Prelude To the Stars [Jackson Wang AMBW]

Chapter 13: Secrets in the Catacombs

At dawn Jackson and I met up with our families at the Holy Church of Sepulcher. I was surprised to see Mark, BamBam, JB, Junior, Yugyeom and Youngjae among them. Soo Young had gone back to South Korea. She's watching over AJ and TJ along with Ayanna, while Taecyeon has joined us in the battle. I embraced everyone, and Aiden led us all into a prayer before we journeyed through the catacombs. My dad stepped up and gave us an encouraging speech.

"Thank you all for coming here on such short notice. War is upon us, and we will meet it head on. Surrender is never an option. Baldassare plans to take Eden's body for his soul mate Babylon's use and banish Eden's soul into Hell. She is our top priority. We have to protect her." All eyes turned to me, and I looked away, not yet ready to face the inevitable. "The enemy knows we're here, but we won't go down without a fight. In these catacombs lies the entrance to The Church of the Holy Sepulcher. We need to retrieve the Holy scepter. No one but Eden can wield it. Take heed to my words: if one of us were to touch it we would die. Be strong and courageous. With God on our side the victory is already ours. Let's do this!"

We all began to walk into the dark catacombs. Mark was on my right side while Jackson took up the left. Aiden and Gabe were positioned behind me; Bà and my father were located in front of me. I was boxed in and feeling like a prisoner on the way to my execution. The search for the Holy scepter began in silence. Tensions were high and everyone had their guards up. We were 10 minutes into the walk when I sensed something was off.

I stopped mid-step, which caused everyone else to stop. "Something's wrong..." Before I could say another word the ground began to shake violently. I lost my balance and fell to the floor. Mark picked me up just as the walls began to shift. He and I were instantly separated from the rest of the group. To top it off the ground below us caved in.

**

"Eden, your arm is bleeding. Here let me help." Mark stated. He ripped off a piece of his shirt and wrapped it tightly around my left arm. "There. How's that feel?"

"Better. Thank you!" My eyes scanned our surroundings. "Well, that was totally unexpected." There was a pathway to our left and right. "Do you have any idea where to go now?" I asked uncertain.

Mark looked around, licked his finger and stuck it into the air. "I say we go forward. There is a slight breeze up ahead." He takes my hand in his and leads the way. I catch him looking at me a few times.

"So, now would be the perfect time for you to tell me why you left all of those years ago..." I say to break the ice. Mark stiffens and stops. He drops my hand and looks ahead avoiding my gaze. "Mark...." I say, placing my hand on his shoulder.

He sighs. "Look Eden, what I'm about to tell you might make you hate me. I don't want that. Just... just please let me explain myself."

"Okay. I'm listening." I start fidgeting with my thumbs.

"You know how when we were kids and I was always good at tracking things and people down?" I nod my head. He continues, "Well my dad got a call from his brother in Hong Kong. Dad said it was urgent, and we had to leave immediately. He didn't even give me a chance to say goodbye to you. Do you know how guilty I felt? Long story short, a few years into my dad working for his brother I was recruited into the family business."

Once again he hesitated to go on. "Andy... my Uncle... he had me look for a girl with a cherry blossom tattoo. I tracked her down in the mountains of China, but trust me when I say that I had no idea it was you who I was looking for. If I would've known; I wouldn't have done it. But there's more.... Andy popped back up months ago and asked me to locate the girl with the cherry blossom tattoo. I found out that she...uh you... were here in China. I informed him and a couple of weeks later I met you. I'm so sorry, Eden. This is all my fault!"