Crestov raised an eyebrow at Trinity’s forwardness.
“OK, I’ll listen to you, but I don’t want to discuss my business in such a public place.”
“I understand. I’ll be off-duty in an hour. I can meet you at the Painted Horse Grill, and we can continue our conversation in a more private setting.”
“You intrigue me, Trinity Kantos. I shall be waiting for you.”
Trinity watched Crestov leave the portal station. She wasn’t totally surprised that he had a business arrangement of a delicate nature involving Avikar. It was well known that Crestov often conducted business on the fringes on the law. If her hunch was correct, it would lead her to only one conclusion, a conclusion that Ty would be interested in hearing as well.
***
The sun was beginning to set when Trinity left the portal station for her meeting with Crestov. Her mind was reeling, and she was anxious to hear what he had to say. She walked quickly through the familiar streets to the tavern. She was so set on her destination that she paid little attention to what was behind her, or, more specifically, who was behind her.
Nils watched discreetly from the shadows as Trinity made her way along the streets. This was not the safest part of the city for pretty, young girls. Nils had been spying on Trinity for the better part of the week, watching for any patterns and tendencies of which he could take advantage. This side trip might prove to be the opening he was looking for. He decided to follow her and see what came of this.
Trinity entered the Painted Horse Grill and found Crestov in the back of the tavern, sitting in a dark corner with another man. Crestov’s companion wore a hooded cloak that covered his features, but did little to disguise his bulk. She was momentarily put off by the presence of the second man, until Crestov saw her and waved her over. She swallowed hard and, in that moment, she wondered how well she actually knew Crestov. She knew virtually nothing about his activities aside from seeing him at the portal station twice a week.
What am I rushing into?
Nils slipped into the tavern unseen. He spotted Trinity approaching two men, and quickly sat down at a table where he could watch unobtrusively. He knew Crestov by sight. The second figure was hooded, but was, somehow, hauntingly familiar to him. He felt a rising sense of apprehension at this unexpected turn of events, as well as a perverse exhilaration. Trinity was proving to be more interesting then he would have ever thought possible.
“Ah, Trinity. Thank you for coming. We have much to discuss. Please sit down,” Crestov said.
Trinity slipped into the chair. “Crestov, you made no mention of anyone else joining us when I talked to you earlier. This is most unexpected. What’s going on?”
“Please don’t be alarmed. I’ll explain everything to you, now that you’re here. My friend is the reason I need to talk to you. Let me introduce you to Sardel.”
Sardel slid his hood down, and nodded graciously to Trinity.
“It is a pleasure to meet you, Trinity.”
It was the moment that Nils had been waiting for. Now he knew why the man had seemed so familiar. He rose silently from his chair, and slipped out of the tavern unseen.
***
“Thank you for that report Nils,” Vogdo said. “You may leave.”
Nils bowed to the Grand Duke, and left him sitting in his private study. He had worked for Vogdo long enough to understand his mannerisms. Vogdo was not pleased.
Vogdo sat tapping his finger on the smooth polished desk. Usually his private study was a place of peaceful contemplation, but Nils’s report had upset him more than he realized. Wild thoughts ran rampant through his mind. He picked up his goblet of wine and sent it crashing against the far wall. The impact boomed, and the goblet rolled across the floor, leaving a trail of wine stains.
Kar hurried into the study. “My Lord, do you require my services?”
“Yes, Kar. The goblet slipped out of my hand. Please clean up that mess.”
“Right away, my lord.”
Kar cleaned the wine stains off the wall, and mopped up the trail of wine on the floor. When he was finished, he bowed to the Grand Duke and backed silently out of the room.
Vogdo continued tapping his finger.
That bastard Avikar. How dare he deviate from the plan? Does he think he’s clever, using his sister to contact the gypsies behind my back? What’s he trying to do, ruin everything? No matter, my conniving friend, your days are numbered. You will not ruin my plans. I will be King, and no one will stop me!
“Kar, where are you?”
“I’m here, my lord. What do you require?”
“Bring me some more wine. It seems this decanter is empty.”
“Yes, my lord.”
Excerpt from the field journal of Catiana Spencer:
Few artifacts have been found intact from the legendary period of King Arthur. Even Camelot, the mythical city of the king, has never been unearthed. All evidence leads to the few remnants of stone that may have been the homes of any number of local kings. The time period was punctuated with numerous invasions, wars and conflicts. The indigenous people of the area have been overrun to such a degree that it is hard to distinguish one ethnic group from another.
Chapter 29 – Munroe
Munroe sat back in his chair, and sipped his bottle of beer. It was a good life, he thought, lifting the artifact for closer inspection. He was amazed at the quality of craftsmanship of this piece, and nearly drooled with anticipation at the price it would fetch.
He loved remembering how he had acquired this particular piece. That young professor, so eager to prove her theories to the world, had been the invitation he had been waiting for. It had been so simple to pass himself off as an explorer of antiquities, because, in truth, that’s what he was. Of course, the particulars of his hunting and what became of the artifacts he found was another matter altogether.
