Page 300 of Caelum

“We have no choice then,” I confirmed. “We have to speak with Nicholas.”

Avalina was nodding, even as she worried her bottom lip with her teeth. “Limit how much you speak of us,” she advised, but Bartlett shook his head.

“How can they? Without us, they’d never have translated the markings.”

“They can speak of another professor, then,” she retorted.

“He’ll sense our hand instantly?—”

When the pair seemed on the brink of an argument, I cleared my throat and dismissed, “We’ll be in touch when we’re in Turkey.” I cut Samuel a look, who dipped his chin in agreement and cut the call with little chance for farewell.

“That was rude,” Frazer retorted, but he was smirking at me from his slouched position on the dark orange armchair. If the dude spread his legs any wider, he’d be able to fit a horse between them.

“I was born rude,” I replied, gnawing on the inside of my cheek as I looked around at my brothers, sizing up who exactly should make the call.

“I’ll speak with him,” Eve murmured, sensing what I was doing and nipping it in the bud.

“What? You barely know him!” Eren replied. “At least let me try. Maybe I can use the Lorelei?—”

“On an Ancient?” She shook her head. “No. Our powers are puny by comparison. We barely contained those Ghouls yesterday evening. Why would we be able to sway an Originalmajnun?

“No, if I speak with him then I can explain. Perhaps make him see reason?”

I narrowed my eyes at her. “Reason about what?”

She shrugged but turned her focus to Samuel. “I’ll speak to him if you can contact him, Sam. Do we have a specific location for this Derinkuyu place?”

“It’s an underground city in Cappadocia. Bartlett and Avalina saw no other specific starting points, so I guess we’ll just have to get there and figure it out for ourselves.”

She nodded and held out her hand after Samuel dialed a number on his cell phone then passed it to her. When she went to stand, I frowned and tugged at her hand. “Speak with him here,” I directed, but she pulled away.

“No. It will be easier to speak alone.”

As she wandered off, I knew I wasn’t the only one who tensed when I heard her say, “Nicholas?” The door promptly closed behind her, and then there was the sound of the TV in the bedroom.

“Why wouldn’t she want us to hear what she’s saying?” Frazer questioned, his gaze narrowed on the doorway she’d just passed through.

“She’s trying to save us from ourselves, of course,” Eren answered fondly, his gaze softening as he flickered his attention to the room where Eve was sitting. “I have no doubt she’s about to take all the blame and, if something goes wrong, is hoping Nicholas will take us back.”

Frazer snorted. “What in the hell made her think he’s that benevolent?”

“God loves a trier?” Eren quipped.

My lips twitched at his words, but it didn’t stop me from rubbing my jaw—I really needed to shave. “What are we doing, guys? What’s the plan?”

Reed grunted. “No plan. How can we? There’s nothing to go off of. Sure, we have some details, but nothing to help us prepare.”

“True, but not entirely.” Samuel clicked his mouse a few times and on the screen where we’d been speaking with Bartlett and Avalina, a picture came up. “This is the city map according to the tourist organization that runs tours down there.”

“Jesus, it’s like an ant farm,” Frazer retorted, his eyes tracing over the depths of a city that ran deep beneath the surface.

“Yeah. It goes two hundred feet down. In its heyday, it was capable of housing over twenty thousand people.”

My heart thudded dully in my chest. “That’s a lot of ground to cover, and a ton of Ghouls sheltered within its walls.”

“Exactly.” Samuel grimaced. “I have to hope that the first wish has to do with that.”

“’With caution approach?’” I nodded. “I can see that. It’s almost telling us to approach it and then make the initial wish.”

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