Into The Jaws Of The Lion (The Arkana Archaeology Mystery Series Book 5)

by N. S. Wikarski

  He stared at her, still incredulous. “Are you out of your mind?”

  “Obviously,” she replied matter-of-factly. “All part of the Pythia gig, dude. Jumping out of my mind and into other people’s heads. Tonight I got a grand tour of the inside of yours. I especially liked that secret room in the sub-basement of your brain with a padlocked door and a big sign that says ‘KEEP OUT’.”

  Erik snorted in disgust. “This is unbelievable. You’ve managed to turn this whole thing around so it’s all about you.” He hastily stuffed the rest of his crumpled clothes into the bag. “If that’s what you need to tell yourself, toots, go ahead! Be my guest.”

  She rounded on him. “It’s not about me or what I need to tell myself. I checked my ego at the door when I walked in here. This is about what’s true.”

  “Stop making this harder than it already is!” he shot back.

  She raised her hands in an attitude of surrender. “I’m not telling you all this to try to keep you here. I already know there’s no point because twenty-twenty won’t kick in until you’ve put seven thousand miles between us. Maybe from half a world away, some of what I’m saying will make sense.”

  He didn’t reply. Instead, he grabbed his gear and headed for the door. “The last airport shuttle leaves in fifteen minutes. I need to be on it.”

  Cassie stood motionless in the middle of the room.

  He paused with his hand on the doorknob. Without turning to face her, he said, “Cass, I’ll always have your back. No matter where I am. In the long run, that ought to count for more than anything that happened in the bedroom.”

  She took one involuntary step forward before fiercely resisting the urge to run to him. Instead she blinked back the tears that were forming in her eyes. “On some level I already know you’d put your life on the line for me, if it ever came to that.” Her lips twisted into a bitter smile. “Your life but not your heart. Looks like only one of us is brave enough to do that.”

  He stepped into the hallway without turning around. “See you around, toots.”

  “See you, dude,” she whispered as the door slammed behind him.

  ***

  The Paladin strode quickly through the lobby and out into the open air. He took up a position by the curb, waiting for the van to arrive. Off in the distance, he heard a voice calling him.

  “Erik! Over here.”

  He turned to locate the sound. Griffin emerged from the shadows at the far end of the circular driveway.

  Erik rolled his eyes. “What is this—some kind of tag team ambush? First Cassie and now you!”

  The Scrivener faced him impassively. “Cassie doesn’t know I’m here. I’d like a word with you, mate.”

  “I’m not your mate,” Erik muttered though he crossed over to where Griffin stood—out of the range of the security cameras.

  “Before you even start, I already got an earful from her,” the Paladin protested.

  “I’m not here to give you, as you so colorfully put it, ‘an earful’,” Griffin replied evenly. “I merely want to ask you a question.”

  Erik dropped his bags and spread his arms wide. “Then hurry up and ask it. My ride’s due any minute.”

  “How could you do this to her?”

  “What?” Erik squinted at him in the dim light.

  “How could you do this to her when you know how much she cares about you?”

  Erik felt his indignation rising. “How is any of this your business?”

  “It’s my business because she’s my colleague.” Griffin’s voice was tense with suppressed anger.

  “Your colleague.” Erik gave a short bark of a laugh. “Yeah, right. You’re getting awfully wound up about somebody who’s just a co-worker. You ought to be glad I’m leaving. The field’s wide open for you, mate.” He enunciated the last word with cruel precision.

  Griffin flinched as if he’d been struck. “You bloody wanker!” His fist came out of nowhere and clipped Erik squarely on the jaw. The unexpected blow sent the Paladin sprawling onto the pavement.

  The Scrivener registered shock at his own behavior. “I...I’m sorry,” he stammered. “I didn’t mean to do that.”

