Guardian of Secrets (Library Jumpers, #2) Page 7

I shook my head. “No, it’s okay. I’m okay. All in a day’s battle, right?” I turned and bounded up the carpet after Nick. I could hear Bastien’s boots following. I tightened my hands into fists, trying to stop them from trembling.

  What the hell was that? You don’t want him. You don’t need him.

  Bastien caught my arm and spun me around to face him. He got real close to me. “You feel it just as I do. Stop denying your feelings.”

  “I-I can’t.” I pushed his hand away and shook my head. “I’m with Arik.”

  “You ready to go?” Nick said, coming out of the shadows. “Your pop is probably worried by now.”

  I lowered my gaze, avoiding eye contact with Bastien, and stepped around him. “I’m ready.”

  “You’re a fool.” Bastien caught my hand, stopping me. “Open your eyes. He’s not the idol you’ve created him to be. He feels safe, that’s all. There isn’t the heat we have, and you know it.”

  “Leave me alone.” I tugged my hand away from his grasp and charged up the burnt carpet runner. We passed Bastien’s Sentinels and found the book still on the floor.

  “That was intense.” Nick gave me a curious eye and then glanced back at Bastien. “What’s going on?”

  “Nothing,” I said, flipping the pages to the library in Branford. “Aprire la porta,” I said, and jumped into the gateway book.

  Chapter Six

  The fog in my dream thickened like pudding around my body, making me gasp. Chills slithered up my spine. Dressed in a parka, a wool face mask, thick gloves, and boots, I clambered deeper into the dark frozen cave, balancing a light globe in my hand. Completely alone, trembling against the icy air, I weaved my way through the labyrinth of tunnels until I came into a massive cavity. Across the wide expanse from me stood a large metal door, large enough to fit an armored truck. There wasn’t a handle, only hinges thicker than a man’s leg. Seven holes formed a circle in the middle of the door.

  I shivered out of the straps of a worn leather backpack and dropped it on the ground, sending a loud clank through the cave. After riffling through the bag, I pulled out seven metal rods and placed them at my feet.

  I picked up a rod and said, “Accendere.” Turn on. The metal glowed blue, and I slid it into one of the holes in the door. The rods fit like puzzle pieces into the holes. When the last rod was securely inserted, I stood and took several steps back.

  “Rilascio!” I shouted, pushing back the hood of my parka and staring at the door.

  Nothing happened, so I called out again, “Rilascio!”

  “Rilascio!”

  Pounding on the door, the cold metal stung my hand. “Why won’t it release?”

  “You are not the one,” a voice resounded from somewhere in my room.

  “I am not the one…” Dream Gia’s voice faded into the darkness as I woke.

  I hugged one of my pillows. “I am not the one?” I glanced groggily at the alarm. “Shit.” I sprang out of bed. We’d been going to school for nearly two months now, and being late was not an option for Deidre. She’d left me twice. Thankfully, I had showered before bed. Pulling on my jeans, I glanced out the bedroom window. Her new Jetta was still in the driveway, but there wasn’t much time to spruce up, and I wanted to look my best today of all days. It was the day Arik and I were going public.

  ...

  Seventh week of public school and I was just starting to adjust. It was definitely noisier than the private school I used to go to in Boston. The hall filled with excited chatter. The populace of Branford High weaved between gathered groups to get to their lockers or next classes. I shoved my English textbook into my locker and yanked my Marine Biology one out from the bottom of the pile.

  “Hullo, ducky, ready for class?”

  I jumped. “Lei! Stop sneaking up like that. You gave me a heart attack.”

  She leaned against the locker beside me. “Sorry, it’s in the DNA. It can’t be suppressed.”

  “You know,” I said, slamming my locker closed, “you don’t have to wear those glasses when you’re not in class.”

  “I like them. It’s a fashion statement.” She pushed them up her nose. The red frames were the right pop of color for her skin tone.

  Lei and I had plenty of classes together, but Marine Biology was Lei’s favorite. She had never seen an ocean before. The only bodies of water in the Mystik world were ponds, lakes, and hot springs.

