Quests by Numbers (Rogue Spotter Book 5)

by Kimberly A Rogers

  There lies chaos, there lies doom

  Beneath Etna buried destruction waits to waken doom.”

  Mathias hummed in my ear before clicking his tongue. “Well, at least this one rhymes properly. Why did you read it in Turkish?”

  “It’s what the letters formed into, Turkish not English. I don’t know why.”

  “What letters?”

  “The ones that glow like the numbers,” I replied absently. “It’s in the forge.”

  * * *

  Chapter Thirteen

  Mathias

  “Why are you frowning?” I asked as I slipped my arm around Lauren’s shoulders. The train we caught in Palermo two hours ago still had another hour before arriving in Messina, the city an hour and a half north of Mount Etna. “Not feeling sick, are you?”

  Lauren gave her head a little shake. “No.” She looked around and then lowered her voice to a barely understandable whisper despite us being alone in this car as she said, “It’s just we’ve only found three of the five pieces. What if we don’t find two pieces at the Forge of Hephaestus?”

  I brushed some loose strands of hair out of her face. “Then, we take the four we have and run with them.”

  Her frown returned. “I thought the same. But, Mathias, what if that isn’t good enough? What if failing to find all the pieces still gives Weard the advantage?”

  “The important thing is that Weard won’t have the whole crown. We can keep the full power of the crown from being theirs, which is what we set out to do, remember?” I smoothed my thumb across her forehead and added, “However, I admit I’m a little hesitant about Etna. Going inside a stirring volcano is hardly the wisest thing to do, especially for you.”

  She looked away from me, a sigh lifting her shoulders. “I know. It’s just . . . What if you must be a Spotter to find the others too? I told you how I found them. If you had tried, you would have failed and probably died.”

  “That would be a rather dramatic failure, yes,” I murmured. A faint smile flickered into being as I had hoped, then I hugged her closer. “I know it worries you. But, I want to keep you safe. We had a closer call with Knossos than I liked, and I know it. Just . . . let me check out Etna and the forge first. I’ll come back to get you if it looks safe. Agreed?”

  “Agreed.” Lauren kissed my cheek and then murmured, “I think I’m very ready to escape to that little island of yours.”

  “One last stop, and then we won’t rest until I find you the perfect beach,” I promised.

  Lauren laughed softly before she curled up against my side. I kept my arm around her, needing her close, as I watched the countryside flying by the window. We just needed to get through one more obstacle, and we would be done. Then, I would make sure Lauren and the baby were safe from any dragon princes who got the idea that they didn’t want a Myrmidon to have a family. And, from Weard and this brewing war.

  I was grateful that Lauren slept until we pulled into the station at Messina. She probably would’ve asked what was wrong, and I hadn’t gone into the full details of why we’d needed to flee Crete. Certainly not the warning Royal had given as to what the draconic council might do to her or the baby. That was something I would keep to myself. She had enough stress without knowing any of those unpleasant details.

  I stood, my knives safely hidden inside my new jacket, and Lauren tucked her satchel tight against her side. We had left our go bag behind in the safe house we’d stayed in at Palermo for a few hours. Something I was grateful for since I had the distinct feeling that we would need to pack light for this leg of our journey. I waited until I saw the other passengers getting off the cars ahead and behind us. There were many of them although there was a rather impressive crowd of people amassing on the station. Tourists attempting to leave the island or at least put as much of it between them and Mount Etna as possible.

  Lauren stuck close to my side as we disembarked from the train. I shouldered a path through the crowd until I noticed movement to the side. A glance over brought a curse to my lips. Khalid was here, and he had seen me. I could see him shouting and gesturing. More people, no, more hunters began shoving their way through the crowd ignoring protests and shouts as they did so.

  I grabbed Lauren’s hand and tugged her to the right, ducking around a family of irritated looking dragonborn. There was a shout as one of Weard’s hunters attempted to follow. I glanced back as he was being pounced on by two of the dragonborn while the oldest female berated him in Italian for rudeness and intruding on their honor.

