When I turned to look at him, his pants appeared dry but his face was drawn and pale. I gathered my senses and stood up, allowing Emma to wrap her body around mine for a moment, enjoying the warmth and comfort of her embrace. I laid my head atop of hers. Emma was the only one I could trust anymore.
“How did you know to come find us?” Travis asked, after a couple of uncomfortable throat clearings.
Emma pulled her head back and looked up into my eyes to respond. “Some guy came to me. His name was Gatsby.” Her lips pulled into a frown. “He said he was a Chevalier and he had to come see what all the fuss was about.” Her eyes flattened as if recalling something distasteful or annoying. “He looked me up and down, then said he ‘got it.’ Then he mentioned something about how funny it was Calan’s end would come from a girl who was only five foot five.” Then she said matter of fact. “So I slugged him.”
I sputtered, pulling away from her. “You did what?”
She shrugged and cocked her head. “What? I knocked him right to the ground just like I did Travis.”
“Great,” Travis said grimly, rubbing the part of his face she had connected a fist to not all that long ago.
I looked down to see Emma rubbing at her now bright red knuckles. I couldn’t help the grin from forming on my face. Gatsby had a tenuous position as it was. When word spread he was bested in one shot, he would never hear the end of it.
It was then I noticed Emma had somehow found a change of clothing from the thin white dress the order had supplied. She now wore a forest green tank top, dark brown cargo pants, and combat boots that fit just a little too big on her. She had probably stolen them from Vico’s quarters. He was the shortest and most compact of the Chevalier. With her short, messy hair, and look of defiance recounting her meeting with Gatsby, she looked fierce and dangerous.
Something primal flared in me, urging me to test this side of her. There was still a softness about her cheeks and in her eyes, but something more daring seemed to emerge from her with every trial we encountered.
She was changing. With each hardship, she was evolving, hardening into something different in order to survive. Part of me crowed with pride in her ability to adapt, but the larger part of me wanted her to remain the carefree girl I met, with her nose stuck in a book.
“He didn’t see it coming.” Emma continued to explain her run-in with Gatsby. “And I didn’t like the way he was talking about you, so I figured you’d gotten into trouble somehow and came looking for you.”
Travis moved from around the podium, tucking the grand volume of sacred text awkwardly under his arm. “Yeah, well if you thought that, it won’t take long for someone else to think of it.”
“Yes,” I agreed, also realizing we were wasting precious time. “We must go.”
Pressing Emma out in front of me, I followed her with Travis trailing behind. Before I could turn to tell him, Travis’s arm holding the book smacked into some kind of invisible force so hard it knocked Travis flat on his back.
When his mouth opened, a dry raspy sound emerged. Reaching over I grabbed the book and threw it on the ground and yanked Travis to his feet like the day I first met him. “You can’t take the book from the room. It’s bound here.”
Still unable to catch his breath, Travis settled for glaring at me as we hurried down the halls.
“Are you going to portal us out of here?” Emma asked.
I tried to summon energy to my hands and was met with what I expected. Nothing.
“No. My powers have failed me again.” The words came out fiercely as I thought of Master Violetta informing me I had broken the faith.
“I don’t get it, man.” Travis said, “Do we need to like get you to some kind of magical gas station to fuel you up or what?”
“My powers are rooted in faith. I have no faith left in me.”
My head bowed in grief as I lead them down a back passage. Emma and Travis’s footsteps echoed down the stone hall, while mine were silent. How could I believe we would be able to escape? Travis was right, the only way out of this was a portal and I couldn’t even manage a spark.
“So what do you believe now?” Emma asked, trying to study my face even as I hurried us along.
After a beat, I told her the truth. The words strangled my throat. “Nothing. I don’t know what there is to believe in, anymore.”
I led us down a flight of stairs that opened to the dining hall. The long oak tables were empty, and no sounds emanated from the attached kitchen. It was empty, as most members of the Order would be paying their devotions across the Temple in the prayer room at this time. I paused, needing to think.
Emma eyed the considerable length of the tables. “Wow for as many card-carrying members your Order has, I sure haven’t seen many running around.”
When Travis caught his breath, he asked, “Wait a minute, should we be running, here? I mean, I know they lied to you, man, and I’m sorry for you but this coming darkness thing is a big deal.” His eyes drifted over to Emma.
She looked at me uncertainly. “He knows?”
I nodded.
“Wait,” Travis blinked then held his hands up. “You knew?” He asked Emma.
