The Dragon's Wing Enigma (The Arkana Archaeology Mystery Series Book 3)

by N. S. Wikarski

  Chapter 46 – Asylum

  Cassie made a vain attempt to sleep on the hard cot in her cell. Even if the bed had been comfortable, her anxiety about what was going to happen next would have kept her awake. Shortly after the guard brought her some breakfast which she couldn’t stomach, the waiting was over.

  An officer unlocked the door and motioned for her to come out. She was led through the side entrance of the station where a car waited. In the back seat was Erik, dark circles under his eyes from a night as sleepless as hers had been.

  “Am I ever glad to see you!” he exclaimed when she climbed in beside him.

  The policeman wordlessly cuffed them together.

  “Did anybody hurt you?” Erik asked in a low voice.

  Cassie shook her head. “Not unless you count giving me a raging case of insomnia. How about you?”

  Erik pointed to his swollen ankle. “They gave me an elastic bandage.”

  “That’s more than I thought they’d do,” Cassie murmured sarcastically.

  “Where are you taking us?” Erik demanded as the officer got behind the wheel.

  “To see the superintendent.” He nosed the car into traffic.

  Erik and Cassie exchanged concerned looks.

  “I sure hope he believes our version of what happened.”

  Erik didn’t reply. His eyes were wandering all over the back of the car, checking the roof, the windows, the door locks. Cassie guessed he was trying to figure an escape route in case things didn’t go well.

  She leaned over to whisper in his hear. “We should at least talk to him before you try putting us on Spain’s Most Wanted list. Besides, we don’t know what happened to Griffin. Maybe we can find out where he is. If he’s still...” She trailed off, unable even to voice the words.

  They travelled in silence as the policemen drove through the outskirts of town. Much to Cassie’s surprise, he kept on going. They were in the countryside now.

  “What’s the superintendent doing way out here?” she asked suspiciously.

  “He had other business. He said to take you to him.” The officer didn’t seem inclined to give any more details.

  Cassie sighed and slumped back in the seat. “You don’t think this guy is taking us out into the country to execute us, do you?” she whispered to Erik and then laughed weakly.

  He didn’t reply. His jaw was set.

  “That was supposed to be a joke.” Cassie took his silence as an ominous sign.

  About ten minutes later, the car approached a three story building with white columns nestled in the foothills of the mountains. It was surrounded by a high fence and protected by a massive iron gate complete with a sentry.

  “Oh, this can’t be good.” The Pythia sat up straight and swallowed hard.

  The gate swung open as the sentry motioned for the car to proceed.

  The driveway was long and bordered by parks on either side. They passed massive trees, benches and gravel walking paths. Cassie noted people in white coats guiding other people dressed in robes. “What is this place?” she asked her teammate in wonder.

  “You got me, toots.” He gave a baffled shrug.

  The car finally swung to a stop at the stairs in front of the building. Standing on the top step was a man in uniform. He wore a red jacket, white belt, and black trousers with a red stripe up the side. On his head was a red beret.

  As the two suspects climbed out of the car and stood blinking in the bright sunlight, he came down the stairs to meet them. It wasn’t until he reached the bottom step that Cassie recognized him. “Iker!” she exclaimed.

  Their friend the sentinel gave them a brief smile before instructing the officer to remove their handcuffs.

  “I’m sorry for all the mystery. It was for your own protection.” He dismissed the driver who saluted, got in his car, and drove back the way he had come.

  “Are you the Superintendent of Police?” Erik asked in amazement.

  Iker nodded. “In Durango, yes.” He winked at Cassie. “It is what you would call my ‘day job’.”

  “I take back everything I said about needing to find you a hobby,” Cassie said. “Clearly, you’ve got enough on your plate already.”

  “I know you have many questions and I will answer them all, but first you must come this way.”

  He led them down one of the gravel walks on the shady side of the building. They walked slowly to accommodate Erik’s halting gait. There, under an oak tree, sat Griffin in a wheelchair.

