Timepiece

Chapter 48

Even though most of Ava’s belongings were still in the gate-house, it had an empty, abandoned feeling. The air was stale and cold. I flipped on a small lamp in the living room and cranked up the heat. It was the most remote place I could think of, a place where no one would look.

I made sure the blinds and curtains were drawn before I clicked on another lamp. I immediately turned it off. The darker the better for now.

“Ready?” I asked her.

Half of Lily’s face was cast in shadows. I didn’t have to see her to feel her sorrow.

“I am so sorry it’s come to this,” I said.

“I was willing to help before I was forced into a corner. We’ll make this right. Together.”

We sat down on the couch and put the Skroll between us. Stealing it from Dune’s room had been easy enough; he slept like a rock.

Trying to remember how he’d opened it was a little harder.

“Dune said that everything he’d seen in the Skroll related to either the Infinityglass or Chronos. We’re just going to cross our fingers and hope there’s something specific, some clue that points us in the right direction. To the right map.”

“I’ve never looked for anything I haven’t seen before.” Lily’s legs bounced as she waited. “What if I can’t find the Infinityglass? What if I find it and it’s in Africa? What will we do then?”

“If Jack or Teague thought the Infinityglass was in Africa, they’d be in Africa.”

“But-”

“Listen to me.” I put my hand on her leg. “It has to be close. All the key players are here. This isn’t a coincidence.”

“I hope not.”

“Here we go.” The holographic screen appeared between us, bright in the dim room. Lily reached over to turn off the tiny lamp and then faced me again.

I tapped the map icon on the screen with the stylus. Maps rotated in a circle as they projected from the screen.

“Any you feel good about?” I asked.

Lily watched them spin. “Let’s start big and work our way in. There’s a modern world map.”

I touched the corresponding map on the screen, using the stylus, and it projected into the air. I did it again, and the map spread out across the screen.

“Okay, close your eyes. We’ll practice.” I took her hands and put them on the screen. “Now try to find the Lincoln Memorial.”

She tapped her fingers across the map; once she hit DC, she stopped. “Here.”

“You got it.” I changed the dimensions and size, as well as turning the map sideways. “The Space Needle.”

She found it immediately.

“Don’t open your eyes. The Arc de Triomphe.”

Her fingers felt every inch of the map twice. Her mouth turned down at the corners. “I don’t feel this one.”

“That’s because it isn’t a map of France.”

She growled at me.

“Okay, try the Leaning Tower of Pisa-”

“There.” She opened her eyes. “I think I’ve got it.”

Her cheeks were flushed, and the excitement in her voice was contagious. I took her face in my hands and kissed her hard on the lips. “You can do it.”

“We can.” She pointed at the Skroll. “Let’s start with North America.”

Two hours and seven continents later, we had nothing.

“I don’t know what I’m doing wrong.” Lily stretched her neck from side to side and rolled her shoulders. “We haven’t even gotten a hint.”

“Take a break,” I told her, touching her cheek. “Maybe we’re pushing too hard.”

“What if it doesn’t exist, Kaleb?” She leaned against the couch, dropping her head back and closing her eyes. Hopelessness.

“My dad thinks it does.” I had to hold on to his belief. I might not have seen the evidence, but he’d seen enough to make finding the Infinityglass one of his life goals. I knew how much he loved my mother, how pure it was. He’d never risk their relationship on something that couldn’t be real. He wouldn’t.

I navigated back to the main page of the Skroll and spun through every icon, hoping we’d overlooked something. One file didn’t have a title at all. I tapped twice to open it.

The hologram displayed familiar writing.

I used the stylus to quickly advance the pages. “No way.”

Lily sat up and opened her eyes, focusing on the image hovering between us. “What’s wrong?”

“These are my dad’s files, the ones that Jack and Cat stole. They’ve been scanned in. They list everyone he’s come across in his research who could have a time-related ability.” So many names. I sped through faster and faster. “It doesn’t make sense. Unless…”

“What?”

“Dad expected Jack to use the files as a bargaining chip with Chronos. How did they end up on the Skroll?”

I advanced to the letter C and saw Emerson’s name. It felt wrong to read it now.

“Will you…” Lily sounded strange, as if she was trying to stop herself from asking the question. “Will you go to the Gs next?”

“Why?”

“I want you to look for me.”

I advanced the pages. “Nothing.”

She exhaled. “Try Diaz.”

“Diaz?” I went backward from the Gs. “There are three on the list. Jorge, Eduardo, and Pillar.”

Lily gasped.

“Do you know these people?” I asked.

“Pilli was what my father called me, a pet name. That’s why my abuela chose Lily once we got to America, because it sounded similar and was less confusing for me. My real name is Pillar Diaz.” She stared down at the Skroll. “Does it say what I can do?”

“Not you. It just says your grandfather and father had seeker abilities. There’s a question mark by Pillar’s… by your name.”

“You know what this means.”

“I do.”

“Jack couldn’t get to my father or grandfather, so he brought Abi and me here. He found us, just like he found Emerson. And just like he wanted to use Emerson to change his past, he wants to use me to find things.” Her voice was steel, but her heart was broken. “He had to get me to this time, and this place, so I could find the Infinityglass.”

The door opening behind me caught me off guard. Lily’s scream tipped the balance.

The blow to my skull did the rest.

I opened my eyes, but I still couldn’t see.

Blindfolded. I couldn’t move my arms or legs, and I was gagged. My left wrist felt like someone had taken a hammer to it.

Worst of all was that I couldn’t feel Lily’s emotions, no matter how far I stretched.

But the stale air of the gatehouse was familiar.

I rocked side to side. Once I had momentum, I pitched my chair over, pulling outward with my legs. I landed on my right shoulder, and pieces of chair went flying the second I hit the ground.

I pulled off the blindfold and removed the gag. My wrist was blue, and possibly broken.

Lily’s jacket was still on the floor, but she and the Skroll were nowhere to be found.

I got loose from the remaining pieces of chair, somehow managing to cut a five-inch slice on the inside of my right arm with an exposed screw.

Then I ran like hell for the main house.