Eternal Youth (30 page)

I
t was time for Round Two.

Callie snuck one last peek at the map, committing to memory every hallway and every miniscule landmark within the temple. Stuffing it in her bag, she exited the filing room and went left.

She counted turns—one left. One right. Two lefts. As if pulled by a string, Callie traced her memory of Alaric’s map until she found the symbol he’d told her to look for.

It was nearly hidden but for the golden phoenix emblem on the wall near the ceiling. It flickered in and out of existence as the flame of the nearby torch breathed, expanding in and out. The perfect placement of the stones on an interior wall, which mirrored the two walls on either side, made it easy to bypass if you weren’t looking for it.

Callie reached out, placed her fingers on the wall, and walked until she hit air. She stepped forward, and her arm went beyond the wall.
There it is. I must have missed it yesterday.

She stepped into the small alcove and turned right. The walkway did a quick left turn, and she stepped onto a long, thin hallway lit only intermittently by torches. Goose bumps spread across her bare arms. It was eerily dark and cold; according to Alaric’s map, she was in the exact center of the temple.

Callie pulled the map from her bag and consulted it. She passed the three marked doors and came to the stretch of hallway unaccounted for in the blueprints.

Now what?

Hidden rooms. What did Callie know about hidden rooms?
A lot, actually
. She’d been with her mother for a
lot
of hidden rooms. In an ancient Mayan temple in Guatemala two years before, there had been a spring beneath the foundation, accessible only by a hidden staircase. They’d found it by a notch on the wall…

Callie eyed the long stretch of stone wall. It wasn’t lit as nicely as the rest of the temple. She sighed and whipped her bag around to pull out her candle and a match. The flame flared into existence. Stepping closer to the wall, she started her search for anything abnormal.

She ran her eyes from top to bottom, inch by inch, thankful that the ceilings weren’t too tall. There were several strange things she found in the first few feet, but no matter of prodding turned them into anything but natural flaws in the stones.

It wasn’t until she’d reached a half-way point that she hit the jackpot: a shallow depression in the stone. If she hadn’t been trailing her fingers over the wall near her abdomen, she would have completely missed it.

Callie knelt to be eye-level with the dip and lifted her candle until she could see it clearly.

There were faint lines inside the circular depression.

She paused, absolutely still even though her breath quickened.
Is this it?

Callie lined her finger up inside the circle and pressed.

There was a
pop
followed by a brief scraping sound. Callie stood up, her eyes sweeping the wall for the source of the scrape, and then walked forward.

The door might as well have been a section of wall, cut out and fixed up with what was probably an air mechanism to work it. One push of the button and a burst of air knocked open the door. Simple but effective.

Callie hooked her fingers in the small crack between the door and the wall, and pulled hard. It took a couple of heaves, but she managed to get it open enough for her skinny body to slip through.

The candle illuminated a very small room, longer than it was wide. Callie held the candle out before her and squinted into the space as she moved forward. There was nothing in there—no tables, no chairs, no cabinets. Nothing but a wooden trunk on the floor against the back wall.

Her heart raced. Parts of her were already celebrating—Charlotte was right, the book existed, Callie could find the way home…but another part of her was steeling herself for a big let down.

She knelt on the floor, carefully placing the candle at her knee. The trunk wasn’t ornate or special—just wood and gold hinges. It wasn’t even locked.

Callie took hold of both sides and tugged the lid up. It slammed against the wall, and she cringed. She glanced worriedly over her shoulder and waited to hear the sound of running footsteps or yells.

Nothing.

She turned back to the trunk. Picking up her candle, she put her hand over the black hole inside.

On the very bottom was a single, brown leather-bound book.

Callie was frozen in place. She stared at the inoffensive object—smaller than she expected—lying on the wood. It could hold the answers she needed. A shiver ran down her spine, and she leaned forward to pick it up.

She tucked the book in her bag, blew out her candle, and then quickly exited the room. Outside in the narrow hallway, she waited a moment to see if she could hear any distant footsteps before shoving the door closed. It slammed into place with the screech of stone against stone.

Hurrying down the hallway, Callie clung to the strap of her bag and tried to control her emotions. Half-elated, half-terrified, she turned the sharp corner to exit the hidden hallway, then turned once more to leave.

And slammed right into a soldier.

She reeled backwards, her bag falling to the floor and sliding across the stones. The soldier—a goofy-looking redhead with a big smile—gripped both of Callie’s shoulders and said, “Whoa, there. You alright, miss?”

Callie nodded vehemently. “Yeah, fine.”

The soldier let go of her to stride across the hallway. Callie watched in horror as he picked up her bag and dusted it off.

“I’m very sorry about that, miss,” he said in a thick English accent. “I never even saw you coming out of that hallway.”

Callie took the bag as he offered it and clutched it to her chest, her heart pounding. “Thank you. No harm, no foul.”

“I didn’t even know that hallway existed!” he went on, a little bit of awe in his voice. He leaned over to stick his hand in the opening like Callie had done earlier. “Completely wild, isn’t it?”

“Sure.” Callie nodded, edging around him. “Crazy temple. I’ve gotta go. I was lost, but I think I know where I am now, so thanks!”

“Of course!” he said brightly as Callie took off down the hallway. “Have a good afternoon, miss.”

