Veil of Justice, Shadows of Justice Book 3

by Regan Black

  "I believe the key is there."

  Again, there was more he left unsaid. Oh, to have her loyal generals of ages past. No one understood the burden of her limited choices. What had been and what could be rippled through her. "I will go, but the map box stays with me. You have two days to bring the key to Monument Valley."

  "Two days?"

  She glared, letting him see a small measure of her real power.

  He choked. "Fine. We'll meet in two days. But I need the box in order to draw out the key."

  Nin sifted his mind for the treachery, heedless of the pain she caused by her deep search. She had to know if he merely believed his own lies, or if he had a valid reason. As the pieces fell into place she contemplated, debating his continued usefulness on this plane. Finally she relented.

  Kristoff wasn't granted the courtesy of an audible reply; the goddess was already gone and the map box was on the floor at his feet. Relieved beyond any appropriate level, he scooped up the box and carried it to his dining table.

  He'd only recently put the glimpses he'd gathered from Petra into any sensible order. Added with his new, constant connection to Nathan's memories and plans, he'd learned how valuable the guardians were – especially the blood of the only daughter in two generations. Telepathic eavesdropping would be the next big weapon, if only he could fully assimilate Nathan.

  Fate clearly favored him since the girl had not been at the family compound during the raid he'd orchestrated for Nin. Kristoff was certain had the girl been lost, and the key to the map box lost with her, he would be held responsible.

  "Simon," he bellowed, impatient for his favorite assassin to report to his private quarters.

  Simon walked through the open door and stopped precisely two paces inside. "Yes, sir?" he asked, eyes locked on Kristoff.

  "Where are your blades from the museum job?"

  Simon pulled the Keris from his sleeve. He always stowed his beloved knife in a different place. Kristoff held out his hand, expecting compliance.

  He wasn't disappointed, Simon cooperated, but as he examined the knife, he cursed the day he'd taught the boy to clean his weapons properly. There was no visible speck of dried blood on the blade or handle.

  "Follow me," he snapped. With the map box in one hand and the Keris in the other, Kristoff rushed down to his lab. "Have you hunted since the museum job?"

  "No sir."

  That was something. Under the glare of a high powered lab light and magnifier, Kristoff resisted the temptation to study the map box. Instead, he focused on the Keris hilt, holding his breath until he found the merest trace of a muddy red stain. Blood. He hoped. Scraping the substance from the knife, he tapped the flecks into the lock and waited.

  The latch fell open.

  His fingers tingled as he reached to lift the lid, then he hesitated. He wanted a look, just one peek inside, but if the contents were anything other than what Nin expected, he would take the fall. And she would sift him and know whatever he'd seen. Better, in this case, not to know. He snapped the lock back into place and chuckled to himself when it wouldn't open again.

  Here was the confirmation that the girl was indeed the key – or rather her blood was the key. Now at last things were moving in the right direction. He thought about the options. Via Nathan, he knew where to find her right now, but if he remained patient, a hand off in Monument Valley could be more profitable.

  He held the lethal blade out for his assassin. "Gather your supplies, Simon. It's time to go."

  Simon tucked the Keris away and with an unusual display of his predatory smile, he obediently went to pack.

  * * *

  "What's he to you, Aunt Cali?" Daniel asked the moment the door closed behind them.

  She wanted to snap that it wasn't his business, but she settled for a glare – aimed at the dirt path instead of her nephew. Her confidence was still bruised from her failure and the courage of her convictions didn't hold up under harsh family scrutiny after last night. Momentary bliss was one thing, now Daniel was the least of her consequences and she couldn't face him.

  Pathetic.

  Daniel was too much of what she'd had to leave behind and everything she was supposed to be protecting. Her stomach twisted and while she missed her dirk, right now, she'd have to agree keeping her away from sharp objects was for the best.

  "Aunt Cali?"

