“First, our flyover scans go deeper into the ground,” Grant explained. “Look, there’s the gray square displayed on the Warnke scans.” His index finger pointed to the area. “But what they don’t know is that the guardian’s pillars and the sacrificial circle are there as well.” He pointed to a sizeable circle and two small circular shadows on their scans.
“Knowing Tobor’s flair for the dramatic, that’s how he kept the local savages under control. This has got to be the place,” Tobias said. “Our elixir is there.”
“Little did the old sorcerer know that his property would end up sinking into that damn swamp,” Sloan groaned.
“It wasn’t luck, Sloan. It was brilliant planning on his part,” Tobias conceded. “After all, none of us has been able to find his place in four thousand years.”
“Yeah, I suppose. Devious son-of-a-bitch,” Sloan begrudgingly agreed. “But what I can’t figure out is what tipped you off that this particular site is the one?”
Grant grinned. “The discovery made by Warnke’s construction workers. You know, the deformed bones?”
“Big deal. What’s the significance of a few bones?”
Tobias sighed. “Sloan, you never were much good at understanding what you see. Remember when we experimented on the half-breeds with Tobhor’s improved formula after we fled Europe? They drank the elixir and grew younger for a brief time, but then the elixir altered a few of their genes that we purebloods don’t possess. Instead of preserving their youth, the elixir changed them into those blood-thirsty little brutes.”
“Think of them as a cross between a pygmy cannibal and vampire,” Grant appended.
Sloan whistled. “Now I remember those savages!”
“The ancient breed,” Tobias reminded him impatiently. He couldn’t tolerate fools. “God, I hope you’re satisfied now.”
Sloan nodded uneasily.
“Now back to the logistical problem of how we remove the elixir from Tobhor’s little fortress. Any suggestions?” Grant asked.
“I believe our solution is to pump the elixir from the fountain into sterile tanks, and then deliver half of it to our warehouse in Baltimore and the other half to a temporary site in the Midwest. I don’t think we want to put all our eggs into one vulnerable basket,” Tobias expounded. “The stuff’s too valuable.”
Grant and Sloan glanced at each other and nodded.
“I’ll check into some Midwest storage rental sites,” Grant volunteered.
“Good idea,” Tobias said. “Okay, gentlemen, is there anything we’ve overlooked?”
“Yes and I’m afraid it’s a major oversight,” Grant replied.
Tobias arched his brows. “Really? What’s that?”
Grant leaned forward and propped his elbows on the table. “The Zyloux.”
Tobias chuckled. “That demon? Hell, no one’s reported seeing it for over five hundred years. My guess is that it no longer exists in this dimension.”
“I beg to differ. Alick Tobhor wouldn’t give up his watchdog so easily. He was a smart magician, much like Xavier Wolfe and his family from Duneden, Ohio.”
“Yes and look what happened to them. Xavier and his entire family are either dead or exiled from this dimension,” Tobias countered. “And I believe Tobhor’s dead, too. And don’t forget that we’ve been duplicating Tobhor’s elixir for thousands of years, and the Zyloux has left us alone.”
“A weakened formula,” Grant reminded him. “Nothing like the original.”
“What’s the Zyloux?” Sloan interrupted.
Grant rolled his eyes. “A relentless, murderous demon that Tobhor conjured from our old dimension to protect the elixir and ceremonial site from trespassers. It’s supposedly unstoppable, except by us of course. What’s with you, anyway? Lose your memory?”
“Old age has blocked out a lot,” he replied sadly. “Okay, let’s say for argument’s sake that this demon makes an appearance while we’re stealing the elixir from Tobhor’s fortress. How would we stop it?”
Tobias stood and raised his voice. “We’re powerful mages, too! We can kill it with our combined spells. But trust me, the damned Zyloux is history.”
A troubled Sloan turned to Grant. “What do you think about the Zyloux?”
