29. Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter 29
A chill ran through Rieka.
The statue was not worth dying for, but someone out there thought it was. She tugged the top of her gown, trying to find some wriggle room so she could get undressed. She didn’t want to think about what had just happened—couldn’t even fathom what could do that amount of damage to a body. The freak-out would need to wait until she was out of Egypt, and hopefully not in an Atlantean prison somewhere. Or dungeon. She just had to focus on what she could fix and compartmentalize the rest. It was one of her superpowers—to the horror of her therapist.
Three days left. The statue was missing, and she was almost guaranteed to be accused of murder or some other nefarious plot. If House Mestor had any sway. She just hoped Dante would keep his word.
“Fuck.”
The damn dress was stuck. She wouldn’t be able to traipse around the Arx in a ball gown. It wouldn’t exactly be incognito… although it may make a good alibi. Clandestine rendezvous seemed to be part of the gala’s agenda. She touched her lips and remembered the feel of Dante’s mouth against hers.
Nope. No more distractions.
This place almost felt like home. Despite the promise to her mom, she didn’t understand why she was told to stay away from Egypt. Atlantean politics didn’t interest her, but the secrets this place held, the whispers of promises, of untold treasures at her fingertips Dante had alluded to… any sane person would have given up their souls for this opportunity.
Rieka tugged one last time. She winced at the sound of the material ripping, but she had finally dislodged the zipper.
For a few hours, she’d felt like a queen. But she had no genuine interest in playing the diplomatic game long term. The Atlanteans could have their galas and negotiations. All she wanted was their ruins.
She picked up the dress and gently placed it on the bed. Rieka wasn’t a total barbarian; the dress would hopefully be salvageable. The bronze bracelet caught the light and softly shimmered. She should take it off, but no one would be the wiser if she kept it on for a few more hours. After rummaging through her pile of clothes, she sniffed the black long-sleeve top and her cargo pants. Rieka grabbed her boots. If she needed to climb or move quickly, she didn’t want to create any trip hazards. It was time that she did some of her own sightseeing. She had promised herself a closer look at Vandana’s flame, and now was the perfect opportunity.
The front door was out of bounds. Talik and the guards were on babysitting duty and would likely not let her leave the room. Which left the balcony.
The air was crisper than she was expecting as she walked out, but the stars offered enough light that she wouldn’t need her flashlight. Rieka strode to the banister to study the wall. The outer layer was sandstone, but over the millennia the wall had developed pit holes, big enough that she could grasp with her fingers and maneuver herself around. It would not be easy or pretty, but it was doable.
Rieka calculated the path she would need to follow, tracing the imaginary line in her mind as she worked out the safest and most efficient route. She had to go up and around before beginning her descent to the ground floor. Once she was at the entrance of the Arx, she should have access to the flame. If Talik had been telling her the truth, and no one had restricted it since the gala. The echo of loud music informed her that what had occurred in the vault was not widespread knowledge.
It took her a few more minutes before she was happy with the path and had committed it to memory. The route was going to be hard, but not arduous. As long as she ignored the eighty-foot drop. Nothing like a challenge and her own mortality to make her try harder.
A stabbing pain shot through her arm as she doubled over. She closed her eyes as she let it wash over her with gritted teeth. Small pulses continued to run through her arm, each pulse sharper and longer than the one before. “Damn it.”
Warm liquid trickled down her hand. She was too focused on the pain to register what she saw. Blood splattered on the floor.
“What the hell?” Despite the pain, she pulled back her shirt sleeve and tried to pull the bracelet off. Excruciating pain hit her, and she stumbled to the ground. Her body was burning from the inside out. The arms of the bracelet had pierced her skin in six different places, inserting themselves into her flesh. She tried again to pull at a singular arm. It slid deeper into her.
A barrage of voices slammed into her mind as darkness and sweet oblivion descended.
Rieka turned, unsure of where she was. One minute she had been on the balcony in unbearable pain, and now she was in the middle of a desert.
She cupped the sand, watching it slowly seep through her fingers.
She had been here before.
The world shimmered as large columns erupted from the surrounding ground. Within a blink of an eye, walls encircled her. Another blink and the walls retreated, leaving her alone in the desert. The stars glittered in the darkness. Hundreds of millions of small white specks frolicked against the blackness.
Pale moonlight shone like a bright spotlight on an auburn-haired woman, who appeared out of place in the desolate desert. The woman wore rose-gold armor that shimmered in the moonlight. Her helmet covered most of her features. There was nothing soft about the being in front of her. This was a woman about to go to war.
Vandana.
Two small children followed the woman, one black-haired girl and a golden-haired boy. They both looked about six years old. Twins. They wore simple pale blue shifts.
