Page 56 of Curses & Keys
“Sorry,” the man smoothly inserts. “I didn’t realize.”
With a frown, I open my mouth, but he’s already dismissing me. “Thank you. I understand how to break the curse now.”
Rupert clears his throat. “Let’s move on, shall we? There’s something important we need to share with you.”
He opens the far door, and we follow him through. Traversing the hallways, we end up at a blue door encased in magic spells and biometric scanners.
I raise an eyebrow at the level of security and flick a glance at Gatlin, who is scowling at the door.
It swings open and reveals the Temple of Hephaestus.
29
PHAEDRA
Henry is waiting for us in the temple. Or at least, their recreation of it. With magic, they’ve designed a completely realistic holographic image of the temple. It’s startling to see the level of detail included in every aspect. Nothing has been left out. In fact, it appears they’ve added a few things.
Tentatively, I step into the room. It’s so real I can almost smell the roses used to perfume the statues and the earthy scent of the nearby trees. I close my eyes to savor the moment. A pang of homesickness hits me, but I know what I long to see is gone and buried.
Jamison’s steady blue gaze is the first thing I see when I open my eyes. Slipping through his fingers is the Greek coin he carries with him. Sharp, observant. It’s easy to see why he’s their leader.
Henry points to a section of the wall that’s been excavated. “According to the records we dug up, a human found a panel and key in this wall in 300 BCE. It was handed down from one generation to the next for a century. After that, it was lost. How Westgate got hold of it, we’re not sure, but we found them in his collection.
“They weren’t magical, but they were valuable. We needed funds, so we decided to sell them. We put the panel up for sale first. When an interested group contacted us, we tried to investigate them,” Rupert explains with a frown. “We have contacts all over the world but could find very little information. We thought about calling off the deal, but we were desperate, so we sold it to them.”
Henry leans in. “But things took a turn after the sale. Instead of just taking the panel, they killed that young demon, Sia. Upset, we took the key off the market.”
Rupert admits with a heavy sigh. “But after Letz passed, we were contacted by the group he sold the panel to, demanding we hand it over. We explained that we didn’t have it. At first, they didn’t believe us. Threatened us with exposure. We realized the group who broke into the museum and killed Sia wasn’t the same group who bought the panel from us. We didn’t know what to do except refund their money.”
“Two groups,” Jamison states with an incredulous look. Gatlin swears next to him. “That’s why the dots wouldn’t connect.”
“The group who broke into my condo asked me for a panel and key. That must be the first group,” I remind them. “One group has the panel. The second group has nothing. I have the key.” My mind buzzes around those three facts, trying to sort through what they might mean.
“The first group knew there were two items. They purchased the panel, but you took the key off the market. So, they broke into the museum to get the key,” Gatlin surmises.
Mathias runs a hand through his dark tousled hair, then looks at me. “We know the museum group and the one in your condo are the same, remember? I was able to place one man at both scenes. I’ve had software running for days to try to identify him. So far, no results. Maybe it’s time I changed the parameters. Search the CCTVs for his location.”
“Agreed,” Jamison inserts before turning to Rupert and Henry. “We’ll take every piece of information you’ve dug up. Maybe between us, we’ll start to make sense of this mess.”
“Absolutely,” Henry answers for them both. “If you’ll follow me, I’ll…”
Jamison shakes his head. “If you wouldn’t mind bringing the information here? This seems to be a secure place to discuss everything.” His tone brooks no argument, and Henry quickly agrees and leaves to get his files.
“The group in my condo knew it was me with Letz at the abandoned warehouse, which connects them to the rooftop and his death,” I remind them. “That means both groups are killers. But what is so important about this key and panel that humans are willing to kill for it?”
“Do they wield dark magic?” Hawthorne asks, his head tilted to the side as if he’s trying to figure out a puzzle.
“They wield no magic,” I reveal, to their astonishment.
“But the key gave you a vision,” Hawthorne insists with a raised eyebrow.
How close can I get to the truth without revealing everything?
“The key was made by Hephaestus. It bears his symbol,” I share with them. “The gods don’t wield magic. Their power comes from a different source.”
Pausing, I let them digest that info before continuing. “When I held the key, the vision showed me several blue and gold panels. Each one has images on it, but the details are hazy.” I hold up my left hand. “It branded me with the Hephaestus’ symbol. Although it’s sort of disappeared.”
All four of them crowd in to look at the smooth skin on my palm.
