by Nancy Madore
Clive sighed. “You think you’re the only one who feels bad about what we did in Alaska?” he asked. Something in his voice made her look at him—really look at him—and she suddenly noticed how tired he looked. His eyes, which were sunken in dark shadows, seemed haunted. “I used to think I was one of the good guys,” he told her. “I used to love my job.”
For a minute there, it looked as if he were the one who would cry. Nadia struggled against the turning tide of her emotions. The last thing she wanted to do was to feel bad for Clive.
But strangely enough, his words were exactly what she needed to hear. She thought that she was the only one who had acknowledged their contribution to the catastrophe. She thought hers was the only conscience plagued by the deaths of all those innocent people. There was some small relief in knowing that she wasn’t alone.
Clive and Nadia just stared at each other in mutual understanding.
“I have to make this better, Nadia,” he said, and for the first time since Nadia met him, he dropped the flippant tone. In fact, it almost sounded as if he were pleading with her. “I have to!”
“But why me?” she complained. “Why is it always me who has to make the sacrifices?”
“I wish it were me!” said Clive. “Lilith chose you.” He sighed heavily. “And she’s coming. She didn’t say when or where—just that you should keep the ring with you at all times.”
Nadia was too deflated to argue anymore.
“She won’t h—”
“I know,” she said, interrupting him. “She won’t hurt me.”
“Gordon and I will be close at hand,” he continued. “You won’t be alone for a minute—especially here, in your office. I’m pretty sure this is where she’ll make the exchange.”
Nadia thought so too.
“She’ll probably come late in the day, when the other offices are closed,” he added. “Or possibly early in the morning. She probably knows your work schedule. Just…whatever you do, make sure she shows you Poseidon before you tell her where you hid your father’s ring.”
“But…what if she approaches me on the street?”
“She won’t,” said Clive. “She’s going to want to see Asmodeous too—to make sure the ring’s legit.”
This brought Nadia up short. “You mean…I’ll see my fa—Asmodeous?”
Clive narrowed his eyes. “Yeah, it looks that way,” he said evenly. “Just make sure you get Poseidon’s ring. And wear the mask.”
“Why do I have to wear the mask?” she asked. “Lilith’s already in a body. She can’t occupy two bodies at the same time.”
“It’s still dangerous,” said Clive.
“Why?”
“Because there’s more than just your body at stake,” said Clive. “Djinn are master manipulators. You haven’t really had the opportunity to see this side of them yet because we’ve taken precautions—like wearing the masks. But you can never underestimate them. Some of them have the ability to read and control minds—especially if the person is in a weakened state.”
“You think I’m weak?” asked Nadia—thinking to herself that she probably was.
“Ornias was running a cult when we captured him,” said Clive, “and your father had a bunch of cells ready to infect themselves with a deadly plague. Who knows what kind of power Poseidon will have. Why take chances?”
“No, I won’t take any chances,” she agreed. “I’ll take the mask with me everywhere I go.”
“Just remember we’re here,” said Clive. “We’ll be watching every person who walks through that door.”
Nadia’s eyes grew wide with sudden dawning. “You’re going to try to capture her!” she said.
“If we can get all three of them we’ll be able to find out everything—what’s happening at T.D.M.R., how it’s connected to Asmodeous and his claims about Armageddon, and how Asmodeous is evading the power of the ring. But Poseidon is our priority. We can’t do anything to risk that.”
Nadia didn’t reply. She was wondering if she would be able to turn her father over to them a second time.
“After you’ve made the exchange—the minute Lilith walks out that door—you text me,” he said. “Just send me a blank text.”
“What are you going to do?” she asked.
“We’ll trail her at a distance,” he said. “From that point, we’ll follow regular procedure until we capture her.”
“What about the woman whose body…,” Nadia couldn’t bring herself to finish the thought.
“I’m pretty sure Lilith’s not going to show up in the same body she had when she visited you before,” he said. “She knows we’ll be looking for a beautiful brunette with big green eyes. The one she shows up in today will be new. Its owner will be traumatized, but she’ll probably survive.”
