Chapter 9
Discovery
Nighttime had arrived, but the lights coming from below almost kept the moon and stars at bay. Neither did the noise abate. Garenth had hoped that the squawking and growling would lessen after the sun god went to sleep, but nothing seemed to change. If anything, it almost became more frenetic.
He’d come to the conclusion that sitting atop this tall temple would not help him find the missing vial. He needed to move about while keeping his senses open for it. At least the semi-darkness would help somewhat in keeping him out of the public eye.
Shoving himself away from his perch, he soared over the streets clogged with litters. This era was filled with many marvels that were nearly magical in their construction. He’d seen enormous boats moving upon the waters. Boats which needed no sails, and he assumed no oars. More astounding were the loud birds who moved overhead. Birds whose wings never flapped.
There was so much to take in, and deep down he hoped he could explore the wonders of this new world. But first, the vial.
Something tugged at him, like an invisible rope. He followed the siren call as he wove between the tall temples, soaring on the warm air currents rising from the streets. Within minutes he found himself gliding over the treetops, skimming just above their surface as the pull grew stronger.
Large buildings ringed the area of trees, almost barricading the greenery with their stone walls. One in particular, a large rectangular block, drew him to it. He circled the structure several times, looking for a way in. He didn’t want to use the large doors which faced the street. He needed a back way. A rear entrance. A rooftop opening. Perhaps a window.
A light glinted off a shiny surface. It was on the side of the building where the glare from a tall lantern was blocked by another tree. Landing, he strode across the expanse of greenery that covered the ground, up to the wall of stacked stone blocks. It looked like a window, except there was a thin sheet of some sort of clear rock covering it. He scraped it with one talon. It squealed like an iron blade on rock, but it didn’t appear to be impenetrable. Pressing his palm to the covering, he sensed a slight vibration. There. What he sought lay just beyond, on the other side.
The mother idol.
After giving the window another close examination, he made his decision. Walking some distance away, he turned to face the strange clear wall. Spreading his wings, he lifted himself high into the air, then swooped down, his head tucked as he hit the window.
The clear wall shattered like a thousand drops of solid water. The pieces flew inward as he dove into the building. He hit the floor and rolled, but immediately jumped to his feet. At the same time, the darkened room lit up. A raucous noise screeched overhead, and he realized he must have triggered an alarm.
The room was filled with large creatures. Some were nothing more than skeletons. Knowing there was no time or place to hide, what he did next was purely instinctive. Pressing his back against the nearest wall, he dropped into a crouch and froze in that position.
Several people in odd-looking clothing rushed into the room and went directly to the busted window. They examined the destruction. One man tried to see outside but the sill was too high up off the ground. He left the room as the other two began checking the place for signs of the intruder. As Garenth expected, they glanced over at him but neither man found his being there odd or out of place.
He continued to watch as they conversed among themselves, speaking in a language he didn’t recognize. They checked the room again, bypassing him as if he belonged there. The third man rejoined them, and by their actions he could tell they were stumped. Finally, they left, and the lights were doused.
Garenth remained there, listening to the sound of their voices and footsteps as both died away. He would wait and give the men time to grow lax before moving on.
The mother idol was here. Its presence was almost a quivering in the air. All he had to do was follow its silent call. That, and have a little more patience. After thousands of years, he was in no rush.
* * *
It was long past quitting time, but Brielle couldn’t call it a day without checking out the unusual little idol she’d stashed in her uncle’s desk safe. All during her meeting, she’d spent the time drawing a picture of it on her notes, trying to get it as life-size as possible as she recalled the features on its face.
She’d handled similar statuettes before. Usually referred to as Venus figurines, they were generally maternal in shape, meant to boost fertility or promise the owner children who would live to see adulthood. But those idols were always featureless, without faces or discernable hands or feet. Just the noticeable breasts, wide hips, and sometimes the labial slit between the legs.
Why this particular Venus had a face, and a horrendous looking one at that, was a mystery. Which was why she was eager to sit down when she had some free time to study it under a magnifying glass. But since she had no idea how hectic things would get tomorrow, she debated with herself whether or not to scoot back over to the office after hours to do a little investigating off the clock.