Grant wasn’t as certain as Tobias that the demon was gone, but he wasn’t about to side with that tedious coward, Sloan. “Tobias is right. The Zyloux’s back home where it belongs and Tobhor’s dead.” He raised his fluted glass filled with a clear effervescent liquid. “Just imagine how much younger we’ll be when we drink the real elixir instead of this homemade substitute.” Grant forced a smile. “We’ll be – what do the kids call it today – oh yeah, chick magnets!”
Tobias and Grant laughed, but Sloan appeared unconvinced.
“A toast then.” Tobias held up his crystal glass. “Here’s to the real elixir,” he said, excitement rising within him, “and to regaining our youth.”
The three quaffed the liquid and then waited for it to take effect. Slowly the gray vanished from their hair, the broken blood vessels faded from their noses and the deep wrinkles melted to fine indistinct lines.
Ten minutes later, three middle-aged men arose.
“I’ll arrange for the tanks, transportation and pump,” Tobias informed them.
“I’ll get in touch with our subcontractors and give them the green light to sabotage the Warnke construction site tonight,” Grant said. “Then I’ll look for a secure Midwest storage facility, but we’ll have to store both elixir tanks at our Baltimore Harbor warehouse until I can locate someplace.”
They left the boardroom and entered their private elevator. It whisked them nonstop to the private parking garage beneath the building where three limousines and chauffeurs awaited. Grant restrained his delight. He had anticipated the meeting’s outcome and selected a suitable Midwest facility – one he would keep secret from the others. He had his own plans for the second tank of elixir.
A scheme that would soon destroy an entire town’s population.
10
T
he striking woman stepped inside the motel room. “I just heard what happened to Blossom Smith and Clay Corey on my car radio, and I can’t think of one lousy reason to laugh about such a tragedy,” she admonished them. Tears glazed her eyes.
“Neither do I, young lady,” came a low, hoarse voice behind her.
“Grandfather.” Crow rushed to the door and hugged him. “What are you doing here?”
“Obviously more than you and your FBI friends are,” he replied angrily.
“Look, Grandfather, a little humor keeps us balanced.”
“It sounds like you’re all unbalanced to me,” he sniffed. “Why don’t we restart your investigation by asking this lovely young lady for her name?”
No one alive knew the actual age of the last survivor of the Omaha tribal elders, but Grandfather had outlived his seven wives and his seventeen children. Age gullies etched his dark face and bloated pouches hung beneath his vigilant onyx eyes. The ancient Indian’s hoary hair was twisted into two braids like his grandson, Crow. He stood six feet tall, and he proudly carried himself with a sang-froid air, wise in the ancient mystical arts. His remaining challenge in life was to pass on this long-forgotten knowledge to his obstinate computer geek of a grandson. However, he begrudgingly admitted the futility of forcing these skills upon Crow; their stubborn temperaments were too much alike.
The old man offered his hand. “You may call me Grandfather,” he offered. “Revealing my given tribal name embarrasses my grandson.”
She tossed Crow an I-can’t-believe-you glance. “I’m sorry to hear that, Grandfather. I’m Professor Lisa Anders from Florida State University.”
The old man’s eyes widened. “Oh, Blossom has told me a great deal about you. You are – or were – her favorite professor.”
“That was very kind of her to say so.”
Neo extended his hand. “I’m Neo . . .”
“Doss,” Lisa completed. �
�I watched you tear up my Dallas Cowboys several years ago.”
“Guilty as charged.”
“And I’m Crow.” He shook her hand and was surprised by her strong grip. “Blossom’s my niece, and I can assure you that we don’t find anything humorous about her situation. I apologize if it appeared otherwise.”
“Apology accepted.”
“What are you doing here, Professor, if you don’t mind my asking?” Neo asked.
“Lisa, please. Blossom called me last night and told me that she discovered a gold lock box on the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico during her dive yesterday,” she explained. “I promised to stop by this afternoon to take a look at her find, since I was already in the area. I’m afraid I got here later than I expected. That beach traffic’s a real nightmare.”
Grandfather cleared his throat. “Now that that’s all settled, let’s get on with this investigation,” he said impatiently.
Crow reviewed the sparse facts of the case with Lisa and Grandfather, and then they donned hairnets and inspected the bedroom. Neo pointed out the indentations in the bath towel on the dresser.
