There was a sudden knock on the door. “That would be our pizza.” I hopped off the bed and hurried past Kael. “Put some pants on,” I hissed at him.
My partner grinned as if he knew it had been bothering me. I scowled and opened the door a bit more roughly than I’d meant. The teenager on the other side looked startled to find an angry woman scowling at him.
I cleared my throat and smoothed my features. “Sorry,” I said. My stomach growled at the scents of sauce, cheese, and Italian seasonings wafted to me. I handed him a wad of cash. “Keep the change.”
The youth hurried off, and I shut the door.
“Finally,” Kael said. “I’m starving.”
Despite his smirk, he had put on a pair of lounge-type pants, similar to the ones I was wearing, loose and plaid.
I sat on the bed as he reached for the box on the top. I smacked his hand. “Ladies first.”
We didn’t have plates, so we sat there trying not to drip sauce on the coverlet while moaning about the deliciousness of the pizza. I’d only managed to get down four slices, but Kael didn’t put the boxes on the nearby table until he’d eaten eight.
A large yawn cracked my jaw, and I peered longingly at the pillow behind me.
“We’d better get a couple hours of sleep while we can. We’ll head out to Alastor’s place in a few hours.”
Kael stood and grabbed the other pillow from the bed, then headed toward a chair settled in the corner by the window.
“You know you won’t get any rest if you try to sleep in a chair,” I said.
“I’m not going to make you sleep in the chair.”
I laughed. “I meant, you can share the bed with me.”
It wasn’t as if it were the first time we’d slept beside each other. The memory of me sleeping in his arms on a chilly night in the Scottish highlands came to mind.
Kael didn’t move from where he stood by the chair. “You don’t mind?”
“Why would I?” Of course, my tired voice chose that exact moment to break. I hurried to shimmy under the cover.
The shifter climbed in next to me. I kicked my feet to dislodge the sheet and blanket where it was tucked in tightly under the edge of the mattress.
“Why are you abusing the bed?”
“Just because I unearth mummies doesn’t mean I want to sleep like one,” I said.
Kael chuckled. “Goodnight, Livvie.”
“Goodnight, Kael.” I rolled over, and tried my best to ignore the man mere inches from me.
Kael may be a jaguar shifter, but he snored like a grizzly bear in the midst of hibernation. I contemplated smothering him with my pillow for what was probably an unhealthy amount of time before I resigned myself to not being able to sleep. Instead, I let my mind wander to thoughts of magic and mages.
My partner made a particularly loud snort, mumbled something incoherent, and then rolled over. I stilled as he draped his arm over me. His hot breath brushed evenly across the back of my neck. I thought about telling him off, but despite not wanting to get involved with him, especially while the mage was still running around, I couldn’t help but enjoy the feel of his embrace.
Suddenly, the alarm on the table next to me blared. I closed my eyes and pretended to be asleep. Kael jerked awake and hurriedly leaned over me to turn off the alarm. He stayed in that position, hovering over me, for what seemed to be an eternity.
Why wasn’t he moving? What was he looking at?
My heartbeat picked up pace, and I really hoped he couldn’t hear it. Finally, he eased back and shook my shoulder. I blinked my eyes and did my best to look momentarily confused.
“Huh?”
He smiled at me. “Time to get up and get going.”
I made a play of groaning about how it felt as if I’d just fallen asleep and stretching my arms above my head.
“Why are you pretending you were sleeping?” he asked as he changed his pants.
“What?”
He straightened and pulled on a shift. “Come on, Livvie. I know you were awake.”
I frowned and shook my head. “I was dead asleep,” I lied. “Right in the middle of a dream.”
“Huh,” he said, clearly not buying it. He threw me a change of clothes. “Must have been having quite a dream then. Your heart was going crazy.”
“Really?” I said. I shuffled out of the covers and was thankful I was facing away from him. “I don’t remember.”
