“Miss Cassie, if you don’t mind,” Hunt suggested delicately, tipping his head in Daniel’s direction.
The pythia bent down and untied Daniel’s hands.
The scion gazed at her with what seemed like rapt wonder. “You’re all alive.”
She was surprised that he didn’t seem more upset by their resurrection.
Daniel stood up. “I had a dream, you see. It told me you were all alive.”
“Got a little diviner blood in you after all,” Hunt observed. “Now what we gonna do with these Ayyy-rabs?”
“Tie ‘em up for now,” Erik said, taking the rope that formerly bound him and fastening it around one of his captors. He reached for another piece of rope and secured the other, forcing them both to sit down by the opposite wall while Hunt kept a gun trained on them the entire time.
“Who are these guys?” Cassie asked in puzzlement.
Hunt raised the lid of the wooden crate which had been forgotten in all the commotion. “Gun runners. This here case is full of assault rifles. Very popular item in this part of the world.”
“But why would a crate full of guns end up here?” Cassie was mystified. “They couldn’t even fit it through the entrance.”
“I’m guessing John was right about this cave,” Erik said. “It must be a tunnel that leads out somewhere in the desert which makes it a good transfer point for merchandise. Nobody in the vicinity would be able to figure out what was going down.”
Hunt nodded his head in agreement. “Yup, makes a heap of sense to me.”
“So, they’re using these weapons to kill each other in some kind of tribal war?” Cassie persisted. “I thought things were quiet in northern Sudan.”
“They are,” Erik agreed. “That’s what makes this country the perfect staging area. Weapons get flown into Khartoum or shipped into Port Sudan from Iran, and then some of the local Bedouins bury the merchandise in the desert. When they find a buyer, the weapons get smuggled into Gaza and into the hands of Arab extremists.”
“Lucky us,” Cassie murmured. “We stumbled right into the middle of a smuggling operation.”
“I understand a little of the language. The one in the camo gear is the seller, and the other guy is the buyer,” the paladin explained.
“What about the two gunmen? Who do they belong to?” Cassie asked.
“They’re with the seller,” Daniel replied. “I understand a bit of Arabic as well.”
“Speaking of the gunmen,” Griffin interjected. “What happened to those chaps?”
“Stunned,” the pythia replied. “You’ll find them napping right inside the cave entrance. Would you mind taking some rope and tying them up? I don’t know how much time we have left before they come out of it.”
Griffin retrieved a coil of rope lying by the crate and picked up one of the lanterns. “Right you are. I’ll be back shortly.”
After the smugglers were secured, Hunt lowered his rifle. Cassie did the same. Daniel came to stand beside his associate.
“Now for the rest of our deal, Miss Cassie,” Hunt urged. “Hand it over.”
Cassie feigned disappointment and annoyance. “Don’t remind me.” She didn’t want the cowboy to think she was parting with the relic happily. In reality, things couldn’t possibly have worked out better. There was no chance the Nephilim would fail to find the duplicate. She was about to place it in Daniel’s hands personally.
“Cassie!” Erik exclaimed. “Why did you have to promise him that?”
The pythia realized that her teammate was a fair actor himself. His voice held just the right note of outrage.
“If I hadn’t, dude, you might have been killed.”
“You best listen to the little lady. You got off cheap.” Hunt glared at the Arabs who had begun to whisper amongst themselves. They stopped instantly.
“I’ve got it right here.” Cassie removed her backpack and unzipped it. She reached inside and handed the alabaster box to Daniel.
“Some hidin’ place,” Hunt snorted.
“It had you fooled,” she countered.
Daniel took the container eagerly and pried off the lid. “Amazing,” he said, his eyes devouring the contents.
Hunt rested his rifle against the wall and looked over the scion’s shoulder. The cowboy studied the relic inside. He gave a low whistle of appreciation. “That’s gotta be worth a nice chunk of change.”
“A king’s ransom,” Daniel said simply.
