“Good,” Eloise Le Grande said. She pushed the oak panel to the side.
“Who are you?” Alex asked. She continued speaking French because she couldn’t match Eloise Le Grande’s language.
“We have no time for that,” Eloise Le Grande said. “They will break through any moment.”
“Break through . . .”
Eloise Le Grande shook her head and reached into the panel. Her arms and head disappeared, leaving only her round behind and supple legs behind. Jesse pointed to the door. Alex nodded.
“You will not leave,” Eloise Le Grande commanded from inside the wall.
Alex was frozen in place. Jesse’s apparition was rooted to the wood floors. Terrified, Alex’s heart pounded against her rib cage. She gulped in air and tried not to throw up. Glancing at Jesse, she saw the same fear on his face.
“There it is,” Eloise Le Grande said.
She came out of the wall with something covered in a filthy rag. Mouse droppings, cobwebs, and dirt tattooed the cloth. Alex choked on her own anxiety. Eloise Le Grande gave two big, dramatic sneezes to the dust before casting off the rag.
Eloise Le Grande was holding an ancient bound book. Covered in calfskin, the pages seemed to be vellum.
“You will find what you’re looking for here,” Eloise Le Grande said.
“What am I looking for?” Alex tried to move and found that she had been released from her frozen prison.
“The language you call ‘Linear A,’” Eloise Le Grande said. “The language of kings! Hide it away! Hide it away!”
Alex gawked at the woman.
“Do it now!” Eloise Le Grande said.
Alex felt compelled to tuck the volume into the back of her pants. She pulled her fatigue jacket over the book.
“You will find the key here today,” Eloise Le Grande said. “The key is very important. Don’t lose it or give it away.”
“Who are you?” Alex asked again.
“Where is the rider?” Eloise Le Grande asked. “There’s a rider on your team.”
“Uh . . .” Alex shook her head. “Rider?”
“Your pilot?”
“Zack?” Alex asked.
“Where is he?” Eloise Le Grande asked.
“He is attending to a personal matter,” Alex said.
“He will explain,” Eloise Le Grande said.
“What . . .?” Alex asked.
“Time is of the essence,” Eloise Le Grande said. “You must learn this language, become fluent, or . . .”
“Or what?” Jesse asked.
“The world will burn,” Eloise Le Grande said.
FF
Alex was standing outside the bookstore again. Jesse was to her left, and Raz was standing to her right. A dark sedan pulled up with the French Intelligence agents inside. It was as if going into the bookstore and getting the book from Eloise Le Grande had never happened. Alex glanced at Jesse.
“What the hell?” Jesse asked in Spanish.
Chapter Twenty-two
Jesse looked as distressed as she felt. She blinked.
The French Intelligence officers stepped out of their vehicle.
“Lieutenant Colonel?” said the man Alex recognized as one of Dom’s assistants.
“Oui,” Alex said. She put her hand to her lower back. The antique book was still there.
“We are ready to open the bookstore,” Dom’s assistant said in Parisian French.
“Where is Eloise Le Grande?” Alex asked.
He motioned to something behind her. Alex and Raz turned to see an elderly woman shuffle toward them. Eloise Le Grande had returned to her elderly form. This time, she came right up to Alex.
“I’m so glad you made it, dear,” Eloise Le Grande said in clear Parisian French. She took Alex’s hands. “I was heartbroken when I heard about your friends. I’m so grateful you survived.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Alex said out of years of military practice.
Eloise Le Grande patted Alex’s hands and shuffled to the bookstore. Alex, Jesse, and Raz followed.
“Let’s take a look and see if we can find that map,” Eloise Le Grande continued speaking in Parisian French.
This time, she threw the door open and waited there. Trece and White Boy went into the building to ensure it was safe while Alex, Jesse, and Raz stood to the side. Eloise Le Grande went in the bookstore only after Trece and White Boy gave the all-clear.
Alex waited for her entire team and the French Intelligence to go into the bookstore before stepping through the door. Following her lead, Raz stayed at her side. Raz entered the shop, looked around, and then indicated that it was safe for Alex to enter.
