“But the deal was worked out.”
Rhane checked the time. “I’ve had several meetings with a Chinese contact. Going in, I knew his loyalties were dubious but he was the one with access to what I needed. For years he’s been a respectable custodian for the remnants of our culture.”
York scoffed. “I remember how he got the reins in the first place.”
“Yeah, like I said, dubious.” Rhane paused in thoughtful distaste. “When I flew to Baotou, he changed the place of meeting to coordinates within the Greater Khingan mountain range near the Mongolian border. An American team was on site, apparently with a contract to dig. Those idiots set off a blast that left my ears ringing for hours.”
York’s interest was piqued. “What do you think they were looking for?”
“I don’t know, but there is something buried in those mountains that doesn’t need to be found…especially by humans.”
“I bet your contact, Tsai, knew what they were looking for.”
“I’m sure he does. He requested the meeting so I would see the search team.”
York lifted an eyebrow. “Is that what he said?”
Rhane shook his head. “He was indifferent to the Americans blasting holes so close to sacred ruins.”
York waited for him to say more, but Rhane had fallen into a pensive silence. Good thing York didn’t mind interrupting. “Just so we’re clear…….Tsai wasn’t suspicious—and that made you suspicious?”
Rhane trained his focus on York again. “My concern right now is getting the statue back. Tsai thinks someone pretending to be with the dig snuck in and stole it. And that man works here.”
“How do you know it was a man? It could’ve been a sexy cat burglar. That would be way more interesting.”
Rhane continued as if York hadn’t spoken. “A few days ago, Kalista was carrying a file from this place. I didn’t have long to look at it, but the unfinished permits and bogus coordinates stood out like a red devil in a Christmas parade. Beneath the fluff some of it was real. Doesn’t 43-94’N sound familiar to you?”
York’s fingers drummed again. “My geography is rusty, but those sound like desert coordinates. It’s worth checking out.”
“There were pictures too, actual drawings of the artifact. Kalista has seen the statue. She just didn’t know what she was looking at. When I saw the pictures in her possession, I knew I needed to talk to Tsai in person. But I hoped my suspicions were wrong.”
“Well, you’re not wrong very often.” York nodded toward the building. “You think this guy is dumb enough to stash the stolen goods at home base?”
“Let’s go find out.”
They left the truck without further discussion. Rhane took the lead with York close at his heels. Their progress was silent and swift, moving with the night instead of through it. A pair of headlights swept by and they quickly ducked into the shadow of a neighboring building. The car passed and they glided forward again, this time stopping at the rear wall of Mack Ventures.
York waited. “Alarm?”
Rhane pointed up. “Not on the second floor.”
York followed the finger and spotted a small window in the darkness. “Do you want me to climb up and check things out? I doubt I’ll be able to disable any alarms to let you in.”
Rhane smirked and placed his hands on the building’s linoleum sidings. “Follow my lead.”
York watched and waited, holding his breath as Rhane scaled up the side of the building. If Rhane had overestimated his abilities, an awkward plunge to the pavement would soon follow. The fall wouldn’t kill him but might slow him down for a few days and leave a bad bruise on his ego. York lingered until Rhane was halfway to the window. Then he started up the wall. Moving at a much quicker pace, he reached the top only seconds after Rhane.
The window was unlocked. Rhane slid it open, slipping through easily with a smile. It felt good to be back. He checked himself.
Well
,
you’re not
back yet
.
York’s head popped into the opening. His face was plastered with an excited grin. “That was wicked!”
Shaking his head, Rhane offered a hand to help haul the bigger man inside. He only had a second to worry if his massive shoulders would fit. Then York’s body abruptly stopped moving forward at chest level. Besides his head, only an arm and part of one shoulder had made it through.
York looked at Rhane with disgust. “Did you think about this?”
Frowning, Rhane put a finger to his lips. “These cameras have audio.” He examined the wedge made between the small window and York’s body. “This is going to hurt.”
With one hand clamped firmly across York’s mouth, Rhane dragged him forward. An anguished moan wheezed from between York’s lips, preceded by an alarming popping sound and followed by the grating of skin against metal and wood. Rhane eased him to the floor but did not relax his hold until the murder left York’s eyes.
“
OUCH
,” he whispered savagely and used several other colorful expressions when Rhane released him.
Rhane waited a moment before moving forward, giving York time to gather composure. Then he led the way across the room, keeping close to the walls to stay within the cameras’ most probable blind spots. He reached the stairwell and looked over his shoulder to make sure York was still with him. The big guy was pissed. But he was keeping up, supporting the shoulder as he moved.
The stairs went to the first floor, a sizeable room filled with cubicles and assorted office furniture. Rhane scanned until he found the desk that smelled the most like Kalista. He made a motion for York to follow.
The surface of her desk was organized but overwhelmed with folders, charts, and binders. Rhane opened a drawer and was rewarded with even more stuff. Meeting York’s eye, he shook his head once.
York nodded in agreement. “You need Rion for this.”
Rhane turned his attention to the desktop computer. A blinking power light belied the dormant monitor. He tapped the mouse. Seconds later, the screen hummed to life and a photo of Kali and a tall, blond kid wallpapered the background. Someone had captured a candid moment on film as they laughed in mid-kiss. Rhane’s left eye twitched. He swept over the icons and found a folder labeled “4394” conveniently saved to the desktop. Double clicking, he opened the file.
York spoke for them both, “This is serious doo doo.”
Rhane punched a few keys and waited while the computer worked. “There is another level.”
“I’m right behind you, fearless leader.”
