Chapter 20

 

Four hours later we had done both sides of all staff that had access inside the royal chambers. There had been five more that were loyal to Marcus. People that we’d seen every day, they had smiled, and cleaned or cooked for us when none of us knew.

The flashes were coming more often now, with my mind tired from seeing so many people and the spaces around them.

We sat in the dinning room, but for once no one was eating. That was a rare thing here, I thought. I sat with them at the same end of the table beside Daxx with Rafael across from me.

I saw a grey street sign again, but signs weren’t grey. There was green or blue, sometimes white, but never grey. The purple door again, not as a door should be though. I looked down at my hands and tried to stay focused on what the others were saying.

“Seven people, we’ve seen every day for years.” Chase mused quietly.

“I still can’t believe two of the guards we trained with for years were among them.” Leone said rubbing his hand over his head.

“A stick and book, but not a novel that you see in the store. The stick isn’t a stick either but carved…” I looked up to see everyone looking at me. “Sorry, I thought I said that in my head.”

Rafael smirked at me. “It was a great tension breaker, little sister.” Everyone else smiled and I felt my cheeks heat.

Victor leaned back and looked to each person for a moment. “We’re going to have to change rotations and routines for a while.” He nodded to Michael. “We don’t know how much Marcus knows.”

I stared at the wood of the table in front of me. Marks in the wood that were carved… like runes of some sort. Marcus, of course. The flashes, it made sense now. I kept seeing a cane. “Would Marcus have to use a cane now?” I tilted my head, “a long one like a…” I searched for the word, “like a staff, only not as tall?” I shook my head and reached for my pack so I could draw what I’d been seeing. “I keep seeing something and it didn’t make sense until I pictured Marcus, then remembered what happened to him the last time you met.” I looked at Daxx, she had told me with great detail how he’d lost his foot in their battle.

Finding a pencil, I opened the book and put my head down to focus and draw what I’d been seeing. “I don’t know why I’m seeing it, I haven’t been able to fit the pieces together, but it’s been in my head many times today.”

“Would it be because we found his spies?” Quinton asked me, leaning down the table.

I paused and looked up. “I don’t think so. How could he know we did? We caught them before they knew we knew, so I don’t think they had time to tell him.” I looked back down and continued.

The room was silent as they all watched me, and I paused when I noticed, then was surprised to realize it didn’t bother me. That was something I had to think through the next time I was in my tower. “Too many pieces. More pieces to see…” I mumbled. Shaking my head, I set the pencil down. “I can’t see it all now.”

“Just relax and maybe it will come.” Victor suggested.

Getting up, I got the ball out of my pocket and looked around. I turned in a circle slowly. There were portraits all over the walls in here, so I couldn’t bounce the ball off their faces. “Give me a minute.” Without explaining, I went to the kitchen and found a bare wall. I started bouncing the ball in the cycle I had in my room. “A stick and book, grey street sign and a purple door… they all fit but how?” I murmured to myself.

I nodded and threw the ball some more. “A staff like a cane with runes carved in it… a spell of some sort I’m sure.” I bounced through twice more while sorting and then stopped and looked at the ball.

Bouncing it again. “The book isn’t a book, but a journal that’s very old… not printed but written because it was seen.” I reversed the direction of the throws. “Written like a prophecy in a leather-bound journal. Need to find out what prophecy he’s trying to break.”

More bouncing, a little faster. “Grey street signs, but the street signs aren’t grey.” Bounced slower again, too chaotic with the fast rhythm. “A sign that isn’t grey, but white only seems grey under a street light.” I rocked my head to the motion of the ball. “A sign that isn’t grey but a sign is something used for directions, so you find your street. Grey street. That was so obvious I didn’t see it.”

I caught the ball and nodded once, then threw it again. “Okay.” Wall to floor to wall again. “Purple door. Purple is no longer my favorite color for reasons that are carved into my back. Purple, mage… a magical place? A door to go through?” I reversed the rhythm of throwing. “Or is it as simple as a purple door on grey street at night?” I bounced it harder, trying to see. “Underneath the door doesn’t make sense… unless it’s a tunnel and the door is above.”

I caught the ball and held it in my hand. “Oh, I know where Marcus will be, and what he’s doing. I have to go tell them.”

I spun around and then jumped and screeched when I saw all of them standing there, silently watching me. “I…”

“I think we just witnessed genius at work.” Quinton said.

“We caught it all, little sister.” Rafael smiled at me.

Troy shook his head and glanced at Arius, whose mouth was open. “Amazing.”

Daxx held up her hand. “You started with a stick and a book, a grey street sign and a purple door and now you know where Marcus will be?”

I nodded and felt my cheeks go hot. “And he’s trying to change a prophecy, so we need to find out which one.”

Daxx’s mouth opened then she shut it. “Oh, my god, when we were fighting him,” She looked at Troy, “he said something about that.” She waved a hand around. “I thought he was just spouting off crap, because we were kicking their asses. Go team royal and all that.”

“What did he say?” Victor asked.

She held her hand on her head. “Just a sec.” She glanced at me. “I don’t have Crissy’s brain so I’m going to need a minute.”

I laughed. “You don’t want my brain, trust me.”

Victor came over and opened my hand and looked down at the ball. “Is this a new method your coach is trying? I saw the bowl of them in your room and wondered.”

