Read Online Dark River by John Twelve Hawks - Free Book Online Page B

Hernandez, the Jonesie minister who had rented the loft, sat on a folding cot with a young Latino wearing a red sweatshirt.
    “Maya! Thank God you’re all right!” Hernandez stood up and gave her a big smile. He was a city bus driver who always wore his clerical collar when conducting church business. “Welcome back. We were starting to worry about you.”
    An older woman’s voice came from the women’s sleeping area. Maya hurried across the loft and pulled back one of the tarps. Sophia Briggs, the Pathfinder who lived in an abandoned missile silo near New Harmony, sat on a cot talking to Gabriel. Sophia was the teacher who had taught Gabriel how to use his ability to cross over to different realms.
    “Ah, the Harlequin returns.” Sophia studied Maya as if she were a rare species of reptile. “Good evening, my dear. I didn’t think I’d see you again.”
    Something moved in the shadows over by the radiator. Was it a dog? Had Sophia brought a pet with her? No, it was a little girl sitting on the floor, her knees up, her arms wrapped around her legs. When Maya took a step closer, a face came up, a small face that displayed no emotion. It was the Asian girl from New Harmony. Someone had survived.
    ** CHAPTER 7
    Gabriel watched Maya’s eyes as she glanced at the little girl and then turned to Sophia. “I thought everyone was killed….”
    “Everyone but Alice Chen— Joan’s daughter. I found her down in the missile silo protected by my lovely king snakes. The Tabula mercenaries came searching for us, but they only explored the main level.”
    “How did you get to New York?”
    “Dr. Briggs drove to Austin, Texas, and contacted a member of our church,” Hernandez explained. “A few of us still believe in ‘Debt Not Paid.’ We will protect Travelers, Harlequins, and their friends.”
    “But why are they here?”
    “Alice and I are both witnesses,” Sophia said. “We were passed from church to church until someone contacted Reverend Hernandez.”
    “Well, you’ve come to the wrong place. I won’t accept an obligation for you or this child.” Maya walked over to Alice Chen. “Do you have grandparents? An aunt or uncle?”
    “Alice has stopped talking,” Sophia said. “It’s clear that she’s been through a traumatic experience.”
    “I heard her talk at New Harmony.” Maya stood over Alice and spoke slowly. “Give me a name. I need the name of someone who can take care of you.”
    “Leave her alone, Maya.” Gabriel got up from the cot and crouched down beside the little girl. “Alice…” he whispered, and then he felt the aura of grief that enveloped her. The feeling was so powerful and so dark that he almost fell to his knees. For a moment he wished he had never become a Traveler. How had his father endured such pain from others?
    Gabriel stood up and faced Maya. “She stays with us.”
    “These two people will slow us down. We have to get out of here now.”
    “She stays with us,” Gabriel repeated. “Or I’m not leaving this loft.”
    “We won’t have to take care of them for long,” Vicki said. “Reverend Hernandez has some friends who live on a farm up in Vermont.”
    “They live completely off the Grid— no credit cards, no phones, no attachments at all,” Hernandez said. “You can stay there as long as you want.”
    “And how are we supposed to make this journey?” Maya asked.
    “Take the subway to Grand Central Terminal. A train leaves on the Harlem Line at eleven twenty-two tonight. Get off at a town called Ten Mile River and wait on the platform. A church member with a car will pick you up and take you north.”
    Maya shook her head. “The whole situation has changed now that the Tabula realize we’re in New York. They’ll be monitoring everywhere— it will be dangerous to move around. There are surveillance cameras on the street and in each subway station, and the computers will scan for our images and target our exact location.”
    “I know all about the