by Faith Gibson
Nik whistled. “I’m glad they’re on our side. We need all the inside information we can get. Do you think Alistair is behind this shit with Sophia?”
“At this point, anything is possible. Guard your back, Brother. If he is behind this, he will have his Gargoyles out and about. Speaking of Goyles, I have located a small clan in South Africa, but I’ve yet to find out who they are loyal to, if anyone. I’ll keep working on that. Is there anything else I can do from here?”
“Yes. I want you to monitor all activity in and out of Cairo for either Clara Fort or Beatrice Nightingale. Beatrice is a longshot since Sophia left her disguise behind, but Clara is still an option.”
“Your girl’s using an alias? Smart.”
“Yes, and she has disguises to go along with them. I’d love to have one right about now. It would be easier to get around without being identified.”
“I’m on it. What else?”
“That’s it. Give Gregor and Tessa my best.”
“Will do. As soon as things settle down here, I’m coming to help you. Be well, Nik.”
“Honestly, I look forward to it. I miss you, Brother. Later.” Nik hung up before he couldn’t speak. It took a lot for him to get emotional, but Jules was a good reason. He began packing the items he’d only unpacked the day before and prepared to meet the realtor at the villa. Instead of taking a taxi, Nik called for a car service. He instructed them to park in the underground garage of the hotel so he would have better clarity of his surroundings. Thirty minutes later, he was securely in the limo with nobody following him.
Chapter Sixteen
Kallisto sat unmoving as the breaking news report on the television made her want to throw-up. An anonymous patron had donated several ancient artifacts to the Cairo Museum of Egyptian Antiquities. Among them was the Cleopatra Disk, an item so rare it was thought to be one of a kind. The news anchor stated the items were dropped off at the museum minutes after opening that morning. “Sources say the patron, a woman in her mid to late forties, walked in, demanded to see the curator, and handed over the box. She didn’t wait around to give her name. The cameras weren’t able to get a good picture of her face. The curator told us this was the single largest donation to the museum in its history.”
When the telephone rang, she picked up the remote and turned the TV off. She took a deep breath before answering. “Hello?”
“Hello, Princess. I have another job for you.”
“But this one isn’t complete. We have no idea where the girl is.”
“No, but we know where her parents are. Now, I need you to gather a team and fly to the States. I have received information on another of Montagnon’s mongrels. It appears his youngest daughter has a son she has kept hidden from the world. I need you to kidnap the boy, dispose of his adoptive parents, and convince his mother to come with you to Greece. All the information you need is being sent to your phone.”
“And what of the other man? We’ve been keeping tabs on him, but he doesn’t seem interested in Sophia. He spends most of his time in Alexandria. Nikolas Stone has rented a house here. He won’t give up until he finds the woman.”
“The other man is of no consequence. He’s just another of Jonas’ offspring. As for Mr. Stone, the longer he stays in Egypt, the better. One more thorn in my side out of the way. Now, forget about them and head to your next assignment.”
“We’ll leave immediately.” Kallisto was ready to hang up, thinking she’d dodged a bullet.
“I know about the disk, my darling. We’ll discuss that when you return home.”
“Yes, sir.” Kallisto thumbed off the phone and let out a breath. The fact he didn’t yell at her did not bode well. She would much rather take her berating from thousands of miles away than face to face. She turned to Sergei who had heard only her side of the conversation.
“We have another job. It involves kidnapping a child. Choose two of your best men and have them meet us at the plane. Instruct the others to continue looking for the Brooks woman.”
“Did he mention the disk? That donation had to make world news.”
“Yes, but he said we’d discuss it later.”
“Oh, shit.”
“Yeah, shit. Now, let’s get to our next mission and hope we don’t fuck it up.” Kallisto left her companion to make his phone calls. She began packing their things for the trip to America.