Once the meeting was over, she allowed Tanner to talk her into getting some Thai food. In the middle of her red pork noodle soup, she realized she wouldn’t be able to get any decent sleep until her curiosity was assuaged. So when they were done, rather than head for home or spend the night at her sister’s place, she begged off, saying she had some work she needed to finish up before the next day.
She let herself into the museum via the side delivery door, into the large warehouse. A guard met her as she stepped into the main hallway.
“Trying to amp up those overtime hours, Miss Van de Camp?” the man she knew as Chancy teased.
“You know me. Once I get my hands on a new find, I’m like a dog with a bone.”
“Well, let me know when you’re ready to leave, and I’ll wait with you outside until the metro bus arrives.”
She thanked him for the gesture and took the elevator down to where the offices were located for the staff. Her first impression when she stepped into the hallway was that it appeared no one else was down here, or had returned since they’d left for the day. She was alone, and that was fine with her.
Maybe I can actually get something accomplished without having to answer questions or put out little fires every fifteen minutes.
She went directly to her uncle’s office. Grabbing a pair of latex gloves from the box mounted to the wall, she removed the idol from the desk drawer safe and sat in the chair. Clicking on the magnifying lamp, she swung the neck down to where she could examine the figurine more closely.
From the back, the idol looked like a typical mother statuette if one disregarded the gold band around its neck. Flipping it over, the sight of the hideously distorted facial features sent a chill through her, surprising her. She’d never had such a gut reaction to an art object before. Why did this one?
“You are one freaky looking gal,” she muttered. “So what are you supposed to represent? And why have you been given a bangle of gold?”
Pulling a sheet of paper from the printer tray behind her, she grabbed one of the pencils from the cup on the desk and began sketching the figure. She was deep into her work when the building erupted into a cacophony of shrieks.
Stunned, she sat there for a moment to assess what was happening. It was the burglar alarm, not the fire alarm. Someone had breached the premises after closing. She glanced down the hallway to make sure she had closed the main door. Reassured she’d locked it, she knew she wouldn’t have to leave. And at least one guard knew she was on the site. Breathing a sigh of relief, she looked back down at the idol…
And black despair sunk its claws into her stomach. The idol lay in two parts. Somehow she’d broken the head off of the body. Frantic, she searched for the missing piece, finally discovering it lying in her lap, between her thighs. She breathed a sigh of relief, until the gravity of what she’d done hit her like a blow to the gut. She’d destroyed a rare and irreplaceable piece of ancient Egyptian art, and she was about to become violently ill from the guilt.
The tiny gold band rolled between her fingers and fell onto the paper sketch.
Brielle blinked as her mind tried to comprehend what she’d just witnessed. The gold ring wasn’t part of the figurine?
Turning the idol upward toward the light, she noticed the slender opening in the thing’s neck. She picked up the head with her other hand and placed it under the magnifying glass. There, clearly, an extension jutted from beneath the skull.
“A stopper.” She caught herself starting to hyperventilate from the discovery. “This isn’t an idol. It’s a vial. This thing is a—”
The museum curator part of her brain took over, and she fought the inclination to sniff the miniature container. Holding the body back under the light, she peered through the lens. The interior wasn’t large. Plus, there appeared to be some kind of dried up residue left at the bottom.
She started. Residue?
“Oh, shit!”
Jumping up from the chair, she rushed over to the cabinet on the other side of the office and grabbed a couple of sterile swabs from a drawer. Taking them back to the desk, she broke one from its plastic wrap and carefully daubed the inside of the vial. After sealing that swab back into its wrapping, she repeated the act with the second swab. When she was finished, she placed both swabs inside the top desk drawer. They would go straight to research to be analyzed in the morning.
Picking up the gold ring, she set it back on the body, where it nestled perfectly in its miniature groove above the shoulders. And when she replaced the head, it also fit snugly and securely in place. The head was the cork for the body, and the ring sealed them together.
“Well, I’ll be damned.”
“That remains to be seen,” a strange voice spoke from the doorway.
Brielle glanced up in horror to find a black-clad man standing there, a pistol with a silencer pointed straight at her.