I’m barely halfway over when a black SUV screeches to a halt in front of me and a suited man in dark glasses clambers out. His intimidating bulk unsettles me almost as much as the Watchers. I recognize him as Agent Haze, the heavyset, square-jawed FBI agent who turned up at the airport. Behind the wheel sits his partner, her cold gaze fixed upon me.

  ‘Stay where you are!’ orders Agent Haze as he strides towards me, hand outstretched.

  I glance around desperately. From all sides the Watchers are closing in, cutting off any hope of escape. I dash down the road and the agent immediately gives chase. My breathing ragged and my heart pounding, I realize I’ve no chance of outrunning him, so in an attempt to lose him, as well as the Watchers, I cut a sharp right into an alleyway … and come face to face with the spiky-haired girl with the nose ring, the girl who’d tried to push me under a taxi at the airport. The dying rays of the sun are reflected in her round mirrored glasses. She greets me with a lopsided smile that does nothing to ease my frayed nerves. A sleek silver car parked behind her blocks the alley’s exit. I turn to go back the other way, but the FBI agent has already caught up with me.

  I’m trapped!

  16

  ‘It’s time to stop running, Genna,’ says Agent Haze, entering the alley and advancing on me.

  I back away, remembering that Hans told me to never stop running.

  The agent’s hand goes for his gun as I turn from him to escape the other way. The blond-haired girl pulls out her own gun – a Taser – then aims and fires. The Taser’s darts whizz past, missing me by a fraction, and hit the FBI agent in the chest. He convulses and collapses to the ground, his muscles immobilized by the electric shock.

  ‘Quick! Get in!’ orders the girl, opening the door to the silver car. ‘We’ve got about thirty seconds before he recovers.’

  I hesitate, dumbstruck. Do I trust this girl? One moment she’s trying to kill me, the next apparently to save me. ‘D-did Rose send you?’ I stutter.

  ‘Who’s Rose?’ she demands impatiently. Before I can answer, the Watchers start clustering at the alley entrance. ‘Come on!’ the girl urges.

  The FBI agent is already coming back to his senses and I know I’ve got no choice. It might be a leap from the frying pan into the fire, but I jump into the strange girl’s car. She limps round to the driver’s side and climbs in behind the wheel. I throw her a dubious look. ‘Can you drive?’ I ask, suspecting she’s not much older than me.

  ‘Don’t need to,’ she replies, pressing the ignition button. The car boots up, its display screen flashes into life, and the electric engine, silent as a whisper, reverses us sharply out of the alley without the girl doing anything else.

  However, the car’s auto-drive isn’t perfect. There’s a blare of a horn and the screech of brakes as we almost collide with another vehicle. Through the front windscreen I spot Rose in a 1960s pink Cadillac, her shocked face almost as white as her permed hair. We stare at each other a moment, exchanging a brief look of recognition, before my car starts to pull away.

  At the same time the tasered FBI agent lurches out of the alley and lunges at my door. I flinch away in fright as he hammers furiously on the window, but when he yanks on the door handle he roars in pain, letting go of the handle as if the car is on fire.

  ‘Anti-theft device,’ explains the spiky-haired girl with a smirk. ‘Electro-stun door handles.’

  The self-drive car accelerates away, leaving the frazzled agent behind. As it navigates itself through LA’s back streets, nimbly avoiding the traffic, I stare silently, and equally stunned, at my rescuer. Reclining in her seat, her feet on the dashboard, she nonchalantly reloads her Taser.

  The girl glances sidelong at me. ‘So? You going to thank me or not?’

  ‘For what?’ I reply, bemused and angry. ‘Pushing me in front of that taxi at the airport? Or abducting me from the street?’

  ‘Hey! I can drop you off right now if that’s your attitude!’ she replies testily. ‘But you won’t last the night.’

  ‘I almost didn’t last the day, thanks to you,’ I point out. ‘Why did you try to kill me?’

  The girl snorts. ‘Kill you? If I wanted to do that, I could’ve just left you standing there.’

  ‘What do you mean?’ I ask.

  She shakes her head in disbelief. Then in a slow deliberate voice, as if talking to an idiot, she explains, ‘That guy with the gold tooth was distracting you in order that a Soul Hunter could run you over and capture you.’ Wincing, she massages her leg. ‘I kinda wish I’d let him do it now. Would’ve worked out far less painful for me!’

  I sit bolt upright in my seat. ‘You know about Soul Hunters? Who are you?’ I demand.

