Page 11 of Defying the Relic Hunter

One of the warriors grabbed my cousin by the neck, lifting him off his feet. “Where is she?” And that deep, growly voice belonged to Ethan.

“Who?” Giuseppe wheezed and pried frantically at the fingers around his neck.

“Kizzy Dragos.” Ethan shook him violently. “Where is she?”

“Don’t. Know,” my cousin gurgled. His face was turning a funny purple color.

Poof! Zarek, the Overlord of the Coletti clans, appeared next to Ethan. His battle suit emphasized his massive frame and a gold headband held back his gray warrior braids. For a moment he watched his image dance around the museum. He tapped his bracelet and the holograph vanished. He turned to Ethan. “I can’t interrogate a dead man.”

Ethan released Giuseppe.

My cousin fell to the floor. Sucking in great gulps of air, he set off a smoke bomb.

I watched as a thick white mist spewed out, blanketing the gallery. I admired his spunk but had the idiot forgotten about the swell Coletti scanners?

A red energy beam cut through the fog. Giuseppe hoarse voice cried, “I am Dragos. We never surrender.”

Holy shit! The fool had shot at the Overlord. That was a death sentence. I switched to the infra-red scanner and watched Zarek kick the laser pistol out of Giuseppe’s hand.

To my horror, my soon to be brain-dead cousin went for Zarek’s dagger. Giuseppe’s face suddenly contorted in agony and his screams echoed around the museum. I guess when properly motivated, Zarek could easily break through the ENF shield. Not good.

Guilt and horror knotted my stomach. Had my little stunt put the entire clan at risk? No. Giuseppe’s actions had. I knew what the Overlord was capable of and it wouldn’t take him long to discover all of Giuseppe’s secrets. The really bad news was, Zarek would quickly learn way too much about the Dragos clan too.

I quickly got on my uncle’s computer and sent out a clan wide warning that Giuseppe had been captured by Zarek. I also attached the vid of the entire event. The elders needed to know what he had done. They had protocols in place to handle this kind of situation, but the damage to our clan would be catastrophic.

A message popped up on the screen. “Destroy the workshop.”

Oh, my God! Giuseppe knew where the workshop was located and soon so would Zarek. I sent the acknowledgement code.

I hurriedly threw my suitcases in the truck, along with supplies I would need and set the timer. In ten minutes, a laser pulse bomb would go off, reducing the house to ash. My kindhearted uncle had ensured none of the neighboring buildings would be damaged by the blast.

I got in my uncle’s truck and headed for the Superstition Mountains.

Chapter Seven

The Superstition Mountains are beautiful and deadly. Hundreds of people have vanished in this desert wilderness. Most of them were treasure seekers looking for the Lost Dutchman’s gold mine or Peralta’s hidden horde.

Some were found later with their bodies mutilated and no heads. Granny Annabel said the mountains were haunted. Did the spirits of long dead Apache warriors still guard the gold? Or did gold fever drive normal folks crazy? Who knew? To this day hikers still find skeletal remains of the unlucky hunters who got lost and ran out of water.

Me? I was heading into the heart of the mountains. Was I worried about the supernatural warriors? You betcha, the spirit world was real and could hurt you.

Some say the Lost Dutchman’s mine lies within the shadows of the forbidding rock called Weaver’s Needle. Would I search for it? Hell, no. Poor Ted North was the last psychic treasure hunter who tried. He had been found a week later half dead and mad as a hatter.

The sun seeped over the mountains turning the morning sky from lavender to pink. It was a good five-mile hike to Hieroglyphic Canyon, and I wanted to get an early start before it hit a friggin’110 degrees.

A hot wind rose with the sun. My comm-link beeped with an incoming message. I touched the screen. A news vid exclaimed:Priceless Artifact Stolen.The Mexican government is outraged that the museum allowed a brazen thief to snatch the medallion in front of hundreds of witnesses.

Outraged? It wasn’t like I’m going to keep the medallion forever. As soon as I found the gold, I’d return it.

I scrolled through the news feed. Giuseppe’s picture was prominently displayed.Thief Claims He’s Innocent. Did he really expect anyone to believe that? Was my cousin even alive?

Ethan’s growly voice sounded from my comm-link. “I know how to disable your ENF shield.”

“Aren’t you the smart one.” I broke the link. If he was trying to scare me, it wasn’t working. Uncle Aldo had added extra layers of protection to my bracelet. If I set it to protect mode, Ethan couldn’t touch me mentally or physically without getting zapped. The Overlord or Voss, the Battle Commander, could break through the ENF shields, but I doubted they would come after me.

“I must congratulate you on a well-executed heist. The dancing Montezuma was a nice touch.” And Ethan was back.

I scoffed, “Me? A thief? My last job was picking up dead critters off the highway.”

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