This time, she stepped into the shop she remembered. The oak shelves were vibrant tan in color, with rose tints. The yellow sun glinted off multicolored books. The warm morning light splashed upon the rich-brown parquet floors. Alex walked to where she’d seen the compass rose. Now that color had returned, she could see only the faintest lines of the compass rose detailing. She knelt down to touch it. The compass rose was virtually invisible to the naked eye.
Inside the shop, Eloise Le Grande had the Fey team looking through every bin and under every cabinet. Trece stood guard at the front door, while White Boy guarded the back door.
“We are looking for any maps,” Eloise Le Grande said as she walked from room to room in the shop. “If you find one, bring it to the front so Ms. Hargreaves can take a look.”
Eloise Le Grande looked at Alex and smiled.
“May as well get all these young people to do the dirty work,” Eloise Le Grande winked at Alex.
Alex gave an involuntary shudder.
“I think I found something,” Troy said in French.
“Good, good,” Eloise Le Grande said as she rushed off to take a look. “That’s very good.”
Alex and Raz stood in place. Alex looked at Jesse, who shook his head. He had no idea what was going on, either.
“You look like you don’t feel well,” Raz said in Irish Gaelic. “Shall we head back?”
“It’s just weird to be back here,” Alex replied in Irish Gaelic. “Did we ever come here?”
“A couple of times,” Raz said. “You were always looking for unique maps. Jesse wanted to know about churches.”
“And you?” Alex asked.
“I’d follow you to the ends of the earth,” Raz said.
“There was a girl who worked here . . .” Alex squinted. “Small waist, large . . .”
Alex held her hands a foot in front of her.
“A gentleman never discusses . . .” Raz started and laughed.
“I wonder where she is,” Alex said.
“Cote d’Azur,” Raz said. “When I realized we were coming here, I looked her up.”
“They didn’t bring her back?” Alex asked.
Raz shrugged.
“Odd,” Alex said.
“Oh, yes — this is lovely,” Eloise Le Grande’s voice came from near the back of the store. “Bring it up, dear.”
“Did you notice . . .?” Alex pointed to the floor.
Raz knelt down. His fingers ran over the surface of the compass rose.
“Proposing? In the middle of a bookstore?” Zack said to Raz as he came in the door to the shop.
“Kneeling down before my queen,” Raz said.
Zack dropped to his knees. Laughing, Raz got up and helped Zack up.
“Sorry I’m late,” Zack said. “I was on the phone with the lawyer when Bestat came in. She came as soon as she heard about Tina and the kids.”
Zack smiled at the idea that his life partner would come all this way for him.
“What’s a rider?” Alex asked.
Zack flashed her an odd look and then covered it with a scowl.
“I have no idea . . .” Zack started. Just then, Eloise Le Grande came from the back. She smiled at Zack and zipped into another alcove. “Why is there a dragon here?”
“A what?” Alex asked.
“That woman . . . s
he’s . . . uh . . .”
“She called you a rider,” Alex said.
“It’s a long story,” Zack said. He shifted uncomfortably.
“We have time,” Raz said.
Jesse created a small ball of energy and sent it in Zack’s direction. Zack jerked as if he’d been shocked. He sneered in the direction of where he thought Jesse was standing. Jesse laughed.
“What’s a rider?” Alex asked.
“There are certain people who . . .” Zack started. He scowled. “I guess it’s genetic.”
“Your father?”
“His father,” Zack said. “A rider is a dragon rider. We can ride dragons. In modern times, most of us are pilots. Human. We each have a desperate longing for the wide-open sky and very little fear. There’re two other guys on the U-2 corps who are riders. The Wright Brothers were, for sure. I’ve met a couple women riders. I guess there are more women riders than men.”
“And this woman?” Raz asked. “This Eloise Le Grande?”
“I’ve never met her,” Zack said. “She’s definitely one of them. Not as old as Bestat, of course, but there aren’t many that are. This . . . what did you call her?”
“Eloise Le Grande,” Alex said.
“She’s not young,” Zack said. “She’s powerful. Dangerous. Who is she?”
