by Hadena James
Ignoring the rest of the inhabitants in the room, I tossed myself onto what was obviously Lucas’s bed. I had considered the one Xavier was about to vacate, but I wasn’t entirely sure how often he showered yet. I closed my eyes.
Instantly, my mind started to whirl. The thoughts danced as the neurons fired. Nyleena was the link. How could we have missed that? That brought the dagger to the forefront of my thoughts.
Suddenly, it hit me. Some years ago, there had been a replica set of eight. Three had been stone blades, one silver, one gold-plated, one bronze, one carbon steel and one with a hook. Each was a ceremonial dagger from some point in history. I had wanted the one with a hook and the one made of bronze. The hooked end dagger had been a Thugee Cult replica. The bronze had been an accompaniment to the Brazen Bull ceremony.
I sighed. The other six. Nyleena had taken one of the stone daggers and one that was gold plated. Malachi had taken the other two stone daggers. The last two, I had left at my mother’s house. The carbon steel had been a modern piece, based on a German SS dagger from World War II. I hadn’t seen or even thought of it in years. That was the one they had found. The lightning bolt SS design had been chipped off, hence the complete lack of recognition.
If I opened my eyes now, I would have to explain it to them. I kept them closed. When was the last time I had slept? How many hours had it been? How had they gotten into my mother’s house and what was I going to do about that?
“I know about the dagger,” I said.
“Really? Memory flash?” Lucas asked.
“Pretty much. I bought a set of eight long before I went to college. Nyleena has two. Malachi has two. My mom had two. I had two.”
“You said had, not has on the last two.” Lucas picked up on the past tense.
“One was a bronze dagger; it sits in an evidence box in Michigan. I had it once, I have it no more. I’m guessing the same is true of one of my mother’s. There was an SS replica in the set. I didn’t want it. Neither did the others, so we just put it away at my mother’s house. Shortly after, she put both on display in her living room. Just to be different I think. One was the SS dagger. I didn’t recognize it because the stylized SS wasn’t on it, but it is definitely the same design of dagger. Since it has my fingerprints, I can only guess that they have been in my mother’s house. Which is a serious problem.”
“Yes, it is. Would Nyleena have taken him over there?” Lucas probed.
“No, Nyleena keeps her personal life personal. She doesn’t even tell her parents about Dr. Welbourne. She wouldn’t have taken him to my mother’s. That means they know who my mother is and where she lives.”
“I’ll scramble someone over there,” Xavier was already digging out his cell phone.
“Tell them to get Malachi and Nyleena to meet her somewhere and they can all go back to Malachi’s house.”
“That’s a lot of work for Malachi.” Lucas commented as Xavier spoke into the phone.
“Maybe, but it would be a labor of love. If Malachi is capable of such emotion, he has it for my mother.”
“Romantic?” Lucas questioned.
“Definitely not. She doesn’t question his personality disorder; she accepts it, like she accepts mine and thinks nothing of it. For that, Malachi may love her like he would his own mother, if he had that sort of attachment with his own mother.”
“He doesn’t?” Lucas prodded.
“No, no he doesn’t. For either of his parents. He respects them to some degree, but familial love isn’t part of their relationship. He feels they lost that...” I stopped myself. “That is his story to tell, not mine.”
“I understand,” Lucas made a noise. I finally opened my eyes to look at him.
His face was set hard. His eyes barely open. His lips partially parted.
“When was the last time you slept?” I asked him.
“It’s been a while,” Lucas admitted.
“Come on, crawl in, we’ll nap together. I could use one.”
“We still have Michael and Xavier.” Lucas said.
“True, but I’m sure Michael has computer things to do and Xavier looks like hell, he probably hasn’t had much sleep either. He can take the other bed. When he gets up, I’ll have housekeeping come replace the sheets so I can sleep in it later.”
“I heard that,” Xavier said quietly, covering the mouthpiece on the phone.
“You’d share with me over Xavier?” Lucas opened his eyes fully.
“Of course, you’re much safer than Xavier and cleaner.” I closed my eyes again and yawned. Sleep was rushing at me.
In my dream, the Iron Maidens stood in a line. They were in a field of thistle. Their doors open, blood dripping down the spikes, pooling around the bases. It was dark with a full moon casting the only light on the field. There were no trees, just thistle as far as the eye could see and those maidens.
I walked towards them, fearing what I might find when I arrived. I expected to see Malachi and Nyleena in front of them. There were no bodies. Just the maidens and the moonlight.
Somewhere behind me, I heard feet scamper. I turned to see the thistle rustling. Several small things were running through the thistle. I didn’t have to see them to know they were rats. I looked around some more, expecting to see a Brazen Bull, both our fears coming through in the dream. There wasn’t one though. Just the rats and the maidens and the moonlight.
I awoke gasping for air. My heart was beating a million miles an hour. My lungs felt like they had an iron band around them. A panic attack. I reached for my rescue med and found Lucas’s arm instead. His breathing was regular and deep. The panic began to recede. I was in our hotel. And I knew what had interrupted our killers and their work with the Scavenger’s Daughter.
Lucas whispered to me. His breath tickling the hair on my forehead. I couldn’t make out the words, just the understanding that he was awake and there for me. As I calmed down and my own breathing began to match his, the mountain fell back asleep, his hand protectively on my side.
Chapter 48
