Chapter Ten
Sam lost her train of thought when Ezra kissed her. She was mad at him for something, but darned if she could remember what it was with his tongue sliding against hers. He surrounded her with his big body, making her feel cherished and safe.
Safe. That was it. Ezra wasn’t safe if his company took this salvage job. She put her palms against his chest and pushed. It was like trying to move a small mountain. It took everything she had not to sink into the kiss. Her entire body pulsed with need. He was addictive.
With a cry, she wrenched her head away. “Stop.”
He immediately released her, a deep frown on his face. “What’s wrong?”
The man was as stubborn as a goat. “You have to listen to me. The Knights are dangerous.” Why couldn’t she get him to understand that?
He cupped her face with his large hands. “Baby, I am, too.”
Frustration ate at her. “They’re a large, ruthless group that will stop at nothing to get what they want.”
“Trust me.” He ran his fingers through her curls, stopping when several of them snagged.
Sam sighed. “Why can’t I make you see that this is too dangerous?”
When he stepped away, he looked remote and alone. It tore at her heart. “I believe in you,” she assured him. And she did. She might not have known him long, but there was something about him that made her believe he could do anything he set his mind to. But everyone had limits. “You’re just one man, and they’re legion.”
“We need information.” He picked up a cell phone. Not the one he’d taken the business call on, but another one. He didn’t waste any time and the phone was soon ringing. She was grateful he’d put it on speaker so she could hear.
“What?” a deep male voice rumbled.
“You’re on speaker,” Ezra told him. It sounded to Sam like he was warning the other man to watch his words, but why?
“Just got a call to salvage the Integrity.”
“Did you now?” Sam wished she had a face to put to the deep voice. She could hear the light tapping of keys in the background and assumed he was working on a computer.
“Yup. My people are on it. I thought I’d make a late-night run to the site.” That was the first she’d heard of it. She didn’t like the idea of Ezra going off on his own, wasn’t going to stand for it. If he went, he was taking her with him.
“Is that wise?” the stranger asked.
“Thank you,” she piped up. “I’m glad someone is the voice of reason.”
Ezra chuckled. “If you think he’s the voice of reason, then we have a problem.”
“Fuck off,” the man shot back. “Now why are you calling me?”
Ezra was all business. “I need to know about a man named Gervais Rames. He’s the man who approached Sam after her mentor was killed.”
“Brian,” she muttered.
“After Brian was killed,” he corrected.
“You think he’s with the Knights?”
She glared at Ezra. Just how much had he told his computer-hacking friend? Ezra shrugged, looking totally unrepentant and unaffected by her glare.
“According to Sam, he was going to try to steal a book from a man named Herman Temple.”
“Is that so?” The stranger’s voice held speculation and, worse, familiarity.
“You know who Herman Temple is, don’t you?” How was that even possible? Sam backed away from the phone and Ezra. Maybe it was more than coincidence that Ezra had plucked her from the water.
He was watching her, looking slightly concerned but not overly upset. And why would he be? Not like she could run away. She was on a freaking island.
“This is too coincidental,” the unknown male pointed out.
“Exactly my thought,” she countered. Maybe she should keep her mouth shut and play stupid, but all her emotions were raw. She’d slept with Ezra, had feelings for him. “Did you sleep with me to get information?” she demanded.
The stranger swore, but she didn’t care about the voice on the phone, only about Ezra. He shook his head. “I slept with you because I had to.” He reached out and stroked the side of her face. She didn’t flinch away, nor did she react. “I plucked you out of the sea,” he continued. “You’re mine now.”
And what the hell did he mean by that? “I’m not salvage.”
He loomed over her, closing the gap between them. “No, you’re not salvage. You’re treasure. My treasure.”
Sam looked into his clear turquoise eyes and was lost. If he was lying to her, he was the best liar on the planet, because she believed him. “Ezra,” she whispered his name.
“Still here.” Impatience bled from the stranger’s voice. She could almost imagine him sitting somewhere glaring at the phone.
“What do you know about the Dragon Guard?” Ezra’s change of subject startled her.
“Who?” More tapping in the background. “Sounds like something from a computer game.”
“According to Sam, they’re a secret group that tries to fight the Knights of the Dragon. Gervais Rames was one of them, and he was trying to get a book from Temple’s library.”
There was a lot of muttering over the open phone line. Something about coincidence and circles. Sam couldn’t quite hear it all.
