Sierra sits down and takes my hand. “You must forgive him. He has to get his thrills from somewhere.”
“So you get a lot of traffic through here?” I ask, remembering that we only saw one tunnel leading here.
“A lot more than what you would think. Then again, it has slowed down considerably since we took over for the prior Gatekeepers.” She smiles and turns towards everyone but refuses to let go of my hand. Although it might seem weird, I find some comfort in her touch. “Did you know that this place hasn’t always been known for what it truly is?”
Lennox snorts, and Sierra shoots daggers at him with her eyes.
“Now who’s being cryptic?” Lynx whispers but not low enough that his mother doesn’t hear.
“Boy, you’re not too old for me to bend you over my knee,” she warns. “I know I taught you manners.”
“Yes, ma’am. I’m sorry,” Lynx mumbles.
“Now, like I was saying. This place was also known as the Staircase of Riches. If demons stumble upon us and they have some brains, your father will explain that their success is highly unlikely, but when they insist, sometimes he will usher them through to the road—if the gate allows.”
That has all our attention, and we fire off questions one after another.
“What do you mean if the gate allows?” Knots asks.
“So the road can lead to riches?” Zeke asks, leaning forward, captivated by the story.
“How do they find this place with only the tunnel leading from Lilith’s and L.A.M.B’s residence?” Levi asks the question that’s been burning in the back of my mind.
“Woah, hold your horses.” Lennox chuckles. “We’ll get around to all of the questions. But first. There’s really a tunnel leading from there?” Lennox eyebrows raise as he takes in the news and leans forward with excitement. “I would love to meet all of them. They are legends.”
“Daaaaad,” Lynx chastises, trying to get him back on task.
“Oh, sorry. Yes, just like many objects are in Purgatory, the tunnels here tend to open and close when they want or feel the need of a traveler.”
“They’re sentient?” Moni’s glitterbomb color surfaces. “So you’re saying we could have been lost in that tunnel forever?” Moni asks. No need to guess what she’s feeling.
A hearty laugh booms out of Lennox as he throws his head back and slaps his knee. He shakes his head and gently wipes away a tear from his eye. “No, sweet girl. Not with the power those four are already showing.” He points to each of our newly discovered Horsemen.
Levi, Zeke, Knox, and Ryker share a bewildered look between them before Ryker addresses Lennox.
“Do you mean us?” he asks, his eyebrows pulled down in confusion.
“Yep, there’s no confusing who you four are. I can already feel the slight pull. Can you, sweetheart?” he asks Sierra. She nods and smiles at our group. Patting my hands once more, she gets up and moves over to sit on the arm of the la-z-boy.
“This would explain Tempest. Especially if Lynx is already linked to them,” she says, cuddling into his arm.
“Well then, can someone explain it to me?” I ask. “As far as Lynx knew, Storm Shifters could only have one child,” I point out, belatedly realizing I’ve potentially asked for the birds and bees talk. I don’t think I can handle going through another sex talk with another parent.
“What Lynx told you was true.” Sierra beams at Lennox with a knowing look as if to say she’s excited that we’ve already talked about having kids, and Lennox squeezes her quickly before she addresses me. “Since the end of the Four Horsemen, our role as their advisors and guards has changed. We now act as Gatekeepers, and that’s more than it sounds. As Gatekeepers, we are the ultimate defenders since Storm Shifters go through amore extensive transformation to gain our full strength, as Lynx has probably experienced. Before we gain our full power, we are required to die and are reborn during a storm.”
My jaw drops at her explanation. “Do you know the Hell we’ve been through because we had no idea that was a thing?” I screech. I squeeze Lynx’s shoulders to try and maintain some type of composure, but I’m somewhat flabbergasted that Lynx had to die and lose his memory to go through his transformation. “It would have been nice to know that Lynx needed a memory spell when he was going to transform into his powers and die. That whole thing was traumatic seeing him being tortured by the Rebels.”
“Wait. What memory spell?” Sierra asks, and Lennox sits forward with pinched eyebrows when I mention Rebels.
“So losing your memory isn’t normal when you undergo the transformation?” Lynx asks, and I reach down and hug Lynx between my legs.
“So what you’re saying is the lost memory was probably from what the Rebels were doing to Lynx and not what a normal Storm Shifter goes through?” I push, trying to make sense of what we went through with L.A.M.B.
Sierra’s eyes turn glossy as she turns into Lennox’s embrace, and I get my answer. Trying to focus on what she initially said about his transformation, I turn back on Lynx.‘Does anything of what she said about your power line up with your experience?’I ask.
‘Yeah. I feel more powerful, but I had no idea about the dying part. I swear.’He rubs my arm before I lean back and focus on Sierra.
“Still doesn’t explain how you have another child,” JP says, not missing a beat.