  Erik sat up, wiping away a trickle of blood at the corner of his mouth. Wordlessly, he rose and retrieved his bags just as the airport shuttle rolled up to the hotel entrance. He glanced back briefly at Griffin who still appeared stunned by his own actions. “Since I blind-sided both of you with this change of plan, I’ll cut you some slack tonight. But if you ever try a stunt like that again, they’ll be scraping you off the sidewalk for days!” He wheeled around and loped toward the van, leaving Griffin to stare after his retreating shadow.

  Chapter 29—Distress Call

  Faye jumped slightly when the cell phone buried at the bottom of her cutlery drawer rang. Its vibration set up an answering clang from the knives heaped on top of it. She’d hidden it there to avoid attracting Hannah’s attention. It was to be used only for official Arkana business and she didn’t want the teenager asking awkward questions about why Granny Faye owned two cell phones. Of course, keeping the phone out of sight was of no help once it began making noise. It needed to be kept out of earshot as well. She made a mental note to relocate it to her upstairs bedroom at the earliest opportunity. It rang again. Faye fancied she could detect a note of urgency in the shrill summons.

  “Hello?” she asked cautiously.

  “Oh Faye, thank goddess you picked up.” The voice on the other end was Griffin’s. “I hope I didn’t wake you.”

  The old woman was taken aback by the question until she remembered that the Scrivener was several time zones away in India. “No dear. It’s ten o’clock in the morning here. I’m just washing the breakfast dishes.”

  “Can you speak freely?”

  “Yes. Hannah’s gone off to school.” She shuffled over to a kitchen chair and sat down. “Now tell me what’s wrong. Your voice sounds tense.”

  He gave a deep sigh. “I wanted to make you aware of recent developments. Ordinarily, I would ring Maddie but she’s prone to excitability in the face of unexpected events.”

  Faye felt a sense of uneasiness at his words. “Has Daniel caught up with you already? Our latest intelligence has him mired in research at the downtown library.”

  “No, it’s nothing to do with the Nephilim.”

  “Then what is it?” she urged.

  There was a long pause on the other end of the line as if he couldn’t bring himself to deliver the news. Evasiveness wasn’t part of Griffin’s nature. She waited patiently, allowing him to gather his thoughts, even though she was growing more concerned by the second.

  “It’s Erik,” he finally blurted out.

  “Erik!” she exclaimed. “Has he been injured?”

  “No, he’s left.”

  Now it was Faye’s turn to pause, unable to process the message. “What do you mean he’s left?”

  “Well, we had a bit of a row earlier this evening. Erik was of the opinion that his peculiar talents could be better utilized elsewhere.”

  Each new attempt at an explanation only proliferated Faye’s confusion.

  Griffin continued. “You see, I’ve discovered that the next artifact is most probably hidden at Mount Kailash.”

  “Ahhh,” the old woman said. He didn’t need to explain to her the significance of the location. “It’s rather late in the year to start a trip to the Himalayas,” she observed.

  “That’s what our Paladin said too,” Griffin replied in exasperation. “Of course, we have to try. Can’t let the Nephilim reach the artifact first but Erik was terribly concerned about being snowbound. After announcing that he would arrange a security team to meet us in Nepal, he said he was leaving. He felt his time was too precious to sacrifice to the whims of the weather.” Sotto voce, the Scrivener added, “Though not Cassie’s or mine, apparently.”

  “I see,” Faye said, implying a world of comprehension in those two small words.

  Griffin hesitated. “You
do?”

  “Yes. This has something to do with his relationship with Cassie, doesn’t it?”

  She could feel him fretting on the other end of the line, weighing how much personal information to disclose to her. “I’m afraid it might. Cassie seems to think he has... umm... how shall I put it?”

  “Intimacy issues?” Faye completed the thought. “I believe that’s the term you young people would use for it nowadays.”

  “Erik’s intimacy issues are only of the emotional variety,” Griffin remarked acerbically. “He seems to have no difficulty whatsoever with physical proximity.”

  Faye chuckled softly. “In my youth, we rarely delved into psychology. We referred to a person with intimacy issues as a cad and left it at that.”