“Well, your daddy’s bound to be tickled when he sees it.”
Now that Hunt wasn’t armed, Cassie relaxed her guard as well. She laid her rifle down on the ground.
Griffin returned smiling. “I must say you did a proper job, Cassie. Those gentlemen are still asleep.”
“What are we going to do about all four of them?” the pythia asked. “I mean we can’t just leave them here.”
“Why not?” The cowboy seemed bemused by the question.
“They could die!” she exclaimed in exasperation.
“Still not gettin’ your point, sugar.”
Cassie threw her hands up in disgust. “Somebody else try talking to him!”
“Once we’re clear of here, I’ll call in a tip to the local police,” Erik suggested. “I’m pretty sure they’d be interested to know about this operation.”
“Sounds like a plan,” the pythia agreed. Turning to Hunt and Daniel, she said, “I guess we’ll be going our separate ways now.”
“Thank you,” Daniel said simply. “I owe you my life.”
“You’re somethin’ else; you know that?” Hunt remarked caustically. “She ain’t the only one you should be thankin’.”
“Oh, yes of course. Thank you too, Mr. Hunt.”
“Well, I must say it’s been lovely catching up with you both,” Griffin said dryly. “But we really should make our farewells. Might it be too much to ask that you give us a fifteen-minute head start?”
“Of course, it’s the least we can do,” Daniel agreed readily.
“Well, ain’t this civilized.” Hunt’s voice dripped with sarcasm.
“Mr. Hunt!” Daniel spoke in a surprisingly sharp tone.
The cowboy lapsed into a surly silence.
“You have fifteen minutes,” Daniel repeated.
The Arkana team wordlessly made for the door.
“Ain’t you all forgettin’ somethin’ else?” Hunt asked pointedly.
The trio turned to stare at him.
“Miss Cassie, I believe you still got a tiny item that belongs to me.” He stared at the pistol handle sticking out of her waistband.
“Oh, right. Sorry.” She stepped forward and handed him the weapon.
In a move that took everyone by surprise, Hunt grabbed the pistol, swung his arm around Cassie’s throat and pointed the gun at her head.
Erik dove for Cassie’s rifle and trained it on the cowboy.
“You put that piece down, boy. Less you want your girlfriend’s blood paintin’ this cave wall.”
Hunt, guessing at the relationship between Cassie and Erik, had struck a nerve. The paladin instantly lowered the rifle to the ground.
“What are you doing, Mr. Hunt!” Daniel cried.
“He’s going to finish the job he started in Crete, that’s what,” Erik said in a low voice.
“You will not kill these people,” Daniel thundered. “I gave them my word.”
“Relax, son. I’m just buyin’ us a little insurance in case they’ve got a mind to double-cross us. I mean, what’s to keep ‘em from gettin’ the drop on us and takin’ the doodad back again? Now you grab some rope and tie them two boys up. Nobody’s gonna get hurt.”
“Nobody’s going to get hurt!” Daniel exclaimed incredulously. “You want me to tie them up in a cave with a cache of weapons and several angry smugglers.”
“The smugglers ain’t all that lively at the moment. I expect these enterprisin’ folks will get shed of this place in no
time and leave the bad guys in the dust. By then, we’ll be long gone.”
“I won’t do it,” Daniel said.
“You want this little lady’s death on your conscience?”
Apparently, Hunt knew how to strike a nerve with Daniel as well because the scion flinched. “Alright, but you must give me your word they won’t be harmed.”
“Scout’s honor,” Hunt replied. “And Miss Cassie, I’d be much obliged if you take that bug zapper you got hidin’ in your jacket pocket and throw it on the ground. I seen what you can do with that thing and I don’t aim to have another fit of the jitters this evenin’.”
Cassie reached her right hand into her jacket pocket and pulled out the stun gun. With an exasperated sigh, she threw it several feet away from her.
Daniel reached down for another segment of rope lying by the crate.
“I wouldn’t believe him if I were you,” the pythia said.
