Peace Piper

by Allie Burton

  Laughter bubbled and I forced it down. He couldn’t pick the highly-sophisticated lock or break down a steel door. How was I going to get him to discover the open window?

  I scanned the area, thinking. An idea struck. An embarrassing idea.

  “Um, Math?”

  “I’m close to getting in.” He sounded as if he spoke through gritted teeth.

  Heat rose to my cheeks. As long as he didn’t glance at me I’d be okay. “I have to um, use the bathroom.”

  “Oh.” His fingers stopped working on the security pad. He paused. Studied me with red splotches on his cheeks.

  “I’ll just…” I indicated the corner of the building. “I’ll just go over there. Be right back.”

  I headed around the corner and stopped by some bushes. Now what? Tapping my foot, I waited a reasonable time before heading back to Math. “I found an open window.” I made myself sound breathless.

  “No need. I kicked in the door.” He held his hand in a gentlemanly gesture. “After you.”

  Jarred by his words, my brain whirred. No way could he kick in a steel-enforced door. The Order used a special manufacturer for their doors to protect the valuable items in the museum. Did Math have a special tool?

  Scrutinizing him, I noted the tools were back in the bag. Math wasn’t huffing as if he’d exerted any physical effort. His expression appeared calm, like he kicked in doors every day. Maybe he had more strength than I’d thought.

  I passed him and crossed the threshold into the storage area of the museum. The dark grey of the door hung on only one hinge. A single boot mark marred the sleek surface of the door. Aaron hadn’t said the Soul Warriors had superpowers.

  A tingle of knowledge shivered across my skin. Not that I believed in powers or magic or anything superstitious. Math must’ve kicked at the door once and used some type of blasting device to open it. Except, I hadn’t heard an explosion.

  More secrets Math was hiding.

  Guess we had that in common. “Besides the tattoo I showed you on the thief’s neck,” which I’d added to the video, “why do you think the Order has the trumpet?”

  He followed behind me and stopped, unfolding a map of the museum layout.

  Studying the map, his lips firmed into a serious line. He looked so studiously-cute. “Your uncle has received stolen goods for the Order before. I think the Order was supposed to pick up the trumpet and your uncle double-crossed them.” He gazed up and there was a sad glint in his eyes. “Sorry to say bad things about your uncle.”

  “Uncle Louie is a jerk. He’d sell his soul to make a profit.” I didn’t want sympathy from Math. I knew what my uncle was. “So you think the Order stole the trumpet from my uncle?”

  Math folded the map and shoved it in the back pocket of his loose-fitting black jeans. “I think your uncle tried to sell the trumpet to someone else and the Order found out and took it from him.”

  Uncle Louie did handle shipments for the Order. He did try to double-cross them and then the trumpet was stolen. Just not by the Order. Nerves caused a swirling sensation in my gut. Math was spot on about everything up until the part about the Order stealing. He was intelligent and could read people. How long until he figured out my lies?

  “This way.” Math took my hand and my swirling nerves sparked and heated.

  This attraction to him was wrong. He was bad—not that I was so good, but he was the enemy.

  Everyone except Mom was my enemy. Aaron and the Order. Uncle Louie. Math.

  Math led us through the back room and down the hall past the security room, which was empty. He took us up the back stairs and skirted around the main foyer of the museum.

  The Order used the grand entryway to showcase their wealth and knowledge. Or how I thought about it, they bragged. Deep-blue ceilings made the room feel soothing, even while below the museum, chaos and power struggles and the search for magical elements took precedence.

  Glancing at the many Egyptian Eye of Ra images, I pictured who would be watching us. The eye was all-seeing because of the multitude of cameras hidden beneath. The Order wanted to watch every visitor.

  I fisted my hand to control the urge to give them the finger.

  Aaron had promised the security staff would be minimal tonight, which was why the security room had been empty. Only his most loyal would be on duty.

  Math waved his hand for me to follow him past the counter with the visitor maps and toward the wall with painted murals. He led me through large wooden doors.