  “Oh, my goddess!” Cassie ran forward and threw her arms around her teammate. She felt a flood of relief at the sight of him.

  Griffin winced happily and wrapped an arm around her shoulder “Perhaps I should allow myself to get shot more often.”

  Erik wasn’t far behind though he chose to be less demonstrative in his greeting. He limped over and patted Griffin on the back. “It’s good to see you, man. We thought you were a goner.”

  “Can you walk?” Cassie asked worriedly. “You’re not paralyzed, are you?”

  “No,” the Scrivener replied. “The wheelchair is just to keep me from straining and pulling apart the stitches in my abdomen. “Please, sit,” he indicated a bench a few yards away.

  Iker rolled the invalid over to the spot so they could all talk together. The Police Superintendent remained standing by Griffin’s chair while Cassie and Erik took seats on the bench facing him.

  The Pythia scowled intently at the Brit. “What the hell were you thinking?”

  “I beg your pardon?” Griffin was taken aback.

  “Throwing yourself at Hunt that way was suicide!”

  ‘And yet I’m still breathing,” the Scrivener joked weakly.

  “She’s right, Grif.” Erik agreed. “You should never have pulled a stunt like that. It was way too risky.”

  “Of the three of us, you’re the least impulsive. You always think things through,” Cassie reproached him. “So I repeat the question. What the hell was going through your head?”

  The Scrivener sighed. “Honestly, I thought the game was up. Hunt was about to close in and there was nowhere left for us to run. It occurred to me that if I could spring out at him and catch him off guard, I might at least knock the torch out of his hand. In the ensuing confusion, that might buy us a little time to beat him unconscious.”

  “That would have been a great plan,” Erik said sarcastically,” if he hadn’t been carrying a gun.”

  “In the darkness in the cave, I rather hoped his aim would be off,” the Scrivener said ruefully.

  “At point blank range while you were wrestling him to the ground?” the Security Coordinator countered. “You’re lucky he didn’t shoot you right through the heart.”

  While the two men were speaking, Cassie stood up, walked over to Griffin and gave him a silent hug.

  “I say, I quite like all the attention I’m getting today,” the Scrivener chuckled.

  Cassie sat back down and regarded him solemnly. “What you did was the most amazing thing ever.”

  “Hardly,” the Scrivener demurred. “When I think about Erik leaping off a mountain or you facing down a pack of armed thieves, I’d have to go a long way merely to catch up.”

  “Throwing yourself on a grenade for the team trumps what we did.” Erik shook his head in wonderment. “That was hardcore, man.”

  “I guess it’s official,” Cassie said resignedly.

  “What is?” Erik and Griffin both looked at her in puzzlement.

  “Since we started this treasure hunt, each of us has gotten the chance to do something colossally stupid and / or incredibly brave.”

  “Since you’re giving me a choice of adjectives, I’ll take ‘incredibly brave’,” Griffin quipped.

  Looking first at Iker and then at Griffin, the Pythia said, “Tell us what happened after you got shot. Iker disappeared and we didn’t know if you were going to make it.”

  The sentinel replied first. “I had gone out to check the trail that leads from the other side o
f the summit. The fog was very bad and I could not see below. By the time I returned, your adversaries were already entering the cave. I was cut off and could not warn you. That was when I called for some of my men to hurry to the mountain.”

  “Our cell phones didn’t work up there,” Cassie said.

  “Fortunately, mine does,” Iker replied. “I did not know whether the thieves would take the bait and go quietly or whether they would discover you inside. I did not want to take chances. Then I heard the shot and I believed something bad had happened. I thought I might frighten them off by shouting. With the echoes in the cave it might sound to them like many people were approaching. I had to wait outside until I knew they were clear of the mountaintop but I could hear you inside saying that your friend had been hurt. That is when I called for a medical team.”

  “They sure got there fast,” Cassie said.

  “Why didn’t you come inside once the cops arrived? They took us into custody.” Erik sounded vaguely reproachful.