  From Daniel, even from Nathan, Cali seemed a tolerable and a fair blend of Calisto and Kelly. It seemed she was again at a crossroads, only this time it was internal. What she'd wanted then, what she wanted now – was there any hope of a compromise she could live with?

  "I've been a little lost, Daniel."

  "Since you ran away?"

  She looked up at him, then to the full clouds and soft blue of the early sky. "Is that what you think? That I ran away from home?"

  "Isn't that what you did? You were there and then you weren't. Mom didn't know what to say and Dad wouldn't say anything."

  Sworn to silence by their father, no doubt. "However I left home, it has nothing to do with now. Now we have to get you back to school."

  "No." He shook his head. "I came to help you."

  Stubborn little cuss. "What? You can't want the school to call and upset your mom and grandma. They'll worry."

  But he was charging on, ticking the points off on his fingers. It was painfully reminiscent of his father, her brother.

  "I've thought this out. You need me. Mom thinks I've headed back to school. The school thinks I'm still with Mom. It's perfect, really." He had the audacity to beam at her. "I can help you get the map box back."

  "It's way beyond our reach now," she muttered.

  "It can't be. I've studied. I know…"

  Cali wasn't listening. What could he know at fifteen? What should he know? Girls, homework, and football with his buddies. She railed at the injustices, not for her, for him. For all the normal things they'd given up through the centuries, for all the little details of living she'd let slip through her grasp.

  Failure seemed to whisper across the wind, a special berating breeze, just for her.

  "Aunt Cali, you're not listening."

  She didn't need to listen. His litany was merely another verse of the same song she'd been singing her whole life. And she was no better than her own father if she summarily rejected him.

  "No, Daniel. I haven't been listening, but I do know what you've said." She ignored the confusion and worry in his wide eyes. "You can join us. If you can resign yourself to taking orders. You'll be the one with the least experience. You have to accept that. I'll let you stay only if you can admit you have much to learn."

  "I've got skills. And information."

  She slung her arm up and over his shoulders. When he responded in kind, she tickled his ribs until he doubled over.

  "Information is good. The skills need work, I'd say." She dumped him on his back.

  "That's not fair!"

  "Of course not. You'll have to fight dirty, if we let you fight at all." She had no intention of letting it come to that.

  "Aunt Cali, you need my help."

  She pulled him to his feet, despite his effort to drag her to the ground with him. "See, I do know a thing or two. Now, I need you to live through whatever's in front of us, or your mother will kill me."

  "You're not making me go back?"

  "You've just told me all the reasons I can't. Besides, we're running out of time. Kristoff has the map box – at least I think he does – and if we don't want the world to end, we have to get it back."

  "What's the plan?"

  "The plan had been to hang out, get healthy and wait for word." A good plan, since she'd felt much better as recently as this morning. "Then you showed up." Putting the weight of the world on my shoulders again.

  She looked to the sky, letting her gaze drift down over the trees, to rest on her nephew. Realization came slowly, but this daunting sort of task was why she'd spent her life training. She was alone and grieving and both facto
red into her mistakes. Except, looking at Daniel, she understood it – felt it to her bones – she wasn't really alone. She was the last of her generation, but Daniel was the future. He was proof their clan would recover and move forward.

  It was up to her to make sure they had enough purpose to overcome the sadness and learn to thrive again. Cali couldn't say she felt good about the looming fight ahead, but she didn't feel that sticky, pervasive hopelessness anymore.

  "I think you're good for me, kid."

  He grinned at her and she tried to smother the latent maternal instinct to protect him.

  "So start over. What do you think you can contribute?"

  It pleased her to see him taking his time with the answer. He had grown, and grown well through the tragedy and struggle to steady the family in their new home.

  "I've done the research about the family and the history of the box. I've got a few theories that could help us find it. Plus, I'm an excellent shot with any type of weapon. Handguns, rifles, crossbows, I can hit any target every time. But my hand to hand skills are a little weak."

