“What if she’s not here?” I asked Gavin.
“Nonsense,” he answered, his accent adding extra syllables to the word so it sounded like a song. “Where else would she be? We know from recent experience that there are demons outside quite on guard. She’d not have gotten far.”
“Exactly,” I said. “What if she didn’t think we’d come, went outside, and got . . . killed?” I could hardly say the word. I was afraid admitting the possibility might somehow jinx Hunter—and Jo.
“Not likely,” he said. “First, we’re not late. We’ve come when we said we would. Second, she knows better than to go outside. She’d not give up that easily. And third, if they had gotten her, I don’t believe the demons would be still prowling around, waiting.”
“I guess,” I agreed. “What do we do now?”
“I’m going to go back to the front door and grab a map,” he answered. “Stay here. I’ll be right back.”
As he walked away, I turned my attention to the alcove next to me. Unlike the others lined with white marble, this one was dominated by a towering doorframe painted shiny black. The double doors were guarded on either side by life-size alabaster angel statues, one holding a dark, bronze sword, the other a thin black horn. While most of the inscriptions in the cathedral were in Latin, the gold lettering etched into the lintel at the top were in English: “Through the gate of death we pass to our joyful resurrection.” I rubbed the backs of my arms. Thankfully, the doors were knob-less and sealed shut, but the statues’ expressions were anything but joyful. Their vacant eyes stared at the floor like all was lost.
I turned away and leaned against the curved wall to wait for Gavin, forcing my own face into an expression of confidence. I didn’t want to look lost.
“Are you lost?” I accepted my failure as a kind-looking elderly man with a black-and-white mustache and twinkling blue eyes appeared next to me. A large flashlight dangled from the belt of his security guard uniform. His name badge read “Alfred.”
“No, I’m not,” I said, embarrassed for no reason. “I am looking for someone though. A teenage girl by herself? Blonde hair, bangs?”
He squinted his eyes, as if trying to remember. I wondered how long that would take, and wished I’d never asked. Finally, he spoke. “You might try the library upstairs,” he answered slowly, jerking his thumb over his shoulder.
“There’s an upstairs? And a library in here?” I asked.
“Of course,” the guard said with a chuckle. “And a downstairs too. We’ve got a museum, a movie theater, a shop, even a crypt with a café.”
You can eat with dead bodies? Creepy.
Alfred continued. “The library’s upstairs, east wing. I believe there’s a young girl who’s been sitting there for the better part of today.”
“Thank you so much,” I gushed, relieved that while he had tripled our search area, he’d also given us our first real lead.
He touched the tip of his hat, nodded, and walked away. When Gavin returned, I practically shouted the update.
With the map, we found the stairs to the library in no time. They were perfectly circular and rather dizzying. Gavin took the stairs two at a time; I tried my best not to fall on my face. Gavin’s hurry was frightening me. I wondered if he knew something I didn’t, something about what was going on back in Aviemore.
As soon as we passed through the doorway into the library, I spotted her. Hunter was sitting at a long wooden table, a book open in front of her. She was resting her head on her hand, and her eyes were shut. A holy nap, no doubt.
We hurried to the table and slid into chairs next to her. She immediately sensed the intrusion to her space, and her eyes shot open. When she saw me, she nearly knocked me off my seat with a sideways hug.
“Maren!” she cried, and was promptly greeted by several much louder “shhhs!” from a group of old ladies in colorful hats sitting on the opposite side.
Hunter dropped her head and voice. “Oh, Maren! You’re here! You’ve come for me! Thank you, thank you!” She wrapped herself around me like a love-starved snake and squeezed.
I patted her on the back, but wriggled out of her grip at the same time, uncomfortable from the display of gratitude. How am I going to tell her that the only thing we managed to do was barely make it into the cathedral and become as trapped as she was?
I leaned forward so Hunter and Gavin could shake hands and exchange introductions.
“Did you have any trouble getting in?” she asked. Worry spread across her face like a fast-moving fog.
“Only if you count being attacked by demons.” I tried to sound braver than I felt. “Don’t worry,” I added. “Gavin took care of them.”
“But there will be more,” Gavin added, ominously.
“What are we going to do?” Hunter’s eyes were wide and shiny.
“We’re going to take you to Magnificat with us,” I said. “It’s a safe haven. For humans working with the Abbey.”
She perked right up, clearly eager to leave her pew-filled prison, especially for the mysterious Abbey. “Well, let’s go, then!”
“It’s not that easy,” Gavin answered. “First, we have to locate it. The entrance to Magnificat changes, and I don’t know where it currently is in London.”
“How do we find it?” Hunter asked.
“It’s well marked. You should be able to see it for miles,” he assured us. “We’ve just got to get outside and take a look.”
“What do you mean, ‘outside’?” Hunter asked.
“What do you mean, ‘marked’?” I said. “By what?”
“By a giant spider,” he replied, smiling as Hunter and I both instinctively recoiled.
CHAPTER 24
After climbing an astounding 528 steep steps through dark, windowless, circular passages and tunnels so narrow, I doubted Santa Claus could make it, we reached the top of the Great Dome. Or as near to the top as they let visitors. Our destination, the Golden Gallery, an external lookout that wound around the highest tower above the dome, would give us panoramic views of London.
Hardly any tourists made the climb all the way to the top. Most stopped halfway, at the Stone Gallery, so we were alone. We huddled just inside the open doorway, the wind howling in our ears, waiting for instructions from Gavin.
“Remember, keep your back to the wall at all times, and you’ll be safe,” he said.
“You mean, like, safe from a demon swooping by and plucking us off this crazy-high perch?” Hunter asked. Her cheeks were a little pale. It was odd to see her flustered. She was always so tough and in control. I wondered if she had a fear of heights.
“They can’t touch a single part of the cathedral,” he assured us, “nor can they touch you if you’re touching it.”
“And we’re looking for a giant spider?” I asked.