The Arkana Mysteries Boxed Set

by N. S. Wikarski

  Chapter 4 – Leavers’ Tryst

  Hannah Curtis cast one furtive glance behind her. The yard was quiet. Nobody else was about. She noiselessly let herself into a storage building tucked into a forgotten corner at the back of the compound. She switched on the light. Metal racks held rows of yard goods to make clothing for the community. Because this was surplus materials storage, hardly anybody ever came out here. Against the back wall, a table had been set up to create a makeshift computer station. He hadn’t arrived yet. If anyone knew what they were doing here—

  She jumped at the sound of a bird landing on the pole shed roof. Hannah felt the urge to laugh hysterically from sheer nervousness. She balled a fist over her mouth and commanded herself to breathe slowly. This was the day she had decided to tell him. It would be a new beginning or the bitter end depending on how he took the news. The girl scurried over to one of the chairs set in front of the table. She sat on the very edge, waiting for Daniel, then jumped again at the sound of the door knob turning.

  “Hannah?” a voice called tentatively.

  “Back here. I’m here, Daniel.”

  A sallow-faced man of about thirty bearing a laptop computer came to stand beside her. “Did you have any trouble getting away today?”

  Hannah gave a mirthless laugh. “The diviner’s favorite wife can do what she wants.” She was only fourteen, and her husband was in his seventies. It was hardly the marriage of her dreams. “Nobody questions me anymore. They’re afraid I’ll tell on them and get them into trouble with Father Abraham. What about you?” she asked in turn. “Any problems?”

  Daniel returned an equally bitter smile. “Bearing the title of scion and being the heir-apparent has its advantages, too.”

  “Then I suppose we should count our blessings.” Hannah sighed.

  “Such as they are.” The scion sat down beside her and busied himself with connecting cables and booting up the machine. For the thousandth time, he said, “I can’t tell you how sorry I am that all of this happened.” He was referring to their brief unconsummated marriage which had provoked the diviner to take Hannah away from Daniel and reassign her to himself.

  “I know,” she replied in a small voice. “You’ve done all you could to make up for it.”

  “Hardly,” Daniel said wryly.

  “No, you really have,” she insisted, turning to face him. “You did everything I asked. You’ve taught me all about the Fallen Lands. How the people really are and not how we’re told they are. How they dress and act in the outer world. How money changes hands and how they travel about from place to place.” She paused to regard the computer. “This machine has unlocked so much.”

  “Yes,” he agreed. “I suppose that’s why father has banned everybody except his council from having one.”

  “The diviner says that computers are instruments of the devil meant to ensnare us in sin.” Hannah tipped her head to consider the machine. “I suppose he would say that. He’s afraid we might learn all kinds of things he doesn’t want us to know.”

  Daniel followed her gaze. “And there’s so much to learn. Here look. I’ll show you the great city that lies close to where we are.” He opened a screen showing pictures and a map of Chicago.

  Hannah’s eyes grew wide with amazement. “It’s the size of ten compounds.”

  “More like ten thousand. This is only a part of it.” He typed some more commands into the computer, and the screen changed. “This is the library in the heart of the city where I go to perform research. I’ve become friends with a handsome young librarian named David.” Daniel’s eyes grew soft at the mention of the name. A fleeting smile crossed his face. “The only happy hours I’ve known in the past six months have been spent in his company. He has taught me so much about the Fallen World. So very much.”

  Shaking himself out of his pleasant reverie, he typed a few more words, and a map appeared. “This is where we are.” A blue line connected the location of the compound to the library.

  “Is the library place very far from here?”

  “Over an hour’s drive by car.”

  “So that’s where you get all the information to find these objects that Father Abraham wants so badly,” Hannah remarked.

  Daniel turned away from the screen as if the thought of the relic quest was painful for him. “These cursed relics are drenched in the blood of the innocent,” he whispered.

