by Allie Burton
“What company?”
“Uh, I…don’t remember but he works on the top floor.” That would give us access to all the floors.
“Your father’s name? I’ll call up and let them know you’re coming.” The security guard called my bluff by picking up the phone.
“She’s kidding.” Xander tugged the collar of his T-shirt. “We’re going to the observation deck.”
“Observation deck is closed.” The guard hung up the phone and leaned toward us, eyeing us suspiciously. He pointed to an area on the ground floor. “The building has a virtual observation deck now.”
“Virtual?”
“Visitors can look through cameras placed on the twenty-seventh floor. They can’t go there.”
Cameras weren’t going to help us find what we needed. “Thanks.”
“You’re welcome.” The guard took a cell phone from his belt.
As we stepped away I heard a click. I turned back toward the guard. He shoved his cell phone behind the desk.
Weird. That sound couldn’t have been a camera phone because there’s no way I could’ve heard it from this distance. Maybe with people chasing me I was paranoid. Paranoid about the sun and the gigantic wave and my new super-sensitive senses.
We headed toward the door. “Do you think the Society put one of the essential oils on the observation deck before it was closed to visitors?”
“That would make the most sense. Unless they had access to another floor.” Xander held the door open and gave me a don’t-give-up smile.
I flashed a weak smile trying to show enthusiasm, but I didn’t feel any. I was afraid and worried and sick to my stomach. “We don’t have access to either.”
Finding the first two oils had been accidental. We sort of stumbled upon them. Now, that we understood that we needed to find all seven oils, we were thwarted. I gritted my teeth. “Do you think the Society is trying to retrieve the oils like us?”
“It’s the host’s duty to collect them.” Xander led the way onto the crowded sidewalk.
“And I’m the host.” My voice was flat, emotionless.
“The Society doesn’t know that we know to find them.”
“As far as we know.” We stared at each other and burst into laughter.
Sunlight shone like a spotlight as we headed to a small redwood-filled park adjacent to the building. I plopped down on a set of steps. “Now, what? Nothing in the lobby looked Egyptian. Did it?”
Xander would recognize anything Egyptian better than I.
“The treasures of the pharaoh’s were buried under ground. I wonder if the Transamerica Pyramid has a basement.” He sat beside me, and even though we weren’t touching I felt the heat from his body. “The first oil we found in the bust of the Queen and the second in the Nilometer by the ocean. Each of the oils sort of related to their location.”
“We don’t even know what oils we need to find.” My voice held a defeated, whiny sound.
“I know the seven essential oils and their purposes.”
“That’s right, you trained for receiving Tut.” Just another example of why he should’ve received the soul. “You probably know Egyptian history, too.”
Xander pointed at a brass plaque on the side of the steps for two dogs, Bummer and Lazarus. “For example, the name Lazarus is in the Bible. For ancient Egyptians the name equates to Osiris, the god of Afterlife.”
My ears perked up. “The name’s Egyptian?”
“It could be.”
The plaque told the story about two stray dogs who lived on the streets of San Francisco in the Nineteenth Century. Bummer saved Lazarus from a dog fight and the two were never apart after that.
I slid next to the plaque and stuck my fingers at its edges. Using all my strength, I tried to lift the brass monument. “It won’t move.”
“You think?” He kneeled on the step below me and placed his hands on the other side. “Together.”
We both pulled.
Nothing.
My hopes slashed like I’d been knifed. If the plaque didn’t hide an essential oil, then our search would stop here. With security so tight, it would be difficult to get into the basement of the building.
Xander let go of the plaque. “Move over while I think.”
“Think about what?”
“Lotus, which recalls the sweetness of a woman, was hidden in the Queen’s bust. Juniper, to calm and cleanse, was hidden near the ocean, sometimes submerged—”
“And cleansed.” My voice trilled higher.
“Exactly.” He drummed his fingers on the plaque.