  “There was no time,” Iker replied. “I had to follow your enemies to make sure I would not lose track of them once they reached the bottom of the mountain. I told my people to take you into custody for your own protection.”

  “What for?” Cassie protested. “They practically accused us of murder.”

  Iker sighed. “We could not hold you without charging you with something and I had no time to explain to my men what was happening.”

  “You’d think when I dropped your name to the cop who interrogated me, he might have stopped bullying us.”

  Iker smiled. “He would not have known who you meant. Among the Ertzaintza, I have a different name.”

  “There was good reason to keep you both out of harm’s way,” Griffin interjected. “Shortly after I regained consciousness, I was informed that Hunt and Daniel were still in the county.”

  “Why would they hang around?” Cassie asked in surprise. “They got the relic and thought you were dead.”

  “Apparently Hunt is of a suspicious nature,” Griffin countered. “He may have noticed that the ambulance carried me to an emergency room and not an undertaker’s parlor. Iker thought that he might try to visit me in hospital.”

  “Visit?” Erik echoed skeptically.

  “I was certain that if this man Hunt found his victim alive, he would not leave him that way,” Iker said softly. “He feared Griffin would be able to recognize him.”

  “It’s a good thing the reverse wasn’t true,” Cassie chimed in. “Back in the cave, Daniel was pitching a fit when he saw Griffin’s face. He ID’d him but Hunt didn’t. I guess Griffin can thank his seedy-looking beard for that.”

  The Scrivener wistfully rubbed his now clean-shaven chin. “I may try to grow it again once we’re back in the States. Something of a good luck charm, don’t you think?”

  Cassie rolled her eyes. “If Hunt had recognized him in the cave, it might have made him wonder if Erik and I were still alive, too.”

  “Fortunately, he didn’t get a second look at me in hospital because Iker ordered me moved to this place,” Griffin concluded.

  “And where are we exactly?” Erik asked.

  “In a place where people come when the stress of living in the big city is too much,” Iker explained.

  “You mean this is a sanitarium.” Erik concluded.

  “Like a lunatic asylum?” Cassie asked.

  “We do not call it that. It is a convalescent home where people can recover from whatever is troubling them, either physical or mental.”

  “Uh huh,” Cassie said, not convinced.

  “In any event,” Griffin continued, “Iker posted a constable by my hospital room door should Hunt happen to call. True to form, he arrived with flowers in hand inquiring about ‘an American feller’ who’d been shot on the mountain. He left after being informed that the tourist in question had, regrettably, expired.”

  “So why didn’t you just arrest him when he showed up? We could have nailed him for attempted murder,” Cassie objected.

  “And what would have become of your secret quest?” Iker countered. “If you do not want the Nephilim to know of your organization, this was the only way we could solve the problem. Let this man go away thinking there were no witnesses and that he has stolen the real treasure.”

  “I see your point,” Cassie admitted. “But did you really have to keep us locked up overnight?”

  “I had to be sure you were somewhere completely safe. If this Leroy Hunt were to cross your path while you were visiting your friend in the hospital, then what? Durango is not a large city where people can move about unnoticed by one another. He might have seen you anywhere in town. That would not have ended well. I waited until I received word that your enemies had boarded a plane for America. Once they left the country, I knew it was safe to bring you here.”

  “A very well-thought out plan,” Griffin said approvingly. ‘It’s not an exaggeration to say we owe you our lives.”

  Somewhat chastened, Erik and Cassie both mumbled their appreciation as well.

  Iker bowed his head in acknowledgment. “It is I who should be thanking you. You have ended the need to keep watch on the mountain. You brought me news of what happened to my ancestor and you found my lost family. Such deeds are beyond my power to repay.”

  “I guess when you put it that way,” Cassie joked.

  “While you are all here, we should have one of the doctors X-ray your friend’s foot,” Iker suggested.

  Erik looked ruefully at his swollen ankle. “I’m not gonna argue. Something might be broken. But it’s still less painful than what’s coming next.”

  His listeners looked at him quizzically.