The scion straightened up and stared at her quizzically.
“He’s going to kill us anyway,” she explained in a dead calm voice. “And them too.” Her eyes traveled to the two Arabs seated on the ground who were trying desperately to piece together what was going on.
“But he’s given me his word,” Daniel retorted in a shocked tone.
“And, of course, he’d never lie to you.”
Daniel turned in mute appeal toward Hunt.
“I ain’t gonna kill nobody,” Hunt protested hotly. “Except maybe you, missie, less’n you shut your trap right now.”
He shoved the gun hard against her temple. Cassie winced slightly, but then she said in a bored tone, “So, this is the part where I’m supposed to get all trembly and compliant just because you got a big ole gun pressed against my head?”
“Cassie!” Erik sounded stricken. “For goddess sake, shut up!”
Griffin seemed almost afraid to breathe.
The pythia continued undeterred. “Help me out here, Tex. I’m having a bad case of deja vu. I just know we’ve run these lines before because this scene feels so played!”
“Gal, my trigger finger is gettin’ more than a mite itchy,” Leroy warned testily.
“And the clichés just keep on comin’,” she mocked.
“Cassie!” Griffin’s voice rose in an agonized wail.
She forged on. “You know what they say. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, well... You know the rest.”
Cassie opened her left hand, and a small black object slid out of her jacket sleeve. Before Hunt even noticed the gesture, she jammed the stun gun into his thigh. He shied away and staggered slightly. Not giving him time to recover, she leaped at him and pressed the gun against the exposed skin on his throat for several seconds. He collapsed in a heap, the pistol rolling harmlessly from his grasp.
The men surrounding the pythia all froze, immobilized by astonishment. The two Arabs stared in goggle-eyed disbelief at what had just happened. When Cassie scanned their stupefied expressions, she had to suppress a smile. Giving them all an innocent look, she asked, “What’s the matter, you never heard of a redundancy plan before?”
Chapter 46—Price Check
“Guys, it’s all good. Snap out of it,” Cassie urged her dazed companions.
They remained transfixed.
Erik finally broke the spell when he strode up to her and scooped her into his arms. “You are one scary chick,” he murmured, holding her close. “Warn me before you pull a stunt like that again.” Then he released her.
Griffin hung back, but Cassie walked up to him and asked, “No victory hug?”
He didn’t need a second prompt. He lifted her off her feet and spun her around in a circle. “Thank you! Your timing was spot on.” He set her back down on the ground. “I would suggest in future, however, that you not bait your captor.”
“I wouldn’t have done it if I didn’t know I had an ace up my sleeve.” She displayed the palm-size stun gun.
Erik gave her a quizzical look.
Reading his mind, she said, “Don’t you remember? You said I could bring two.”
“I just said that to get you off my back about packing a pistol.”
“Turns out you were right for once. This is a whole lot better than a pistol.”
“I’m so sorry about all of this.” Daniel’s voice intruded softly.
The Arkana team had forgotten his presence. They all turned to regard him with surprise.
He seemed ashamed. “I had no idea he intended to shoot you.”
“Please, the guy’s a sociopath. It’s what he does,” Cassie countered. “How could you not know that?”
Daniel flinched at the question. “I haven’t spent very much time in your world. I’m still learning. It wasn’t my choice to involve him in this quest in the first place.”
The four of them paused a moment to regard Hunt who lay motionless on the ground except for an occasional twitch.
“You want to make up for almost getting us killed... again?” Cassie asked. “Leash your mad dog and give us a head start. Tie him up if he won’t cooperate but just keep him here for half an hour. After that, you can turn him loose to bark at the moon for all I care.”
Daniel nodded meekly. “I’ll do as you wish.”
“We’d better go now,” Erik said. “He’s gonna be up soon.”
“Wait!” Daniel exclaimed. “You must stop following us and trying to find these relics. What can I say to convince you? If Mr. Hunt ever meets up with you again, he’s going to kill you. I know I won’t be able to stop him.”
