Relic (The Brethren Series) (3 page)

Cowen took his dagger from its sheath and thrust it straight through the scepter mark. Golden light spilled from the gaping wound as Sirona keened with her last breath, “Raphael!”

***

“Raphael,” Serena whispered as her eyes opened. She turned her head to the right and saw the relic fisted tightly in her hand. Searing pain in her right shoulder blade sent shockwaves down her arm. She winced as she sat up and leaned against her bed. She looked for the source of the pain, but she saw no wound. As she massaged the area, the pain gradually subsided into nonexistence.

Vague memories echoed through her mind like a fading dream, both terrifying and puzzling her. She’d been chased, cornered, and kidnapped. And the pain in her shoulder—she’d been stabbed. She felt her shoulder again.
What the hell just happened
?
What’s Jared given me
? With trembling hands, she rested the statue on her night table. Shakily, she crawled under the covers of her bed, and tried rocking herself back to calmness.
Time to call Monica Rainchild
.

Chapter Two

Outside Prophet’s Point, Arizona

Twelve months ago

Jared couldn’t stand himself any longer. He stunk from puke and urine, both of which had made permanent stains on his clothing. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d showered or even eaten. How the hell did he wind up such a fucking mess? Only an asshole would ask that question of himself.
I guess I’m one big asshole
. His first mistake, stealing relics from Dr. Chappo. His second, pawning them for heroin.
I should have stuck with cocaine
. He’d been on the run since passing off the last relic to his sister, the one of Sirona.
I’m just one big fuckup
. Now he’d be lucky to live past the day. If only he could get some food in his belly and drugs in his veins.

At daybreak, after hours of wandering aimlessly and finally collapsing, he found himself lying beside a huge tent with heavenly smells emanating from the rolled-up windows above him. Too weak to even crawl up to the entrance, he winced as his stomach growled with hunger pains, and his crusty eyes wouldn’t let him focus on his battered hands in front of his face. At that moment, he knew he was a goner. He gripped something in his hand. He blinked, wiped the crud away with his filthy shirtsleeve, and what he held slowly came into focus. A picture of him and his sister, Serena, from a couple of summers ago when they’d gone to the Grand Canyon together. Tears welled and cascaded down his temples, to rest uneasily in his flea-infested hair. “I’m sorry, sis.” And he passed out.

***

“Hey, Robert, look over there.” David pointed to a heap of ragged clothing on the ground. “What’s that by the Mess Hall?”

“It looks like a man to me. Let’s go see what’s up.” They rushed over to the still form on the ground. “Jesus, but he smells putrid.” David covered his nose and mouth as he put a couple of fingers against the man’s throat to check for a pulse. “He’s alive. Maybe we should get some help and bring him to the infirmary.”

“Well, there’s Agremon. We can ask him if that’s what we should do.”

“You’re right, we don’t want to anger The Source, but you talk to him. He makes me nervous….”

“No problem. Agremon! Over here! We need your help.”

“What the hell is it?” he barked, trudging over to the two men. “Can’t you see I’m too busy to deal with any of your crap?”

“Look at this.” Robert pointed to the unconscious man.

“Yeah, so what? What do want me to do about it? He’s probably a drunken hobo. Leave him alone, and he’ll move on when he wakes up. Now get on with ya. You’re late for breakfast and service is in ten minutes. Namirha won’t be pleased if you’re late.”

“Well, all right. You…you know what’s best,” David stammered. “Let’s go. You heard him. It’s best if we go. We don’t want to anger The Source. Thanks. Good day.”

Agremon grunted as the two cult members of The Source hurried into the Mess Hall and turned his attention to the rotting mess on the ground before him. Kneeling down, he sized the man up pretty quickly.
This is no drunkard. He’s a heroin addict holding on to the last tethers of his miserable, sorry-ass life
. Even with the ravages of addiction, he could tell that with some food and care, he would return to a strapping man of possibilities.

With the building of The Source global headquarters in full swing, Satan, known to most these days as Namirha, had innumerable tasks for him to complete. They’d become almost impossible to juggle, especially with being in charge of kidnapping Hannah Livingston, Namirha’s key to world domination.
I could use a grunt to help out with the more menial jobs. Given the right attention and incentive, this lowlife could make my existence a whole lot easier. I’ll kill him when he outlives his usefulness
.