  “Yes, I know,” Hannah said consolingly. “I remember what you said about the three people and the rock slide. And then the one who fell over the cliff.”

  “That wasn’t all,” Daniel sighed and shut his eyes briefly, apparently trying to erase the memory of what he had seen. “This man, Leroy Hunt, also killed the sister of one of the Fallen. Before we met them at the cave on Crete. Father had sent him to a shop in the city to find the granite key.”

  “You mean that key you showed me last time?”

  “Yes, it was in this woman Sybil’s possession, and Leroy killed her for it.”

  “How horrible.” Hannah’s hand flew to her heart.

  Daniel barely heard her. He continued with his monologue. He seemed compelled to confess all of the crimes the relic search had caused. “This Sybil owned an antique shop. The key wasn’t there. It was found in the possession of her sister Cassie. She’s the one who died in the cave.”

  “Show me,” Hannah urged.

  “What?” Daniel peered at her uncomprehendingly.

  “On this map. Show me where the shop is.” She placed her palm flat on the computer screen as if touching it could open a portal.

  The scion didn’t ask why. He typed in an address. A new blue line stretched from the library to the shop. It wasn’t a very long line at all.

  “So, you think there are no people left who are looking for these objects besides you?” she asked.

  He shook his head in despair. “Mr. Hunt made sure that none were left alive. I pray to God nobody else appears as we continue the quest, or I’m sure he’ll kill them too.”

  Hannah bit her lip, trying to decide if this was the right moment. They had been meeting secretly several days each week, so Daniel could teach her about the outside world. He had never asked her why she wanted that information so badly. She hoped he could guess and that her next words would come as no surprise. “I want to leave this place,” she said in a barely audible voice.

  He didn’t look at her but merely stared at the computer screen. “I know,” he replied softly. “The life you’re compelled to live must be hellish.”

  She didn’t contradict him, remembering all the nights she’d been forced to spend in Abraham’s bed, enduring his loathsome touch. Hannah looked him directly in the eye. “You’ll have to help me get out.”

  Daniel blanched at the thought. Apparently, it was one thing to teach her about the outside world but quite another to hand her the key to the front gates. “I... I...” he stammered.

  She laid her hand on his arm. “Daniel, please! You know I can’t do this on my own. We’re miles from nowhere out here. If I ran away on foot, even if I could climb the fence, they’d hunt me down like an animal.”

  He rubbed his forehead distractedly. “I don’t know. I need time to think.”

  “It wouldn’t be hard,” she persisted, tightening her grip on his arm. “You told me you go to the city and they let you drive yourself now. Just put me in the trunk of your car. They never search you when you leave. You told me so.”

  He raised his head and laughed cynically. “Innocent little Hannah! You’ve been drinking in every single word I said—looking for a way to use that knowledge to escape.”

  She was on the point of tears. “What was I supposed to do? You said so yourself. My life is hell. For a while, I even thought about killing myself!”

  Those words brought him up short. He stared at her, realizing the depth of her despair. “No, no, you mustn’t do that. I couldn’t bear it.” His voice caught. “I couldn’t stand to see anoth
er death laid at my door.”

  She took him by the shoulders. “Then help me!”

  “Yes, all right. We can think about it. We can plan.” He was trying to buy some time. “It doesn’t have to happen tomorrow. I just need some time to work it all out.”

  “There isn’t any time,” she said simply.

  He gave her a searching look. “What do you mean? Nobody suspects we’re meeting like this. We can take all the time we need.”

  She shook her head and wiped away a random tear that slid down her face. “No, we can’t. I just found out I’m pregnant.”

  “What!”

  More tears slid down her face unheeded as she gazed pleadingly into his eyes. “If I don’t run now, I’ll never get another chance. If I wait until I’m too far along before I try, they’ll catch me right away. If I wait til the baby comes, I won’t be able to run at all. Maybe I won’t want to, and that’s what he’s counting on—chaining me to him because I won’t leave the baby.”

