Forbidden (The Seeker Saga, #2) (31 page)

“You know where he is?” Eve asked.  “You can take us to him?”

“Maybe,” Arthur mused.  “I haven’t decided.  Like I told you, all the researchers were forbidden from speaking of it to anyone.  But on the other hand, it’s been so long, I doubt the government is still keeping tabs on them.  And it might be a thrill for my father to meet a group of girls who can do what he spent his life researching.”

“Well, where is he?” Liz asked.

Arthur exhaled.  “I have to warn you that when – if – you meet him, you’ll realize he’s somewhat of an eccentric.” 
He can’t be much worse than you
, I thought to myself.  “He retreated to a faraway cabin in the woods.  I am his only living relative. So, naturally, I am the only one who would know where that is.”

“So what do we do, then?” John said.  “Are you going to bring the girls to him, or not?  You’ve been helpful so far, but if you depart now, you’ll be leaving us with more questions than answers.”

Arthur paused to look at each of us in turn.  “If I do take you to him… if I do, I’ll be jumping into the deep end.  Leaving a life of comfort and luxury behind.”  He spread his hands grandly, motioning around him.  “Leaving Harvard.”  He leaned forward intently.  “But, then again, some people here can just be so…
stifling. 
I could do with a some adventure.”  He winked at Eve, who scoffed, crossed her arms, and looked away.

“So, you’ll bring us to him?” Madison asked eagerly.

“I think so,” Arthur replied.  “Besides, I could never say no to a girl like you.”  This time, his wink was directed right at the young girl.  She giggled in response. I rolled my eyes.  “The markings you said you found underground – can I see them?” Arthur asked.

“Of course!” Liz exclaimed, and ran to the other room to get them.  She returned quickly, and unrolled the scroll on the table.  Arthur examined it carefully.

“Hmm… Yes, yes!” he said after a minute.  “Your suspicions were right.  This is definitely a blueprint.”  Suddenly, he flipped the paper over, and pointed at the CIA stamp.  “This has the government’s fingerprints all over it.  That seals my decision.  Tomorrow morning,” he proclaimed, “we can go meet my father.”

Chapter Seventeen – A Pot of Tea

Arthur left twenty minutes later, after revealing his intentions for the trip.  It turned out that his dad really
was
in a reclusive cabin at the end of the woods.  He had cut himself off completely from the world. He had no internet, phone, TV, or radio access.  I wondered what type of man he must be, to do something like that. 

The only way to get there was by plane.  Luckily for us, Arthur had revealed that he had attained a pilot’s license when he was just fifteen, and that we could rent a private jet big enough for all of us from a nearby airfield.  The plan was to leave the hotel at dawn and make the trip the next day.

With Arthur gone, I could finally shower and change out of my sooty red dress.    There were not enough beds for everyone, so I had to share with one of the girls. I was delighted when I realized I would be sharing with Madison.  The massive beds easily accommodated two.  I got out of the shower and quietly tucked myself under the covers.  Madison was fast asleep, snoozing away beside me.

I tried to get some rest. My body was exhausted, but worries kept swirling through my mind.  My eyes would just not close.  Had it really been the right move to tell Arthur everything about us?  What was the alternative?  Like I told Rob before, Arthur
was
the only one with any information about the crystals.

As thoughts turned to Rob, I sighed contently.  He had saved me not once but
twice
, and he genuinely cared for me.  I had never dreamed I’d find myself in that particular position.  Although I’d dreamed of it, not once did I
ever
think that Rob would be the guy.  I closed my eyes and imagined his kiss again. I remembered what it felt like to be held in his arms. I felt the deep passion behind it.  And then I had a devious thought.  He was in the room across the hall.  He and John were the only ones to get their own rooms.  Everyone else was asleep.  What was stopping me, exactly, from tip-toeing over there?

Nothing
, I decided. A little flare of excitement bubbled within.  Giddy excitement.  I rolled out of the bed, careful not to rouse Madison, and inched to the door, being extremely careful not to make a sound. I gently turned the knob and pushed it open.