“Do any of the other oils relate to dogs?”
“No.”
“Do any of the other oils relate to dead dogs?” The death god Anubis was a dog.
And I knew that because…?
“Well, palm is for revitalizing energy. I suppose, if you were dead you’d want to be revitalized.”
“Ya, think?”
“If we believe palm is the oil behind this plaque, how do we get it?”
“We can’t just use a jackhammer.” I glanced around at the people coming and going. “At least not in the day time.”
“Egyptians liked puzzles. We believe the Society placed the oils around the city to keep them safe and secure.”
“How safe could they be scattered around the city? What if a stranger found one by accident? Like we did. Why didn’t they lock them in a bank vault?” The Society’s reasons seemed scattered to me.
“The Society is steeped in ancient tradition and rituals. They didn’t have banks back in their founding day. And they needed to keep their Society a secret.” Xander studied the plaque. “They shifted their hiding places when threatened, but wanted to keep the oils hidden until they were in need of them.”
“Like now, because Tut’s soul has been received.” By me. But I didn’t say that out loud. I didn’t want to rub my power in his face.
“Palm?” Xander’s fingers ran over the letters on the plaque.
I shrugged and then, nodded.
“P-A-L-M.” He pressed his finger on each of the letters.
A click echoed loudly.
I lurched.
“It opened,” his surprised whisper echoed, too. A delighted spark shown in his eyes.
“Good job.”
He unlatched the clasp and the brass swung open like a door. Behind the plaque a vessel, similar to the others, nestled inside. Xander’s hands shook. He reached in and with care, took hold of the jar.
The ancient vessel shimmered gold in the sunlight. It looked the same as the other two.
Lifting the stopper, he took a sniff and nodded. “Palm.”
We’d done it. It wasn’t by accident that we’d found this vessel. It was by our determination and intelligence. Excited, I wrapped my arms around Xander. I’d been wanting to touch him again, but wasn’t sure how he felt about hugging. About us hugging. Warmth surged through me. His heat mingled with mine. I wanted to melt into him.
His hard body twitched and then collapsed in my arms. I pulled away and grabbed the vessel out of his lifeless hands. He slid onto the steps and bumped his head on the hard edge with a crack.
I jumped back at the sound. My touch had done that to him. My tummy tilted with my dashed romantic dreams. My brain twisted through possible scenarios. We’d touched when I’d fallen and broken the Nilometer. He’d been fine. No shock. No dehydration. Certainly, no passing out.
Now, his entire body slumped on the steps. His face was pale. His eyes closed.
He can’t be dead. He can’t. He can’t. He can’t.
“Xander, what happened?” I reached out to him but jerked my hand back.
He twitched again. He was alive.
“Xander?” I peered at his handsome face and imagined never seeing his smile or the light in his eyes again. This wasn’t just about attraction. I cared for Xander. Liked him as a person. Cared what happened to him.
Breath still flowed in and out of his mouth. His heart still beat
. All good signs.
People walking by on the steps stared. Before, we were just two kids hanging out. Now, he was passed out and I held a strange vessel. Panic screeched through my brain. I reached over Xander and slammed the plaque shut. No reason for anyone to become suspicious. I grabbed his bag and shoved the latest vessel inside.
“Everything all right?” A woman in a blue business suit asked.
I glanced around at people pausing and staring. I didn’t want anyone calling 9-1-1.
“Too much sun.” Too much me. I waved my hand over his face. “Xander,” I whispered in his ear. “Get up.”
The woman peered down at us. “I can let security know.”
“No.” I practically shouted at her. “No. Really. He’ll be fine.”
Use the oil. The voice in my head awakened.
“Where have you been all this time?” When we needed Tut’s help finding the oil, he’d been missing in action.
The woman screwed up her face in worry and confusion.
I pasted a phony smile on my face. “He’s fine. I just need to get him water.”