  She didn't believe him. No one in her family would've let him slack off the close combat stuff. She was about to attack that point when Nathan shouted across her mind.

  "Trouble," she said, grabbing Daniel's elbow to turn him toward the cabin. She sent a few questions back at Nathan and after a moment, relaxed. "The message is trouble, but the cabin's secure. Let's hurry anyway."

  She rushed into the cabin, half a step ahead of Daniel and skidded to a stop. Nathan's face was pale, his lips set and his brow furrowed.

  "What happened," she said, rushing forward. "Are you okay?"

  "I'm fine. It's Kristoff. He sent Petra a message –"

  "Dear, God not again. Is she okay?"

  "Over the Internet, not in her head."

  Cali ignored the bewildered expression on Daniel's face. She followed Nathan's gesture and took his place in front of the monitor.

  She scrolled up and down the screen, looking for more details.

  "Aunt Cali?"

  "You'll have to go home. There's no time to prepare you for this."

  "No!"

  Nathan stepped up close behind her. The heat of his body all but enveloped her and melted the hard chill gripping her spine. "There's no time for that," he whispered in her ear.

  "We have to make time." She wasn't sure if she meant to put that on their telepathic relay, or if she was just trying to convince herself. It was all so wrong. "I'll go alone."

  "You can't. You need me," Daniel sputtered behind her, but it was Nathan, in her mind, with the winning argument.

  "He's already mobilized his army."

  Nathan reached around her, tapped the screen, and a flood of images poured forth.

  In the short time she'd been Petra's assistant, she'd learned about Kristoff's deception of both the military and civilian sectors. Even so, seeing hordes of combat-ready men boiling up from an underground bunker startled her.

  "I thought it was just a glorified security detail," she murmured. "That the rumors were an exaggeration."

  "Whoa. What country is that?" Daniel asked.

  "That's just southwest of Chicago," Nathan explained.

  "Our Chicago?"

  Cali felt as incredulous as Daniel sounded. "They don't understand who they serve," she said.

  "Nope," Nathan agreed. "They just follow orders now." He tapped the screen again. "Petra specifically mentioned this shot."

  A hologram beamed to life on the small countertop. Cali and Daniel gasped in unison. "It's the map box," she cried, reaching out as if she could snatch it from the three dimensional imagery. The hologram flickered and then steadied. "Why does he flaunt this? It should be covered, hidden."

  "Is that who killed my father?" Daniel's voice was flat with his grief.

  "Having it out like that – just sending the image over a secure line – that's begging for trouble he can't even begin to imagine."

  "I don't think he cares." Nathan pointed to the monitor. "Looks like he's ready to make some trouble."

  "He can't possibly know –"

  "Did he kill our family?" Daniel shouted.

  He had their full attention and Cali's mending heart broke all over again. Tears glistened in his eyes and his lip trembled. His hands were fisted and he looked as if he'd shatter if anyone touched him.

  "He ordered the attack, I'm sure," Nathan said softly.

  Cali wasn't as sure. Saying as much had both Nathan and Daniel turning on her with a terrible, intense focus.

  "That bastard's why I went undercover," Nathan gritted. "He's using good men, destroying good men."

  "He destroyed our family," Daniel added, his eyes glinting with rage.

  Cali counted it an improvement over the tears, but she stood her ground. "He's got no reason to come after the map box. Think," she demanded. "Until Jaden and Petra started to unravel his support and attack his dynasty, he had everything: power, respect, money."

  They stared at her, still not getting it. She laced her fingers tightly, trying to find the right words to explain. "Judge Albertson and Kristoff had a working relationship –"

  "Jaden took down Judge Albertson for trafficking women," Nathan interrupted.

  "Among other things," she continued. "Kristoff started with a fertility clinic and progressed into performance enhancing products and headed up regulations controlling product use and development in those areas.

  "How did he make that leap?"

  "Well, no one ever called him stupid," Nathan admitted.

