B00528UTDS EBOK (26 page)

Sure enough, Sarah drove two more miles before coming to the sign for the rest stop. It was to her left. Sarah flipped on the blinker and made the turn. Not that she really needed to use the blinker, there hadn’t been another car for at least an hour.

Sarah brought the van to a stop near the restrooms. After turning off the engine, she pushed the button to talk to those in back. “Are you sure this is the place?” she asked.

Sarah reached out and grabbed Nicole’s arm before she could open her door. “Whatever is wrong, you’ll only make it worse by opening those doors right now.”

Sarah followed her sister. The two of them stood behind the van, staring at the closed doors. Sarah could feel her sister fighting the urge to fling those doors open.

“I’m sure he’s fine,” she tried to reassure Nicole. “It should only be a few more minutes before we can safely open the doors. Maybe you can get one of them on your mobile?” Sarah suggested.

Nicole pulled her phone from her pants pocket. “There’s no service.”

Sarah checked her phone and she also had no service. This wasn’t surprising, considering they were in the middle of nowhere.

Every couple of minutes Nicole peered at the sun. Finally when the last rays faded from the horizon, she went for the doors. As soon as she opened them, Dash, Alec and Ethan stepped out.

Nicole threw her arms around Alec’s neck. “You scared the hell out of me. What’s wrong with the intercom?” she asked.

Ethan already had a screwdriver in his hand that he’d taken from the luggage compartment on the side of the van.

“I don’t know. There was just so much static that we couldn’t hear you over it,” Ethan answered for Alec as he was climbing back into the van.

“That’s what it was like in front,” Sarah told them.

Suddenly Ethan stopped what he was doing and looked at them. “Maybe it’s because we’re close. If you think about it … if there is a portal there has to be some kind of energy associated with it. That energy could interfere with any type of electronics.”

Dash was staring up the road. “We are close … I remember this place.”

“So you saw this guy on this road, miles from any kind of civilization … and he let you see a vision of the Place of Light?” Alec’s skepticism came through in his voice.

Nicole held up her hand to silence everyone. “Both times we have had these visions it was done with a medallion, and I am not even sure that what I experienced was real. Anyway, let’s not forget that as far as we know, the only people that possess these medallions are the ancients. Has anyone considered what we will do even if we find this portal?”

Dash grinned and pulled something out of his shirt pocket. A golden medallion hung from the chain he held in his hands. Like Donavan’s medallion, this one had a crystal in the middle and was surrounded by those strange markings.

“Where did you get that?” Alec asked in a tight voice.

Dash glanced at Nicole. “Do you remember when we were at Castle Arges? Well I found this little beauty sitting on a table right in plain sight.”

“This doesn’t solve the problem of where this place is, or even if it is?” Alec pointed out. “I don’t know if you realize this, but what Dash and Nicole experienced was a vision. They did not actually go to this place. They both saw it while holding that medallion in their hand. Has it occurred to anyone that there could be something in that crystal that causes hallucinations?”

Nicole shook her head. “Lex and my father claim that it is real. Plus, it is where Lex says that he is originally from.”

“But what do we know about this lycan? I mean really. He starts showing up and giving us information. How do we know he isn’t leading us into a trap?” It was obvious that Alec was becoming more agitated and troubled by the minute.

Sarah shook her head. “It doesn’t work that way. I can’t pick and choose the information I get. If I were going to get something on the location of this place, I probably would have already.”

“Maybe we should do this the old fashion way,” Nicole suggested. “We’ll ask around and see if anyone knows anything?”

“Right! We are going to ask if anyone knows how to get to another dimension?” Ethan laughed. “They will send the police after us thinking we are a bunch of nuts.”

“Do you have a better idea?” Nicole asked.

Suddenly Ethan perked up. “You know … I did bring along my infrared camera. It might pick up any electromagnetic fields in the area.”

“Let’s try it,” Dash told him.

A moment later Ethan had the camera on and was scanning the horizon. As he slowly moved the camera to the east, white filled the digital screen. “I think we have our coordinates,” he told them. “There is some major electromagnetic energy coming from that direction.” Ethan pointed toward the northeast.

