"Drink," someone said. Isabella heard a glass shatter on the floor.

"OUCH!" a different voice wailed. Xander? That was Xander.

"Be careful, idiot," Micah’s voice said.

"Izzy’s the one who whacked the glass away."

Isabella blinked several times. "Did I pass out again?" The theater. They were in the theater, and she found herself sitting up on the dry blood red carpeting between the trap door and the stage.

"Yes," said Seth to her right. Micah was at her left. Cleo’s face loomed right in front of her, and Xander sat in a chair in the first row of the aisles, hunched over in a huff. Isabella pushed herself to her feet. Her head, chest, eyes, ears and stomach all throbbed. It was as if her entire body cavity had been invaded by whatever it was back there. "We have to find him."

“Woah,” said Seth, helping her up. “Slow down.” Too groggy to retort, Isabella let him lead her to a seat next to Xander. “Who are you talking about?”

“The lost heir,” said Isabella. “Unless you guys found Theophilus.”

Xander slurped loudly on a soda as Cleo shook her head at him and cleaned up the broken glass. Xander looked at Isabella. "Do you want some?" he offered his cup to her, but she held up her hand. 

"There's a bottle of water in my bag," said Cleo. Xander got up to get the bag and handed it to his sister. He seemed to know the never go in a woman's purse even if she is your almost fifteen-year-old twin sister rule.

“Here,” said Cleo, handing Isabella a bottle of water. 

Isabella uncapped it gulped the liquid down gratefully. “Thanks,” she said, relieved.

"The cops are still everywhere,” Micah supplied, sitting down on her other side. His voice lulled her head to his shoulder. Seth and Cleo pulled up two chairs like the ones they used in rehearsal and sat in front of her.

"Why aren’t they in here harassing us then?” Isabella asked, yawning.

"We told them you’d freak out if you saw any of them. They’re right outside. We’re sorry. We know you wanted to stay away from them," said Micah. "We said we called the hotel nurse."

"We don't have a hotel nurse." Isabella peered over her right shoulder toward the closest window, spotting the flock of dark blue.

"I think they’re gonna put us in temporary foster care or something,” said Micah.

Isabella bolted upright from Micah’s shoulder. "What? Can’t we stay with someone we know?"

Micah shrugged. Seth stared at the door where the police were. He wouldn’t look at her. Micah and Xander looked dejected. Cleo looked angry. Great. How the heck had this happened? One minute she was in the hallway then all of a sudden she was in the middle of the theater and her life was being destroyed in yet another way. She was not going to let that happen. What was family if not this hotel? If not her legacy? Ghosts and all. The voice told her to go underground and that was where they were going to go.

"I, for one, refuse to step foot out of this hotel," said Cleo. Well, she had half of Isabella’s plan right.

"Did you tell them what happened?" Isabella asked.

“About what?” asked Cleo.

“About seeing your parents down in that secret room? My grandmother,” she said irritated. She thought Cleo was supposed to be the smart one.

Cleo and Seth shared looks of confusion. “We didn’t see anyone in there,” said Cleo.

“But there was a blackout, and you fell twice," said Seth. "The first time, I fell too. It was in the room. The second time you collapsed and went into this trance in the hallway. We didn’t see anyone though.”

“That’s crazy,” said Isabella. “Yes, you did. You were banging on the glass,” she said to Seth. “And you were crying," she said to Cleo.

“You probably dreamed it,” Cleo replied.

Isabella shook her head. “The room started collapsing right after it happened.”

“The room did start to close in, that’s true,” said Seth. “That’s when we all ran. Just before you fell again in the hallway.”

“Ugh! Fine. Let’s just get out of here.”

"Even though we’re surrounded by police?" said Seth. “Maybe we should just go talk to them.”

"I don’t think so, Seth," Isabella said, leaning forward, hands folded in front of her.

"I don’t like idea either. I just have no idea whatelse we can do."

"We can’t let them separate us,” said Micah definitively.

“You know your brother’s right,” Isabella said directly to Seth. "And I’m not going to foster care, so what do you suggest we do?"

Seth shrugged. "I was hoping you could help with that."

Isabella looked confused.

"We were all hoping," Micah added.

"Theophilus is out there," Seth said, lifting his eyebrows and folding his arms across his chest.

"What?" Isabella nearly shouted, sitting up straighter. “Why didn’t you tell me?"

"They’re holding him for questioning," Seth explained.

