Her Kind of Trouble (17 page)
The plan for now was to delay moving the pylon until we knew more. We had plenty of other artifacts to measure and catalog. More exciting, there was the chance that the pylon had rotated as it fell. The hieroglyphs everyone hoped for might now be on a visible side of the stone block.
Since Lex hadn't packed his diver certification card, he volunteered to help up top while others of us suited up. It's a testament to Lex's air of confidence—either that, or a donation I hadn't heard about—that d'Alencon agreed to let him drive one of the two Zodiacs as we boated out to the dive zone. A salty breeze ruffled Lex's ginger-brown hair, and bursts of reflected sunlight off the water's surface gave him an almost angelic look. Whatever responsibilities or concerns had been weigh-ing him down the previous day, he seemed to have momentarily shaken them off.
I was surprised by how deeply this pleased me.
"Good luck," he said, after we'd cut the engine, dropped anchor, and set out the diver-down buoys.
Rhys nodded, gave us a thumbs-up, and rolled backward off the boat into the water in traditional diver style. I pulled up the hood of my dry suit, and Lex tucked a stray strand of my hair into it.
"Be safe," he added, more intensely. Rather than resenting his concern—he was here helping me do what scared him, after all—I kissed him. His lips tasted salty as he happily returned the favor. When we pulled apart, to the sound of encouraging hoots from the other Zodiac, he waved our critics away and handed me my mask.
For a brief moment, I hesitated to take it. I liked this sunshiny, supportive Lex. I wouldn't mind kissing him some more, with the bobbing of the waves and the cry of the gulls. Did I really need to be there if they learned the pylon had framed the entrance to
Isis
's temple?
I'd find out soon enough anyway, wouldn't I?
A particularly sharp bird cry from above us, more like a hawk than a seagull, drew me out of that momentary madness. Of course I had to be there. I'd come to
Alexandria
specifically for something like this.
So I took the mask Lex handed me, adjusted my regulator, and dived backward off the boat, arching downward into the bubbly, misty green water with my momentum.
Rhys, who'd been waiting for me like a good buddy, followed.
He's a good kisser
, Catrina had said when she got in late the previous night.
This Lex Stuart
.
The wrench of jealousy I felt took me by surprise, even as I insisted,
He wouldn't have kissed you
.
I even believed it. Mostly. But I'd once believed I knew everything about him, too.
And sadly, he did not
, she'd admitted, laughing at my expression.
But I could tell by watching him. Ooh la la
…
Now I shook off the memory, the upset, the significance. I had a goddess grail to find.
It felt like a completely different world, down here. I could hear little beyond my own overloud breathing, what with the hood muffling my ears. And of course visibility was limited. But as our downward kicks propelled us toward the lights of several other divers, the debris of Cleopatra's ancient palace faded into view, as if knitting itself back into reality.
Like magic.
Along with the pylon.
It lay in a different position from yesterday, and again I had to make a conscious effort
not
to hold my breath. The thing weighed twelve tons, and it had barely fallen thirty feet. Chances were it hadn't rolled, right?
And yet, as divers clustered around it as surely as did the little silver flashes offish, I so wanted it to be true. Rhys swam past me, joining his colleagues—two of whom suddenly shot upward, one of them spinning in exultation.
Was it?
Was it
?
Rhys looked closer, borrowing an underwater light from someone else, then gave me a thumbs-up.
I let out my breath in a bubbly rush.
Another diver was rolling with glee. D'Alencon, recognizable by his white hair, was simply reading and re-reading whatever he'd found. I was already swimming closer when Rhys beckoned me. Silently, he pointed to the smooth-worn carvings that d'Alencon's gloved hands were clearing of algae.
I don't read hieroglyphs. At first', I didn't understand the picture that Rhys insistently indicated; I guess I'd expected the ankh or horned disk of later
Isis
symbology. Then I recognized the blocky step-shape for what it was—a miniature throne.
Her
throne.
This really was it.
The
And where the
There, surely, I would find the chalice used in her worship. A chalice of unimaginable importance… and power.
The rest of the morning passed in a blur of excitement, divers leaving our submerged holy ground only to change out oxygen tanks. The project members were already photographing the pylon's message and starting to more closely map out the surrounding terrain. Despite only being there to observe, I did my best to help with the grunt work—holding a yardstick or an extra light—but that still left some time for me to do some searching of my own. The others were excited about all of it, and with good cause, considering the historical significance of their find. But to them, the pylon alone was incredible.
