The Sage Stone Prophecy (Arkana Archaeology Adventure Series Book 7)

by N. S. Wikarski

  “What are you going to do with my test subject?” he demanded abruptly.

  “His future is not your concern,” the Diviner snapped back.

  “Will you at least tell me if he’s going to remain alive?”

  Metcalf’s eyebrows shot up. “Have you grown fond of your patient, doctor?”

  “Certainly not, sir!” Aboud registered offense at the remark. “There’s nothing special about him. It’s what he represents. That man’s survival is the crowning achievement of my career. The fact that he breathes at all is a testimony to my skill. I would hate to see my trophy destroyed before I’ve had sufficient time to savor such a victory in the name of science.”

  Metcalf gave a thin smile. “Then be assured, doctor. Your patient will live. He’s far more useful to me that way.”

  Aboud relaxed.

  “Now tell me about the vaccine.” Metcalf sat forward in anticipation.

  “It’s everything I hoped to achieve and more,” the doctor enthused. “Not only will it subdue the original virus I created but several other strains as well. After inoculating our test subject, I tried exposing him to numerous variations of the plague and he exhibited immunity to them all.”

  “That is excellent news.” The Diviner allowed himself a smile of genuine pleasure.

  “I’m ready to move forward with the design of a delivery device,” Aboud added.

  Metcalf’s smile faded. “Not quite yet, doctor. First, I want you to concentrate on manufacturing a quantity of the vaccine for certain key people in my organization. Initially, I’ll want enough for 150 adult male subjects.”

  “Why so much?” Aboud sounded surprised.

  “I’m planning a large undertaking. You will, of course, be required to supply enough for all the Nephilim Brotherhood eventually.”

  “We’ll have to work round-the-clock,” the doctor objected.

  “Put on as much additional staff as you need. Just get the vaccine done quickly.”

  Aboud seemed on the point of asking several more questions but thought better of it. “Just as you say, sir.”

  Metcalf yawned wearily. “And now, if you don’t mind, I need to retire for a while. It’s been a very long day and I must take my medicine.” The old man rose, steadying himself by holding the rim of his desk. He took a few tentative steps toward the door.

  Aboud appeared to notice his benefactor’s haggard appearance for the first time. Alarmed, he stood up to help him. “Sir, you don’t appear well of late. Perhaps there’s something I can do. If you’d allow me to draw a sample of your blood.”

  “No, no.” Metcalf waved him away. “I have an excellent medicine that helps me to sleep. Or at least it did until recently. Perhaps I need to double the dosage again. I’ll be fine.”

  The doctor took him by the elbow and guided him to the door anyway. “Mr. Metcalf, you need to keep up your strength.”

  “I’m doing well enough, doctor.” He extricated himself from Aboud’s grasp. “The tide appears to be turning in my favor at last.”

  Chapter 17—Who Ya Gonna Call?

  It was a long walk to the guest quarters at the rear of the compound. Daniel and Leroy made slow progress given Erik’s limited mobility. Members of the community eyed them curiously as they passed down one corridor and up another. Hunt made a point to tip his hat to the Consecrated Brides who passed his way. They responded with furtive glances before scampering out of sight, much to the cowboy’s amusement. When the trio arrived at their destination, Daniel paused to remove the key which had been left in the lock on the outer side of the door.

  “C’mon. Give me five minutes with Blondie,” Hunt urged.

  “It’s Erik,” the thief corrected.

  Daniel turned to face the cowboy. “You heard my father’s orders. Hands off our hostage, Mr. Hunt. We need him to appear in good health when we turn him over to his associates.”

  “I won’t mess up his face. He’ll still look good,” Leroy offered. “Can’t answer for how he’s gonna feel though.”

  Daniel adopted a menacing tone. “Mr. Hunt, unless you wish me to report your insubordination to my father, you’ll do as you’re told.”

  “Alright. Don’t get your pinfeathers ruffled.” The cowboy held up his hands in a gesture of surrender. “Boy, I tell you what. You’re makin’ me pine for the days when you was just a pasty-faced runt scared to say ‘boo’ to his own shadow.”

  “We all change,” the Scion observed coldly.

