She had a point, too. The government liked to make artifacts disappear permanently, especially if those artifacts were either of magical origin, or had the potential for weaponization.
“Sure thing. You take care of Darroch and we’ll meet you back at the office.” I grabbed Jack’s hand and hauled him up the stairs before he could argue, leaving her to it. I knew he wanted to deal with Darroch himself, but some things really were better left to the government. Jack would probably kill Darroch, but our little secret government agency? Oh, they’d make him wish he’d never been born.
The amulet lay nestled in a bed of black velvet. The walls, carpet, and even the ceiling were solid black, the amulet the only thing of color in the room. A single light shone overhead, bathing it in a golden glow.
“It’s beautiful,” I breathed. So this was what we’d fought for. Bled for. Nearly died for. The amulet was a wide, slightly convex gold disc about four or five inches across with strange symbols carved around a round, blue stone set in the center. The stone glowed softly in the low light, the color of deepest sapphire.
Jack picked it up and gazed at the amulet in his hands, turning it over as though to make sure Darroch hadn’t damaged it. “Yes. This is the Key to Atlantis. It carries all the knowledge and power the people of Atlantis gained over thousands of years of existence. So much power in so small a thing.” He cradled it to his chest, sorrow welling in his ocean eyes. “And it is useless.”
“Useless? Excuse me? We just went through hell to get that thing back and it’s useless? What about that whole blood sacrifice bullshit?” Seriously, I was going to kill the man. Strangle him with my bare hands.
He shrugged. “Unless I am willing to take the same measures Darroch was and murder someone in cold blood, I can only access fragments of the knowledge. Just enough to keep myself alive and it safe until the rightful owner comes to claim it. Even with blood sacrifice only a portion of it could be accessed. The rest would be lost forever. That was the other safeguard.”
“Well, obviously the rightful owner was not Brent Darroch.”
“Definitely not. He was not of the Bloodline, or he wouldn’t have needed to kill you.” He gave me a look. “Well, he might have still wanted to kill you, but for entirely different reasons.”
I punched him in the shoulder. He just smirked.
“So what now? Are we going to find someone from the Bloodline?” I asked. “Do we just keep protecting this thing until someone pops out of the woodwork? Because seriously, these dreams are going to drive me nuts if they don’t stop.”
“So far, in over nine hundred years I’ve not met a single survivor of the Royal Bloodline. More than likely the Royals died out long ago, or their DNA was so diluted it can no longer activate the key. I don’t hold out a lot of hope for finding a survivor.”
I glared at him. “So, I’m still going to be dreaming these stupid dreams? I swear I haven’t gotten a good night’s sleep since I met you.” Technically, the dreams had started the day I met Darroch and learned about the amulet, but I wasn’t going to point that out. More fun to blame Jack.
“It’s my duty as Guardian to protect the amulet. Only when it comes into contact with the Bloodline will it truly come alive.” He wrapped the amulet gently in the velvet lining and then tucked it away in his pocket. “I’ve never seen it alive, but there were pictures in the cave where we found it. It must have been a sight to behold.”
“This is so not good.”
He smiled, his slightly longer canines glinting in the soft light. “No, not so much.” He reached out and took my hand. I laced my fingers through his. It felt nice. Better than nice.
“At least we have it now, though, instead of some whacked out lunatic. That’s good, right?” I pointed out. He lifted my hand and kissed it. I guess I could take that as agreement.
“Better go meet Kabita back at the office or there’s going to be hell to pay.” He nodded so we headed outside to the car. The ride to the office was quiet. Each of us lost in our own thoughts. I didn’t even turn on Tom Petty.
When we got to the office we walked into bedlam. Kabita and a man I’d never seen before were having an almighty shouting match. I think Kabita might have actually been losing. Scary thought. Kabita didn’t lose shouting matches.
“You are way beyond your purview with this, Ms. Jones.” The stranger’s voice was elegant and smooth as melted chocolate, deep and terrifically sexy, but the tone was all kinds of nasty, as was the cheap suit he was wearing. Definitely government issue. “You had no right to detain Mr. Darroch … “