The Year of the Great Seventh (39 page)

I left the box to one side and grabbed Nate by the arm. We quickly followed a corridor to the left. We needed a place to hide until everyone left. If the security guards spotted us wandering around the Cloisters on our own, we were going to get kicked out.

“The restrooms,” Nate managed to say as we passed them in the corridor.

It was a brilliant idea. We could hide there until everyone left at 11:00 p.m.

We went into one of the stalls, and Nate locked us inside. We both sat on the floor and Nate took off his hood and sunglasses, unveiling his milky eyes and his deformed face. He didn’t seem to care anymore about me seeing him like this.

Water dripped down my hair and there was a puddle around us. I took off my jacket, which was totally soaked.

I was so cold that I began to shiver uncontrollably. I tucked my legs against my chest and hugged them, trying to keep myself warm.

Nate brought his arm around my shoulders and pulled me closer to him. “You see, I’m not useless,” he said as his body emanated a strong heat, and soon after, I started to feel warm again. He wasn’t shaking as much as before.

*

We were hiding in the toilets when all the lights went off. We were in complete darkness.

“What…?”

Nate rested his finger on my lips, telling me to be quiet.

The emergency exit light came on. It was still dim, but at least I was able to distinguish Nate’s silhouette.

Steps clattered on the tiles down the hallway. Someone was coming our way. The steps became louder and louder, and then someone opened the door.

Nate’s fingers dug into my shoulders. There was someone—most likely a security guard—at the door, staring in. I held my breath, trying to be as silent as possible.

I could hear the person breathing as he stood there. Then he turned and continued down the hallway. Eventually, the sound of his footsteps faded away.

“I think they’re gone. They must’ve been checking to make sure there’s no one left,” Nate said, struggling to get up from the floor. “Where is it?” he rushed to say.

“The coffins are under the garden eave. That section is called the Romanesque Hall.”

I held Nate’s hand and we moved down the dark corridor. The high-pitched ceilings and thick stone walls were huge and we seemed miniscule in comparison.

The exit lights were only bright enough to guide us through the corridor, and we couldn’t really see much. I could distinguish the shape of the paintings hanging on the walls and stone warrior sculptures on either side.

It was pouring outside. The raindrops drummed on the windows right at the top of the walls. The corridors once must’ve connected the monks in this isolated spiritual retreat to the outside world. I could vaguely remember the layout of the building from when I’d been here before.

The garden was behind the door at the end of the corridor. If I remembered correctly, the coffins should’ve been just on the other side, beneath the eaves.

When we got to the door that led to the garden, I clenched Nate’s hand, hoping the coffin we were looking for was out there.

“This is it, isn’t it?” Nate said anxiously.

I looked at my watch. It was 11:30 p.m.

“Let’s open Pandora’s box at the count of three?” I suggested.

This was our last card. There wouldn’t be any more turns to our story. If the coffin was out there, there would still be hope. If it wasn’t, our destiny, and especially Nate’s, wouldn’t be in our hands anymore.

“Hold on!” Nate gasped. He rested his hand on my shoulder, making me turn around to face him. “Whatever happens out there, I just want to tell you again. I love you.”

I could feel the blood rushing to my face. I hadn’t expected this.

I couldn’t say a word and Nate continued. “I always did. I’m just a fool and I was afraid to admit it.”

Between the clouds, a few rays of moonlight filtered through the high glass window, illuminating part of Nate’s face. Our eyes met for a moment, and even though there was nothing left of the Nate I’d known, I felt like the luckiest girl in the world.

“I know,” I whispered.

Nate brought me close to him and embraced me. I wanted to cry and scream. I wanted to celebrate and mourn. I knew this was the beginning and the end all at once. But for once, instead of tinting the good moments with bad news, Nate had managed to paint a brush of color on a dark night like this. I realized now more than ever that I’d always known.

We turned around to face the garden doors. Holding hands, we pushed them open, letting in a cold gust of wind.

The Romanesque Hall was an open-air space under the eaves that bordered the garden. Even though it was dark outside, the garden was brightly lit. The exterior spotlights under the trees and on the garden walls were still on.

