The Secret of the Codex

by Melissa Frey

  “We headed out of the country as soon as we could. We’d found something at the dig that sent us to Alaska, then found something in Alaska that led us here.” Kayla shifted in her seat.

  “When you say you found something . . .” Jan persisted.

  Kayla glanced at Grady. Grady smiled back, squeezing her hand under the table, and spoke for her. “It’s hard to explain, rather complicated. We should know more later today.”

  Kayla’s shoulders dropped ever so slightly as she silently sighed. Once again, Grady came through.

  And Jan got the hint. She dropped her line of questioning with a nod, then changed the subject. “So is everybody packed up? For the hike, I mean.”

  Their discussion turned to the more mundane details of their trip, such as the best places to park for overnight stays, some of the best campsite options, and the weather, which was unseasonably warm, even for June. They packed again for a few days, prepared to stay overnight if necessary.

  But Kayla hoped they would be done before nightfall. She was enjoying sleeping in an actual bed—in an actual home—and eating homemade food for once. A second night in a cozy, welcoming home and a warm bed wasn’t too much to ask, was it?

  CHAPTER 19

  Yellowstone

  Yellowstone National Park

  The four of them—with Grady driving—made the almost two-hour trip to the park entrance, where they immediately received a warning from the park ranger: the National Weather Service was predicting a storm, so the ranger suggested they make their visit quick. Kayla agreed with him vehemently. We can always hope.

  They headed south on the main road, for lack of any more specific place to go. Justin was spouting off useless trivia as they went; he had quite apparently spent many summers here as a child. “We’re coming up on Mammoth Hot Springs, almost like the hub of Yellowstone, at least coming in from the north . . .

  “Many of the attractions of Yellowstone exist because of its supervolcano, which created the many calderas of Yellowstone, including the largest, the Yellowstone Caldera. Many scientists believe it’s the largest active supervolcano in the world. All the thermal activity—like the geysers—are evidence of this as well.”

  Kayla had all but tuned him out, and she could see Grady was doing his best to ignore him, but Mandy was keeping up. At Justin’s mention of a volcano, she snorted. “Active? Yeah, right. I suppose that means it’ll erupt while we’re here?”

  Justin smiled. “Not likely. The last major explosion was hundreds of thousands of years ago, according to most scientists. They classify the volcano as ‘active’ because of the thousands of earthquakes each year and all the thermal activity.”

  “Thousands?”

  Justin grinned, nodding. “A couple thousand are recorded each year. You know, many people believe . . .”

  He continued his incessant prattling, and Kayla stopped listening altogether. She was trying to concentrate, trying to will a vision into her head. It wasn’t really working.

  They passed through the Mammoth Hot Springs area, past the Historic Fort Yellowstone—from the days the army controlled Yellowstone, Justin interjected—past the Amphitheater, past the Albright Visitor Center. Justin didn’t know how the visitor center got its name.

  Kayla held her breath as they left the small semblance of civilization, hoping that maybe leaving “town” would make it easier for her to see something, divine something. Anything.

  Nothing.

  Kayla sighed, looking out over the majestic mountains, sparkling lakes, vast forests. It reminded her of her childhood in Seattle. Mom would have loved this.

  Always the adventure-seeker, Marci Harrington had loved hiking Mt. Rainier in the summers, kayaking along the San Juan islands in the fall, and scuba diving in Puget Sound year-round. Growing up, Kayla frequently went along with her to discover the nature that surrounded the city.

  Kayla loved it; she supposed her mother was one of the reasons she loved the discovery of archaeology. Nature had so many stories to tell if you knew where to look.

  “Hey, Grady, pull over here.” Justin’s voice interrupted her musings, and she sighed. It seemed Justin was determined to do the tourist thing until they got more information out of her.

  Kayla rolled her eyes as they drove past yet another landmark she could’ve sworn they’d already seen at least once today and pulled into a roadside parking lot; she found herself hoping for a vision to get them out of this particular excursion. All she could think about at the moment—besides the underlying sadness at the thought of her mother—was the next elusive location. She knew they were close—they were at Yellowstone, after all—but she still felt lost.

