Curse of the Painted Lady (The Anlon Cully Chronicles Book 3)

by K Patrick Donoghue

  “Okay, how do we do it? How do we stop?”

  “Good question. I’m not sure. I’ve never asked Pebbles or Anlon. Let’s concentrate our thoughts on letting go of the Stone and see what happens,” Jennifer said.

  As soon as Li took hold of the Sinethal and joined Jennifer in the session with Malinyah, Anlon motioned for Henri to sit in the chair originally occupied by Li. “Please, Henri. I have questions for both of you.”

  “Yes, I imagine you do,” Mereau said, shifting his head in the direction of Anlon’s voice.

  “Why did he do it?” Anlon asked.

  “You mean Mathieu?” Mereau asked.

  “Yes.”

  “He felt he would not be able to stop her on his own. It pained me to break the sacred laws of my people, and to lose Mathieu, but he convinced me it was the only way to defeat Muran,” Mereau said. Henri nodded in agreement.

  “I’m sure it was a difficult decision, but I don’t mean that. I mean, why did he give Pebbles the bogus lyktyl? Why didn’t he tell us what it was?”

  “It was a rash decision, an impulsive one. I would have advised him against it, against the whole idea of using it as bait,” Mereau said.

  “Agreed. It was beyond stupid. But that doesn’t answer my question,” Anlon said. He looked at Henri. “You were there when he gave it to her. Why did he do it?”

  “He was frustrated, I think,” Henri said. “He had been wearing it himself for months, hoping Muran would take notice and come after him. He wore it everywhere he went — conferences, public dinners, private parties. He made sure he was photographed wearing it. He even tried to auction it, but nothing happened.”

  Henri went on to tell Anlon that Foucault had devised the idea shortly after the Maerlif on Dominica had been breached and the chest of Sulataers inside stolen. At the time, Henri explained, Foucault thought Devlin Wilson had broken into the vault. Anlon thought of Devlin’s notebooks detailing his expeditions to Dominica, Guadeloupe and Martinique and recalled the stash of Sulataers found in Dobson’s house.

  “I don’t understand,” Anlon said. “Foucault told us he thought Muran was after a Tuliskaera or a Taellin. He never mentioned the lyktyl.”

  “Mathieu was mistaken,” Mereau said. “He knew Muran’s Tuliskaera and Taellin were destroyed along with her Sinethal. He assumed she would seek replacements.”

  “Destroyed? How did he know that?” Anlon asked.

  “He found her Maerlif,” Mereau said.

  “What?”

  “Yes, I was surprised, too,” Mereau said. “I wish he’d told me when he first found it.”

  Muran had a Maerlif? Anlon thought. If that were true, it meant she had died…or had moved her mind to a new body, leaving the old one behind, as Foucault had claimed Muran had done with Alynioria and countless others. But why had she destroyed her own Sinethal, Taellin and Tuliskaera? He asked Mereau.

  “Mathieu did not believe Muran destroyed them on purpose. He believed someone found her Maerlif and attempted to revive Muran, and broke the Tyls during the transfer,” Mereau said.

  Gasps escaped from the mouths of Jennifer and Li. Anlon turned to see them trembling. He watched as the shivering continued, wondering what was happening. Then, without any sort of transition, the quivering stopped and they both smiled. Turning away, Anlon refocused on Mereau’s explanation.

  At Indio Maiz, Foucault had said he suspected Muran sought a Tuliskaera and Taellin to change bodies again. Anlon remembered Foucault saying Muran was desperate to change bodies, that she was running out of time, that the life-extending effects of enjyia were fading for Muran, as they were for him.

  But Foucault hadn’t mentioned Muran was without a Sinethal, too. Ah! thought Anlon. Malinyah’s Sinethal. Foucault must have believed Muran loaned Devlin the Stone to find the other Tyls. Then, once the other Tyls were acquired, he must have assumed Devlin planned to return the Sinethal to Muran and help her transfer her mind into a new body, erasing Malinyah’s memories as an interim step. As a bonus, Muran would have also acquired the map marking the Munirvo Maerlif locations. With Malinyah’s memories of the map erased, only Muran would have possessed the ability to find the Munuorian caches.

