Page 24 of King's Reckoning
"That was taken the night before she disappeared," Abby said quietly. "She'd found something in the tunnels. Something that proved everything we'd theorized about The Archive was true. And they knew she'd found it."
"They?" King demanded.
"The ones who've been watching all along. Waiting. The ones who killed Flash when he got too close to the truth."
Reed straightened. "Flash's death wasn't random?"
"Nothing about this has been random," Abby said. "The Devils targeting specific graves, Blackwood showing up now—it's all connected. They're making their move because they know what's happening. The pieces of The Archive arewaking up, calling to each other. Soon they'll be impossible to hide."
Barbara's equipment beeped urgently. "Energy spikes increasing across all locations. Whatever's happening, it's accelerating."
Rowan studied the map again, her mother's codes swimming through her mind. "The next piece…it's in the old church cemetery. The one that burned down in '95."
"During the first Devils war," Reed added. "Convenient timing."
"Nothing convenient about it," Abby said. "That fire was set to cover up what they found in the crypts. What Elena helped hide there."
King's phone buzzed. A message from their scouts. "Devils already moving on the church. Three vehicles, heavily armed."
"Blackwood's people too," Ace reported. "They're converging from the north."
"Then we go now," Rowan said firmly. "Before they get what they're after."
King nodded. "Reed, take a team through the old tunnel system. They connect to the church basement. Rowan and I will create a distraction at the main entrance. Darkness, coordinate with other chapters, set up a perimeter. No one gets in or out without us knowing."
"And me?" Abby asked again.
King's expression hardened. "You've got one chance to prove your loyalty. One. Tell Ace everything you know about the other locations.Every detail. If anything you say turns out to be false..."
"I understand." Abby's voice was quiet but firm. "I've carried these secrets long enough."
Rowan felt Reed's hand on her shoulder. "Ready?"
She looked at the photograph again—at her mother standing at the edge of something world-changing. At the truth that had gotten her killed.
"Ready," she said. "Time to finish what Mom started."
They moved out under cover of pre-dawn darkness. Rowan rode behind Reed, the familiar rumble of his bike oddly comforting. Other brothers fell into formation around them - a small army of chrome and leather, prepared for war.
But as they approached the burned-out church, Rowan couldn't shake the feeling that they were missing something. What had her mother found in those tunnels? What was hidden in The Archive that was worth killing for?
And most importantly - what would happen when all the pieces finally came together?
The answer, she suspected, would either save them all or destroy everything they were fighting to protect.
The old church cemetery loomed before them, a forgotten patch of hallowed ground reclaimed by nature. Twisted iron gates hung askew, and the burned shell of the church itself stood like a blackened skeleton against the lightening sky. Rowan felt a chill that had nothing to do with the early morning air.
"Mom's journal mentions a specific crypt," she told Reed as they dismounted. "Beneath the chapel altar. Says the entrance is marked with a circle inside a triangle, etched into the cornerstone."
Reed nodded, scanning the perimeter. "We need to move fast. Those energy signatures Barbara detected will only get stronger. And we're not the only ones tracking them."
King joined them, checking his weapon. "Darkness has men positioned on the west ridge. They'll give us warning when the Devils arrive."
"What about Blackwood's people?" Rowan asked.
"Already here," Reed said quietly, pointing to fresh tire tracks in the soft earth. "Professional work. They came in through theback access road."
Rowan felt a rush of urgency. They were running out of time. "We need to split up. Cover more ground."