  Justin hopped out of the vehicle, slamming his door shut. The other three imitated him—Kayla with considerably less enthusiasm—and followed him to a nearby trail.

  “This shouldn’t be too long of a hike; we should be able to leave our gear here,” Justin shouted back to the group as he sojourned on.

  Mandy trailed after him, excitedly sputtering questions as she went. Kayla brought up the rear, folding her arms across her chest as her tennis shoes scuffed the ground. Grady slowed and put his arm around her.

  “You okay?”

  Kayla attempted a smile as she looked over at him. “Yeah. I just wish we had a better idea of where to look. It’s so irritating that I can’t force these visions into my mind. I wish so much that I could.”

  Grady hugged her to his side as they sauntered after Justin and Mandy. “Don’t worry about it. You’ve done so much already—you’ve gotten us this far. Let’s just enjoy ourselves until it comes.”

  Kayla nodded at him and swallowed hard, trying to talk herself into it. She slid her arm around his waist, grateful for the contact. Grady grinned and kissed the top of her head as they sped up to try to catch the chattering couple ahead of them.

  “Come on, you two. No time for dawdling.” Justin called back to them with a smile, winking. He fell into the role of tour guide easily, much to Kayla’s amusement. She started laughing at him, feeling the laughter calm her nerves, release her anxiety. For a fleeting moment, she thought that perhaps she could relax and enjoy spending the day with the man she loved.

  Then, suddenly, Kayla felt her body jerk violently before crashing abruptly to the ground.

  Grady tried to catch her but she slipped too quickly out from under his arm. Instantly he fell to his knees at her side. Grady shook her—hard—but her eyes seemed welded shut. He yelled her name repeatedly, but somehow knew she couldn’t hear him.

  His frantic screams sent Mandy and Justin running back.

  “What happened?” Mandy rushed over to Grady and fell to the ground on Kayla’s other side.

  “She just shook—hard—then collapsed. I couldn’t stop her from falling. And now she won’t wake up.” Grady heard the panicked strain in his voice, but barely registered it. He was having trouble breathing.

  Mandy’s heart went out to him. She knew, in that moment, that Grady loved the unconscious woman lying between them. Mandy frowned, wishing she could ease his pain. She could only imagine how she would feel if anything happened to Justin . . .

  She gulped, forcing the thought away. She couldn’t allow herself to be distracted now. Kayla was in trouble.

  Mandy moved closer to Kayla and cradled her friend’s head in her lap. She understood—granted, on a much smaller scale—how Kayla felt; she remembered how she’d felt when it had happened to her. But Kayla’s unresponsiveness worried her. Her visions were getting worse, starting to hurt her. Mandy wished she knew why—and how to stop them.

  Then Kayla blinked once and her eyes opened wide. She sat up quickly, seemingly unharmed. She stared only at Grady and spoke with such assuredness that Mandy could not doubt her for a second. “I know where to look.”

  Grady nodded, but there was pain etched in his features. Kayla cringed at the sight. “What’s wrong, Grady?”

  Grady forced a smile to his lips, but it didn’t reach his ey
es. “You fell.” His two small words said everything Kayla needed to know, everything she hated to know.

  Kayla rested her hand on his cheek. “I’m fine, really. Nothing hurts.” She shifted her weight and winced. “Well, it only hurts a little. Just minor bruises.” She smiled sheepishly as Grady took her hand, carefully helping her to her feet. She took a few shaky steps down the trail before her feet finally steadied beneath her. “Come on, we’re almost there.”

  Mandy and Justin were only a few feet behind Grady, who was right on Kayla’s heels. Mandy glanced through a break in the foliage to take in the view of Golden Gate Canyon—that’s what Justin had called it in the car—for a split second, then heard some leaves rustling just in front of her. Her eyes shot back to the trail in front of them. Kayla was nowhere to be seen.

