Caeli took the opportunity to make a dash for the woods nearest the SUV. If she could lose him in the trees, then she could try to find help. A searing pain stopped her at the edge of the road. The pain was so intense that it felt as if she had reached out and grabbed hold of a high voltage wire. It lasted only long enough to cause Caeli's heart to beat erratically and her muscles to twitch. Then her brain decided to shut her entire system down to make the pain stop. Caeli and her friends all lay unconscious on the road.
The injured assailant, cursing to himself and cradling his bloody side, hobbled over to Caeli, bent down, touched her arm, and they both vanished.
CHAPTER 22
The sky was thick with smoke and the ground trembled beneath their feet. People dressed in the attire of early Roman citizens cowered in their homes while others ran hysterically through the streets. The heavy soot in the air changed midday into night, and a bright orange glow in the distance was the only light. Candles would not stay lit in the strong winds. In the next instant, Vin saw the epic eruption of Mt. Vesuvius. He watched as the hot ash sped toward the city of Pompeii at a frightening pace. He saw the buildings and all of the inhabitants engulfed, heard the cries of many voices suddenly silenced, and saw terror-stricken visages decimated by the unimaginable heat. Hundreds were dead in the blink of an eye. The enormity of witnessing so much suffering firsthand was overwhelming. Vin experienced a small fraction of the fear and agony of the people he watched. His stomach churned as if he might be sick.
"Tens of thousands actually," Tabbris corrected the number Vin estimated in his free flowing thoughts.
"It was a shameful abuse of the power contained in the book."
"You mean this was not a natural eruption? Someone used the Book of Elements to wipe out an entire population?" Vin was aghast.
"No, it was much worse than that. Watch."
The scene changed again. Vin saw a Roman male, with a unit of guards flanking him as he approached the chambers of a noble lady. Most of the guards remained outside the door, only two entering the chamber to stand vigil on the interior sides of the door should their service be required.
"Emperor Titus and Lady Junia. She was an ambitious woman and would settle for nothing less than complete loyalty. Titus invited her to live in the palace as an honored guest, lavishing her with gifts for several months, hoping to win her favor. But, he has not yet given her the promise which she requires of him, and she is greedy for the attention it will earn her."
Tabbris and Vin watched as the pair talked briefly, and then the emperor placed a ring upon Junia’s delicate finger. This was the promise she had been long awaiting. In the next minutes, they moved into a side chamber where she fell into his embrace, and he finally, hungrily, indulged his passion for the lovely lady.
Vin had no desire to partake in voyeurism, so he glanced at other objects in the outer room. It was then that he noticed the podium with a leather bound volume upon it. It was not open, so he was able to view the familiar triangular decorations on the front cover.
"Yes. That is the book. Watch again."
Once more the scene changed, but only the people. Vin and Tabbris remained in the same outer room. The book was still on the pedestal before them. Titus’s guards manned their posts as the doors to the room were thrown open and Lady Junia stalked inside. She went into the side chamber from which sounds of lovemaking could still be heard. When she yanked open the bed’s canopy, Junia discovered Titus and her younger and prettier slave girl engaged in an intimate act. The girl smirked maliciously at Junia and increased the volume of her moaning pleasure. Titus glanced over his bare shoulder at Junia who was shaking with bottled rage. Without missing a beat in his rhythm, Titus smiled in great amusement at her anger and turned back to fully indulge in the task at hand. He did not care if he had an audience. Junia picked up the Book of Elements as she stormed out of the room promising the worst vengeance.
"Well, that was incredibly unpleasant. Couldn’t you just tell me what happened between them? Was it necessary that I see it in the flesh, so to speak?" Vin asked Tabbris.
"It is necessary that you understand the depth of the emotional damage suffered by Lady Junia. Only then can you understand the extravagance of her vengeance."
"I assume she was a descendant and able to use the Book of Elements," Vin reached a fairly obvious conclusion based on the images Tabbris was showing him.
"What awful force did she call up to unleash havoc on Titus?"
"She got rid of the slave girl, of course. The misguided child was in Pompeii at the time."
"Pompeii?!" Vin was stunned. All those lives lost for the sole purpose of venting a jealous rage. Vin felt again that fraction of their suffering. It was almost too painful to bear.
"How could such an act be permitted? Why didn’t anyone stop her?"
"Hers was an emotional reaction; A very strong one, without thought, disdainful of the consequences."
"Ok. I get it! You've made your point unforgettable. Loss of control with strong emotions is very bad, and it is clear that the knowledge contained in the book can be gravely abused." Vin concentrated, and they were immediately transported back to his grassy knoll where Vin felt he would be able to catch his breath after the enormity of what he’d learned. Tabbris looked puzzled, but said nothing.
"I still think you could have just told me," Vin felt sick over the whole ordeal.
"It would not have had the same impact. Have you recovered?"
"Yes. I’m fine. I wasn’t expecting such a vivid lesson, but I’m fine now."
"Good. Will you allow me to show you another?"