Me, I was looking for particular clues. An altar. Perhaps a statue of the goddess herself. And of course…
A chalice.
I didn't find it—not yet. But every new artifact that took shape under my searching halogen light held the wonder of possibility. The blood of goddess worshippers ran in my veins, after all. Was that what sensed the call of ancient generations, priestesses—or magic women—who may have performed rituals here? The search became so addictive, at one point Rhys had to swim after me to signal that I shouldn't go too far on my own. And of course he was right. He was my dive buddy, and he had to work.
But what relics were waiting out there, beyond the hazy curtain of submerged green distance, that I might yet find? What kind of feminine power might they possess?
I hated having to wait.
When d'Alencon signaled that we should stop for a while, either for lunch or because extended dives could be too exhausting, I was actually surprised to find Lex still there. Then, as I took the warm, dry hand he offered to help me back onto the Zodiac, I felt guilty for having forgotten him.
I might only be here for
Isis
—but he was only here for me.
Except…
"I need to head out," he said, as soon as I pushed my hood back so that I could hear him. "You shouldn't be distracted at a time like this."
Not that I had been, damn it.
"I'm sorry," I said, shrugging off my tank and turning so that he could unzip my suit. "This can't have been very interesting for you."
"You kidding? It's been great. Really." While I stripped off the suit—which I wore over a bathing suit, of course—he waved to acknowledge that all his divers were up and started the boat. "It's given me a chance to think through some things, make some decisions."
I knew better than to ask what decisions. So did Rhys. And the other diver on our boat, a Greek guy named Niko, was too wrapped up in the day's finds to care.
When we reached the cabin cruiser, Lex declined to come up. He and Rhys shook hands and thumped each other on the back before Rhys climbed out, leaving us to our privacy.
"So," I said, making no move to get out of the Zodiac. I really wanted to go back to diving. And yet, I didn't want him to head out so soon. Just how selfish was I? "What do you suppose Phil would think about you helping me look for the Isis Grail?"
Just imagining his cousin's reaction amused me.
"I wasn't planning on mentioning it to him," Lex admitted.
"Good plan."
"See? Some secrets do have their place."
I groaned. Then I leaned forward, into his arms, and his embrace welcomed me. I rested my head on his shoulder, marveling at how dry and warm and solid he seemed after a morning underwater. How
real
.
"I've made a reservation at the Four Seasons," he told me, laying his cheek on my head. "I'll leave a message with your hotel once I have a suite number."
I wish you weren't going
. I had to swallow back those words—even I wasn't that selfish. Or that cruel. I was the one who'd told him to leave in the first place!
For good reason, I reminded myself. This wasn't his quest, it was mine. His quest…
Not for the first time, I wondered exactly how he meant to regain leadership of the Comitatus—assuming that really was his plan—and how dangerous that might be for
him
. "So you think you'll be in
Cairo
for a few days?"
"At least a week," he said, rather than asking how long I would be in
Alexandria
. "I've scheduled some meetings."
I leaned out of his embrace. "Already?"
He tapped the mobile phone hanging off his belt. This man could conduct business anywhere, couldn't he?
Then again, I'd been underwater for a long time, leaving him alone and bored.
"Are they meetings I would be interested in?" I asked.
"Probably," said Lex. "Which is exactly why I can't tell you about them."
When I narrowed my eyes at him, he kissed me. It didn't last anywhere near long enough. Then, because I couldn't keep him here forever, I stood to climb the ladder to the cruiser's deck. "Be careful?" I asked.
"Within reason," he assured me.
Catrina was waiting up top. "It is about time," she chided, before stepping over the rail to climb down.
"What?" I looked over the edge at her, and Lex waved, seemingly unperturbed. Then I looked toward the others, where they'd set out a lunch. "
What
?"
Rhys seemed equally surprised. "Where is Catrina going?"
"I told her she must only work a half day as she recovers," explained d'Alencon, distracted by the papers he was reviewing. "She volunteered to drive the boat back."
When I looked back down, the Zodiac was already pulling away, toward the crescent shore of the harbor.
Catrina seemed to be saying something to Lex. Lex did not look back at me.
And overhead, a hawklike bird circled.
Chapter 11