Ezekiel sipped his coffee while Xenia cooked breakfast. He had been in Egypt for almost two weeks and was no closer to finding his niece or his brother. Xenia hadn’t been able to get hold of Sophia either, and they were both worried about the girl. Zeke had followed her alias from Cairo to Luxor where the trail dead-ended. She had checked into a hotel there, but whenever he called, he got no answer. He spoke to the manager, telling him he was worried about his niece. The man took Zeke’s name and number and said he’d call if she showed up. He hadn’t.
“What made you turn in the disk anonymously? You could have given your father a great deal of credibility, even if it was posthumously.”
Xenia turned the bacon before answering. “If I gave the curator my father’s name, it would be easy for anyone to find out my name and address. My life has been disrupted enough in the past two weeks. I don’t need random people calling and stopping by for interviews. They would want to know where he discovered the disk. That is a question that needs to remain hidden.”
“True. Hopefully that will keep the people who are after Sophia from looking for Beatrice any further.”
“Yes, but their focus was split between Sophia and the old woman. Now, they can focus solely on Sophia. Maybe I should have waited.” Xenia bit her bottom lip. When she did, blood ran down her chin. “Oh, shit.”
“You need to keep your emotions in check, my dear.” Zeke stood and wet a paper towel. He dabbed the blood until it stopped leaking from her lip.
“I know, but I forget about the fangs. They tend to pop out at the most inopportune moments.”
“Is that why Keene walks around with his hands over his crotch?” Zeke joked.
“Very funny. And no, it’s because of the claws, not the fangs,” she said with a wink.
“Ouch.” Zeke had spoken with Keene more than once since Xenia told her mate the truth. He still hadn’t agreed to complete the bond, but he was spending time with her. Xenia had refused to tell Keene that there was one mate for Gargoyles, and if he walked away from her she would never find true happiness. While she was getting control of her new shifter half, she had taken a sabbatical from her teaching position stating medical reasons.
Xenia had opened her home to Zeke. Staying in a hotel indefinitely seemed crazy when she had plenty of room. He helped her with her phasing, and she schooled him in Egyptian history. The only time he made himself scarce was when Keene came to visit. They needed to be alone if they were to work out their future.
While he was sipping his coffee, Zeke’s phone rang. “Hello?”
“Mr. Seymour? This is the manager of the Luxor Embassy. I told you I would call if your niece showed up. I’m sorry to say she hasn’t. Since she only paid for one night, we cannot hold Miss Fort’s room any longer. We will need you to either retrieve her belongings or pay for the room until she shows up. Of course, I’ll need proof you and Miss Fort are related.”
“Of course, I understand. Let me pay now, and I will be there soon to pick up her things. Thank you for calling.” Zeke gave the manager his credit card number before hanging up. He sighed. “That was the hotel in Luxor. I have to go get Sophia’s things.”
“Do you want me to go with you?” Xenia asked.
“I would like that. First, I have to have proof that she and I are related. I’m not sure how I’m going to do that since she’s using an alias.”
“Do you know how Sophia gets her fake IDs?”
“She probably makes them. It’s not that hard.”
“Can you do it? I’m thinking if I go in as Clara, I can tell them I was mugged and lost my key. They’ll give me
a new one.”
“Xenia, I don’t mean to be rude, but the manager knows I’m looking for my niece. You don’t exactly look young enough.”
Xenia huffed, “Well, I never.” She threw a dishtowel at him, laughing. “You won’t be with me, silly. I’ll get into the room, then I’ll call you and you can come up.”
“I guess it could work, if only I had the necessary supplies. I wish I knew someone who was into forgery.”
“Hmm. I might know someone. He owes me a favor, too. Let me make a phone call.” Xenia handed Zeke the spatula and disappeared down the hall. A few minutes later, she returned, smiling. “We’re good to go. After breakfast, we’ll go see a colleague of mine. We should have what we need by this afternoon.”
“I don’t want you to get in trouble,” Zeke offered.
“I won’t, and neither will he. Besides, this beats sitting at home painting my claws.”
