my danger radar was blaring out of control. How bad could it be, anyway? I could break my neck, or wind up back in the Vatican, that’s how.
“All right, then,” Carrig said. “After the book be silent, follow us.”
Demos nodded. “Will do.”
The other Sentinels jumped first, in case danger waited on the other side of the gateway. Carrig grabbed Nana’s arm, and they vanished into the pages. I stared at the photograph of the Bodleian library in Oxford, England. Trying to get up the nerve.
“It’ll be all right,” Demos said. “I’ll be right behind you.”
Before I could psych myself out of going, I rattled off, “Aprire la porta.”
This was my third time through the gateway, and already I was getting used to the falling sensation. It was easier to keep myself upright, though it required a lot of limb flailing. I landed on the hard floor with a loud thump and staggered forward before stopping.
Demos flew out of the book right after me.
“Bravo, Gia.” Kale applauded. “You were born to jump.”
I smiled at him, taking deep breaths of musty air. “I guess so.” I dashed to Nana and gave her a tight hug. “How was your jump?”
She patted her chest. “I hadn’t jumped in years. It knocked the wind out of me.”
“I know, it’s a real rush, right?”
“That it is. Excuse me, I must ask Carrig something.” She headed over to where he was talking to Jaran and Demos.
Arik shuffled off from the group as well, shoulders slumped.
I sidled up to Lei on my right. “I don’t think he’s getting over it. What happened to him?”
“We got separated from him. The two men following us were only decoys. They led Arik to an alley where a compelled man waited.” She glanced at him. “He must’ve had Arik longer than we suspected. Tortured him. Arik’s the leader of our group, so he doesn’t want any of us to see him weak.”
Arik stood in the moonlight streaming through a tall gothic-style window. Dust danced in the beams of light around him, making him look like he was in an old silent movie. His silhouette was small in comparison to the height of the dark bookcases bordering the room.
The tilt of his head made me aware he was staring directly at me. My stomach jolted, and I reeled away.
Carrig ordered everyone to follow him, leading us down a corridor of bookcases. A row of desks sat between each set of shelves we passed. Dark wood arched overhead. The coffered ceiling had many squared tiles with depictions of open books on their surfaces. Carrig stopped at the third bookcase on the left.
“This is the passageway to Asile.” He pulled down two wooden knobs flanking each side of a house-shaped box fastened to the bookcase.
“Ammettere il pura,” he said.
Admit the pure. I was certain now that the reason my mother wanted me to take Italian lessons was because, so far, all the keys were in Italian.
The floor quivered, and the bookcase wheezed and creaked as it slid open, exposing a staircase plunging into the darkness.
All the Sentinels, except Carrig and Arik, held up their palms and in unison said, “Luce.” Light. A glowing sphere the size of a softball formed in each of their palms. One by one, they went down the dark stairwell, the light from the globes bouncing on the rock walls. Carrig aided Nana down.
Arik produced a globe and stepped over to me. The blood around the cut on his left cheek had coagulated, and there was a knot by his right eye.
I reached to touch it but pulled my hand away when he frowned. “Does it hurt?”
“I’m mint. Get going.”
I scowled at him and adjusted my pack. “Why are you mad at me?”
He watched the others disappear down the steps. “I’m not angry with you.”
“Then what’s your problem?
“I haven’t a problem.”
“Well, you were nice to me earlier and now you’re glaring at me.”
“This morning?” He raked his fingers through his dark, tangled hair. The light globe in his other hand lit up his beautiful face. The globe reflecting in his eyes looked like a star in a pitch-black sky. “I fancied you. Your bravery. How quickly you responded in the Paris library, the way you wielded that stapler. Even your willingness to attempt the jump from the Vatican without my help. But you are a Sentinel. There are laws—”
“You fancied me?” I interrupted.
“It wouldn’t matter if I am…was. Sentinels cannot be together. The punishment is severe.”
“Doesn’t matter anyway. I’m the Doomsday