  She whispered “Where’d she go?” to Justin just as Grady took a few steps backward, then turned a sharp left into the dense, thick forest. From the noise he was making, he was running. Fast.

  Mandy ducked into the forest, Justin right beside her, but they were too far behind their friends to see them. “Grady? Kayla?” Justin called out.

  Grady’s answering call was ahead and slightly to the left of them, but closer than Mandy would’ve thought. This overgrowth was really thick.

  Mandy started running toward Grady’s voice, but Justin got there first—and nearly ran into Grady. Kayla was just a few feet away from him, frozen in place, staring straight ahead. Grady was off to her side, staring at the side of her face. Mandy could only guess what he was thinking.

  She walked up to Kayla, placing one of her hands on her friend’s shoulder. “Kayla? Where is it?” Mandy shook her gently, hoping to shake a response out of her. She didn’t bother asking what was going on—she already knew that. What she didn’t know was the where.

  Kayla raised her arm slowly and pointed to an insignificant spot on the ground. Mandy understood immediately. She dropped to her knees near the spot at the same time Kayla did, no questions asked.

  Kayla looked up at Grady, her eyes asking a silent question.

  Grady reached in his pocket for his flashlight. Mandy was amazed at how well they could already sense each other’s thoughts in just a few short weeks. She had a hunch that Grady and Kayla already knew how much they cared for each other; when they would let her and Justin know was the only question now.

  She smiled, then turned back to the task at hand, watching as Grady and Kayla began digging with the crude tool, making very little progress. Grady addressed Justin without looking up. “Justin, I think there are a few shovels in the back of the truck.”

  Justin nodded and took off. Mandy heard a rush of leaves and a gust of wind; her eyes shot up to find he was already gone. That man was fast.

  He was back in what had to be no more than a minute. How could he have come back so quickly? That trip would’ve easily taken her between five and seven minutes through this thick forest. How did he do it?

  She pushed the thought to the back of her mind; there were more pressing things at hand. Turning her attention back to the dirt in front of her, she grabbed one of the shovels and started digging. Kayla and Grady knelt on either side of her and did the same while Justin wiped away what dirt he could with his hands. Mandy rolled her eyes. He never did mind getting a little dirty.

  The group had been digging for a good five minutes before the metal head on Kayla’s shovel struck a solid object with a dull thud. Throwing a glance at the others, she set down her shovel then lay down on her stomach to start dusting off whatever was buried here. With the others’ help, whatever it was soon lay uncovered. The four of them peered over the edge of the hole.

  The large metal object they saw reminded Kayla of a small, thin safe, about the size of a few shoeboxes laid side by side. Grady reached down into the deep hole to retrieve it, lying down next to Kayla so he could use both hands. Kayla watched as he struggled to lift it out of the hole; that box had to be much heavier than it looked.

  Its surface was a shiny silver—impossible by Kayla’s estimation, given they’d just pulled it out of the dirt—that brilliantly refracted the few afternoon sun’s rays that made it through the canopy of trees above them. Weird.

  Kayla moved to sit next to Grady and pulled the box between them, setting it on the ground in front of the hole they’d just made. She searched for an opening, a keyhole, any way inside. But the box appeared to be sealed shut—well, sealed wasn’t exactly the right word. The box had absolutely no holes, no seams. It was one hard, impenetrable piece.

  Kayla turned the box over to examine it. Its surface was completely smooth, devoid of markings of any kind, including the ones her shovel should have made.

  As she flipped the box back over, something inside knocked against its interior and she jumped, dropping the box on the ground.

  Mandy, standing nearby, picked up a shovel and slammed it down on the hard metal, but the box remained unaffected; its exterior showed no indication that she’d even struck it. “We could try to find something stronger; maybe something to cut through the metal?” she suggested.

  Kayla shrugged, almost certain it wouldn’t work. She glanced at Grady, who shrugged back. Mandy continued to examine the metal box, running her hands over the smooth surface again and again.

  Then Justin reached for the box.