  “We have to call Faye and Maddie,” Erik suggested. “That’s when the real pain starts. Trying to explain all this.”

  “No need to go into detail about what’s happened,” Griffin demurred. “We can give them the entire story once we’re back at the Vault.”

  “That’s true,” Erik agreed. “The last thing I need is for Maddie to give me an earful because I let you get shot. I can wait a few days before facing the music.” He patted the Scrivener on the back. “In fact, Griffin old buddy, take your time getting well. No rush, really.”

  Cassie gave a knowing smile. “Relax, guys. I’ve got an idea.”

  Chapter 47 – Locked Down

  Leroy tipped his Stetson over his eyes in a vain attempt to catch some shut eye. It was going to be tough considering who his travelling companion was. Even with his eyes shut, he could feel Daniel fretting.

  “Boy, you think maybe you could fuss a mite quieter. I’m tryin’ to sleep here,” Hunt said through half-closed lids.

  “How you can sleep at all is beyond me,” Daniel hissed in a low voice. “After the things you’ve done.

  “All in the line of duty, son. I get my orders and I carry ‘em out. Most times, I sleep like a baby except when some fool is natterin’ away about ghosts.”

  Dead silence. That might shut him up for a spell.

  “I know what I saw.”

  Not long enough. Hunt tipped his hat back and turned to give Daniel an incredulous look. “There’s some folks can’t be satisfied if you dipped ‘em in gold. Now what you got to complain about? Your daddy sent you out to find the next doodad and you done it. Mission accomplished. It was a good day’s work.” He paused to consider. “You know what your problem is? You got too much imagination. Seein’ things that ain’t there. Remember what I said before. You get your daddy to pray over you. Blast them demons right out of your ears.”

  Daniel didn’t reply. He merely gave Hunt a troubled glare.

  “Aw, nuts! Ain’t no sense in talkin’ to you.” Hunt lowered his hat brim and resettled himself to catch some sleep.

  He had his own plans to consider. Another trinket in the bag. That was good. He’d see it locked up tight in the old man’s storeroom. It could set there for a good long spell until the collection was complete. Then there would be a burglary. Maybe a few
dead bodies if anybody got in his way. That was neither here nor there. All of it was still a ways off.

  His immediate concern once he got back was locating little Miss Hannah. Since she’d found her way to the shop lady who first had the granite key, it was plain that she already knew too much about his business. That wouldn’t do. At least tracking her would give him something to occupy his time until the next leg of the treasure hunt began. Yessir, things were going his way, more or less—the sad sack next to him notwithstanding. Hunt yawned and settled in for some serious nap time.

  ***

  Daniel sighed. He was back at the compound and just returning from the ordeal of handing the relic over to his father. The routine was beginning to wear thin on him: his father’s feverish anticipation, the covetousness in the Diviner’s eyes when he glimpsed the treasure for the first time, his furtiveness when asked what he intended to do with the objects once they’d all been assembled, his fulsome praise for Daniel and even more fulsome sermon about the role of Providence in the Scion’s success, Daniel’s nebulous excuses regarding the translation of the next riddle.

  The Scion believed he could buy several weeks if not months of research time in the city now that he was once more in his father’s good graces. He intended to stretch the decoding process out in order to absent himself from the compound and absent himself from the other problem awaiting him at home—Annabeth. He gave an even deeper sigh. The minute he’d returned she started plucking at his sleeve, begging for some time alone together. His other two wives were used to neglect and didn’t bother him but Annabeth was importunate. She told him she needed to speak to him privately as soon as it was convenient.

  He thought it was safe to disoblige her now that Hannah was safely away from the compound. If his third wife tattled to the Diviner about Daniel’s complicity in Hannah’s escape, he doubted his father would believe her. After all, Daniel was an accomplished liar on the subject of Hannah. He’d already stood the test when Hunt confronted him with the same accusation. Annabeth’s nervous ways and timid nature would be ridiculously easy to discredit in his father’s eyes. Still, he thought he should hear what she had to say before detaching himself from her by degrees.