  Good. Khalid was distracted by the noise as were others. I pulled Lauren into a faster trot, but didn’t break into a run. That would have pulled attention back to us, especially since we were running the wrong way. She slowed suddenly, and I looked back to find her peering to our left. “Lauren, come on.”

  “Wait.” Her eyes widened and her mouth dropped open in surprise before she turned back to me. “It’s Raz Yakov.”

  “What? Where?” I looked around until I spotted him. The stooped older man with wild grey hair blended in with the crowd in his simple attire of a long sleeved white shirt combined with dark pants and vest. He was leaning on a cane and hobbling away from the direction of another train.

  I groaned, then motioned for Lauren to head to the exit to our right. “Go on. Head to the market. Do not wait for us.”

  I only waited long enough for her to head in the right direction with a small nod before I went after the old Spotter. He had told her that he couldn’t leave the protection of Rome. What was the old man doing in Sicily?

  Khalid was looking around the station, searching for us no doubt, and then his gaze settled on Raz Yakov. I watched his expression change briefly to bewilderment, and then a savage smile appeared. He gave a shout I couldn’t make out above the noise of the crowd around me as more people got into fights and arguments about the trains. The other hunters didn’t share the same difficulty, however. Most likely, they had earwigs in to give them some help.

  I took a chance and shoved a man I was certain was a shifter into one of Weard’s hunters. The hunter reacted by punching the man in the face. His entire body stiffened, and then he shook his head slowly. There were norms mixed in with the paranormals, keeping him from shifting, but he could still fight. As the man lunged, taking the hunter to the station floor, I reached Raz Yakov.

  He jumped and some of the color leached out of his dark olive complexion. I nodded to him. “Sorry. However, I don’t have time to explain. Hunters have fingered you so we need to go.”

  His wild grey eyebrows crawled up his lined brow as his gnarled hands tightened around his cane. “Is Lauren Hope with you?”

  I nodded. “She’s here. Now, we need to get moving.”

  “Oh yes, of course.”

  It seemed to take forever, and twice I told a shifter that one of Weard’s hunters had called the shifter a thief. The ensuing fights were barely enough to cover our escape as slowly as Raz Yakov moved. I didn’t relax until we’d reached the market and I saw Lauren waving to us.

  We joined her at a farmer’s lorry, and she nodded to me. “I’ve convinced him to take us to Catania, the village at the foot of Mount Etna. He’s going back for his family. I told him we were doing the same.”

  “Good.” I helped her into the back of the lorry, grateful for the crates partially filled with produce that lined the sides and provided some cover. Then, I helped Raz Yakov in before I clambered in myself. With his addition, I was even more grateful that we didn’t also need to squeeze our go bag into the narrow clear space of the lorry’s bed. Settling against the back of the cab, I rapped my knuckles against the rear window.

  As we reached the border of Messina, I turned my attention to Raz Yakov who was guzzling one of the water bottles Lauren had given him. “How exactly did you get to Sicily and why?”

  * * *

  Lauren

  I waited expectantly for Raz Yakov to answer. The 3 glimmering above the older Spotter’s head was a small comfort given th
e fact it was the same as the one floating above the farmer’s head. Of course, it helped that I’d approached a norm instead of a paranormal in hopes that doing so would throw Weard’s hunters off at least a little.

  “Well?” A slight edge had entered Mathias’ tone, and I watched as the older man glanced at his number only to wince.

  “Forgive me, I am . . . Well, I am quite scattered at the moment. I can hardly think much less speak.” His light brown eyes turned to me, and he leaned forward slightly. “You have had success with the wonders?”

  I nodded. “It took us longer than expected to find anything, but we’ve found three of them.”

  “Three?” he echoed, a look of wonder entering his eyes. “Truly? Where were they?”

  “The first one we found inside the Great Sphinx.”

  “Sphinx?” he interrupted. “Not the Great Pyramid, even though that was the Wonder.”

  “Yes. I had started to lose hope of finding any of them when we finally came across it.”