Munroe was a professional thief, and acquired his artifacts in a more refined manner than simply digging in the earth for them. The clientele from whom he acquired the pieces were not the sort to file a police report when their pieces went missing. Quite the contrary, he thought; most of those he robbed would not be caught dead, or alive, in a police station.
Professor Catiana Spencer had been at the auction house when Munroe was selling his latest artifact. It was a rare find, of unbelievable detail and workmanship. He knew from experience that it would fetch a princely sum. He noticed Catiana when she approached the auctioneer asking where the piece had been found. The auction house held Munroe’s identity in strict confidence, and gave her no details. Munroe became intrigued when she mentioned that she wanted to compare notes from her own find. The thought of her and Munroe sharing notes together nearly made him burst out in laughter. The piece that intrigued the naive professor was one that had nearly cost him his life.
Catiana had pleaded with the auctioneer.
“But I simply must talk to whoever discovered this piece. The one I have is very similar to it,” she said.
It was more than Munroe could stand. If she had another piece like the one he was selling, then he was definitely interested in talking to her.
Against his own better judgment, Munroe had withdrawn his artifact from the auction that day, and made plans to meet with Professor Spencer. Of course, the fact that she was an attractive, young woman helped sway his decision.
Much to his disappointment, however, at their meeting Catiana was only interested in talking about the artifact. She was correct to say that her find was similar to his. In fact, her goblet could have come from the same set. The goblets were beyond ordinary description. Exquisite details, accented with gold and diamonds, were engraved onto each silver goblet.
Catiana believed the goblets were from Arthurian times, and could easily have been the goblets used by King Arthur himself. Munroe didn’t much care about their origin; he only cared for the price he could charge for such a rare piece.
But time was against him. He needed to sell the piece as quickly a
s he could, before the Boss traced it back to him. He’d been lucky the night he stole the piece from the mansion. Two seconds later, and he would have been fish bait in the Thames River. The Boss did not like people taking his things.
Munroe turned the goblet over in his hand.
“Hmm ... I wonder what she’ll come up with next.”
Catiana wanted to team up with him and search for more of the period artifacts, and asked him again where he had found his piece. Munroe continued to be cagey about how he had acquired it. He finally had to concoct a story that he was selling the piece for a private collector. His benefactor did not want his name known to the general public for fear of treasure hunters stealing his fortune.
She became suspicious of the story, but Munroe quickly assured her that there were other, similar pieces in the private collection. He mentioned he might be able to get the whole collection on loan for the university’s museum to display.
Her eyes lit up, and she took the bait. Munroe told her that he needed her goblet to prove to his benefactor that the museum had a collection of their own. Catiana hesitated a moment, but her curiosity got the better of her, and she finally agreed to lend her goblet to Munroe. Munroe assured her he would keep it safe, along with his own.
Munroe hadn’t lied when he told Catiana that his benefactor had a number of other pieces that were similar to the antique goblets. He did even plan on showing the pieces together; just not in a museum.
After seeing her piece, he had devised a plan to collect all the artifacts together and sell them collectively to the highest bidder. The fact that he would have to steal the other pieces from the crime boss didn’t bother him in the least. In the meantime, he had to string Catiana along, at least for a little while.
Yes, life was good, and he hoped it would soon become much better.
The phone buzzed, and Munroe checked the caller ID. There were only a handful of people who had his cell phone number, and he wanted it kept that way. He put the artifact down on the coffee table, and answered the call.
“Catiana, how nice of you to call. What can I do for you tonight?” he purred.
“Munroe, I have some people I want you to meet.”
Munroe’s demeanor changed instantly.
“Why? I don’t like meeting new people. What’s so special about them?”
“Hey, calm down, will you? I’ve spent half the day talking to this group, and I think you’ll be interested in talking to them yourself. They’re collectors of the same type of artifacts we have, and they may be able to shed some light on our pieces. Can we come over?”
“When?” Munroe asked suspiciously.
“Now. I wouldn’t call you if I didn’t think it was important. Give me your address and we’ll come over,” she pleaded.
Munroe thought about Catiana’s request for a moment. If these people were collectors, they might be his new potential buyers. It would certainly save him the time and effort of seeking buyers on his own.
“I can meet you, but not tonight. I’m not a home. Let’s meet tomorrow night at 8pm. I live at 1703 West Street, in Soho.”
“Are you sure we can’t come tonight? You’ll be very happy we did,” Cat pressed him.
“No, tomorrow will be the earliest. See you then.” Munroe hung up.
“Professor Spencer what are you up to?” he murmured to himself. Munroe put the artifact away, grabbed his keys, and left his flat. He needed to check on a few things before tomorrow night.
The next night, the doorbell chimed at exactly 8 p.m. Munroe looked at the monitor covering the front entrance to his home, and saw Catiana and three strangers waiting at the front door.
He pushed the intercom button.
“Hang on a second, and I’ll let you in.”
His home was protected by a state-of-the-art security system. In his line of business, it paid to have the best surveillance equipment, both in the field and at home. Munroe never scrimped on money when his personal safety was involved. He entered his security code, and deactivated the alarm on the front door.
