The Prophecy (Daughters of the People Series Book 1) by Lucy Varna Page A

glanced
helplessly at Maya.
    Her mouth
twitched into a slight smile. “Sorry. I forgot to warn you about security.”
    “What are they
doing?”
    “Checking for
bombs.”
    He did a double
take, eyes wide, and clamped his teeth shut over his astonishment.
    “It’s routine,”
she said. “No one expects you to actually have a bomb.”
    “Well, that’s a
relief.”
    “Roll down the
window and I’ll introduce you.”
    “I don’t know. I
think that one’s got it in for me.” He nodded toward one guard, a pretty
blue-eyed brunette. She’d stood to the side the entire time his vehicle was being
inspected, staring intently at him, her rifle held crosswise over her body.
James was pretty sure she was itching to use it on him.
    Maya shot him an
exasperated look. He obligingly rolled the window down.
    “Y’all knock it
off,” she said. “You’re scaring our guest.”
    The pretty
brunette slumped and slung her gun back over her shoulder. “We were just having
a little fun.”
    “I know. That’s
why I let you go so long.” Maya winked at her. “I remember what guard duty’s
like.”
    James closed his
eyes, unsure whether to laugh or bang his head against the steering wheel.
    The guards
dropped all pretense of searching his car and crowded around his open window,
neutral expressions replaced by sheepish grins. Maya introduced them one by
one, and James shook their hands, trying to keep names with faces. After a few
minutes of chatting, during which each one called him “Dr. T.,” the brunette
(Andrea, maybe?) jogged into one of the guard shacks and triggered the gate
open.
    He drove slowly through
it and followed Maya’s directions around the IECS campus. To the left, a
standard-sized oval track with bleachers on both sides dominated the open
field. The landscape rose behind it, dotted with other buildings whose
functions he couldn’t quite figure out.
    The other side
of the road seemed more familiar. Maya pointed out each feature in calm, even
tones. The first building they passed held classrooms, offices, the library,
and a small museum. The road branched and Maya gestured to the right. He turned
off and drove past the main administrative building, a small cafeteria, a
building devoted to labs, and finally, the building containing quarters for
guests and interns. The entire compound was lit by security lights and was bright
enough that he could clearly make out people exercising or walking around the
grounds.
    After he parked,
Maya led him up two flights of stairs to rooms used, she explained,
specifically for visitors to the Archives. “Elevator’s out. Should be fixed in
a few days.”
    She opened the
door into a great room with a small kitchen on the left and a sitting area to
the middle. Two doors on the right led from the main room into what looked like
bedrooms. What captured his gaze, though, were the windows framing a view
across a good portion of the compound. Maya caught his stare, crossed to one
window, and pulled down a shade. “Sorry about the light. It can get annoying, but
if you pull the shades down and close the curtains, it should be dark enough to
get some sleep at night.”
    James nodded, a
little dazed from the long drive or the lack of sleep, or maybe reality was
setting in and it was just different enough from the way he’d envisioned it to
throw him off. “Is all that security really necessary?”
    “It’s not just
the IECS we’re protecting.” She tugged on the shade. It slid upward, revealing
the view. “We have a school on the other side of campus, plus the Archives.”
    “Ah,” James
said, though he certainly didn’t understand. He’d never seen a campus with such
high security. The White House, maybe, but not an institute devoted to studying
the past, and though he’d heard rumors of the IECS’ high security, the reality
was a long way from what he’d imagined.
    Maya crossed to
a round table situated near the kitchen and picked up a folder. She wiggled it
at him