  Raz Yakov leaned back, running a gnarled hand over his hair. The movement caused his hair to stick up even more wildly as he pursed his thin lips. “How fascinating. I never would have imagined that it was hidden inside the Sphinx instead of the Pyramid. I would have gone to the wrong place entirely it seems. How fortunate that you were able to go, then.”

  I shrugged. “It was in the riddle the dragons kept a memory of, but then we ran into some trouble with hunters.”

  “You didn’t lose the piece, did you?”

  “No, of course not.” I offered a reassuring smile. “I meant only that we had to dodge Weard for a bit before we could continue our quest.”

  “And, the other two? Where did you find those?”

  I couldn’t help a more genuine smile forming at the eagerness in his eyes and voice. “We found them in Knossos, in the labyrinth of Daedalus.”

  “Truly? I’d heard that the dragon and shifters had suddenly descended on Knossos, and feared that you might have been discovered.”

  “Then, you agree that Weard is being controlled by one of the rogues?” Mathias asked.

  “All the signs seem to point to it, do they not?” Raz Yakov returned before he asked, “You didn’t tell any of them what you found, did you?”

  I shook my head. “No, of course not. Even if we knew whom to trust, the knowledge of this artifact is far too dangerous to be revealed to even the dragon princes. Especially when they are on the brink of war and more inclined to misusing the Crown of Nimrod themselves.”

  Raz Yakov nodded slowly, his gnarled fingers rubbing the head of his cane. “Yes. Good, good. A wise decision, indeed, Lauren Hope. Such a treasure as this . . . It will make far too great a temptation to a world at war.” He considered me a moment and then asked, “What do you intend to do with it?”

  “I was thinking I’d drop the pieces into the different seas,” I confessed. “It’s too dangerous to risk putting them together to reform the crown and the seas are deep enough to keep their secrets if we choose the right areas, especially when only Spotters can use the crown as intended.”

  He nodded. “That might be for the best. Although, it does grieve my heart as a historian to see the pieces of our people’s history lost to us in such a fashion once more.”

  “I understand, but it is too great a risk to keep them with us even if we split them between us.” I hesitated as Mathias caught my eye. “You never said why you left the safety of Roma. Why would you come to Sicily of all places with Weard stirring?”

  Raz Yakov smiled. “Lauren Hope, this quest is the greatest treasure in all of Spotter history. It may be that we shall be forced to destroy it for the sake of our future. Nevertheless, I could not hide myself away while knowing evil minds desired this treasure. And, there were only the two of you hunting for the crown . . . even with your mate’s added advantage of heritage and strength. It is a good thing that I decided to search Naples’ archeological museum for any clues that might have been removed from Herculaneum and Pompeii because I found this hidden in the back of a cast of one of Pompeii’s victims.” He dug into his vest and pulled out a wrapped parcel, which he held out to me.

  My fingers trembled as I took the parcel. Opening one end just enough to catch a glimpse of bronze with gold numbers flashing across the surface, I could hardly breathe. He had found one. My hands were still shaking with a mix of relief and disbelief as I hurried to wrap it again and then slip it inside my satchel. We had four pieces of the Crown of Nimrod. Oh thank God, we had four of the five pieces. Now, we only needed to find one more . . .

  Some of my gratitude turned to worry as we approached Mount Etna. The clouds ringing the summit were dark and the smell of sulfur filled the air even this far away. I had a sinking feeling that Mount Etna was going to prove the greatest challenge of our quest to date. Not exactly something I wanted to contemplate after everything we had been through at Knossos. But, there was no turning back now.

  * * *

  Chapter Fourteen

  Lauren

  I sat on the lip of a bubbling fountain, paging through Mathias’ book on paranormals that I had insisted on bringing along with the box and its contents. There had to be something in here we could use. We’d arrived in Catania almost an hour ago only to find that all tours of Mount Etna, including the paranormal ones that ventured into the Forge of Hephaestus, had been suspended due to the volcanic activity.

