The Scroll of Knowledge

Chapter 5

I curled up underneath the covers of my bed in the fetal position. My head was killing me. Too many thoughts were going through my mind. I couldn't keep track of them. Names, faces, dates, formulas, diagrams.

I reached for the small red bottle on my bedside table. Zahir had warned me about the headaches. He'd said that Shay had suffered from them for months until she had learned how to control the visions. I hadn't wanted to use it -- who knew what was in that bottle-- but I didn't care anymore. I just wanted some relief. Anything that would take away the pain.

I drank the entire contents in one gulp. The visions didn't go for another fifteen minutes but finally, finally, I could get some sleep.

******

"Wait, slow down," Thomas said. Shay was digging through drawers and throwing things everywhere. "What are you talking about?" He grabbed her by the shoulders. "Shay."

"The portals. When we used them three years ago, we assumed that they would lead us to the Book. That's why it wasn't where we thought it was. It led us to a door with a map to the Book but it was never going to lead us to the actual Book," she said. She had to take a few breaths from talking so fast.

"Then why were they on the map?" Thomas asked.

Shay shrugged. "I don't know. Either the person who made the map, which was not Leanna by the way, was trying to find all the portals and where they lead, or it was designed to lead us to the door. I'm thinking it was a mixture of both. Something had definitely been hidden in that room back in Pakistan. Maybe another compass like ours. What if that map was supposed to be for another artifact but helped us to get to the Book?"

"Okay. So how does this help us?" Thomas asked. "The room was empty."

"Don't you see? Each portal only leads to one location. That means that at least one of the portals goes directly into their base. We just need to find out which one."

"How do you plan to do that?"

"Two ways. I know the location of a few of the portals. We need to check those. I'll show Amber the map we have. She may be able to see something." Shay grinned. "It's nice knowing I'm not the only one with a key. I wonder if we're all related. Amber might be able to tell."

"How can they even use the portals?" Thomas asked. "You needed the key to just open one."

She paused. "You're right. Something strange is going on here. I definitely saw them using portals but they couldn't have been using it unless they have a key but we know that Derek, at the very least, doesn't own one. I need to do more thinking later." Her eyes widened. "What if the portals can be created? In that case, they wouldn't need the keys. They can lock it with something else, something they each had."

"Shay, did you see anything about our future?' Thomas asked. He was almost afraid of the answer.

Shay shook her head. "I'm barely seeing anything more than a few days ahead. They come and go. It's not constant like before. It's just like when I decided to go for the Book and they stopped. Something must be interfering. Either that or the headaches are making me weak. I'll have to try again later."

"So you don't know how this ends," Thomas said.

Shay hugged him. "I've already died once. I see no need to do that again. We'll be fine."

He sighed and wrapped his arms around her. He didn't want to remember that. "You might not but they might. Do you even know who we're dealing with?"

"No but Zahir and Brennan said they were looking into it." She pulled away and threw on her jacket. "I need to go see them now." She started typing in coordinates on her bracelet. "Meet me there."