Piper

 

“Just remember,” Desmond urged as I leaped to my feet to get dressed. “This is all still guesswork. We have no evidence to back up any of these ideas. Don’t get your hopes up.”

It was too late.

Everything was fitting together I thought as I threw on clothes. The connection of the TLO and the Kazan family. One that was based on a mutual interest, if not a goal.

In the last few hundred years, science had become a part of everyday life. If ever there was a time for an ambitious shifter to try to recreate an ancient ritual that would have been it.

Of course, that still didn't explain a lot of things. Isla. Kyros and Maria. Rumors of the Kazan failings and deaths. The curse itself and how to break it.

But we were further along to solving it than I’d thought we’d be and energy was humming through my veins. This was the right lead to chase. I could feel it in my bones.

I’m going to smash that curse to pieces, I vowed again.

By the time I finished, Balt was also dressed, but Desmond was nowhere to be seen.

“Where’s Dez? Is he not coming?”

Balt sighed. “No, he went back to his room to change and go downstairs to get a rental. I have to talk to you, though. Why did you drag him into this, Piper?”

Walking up to Balt, I placed my hands on his forearms and squeezed. He was tense under my fingertips and again I wished I could do something more to help. “I knew Dez could help me. And that he knew more than I did.” Biting my lip, I said, “You still haven’t told me everything.”

“No, I haven’t,” Balt said, closing his eyes and looking away.

“You don’t have to,” I said, surprising myself a little. “Tell me when you’re ready.”

A small smile tugged up on his cheek and he wrapped his arms around me. “Anything else you forgot to tell me that I should know?”

Swallowing, I thought about Jamison’s words and hesitated. “Um, I might have broken two of Jamison’s fingers at that dinner in London.”

Balt let out a choked noise, something between a laugh and a yelp. Then, he stepped back, holding my arms and staring at me. “Piper. Why would you do that? You know that asshole is going to come after you.”

"No, he won't," I said smugly. "Then he'd have to admit a girl got the better of him. His pride always takes precedence." I snorted. "And let him – what's he gonna do?"

“Oh, Piper,” Balt said as he struggled not to smile. “What did he say to you?”

I pursed my lips to the side and shook my head. “He was being uncouth, as usual. Ugh. I should never have gone."

"No, you shouldn't have," Balt said in a grumble, squeezing my arms and letting go. "Like you should never have gone to that dance with him in middle school.”

I shook my head. “Please tell me you weren’t ever jealous of him, Balty. You know Soraya dared me to go, remember? Not that it was worth twenty bucks by a long shot.”

Balt stared at me. “Are you serious? I didn’t know that.”

“Like I could ever like Jamison,” I said rolling my eyes. “But the reason I brought that up is that he was saying the Kazan business had dried up – that they’d fallen on bad times.”

Balt’s eyebrows raised. “And?”

“What?” I asked stupidly.

“I can see it in your eyes.” A strong thumb traced across my fesootai. “And I can feel it.”

Letting out a long breath, I said slowly, "Jamison said something about the curse working faster and that the Kazan family had locked themselves away out of fear.”

“Is there more?” Balt asked.

I heard Jamison’s cruel, drunk voice. Gruesome stories – houses full of bodies, the women aging overnight. All that sort of thing.

“Just ugly rumors, I think,” I said lightly, pulling away and rubbing my wrist.

At that moment, a knock came on the door and I let out a sigh of relief as I ran over to it. Desmond was standing there and grinning eagerly. A heavy backpack was thrown over his shoulders and he was rubbing his hands in excitement. “Ready to go? I got us a car.”

Balt came up behind me and we glanced at each other. “Yeah,” he said, letting out a long breath. “Let’s get this over with.”

The rental was waiting for us out front and Balt and Desmond exchanged a hilarious look as we looked at the tiny, European car, which seemed more like a toy than an automobile.

Volunteering to sit in the back, I hugged my knees as Balt and Desmond awkwardly climbed in, Balt hitting his head and swearing in Greek. Desmond was a little smoother, but then he realized he forgot his bag on the sidewalk and almost fell out of the car as he got back out.

Finally, Balt was navigating us out of Athens and through little, busy towns. All while heading towards hazy mountains on the horizon.

Then the road swooped down and along the coast, offering breathtaking views of the Megara Gulf. It was quiet in the car and I found myself nodding off without meaning to.

When I woke up, it was late afternoon and we were driving through the hills, wild landscape and trees on either side. We were close – I got a brief glimpse of Balt’s conflicting emotions even though his face was serene. Reaching forward, I squeezed his shoulder and our eyes met in the rearview mirror. That one look set my nerves aflame and made my heart glow.

Balt parked close to the entrance as we were one of the few cars in the lot. The whole place felt deserted. All around us were wild mountains and grassy plains. On the horizon, there was a blue smudge of distant mountains. It was a quiet and solemn place, far away from the world, sending a shiver straight through me.

Ahead of us, a steep path wound through a thick grove of trees, up to a steep peak and ruins beyond. Following it, we made our way to the Lion's Gate. It was the entrance of what was once the citadel of Midea. Two carved lions were posed regally above its arch, stepping up to a pillar and gazing down at every soul who passed through.