Before I headed to the bathroom to change, I glanced at Kael. He was watching me with a knowing sparkle in his eyes. Not wanting to know what he knew, I hurried inside the bathroom.
Once I was dressed and ready to go, we took a rental car to the outskirts of the city. Thankfully, the traffic was light and it didn’t take us long, especially with Kael’s crazy, frightening driving.
When we pulled up to a manor that looked like it should belong to some celebrity in Hollywood, my mouth dropped open. A massive, iron gate barred our way. Kael rolled down his window, jabbed his finger into a call button on a box, and waited.
“What is it?” a voice answered.
“My name is Kael Rivera. I’m with PITO and would like to ask you a few questions.”
There was a pause. “I am not due for an inspection for quite some time.”
“This is not an inspection. We are on a very time-sensitive mission. However, if you would like, I’d be happy to make a call to headquarters and ask if an impromptu inspection is in order.”
Wow. Kael wasn’t pulling any punches. Straight to the threat.
“Fine. But be quick about it. I have appointments to keep.”
The gates swung open, and we drove inside. We rounded a massive fountain, though no water flowed at this time of year. We exited the car, I hunched my shoulders against the stiff breeze, and the pair of us strode between the columns lining the front and to the large doors. Before Kael could raise his hand to knock, the door eased open.
A pair of gorgeous green eyes peered down at us, eyes that I knew were often filled with curiosity and wonder. Where Renathe seemed to have been born in a fancy suit, this man wore casual clothes, loose khaki pants, and an untucked shirt. He certainly didn’t look as if he belonged to this manor.
“Are you Alastor Glenhaven?” I asked.
He narrowed his eyes. “Who are you?”
I stuck my hand out. “Olivia Perez. I found an article about you in a library and was wondering if I may ask you about it?”
He opened the door wider to let us in. Once inside, I could see why he would need a home so large. Antiquities, relics, maps, and trinkets covered nearly every surface. Some were similar to many of the items I had found on digs, but others, like a strange-looking object that was a cube but seemed to glow red when I was staring straight at it, were obviously magical in some way.
“Well, sit down.” Alastor waved impatiently at a few chairs not far off the entryway. He sat, too, and crossed his arms over his chest. “So, what article are you referring to?”
“The one where you donated an item, a sort of artifact, somewhere.”
The fae let out a short laugh. “Girl, I have donated hundreds of items to many different places.”
“This one is rare,” Kael said. “And likely dangerous.”
“Again, I have donated many such items.”
I was closest to Alastor, and I reached into the front of my shirt and tugged out the pair of keys. His emerald eyes grew round.
“The relic would be similar to these,” I said.
He leaned forward. “Where did you get those?”
Behind me, Kael let out a vicious snarl of warning. The fae withdrew his hand.
“Forgive me, I just hadn’t heard more had been discovered.”
“They have, and it’s quite the tale, but I’m afraid we are short on time. If you would like to hear more, I suggest you seek out a fae named Renathe.”
The man nodded slowly, clearly interested, but not quite willing to press the issue. “If you want the relic, you will need t
o break into a museum.”
Break into a museum?
“I’m not a thief,” I said.
He shrugged. “If you truly want it, then you will. However, I must warn you, it is heavily guarded by the supernatural. It may look like a tourist attraction for humans by day, but in reality, it holds some of the world's most deadly magical objects. That is why I donated the key in the first place. I knew there it would be better protected.”
I looked to Kael. “Could you ask your superiors for permission to take the item?”
Kael frowned. “I think the less people who know about things from here on out, the better.”
“Fine. Thievery, it is.” I turned back to Alastor. “Where exactly is this museum?”
His green eyes danced, as if he knew the answer to some joke we were missing.
My breath whooshed out of me in surprise when he told us, and suddenly, the third key seemed like it would be impossible to steal.
We would be heading to Paris, to break into the Louvre.