“I know how we can easily discover what the chest looked like,” Lisa said abruptly as she reached for a dresser drawer.
“Wait!” Neo and the hairnet agent shouted simultaneously.
“Put on a pair of these latex gloves. We can’t have you contaminating the crime scene with your fingerprints,” Neo quickly explained and handed her a pair.
Once her gloves were tugged on, she examined every drawer until she came upon what she was searching for. “Here,” she announced triumphantly, holding up Blossom’s digital camera. “Blossom’s an avid photographer. If anything, she takes twice as many shots of her discoveries than are necessary for her records.”
Neo flashed Crow a how-could-you-have-missed-that glare.
“Let me see the camera, please,” Crow requested, and Lisa complied. After a brief inspection, he noticed there were twenty-three pictures taken. “We can check out the pictures on the LCD screen, but they’re going to be pretty damn small. I can enlarge them on the notebook computer back in my hotel room, and we can study them more closely tonight. Say my place at the Holiday Inn in Fort Myers Beach around eight?”
“That’s where I’m staying, too,” Lisa said. “Small world.”
“Make that three,” Neo added, impressed with Nick’s attention to even the smallest details.
“I’m homeless at the moment,” Grandfather declared. “I’ll try to get a room there, too.”
“You can stay with me,” Crow offered.
Grandfather frowned. “I’d prefer a private room. You night owls stay up way too late for me.”
“We’ll get you a private room,” Neo interjected before Crow and Grandfather waged another of their infamous battles.
Crow stifled his rising anger and pulled the drapes together to darken the room.
The hairnet agent opened his mouth to object, but Neo silenced him with a curt wave of his hand.
“I know,” Neo said quietly, aware that they were breaking official protocol by allowing civilians to view significant evidence. “It’ll be all right.”
The first few pictures they viewed on camera’s dim LCD display were personal in nature. Shots of Corey hamming it up in a bathing suit, Blossom posing provocatively in her brief bikini, their fishing boat rental and Blossom changing into an flowered sundress. Crow scowled his disapproval of his niece wearing such a revealing bikini, but he continued to review the photos without comment. The next several shots showed a tarnished gold chest in varying stages of cleaning, and the final six pictures displayed the completely cleaned chest from every angle. It was truly opulent and ornate.
“There,” Lisa pointed. “See the letter ‘H’ engraved above the lock?”
“Do you recognize it?” Neo asked hopefully.
She retrieved a magnifying glass from her purse and studied it closer. “No I don’t, not right off hand. There are a lot of possibilities, but without checking the historical ship logs on my computer, I couldn’t venture a worthwhile guess.”
“I’ll run these pictures by Geronimo and see what he comes up with,” Crow stated.
Lisa wrinkled her brow. “Geronimo?”
Crow described his computer creation, careful to avoid any details that would betray its top-secret status to a perfect stranger. He made a mental note to have Geronimo investigate her past simultaneously with its search for the origin of the gold chest.
“Well, I don’t know about you folks, but I’m famished. It’s been almost twenty-four hours since I’ve eaten anything more nutritious than airplane snacks,” Neo groaned. “Anyone care to join me for an early dinner?”
No one did. The lab agents wanted to wrap up their crime scene investigation so they could drive back to Tampa later that night. Lisa claimed fatigue, Grandfather needed to rent a room at the Holiday Inn and nap for a while, and Crow was eager to get Geronimo started on the searches.
“Let’s powwow in my room tomorrow morning instead of tonight. How about seven?” Crow suggested.
“I can’t,” Lisa replied. “I have a meeting with a contractor at six tomorrow morning.”
“That’s okay. We’ll bring you up to date when you get back to the motel,” Neo offered. “Just give me a call.” He handed her a card with his satellite phone number printed on it.
“Before we leave here,” Grandfather said, “I want you to be aware of one important fact.” He approached the dresser and flattened his hand on the bath towel. “Whatever was inside that chest certainly wasn’t treasure.”
“How could you possibly know that?” Lisa asked, amazed.