  I could’ve told him there was a secret tunnel between the foyer and first exhibit. I could’ve shown him the shortcuts and even the secret elevator code to access the Order’s headquarters. I could’ve told him the trumpet wasn’t here.

  That’s not how Aaron wanted to play this game of cat and rat.

  Math’s muscular thighs bunched, moving ahead of me. The black jeans tightened around his butt. I mentally fanned myself. His brain wasn’t his only nice asset. He moved in front of a large statue of Anubis.

  I tugged him back without thought. “Electronic alarm beam.”

  He shot me a curious glance. “How did you know?”

  I’d sensed this alarm was set. I had an affinity for machines, all kinds of machines. The quality had been something I’d been aware of since I was a toddler and, since working with the Order’s cars and computers, the skill had been honed.

  Aaron hadn’t turned all the security measures off.

  “I saw the green light.” I pointed at a tiny light emitting from behind the statue’s ear.

  This might be Aaron’s plan, but I didn’t want to be seen by him or his cronies. Learning how to sneak in and out of the museum would be good to know in case the trumpet hunt went off-key or when I finally got both Mom and I away from the Order. Over the years, I’d played in the secret basement headquarters by myself, but wasn’t allowed into the museum unsupervised. Maybe Aaron thought I’d tell a visitor the museum’s secrets.

  Secrets he kept so close, even after living here for almost a decade I didn’t know the ceremonies or the levels of management.

  “Good catch.” Math said the words slowly.

  I wanted to knock my head against a marble column. I needed to distract, look dumb. “Tell me about the Order of Crucis.”

  This should be interesting. How would an outsider view the Order?

  I thought of it as a weird cult. Mom had always been into Egyptian culture. She’d lived in Egypt right before I was born. She’d returned to the States pregnant with me. I remembered her complaining about some internal pain no doctor could cure. That was when she’d started using cocaine and heroin and our lives had gone from bad to worse to devastating.

  My eyes prickled hinting at remembered sorrow.

  We’d lived in a dirty, dump of an apartment in the worst part of town. Rats and cockroaches were nightly visitors. I didn’t understand why when we didn’t have any food. I’d been hungry every day.

  My father was an unknown entity. Mom refused to talk about him. And while Aaron never acted like a dad, he’d rescued us. Mom had recovered and I’d been grateful. Now, I believed Mom and I had given enough thanks.

  “The Magical Order of Crucis’ official history says they were founded in Upper Egypt and took the sign of the rosy thorn. Really, they first organized in the nineteen-twenties at the height of interest in occults and alchemy. The earlier history was backdated.” Math continued through the exhibit, reciting facts as if he were a textbook.

  Displays of jewelry and pottery were showcased in this hall.

  Except the part about the founding, Math’s information coincided with my knowledge. “Alchemy meaning magic?”

  “They believe there are cultural artifacts storing magic from the ancient gods and goddesses.” His tone stayed neutral.

  My interest piqued. If Math believed he’d been made of stone and come back to life, he must believe in magic and powers. Who had brainwashed him? Were the Soul Warriors a similar organization to the Order, except
more evil?

  I couldn’t ask any of these questions because Math didn’t know I knew about his group. He didn’t know I knew about the Order.

  “All this in the twenty-first century?” The wonder in my voice was not fake. How could modern day people believe this crap?

  All I’d ever seen were manuals about the Order and what they believed, and statuary and etchings telling stories, not fact. I’d heard discussions about the magical properties of certain items, usually tuning out because as I got older I didn’t believe. Didn’t believe Aaron was the overseer in the western continent awaiting a visit from the true leader from Egypt. Didn’t believe their ceremonies had true meaning. Didn’t believe certain artifacts had powers.

  And yet, the silver trumpet had made my uncle and the other employees at the pawn shop fall asleep. Not me. Why?

  Maybe because I didn’t believe.

  The thought firmed my theory. If I didn’t believe, then this supposed-magic couldn’t affect me.

  Math passed into the next exhibit. He was intent on his path, knowing where he was headed. He must’ve visited the museum before.

