Drawing Bloodlines (32 page)

Nathan pulled two of the throwing knives from the to
ppled end table and walked over to Angela and Alan. Slowly, Lafonda backed away from Liz and joined them, while rubbing her neck.

“Are you okay?” asked Nathan. Lafonda no
dded. He then gave her one of the throwing knives and they both pointed them at Liz.

“Stop this now, Liz!” shouted Malick. “Before so
meone gets hurt.”

Liz continued to look at her charred sleeve as it smo
ldered, and her face looked gloomy. “This is not how I imagined you telling me about your fire ability,” she said.

Malick’s face softened and his eyes grew wide as he probed her face
.

“Yes,” she nodded. “I’ve known since we were kids. I’d hope by now, after everything we’ve been through — gro
wing up together, not fitting in with our families, dating — that you would’ve eventually trusted me.” Liz kept her head low, but her eyes continued to search the floor. “But up until now, you’ve kept your secret.…”

“Yeah, he
’s good at that,” mocked Alan.

“After all this time, you’ve finally revealed yourself as a Firewalker,” continued Liz, “but not to tell me….” She lifted her head to look over Lafonda, only to eventually turn up her nose. “I know you’ve always had your reasons why you r
efused to join the Order … and it appears you are still conflicted as to where you belong.”

“Liz,” said Malick sympathet
ically, taking a step forward.

She lowered her eyes again and eyed the corner of the couch. Jordan and Monique had returned, tightening the ci
rcle. “And I don’t have time to wait for you to choose the right side,” said Liz. Quickly, she pointed to the edge of the couch with her sword. “There it is! Grab the cell phone!”

Jonathan, still on his knees on the floor, spotted the phone and dove for it as Nathan and Lafo
nda charged Liz with the throwing knives in hand. Jordan suddenly drew two swords sheathed to his back, and pointed them down at Jonathan as he clutched his cell phone.

“Hand it over!” shouted Monique. She also pointed her sword at Jonathan. “Or l
ose more than the cell phone.”

Jonathan looked down at his cell phone. Scraps of paper from his notebook lay beneath his knees. He lifted his chest and shoulders and looked Monique directly into her dark, brown eyes. “No,” he said, defiantly.

Monique raised her sword, gritting her teeth.

“Duck!” rang a voice in front of him. Like a thunde
rstorm in the night, a flash of white light lit up the dark room and, when it was gone, Monique and her sword hit the ground.

“Go!” rang the voice again.

Finally, Jonathan’s eyes adjusted to the darkness and he could see Leah standing in front of him.

“Take the phone and get out of here!” she yelled. The medallion in her hand continued to glow a bright blu
e as she pointed it at Jordan.

Jonathan stood up and started toward the hallway that lead to the front door, but froze. In front of him, small shapes darted in and out of the shadows, and the sounds of clawing
and scratching drew near him.

“What’s wrong?” asked Leah. Jordan grinned at them, as the
scratching sounds grew louder.

Leah’s grip on the medallion tightened and Jonathan’s glasses slid down his sweaty nose. “Quick!” she yelled, ge
sturing toward the bookcase near the fireplace. “Go through the doorway before it disappears!”

Jonathan nodded, and the last thing he saw before ente
ring the fading blue doorway was Lafonda running past him as Nathan tried desperately to avoid Liz’s sword.

Jonathan stepped out of the blue doorway and into a dark and quiet room. The moonlight that crept in through the busted stained glass wi
ndow revealed that he was still in the lounge area of Black Manor. The only difference was that the room was completely devoid of people. Everything was shrouded in gray.

“The Space-In-
Between,” he said. He took a few steps away from the blue doorway, stopping in front of the fireplace. He leaned over, catching his glasses before they slide down his nose. Inside the fireplace, he could see his backpack engulfed in flames, but like everything else, it was frozen — almost sculpture-like. “I haven’t seen that before, even the fire is frozen.”

Jonathan stood upright again and opened his hand to look at his cell phone. His hand, inclu
ding his cell phone, retained their color. “I have to get to somewhere safe,” he said, closing his hand. He turned to look at the fading blue doorway. “Even if the doorway closes, there is nothing stopping them from forming another one and finding me here.”

Jonathan closed his eyes to use his Spirit Walker ability, to transport to another location, but he quickly opened
them after he heard his name.

“Jonathan!” called Nathan, again. Nathan continued t
oward him as Malick and Lafonda followed. Just like Jonathan and his cell phone, they too retained their color.

Jonathan looked over Nathan’s shoulder and saw Leah step through the blue doorway, before
it dissipated. “How did you…?”

“Make it past Liz, Monique, and the Blackwater twins?” finished Malick. He appeared out of breath as he walked the room. “Because of Leah. T
hanks to her trusty medallion.”

Nathan eyed Leah and he looked worried as he watched her clutch the medallion tightly to her chest. “Yeah,” he mumbled, sounding doubtful. “Thanks to
her
trusty medallion.”

Leah placed a lock of wavy brown hair behind her ear and stopped short of Jonathan, to catch her breath. “You guys’ fir
e-power helped too,” she said.

Suddenly, Lafonda gasped. “Oh no!” she shouted. She quickly did a scan of the room. She then turned to where the blue doorway had been. “Angela an
d Alan … they didn’t make it.”

“Then we’ll have to go back for them,” said N
athan.

“Umm, that would be a no,” said Malick, sarcastically,
continuing to search the room.

“No?” said Lafonda, dramatically. She shifted her weight to one side and then pointed, using the long, silver sword in her hand. “Angela and Alan are my friends! And wh
at about Sweet Pea and Taylor?”

“They’re most likely all at Black Manor on the other side, worrying about us,” said Malick. Lafonda looked confused. He stopped to look at her and then pointed at the cell phone in Jonathan’s hand. “Liz wasn’t after them, and kno
wing Liz, she left immediately after we did. Trust me, she’ll be coming after us.”

