Blood Oath (A Gabby Girls Adventure Novel, Book Two) (43 page)

"Tell me, Priscilla. What’s going on?"

"The
Book of Eternals
has been stolen," she whispered quickly.

I sagged with relief. "I know. We stole it." I looked at her sheepishly. "No, I mean we borrowed it."

Priscilla looked at me quickly. "No, sweet pea, the book is gone. Rosalinda stole the
Book of Eternals
."

My heart froze. "Why would she steal the book? I mean, it was all my idea to get the book from the
Eternals’
chamber in the first place."

Her eyes narrowed questioningly. "Was it? Or was it an idea planted by someone using you to steal the book for them."

"That’s crazy! Why would anyone want to steal the book? More importantly, why would Rosalinda want to steal it?" I couldn’t believe that she would betray our friendship.

Priscilla looked out the window. "I fear that she stole it for other reasons. Like her mother’s dark influence."

I could feel my body freezing as I remembered the brief glance at that mysterious woman in the courtyard. "But Rosalinda’s mother is dead; I mean, all of our mothers are dead. Why are we even talking about this?" My chest was actually seizing as my voice raised at least five octaves. I was totally going to pass out from the shock.

Priscilla grabbed my face. "Sweet pea, you have to calm down. Listen to me carefully because time is of the essence. Rosalinda’s mother is very much alive and is working with Hannah to destroy the
Eternals
and
Elementi
."

I scoffed, looking at her like she was insane.

Priscilla looked at me steadily. "Just listen, but not with your heart, and you will know the truth. There is a dark history with Rosa and Hannah that is far too long to get into right now. But somehow they got to Rosalinda, and now she is working with them."

"But she would never betray us," I whispered softly. But my instincts told me that she would and that she had.

"You have to face the new reality. She has betrayed us, and we must now work to get back the
Book of Eternals
." She sighed loudly. "Do you really think that all this anarchy around here is just a coincidence? Nothing, I mean nothing, in our world happens just by chance."

"I’ve made a mess of things, playing right into their hands." I sat down on the cushy window seat, staring out sadly. "I mean, what can I do to fix the impossible?"

Priscilla sat down next to me, hugging me comfortingly. "There’s nothing impossible in our world. There are always ways to nudge the gods to help us find solutions for righting the wrong." She looked over at the door quickly. "But, we have to work fast. The first thing is breaking you out of here, then finding Hannah. For wherever Hannah is, the
Book of Eternals
won’t be far."

I swallowed nervously. "How do you expect to break me out of here? I mean, the door is guarded twenty-four-seven by
Eternals
, and there is no way that we’re slipping past them."

Priscilla stood up, smiling. "You just let me worry about that part." She glanced over at the tray of now-cold food. "Just be ready. You never know when an opportunity might pop up." She walked over to the door and fixed her face into a cold mask as she knocked on it.

The Guardian unlocked and opened the door, looking at her expectantly. "Are you done, High Priestess Priscilla?"

She looked over at me coldly, flinging her hand toward me. "Yes, she still will not divulge the location of the
Book of Eternals
. I must go back immediately and report this to the
Eternal
Council." She winked at me secretly before storming out of the room.

I had to stop myself from giggling at the way Priscilla sauntered out of the room like a movie star running from the paparazzi. I leaned back tiredly; now, I just had to wait for my breakout opportunity.

I was annoyed
, tired, and plain old mad. It was late, and dark outside, and my patience was running very thin. Plopped on the couch, I flipped through the channels on the wide-screen television with disinterest. I settled for thumping music blaring from a video to calm my nerves and dull my overactive senses.

Even over the blaring television, I could hear something moving on the other side of the wall. I quickly turned down the volume. Then I heard it again, first soft, then loud, scratching coming from inside the bedroom. I waited, and then I heard the scratching again.

I quickly jumped up from the couch and cautiously walked over to the bedroom. Peering into the dark room warily, I couldn’t see anything that was out of the ordinary. The scratching sounds started again, but now I could clearly pinpoint the location. It was coming from the inside the closet. I walked over hastily and yanked the closet door open, peering in.

He whispered urgently, "First leveler, it’s me."

My eyes popped open with shock. "Justice?"

"Who else do you think it is?" he mumbled gruffly. "There’s a hidden door at the back of the closet. Just look for the latch and snap it down."

I quickly ran my hands across the walls, stopping when I felt the sharp, protruding latch wedged into the corner. Grasping it quickly, I pushed it down. The wall creaked open softly, revealing Justice, standing impatiently on the other side with a familiar bored look on his face.

I was so happy to see him. Momentarily forgetting my caution with him, I rushed over and wrapped my arms around him joyfully. He looked at me awkwardly, his body tense and arms hung stiffly at his side. But I didn’t care; I was just so relieved to see him.

Justice suddenly reached his arms around me, hugging me back awkwardly.

I sunk into his warm embrace before tilting my face up, noticing that his eyes had transformed from light gray to a dark gray. "How in the world did you know that this door was here? Never mind, I could kiss you right now. Thank you, Justice," I whispered.

I felt warm, safe. I don’t know what got into me, but before I could second-guess myself, I reached up on the tips of my toes and kissed him softly on his cheek.

His body froze. He cleared his throat noisily, pushing me gently away and holding me at arm’s length. "Hey, it’s no big deal, Gabi." He ran his hand through his hair quickly.

I smiled at him awkwardly. "No big deal? Oh, the big, strong middle leveler is being modest for once."