“What about her other body?” asked Nadia. “Should you check to see if any stunning brunettes with big green eyes were reported missing or…or dead?”
“Lilith’s gonna have to ditch this body afterwards,” said Clive. “You said she seemed to really like the body she was she in. She’s probably saving it.”
Nadia winced. “They can just go in and out like that?”
Clive shrugged. “You heard Ornias. They get attached to their bodies and they hate having to switch. Some will even remain in a sick body until it dies. But Lilith isn’t your ordinary djinn. She’s a first generation, and we’ve never interrogated one of them before. Even Ornias, our oldest djinn on record, was three generations out.”
“I think I’ll know her when I see her,” said Nadia. “Even if she’s in a different body.”
“Don’t be too sure of that,” said Clive.
There was another pause and then Clive nodded. “Are you okay?” he asked. “You think you can do this?”
Nadia shrugged. “I guess I have no choice.”
“I’m sorry about that,” said Clive. “I would’ve given you a choice if I could’ve. But you know what I think?”
“I know you’re going to tell me.”
“I think you need to do this as much as I do.” He got up and walked around her desk. “Come ‘ere,” he said, pulling her up from her seat. Nadia had no choice but to accept the embrace.
“We cool?” he asked.
Nadia couldn’t help smiling. “Yeah,” she said. “We cool.”
Clive laughed, but Nadia could see that he was anxious. He turned to leave, but hesitated at the door. “Make sure you see Poseidon first,” he reiterated yet again before leaving.
Nadia slumped down in her chair. She was exhausted. She felt as if she’d been put through a ringer. She glanced at the clock and saw that it was only eleven in the morning. The day wasn’t even half over and she was ready to throw in the towel. And how was she supposed to get anything done now, knowing that Lilith was out there, somewhere, just waiting for the right moment to strike?
She would just have to work through this. It could be days before Lilith showed up for the ring. She couldn’t just put her life on hold. She had to get back to work.
Nadia tried to remember what she was doing before Clive showed up. Oh, yeah; she’d been yelling at Georgia.
Nadia picked up her pen with a heavy sigh. “Take Georgia out to lunch,” she wrote in the twelve o’clock box of her calendar. But then suddenly her eyes grew wide. There, beside the note she just wrote was another one that read, ‘press release.’
“The press release!” she cried, jumping up from her chair. She’d forgotten all about it! She looked around the room, trying to think of what to do first, and then she was off, without another thought for anything except getting ready for the reporters who were probably already wondering where in the world she was.
Chapter 11
London, England
Beth had never been overly fond of cemeteries, but Highgate was more like an ethereal woodland than a cemetery. Majestic trees, laden with long, leafy vines, shrouded the grounds in weighty shadows. The gravestones rose up out of the earth like moss-covered se
ntinels watching over their dead. It was dark, but not gloomy. The atmosphere was warm and hospitable—or so it seemed to Beth. She felt completely welcome, almost as if the spirits wanted her there. Perhaps they were leading her to whatever it was she needed to find. She peered curiously at the headstones she passed, half expecting to find Brisbin by divine intervention.
The gravestones themselves were not all that out of the ordinary, though many of them were quite grand. But what made Highgate unique were the sculptures that greeted her along the path, like guardians leading the way. The life-sized figures—most of which were angels—fit so well with the setting that it was hard to imagine one without the other. Yet there was an air of distinction about them too. While a few of the angels were dark and brooding, most of them seemed the picture of serenity. Some stood in stern adjudication, while others reached out their arms beseechingly. One slept quietly over an unmarked grave.
In addition to the angels, there were large, looming crosses and occasionally, the effigy of someone reposed in death. As well, there were stone burial chambers, walls capped with ivy, sculpted archways and cupolas with peaks that looked like steeples.
Alongside of these visual observations, at the center of Beth’s thoughts, was Wayne. She wondered how this place was connected to him.