Vin was not certain that he wanted to take the chance on watching another horror. As Vin nodded his approval, he realized that there was hesitation in Tabbris’ request. Why was Tabbris suddenly asking his permission?
"Watch." Tabbris clasped Vin’s forearm again, and the panorama changed around them once more.
Two young boys in their early teens crawled through an open window and dropped the few feet to the floor below. They carefully and quietly worked their way through the dimly lit room, amidst a maze of display cases, until they reached a dark stairway leading down to another level of the building.
"We need light," the first boy stated. Looking at his companion, he had an idea.
"Do that trick you do, but keep it small. We don’t want anyone to see it and come looking for us."
The second boy snapped his fingers and a small ball of flame appeared in his hand. He closed his fingers around it until it was the size of a golf ball. As he stared at it, the flame became brighter and sent out enough light to allow the boys to see where they were going.
"The two are cousins. Their mothers are sisters. One has the blood inheritance from his father, the other does not. But the other has discovered a talent with fire. It is an elemental gift similar to your own."
Vin watched as the boys went downstairs into a large cellar used for storage.
"It’s over here. Look at this."
The first boy led the way to a desk on the far wall with a plain, brown box sitting on it. He removed the lid and pulled out a bundle wrapped in a linen cloth. He placed it on the desk and pulled back the wrappings. There, on the desk before the boy, Vin saw the Book of Elements. When the first boy placed his hand upon it, the geometric shapes on the front seemed to glow.
"See? I told you so. It must be magic. You try it," the first boy urged his cousin to act after he removed his own hand from the cover.
The second boy reached out his empty hand, but quickly jerked it back after his fingertips brushed the cover.
"Ow! What’s the big idea? You said it didn’t hurt," the flame wielder whined.
"Well, it didn’t hurt me. I’ll open it. Look at the strange writing." The first boy gently ran his hands across the lettering. He reached back with one hand to draw his cousin closer so that he might see it better. Just then, the first boy began to see words form on the pages, words that he could understand. He
was reading the words by running his finger along the page. When he clasped his cousin’s shoulder with his other hand, the reaction was instantaneous.
The second boy shivered with delight as he, too, began to be able to read the words on the page. He read over his cousin’s shoulder. As he did, a strange sensation passed from his cousin into him. He was startled and began to panic. The flame in his hand grew larger and larger as he began to flail around. Objects in the room caught fire, and the fire spread rapidly from one dusty artifact to the next.
The first boy grabbed hold of his cousin and slapped him roughly across the face. Once. Twice. After the third slap, his cousin regained his senses and doused the fire in his hand. But it was too late. The damage was done. They had only moments before the entire room became a fiery inferno. The first boy quickly rewrapped the book in its cloth, tucked it into the front of his shirt, and then the two sprinted for the stairs and out the side door to safety.
The scene expanded so that Vin and Tabbris now watched from a more distant perspective. Vin could see many buildings burning along the road as the flames continued to leap from one to the next. The fire spread quickly and engulfed nearly every building on the street, and it continued to burn unchecked for some time. Firefighters eventually put forth a valiant effort to douse the fire, but it was an impossible task. Their meager water truck was not enough to keep pace with the fast-moving blaze.
This time it was Tabbris who returned them to Vin’s favorite hilltop. Vin sat down, somewhat drained from the day’s excursions.
"Do you understand why the city burned?"
"Not exactly. That is to say, I know that the boy’s flame got away from him and that kicked off the whole ordeal. What happened to him? He could not touch the book. It looked like it caused him pain when he tried. But, he was able to read it when he was in contact with his cousin. I thought only those of the bloodline could access the book."
"True. Without his cousin, the young boy would not have been able to touch or read the book. But the boy was gifted with fire. Because he possessed such a gift and was aided by one of the blood, he was thus able to call forth the power of the book. It responded to his acquired talent. It was not necessary for him to have the proper blood in his own veins. All he needed was someone with that heritage to access the book for him. Unfortunately, the boy was overwhelmed by the sheer amount of power the book offered, and lost control of his talent when it was infused with greater capacity than the young boy could contain."
"So, talented people like Kent could use someone like me to gain access to the book. That opens up the potential for a lot more trouble. That also explains how the enemy might have found the location of the book. He could have used someone of the bloodline to tell him. I wonder how many people living now are descendant of the brothers’ bloodline."
"I am very sorry, but that is exactly how he located the book."
Vin mistook Tabbris' sympathy as a general sadness for the abuse of a distant relative despite the fact that Tabbris made it sound as if it were more directly connected to Vin. Before Vin could ask for more details, Urim joined them on the hilltop. The look on his face brought Vin to his feet and all the weariness left him at once. He guessed the news even before Urim could speak the words.
"Caeli has been taken."
CHAPTER 23
When Salma woke several hours later, she found herself in a much different scene than she remembered. It looked like quite a struggle had taken place. Ben still lay on the ground in front of the tree, but his gun was in his hand. The front of the SUV looked like it had been hit by a grenade. There was a trail of blood on the ground beside Salma, right where Caeli had been standing, and Caeli was nowhere in sight. Salma had not been able to turn around in time to see what or who was responsible for all the damage.
