Boots hitting the tile floor sounded to my left. A man and a woman Sentinel headed our way.
In the pew, Veronique struggled to get up. I readied my stance again.
Someone grasped my arm and pulled me back through an opening in the wall. The bricks slid into place again, sealing me in a darkened room with a stranger.
What was going on? Veronique had the other Chiavi. I had to get them from her.
Slamming my palms against the stone, I shouted, "Wait! Let me out." I faced whoever had dragged me in there and ignited a light globe on my palm. The priest who had passed me twice in front of the altar stood there with a sympathetic look on his face.
"The others with her were coming for you," he said. "They would have killed you."
"But she has something I need. Something dangerous." I pushed on the wall. "I have to stop her."
"This way." He nodded for me to follow him.
I hesitated, glancing at the wall.
As though he had read my thoughts, the priest lightly touched my arm. "There will be another opportunity to acquire what you've lost."
He was right. I had to move forward. "All right," I said. "Lead the way."
He bowed his head and started down a tunnel.
"You know of the Mystik world?" I asked.
"The church has always known of it. The Vatican remained as a bridge between the human and Mystik worlds when the latter went into hiding."
Our footfalls echoed through the tight passageway. "How did you know I was here?"
He rushed along at a brisk pace. "Antonio alerted me. Said he owed you."
Alarm bells went off in my head. If both Veronique and Antonio knew my location, I wasn't as stealthy as I thought I was. "Then how did Antonio know?"
"Because of the recent attacks on humans, the Vatican has guards posted at many of the libraries during hours of operation. They wear street clothes to blend in, so you wouldn't have noticed him or her."
"I see." Guess it's not a good idea to jump during the day. "Well, next time you speak to Antonio, thank him for me."
"I will."
I really hadn't done much to save the Vatican's Sentinel during an attack in a library several months ago, only thrown my pink globe to protect him from a fireball that Nick had unleashed, which had been about to hit Antonio.
I followed the priest through the maze of tunnels until we came to a stairwell with stone steps.
"Do you know what happened in Asile?" I hoped that maybe he'd heard something.
He kept glancing over his shoulder as he spoke. "Yes, Antonio told me. He keeps me up-to-date on Mystik news. He said a small group had attacked the castle. Killed several guards and a Sentinel. They broke into the high wizard's chambers and took something valuable."
"Did Antonio give you a name of the Sentinel who died?"
"It was an older man," he said. "Just out of retirement."
Carrig had never retired. He remained as an instructor after his term of duty. It couldn't be him. Thank God, he's okay. The intense feeling of relief caused tears to gather in my eyes, and I turned my head so the priest wouldn't see, wiping them away with my fingertips.
We ended up at another tunnel, and the priest climbed into a golf cart. I got in on the other side. He turned the key, pushed on the gas, and the cart bumped down the tunnel.
"What's your name?" I asked.
"You may call me Father Peter," he said.
The headlights illuminated the rock walls, and dank air hit my face. We traveled for about ten minutes before the cart coasted to a stop. He scrambled out, and I followed him up a narrow staircase until it came to a dead end.
He placed his hands on the wall and leaned forward to look through a peephole. "This is the public library. You have a head start. The cathedral's security will detain Veronique and her gang for as long as possible."
When I didn't answer, he looked back at me, and I nodded that I understood.
He returned his eye to the peephole. "Ah, here she is. Time for you to go."
"I don't know how to thank you," I said.
"No need." His smile was full of warmth. "It is I who should be thanking you. Without you, we are all lost."
"I'm scared I'll fail everyone," I said, so quietly I wasn't sure a mouse could hear me, let alone Father Peter.
"I have faith in you, Gianna." Wow, he had good hearing. "You are more than a prediction. If ever you or yours need a place to hide, come here. There is a tiny silver starburst at the bottom on both sides of the wall: push it, and this door will open." He bent over and pressed it. The wall slid aside, making an entry into the library.
