Page 51
Story: 40 Ways to Tell a Lie
I stared at him until I remembered that even the old Rasmus was not up to speed on human entertainment. Technology was usually my last resort, but in cases like this, it was a godsend.
I pulled my phone off the charger on the counter and searched for a photo of the actress in her role as the Queen of Egypt. Technically, Cleopatra was one of the last Pharaohs, but Egypt fell solidly into Roman rule after her death. Her people never saw her as a goddess of any sort, no matter that she dedicated her entire life to keeping the Romans away from Egypt for as long as she could.
I wasn’t as proficient in online searching as Mulan, Conn, or Fiona, but it didn’t take me long. Proud of myself, I presented the phone to Rasmus with a proud smile.
He took my phone and studied her. “This actress is certainly beautiful, but she doesn’t look Egyptian to me.”
“Elisabeth Taylor isn’t, but the woman in my vision looked Egyptian. Her face was longer and her eyes were bigger. She used eyeliner that extended further than recommended to make sure you paid attention to her. Her mouth was on the smallish side, but her lips were deep red and lush looking. Her skin was the color of polished bronze—more golden than yers. She was beautiful.”
Rasmus drew on the paper he’d pilfered, sketching the woman I described while I watched over his shoulder. Soon I was pointing and offering advice.
“She had a shorter forehead, which meant she didn’t need bangs. Her long dark hair was parted slightly off-center. One side was heavier and sort of swept to that side because of it. Her hair, I’m guessing, would come to mid-back behind her. In my vision, it hung down the front.”
He sketched and sketched, correcting the drawing with my feedback. When we finished, the woman he’d drawn looked surprisingly like the woman from my vision. I was impressed.
“That’s a handy skill to have,” I said, tapping the drawing with a finger.
“It’s more than handy these days. Take a photo of my drawing with your phone and upload it into your search engine. It might find her for us.”
I smiled at his words. “Ya’re as clever as Mulan with technology. How do I do that magick with the phone?”
Rasmus grinned at me. “Unlock your phone and I’ll do it for you. We’ll update your phone skills some other time.”
I handed him my phone. “The screen’s not locked. I don’t have the patience to lock and unlock it every time I need it.”
Rasmus frowned at me. “You lift the phone up and it opens when it sees your face. How can you not have time for that simple action? You have to lift the phone to use it. Locking the screen is about safety, Aran. It’s a necessity.”
“Is that Greek ya’re speaking... or is itGeek? Because I don’t speak Geek.”
“Very funny. I worked without a phone for years and cameras kept getting broken. So I learned to draw my targets to make sure I could claim credit for their arrest... or their obituary.”
I chuckled at his story. That was a very intricate history the guardians gave him. “Well, ya’re a fine artist, Rasmus.”
“And sometimes I’m a clever partner.”
My laugh got muffled in my coffee. “So we’re partners now? When did that happen? I thought I was training ya.”
Mock glaring at me, he handed me back my phone. “It looks like I’m training you as well.”
There on the screen was the woman from my vision. I scoured her biography.
“Dr. Zara Bertram.”
“So probably not Egyptian,” Rasmus said with a smirk.
“Unless Bertram is her married name. It says she’s a Doctor of Thanatology, got her degree from Brooklyn College in New York, and that she’s an avid collector of ancient artifacts.”
I lowered my phone to stare at Rasmus.
“Thanatology is the study of death. What do you want to bet Dr. Bertram’s found an artifact and is using it to do her magick work?”
Rasmus half-smiled at me. “Interesting theory. Are we going to stalk her?”
“Among other things... yes.”
“What other things?”
I stopped reading to look at him. “We’re going to get Ben to see what he can find out about her background. And I might ask Isaiah to look into her as well. He’s in the education community. Maybe he’s heard of her.”
Table of Contents
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