Page 59 of Feral

Stop thinking of that! I need to be calm, collected and professional when I call the director, and I am not going to be able to do that if I’m thinking of him doing that to me!

I took a few deep breaths, plugged in the USB adapter and called Director Dearborne. She answered on the second ring and I filled her in on the attack and Fraser’s information.

“You’re sure they weren’t from the Campbell clan?” Director Dearborne asked.

“I trust that Fraser knows what he’s taking about when it comes to them, yes.”

Director Dearborne sighed.

“Then I think you’re right, they were trying to stop you. Which means someone here told them about you. And it sounds like they won’t hesitate to kill you, Daphne.”

The words were heavy, laden with warning and I swallowed. This was much more than I had signed up for when I agreed to this mission, and yet I couldn’t just abandon Fraser and his family. This artifact could do a lot of damage if it wasn’t neutralized quickly. And if the rogue agents were this desperate to get their hands on it, then they probably wouldn’t hesitate to hurt Fraser’s clan in the process. I had to stop that, even if it meant putting my life at risk.

“Do you want to replace me?”

“Not unless you feel that you can’t handle this.”

“I’m not trained to fight and I hate the thought of putting the MacDonald clan in the position to defend me.”

“I understand that, but I have a feeling this will need as much brains as it does brawn. I’d like to keep you in the field if you’re not too afraid of what the Protectors might do.”

“That’s what the rogue group is calling themselves?”

“Yes, quite pretentious if you ask me.”

I chuckled.

“So, where was the shipment from, what was the manifest?”

“It was a mix of things, collected from Germany, France and Italy. Half were things that used to be in Nazi warehouses and private collections.”

Hitler was obsessed with the Secret Archive and its treasures. He’d waged a shadow war on the Archive and had destroyed several storage facilities. It was only the sacrifice of a dozen brave agents that prevented him from getting his hands on artifacts that would’ve handed him victory in the war.

“Good lord, those would be very dangerous. Any that would have belonged in my department?”

Director Dearborne paused, I could hear the clacking of keys on the other hand.

“Oh, holy hell,” she answered.

“What?”

“Two things and…Daphne, these are class five artifacts.”

I swear my heart stopped beating and my hands instantly became clammy. Class fives were the most dangerous, needing special containment that was often times at a secondary location.

“What are they?” I asked, my mouth dry.

“The Golden Apple of Discord and the hymn book of Enheduanna, she was—”

“The first named female author in history and a high priestess of Inanna, goddess of sex, warfare and vengeance.”

“Either of these would be bad, but if both are in play…” her voice trailed off. “The last known person to have both of these was one of Hitler’s generals. Some of that energy had to have tainted them, twisted their original purposes and even strengthened their darker aspects. I don’t think I have to tell you to be careful.”

“No, you don’t. I’m actually quite familiar with the history of both. And now that I know what to look for, I can find it easier.”

“Check in with me tomorrow night after you’ve had a chance to investigate. And I think it best if you check in every twelve hours after that.”

“Understood.”

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