Rieka wanted to reach out to them, but she wasn’t able to move. Her limbs felt heavy, as if she was anchored in place. The echo of waves crashing against the beach surrounded her. The air was tinged with sulfur. But still, she couldn’t place where she was supposed to be. Or what time period.
The woman turned to the children and kneeled in front of them; she said something, but the words were lost in the wind. Rieka felt like an outsider watching the intimate scene.
Vandana nodded to the little boy, then turned her focus to the girl. She pulled at something from beneath the armor before she removed her helmet. Rieka caught sight of the bronze bracelet, the same one she wore. Vandana removed what looked like a necklace and handed it over to the little girl. Rieka’s pendant.
“If it changes temperature, it is a warning. Run as far as you can, to the ends of the world. They will not stop until they find you. The pendant will be enough warning, as long as you adhere to it.”
The girl grabbed it from Vandana and hastily pulled it over her head, hiding it beneath her tunic. The boy tugged at the girl’s arm. She resisted. He ignored her protests and attempted to drag her across the knoll. She initially refused to budge but quickly lost the fight to her brother.
There was something Rieka wasn’t getting. Why did it seem so damn familiar?
Vandana placed the helmet back over her head as dark clouds littered the sky.
The little girl turned, freed herself from her brother, and screamed. It was the first time Rieka could see her face.
The world seemed to stop as Rieka stared at the girl. A sense of dread filled her as recognition dawned on her. It wasn’t possible.
The girl had the same pale blue eyes as her mom.
Seconds ticked by. The boy ran back to the girl and dragged her away. In a blink of an eye, the children were gone.
The world around Rieka exploded. Fire pranced along the horizon as all but one star was lost in the darkness. The ground sizzled as the world was covered in violet flames and ash.
Vandana rose from her knees. The sword in her left hand dangled precariously as if she could not hold on to the hilt anymore. The once shiny armor was covered in scratches and marks; no longer pristine, it bore the bloody scars of countless battles and the blood of the fallen.
Vandana swayed on her feet. Her fury was almost palpable. A violet flame sparked from her right hand and danced along her fingers.
Flame-colored eyes stared straight at Rieka.
“Run.”
The scent of death and decay slapped her across the face. The icy wind whipped around her. She swallowed; her mouth suddenly dry and her throat red raw, as if she had spent the last hour screaming. Everything ached. But she was back on the balcony. Alone. Dried blood coated the bracelet and the dull throbbing had returned. She wrapped her arms around her knees and tried to focus on the vision. It had felt so real. The sand against her skin, the warmth of the violet flame. The sheer terror that had overwhelmed her.
She touched her pendant, but it was ice cold—not hot like in the vision. She racked her brain; Lilian had mentioned nothing about the pendant. “Just a bad dream,” she muttered to herself. “Nothing like a potential concussion to finish the night.”
Frustration bubbled up in her. She was in no state to make the climb, not when she couldn’t trust her mind.
“You got this, Sinha.”
Try telling that to her body. Every muscle ached. Sluggishly, she stood and ambled back to her room. She could sleep for a couple of hours and then explore the Arx before most of the guests had recovered from the ball. It wasn’t the best plan, but it was the most realistic one she had. The smell of decaying flesh grew more pungent with each step. She half-sniffed her clothes; it wasn’t coming from her. It reminded her of the rotting-eggs smell in the temple in Turkey.
Rieka looked up as she reached the door. The stars twinkled storybook-like in the midnight sky. It made her feel both infinitely small and a part of something far bigger. The same night sky her mom had spent her life looking at it. A connection Rieka cherished, no matter how tenuous the link was.
Hiss.
“Fucking snakes.”
Rieka stopped. How the hell had a snake gotten up to her balcony? It’s not like they were renowned for their ability to climb buildings. They weren’t Australian snakes.
Talons scratched against the banister as something sinister appeared out of the darkness.
Orange eyes blinked at her.
A long black forked tongue flicked out as a giant paw silently stretched out from the darkness. It tilted its catlike head. Sharp canines caught the edge of the moonlight. They were stained yellow and brown and large enough to tear her apart.
The monster stared at her, its large nostrils sniffing the air.
A thousand voices exploded within her mind. The crescendo grew louder and louder with each haggard breath she took. Until it was so loud, she didn’t know where it began or finished. A second later, it was gone.
She must still be dreaming. She had only ever seen the creature depicted in her mother’s journal. The stench of its breath washed over her, the scent of death and decay. She almost threw up at the intensity. The hairs along her arm prickled.
Fireworks exploded in the sky.
It lifted onto its hind legs and let out a horrific guttural roar that chilled her to the bone.
The sound vibrated through her and sent every instinct she had on high alert.
Rieka yelled as she pulled the door open—then she slammed it with enough force that the glass rattled. Not waiting to see what the creature would do, she beelined to the journal and grabbed it before she sprinted toward the front door. Toward safety.
She hoped.