Simon and Tom were both right—either decision was lousy, but when it came down to it, I really had no choice. My mother had been a Keeper. My grandmother. And my grandfather had raised me to try to do the right thing. And at least one thing Simon had said was true—there were people out there that would do anything to possess the Board, even kill for it. If they were willing to do that, what might they do when they got the Board and tried to use it themselves? If a dream of mine could cause such destruction, what could someone who knew what they were doing accomplish?
I looked at the two men in the kitchen—one of whom had been my best friend for years, and the other that made me feel … dangerously alive, and nodded.
“The Board,” I said to Simon, “was created by a woman named Shalizander. My ultimate grandmother.”
Simon’s eyes widened. “How do you know that?”
“I dreamed of her,” I said. “A true dream. I was her.”
Simon’s eyes lit up at this new knowledge, and he asked, “When? When were the Boards made and where?”
I thought back to the vision, comparing it to my knowledge of history.
“The Boards were made in the Tower of Babylon,” I said, remembering how it soared up into the sky. “It’s the only place I can think of in antiquity that would have looked even remotely like that.”
“Babylon,” Simon said, his voice reverent. “Like the coin on my necklace … . When?”
“I don’t know,” I said. “But I do know one thing for sure.”
“What’s that?” Tom asked.
“I am the last Keeper,” I said. “And I have to get my Board back. The rest of it can wait for now.”
Simon smiled at me, and for the first time, I saw past the darkness in his eyes to the kindness beneath. I felt the pull of our earlier connection, and a soft floating feeling in the pit of my stomach. How could a man who infuriated me so much also be so attractive to me?
“Then we’ve got to make a plan,” Tom said. “And a good one.”
Standing a block down from Burke’s shop, Simon looked at Tom and me again and said, “You both know what to do, right?”
“We’ve got it,” I said. “Let’s get this over with. I want it back.”
Simon nodded and started up the walk, Tom and I two steps behind. A phone call to make an appointment earlier ensured that the entrance would be open. Simon opened the door and strolled in, leaving it hanging open long enough for Tom and me to slip inside and duck into the shadowy darkness of the rows of shelves. I heard Simon lock it behind us and then he continued deeper into the shop.
Tom and I made our way through the stacks, letting Simon reach the back of the shop well ahead of us. I heard Burke’s voice rise in greeting.
“Good afternoon, Mr. Monk,” he said.
Like nothing had happened. Like he hadn’t tried to kill someone yesterday. I gritted my teeth at his nonchalance. If I’d had the Board right now—
“Good afternoon,” Simon said. “Do you have the item?”
Tom and I crept closer and peeked around the corner of a shelf. Tanner was nowhere in sight, but Burke was seated behind the counter, casually talking to Simon.
“We can discuss it,” Burke said. “It’s quite valuable, you know.”
“Oh yes,” Simon said. “I’m well aware of its value. That’s why I called.”
“I’m curious though,” Burke said. “I only acquired the item yesterday. How did you come to know I had it?”
“A friend of mine, Professor Martin over at the college, mentioned it,” Simon lied smoothly.
For a priest, I thought, the man lies like a pro.
“I see,” Burke said. “I’ll have to thank him the next time we talk.” His tone made clear that thanks were the last thing he had in mind. “I have to warn you, however, that there is another party who has already expressed interest in the item. I don’t want to start a bidding war, but this is a business, after all.”
“I understand,” Simon said. “May I ask what the current offer is? I’m willing to pay handsomely for it.”
“The current offer stands at one million dollars,” Burke said. “Can you beat that?”
Simon nodded. “I think so,” he said. “How about avoiding spending the rest of your life in prison?”
Burke’s face tightened. “What are you talking about?” he asked.
Simon looked over his shoulder. “Come on out,” he called.
Tom and I stepped out around the shelf, and Burke’s face whitened. “You …” he started, stammering. “You’re dead!” he said.
