“Good.” He turned to the rest of us. “Let’s go.” We dragged our balaclavas over our heads and filed out—if someone caught us on security video, we wouldn’t be identified. Will didn’t have time to look for and disable whatever cameras there might be.
Elephantine butterflies stampeded through my stomach as we jogged out of the hotel and down the narrow thoroughfares of the island. It was as if I were flying as my feet glided along the empty streets. The silence, except for the intermittent distant cry of gulls, cast an eerie pall over our mission. In the still night, salt air settled in a haze around us, filling my nostrils and seasoning my tongue.
When we reached the door, Will got to work while the rest of us watched for any interlopers. “I’m done.”
I turned. “That was quick.”
He opened the door and gestured for us to go through. He was the last inside and shut the door. We each pulled out a small torch, and Imani consulted the map. When she set off, we followed. Beren was in front of me, and Will behind. Even though we were alone, I did my best to walk quietly—I couldn’t shake the paranoia that came with trespassing. But I needn’t have worried. The thick walls absorbed most of the noise we made, deadened it. Gah, why did I have to think about that word? Dead.
The abbey had been used as a jail at one time, and it seemed as if the oppression and despair from that period stained every surface. It hadn’t felt like that during the day, but now…. Fear scratched its way up my throat. In an effort to fight it off, I concentrated on Beren’s back. He was real. He’d keep me safe, and Will was behind me. We were going to be okay. We were the only things alive in here—well, other than a few spiders and grubs—and it was just a building. Just. A. Building.
Imani stopped in an unremarkable, smallish room. She looked at the map again. “This is it.” She looked at one of the inside walls. “It’s here somewhere.” She approached the wall and placed a palm on it, feeling around for… I didn’t know. Beren joined her.
Will made his way to one of the thick columns that supported the curved stone ceiling. He slapped a few spots with his palm. “Nothing. I think it’s time for Lily to do her thing.”
“I thought you’d never ask.” I pulled out my phone and switched on the camera app. Doing something helped me feel like less of a target, but the faint scritch, scritch of fear down my back made me wary. I ignored it and said, “Show me Toussaint activating the secret doorway.”
The lighting of the scene didn’t change much, except a female witch with a ball of light floating above her hand stood next to a crouched Toussaint. I took a photo, then stepped close to where he was and leaned down. I took another picture. He’d lifted a small, loose piece of stone from the floor near the wall and had inserted the stone into a divot underneath it. The adjoining stone slab in the floor had begun to open. Wow, nifty. I handed my phone to Imani. “There you go.”
“Nice. We would’ve been searching a long time to find that. Thanks, love.” She handed my phone back and crouched. It took her a moment to find where the stone lifted. She pushed it, then click. She took the small piece out, which revealed a matching-sized hole. She placed the smooth stone into it. I held my breath and waited.
The grinding of rock against rock raised goosebumps on my arms as one stone dropped slightly, then slid across into the other. It worked! What were we going to find? Would it be weapons, a magical artefact, artwork? Okay, so artwork was a long shot, but it could be anything. Hopefully it wouldn’t be more slaves….
The stone opened the whole way, and the grinding stopped, plunging us into near silence again. Will drew his gun and pointed it at the hole while Imani shone her torch into it. “It’s a manhole with rungs. Time to climb.” Without pausing to consider the intelligence of her decision, Imani swung her legs into the opening and descended. Beren went next. I looked down. “Should we wait till they find what’s down there?”
Imani called up. “There’s a door, and what do you know… the key works.”
Will raised a brow. “Does that answer your question? Come on. In you get.”
Unfortunately, it wasn’t a bath he was requesting I hop into. The small space did not look inviting. “What if I get stuck?”
He took a deep breath and sighed. “Beren fit, and you’re way smaller than him. Since when do you have claustrophobia?”
“Since it’s a tunnel into the earth. It kind of feels like I’m getting into my own coffin.”
