When the Stars Align

Inside the Wall

"So Brendan could still possibly be in the hotel?" Max asked us for what seemed like the millionth time.

Will and I were back to sitting in the chairs in front of the Chancellor's desk. My muscles began to ache, we had been in here for what seemed like hours.

"And Angie, Drew, Blake, and Andy," Will added. "There could be more of them that we don't know about."

"What if they try to break Noah out? He's our only source of information right now," I said.

"Good thought, but we have guards around his cell 24/7," Max replied.

"I almost forgot, we have a situation. Nova, show him," Will said turning to me.

I was confused about what he was talking about for a second but then I realized. I snapped my fingers and a small flame appeared on my pointer finger making my finger look like a roman candle. Max looked taken aback and for a second I thought maybe we shouldn't have told him.

"You can't tell anyone about this," Max said finally. "Who all knows?"

"Avery, Josh, Jase, Carrie, and all the Obscurites that were there when we went in to get Jase and Carrie," Will answered.

"The Obscurites know? Will, that's not good," Max said shaking his head. "Not good at all, for any of us."

"We didn't exactly have a choice," I explained. "It was the only way we were able to escape with everyone alive."

"You cannot step foot out of this hotel, understand? Not only will Brendan and his crew be after you, but the Obscurites will too," Max warned. "And you can't tell anyone else about this."

I nodded slightly.

"We need to talk to Noah," Will said. "Maybe we can get something out of him that can help lead us to Brendan."

Max nodded in agreement. "I'll let the guards know you're coming."

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Will led me down below floor 1 to where the cells were. They call it floor zero. The stairs leading down changed to stone and several of them were damp. It smelled musty and water dripped from the ceilings. I wasn't watching my step and I slipped. Will reached out and grabbed me by my waist to steady me.

"You okay?" he asked.

I nodded as he laced my fingers through his. We moved slowly down the rest of the stairs.

"You've never told me anything about your family," I said, my mind flashing back to the picture of Max with his parents and twin sister.

Will's eyes darkened and I could tell it was a touchy subject.

"I ran away when I was 10 years old and ended up at the Hotel," he said finally.

I decided not to push him when he didn't say anything after that and by the time we had reached the bottom of the stairwell anyways. I slipped my hand out of Will's as we neared the guards watching Noah's cell.

"Hey, Luke," Will said nodding to one of the guards. "Max told you we were coming to talk to Noah?"

"Yep, you're all clear," Luke replied taking out a small plastic key card. He swiped it on a scanner attached to the wall and the door to the cell opened. Noah was sitting against the far wall. His wrists were in manacles which were chained to the wall. He looked up as we came into the room. He was staring daggers at Will.

"How's it going, Noah?" he asked.

"How do you think it's going?" Noah spat.

"Look, I'll cut this short, okay? We need to know where Brendan went," Will said.