Chapter Fourteen
TALIK
“I want to help.” Rieka lowered herself to the double sofa opposite Talik and Khalida. The white leather almost engulfed her. Placing her hands in her lap, Rieka appeared meek. He was not falling for it.
The blood of Atlantean royalty and the Anki ran through her.
And as the lost heir of the royal House of Atlas, she was key to finding Atlantis and stopping the O’hurani.
If only Rieka could learn to wield the deadly violet flame that she had inherited from Vandana, they would actually stand a chance of succeeding.
More than eleven thousand years ago, Vandana had used the fire to decimate the Anki and force the O’hurani into hibernation.
If they couldn’t kill the gods, they could send them back to where they belonged, somewhere buried deep within the earth.
Or outer space. He didn’t care, as long as they weren’t near Atlanteans or humans.
“I am not sure Dante would appreciate the sentiment,” said Talik.
Nope. He was not getting involved. His boss had the power to banish him to Antarctica, and he was not designed for the frigid cold or the lack of access to good coffee on a daily basis.
Rieka narrowed her eyes as annoyance rolled off her. “I am not an object. Humans have free will and agency.”
Talik laughed. “Tell that to Dante.”
Rieka turned her attention to Khalida, who appeared engrossed in a book and happy to ignore the rest of the world.
She had been in the same position, legs tucked under her, head leaning against the wall, for most of the flight.
Every so often he had caught her looking over her book, but she always averted her gaze before he could say something.
If she wanted to play coy, he was willing to let it go, for now.
“Life choices have consequences.” Khalida flipped the page, never taking her eyes away from the book. “And yours is a six-foot-four Atlantean who had never heard the word no before you came along.”
Talik choked on his water at the comment, coughing uncontrollably. In his periphery, Dante walked along the aisle toward them. The virtual meeting with Kade must have ended. It took a few more seconds to regain his composure. “It is true.”
Not that either he or Khalida should lecture anyone on life choices. Look at theirs.
Rieka glanced at Dante. Her eyes flickered from gold to red—the color bled into the whites. The only hint of her Atlantean heritage, until recently. “I was offering to help.”
Dante paused. He was smart enough to realize his usual stoic answer would not work with Rieka. Not unless he wanted to be yelled at.
Talik almost felt sorry for him, but it was far too amusing to watch Dante navigate the new situation.
“We don’t know how the gauntlet will react in Rome. The link to the Anki may be silent for now, but it may not last.” Dante stood behind Rieka, absently playing with a long, dark curl.
Talik stared at Rieka. The loose black sweater she wore hid the thin orichalcum gauntlet that had embedded itself into her arm, covering her from her wrist to elbow. The accessory allowed Rieka to be mentally linked to the Anki and the O’hurani.
“You will be a target, and it may take away from what we need to do,” Khalida said.
She closed the book, tucking a silver strand of hair behind her ear as she surveyed them with the grace of a goddess before pinning her gaze on Dante.
“But you can give us more information about what you experienced in the catacombs.”
“There is not much to tell.”
“But it could be enough to help them,” Rieka coaxed. She tugged at Dante’s hand, dragging him down next to her, until he sat flush by her side.
To Talik’s surprise, Dante didn’t hesitate.
“What was it like?” Khalida asked.
“Cold. An absence of sound and light.”
Rieka entwined her fingers with Dante’s.
Talik wanted to look away, the moment too intimate, reminding him of what he had voluntarily lost. He glanced up at Khalida to see if she’d noticed.
“An echo of something ancient existed on the edge of our senses. A darkness that was always beyond our reach. I had almost forgotten it until we faced Idris in Egypt.”
Khalida adjusted herself, kicking out her long legs. “Was there anything else?”
“Time had no meaning down there. What we assumed was mere hours turned out to be three days.”
“We shouldn’t send them alone,” Rieka blurted out as she turned to face Dante, concern etched on her features.
“It has to be us,” Khalida coolly interrupted.
She held up her wrist, peeling back the thin dark shirt she wore so they could all see the consort mark.
“This mark will be our saving grace. There isn’t anything that can be offered or used to sway us that we will both agree to.
Neither of us care about finding Atlantis—that is what they offered Chaucer and Idris. ”
“Dante can go.”
“No,” the three of them instantly answered.
Rieka let out a frustrated sigh. “Why not?”
“Because you need to be protected, and Dante is one of the few people who will not be tempted to hand you over for his greatest desire,” Khalida answered. “They think you are a key to finding Atlantis and resurrecting their king.”
Dante had proven it in Egypt when he’d chosen Rieka over ultimate power and Atlantis.
“Not an object,” muttered Rieka under her breath. “What about reinforcements who aren’t us?”
“Kade will be in Rome,” Dante said.
Rieka scrunched her nose. “Redhead with dark wraparound glasses?”
“Yes. The hunter has access to restricted archives that may help us find a clue as to what was in the catacombs and the reason for sealing them.”
Rieka chewed her lower lip. “Is that it?”
“One hunter is more than enough,” Khalida interjected.
“I will have personnel stationed in Rome. There have been some unusual sightings of large wildcats within the old underground tunnels.”
Talik snorted before he stretched out his legs. “I am pointing out again that for a species that is supposed to be extinct, it sure has been lively in the last month.”
Khalida rolled her eyes as she folded her arms. After a heartbeat too long, Talik forced his attention away before Khalida caught him ogling her.
“Can we have access to weapons and your armory?” Khalida asked.
“Yes.”