The Italian woman from the bathroom earlier, wearing gray plaid pants with a red scarf tied around her neck, was on the other side of the wall.
"Good day, Father," she said before nodding at me. "Gianna."
"Thank you for meeting us," Father Peter said. "Gianna, this is Agata. She will help you from here."
She turned, looking left, then right. "The library is still open. We should be on our way before someone sees this door."
He gave me a warm smile, the wrinkles at the edges of his eyes deepening. My bet was that he must smile often to have such deep lines. "Now go," he said.
"Thank you." I ducked through the opening.
His words were an echo in my head. You are more than a prediction. I may have started the apocalypse, may even be the Doomsday Child, but I could turn it around. I could stop it all. I simply had to release the Tetrad and have Royston destroy it.
But how? The answers must be inside the leather case Gian left for me. For his heir.
Though I knew I should go straight to the Rose Reading Room and jump through the gateway book to safety, I couldn't leave the Chiave behind. Veronique may have stolen five of them, but I wasn't about to let her have the remaining two.
Agata headed down the hall expecting me to follow her. When I didn't, she whirled around. "This way."
"I have to get something first," I said.
She shook her head in protest. "We must hurry before Veronique and the others get here."
"Both worlds depend on me getting it."
She studied my eyes before giving in. "All right. I'll keep a watch on the entrance. But quickly, you hear?"
"I will." I took off down Aster Hall-a large space with soaring ceilings. Charging up the two flights of stairs to the McGraw Rotunda, my breaths grew heavy.
Dominating the wall at the right of the entrance to the Catalog Room was The Medieval Scribe. The mural reached almost from the floor to the high ceiling. The artwork was of a monk sitting at a drawing desk and copying a manuscript while another man watched. The sea, a castle, and a burning barn with two men attempting to calm a bucking horse made up the background of the painting. Just below the mural was a stone bench and a sign with the library hours on it.
A girl sat on that bench reading. The rotunda was crowded. People shuffled from mural to mural taking in the artwork. As I studied the monk, I thought of Gian's clue, beneath destruction and rapine; he scribes the word, while time falls.
While time falls. "What does that even mean?" I asked under my breath as if someone would answer me. There were open books, a rolled parchment, and a discarded quill at his feet. On his desk were a bunch of quills secured together with a red ribbon, an inkwell, an hourglass, and an open book. Any of those could be the Chiave.
Tourists flowed in and out of the rotunda. My hands shook at my sides; I couldn't wait for it to empty. Veronique and her Sentinels could show up at any time. The girl sitting on the bench in front of the mural stood, gathered her things, and walked away.
Witnesses or not, I decided this was my chance.
I recited the charm to release the Chiave.
"Libero il tesoro."
Cold air circled me, the chill raising the fine hair on my arms. Voices sounded around me. Quick intakes of breaths.
"What's happening?"
"Did you see that?"
"It's moving."
"Not to worry, everyone," Agata said. With my eyes on the mural, I hadn't seen her enter. "It's a new interactive show we're trying."
Good one.
The monk in the mural set his quill down on the table while the man above him shifted his gaze to me. The horse, men, and burning barn in the background were all in motion.
Clearing his throat, the monk stood and lifted an hourglass off the desk. His gray hair was like a wreath around his bald head. His white robes were clean and crisp. But it was his eyes that startled me-soft blue and full of sadness.
"You are just a child, daughter of the Seventh. I am Frances, the keeper of the Chiave you seek. This hourglass will allow the holder to slow time for as long as the sand lasts." He leaned out of the mural and extended the artifact to me. I stepped over and took it from him.
"Thank you," I said.
He bowed his head slightly, returned to his chair, and lifted his quill off the desk. The man above him, the thrashing flames on the barn, and the horse with the men chasing it all froze into their places. The magic always seemed to surprise me, even though I'd seen it several times before. The breeze halted, and the rustling pages of the book on the desk settled back into position.
"Now, off with you," Agata said from behind me. "They have arrived."