“Worn,” I admitted. Leaning further into his hold, I rested my cheek against his chest as I murmured, “All this time I thought it was my fault.”
“It wasn’t. The mirror proved that, Lauren. It was never your fault. Your mother was a Seer, and she saw someone who was their friend betraying you and them.” Mathias’ grip around my shoulders tightened as his voice roughened, “It is as I said before, they left you because they had no other choice in the matter.”
“I was Lauren Serkan,” I mumbled, still trying to wrap my head around the knowledge that my family name was different from ‘Hope.’
Mathias didn’t say anything, but I felt him tense. Pushing myself upright, I looked into his eyes. “What is it? What aren’t you saying right now, Mathias?”
He glanced down. “I know the name Elam Serkan.”
I blinked at him. Then, I scowled. “If you are about to tell me that you are really in your hundreds, I will hit you with something.”
His mouth twitched into a crooked half smile as he chuckled under his breath. “Nothing of the sort. However . . . I know the name because Elam Serkan was the only Jinn to ever be employed by Weard. When I first joined them, there was some speculation on whether I was half-Jinn.”
I frowned slightly. I didn’t know that I really liked the idea of my father being a willing employee of Weard. Mathias had his past, of course, but he left Weard when it mattered.
There was a touch to my hand, and I looked up to find Mathias watching me closely. His voice was gentle as he said, “Elam Serkan was best known as an artifact hunter. He later became a trainer of both hunters and the artifact retrieval teams. And if he was a Jinn, then it explains why Weard couldn’t find you as a child.”
I shook my head. “I don’t understand.” Rubbing my throbbing temple, I muttered, “It’s not fitting together for me right now.”
Mathias handed me a glass of water and dropped a single pill into my palm. “Take this. It will help take the edge off your headache, love.”
I took the pill gratefully, washing it down with the water. I kept sipping at the water as I watched Mathias pull his go bag out and rest it on top of the chest. He unzipped it and then took out a now familiar if somewhat battered looking book. The one with information about as many paranormal species as was available.
He sat down next to me again and opened the book. I tried to read, but my headache was still bad enough to blur the words on the page. Instead, attempting to look at the nauseating mess of letters, I rested my head against Mathias’ bicep and closed my eyes.
His lovely British accent was more pronounced as he started reading. “‘Among the rarest and least known of the paranormal species are those known as the Jinn. While legends give them many different powers, only one talent has ever been confirmed. The talent of being hidden. The Jinn become living glamours whose enemies find it impossible to locate them even if they were to cross paths with each other. This living glamour in turn makes it difficult to access the Jinn despite the knowledge that they make their homes in the area of Jordan where Petra is carved out of the rocks. This is especially true if anyone attempts to find them without invitation. Entire settlements of Jinn appear nonexistent due to their living glamour.”
“Living glamours?” I murmured. It seemed difficult to believe; yet, some small part of me rang with the truth of the words. This was . . . It was insane. It didn’t make sense. It wasn’t possible.
Mathias moved around and I opened my eyes enough to see him placing the book to the side. “Lauren, have you never felt hunted then witnessed the person hunting you walk past?”
I frowned at him. “No. It means they weren’t hunting me.”
“Actually I believe you have been subconsciously using your Jinn talent. It explains a lot of odd happenings in Roma.”
I sat up so I could face him fully. “What are you talking about?”
“Atalanta and Atlas.” When I shook my head, he touched my cheek. My hand came up to grasp his as my eyes rose to meet his gaze once more. Mathias ducked his head slightly. “When Atalanta was following you in Roma, she lost sight of us. Of both of us, something that shouldn’t have easily happened for a woman that is part shifter. Then less than a week later, we meet her again and not only does she not recognize you, but Atlas doesn’t know either of us. We were not recognized. And, that Lion knew me enough that he should have recognized my face. He didn’t know me until we met in the Colosseum when you were no longer around to include me in your glamour.”
