The Gateway Through Which They Came (30 page)

I dig a ruler out from my backpack and convince myself that as long as I don’t physically touch it, everything should work out fine. It’s not like it’s the dumbest idea I’ve ever come up with. At least this time I won’t be suctioned to the book if things get crazy again. Something tells me that Father Martin didn’t expect for me to have this sort of connection with the book, and I wonder if the voices in my head are related. That or I’m most definitely losing my mind. At this point, that isn’t too far off.

With the book at arm’s length, I place the tip of the ruler into the pages and flip the cover open. Nothing seems amiss this time as I wait for a flicker of lights or the bang of tree branches against my window. If this works, then I am officially a genius. Ruler still in hand, I leaf through the pages until I decide to just pick one. When I do, I step forward little by little, attempting to read the words. Everything seems well and safe, so I sit beside the book and read:

“His words will seek out those who believe in Him. They won’t need to search, for He will be there. The Dark Priest shall take his Brethren into his home and lay upon them the gift. A power so great they will hold our very lives within themselves and share upon the world the gift to bring our worlds together as one.”

I digest these words. A
gift.
A plague of sickness that wipes out non-believers, it means.

The Dark Priest has to be collecting his followers. Where else would he be? He needs their faith in order to survive, because without them, he’s nothing. A power like his couldn’t exist without the weakness of others.

If I wait any longer, he’ll become stronger. The only thing I can think to do is slow him down, which means denying my gift. Without me opening the Gateway, he no longer has access to the Order, at least until he finds another Mortal Gateway. And if the one I sensed at school is the only other one, for now that is, maybe I can find them before he does.

oday I have to find Koren. If there’s any chance she could be locked within the underground tunnel, I have to go. The Dark Priest wants me to believe she betrayed me. It’s the only way he can have more control over me. Turning me against the people I care about. If there’s any indication of how he recruits his followers, it has to have something to do with separating them from others. Isn’t that how most cults work?

With Christmas only a week away, I find it difficult to accept that everyone else in this city is out preparing themselves for the festivities. I’m left fighting a war of good versus evil. When did my life become a comic book?

The rain pelts against the windshield, turning to sleet as a biting cold fuses with the droplets of moisture in its path. Izzie chugs along against the wind coming at her from all sides. I tap the steering wheel, coaxing her to make it through.

When I arrive at the church, I throw the hood of my sweatshirt over my head and make a break for the entrance. The knob resists at first, forbidding my entry. I twist once more in hopes I’d been wrong the first time, and to my relief, the handle gives in. The church is dark, except for the one candle that remains lit at the altar.

With the door closed gently behind me, I glance from one end of the room to the other. As I step forward, a gust of air rushes past me from my right. Is there a window open, or is there something eager to keep me out? I turn toward it, my whole body tense, ready for an ambush. Nothing appears. I creep down the aisle, expecting a presence to make itself known any minute. Disembodied voices float faintly from the direction of Father Martin’s chambers. Someone must have opened the door. I can’t afford to hesitate. If someone is down there, I have to go now.

A shadow in the hall near Father’s chambers flashes in front of me, blinking out of sight. I can’t help but think they’re leading me somewhere, expecting that I follow. As much as I hate myself for this, I do. The voices get louder as I approach the door to the office. Preparing myself for whatever creature lies behind it, I ready myself to pounce. Fist balled tight, I shift my weight to my right foot in case I need to swing. My self-defense mechanism goes beyond these simple precautions: The monster inside me shifting from its slumber. Awakened by the threat that awaits. It rumbles within my veins like the lava of a volcano. Forcing its hot rage to the surface.

Adrenaline surges through my body to the center of my heart. Before I consider what I’m doing, my mind opens up to the thirst that begs to take control. Father Martin said I’m not ready for battle, but he doesn’t know that the beast barricaded inside of me is more capable than I’ll ever be.

There is no sense of right or wrong anymore. It’s only me.
It
—the monster
.
The power consuming me is too much to deny, and right now, it’s every part of me.

I barge through the door ready to fight. A scream explodes before I can do anything else. Julie Martin’s horrified expression crushes everything inside me, my pride collapsing into a heap on the floor.

“What is wrong with you?” she whispers with what little breath she has left. Her chest rises and falls, her hands hovering over her mouth. She presses herself against the bookcase, frozen with fear. But it’s her eyes that tell me that something is very wrong.

I stumble back against the door, pushing it closed. It’s not just what she sees, but what I feel. A darkness surrounds me, stronger than before. My skin aches, as if it’s tightening with the temperature of my body. My vision is strange, much more perfect than anything I’ve ever known.

As if she reads it on my face, Julie points a trembling finger. “Your eyes…”

It’s not until I get a glimpse of my reflection in the silver-framed mirror, that I see it. The blackest of eyes staring back at me.
My
eyes. No white exists, hidden under the opaque darkness of the monster living inside of me.

