Page 21 of Curses & Keys (Curses & Gods #1)

JAMISON

“ P ack a bag. You’re going with us to see Kline,” I order her, then turn my attention to Mathias. “Can you see if the phones have been delivered?”

I can feel her staring at me, arms crossed over her chest, trying to decide if she’s going to argue or do what I told her.

“One condition,” she snaps back. “Tell me how you knew it was me.”

I clench my jaw, not wanting to tell her, but I can see she won’t budge until I do. “Your scent is…unique.” I inwardly snort at the bland description of a scent that has burrowed into my skin and captured my senses. Returning her stare, I wait for her to say something.

She slides the computer off the counter, places it in the backpack, and hands it to me. “I’ll need to take this.” With her head held high, she returns to the bedroom and slams the door.

With her gone, my voice hardens with fury. “They sent five men after her tonight. They’ll send more when the first crew doesn’t return. She stays in our sight at all times. Understood?”

Gatlin narrows his eyes. “We could take her to a safe house. One of ours, not the council-sanctioned ones.”

Hawthorne holds up a finger. “First, I doubt she would go. Second, we need her. If we work together, we might find out what’s truly going on. If humans believe the key is important, supes will too.”

We can’t stop our investigation, and I refuse to leave her unprotected. “You’re right. We’ll go to Kline’s, and based on what we find, we’ll make a decision on how to proceed from there.”

They all nod in agreement. While we wait for her, I take a few minutes to place a quick spell on the condo to alert me to any unwanted visitors. It’s obvious the enemy easily bypassed the mechanical ones tonight.

The door behind me opens, and I turn around.

Phaedra’s standing in the doorway, her body encased in a black knit long-sleeve shirt and a pair of dark leather pants molded to her every curve.

All woman, she’s one hell of a distraction.

My body tightens. She tosses her raven hair over her shoulder and gives me an irritated look, and it only makes me want her more.

Ahem . I take her bag and motion for her to follow Gatlin. “Right, let’s go.”

Gatlin walks down the hall and opens the door to the condo we’re using, and I hear her curse. I’m tempted to smile but manage to hold back.

“We don’t have much furniture,” I tell her as she enters the room and sees the single dining room table and Mathias’ desk. “But we’ll be leaving in five.”

She pulls out her phone. When she sees the expression on my face, she holds up a hand to stop me. “It’s encrypted. Military-grade.”

A blur swipes it from her hand, and she sighs.

Mathias holds it up. “She’s good. Plus, our phones are compatible.

Same encryption software so we can send secure texts and messages.

” He hands it back to her, and she rolls her eyes at him.

He ignores her response and turns to the rest of us.

“Here. Don’t set these down anywhere or hand them to anyone. ”

The second the phone hits my palm, I call Basilisk.

“It’s Jamison. You don’t happen to have the original footage from Kline’s burglary, do you?

Can you send it to me?” After he agrees, I hang up and look at Gatlin.

“Transportation. We need to get there without using council resources. Do you have anyone who can assist us?”

Gatlin turns to Phaedra. “Are there any private airstrips nearby?”

“Yes, there are a few,” she replies cautiously. “What size plane?”

“Light jet,” Gatlin answers. “Phenom 300.”

She whistles. “Only two of them can accommodate a ten-seater.”

He picks up the phone. “Gatlin here. We need to borrow your plane.” There’s silence as he listens to the person on the phone. “Got it. Thanks.” He hangs up and looks at me. “Maverick has a plane on a private airstrip not far from here. He’ll even supply a pilot.”

Phaedra snickers, but when I turn toward her, she simply lifts a shoulder.

Something’s amused her, but I don’t have time to delve into it. “Sounds good. Grab your bags.” I take mine from Mathias and pick up Phaedra’s. We’ve worked with the demon on a few occasions. He’s expensive, but worth it. Plus, he keeps his mouth shut. As usual, Gatlin takes lead.

She grabs her backpack and follows me out the door with Hawthorne and Mathias in the rear. It doesn’t take us long to get to the garage, then the plane. We pull up at a nearby hangar and wait for Maverick to show up with the pilot.

