Page 104 of Immersed
“But itmakes sense,”Asher chimed in.“Biometric security would be impossible to bypass, especially in an era before digital hackingwascommon.”
“There’s more,”Owen continued.“A second ring of text: ‘The first Guardian resides in frozen slumber, awaiting the touch of flame to release its essence.’”
“Frozen slumber,”Maddie repeated, tapping her finger against her lips.“If the first ‘guardian’ is blood, it would need refrigeration to preserve it.”
“Specimen Storage,”Levi nodded, impressed by her deduction.“Thathasto be where Faine kept his blood samples.”
Elliot and Tyler joined them in the courtyard entrance, drawn by the activity.“What’s going on?”Tyler asked, eyeing the glowing symbols.
“We’ve found a clue,”Maddie replied excitedly.“About three guardians and—”
A low rumble interrupted her, vibrating through the flagstones beneath their feet. The symbols pulsed brighter for a moment, then faded as the rumbling subsided.
“What the hell was that?” Elliot demanded.
“The building,”Levi and Asher said simultaneously.
“It’s changing,” Levi continued. “Reconfiguring itself.”
“That’s impossible,” Owen protested. “Buildings don’t—”
“This one does,”Asher cut in.“And we need to move. Now.”He caught Levi’s eye, a silent message passing between them. The mechanismswereactivating earlier than expected.
“Let’s get back to base camp,”Levi suggested, trying to keep his voice calm.“Compare notes, make a plan.”
As the group moved toward the exit, Asher’s fingers wrapped around Levi’s wrist, holding him back until the otherswereseveral paces ahead.
“We could slip away,”Asher suggested.“Just the two of us. Leave them at base camp where they’re relatively safe.”
The offerwastempting. Asherwasright—they’dmove faster alone, without having to explain their knowledge or protect the others. But something in Levi resisted.
“We need them,”Levi said.“Owen figured out the cipher. Jasper noticed the pattern. Even Maddie made the connection to cold storage.”
Asher’s lips thinned with displeasure.“They’ll slow us down and get themselves killed. Or get you killed.”
“Maybe,”Levi conceded.“But they might also see something we miss. We can’t do this alone, Asher.”
Something complicated flickered across Asher’s face—frustration mixed with reluctant acknowledgment. His fingers tightened around Levi’s wrist, then released.
“Fine,”he said.“But when—not if, when—they start dying, remember this conversation.”
He stalked ahead to join the others, leaving Levi alone in the courtyard. The UV light caught one last symbol as Levi turned to follow—a crude drawing of an eye, watching from the fountain’s center.
37
Countdown
“Weneedtohurry,”Levi said, glancing at his phone. “If we’re going to find the archive mentioned in those documents, it has to be now.”
They’dreconvened at base camp, comparing notes and planning their next move. Jasper set up an impressive command center—laptops displaying thermal imaging of the building’s layout, audio equipment recording ambient sounds, even a crude motion detection system cobbled together from webcams placed at key intersections.
“So let me get this straight,”Elliot said, leaning against a table with arms crossed.“We’re looking for a secret archive that may contain information about how to access a hidden laboratory beneath the building, which requires three biological samples from a long-dead doctor.”He shook his head.“This sounds insane.”
“Welcome to paranormal investigation,”Jasper replied with a lazy grin.“First time?”
“I’ve been on seventeen investigations,”Elliot snapped.“None of them involved biological security systems or hidden laboratories.”
“Then maybe youweren’tlooking hard enough,”Asher suggested, his voice pleasant but with an undercurrent that made Levi tense. Eversince Elliot suggested pairing with Levi, Asher watched him with the calculating patience of a predator selecting its moment to strike.
