Page 99 of The Eagle's Vault

I straightened, our gazes meeting. “No, Leigh. We open it now.”

“Do you want us all to get buried, Declan?” she snapped back, gesturing at the rockfall around the door. “Would that make you happy?”

“It was just rubble that settled on top.” I was trying to convince myself as much as I was convincing her. “Everything else will hold up. The ceiling’s been fine in the rest of these catacombs.”

Isaac continued wrestling with the door, a mix of dread and anticipation mingling in my stomach.

“I’ve dreamed of this moment,” said Daniel, a wild gleam in his eyes.

Leigh grabbed Isaac’s arm. “Slow down! What if there are traps? The mirror writing revealed the key, but it also said there was a curse. What if there’s an ancient strain of bacteria or something?”

Daniel hovered near them, craning his neck to see inside. “It has to be the Legion’s eagle standard.”

Leigh’s brow furrowed. “Do you really believe that?”

“Let me check for obvious signs of traps.” I nudged in between Daniel and the opening, running my fingers over the edge of the door. No visible locks. How had it stayed closed? What had the key triggered to open it?

“Just open it.” Daniel practically vibrated next to me. “Da Vinci wouldn’t have trapped the vault. At least, not if someone opened it correctly. He wouldn’t want to risk harm to his apprentices.”

His words did little to ease my concerns, but I was too close. I had to get inside her. I switched from inspecting to wedging myself in the opening to get the most leverage. With a final pained effort, Isaac and I pulled the door open wide enough to reveal the vault’s interior, illuminated by the work lights.

I went in first, taking in the small space. Shelves lined the left wall, filled with ancient tools. At the back sat a simple wooden desk. On top of it, a lump of fabric and a thick block of something I couldn’t make out, both covered in a layer of dust. Isaac gravitated toward the desk while Daniel remained near the entrance, seeming unable to move.

“Don’t touch anything,” Daniel warned us. “These items could be fragile. We can’t risk losing this piece of history. We need to inform the authorities about what’s down here.”

Leigh approached the desk with Isaac, leaning closer to blow gently on the block. Her efforts revealed a leather-bound folio. She reached for the folio, pausing before she touched it. She seemed torn, as though debating between the knowledge that she shouldn’t disturb anything but wanting to uncover its secrets.

Moving to stand behind her, I placed my hands on her hips, lending her my support. “What’s that?”

“I told myself I’d stand my ground and seize what I wanted.” Leigh’s breath quickened. “A treasure like this, lost to the centuries… I want to know what it is.”

Isaac, who’d been rifling through the fabric on the desk, turned to us, his face pale. “It’s eternity.”

“What?” The hint of dread which had been circling inside my gut expanded. Eternity?

Without warning, Isaac lifted the fabric, causing Daniel to squawk a protest. But it was too late. The sudden movement knocked the folio from the desk, spilling its loose contents across the floor.

Leigh crouched to gather the scattered sheets.

I knelt with her, catching flashes of sketches as she hurriedly collected the papers—an eagle in its glory and next to it, an exploded view of a feather, a beak, and a talon.

“I need you here, Rav.” I needed to get everyone out, including Enzo. My leg hurt from my fight with him, and there was no way I was carrying his unconscious ass all the way upstairs. A beat of silence passed. No one answered. “Rav?”

Leigh pulled my phone out of a pocket and lifted it to her mouth. “Brie?”

Nothing.

“Why can’t they hear us?” As Leigh stood, pages of the folio carefully gathered in her arms, the room quaked. Dirt trickled from the ceiling, dust clouding the air once again.

Panic knotted in my gut, and I grabbed Leigh to me, as though I could shield her with my height alone.

“This isn’t right. We need to leave. Now.” Leigh’s worry matched my own, but it seemed Isaac had lost all sense of caution.

He buried his arm deep within the fabric, cradling something precious within its folds. As he unwrapped the object, a golden eagle statuette emerged, glinting in the harsh work light filtering through the dust.

When the fabric fell away completely, he tossed it onto the desk, patches of faded red standing stark against the brown, aged exterior. My mind whirred. Could this really be the lost legion’s battle standard?

Isaac was muttering to himself, a triumphant gleam in his eyes as he cradled the eagle. “I knew she’d figure it out. Now it’s just a matter of choosing the right talon.”

---