I almost shook my head, a denial already on my lips, before I stiffened. “He said I was using a glamour.”
“Who?”
“Prince Tao, the water dragon who cornered me. He knew who I was, but he also told me to stop using my glamour. But I wasn’t using . . .” The words trailed off into nothingness as I met Mathias’ knowing gaze. “I couldn’t have been using a glamour. I don’t know how.”
Mathias raised a finger. “It’s an innate talent, a subconscious passive defense mechanism. But now that you know of it, know that it is in you, I think you would be able to learn how to use it.”
“How to use it?” I pulled away from his touch and stiffly got to my feet. I rubbed my forehead as a headache pushed my thoughts into a muddled swirl. It just . . . It couldn’t be true. Yet, even as the protest formed in my mind, more memories surfaced . . . Roma wasn’t the first time I had avoided being hunted. All this time, I had assumed I simply had one of those faces that people didn’t really notice. I was average, passably pretty, but neither beautiful nor plain to the point of drawing attention to myself.
I staggered over to the window and braced a hand against the wall as I stared out blindly. It was too early for much movement outside. Warm hands wrapped around my shoulders, and I felt Mathias’ solid form behind me. Instinctively I leaned back into him, allowing his arms to wrap around me. “What do I do now?”
“Maybe, we should postpone our holiday to that island, love.” He kissed the side of my head and added softly, “Maybe, it is better that we go to Petra first. Find your father’s people and, hopefully, a teacher who can help you control your Jinn talent. If you could learn to use it consciously, that would be a handy thing indeed.”
He paused and I looked up in time to catch uncertainty in his blue-green eyes. That was something that didn’t often show up. Not with Mathias being a far too confident Ten. “What is it? What’s wrong?”
He opened his mouth, then hesitated. “I don’t know that I want to tell you.”
“That means you need to tell me.” I patted his arm. “Best to get it over with, Myrmidon.”
Mathias studied me for a long moment. “The Lore keeper claimed that she knew more about your parents. Their fate. She claimed to remember them.”
It felt as though the already shaky floor had fallen out from beneath me. If I hadn’t already been leaning against Mathias, I might have dropped to my knees. “My parents came here?” my voice broke despite my best efforts to control my volatile emotions as they snarled into an ever growing knot. “They came here? Why? And, why didn’t they come back for me? I was in that home for a year before they moved me to another family. They said they would come back, but they never did. And, I don’t understand why. Why would they leave after promising to return and never come back? What happened to them?”
“I don’t know, Lauren.” Mathias’ arms around me tightened as he added softly, “I wish I had the answers.” He paused then added, “There’s time to go back if that is what you want. We came out a back door, and I think I can find it again. It would be better to slip in and out without going past the dragon prince’s guards.”
I nodded slowly. “Yes. Let’s go now.”
“Are you sure you don’t want some tea first?”
Pulling out of Mathias’ hold, I turned to face him. Crossing my arms, I raised an eyebrow at him. “Tea?”
He heaved a dramatic sigh. “Oh very well. Continue being a heathen about tea. I love you in spite of it.”
>
I smiled, shaking my head. “Overly dramatic Myrmidon. You can have your precious tea after we see the Lore keepers.”
“Is that a promise?” he grinned at me.
“Behave yourself. If you can.”
His grin grew wicked as his gaze flicked over me. “No promises there, little Spotter.”
* * *
Chapter Thirteen
Mathias
Lauren’s grip was slowly squeezing the blood out of my fingertips. I glanced down at the top of her dark head. She was moving better than she had been when we first left the hostel, something I was relieved to see. However, I could tell that she was still shaken by everything that had happened and the new memories. So far, she hadn’t mentioned her father but I knew when she had more time to process the reality of his being a 9 and a Jinn, she would likely pull back.
I let her continue strangling my fingers as we walked through the barren streets of Herculaneum. The hour was so early that even the archeologists and Lore keepers had yet to return to the street. I didn’t even see any of the dragon prince’s guards. Something that seemed odd. Although I couldn’t find any sign that there had been a struggle.