  “You’ll forgive me later.” She hooked her arm through mine, and we headed down the emptying hall to our class. “You can ditch whatever disagreeable lunch Faith packed. I brought an extra lunch for you. Sinead made oatmeal and raisin cookies, and your favorite Fluffernutter sandwiches, which by the way still makes my stomach roll. Who would eat peanut butter and marshmallow on a sandwich?”

  “Me.” I gave her a sharp look. “Anyway, thanks, it sounds delish.”

  Since Deidre practically ignored me and Afton was in Boston, Lei and I had become best friends, so to speak. Thankfully, since I helped Bastien save the world from Conemar’s evil creations, she’d forgiven me for almost killing her boyfriend, Kale.

  “Are you excited for lunch?” she asked before we entered the classroom.

  “Yeah, I don’t know how much longer I can handle eating Faith’s cooking.”

  “Not that.” She exaggerated a sigh. “Remember? Arik’s going to ask you on a date in front of everyone so there will be no question when you two started your relationship. Maybe you’ll get to snog in the hall like all the other lovebirds.”

  “Oh that.” I’d been counting down the seconds for weeks now. I was tired of hiding, and honestly, I didn’t get the point. Why would it even matter to a bunch of high school students when we got together? They were too busy with their own dramas to care.

  “Yeah, that,” she said. “You don’t sound excited about it.”

  “I am.” I yawned. “I’m just so tired. I was up late talking Nick down from another episode.”

  “I thought he was improving with Professor Attwood’s aid?” she whispered.

  “He is. We’re down to one call every few days.” I yawned again. “After practice today, we have to search the libraries for the Chiavi. I just hope I don’t drop dead before then.”

  She scanned the hallway for any eavesdroppers. “Who’s guarding you tonight?”

  “No one.” I leaned close to her, keeping my voice low. “Carrig thinks, since Nick and I are shielded, we’d be safer if we go alone. A few Sentinels will watch us through the books and be ready to jump if anything goes wrong.”

  “Why didn’t they ask us to go?”

  “Because the Wizard Council thinks Conemar’s allies are searching the Monitors for Sentinels from Asile. They’re just being cautious.”

  Lei skirted around an underclassman. The boy’s smile took up half his face, showing off his orange and blue braces.

  “That boy is smitten.” I nodded at him.

  The glare she gave the boy caused him to turn quickly and collide into an open locker door. “Yeah, everywhere I go, he seems to magically appear,” she said.

  My stomach grumbled. “I think I may die of starvation. Seriously. Faith is the worst cook and she won’t let anyone near the kitchen. I think she wants to feel useful.”

  “She’s your house guard. That’s not useful enough for her?”

  “I guess not.” My stomach roared this time.

  She retrieved a granola bar from the front pocket of her backpack and handed it to me. “Well, at least stay alive until Arik professes his love for you. I can hardly wait to see the expression on Miss Snow White’s face when he does.”

  “Emily? Why?”

  We crossed an intersecting hall, and I practically skidded to a stop. Down at the end of it, Arik had his arm propped against a locker, his head resting on his palm. Emily was searching inside the open one beside him. She said something and Arik laughed. It wasn’t a chuckle, more like a throw-your-head-back full-on howl. Their words never paused. She giggled and shoved him.


  Emily glanced at her phone, said something, and they both rushed around the corner at the end of the hallway.

  “Gia, you’re staring,” Lei said, tugging on my sleeve, urging me to step away.

  I shuffled along with her, dazed. “Did you see that? Arik and Emily at her locker.”

  Lei yanked open the classroom door at the same time the tardy bell rang. “I did. They get along well.”

  “Ladies,” Mrs. Greene called from her desk. “Are you joining the class or listening to the lesson in the hall?”

  “She has two classes with Arik,” Lei whispered as we found our seats, “and let’s just say she doesn’t hide the fact that she fancies him.”

  “I’ve never seen her flirt with him before, or noticed him act that way toward her.” Have I?

