by Melissa Frey
As she stepped into the open expanse, she began to feel something. Nothing monumental, or even very noticeable—just a small, subtle crawling under her skin. Disconcerting, definitely, but not in a bad way. It was the kind of feeling she remembered from junior high when someone she liked looked at her. An anticipation so unexpected that it sent electricity running through her veins.
Kayla shivered slightly, despite the heat, then stepped forward with a newfound determination.
She understood it now. This was Destiny. Hers, Grady’s, Mandy and Justin’s—even Holun’s. She could feel it in her bones.
She wasn’t entirely sure what was coming next, but she smiled anyway. Whatever was coming, she knew deep in her heart that she was right where she was supposed to be.
CHAPTER 41
Distrust
Justin eyed their young guide as they entered the clearing. Surely something was coming . . . they were almost certainly walking into a trap. There had to be a catch.
Then Justin stepped out of the line of trees into the wide-open expanse and momentarily forgot all about Holun. Wow. That thing is enormous! His eyes were automatically drawn up, toward the clouds. He reached for the binoculars Mandy offered in her open hands and stared through them.
In the center of the clearing, soaring to incredible heights, a large rock formation stood tall. After pulling the binoculars away several times to make sure his eyes weren’t deceiving him, he slung them around his neck and began to make his way closer.
His eyes widened as he approached. Certainly this can’t be a natural formation . . . Nothing in nature would be this . . . specific. This deliberate. This formation was definitely put here for a reason.
His thoughts trailed off as he approached the collection of boulders—boulders that were somehow all connected yet separate at the same time. He stood in the shadow of the closest rock and gazed up at the sky. The edge of the boulder was easily five feet above his head. And that was the shortest one.
He headed to the right, along the base of the formation, and began systematically examining the rock face. He wasn’t sure what he expected to find; a hidden entrance, maybe, or a way to the top? After a few minutes, he realized he was really just searching for any logical reason this monument before him could exist.
About halfway around the grouping of massive rocks, long after he had lost sight of the rest of the group, he found a collection of smaller rocks: flat, grey stones haphazardly placed in an odd formation against a few sloping boulders—could those be crude steps? Maybe he’d found what he was looking for after all.
He started climbing. The steps were large, with about a foot between each level. He scaled the rocks carefully but quickly, despite the tiresome hike here. Just the idea of a potential discovery had adrenaline coursing through his veins, giving him a newfound strength.
But the climb up was long, and the steps were getting steeper as he neared the top. The adrenaline soon wore off and he started to grow weary. He wished he had saved a little more of his strength.
The summit of the mini-mountain was easily one hundred and fifty feet off the ground. As he reached the top, he sat down on the nearest rock to catch his breath. He slowly raised his head and noticed that he could see for miles; he was above the tree line. He gazed at the horizon to try to catch a glimpse of the soon-to-be setting sun.
That’s when he saw it.
Justin jumped to his feet, reaching for the binoculars he had fortuitously slung around his neck just minutes earlier. He rammed them against his face with a force that would have hurt, had he cared.
He scanned the horizon to the south through the lenses of the binoculars, quickly finding again what he had seen moments before. “No . . . no!” He kept his voice as quiet as he could, though he reasoned that he probably wouldn’t have been heard even if someone was up here with him. He just wasn’t sure how far his voice would carry in this clearing; he was already worried that he would be seen over the surrounding treetops.
“What is it?” Mandy’s voice came from behind him. He turned to see her climbing the last few steps with a little effort. Justin put a finger to his lips to signal her to keep quiet before he went over and offered his hand to help her up the rest of the way. He figured she would’ve had more trouble than he did climbing that makeshift staircase—her legs were much shorter than his.
He smiled to himself as Mandy sat down on the same rock he had rested on just a few minutes ago. He pretended to gaze back through the binoculars as he stole a glance at Mandy out of the corner of his eye. He could stare at her forever . . .
But as he called Mandy over and showed her what was coming, he doubted they would last that long.
Kayla stood very still, a good twenty feet away from the rock formation, loosely holding on to Grady’s hand. She was trying to figure out where Justin and Mandy had gone. She had seen them head around the right side of the formation; perhaps they had found something? Maybe an entrance underground?
Grady was nearly motionless beside her. She could feel his pulse through his hand, but little else. What was he thinking? She wished for the thousandth time that she could hear his thoughts again.
She sighed, then began slowly walking toward the rock formation. As she moved forward, Grady clutched her hand tighter, moving with her. She knew he wouldn’t let her out of his sight. She didn’t have to be able to hear his thoughts to know that.
They approached the formation slowly; Kayla was still trying to decide what to do. Grady suggested they head around to the left, hopefully meet Justin and Mandy in the middle. Kayla shrugged, then turned and headed in that direction with Grady right beside her.
Mandy tucked her hair behind her ear and stared at the ground to the left of her feet. Once Justin had shown her what was concerning him—and with very good reason—he hadn’t said a word to her, and had even shushed her when she tried to ask him a question. Why was he ignoring her? This rift between them, whatever it was—and whatever had caused it—was getting really old, and more frustrating by the second.
