LEMNISCATE (17 page)

The second name was Lucifer.

As I read the name, a chill swept through the room and continued down my back.

The third was a name I knew all too well. A name I tried to avoid for years. I looked down again, the five letters burning themselves into my head.

Brynn.

“T
he earth is a footprint of the heavens. It works like a mirror.” Nate’s voice was pitched with unnerving excitement. Finally, he had found someone to share his secret with and he paced feverishly across the uncluttered sections of the study. “Are you familiar with the trinity?”

I slowly nodded my head. Church had ingrained the trinity in me since I was small.

“Three is a powerful number. There are legends, stories of its sacred power, and I have come to learn that those stories should not be taken lightly.”

He made his way over to the tall wall of shelves and earnestly began searching the spines on the lower shelves. If the bookcase was arranged in some sort of order, I would never know. The titles seemed to be placed randomly and only he seemed to know the code. He pulled a small black book from the shelf and thumbed through it.

“The Rule of Three, the karmic law that what you send out comes back to you threefold, or at three times the power under which you sent it out.”

He replaced the book and chose another. That one was reddish-brown and ripped, having seen much better days.

“Three, as in the maiden, the maid and the crone . . .”

Another book came down from the shelf and Nate read from its pages,“The number “3” is used many times in Chinese culture. As mentioned in the I Ching, pronounced E Ching. It stands for Heaven, Earth and Man. When we bow to offer incense, it is always done three times. In bonsai and ikebana, the patterns follow an irregular triangle to represent the trinity of heaven, earth and man.”

He replaced the last book and looked at me long and hard. “The fallen believe in the power of the trinity as well. In this case, it consists of three names. If you were to double the power each one holds within himself, it is the same as counting the person twice.” He pointed to each name and began counting by twos. Two, four, six.

“Now give each one the final number,” he instructed me.

“Six, six, six,” I whispered.

There was silence as he allowed me to take it all in.

“It is Lucifer’s mark. See how he stands between them,” his finger pointed to the name in the middle.

“I don’t understand. Why is Brynn’s name here?”

To me she was a stuck-up girl who harbored a lot of issues. To see her name on this list had me completely confounded.

Dr. Dean’s shoulder’s dropped. “I’m not sure how she fits in. Somehow she’s managed to channel Lucifer’s darkness into her own life. Acknowledging his existence has given her some sort of destructive purpose.” He moved in closer and cautiously took my hand, exposing my lemniscate. “Do you see the mirror image you hold, Teagan?” He drew a line down the middle of the lemniscate with his finger, splitting it in two lengthwise. For a brief second I could envision it - the eight became a different number altogether. A three.

“It may be impossible to destroy such power but at least you can change it.”

I stared back at him puzzled.

“You are the stake to split the darkness. You are the light.”

Light.
Memories of Garreth filled me.

“To offset the power of the three, you must rely on three of your own. Do you know who I speak of?”

“But Hadrian, he’s on this list. How can he help?”

“The opposite of light is dark. Some may think they work against each other, but they don’t. In fact that is the only way they can work. To balance.”

I thought of Garreth. How could I get a hold of him to even think about helping me? He was practically ignoring me. Except for that look he gave me tonight at the dance. Was the Garreth I knew regaining control?

“As Hadrian has turned away from Lucifer, Garreth has begun to turn away from you. It is the mirror of light and dark. You must reach him in time before he totally succumbs to true human essence.”

I nodded. My brooding had been masking how I truly felt about us. I was surprised to realize that everything we had been through, everything we had meant to each other could quickly be pushed aside. He was in my world now and I needed to step up and help him somehow. Once again, I was feeling the bond between us resurface. I missed him so much.

“Teagan,” Nate interrupted, “you must go after Brynn. She has no idea what she has done.

“You, and only you, can give her what she seeks. It is the only way to undo what she has started.”

“I don’t understand. What could she possibly want from me?” I was worried now, but ready to fight for an end to this.