“She’s supposed to be the bookshop assistant,” Alex said. “I’ve never met her before.”
Zack nodded.
“That’s got to be why Bestat is here,” Jesse said in Spanish.
“Is it possible Bestat came here because of . . .?” Alex gestured to Eloise Le Grande.
“I love the woman,” Zack shrugged. “I don’t try to fathom why she does one thing or the other. I make up stories that it’s about me, but your guess is as good as mine.”
“Are we in danger?” Raz asked.
“Nah,” Zack shook his head. “I mean, I don’t think so. Do you?”
Alex shook her head at Zack. He pointed toward the back of the store and wandered in that direction. As he passed the shelf-lined middle alcove, Eloise Le Grande came out, carrying a brown leather-wrapped box that looked something like a briefcase. Raz gave Alex a worried look.
“That handsome young man . . .”
“That was me!” Royce said from the end of the alcove.
The team laughed.
“Yes, Royce Tubman found this inside a bench,” Eloise Le Grande said. “I thought you’d like to see it.”
She held out the box to Alex, and Raz stepped in front of Alex. Eloise Le Grande laughed. She leaned into Raz and said something in a low tone. Raz was so surprised that he stepped back.
“It’s just a little cartography tool set,” Eloise Le Grande said in a louder voice. She patted Raz’s chest. “I thought our cartographer would love it.”
Eloise Le Grande went to the front counter. With her forearm, she cleared the miscellaneous flyers, mail, and remnants of bookstore business onto the floor. She set the box down on the dusty countertop.
“Ma’am?” Eloise Le Grande waved Alex over to come to the counter.
Alex glanced at Raz. His brows were furrowed, and he was lost in thought. Feeling her gaze, his eyes flicked in her direction. A smile started in his eyes and worked its way across his face. She smiled in return.
“Ms. Hargreaves?” Eloise Le Grande asked.
“You’ve got to see this,” Jesse said in Spanish.
Alex touched Raz’s arm and went to the counter. Raz moved in behind her. Eloise Le Grande flipped up the metal latches. The case opened on brass hinges set into the leather on one side. Eloise Le Grande smiled at Alex and allowed the two sides of the case to fall into her hands. In the center of the case, over the hinges, was the now-familiar sixteen-point compass rose with its eye in the center.
The case was padded on the inside with slots to snugly hold a set of metal cartographer’s tools. One side of the case held drafting tools, including a ruling pen and an empty ink bottle. There was a metal ruler on the side and a T-square near the bottom. There was another caliper as well as a slot for the caliper Alex had in her safe. The same side of the case held an astrolabe for determining the locations of stars. The tools were gorgeously detailed with roses and stars around the top and the sixteen-point compass rose with the eye on the side.
On the other side of the case, there was both a mariner’s astrolabe and a sextant. Both used in navigation of ships, it held the practical tools of navigation, including a lead and line.
“What a shame,” Eloise Le Grande said and pointed to the box. “The directional compass is gone. Looks like it’s been missing for a long, long time.”
Alex looked up at her. She was tempted to tell the woman-dragon, or whatever she was, that the compass had been in Ben’s safe for all these years. But her natural reticence to talk kept her from saying a word. The elderly woman gave her a bright smile.
“Gosh, the book is gone as well.” Eloise Le Grande pointed to a slot behind the drafting tools. “That’s a shame. I wonder what it was.”
“Notebook of some kind, I’d guess,” Alex said.
“Was that common?” Eloise Le Grande asked.
Wondering what the woman was asking, Alex gave her a puzzled look. Eloise Le Grande smiled.
“Common?” Alex asked. “I’d guess so. Most of these kits came with a journal to write on. We’d have to take this to an expert to find out how old the set was. That would determine whether the book was in calfskin or in paper. Then it depends on how the book was stored as to whether it would be readable now.”
Alex nodded.
“Any idea who this belonged to?” Alex asked.
“Why the bookstore owner, of course,” Eloise Le Grande said. “I’m sure it was a family heirloom.”
Alex felt Raz’s hand on the small of her back. Feeling the book, he slipped it out from under her shirt and tucked it into his back pants pocket. Alex shifted toward him for comfort.