To my surprise, I found Eve in the common room, fully dressed, ready to step out the front door. 

“Eve?” I asked uncertainly once I’d closed the door behind me.  “What are you doing?”

The tattooed girl froze, and her back stiffened.  I could tell she hadn’t been expecting anyone.  “Tracy?” she turned to look at me.  “Uh… nothing.  I just, um, couldn’t sleep.  I thought I’d go for a walk.”

“By yourself?” I asked, incredulously.  “You know it’s dangerous out there. Right?”

“Yeah, I know,” she said, “but I didn’t want to wake anyone.”

“If you want,” I suggested, “I could come with you.”

“Oh!  Um, no, that’s alright!” she said hastily.  “You know what? It was a stupid idea!”  Quickly, she closed the door behind her.  “Maybe I’ll just go back to sleep.”  She hurried to her room before I could say anything else.  I frowned after her. 
That… was one of the strangest exchanges I’ve had this whole trip,
I thought
.

I started toward Rob’s room, and stopped.  I realized, somewhat belatedly, that Eve’s room was right beside his.  Rob and I agreed to keep ourselves a secret for now.  If I tried sneaking in now, Eve would know.  I looked regretfully down the hall, sighed, and returned to bed.  Sleep was a long time coming.

***

Madison woke me the next morning.  “Tracy, come on!” She tugged me. “Everyone’s waiting for you!”

“I… what?” I asked groggily.  The little sleep I’d gotten was filled with nightmares.  I literally felt like I
just now
fallen into a deep slumber.  I saw the sun was shining through the window.

“You were sleeping so soundly we didn’t want to wake you,” Madison said. “But now everyone’s
ready
!  We’re all waiting for you!”

I frowned at Madison.  Me?  Sleeping soundly?  Surely not! I rose, and dressed as quickly as my cloudy head would allow.  Madison left the room, and I could hear bits of conversation through the door.  When I was finally ready, I stepped outside.

“There you are,” Rob said.  “We thought you’d never get up.  Oh, and you look
splendid
,” he teased.

“Shut up,” I said humorlessly.

“Ready to go?” John asked.  I saw that what few belongings we had had been put into a backpack that was lying at his feet.  He picked it up, slung it over his shoulder – and Liz quickly ran to take it away. 

“No, you’re still hurt,” she said gently. She shot me an abashed look.  “Here, I’ll take it.”

I cocked an eyebrow at Rob, who just shrugged.  With the way Liz continued to act around John, I was starting to suspect there wouldn’t be much trouble when she found out about us.

“Everyone else is ready, then?” I asked.  The girls gave their confirmation, except Eve, who refused to make eye contact.  She was staring into a corner, and looked almost… dejected.  Had I caught her doing something last night I shouldn’t have?  I would need to talk to her about it.

We left the hotel, and John hailed a cab.  Arthur said last night he would meet us at the airfield, and luckily the driver knew exactly where it was.  When we got there, a half hour later, Arthur was already waiting.

“Ah, there you are!” he exclaimed, and came over to give kisses to each of the girls on the cheeks.  I tried to shy away when it was my turn, but he was very forceful.  At least Rob didn’t seem to mind.  Arthur then shook Rob’s hand, and John’s.  “Well, come along, come along!” he urged, ushering us into a hanger.  “This is it!”

There was only one plane in there, and it was surprisingly well-built.  For some reason, I had been half-expecting some decrepit remnant from the 1980s.  Maybe it was just because of the nature of our trip so far – the rusty truck, the crummy motel room.  This plane, however, looked almost brand new.  I’d never been this close to one before, and was impressed by the sheer breadth of the wings.  They jutted out powerfully to either side, and there were two engines under each one.  A set of retractable stairs led up to the cabin, which was roomy enough to give everyone plenty of space to sit. 