  “But how did you know?”

  “My dear, I’m well aware of Erik’s reputation with the ladies. Don’t you remember our conversation before you left for Africa? You, yourself, alerted me to the possibility that he and Cassie might be on the verge of a romance.”

  “Yes, and I’m sad to say it ended just as I feared it would. He’s moved on.”

  “Oh, I think not,” the old woman retorted cryptically.

  “What on earth do you mean? The evidence is incontrovertible. He has, quite literally, left.”

  There was a long silence as Faye assessed the situation mentally. “Doesn’t it occur to you that he’s gone to great lengths to separate himself from Cassie at a critical juncture, possibly compromising the success of your entire mission?”

  “Yes, of course, that’s true,” Griffin admitted. “But why should the timing matter?”

  “It matters because the very urgency of his need to distance himself, at the point when you need him most, is an indication of the level of his fear. A young man wishing to terminate a casual liaison would be unlikely to go to such extreme lengths.”

  “I hadn’t thought of that. So you believe he actually cares for her?”

  “Oh yes, very much.”

  “Then you must also believe they’ll reconcile and get back together eventually.”

  “That outcome isn’t inevitable. It doesn’t matter that you or I or Cassie can see his true feelings if he, himself, is blind to them. Remember the old adage about leading a horse to water.”

  “Or in this instance, a horse’s arse,” the Scrivener muttered. Catching himself, he continued. “But surely he’ll see in time. Even Erik isn’t that great a dolt.”

  “Perhaps,” she agreed. “He may realize the truth in time, but not necessarily in time.” She accented the last two words.

  “Oh.” Griffin exhaled softly, comprehending her subtle meaning.

  Faye could tell that a number of new possibilities were jostling for space at the back of his mind. She decided to nudge them to the fore. “And what about you and Cassie? Have you told her how you feel about her?”

  “Certainly not!” His voice was filled with shock and outrage. He retreated a step. “I’m sorry, Faye. That came out a trifle stronger than I intended but only a vile wretch would take advantage of Cassie’s present emotional vulnerability to further his own ends. It’s just bad form!”

  She laughed gently at his vehement protest. “You’ll forgive me, my dear, if I observe that your impeccable sense of propriety can offer little more than cold comfort to a lonely heart.”

  “Are you suggesting I tell her now?” His tone was disbelieving.

  “Not this minute. Of course not. But an opportunity may present itself if you keep your wits about you.” She sighed. “Griffin, you are a kind, sweet young man who has everybody else’s best interests in mind except your own. Perhaps one day you’ll learn to treat yourself with as much consideration as you give to those you care about. Don’t you think you deserve a little happiness too?”

  “Perhaps,” he relented. “I’ll tell Cassie how I feel one day. When I’m convinced Erik has no more claim on her affections.”

  “Then let’s just leave it at that for now,” Faye conceded. “With a ‘perhaps’.”

  “Yes, let’s,” he agreed, sounding mildly relieved to be done with the topic.

  More brightly, she asked, “So what are Erik’s future plans?”

  “Even as we speak he’s winging his way back to the Vault to complete some task which he believes only he can do.”

  “Oh, dear!” Faye gasped.

  “You know what he’s planning, don’t you?”

  The old woman rubbed her temples distractedly. “I’m afraid I do. I’d rather not alarm you until I can confirm his intentions for myself. If I’m right, it’s a measure of his desperation that he would choose such a grim alternative as his means of escape.”

  Chapter 30—Come Spy With Me

  Chopper Bowdeen walked through the concourse of the international terminal at O’Hare Airport lost in thought. The past few weeks had gone exactly as he’d dreaded. No sooner had he given his status report to the old preacher than Metcalf turned right around and found more work for him to do. First, he’d had to fix some problems with the surveillance set-up at the main compound. Right after he got that job squared away, he was told to prepare for a trip to Africa. There were half a dozen compounds scattered across the continent and the Diviner wanted them all brought up to speed within the next several months. While Bowdeen’s marching orders didn’t come as a complete surprise, he was frustrated to be leaving the country with no new leads other than his bizarre conversation with Leroy Hunt. That’s when he’d decided to call in reinforcements.