“Gervais Rames owned a used and antiquarian bookstore. If he’s dead, the store is vacant and might even be gone by now, depending on how long he’s been deceased.”
Sam shivered. All this talk of death unsettled her. Ezra wrapped his arm around her and pulled her against him. She rested her cheek against his broad chest and took comfort in the heavy, steady beat of his heart.
“I’m not finding much on this Dragon Guard. I’ll have to do more in-depth research and get back to you.”
“Be careful,” she warned the man. “The Knights have people everywhere. They probably have hackers as skilled as you.”
“Sweetheart, no one is as good as me.”
Ezra grabbed the phone. “And we’re done. Call if you find out anything.”
“And you be careful,” the man on the other end demanded. “If something happens to you, I’m going to be pissed.”
“I’ll be cautious.” He ended the call and tossed the phone onto the counter. He cupped her jaw and raised it so she was looking at him. He stared down at her for a long time before finally giving her a decisive nod. “Let’s go look at the book.”
…
Ezra might be making a colossal mistake. Even if Sam didn’t want to hurt him, the book could still be dangerous. His brother Darius had firsthand knowledge of just how dangerous such items could be. One such book, most likely the one Gervais Rames had stolen and hidden, had almost killed Sarah when she and Darius tried to destroy it.
Tarrant would discover anything there was to know about Rames and the Dragon Guard. He’d also be digging into the lives of Brian Guest, Aaron Dexter, and Sam, of course. Anyone associated with the Integrity and the book in his safe would be thoroughly investigated. By the time Tarrant was done, he’d know what size and style of underwear they wore and what they’d eaten for breakfast. His brother was downright scary when it came to discovering secrets and information.
He’d also make sure both Darius and Nic were kept up-to-date on the situation. He hadn’t wanted to raise Sam’s suspicions by telling Tarrant to inform the others about the latest developments. He knew he didn’t have to. His brother would be on top of all that and more.
Sam was quiet. He glanced her way to find her watching him. “What?”
She shrugged. “I wasn’t sure I’d actually see the book again.”
In other words, she’d expected him to keep it from her. She wasn’t far off. “Thought about it, but it is best we know what we’re dealing with. But,” he warned, “if I think it’s too dangerous, it goes back into the safe.”
“How will you know if it’s too dangerous?” She fixed the cuff on one of the sleeves of her shirt that had come unrolled.
“I just will.” If they were going to do this, it was best to get it done.
He kicked back a corner of the area rug to expose the wide-plank hardwood floor, went down on his knees, and spread his arms wide, hitting hidden pressure points. A small section of the floor sank down and slid aside.
“That’s so cool.” Sam came down on the floor beside him and peered into the opening. Then she scrambled back. “I’m sorry. I probably shouldn’t be seeing this.”
His brothers would probably agree with her. “It’s fine.” He leaned down until his eye was over the retinal scanner. It made a low beep and the green light came on. He had sixty seconds to input the twenty-four-digit security code. After that time, a small charge inside the safe would be armed and would explode, destroying whatever was inside. Tarrant was nothing if not thorough.
Ezra quickly punched in the security code and another light flashed green. He turned the small handle and the safe opened. The only thing inside was the plastic bag containing the book. He lifted it out.
Sam was sitting in the chair she’d occupied earlier, leaning forward and watching him intently. “I feel like I’m in some action adventure movie. That’s some safe.”
He caught himself before he blurted out that it was his brother’s idea. He left the safe open, as he intended to put the book back as soon as they examined it. He walked over to his desk and removed the book from the plastic bag. The leather and pages were slightly damp. He hoped they weren’t too damaged, or maybe that would be for the best. Maybe he should just destroy it.
Sam was out of the chair in a heartbeat, hovering beside him. “We should be wearing latex gloves.” She chewed on her bottom lip. “Although, I suppose after everything the book had been through, it won’t matter too much as long as we’re careful.”
“Can you feel the book?” Sam had told him she sensed the power of certain artifacts, and he believed her. He placed it on his desk and took a step back.
“Yes.” She started to reach toward the book and then pulled her hand back. “It was muted in the safe.”
“Titanium.”
“Hmm. That’s interesting.” She bent forward and examined the cover. “No title. Good leather binding.” She glanced up at him. “May I?”
