screaming.
“It will be if I don’t make it to the Oaths. Then you’ll never have your Chosen.” I stand tall and straighten my dress, brushing off a few bits of glass that cling. “Or you can give it to me before I really hurt you.”
This time she laughs. “Do you think Eliza would leave this relic for anyone to guard? Stupid child.”
I hadn’t considered that she might be as strong as me. It makes sense. “Yes, but I’m the only one with a Turner,” I say, pronouncing the last word loudly.
She looks confused. “What’s a Turner?”
“I’m a Turner.” Hologram Turner appears in a sparkling blue dust cloud, arms folded across his chest.
The woman spins to face him and when she does, I take her out.
::31::
The Crown
The woman falls to the floor and he
r blonde hair spills free from her coiffure. I feel guilty for what I’ve done. We’re on the same side, and she’s just doing her job. A job tasked her by my own mother before her passing.
I grab the crown of Unika and push the Animate back into the nest of bows on top of my hat before I take off running. Spectators gather around, so it’s only a matter of time before the police become involved.
I haven’t traveled very far from the scene when I’m met by a pair of familiar eyes. I pause for only a moment, knowing that running into the Underground gang can’t possibly be good news, and I take off sprinting out of the building and into the Chicago sunlight.
The group is not nearly as fast as me but it’s something that Drake, their leader, yells that causes me to stop, turn, and face them.
“Your Turner,” he yells. “He’s alive.”
“What?” I step backward in surprise.
“He made it through the wormhole with Cece.” Drake steps forward, and though I haven’t seen him since last semester, he still makes me uneasy. To this day, I have no idea why they were ever after me to begin with or why they ever wanted me dead.
My face crumples with confusion. “Turner’s dead. You’re lying,” I say and take another step back.
“I’m not. Cece is losing domination over the Underground because you took the dreamdrives. Without them to control the members, they’ve gone raving mad, rallying on their own, attacking random Society buildings.”
“You’re lying,” I say, and begin to move away.
“I’m not. In fact, if you come with me, I’d be happy to supply more information,” Drake offers, pleading with outstretched arms.
Seeing Light (The Seraphina Parrish Trilogy) Page 17