  Given that mindset, Anlon could see why Foucault turned his attention to the lyktyl. Malinyah had expressly opted to send the medallion away with Mereau, keeping the key separate from the lock it was intended to open. If Foucault believed Devlin had opened Omereau’s tomb on Dominica, Anlon could understand his logic in thinking that Devlin might also have been searching for Omereau’s Sinethal. But, then a thought occurred to him.

  “Mereau, there’s something I don’t understand. When I spoke with Muran, when she called to demand I turn over Malinyah’s Sinethal, she also demanded Omereau’s Sinethal. She said they’d both been taken from her.”

  “Yes, it seems she had both, though we never knew for certain,” Mereau said. “You see, when Mathieu discovered Malinyah’s and Omereau’s Maerlifs, the Sinethals were gone from both. It seemed evident Muran had taken Malinyah’s, as she left certain mementos in the Maerlif, but no such tokens were left in Omereau’s. And unlike Malinyah’s tomb, the rest of Omereau’s tomb was intact, including his Tyls. That confused us,” Mereau said.

  Anlon recalled seeing the dusty remains of Alynioria’s hair and tunic on Malinyah’s burial cloak. Although he hadn’t focused on it at the time, he now recalled her tomb was otherwise empty. It was no wonder, then, that Mereau and Foucault had been confused. If Muran had plundered Omereau’s tomb, wouldn’t she have also taken his Tyls, as it seemed she had from Malinyah’s? Conversely, if Muran hadn’t been the one who pilfered Omereau’s Sinethal, why hadn’t the looter also taken the other Tyls, including the chest of Sulataers that Dobson later discovered?

  “Mereau, why did Foucault leave Omereau’s Tyls in his Maerlif? Once he discovered it, why didn’t he remove them all? If the tomb had already been looted once, weren’t you both concerned it might happen again?”

  “Omereau’s Tyls are sacred!” Mereau answered. “Mathieu was instructed to seal the tomb so that no one could find the entry.”

  “But he left the beacon,” Anlon said, recalling Devlin’s notes.

  “A false beacon. A trap for Muran, in case she returned for the Tyls,” Mereau said. “If she had removed the entry stone where Mathieu placed the beacon, the surrounding stones would have collapsed as soon as she stepped through the entrance. She would have been crushed.”

  It’s a good thing Devlin never found the entry stone then! Anlon thought. But Dobson had …and escaped unscathed with the Sulataers. Foucault’s trap had failed. Or had it? Thinking back to the confrontation with Foucault at Indio Maiz, Anlon remembered Foucault saying he had sent Christian to prevent them from opening the Maerlif because he thought they’d blast it open “like greedy treasure hunters.” Had Dobson circumvented Foucault’s trap on Dominica by blowing a hole through the Maerlif wall?

  Anlon could see how that would have unnerved Foucault. He thought Devlin had done it, acting as a puppet for Muran. So, Foucault must have assumed Muran was somehow hip to the trap. It must have puzzled him, though. Why would Muran only take the Sulataers? If the rest of Omereau’s Tyls had been inside, why wouldn’t she also have snagged a Tuliskaera and Taellin?

  He was about to ask Mereau that very question when he heard the telltale sound of the Naetir separating from the Sinethal and the thud of it landing on the floor. He turned to see the two woozy women slump against the sofa cushions and Henri scurrying into the suite’s kitchen. As Anlon reached for the Sinethal, clutched precariously in Jennifer’s right hand, Henri came alongside with two bottled waters. He handed one to Anlon to give to Jennifer. The other Henri prepped to give to Li. Jennifer’s eyes fluttered open. Anlon asked, “Hey there, you okay?”

  She smiled and whispered, “That was wild.”

  Li stirred too and looked around the room. To Anlon, she appeared very disoriented. Henri held the open bottle to her lips and encourag
ed her to drink. Anlon did likewise with Jennifer. She took a long sip, then pushed away the bottle. She pointed at the Sinethal in Anlon’s other hand. “We told her Mereau is here. She wants to see him.”

  “And I, her,” Mereau said, holding out his hands. Anlon reached forward and gave Mereau the Sinethal, then bent down to retrieve the Naetir from the floor. He watched Mereau smooth his fingers over the etched symbols. Mereau smiled and whispered, “Ailta erill, ento ainfa.”

  Anlon remembered the translation. “Ever apart, together always.”

  “You have a Naetir?” Mereau asked.