  ‘Name’s Jude,’ she replies, as she lowers her mirrored glasses to reveal eyes as starlit blue as Phoenix’s.

  ‘Oh! You’re a Soul Protector?’ I gasp.

  Jude shakes her head. ‘Not quite … I’m a Soul Warrior.’

  I frown. ‘What’s the difference?’

  ‘A Soul Warrior is a former Protector who no longer has an assigned First Ascendant to guard.’ She offers me a thin strained smile. ‘We’re a bit like ronin – wandering samurai without a lord to protect.’

  ‘So there are female Protectors too …’ I remark, viewing my rescuer in a different light.

  Jude gives me a look. ‘Are you stuck in the eighteenth century? Female Soul Protectors are often the best bet for a First Ascendant’s survival. We blend in more easily than male Protectors.’

  ‘If that’s the case,’ I say as the car pulls on to the Santa Monica Freeway and merges seamlessly with the traffic, ‘may I ask what happened to your First Ascendant?’

  Jude turns her attention to the road, even though she’s not driving. ‘What’s it to you? It’s all in the past,’ she mutters. ‘Besides, I saved you, didn’t I?’

  ‘I guess so,’ I say, her waspish reply warning me off the topic. ‘I’m Genna, by the way.’ Then I ask, ‘What were you doing at the airport – and how did you know to find me on Venice Beach?’

  ‘The shuttle bus only has five main stops. That was a simple process of elimination,’ Jude explains. ‘Plus, I’ve got a police scanner tuned into FBI frequencies loaded on to the system.’ She taps the car’s tablet screen and pulls up an app that looks like an old CB radio receiver. ‘They located your mobile signal –’ she stares at me from behind her glasses – ‘so please tell me you’ve dumped the phone.’

  With a sheepish look, I fish my mobile out of my bag.

  Jude scowls at me. ‘How have you ever survived this far on your own?’ She snatches the phone from my grasp, opens her window and tosses it out.

  ‘But I need to call Rose,’ I protest as I watch it clatter across the freeway. ‘Let her know I’m OK …’ My voice trails away as a truck drives straight over the mobile, destroying it for good. I feel I’m losing all control over my own destiny. I had a plan – albeit a thin one – and now it’s literally been thrown out of the window.

  Once more I find my fate is in the hands of a total stranger.

  A woman’s voice crackles through the car’s speakers. ‘Attention all units, be on the lookout for a silver Tesla XR, heading east out of Venice Beach. Licence plate 8TRR943.’

  ‘We’d best not hang around,’ says Jude grimly, tapping an icon on the screen to override the car’s speed limiter. The vehicle accelerates away.

  ‘You still haven’t explained what you were doing at the airport,’ I say, gripping slightly tighter to my seat as we dart through gaps in the traffic at breakneck speed.

  ‘Sometimes, as a Soul Warrior, you just get a sense you’re needed somewhere,’ she replies, reclining her own seat and lacing her fingers behind her head, apparently at ease with the Tesla’s manic auto-drive. ‘It wasn’t until I bumped into you that I knew why.’

  I glance at her, my spirits lifting on hearing it was no coincidence that our paths crossed. Yet I’m also struck by a pang of disappointment. If Jude was drawn to the airport, then why wasn’t Phoenix?

  ‘Being a Soul Warrior,’ I say, ‘does that mean you know my Protector, Phoenix?’

  An enigmatic smile briefly crosses her lips. ‘I may have in former lives.’

  Leaning forward, I ask hopefully, ‘Do you know where he is now?’

  ‘I’m not his babysitter!’ she replies tartly. Then, seeing my crestfallen look, she adds, ‘But Caleb should know.’

  ‘Who’s Caleb?’

  ‘A Soul Seer.’

  I immediately tense. ‘No thanks,’ I say. ‘My last experience with a Soul Seer was almost fatal.’

  Jude raises an eyebrow in question and I explain my deadly encounter with Tanas when he was impersonating the priest Gabriel.

  ‘You don’t have to worry,’ Jude assures me. ‘Caleb’s the real deal. He’s more connected to the Upper Realms and the past lives of others than any Soul Seer I’ve met before. He can offer you protection as well as guidance. For now, though, I’d recommend getting some rest.’

  Jude closes her eyes and settles back as the car zips on to the San Bernardino Freeway and continues to head east.

