One Great Year (44 page)

“I can be pretty persuasive, and parents will almost always do the right thing when they fear for the safety of their children. Look at all of the parents in World War II who put their children on trains to England unaccompanied. Anyway, we can take the parents along, because there's plenty of space and provisions.”

“South America?”

“South America. Wait till you see the set-up down there—luxury. It's going to blow your skull. Spared no expense. Everything's under control.”

“So tell me again why you need me?” Marcus said, shaking his head in awe.

“You're an Emissary. Having memory makes you even more … useful. And let's not forget, you have a lot of influence with Theron.”

Quinn snorted doubtfully. “I can't believe her stupid blog put them all in danger. Shit! It was my bloody idea too. Who would hurt a bunch of innocent kids?” he said angrily.

Just as the words were spoken, his mind flashed to the brutal dark rite in the cavern so long ago. He remembered clearly the night when Helghul had been entered by the dark entity. He had often had vivid dreams of the screaming younglings as they were smashed and beaten against the walls of the cave. For nearly thirteen thousand years, the memory had haunted and tortured Marcus. He had relived it countless times. He knew he must get to Theron and gather the children immediately. None of them were safe.

“Wait until Eden finds out that the famous ‘Seducer-Producer' has stepped up to fund her movie project and a school,” Grey Elder said, smiling and speaking of himself in the third person.

“Unbelievable,” Quinn said, as they finally entered the private hangar, where he could see no less than six jets with Zahn's company logo emblazoned on the side. “Thank you,” he said, making eye contact and stretching out a hand to shake as they stopped.

“Il destino, Marcus,” Zahn said, accepting the hand and clapping him familiarly on the back.

“Can I get you anything, sir?” the blonde flight attendant asked Quinn, her buttons straining against her tight-fitting uniform, her cleavage spilling out the top. He ordered a martini, shaken not stirred, and chuckled to himself while he watched her walk the length of the private jet with a sexy sway.

Quinn's rumpled shirt and scruffy jeans were out of place in the sleek surroundings, but he didn't notice. He was just glad to be in the air, one step closer to Theron and to gathering the Emissaries to safety. He had sent only one cryptic email telling her he was on his way and to stay inside her hotel and off of the Internet until he arrived.

He turned to Zahn. “Nate's a buddy of mine. We've run into each other more than once over these centuries, though of course he doesn't have a clue. He's a huge fan of yours,” Quinn said.

“An Emissary?” Grey Elder asked hopefully.

“No, just a very good soul.”

“That's all right, we need all the help we can get,” Grey Elder said seriously.

Quinn was excited that his lengthy journey was finally coming to an end. “I can't believe you've done all this. It's too good to be true.”

Clunk. Quinn regretted saying the words. He didn't want to hear them. Old proverbs were full of true wisdom, and Marcus had learned lifetimes before that when something seemed too good to be true, it always was.

“I saw you together,” Zahn said, smiling a flawless, white grin and distracting Quinn from the paranoia that prickled deep in his brain. “You and Aristotle … I saw you. I was happy to see you'd found Theron.”

“I'm never complete without her,” Quinn replied. And his internal voice reminded him that he never
was
without her—that all are One—but he brushed the reminder aside. He wanted Eden both spiritually and physically.

While they traveled, Zahn explained the coming expedition. “There are other Emissaries already in South America, but so far they don't understand their full purpose in this lifetime. They've all been led there under the guise of research and preservation. Only I know their true mission.”

All Quinn could think about was his approaching reunion with Theron. He worried that something would prevent them from being together and caught himself. The world was in such a difficult time, and the Crystal Children were in danger. Could he really be thinking about himself at a time like this? He chastised himself for his inadequacy.

Marcus wondered again if he was ever meant to be an Emissary at all. Perhaps he should have been weeded out. If not for Theron urging him to make haste for the boats, he would likely have died in Atitala like so many others. It occurred to him that he was no better, no more worthy than the dark, self-serving, self-centered people he was supposed to be leading to the Light, and he shook his head.

Zahn watched Quinn as he silently squirmed, bearing the weight of his self-recrimination. Quinn's aura was dark violet and brooding, and he was forgetting his divinity and his connection to the Source. Grey Elder had found Quinn in a worse state than he had expected. He was truly an example of the human condition. Despite his absolute certain knowledge that he was spirit and was One with the Universe, he doubted himself and felt a sense of guilty responsibility. He felt a need to be the perfect Emissary and to do … more.

Zahn flipped open his cellphone and made calls to proceed with the next steps of their mission as planned. The wheels were in motion.

“You're early,” Nate said, as Quinn called up to Eden's room from the hotel lobby.

Not the warm welcome Quinn had hoped for. Nate had held tightly onto his grudge. “Lucky to be here at all,” Quinn replied, hoping for more.

“Three-three-three,” Nate said, clicking off without another word. He was not happy Quinn was joining them. The cameraman hadn't made the progress with Eden that he had hoped to. At times she had seemed receptive, but then she would retreat from him. He couldn't be sure, but he suspected that if it weren't for Quinn, she would have been his.

The door was cracked when Quinn and Zahn arrived.

“Hello?” Quinn called out, pushing it wider.

“Hey,” Nate said from the sofa where he sat typing, his laptop on his knee.

Zahn was surprised to see that Nate hadn't even raised his head.

“Is that all the welcome I get?” Quinn asked, stung by his buddy's coldness. Nate had only perfunctorily responded to Quinn's many emails, but Max hadn't expected this. “I … wanna introduce our new benefactor,” Quinn said.

Nate looked up in confusion. “Holy shit! The Seducer-Producer!” Nate said, jumping up and dropping his computer to the carpet with a crunch.

