Carlotta and the Krius Scepter (Carlotta Series Book 1) (16 page)

28.
              
Krius

I took the Thampthis Box out of the holdall and placed it on the table.

 
“All this fuss over that,” Torin said. “Is the Krius really inside it?”

“Yes, hidden in the base. The instructions say if I strike it with my sword it will open. My sword’s in
London
.”

Torin picked the box up and examined it before giving it to Sara. She ran her fingers over the scratches where my face had once been.

“He must have loved you a great deal,” she said as she put the box back on the table.

“Enough to kill the last of the magicians in the world to give me that box,” I said bitterly. “Yes, he loved me that much.”

“But it worked,” Sara said in awe. “It’s kept the Krius safe for nearly five thousand years. And since you wouldn’t accept his gift, he removed your face from it so that grave robbers wouldn’t be able to use your likeness to find you.”

“That’s one interpretation,” I admitted grudgingly.

Brian picked up the box. I think it was the first time that he’d ever properly looked at it. “I don’t hear any voices. Did the voices name the sword you need to use as Excalibur?”

I banged my fist on the table. I have hated that stupid name for centuries. “It’s my sword. I never gave it a damned name because it’s
MY
sword. It was Peleus that came up with the name Excalibur. Isn’t that typical of a man, they even name their body parts.”

Brian looked down at his groin and blushed. Torin continued the argument for him.

“The lad’s right. It might be that you can use any sword.” He sounded excited.

I shook my head. That had to be the daftest idea I’d ever heard. Torin didn’t think so and continued with his argument.

“The box is tuned to you and nobody else. Only you could hear the voices. Maybe it’s designed to open for you, not for any particular sword you wield.”

I stood up in annoyance. “Since we don’t have a sword we can hardly test it, can we? Perhaps you could go out to a toy store and buy one?”

It was meant to be sarcasm, but Torin left the room at a run.

“He’s not actually going out to buy me a sword is he?” I asked Sara.

“He doesn’t need to,” she said, a smile playing at the corners of her mouth.

I felt Torin coming back, his steps causing vibrations on the mezzanine floor. He burst into the room carrying a sword wrapped in an oiled cloth. Putting it down reverently, he looked at me.

“My sword, from the time of Boudicca.”

I remembered that sword. It was far too gaudy for my tastes, a lot of decoration on the hilt and its sheath, all polished mother of pearl and semi-precious stones. I always wondered how he could bear to take it into battle knowing it would certainly be damaged in a fight. I waited for him to unwrap the sword, but he just stood there waiting.

Since he wasn’t going to do it I removed the oiled cloth to reveal the ancient sword. It was beautiful. Brian gasped behind me.

“Do they all look like that?”

I shook my head. “You’ve had it restored, Torin. It looks like it’s just been made.”

Torin growled a reply, though I could see he was pleased at our reactions. “I just look after my things better than you, Cear, and I avoided a lot of battles you didn’t.”

I pulled the bronze blade from its sheath and swung it experimentally. “A bit blade heavy.”

“It wasn’t made for a girl.”

“I’m not going to break something as beautiful as this on the box,” I told them. I meant it. This sword should be in a museum, not damaged in a futile attempt to get at the Krius.

“Maybe you don’t have to,” Brian said quietly. “Not if it’s magic.”

Sara took the box and put it on its side so its legs faced me. “Try tapping it.”

Feeling more than a bit of an idiot, I brought the edge of the blade down gently on the box. “Open,” I commanded, though I might have sounded more embarrassed than commanding. “There, I told you nothing would happen.”

“Look!” Brian shouted.

A sliver of light shone from where the blade had touched the surface of the box. It spread in both directions cutting the box neatly in two. The halves fell apart as though someone was moving them and the Krius dropped from inside the base of the box onto the table. The light faded and we all stared at the Krius.

Nobody made any move to pick it up. I was back in Atlantis, seeing Hankle with that broad smile on his face throwing the damned thing at me. Hankle had been so handsome, so alive, so full of himself. I felt a tear run down my cheek. Damn him and his friends to hell.

“Aren’t you going to pick it up?” That was Brian of course. Only the young can take the miracles of the world in their stride when we old ones dither. I reached forward and touched it with my index finger. It was warmer than I expected, but it didn’t vibrate as it had the last time I touched it. Maybe the battery had gone flat? It had been twelve thousand years since I last touched it, after all.