Of course, I had also failed to find the way back to the alternative route into the Villa of Papyri. Something I found more than a little annoying. The path wound through the abandoned homes and then to the villa, but it remained empty. I reached up with my free hand out of habit only to brush against the leather of my jacket. I had left my sword in the lorry again. Herculaneum could be strict about obvious weapons. Yet my palm itched with the need to grasp a solid hilt, ready to throw or slash.
Hiding a frown, I scanned our surroundings again. Nothing but the bones of a town lost to time. No one moved around us. Nothing stirred at all. It was as though even the memories of the past had been lost. More desolate feeling than the abandoned village in Scotland where Lauren and I had hidden for a time, which was a rather remarkable achievement.
“Mathias?” came the low whisper.
I glanced down to meet Lauren’s wide dark eyes. I nodded to her. “Let’s hope they are inside.”
We entered the villa without ever seeing another soul. I paused before entering. Turning back to face the ghostly town, I studied the murkier outlines in the faint dawn light that was now mostly hidden behind dark clouds threatening rain. There was no movement save the wind blowing off the bay and the crashing sound of the waves only a short distance away. Yet . . .
After another minute of watching nothing, I shook my head. Perhaps, I was becoming paranoid. In any case, when we found the Lore keepers, I would make sure Daniel showed us the back way out again.
* * *
Lauren
Daniel was nowhere to be seen in the public area of the villa. Mathias found a lantern and we walked into the depths of the buried portion of the villa once more. It was a little creepy without the chattering company of the docent to keep my mind from focusing on the lava deposits.
Even when I looked up, I couldn’t make out the roof of the villa. A roof that was weighed down by the deposits of a volcano that could explode into activity at any time, if experts were to be believed. Why did I think of that? Now it was all I could think about. Ugh, the mind is a terrible thing at times, and this was definitely one of them.
“Are you all right?”
“Do you think Vesuvius is going to erupt today?”
To his credit, Mathias actually looked thoughtful instead of immediately laughing at my off the wall question. “Not today, I think. Possibly next Tuesday, though.”
I tilted my head. “Why next Tuesday?”
He shrugged. “It seems like a good day for it. Partly cloudy with a twelve percent chance of eruption and ash plumes.”
I shook my head as I breathed a laugh. “You are such a strange man. Why did I marry you?”
A smirk curved his lips as he winked at me. “I believe it was my delicious British accent. Good job I don’t have a brogue.”
“Oh, a very good job,” I mimicked him. Then, my eyes went up to the hidden ceiling once more. Actually, it was better not to look at it anymore. I quickly turned my attention back to Mathias. “How much further?”
He gestured in front of us. “Just need to squeeze through that.”
“I hate this part,” I muttered under my breath.
Mathias’ hand landed on my shoulder and squeezed lightly. “So do I.”
Still we had to do it. So we did. Somehow, the narrow tunnel felt even tighter than it had the last time. By the time we finally emerged, I was ready to scream. I couldn’t even explain why since I was not actually that claustrophobic.
However, that didn’t keep me from gasping for breath like I had been drowning. Mathias’ hand on my shoulder was the only thing that kept me from sinking to the ground when I saw the familiar arch with the faint reliefs of Minerva and the two-faced Janus. In spite of my need to see Marie again, to learn what else she knew about my parents, I couldn’t make myself walk forward.
A cold stone sank in the pit of my stomach as I drew a harsh breath. Mathias came up beside me and shifted his hand over so his arm was now draped around my shoulders. His breath tickled my cheek and moved my hair as he whispered, “You can turn back. I will follow your lead. You can go forward. I will follow your lead. However, you do not need to face this on your own. That is why we are here together. Whatever you decide, Lauren, I am beside you every step of the way. I promise.”
I nodded slowly. Turning my head, I pressed a quick kiss to his lips and then I forced myself to walk forward. My heart began beating frantically behind my ribs as I did so, but I couldn’t let myself turn back. I would not run from this, no matter how painful.