  I couldn’t concentrate on Mrs. Greene’s lecture of how pollution affects the marine ecosystems. How hadn’t I known that Emily liked Arik? He seemed to like her, too. I replayed the times when I had seen the two together. Since I only had one class with Arik, and none with Emily, I didn’t have much to work with. I’d seen her talking to him at lunch, between classes, and at an assembly. That was it. Emily was naturally a bubbly type, and I couldn’t tell the difference between how she treated me from how she treated him.

  Lei leaned over and whispered while Mrs. Greene was shuffling through her notes. “She flips her hair when she’s with him. It’s annoying.”

  I sent her a puzzled look.

  “Stop obsessing. His heart belongs to you.” She straightened at the same time Mrs. Greene looked up.

  “Then why tell me this?” I hissed back.

  Should I be worried?

  The clock above the white board ticked agonizingly slow. Each click of the hands caused me to jump. The minute hand shuddered at 11:29—one more minute—and I lifted, my butt hovering over the seat, anxious to get more details about Emily and Arik. The passing bell shrilled through the hallway. I sprang from my seat and dashed for the door.

  “Miss Kearns,” Mrs. Greene called before I was out the door. “May I have a moment, please?”

  No. I looked over my shoulder at her, then glanced at the door. Lei waved from the hall for me to hurry. The tone in Mrs. Greene’s voice had conveyed it was an order and not a question. I slumped and shuffled over to her desk.

  She held up a piece of paper with red marks all over it. “I’m worried, Gia. You failed the last two tests. What’s the matter?”

  “I’m sorry. I haven’t been sleeping well.”

  “I see,” she said, following my eyes to Lei. “What’s keeping you up at night?”

  “A friend is going through some tough times.”

  “The D’Marco kid?”

  “Yes. How did you know?”

  “I’ve seen you with him. He’s in my first class. I had to send him to the office today.”

  I worried my bottom lip. Why hadn’t he used his crystal?

  “Don’t be concerned,” she said. “He told the principal he had just discovered he’s adopted. The counselor will work with him.”

  Crap. The counselor? That can’t be good.

  I had to talk to Nick fast before he said something he shouldn’t.

  “Gia?”

  I looked up. “Huh?”

  “You know, if you’re having difficulties, I’m sure you could ask your sister to tutor you. She’s in my third period and has straight As.”

  Yeah. Not in this century. Besides, Deidre and the Sentinels cheated to pass their tests. Being from the Mystik world, they knew nothing about our education. The Council had provided them with glasses that had some sort of chip in the frame. They’d read a question and the chip would do a search and send the answer back on the lenses. They’d offered me a pair, but I refused. I actually enjoyed learning, and I was usually good at it when Nick wasn’t distracting my studies.

  “I will,” I said instead.

  She smiled. “You’d better go before Lei comes through the window.”

  “Thanks,” I said before darting out the door.

  Lei and I made a mad dash for her locker, grabbed the lunches Sinead had made, and headed for the lunchroom. “Remove your ponytail,” she said. “And stop worrying about Arik. He only thinks of Emily as a friend. It’s you he loves.”

  “You’re right.” The hair tie took a few strands as victims when I yanked it out. My fingers shook as I combed my messy curls with them. Why was I so nervous? Arik and I made out every day. So what if we were going public with it.

  Lei grabbed my elbow before I entered the cafeteria. “Hold on there, you should be unsuspecting.”

  I paused and took several calming breaths before following Lei into the smells of fish sticks mixed with pine cleaner. The populace raced across the over-waxed floors, trying to find a bench at one of the many particleboard tables, their voices scraping against the whitewashed walls. And in the middle of all the chaos, standing beside our usual table, was Arik. Strong and confident, quiet and reserved.

  Lei straddled the table’s bench. “Hey, duckies, what are we talking about?”

  “What kept you two?” Arik asked, giving me a once-over.

  “Mrs. Greene made Gia stay after class.” Lei shook her fancy juice bottle.

  I plopped down on the bench. “Do you always have to tell everyone everything, Lei?”

  She unscrewed the top. “Oh, I’m sorry, was that a secret?”

  “Never mind. All the late nights are catching up with me. I have to do better on my tests.” I took the brown sack Lei passed me and pulled out the oatmeal and raisin cookies and juice to get to the Fluffernutter sandwich.