I glanced at Nate and my stomach gave an involuntary squirm. His neck and jaw seemed more swollen than before. There was literally nothing left of him. Only his familiar voice assured me it was still him.

The square garden was fenced by a tall stone wall separating it from Fort Tryon Park. Gothic arches holding the eaves stretched along the building, and the ground was covered with ceramic tiles. At the other end there was an arched limestone doorway that led back into the building. The garden had two diagonal stone paths that joined in the middle, making a cross shape and dividing it into four sections. Each section was centered by a lemon tree, and where the stone paths crossed in the middle, there was a round marble water fountain.

Lined under the eaves and set parallel to the side wall, there were seven stone coffins.

“It’s the third one,” I exclaimed, letting go of Nate’s arm and rushing to it. I recognized it immediately from the Internet.

I squatted down to examine it closely and noticed there was a tree carved into the side.

“This must be the oak tree of Gienne,” I murmured as I ran my finger along the engraving.

I glanced back at Nate to observe his reaction, but he was looking right over me. “Come here, Sophie.” He sounded bewildered.

I looked over the coffin to find Preston pointing a gun at us.

“Come over here slowly,” Nate repeated without moving his gaze from Preston.

I stepped back little by little, and as soon as I was by Nate’s side, he guarded me behind his back.

“So sweet! You guys are going to make me puke,” Preston said.

He was wearing a tuxedo—his hair combed back for the occasion.“Move over here where I can see you.” Preston waved the gun toward the edge of the eaves, away from the coffins.

“Why are you here? What do you want from us?” Nate said angrily.

“Looking good, man! You certainly look as scary as I expected.” Preston’s mouth lifted into a smirk.

“What do you want from us?” Nate stressed each of the words; Preston had tried his patience.

“What do you want from us? What do you want from us?” Preston said mockingly. “You’re boring me with your questions.”

“Let her go. This is between you and me, isn’t it?” Nate stepped slightly to the right, making sure I was hidden behind him.

“She’s not going anywhere,” Preston announced coldly, making it clear Nate wasn’t going to be able to negotiate my release.

Raindrops trickled down my back.

“How did you know we were here?” Nate didn’t seem to fear Preston, even with the gun.

My teeth chattered uncontrollably. My back was getting soaked and the wind was freezing.

“I’m impressed by her. You made it this far on your own.”

Lightning struck in the far distance. Then seconds later, thunder reverberated all around.

“What do you want from us?” Nate repeated, ignoring Preston’s comments.

“Well, since Sophie might not make it past tonight, I feel I ought to at least tell her she’s smarter than I thought.”

As soon as Preston said that, Nate took one step back and tightened his grip on my waist.

“You hide behind him now. You might not do that later.” Preston smiled at me. “Sophie, step away from him. I want to be able to see you both.”

“Stay behind me, Sophie,” Nate ordered.

Preston raised the gun higher, aiming at Nate’s head. “Would you?”

Against Nate’s will, I stepped to the side so Preston could see me.

“I have a question for you. Why did you bring her here when you knew what the quatrains said? You selfish bastard!” Preston rolled his eyes at Nate.

Nate glanced at me, confused.

Preston laughed humorlessly. “She didn’t tell you, did she?”

“
The body without soul no longer to be sacrificed: Day of death put for birthday.”
Preston recited the quatrain as though he was reading a love poem.

“Hint for you, idiot! Her birthday is in…” Preston moved the gun away from us for a second to check his watch. “Seventeen minutes.”

I looked down at my feet, unable to look at Nate. Now he obviously knew I’d omitted a quatrain. If he’d known, he would’ve never let us come together. I knew my presence here was vital to save Nate and not for a minute did I regret my decision. We were in this together, until the end.

“How did you know we were here?” I insisted, frustrated.

“You did really well, Sophie. You made it to the end right on time.” Preston congratulated me as if we were contestants on a TV show and I’d won the biggest prize. “But I’m a bit disappointed. You missed an important piece of the puzzle. When you were researching the prophecy, the obelisks, the crabs, didn’t you see a similarity between Nate and our grandfather? The doctors thought he was losing his mind, but he knew exactly what was happening. He knew he was turning into something similar to that.” Preston waved the gun at Nate in disdain.