Callie just waved and took the first turn she could, anxious to put distance between herself and the one man who could place her in the vicinity of the hidden room.

C
allie tapped her foot on the sidewalk beneath her chair and stared down the street in the direction of the temple. The sun was high and bright, and the wind was blowing just enough to keep it cool. Life in Aionia went about its usual business of lunches in the cafés and pedestrians strolling from store to store, while the book that could get them all out sat in a bag between Callie’s feet.

After she had hurried away from the red-haired soldier, Callie had stashed her bag in an empty drawer in the filing room and chased Alaric down in the main office. He sat beside Darren, his pen flying over paper as the large, colorfully dressed man spoke with another member of parliament.

Callie edged close enough to catch Alaric’s attention. When he glanced up, his blue eyes had seemed to light up the room as they caught sight of her. She motioned to the door with her head, and then left. Darren never even noticed her presence.

Alaric met her outside in the hall just a moment later. “Hey! I wasn’t sure if I would see you tod—”

Callie cut him off. “That thing? You know what I’m talking about, right?”

Alaric’s eyes widened, and he nodded soberly. “Yes.”

She took a deep breath and grinned. “Mission accomplished.”

Several emotions flitted across Alaric’s face, but it was the sadness that broke Callie’s heart. She wanted to reassure him that she loved him, too, but she still hadn’t been able to say the words. If she said it, then the intense feelings she had for him would be
real
…

She didn’t know if she could handle losing him.

“I haven’t…looked,” she told him gently, touching his arm. “Meet me at the place you took me on our first date. After work.”

He nodded. “Of course.”

Hoping no one would notice, Callie had tracked down one of the government’s many messengers and sent him with a note to the Farm, instructing Nailah to meet her, too.

It had taken every ounce of self-control for her to go back to the filing room and continue working. Time seemed to stand still. She was unable to focus—she kept messing up the paperwork and would have to do it over and over again.

The bag had taunted her.

Sitting at the patio table at Sally’s, Callie waited for Alaric to arrive, and the bag
still
taunted her. Her hands were shaking. She felt like there was a big, red sign pointing at her that screamed “thief.”
Calm down
, she told herself sternly.
If you look innocent, there’s no reason for anyone to expect anything.

Out of all the crazy things she had done in her life, stealing a hidden book from the government was the most nerve-wracking to date.

Alaric and Nailah arrived from either direction at the same time, and as soon as she saw them, Callie jumped to her feet and gathered her things.

“We can’t talk here,” Alaric said in greeting, glancing around at the thick lunch crowd on the patio.

Callie nodded. “I know.”

“Talk about what?” Nailah asked, one thin eyebrow raised as she walked up to catch the end of the conversation.

Callie ignored her question, and glanced furtively around before she murmured, “We’re going to the fountain.”

Nailah put her hands on her hips and cocked her head as she said, “Why?”

“Privacy,” Callie told her. “I’ll explain when we get there.”

The fountain was just as beautiful in daylight, if not more so. Callie had only returned a handful of times, though she knew her mom visited often and wasn’t telling anybody. If it had been Callie’s dream achieved, she would have haunted the place, too.

The Roman columns surrounding the fountain shone white beneath the sun, and the water glittered, gently waving beneath the onslaught of the three-tiered waterfall.

“It’s peaceful here,” Callie observed, not really expecting a reply. She sat on the edge of the fountain, letting her bag fall to the ground at her feet, and patted the cool stone. “Sit.”

Nailah smoothed her long black dress beneath her as she sat, very lady-like and regal with her back straight. Callie noticed she was wearing make-up, and wondered if it was because of Marcus. Alaric took a seat beside her so that they both faced her expectantly.

Callie leaned down and opened her bag—the book was nestled innocently in the bottom. With a hint of reverence, she picked it up and drew it out.

Nailah gasped, a hand drifting to her mouth. She lifted her wide eyes to Callie’s face. “Is that it?”

Callie shrugged and studied the book. “Maybe.”

“You haven’t opened it?” Alaric asked. His face was worried—the squiggle between his eyebrows was cute.

“No. I didn’t want to do it without you guys.” Callie grinned sheepishly. “I was also kinda scared.”

Nailah scooted closer and put an arm around Callie. “Well, we’re here now.”

Alaric nodded, hopping up to come around to the other side of Callie. He sat, his legs warm against hers, and tapped the cover of the book. “Do it.”

Callie laid the book on her knees and opened it.

The first page was some kind of title page. “A History of Aionia,” Callie read, her heartbeat quickening.

“Looks like it might be what we’re looking for,” Nailah said softly, touching the page. “Pretty short book for a full history.”

“I can’t imagine much is known about this place,” Alaric said.

“Maybe more than you think.” Callie trailed a finger down the list. “There are names. Darren, Maire, Gretta… It’s the parliament members.”

“They’ve been in power as long as I’ve been here,” Alaric responded. “I’ve never really thought about it, but it’s not impossible they’ve been here for hundreds of years. They know more about Aionia than anyone I’ve ever known.”

“Turn the page, Callie,” Nailah said.

The next few pages were just stuff—an overall black-and-white map of the island that covered two facing pages, a list of the native flora and fauna and the statistics of each. Callie kept turning pages until she reached the beginning of the text.