“I’m resilient,” I replied. “Where’s my Board? Give it back and I won’t press charges.”
“I can’t!” Burke said.
Simon’s blue eyes went flat. “Why?”
“It’s gone!” Burke said. “The buyer already took it.”
“How much was my stolen property worth?” I asked. “Obviously more than my life.”
“He offered a million for the Board and you,” he cried. “But I panicked. I deal in items, not people. I couldn’t do it, but I couldn’t risk letting you go either!” He gestured at a small suitcase. “He only paid half, five hundred thousand, for the Board itself.”
“You’re a coward and a thief,” Simon said. “Special punishments await those guilty of such sins in the next world.”
Trying to calm himself, Burke muttered, “Don’t I know it.”
“Who was the buyer?” Tom asked.
“I can’t tell you that either,” he said. “I’d be ruined as a businessman, and that’s only if he didn’t kill me for revealing his identity.”
Simon calmly stepped around the counter. I couldn’t explain it, but he seemed almost … charged with energy and very, very dangerous at that moment. “You’ll be more ruined in prison,” he told Burke, his voice low and ominous. “So start talking now, or we’ll call the police and let them sort it out.”
“Fine,” Burke said, holding up his hands. “There’s no need to get the law involved. The buyer’s name is Peraud.”
“How do we find him?” I asked.
“You don’t,” Burke said. “He finds you.” He pulled a scrap of paper out of his pocket. “Here,” he said, thrusting it at Simon. “Call that number and leave a message for him. Peraud will get in touch, or one of his men, more likely.”
“You’ve never seen him?” Tom said. “Ever?”
Burke shook his head. “No, I’ve only dealt with his lackeys. But they came this morning, paid and took the Board.”
Thinking about all that money and what I’d lost, I tried not to seethe. Then it hit me. “Where’s Tanner?” I said.
“I don’t know,” Burke said. “I haven’t seen him since last night.”
“We know enough,” Simon said, “but there’s still the matter of payment.”
“Payment?” Burke asked. “For what? I gave you the number and I don’t have the Board.”
Simon took two graceful steps and picked up the suitcase. “I don’t think you deserve this, Burke,” he said. “You have attempted to profit from stolen merchandise and it was Jenna’s property. This belongs to her.”
My eyes widened. That was a lot of money.
“But …” Burke said, then his shoulders slumped in defeat. When it came down to it, he was essentially a coward. But I should have realized that on the bridge. “Fine,” he snapped. “Take it and go.”
“One more thing,” Simon said, handing the suitcase to Tom. He stepped forward and before Burke could react, grabbed his shirt collar and yanked him forward. “This,” he said. Then he slammed his fist into Burke’s jaw. “That’s for messing with the Keeper in the first place, you little weasel. If you ever come near her again, I’ll make certain you pay for it dearly.”
Dazed, Burke nodded his head in agreement, his hands held up in a vain effort to ward Simon off.
“Are we ready?” Tom asked, watching Burke with wide eyes as he stumbled back several steps, holding his face.
“Almost,
” I said. “Burke, there is one last thing I want from you.”
“What now?” he pleaded. “You’ve got my money, the contact, and my jaw will hurt for weeks.”
“I just want you to deliver a simple message. Tell Professor Martin that the Keeper has returned and he’d better start running right now if he doesn’t want me to catch up with him.”
Burke blanched. “You … you’re the Keeper?” he asked. “Martin never said anything about that!”
“You’re an idiot,” Simon said. “Why do you think she didn’t drown? Some specialist you are.” He hefted the suitcase and gestured at Tom and me. “Let’s go,” he said.
We went out the way we’d come in, but the jubilation I’d felt at getting a good lead on the Board was short-lived. Outside, the winds had started to howl again, and in the distance, huge banks of greenish black clouds boiled up in waves. Another storm was brewing and it looked to be even worse than the last one.
Simon saw it, too. “We’ve got to hurry,” he said. “That storm looks like it could break at any time.”
