Page 23 of King's Reckoning
"The resonance patterns," Abby breathed. "They're connecting. Calling to each other."
"What does that mean?" Reed asked.
"It means we're running out of time." Abby tried to stand but swayed, still weak from her injuries. Rowan caught her arm automatically. "The Archive isn't just historical records or buried treasure. It's a key to something older. Something powerful. And now that the pieces are being gathered..."
She trailed off as more brothers burst in. Ace's expression was grim. "Devils on the move. Multiple groups, heading for locations all over the territory. They're searching for something."
"The other pieces," Rowan realized. "They're going after all the graves at once."
"Not just the Devils," Darkness added, joining them. "Blackwood's men too. And others—groups I don't recognize. Professional teams, heavy equipment."
"They're all converging," Barbara said, marking new points on the map. "These energy signatures are drawing them somehow. Like moths to flame."
King's jaw clenched. "How many graves are we talking about?"
"Seven," Abby said quietly. "Seven pieces of The Archive, buried with seven trusted brothers.Flash's was the first. The warehouse held the second. Five more waiting to be found."
"Or taken," Reed pointed out. "If these energy signatures are detectable..."
"Then anyone with the right equipment can track them," Barbara finished. "And from these readings, they're getting easier to find."
Rowan studied the map, her mind racing. The locations formed a pattern—one she recognized from her mother's journal. "It's a sequence," she said. "The graves aren't random. They're laid out in a specific order."
"Yes," Abby confirmed. "Elena chose the locations carefully. Each piece has to be recovered in the right order, or..."
"Or what?"
"Or very bad things happen." Abby's voice was grim. "The kind of things that got her killed."
Silence fell at that. Rowan felt Reed shift closer, offering silent support.
"We need to move," King said finally. "Hit the next location before they do. Rowan, you and Reed take point. Your mother's journal is our best guide to these sites. Ace, coordinate with other chapters, get us enough manpower to cover multiple locations. Barbara, keep tracking those energy signatures. I want to know the second anything changes."
"What about me?" Abby asked.
King's eyes were cold. "You're staying here. Under guard. Until we know everything you know about Elena's death."
"You still don't trust me," Abby said softly. "After all these years."
"Trust is earned," King replied. "And you've got a lot of explaining to do."
"Wait," Rowan interrupted. "If we're hitting all these locations, we need to understand what we're really dealing with. What's actually in The Archive? What got Mom killed?"
Abby sighed, sinking into a chair. Her injuries were catching up with her. "The Archive contains proof of something that existed on this land long before recorded history. A source of power that shaped everything that came after. The original inhabitants knew about it, learned to work with it. Then the Europeans came."
"What kind of power?" Reed asked.
"The kind that changes people. Changes places." Abby's eyes grew distant. "The kind that lets you do things that should be impossible. Elena and I...we saw it happen. Saw what it did to the men who found it. That's why we knew it had to be protected."
"From who?" Rowan pressed.
"From everyone. Government agencies, private corporations, organizations so secret they don't officially exist—they've all been searching. For decades. The Devils are just pawns. Blackwood works for people much higher up."
"That doesn't explain why Mom had to die," Rowan said, her voice hard.
"No," Abby agreed. "But this might." She pulled a worn envelope from her hospital gown. "Elena left this with me, said to give it to you when the time was right. When you were ready to understand."
Rowan took the envelope with trembling hands. Inside was a single photograph—her mother standing in what looked an old tunnel network, deeper than the ones they'd found. Behind her was something that made Rowan's eyes hurt to look at—patterns of light that seemed to move even in the static image.