“I prefer Zahn, or Ozzie, thanks,” Zahn said, shaking Nate's hand and genially bending to pick up Nate's notebook from the floor.

“Holy shit!” Nate repeated, looking at Quinn.

“Yeah, you said that, close your mouth, man,” Quinn said, embracing him and giving him a strong clap on the back, trying to infuse Nate with the camaraderie and closeness that he felt for him.

“Where's Eden?” Quinn asked, looking around the room eagerly.

“Market,” Nate said smugly, aware that Quinn had, without explanation, instructed her not to leave the hotel. Eden was not good at taking orders, and she had stalked about the small room, thoroughly annoyed, before marching to the market as she had planned before receiving the puzzling email. Nate was happy she hadn't returned yet.

“I got good news, buddy. Zahn's on board for the whole package: distribution, marketing, everything. We have to get the message of the Crystal Children out to the world,” said Quinn.

“Why? What do you get out of it?” Nate asked shrewdly, turning to Zahn.

Quinn was surprised by his friend's rudeness, but Zahn answered, unperturbed. “Fair question. The answer is … nothing. There's not a thing in it for me.”

“Publicity,” Nate guessed, his head tilted suspiciously.

“I've got enough of that, thanks,” Zahn said, winking and chuckling as he walked toward the window and looked out at the honking traffic madness below.

“Too good to be true,” Nate whispered to Quinn, not wanting Zahn to hear. He was wary of the patron's motives, but he didn't want to piss him off either.

“Trust me, Nate, he's one of the good guys. There's more … he's made it possible to have a school, to gather the Crystal Children together.”

“What? Like summer camp for super-kids or something?” Nate clarified.

“Yeah, something like that,” Zahn said, joining the conversation. “Listen, I'm going to give you guys some privacy and time to … reconnect. We can meet up later. Nice meeting you, Nate.”

“Yeah, cool,” Nate said, clearly awestruck, shaking the handsome mogul's hand. “Oh, man, I can't wait to tell Eden, she is going to be blown away!” Nate exclaimed, as the door closed.

“Yeah, I can't wait to see her face. Why isn't she here?” Quinn asked.

“How did this happen?” Nate asked, ignoring the question.

“He's an old friend, and he found me right when we need him most,” Quinn said, twisting the truth.

“I can't believe you never mentioned him. Anyone else would have mentioned being friends with Oswald Zahn, at least once in three years!”

“It didn't matter until now,” Quinn said simply.
I didn't know until now!
he thought, more accurately.

“I'm a DOP, man! My life is film. It never occurred to you that the Seducer-Producer would be a good contact for me?”

“Well, I haven't seen him in a very long time … it's a long story.”

“Hey, forget it, dude. No worries. Eden'll be back soon, so why don't you head to
your
room and clean up, and I'll tell her you're here,” Nate said bitterly.

“Sorry, Nate,” Quinn said sincerely, but his friend did not respond. He simply turned his attention back to the screen once again perched on his knee. Perhaps he hadn't heard. “Zahn's rented us a room up the street at the Empire,” Quinn tried.

“I prefer the sofa here. I've gotten used to Eden and Elijah's company.”

“They should come too. It's not just for me. Zahn wants us all there.”

“Well, I'm sure he's used to getting what he wants.”

“Nate. You're going to have to drop this bitter, competitive thing. We're lucky to have him. He's bigger than friggin' Oprah.”

“I know perfectly well how big Zahn is, thanks,” Nate snapped.

For the first time in many years, Quinn felt a bubbling anger inside himself. He wanted to smack the sarcastic guide across the back of the head. “Smarten up!” Quinn's own father would have quipped irritably in the same circumstances. What had happened to his pal, Amnut? To easygoing Nate? Quinn wanted to mend the gap between them but was unsure how to pacify his friend without promising to deny his love for Theron. That was something he would never do.

“Can we go find Eden?” Quinn said, choosing to ignore his friend's dismissive attitude.

“Naw, no point, we'd never find her in the total chaos of the marketplace. She'd end up back here waiting for us, while we wander around like a couple of tourists.”

“We are a couple of tourists,” Quinn replied and, as he hoped, Nate cracked a smile.
It might be okay after all
, Quinn thought.

Quinn's cellphone rang. It was Zahn.

“I've got bad news. An Emissary in Lyon was killed last night. She was one of the Crystal Children,” Zahn informed.

“In Lyon? How?” Quinn said, his stomach clenching.

“They know it wasn't an accident, that's all they're saying.”

“Was it the girl who wrote in different languages? Anjolie?” Quinn asked.

“That's the one,” Zahn confirmed.

“Shit, Eden just interviewed her. I'll let her know,” Quinn said sadly.

“My planes are waiting. We have to move those kids,” Zahn said urgently. “You and Eden have to convince their parents before there are any more victims.”

“We can do it. It's ‘summer camp for super-kids' hosted by Oswald Zahn. No one will pass that up,” Quinn said, using Nate's words, and the younger man winced behind him.

“You get Eden and the kids organized, and I'll have the transports waiting where we need them. Oh, and Quinn! You can't tell them where they're going! It has to be a secret. If that information gets out, they won't be safe anywhere.”

“I may need you, I mean, your face, your influence, to get everyone on board,” Quinn said.

“Way ahead of you. Our website explains everything and touts the school as the ultimate learning experience. It shows the luxury, the comfort. It doesn't divulge the location, but they'll understand the need for secrecy when
you
explain the threat. You have to tell them they're in danger. Their fear will move them. We'll board my plane in two days and head to South America. We have to get Theron and the other Emissaries to safety.”