  “Yes, here it is,” Anlon said, resting it on Mereau’s knee. A moment later, Mereau took the Naetir and guided it to the center notch. Unlike the sharp clap that occurred when Anlon and others used the Sinethal, Mereau gently nestled the Naetir into the slot. His fingers slid into the notches and he heaved a great sigh. It wasn’t a pained sigh, Anlon noticed. The man had a smile on his face.

  Even in Foucault’s aged body, Mereau felt the energy of Malinyah’s spirit flow into him. And he could instantly see. Malinyah sat beneath Seybalrosa under sunny skies. When she felt his presence, she stood and teetered, then came dashing down the hilly path.

  Mereau ran to greet her, his bare feet slapping against the moist, red clay of the path as he dashed upward. The last time he’d seen her, she’d handed over Omereau’s lyktyl with the understanding he was to protect it at all costs. It had been a dark and sad parting, one that tainted the many happy memories they had shared. But the emotions they exchanged now ranged from delight to relief. Their embrace was as real as any Mereau remembered sharing ten thousand years ago. The feel of her skin against his, the scent of her hair, the warmth of her touch — they were all the same. It was if they’d both awoken from a terrible dream to find themselves together once again.

  And then other memories rushed forward, interrupting the joyous reunion. Images of Munirvo passed between them, as did a snippet of the smiling Alynioria, and another one of the sneering Muran cutting down her fellow countrymen with a Tuliskaera, and last, a vision of The Betrayer standing over the frightened, screaming Alynioria.

  Mereau held onto Malinyah as she quivered. He whispered in her ear, “Ease your mind, my love. I have come to bring peace to our memories of Alynioria. I will avenge her, and then we will mourn the loss of our daughter, together.”

  While Mereau visited with Malinyah, Anlon led Jennifer and Li outside and they reconvened around the patio table. Anlon and Jennifer watched Li sip water while she stared at the pool with a blank expression.

  “Well? What did you think of Malinyah?” Jennifer asked.

  Agent Li gulped down some more water, then asked, “Did that really just happen?”

  “It did,” Jennifer said. “What an incredible experience. It seemed so real.”

  “Amazing, isn’t it?” Anlon asked.

  “Beyond amazing! It’s weird, but I can still feel sand between my toes,” Jennifer said, wiggling her feet.

  “What about the wave?” Li asked Jennifer.

  “Oh, my God! How real was that? I was soaked!”

  As the two women engaged in a conversation about the range of sensations they experienced, Anlon thought of Pebbles. She often emerged from sessions with Malinyah with the same excitement in her voice and twinkle in her eyes. She could gab for hours about things she’d seen, or places Malinyah had taken her, or foods she’d tasted. Although Anlon didn’t leave sessions with Malinyah with the same degree of excitement, he did retain equally powerful memories of the sensations and events he experienced.

  How remarkable is that? What a way to preserve memories! Anlon thought of the modern phenomenon of online social media. Many people seemed to use the platforms to share memories, often in the form of pictures or videos. The implication was, “If I simply tell you about the great concert I attended, you can’t imagine how fun it was. Let me show you instead. Then, you’ll understand!” Yet, Anlon found that the pictures and videos often fell short of conveying the richness of the events they chronicled. Much like murals and sculptures crafted by ancient cultures, these modern methods of sharing memories were often flat and uninspiring.

  But here was a device that could share memories in their full context, including sensations and emotions associated with the memories. Sharing the full context seemed to ensure the memories were retained at a deeper, more personal level than storytelling or pictures ever could. What had led Omereau to imagine such a device? Why had the long-term preservation of memories been so important to him?

  Anlon felt a hand tap his knee. He looked up to see Jennifer waving at him. “Hello, there. You still with us?”

  He cleared his throat and shifted his posture. “Yeah. Sorry about that. What did I miss?”

  “No worries. We were just talking about Muran. I was telling Elizabeth about enjyia and how Muran used it to extend her life span. You know, to explain how she looks the same in the locket picture,” Jennifer said.

  “Oh, right,” Anlon said. “Enjyia apparently slows the aging process. Foucault told us the Munuorians could live as long as five hundred years.”

  “So, Anabel used it, too?” Li asked.

  “Yes, I know she did for a fact. She served me some when I last saw her,” Jennifer said. “But, for some reason, it didn’t last as long for her as it did for Muran.”