She got slowly to her feet and went to check on Ben. He was breathing, but unconscious. She stumbled back to the car and found a bottle of water. She took a sip and then returned to Ben to splash some of it on his face. He stirred in response, and she was able to wake him after a few tries. Thankfully, this drug only knocked them out for a while as opposed to paralyzing them as the first drug did to Caeli. Salma assumed the same attacker was responsible for both.
When they were both sufficiently recovered and had completed their individual assessments of the situation, they gathered what they could carry from the car and began to walk. They made their way around the torched tree and down the road as the sun began to set. It would be long after dark before they reached the lake house, still another five miles down the road.
As they approached the house, Ben dropped everything he was carrying to the ground and pulled out his pistol. He put a finger to his lips and motioned for Salma to stay put. He went quickly and quietly up to the front door and let himself inside. After several minutes, Ben returned and told her the house was empty. It didn’t look like anyone had been there. He wasn’t sure how safe they would be considering they were ambushed in a place that no one should have known about in the first place, but it was better than being outdoors.
Ben knew there was no cellular reception this far away from town, so he called the police station from the phone in the house. He reported to Officer Caldwell and arranged for him to drive out to the lake house the next day. They would continue their investigation from there so that they would be assured some secrecy. It also allowed Ben to keep a watchful eye on Salma. Ben had already failed Caeli more times than he cared to count, but he was not going to give up. He would keep looking until he found her.
Ben helped Salma get settled into the guest bedroom on the second floor. His own clothing and personal items were in his room on the first floor, where he stayed whenever he visited the retreat. After seeing his guest squared away, Ben went to the kitchen and began to prepare a meal for the two of them. He was no gourmet, but he knew his way around a frying pan and a sauce pot.
Salma came downstairs as he was placing the food on the small table in the kitchen.
"Smells delicious, but you really shouldn’t have gone to all this trouble."
"Ah, it’s nothing. Besides, it gave me time to pull myself together and give the case some further thought," Ben answered, all the earlier levity completely gone from his voice.
They both sat down and ate in silence for the first half of the meal. He had fixed hamburgers, rice, and sliced carrots glazed with honey. It was quite tasty, and Salma found that she was, surprisingly, more hungry than she thought. Finally, she could not bear the silence any longer. Salma needed to hear a voice, even if it was her own.
"This is very good. Thank you, Ben."
"You’re welcome, Doc."
"Salma, remember?"
"Right. Sorry, Salma." He got up from the table and began to clear away the dishes and load the dishwasher. He was clearly upset. Salma got up and helped him. When the dishes were done and the table cleared, Ben went and sat on the couch in the living room, rubbing his chin.
Salma took the time to locate a can of coffee and brew a fresh pot in the coffee maker sitting on the counter. As soon as it was ready, she located two mugs and poured some of the hot liquid into each. Salma knew they didn’t bring any milk with them, but she did find a jar of powdered creamer in the same cabinet where she discovered the coffee. She knew from the hospital that Ben would drink his coffee straight, nothing added.
She carried the mugs into the living room and offered one to Ben. He reached up and gently took it from her hand.
"Thanks."
"What’s troubling you, besides the obvious?" She took a seat next to him on the couch and placed her coffee mug on the table in front of it.
"Failing Caeli again is troubling enough, but this entire case bothers me," Ben replied.
"You are placing way too much blame on yourself. None of this is your fault. You had no way of knowing what was going to happen, and you did everything you could to prevent it. But, I understand how you feel. I’m worried, too. If it will help, I’m a pretty good lis
tener. We can talk through it and perhaps figure it out together."
Salma shivered and rubbed her arms as a chill wind blew through the room. Ben sat his mug down on the table so that he could reach over and grab his jacket from the arm of the couch and place it around Salma's shoulders. She smiled up at him and, as he looked down at her, Ben noticed a black dot stuck to the fabric of his coat. He reached out to brush it off, thinking it was a piece of debris from his fall on the road. The dot was stuck and did not fall off. Ben looked closer and was shocked by what he saw. He yanked at the object until it tore free and then stomped it beneath the heel of his shoe as he now stood in front of the couch. Salma was slightly alarmed by Ben's sudden show of anger, but remained silent.
"Damn it! Of course! Why didn’t I see it sooner?" Ben exclaimed as he shook his head.
"What didn’t you see? What was that?" Salma asked curiously.
Ben began to pace as he explained.
"It was a tracking device. The Chief must have placed it there when he slapped me on the shoulder earlier. Sam knows me well enough to know that I would not reveal this location, but he still asked it of me. I was being overly cautious, even a little suspicious of his presence at the hospital. I didn't want to mistrust him, but I could not risk trusting him either. I suppose when I declined to answer him, Sam decided to use this bug instead."
"He knew where we were the whole time?" Salma realized the impact of that statement, but did not put the rest of the pieces together as quickly as Ben did.
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