  “Oh,” trilled Emily from across the table. “A Fluffernutter. I love those.”

  Where did she come from? What does a person do when someone does that? Ignore them? I had been looking forward to eating that sandwich. The entire thing. Sinead had even cut it diagonally for me.

  I forced a smile and extended a piece to her. “You want half?”

  “Really? Thank you.” She snatched it from my hands and took a big bite. All while watching Arik.

  It was like being in a sardine can with all the tables so close together. The benches were crowded with students. Several I didn’t know shared ours. Their eyes watching us, heads bent to listen to our conversations. We were the new kids. And the Sentinels were foreigners with hot accents.

  “Gia?” Arik placed his hand on the table and leaned toward me.

  I got lost in his deep brown eyes rimmed with thick black lashes. “Hmm?”

  “I was wondering if you wanted to go see a flick or something with me on Friday evening.”

  Several faces turned in our direction.

  A dark strand of hair fell over his eye and I fought the urge to brush it back. If we were alone or just with people who knew our true identities, I would’ve done it. In the corner of my eye, I could see Emily drop the uneaten part of the sandwich.

  “Really? Me? I’d love to,” I said, drawing out the word “love” and overfaking my surprise.

  Arik raised a brow at my response. “All right, then. I’ll pick you up at seven?”

  “Sounds good.”

  He swung his leg over the bench, facing my side, then withdrew a wrapped Fluffernutter sandwich from his bag and placed it in front of me. “Here, I’m still full from breakfast.”

  I unwrapped the sandwich and took about the same size bite as Emily had before. “Yummy,” I said around a sticky mouthful.

  Arik gave me the “stop it” eyes. I shrugged a shoulder and took another bite.

  “You two make the cutest couple,” Lei was starting to sound like a true American teen.

  A flash of hurt crossed Emily’s face, and I felt bad. She didn’t deserve us rubbing it in like that. Emily probably wouldn’t have gone after him if she knew we were already together.

  “So Emily,” I said. “Heard you made the honor’s list.”

  “Yeah.” She didn’t even look up, just picked at the crust of the remai
ning piece of her sandwich.

  “Congratulations,” Arik said.

  Her head popped up and she smiled sweetly at him. “Thank you.”

  Lei gave me a puzzled look. “What are you doing?” she mouthed.

  An awkward silence hung over us as we ate. Someone would try to drum up a conversation, but it would fizzle out and everyone would be quiet again.

  The lunch bell rang mercifully announcing the end of lunch.

  Arik walked me to my next class with his arm over my shoulder. The entire way, my thoughts were on Emily. I hated hurting her, but it was unavoidable. A murky cloud clung to my happiness at finally being able to show my affection for Arik in public.

  Chapter Seven

  I stood in the center of a room in the Monastic Library in Ulm, Germany, surrounded by statues resting on thick bases. Pink and green marbled columns surrounded them all. The columns had elaborate gold-leaf fittings that held up a gallery with a polished brown and black stone banister. There was so much to see, my brain went into overdrive. The books seemed lonely behind cages within the several bookcases standing between all the wonderful chaos of marble and gold.

  A golden crown on one of the statues caught my attention. I measured my steps across the tile floor, wrenching the slip of paper Uncle Philip had given me out of my pocket. Even though I’d read the weird rhyme that was some sort of chart or treasure map for finding the Chiavi a thousand times, I read it again. My great-grandfather, Gian Bianchi, had it in a book charmed to find one of his heirs, which it did. Me.

  Libero il tesoro—free the treasure—was the spell to release a Chiave from its hiding place. Not only did each Chiave piece together to form the key to release the Tetrad from its prison, but also each held individual powers.

  A religious man’s charm hangs from his vest.

  That Chiave was a necklace with a cross pendant found in the Vatican Library by Gian. He had stuffed it into the handle of his umbrella before he was murdered. My mother, who hadn’t realized he’d hidden it there, ended up with the umbrella. When she died, I had claimed it. I would’ve never found the cross if I hadn’t been swinging the umbrella, causing the loose handle to launch off, almost hitting Afton in the face. The bearer of the cross could see things that had come before wherever they stood. I kept reading the list.