“You let us worry about that,” Erik countered.
“I won’t have your deaths on my conscience,” Daniel insisted.
“The solution to your dilemma is quite simple,” Griffin offered in a quiet voice. “Take the advice you just gave us. Relinquish this quest. It’s patently obvious that your heart isn’t in it.”
Daniel shook his head desperately. “It’s not that simple. You don’t know my father. He’s given me no choice.”
Cassie stared at him dispassionately. “Everybody has a choice. The catch is that every choice comes with a price tag and you’ve got a bad case of sticker shock.” She retrieved her backpack from the ground and slung it over her shoulder. “You need to get off the fence and pick a side.”
Griffin retrieved his flashlight and switched it on.
Erik went to stand directly over Hunt. Glowering down at the cowboy, he addressed his words to Daniel. “I don’t know if he can hear me, but you tell him this from me. If he ever tries messing with any of us again, especially Cassie, I will kill him. You make sure he gets my message.”
Leaving Daniel open-mouthed in surprise, Erik disappeared with his teammates into the night.
Chapter 47—A Tall Tale
Abraham stood on the busy downtown sidewalk regarding the edifice before him with ill-disguised contempt. So, this was the building which housed the collected wisdom of the Fallen Lands—the chronicles of their kingdoms, their lewd works of art and other such vanities. The building was a red brick monstrosity which took up an entire city block and proclaimed itself the Chicago Public Library.
Abraham entered the revolving doors and walked down a long marble corridor. The walls were lined with a photographic exhibit of people in brightly colored clothing all laughing immoderately. He wondered if they would laugh as freely in the fires of hell. A trio of giddy young women passed him. They stared at his dark attire. At least it was chaste. Their attire left little to the imagination. He averted his eyes until he reached the central atrium. There he was confronted with a contraption known as an escalator. He shook his head at the laziness of the Fallen. A simple staircase was too much for them. He took the stairs instead, limping slightly by the time he reached the third floor.
Signs with arrows pointed him to his destination—the Ancient History section. Since he had decided to meet Leroy Hunt in the city, he thought he might kill two birds with one stone by arranging their ren
dezvous at the library. He wanted to see for himself the corrupt atmosphere in which his son immersed himself for so many months at a time. He also wanted to see the Fallen librarian of whom his son seemed so enamored.
Without hesitation, he strode up to the Reference Librarian’s desk. It was staffed by a young man in his early thirties.
“Are you Chris?” the old man asked abruptly.
The librarian raised quizzical eyebrows. His features were handsome, and he didn’t dress in the slovenly fashion so common amongst the Fallen in these latter days. “Do I know you?” He answered a question with a question.
“You know my son Daniel.” Abraham continued to stare at him truculently.
The librarian gazed back at him coolly, taking in his garb and demeanor before replying, “Oh, I see.” His lip curled up into an enigmatic smile. “Daniel has told me so little about you.”
Abraham noticed that he wore a five-pointed star on a silver chain around his neck. It was a pentagram—a sign of the devil. He remembered his son describing this Chris as being angelic in demeanor. Abraham had to admit that the young man was certainly fair of face. Lucifer was surely as fair before his visage became charred in the sulfurous pit. This false angel would meet the same fate when his life of iniquity was over. Abraham made a mental note to exhort his son to be cautious in the presence of this evil seraph. His pleasing appearance invited trust. Such was never the case with the Fallen. There was no telling what Nephilim secrets this Chris might ferret out. Yes, Abraham must warn his son to be on guard. Daniel was too naive.
Chris cut into his reverie. “Daniel isn’t here. In fact, I haven’t seen him for weeks.”
“I’m aware of that,” the diviner retorted. “Surely, he told you he’s out of the country?” Abraham wanted to test just how much this Chris had learned about his son’s mission.
The librarian’s eyebrows shot up even further. “I had no idea. Of course, he and I don’t really speak. He comes to the desk to ask for this or that reference volume, and I give it to him.”
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