  “Not me,” Hunt countered. “I like myself just fine as is.”

  “What a pity,” Daniel murmured. “In any case, thank you for your assistance. I’ll take it from here. You may show yourself out.”

  The Scion turned his back and opened the door, leaving Hunt to grouse and retreat the way he came.

  Erik limped into the room and immediately sank into an easy chair. “That’s the most walking I’ve done since the night of the break-in,” he admitted. “How long ago was that?”

  “Almost a month,” Daniel said, closing the door. He took a seat on the edge of the bed.

  The thief surveyed the room. “As prison cells go, this is pretty cushy. A double bed with a dresser and my own private bathroom. Hey, there’s even a telephone.”

  “It’s an intercom system actually,” Daniel countered. “It will get you as far as the kitchen in case you need food or some other help. Since this suite of rooms was designed for visiting archwardens, it’s considered guest quarters. I’m going to tell the kitchen staff that you’re working on a confidential project for my father and nobody else is to know you’re here. That ought to keep Joshua out of your way. I’ll also tell the staff that you’re to be treated as a guest but mustn’t be allowed to wander freely through the compound. Hence the locked door.”

  “How are you gonna keep the kitchen workers from blabbing? You told me yourself that the rumor mill in this place works nonstop.”

  Daniel smiled thinly. “As the Scion, I have the power to threaten them with immediate excommunication. Trust me, that’s a fate worse than death to the Nephilim. They’ll obey my orders to keep silent.”

  Erik raised his eyebrows. “Seems like you thought of everything.” He transferred his attention back to his surroundings. “Does Hannah have a set-up like this?”

  “Hannah’s room looks about the same but there’s no intercom phone. It wouldn’t matter anyway since she hasn’t spoken since her return.”

  “She hasn’t talked? Why not?”

  “It’s a ruse to deflect inconvenient questions. Of course she speaks to me all the time but the rest think she’s afflicted.”

  “Smart kid.” Erik nodded approvingly. “Speaking of smart, you did one hell of a job getting me out of that mess in your father’s office. I owe you bigtime.”

  Daniel felt pleased at the compliment but his mood immediately shifted to one of deep gloom. “You can pay me back by telling me what’s going on in the secret lab. To the rest of the Nephilim, that place is just a rumor but you’ve actually been inside.”

  Erik rubbed his forehead, apparently trying to recollect what he’d seen. “It’s a high-tech operation. Aboud has been creating a supercharged strain of plague. Something that’s impervious to any known vaccine.”

  “Plague?” The Scion’s tone was skeptical. “As in the Black Death?”

  “A variation of the same virus. It’s called pneumonic plague because it goes airborne. You inhale the germs and you die ugly in a matter of hours.”

  “But you lived.”

  “Yeah, lucky me.” Erik chuckled sardonically. “While I was out of commission Aboud said he tried to kill me six ways from Sunday but apparently the vaccine formula he initially gave me did the trick. So here I am.”

  “What’s the purpose of it all?”

  The thief shrugged. “I’d guess your father is planning to turn the plague loose on somebody. The vaccine is probably for the errand boys who’ll be distributing it.”

  “This is insane.” Daniel raked his
fingers through his hair. “Who is he targeting? He can’t pick a fight with the entire world. That would be madness. All the super-powers would rain destruction down on the Nephilim. Even my father can’t want that.”

  “I never found out who the target is,” Erik admitted. “I don’t think Aboud knows either.”

  Daniel stood and began to pace fretfully. “It looks like my librarian friend Chris was right about everything. I thought he was being an alarmist when he said my father was planning a war. Then I saw with my own eyes that the satellite compounds have been turned into armed fortresses. And now you’re living proof that the secret lab exists. What am I going to do?”

  “For starters, you can stop wearing out the carpet,” Erik observed.

  The Scion plopped down on the bed and stared at his captive blankly.

  Erik winced with pain as he sat forward in his chair. He gazed at the Scion earnestly. “Daniel, if a war really is coming, you might start by picking a side.”

  “That’s just what your friend Cassie said when we were trapped in that cave in Sudan.”

