"Well?" Billy said very impatiently. "Where is it? Where is this mystery book of yours?" Kariss felt her cheeks heat up. Her eyes began to sting with tears. Not wanting the rest of the group to see her, she walked to the end of the room. Elijah felt concern for her and walked after her. Dom smacked Billy upside the head.
"Kariss? Are you okay?" Elijah asked sympathetically. She didn't answer and kept her back facing him. Elijah reached out and gently stroked her back with his hand. Kariss shuttered and whispered lightly, "Don't touch me."
Feeling confused and a bit hurt, Elijah backed off slightly. This didn't feel right. He knew something was up. He had seen that vision. His heart yearned to help her. It felt broken with her tears.
He stepped towards her again and slipped his arms around her waist. Kariss didn't move. She was half startled by his bold attempt. Yet at the same time she felt highly relieved. She melted into the embrace and leaned her back against him. Elijah tightened his hold and buried his face in her neck.
"It's okay. Everything is going to be just fine. I believe you." His words were soothing. A single tear slipped from her eyes, yet she didn't rush to wipe it away. There was no need. He knew she was hurting. The entire group knew she was scared. There was nothing left to keep from them.
Dom chose to quickly look around the room they had wandered into. His eyes rested on a rather large gray book on the shelf. It seemed a bit out of place compared to the other books around it. While they all remained extremely dusty, as if not touched for centuries, this book seemed as though someone had taken it out and looked at it sometime soon.
Dom traveled towards it and casually took the heavy book out of place. Staring at the cover, he learned that it was a photo album. With a quick pace through it, Dom saw many people he never knew. There faces were all the same, unfamiliar and sad. They looked as though their souls were smothered in torment. Going back further in the book, only one picture caught his eye. He took a glance at it and then looked back up. Shaking his head in disbelief, he looked back down.
It was inconceivable. There was a picture of his sister and Elijah. Except, it wasn't. The style of the picture, and how they were dressed resembled something from years ago. Dom snapped back up and saw his sister snug in an embrace with Elijah over in the corner. It was all starting to click. Yet his brain wouldn't allow it.
Shuffling to the next page, he found more picture of what looked to be like his sister. There were several pictures of her and Elijah. They seemed so happy. The pictures radiated with happiness unlike all the others. As he flipped to the next page, the joyous pictures seemed to end. They were still of Kariss, but no longer was Elijah in them. Instead there was another man.
He seemed cold and ruthless. There was something about his eyes that just rubbed Dom the wrong way. They were icy, evil, and black looking. As Dom leaned in closer to get a closer look, the man in the picture blinked. Startled, Dom dropped the book causing everyone to look over to him.
Not wanting to cause panic or dismay, he grunted smoothly, picked up the book, and put it back on it's place on the shelf. As he did so, he knocked over a lamp on the shelf. Instantly, the bookshelf shifted to the left about three feet, opening a secret passage way.
The group gasped and cautiously walked towards it. All that could be seen was pitch black. "Should we go in?" Cloè asked. Kariss walked straight in front of the black hole, stared straight into it, and without another word, took a step in.
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Chapter 17