“We’re wasting time. Let’s get going,” Alec told them.

“Wait!” Sarah spoke up. “Before we start moving again I need to use the restroom.”

Sarah left the others and started walking toward the restrooms. Thankfully the building had some lighting, but it wasn’t very bright. As she got closer, she saw that the side closest to the parking lot housed the men’s room. The women’s restroom was on the other side of the building - out of sight of the parking lot and her friends.

She hesitated. It was dark, and though there was some light, it wasn’t much. Every nerve in her body began to tingle. Something wasn’t right. There just seemed to be something out of place or different from a few moments before. That little voice in her head urged her to run back to the van.

But she really needed to use the restroom!

Taking a deep breath, Sarah walked around the building to the women’s restrooms and quickly went inside. The bathroom was brightly lit, and the light eased her discomfort some.

Sarah quickly finished and was at the sink washing her hands when she heard a noise by the restroom’s entrance. She quietly made her way to the door, and opened it just a crack to see if anyone was out there. There was nothing but buzzing insects near the outside light.

She opened the door wider and stepped out. A quick sprint to the van and it would be all over. She could breathe easy again. Sarah took one step and then froze. Someone was watching her, hidden by the darkness that was just beyond the reach of the light.

“Well she does see ghosts,” Dash offered an explanation. “Do vampires turn into ghosts do you think? I mean when the end finally comes?”

Sarah followed the others to the van. Again Dash put his arm around her. “You know Sarah … I’m a vampire too. If it wasn’t for the fact that I’m getting ready to go away …”

Back on the highway, Ethan rode in the passenger side seat with his camera pointed out the window. They drove for about two miles before spotting a dirt road that led off in the direction that the camera was picking up the electromagnetic energy.

“Turn off here,” Ethan told Nicole.

Nicole hit the breaks, slowing down so that she could make the turn, without rolling the van. “It would have been nice to have a little more warning,” she grumbled.

For the next twenty minutes Nicole followed the dirt road, turning off in a different direction whenever Ethan directed her to. The road was getting rocky and difficult to drive on.

Soon they were all following Ethan. Sarah held the flashlight, pointing the beam of light in front of them. They walked only a short distance before coming to the mouth of a large cave.

Nicole nodded, tears flowing down her cheeks. “And you’re
my
best friend, which is why I don’t want you to do this.”

Dash gave her a quick peck on the cheek before turning away. “Hey … if I’m wrong I’ll be back in a minute. If I’m right … well who knows?”

They stood there watching as Dash disappeared into the cave. The minutes passed as they waited for him to return, but he didn’t.

“Let’s go in and see what happened,” Nicole suggested.

“I don’t know.” Ethan was doubtful.

“If it is a portal, it won’t matter because we don’t have one of those medallions. But if something’s happened to him in there, we need to find out,” Nicole reasoned.

“She’s right,” Alec told them. “I’ll go in and check it out. The rest of you wait out here.”

Alec returned a few minutes later with a puzzled expression on his face. “It only goes back about four feet, and then it’s just a rock wall.”

“It must have worked.” Ethan’s face lit up.

“Yeah, but what do you think is going to be waiting for him on the other side?” Nicole’s anger had returned.

“We’ll wait around for a while to see if he returns,” Alec suggested. “Even if he doesn’t, I’m sure he’ll find his way back sooner or later. There has to be a way back.” Alec tried to comfort Nicole.

* * * *

Sarah stared up at the night sky. The way the stars twinkled against an abyss of darkness was magical. It was easy to imagine that as long as there was starlight, that radiance would keep evil from overcoming the world.

If only that were true - if only those heavenly lights could keep away the darkness that was winding it’s way through her heart.

At first she’d been so sure it was Darrien that she’d seen at the rest stop, but after running the scene through her head over and over again, she was no longer certain. Maybe it had been a ghost, or just someone that resembled him. It was easy to make a mistake when it was so dark.

It could have been just some drifter using the restrooms as a place to sleep. She was still grieving. Maybe she just wanted it to be him so bad that her brain had made her believe that the person that she encountered was Darrien.