Grandfather removed his hand from the towel and flexed it a few times. “This towel radiates an evil energy. Miss Anders, if your theory is correct that the motive for Corey’s death and Blossom’s kidnapping is theft, then those three men have gotten far more than they bargained for.”
“What kind of evil are you talking about?” Lisa asked, intrigued by his claim.
“Very powerful and dangerous magic. Beyond that, I don’t know,” he replied glumly.
“That would put Blossom in danger, too!” Crow proclaimed.
Grandfather nodded. “The sooner we locate our beautiful Blossom, the better.”
Later that evening, Lisa sat on the beach with her knees tucked against her breasts and watched the setting sun splash orange, violet and red streaks across the horizon. Tears trickled down her cheeks and dripped onto her knees like a gentle rain. Blossom’s romantic adventure wasn’t supposed to end like this. Why did the girl have to go and get herself kidnapped?
This certainly wasn’t the homecoming Lisa had envisioned for herself. She now found herself mixed up in a kidnapping case, when her Florida activities were originally to be restricted to the extremely dangerous Warnke construction site.
Grandfather’s take on the gold chest had been absolutely accurate. Blossom and Corey’s motel bedroom reeked of evil. Her tears fell faster. Lisa desperately wished she could rescue Blossom and spirit her back home to safety, but for the first time in her life, she was completely powerless. Stripped of most of her abilities. There wasn’t a single thing she could do to help Neo and Crow track down Blossom.
And to make matters worse, she was convinced that Blossom and her kidnappers were in mortal danger from the malevolent contents of the gold chest. Like Crow, she sensed it, too.
Lisa’s mood brightened a little. She had an idea. She brushed the tears from her face as twilight cast its cold ghostly fingers across the calm gulf. Maybe there was something she could do for Blossom after all. Indirectly, of course.
When she left for the excavation site in the morning, she’d call the one man who could find Blossom. He appeared to be the girl’s only hope.
His special abilities would be invaluable.
11
B
lossom scanned the kitchen counter for a potential weapon, but the yellowed tile surface was completely
bare. Jay opened a rotting cabinet door and removed three blue Solo cups from the plastic wrap. He got a bottle of inexpensive red wine from the refrigerator, poured two-fingers of it into the first two cups, and carefully decanted an identical measure of the bladder’s liquid water into the third. They were both astonished at the effervescent bubbles bursting at the surface.
“What the hell is this shit? Sprite? Tonic?” he hissed.
“See the rainbow at the bottom of the cup? The water acts like a prism,” she observed.
“So? What’s the big deal?”
“So, this isn’t ordinary water.”
“I didn’t need a ton of bricks to fall on me to see that,” Jay retorted.
“I mean that this stuff could really be from the fountain of youth,” she added quickly, not wanting to anger him. “Let’s just see what happens.”
“Yeah, right. I just hope this bubbly shit don’t poison Lonny. I need him this week for my . . . venture.”
Blossom was so engrossed with the water that she didn’t notice that there were only three cups on the counter. “Hey, where’s my wine, Jay?”
“Sorry, baby, but you’ll have to sit this one out. You’re strictly an observer at this point.”
“Maybe I could help you with your venture,” she offered.
He eyed her warily and shook his head. “Maybe the next one,” he replied cautiously. He called to Lonny and Juan and asked them to come into the kitchen. When they appeared, he handed them each a cup.
“What the hell’s this all about?” Lonny asked suspiciously after peering at the bubbly liquid in his cup.
“Hey, buddy, you practically begged me to let you taste the wine from that bladder, so there you are.”
“White wine?”
Jay ignored him. “Here’s to our success on Friday.”
They touched cups and gulped the contents.
“This shit tastes pretty damn good,” Lonny said, smacking his lips. “You guys ought to try it.”
“Yeah, maybe tomorrow,” Jay replied, watching Lonny closely. There was no immediate change. Hell, maybe he and Blossom were way off base. It might not be water from the fountain of youth after all. Or if it was, the shit was so old that it wouldn’t remove a single crow’s foot from a nursing home debutante. He checked his watch. Midnight.
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