He picked up the stench-ridden mass of flesh and took him to the infirmary, where he waited impatiently while the staff cleaned him up, woke him up, and fed him.

“Don’t you think you should put that somewhere safe if it’s that important to you?” The nurse tried some conversation as she fed the patient a bowl of soup.

Agremon watched as the man grunted in response and put the photo, clamped in his fist, in his wallet. The nurse wiped his face when he had finished his meal, and he immediately fell asleep. “Let me know when he wakes for good and is coherent. I think he’ll be interested to know I’m giving him a new lease on his pathetic life.” Agremon walked away with a grin on his face and the beginnings of a sinister plot in his mind. Evil just got a new playmate.

Chapter Three

Sedona, Arizona

Present

“Well, I hope you all enjoyed your Spiritual Enlightenment tour. May you find yourselves refreshed, reenergized, and on your way to spiritual contentment. Please come back and join us anytime you need to recharge your batteries,” Serena chirped, dying to recharge her own.

“Oh, thank you so much, Serena.” One of the ladies in the group gave her a hug and stepped back. “We had a wonderful experience and can’t wait to bring our friends next time! Good-bye!”

She smiled and walked into the lobby of her office. Callie sat at the reception desk, talking on the phone. “Yo, Serena! A delivery came for you this morning. It’s in the office on your desk.” She immediately went back to her phone conversation.

A delivery
?
I’m not expecting anything, am I
?
My birthday is a good six months away, but maybe…could it possibly be
…?

Running as fast as her legs could carry her, Serena raced to her office with a smile as wide as the Verde Valley itself. She swung the door open, about to jump into the welcoming arms of…an empty desk.

Her smile faded slowly.
Foolish girl
!
Stupid, foolish girl
!
To think after a year and a half, Jared would magically show up in my office after all this time. Idiot
!

A year and a half, and she hadn’t heard one word from him. He’d fallen off the planet and nobody could find him. Not the police, not a private investigator, nor her. She couldn’t tell anyone about Dr. Chappo, knowing in her heart Jared had stolen from him. And then he vanished into thin air, leaving her with more questions that anyone had answers to.

The past eighteen months had been a living hell. She’d taken a leave of absence from her very successful Jeep Tour business up until two weeks ago, living on the road in an RV, following leads that turned into dead ends and seeking out every nook and cranny that Jared could’ve fallen into. She’d tried to find the elusive Dr. Chappo and come up short every time. She lived everyday with the terrible notion that something evil had befallen her brother. Not a day passed that guilt didn’t wash over her as she remembered the last angry thoughts she had of him so many months ago. The only one who had helped at all? Monica Rainchild.

Monica helped her understand there were things in this world that couldn’t be explained simply, like her experience with the goddess statue. She learned to accept that as a unique event and move on with her life. Other than some raging hot, erotic dreams she’d been having with a dream lover, nothing more had occurred, so Serena attributed that experience to too much stress and too little sleep. Monica also agreed with her, however, she also saw that something dark had surrounded her brother, something evil. But she couldn’t locate him or tell whether he was alive or dead.

Thrust back to reality by the ring of a telephone, Serena focused on the large envelope on her desk blotter. Drained, emotionally and physically, she picked it up and left without a word.

“Serena, wait! Damn it all.” The gravel crunched as Callie hurried to catch up. “I’m such an ass and so sorry! I wasn’t thinking, with being on the phone and all. Please, forgive me. It was insensitive of me to tell you there was a delivery waiting on your desk, and I promise not to do it anymore. I won’t even put packages in your office from now on.”

“Callie, don’t be ridiculous. An envelope came for me. You told me where to find it. What’s insensitive about that? I’m the one who’s sorry, making you feel as though you need to tiptoe around me. I’m the ass who can’t seem to move on. I love you, girlfriend, now let me go. I need some space, okay? I’ll be fine. I’m going home. Tomorrow’s another day, isn’t it? I’ll try to have my act together by then. I owe it to you. I owe it to all of you.”

Serena hugged her dear friend, hopped in her Jeep, and drove off in a flurry of dust and sand.