She sighed, wishing she could do something to fix it. But what would fix something so . . . intangible? So indefinable? The whole thing just seemed hopeless.
But she couldn’t lose hope; she wouldn’t allow herself to give up. She knew that Justin, despite his shortcomings, was the only man for her. Their relationship wasn’t perfect, but whose was? Well, maybe Grady and Kayla’s, but then they’d only been together for a few weeks. Just give them a few years.
She smiled bitterly, a single tear escaping her eye. She wiped it away silently, still staring at the grey rock beneath her feet.
“Mandy! Justin!”
Grady’s too-loud-for-the-current-situation voice broke into her thoughts from somewhere below. As quietly as she could, she stepped over to the nearest edge. If Justin didn’t want her talking, he sure wouldn’t want Grady shouting.
She spotted Grady just over the north side of the formation, opposite where Justin was standing. He and Kayla looked up at her almost as soon as she saw them. Instead of calling down to them, she simply put a finger to her lips, signaling them to be quiet. She motioned them toward the steps she and Justin had scaled to get here. Grady and Kayla nodded, then headed out of sight.
Mandy turned around slowly, anticipating Justin’s anger at Grady’s outburst. She winced just before he came into view.
But Justin was still staring through his binoculars. She tiptoed back to her seat, trying not to distract him. She didn’t want him to be angry at her.
Just before she reached the rock, someone grabbed her arm. She gasped, startled.
Mandy whipped around to see Justin at her back.
Justin didn’t understand. He stared into Mandy’s eyes, which normally held such warmth and innocence, and saw something that sent shivers down his spine. Something he had never wanted to see looking back at him. Not from her.
Fear—stark and very real. And as she stared back at him, eyes slightly wider than normal, he knew in a
n instant what she was afraid of: She was afraid of him.
“Mandy?” he whispered tentatively. He reached out a hand to brush her hair back from her forehead. She cringed away from him for the tiniest instant—but he saw it.
He closed his hand and pulled it away. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” she mumbled, turning her head away.
No, Justin didn’t believe it for a minute. Something about him scared her. And he couldn’t live with that. Just the simple knowledge of it was tearing him apart.
“No, Mandy”—he tried to keep his voice light despite the intensity of his emotion—“I need to know. What did I do?” He still held onto her arm, and had to make a conscious effort not to squeeze it too tightly.
Mandy was looking off into the distance, refusing to meet his gaze. He put his free hand on her chin and brought her gaze to his. “Please.” His voice was pleading.
The look that crossed her face nearly ripped his heart in two.
She didn’t trust him.
He couldn’t believe it. He knew something had come between them, but he just figured it was normal couple stuff, something they would work through, like they always did. But, somehow, this felt different. The look in Mandy’s eyes was telling him that very clearly.
Justin tried to swallow the lump in his throat. He knew he had to do something to make it right. He wanted to say something, anything that might make it better, but nothing came to mind. So, instead, he looked away, dropping his hands to his sides. What could he possibly say that would make her trust him again?
He wanted to cry out, wanted to fall to his knees and beg for her forgiveness, but his body wouldn’t move. He wanted so desperately to take away her fear, her distrust, but how could he when he was the thing she feared?
He heard Kayla and Grady coming up the last few steps near where he and Mandy stood. He resolved then, as he watched Mandy move away from him to help their friends up the last few steps, that he would find a way for Mandy to trust him again. He couldn’t live with himself if she was afraid of him. He couldn’t live without her smile, her laugh. He couldn’t live without her faith in him.
He couldn’t live without her, period.
Grady could tell something was wrong the minute he and Kayla reached the top of the rock formation, but he knew better than to ask. Whatever was going on between Justin and Mandy was not really any of his business. He didn’t want to see them unhappy, but decided it was best not to interfere.
So Grady turned to Justin, who was staring off into the distance through the binoculars still hanging around his neck, and quietly asked, “What’d you find?”
Justin pulled the binoculars and the strap holding them over his head and shoved them into Grady’s hands as he pointed south, over the line of the trees. “Look, there.”
Grady scanned the horizon. What was Justin talking about? He couldn’t find anything out of the ordinary . . . But then, in a startling moment of revelation, he saw it. Or, rather, them.
What had to be a good ten or fifteen miles from where they now stood, crossing a wide clearing in the surrounding forest, was . . . well, for lack of a better term, an army. That was the only way he could describe it. A large group of men, dressed in native clothing, appeared to be heading their way—and much more quickly than an army made up of mere men would’ve been able to. They were even brandishing various ancient weapons: bows and arrows, swords, and the like. There was only one explanation: Na-um and his men were coming.
Grady slowly handed the binoculars to Kayla while still staring at the army of super-charged men.
“Oh . . . no . . .” The distress in Kayla’s voice echoed what they were all feeling. They were immensely outnumbered. And Na-um and his men had special abilities.
Grady’s stomach tied into knots. They had no chance of winning. No chance of getting out of here alive. No chance except . . .
They had to find the book. It was their only hope.
