better? And where were you the past few days? You said you’d come back. Remember?”
“It might be easier if you asked one question at a time.”
Ugh. He was irritating me. “Okay, where were you?”
“I had to arrange some things. We’ve had guards keeping watch on you three.” Arik fell silent when Erin, a girl from my math class and a server at the café, came up to my table.
“Hi, Gia, will it be the usual?” she asked.
I forced a smile. “Yes, please.”
Erin, a red cloud of hair haloing her face, placed both palms on the table and leaned over. “Did you see the eye candy over there?” She nodded at Arik. “A total rebel type and a smoldering accent. I’d love to get to know him better.” She winked and sauntered back to the counter.
Arik chuckled.
“Whatever,” I muttered into the phone. “Can’t we just explain to those men that it was an accident? We didn’t mean to jump into that book.”
“There’s no reasoning with them. They’ve got Nick’s and Afton’s scent.” Arik exhaled, sending a burst of static through the phone. “Because of the evils humans inflicted on Mystiks long ago—tortures and killings—many fear humans learning of our world. The treaty between the Wizard Council and the Mystik League only protects humans unaware of its existence.”
Would that mean they’d be hunted forever? I choked out, “But…but would they really kill us? Just because we went through that damn book?”
“I’m afraid so,” he said. “The havens were created as a safe place for the Mystiks and wizards to avoid persecution from humans. The last time a human traveled the gateways was close to a hundred years ago. After a wizard married a human, he brought her through a book to his haven . A group of Mystiks tracked her down and burned her at the stake, making the wizard watch her agonizing death. It’s not a pretty story. It was a clear message to the Mystik world to prevent such tragedies in the future.” He paused. “Those bleeders outside won’t stop until the humans are dead. As I see it, we’ve two options…flee or fight.”
“You want to fight them ? You’re crazy.” The image of Lei’s katana blazed in my mind. We could never battle Mystiks who had weapons and skills like that. And even if I figured out how to conjure that ball of light, what good would that do? Still, there was no way I’d live the rest of my life on the run.
Nick rushed in, dripping rain onto the floor. He spotted me and pushed past a group of kids leaving the café. He was dressed all in leather with biker boots, which suspiciously resembled what the Sentinels wore, and flung himself onto the chair directly across from me. “Hey,” he said, panting.
I mouthed a hello to him.
“I’d rather fight,” Arik said. “But since I must get you three to safety, we’re fleeing.” He paused. “We’ve discovered something about you, Gia. You’re not fully human. You’re a Sentinel. We’re meeting someone who will explain everything to you.”
Not fully human? A Sentinel?
“I’m not—” I stopped, remembering the men across the street. They were real. That hunter and hound in the library were, too. And there was something to Arik’s claim. I rubbed the scar on my chest. My mother had started preparing me before she died. The stories. The Italian lessons. All to equip me for this day. I needed to find out the truth, and so I agreed to take another plunge into the rabbit hole. “Okay.”
“Have coffee with Nick,” he said. “Take your time. When you’re finished, meet me at the Athenæum. I’m going to lead those men on a wild chase, and I’ll meet you there as soon as I’m rid of them.”
“What about Afton?” I asked.
“She’s being retrieved and will be at the library.” He rose and dropped a couple of dollars on the table.
I wanted to tell him not to go, not to leave me. That I was scared. But he had to, for Nick and Afton’s sake. “Just be careful, okay?”
There
“It might be easier if you asked one question at a time.”
Ugh. He was irritating me. “Okay, where were you?”
“I had to arrange some things. We’ve had guards keeping watch on you three.” Arik fell silent when Erin, a girl from my math class and a server at the café, came up to my table.
“Hi, Gia, will it be the usual?” she asked.
I forced a smile. “Yes, please.”
Erin, a red cloud of hair haloing her face, placed both palms on the table and leaned over. “Did you see the eye candy over there?” She nodded at Arik. “A total rebel type and a smoldering accent. I’d love to get to know him better.” She winked and sauntered back to the counter.
Arik chuckled.
“Whatever,” I muttered into the phone. “Can’t we just explain to those men that it was an accident? We didn’t mean to jump into that book.”
“There’s no reasoning with them. They’ve got Nick’s and Afton’s scent.” Arik exhaled, sending a burst of static through the phone. “Because of the evils humans inflicted on Mystiks long ago—tortures and killings—many fear humans learning of our world. The treaty between the Wizard Council and the Mystik League only protects humans unaware of its existence.”
Would that mean they’d be hunted forever? I choked out, “But…but would they really kill us? Just because we went through that damn book?”
“I’m afraid so,” he said. “The havens were created as a safe place for the Mystiks and wizards to avoid persecution from humans. The last time a human traveled the gateways was close to a hundred years ago. After a wizard married a human, he brought her through a book to his haven . A group of Mystiks tracked her down and burned her at the stake, making the wizard watch her agonizing death. It’s not a pretty story. It was a clear message to the Mystik world to prevent such tragedies in the future.” He paused. “Those bleeders outside won’t stop until the humans are dead. As I see it, we’ve two options…flee or fight.”
“You want to fight them ? You’re crazy.” The image of Lei’s katana blazed in my mind. We could never battle Mystiks who had weapons and skills like that. And even if I figured out how to conjure that ball of light, what good would that do? Still, there was no way I’d live the rest of my life on the run.
Nick rushed in, dripping rain onto the floor. He spotted me and pushed past a group of kids leaving the café. He was dressed all in leather with biker boots, which suspiciously resembled what the Sentinels wore, and flung himself onto the chair directly across from me. “Hey,” he said, panting.
I mouthed a hello to him.
“I’d rather fight,” Arik said. “But since I must get you three to safety, we’re fleeing.” He paused. “We’ve discovered something about you, Gia. You’re not fully human. You’re a Sentinel. We’re meeting someone who will explain everything to you.”
Not fully human? A Sentinel?
“I’m not—” I stopped, remembering the men across the street. They were real. That hunter and hound in the library were, too. And there was something to Arik’s claim. I rubbed the scar on my chest. My mother had started preparing me before she died. The stories. The Italian lessons. All to equip me for this day. I needed to find out the truth, and so I agreed to take another plunge into the rabbit hole. “Okay.”
“Have coffee with Nick,” he said. “Take your time. When you’re finished, meet me at the Athenæum. I’m going to lead those men on a wild chase, and I’ll meet you there as soon as I’m rid of them.”
“What about Afton?” I asked.
“She’s being retrieved and will be at the library.” He rose and dropped a couple of dollars on the table.
I wanted to tell him not to go, not to leave me. That I was scared. But he had to, for Nick and Afton’s sake. “Just be careful, okay?”
There
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