  "He was considered cutting edge in his every endeavor." She waited, watching as the information sunk into their hard heads. "Embryonic manipulation is just another type of performance enhancement."

  Nathan rubbed his temple and frowned at her. "A master manipulator would always crave more power."

  "That's right. When his tidy empire started to crumble, what would he do? Where would he turn?"

  Nathan opened his mouth, but Daniel answered first. "He'd go back to the source of his power."

  "Exactly," she said, beaming at her nephew. Making shooing motions she got them out of the tiny kitchen and back to marginally roomier front room. "Kristoff couldn't have done all this alone."

  "He was a brilliant scientist, Cali," Nathan insisted.

  "When?"

  "Huh?"

  "How long has he been a brilliant scientist, Nathan? How long has he been perfecting his formulas or experimenting on people?"

  While Nathan was mentally reviewing the case file, she turned to Daniel. "How much did your father impart of our ancestors before the attack?"

  "Everything. I memorized our entire history – oral and written."

  His proud declaration put a halt to the chaotic whirl in Cali's mind. Her entire body seemed to forget how to do all those automated functions. Breath, heartbeat, eyelids, even logic simply…stopped.

  It took a supreme, conscious effort not to stay in that surreal limbo of shock.

  "Aunt Cali? Did I say something wrong?"

  "No. No, of course not."

  It wasn't Daniel's fault he'd been born male and therefore privy to all the knowledge she'd worked so hard to learn. From a small, raw corner deep inside herself she heard the echo of Petra's voice reminding her she had been loved. That her 'unintentional' exile had turned out for the best for both her and the secrets guarded by her family. How she'd been protected rather than shunned.

  Daniel's voice sounded so far away. "I know the legends of how the map box came into our keeping."

  It was the very core of the family values, everyone born into the guardian clan was expected to know – and expected to keep it quiet. With a stiff nod, she prompted Daniel to continue.

  He swallowed. "I know there was more than one map box."

  That hurt. She rubbed at her sternum. "Tell me more," she demanded. "Pretend your own son is of age." She felt so alone in the moment it was a shock to feel Nathan's touch, inside and out. She leaned on
him just a little and told herself to stay open minded. "Nathan can know. In fact, he needs to know in order to help us."

  Daniel swallowed again, his eyes darting from Cali to Nathan and back. "We aren't the only clan who guards treasures. Secrets and treasures must be kept separate in order to remain safe.

  "The Gairden clan is the most solitary of all. We were commissioned by Sir Galahad to maintain the sanctity and security of God's greatest treasures. Our role is to keep any maps or texts under lock and key so no one can disrupt the balance of power or safe progression of knowledge."

  Beside her Nathan flinched and she realized she was crushing his hand. She whispered an apology and motioned Daniel to go on.

  "The treasures were hidden around the world and a map box was crafted to hide all documentation of their whereabouts. Copies of the map box were also made and scattered to protect the treasures and secrets, especially the greatest treasure of humanity."

  "What is the greatest treasure?" Nathan asked.

  "Humanity," Daniel announced dutifully. "Humanity is the greatest treasure of all.

  "About twenty years ago, the original map box was threatened, so it was moved, under Gairden supervision to a more secure location."

  "The Field Museum?" Nathan looked stunned by the recital.

  She shrugged and massaged the hand she'd been holding too tightly. "If the legends are true, the maps show the locations of items of power – or at least where their guardians are."

  "Like the real map box wasn't in the cave, but the guardians were."

  "Exactly," she said, though it was a painful admission. "That precious information couldn't be left for just any thief who wandered by."

  "So it's like a list of operatives has fallen into enemy hands." She smiled, pleased that he put it in terms he could best relate too. "So what kind of items?"

  She didn't need telepathy to know what he was thinking. She exchanged a knowing glance with Daniel, letting her nephew answer.

  "Well…yeah, of course, the Holy Grail is one but…"

  "Humanity is the greatest treasure of all," Nathan finished for him.