Masquerade (51 page)

“
I’ll get a trash bag,” I
murmured and went from the room to find a large bag. Half of her
stuff was going out to the garbage. I would like to throw it all
out, but some of it was usable and someone might need it, so those
items would be donated. None of the stuff in here would be making
the move with Sam. I shuddered at the thought.

“
You really don’t need to
do this,” Sam said, taking the bag from me.

I grabbed the shoes and tossed them
into the bag. He chuckled and began taking the bedding off the bed.
We made short work of the room. I filled a few boxes for Goodwill
and two big trash bags.

I was giving the room a final ‘once
over’ before shutting the door, when something struck me as
odd.

“
What is it, sweetheart?”
Sam asked, coming up behind me to run his hands down my
arms.

“
There’s something there.
It looks like there’s something sticking out beneath
the…”

Sam moved swiftly, lifting
the mattress up. Between the mattress and mattress pad was a
cylinder-shaped tube. It
looked like it
was made of metal – bronze, in fact. Sam frowned and picked it up,
letting the mattress fall back in place.

“
What is it?” I asked,
peeking around him to see.

He shrugged, “Probably
junk.”

It wasn’t junk. “Why would she hide
junk under her mattress?”

The object was pulling me forward. My
hands tingled with the urge to touch it. “Can I see it?” I
whispered.

Sam looked up, his eyes
narrowing. “What’s the matter?”

“
Nothing,” I said
impatiently. “Can I see?” I held out my hand while studying the
tube. It was maybe six inches in length and was about as wide as a
drinking glass.

He handed me the object. My hand
closed around it, and I swear the metal vibrated in my palm. It was
lighter than I would have expected. I turned it around, feeling a
little lightheaded. “Look.” I pointed to the top of one end. “You
need a key to open it.”

He looked down. “Weird.”

“
Yeah, it…” my voice
trailed off as the room began to spin. “I – I’m not feeling…” I
reached out to grab for Sam.

“
Heven?” He grasped me with
both hands. “What’s wrong?”

Everything went white.

Chapter
Twenty-Nine

Heven

“
Heven?” Sam called. He
sounded so far away.

I turned my head toward his voice.
Where was he?

“
Not again,” he
murmured.

I could feel his panic and worry. I
didn’t want him to be worried. I forced my eyes open, blinking
against the light.

My eyes adjusted to the light and I
looked around. The place was familiar. We’d been here
before.

The last time we both died.

“
Hello, Airis.”

“
We meet again.”

“
Why is that?” Sam
asked.

I realized that I was still clutching
the bronze tube in my hands. I held it out.

Airis inclined her head. “You found
it. Well done.”

“
I didn’t know we were
supposed to be looking for it,” Sam said.

“
It was time,” Airis
replied.

“
I guess you want it…is
that why we’re here?” I asked, not quite knowing how I felt about
that.

“
It is yours, for now. We
need you to keep it safe.”

Curiosity flowed through
me.

“
Can you tell us what it
is?” Sam asked.

Airis inclined her head. “You hold in
your hands a true treasure.”

Beside me Sam jerked. He looked down
at the bronze tube in my hands with renewed interest. When he
caught me staring at him he said, “This is what China has been
searching for. She found it.”

“
So it’s a map? Like
–
to find treasure?” I
asked, knowing it felt wrong.

Sam shrugged. “I don’t know. She never
told us anything about it. Just that it was a map and she wanted
it. I didn’t really know what to expect.”

We both looked at Airis, hoping for
some sort of explanation.

“
This parchment doesn’t
lead you to treasure. It contains very specific words of God’s
knowledge that reveals certain appointments for people who will do
extraordinary things in their lives.”

“
It’s a list of names?” Sam
asked a little disbelieving. Then he muttered, “I’ve been searching
all this time for a list of names?”

“
It’s not just any list,”
Airis said. “This list is very important. It contains the names of
the people who will do extraordinary things…the people who cure
cancer and initiate peace. This list contains the names of every
single person, in the present and future, who are going to be
responsible for stopping the evil influences that Satan has spread
on earth. These people are going to return Glory to the
world.”

The bronze tubing that I held suddenly
seemed heavier.

“
And China wanted it so she
could destroy it and spread evil.” Sam stated, flat.

“
It’s possible.” Airis
said, bowing her head. “Those down below have been searching for
that scroll for centuries. It could mean the difference between
world salvation and world destruction. China was most likely
looking for it at the request of a higher power. Someone was
probably using her as a means to an end.”

“
That doesn’t sound like
something she would agree too.” Sam said, shaking his
head.

“
Would she if she was
promised power or something powerful that she wanted?” Airis asked,
patiently.

“
She was obsessed with
power…” Sam said thoughtfully. “And that might explain why it
seemed like she was killing people like she had something to
prove.”

Airis nodded encouragingly.

“
But where did she find it,
and what was she going to do with it?” I asked.

“
I would think she meant to
take it to Hell.” Airis replied.

“
Hell!” I exclaimed. “How
in the world would she be able to do that?”

“
There are portals to Hell
all over Earth. Ordinary humans do not notice them; they never
realize what could be right in front of them. Even if they did find
one, they wouldn’t be able to open it. But China was a hellhound.
Hellhounds can sense them, sometimes they are drawn to certain
places where the portals are. A hellhound has the ability to open a
portal. The portal itself recognizes what once resided within, and
the portal opens for them.”