“Well, well, well. This is an unexpected surprise,” Maverick says as he materializes in front of us, another man at his side. He eyes the four of us, then moves his gaze to Phaedra. “Charlie’s your pilot. Let him check the plane before you board. You can never be too careful.”

Charlie’s eyes are fixed on Phaedra.

I step forward. “Is there a problem?”

Charlie raises an arrogant brow but leaves without saying anything in return.

I glance at Gatlin, and he makes the sign for “stand down.”

Uneasy, I step back. Amusement flashes across Maverick’s face. The atmosphere is tense as we all stand there together. Finally, a signal comes from Charlie, and Maverick motions for us to board the plane.

“Have a safe flight. I’ll see you in two days.” The demon’s words almost sound like a warning.

Gatlin nods, then turns and ushers us up the steps. “They know each other.” Keeping his voice low, he subtly points to Phaedra. “Both Maverick’s and Charlie’s eyes widened when they saw her with us.”

“Is that why he warned us?” I ask, wondering if Phaedra owes something to the demon. “Do you think she’s in trouble?”

He snorts. “Not likely. They’re friends. The warning was for us.”

For someone who seems to lead such a solitary existence, she certainly has interesting friends. The kind you don’t want to double-cross. “Thanks.”

When I get on board, I see Charlie leaning over her. She immediately waves him off. He leaves, but glares at us on his way to the cockpit.

“Everything okay?” I ask her, irritated by their closeness.

“Fine,” she replies with an innocent look I don’t buy for a second. “All set?”

“Someday, you’ll decide to share something with me,” I tell her as I grab the seat next to her. “Are you sure you’re up for this?”

Her laugh is sultry and unexpected. “For the flight or us?” For a second, she appears startled, as if she didn’t expect those words to come out of her mouth.

I inhale sharply and search her blue eyes. Both , I think, but say nothing. The jet takes off a moment later.

Basilisk sends the footage through a few minutes after we hit cruising altitude.

“Unedited version” is the title of the file.

The video is different from the one I viewed previously.

This one shows Sia opening the door, greeting a group of human men, and handing them a case.

Unfortunately, the angle of the camera prevents us from seeing what’s in it.

One of the men takes the case out the door, while the others stay and ransack the place.

When they pick up the Ming vase, Sia rushes to stop them, but they quickly turn on her.

After she’s dead, they smash the vase and leave.

“Bastards,” Phaedra snarls. A few tears slip down her cheeks. “Sia wouldn’t have hurt anyone, and they knew it. They were looking for an excuse.”

“I’m sorry. They’re definitely targeting supes,” I inform her. “But I’m confused by this video. This proves that humans bought the panel. Do you think the traitor double-crossed them?”

“The group tonight knew I was the one with Letz,” she tells me. “You recognized me by smell. How did they know me? I haven’t figured that one out yet.” Her gaze is distant as she thinks about the possible options.

“Maybe they know you too?” I murmur, hating the fact that she’s their target.

She bites her lip, but shrugs. “Maybe.”

“Kline seemed particularly upset that the Ming vase was shattered. Couldn’t he have repaired it?” I decide to change the subject to something safer.

A tiny frown settles between her brows. “He could, but it’s considerably less valuable to supernatural collectors if it’s been repaired with magic,” she informs me. “Do you think he was going to sell it?”

Hawthorne hears her question and leans over. “He owes money to the wrong people. I’d say it was his plan all along.”

She thinks about it for a minute, then gives a troubled sigh. “Anything’s possible.”

Half an hour later, we land at a private airstrip close to Yale University and take the waiting SUV to Kline’s house.

The large blue Federal-style home sits on a traditional tree-lined street, looking like a piece of Americana.

When he opens the door, I see the gun in his hand and immediately step in front of Phaedra.

Throwing up a light shield, I hold up my empty hands. “We’re here to ask you a few questions. Can we come in?” Magic swirls in and out of my fingers, letting Kline know I’m prepared to defend us.

He blows out an irritated breath but allows us to enter.

Gatlin is the last to step inside and plants himself by the door.