He smiled, humor glinting in his eyes, "Yeah, for once. Don’t get used to it. Anyway, really, it’s no big deal. I was snooping around one day and found a treasure trove of old blueprints for this castle. I studied them just in case things got real hectic for me and I needed a backup plan. You know, a backup plan for escape." He winked at me.

Something in his essence was shifting. It was like he was undecided about something, kind of like he was backing away from me mentally. This hot-and-cold thing with him was truly getting exhausting.

I backed away from him, giving him his space. "Well, that’s really cool, Justice. I’m so sorry for getting you involved in this whole mess. Now you’re whole
Ares
path is probably ruined."

"Nah, it will be okay. Helios and Chaos will get over it." He smiled slightly. "Eventually."

I looked around the room anxiously; it was an exact replica of the room that they had locked me in. "Okay, so how do we sneak out?" I asked quickly.

He eyes turned chilly. "I’m not sneaking out. You are," he responded briskly.

I looked at him with alarm. "What? You can’t stay here; they’ll kill you when they find out that I escaped."

He looked at me mysteriously, touching my hair softly. "Your concern is very touching, first leveler. But I’m already in a lot of trouble.

Heck, I’m always in a lot of trouble, so it can’t get any worse. Besides, Priscilla wants you out, and fast."

He looked at me tensely. "You have to get out of here and find the
Book of Eternals
before they get even crazier than they are now." He looked around distractedly. "Chaos told me that the wards around the Isles have been broken and that the Trackers are picking up the scent of the
Banished
in the woods. It’s not safe for you here."

This was going from bad to worse. I looked at him worriedly. If the
Banished
were lurking around on the Isles, no one was safe. And with all of the
Eternals
gathered here in one location like easy pickings, this would be a blood smorgasbord for the
Banished
.

But something in the way he was worriedly looking at me told me something else, something more dangerous and scary.

My eyes widened with realization. "Wait, you think the
Banished
are here to kidnap me."

He looked at me silently, but his eyes said everything. The
Banished
were here to get me, and just like at Vineswell, they would slaughter everything in their path to get to me.

I grabbed his arm; all I could think about was all of the
Neophytes
unknowingly exposed to the
Banished
. This would be a massacre of major proportions.

"I have to help. Maybe if I give myself to them…" I said desperately.

He laughed bitterly. "And then what? Don’t you get it? The Underworld wants to use you for their war; they’ll break you if you don’t cooperate."

My face tightened. "Don’t you think I’m strong enough to resist them?"

He grabbed my arms tightly. "No, I don’t. No one is," he spat vehemently. "They’ll break you, Gabi. I’ve seen those broken by the Underworld. It’s…" His face tightened. "I don’t want to see you like that."

I tried to pull away, but his grip tightened.

"I already have to live with what they did at Vineswell. I can’t…" My voice cracked embarrassingly. "I can’t do this running away thing while everything around me dies. Everyone is always trying to protect me, keep them from me, but exactly how long do they think that they can continue to do that before everything around us is destroyed?"

I winched my arms away painfully. I could feel the stupid tears welling up in my eyes, but I refused to let them fall.

Justice groaned. "Don’t do this, Gabi. Not now." He touched my cheek. "Look, don’t you understand how important you are?"

I gasped with shock. What was he talking about? I was important to him?

He sighed, "I mean that you’re very important to the
Eternals
and the
Elementi
."

For some reason his response deflated me.

He continued urgently. "If you die, or if the Underworld breaks you, everything will be destroyed, and that can’t happen." His jaw tightened, and he looked at me coldly as he pushed me away from him with disgust. "Look, don’t get all clingy on me. Just go already. We can take care of ourselves, first leveler. In fact, we’ve been doing just that for centuries before you showed up."

I looked at him angrily. "Fine. Just show me the exit, and I’m out."

He stormed over to the end of the bookcase and pushed against it quickly. The bookcase squeaked open, sending clouds of dust everywhere. He looked at me. "Here’s the deal. This passageway leads straight into the woods. Once you get out, stay close to the tree line and stick to the shadows. Priscilla will find you."

A shiver went down my spine at the same time that my scarlet pendant glowed. The
Banished
were near. I could sense it. I quickly started to step over the threshold and into the dark passageway, when he abruptly turned me around, pulling me against him.

I gasped with surprise as his warm lips hesitantly pressed against mine. Dazed, I couldn’t believe it. Justice was actually kissing me. My first kiss. It was nice, very nice, but there was something missing. I fretted about what to do with my lips, but before I could even overthink the whole situation, it was over, just like that.

Justice stepped back slowly, his eyes lingering on my face. "Watch your back, first leveler."

I cleared my throat, my voice husky with emotion. "It’s you who needs to watch your back, middle leveler." I smiled slightly. "Try not to get yourself killed by the
Banished
."

"You mean try not to kill too many of them, right?" He smiled with a mysterious look in his eyes. "I’ll be waiting for you, first leveler." My heart fluttered a little as I smiled back at him. Maybe Veda was right. Maybe he didn’t hate me. And frankly, if I was honest with myself, maybe I didn’t hate him either. Maybe what I was feeling was a little less like hate and more like…

My thoughts froze. I was going into the deep end of uncharted boy territory, and right now, those waters were really choppy. I had to clear my mind, focus on the important stuff. Grandma Celeste was relying on me, and top priority was to get the
Book of Eternals
back and save her. Everything else was a nonfactor right now, including him.