  Realizing I’ve no choice but to put my trust in this spiky-haired Soul Warrior, I gaze out of the windscreen at the haze of mountains in the distance. ‘So where are we going?’ I ask.

  ‘Out of the city,’ she replies. ‘You saw how many Watchers are here. LA is literally swarming with Tanas’s followers.’

  17

  As dusk begins to fall and my jet lag catches up with me, I struggle to keep my eyes open. Jude is already dozing, her Taser resting in her lap, her bare feet on the dashboard. Having left the sprawl of Los Angeles far behind, we continue to head east on autopilot, passing through the San Gabriel mountain range. With the thrum of the wheels on the highway lulling me to sleep, my thoughts drift …

  ‘Phoenix, you have visitors,’ announces the nurse as she unlocks the door and enters.

  My gaze shifts groggily from the TV screen flickering in the corner of my tiny cell-like room to two figures in tailored suits and dark sunglasses. For a moment I fear they’re Hunters. But I know that’s impossible. Tanas is dead in this life. I stare vacantly at them, struggling to focus on their faces. But I don’t recognize either of them, nor do I much care.

  ‘I’m Agent Lin,’ introduces the slim, dark-haired woman, flashing her badge. FBI. I guess that explains the sunglasses. ‘And this is Agent Haze.’ The stony-faced, heavyset man gives a curt nod in greeting.

  I feel far too lethargic to respond. Quickly losing interest, I return my attention to the TV. A repeat of The Simpsons. It’s about all I can manage.

  I hear the nurse talking in a soft, apologetic whisper. ‘The poor boy experiences vivid hallucinations,’ she explains. ‘He believes he’s had multiple past lives, that he’s a protector for some girl or other. He’s tried to escape on a number of occasions. So, for his own good, we’ve had to sedate him.’

  ‘Uh-huh, that’s quite understandable,’ Agent Lin replies. ‘Will you give us a moment with him?’

  The young nurse hesitates. ‘Erm … I’m not supposed to leave you alone with the patient,’ she replies.

  ‘You needn’t worry,’ says Agent Haze with a reassuring smile as he guides her towards the door. ‘We’re trained professionals, like yourself. In fact, it’s better if you give us some space to do our job. I’m sure you understand.’

  ‘Of course …’ says the nurse, reluctantly retreating from the room. ‘But for the patient’s well-being I need to limit your visit to ten minutes.’

  ‘Sure, that’s all the time we’ll need,’ says Agent Haze. As soon as he closes the door, I see him lean his ample bulk against the frame and the smile drop from his face. Even in my doped state, I sense something’s wrong. I try to will myself to move, but my limbs fail to respond and I can only lie limp and listless on my narrow bed.

  Switching off the TV, Agent Lin pulls out the plastic chair from under my small wooden desk, sits down and eyeballs me from behind her sunglasses. ‘Phoenix Rivers?’ she says, clicking her fingers in front of my glassy gaze.

  I can barely react.

  She lowers her voice. ‘Do you know Genna Adams is in the US?’

  Genna! Her name cuts through the fog of my medication like a knife. My eyes flick to the agent’s face, my focus instantly sharp and alert.

  ‘I thought that might get your attention,’ comments Agent Lin with a smirk.

  ‘Is she OK?’ I slur, my tongue feeling too big for my mouth.

  ‘Uh-huh. For the time being,’ the agent replies, leaning back in the chair and crossing her arms. ‘But she’s in big trouble.’

  I sit up straighter in bed, fighting the effects of the sedative. My brain has to work overtime just to string a sentence together. ‘I knew it … I felt her presence was closer … What sort of trouble?’

  ‘Her parents have been murdered,’ reveals the agent, ‘and Genna’s a key suspect.’

  ‘What?’ A burst of adrenaline lifts the fog and my mind is suddenly clear. ‘That’s ridiculous! Genna’s no murderer.’

  ‘That’s what we want to prove,’ says the agent encouragingly. ‘But we can’t help her if we can’t talk to her. Unfortunately, Genna’s gone on the run.’

  Fearing for my First Ascendant’s safety, I look from Agent Lin to the stocky agent blocking the door. ‘You’ve got to let me out of here!’ I plead. ‘I need to help her.’

  ‘Sure,’ replies the agent with an agreeable grin. ‘But first we need to know if you’ve had any contact with her.’

  I dully shake my head. ‘Not since I left England …’

  ‘Have you tried to get in contact?’ presses Agent Lin.

