The Jewel's Treasure [Celestial Jewels 3] (Siren Publishing Classic)

by J. Annas Walker

  His young, rugged face framed in a mass of brown curls appeared in the crystal ball. “Hear me and do not speak. Time is short. Remember the statues of the frozen gods and goddesses that lined the Hall of Eternal Light?”

  Sabrina’s memory flashed to the bright hall. The length of the long room held pedestals with marble statues of defeated celestial beings. At the end closest to Lucifer’s throne, two stood empty, save a golden sun and a silvery moon.

  “Yes, I remember,” she said quietly. A knot formed in the pit of her stomach. Dread rose in her chest.

  “Many have awoken,” he said without further explanation.

  “Meaning…what does that mean?” A million thoughts swirled in her mind. Her lioness crouched with her ears laid back. She gave a defensive snarl.

  “Someone hunts you once more,” he said and faded from the orb.

  Chapter 3

  Sabrina stared at the crystal ball in shock. Hunted. She tried to remember the statues in the Hall of Eternal Light. The orb seemed to show her the memory.

  The statues sat on marble pedestals lining both sides of the long, brightly lit room. Heavy silver-and-gold doors sealed Lucifer’s throne room at one end. The other end held a raised dais and his elaborate carved and gilded throne. Behind the ornate chair, a wall of cut glass allowed a warm, golden light to fill the room. Somehow, this image seemed different.

  She paid more attention to the details. Some of the statues showed damage, with heavy cracks running through the heads or silver javelins sticking out of their chests. Others were utterly destroyed. Large chunks of pure, white stone lay scattered on the floor.

  At the foot of the dais, a broken statue lay in a heap with the head intact. Lucifer’s expression of shock and panic still remained frozen and stared up at the ceiling, just as he had looked when her mother, Aradia, turned him to stone. Eleanor had shoved him back through the mirror he used to breach the dimensions, causing him to break into the pile of rubble Sabrina now saw. The broken mirror lay on its side just behind the throne. A spear imbedded in the frame stuck out where the guard threw it at Aradia, her mother and Goddess of Midnight, as the mirror lost its ability of act as a portal.

  Sabrina knew the scene in the crystal ball showed the present and not the past. She scrutinized the statues more closely, hoping to identify the missing gods and goddesses. Closing her eyes, she thought about the way they use to look and what the pedestals held. She opened her eyes and compared the memory with the remaining marble.

  The sun and moon sat on the pedestals closest the dais, but they no longer glowed. The largest two of the set still stood proud and perfect. Juno and Jupiter looked like art carved by a great master. How odd that the king and queen stayed asleep when a few of the others escaped, she thought.

  A pedestal to Jupiter’s right once held a tall, imposing warrior wearing a helmet and armor. He carried a spear, a gladius, and a shield. Now the marble platform held nothing but empty space. One name came to mind. Mars, god of war.

  To the right of Mars should have stood a beautiful, winged woman holding a scale in one hand and a sword in the other. Her name refused to come out, but Sabrina felt sure she should know this woman.

  Other statues were missing as well. A beautiful woman with flowing hair and flowers and a woman in full battle-dress carrying a spear had vanished. Several white owl feathers and a golden apple lay on the floor. Sabrina assumed their names were Venus and Minerva.

  The winged woman’s lost name bothered Sabrina the most. She thought carefully of all the stories Eleanor taught her as a child, but that had been over a hundred years ago. What could she possibly want with Sabrina?

  Footsteps on the creaky, wooden stairs and outside her bedroom door caught Sabrina off-guard. Her already-nervous inner lioness pounced on the intruders. The necklace responded without a thought. A dark, hazy shield pushed out as the door opened.

  Brandon and Hadrian cursed and tried to fight the magic holding them to the wall. Fangs flashed and snarls came from both men.

  “Sabrina! A little help, please?” Brandon managed to move his head enough to glare at her. He looked like something tightly packaged in clear plastic wrap.

  “I’m sorry,” she whispered. Laying a hand over the necklace helped her reabsorb the magic faster. The shield dropped. The crystal ball remained clutched in her other hand.

