Chapter 9
CHAPTER 9
At Leo’s exclamation, a humble Ruth muttered, “It’s just stew and bread.”
“Hope you made enough for two, because I am famished.”
“Have a seat then, as I made plenty.” She turned from him, oddly tickled by his eagerness.
Ruth usually only cooked for herself, as she rarely invited people over, not because she hated folks but because her small circle of friends, most made while in college, had dwindled. As her friends married and started families, their gatherings had gone from a few times a month to a couple times a year to almost nothing. It didn’t bother her much. She knew how to entertain herself; visiting outdoor markets, going to plays, reading and movie-watching. However, seeing Leo’s eager face as he sat at the table that had appeared with a pair of chairs—Tower’s doing while she had her back turned—made her flush with pleasure.
How long since someone complimented her efforts? How long since she’d dined with someone other than an actor on television?
Having noted his slick hair and changed clothing, she asked, “Did you have a good workout?”
“Yeah. How did you know?”
“You look…” Her brain blanked out as the wrong words to utter came in a flood—Delicious. Tempting. Sexy. “More pumped than earlier,” she replied, indicating his bulging arms.
“Well, you did tell me I should exercise,” he stated.
“I thought you were handling the journal,” she replied as she brought him a bowl of the stew. The crusty bread already sat on a cutting board on the table beside a crock of butter.
“It’s being taken care of. I brought it to Aquarius. He’s scanning it right now. It will take a few hours, though. Apparently, even Tower can’t make the process faster. Speaking of the journal, if your dad disappeared, then how did it come to be in your possession?”
“Once it became clear he’d never return from his last excursion, his personal effects were shipped to my mom.” Ruth sat across from him with her own bowl of stew and reached for the bread knife, only to jolt as her hand brushed his doing the same. “Sorry,” she muttered.
“How thick?” he asked, holding aloft the serrated blade.
“Any size is fine.”
As he sliced, she struggled to find something to say. “Your tower is pretty amazing. The kitchen it poofed into existence is perfect for cooking.”
“It always knows what a person wants and needs.”
“Does it have any limits?” she asked, buttering her hunk of bread.
“Some. It can’t create living things. Nor can it recreate machinery or computers.”
She pointed to her appliances. “Then where did these come from?”
“Most likely a warehouse, given they’re name brand.”
“You mean it stole them?” She paused with her spoon half raised. “Wouldn’t theft go against your whole Zodiac-hero thing?”
He shrugged. “I don’t think Tower has a concept of right and wrong. It seems to exist to ensure we’re well-kept and fed. Most likely it sees it as taking payment for the service we provide.”
“What about the ingredients it provided?” she asked, tasting the stew and almost groaning in pleasure.
“There’s been conjecture about whether Tower actually conjures certain items and food from nothing or, like machines and other complex stuff, takes them from elsewhere.”
“You said it doesn’t do living things, yet food is biological by nature so what’s the difference between that and, say, bringing me a cat? Couldn’t it just relocate a stray here?”
His brow furrowed. “We’ve actually had debates about that. Could be anything with the ability to think or feel is forbidden. Could also be the way it brings stuff doesn’t handle the trip well.” He cleared his throat. “Speaking of trips, Aquarius was studying that picture your dad drew. While he didn’t have any luck matching it to any known doorways, he did manage to identify the foliage depicted. Some kind of vine that’s common to South America and a flower that’s apparently rare and usually only found in the wilds of Chile.”
“The last place my dad went to,” she murmured, ducking her head and stirring her soup.
“You’re sure that’s where he was working?”
She lifted her gaze to his. “Very sure. I remember getting a postcard from Chile a few weeks before the picture.”
“I don’t suppose it gave a return address?”
She shrugged. “It might have, but it’s long gone.”
“Well, Aquarius is scanning the thing and making sure to bookmark any pages with mention of Chile or doorways. Hopefully he’ll have it done soon, rather than later.”
“Eager to find the secret entrance?” she remarked. Eager to get rid of her, more likely.
“You heard Sage. It’s important we get to it first.” A reminder of the recent attackers looking to get their hands on the last known details of her father’s journey.
“Why would anyone care about some ancient ruin? How could an ancient artifact cause trouble for the entire world?”
“Dunno, but I do know if Cetus wants it so badly, then it’s important we don’t let them have it.”
“Who is Cetus?”
“The name of the company that we believe is behind the attack on you. They went after Scorpio when he went hunting for one of the three artifacts Sage claims are important. Nasty bunch. We thought we took care of them when we blew up their headquarters but should have known they wouldn’t give up so easily.”
“Why would they suddenly go after my father’s things? How would they know what’s inside his journal? Even I’ve never read it.”
He hesitated before saying, “Cetus has a seer like Sage who’s been guiding them.”
She blinked.
He rolled his shoulders. “Judging by your face, you think I’m full of shit, but they already admitted it. And even if they hadn’t, a seer working for their side explains a bunch of stuff. Like how they knew Scorpio would find a door in Antarctica that held an important artifact. And how they could be there when he emerged from the glacier with it. How they managed to get a drone past Tower’s defenses to spy. How they predicted an ambush and counter-ambushed, kidnapping Scorpio and his scientist lady friend. And more recently, the interest in your dad’s stuff.”
Her mind tried to process a world where people could predict the future. How utterly terrifying. Ruth doubted she’d want such a curse. “If they have a seer as you claim, why wouldn’t they have broken into my place when I was, say, at the grocery store or out running an errand or visiting friends?”
“According to Sage, she doesn’t always see things clearly. Hints and pieces give her something to work with but isn’t foolproof.”
“Which is why this other person can’t see where the doors are.”
“My guess is the doors have the same kind of protective magic as Tower, making them hard to find.”
“If they like to hide, what makes you think you’ll be able to locate one, then?”
“Because I have to. Besides, I’ve got something they don’t have.”
“What?”
He tossed a grin in her direction. “You.”