He grabbed my hand. “It’s safe, Lily. Beren and Imani will be waiting for you. Don’t you want to know what’s down there?”
“I thought I did, but I’m not getting good vibes.”
“Just go down, and I’ll stand guard here. Okay?”
“Okay.” I swallowed and crouched. One foot, then the other. Come on. You can do it. What happened to the warrior for the downtrodden? You’re close to getting the answers you’ve been searching for.
And maybe that was the problem.
While I didn’t know for sure, I could pretend that maybe I’d get a happy ending.
The ladder only went down about nine feet. I turned around, an open doorway greeting me. There was a light on inside—how convenient. I stepped inside, and my mouth fell open. It was like something out of an Indiana Jones movie.
Imani and Beren stood in the middle of a large, low-ceilinged space, each with hands on hips, maybe trying to work out what to do next. Gold bars, four rows deep, were stacked to the ceiling against the far wall. On one other wall, a stack of timber-slat boxes also reached the ceiling. Along another wall were four long boxes shaped like coffins stacked two by two. I shuddered. Surely, they weren’t. I had no idea what could be inside, but, of course, my brain wanted to go down the most macabre path possible. I soon got over it, though, because I had to touch the gold. There must be millions and millions of pounds’ worth, maybe hundreds of millions. I’d never seen so many gold bars. Well, I’d never seen any in real life. There were enough here to make into a doghouse, one bar stacked on another, or maybe I could give one to each of my friends to use as a doorstop, for front and back doors. I snorted.
Beren approached the high stack of non-coffin boxes. “Before we start magicking them away, I want to see what’s in them and make sure there are no tracking devices on there. Would you give me a hand? And don’t use magic, just in case there’s an alarm we don’t know about.”
He’d been talking to Imani, but we both stepped up to help. Beren reached for the top box and worked it loose. He braced himself and grunted as it came free and he took its weight. He placed it on the ground. “Lily, can you drag that over there and open it while we unstack a few more?”
“Can do.” I dragged it to the middle of the room, out of their way. The lid had been nailed on. Seriously? How was I supposed to undo that without tools or magic? I relayed my issue.
Imani came and had a look. “Maybe there won’t be any alarms set off if we magic a crowbar to ourselves up where Will is. They must use magic for small things in this place all the time. Hang on a sec.” She hurried out and up the ladder. I didn’t feel her magic, if, indeed, she had even used it. Maybe it was all the stone?
Boots clanked dully as Imani came back down. Except it wasn’t Imani who entered but Will, a crowbar in one hand. “I wanted to come and see what we have—” His eyes bugged out at the gold. “What the hell?”
Beren had just grabbed another box, turned and put it down, then straightened to look at Will. “I know. It’s crazy. I’m wondering, though. What if it’s not stolen? Can we really take it? Should we take photos for evidence, just in case, and leave it here?”
“I can solve that problem for you.” I waved my phone. “I can just ask my magic.”
Beren smiled. “You’re always full of good ideas. Go ahead.”
“Show me any stolen goods.” A beefy man had his back to me as he stacked the gold bars. Another spindly man was working with a stocky woman to stack the boxes Beren had started to get down. The coffin-like boxes weren’t in the phot
o. I took some pics, then showed the guys. “Looks like this is all stolen, but that isn’t.” I nodded at the long boxes. “So there’s your answer.”
Will gave a nod, then crouched to jimmy open the box I’d had trouble with. The timber creaked and cracked, then opened. Will gripped the lid and pulled it all the way off. A pile of different sized black-velvet pouches filled the box. Will picked one up and pulled the top open. He poured the contents into his hand and whistled his surprise. “Woah.” A handful of large—what I had to assume—diamonds crowded his palm.
I reached in to grab another pouch. It didn’t feel like separate gems. I opened it and pulled out a couple of Rolex watches. I had no idea what they were worth, but I knew Rolex ran into the thousands of pounds. Will snatched out another pouch. This one contained rubies and a couple of gold rings. “Right, well, we can be pretty sure they all contain more of the same. Let’s get this lot out of here.”