Nate opened the journal about three quarters of the way toward the end and ripped a page from it. The gesture took me off guard. He had gone through great lengths to protect this book and now he was ripping it apart. But with one glance at the page he offered me, I understood why. It was the map. The same map Brynn had stolen earlier this evening.

On it were sketched trees, a whole forest full, and a river at the base of a long, curved line. I took the drawing and studied it, feeling my heart quicken as I recognized a clearing in the middle of all the tiny trees with a small square drawn in the center of it. The shape of a cross had been drawn directly above it.

“There’s a ruined chapel in the woods. It was called Saint . . .”

“Saint Anne’s,” I whispered. “I’ve been there.”

A smile tugged at his mouth.

“You know how to get there then?”

“Yes, of course.”

Dr. Dean raked his hands through his messy hair and walked to his desk. “I was going to stay here, in case Brynn came back, but I’ll go with you. It’s late.”

“It’s fine. I’ve been there plenty of times. I’ll go and you stay here. You know, in case she comes back.”

But his eyes said it all and we both knew how unlikely it was that Brynn would come back here. She had the map, an evil plan, and a very determined mind. And apparently I was the only one who could help her.

I
didn’t mind that Nate stayed behind to wait for Brynn. I knew these woods well. Plus there was no way I was going to be chaperoned by my mom’s boyfriend just because of some trees in the dark. Although, I had second thoughts when he reinforced the significance and power of my mark, insisting I was the only one strong enough to fight Brynn’s demons. But it was only because he said the word demon.

Without a doubt, I knew the small scale drawing on the map was Saint Anne’s. It wasn’t that hard to recognize. I also understood I wasn’t meant to do this alone. So, of course I wrestled with myself emotionally the entire drive, weighing the possibilities if I would find Brynn there, still believing she had discovered something important, and if so, would I find Garreth there as well?

My answer soon came to me, but it wasn’t Garreth waiting for me.

It was Hadrian.

His dark silhouette stood tall and still in the clearing as I drove to the end of the narrow path flanked by overgrowth. My heart was pounding. Hadrian had always lured me. Even in the moments when I had genuinely feared him, his soul called to mine. Garreth, on the other hand, was so light and pure. Now more than ever, we needed to lean on each other, but convincing him of that worried me. We had become too estranged these last few weeks.

My eyes scanned the trees closest to the constricted lane. The leaves had been falling for weeks, thinning out the normally dense forest, but from what I could see there was no sign of Brynn’s car. That tiny fact made me realize I was alone in the woods with Hadrian and I shivered slightly.

“I’m looking for Brynn,” I said, pushing against the door of the car and crunching my way over to him.

Hadrian’s dark hair stirred in the breeze and he held his hand out to me, making me feel a bit safer.

“I know, but you’ll need help finding her.”

Silently, we walked through the dark to where the ruined chapel stood. The last time he and I were here felt eons away. At night, it looked even more deteriorated than the afternoon I had escaped here. Though it was merely a pile of rocks and glass now, it harbored shadows that didn’t exist during the day and felt creepier than I thought it would. I was glad I wasn’t alone.

I checked the black corners, scanning for Brynn, but she was nowhere, and I looked back at Hadrian, confused.

He reached down and hooked his finger onto a metal ring in one of the large square stone tiles on the floor. I was completely taken by surprise to see that one of those tiles hid a trap door. It appeared to resist as Hadrian pulled on the ring, but finally gave way revealing a small, cramped space leading down to a pitch black hole in the ground.

“This is just the beginning,” Hadrian’s voice floated across to me in the dark.

“Beginning of what?”

“A journey to overcome my brother’s obsession for control over the willing.”

“Don’t tell me I need my dagger again.” I thought of following Brynn the same way I had followed Garreth last spring. The ornate dagger had proved to be a portal and although it had worked, the idea filled me with dread. I had been desperate to find Garreth. I wasn’t that desperate to find Brynn.

“No, this time you only need to follow a sacred path, proving you truly believe that light is more powerful than darkness.”