My stubbornness tried to ignore Tut’s voice while the woman watched, but practicality won out. Palm was for revitalizing energy and right now that’s what Xander needed.
“If you’re sure?” The woman sounded like she didn’t believe me. Still, she continued up the steps with only one glance back.
I took the palm vessel out of the bag and opened the stopper.
Did he sniff it? Drink it? Apply it to his skin?
My body flushed and my brain steamed. No way could I rub oil on him. Way too personal. Besides, if I touched him I’d make it worse. He couldn’t drink it in his current state.
I looked at the woman now standing at the top of the steps looking down at us. She gave me another sharp look before she continued on her way. Hopefully without reporting us to security. But I couldn’t be sure.
Without touching him, I placed the container under his nose and counted. “One, two, three.”
His long eyelashes flickered.
“Xander?” I kept the vessel in place.
His face lost its paleness. His eyelids moved again. His body jerked.
“Xander?”
“Huh?” He opened his eyes.
My gaze contacted with the emerald green of his pupils and the weight that had borne down on me lightened. “You okay?”
“Wh-what happened?” He tried to sit up.
I wanted to help him but knew I couldn’t. “Take a few more sniffs.”
He inhaled and sat up. “The palm. We found it.”
“Yes.”
He shook his head as if clearing the cobwebs. “You hugged me and I blacked out.”
“I’m sorry.” I bit my lower lip. “After we touched in the ocean I thought…I thought I could touch you like, whenever.” I didn’t add how much I wanted to touch him. And now probably never could.
Emptiness engulfed me like a large wave. I’d never be able to touch Xander, or anyone. I’d be alone the rest of my life. Not that my life was going to last that long.
“What about the clue?” He grew more alert. “What does it say?”
“I didn’t get the chance to read it.” I glanced around. Too many people had witnessed the plaque open. Too many people had seen Xander pass out. Too many people watched us now. “Come on.”
He struggled to his feet.
I wanted to reach out and help him but knew I couldn’t. I didn’t know if I’d ever be able to touch him again.
* * *
Chinatown was only a few blocks away, and my stomach had rumbled, so the decision was easy. A granola bar didn’t fill a girl, or her male soul, for long. Once we were settled in a small corner table at the back of a restaurant, I breathed a little easier.
Normally when I came around for food, Fitch’s contact handed me a take-out box, but I was glad the dishwasher I knew ushered us inside and gave us a table. We needed time to figure out the clue and time to eat.
Few people ate at the small restaurant this late in the afternoon. The lunch crowd was gone. Most of the cloth covered tables weren’t set for dinner yet. We sat in a corner near a decorative screen that covered the entrance to the kitchen.
Fitch would probably hear about our visit, but by the time he did we’d be long gone. He’d be even more furious I was roaming around the city before contacting him and giving him the amulet. Hopefully, he’d understand why.
Xander took out the new vessel and handed it to me. Funny, how he’d studied ancient hieroglyphics, but I could read them faster.
“Where river smells, local fisherman sell.” The words didn’t mean anything to me. “San Francisco might be surrounded by water, but there’s no river.”
“Concentrate on the smelling part. What smells in the city?”
A waiter set two plates of egg fried rice, deep fried wontons and steamed trout with black bean sauce in front of us. The aromas wafted up and my mouth salivated.
“This food smells delicious.” I didn’t bother with chopsticks. Just used a fork to dig in. I couldn’t shovel the fried rice in my mouth fast enough.
Xander eyed me and arched a brow.
“What?” I glanced at my almost empty plate and then back at him. “I’m hungry,” I said around a mouthful of food.
Gross. Now, I was talking with my mouth full. I set my fork down with a bang, forced myself to chew each piece, and then swallowed.
“If Chinatown smells delicious, do you think that’s an option?” Xander held the chopsticks in his hand the correct way. “Is there anything Egyptian in Chinatown?”