“Before we do”—Beren looked at the long boxes—“can we see what’s in there? If we don’t, I’ll always wonder.”
I nodded. “So will I.” I didn’t want to have nightmares about dead bodies if there weren’t any in there. “Maybe they’re witches’ brooms?”
Will laughed. “That’s a fallacy. We don’t ride brooms, and you know it.”
“Yeah, but I like to tease. Maybe they do exist, and no one told you guys about them?”
Beren grinned. “Just open them so we don’t have to listen to Lily hassling us.”
Because they were only stacked two to a pile, Will didn’t have to move any to get the lid off one of the top ones. His trusty crowbar quickly did the job. He slid the lid off and stiffened. Wary, I moved closer to peer in.
I gasped and slammed my hand over my mouth.
My worst fears had come true. A skeleton lay in the box, dusty, bloodstained clothes draped over its wasted frame. Normally I wanted to be right. This time, however, was a massive exception.
Crap.
Will placed the lid back on. “B, help me lift this one down so I can get to the next one.” Beren did as asked, and then Will opened the next box. There were no surprises this time.
Except, maybe there was.
The skeleton in the box had a hole in the front of its skull. But it was what was sitting in its bony hand that blindsided me. I blinked. Maybe I was wrong? It had been years since I’d woven the colourful wristband for my father and attached a cheap golden-coloured metal heart onto it. I swallowed the nausea threatening to suffocate me. It couldn’t be. I shook my head.
Will grabbed my arm. “Lily, what’s wrong?”
I lifted my phone and called on my magic with a shaky, quiet voice. “Show me the person in the box before they wasted away.” The body fleshed out, and my worst nightmare came true. I clicked off a shot before my jelly legs gave way, and my bottom collided with the ground. Somehow, I managed not to drop my phone.
No. No. No. No. No.
Will fell to the ground next to me and grabbed my phone. He took a moment to look, then passed it to Beren. “Lily, who is this?” Surely, he knew. Maybe he just wanted confirmation?
My voice sounded as if it belonged to another person as the enclosed space swallowed it up.
“My dad.”
Will swore. Without saying another word, he and Beren opened the other two boxes. My stomach clenched, and I heaved. If my mother was in one of them, I didn’t know how I’d cope. This was not what I’d expected. I knew they were probably dead, but until now, it was a distant concept. Being the positive person I was, I’d let hope lull me into some kind of fantasy world where I’d find them alive… maybe imprisoned and desperate, but, nevertheless, alive.
It wasn’t to be.
I stared at my phone, at the picture of my murdered father so when someone sighed in what sounded like relief, I didn’t know who it was, but then Will crouched next to me. “The other two bodies are men, Lily. Your mother isn’t here.”
I wasn’t sure what to do, so I cried, and when Imani helped me upstairs and made a doorway for both of us to go home, I didn’t stop as I stepped through.
I was about to find out that a person could cry long after their tear ducts ran dry. It was as if with every tear, I felt less capable of continuing our search for answers.
All I could think of was, what was the point?
They were dead.
So. Damned. Dead.
And now someone had to tell James.
That someone had to be me.
Chapter 14
James and I sat on his couch holding hands. Will sat next to me with his arm around my shoulders, and Millicent sat on the other side of James, holding his hand. My brother’s immediate reaction was to freeze. He just stared at me, probably in shock—that was the last thing he’d expected us to find, and that made two of us. We’d sat here for the last hour just processing.
James wiped his eyes with the back of our joined hands and cleared his throat. “It’s devastating, but at least we know for sure, and we can lay him to rest like he deserves.” James looked at Will. “So, you got everything out of that room?”
“Yes. We’ve transferred the material things to the barn, and Imani and Beren will guard it overnight. As for the bodies… well, skeletons… I’ve gotten in touch with the French agency. They’ve agreed to store them in their morgue and have their man look over them without informing UK headquarters.”
