Selection (Book 2 of P.O.E. chronicles)

Chapter 33 right back where we started from

Still having difficulties closing my mouth I could feel the eyes of everyone in the room boring into mine and for once I was at a complete loss for words. Nigel, however didn’t seemed to have any problem processing did as he made his way towards us.

“You two know each other?” Casey asked, her eyes trailing between Nigel and I.

“He was kind of the one who discovered me.” I answered, my voice strained and I could feel the tension relaxed marginally. Liam was shooting not so subtle glances at Gerald who was still a picture of calm but I could see the surprise in his eyes, too. Clearly he did not expect his friend to know me.

“That’s right.” Nigel said, stopping about a few meters in front of us and someone found a chair that wasn’t broken to sit on. “Abigail and I go way back.”

“Would anyone explain to me what in god’s name is going on?” Vanessa said and I was taken aback by her aggravated tone. “This gentleman does not seem like he needs any help.”

Nigel winked at Vanessa who only scowled in return. Having been expecting this moment since we part way with the others I looked at Gerald first to see if he had anything to say.

“We are actually here because of something else.” the man had finally spoken and I crossed my arms over my chest, ready to watch the scenes unfold. “”We have another mission, a much more important one that we must address and the reason we are here right now is to find out our next step.”

Casey’s eyes immediately darted towards me and when she saw my calm demeanor she flashed me a you-better-have-a-good-explanation face. Vanessa, however, was livid.

“You are breaking the code!” She declared and I winced at the volume of her voice, glad that there was this barrier that was probably sound proof, otherwise we could be heard miles away. “You have no rights to drag us here without telling us what we are getting into.”

Gerald nodded and I had to bite my lips to stop laughing. “You are right.” He said, which pacified the red head a little bit. “You have the freedom to stay or go; our plan up till now was mainly to get Abigail out of the headquarters.”

With all attention back to me I shifted my weight from one foot to another uncomfortably. I knew that I could always trust Casey and Vanessa had proven herself to be a loyal companion thus far and it was only fair if I let them know the entire truth.

“Wow.” Casey blinked as I told them about the message Akram had sent me and how Gerlad had come up with the plan to get me out. I didn’t explain why I didn’t go to Lynette and it seemed that both of them respected my decision even if they didn’t understand it. I still couldn’t explain to myself why I didn’t, I just not feel like it was the right thing to do.

“And this is where I come in.” Nigel declared, standing up and throwing his hands in the air in a grand gesture. “I am here with information regarding the whereabouts of Katerina Falcon.”

Unable to restrain myself I threw him a skeptical look but fortunately he was too wrapped up in his speech to notice. “I happened to be one of the very few people in this world who had been to the top secret residence of the Originals when they first united together. It is widely believe that this is where Katerina spend most of her time when she cut off contact to the rest of the world.”

My heart began to beat faster in excitement. The residence of the Originals, where legends were made that had shaped the world we are living in today! Remembering how familiarly Akram had addressed Victoria Balikova I wondered if he too, had spent some part of his life there but quickly dismissed the thought. Perhaps they had known each other before Victoria had become such an influential figure; whilst my ancestor was a hero in many ways, the Originals were the people who gave us order and peace back.