I want to look away, but I can’t. There’s no unseeing this.

It’s here and now that everything Julie and I established during our time together is long gone. The friendship we once had is nonexistent. How can we ever come back from this?

“Jules,” I whisper, careful and calmly.

From the corner of the mirror, I can see her pressing as close as she can get to the shelf. Seeing her cower away from me like this brings shame and guilt.

“Jules,” I say again. “What’s happening to me?”

Julie clutches the cloth of her shirt near her heart. “You’ve been cursed by the wicked,” she answers with certainty.

The wicked. If she only knew how damning her words are. Panic consumes me. Squeezing my eyes shut and then opening them again, I lean into the mirror and pray for this to go away. My breath becomes heavier with each intake, and my nerves fail to stay calm no matter how hard I try.

Behind me, Julie creeps along the walls toward the door. But I can’t let her go. No one can know.

“No!” I rush for the door, pressing my palms against it with all my weight.

“Please!” she begs, pressing farther away. “Please, let me go, Aiden. You can’t keep me here.”

I want to cry. I want to scream. But I tell myself to speak low and steady. She’s frightened and the last thing I want to do is make her think she’s in danger. Though what I’m capable of, there’s no telling.

“I’m not going to hurt you, okay? I swear it.” I hold up my right palm, Scout’s honor.

Julie shakes her head, her eyes shut. She can’t even look at me.

“Jules?” I step closer. “You have to trust me.”

With my voice closing in on her, she opens her eyes and thrashes her way back toward the secret door that remains closed behind her. Does she know what exists down there? Was she the one that opened it to begin with?

Tears streak down her face faster the closer I get. I pull away to give her space.

“I need a little time to figure out what’s happening to me. Can you do that? Can you just hold on for a second?”

“Please, let me go home,” she cries.

“I want to, Jules. I’ll let you go. But right now I need you to promise me something.”

“What?” she whispers, her eyes meet mine.

“Promise you won’t tell anyone.”

There’s no time for an answer when the door is dashed open, sending me stumbling back and away from Julie. Father Martin is taken aback by our strange behavior, not to mention the fact that we’re in his office, uninvited. He cocks an eyebrow and glances at us curiously. I remember my appearance and pivot toward the mirror. The reflection looking back at me is the same one I’ve known all my life. There’s no trace of the
thing
lingering, at least on the outside, because inside is a wreckage of emotions and power that is far from over.

“What’s going on here?” Father Martin steps into the room, looking tall and stern. He’s acting like a man who just walked in on his niece being violated.

I’m speechless. To be honest, I’d rather he assume that than know what really happened. Something inside me fears the worst. If Father Martin knew what was becoming of me, would he banish me like they did to the others centuries ago?

He glares at me, impatiently waiting for an answer, his face glowing red.

“Nothing, Uncle Jacob.” Julie pushes herself from the wall, steady on her feet. “I came in to open the church like you asked me to. We thought… we thought we heard an intruder.”

Intruder? Technically, she’s not lying. With what’s happening to me and the strange voices, there were a number of things that could be considered intrusive.

Father Martin cocks an eyebrow, not quite buying it. I’ve never known Julie to lie. She’s like her uncle in that respect, which is most likely what causes him to accept this explanation.

“Intruder?” he says. “Is everything okay now?” He steps farther into the office, a file of papers in his right hand.

Not a word is said. Julie and I catch each other’s line of vision, the lingering fright within her blinking back at me. I won’t blame her if she tells. Prepared for the uproar soon to be released, I look down at my feet and nod. A movement so slight, and meant only for her.
It’s okay. I understand.

“Everything’s fine,” she replies.

I snap my head up in surprise. She doesn’t look back.

Father Martin’s eyes narrow with uncertainty, but his shoulders relax. “Good. Now, Jules, if you could please give us a moment to—”

“It’s okay.” She hurries to the door. “I’m late for school anyhow. I’ll see you at home tonight.” She doesn’t wait for him to reply, brushing past the door and to the exit without another word.

I fight the urge to run to her, to beg her to forgive me. I’m motionless. My body’s numb by the realization of something hitting me just then, like a tidal wave I didn’t see coming.

“Is she acting strange to you?” he asks.

I shake my head. Words escape me while I process what the hell just happened. All this time, the hum I’d been sensing, is the same one following Julie out that very door.

“Right then,” Father Martin says, oblivious to my discovery.

Does he know his niece is a Gateway? Does
she
know? I can only hope they would have told me if they did.

Father Martin takes a seat behind his desk, and I force myself to follow. I can’t even begin to describe what I’m thinking right now. Was Julie’s father a Gateway? Her mother? Until this, I would never have thought such a thing could be. I’ve never known that a girl could be a Gateway. All this “Men of Light” stuff never mentioned this. Surely Father Martin is aware of such a possibility. Julie’s father was his brother, after all. He must know the truth, or Julie Martin is hiding one hell of a secret.