The waiter watched us from the next table pretending to rearrange plates and cups. I wiggled in my chair trying to ignore the man’s look. The tiny hairs on my arm rose and I rubbed my skin. I thought about Xander’s question. “I don’t think so.”
The waiter went back to the kitchen. Was it because he could no longer hear our conversation?
Xander and I ate in silence from that point forward, both buried in our thoughts. Worried about Fitch rushing down here, I tried to focus on the clue and where we should go next, but the whole touching thing kept circulating around in my brain.
How come one minute I could touch Xander and the next I couldn’t? I’d been so careful on the bus from Golden Gate Park to the Society’s mansion, afraid if I touched anyone else they’d fall at my feet. Not the best way to be inconspicuous.
Then, after Xander had grabbed me in the water I’d thought that part of this curse was over. I wouldn’t have to worry about hurting anyone. Wouldn’t have to worry about hurting Xander.
I was wrong.
The fullness in my stomach turned over. I rubbed my belly trying to comfort myself. By the wave I created, the powers were getting stronger.
Why? I touched the amulet lying under my shirt.
You haven’t united yet.
Huh?
“It doesn’t have to be a good smell, does it? What about a bad smell?” Xander poked at the trout with his chop sticks. “Egyptians fished a lot.”
A light bulb went off in my head like a cartoon character. “Fisherman’s Wharf.”
I jumped out of my chair with a burst of energy.
So did Xander. “We need to get to the wharf.”
“Now.”
Our minds seemed to be on the same wavelength. Working together, we were stronger, smarter than the Society.
The waiter came and delivered a plate of Moon cakes and fortune cookies. My dishwasher friend must’ve realized we were starving and sent the man over. Shorter than me and Xander, the man pointed at the cookies. “Fortune cookies and moon cakes.”
Our quest took precedence over our stomachs.
“Thanks, but we need to go.” I smiled at the waiter.
The waiter’s gaze darted toward the kitchen and then back again. He stood between us and the door. “Must eat. Moon cakes good luck.”
“Thanks, but we’ll take the fortune cookies to go.” I scooped the cook
ies off the table.
Xander bobbed his head. He was anxious to go too. “Thank you for the meal.”
“You must wait.” A drip of sweat trailed down the waiter’s face. The kitchens must be really hot.
Or did my friend expect us to pay for the meal? That wasn’t our agreement. My now-full tummy felt queasy. I peered over the decorative screen into the kitchen.
All the chefs and waiters and dishwashers were in a frenzy. Scrubbing countertops, dropping dishes, talking super fast in Chinese. Like they were expecting an important visitor.
I listened intently. An older man wearing a tall white hat held a cell phone in his hand. “He will be here soon. Must stall them.”
Them? As in Xander and I?
My stomach flipped the meal over and I felt like I was going to taste it a second time. I turned to Xander. “Someone important is coming and they want us to stay until he gets here.”
Chapter Sixteen
“How do you know they want us to stay?” Xander whispered near my ear. His stance widened, expecting trouble.
Which we were. In my recent past, the only trouble I expected was from the cops. Now, I prepared for trouble from every stranger I met on the street. Including homeless people and guys with guns.
“A guy on the phone in the kitchen.” Twelve feet away and over the noise of the running water and banging pots.
Xander tossed me an odd look as if asking how I’d heard.
“I know what I heard.” I glared at the waiter in front of us.
“We’re out of here.” Xander raised his hands in a martial arts position ready to take the small waiter out with the same move he’d used on the man at the loading dock. “Don’t try to stop us.”
I turned to leave but a second, brawnier waiter rushed past and blocked our path. “Must wait here.”
“Step aside.” Xander’s low, calm voice sounded deadly, a take-no-prisoners look on his face.
He was going to fight the two waiters, one of which looked like a professional wrestler.
Or I could use my power to help. Saving Xander was worth the possibility of burning out sooner.
“Sorry but, no.” I reached out and touched the brawny waiter’s shoulder.