Free Kingdom Keepers V (9781423153429) by Ridley Pearson Page B

whisper.
    â€œThe cruise is an obligation we can’t get you out of and, as much as it might have once seemed like a dream come true—pun intended—it now appears much the opposite. There is a great deal to accomplish. The volunteers need training. Everything you can do to school them is not just important, but critical at this juncture. Once on the ship you must take every precaution for your safety. Travel in pairs. Enter your staterooms with caution. You are in a contained space on that ship, a finite space, a situation you’ve not faced before. The journal Finn and Willa saw taken by the Overtakers involves, among other subjects, the lore behind Chernabog.”
    Willa and Finn exchanged a knowing glance.
    â€œAnd there were hyenas,” Finn said. “Angry hyenas.”
    â€œExcuse me?” Willa inquired.
    â€œThe chase?”
    â€œWhat chase? What are you talking about?” Willa said.
    Wayne fixed his concentration upon her. “You don’t recall being pursued by hyenas?” He checked over with Finn.
    â€œOf course I do,” Willa said.
    Finn said to Willa, “In the factory? Or whatever?”
    â€œWhat factory? Whatever…are you talking about?”
    â€œBut you remember Maleficent. The Evil Queen?”
    â€œIn the library? Dah.”
    â€œAnd then we took off through the factory.”
    â€œNo. Then we were backstage at the Studios and we returned.”
    A hushed silence as Finn considered not only what she was telling him, but her conviction. They both had two very different memories of the same moment.
    Finn met eyes with Wayne. “What’s going on?”
    Wayne shook his head, confused.
    â€œI dreamed it?” Finn said, still looking directly at Wayne.
    â€œWell, I didn’t,” Willa said. “The library is backstage at the Studios, after all.”
    â€œMaybe you had a dream like mine,” Jess said. She, who could dream the future.
    â€œMore likely just a nightmare,” Finn said. “Or a bug in 2.0.” But he wondered if it was possible. Had he dreamed the future, confused the present, imagined something out of thin air?
    â€œNow you know how it feels,” Jess said. “Unsettling, isn’t it?”
    â€œNot good,” he said.
    â€œNot good at all,” she said. “And yet, they call it a gift.”
    â€œOkay. I get it.” He and the other Keepers were guilty of thinking Jess and Amanda were gifted. The girls had argued “cursed.”
    He continued, “It was just like any other crossing over.”
    â€œSurprisingly real,” Jess said. “As real as it gets.”
    Wayne appeared troubled by the news. “While I welcome such resources,” the older man said, “this is not a time for personality shifts. We require each of you in full control of your faculties. We cannot have you doubting things.”
    He made it sound like a reprimand.
    â€œI’m sorry, Finn,” Willa said. “I didn’t mean to freak you out or anything.”
    â€œNot your problem,” Finn said.
    â€œWanda will get the suits to you. Wear them,” Wayne said. “Use them. A Taser would be an effective weapon against you as it would knock you unconscious and render you susceptible to a rogue DHI server. We should have foreseen this. Once asleep, if they regain the ability to cross you over—which they might if they get control of the Base—they could trap your DHI and lock you in the Sleeping Beauty Syndrome.”
    Wayne’s explanation hung over the group like a foul smell.
    â€œI will speak with Finn for a moment,” Wayne announced. “Then we are done here.”
    The Keepers and “the sisters” dispersed in clusters, heading out to connect with the volunteers.
    Finn had been blindsided by Willa’s disclaimer. His mouth was dry. He felt feverish.
    Wayne said, “There’s someone you must meet.”

S omeplace dark. Fabric