Her mind wandered to the money. In addition to the two-hundred thousand dollar insurance policy Wayne left her, it was entirely possible that she had another nine million dollars in a Swiss bank account. She had yet to test the card for that account. There were several reasons for this. The first was that she didn’t feel like that money was hers—even though Wayne was dead. If he had wanted her to have the money, wouldn’t he have left it in a will? And the second reason was that she wasn’t entirely sure that Wayne had come by the money legally.
It occurred to her that she didn’t have to stay in Alaska any longer. She could live anywhere she wanted now. But she wasn’t the one who had wanted to leave Alaska. It was Wayne who wanted out—until he changed so abruptly, suddenly deciding to put down roots and buy a house. He had accepted Alaska as his home just as suddenly as he had accepted Beth as his wife. And it actually seemed as if he were starting to enjoy them both.
Glancing at her watch at some point, Beth realized that she’d been wandering around the East Cemetery for over an hour. Startled, she looked around for the way back. She felt a little dazed, as if she’d been sleepwalking. She supposed she must be suffering from jet lag. After all, she hadn’t slept in over twenty-four hours. She hadn’t felt tired before, but now, suddenly, she did. In fact she could barely keep her eyes open.
Resisting the temptation to lie down on one of the benches right there in the cemetery, Beth slowly made her way back to the main building.
Most of the people had gone. Beth paused by the information desk to remind Olive that she would be back tomorrow.
“You’re still here!” exclaimed Olive when she saw Beth. “I think I may have found your man!”
Beth was suddenly wide awake again.
“There weren’t as many Brisbins as I expected,” explained Olive. “In fact, there were only twelve male Brisbins buried here during the time period we specified. From those twelve, only three were in the age range of the man in your picture. One looks really promising,” she added as she handed Beth the list of names.
There were twelve names on the list, nine of which had been crossed out. Of the three remaining, one was circled.
“That’s the one I’m betting on,” said Olive, pointing. “Notice how he’s listed as ‘Lieutenant John Brisbin’—of the British army.”
Beth was astonished—not just that Olive had found him so quickly, but that he was there at all! Her earlier fatigue was forgotten.
“Where is he?” asked Beth. “Can you give me directions to his gravesite?”
Olive’s smile faded. “I’m sorry,” she said. “You’re still going to have to come back tomorrow.” She pointed to the clock. “We’re closing in three minutes.”
Chapter 12
Manhattan, New York
Nadia was just getting into her work when Georgia returned with the copies.
“Oh, thank God!” she said. “I need you to call each of the reporters on this list and tell them that we’re going to be a little late with the press release.”
She glanced at Georgia, who was just setting the copies down on a nearby table. “I’m sorry,” said Nadia. “I should let you get in the door first.” She hesitated. “Is everything okay…after this morning?”
Georgia turned to Nadia. The sweet, attentive look was gone.
Nadia winced. “Oh Georgia,” she said, getting up from her chair and coming around her desk. “You’re still angry with me—and I don’t blame you.”
Then Georgia smiled. It was a slow, devious smile, so uncharacteristic of Georgia that it almost rendered her unrecognizable.
Nadia stumbled backwards so hastily that she nearly fell. “Georg…!” she gasped, struggling to catch her breath. Her eyes filled with tears. “Oh my God…no! Not Georgia!”
“Quiet!” hissed Georgia with such authority that Nadia drew back as if slapped. Even her tears seemed to freeze on her cheeks. Georgia stepped over to the office door and locked it. “I don’t have a lot of time, so get the ring,” she said.
Nadia couldn’t seem to move. “But…Georgia! Oh my God…this is all my fault!” Nadia burst into tears.
“Georgia will be just fine,” said Lilith, “If you do what I tell you, she’ll wake up from this dream.” Nadia looked hopefully into Georgia’s large, expressive eyes. It was extremely disturbing to see Lilith’s determined gaze staring back at her. Lilith held out Georgia’s hand. “The ring,” she reminded Nadia.
Nadia made an attempt to pull herself together. Her trembling was so severe that it appeared to be jumbling even her thoughts. What was it that Clive told her to do?
