Page 44 of Obsidian Dream
“Talik is right.”
He looked up, surprised Khalida had voluntarily said those words out loud and in front of witnesses.
Rieka looked between him and Khalida.For a split second, he could see the wheels in her mind turning.A regal look flashed across her face, a reminder that the blood of royalty ran though her veins.“How do you know the Anki won’t try to influence your minds?Like it did with Idris?”
“We don’t.For Idris, it could have been instant, or it could have taken decades for the connection to be established.”Talik glanced at Khalida.On the plane Khalida had been adamant that there was nothing that they both wanted, but it would be foolish to think they were entirely immune to the Anki.“Sypha believes the consort mark will make it harder to influence us.”
“But not impossible.”Rieka looked between Talik and Khalida, her brow furrowed as she chewed her lower lip.“There is potentially a god in the tunnel who has been trapped for centuries.”
It was the question that kept playing on repeat in Talik’s mind.What exactly was down there?
“If you pierce the skin of the Anki with iron, it will weaken them.”Dante glanced up from his phone.“Just as it did for the wayfarers and Idris.”
“Chaucer wasn’t lying.”Talik shook his head before he turned to face Dante.“Kade verified the information?”
“Yes.It took him longer to get access to the archives than expected,” Dante said.“The information about the Anki is limited, written in an ancient dialect.But it appears they don’t like iron.”
“Iron in any type of composition?Or are our weapons useless?”Khalida asked.
“The purer the metal, the better,” Dante clarified.“I am expecting a weapons delivery for you within the hour.It will have manacles and a rope, in case you come across something down there, and it needs to be contained.”
Talik nodded.Manacles meant he or Khalida needed to be within touching distance to whatever was down there to put them on.If iron weakened them, it still put them within attacking range, and he was not a huge fan, but, in the end, they only had to contain them long enough for Khalida and him to make their way back to the library and to reinforcements.“How long do we have the library for?”
“Three days in total, but you only have six hours in the tunnel, any longer and there is too much of a risk that you will be influenced.We need time to refurbish anything that is damaged,” Dante answered.“Kade has identified another potential entrance underneath the Vatican.It was closed off a century earlier, but he believes he can access it.”
Good.Knowing the hunter was in the catacombs and could act as backup was an added bonus.
“We are going to do this the old-fashioned way,” Talik said.“Brute force,” he nodded to Khalida and added, “and with my charm.”
“I am the brute force?”Khalida repeated as she put her hands on her hips.
“Yes.”
Khalida opened her mouth but stopped as she slipped a knife into her palm and pivoted.
He heard it then, light footsteps.
At least three people near the entrance.Clearly, they did not want to be heard.In his periphery, Dante moved closer to Rieka, who appeared oblivious to the newcomers’ presence, her heightened senses too new to her to actually be of use.
The thieves guild?
The door slowly opened as a male strolled into the room.He casually surveyed the room as he held out his hands, demonstrating he had no weapons.His bright blue eyes twinkled in the light as he slowly turned around, flashing a million-dollar smile at them.His perfectly coiffed dark blond hair brushed his shoulders in loose curls.He looked like an Adonis come to life.The pale pink suit would have been laughable on anyone else, but against his lightly golden skin, it just highlighted his ethereal looks.Was this newcomer Atlantean?The other two humans wisely stayed on the other side of the door.
“Signorina, you are clearly the brute force!”His voice was low and lyrical, the Italian accent subtle when he spoke English.“I am Damiano, Frankie’s cousin.”He turned to face them.“And I know you are Dante and Talik.But you.”He looked at Rieka slowly.“I do not know.”
“Rieka Sinha.”She moved around Dante, holding out her hand.“Pleased to meet you.”
“Only the three of you?”Talik interrupted.How much had the thieves heard?They may be human, but the thieves guild had survived centuries because of their cunning and wily nature.
“Sì.Frankie said you wanted us to be discreet,” Damiano answered.He didn’t appear surprised that they knew how many people he had with him.He slowly strode farther into the library, carefully surveying the room.
Casing the room if Talik didn’t know better.
“This isn’t an opportunity for you to acquire any of the items from the library,” Khalida said bluntly.
Damiano smiled, his eyes twinkled.“Future opportunities.What do you need us to do?”
“Access to the catacombs.”