“Can you
not
point that thing?” asked Nathan. He winced every time Lafonda pointed the sword in his direction.”

“Sorry,” said Lafonda. She lowered the sword and ran her free hand through her long black hair. “I picked it up off of Monique while she lay unconsc
ious.”

“Good,” said Malick, continuing to look around the room. “Bec
ause you’re going to need it.”

“So, you’re concerned about Sweet Pea and Taylor now?” asked Nathan, teasingly. “I thoug
ht you didn’t like the Order.”

“I don’t,” said Lafonda, rolling her eyes. “But whether or not I like the Order, or like what they do, that doesn’t change the fact that Sweet P
ea and Taylor helped us today.”

“Speaking of the Order,” said Nathan. “How can they fight their own members?” He folded his arms across his chest. “Shouldn’t th
ere be some rule against that?”

“There is,” said Malick, ceasing his search. He a
pproached Jonathan, Nathan, and the others. “And it’s only permissible if another member is in the way of carrying out a mission.”

“And apparently, Liz thinks she’s do
ing just that,” added Jonathan.

“Okay, guys,” said Leah. She frowned while looking around the dark room. “I hope we’re planning to leave soon. Considering my history, and everything I know about this place, I’m not exac
tly thrilled to be in the Space-In-Between.”

“My thoughts exactly,” said Malick. “We def
initely can’t stay here. I’m expecting Liz and the others to show up at any minute. And considering that there is barely any light here….” He turned in the direction of the broken stained glass window. “The Necrocritters would arrive first.”

“Before you guys got here,” said Jonathan. “I was just about to leave.” He paused to make sure his cell phone was secure in his hand. “And I think I
have the perfect place to go.”

“Alright then,” said Leah. She shuddered, and then ner
vously looked into the dark shadows and corners around the room. “Let’s get out of here before the Necrocritters show up — sharp claws and teeth included.”

“You guys know the drill,” said Malick. He placed a hand on Jonathan’s shoulder and then motioned for
them to gather around closer.

Nathan followed suite and Jonathan placed a hand on both
Lafonda and Leah’s shoulders.

“I just had a scary thought,” said Lafonda. “What if our parents show up with my gran
dmother, before Liz, Eleazar and the others leave Black Manor?”

“Well,” said Malick. “If your grandmother is the same LaDonda Devaro that everyone says is responsible for the Great Upheaval,
I’m sure she can hold her own.”

Slowly, Lafonda nodded, and as soon as Jon
athan closed his eyes, they were gone.

* * *

A few seconds past and, in a swirl of blue and white lights, Nathan, Malick, Lafonda, Leah, and Jonathan rea
ppeared.

“And why, exactly, were the Necrocritters at Black Ma
nor?” asked Nathan. He took his hand from Jonathan’s shoulder. “I thought they were one of the minions for the Scarlet Priests.”

“I don’t know, but that’s a good question,” said Malick. “The last time I checked, Necrocritters were not in the se
rvice of the Order.”

Nathan’s mouth twisted and he appeared to be in deep thought. Trancelike, he watched as Lafonda and Leah spread out from the group. It wasn’t until he recognized what a
ppeared to be the night sky, that he realized he was no longer at Black Manor. “Wait, where are we?”

“The cliffs overlooking Lake Charleston,” said Jonathan, with a smile. “When I was little I used to come here with my father and watch him perform excavations of the area. I fi
gured we would be safe here.”

Nathan looked around him. He could tell that he was standing on top of a cliff, but it took him a moment to reco
gnize where he was. Everything was still shrouded in gray. The sky above was quite familiar, however. The moon and stars twinkled just as bright as the last time he was out at Grimm Cemetery, in the Space-In-Between.

Nathan followed Lafonda and Leah out to the cliff’s edge. Even before peering over, he could see the roof of the hiking and camping center nestled amongst the rows of trees that appeared to stretch out toward the horizon. Carefully, Nathan approached the cliff’s edge, paying sp
ecial attention to the “Danger: Cliff Edge” sign, before peering over. Down below, he could see Lake Charleston, but instead of the small waves he normally saw crashing upon the half-circle beach around the lake, he saw what appeared to be ice. All of Lake Charleston was completely frozen.

“How is this even possible?” asked Nathan. “We’re back in Il
linois? Back in Cahokia Falls?”

“Yes, technically,” said Jonathan. He paused to reposition his glasses. “But the Cahokia Falls in the Space In B
etween.”

Nathan headed back toward him and he caught a glimpse of Malick walking about the forest, leading up to the cliffs. “Why did we bother taking an airplane,” grumbled Nathan, “if your Spirit Walker
ability is intercontinental?”

Jonathan laughed. “Yes,” he said. “I could have taken all of us to London, but someone would’ve had to create a doorway, so you guys could cross back to the other side. I can cross back over by transforming into my spirit form, which happens to be a black fox.” He shook his head. “But while in spirit form, I
can’t take you guys with me.”

“Are you saying we’re stuck here?” asked Leah, dramat
ically. She quickly left the cliff’s edge and headed toward them.

“No, no,” said Jonathan, gesturing reassuringly with his hands. “After we think it’s safe, I’m sure I’ll be able to find someone to create a doorway to get you
back safely to the other side.”

“Umm, Nathan,” called Malick. He stood
on the fringes of the forest.

“What’s up?” asked Nathan, sounding co
nfused.

“I think you sh
ould come over here,” he said.

Nathan stood by Malick. He immediately n
oticed that the trees closest to them, those surrounding the trail into the forest, appeared to be a dark grey. As he looked deep into the forest, everything appeared black.

“Do
you hear that?” asked Malick.