  ‘What do you think?’ I reply fiercely, angered by their line of questioning. ‘I’ve been locked away ever since I was deported back to the States. I don’t get much opportunity for social calls!’

  ‘Sorry to hear that,’ replies Agent Lin with little attempt at sincerity. ‘But I anticipate you’ll have a visit soon.’

  I stare at her in bewilderment. ‘What makes you think Genna will come here?’

  ‘Why else would she fly all the way to America?’ questions the agent. ‘Her remaining family live in Barbados. She even had a plane ticket to go there, yet she came to LA. We believe she’s looking for you –’

  I jerk awake. My head is throbbing from where it was pressed against the window.

  ‘You OK? asks Jude, peering at me questioningly.

  ‘Yeah, just had a strange dream, that’s all.’ I sit up stiffly and brush my tangle of brown hair from my face and rub my eyes. A strange dream indeed. Certainly not a Glimmer, that’s for sure. This was present day and the FBI agent called me … Phoenix.

  The whole experience was very odd. I felt drugged, almost as if I was hallucinating. But at the same time I could clearly sense my Soul Protector’s distress on learning I was in America but he didn’t know where. I felt his emotions as if they were my very own. Confused and concerned, I stare out of the window at the endless desert scrub. In front of us the dawn sun is rising on the horizon, the sky blazing a pure crystal blue. Maybe, I think, the dream is just a reflection of my own desire to find Phoenix?

  Pushing these thoughts to the back of my mind, I ask, ‘Where are we?’

  ‘Mojave Desert.’ Jude yawns, taking her feet off the dashboard and stretching.

  ‘How much further to go?’

  She glances at the satnav. ‘We’re nearly there.’

  ‘Nearly where?’ I demand, irritated. The car’s satnav displays our route but not our destination.

  ‘Haven,’ mumbles Jude.

  I look to her, waiting. When no explanation comes, I prompt, ‘Care to tell me any more?’

  ‘You’ll see soon enough,’ she replies evasively.

  Without warning, the car pulls off the highway and down an unmarked road. Ahead in the near distance lies a saw-toothed mountain range; otherwise, we appear to be driving into the middle of nowhere. Then after several miles the tarmac abruptly ends and we arrive at a ghost town, comprising a dozen derelict buildings crumbling in the desert heat.

  ‘Nice!’ I say, my tone dripping with sarcasm. ‘Certainly worth the trip!’

  ‘This used to be a thriving iron mine until they shut it down at the end of the last century,’ explains Jude. She puts her boots on and grasps the steering wheel. ‘It’s manual from here,’ she says.

  I raise an eyebrow. ‘I thought you couldn’t drive.’

  ‘I said I didn’t need to,’ she replies, and accelerates down a dirt track, a dust cloud billowing in our wake. ‘The thing is, we’ve entered a dead zone.’ She nods to the car’s display screen, where a red icon blinks a warning of no GPS. ‘The high concentrations of iron ore in the surrounding rock block all signals. There’s no mobile, Wi-Fi or even satellite in this area.’

  As we head deeper into the desert, the steep arid slopes of the mountain range rise up higher around us, the dirt road becomes rougher and more potholed. Then, as we enter a narrow gully, the entrance to the old mine comes into view. The shaft is sealed with a solid metal barrier, and large red signs warn trespassers of DANGER and to KEEP OUT. Nonetheless, after a quick glance in her rear-view mirror, Jude drives straight towards the blocked entrance.

  ‘What are you doing?’ I exclaim, gripping my seat in panic.

  Just as I think we’re about to crash, however, the metal barrier rises and we shoot inside the mine. My heart in my throat, I look back and see the barrier seal itself shut behind us, blocking out the desert sun … along with any way in or out.

  ‘An abandoned mine is the perfect front for Haven,’ she explains, the roughly hewn tunnel walls flashing by in the car’s headlights. ‘Keeps it safe and unseen from prying eyes.’

  ‘Is it underground?’ I ask as Jude navigates through the warren of dark tunnels. But no sooner have I asked my question than I get my answer. Heading towards an apparent dead end, the rock face parts and we career back out into bright sunshine. Shading my eyes from the glare, I’m stunned into awed silence by the most astounding sight. Nestled in the basin of a hidden valley is a breathtaking complex of white marble buildings, all shimmering in the early-morning heat. Around the complex, along the valley’s ridge, six huge pillars of red rock, hewn by time alone, rise in a monumental circle. And at its heart, gleaming like a jewel in the sun, glistens an immense glass pyramid.