“They’re being exceptionally helpful,” said Millicent.
“Yes, well, Chad cut them out of an investigation that they should at least be going fifty-fifty on, not to forget they’ve lost two agents in all this because of Chad’s lack of disclosure.” Will shook his head. “Chad’s good at making enemies.”
“I’ll say.” James gritted his teeth. “He emailed me and told me I was on forced leave, to be looked at again when this investigation is over. If I do anything to look into RP, it’s an automatic firing. To be honest, I couldn’t give a rat’s bum.”
I smiled sadly. “And that’s putting it nicely.”
James grunted. He looked into my eyes, grief and care clear in his gaze. “What about you? Are you okay after seeing that?”
I swallowed. “No, but it is what it is. As crappy as it is, at least we know, and we can say a proper goodbye. I want to know who shot him.”
Will rubbed my back. “We may never find out. You need to be prepared for that.”
I nodded. “I know, but I thought I was prepared for this.” I sniffled. “And where’s our mother’s body?” Acidic anger ate into my stomach until it ached.
James squeezed my hand. “We may never discover that either, but before this is over, we’ll do our best to find out. You have my promise.”
I leant my head against his. I wanted to say so much, but what could I say that hadn’t already been said? And I knew what was going on inside him—the same thoughts were likely swirling in my head, and voicing them would change nothing. This would be a matter of processing things.
“Oh, I grabbed this for you.” Will put one hand in his pocket and let go of my hand to place his find in it.
I sobbed. “Dad’s friendship bracelet.”
“It should probably be in evidence, but I knew you’d want it, and, honestly, I don’t see how it being with the agency is going to help anything.”
“Can I see it?” James’s voice was heavy with loss.
We released hands and I gave it to him. “Remember when I went through that phase? I made one for you, about ten for Mum because you wouldn’t take any more than you absolutely had to, and I had my own collection. I only have a couple left. I actually have the one I made you, but you left it when you came here.”
“Sorry, Lily.”
My heart, so battered by grief, still filled with affection at the regret in his voice. “It’s okay. I know you love me. I love you too. Maybe I can grab it next time I go back, and we can give it to Annabelle.” I smiled.
“That would be great. I’ll hold you to that.” His mouth curved up in
a reluctant smile.
“Right. I know this has been a night of shocks, but we should get home and try and get some sleep.”
“Oh, crap. I forgot you had to work.” Poor Will. Yes, I was going through something huge, but I couldn’t forget he had commitments. Life had to go on, as the saying went.
“I don’t, actually. I got the same email as James—in all the running around, I forgot to tell you. I still have to get up by ten, and it’s three forty now. I want to pay the French office a visit, and someone has to relieve Imani and Beren.” He looked at James. “I might have to call you in to do that. I haven’t told Agent Roche what else we found and where. He told me it’s okay for now, but there would come a time when he would ask, and he would expect me to answer. I just don’t want anything leaking to the wrong people.”
I pressed my lips together. “Stupid Toussaint will find things missing soon enough and start asking questions. Who knows what friends he has where?”
“Exactly. Anyway, let’s head off.” Will stood, gently pulling me with him.
James and Millicent stood, and we gave each other sad gazes before putting our arms around each other in a goodbye group hug. Will made a door for us, and we stepped through. Bed sounded wonderful because I was beyond exhausted, but would I be able to sleep?
I was about to find out.
I woke up to an emotional hangover the size of Sydney Harbour and a ringing phone. Huh? Oh, it was my phone, and it was on the pillow next to me. Where was Will? I grunted and wiped the drool off my face. I put my hand on the phone, and it stopped ringing. Dammit! They never gave you enough time to answer it before it took a message. Stupid phone companies. I looked at the display. Will. Oh, God, it was lunchtime. Funny how I could happily go back to sleep for the next few weeks, till the shock of what I saw last night wore off.
The phone rang again, and I flinched. This time, I managed to answer it before it stopped. “Hey. Is everything okay?”
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