I lifted the Krius up from the table and hefted it in my hand. It felt the same temperature as me and it was heavy. Bands of gold decoration alternated with darker metals; the Krius was covered with symbols that meant nothing to me. There were no voices giving me instructions and no feelings that I was able to control the world. I was simply holding a warm metal rod. After a few moments thought, I tossed it to Brian, who clutched it to his chest in surprise.

“Does it do anything for you?” I asked, looking deep into his eyes.

“It’s warm,” he conceded.

“Warm enough to rule the world with?”

He waved it at me as though it was a wand, “Carlotta levioso,” he commanded. Nothing happened.

“I guess I should have attended wizarding school,” Brian said dismissively and tossed the Krius to Torin.

Torin held it up to the light and turned it in his hands. “It’s beautiful. I wonder how they made these symbols. They look etched, but the scepter’s perfectly smooth.” He handed it to Sara who waved it around to no effect.

I took it back when Sara offered it to me.

“In conclusion folks, we have a beautiful piece of art that might be useful in ruling the world if I was to hit people over the head with it, one at a time.”

“Perhaps the Atlanteans were joking with you,” Brian offered.

I shook my head. Hankle had been deadly serious when he said the Krius could be used to rule the world. Many had gone looking for it in the weeks and months after I threw it away, before the deluge that destroyed Atlantis. The magicians told everyone that the Krius was the most powerful object the world would ever see and that it would be found again when it was needed.

“What do we do now?” Brian asked.

That was a good question and I’d decided on the answer even before we freed the Krius from the box.

“The only way to end this is to kill Nevin and any other Fey who seek to own the Krius. Peleus is undoubtedly locked away in a cell somewhere so we can deal with him later.”

“We set up a trap for the Council?” Sara asked.

“In the warehouse?” Torin suggested. I shook my head. This place would be needed for us to regroup if it all went wrong.

“It’s obvious,” Brian said and winked at me. “We use
The Don’s
Penthouse.”

“The boy has a brain,” I told Torin, who looked instantly pleased. “And he’s right. The Penthouse is the perfect place to make a stand and there’s a pleasing symmetry to it.”

“And
The Don
will go along with this?” Sara asked.

“Oh, I think we can find ways to persuade him,” I said with certainty in my voice.

I waited in darkness in the seedy little office that looked as though it had last been renovated in the 1930’s. It was hot and I’d switched on the ceiling fan while I listened to the traffic two floors below. The blinds were up and street lamps and cars provided some illumination. He must have sought this place out. There was no way he could ever have found it by accident.

He stopped at the outer office door. I heard a match strike and saw its glare through the frosted glass between us. He unlocked the door and stepped into his secretary’s office. I thought he might stop there. He must have heard the ceiling fan rattling and would guess someone waited in his office.

The door to the office opened and his silhouette was framed in the office door. I could smell the cigarette he was smoking, Egyptian, harsh and acrid, but appropriate, all things considered.

“Hi Rex, it’s good to see you.”

He took off his hat. “Of all the joints in all the world…”

I got up from my chair and stepped into the neon light coming through the window. He drew a sharp breath. It’s always good when I have that effect on men.

“Ladies usually wear clothes…” he began and then stopped as I stepped closer to him.

“I owe you, Rex.” My hand strayed down his body and what I found was good, very good indeed. “You did well with
The Don
. Played it straight and delivered.”

He dropped the cigarette on the floor and ground it out with the toe of his shoe.

“I thought you’d end up in a brothel. A sex slave.”

“I’ve been worse places, done worse things.” I opened his belt and his pants fell to the floor. “Learned a few things in them too.”

He brought his lips to mine and I felt a tingle run through me. Strong hands caressed my back and I pulled him towards the armchair I’d been waiting in.

 
“So what do you want, Carlotta?” he asked half an hour later. He lit two cigarettes and gave me one of them. I took a drag, inhaling deeply, letting the nicotine into my lungs and through to my brain.

“I could have come just to express my gratitude.”

He laughed and then I laughed. I love intelligent men.

“I need a favor. One that’s right down your street.”

He said nothing and I waited long enough to smoke my cigarette halfway down.

“All you have to do is call a number I’ll give you and ask to speak to David Mersey. Tell him you know where the box is and where Cear Lotha is too.”

He stood up and went to a filing cabinet, coming back with a half empty bottle of rye whisky and two glasses. I watched as he poured two large drinks and handed me one.

“Mud in your eye,” he said as he downed his in one gulp.