Arthur went into the cockpit, and did something I didn’t see. The engines started to hum gently.  Then, he returned, secured the cabin door, and gave us a quick overview of the safety features of the plane.  Basically, he just told us not to touch the door while in-flight, and to remain buckled up unless we wanted to be thrown around by unexpected turbulence.  Then, he offered an opportunity for one of us to ride in the cockpit with him.  Madison, of all people, seemed absolutely thrilled with the prospect and eagerly took up his offer.  He put a hand around her shoulder and led her in there, causing me to smile on the inside.  She’d never fall for his tricks, but it was funny because he had no idea she was so young.

Not long after, Arthur taxied the plane to the runway, and after a somewhat rocky start, we took off.  Once we were in the air for a few minutes, and our elevation had leveled out, I looked out the window.  From high up, everything below seemed so serene.  In the air, I felt like none of our troubles could reach us.  It was both peaceful and comforting to be flying, something I would have never expected.  In fact, I even thought I could catch up on some sleep here pretty easily.  I started to close my eyes, when Rob nudged me with a foot.

“Daydreaming about something?” he asked with a twinkle in his eye.  I frowned at him, then realized what he meant, and stuck out my tongue.  He laughed. 

“What do you think we’ll find when we get there?” I asked.  Liz was engaged in conversation with John. Ashley was saying something to Liz. So, we kind of had some time to ourselves.

“No idea,” Rob answered.  “But I do know one thing.”  He leaned closer and lowered his voice.  “We’re all in this together, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.”  He reached over to squeeze my leg gently, and then leaned back in his seat.  I gave him a secretive smile and returned my attention to the window.

The ride didn’t feel long, but that was mostly because I had fallen asleep until we started to descend.  The change in elevation caused my ears to pop, which I discovered was one of the worst ways to wake up.  I looked out the window, and saw only trees below us.  We were in the middle of absolutely nowhere.  I scooted over in my seat to change the angle, and saw a narrow landing strip ahead of us.  It looked to be part of an abandoned farm.

The plane dipped down, and my stomach lurched to my throat.  I felt a bout of panic, which lasted until the wheels touched ground.  Then it became even worse.  Taking off was fine, but apparently Arthur hadn’t quite mastered the landings.  The plane rocked forward violently, then tipped to one side, and I nearly flew out of my seat.  A loud scraping noise sounded, but cut off as the plane regained its balance.  The engines became even louder, heaving and howling, but we were slowing.  Finally, the plane slowed to a sharp stop. Everything was still.

Eyes wide, I looked across at Rob.  He was pale as a ghost.  I felt much the same way.

“Sorry!” Arthur called from the cockpit.  “Sorry.  A little of wind came out of nowhere, and—”

“As long as we’re all safe,” Eve said coolly, “everything’s fine.”

“Yes, well…”  Arthur cleared his throat.  “I’ll have to check on that – it sounded like the wing may have touched the ground.”  He came out from the cockpit, opened the door to the cabin, and lowered the stairs.  While we filed out, he inspected the damage he had caused. 

“Yup!  Right here,” he confirmed, patting the end of the left wing.  “Not much to worry about, though.  The paint may have scraped off, but the structure beneath looks fine.”

“That was too close,” John said.  “If I had known you were an amateur—”

He cut off as Liz placed a hand against his chest.  “It’s
fine
,” she emphasized.

“Thank you for bringing us here, Arthur,” Madison chimed in beside her.  To my surprise, the man absolutely beamed.

“Well, come along then,” he said.  “It’s a long walk from here, so we might as well get started!  Oh, and by the way – welcome to my childhood farm.”

I looked around, and gaped. 
He
grew up
here
?  There was only one farmhouse, off to our left. It looked like it had started falling apart a century ago!  This was the only part of the land clear of any trees. Weeds and overgrown grass were everywhere.  It was a wonder they hadn’t taken over the landing strip.

“How do people get here?” Liz wondered.  “Aside from the plane?”

“Oh, there’s a small village down the road,” Arthur said, pointing west.  “It’s not too far, but there’s no landing strip there, and the drive from Boston would have taken days.  This way, we’ve already completed half of our journey!”  He seemed awfully cheerful today.  “Come on!” he encouraged us. “It’s this way.”