“He knew that as time went by, he was losing more control over his actions, and as the prophecy says, he would eventually be unable to stop himself from killing the love of his life. That would be our grandmother, and it would happen on the day of her birthday. Once this happened, he would transform and he would acquire the power of the forebears of the curse. His humanity would be lost—some would say his soul, but I think that’s a harsh word—but he would obtain immense power to control and manipulate the will of millions. Our grandfather knew there was nothing he could do to stop the prophecy from coming true.”

Preston moved his gaze to my wrist. “He knew the Syenite stone would protect our grandmother, but he also knew it would end up killing him. It was unavoidable. And what did the coward do? It’s despicable.”

“How do you know all this?” Nate asked, confused.

There was not a trace of Nate’s appearance left of him; even his voice was starting to sound different.

“The curse is carried in the bloodline. It’s inherited by the youngest in the bloodline when the older dies. The curse can never be broken. Our grandfather wrote it down for me in a journal he placed in a bank safe deposit box. His will only allowed me to open it several years later. I guess he was trying to protect me.”

The thunderclaps became stronger as the eye of the storm moved over New York City.

“However, he made two mistakes. The first one: When he died, he didn’t know Nate’s mother was two weeks pregnant, and so the successor to the curse wasn’t me, but Nate. The second mistake: he assumed I would do the right thing.”

“You’re going to go to hell! When I get my hands on you, you’re going to regret it!” Nate threatened Preston, enraged.

“Funny you say that. Soon, you’ll be the one who doesn’t have a soul. If there’s anyone who’s going to hell, we all know who that’s going to be.” Preston spoke proudly as if he’d pulled off the joke of the night.

“What’s in this for you?” Nate said defiantly. “If what you say is true, and I were to die, the curse would move to our thirteen-year-old cousin, Cameron.”

“You’re wasting your time here, you see?” I managed to say.

“There’s another way to get the curse, and that’s by killing the monster after he fully transforms.” Preston held the gun with both hands tightly. “But you need to go through the full transformation, and for that, we need you, Sophie.”

“If you touch her, I’m going to kill you!” Nate shouted.

“Indeed, you’ll be killing someone tonight, but it won’t be me.” Preston chuckled. “I’ve been waiting for this night for many years to get back what’s rightfully mine.”

“And why would you want the damned curse?” I yelled at him.

“Do you know the first date set in the future from the Nostradamus quatrains, the ones engraved in the Great Seventh pyramid? ‘
The year of the great seventh number accomplished
.’ That’ll be November 4
^th
next year.” Preston smiled proudly.

“What’s that date?” Nate said, confused.

“The day of the senate elections,” I said out loud. “He’s planning to—”

“Lead this country to its rightful place in the world.” Preston finished my line. “And I won’t let anyone ruin it. After I’m blessed with the curse, or shall I say gift? I’ll win the nomination for the next presidency.”

“We’re going to do whatever it takes to stop you.” I’d had enough of Preston.

“What would you know?” Preston looked at me with disdain. “So let me fill you in… This is how it’s going to work
. ‘Ammateus, marked by the legend of Orion, will suffocate with his own hands the life that guides him.’
That’ll be you, Nate. When you fully transform, you’ll kill your beautiful lady and began the prophecy. You have an important role here, Sophie, you see?”

Preston continued. “‘
Only the divine stone found where heaven meets earth will save her.’
If you keep the bracelet, you’ll save yourself, but kill Nate. You see how romantic? Like Romeo and Juliet!”

Inside, I was empty because I realized no matter what happened, we’d lost.

Nate glanced at me for a second. His eyes were asking for forgiveness. He could probably sense that my mind was reeling out of control.

How could I have missed the connections? Cleopatra and Mark Antony committed suicide the day before Cleopatra’s birthday. Cleopatra had obviously built the Caesareum to protect herself and Mark Antony. They must have reached the same point as Nate and me at this moment, with Augustus descending upon them. Cleopatra must have left the warnings on the crabs for their children. But was suicide the only option?