Isle of Sanctum | The Aya Thrasher Chronicles | Book 1 |[Editing]

Chapter Forty

CHAPTER FORTY

AYA

In order to meet the Architect, we had to wait till dark to sneak out. Sadie was asking twenty questions, so we went when she was in the shower. Security was tight, especially now, but we always seemed to find a way out. Serina would freak if she found out. But then again, I'm sure she had an idea that we weren't the type to just sit still. Emmy had told me to pursue any leads and that's exactly what I was doing.

We followed my communicator's navigation device. The streets were alive with colors. Colors I had never seen before. It was like a scene right out of a comic book. Even the alley was popping with neon signs illuminating the backends of stores and buildings. We were going to a club and that thought made me quiver. Trevor's party wasn't exactly a club, but it was close to it, and look how that turned out.

"Which one is it?" I asked Lake.

Lake scanned the alleyway. "There's no sign."

The alley was unorganized, unlike the rest of the city. Randomly placed neon signs lit up the street. In some ways, this part of the Sanctum reminded me a lot of Woodport. It was cleaner, but it still had the feeling of being built up too much.

"Over here!" Brennan shouted pointing toward the opposite direction.

We reached the back of the club. The sign was written in ancient Sciusian symbols. Of course Brennan was the only one able to locate it. He was a genius at Sciusian history. There was another sign taped to the back door – 18++ only.

Lake knew exactly what I was thinking as soon as my eyes dropped. "Maybe they won't ask. We don't look that young."

"You're kidding right. Everyone thinks I'm like twelve," I said.

"Well, we don't really have a choice. No one's eighteen—" Lake responded.

"Rayne is soon," I replied. "But that doesn't really help our case."

"Let's just go wing it," Brennan said grabbing onto the handle of the door.

The roaring of a bass exploded as soon as we set foot inside. Bodies collided against ours, as we struggled to find our way toward the front.

"Where are we going?" Lake asked.

"I have no idea," I screamed back as I tried to keep up with Brennan's quick pace.

I felt someone ram into both Lake and I. A sticky liquid hit against my shoe. I looked up. It was a teenager. He appeared apologetic.

"Sorry, can I buy you a drink?" He asked Lake and not me.

"She's seventeen," I replied rudely.

"Me too," he grinned wide.

I grabbed Lake's arm. "Let's go." I turned around and grabbed some napkins off the counter behind me and handed them to Lake.

I stood on my tip-toes, trying to get a better look of our surroundings. Brennan was already toward the front end. We weaved through a group of guys who were having a bachelor's party.

"That was something," Lake said to me when we finally got around the circus.

I nodded. "At least we haven't gotten carded yet."

Strobe lights were pulsating as Sciusians were dancing. The room felt hot because of all the sweaty bodies that were dancing. I turned my head looking around the corner. There was a set of stairs, which Brennan was already halfway down. The lights were flickering and the temperature had to have dropped at least ten degrees. It gave me the creeps.

"Are you sure this is right?" I asked. "I don't like the aura here."

"It's the right place, Aya," Lake replied. "I know it."

We continued down the stairs. My heart was pumping out of my chest as I grasped onto the railing behind me. I was lagging behind Lake and Brennan. Yes, I was afraid of what was behind the door at the end of the stairs. Not knowing was making little bumps appear on the surface of my arm.

Before touching down onto the final step, I felt a finger jabbing into my shoulder bone. I jumped up immediately, stopping myself from letting out a startled scream. Who the heck was it? Were they going to kick us out for being underage?

I quickly glanced at my assailant's face and a wave of relief came over me. It was just Issa.

"Girl, don't ever do that again," I scolded her. "What are you even doing here?"

"You know, I didn't think it was a good idea that you guys came alone. In case this whole missions blows up in your faces," she said. "I'm here for back up.

"Shh..." Brennan motioned to us, while he grabbed onto the door handle.

The club was loud, I didn't know how our talking would affect much, but I did what he asked. Slowly, he opened the door and peeked in. I tried to get a better look, but it was too dark. The anticipation was bubbling inside me like a soda. Once the door was completely open, I still couldn't see anything but darkness.

"Isn't there a light?" Lake asked Brennan.

A light shone over the top of the head. It was Issa's flashlight. "Here catch," she said to Brennan.

He pointed the flashlight to the dark room. This time I could see a little more -- mostly just shapes of furniture and chairs. Then I spotted something in the back of the room.

"Hey, I think there's another door back there," I said making my way into the room.

Lake threw her hands up. "These people and their doors."

The door led to a tunnel. Must have been some kind of secret tunnel. As we wandered down the tunnel, I wondered how long it went. It seemed like a mile.

"Hello, intruders," a voice rang out over some well-hidden speakers. "Name your intent."

"Um, I'm Brennan, that's Lake, Aya, and Issa," he said calmly. "We are looking for Beddle."

There was a long pause. Nothing happening was more terrifying for me. Any moment, lasers could come out of the walls and incinerate us.

"Turn the corner, first door," the voice replied.

Inside the first door, was an overweight man with loads of outdated computers. I could tell Lake was in heaven.

"How may I help you kids?" He asked in a gruff tone.

Brennan took out the Lexicon page from inside the pocket of his jacket and handed it to him. Immediately, Beddle's eyes lit up brightly as he took the page into his own hands.

"You've never seen this before?" Brennan asked.

"I have, but I've never seen someone make this much progress on it," he explained. "It's really quite impressive."

"Do you think you could help us with it. I mean solve it?" Brennan asked.

"Let me see your palm," he ordered Brennan. "I need to make sure you have pure intent."

Brennan agreed and held out his palm toward Beddle. As he gently placed his finger on Brennan's palm, the veins and lines on his hand lit up blue. It was magnificent. Beddle glanced at the lines of a brief second before looking up.

"Yes, I will help you uncode this page, but it may take some time," he told us.

"How much time?" I asked.

"Maybe a day or two, but who knows it could be less. I'll try my best to get it done as soon as I can," he said.

"That's fine," I replied.