Chapter 12
I took a bite of the warm pastry and moaned as it practically melted in my mouth. I couldn’t remember the name of the delicacy—Kael had handed me a paper sack of them—but I would definitely be getting more.
I sat on the bench and continued to nibble while I turned a glare toward a flock of pigeons that wanted to partake in my breakfast, as well. In a flurry of gray and white feathers, the birds took off as the jaguar shifter strode through them.
Kael held up a pair of tickets. “Let’s do this thing.”
I stuffed the last pastry into my mouth and gave him a thumbs up before throwing the sack into a nearby trash can. I adjusted the slouchy, beanie-style hat on my head before hurrying to catch up to Kael.
We had opted for new clothing that would blend in more with the local tourists. Leggings weren’t really my thing, but I had to admit, the light gray fabric looked great with the cute, black boots I’d splurged on.
Kael, though he always did look casual, had stepped it up with simple jeans and a sweater. I’d tried to get him to buy one with the Eiffel tower stitched on the front, but he’d adamantly refused.
My lips twitched into a grin as we neared the massive metal and glass pyramid standing in front of the Louvre. Behind the pyramid, three huge wings made up the building which had once been a castle before being converted into the most famous museum in the world.
After waiting in line for what felt like ages, I was practically bouncing on the toes of my new boots as we showed the woman at the entrance our tickets. Visiting this place had been near the top of my bucket-list since the moment my father had shown pictures of him and my mother here years ago. I had always been so busy skipping around other places of the world on digs, I’d never gotten the chance.
Kael tugged on the collar of his mocha-colored sweater with a sour expression.
“I told you that one looked itchy,” I said.
He frowned. “You also told me it brings out the color of my eyes.”
“It does.” I grinned. “I’m glad to know you take my opinion so seriously. Who would have known you were the type to suffer for vanity?”
Kael growled under his breath and peered around. “I always thought this place was an art museum.”
“It is,” I said. “For the most part. It has works like the Mona Lisa and The Coronation of Napoleon. Many historians consider certain discovered artifacts to be art, like jewelry, engraved pottery—” I gave him a smile. “―and, of course, keys.”
“Right,” he said. “So where do we start?”
I jerked my head toward a kiosk with pamphlets, fliers, and maps. I found a map that had labels and directions in English, took two, and handed one to Kael.
The man behind the desk informed us the museum offered guided tours, if we wished, but I gave him a smile and explained getting lost was half the fun. He merely smiled and nodded, then he turned to a family with a pair of unenthusiastic teens in tow.
We moved to a corner out of the way, and Kael took a pen from his pocket. I caught his golden eyes glancing around the room. Then he began putting little dots on the map.
It was easy to figure out what he was marking…guard placements. I took my turn studying the map in my hands and tried to sort out the best place to search for the key. There were three main wings in the Louvre, and while the archeologist and historian in me wanted to peruse every inch of the place, we wouldn’t have time.
When we had left Alastor’s place, we’d given him a warning about the dark mage. We hadn’t heard any bad news, but that didn’t mean the mage hadn’t gotten to him. It could be only a matter of time before Vehrin learned the same information we had that led us here.
“Well,” Kael said. “Do you have any ideas on where to start?”
I pursed my lips as I studied the map. “This is the Denon wing,” I said, pointing to the wing behind us. “I think we can dismiss this one. It mostly houses Italian Renaissance paintings and other pieces from that point in history. I feel like the keys, so far, have been more ancient. We should focus mainly on the Sully wing, which houses the Egyptian relics and pieces from Middle-Eastern culture, and perhaps the Richelieu wing, home to artifacts from the middle-ages.”
Kael waved a hand forward. “All right, professor. Lead the way.”
“Professor?” I scoffed. “Hardly. My dad was, but being trapped behind a desk isn’t my thing.”
“Clearly. If it was, your life would be decidedly less exciting.”
“That’s the truth,” I muttered.