  As soon as his hands touched each side of the box, his body wrenched violently, then straightened as Justin jerked abruptly to his feet as if by an invisible force. The quiet of the forest was then viciously breached by a sharp grinding sound—the sonorous, grating sound of metal against metal. Kayla cringed away from the screeching, involuntarily squeezing her eyes shut for a few seconds. When she opened them, a hauntingly familiar sight made her mouth drop open.

  Justin was glowing. The ambient light flowed in ripples along the surface of his body, and he was trembling faintly. His eyes were closed peacefully, despite the turmoil readily evident on his skin. Then the shaking stopped, and an eerie stillness took its place. Justin stood perfectly still, motionless; his hands were flat but still clutching the metal box on either side, looking as though they were glued to the surface. His face was raised to the sky as if he were simply enjoying the warmth of the sun on his skin.

  The metallic shrieking subsided slowly. Kayla’s eyes were glued to the box in Justin’s hands; they widened as a fissure tore the box in two. A blinding light shot out from the crack; its exodus took with it the screeching cacophony, leaving a thundering silence in its place.

  Kayla stared wide-eyed at Justin, unable to form any appropriate words. Grady was frozen, mouth open. Mandy gasped.

  In Justin’s hands, where the metal box had been, was a book.

  Finally coming out of his trance, Justin lowered his head, opening his eyes. His gaze immediately rested on Mandy, and his lips widened into a gleaming smile. Mandy jumped to her feet and ran into his arms. He hugged her tightly with his right arm as he shifted the book into his left in one smooth motion. Their eyes closed contentedly as the embrace lengthened, neither moving away.

  Kayla’s brow furrowed as she shot Grady a quick glance. What was going on?

  Mandy was the first to talk, looking up at Justin. “You feel it, don’t you?”

  Justin nodded.

  Then Kayla understood. “Amazing,” she breathed.

  Grady leaned over to her and whispered, “What’d I miss?”

  Kayla smiled. “He’s feeling the power now. Just like Mandy.”

  Justin overheard her explanation and nodded excitedly. “That was incredible.”

  Mandy smiled up at him. “I remember.”

  The couple finally broke their embrace—though Justin kept Mandy’s hand in his, seemingly unable to let her go—and dropped to the ground around their newly dug hole. As soon as they hit the ground they began jabbering rapidly to each other, and everything else seemed to fall away.

  “Do you feel it still? The power coursing through you . . .”

  Mandy nodd
ed vehemently. “Barely, but it’s still there.” She swallowed quickly. “You were glowing. I was, too, wasn’t I? It’s so hard to believe . . .”

  “I can’t believe it, either. I don’t know what it all means. I feel so—”

  “—powerful, but like you don’t know how to release it?”

  “Yeah. Like I don’t know what to do with it. Kind of like I should know what to do with it, but I don’t.”

  “Like something’s missing.”

  “Yeah.”

  Justin’s one-word response finally silenced them. They stared at each other briefly, then slowly, almost comically, simultaneously turned to stare at Kayla and Grady, finally acknowledging the rest of their group. Kayla wanted to laugh aloud at their identical reactions, but their suddenly solemn expressions stopped her short.

  “What’s wrong?” Grady asked, reaching for Kayla’s hand.

  “Well, we just—I don’t know how to explain it.” Mandy looked at Justin.

  Justin attempted. “I almost . . . well, heard what Mandy was thinking, but it wasn’t really like that.” He glanced over at Mandy.

  Mandy took over. “It was kind of like I just knew what Justin was thinking, and I’d had the same thought, too. Like we had one mind.”

  Kayla, not even sure what to address first, felt her mouth drop open. “What was it?”

  Mandy paused. “You two are what we’re missing.”

  “What?!”

  Justin answered Grady’s question. “We have the power now, but for some reason—don’t ask us how we know, we just know—we can’t fully access it before the two of you, well . . .” he glanced over at Mandy for a split second before looking back at Kayla and Grady. “Before you . . . get yours.”