After they finished eating, Zeke went ahead and made plane reservations. Xenia assured him they would have what they needed and be able to make a later flight. She hadn’t been wrong. Her colleague was an art curator who authenticated paintings. While that had nothing to do with forging passports, he was an expert in handwriting. He also had the equipment to produce an alternative I.D. Xenia gave him the note Sophia had written, and the man was able to recreate Clara’s signature based off the lettering on the note. He made a copy of Zeke’s driver’s license, replacing the information with Clara’s and the picture with one of Xenia. Within an hour, Xenia had a license claiming she was Clara Fort.
While they were making their way to the airport, Zeke said, “I was thinking about visiting the Valley of the Kings while I’m there. Would you like to be my tour guide?” Zeke wasn’t leaving Egypt until he knew Sophia and her parents were safe, but he could enjoy the sights while he waited.
“I would love that,” she beamed.
Zeke and Xenia arrived in Luxor that evening. Zeke went ahead and checked into a room at the hotel across the street so they had somewhere to put their things. With Xenia claiming to be someone who’d been mugged, she couldn’t stroll in the Luxor Embassy pulling a suitcase behind her. Zeke impatiently paced the floor, looking at his phone periodically. When she had been gone thirty minutes, he debated whether or not to go check on her. He was headed to the door when his phone rang.
“Xenia?”
“No, Clara. And I’m in the room. Fourteen twenty-nine.”
“I’ll be right there.” Zeke grabbed the room key and made his way across the street. He avoided looking at the desk clerk and continued to the elevators. Once he reached the fourteenth floor, he turned left and strode down the hall with purpose. He wasn’t one for telling lies, but desperate times called for desperate measures. He knocked once, and Xenia opened the door.
Together, they went through Sophia’s things to see if there was any clue as to where she could be. All of her things were put away neatly with the exception of her laptop. It sat unused on the desk in the corner of the room. After trying to access her computer, Zeke said “I’ve tried to get in there and take a look, but she’s a whiz when it comes to that kind of thing. I doubt too many people in the world could hack her system.”
Xenia voiced what Zeke already knew in his heart: something had happened to Sophia. She packed their niece’s clothing and toiletries while he stored her computer in its case then double-checked to be sure they hadn’t overlooked anything. Xenia left the key card on the desk, and they took Sophia’s things, exiting through the back entrance. They made their way to the hotel across the street. Zeke would call the manager in the morning with the good news his niece had safely returned to him.
Even though he was only a half-blood, Zeke needed to get out of the small hotel room and breathe in some of the night air. His shifter hated being locked inside. It was one of the reasons he lived near the ocean. Since it wasn’t too late, they decided to visit the Luxor temple complex. It housed five temples, one being the Karnack. It was a vast, open-air complex. Before the apocalypse, it was one of the most visited religious sites in the world. It was still popular since it was lit up at night, offering a completely different experience.
As they strolled through the complex, Xenia gave him a history lesson. The locals tried to infringe on their privacy, offering to provide the history, but Zeke made it clear they didn’t want to pay for someone to guide them. Ezekiel found himself entranced with his guide. Her knowledge was vast, and he could tell by the way she described everything that she loved history. He wished he’d had a history professor who loved the subject as much as she did. It would have made taking the class that much more enjoyable.
Once they had visited everything there was to see, they headed to a restaurant that had international dishes as well as local flavors. Zeke opted for Spaghetti Bolognaise, while Xenia chose fish and chips. Being a world traveler, he was used to eating foreign food, but sometimes he wanted a taste of home. If he was honest with himself, he was looking forward to the day he could retire from being a watcher. He didn’t mind the traveling so much, but he wanted to go to a nice, sunny island instead of the hole in the wall places his siblings had been shipped off to.
He and Xenia talked of her life growing up in South Africa and her parents. Zeke told her everything she wanted to know about Jonas and Caroline that Sophia hadn’t already shared. He talked about Tessa’s life and her being cloned. The last phone call he’d made to Elizabeth had been full of exciting, if not horrific, information. He was happy to know Tessa was going to be okay. He hadn’t been around her often, but when he had, she had kept him highly entertained.