I soaked in the wonder around me as we strolled toward the Sully wing. Paintings and sculptures were everywhere, most of them hundreds of years old, and pieces I’d never dreamed of seeing with my own eyes.
The pair of us walked around for a while, and even though we were on a mission, I couldn’t help but stop to soak in some of the items on display. A few times, Kael had to tug on my arm and tell me we’d never get through this place if I stopped to gawk at every little thing.
The next room we entered was dedicated to Near-Eastern antiquities. Kael drifted off to one side of the room while I headed toward the right. Sculptures and other large items lined the walls, with glass cases placed here and there around the center of the room.
I had yet to see anything that seemed like it was dangerous or magical, but I suspected I wouldn’t be able to tell, anyway. After all, I hadn’t known the key I’d plucked from the Amazon was cursed until later. I could have walked right past some powerful artifact and never known. It was an exciting concept, and I told myself I would return one day when I wasn’t on the hunt to save a relic and stop a dark mage.
I ran my finger along the red rope stretched in front of a figure of an ancient Hittite god, the small statue burnished to a warm bronze, when a nearby glass case caught my eye. I sauntered over to it. Inside was a collection of beaded necklaces, bracelets decorated with small gems, and there, nestled on a white pillow, was a key.
It was dark in color, and I couldn’t guess without touching it what it could possibly be made of, but it matched the description Alastor had given us. My heart raced with excitement as I pulled my phone from my pocket and snapped a picture of the key.
The single guard in the room turned my way as I lowered my phone, but his eyes didn’t linger. Many of the visitors took photos on their tours through the Louvre, so it wasn’t as if I’d done anything unusual.
Kael was still meandering on the other side of the room. He glanced my way, and I smiled brightly. He raised an eyebrow in question, and I gave him a little nod, trying to tell him in the small gesture that I had found what we were looking for.
For some reason, I could sense the guard’s gaze on me again. I didn’t dare turn to peer at him to be sure, but I was certain he was watching me. Was he one of the supernatural beings set to guard the magical artifacts held in the Louvre?
I continued toward Kael and wondered if the man could sense the magic in me. Or maybe he could sense there was a sh
ifter in his midst? Perhaps the guard was a shifter himself.
I reached Kael and twined my fingers through his. He gave me a strange look, but didn’t withdraw his hand.
“I’m hungry,” I said. “Maybe we can go out and get a bite to eat.” I squeezed his hand.
“Sure.” He tugged me out of the room. I half-expected the guard to follow, but thankfully, he remained at his post. Perhaps I had thrown off the suspicions I was certain were there.
We headed out to the Tuileries Gardens, an expansive garden that bordered the back side of the Louvre. I imagined it was usually splashed with more color, but at this time of year, only the evergreen shrubs were vibrant.
Kael chugged a bottle of water like it was his last, but I was too excited to do more than merely sip on mine. I pulled out my phone and showed Kael the photo.
“Here. This has to be it. It matches the description Alastor gave us.” I stared at the Louvre, and while I admired the architecture consisting of arched windows and the intricate figures carved along its face, I also thought it looked impossible to infiltrate. “How are we going to get in?”
“From what I have seen, the guards run on a steady schedule of rotation. I saw two such shift changes. The first time there was a twenty-second window of time when a guard wasn’t at his post, and the second was thirty.”
I set the bottle of water beside me on the bench. “That isn’t much time.”
“No, it isn’t, but it’s the best we have. We can make it work.”
“There was a guard in the room with the key. He was watching me closely.”
Kael nodded. “I noticed. It was likely out of curiosity. Shifters are perfectly free to live just as humans do, visiting museums and monuments, but we tend not to do so frequently. He smelled like some sort of cat shifter, a panther, maybe.” He frowned. “Still, we need to be cautious. Blend in the best we can. Shifters are suspicious by nature. Even if he was merely curious about us, I doubt he would forget our presence quickly if something seemed at all unusual.”
The Hunted Soul Page 8