  Raz Yakov sat next to me, a picture of weariness with his grey head bent and his gnarled hands spasming around the head of his cane. Mathias had gone to ascertain just how bad things were with Etna. And I was . . . finally finding something. The entry on Hephaestus wasn’t as extensive as those of Zeus or Poseidon or even Hades, but at least there was one.

  Mathias approached just as I neared the end of the entry. I waved to him. “I think I’ve found something.”

  “All right, let’s hear it.”

  I turned my attention back to the book and read aloud. “Hephaestus was also called Vulcan by the Romans. It is believed that he was in actuality a fire elemental who had a pronounced talent for weapons crafting. A legend out of Sicily where the Forge of Hephaestus rests inside Mount Etna above Typhon’s prison is that Hephaestus feared being sealed into his own forge much like the vile dragon had been sealed in the age before, and so he ensured there were back doors through which he could escape his forge. These escape passages led through the top of Mount Etna and can be accessed from the summit, through the center of the volcano, emerging on the mountainside above the village and within the bounds of the village of Catania itself.”

  “But where in the village?” Raz Yakov asked more to himself than to us.

  I pulled out the translation of the map’s directions I had inscribed the same night I’d deciphered it. My eyes widened as realization struck. “Mathias, it said through heat and waters where Hephaestus looms.”

  He nodded slowly and then a grin appeared, and he snapped his fingers. “There are thermal baths here heated by the volcano. They go back to Roman times.”

  “Maybe old enough to hide a fire elemental’s escape hatch?” I asked.

  He grinned. “Maybe. But, you two should stay behind.”

  Raz raised his head and then jutted his chin at something behind Mathias. “I think I’d rather face the volcano, young man.”

  I stashed the book in my satchel as my gaze caught on the same thing that had snared the older Spotter’s attention. “Nines. Four of them and they are coming this way fast,” I murmured in an undertone.

  Mathias grimaced even as he waved for us to stand. “Come on, then. It seems we’re all going into a volcano.”

  Catching his worried look, I knew what he was thinking. That I shouldn’t go in there. Not with the baby to think about and to protect. Although, staying where Weard’s hunters could catch me wouldn’t be safe for the baby either. I caught Mathias by the hand and held on tightly as we hurried with Raz Yakov deeper into town.

  How we managed to slip away
without Weard’s hunters catching up, I wasn’t certain but I was most definitely grateful for it. Last thing we needed was a fight with the hunters. We passed through a glamour surrounding the tumbled ruins of what had once been Roman thermal baths and emerged to find the main building still stood. Its roof had fallen in, but the rest of the structure appeared solid.

  Mathias squeezed my hand, and then we stepped inside the baths. The pools had long been empty, but Raz Yakov pointed out a trap door in the center of the largest room. He smiled faintly. “I used to study the architecture of Roman baths. This will lead to the lower levels where the baths were connected to the thermal flows. If there was a secret door into the volcano, it’s where I would’ve put it.”

  Mathias pulled the trapdoor open, and I shone a flashlight into the hole. I didn’t see any water, only carved stone steps sloping down into the darkness. Mathias pulled out his own flashlight and went first before he called for me.

  The air below didn’t smell musty, but it was much warmer and very humid. It felt like I had stepped inside a sauna or out into a very muggy summer’s day. Never mind that it was December. Raz Yakov stomped his way down the steps and let out a slow whistle as we shone our flashlights around. Then, he gestured to the far right. “What’s that look like to you, Lauren Hope?”

  Following his gaze, I stared for a moment. “It’s another glamour.”

  Mathias went first and then stuck his hand back out to beckon for us. I exchanged a look with Raz, a smile pulling at my lips as a slight thrill ran through me. We were almost there. I stepped through the glamour and into the mouth of a tunnel whose walls were covered with rippled sheets of obsidian. “An old lava flow,” Mathias murmured as I moved to stand next to him.

  I nodded, at a loss of words and already feeling sweat beading on my upper lip and trickling down my back. It was so humid. I pulled out my water bottle and took a sip. If Weard’s hunters hadn’t been scouring the village, I would’ve turned back and let the two of them go on without me since Mathias would have a Spotter with him. But, the hunters were there.