  “She isn’t wrong about that or about much of anything else.” Erik gave a wry grin. “Of course, I’d never tell her so because she’d never let me hear the end of it.”

  “But he’s my father.” Daniel pleaded for understanding.

  “You wouldn’t be the first kid to walk away from a bad home life,” Erik consoled. “Maybe it’s time to cut your losses.”

  The Scion gave a deep sigh. “Let’s just say that, for now, I’ll do what I can to help you. In any event, defying my father outright would be madness.”

  “Agreed.” Erik nodded. “You’re far more useful as part of his trusted inner circle.”

  “We need to figure out what his plan is before someone gets hurt.” Daniel was speaking half to himself. “And I mean on either side of the conflict.”

  “I sure could use some advice from the Arkana about now,” Erik said ruefully. “That’s the name of my organization, by the way.” He cast a glance at the in-house phone.

  Daniel brightened. “I’d almost forgotten. Wait here. I’ll be back in a few minutes.” Taking care to lock Erik inside, he ran down the corridor to his own room.

  ***

  Ten minutes later, the Scion let himself back into the prisoner’s quarters. He was carrying a paper bag.

  Erik peered at him quizzically.

  “Here. You can keep this but remember to keep it well-hidden.” Daniel reached into the bag and produced a cell phone and charger. “It’s the burner phone you gave me when we first planned Hannah’s escape, remember?”

  “Well, alright!” Erik smiled broadly. “I can get back in touch with headquarters.”

  “I thought you said you didn’t know where your organization’s headquarters were located.” Daniel sounded mystified.

  Erik treated him to a pitying look. “And a prisoner who’s being questioned by the enemy would never lie.”

  “Oh, I see.” Daniel flushed with embarrassment and retreated to his seat on the bed. “Then who are you planning to speak with?”

  The thief chuckled as he punched a number into the phone and listened to it ring. “I’m calling Maddie, our Chatelaine. You people know her as ‘Mr. Big’.”

  Daniel’s mouth dropped open in surprise.

  Erik raised a cautionary finger for silence. Apparently, someone had picked up on the other end.

  “Maddie? Hi, it’s Erik. I’m alive.” He paused and scowled. “Chief, are you still there?”

  Directing his comment to Daniel, he said, “It sounds like the line went dead.” He listened a few more seconds. “Uh oh, she’s crying.” He paused to listen again for half a minute and then held the phone at arm’s length, flinching. “And now she’s yelling.”

  From halfway across the room, Daniel could hear an angry female voice blaring from the phone even though it wasn’t in speaker mode.

  Erik tried to intervene. “Maddie... Listen... If you’d just... I can...” Eventually he gave up with a good-humored shrug and placed the phone on the arm of his chair while the voice continued to berate him.

  “Oh dear, that can’t be good,” Daniel murmured.

  “Actually, it is,” Erik told him brightly. “We have a saying in my organization. When Maddie’s yelling, that means everything is OK.”

  “It does?” Daniel felt puzzled by the strange behavior of his new allies.

  Eventually, the angry torrent gushing from the other end of the line stopped. Erik hastily placed the phone next to his ear again. “Maddie, are you done? Yes, it’s me. I’m OK. Well, sort of. I’m full of bullet holes and a mad scientist just tried to kill me with plague germs but otherwise I’m fine.”

  Daniel waited patiently while Erik updated his superior on events of the past three weeks. Then he told her about Daniel’s quick thinking to keep him as a hostage, thus protecting him from further harassment by Leroy Hunt. He explained his current predicament and Hannah’s proximity then asked for back-up to extract them both from the compound.

  Erik listened to his boss’s comments. A perplexed scowl formed on his face. “Hold on,” he told her and directed his attention toward the Scion. “I thought she’d want me to get out of here no matter what I told your father during our meeting.” His voice held a note of disbelief. “Instead, she wants me to stay put.”

  “Why on earth would she want that?” Daniel was as baffled as the thief. “Frankly, I didn’t expect you to keep your promise and stay here either.”

  “Well, for starters she said that I’m in no shape ‘to pull any more half-assed commando stunts’. That’s a direct quote, by the way.”

  “She isn’t wrong,” Daniel agreed. “You can barely stand much less outrun a security team.”

