Over the next three days, Kiesha's emotions were on a roller coaster. When her town faded away outside the train window, she felt horrifically homesick. But as she watched the scenery change outside her window from desert to rolling plains, she became entranced. Her wonder turned to amazement when the train pulled into Union Station in Chicago. Having grown up in a small town, the large metropolis left her speechless.

Though Chicago was not their destination, they had a layover of several hours. So they checked in at a nearby hotel. A bell boy escorted Kiesha to her room, and she collapsed into the bed, immediately falling into a deep sleep. All too soon, Alastair knocked on her door and informed her that their scheduled departure was nearing. Kiesha grumbled a bit, made herself presentable, and then followed him back to the train station.

Unfortunately, there was a delay of two more hours. Kiesha never did understand the station master's double-talk as to what had occurred. So, she and Alastair sat on a bench until their train finally arrived. A few hours after boarding, they arrived at Pittsburgh Station in Pennsylvania. From there they took another train to New York.

Kiesha slept on that final train, being utterly exhausted. In doing so, she found herself somewhat refreshed by the time they pulled into Pennsylvania Station in New York City. As she exited the station, suitcase in hand, she found she could feel the hustle and bustle of the city, and it excited her. Alastair hailed a taxi and told the driver to take them to the GWB Hotel.

"Oh," Kiesha said with a bit of disappointment in her voice. "Is New York not our final destination?"

"Don't worry. We won't be traveling to any other cities," Alastair assured her.

Kiesha decided it was in everyone's best interest if she didn't ask any more questions at that time. After all, the driver could hear them, and The Society of the Golden Lion was a secret society. It wouldn't do to ask too many questions while they were within earshot of others.

When they arrived, Alastair paid the driver and then waited until the taxi was out of sight. He then began walking away from the hotel. As he walked, he reached into his pocket and pulled out an antique-looking watch.

"We need to hurry," he said, replacing the watch. "The next bus leaves in ten minutes."

Kiesha picked up her pace as much as she could. As it turned out, they had plenty of time to make it to the bus stop. It only took about five minutes to walk there. They boarded the bus when it arrived, and a few minutes and several stations later, they exited. Their next destination was the nearby subway. Having never ridden the subway before, Kiesha was beside herself with excitement. Had she been quite a bit younger, she would have felt it was completely appropriate to dance her way onto the train. However, propriety and manners won out over elation, and she matched Alastair's steps as they boarded. Less than fifteen minutes later, they arrived at a stop called "Woodlawn" and took their leave.

With all the walking they were doing, Kiesha was glad she was in good physical shape. From the Woodlawn Stop, they exited the subway station and made their way down several Avenues. Alastair didn't stop or slow the pace until they stood in front of Woodlawn Cemetery. By then, Kiesha was slightly out of breath.

"What are we doing here?" she asked.

"You'll see," Alastair replied, smiling at her.

They entered the cemetery at a more sedate pace, and Alastair nodded to the man at the gate. They then walked down several winding paths until they came to a dead end. Before them stood an imposing mausoleum with wrought-iron doors. In the stone above the doors was an engraving of a lion. Kiesha noticed, however, that there was no name on the memorial. Alastair opened one of the doors and motioned Kiesha inside, closing the door behind them. The burial chamber within looked much like any other.

"Who's buried here?" Kiesha asked.

"Actually," Alastair replied, "no one is buried here. It's just a front for Society Headquarters. The man at the gate is a Society Member. Having one of our own there just makes it easier than having nosy security guards wondering why we come and go."

With that, he turned to the back wall and placed his hand on one of the bricks. Within seconds, the stone began to glow with a glimmering green light and the bricks began to rotate away from that spot, leaving an entrance and a descending staircase.

"Wow! That was amazing!" Kiesha exclaimed. "How did you do that?"

"Don't worry," Alastair said. "Soon you'll be able to do that and many more 'amazing' things."

They walked down the staircase and came to a door that had a lock, but no knob. It was flanked on both sides by statues of golden lions.

"The lions guard the entrance," Alastair explained. "Legend has it that, should an invader get this far, 'the ground will tremble, the eyes of the lions will glow with fire, and golden hearts will beat'. In other words, they would come alive to protect the Society members, though few believe such tales."

"Do you?" Kiesha asked, not knowing at this point what was possible and what was not. Alastair shook his head.

"No, I don't. Why would we have a guard detail if the lions were our protectors?"

Alastair placed his hand on the door's lock, as he had with the wall in the burial chamber, and Kiesha heard it unlock. The door swung open, and Kiesha found herself in the entrance hall of The Society of the Golden Lion.