Isabella sighed. That made sense. He’d been with their parents before they disappeared. Theophilus had to know what was going on and what her visions meant. Maybe they hadn’t been real. But maybe the messages were real. The voice in the hallway was certainly real. She felt it hot in her veins.

"Of course, I’ll talk to Theophilus, but we have get him away from the cops without them taking us into foster care."

"How are we going to do that?" asked Micah.

"Just follow my lead," said Isabella.

"You do remember that you just fainted," Seth reminded Isabella as they followed her rung by rung up a weak ladder en route to the projection room.

"It’ll be fine. I’m sure you’ll just catch her if she falls." Micah teased his brother.

Seth’s foot slipped on the third rung. "What the heck is that supposed to mean?" he asked, regaining his balance.

"Can we just focus on getting to Theophilus, please?"  Isabella figured that they could get his attention discreetly from a spot the cops would not suspect, but that Theophilus would be attuned to, since he used to run the projection room in the old days. Unfortunately, when they got there, they saw Theophilus being put into handcuffs.

"Why are they arresting him?" Micah said in disbelief.

"He’s obviously a suspect," said Isabella, swallowing thickly as she touched her charm through the material of her shirt. She saw a small figure moving through the fray of police. "Did you guys just see that kid?"

"What kid?" asked Seth.

"There he is again." The little black-haired figure turned around, pinning her with his eyes. Isabella’s nose twitched as his gaze bore into her. "Pythian," she whispered. A small smile touched his lips, and then he was gone.

"Who did you see, Izzy?" Xander asked with concern in his voice.

Was Pythian even real? All of the things she was seeing made her question her sanity more than ever in a way, but then in another way, knowing that the Empath Society was real, she knew there was more to it all. She couldn’t be crazy. It was all connected.

"No one important. Come on. There’s only one choice we have left. We have to go underground. Now."

The others nodded.

Isabella knew they had to get down to her Renee and Sinclair’s speakeasy room. “Seth, that room, remember?” she asked, referring to their conversation in the Light Council's lair when she discovered the painting of Renee and Sinclair's speakeasy. "We should go there."

Micah’s eyes went wide. “What room are you talking about? Please tell me it's not the one I'm thinking.”

Getting to Theophilus would be impossible now, and she knew they had to find the lost heir. How he could help them she wasn’t sure, but her grandmother had said to find him. Theophilus wanted to find him, and she wanted to find him. There was something pulling her to do it. He had to be the answer.

The five teenagers dipped back into the trap door without anyone seeing them, and headed down the corridor, hoping to retrace the steps Isabella and Micah had taken several nights earlier. Finally, they came to a small set of stairs near an old boiler. They walked down the steps and came to the tall arched door she'd the other night. She had the key with her, didn't she? She looked at the door but there was knob to insert a key. "A key went in here before, but now there's nothing."

“You know how badly, I don’t want to be here right now, don’t you?” Micah asked, his voice thin.

“It’s okay,” said Cleo. “We have each other at least.”

"How are we supposed to get in?" asked Seth, stepping up beside her. "I thought you had a plan."

"See the symbol again," Micah said, tracing his finger over the intricate design.

"That's the Empath Society symbol we think," said Cleo.

About ten seconds after Micah touched it, a soothing voice came over a loudspeaker. 

The woman’s voice asked, "What travels alone but is never alone? What leads and follows but only in the light?"

"It didn't do that before," said Micah. "I think we're supposed to give her an answer."

"What is this, Hogwarts?” Cleo joked.

"Shh!" Isabella played the riddle over in her head for a moment.

"Okay," Cleo said seriously, patting Micah's shoulder. "What did she say again?"

"I don't know,” Micah replied.

"The answer is a shadow, you guys," said Isabella finally. She took in their expressions of surprise. "I'm good at stuff like that. It's no big deal."

One door opened, which led to another, this one heavy and iron, but instantly opened upon Isabella's touch.

They stepped inside and light filled the room. Before their eyes loomed the replica Victorian library that she and Micah had discovered days before.

"Wow, this is it?" Seth muttered as he followed closely behind the group. Isabella looked around and saw that things hadn’t changed much since she had last been there.

“Maybe we can find something in here that will give us some answers," said Cleo.

Seth climbed onto one of the sofas and threw his feet onto an ottoman. "You two were cozying up in here and didn't invite me along?"

“We didn’t get invited either!” chirped Cleo and Xander in unison.

"We did invite you, but you were busy," Isabella reminded him. "Flirting with..." Isabella lifted her eyebrows and looked at Cleo who blushed.