We went and climbed into Simon’s sedan. “It won’t,” I said. “Not until tonight.”
“How do you know that?” Tom asked.
I shrugged, not sure myself. “I can feel it,” I answered. “The winds aren’t ready yet.”
“Where to?” Simon asked, getting in the driver’s seat.
“Back to my house,” I said. “We need to figure out our next move.”
“Calling Peraud and getting the Board back,” Tom said “Simple.”
Simon pulled out of his parking space and headed in the direction of my house. “Somehow,” he said, “I don’t have a ‘simple’ feeling about any of this.”
Looking at the storm clouds, I whispered, “Neither do I.”
12
“She has returned to her house, along with Simon and another man. Forgive my impertinence, my Lord, but Simon looks … exactly like me.”
“Ah, you have noticed the familial resemblance? You and he are more closely intertwined than you know, and we will discuss that later. For now, be sure to disguise yourself when dealing with either of them.”
“What of this other man?”
“Both Simon and he are of no consequence at the moment. Extend our offer to her. She won’t be able to resist the call of the Board—and will deliver herself right into our hands.”
By the time we got to my house, the winds were gusting in great waves. The trees thrashed and cracked in agony, their branches bent almost double by the lashing gale, and what few bits of dead leaves and grass left over from the winter were tossed into the air to swirl away into the heavy sky. The air smelled like cold rain, but I knew that it wasn’t going to fall just yet.
Simon brought the suitcase with him, setting it down with a sigh of relief in the hall closet, and saying, “We’ll figure out what to do with that later.”
I shrugged. It wasn’t like I needed money that badly. “Maybe a charity?” I suggested.
“Maybe,” he said noncommittally. “We’ve got a few other things to worry about right now.”
“True,” Tom said, tossing his coat onto the hook. “Like something warm to drink?” He looked at me with pure desperation in his eyes and I laughed in spite of the circumstances.
“Yes,” I said, sighing and thinking I’d have a soda instead. I liked coffee—a lot—but I’d had more in the last few days than I usually had in two weeks. “I’ll brew some.”
Shrugging out of our coats, we walked into the kitchen, and I started the coffee while Tom and Simon discussed this mysterious Peraud and what to do when we managed to get in touch with him. I watched them out of the corner of my eye, thinking about the odd effect Simon had on me. He was dangerous in some way I couldn’t put my finger on, and wicked smart. The first was intriguing, but I could have done without it, the second was definitely interesting, to say the least. And there were still those handsome looks of his; I caught myself almost staring at him more than once. I was attracted to him, but intimidated and repelled all at the same time. I wondered if I would ever get the chance to talk to Kristen about it, then laughed to myself. She’d probably tell me we were lovers in a past life!
I poured coffee for everyone and set the tray down on the kitchen table, but before I could join in the discussion, the phone rang. I changed direction and answered it. The caller ID display read PRIVATE NUMBER. Probably a telemarketer, I thought. “Hello?”
“Jenna?” a hoarse but familiar voice said. “Jenna, don’t do what—”
I heard a muffled curse and what sounded like flesh striking flesh, followed by the rattling of a phone hitting the ground. What the—? “Hello?”
Another person came on the line. “Did you hear that voice? Do you know it?” The sound of this voice was strange, like a cloth was being held over the receiver or maybe the connection was bad. “It’s your beloved Father Andrew.”
“Yes,” I said, my eyes widening as I realized that I did know the first voice. “I heard him.”
“Good,” the voice said. “We have him. We want to make a trade.”
Trying to get Simon’s attention, I waved my arm frantically. He saw me and trotted over, leaning his head in close enough to the phone for me to smell the leather and musk scent of his aftershave.
“What … what kind of trade?” I asked.
“You and the journal for the priest,” the voice said.
“Why?” I asked, guessing that this was Peraud or one of his men. “You already have the Board.”
“We need the journal, too,” the voice replied. “And what good is the Board without the Keeper?”