Ezra opened the top desk drawer and pulled out a seventeenth century dagger he used as a letter opener. He flipped the small weapon into the air and caught it by the blade. He heard Sam’s breath catch as he offered her the handle. “This way you don’t have to touch it to turn the pages.”
“Right. Smart thinking.” She slowly took the dagger. She raised it into the air and studied it in the sunlight pouring in through the door and windows. “This is fine steel. The ruby in the pommel is genuine. Looks Spanish.”
“You have a good eye.” It pleased him that she was knowledgeable about such things.
“Salvage?”
He shot her a grin. “Treasure hunt.”
“You do that kind of thing?” He could sense her excitement.
“Occasionally.”
They grinned at one another, and then Sam cleared her throat. “Right. I should open the book.” She slipped the tip of the blade beneath the edge of the leather cover and pushed it back.
Ezra stood beside her, ready to grab the book if it seemed like it might be a danger to either him or Sam. “It’s a private journal. The handwriting is quite good. It’s amazing the ink isn’t more faded than it is. It was protected in several containers and not exposed to sunlight or air, so that probably helped.” She ran the tip of the blade over the title page. “Herein are the observations and thoughts of Frederick Bazal, member of the Knights of the Dragon.”
The ink was crisp, but Ezra didn’t think it was drakon blood. The Knights had a nasty tendency of using that instead of ink to write their treatises as it protected the book and the writing from virtually everything, including drakon fire. Only a drakon’s own fire could destroy his blood. It was an evolutionary trait, probably developed to keep drakons and dragons from destroying one another. It was only recently they’d discovered another way to destroy such books, and it had come at a steep price.
The fine hair on the back of his neck rose when Sam pushed back the next page.
She frowned and moved closer. “This is a combination of Latin, French, Spanish, and Ancient Greek. Some of the symbols are Egyptian and others Etruscan. Whoever this Frederick Bazal was, he was a scholar. He changes languages randomly and frequently.
Ezra peered over her shoulder. “The contents of this ledger are for the Knights of the Dragon. Death to those who are not ordained in the blood of their great mission.”
Sam jerked back and stared up at him. “You can read this?”
“Told you I was good at languages.”
“You’re not good. You’re exceptional if you can decipher it so quickly.” Sam was practically vibrating with excitement. “What do you think he means about death to those who aren’t, what was it?”
“Ordained in the blood of their great mission,” he repeated. “In other words, if you aren’t a member and haven’t drunk of dragon blood.” He studied the writing on the page. “Why would it matter if they’ve drunk dragon blood or not?”
“Do you think there’s a basis to the curse, or is it just to scare anyone who might stumble across it?” She inserted the tip of the dagger under the next page and flipped it.
It was something to consider. “I don’t think the Knights are the type to do something without it having meaning.” Which meant the book was dangerous and could possibly be booby trapped in some way. “Blood of their great mission,” he repeated.
“They probably mean dragon blood, but since they couldn’t have found any, maybe they used some other sort of blood in their rites.”
“What makes you think they didn’t have dragon blood?”
Sam stopped looking at the book long enough to stare at him. “What makes you think they did?”
He pointed to the book. “This man could speak many languages fluently. He was educated, probably rich. Why would he use those exact words if they weren’t true?” He was playing devil’s advocate, but he really wanted to know Sam’s thoughts on the matter. Did she believe in dragons or not?
“People believe”—she pointed the dagger at him—“in fairies and mermaids, sea monsters and gods. Even the smartest, most intelligent people believe in the unbelievable. They’re able to see past the boundaries of reality. Without such people, we’d probably still be living in caves. But even great minds get things wrong sometimes.”
She honestly believed that. Sam didn’t think dragons were real. There was no way she was a member of the Knights. The last shred of doubt disappeared, but his tension remained. The book could still be deadly to them both.
“They thought the blood of a dragon could heal them of all illness, make them immortal.” He could practically see her mind working as she mulled his words.
“Poison.”
“What? Is there a recipe there for poison? Or maybe it’s one of the formulas they used to trap and enslave a dragon?”
Sam was shaking her head. “No. The paper might be infused with poison. It isn’t common, but some alchemists did such things. That way anyone who stole their journals and tried to read them would die.”
Ezra grabbed Sam and swung her away from the book. “You didn’t touch it, did you?” He knew she hadn’t, but that didn’t stop him from running his hands over her shoulders and down her arms.