Chapter 34
Rhane closed the screens and manually returned the computer to a low power state. They took the stairs to the basement and were greeted with the building’s most highly secured level. A latticework of infrared lasers barred every route, lacing through the entire room of artifacts, protecting them from anyone who desired to relieve the company of their worth.
Rhane started forward. “Watch your step.”
“Wait.” York grabbed his arm. “Can you see them?”
“Yeah,” Rhane said, and shrugged the hand off.
Avoiding the laser grid required the combined skills of a gymnast and a contortionist. But their superhuman agility conquered the obstacle with little difficulty. At the far corner of the basement, Rhane halted. A deeper sense told him that he had reached The Siren’s Heart. He also knew Kalista had stood in the exact same spot only a short time before. What happened to her after she saw the statue, he could only guess. But it had ended with him, at the mansion.
Rhane studied three cameras positioned above and around the exhibit. More than likely, using the dial to illuminate what was inside would activate them if not an alarm itself. Unfortunately, the opaque screen guaranteed the artifact could not be viewed otherwise.
York stood quietly behind Rhane. Maneuvering through the lasers had exacerbated the pain in his dislocated shoulder. But it didn’t diminish his sense of humor. “Too bad I left my x-ray vision in the other suitcase.”
Rhane let his fingers hover above the knob. Just past the exterior calm was a whirlwind of regret and anger. His own failings had carried them to this point.
Twisting the dial slightly to the right, he brought the light to a faint glow and instantly recognized the split figurine that was separate but entwined as one. One body was made of pure and ageless ivory and the other from flawless onyx. The opposites united into a tornado of color unmatched by any artists’ brush, and ended in the pitch of darkness.
Rhane reached underneath his jacket, releasing the Desert Eagle from its shoulder harness. The gun dangled at his side as he made a decision.
“I’m pretty sure the glass is bullet proof,” York offered.
“Not to this it isn’t.” Rhane raised the weapon. “Get ready.” He fired three shots in rapid succession. A framework of spider webs appeared with the impact of each bullet, spreading across the glass like cracking ice. The display collapsed upon itself, and Rhane reached inside to retrieve the statue. As soon as his fingers touched it, he realized something was very different.
“What’s that smell?” York asked.
Rhane couldn’t reply. So familiar…the smell stirred something. A memory? Perhaps a vision?
He let out a startled gasp as foreign energy took hold of his mind.
Suddenly, a full moon loomed above his head like a beacon, breathing light across dark waters. No…it was a sea of sand. Rhane reached down and gathered a handful, letting the silken grains drizzle from between his fingers. The wind whisked them away, returning the dust to the sandy shores of the desert. The smell of monkshood and heather filled his nostrils.
Then a monster rose out of the sands. Humans surrounded the ugly beast, worshipping it. Howling creatures emerged from the night to join them. They circled the humans hungrily, four-legged shadows in the night. The creatures began to absorb the humans. The monster smiled, and looked up at Rhane with red eyes full of hatred.
Pain shot through his skull like a hot knife. He blinked against the agony. When his eyes opened again, the pain was gone.
But now…they are surrounded! Kalista…she’s in danger. There’s no escape. The monster is coming. It runs across the desert sands, fueled by ravenous hunger. A horde of its minions follow in eager pursuit.
Pain sliced through Rhane’s mind again.
He can’t see anything. The tunnels!
Here
, a voice speaks to him. There is blood on the walls. It smells like his blood. Rhane shudders. Blue symbols appear in the old language. He can’t read them.
Here
, it whispers again. The doors open. York is screaming. Rhane looks at him, unable to understand. York’s lips are moving. GET INSIDE. Pain. In his head. Gets worse. He can’t move. RHANE. GET INSIDE. Something is shaking him. His head snaps back and forth, threatening to roll off his shoulders. York’s face is less than an inch from his. He looks very worried.
Rhane let go.
He left the dark sands behind and was met with a shockwave of activity bursting its way through the fog that clouded his mind. All around him, lasers flashed like seizure inducing strobe lights. Sirens wailed in the near distance. It was more than enough to overload his senses.
He heard York speaking to him in a terse whisper. “Rhane, buddy, whatever this is, you gotta snap out of it. In less than a minute cops are going to be crawling all over this place.” Rhane didn’t respond, so York shook him.
Rhane winced. That part was real.
“You’re bleeding.”
He followed York’s wide-eyed gaze, bringing one hand to the side of his head. His fingers came away wet and sticky with blood.
“Are you hurt?”
He didn’t understand what had happened. The events he’d seen had taken place somewhere very far away, but he had been there. The smell and feel of everything had been as real as the heavy statue he held. Yet, he and York were in the basement of Mack Ventures. And he was almost sure they’d never left. Rhane looked down at his hands. The Siren’s Heart. Only it wasn’t.
York shook him again. “We have to go
now
.”
Rhane shoved away, staggering backward with the effort. His head felt wrong. “That’s not helping.”
“
I need you to be here,
” York said through clenched teeth.
Sirens wailed again. They were just outside. Rhane looked at York. “Let’s move.” The statue slipped from hands. York caught it before it hit the floor. “Leave it,” Rhane ordered.
York stared at Rhane like he was out of his mind. “This is what we came for.”
“No it isn’t. Leave it,” he repeated.
They plunged into the grid. With the alarm already triggered, there was no need to avoid the lasers. They reached the stairwell in seconds. York got there first and took the stairs in several leaps. Rhane followed closely. They darted across the second level and to their original point of entry. Rhane slid out the small window, bracing himself against the building in case York needed help. But the dislocated shoulder made York’s escape much easier than his entry and didn’t slow him as they descended the wall.