  “Oh Hannah, I’m so sorry.” He reached over and drew her near. “Why is it the one word you keep hearing over and over from my lips is ‘sorry’?”

  She clung to him, realizing that at this moment he felt more genuine emotion for her than he had in all the time while they were married. She found herself wondering if he’d changed his mind and wanted her back after all. Then she remembered what Annabeth had said—how distant he was with all his wives. No, Daniel had never wanted to be married to anybody—no matter who. Drawing herself up, she wiped away the tears with the hem of her apron. “Now you see why I did all this. I’ve only got one chance. It’s got to be now.”

  The scion’s face was ashen, his gaze fixed off in the distance as if seeing into their future. “This won’t end well, but I’ll help you anyway because I can’t bear to tell you ‘I’m sorry’ one more time.”

  Chapter 5 – Defensive Play

  “Look at all this! I didn’t know we had a gym here!” Cassie exclaimed. Her eyes traveled around the well-equipped exercise room. Punching bags, floor mats, treadmills, resistance machines.

  “The vault has lots of sections you’ve never seen, toots,” Erik replied. “It’s like a maze.”

  “Well, color me amazed,” she punned.

  He rolled his eyes.

  They were both dressed in sweats in preparation for Cassie’s first self-defense lesson. The pythia dropped some spare towels and water bottles on the floor and started to do leg stretches.

  “I still say you don’t need this,” the security coordinator objected. “I’ll be there to take care of any rough stuff.”

  Cassie paused mid-stretch and gave her companion an appraising look. “You think this is about you?”

  Erik registered surprise. “Well, isn’t it? I mean you must think I’m not doing my job or you wouldn’t insist, right?”

  “Jeez, what an ego you’ve got.” The pythia laughed. “Or maybe you’re just paranoid.” She bent down to tighten the laces on her sneakers. “For what it’s worth, you’re doing a great job. Really. When I think about how you got us out of that tight spot on Ida. Your crazy plan was a thing of beauty, and I mean that sincerely.”

  “Then what’s the problem?” he asked suspiciously.

  “You believe you can defy the laws of physics and be in two places at once?”

  “Huh?”

  “I mean what if you’re fighting the bad guys in one spot, and I get attacked someplace else? Am I supposed to stand there and hope they don’t kill me before you can spare the time to throw a punch my way?”

  “So, it isn’t about me,” he repeated warily.

  “For the umpteenth time, no! Now can we please get started, or do I have to tell mom you won’t let me play?”

  “Goddess, no!” he backed down. “Maddie is only starting to forget about me setting that hotel room on fire. I don’t need her back on my case again.”

  “Then train me, please. I’m begging you!” Cassie held her arms wide in appeal.

  Erik laughed at her dramatic gesture in spite of himself. “OK, toots, you’ve convinced me. I’ll show you some of the basics. For starters, sit down.” He patted a spot on the floor mat next to him.

  “Is naptime part of the exercise?”

  “Don’t be cute. I want to talk about the psychology of self-defense first.”

  “Oh,” she dropped down next to him, drawing her knees up to her chin.

  “The first thing you have to remember about protecting yourself is that attitude is everything. Generally speaking, bad guys are predators, and they’re going to look for easy targets. Your job is to project an attitude that says, ‘Don’t mess with me unless you want to be in a world of hurt.’” He paused to regard the petite young woman who was scowling at him incredulously. “Just like that, that’s perfect.”

  She snorted in disgust.

  He chuckled. “All kidding aside, you reek of hostility which is a definite advantage when it comes to self-defense.”

  “I reek?” she asked in an offended tone.

  “Just an expression. What I mean is that you ooze ‘I can take care of myself.’ That’s good. It’s a confidence thing. Keep it up.”

  “Reeking and oozing,” Cassie sighed. “Just what every girl wants to hear.”

  “How tall are you?”

  “Five-foot one,” she replied warily. “Why?”

