Page 156 of In the Pursuit of Haven
“Who says?” Hunter grumbled.
“Listen to her,” Brecker said. “It’s the only way you’re getting through this alive.”
“It’s true.” I couldn’t stress that enough. “Wehaveto work together.” Glancing up at the door, I saw no sign of the message that had appeared after the blast in 1926. The heat must’ve revealed the hidden steganography. “When the stones above the entrance get hot enough,” I said, “you’ll be able to see, ‘Where are the nine?’”
Again, Hunter wasn’t about to take my word for it. Motioning to another of his men to join him, they assembled a torch and ran it over the surface of the door. I winced, hoping they weren’t setting anything off.
In the next moment, the words began to eerily appear like they’d been scorched there all along: “Where are the nine?”
“That’s what ‘join or die’ means,” I said. “We have to use these Relics in sync or we die. I don’t knowhow, only that Crabb designed them to work in harmony, with nine Shepherds of the Relics, and he meant for us all to be a team.”
Hunter turned from the message, his eyes glittering under the torchlight as the words began to fade from view above us. “Hey! How about that? Good thing you two came when you did… there’s nine of us altogether. Cool.”
He reallywasn’ttaking this seriously.
“I can’t imagine why your uncle keeps you back from most of the action,” Brecker said sardonically. He crossed his arms in front of him to show his annoyance. “When your cousin mentioned you being a real trainwreck, I had no idea it was so literal.”
Hunter’s eyes narrowed on him. “Lucky for you, Brecker, we need you or I’d kill you right now. Nothing personal. I mean, we’re practically family. We should be closer. I heard your twin sister is prettier than you are. Maybe I’ll go for her when she finally takes a good look at my cousin’s face and takes off.”
Brecker rolled his eyes. “You’re going to have to try better than that, trainwreck.”
Hunter didn’t miss a beat. “You’re right—I should take that hot redhead who clings to you, instead. I heard she’s getting tired of nagging you in the background. I can give you a few tips on how to keep her happy after I’m through with her.”
Brecker’s shoulders stiffened. “Wow.” He laughed slightly. “Just quit, trainwreck. You keep getting worse.”
Luther glared at them both. “Yes, quit. We’re wasting time.” He set down the lantern made up of the Relics and began disassembling the parts. “There are nine of us here. Everyone?” His eyes ran over us. “Choose your poison.”
He plucked up the tin piece, which was fitting because by all rights, he should’ve inherited that from his ancestors, seeing that it partly came from the Crowninshield line.
Hunter snatched up the compass. Another ironic move, since he was seriously lacking in moral direction. There were a lot of gears on it that he proceeded to investigate. After a bit, a key sprung out from the side like a tool kept neatly coiled into a pocketknife. I jumped, not expecting more surprises from the gadget.
“You know?” Hunter said after a moment. “This reminds me of something I read about in a book about tools Francis Drake used for circumnavigation.”
Jessie frowned at him, clearly not having any of this. “Nobody wants to hear it, trainwreck.”And was he really going to use Hunter’s new nickname as a taunt? I should’ve known he’d love to get under his skin.Jessie shoved at the men holding him. After a nod from Luther, they let him go. He came straight for me. “You okay?”
I ran into his arms, nodding while I squeezed him tightly. For a hot minute there, I’d wondered if the fire would get to him before I did.
“Pick one of the Relics,” Luther hissed impatiently at us, “and be fast about it.”
One of Jessie’s arms dropped from me to swipe up the Norseman head figurine. It fit neatly into his palm as he found me again.
Casting us an annoyed look, Divine ran her fingers over the Relics. They lingered over the bejeweled silver cross, though she quickly passed over it.
“What’s the matter?” Brecker mocked. “You’re afraid it will burn you?” He tugged it up.
Her eyes narrowed on him and she chose the Bible instead. Just like Hunter, she began to examine every detail. Her lips moved to the wording of the psalm on the front, “For with thee is the fountain of life: in thy light shall we see light.” I jumped when she messed with the spine and a jagged edge launched out from it. We’d caught that irregularity with the museum’s X-rays, but I hadn’t guessed it would be so dangerous.
Apparently the freaky feature convinced her to keep it.
One of Hunter’s other minions chose Old Dimond’s rattle. The macana, with its feathers and vicious spiky end, seemed perfect in his beefy hands.
Abby went for her family’s locket. Her normally happy expression seemed dull and ridden with guilt. Pulling back from Jessie, I ran my hand across her arm. “It’s okay,” I whispered.
She turned quickly away.
Maybe it wasn’t “okay” right now, but it could be later, and if not? This still wasn’t her fault. Luther had fooled us all.
The last of Hunter’s muscular allies grasped the blue glass. He tested the sharp edges with his finger like he was getting ready to use it on us.