“Thank you for sharing this with us, Ms. Le Grande,” Raz said.
Eloise Le Grande smiled.
“Too bad it’s missing a few items.” Eloise Le Grande’s fingers touched the spot where Alex’s caliper and Ben’s compass would go. “This is a very useful set. But only when it’s complete and used together.”
Alex smiled.
“Oh look,” Eloise Le Grande said. She gestured to the inside of the glass counter the cartographer’s set was sitting on. “Isn’t that the same symbol?”
Alex bent over to get a better look. Raz knelt down. A man’s ring with the compass rose and distinctive eye was sitting on a shelf. Surprised, Alex took a quick breath. The cufflinks sat next to the ring.
“May I take a look at that watch?” Raz asked.
He pointed to what looked like an antique, gold-covered pocket watch. The watch’s gold cover had a multi-colored gold image of the compass rose and eye.
“You have good taste,” Eloise Le Grande said.
She went around the cabinet and took out the antique pocket watch. Raz gave Alex a soft smile. He turned the watch over to show that the compass rose design was duplicated on the back in the same multicolored gold. In the center of the eye was an empty monogram space. Raz pressed the stem, and the cover opened to show a simple watch face with a smaller dial for the second hand.
“Wind it,” Eloise Le Grande said. “It keeps time. Not perfect time, but you know how these antiques can be.”
Raz nodded. He wound the watch and then held it to his ear to listen to it tick. He smiled.
“Are we able to purchase items from the store?” Alex asked. “I’d love to get the ring and cufflinks for my father, and I know Agent Rasmussen would love to add this watch to his collection.”
“I don’t see why not,” Eloise Le Grande said. “I can write them up right here . . .”
Vince hooted, and Leena cheered.
“We found some maps!” Margaret yelled.
The team cheered.
“Looks like they found something important
,” Eloise Le Grande said. “Why don’t you hang onto these?”
She set the cufflinks and ring in Alex’s hand.
“For safe keeping,” Eloise Le Grande said. “Keep the watch, too, Agent Rasmussen. You never know what could happen.”
Raz looked confused, but stuck the watch in his pocket.
“Why don’t you go see what they found?” Eloise Le Grande asked. “I’ll close up the case and be right there.”
Alex and Raz walked to the back of the store, where MJ was lying on his stomach under the bookshelf on the end of the alcove. Alex glanced at the molding where Eloise Le Grande had gone and then back at MJ. A lanky man, MJ’s entire body was under the wide oak bottom shelf. Margaret held onto his bony ankles while Vince and Leena grabbed rolled-up maps from MJ’s finger tips.
“Uh,” Alex gasped and then covered her mouth with her fingers.
Surprised, Margaret, Vince, and Leena looked at her.
“What did we do?” Margaret asked.
“It’s not you,” Colin said as he walked past Alex and Raz to where Margaret was standing. “It’s the maps.”
“The maps?” Vince asked.
Vince held up a rolled-up map and raised a questioning eyebrow. The team had gathered behind Alex and Raz at the end of the alcove.
“They are rolled up.” Colin shook his head. “Very bad. Very bad.”
Colin knelt down.
“Do you see any maps that are not rolled up?” Colin asked.
“They’d be lying flat in a stack,” Alex said.
“Yeah, give me a second to get over there,” MJ said.
“We should check under the bottom shelf of all three alcoves,” Alex said. “It looks like there is a deep space there.”
“You heard the Fey,” Matthew said. “Troy, you work with Colin and Joseph. Royce, you work with Zack and Cliff.”
“Who goes under?” Zack asked.
“Work it out,” Matthew said. “Sergeant Dusty?”
“Sir,” Sergeant Dusty came out from a closet opposite where they were standing.
“Where are we with our search?” Matthew asked.
“We’ve looked everywhere,” Sergeant Dusty said. “We found the cartography tools and this stash of maps. Margaret found . . . well, we’re not sure what she found. The bookshop assistant said she should hold onto it. We’ve taken a cursory look at the books, but without an idea of what we’re looking for, they’re just old books.”
Finding North Page 21