I glanced at Sam. “Did you know any of
this?”

“
No.”

“
I am thankful that you
found the scroll before she was able to carry out her plan.” Airis
said.

I looked down at the bronze tubing
that held the scroll. “She didn’t get it open,” I said with
certainty.

“
No. You cannot open this
without a key.”

“
Where is the key?” I
asked.

Airis stared at us without responding.
I realized something I hadn’t noticed; she didn’t have an aura. I
was wondering why when Sam seemed to become upset about
something.

“
Sam?” I turned to him,
placing a hand on his arm. He caught my wrist and lifted it,
staring. I followed his gaze to the bracelet he gave to me. My most
prized possession.

Keys dangled from the
chain.

“
I have the key,” I
whispered. Sam released my arm, and I slipped the bracelet off and
lined the largest key on the chain up with the keyhole at the top
of the canister. It matched perfectly.

I slid the key into the
lock.

“
No!” Airis
called.

Sam and I both looked up.

“
It is not necessary at
this time to look at it.”

“
Why?” I asked.

“
It will only make what you
need to do more difficult.”

“
What we need to
do?”

“
This treasure map is very
sacred. It was stolen from its rightful keeper, and it has taken a
long time to relocate it.”

“
What does that have to do
with us?” Sam wanted to know.

“
As a supernatural
treasure, Heven, you are the rightful person to return this
treasure to its rightful place.”

“
I don’t understand,” I
said, frustrated. “I see auras. Who cares?”

“
Do not make light of your
gifts,” Airis began, but I cut her off to say, “Wait. You said
gifts with an ‘s.’ I can only see auras.”

“
For now,” Airis replied
and pressed on. “Possessing this scroll puts you in great danger.
Many will come from far and wide to take this from you. You cannot
allow this. Use your gift to know with certainty that these people
mean you harm.”

So that was the reason I could see
auras? To know who wanted to hurt me and who didn’t?

“
Where does the map need to
go?” I asked Airis.

“
To Rome.”

I gasped. “I’m a high school student.
A financially challenged one at that. How do you expect me to get
to Rome?”

“
You will find a
way.”

I laughed.

“
More specifically, the
scroll must be delivered to one of the catacombs in Rome. The
Catacomb of San Sebastiano. It is located beneath the thirteenth
century church, which sits atop the catacomb. You will find its
entrance along the famous ancient road
Via
Appia Antica.
”

“
I can’t,” I told
her.

“
You do
have a choice, you do not have to do this. I think that deep down
you will find within yourself the desire and the fortitude to
accomplish this task. Think about what will happen should you
refuse. This
treasure could once
again fall into the wrong hands. If someone manages to get the
cylinder open and read the contents, then every living person named
on the list will be killed. Those not yet born will be born into a
world of anarchy and their destinies will be
ruined. The world will be doomed.”

Is that all then? World damnation and
death?

I began to shake as I
thought about my decision. There really wasn’t one. I knew what I
had to do. The shaking in my limbs began to ease, and I glanced up
at Sam.
We have to do this. We have to at
least try.

World damnation is a pretty
strong motivator, huh?
He smiled down at
me.

I looked back up at Airis who stood,
patiently waiting my decision. “We’ll do it.”

“
I knew
that you had it in you. Thank you.” Airis said and waved her hand
in our direction
.

Everything went white.
Again.

Just like that we were back in China’s
empty room.

“
What have we gotten
ourselves into?” Sam said, staring down at the scroll, still
clutched in my hands.

“
We were
meant for this Sam. I don’t really understand how or why but I can
feel it, deep down. I – we
–
were chosen to do this for a reason; it’s the
right thing to do. Besides it’s not really about us, it’s about
something bigger than either of us.”

He shook his head slowly, digesting my
words. His mouth drew into a straight line. “I can’t say that I am
happy that you’re going to be in danger because of this, but I
understand.” I smiled and wrapped my arms around his waist and
hugged him close. He said nothing for a while, just rocked me
gently back and forth. When he pulled back he glanced down at the
bronze cylinder that held the scroll. “I guess we can’t let
everything go to hell.”

My lips twitched. “I guess
not.”

“
I guess I’m back on the
clock as your bodyguard.”

I laughed. “You got, like, a whole ten
minute break.”

He hooked his arm around my shoulder.
“Come on, sweetheart, let’s get out of here.”

“
I’m hungry,” I
complained.

“
Pizza it is.”

Sam was loading the last box into the
bed of his truck when I realized I left one last box up in the
kitchen. I ran toward the stairs calling out what I
forgot.

“
I’ll get it,” Sam called
after me.

“
It’ll take two seconds,” I
yelled back. I ran into the kitchen and grabbed the box. When I
spun around I was met with a pair of curious dark eyes. I screamed
and the box fell to the floor.

“
Who are you?” I stammered,
stepping back.

The boy (he was most definitely
younger than me) seemed amused by my fear. He took a step toward
me. Sam thundered through the front door. “I heard you
scream.”

The boy turned around, and Sam’s mouth
fell open.