“Cheers.” I copied him and tried not to cough as the liquor damn near ripped the lining from my throat. I knew where he got the husky voice from now.

“And where would you be?” His hand reached for my breast and I arched my back to give him the access he wanted. Rough hewn fingers caressed me softly and my nipples hardened.

“
The Don
’s Penthouse.” I used my legs to capture and pull him towards me.

“Is anybody gonna get hurt?” Where he put his hand made me gasp and I writhed under his touch.

“Only… the… bad… guys.”

As he replaced his fingers with something more appropriate, he whispered into my ear. “You’ll keep my mom safe?”

That brought a quiver of ecstasy that ran from the centre of my being to the tips of my extremities. I really do love intelligent men.

29.
              
 
Offer

It was nearly midnight before I got back to the rear of Lucky’s Casino & Hotel and let myself in. Brian was waiting for me out in the corridor, sitting on a chair he’d taken from the den.

“Did he do it?”

For a moment I misinterpreted the question and smiled at the memory. He certainly had done it, several times and very well too. Then I realized with a start what Brian meant.

“Not yet. I’ve asked him to wait till morning, just to make sure everything’s set up here. Has Torin gone?”

“He and Sara left a couple of hours ago. He’s still not pleased that you want to face Nevin with only me at your side.”

“He’ll get over it,” I said dryly. Brian scowled. The boy’s relationship with his father hadn’t got off to a brilliant start and it would have been better from that point of view if they stayed. But the Hawks were far more use to me outside the battle and talking to other Fey.

We walked to the den without saying any more. I was pleased that Brian didn’t bring up anything else about Rex. I’ve had much older and more experienced lovers who wouldn’t have been able to avoid the topic. I am who I am and not everyone can deal with it.

The Don
was in a leather armchair puffing on a cigar. He blew a smoke ring in our direction as we entered the room.

“Are youse goin’ to explain how you talked me into this?”

I like
The Don
, he’s direct.

“Because you’re doing the right thing?” He gave me a certain look. “Okay, because a dictator of the
USA
would be bad for business and any damage we do to the Penthouse will be covered by insurance.”

He nodded. “I guess that might explain it, but you got somethin’ about you girl that makes it real easy to go along with you. Are the FBI gonna disturb my hotel guests with their helicopters?”

That was an easy question to answer. “They weren’t the FBI as you well know. You’d be in jail now if they were. The people who are coming can’t do that again. Word has got out among my people and they’ll have to be more circumspect. I don’t expect that any more than four of them will turn up and they’ll coming knocking at your door, very polite and wearing ties. Let them in and show them to the elevator.”

“We could take them out for you,” Vinnie said from the bar. He pulled out his gun. I moved at many times faster than human speed and then his gun rested in my hand, cocked and with the barrel pressed against the side of his head.

“They’d kill you before you completed the thought. These are my people and you can’t compete.”

“Give him back his gun,”
The Don
said, apparently unperturbed that I might blow his son’s head off. “You made that point days ago.” His hand went down to his trousers to adjust his tackle as if in memory. “So why is Mike bothering to install the gear upstairs?”

I grinned. “Because it’s good stuff when used right and they won’t be expecting us to use it against them.”

“We did good against Arthur Regis,” Vinnie said a little sourly. He pressed his hand against the bandage over his eye. It seemed to hurt him a lot, and it was fortunate he still didn’t know that Brian did it to him.

“You did, and humans would always win against us in the end by sheer weight of numbers, but not tomorrow and not against David Mersey.”

“So what’ll we do if you lose?”
The Don
asked.

“Clean up the mess and hope it isn’t the end of the world,” I said glibly. It was difficult for me to conceive of losing because I never had. There are some ways of living where you only lose the once and die with a surprised look on your face.

Brian and I took the elevator up to the Penthouse. He looked apprehensive.

“You can leave if you want. I can take care of this on my own.”

Brian snorted. “Outnumbered against experienced Fey?”

“I’ve done it before in less favorable circumstances. You’ve barely had a chance to live your life. You’d be safe if you go to your father.”

“Some father.” Bitterness tinged Brian’s words. “He’s never once gone to see my Mom.”

“He wasn’t allowed. That would have ruined the experiment.”

Brian banged his fist against the elevator, putting a neat circular dent into it.

“You’d be just another Fey to me if he had, and you’d never have got into my bed.” It was the best I could offer in the circumstances, but the truth has never gone down well with the Fey, or with humans for that matter.

