“Something like that.”
“Well, let’s go wheedle some information out of unsuspecting family members, hmm?”
“Excellent plan.”
Keira scanned the street. There were faded garden gnomes, vinyl siding, Christmas lights that were months past needing to be taken down—but behind all that, Darkside hovered, just beyond the normal world. She caught glimpses of enormous trees that were twisted and gnarled and unnaturally black. She saw the facade of the Hall of Records. But no people. No guards. No movement.
“Where is everyone?” she asked. “Surely they haven’t stopped looking for us?”
Walker shook his head. “No. But since they seem to have found the tear we made in the ravine, they’ll probably have most of their forces out there. I’m sure they left a scout around here, but that’s another reason we need to do this now—they’ll be distracted.”
Walker parked two blocks away. As soon as the car came to a stop, Keira grabbed the door handle. If she waited any longer, she was probably going to lose her nerve.
“Then what are we waiting for?” She stepped out onto the soggy spring lawn next to the car. Her ballet flats squelched unpleasantly in the mud.
“Okay,” Walker came to stand next to her. “Ready?”
“Yep,” she said.
They hurried down the sidewalk in silence and stopped in front of the spot where the Hall of Records lurked. Their hands found each other effortlessly. Comfortably.
Darkside came completely into view and the dizzying sensation of being caught between two worlds swept over Keira. She squeezed Walker’s hand, steadying herself.
“Stay quiet and stay close,” he reminded her.
“Got it. Let’s go.”
Hand in hand, they walked into her neighbor’s backyard. Keira stared uncomfortably at the houses around them. She’d been so worried about what might happen if someone caught them Darkside, she hadn’t really stopped to think about what could happen if someone caught them trespassing. Still, as long as they were outside, it would be easy to pretend they were headed back to her house.
“We’re here.” Walker’s voice was low.
Keira dragged her attention back to Darkside, ignoring the headache that blossomed behind her eyes as her focus shifted. The size of the building that surrounded them was overwhelming. They stood in a massive central room, ringed by huge pillars that supported a series of archways. Above them, tiny rooms, like the cells of a beehive, stacked on top of one another, all the way to the ceiling. She could see into some, but others were covered by doors that looked like they were made of leather. Beyond the pillars were hallways that lead deeper into the building, twisting away so that whatever lay at their ends was hidden from view. Keira wondered what secrets might be hidden in the dark bowels of the Hall of Records.
She dragged her attention away from the dizzying expanse of the Hall. Directly in front of them was an ornate table littered with tiny boxes. Oblivious to the fact that he was being watched, a robed figure bent over the small containers, stacking them according to some system that Keira couldn’t understand. A few of the boxes lay open, revealing gleaming black objects that looked like needles.
“What are those?” Keira whispered.
“Needles,” Walker murmured back.
The one time I really wanted to be wrong . . .
She hated needles. She’d almost fainted the last time she had a shot. And she didn’t even want to think about what the Darklings might be using them for.
Walker glanced around the Hall. Keira watched as his eyes followed a Darkling’s robed back. When the room was empty except for the guy at the desk, Walker let out a long breath.
“Okay, I’m going over.” He let go of her hand and Keira’s headache intensified as she struggled to keep Darkside in focus on her own. His expression was grim as he stared at her. “You be careful. I don’t want anything to happen to you.” The end of the last word snapped off as he crossed.
Across the desk, the guy’s head snapped up. It was Smith. Keira saw his strangled cry at Walker’s sudden appearance, but all she heard was the gasp that came from her own throat.
Her surprise broke her focus and blotted out her view of Darkside. Keira was left staring at scruffy grass and worn vinyl siding.
Crap. She focused on Walker, then Smith behind the desk. She concentrated with everything she had, until the hush of the enormous Hall overshadowed the distant-traffic-and-small-animals noise of the yard.
Smith looked like a very large and unpredictable dog had cornered him. “Walker! What in discord are you doing here?” His words were intelligible, but just barely. She understood him in the same instinctive way she understood the rhythm of a drumbeat. “I thought you were allergic to this place.”