He explained the Unholy and Tessa’s father’s part in that. Zeke sadly told her about their brother, Conrad, going undercover as Magnus Flanagan and how he lost his life. It was his opinion that the siblings be told everything, not just the bits and pieces Jonas wanted them to know.
Even though they had met only recently, the two were falling into an easy comradery. As they talked and laughed, they finished off three bottles of wine. Having shifter metabolism allowed them to drink more than humans, and neither one was feeling the effects of drinking that much. They walked the short distance to the hotel and turned in for the night.
In the morning, they set out for the Valley of the Kings. Zeke was more excited about this excursion than any since he would be seeing the burial chamber of King Tut. He had studied the young pharaoh in his college years and found the stories fascinating. Having Xenia as a guide would only enhance his visit.
Zeke was not disappointed. The chamber was decorated with colorful images and text designed to aid in the pharaoh’s trip into the afterlife. Xenia kept quiet during most of the tour unless the guide left out something important, or made a false statement. She had no problem correcting the young man. Once their tour was finished, she said, “I’d like to visit the Valley of the Queens. It’s much less impressive, but part of Sophia’s clue mentioned it. I want to see if there is anything I pick up on. It’s only about twenty minutes away.”
“Let’s go.” Zeke was all for visiting another ancient landmark. It would probably be a long time before he could return, and he was having a good time in spite of the reason he was in Egypt.
Once inside the Valley of the Queens, the tour guide instructed them that part of the corridor was closed off due to the recent murder of a guard in one of the cordoned off areas. “I heard about that on the news. Do you think it’s safe to be in here?” Zeke asked Xenia.
She whispered so only he could hear, “Between the two of us, I think we can protect ourselves.”
He knew she was referring to their shifter halves, and she was correct. The news report had stated a guard had been killed by a female tourist, but no names were given. As they descended farther into the tombs, Xenia stopped. “Do you smell that?”
The rich coppery tang of blood was present off to the left. “Yes. That must be where the murder took place.”
“Yes, but there’s something else, something… fami
liar.” Xenia inhaled deeply.
“Please stay with your group,” the tour guide chastised them for getting separated.
Zeke and Xenia continued on with the rest of the tour. It wasn’t until they were outside that Xenia said, “I think Sophia’s been here. She has that distinct honeysuckle scent that few women can pull off.”
“I smelled it too, but it was so faint. She could have been here a week ago.” Zeke had a bad feeling about his niece. “Xenia, is there any way to find out who the woman was involved in the murder? I know I’m grasping at straws, but what if it was Sophia? The timing is about right since she disappeared.”
“You think she killed the guard?” Xenia asked, frowning.
“Anything is possible.” Zeke said, praying it wasn’t true and his niece wasn’t being held in an Egyptian prison.
Chapter Seventeen
Keys jingled in the lock. Time for lunch. Or was it supper? Sophia’s days were running together. At first she was able to keep count of how long she’d been locked away in the dark, dank hole. Now, she was losing all concept of morning versus night. When your home was a five by five concrete box with no bed and only a bucket to relieve yourself in, things became foggy. Her meals were the same as they had been since she arrived. Her pleas were the same, too. Every time a guard brought her tray, Sophia begged to speak to a consulate. Every time she was ignored.
Her body was weakening, as was her resolve. If she didn’t find a way to get out of this hell, she would surely die there. She knew the only thing keeping her alive was her shifter half. More than once the voice in her head had told her to buck up and figure a way out. Sophia was smart. If only she had as much faith as her Gargoyle half did.
She didn’t bother to move when the door opened. She knew the routine – a new tray replaced the old one. The guards had only emptied her bucket once, so she was used to the smell of stale piss. It was mixed with the odor of a woman who hadn’t bathed in weeks. One who was due to start her period any day now. That ought to be fun. She didn’t bother looking at the guard. The first few days when they sneered at her, she was ready to do to them what she’d done to the man in the tombs. At first, her shifter was urging her to fight her way out. When she convinced the beast she would not kill someone without physical provocation, it quieted inside her head.