  Hadrian pushed off the wall and smoothed out his clothes. “Mea Dulcis, we came to see if you were all right. I take it your call didn’t go well,” he said.

  Sabrina shook her head. “Remember those frozen gods and goddesses in the Hall of Eternal Light? The ones that looked like marble statues I told you about?” She lowered her head until her chin nearly touched her chest. Tears threatened to spill down her cheeks.

  Brandon walked to her and lifted her face. “Tell me,” he said softly.

  “Charon said some of the gods and goddess have woken up, and I’m being hunted again,” she said. A hot tear rolled down the side of her face. She did not want to believe it, but the old adage about things coming in threes seemed to hold true, even for a demi-goddess.

  Brandon kissed her tear-streaked cheek. “Don’t worry. We’ll figure this out,” he said. He turned to Hadrian and sighed. “Should we call Delilah?”

  Sabrina thought about the pale, seafoam-green demoness. Her coarse, brown hair and dark-green lips made her sharp, ultra-white teeth practically glow. The small, iridescent scales on her shoulders, elbows, and knuckles caught the light just enough to make her skin appear sequined. Sometimes, Delilah painted her long, pointed, sharp, claw-like nails, but Sabrina knew they matched the same dark-green shade of her lips. Her voluptuous curves and full breasts gave her the figure of a ’30s or ’40s style pin-up girl. The confidence she carried created an air of dangerous sex appeal.

  “No. Not yet,” Hadrian said. He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “Did Charon say who?”

  Sabrina shook her head. She held up the clear orb. “This showed me Lucifer’s throne room. I can’t be sure, but I don’t think Jupiter and Juno woke up. Some of the statues lay damaged or destroyed. I tried to remember what they all looked like, but, honestly, the last time I was there I paid more attention to Lucifer. However, I recognized Mars, Minerva, and Venus. They’re all gone,” she admitted. The unnamed missing woman nagged at her.

  Hadrian put his hands on his hips. “Are you sure about that?”

  Brandon pulled Sabrina in close. “We need to be sure, sweetheart. Those aren’t minor powers. Any one of them could have easily broken the magic protecting our secrets,” he said, kissing the top of her head.

  Still holding the crystal ball tight in her fist, Sabrina nodded against his chest. She told him about the weapons and the golden apple on the floor. She described the three missing statues in as much detail as she could.

  “It sounds like you have those three dead to rights. Can you remember anything else?” Hadrian asked.

  “There was another, but I don’t know who it is,” she replied. The nagging feeling just ate her.

  “In that case, describe them as best you can. We might be able to remember,” Brandon told her. He gave her a light squeeze and turned her loose.

  She sat down on the edge of the bed. She closed her eyes and focused on the winged woman. Making note of every detail she could remember from her astral travel to Lucifer’s court, she told them what she could.

  “I don’t have any more to go on,” she apologized. “At the time, I was paying more attention to Lucifer than his house.” Her lioness seemed to rub her head in a soothing fashion against Sabrina’s psyche. The metaphysical cat bedded back down and watched quietly.

  Hadrian stood by the door. “Standing by a statue you’re convinced was Mars, the god of war?” His face gave away nothing. If he felt anything, he played it close to his chest.

  “I’m certain. His pedestal stood right next to Jupiter’s. He wore full battle dress and carried a spear and a shield. A gladius just like Eleanor’s hung from his waist
,” she confirmed.

  “That sounds like him, all right,” Brandon said with a flat voice. He leaned over and kissed Sabrina on top of the head.

  “And the woman, the one with the flowers and a golden apple,” Hadrian prompted her. He paused, waiting for an answer.

  “I’m convinced it was Venus. Didn’t she have an apple made of gold? I thought I remembered Eleanor telling me it was a way for her to sow discord among the goddesses,” Sabrina said with confidence.

  “Yeah, she did. It’s her. I just know it. I’m not sure how well she’s going to get along in this new world. She might feel the need to cause a little trouble,” Brandon said to Hadrian.