She took a few more awkward steps back away from the presence that seemed to engulf the entire room.
What did Clive tell me to do? It was impossible to think with Lilith staring out at her through Georgia’s eyes.
Georgia! Nadia bit her lip. This was why she hadn’t wanted to get involved in the first place. It was as if everyone she cared about was being sacrificed one by one—and all because of her.
“The ring,” said Lilith again.
Nadia tried to think. Where was the ring? She looked at her desk and saw the mask and the rubber hand. Then it all came back to her in a rush.
Make sure she shows you Poseidon before you give her the ring.
But—Georgia!
Nadia closed her eyes. She had to make a decision.
She opened her eyes and picked up the mask.
It was unnerving to see Lilith’s soul inside Georgia’s body, although, in truth, Georgia had never looked more beautiful. Normally so timid and unassuming, her face was completely transformed by the confident soul that had taken possession of it. Her eyes sparkled with passion and energy. Her lips curved in a self-satisfied smirk. Nadia’s humble little assistant suddenly looked like a woman who could wipe the floor with her.
Was the real Georgia still in there somewhere?
It was almost as if Georgia heard Nadia’s thought. For the briefest instant, some semblance of the old Georgia returned. Something flashed in her eyes—some forbearance or gentleness—that was so characteristic of her that Nadia was filled with hope. But from which soul had it come?
When Georgia spoke again, her tone was also more like the old Georgia’s, though the words definitely belonged to Lilith. “Regardless of what you think of me, Nadia, I do not delight in killing,” she said. “I intend to leave your little assistant as I found her. I had no choice but to use her. It was the only way to ensure that your father and I would escape.”
Of course! Nadia wondered why she hadn’t thought of it before. Georgia was the most logical way in—and out.
Lilith reached in her pocket and pulled out a bronze-colored ring that was et
ched with ancient carvings. She set the ring on Nadia’s desk.
“I want to see him,” said Nadia, raising the mask to her face.
This time Lilith was the one who was surprised. “He’s dangerous,” she said.
“I know that,” said Nadia.
Lilith glanced at the clock. She seemed uncertain, which was unusual for her. For a moment it looked as if the determination in her eyes might yield to frustration. “Your father and I are the only ones who can ensure that this power remains buried forever,” she said.
“We had a deal,” said Nadia. “Poseidon for my father.”
“You have no idea what you’re playing with, Nadia,” warned Lilith.
“I know enough,” said Nadia.
“No,” countered Lilith. “You don’t.”
“Look,” said Nadia, suddenly angry. “I’ve lost my father, and with him went everything I believed in. So please don’t tell me that I have no idea what I’m playing with. You’ve got an eternity. That woman whose body you’re in right now—she’s just got one life!”
“Your father will be extremely upset if you give Poseidon to those men,” threatened Lilith.
Nadia met Lilith’s determined look with one of her own. “I am prepared to die in this room rather than to give up my father’s ring without the ring of Poseidon,” she said with a confidence she didn’t feel.
Lilith almost smiled. “Well!” she said, reaching into another pocket and pulling out a different ring. “I was beginning to doubt that you really were the daughter of Asmodeous!” She slipped this second ring—the real ring—on Georgia’s slim finger.
Nadia secured the mask over her head as Lilith began the incantation. The words, which were like fingernails on a chalkboard to Nadia’s ears, slid from Georgia’s tongue easily, with an alien kind of grace.
Despite Nadia’s increasing experience with the djinn (she had, by this time, witnessed the conjuring of both Ornias and her father), nothing could’ve prepared her for Poseidon. It seemed that each djinn would be exceptional in its own way, but Poseidon made an impression before he actually materialized. The air seemed to crackle all around them as the mist of him appeared, undulating and churning like a thunderous sea of waves. First it rose up and then it spread out in all directions. Nadia took another step backwards and was alarmed to find her back against the wall. She felt a little like Alice, of Alice in Wonderland, when the room was shrinking around her. The mist seemed to grow darker as it swished and whirled against the boundaries of ceiling and wall.