Mathias remained a silent, but steadfast presence at my side. The light from our lantern played across the ancient bookshelves and the familiar sight of the stacked scrolls. At first, I thought the room was empty when we reached the table to find only scrolls laying on its surface. Then, steps came from one of the far corners of the room. The steps merged into two shadows, and then Marie and Daniel stepped into the circle of light cast by our lantern.
The Lore keepers exchanged looks and carried their scrolls to the table, placing them next to the others. Marie then nodded to us both. “You recovered. I had hopes that you would do so.” She walked around the table to join us. “Allow me to offer my apologies. Had I known you were under a Jinn’s influence, I would have handled the memory retrieval differently.”
I waved a hand. “There is nothing to forgive, Lore keeper. We could not know what my . . . father had done.” It felt so strange to speak of him as though he had been a presence in my life. As though, I remembered him being a presence in my life. I shook the swirl of emotions away and focused on the woman in front of me. “Marie, you told my husband that you knew my parents.”
She nodded and motioned for us to take a seat. I took one of the stools, but Mathias remained standing as Marie took another stool. She glanced at him but didn’t press the issue, which was wise of her. Her gaze fixed on me, solemn yet giving away no other hints to her emotion. I glanced up at her number and felt only a fraction of comfort to see it was still a 4. After another long moment, she broke her silence. “It was close to twenty-six years ago so forgive me for not seeing your mother in you right away. I was here in Herculaneum even then.” She waved her hand to encompass the room around us. “We had only begun excavating this area of the villa. Had only just begun to read the scrolls. But the man and woman who appeared in the mirror, I saw them. Natalia and Elam Serkan came here in search of a particular artifact. One that was mixed into the lore that tied Spotters to the great Tens of the ancient world.”
“What do you mean?” I asked. “Spotters helped hunt Tens down because they were quick to become too dangerous. It was what brought the purge to bear on the Spotters themselves.”
Marie looked . . . almost amused as her mouth twisted slightly before she spoke. “These scrolls say that the first Spotter emerged from am
ong the Seers in the days of Nimrod, who was the first recorded Ten in all history. She was said to have helped cast him down from his place of power, though the details of how she did it remain . . . elusive. However, there is an ancient tale that was first passed down from elder to elder among the Spotters until it was finally written on papyri here in Herculaneum. An artifact that emerged around the same time as the first Spotter, one created through the joint magics of Fae and dragons to be wielded by her to put an end to Nimrod’s vile plans. They called it the Crown of Nimrod.”
Daniel glanced up from where he was carefully spreading out a papyri scroll and interjected, “Unfortunately, there’s no description of the crown. Or drawings. Terrible piece of record keeping.”
Marie slanted him a sharp look and he adjusted his glasses, muttering an apology under his breath. Her mouth curved for half a blink into a fond smile before she continued, “It is true that the artifact known as the Crown of Nimrod was never described. However, the tale goes on to describe it as being dangerous beyond its creators’ expectations. It was able to be turned into a weapon that could be used against all paranormals, especially when it was paired with the Sapphire of Shinar. A gemstone that was said to be unbreakable. But, it was removed from the Crown of Nimrod and the artifact was broken into five pieces. These pieces along with the Sapphire of Shinar were scattered, their locations lost to time. However, the tale ends with the caution that the ancient wonders held clues to the pieces’ locations, perhaps even the pieces themselves.”
“The seven wonders of the ancient world?” I asked, not quite believing what I was hearing.
Marie nodded. “Just so.” She leaned forward on her stool. “Your parents were attempting to find the Crown of Nimrod. Your mother had a vision that it would be captured by a great evil. They were trying to find the pieces first.” She paused once more and added quietly, “Natalia spoke of a child that she was determined to see again. I never saw them after they left to seek out the pieces of the artifact.”
Rogue Spotter Collection Page 67