  “I’m not so certain. Venus did enjoy a certain amount of discord from time to time, but she ruled over love. In this age of lust and excess, she might find true love hard to come by. I am willing to bet she’ll want to explore and get back to her favorite pastime of matchmaking,” Hadrian responded. His lips pressed into a hard, thin line. “I’ve got some thinking to do, kids. The sun will up in a few hours. Sabrina, I’m staying in the guest room.” He turned and went into the bedroom across the hall from theirs.

  Her stomach clenched at the thought of having her father so near. The house was old and had little to no insulation in the walls. She knew every noise easily passed through them.

  “Don’t worry,” Brandon whispered, “I’m sure he’ll be asleep in no time.”

  “Or I might just lay awake all day,” Hadrian replied from the other room. “Don’t worry, Mea Dulcis, I don’t care what you do in your own home.”

  Sabrina covered her face with one hand. When she lived here with Eleanor, nothing like this ever came up. Being branded as a half witch made her an outsider. The other witch children seldom came over and never stayed the night. Clay Birch, an orphaned fairy, was her only true friend. He played with her, ran through the tall, white-and-yellow meadow flowers with her, and floated lazily in the creek holding her hand for decades, but he never stayed the night in the house.

  She dropped her hand and stood up at the same time. Making her way around the bed, she placed the crystal ball back on its matching crystal stand on her nightstand. The round orb sat perched on the divot in the top of the smaller cube. She threw a black silk cloth over the top. Try as she might, she could never get Charon to understand that it was not proper to appear without ringing first. He had only started using a chime or gong when she began covering the crystal ball.

  Wrapping her arms around herself, she looked out of the large window over beside the bed. The moon’s dim light threw shadows across the wide meadow. The silver-tipped trees surrounding the old farmhouse made a ragged line against the starry sky.

  The familiar sights usually brought her a sense of peace. This house had always been a place of refuge from the cruel world, but now, trouble invaded her personal sanctuary. Her inner lioness growled with displeasure. So annoyed with the turn of events, she barely noticed Brandon move in behind her.

  “It’ll be all right, sweetheart. Everyone needs time to settle all their old problems when they make the change. You’ll see. In time, everything will quiet down. It’ll just be you and me,” he said, as if the words were as much a promise as they were for comfort.

  She sighed heavily. “I hope so. I don’t understand why they just can’t leave me alone. I’m nothing to them. I’m not really a celestial being and never have been. Does that mean I shouldn’t want the chance to make a life for myself here?” A twinge of guilt made her ashamed of her moment of self-pity.

  She could almost hear Aunt Eleanor now. “Oh, hush up, girl. No good comes of that sort of nonsense. If you don’t like how things are, get up off your butt and change them!”

  Sabrina smiled to herself at hearing Eleanor’s words in her head. The lioness seemed to agree and gave her a sour look to go with the guilt. You’re right, she thought.

  “We said our pasts weren’t going to dictate our futures. Remember? It’s been a long night. Why don’t we go to bed?” Brandon asked. He sounded concerned and wrapped his arms around her. “A good day’s sleep will make everything seem better.”

  “Maybe, but I want to go out on the porch for a few minutes,” she agreed.

  “I’ll go with you,” Brandon said quickly.

  She knew he only went to stop her from being alone, but she welcomed the company.

  The large, oversized rockers had been one of Eleanor’s last purchases before she died. The large, white, wooden behemoths sat side by side on the deep front porch. The thick cushions made sitting on the wide slats much more comfortable.

  Sabrina sat in silence and rocked, enjoying the creaking sound the boards made with each pass. The night seemed so calm and quiet. No wind meant the stifling heat closed in like a hot, humid blanket.

  On the far edge of the trees, a large shadow shifted. The movement was slight, but it was enough to cause the silvery moonlight to flicker on the tree trunks. It paused for only a moment and then melted into the night.

  “Brandon…” Sabrina’s whisper died down as Brandon laid his hand on hers and gave a light squeeze.

  His gaze seemed trained on the spot she saw the shadow vanish. He stood slowly and walked off the porch. Going around the side of the house toward the garage, he left Sabrina alone.