“What’s this all about?” Kline snarls, blood-red eyes darting to each of us. He stops when he sees Phaedra. “Dr. Galanis?” He finally lowers the gun.

“Hi, Doran,” Phaedra says softly. “I’m sorry to hear about Sia. She was a lovely demon.”

At the mention of Sia, Kline sets the gun on the hall table and falls into the chair beside it. “She died trying to save that stupid vase. It’s all my fault. If only they’d taken the panel and left.”

She kneels down in front of him and takes his hands in hers. Not comfortable with her so close to the gun, I step forward, but Mathias grabs my arm.

“Who gave you the panel?” she asks, keeping her voice in the same low tone.

Clever. Let him think we don’t know about the deal.

“Letz added it to my container. He asked me to keep it until he could find a buyer for it. A couple of days later, he called and gave me a date and time. At first, I didn’t want to do it, but he offered me the Ming vase. He knew I needed the money,” Kline tells her.

She tilts her head. “Why do you need money?”

“You know my wife was human, right?” When she nods, he continues.

“She was sick. Terminal illness. I took her to all the best specialists, trying to save her. It cost a fortune. The demon community banished me when I married a human, so I had to borrow money from some really bad people. In the end, the doctors couldn’t save her,” he explains in a shattered voice.

“I didn’t know what to do. Letz offered a solution.

The Ming vase would have covered the debt and the accrued interest they keep piling on top. ”

He looks around the foyer at all of us. “Without the vase, I have no way to pay them back. My sons just lost their mother. Now, they’re going to lose their father, too.”

Phaedra squeezes his hand. “Here’s what I’ll do. Tell us everything you can about the panel, and I’ll pay your debt. Okay?”

Astonished, he stares at her as if he can’t believe what she’s saying. “You would do that for me? Why?”

“Because you’re a good man, Doran, and your kids deserve to grow up with their father. One mistake shouldn’t change your future,” she says, a sad expression crossing her face. “Now, what do you know?”

He reaches for the side table, and my magic whips out and grabs his wrist.

Phaedra swivels her head around in disbelief and shoots me a furious look, then turns back to Doran. “He doesn’t like guns.”

Kline waves a hand. “It isn’t even loaded. I was getting paper from the drawer.”

I almost snort. Not loaded. Some of my tension eases.

Phaedra pulls open the drawer and grabs a pencil and paper. She hands them to Kline, then takes the gun so he can use the table’s surface. As he starts sketching, she places the gun behind her back and signals to us. Mathias smoothly steps over and takes it from her.

He holds up the picture he just drew. “Found with a key at The Temple of Hephaestus in 300 BCE. It’s made of blue sapphire with a gold relief carved into its surface. Depiction of the Greek gods standing in a circle. Gold accents highlight the sun and other objects like Hephaestus’ hammer.”

Face white, she takes the sketch from him and stares down at it. “Thanks, Doran. Make the call, and I’ll pay your debt on our way out.”

While Kline makes the arrangements, the four of us crowd around Phaedra. “Do you know what it is?”

She shakes her head. “No, but when I held the key, I got a vision. It showed me several different panels. One looked exactly like this one.”

A vision. It’s the first time she’s shared something important with me, and I can’t help but feel grateful for that little kernel of trust. But why is she the one getting the vision?

“One group has the panel. One doesn’t. Neither has the key. It’s our only leverage,” I remind her. “Where’s the key?”

Her face goes blank. “It’s safe.”

Mathias takes the sketch from her. “Where do we start looking?” He passes it to Hawthorne.

“Archaeology network, old tombs, the original dig, and artifact finds from digs at similar sites,” Hawthorne informs him, and she nods in agreement. He passes the paper to me.

Phaedra bites her cheek for a second, then says quietly. “I think Letz told me where to start.”

Kline walks over before I can ask her to elaborate and hands over a piece of paper.

“They don’t want to meet, especially not with a security team from the council.

This is their account number. Make the payment tonight, and they’ll recall the marker.

” His voice breaks as he hands her the paper.

“If you ever need anything, please call. I’m in your debt. ”

She squeezes his hand. “Thank you. Go hug your kids.”