“If I refuse?” I asked, hating that I already knew the answer.
“Then Father Andrew finds out if his dogma about the afterlife is right,” the voice said. “But don’t think it will be fast. It won’t. We’ll do it slow. Make it last a long time. Make him pray.”
I shuddered. The menace in the voice confirmed that he spoke the truth. I didn’t want Father Andrew hurt simply because he knew me, because I cared about him. Once again, my choices were limited.
“Well?” the voice asked.
“When and where?” I said.
“Tonight, nine o’clock,” he said, giving an address for a warehouse in one of the older parts of town. “And come alone. Leave your boyfriend and the fallen priest at home. We don’t need any would-be heroes there, just yourself.”
“Fine,” I said. “Just don’t hurt him.”
The person on the other end didn’t respond for a second, and then chuckled, sending a chill up my spine. “Oh, we won’t,” he said. “Much.” Then he hung up.
I replaced the phone on the cradle and looked at Simon.
He must have read the intent in my eyes. “Jenna,” he said softly. “You can’t.”
“I have to,” I said. “What kind of Keeper would I be if I didn’t protect those I care about?”
“Can’t what?” Tom asked, crossing the kitchen to where Simon and I faced off.
Simon knew that Tom would be a good ally and immediately enlisted his aid. “Trade herself and the journal for Father Andrew.”
“Peraud has Father Andrew?” Tom said.
I nodded. “Yes, and I have to do this.”
“Jenna,” Simon said. “You can’t just meet this man. Whoever he is, he must be powerful to command the kind of money and men he obviously has at his disposal. What guarantee do you have that he won’t take you, the Board, the journal and just kill Father Andrew?”
“I don’t, Simon. But I know what’s right. Father Andrew is practically family to me. I can’t let them hurt him if I can at least try to stop it.”
“But you have a duty!” Simon said.
“To be the Keeper, you said. That’s what I’m doing!”
“To guard the Board, yes, but not to foolishly throw your life away. Without you, there is no Keeper.”
“Stop!” Tom shouted, stepping between us. “Stop it now!”
S
imon and I both realized that we’d closed the distance between us and were practically nose to nose shouting at each other. Furious, I realized that the man could bring out the worst in me in seconds. Apparently, I seemed to have the same effect on him sometimes.
“What is it, Tom?” I said, backing away from Simon and leaning on the counter.
“She’s right, Simon,” Tom said. “I don’t know much about what a Keeper is or does, but I do know who Jenna is. She could no more leave Father Andrew in trouble than she could fly.”
Trying not to think of my visions where I’d held the Board and been able to levitate into the sky, borne aloft by the winds, I nodded in agreement.
“You agree with her?” Simon asked, unbelieving. “I thought you wanted to protect her.”
“I do,” Tom said. “But I wouldn’t try to change who she is and neither should you. Father Andrew is basically the only family she has left.”
I looked at Tom in surprise. We had always been close, but I hadn’t realized how much he knew about my inner emotions. He’d proven himself a good friend countless times over the years and especially over the last few days, but this was the first time I’d really seen how much he knew about me. I didn’t think I could honestly say I knew him as well. My grandfather used to say that I was a good fit for my name, that I held myself away from others, but I suddenly realized that the truth was that I didn’t look deeply into others … perhaps for fear of what I might see.
Simon appeared deep in thought, then shrugged. “I can see I’ve been out-voted,” he finally said. “If that is your choice, Jenna, then I will be as supportive as I can.”
I almost fell over in shock and my thoughts immediately wondered what Simon was up to. “And?” I said
“Nothing,” he replied, looking at his watch. “But I do have to go if I’m to help.”
“Go?” Tom asked. “Where?”
“I cannot say,” Simon said. “But I will be around when the time is right.” He looked at me sternly. “A lot of being a Keeper, I think, is about faith. Even if you don’t see me right away, Jenna, have a little faith. I’ll be there.”
Keeper of the Winds Page 13