He grabbed two pistols that were in the chest of drawers in the front hall, and moved to open the front door. The larger pistol, a 9mm Berretta, he slipped into the small of his back, tucking it into the waistband of his pants. The other pistol was a small, two-shot derringer. He slipped that one into his front pants’ pocket.
He opened the door, smiling expansively at Catiana.
“Catiana, it’s so good to see you again. Always a pleasure; please come in, all of you.”
He stepped back to allow them to come inside. He carefully kept the reinforced, steel door over half of his body as he waved them in with a flourish. None of his visitors noticed his hand in his front pants’ pocket, where he had palmed his derringer.
“I’ve been eager to meet your friends since your call,” Munroe said. “Please, let’s go into the living room where we can talk more comfortably.”
As the group moved further into the house, Munroe visibly relaxed. He had quickly sized up the group, and decided that they weren’t part of any assassination team sent by the crime boss. They carried themselves well, and looked like they could hold their own in a tough situation, but he didn’t believe for a second that they were interested in talking about the artifacts. More likely, they were the hired help of whoever was really interested in the artifacts, sent to investigate and negotiate the less-than-public sale of the pieces. Just the kind of people Munroe liked dealing with.
“Let’s go sit down, and discuss why you’re here,” Munroe said.
Catiana led the group down the hallway that opened into the living area. Darius stepped past her, honing in on the artifact on the coffee table. Before Munroe could stop him, Darius had the artifact in his hand, carefully scrutinizing it. Dyla and Eclair stepped beside him and their eyes widened.
“Telkur,” Eclair gasped.
“What did you say?” Catiana asked.
Before Darius could stop him, Eclair spoke again.
“The T on this goblet stands for Telkur.”
“How do you know that?” Munroe asked, trying to draw Eclair into further explanations.
Darius quickly stepped forward, shaking his head, and blocking Eclair’s view of the artifact. He could scarcely believe that he was holding a royal Telkur goblet in his hand. The goblets had been in the royal Otharian families for centuries, and to find one on Earth, so quickly, gave him hope that they might find the answers to their own dilemma. However, the implications of this find could prove complicated, and he needed a moment to consider what it all meant.
Darius held up the goblet.
“You said you had another of these?” he asked. “I would like to see the second one, as well, before we start our discussion.”
Munroe was hesitant to answer the question.
“Well, as to that, I do have it - Catiana can confirm that - but it’s not in my immediate possession.”
Munroe let the conversation die away as he watched the play of emotions across their faces. The goblet had definitely sparked an interest, and Munroe was determined to take full advantage of that.
Darius looked hard at both Catiana and Munroe before putting the goblet back on the table.
“What’s with you people?” he said angrily. “Claiming that you have an item of worth, and now saying that it’s not in your possession? Come on Dyla, Eclair, we should leave. There’s no point staying here now.”
Catiana looked uncertain, but Munroe’s interest piqued even more than before.
Hmm, an item of worth, he thought.
“Hang on a minute. I never said I had anything in my exact possession. If Catiana told you that, then you have been misled.”
“Munroe, what are you talking about? Where’s the other goblet?” Catiana asked.
Munroe ignored Catiana’s question, and instead spoke directly to Darius.
“You might be interested to learn that I know of something that is much more valuable than another goblet. It’s in the
same collection as that piece on the table.”
Dyla stepped forward. She could feel the unmistakable raptorial interest Munroe suddenly directed at Darius and it made her wary.
“How would you know that?” she asked.
“Because of the markings, of course,” Munroe replied. “I may not be a learned professor of archeology like Catiana here, but I’m an expert in antiquities. Before we continue, I think proper introductions are in order. Cat, if you would be so kind.”
“Yes, of course, I don’t know where my manners have gotten to,” she said apologetically.
Munroe’s subtle manipulation of Cat did not go unnoticed by either Darius or Dyla. Dyla could feel Darius’s intense excitement on finding the goblet, and the knowledge that Munroe possibly had other Otharian items, but it was that excitement that worried her. A rash act now could put them all in jeopardy. She moved to touch her brother’s bare hand. She needed him to relax.
Go slow. He’s hiding something dangerous. I can feel it.
Darius did not miss a beat as Cat was making the introductions. The only sign Dyla had that Darius had read her thoughts was the slight tightening of his hand over hers.
“... and this is Darius, Dyla’s brother,” Cat continued with the introductions.
When Munroe extended his hand, Darius hesitated briefly, before grabbing his hand in a hearty handshake. In the blink of an eye, Darius read his surface thoughts.
Munroe stepped back, rubbing his hand. When Darius had grabbed his hand, he had felt a slight momentary tingling, but attributed it to static shock from the carpeted floor.
“Wow, that’s some handshake you’ve got there. Please, everyone sit down while I get some refreshments. Cat, would you be so kind as to help me in the kitchen?”
“Uh, sure,” Cat answered, and followed their host.
Munroe ushered Cat through a door, and the trio sat on the couch and looked at each other.
“What just happened?” Eclair asked. “Did you read Munroe?”
“Keep your voice down,” Dyla cautioned. “There’s more to Munroe than meets the eye. Darius what did you read?”
The Quest for Nobility Page 22