"If there's anyone he flirts with in this room, it's not me," Cleo retorted.

"Oh, brother," Micah groaned. 

"What?" asked Xander.

"Everyone's always in love with my brother."

"I don't see why," said Isabella. She caught the wounded expression on Seth's face and would have said sorry if she didn't feel too embarassed to do so. Maybe he needed his ego deflated a bit anyway for Micah's sake.  Still, she felt a little badly. The room went quiet for a while, so she spoke up again. "They won’t find us here. We’ll just hide out," she said, stating the obvious before looking around the room again. “That’s weird," she said mainly to herself as she noticed the tables and poker table that were present during their last visit were no longer there.

Almost suddenly, music started to blast through the speakers, and the tables began to emerge through panels in the floor. Cleo and Xander stepped back in shock, as Seth sat upright on the couch, in awe. “Oh, there they are," said Micah.

"Look at that poker table! This place looks so cool. I am never leaving," declared Xander.

"Yeah, but what about food?" Micah complained.

"We’ll figure it out. Maybe we can take the elevator up to my apartment’s kitchen and grab some. We just have to make sure the police aren’t in there looking for us."

Micah shrugged. "Do we really have to wait?” Seth glanced at him and nodded.

"You’ll get used to it," Cleo said, resting a hand on his shoulder, causing Micah to turn a little red.

"We need to find out how to get to the Empath Society. I know there’s more to it, but I really don’t want to think about it right now," said Isabella wearily.

"Okay then, how about this for a topic of conversation?" Micah said. "Where exactly do we sleep?"

The soothing voice Isabella and Micah heard the last time they’d been there said, "Sleep. To sleep is to rest. To rest is to realize, and in life, realization comes with the plenty. Knock three times on the shelf of knowledge and you shall lay your head upon a pillow. Good rest, everyone."

"Where do we knock?" asked Micah, looking confused.

"I’m not tired," said Xander, examining the maps on the wall.

"I think the bookcase," said Cleo. "The shelf of knowledge, right?"

Isabella went to the largest bookcase in the room and wrapped on it three times. "It’s not doing anything," she said, shrugging. "Wait a minute. Look." Across the room sat a wooden owl atop a small table.

Seth went over to it. "It’s got a graduation cap on."

"I think that’s called a mortar board, but whatever, that must be it," said Cleo. "You’re brilliant, Izzy."

Isabella shrugged, smiling. "Not as brilliant as you, but thanks, Cleo."

"Well, who could be?" Cleo laughed.

Seth shook his head, muttering "girls" as he knocked on the owl’s mortar board one, two, three times. Xander’s attention shifted from the maps. Then, the tables and poker table started to sink into the floor, as four panels from different spots in the room opened and deposited four queen-size beds. Dust puffed out of their sheets, and a cool mist surrounded the beds, followed by a dry, whirling air.

"Killer!"

"This sucks!" Cleo declared, folding her arms.

"Unfair! The girls have to share," said Isabella, noting the amount of uneven beds.

"No, it’s okay," said Xander. "I can sleep with my sister. She is my twin."

"Xander, we haven’t shared a bed since we were eight."

"Get over it, Cleo."

"Oh, whatever. I’ll sleep on the couch," said Seth.

"You don’t have to do that," said Cleo.

"Forget it. I’ve slept in worse places."

Micah shrugged. "He likes camping, so it’s not a big deal for him."

"Okay then, it’s settled."

"Lights out everyone," said Micah, climbing into his bed and snuggling into his pillow.

"I hope that song and dance means that these things are clean," said Cleo.

Clean sheets were the last thing on Isabella’s mind. As she lay in bed, she worried her lip. That vision she'd seen tore at her mind. She knew it wasn't real, but it had been so horrifying. And now they were alone without a plan of what to do next. Go underground. They were underground, but she had a feeling that this wasn't it. There had to be more to it than this. She flipped over on her pillow. There was a whole society of people somewhere she could not see. It was probably where the lost heir was. Maybe there she could find out more about who she was there. But was that so important? Why had Theophilus been arrested, for example? Had a crime really been committed? And Pythian. He had been there. It hadn't been her imagination. She could feel it. But did he matter at all? Of course, he did. The vault, the fire, poor Uncle Robert suddenly in the hospital, everyone gone, her visions and the messages. Everything was just a bunch of pieces to one big puzzle. And she was good at those, wasn't she? She just had to figure out how to solve it and make everything all right again. She played with the puzzle pieces in her mind for a long time until darkness engulfed her and sleep began.