Shared Story - Chapters 11 and 12

"I had the strangest dream," said Christina as Jayme leds her out of the cab. "You've been through so much in the past weeks, I'mnot surprised that your dreams are strange. You need to rest." Christina followed Jayme into a grand hotel. The lobby was ornate, sparkling with gold. Christina's rubber soles squeaked audibly on the polished marble floors. "This wasn't just a dream, Jayme, this was like a vision: each detail so vivid as if someone had planted the dream in order to lead me to something." Jayme looked at Christina with concern. "You're too wrapped up in this. You were chosen as the next person in line to decipher the Key to Peace for a reason. But we need you to be lucid, to concentrate and not get sidetracked by some delirious dream." Christina was visibly hurt by Jayme's words. She wanted to trust him, wanted to trust anyone. He was right, she was traumatized, but something inside her was telling Christina that there was more to the dream than just delirium. Jayme handed Christina the key to her room. "Take the elevator the fifth floor. You're in room 505. You'll find some clean clothes and everything you need to get freshened up. Then I want you to take a long nap. When you wake, whatever time is it, call me on this number." Jayme handed Christina a white card with a number and no name. "And what will you do while I'm sleeping?" "I'll be at the Bureau trying to figure out who stole the book and why. It is imperative that it doesn't fall into the wrong hands." In her room, Christina washed her face and then got into bed. The sheets were soft and luxurious, not like any hotel sheets she'd ever slept on before. She fell asleep wondering how much money the Bureau had and why they would choose to put her up in such a swanky hotel. And then the dream began again. She was back in the cave and the people around her were still speaking in a foreign tongue, but this time she understood every word. They were talking about the book. The eldest man, whom everyone else seemed to defer to, was speaking gravely, "The Sylonians can not hold on to the book for much longer. Its power -- the strength that emanates from its pages -- will slowly drive them mad. For whoever holds onto the book and has evil in their hearts can never remain sane long enough to carry out the harm they intend." A man much younger with blinding green eyes who sat to the left of the elder said, "But we don't know how much of the Key's legend is really true. The stories that have been passed down regarding the book's powers may be nothing more than stories. It is entirely possible that the Sylonians will hold onto the book without any effect on their state of mind." The elder answered him by saying, "That is why she has to find them quickly and retrieve the book." In a flash of brilliant celadon light, the elder twirled up the fire with his hand and an image, at first smoky and then quite vivid, appeared in the space between him and the younger man with the green eyes. Christina could see a long mirrored corridor. Men and women lined the corridor guarding what appears to be a myriad of entrances. At the end was a window. Through the window Christina saw a city and as the image enlarged, she realized that what she saw was Paris with its golden bridges and then in the distance the Eiffel Tower. The image disappeared into a plume of smoke and the elder bowed his head and says "We have done what we can." Christina woke up and bolted upright in the princely bed. Without hesitation she reached for the card on the bedside table and dialed the number. "Is this Jayme?" "Christina? That wasn't a very long rest." "It was long enough. We have to go to Paris. I know where the book is."

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