Mike waited for us in the room where I’d woken to find Peleus standing over me. The bed had been removed and replaced with a sumptuous suite arranged around a large glass and tubular steel coffee table. Sitting on the table in two halves was the Thampthis Box with the Krius Scepter lying between them.

“I’ve set it up exactly as you wanted,” Mike told me cheerfully. He threw over a small remote control. There were three color coded buttons on it and an inset switch. “Switch it on and an LED will glow green to show you it’s working. The buttons are in the order: red, green, blue. One, two, three, just as you asked.”

“You’ve tested it?” I asked.

Mike shook his head. “Can’t, except for blue it’s a one shot system. But the buttons activate the relays so it should work. Blue will work anytime you want; you can test that one yourself.”

I went out onto the balcony and looked out over the edge. Everything had been placed exactly as I’d asked.

When I re-entered the room I found that Mike had picked up the Krius Scepter and was examining it. It felt very wrong for a human to be holding it.

“Please put it down.” I may have sounded more brittle than I intended.

He ignored me and threw it in the air, catching it like it was a conductor’s baton. I gasped as though he had punched me in the stomach. It really shouldn’t be in his hands.

“Is it supposed to do something?”

Brian plucked it out of Mike’s hand and went to sit on the sofa. I felt a wave of relief flood through me. I trusted Brian with the Krius though I couldn’t explain why.

“Lots of people have died to keep that thing safe,” he told Mike.

“It’s just a metal rod,” Mike said dismissively. “I could have one made just like it for a couple of hundred bucks.”

I was beginning to relax now the Krius was out of Mike’s hands. “It’s an interesting thought, but we prefer to keep this one. You ever watched Aladdin? New lamps for old?” Mike didn’t get my reference and shook his head.

“I’d better get goin’. When are the fireworks goin’ to start?”

It was my turn to shake my head. “Tomorrow, sometime. Afternoon or evening.”

“Good luck.” Mike turned and walked out of the room.

“It’s not a toy,” I told Brian who was rolling the Krius between his hands like it was dough.

“Do you think if I rub it and make a wish…?” he asked and winked at me.

I slid onto the sofa beside him and took the Krius from his hands, placing it carefully back on the table. “I don’t think that’ll work with the Krius, but there are other things where it might.”

He got the hint and the next hour passed pleasantly.

Torin phoned me the next morning. It was good news all the way –
not
.

“Peleus has escaped from his cell. Nevin is blaming you.”

I was outraged. “Why would I bust him out? I was the one trying to kill him.”

“Greta’s been removed from the Council after an emergency vote by the other two. They say she’s in league with you and this is all a plot by you to rule the world.”

My outrage was outraged. I had difficulty putting a coherent sentence together. I spluttered.

Torin understood my reaction.

“Not many believe them. Greta got the word circulated about the Council seizing the Thampthis Box and trying to get you to tell them how to get at the Krius. They either had to come up with a story to exonerate themselves or resign. I think Peleus was too much of a liability. Who knows what he’d say if they tried to use him as a witness, so they got rid of him.”

“Do they really believe they could make that story stick?” I just couldn’t think what Nevin was trying to do. The story had too many holes in it to stand up to scrutiny.

“Only if you’re conveniently dead and the Krius is theirs,” Torin pointed out.

That made sense. Kill me and I could be blamed for anything and everything, especially if all the other witnesses were conveniently out of the picture.

“You’re saying that when they come it won’t be to negotiate?”

“Do you want me and Sara to join you? Say the word and we’ll be there.”

I shook my head and realized he couldn’t see it. We weren’t on video.

“No, stick to the plan and get the word out. Contact the European Council and the Asian one and tell them what’s going on.”

There was a long pause and then Torin said, “Brian?”

“I offered him an out and he insisted on staying. I’ll make sure he gets a chance to escape if it all goes wrong. They won’t pursue him; he’d have no credibility if he testified against them.”

There was a longer pause. “I’m proud of him… for staying. Tell him that, if it all goes wrong.”

“You’ll be able to tell him yourself,” I said and put the phone down. I hoped I was telling the truth. Nevin had burnt his bridges and he needed me dead with the Krius in his hands, if he wanted to get out of this without spending a few centuries in a cell. Those were two things I intended to make sure he didn’t get.

“Who was that?” Brian called from the bathroom.

“Wrong number,” I yelled back.