  This room held an old fishing boat and a carriage purportedly used by a real pharaoh.

  “What about Tut’s silver trumpet? Why is it so important?” I only knew what Aaron had told me.

  “The Trumpet of Peace is used in a special ceremony related to the number Pi. Three-point-one-four, etc.” Math’s face flushed red as if embarrassed to know math, which was a weird coincidence because it was his nickname. “The ceremony is performed on March fourteenth and a human vessel is used to capture the powers of the instrument.”

  My heart stopped and then sped ahead. My thoughts tumbled along with the pace of my heart. Mom was a vessel. Was that how Aaron proposed to cure Mom? By giving her powers?

  Internally, I scoffed. I didn’t believe in the powers.

  “The vessel is a person, right?” I needed to be clear.

  A tiny thrill coursed up my spine. I didn’t believe, but…that had to be why the trumpet was so important to Mom and Aaron. If Mom was the vessel, then she believed blowing the trumpet would cure her of the strange illness. And if she believed, it might happen—the brain was a powerful thing. Mom would be healthy and we could escape and live a normal life.

  But if the Order cured Mom, she’d be even more indebted to Aaron.

  My shoulders slumped. Doubts about mom’s motherly devotion gouged everything inside me. Maybe she wouldn’t want to leave; then what would I do? I didn’t even want to think about the other options.

  “Yes.” Math flashed a disgusted expression my way. “The vessel is female and has been prepared for months with a special drink so the vessel is open to receiving the powers.”

  Could it be the medicine Aaron had been giving my mom? She seemed to be getting sicker. I yanked my shoulders back, anger stiffening my muscles and my bones. Mom or Aaron should’ve explained everything in detail. How could I plan when I didn’t know? The secrecy of the Order infuriated.

  Math trod into a narrow hallway not leading to any other exhibits. “On the day of Pi, the vessel plays the trumpet to send blissful harmony into the world.”

  “That doesn’t sound so bad.” Harmless, even if it was true.

  “At first, everyone falls asleep.” He tapped on a wall with his knuckles. “While they’re sleeping, the playing of the trumpet by the vessel gives the vessel control of people’s minds.”

  All the truths and half-truths and lies simmered in my mind. That sounded terrible. If Mom believed it was real, why would she agree? Why would she want to control people’s minds? The simmering bubbled into confusion. If Mom believed, was she as bad as Aaron? Maybe she hadn’t been told the entire truth. Like me. Ignorance wasn’t bliss.

  “If an Akh is involved, then the strength and the terror is multiplied.”

  I wasn’t even listening to Math. The simmering confusion incinerated in my chest and made me feel sick. Doubts and others’ opinions crowded my thoughts and tainted my emotions. Aaron wasn’t that evil, was he? Math’s information had to be false. Was Mom’s life depending on rumors of ancient magic?

  I needed to make up my own mind, discover my own truth. My body jerked, counting off the days of the month. “Isn’t Pi day in two days?”

  “That’s why we have to find the Trumpet of Peace fast.” Math stopped knocking on the wall and moved farther down the narrow hallway toward a dead end.

  I felt as if I were walking toward a dead end. “If we don’t find the trumpet here, where do we look next?”

  “I’m not sure.” Shaking his head, he proceeded. He must not realize this hall went nowhere. “We know the Order has procured a vessel, although why anyone would volunteer for such a treacherous position, I don’t understand.”

  The emotional vibrations jostled my intestines, making me sicker and sicker. “Why is being a vessel treacherous?”

  “Because the special concoction the vessel drinks is made with small amounts of strychnine, which is poison. The vessel is sacrificed.”

  Mom.

  Chapter Six

  Piper

  Mom sacrificed?

  Poisoned?

  A burning sensation poured down my throat as if I’d drank the poison. Not real poison—poison of my mind and my beliefs.

  The poison swirled in my stomach making me feel sick. The poison spread through my veins, scorching my skin. The poison dumped into my brain, causing my head to heat and muddling my thoughts. Could the medicine Aaron had been giving Mom truly be poison to prepare her for the sacrifice?