Had I heard correctly? Did Hadrian believe light was more powerful than darkness? Thoughts of redemption seeped their way in and I searched his face for the answer, but all too quickly, he turned his attention once again to the dark hole in the floor.

“The tunnel will take us to the river. From there we cross into New Hope and make our way to another old church. I am certain we will find Brynn there.” Hadrian’s black boot pushed aside some of the rubble lying on the stone floor of the chapel. It had always been littered with stained glass and metal, but the damage was far worse now after the fire last spring. I shuddered with the memory.

I couldn’t imagine a tunnel stretching that far beneath our feet. The map didn’t show tunnels at all, just trees. Stealing a glance over to my car, I wondered if we could drive there? I had left the map in the car, assuming Brynn would be here. It didn’t show anything other than the church.

This
church.

“Why are we going to a church that happens to be miles from here?” I tried to catch a glimpse of his face, but it was too dark.

“We are not going to a church. We are going to what lies beneath the church, and it’s actually closer than you realize. These tunnels were dug three hundred years ago and the pilgrimage to the sacred ground at the other end had been by foot. We must follow in the same manner.”

The number three rang in my ears. I stood staring from Hadrian’s shadowed face to the dark hole to nowhere he had just uncovered.

“Long ago, humans blessed the earth their sanctuaries were built on. Not just the buildings themselves. It’s the oldest one within walking distance.”

“But what about this one? The one we’re standing in? Or on rather.” I looked around at the ruin. Sadly, not much was left.

“The one waiting for us is older, if you take in account the foundation and the earth it stands on. I’ll go first so I can help you down,” Hadrian offered, and he began hoisting himself above the opening that would swallow him whole.

I peered inside. “I’m not so sure light is stronger than dark.” I shook my head and took a step back. “Um, I am not going down there.”

Hadrian’s brows furrowed. He was resting his weight on his arms and half his body was already submerged in darkness.

“You can and you will. Now come on.”

I leaned over, trying to see past his torso, but I could see absolutely nothing.

“Are you afraid of the dark, Teagan?” he asked, mockingly.

“Maybe.”

“But you are not afraid of me?”

I answered him with silence.

“You are a strange girl, indeed, Teagan McNeel,” he smirked.

I sighed deeply and grudgingly placed my bottom on the cleanest looking side of the hole I could find. Slowly, I inched myself closer to the edge.

In a blink he was gone, landing lightly onto what I assumed was the floor of the tunnel and the start of our mysterious journey to find Brynn. Meanwhile, I was silently kicking myself for rushing off without a flashlight. I looked down at my mark for reassurance. It seemed subdued and dim with absolutely no sign of warning, or impending danger. For now. I closed my eyes and let myself drop and his strong arms caught me as my eyes adjusted to the darkness of the tunnel. It only took a few moments, but I was reluctant to let go of him. His arms felt protective and strong. For a moment I could pretend I wasn’t about to face something even darker and stronger than Hadrian.

He gently put me down and took my hand, pulling me along into an unknown that stretched out like a serpent before us. I jumped as a flash of light struck and Hadrian lit a crude torch with his bare hands. In the light of the flame, I could see the ground had been hollowed out. The walls of the tunnel had been worn down in spots, revealing clay patches throughout the hardened mud. Above us roots and vines protruded through the dirt ceiling. The image of spiders and other creepy, crawly things passed through my thoughts and I wrapped my arms around myself.

“This has always been a sacred journey.” Hadrian’s voice sounded deep and strange to me as we walked. “Long before the settlers of this town arrived, a small group of people worshipped here. They came from the surrounding territories, walking for miles to get here. Some arrived on horseback, but in the end they, too, continued by foot.”

“I would have kept the horse,” I muttered to myself.

“It is believed that walking beneath the ground made you one with the earth. Coming out of the tunnel and breathing the fresh air honored the sky above, and crossing the river bed was to remind them of their birth. Finally, at the end of their journey, they lit the fire and celebrated their spirits being set free. It was an honored rite to make this journey, one that made them stronger and closer to the visible and unseen worlds around us.”