Page 31 of Alchemy of Secrets

The drive to Centennial City went faster than any drive in the history of Los Angeles. There was no traffic. No stops at all. Only one red light, next to a neon billboard of the newest Vic VanVleet film. Holland felt a pang of regret at the sight of Chance’s smiling face.

Then there were no more billboards, just beautiful trees and birds and matte-black lampposts that looked as if they’d been imported from the early twentieth century.

They were driving through a neighborhood with yards so large she couldn’t even see the houses, just rows of trees bursting with gorgeous colors Holland rarely saw in the city. It actually looked like fall.

There were colors she hadn’t seen on cars since possibly ever: shimmering greens with cream tops, burning oranges with racing stripes over the hood, sparkling reds with hints of glitter, vibrant ocean blues with lightning bolts on the side, deep plum purples, and retro mints.

It all should have seemed garish, but it just looked more vibrantly alive than any other street she’d seen in LA.

It didn’t seem at all like the sort of place that would house the headquarters of an evil organization.

It seemed like somewhere to picnic or to visit fancy open houses on a Saturday.

Although Holland had a feeling that the people who lived here never moved.

“Are you sure there’s a bank here?” she asked Gabe.

Then she saw it, about one hundred yards away. It took up an entire block. An absurdly tall, jade-green jewel of a building with a dazzling gold art deco pattern cutting across its endless floors of windows. It was so stunning and so high she didn’t know how she hadn’t seen it before.

Magic.

She could feel it then, the same way she could feel a change in the air whenever she drew close to the ocean. What she was feeling she couldn’t say. It didn’t have a scent. But it felt like what she had experienced with the coin.

The Bank looked bolder and brighter and even taller the longer she stared.

It now seemed impossible that she had never seen this building before.

That it hadn’t ever been in a movie or on a postcard.

Holland wanted to ask what kind of magic could hide a building like this from the world, but Gabe was stopping the car in front of a house with needlepoint-perfect hedges, and suddenly she was too nervous to speak.

She wasn’t even sure she still knew how to breathe.

Her head was getting light. All she could take were sips of air.

The Bank was on the next block. One crosswalk away. She hoped the Alchemical Heart was in there waiting for her. But now that she was so close, it seemed impossible. And even if it was in there, it seemed like it would be impossible to get it out.

“There’s one more thing you should know,” Gabe said.

“I think I already know enough.” Normally, Holland loved information. She loved facts and stories, but she felt that if she learned anything else right now, it might be too much. She was already in a new world full of new rules she didn’t know. Rules she might break by accident.

“Relax,” Gabe said. “This will all be over soon. Just make sure when you go inside you stay away from the Manager.”

“Why? Who’s the Manager?”

“I don’t know. They keep it a secret. But I’ve heard the Manager can read minds.” Gabe hesitated. “If you meet them, make sure you don’t think of me. If they find out I’m here, waiting for you, then I might not be able to get you out.”

Holland suddenly had a thousand questions.

But there were only minutes left until her appointment.

Seconds were moving faster than seconds were supposed to move, and all of it was feeling like too much.

The magic and Gabe’s mysteries and the overwhelming feeling that she really didn’t know what she was getting herself into. “I don’t know if I can do this.”

“Hey—” Gabe killed the car and looked her right in the eyes. “Once you’re leaving the vault, call me, and I’ll be there as soon as you step outside.”

“What if they grab me first?”

He leaned in closer. “I won’t let that happen.”

“But—”

He wrapped one hand around the back of her neck and pressed his lips to hers.

His mouth was soft but a little rough, as if he kept wanting to pull away, as if he knew this kiss was a mistake.

The tips of his fingers slid into her hair as he took her lower lip between his teeth and gently bit.

Then he was letting her go, but he was looking at her as if he wanted to take her back.

Holland started to lean in again, but he pulled away. She almost thought she saw a flash of regret in his eyes, but it was gone so fast, she wondered if it had actually been there.

“I’ll be here when you get out,” he said.