  She tried not to panic. The lioness went on full alert. Hazy shadows danced around her with dark rainbows glimmering on the porch ceiling. It took every bit of willpower she possessed not to run into the house, shouting for her father.

  The shadow reappeared. This time, it came closer before melting back into the black tree line. Next, it stood near the oak tree in the center of the circle drive that led to the house.

  If Sabrina had a heartbeat, it would have pounded out of her chest. She drew a ragged breath. Her lioness wanted to pounce on the intruder, but she did not want to screw up Brandon’s unspoken plan.

  The shadow took two steps toward the porch and stopped. A streak of color came out of nowhere and tackled the shadow. Whoever the shadow was had mass. Two bodies made a thumping noise as they hit the ground. A whoosh of air, followed by a grunt from the flailing bodies, signaled the beginning of the struggle.

  After only a minute, Brandon sat astride the mystery person. He used his legs to pin both of the intruder’s arms and positioned his weight to keep their torso still. He reached down and pulled off the thick, wooly hood.

  A mass of coarse, sandy hair came tumbling out. Hard, blue eyes with catlike pupils stared up at Brandon. The young woman tried to throw Brandon off her, but found herself being pinned even harder.

  Brandon got up and tossed the black-wool hood back to the woman.

  “Sabrina, I’d like you to meet Marley,” Brandon said. He took a few steps back and brushed the dirt off his clothes.

  Marley looked highly frustrated as she dusted herself off as well. She raked her sharp nails through her hair and shook out the tangles.

  “I have a message for you. The instructions said to deliver it to Hadrian personally,” she said and pulled out a coin.

  Brandon put his hand out for the coin. “I’ll see that he gets it. What’s the message?”

  The young woman smirked. “The coin is the message. That’s all I know,” she said and dropped it in his hand.

  “If you work for us, why sneak up on the house?” Sabrina asked. It struck her as strange that her own employee felt the need to use stealth.

  “Call it a demoness’s prerogative,” she said and faded away as if the night had swallowed her whole.

  “More like practice,” Brandon muttered. He looked down at the coin and froze. “Oh, holy hell.”

  Hadrian came out of the house, breezed right past Sabrina, and stopped in front of Brandon. He dropped his gaze to the coin. “Damn.”

  Sabrina felt left out. She did not understand how a single coin could be a message. She asked, “What is it? What’s wrong?”

  Hadrian took the coin and held it up to the moonlight. Turning it from side to si
de, he made sure she saw the front and the back. The bronze disc held his likeness on one side. The other image was a winged woman with her arms lifted to heaven. In one hand was a crude sword. The other held a simple balance.

  “Hey! That’s the missing statue!” Sabrina said brightly with recognition. “Who is she?”

  Brandon and Hadrian gave each other a mournful sideways glance.

  “Nemesis,” they said at the same time.

  Chapter 4

  Sabrina turned without saying another word. The news numbed her mind. She made herself put one foot in front of the other and plodded her way back up to her bedroom. Closing the door, she stripped down and put on her thin, sleeveless, white cotton nightgown.

  She climbed into bed without bothering to pull the shades or close the solar insulating curtains. Her inner lioness paced with worry. How could she defend herself against an avenging goddess? Was it even possible? Her whole world felt like it wanted to crash around her.

  Eleanor’s advice of a good, hot shower and some rest rushed back to Sabrina. Time ran out on getting a shower, but a good day’s rest was doable.

  “It’ll all look better in the morning,” Sabrina muttered to herself. She did not bother waiting for Brandon. She closed her eyes and allowed her humming pendant to lull her to sleep.

  * * * *

  Brandon stood in the yard with Hadrian, staring at the coin. The bronze disc said nothing and everything at the same time. They were all in deep trouble.

  Hadrian pocketed the coin. “I was one of only two emperors to put Nemesis on a coin, you know. A beautiful woman with such a strong sense of duty is a rare thing. Victorious generals and triumphant emperors should always remember her. It’s been centuries since I paid her tribute,” he said, matter-of-factly.

  “We use to pray for the griffins of Nemesis to protect our souls before going into the arena. She was our patroness,” Brandon whispered. He felt betrayed by the goddess he once worshipped.