  “Now the average predator would think a half-pint pixie like you wouldn’t give him much of a fight. He’d get cocky and let his guard down, but he’d be in for a surprise.”

  “Damn straight!”

  “That’s because deep down you’ve already figured out what most chicks have been brainwashed to forget.”

  Cassie’s curiosity was piqued. “What’s that?”

  “Size doesn’t matter.”

  “Say what?” the pythia asked impishly. “I thought all guys were obsessed with the size thing.”

  Erik ignored the comment and continued with his lecture. “Speed and agility, and in your case a bad attitude, trump brute strength every time. It doesn’t matter how big your opponent is. Size can work against him if his reflexes are slow. Take lions for example.”

  “Take them where?” The pythia had lost his train of thought.

  “Everybody always talks about the big ole king of beasts because they’re impressed by his size, but a full-grown male lion is useless as a hunter. He’s too big and bulky to run down prey on his own. That’s why he tries to attach himself to a pride of females. They’re better hunters because they’re smaller and more agile. They only let him hang around because they need him for breeding stock.”

  “Well, I never heard that explanation on Wild World of Animals!” Cassie exclaimed. “You mean to tell me overlord values have even seeped into nature shows on TV?”

  “Yup,” was Erik’s laconic reply. “But getting back to the big, burly guy who’s coming at you. Same principle as the lion. He’s only effective if he can land a punch. If you’re lighter and quicker, you can keep dodging him til you wear him out. Every time he swings and misses, it costs him energy and probably knocks him off balance too. That’s when you can strike back.” The security coordinator paused to consider. “Of course, if there are five guys and you’re outnumbered, then you run like hell.”

  Cassie giggled. “I’m with you there.” She studied her teacher for a moment. “You know, for a macho kind of guy you’re pretty open-minded about girl power.”

  Erik shrugged. “I was raised by a family that believed brains and guts didn’t have anything to do with the shape of your genitals.”

  “Were your parents in the Arkana too?”

  “Yeah, they were scouts just like your parents.”

  His comment intrigued Cassie. She swiveled around to face him directly. “I never knew what my parents did for the Arkana. What’s a scout?”

  “It’s somebody who travels around the world surveying prospective dig sites to see if there’s any
thing the Arkana might be interested in. If they find something, then the pythia gets involved.”

  “I never knew how that worked exactly. I always thought the pythia just got a vibe and hopped on a plane.”

  Erik laughed. “If your sister had done that when she was the pythia, she’d have spent her whole life in airports. The scouts do all the preliminary leg work.”

  Cassie grew solemn as another thought struck her. “I guess you must have known my parents before they—”

  “Disappeared?” He cut her off. Apparently, he didn’t want to hear her say the words, “Before they were murdered.”

  “Yeah, disappeared,” she echoed softly.

  Erik looked down at the mat, unwilling to meet her eyes. “No, I didn’t. That happened about ten years ago. I was only fifteen then. Didn’t officially join the Arkana til a while after that.”

  Cassie wasn’t ready to delve into any more of the grim details of her parents’ deaths, so she decided to change the subject abruptly. “How’s about you get back to training me?”

  Erik jumped to his feet. “OK then. Stand up.”

  She followed and stood facing him.

  “It’s important to remember that everybody has a weak spot. No matter how big or bad the other guy looks, he’s always got a weakness.”

  “Like glass testicles?” she asked pointedly.

  Unfazed, the security coordinator replied, “The old knee to the groin ploy. A classic move.” As Cassie raised her leg to kick, he added, “I’m wearing a cup so don’t try it.”

  “Awww!”

  “I was actually going to start with another part of the anatomy. If somebody’s trying to choke you and your arms are free, go for his eyes.”

  “You mean like scratching his eyes out?”

  Erik took his thumbs and lightly placed them on Cassie’s eyelids. “No, I mean jab your thumbs into his eyes as hard as you can. You just might blind him.”

  “Yeesh, that sounds disgusting.” She pushed his hands away.