Giddiness rolled off Khalida. Talik hid a smile behind his hand.
“Kade has assured me the blasters have been calibrated to take down a serpopard,” Dante added, before he gave them both a pointed glare that would brook no argument. “The aim is to find the relic and remain undetected.”
“I prefer to carry enough firepower so we will not be disadvantaged.”
Khalida was preparing for war, which suited Talik. “How long do we have?”
“Six hours.”
Rieka coughed, drawing everyone’s attention.
“I may be able to offer some useful information. I did a group project at college that used a ground-penetrating radar to map the catacombs of Rome. The archaeological project suddenly ended ‘for lack of funding’ when we started to create detailed schematics of the catacombs. The college archived the information.” Rieka shrugged.
“But you kept a copy,” Talik finished for Rieka.
“I can bring it up.” She pulled out a tablet and swiped through a few pages. “Here we go. From the study, we determined the tunnel to be approximately three and a half miles long.”
The space between them pixelated as an image formed, and a three-dimensional hologram took shape between them.
Dante pulled Rieka close, until she half leaned against him.
It didn’t take long before a grainy schematic of the catacombs appeared.
The resolution wasn’t perfect, and there were huge tracts of the tunnel missing—blank spots on the hologram, which could mean anything.
Talik moved closer, using his fingers to enlarge the image until he could barely see Khalida.
“It seems fairly straightforward. One main tunnel, with one, two...” He continued to count the small black dots—what looked like smaller openings that led away from the path.
“Thirteen potential side branches that could: One. Lead us farther into the underground tunnels. Two. Be nothing. Or three. My favorite. Be used to set up an ambush.” He ignored the death stare from Khalida. “I am not wrong.”
Dante leaned forward, spinning the hologram until it faced him.
“We entered from this entrance.” He pointed to the area closest to him.
“We followed the stairs. There was a short corridor barely high enough for us to walk through before we entered the main catacombs. The path ran along the center with oversized crypts on either side.”
“When did you realize you were lost?” Rieka asked.
“Hours later. We must have been circling the entire catacomb, but we always returned to the same section.”
Khalida shifted in her seat. She grabbed the leather backpack next to her, unzipping it before she pulled out a thin black folder. “Where did you find the symbol?”
“Idris found it on our fourth search. On an archway, near the middle. It was on the edge, half hidden by moss. The sound of running water drew us to it.” Dante pointed to a dark line in the schematic.
A black mark, grainier than the rest, protruded from the wall.
“We found it just as our candles were dying.”
The soft hum of the plane filled the cabin.
“What is the plan?” Dante asked.
Talik almost fell out of his chair—the Atlantean never voluntarily relinquished control.
Talik’s mind began running through scenarios, formulating what they needed to do.
It had been decades since he’d done any mission planning, but it felt like he’d never left.
“It should be relatively easy to retrace your steps—we have the added advantage of technology.”
“Only if it works,” Khalida interrupted Talik.
Talik chuckled but didn’t disagree. “Any more than two or three individuals in the confined space will create an unnatural heat pattern. If anyone is paying attention to the catacombs, it will let them know we are down there.”
Holding the folder with her left hand, Khalida turned the hologram so it faced them.
“We move quickly. We can set up scanners at the entrance of the branches once we have cleared them—if there is anything larger than an oversized rodent within three hundred feet of the main catacombs, it will set off a silent alarm linked to us.”
“If the scanners are triggered, we return,” Talik said, emphasizing the last word. It would be enough of a warning that they had time to react. She nodded in agreement.
“We will also survey the area from the surface,” Dante added.
“Once we have secured the area, we can begin the search,” Khalida answered, excitement edging her tone.
Talik was not surprised.
“Moving backward from the farthest end will buy us the most amount of time and ensure that we don’t have any surprises as we make our way back to the library.
” Khalida’s finger danced in the gray light as she traced the path they were to travel.
“Six hours may be pushing it if there have been any landslides.”
It sounded like a decent plan. As long as Khalida was serious about returning at the mere hint of something down there with them.
“And Kade?” Rieka asked. Her gaze was still entirely transfixed on the hologram.
“He will need time to search through the hunters’ archives.” Dante tapped his knee. “Their records date back pre-Rome and may hold some valuable information.”
Khalida raised an eyebrow but said nothing. He knew that look well. This would not be the last of that conversation.
“Did Sypha tell you anything else?” Rieka asked, finally taking her gaze off the hologram.
Talik snorted. “No. ‘Search for the symbol of Ninhursag, and you will find an ancient relic’ were their exact words.”
Dante chuckled. “Sypha isn’t purposely vague.”
Talik wasn’t sure if Dante was trying to convince himself or the rest of them.
“What about Chaucer?” Rieka continued. She tugged at her sleeve, the one that covered the gauntlet.
“Nothing,” Talik answered. Not that he was surprised.
Dante’s eyes narrowed on Rieka. “What did Chaucer say to you?”
When had Chaucer talked to Rieka? By the annoyance that flashed over Dante’s face, he had also been unaware of the interaction.
Rieka’s eyes narrowed at Dante before she glanced at Talik and Khalida. “He said the Anki do not like iron.”
Talik tapped the armrest. He didn’t trust Chaucer, but that was the second time iron had been mentioned. And he didn’t believe in coincidences.
Khalida opened the folder, slipping out the decrepit scroll. Now blank, there was no hint of the rotating archaic glyphs. She held it up to the light. The paper appeared even more time worn than before.
Talik hoped it wasn’t a warning.