“I’m fine,” she insisted. She held up her right hand, which still held the dagger. “See. Only the tip of the blade touched it. Besides, I might be totally off base. It might simply be words to scare an unwary reader away, much like the Egyptians carved such curses into the sides of sarcophagi.”
He knew Sam was right, but he was growing warier of the damn journal with each passing second. Sam patted his arm. “Let’s look at the next page.”
He didn’t like this book one damn bit. Everything the Knights touched was tainted and perverted in some way. It was their nature to do so. “Fine.”
He frowned as a thought occurred to him. “Did you handle the book when you first discovered it?” Maybe it wasn’t laced with poison. If it was, she’d have absorbed some of it. She might have gotten sick, maybe even died.
She shook her head. “No. I was too concerned about damaging it.” She patted his arm and positioned herself in front of the book once again. She held the tip of the blade just above the writing. “This seems to be some kind of spell or incantation.” She started to read the Latin words and the air in the room began to shimmer.
“Stop.” Ezra slammed the book shut.
Sam grabbed his hand and yanked it away. “What did you do? You’re not supposed to touch it. What if the leather has been poisoned?”
“Didn’t you feel that?” he demanded.
…
Sam was worried about Ezra. Not only had he touched the book with his bare skin, there was a wild fury in his eyes. But she couldn’t deny he was right. She tossed the dagger onto the desk and dragged her fingers through her hair, trying to dispel the uneasy feeling running through her. “I did feel something.”
It was best to be honest with him. “It was almost as though something was compelling me to read the words on the page, but why?” And how was it even possible?
“Because you can.” He grabbed the dagger and used it to flip the book back into the bag before sealing it tight. “Because you’re one in probably a handful of people alive who could simply pick up this book and read the contents.”
“I don’t understand. You’re making it sound as though the book has a will of its own.” And didn’t that just give her the willies. She’d been around ancient artifacts all her adult life, and she couldn’t deny that some items held unexplainable power.
“It does. It wants to trap a dragon.”
“But that’s crazy. There’s no such thing.” There was something in Ezra’s demeanor that was frightening her. He was more intense, more focused, more angry than he’d been in the short time she’d known him. That was it. He wasn’t just angry, he was furious.
“The book is dangerous and needs to be destroyed.” He made to grab it, but she wrapped her hands around his powerful forearm. It was like gripping steel.
“Why? It’s just a book.” But she didn’t believe that for one second. There was something about it, something compelling.
“Is it?” He glared at the small object. “And what would have happened if you’d finished speaking the words?”
“I don’t know.”
“You don’t know. And I don’t know, either, but I’m not willing to take a chance whatever you do will unleash something neither one of us can control.”
“This is crazy. You know that, don’t you?” She wanted reassurance when she suspected there was none to be had. “There’s no such thing as magic and curses.” She desperately wanted that to be true, but she had a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach she was wrong.
“No such things as magic and curses,” he repeated. She wanted the old Ezra back, the one that smiled and kissed her. This Ezra scared the crap out of her.
Right now, he was humming louder than any artifact ever had. That gave her pause. She only responded to ancient, dangerous artifacts, the kind that revolved around the mystical. She’d always believed the aura and power she picked up on were imbued by the belief and worship of the people using the artifact for decades, sometimes hundreds or thousands of years. This was the first time she’d ever had to face the fact that the artifacts themselves might be the source of the power. It was also the first time a person had ever given her that sensation.
“Just as there are no such things as dragons?”
She nodded slowly, afraid to do anything that might set Ezra off. As frightening as he was, she wasn’t afraid for her safety but for his. There was no telling what he might do if she set him off. Was the power from the book affecting him? Maybe some poison was leaching into his system from where he’d touched it.
That had to be it. “We should wash your hand and get you to a hospital.”
Ezra shook his head. “What?”
Sam nodded. “The binding of the book. There could be poison pumping through your body right now.”
The look he gave her was incredulous. “You think I’m out of my mind because of poison?”
“Yes.” She had to believe it, because the alternative was too scary.
He put his hands on her shoulders and yanked her close. He was big and scary, yet all she wanted to do was burrow closer. She had to help him.
“I’m not crazy,” he told her. “The power of the book is real.”
“How can you know?” she demanded. She was walking on unsteady ground, as though her view of reality was about to be pulled from beneath her.
“Because, sweet Sam, I’m a drakon.”