  He arrived at the gate where his flight was going to board in forty five minutes. Scanning the faces in the waiting area, he realized his contact hadn’t arrived yet.

  “Good day, Mr. Bowdeen.” Joshua Metcalf glided up next to him, giving him an involuntary start. Metcalf’s son had a talent for sneaking up on a person unawares. That’s probably what made him a good spymaster.

  Chopper forced a smile. “Good to see you, Joshua. Where are you headed?”

  The young man consulted his watch. “My flight to Berlin leaves in an hour. You wanted to see me?” He gave the mercenary a searching look.

  Bowdeen cleared his throat self-consciously. “Let’s have a seat over here.” He pointed to the last row of seats near the window and far away from any other passengers in the waiting area.

  When the two men got settled, Bowdeen began. “It’s hard to talk at the compound. I should know. I set up the surveillance system there.”

  “Yes,” Joshua agreed noncommittally, a bland expression on his face.

  “I recently came across a bit of intel that doesn’t make any sense to me. I thought maybe you could help.”

  Joshua sat up straighter. The mention of obscure information apparently stimulated his curiosity. “What is it?”

  “Do you know anything about a secret facility out in the countryside? It would be maybe twenty miles away from the compound.” Chopper described the location of the site.

  “No... no, I don’t.” Joshua hesitated just long enough to make the mercenary think he was hiding something.

  “This is information your father probably hasn’t shared with anybody in the community but whatever is going on there, it might be run by a foreign doctor. His name is Aboud. Ring a bell?”

  Joshua turned pale. “I... uh... Where exactly did you say this place was?”

  Chopper repeated the directions Leroy had given him.

  The spymaster sat perfectly still as if he’d been cast in stone. His eyes were riveted to the carpet. After several seconds, apparently weighing how much to share with Bowdeen, he murmured, “There are rumors.”

  Now it was Bowdeen’s turn to perk up and sit at attention. “What kind of rumors?”

  Joshua darted a nervous glance in his direction. “Gossip in the compound about a secret facility somewhere in the woods. Nobody knows what’s going on there. But the directions you just gave me. Well... uh...” He stopped altogether, frowning in concentration. “I’m not sure what it all means.”

  �
�What is it, son?” Bowdeen put a hand on the spymaster’s shoulder.

  The young man flinched slightly at the contact and the mercenary withdrew his hand.

  Joshua turned his gaze upward. “My father charged me with an unusual task. He wanted me to gather members of the congregation who have been rebellious or disruptive. I was to place them in a van and deliver them to a rendezvous point.”

  Bowdeen was startled at the news. “Why?”

  The spymaster shrugged helplessly. “I have no idea. My father clearly didn’t want me to inquire further as to the nature of his plans. He simply said that another van would be waiting at that location to collect these individuals.”

  “But how’s this connected to the secret facility?”

  Joshua’s face grew deeply troubled. “The rendezvous point where I am to deliver these rebels is about ten miles east of the place you described and along the same road.”

  Chopper gave a low whistle. “So that’s where the Diviner is sending people he wants to get rid of.”

  “We don’t know that for sure,” Joshua hastened to contradict him.

  Bowdeen merely cocked a skeptical eyebrow at his companion. “You think he’s sending them there to reward them?”

  “I... I... I don’t know what to think.”

  The mercenary was aware that Joshua prided himself on his icy composure. He never displayed any show of emotion but this news had clearly rattled him. “So you don’t know what this is about?”

  “No, Mr. Bowdeen, I don’t. But I intend to find out now that you’ve given me a place to look.”

  “That’s good,” the mercenary nodded approvingly. “You will keep me posted of what you find out, won’t you?”