  “She also said that Hannah and I are both safe here since Metcalf needs us if he ever hopes to get his hands on the Sage Stone.”

  “Also true.” The Scion nodded.

  “Maddie seems to think I can be more useful inside the compound than out.”

  “But how?” Daniel was at a loss to see the logic of her plan.

  Erik raised a hand to postpone any more questions as he picked up the phone again. “Yeah, I’m back. You want me to do what now?” He listened for several more seconds, presumably to a lengthy explanation. “How am I supposed to manage that?” he protested. Another lengthy explanation followed. The thief inexplicably broke into a grin as he listened further. “Uh huh. Got it. OK, I’ll tell him.” He ended the call.

  “What was that all about?” the Scion asked.

  Erik sat forward. “Can you get me a duplicate key for this room and a blueprint of the compound?”

  “Yes, of course I can but what do you need them for?”

  Erik smiled cryptically. “A game-changer.”

  Chapter 18—River Dance

  Daniel idly scanned the menu as he waited for his friend Chris to arrive. It was a sunny Saturday afternoon and the weather had finally warmed up enough to allow a meal outdoors. The librarian suggested they meet for lunch near Marina City at a terrace cafe perched above the Chicago River. The location offered a panoramic view of the downtown bustle, the opposite bank, and pedestrians strolling across the Michigan Avenue bridge.

  The Scion surveyed the restaurant’s other patrons. The usual crowd of high rise office workers had been replaced by weekend shoppers and sightseers. He glanced down at the river shimmering with reflected sunlight. It wasn’t as busy as it would be later in the summer. For now, a lone cabin cruiser was making its way toward Lake Michigan while a water taxi churned westward to Union Station. A tour boat, moored at a dock below the restaurant, was taking on passengers.

  “Hey, Danny Boy.” Chris slipped into the chair across the table.

  Daniel gave a welcoming smile. He studied Chris’s attire intently, making a mental note to ask where the librarian had bought his sapphire blue polo shirt. It matched the color of his eyes exactly. The Scion felt an urge to reach out and touch the silk-blend
fabric but realized such a gesture might ignite another awkward moment between them.

  “Not that I mind meeting you on my day off, but what’s so important that it couldn’t wait til Monday at the library?”

  “I won’t be at the library on Monday. I’m leaving for Japan tonight.”

  “Japan?” The librarian’s eyebrows shot up.

  “Well, adjacent to, anyway. Sakhalin Island is just north of Hokkaido.”

  “First Australia. Now northeast Asia. You’ve become quite the globetrotter.”

  A waiter arrived at that moment to take their orders.

  Since this was one of Chris’s favorite haunts, he didn’t bother to check the menu. He asked for a glass of pinot grigio and ordered the house club sandwich. Noting the iced tea next to Daniel’s plate, he asked, “No pale ale today?”

  “I need to keep a clear head. Too much is happening right now.” The Scion handed the waiter his menu after ordering the same sandwich as Chris had chosen.

  “For a world traveler like you, it shouldn’t burn up too many brain cells to pack a suitcase.” The librarian took a sip of water.

  “That’s not the problem. There have been some new... uh... developments.”

  Chris leaned forward, a gleam in his eye. “Really? How much could have happened in a week? You already gave me the scoop on your Australia trip—the armed satellite compounds and your brother’s nefarious schemes. Last I heard you and your flying monkey Leroy were going to tattle on Joshua to your dad.”

  “We did. At first father didn’t believe us. But then, something happened to change his mind.”

  The waiter returned with Chris’s wine.

  Daniel paused to drink some tea. “The doctor who runs the secret lab arrived with a test subject who survived his experiments. It was Erik.” The Scion waited to let that bit of news sink in.

  Chris did a double-take. “You mean Erik the artifact thief? The one who was killed trying to rescue Hannah?”

  Daniel nodded gravely.

  “But how is that even possible?”

  The Scion launched into a recap of Erik’s injuries, the doctor’s pneumonic plague experiments, and Daniel’s quick thinking in securing the thief’s safety by holding him hostage until the Sage Stone was found. As he was finishing his tale, their food arrived.