Glancing around, I saw it was nothing but old, stacked stones and a few tourists. My heart suddenly sank. I wasn’t sure what I’d been expecting – writing on the wall explaining exactly what we were looking for. But the gate was nothing but an old entrance to a forgotten place.

Balt came up to me and hugged my shoulders. “Come on.”

Walking inside, I gazed around bleakly at the ruins. There was nothing here.

Desmond came up next to us, his face alight with interest as he gazed around. “What a place this must have been in its day – what a view it commanded!” He turned in a circle. “This was the place of your ancestors, wasn’t it Balt?”

Balt nodded mutely.

“According to some shifter histories, they think this was a place where shifters and inanis lived in peace for some time. They guarded the walls together – kept each other’s secrets – see that’s where the guard quarters were, off to the left. Well, don’t just stand there, come on.”

Cheerful and chattering, Desmond led us up a steep path, explaining how this was a great ramp, allowing one to climb and appreciate the strategic position of Mycenae. His enthusiasm made me think of Soraya and I smiled. If she was here, I thought, she’d be peppering him with questions – her thirst for information almost as unquenchable as Desmond’s.

“This way,” Desmond instructed, leading us towards a structure with a tall, yawning doorway filled with shadows and a large triangle cut over ahead. “This is the treasury.” Glancing around, he whispered, “There’s no one around, right?”

Balt and I both shook our heads. With a deep breath, Desmond plunged in, digging a flashlight out of his bag and we followed. Sometimes I forgot non-shifters couldn’t see in the dark.

Inside was unremarkable. Stone walls and empty rooms. But Desmond kept pushing forward, glancing nervously over his shoulder the whole while. Finally, he whispered, “We’re not supposed to be in here.”

“Ah,” Balt said. “Well, I can’t see why. It’s not like there is much to see.”

“I’m looking for something – here.” Desmond paused.

He was studying the face of a snarling lion that had been carved into the wall. As the light flicked over it, I noticed most of the face had eroded away, but the teeth looked oddly sharp. Peering closer, I noticed the right tooth seemed darker than the left. Balt’s hand suddenly gripped mine and I glanced at him.

“The Kazan family insignia,” he said and Desmond nodded.

“Inside the treasury, there was a room set aside for the shifters,” Desmond said in a low voice. “It’s said that only blood can open the door. And from what I read, only Kazan blood. But your family refused the request of the archeologists to see if it would work.”

Stepping up, Balt asked, “What do I do?”

“Prick your finger on the lion’s right tooth, I think,” Desmond whispered.

“What would we do without you Desmond?” I whispered fervently, hope rising in my chest and I patted Balt’s back. “Balt?”

Stepping forward, he pressed his finger on the tooth and a bright red drop of blood appeared. But instead of falling, it seemed to be absorbed by the tooth. A creaking noise shattered the silence and we all jumped.

A crack appeared in the wall, growing deeper and darker. Balt slid his hand in and gripped hard, pulling on the thick wall, which groaned loudly as it revealed a small slit in the wall.

Before Desmond or I could say a word, Balt had stepped forward. I heard a soft gasp and I pushed in after him. We were in a small room densely covered with carvings and a long, deep shelf ran the length of the room. It was empty and the light cast a dark shadow as Desmond stepped in.

“Woah, I knew it,” he breathed. “Damn, I wish this was a sanctified study – the paper I’d write on this place…” He trailed off as he stepped forward and examined the carvings. “This proves there were shifters here and that the Kazan family was descended from them,” he murmured. Glancing back at me, he asked, “Do you know Latin?”

I nodded and he let out a happy sigh. “Translate what you can, but we should try to take as many pictures as necessary.”

We went to work, Balt taking pictures as Desmond and I worked on opposite sides, translating. It was tedious work and it was hot in there. My head was starting to pound as I raked my damp curls into a ponytail, willing the next line to tell me something.

But it was mostly stories, interesting, but useless.

Then I found an area that looked different than the rest. Staring at it, I realized these carvings were newer and I ran my fingers over them.

The secret is lost. Sacrifice for blood by the tooth.

Forevermore, we are the lion-born.

K. Kazan. 1677.

Eyes wide, I read it again and turned to Balt. “Come here,” I said.

When he saw it, he shook his head. “I know what you’re thinking, but that doesn’t tell us anything. It doesn’t even make sense.”

“None of this sounds familiar?” I asked urgently as I took a picture of the wall.

“No,” Balt sighed. “I think it may raise more questions though.”

Desmond wandered over and peered at it. “No, this is a good clue.” He gazed around and wiped at his forehead. “Well, I’m done if you two are.”

Glad to be out of the hot room, I watched as Balt shoved the door closed behind us and we walked out of the treasury quickly. My headache had increased, my stomach was pinched with hunger and I felt filthy. But as the cool air hit my face, I let out a sigh.

It wasn’t quite sunset, but the mountains hid the sun and threw dark shadows across the land. I was fairly certain the park was about to close.

Suddenly my skin prickled and I stepped in front of Desmond as Balt stopped on the other side, staring out across the landscape. Three shadows rippled and moved down the sides of the walls, glowing eyes flashing at us.

Lions.

Dropping down, the two female lions rose up as two, tall dark-haired women. The male growled and then shifted, glaring at us. As I stared at them, I realized who they were.

Kazans.

“Trespassing. How American,” the man said snidely. “You’ve changed Baltsaros.”