***

I want to scream. No, I want to cry. Even better, I want to bust something up big time.
As she attempted to unlock her front door, it swung open on its own, and her pulse skyrocketed into fast and furious.

“Holy shit!” She froze on the threshold, looking around at the mess that used to be her living room. “What on God’s green earth?” She backed away and ran to her Jeep. She dug feverishly into her backpack for her cell phone. With trembling hands, she managed to call 911 and waited where she thought she’d be most secure until the police arrived, scrunched up by the Jeep’s floorboards. After what seemed like a lifetime, she heard sirens blaring. The crunch of the gritty dirt and car doors slamming meant the police had arrived.

“Johnson, take the front. Mahoney, take the rear. Edwards, secure the perimeter. Ms. Sikes? Is that you in there?” She heard a strong and confident voice call from above her. “You can come out now, ma’am. We’ve got everything in hand. We’ll keep you safe.”

“I…I can’t move. I…I’m scared stiff, literally.”

“Here, let me help you out. No need to worry. It’ll all be fine now. Can you reach your hands out to me?”

“I…I think so.” She held out her hands ever so slightly, and the officer gently pulled her out of her hiding spot. She landed unceremoniously draped over him, but he quickly righted her and sat her on the ground. “Thank you, Officer…?”

“That’d be Plummer, ma’am. And you’re welcome. Now why don’t you drink some of this water I have here? Don’t want you going all shocky on me.”

“Okay.” The water tasted like a gift from heaven, sliding down her parched throat. It did nothing, though to calm her nerves.

“Area’s secure, sir. No one inside or out, but the place sure is a disaster. Won’t know what’s missing until Ms. Sikes here is able to tell us. Looks like the perp jimmied the front door to gain access and left the same way.”

“Thanks, Johnson. Get the AZCSI out here. We’re gonna want to dust for prints at the very least.”

Serena watched as Plummer doled out the orders. She remained seated on the ground, sipping water and rubbing the cool bottle over her neck and wrists. “Why? Why would someone do this to my home?” she mumbled, twirling a golden curl in her slender fingers.

“Wanted to ask you the same thing. Do you have any enemies, ma’am? Do you own anything that might be of value to others?” He took out his notepad.

“No, I don’t have any enemies. And nothing in my house is valuable beyond sentimental reasons.”
Except for the relic
! She sucked in her breath.

“What is it? Have you thought of someone who might want to do you harm?”

“Oh, no. I, ah, just remembered that I forgot something back at work. That’s all.” She hoped her recovery sounded plausible. “Can I go through the house now to see if anything’s missing?”

“If you’re up for it, sure. Just don’t touch anything.” They walked through the living room with piles of garbage and upholstery stuffing littering the carpet, the bedrooms with upended drawers relieved of their contents, the kitchen with broken dishes and food canisters tossed viciously about. All of her precious picture frames and photos with Mom, Dad, and Jared, were broken and shredded beyond repair. Deeply disturbed, a slow-burning anger toward the unnamed home invader replaced her initial fear.

“I’m not seeing anything missing, Officer. Just a freakin’ mess.”

“Well, once you get the place cleaned up, if you
do
notice something gone, give us a call and we’ll work on its retrieval. For now, you need to stay somewhere else until our investigative unit has their way with the place. Do you have somewhere to go?”

“Yes, I can stay with my friend. I’ll go back to my office, where she works, and follow her home. Thank you for everything, Officer Plummer. And thank the others for me, too. If that’s all, I think I’d like to go now.” She really wanted to stay and see if the relic had been found and taken, but she couldn’t…not yet. She’d have to wait until everyone left.

“If we need anything more, we’ll call you. Here’s my card, as well, if you think of anything.”

She tucked the card in her back pocket, slipped into her Jeep and drove back to the shop in a funk. Though still scared, she was downright pissed as well. She knew it all along. Jared had given her a hot item and expected her to hide it. But why? Why would he do this to her knowing the danger involved? Because it looked so much like her? So what? Had he planned on coming back to get it? Jesus, was he even alive? This whole thing went way beyond disappointment, and the guilt she had harbored for so long finally dissolved into something very different. She didn’t know if she could ever forgive him for this.