  “Or for Foucault,” Anlon said.

  “Well, as fantastical as most of this seems to be, at least the crime part makes sense to me,” Li said. “I just wish I understood more about the dispute between Muran and Evelyn that spurred everything that’s happened. I read the article and I walked away believing Evelyn saved Muran-slash-Clara’s life. Twenty years later, Clara gives Evelyn a locket that seems to suggest they shared an intimate relationship. Fast forward one hundred fifty-five years later, Clara crushes Evelyn’s heart with her hand.”

  “I think your earlier theory still stands,” Jennifer said. “Somewhere between Clara giving Evelyn the locket and now, Evelyn took Muran’s Stones.”

  “Can we step back a sec?” Anlon asked. “Evelyn saved Muran’s life?”

  “Oh, that’s right. You don’t know about the article,” Jennifer said. She turned to Li. “You still have it on your phone?”

  Several minutes later, Anlon finished reading the article for a third time. He still couldn’t get over the photograph of Anabel. Although Anlon had not known Anabel when she was a young woman, he vividly remembered the framed pictures of her with Devlin scattered about her living room. Thinking back on it now, Anlon was surprised he hadn’t noticed her persistent youthful appearance in the pictures. The pictures showed the two together at various archaeological sites and had been taken between the early 1980s and early 2000s. He supposed his mind had focused more on the age gap between Devlin and Anabel, rather than their absolute ages. It also should have dawned on him that she had aged significantly since the last of the pictures.

  The article itself was very telling, especially in the context of Anlon’s earlier conversation with Mereau and Henri. He relayed the conversation to Jennifer and Li. When he finished, he said, “This article seems to validate Foucault’s story. Evelyn found Muran’s tomb. She activated her Sinethal. Muran convinced her to find a body. Evelyn chose the lady she served. She helped Muran execute the transfer, but botched it up, destroying the Stones in the process. Muran survived and they concocted the pirate story to cover up what really happened.”

  “Right,” Jennifer said. “Muran must have proposed a deal with Evelyn along the lines of the deal Mereau made with Foucault. Help me, I’ll help you. I’ll give you enjyia, you’ll stay young and beautiful.”

  “It fits,” Anlon said. “According to Mereau, Foucault said there were no other Tyls in the tomb, other than the ones that were destroyed during the transfer. Foucault believed it meant Muran had cleared out the undamaged Tyls. That means she would have had a Breylofte and Terusael, so she would have had what she needed to make enjyia. I wonder
if Malinyah’s Sinethal was in the tomb, too. Can you imagine how differently things might have turned out if Evelyn had connected with Malinyah instead of Muran?”

  “Would have been totally different,” Jennifer said. “But, whether Malinyah was in the tomb or not, Muran still had her Sinethal stashed somewhere, right? And she had Omereau, too.”

  “Yep. That’s what Foucault told Mereau,” Anlon said.

  “I wonder what happened. Why did Evelyn steal them?” Jennifer asked.

  “I’ve got two better questions: why did Anabel give Devlin Malinyah’s Sinethal, and what the hell did she do with Omereau’s?” Anlon asked.

  Chapter 19 – Trojan Disc

  La Quinta, California

  September 29

  Mereau emerged from the suite and walked to the patio table where Anlon and Jennifer awaited him. In his hands, he carried Malinyah’s Sinethal and the Naetir. As he approached, Anlon noticed Mereau no longer wore sunglasses, and his earlier unsteady gait had disappeared. Instead, he came toward them with confident strides and steely eyes.

  What an amazing transformation, thought Anlon. Though the man approaching him carried the physical features of Jacques Foucault, there was no mistaking the presence of entirely different mind and spirit. Gone were Foucault’s elegant mannerisms and erudite style. In their places, Mereau projected the bearing of a determined, charismatic leader.

  Anlon stood to greet him, followed shortly thereafter by Jennifer and Li. Mereau handed the ancient Stones to Anlon and thanked him for the opportunity to spend time with Malinyah’s memories. “It was a gift to see and touch her again.”

  “I imagine she felt the same,” Anlon said.

  Mereau nodded and stared at the Sinethal. “I hope so. While we shared many joys in life, we also shared tragedies. Malinyah’s memories of many things, including me, are tainted by those tragedies.”