“Oh.” I shook my head. “No, she brought those to float around with her mind, to show me focus.” I grinned. “I was trying to juggle earlier and they went all over.” I held up the red ball. “Then I found this one and was just bouncing it and realized it made it easier to sort through my head. The ones that don’t matter just sort of… disappear.” I stopped talking because he was just standing there smiling down at me.

“You may have found it on your own.” He said, kissing my forehead and then hugged me.

“Found what?” I hugged him back.

“A way to cope with the visions so they don’t overwhelm you.” He kissed the top of my head and then leaned back and looked at me.

I frowned. “I’ve only done it today. How will I know if it is the way?”

He thought for a moment. “I suppose, we’ll just have to see if you blackout, or if you have problems sorting and keeping up.” He kissed me again. “But it feels like you’ve done what the scholars and overpriced coaches could not.”

I looked at the ball my hand. “That’s pretty good for a little bouncy ball.”

Victor chuckled and nodded his head.

“I’ve got it!” Daxx yelled and then frowned. “Sorry. I almost had a melt down trying to remember.” She pointed a finger at me. “I have no idea how you keep it all in your head.” She huffed out a breath. “Marcus said, I too have a prophecy to avoid bringing to reality.” Nodding she smiled. “Whew.”

“Okay, so, we need to have the scholars go through them and find that one.” Troy said and then looked from Daxx to me. “And we need to know where there’s a Grey Street, ladies.”

Daxx looked at me. “Grey Street. It rings a bell, but I’m going to need a map.”

I nodded. “I don’t look at street signs.”

Leone snorted. “Little hard to see from the tops of buildings, huh?”

I laughed quietly. “Yes, they are.” I bit my lip. “Above won’t help this time though, I think it’s a tunnel, maybe that’s why he’s so hard to find.”

“Can you draw out the runes on his cane or staff?” Michael asked.

“I think so.” I bit my lip and then looked at the ball in my hand. “If not I know a good place to bounce this now.”

Mitz got off the stool. “Just let me know when, and I’ll try not to need in the freezer.” She pointed to where I’d been bouncing it. On the freezer door.

“I’m sure we can find her many places to bounce Mitz, can’t have the food preparations interrupted,” Chase said and patted his stomach. “Okay, I’m going to go back to my side and I suggest you all have a nap sometime soon.” He turned and waved his hand. “Let me know when we’re going to Grey Street, I’m very curious to see what’s behind or underneath the purple door.”

“I’m going back to the cells to look in some heads and see if I can’t find out more. How they got word to Marcus… something.” Troy said rubbing the back of his neck. “I think that tomorrow, after breakfast, we need to sit down and figure out a game plan. We are being pulled in so many directions now it’s unsettling.” He looked at me. “Crissy is the only one capable of processing so many things at the same time.”

I shrugged. “I have a whole bowl full of little bouncy balls if you’d like one.”
They all laughed at that.

~

Daxx and I rushed down the hall.

“We’re only five hours late,” she shrugged, “Clairee is waiting in your room.”

I glanced behind us again. “How did you know the men wouldn’t go to bed?”

She rolled her eyes in that way she did when we talked about men. “New bad guys to interrogate, battle to be planned… I just knew.”

“I don’t think I’ll ever understand them.” I sighed.

Laughing, she pulled me the last few feet to my room. “I didn’t say I understood them, I don’t think anyone can.”

Clairee was sitting on the couch waiting for us. “I didn’t know what color, so I brought a few.”

I looked at her brown hair, a color she didn’t like, and then to Daxx’s blonde hair and nodded. “I don’t think I want something people will notice or remember.” I touched my bright red hair. “This color has brought too many problems with it.”

“If we go too light, the red may be hard to cover, you could end up with streaks of pink.” Clairee said, taking my hand and leading me to the bathroom.

“Streaks are ok.” I bit my lip, feeling nervous but excited at the same time.

“What is your real color?” Daxx asked hoping up on the counter.

I shrugged and then smiled. “I haven’t had my real color in so long I don’t remember.”

We all looked in the mirror and studied my hair.

“Anything but bright, I can work with that.” Clairee said with a grin.

“What if Victor doesn’t like it?” I asked.

Daxx snorted, “the way he looks at you, we could shave your head bald and it wouldn’t make a difference.”

“I don’t think we’ll try that.” I said with my hands on my head.

“He sees what’s inside, not the color of your hair.” Clairee assured me.

I let out a long breath and pulled off my pack and jacket. “Okay. Let’s do it. Then I want a nap.”

Daxx nodded. “The last few days are killing me. I don’t know what time of day, or night, it is any more.” She gave me a thumb up. “Thanks to you though, we may be able to catch Marcus.”

Clairee paused and looked from me to Daxx. “That would be a blessed thing. Restore some normalcy around here.”

I giggled. “I don’t think anything here is normal.”

 

A while later we all stood and looked at my hair in the mirror. It was a dirty blonde, with some brown streaks and lighter at the ends. Clairee was right, there was pink here and there. I loved it.

“You are just cute no matter how you cut it, Crissy.” Daxx told me with a grin.

I didn’t know about that. “I can be more invisible now.”

“The way you hide, I don’t think that’s possible, but if anyone is looking for that girl with the bright red hair now… she’s gone.” Daxx nodded.

“You look lovely.” Clairee told me.

I smiled and touched my hair. “Thank you.”

“I need to sleep.” Daxx said, giving me a quick hug and walking out.

Clairee nodded. “I think it’s going to be more of a nap.” She glanced at the watch she wore on a chain around her neck.

After she left I still stood there looking at the new me. I think I liked her.