Kayla just stared. She could feel it in the air—sheer terror that threatened to debilitate all of them. What little hope they had left was in the book, and no one knew where that was. There didn’t seem to be any clue up here, and they hadn’t seen an opening or anything closely resembling one. Shouldn’t something be here? Holun had led them to this exact spot . . .
Kayla stopped. Where was Holun? She tried to remember the last time she’d seen him. Was it when they first came into the clearing? Had she even seen him in the clearing?
She scanned the clearing, the surrounding tree line . . . there. She hurried over to Grady, then, without explanation, pulled him toward the stairs, barely maintaining her balance as she hurled herself down the rocky steps.
Grady was on her heels. What was going on? He knew that Na-um’s army was coming, but how did this improve their situation at all? Why were they about to trip down the world’s most uneven flight of stairs?
Then he heard it. Holun.
Kayla, is that you? Grady answered back immediately.
Grady! Thank God. We have to get to Holun.
Grady nodded as they finally landed in the grass and sped away toward where Kayla had last seen Holun. They needed to find that kid. What if Na-um had sent a recon team, and they had found Holun? What if he was in trouble?
Or what if he had gone back to Na-um to tell him where they were? He didn’t want to believe that, but he had to keep all possibilities in mind.
Kayla shot him a glance as they ran. He knew he shouldn’t think Holun was a traitor—or patriot, depending on which side you were on—but he couldn’t help it. One of the most important unwritten rules in science: keep an open mind.
Grady spotted Holun only a second later, still standing near the tree line, at precisely the same spot where they’d entered the clearing. He didn’t appear to be with anyone.
An open mind only goes so far. Kayla broke into his thoughts as they slowed to a jog. Sometimes you just have to trust.
Grady nodded once in her direction, briefly thinking about the irony of her statement before her eyes narrowed in his direction. He shrugged, smirking slightly as they neared Holun. Remembering that their enemies weren’t too far away and coming closer by the second, Grady kept quiet until they were within a few feet of him. “Holun, are you okay?”
The boy nodded slowly, a slight frown on his face. “Yes.” The frown grew wider. “I see.”
Kayla put a hand on his shoulder. “What did you see?”
Holun kept frowning for a few more seconds before answering in K’iche. “I saw the battle. I am not sure that you will win. We need to find the final book.”
Grady nodded after he heard Kayla’s translation, then addressed Holun. “Did you see Na-um? He and the entire army are here.”
Holun nodded slowly, his face much too young for the expression Grady saw there. “Yes. Here soon. We go now.”
“Where?” Kayla asked.
Holun nodded toward the middle of the clearing. “There.”
Kayla’s eyebrows furrowed. “We were just there, Holun. There’s nothing there.”
Holun simply pointed toward the massive collection of rocks as he repeated himself, more resolutely this time. “There.” He started half-walking, half-running toward the middle of the clearing.
Grady returned Kayla’s quick glance before they both turned to follow Holun. Grady shrugged as they hurried back toward the formation. What else could they do? Kayla was right.
Sometimes you have to be open to all possibilities—but sometimes you just have to trust that there is only one way.
CHAPTER 42
Earth
Mandy reached the base of the stairs just as Holun came running up. Kayla and Grady weren’t far behind. Mandy’d left Justin at the top, not caring if he followed. Okay, that wasn’t true. She was just telling herself she didn’t care. That made it easier. No; that wasn’t true either.
Mandy heard Justin come up behind her. She made an effort to ignore him without really knowing why and instead tried to sound
cheerful as she addressed the young boy. “Hey, Holun. Where have you been?”
“Has vision of battle.” Mandy almost chuckled at the matter-of-fact way he said it. Must be nice to have such clarity at such a young age. She still wasn’t entirely sure she knew that she was on the right path.
Grady spoke up, stopping her musings in their tracks. “Where is it, Holun?”
Holun’s eyes slid shut. Mandy watched him closely. Was he having another vision?
Then the boy’s eyes opened. “Follow me.” With a wave of his hand, he headed around the formation.
Mandy figured that Kayla or Grady would’ve found an entrance if there’d been one. Hadn’t they circled the base of these boulders completely between the four of them?
Holun turned toward the formation and started along its base to the right of the stairs. But only a few steps later, he stopped. Mandy looked around him at the rock face. She didn’t see anything. Was she missing something? There was nothing here.
Holun closed his eyes for a split second, a little bit longer than a blink. Mandy realized that he was looking for something, maybe calling a vision? He did say his visions worked differently than Kayla’s . . . Holun was now staring at the rock face, and held his gaze there for a few seconds before reaching out his right hand. He flattened his palm against the stone.
Nothing happened. Mandy had been expecting something—a flash of light, or maybe the sound of grinding rock? But there was nothing.
Holun furrowed his brow, an endearing expression that made Mandy want to smile had the circumstances been different. But as it was, Mandy was starting to get worried. If Holun didn’t know what was going on, what hope did they have? They were in the dark. And in another few hours, they would literally be in the dark. She was hoping they’d find something by then. And with Na-um’s army coming—they really needed to find something by then.