  An urgency seared through me along with the poisoned thoughts and emotions. Finding the trumpet was even more important now. Not for Aaron. I had to find the trumpet and find the truth.

  Did I believe Math’s crazy story? He was currently knocking on a blank wall and expecting an answer. It was a wall, not a doorway. I’d thought he was smart.

  Maybe he and his Soul Warrior brothers were insane. They believed they’d been stone. They thought the trumpet had powers. More reasons to find the trumpet for myself.

  If I found the trumpet, I could bargain with Aaron for my mom and get her to a real doctor so she could be cured. Whether it was an illness caused by poison or Mom’s own mind. First, I had to find the trumpet, and staying at the museum, on the wrong trail, was a waste of time. I had to use Math to lead me to the trumpet. Not send him on a wild road trip.

  “What’re you doing?” I slammed my hands on my hips, impatience making my voice hard.

  Until now his map interpretation skills had been excellent.

  “There’s another passage here.” He put his ear to the wall and knocked again.

  I stopped walking even as urgent concern about Mom charged through my blood. I couldn’t waste time. Mom might not have much left. There wasn’t a passage here. He’d gotten this one wrong. I needed to suggest we search somewhere else besides the museum.

  Knock. Knock. Pause. Knock. Knock. Knock.

  Math tapped a pattern on the wall, moving his fist up and down and around the marble block.

  Knock. Knock. Knock. Long pause. Knock. Knock.

  The pattern reminded me of one of the chants the Order members hummed.

  A scraping sound filled in the pauses in Math’s knocking pattern. The marble blocks shifted.

  Separated.

  Opened.

  My eyes rounded and whirred, resembling a truck’s tires. Air squeezed from my lungs and wheezed through my dropped open mouth. “Whaaaat?”

  Math quirked a non-braggy smile, as if he was embarrassed to be so smart. “After you.”

  His politeness had me staring into the opening. A dark, narrow passage with no light, and no clue where it ended.

  Aaron never told me about this passage. How many other things hadn’t he mentioned? A shiver wracked my body. Like the poison and the sacrifice?

  “You found the opening. You go first.” I thought I’d be the one leading us around the museum I’d lived in for
the past nine years.

  Math took a flashlight from his bag, repositioned the bag on his shoulder, and bent low to enter the opening. He resembled an adventurer exploring the newly-found pyramids. Determined, brave, and a little bit excited.

  His excitement rubbed off on me. I normally wasn’t one for adventures because my life had been a series of mysteries.

  I followed Math, totally bewildered and confused by this change in direction. The more time I spent with him, the more I realized how little I knew about the Order. Their secrets and shenanigans. Their hidden tunnels and secret ceremonies. Their poisoning of prisoners.

  Math pressed a concealed button and the opening shifted closed, leaving us in complete darkness. His fresh scent of eucalyptus enveloped me in a cocoon. Heat from his body pressed against me even though we didn’t touch. The intimate situation spread an unusual tingling sensation across my skin. I wanted to get closer and knew I shouldn’t.

  The flashlight clicked on, dispelling my fantasies.

  To cool my thoughts, I glanced around. Constructed from the same marble used throughout the museum, the passage became narrower. There were no markings or etchings on the wall. No signs of wear on the ground. The passage wasn’t used frequently.

  Aaron’s evasiveness crept under my skin, causing my worried thoughts to pucker and pinch. “How did you know this tunnel was here?”

  Math headed deeper into the passage. “Studying architecture and mathematics.”

  I stayed close. Afraid of getting lost. Afraid of being left behind. Afraid I was already way behind the learning curve.

  The tunnel was only wide enough to fit one person and had that new-car smell. I kept my head bent, trailing behind him. Poor Math had to bend at the waist and neck because of his height.

  The passage went down, down, down. It went below the museum, below the Order’s headquarters and living areas, below the ceremonial rooms that I knew about. I felt like Alice in Wonderland, heading down the rabbit hole, hoping what we found wasn’t nearly as wild.