Page 20 of Monsters in the Museum (Defenders of the Light #1)

Chapter twenty

W hen Nora stepped through the portal early on Tuesday afternoon and out into the sunshine on the Sanctuary lawn, she sighed in relief and unzipped her leather jacket. The pleasant crispness of early fall had given way to actual cold that Nora would be inclined to call “wintry” if she didn’t know much worse weather was around the corner.

She was there to go over the final plan for that night’s trap at the museum with Adam and Thad. Nora had ducked out of work early, complaining that she wasn’t feeling well. She hadn’t had to do much to convince her coworkers of her apparent illness; she had been pale and distracted for days. Very little was getting done in the office right now anyway, everybody still reeling from the shock of losing Leo. He wasn’t well-liked among most of the workers, but historians weren’t accustomed to losing men on the job, and the days dragged on in shocked silence.

Now that the time to execute her own self-sacrificial plot was finally here, she felt something halfway between relief and debilitating stomach cramps.

She made her way to the courtyard with the long tables and entered to find that not only were Thad and Adam seated there, but they were joined by Ezra, Antony, and Drew. It was still odd to see Adam in a tweed jacket and Drew in a flannel seated among a group of men wearing brightly colored chitons. Nora wondered how many years it would take her to find such a sight ordinary as she approached the table and slid herself onto an empty stool between Adam and Drew.

Adam offered her a gentle smile as she sat, although she could still sense how nervous he was from the way he fidgeted with a ring he was wearing on his right hand. What little conversation there had been at the table seemed to die as she settled in, and Nora attempted to break the suffocating silence. “I didn’t expect to see you here, Drew.”

He shrugged one broad shoulder, but his eyes betrayed his seriousness.

“Thad filled me in on what you were planning, and I couldn’t stand to just wait at home by myself, wondering if you were all right. Besides, it’s never done any harm to have a real emergency medicine doctor at the ready in a dangerous situation.”

“I told you, there’s already a doctor at the ready,” Thad interjected, but his words were gentle.

“Yes, but this doctor has real suture kits in his bag, not just fancy herbs,” Drew countered.

Adam butted in before a lengthy discussion about healthcare practices could break out. “I think the point here is to go over the plan, so nobody ends up needing any healing. If we could get to business now...”

With everybody’s attention on him, Adam began to outline how they would spring the trap. Nora was shocked to hear that other Eteria members who resided in the Sanctuary would be joining them for the ambush.

Noticing her surprise, Thad leaned around Drew to murmur to her, “Just because some of them are shy of strangers and keep out of your way when you’re here doesn’t mean they don’t want to help.”

A wave of gratitude washed over Nora as she returned her attention to what Adam was saying. She began to fidget when Adam started to detail how she wouldn’t be able to carry any weapons into the museum to not tip the agent off to their plans. Her sleek black manicure from the weekend before had been halfway picked off by the time it became apparent that she was going to be alone and minimally armed with the Shadow for a few minutes as the attack party rushed in.

“Your best bet is to get the agent talking,” Thad piped up once Adam got to this part of the plan. “The evil ones are always so mouthy. It’s how they spread their lies and fear.”

Nora wrinkled her nose at him. “Really? I thought the bad guy speech was just an action movie trope.”

“It’s a trope for a reason,” Adam responded. “Getting them talking is a good strategy for keeping them distracted while we get there.”

Adam turned back to Ezra and Antony to start interrogating them on their plans for the attack party, but Nora was too distracted to follow any of the conversation.

While the others were occupied, Drew leaned in to whisper in her ear, “You know you don’t have to do this, right?”

“You know I’m going to do it anyway, right?”

She felt his slight huff of breath that passed for an unamused laugh against her hair. “I know how stubborn you can be, so yes, I do know that.” He paused for a second before adding, “I’ll go with you if you want.”

Nora started, having not considered that she might have the option to not be completely alone with the enemy. She tried to envision what it might be like to have company at the museum, but instead, the vision of Leo lying at the bottom of the stairs in a pool of his own blood came to mind.

“I don’t want to take the chance that it would give the plan away, or that you would get hurt. Better to endanger one person instead of two. Besides, it makes me feel better to know you’ll be there after to help take care of anybody who gets hurt.”

Drew nodded his understanding. “As long as you’re sure.”

By this point, Antony and Ezra were discussing weapons between the two of them and Adam seemed to be done with his part. He turned to Nora before standing and inclining his head to indicate she should do the same.

“Come with me, and we’ll see if we can get you geared up a bit more.”

Nora rose from her seat and followed him from the courtyard, trying not to let her hands fuss too much as they strode down the hallway. Normally not at a loss for what to say to each other, they were both quiet, their footsteps echoing harshly in the vast and empty hallways.

They turned through a doorway, and Nora found that they had not come to the armory but were instead in Adam’s bedroom. Adam ushered her inside and strode over to his kettle in the corner.

“How about some tea to calm our nerves? English breakfast, right?” he asked, pulling out some teacups.

“All right,” Nora agreed. “Although I think a weapon in my hands right now would do more to calm my nerves than tea.”

Adam snorted. “Don’t worry. We’re getting there. But I might need a nice cup of tea to keep my sanity right now.”

As the water heated, he made his way over to the numerous shelves lining his walls and perused them until he came to the short bronze dagger that she had noticed the last time she was in his room. He plucked it off its stand and brought it to her, offering it to her, hilt first.

She plucked it from his fingers and examined the finely crafted blade.

“It’s not a spear for sure,” Adam said as he watched her. “But it’s better than nothing, and if you can take on a Shadow with tweezers and a coffee pot, I think you’ll make do.”

“I thought it was decorative,” Nora commented as she touched her finger lightly to the edge and was rewarded with a striking pain in her finger. She hissed and shoved the finger into her mouth to suck off the few drops of blood that had gathered there.

Adam chuckled. “It’s pretty, but that doesn’t mean you can’t stab people with it. Besides, this one’s special. It’s good luck.”

Nora raised her eyebrows at him, index finger still in her mouth, but he didn’t elaborate. Instead, he turned to the trunk at the foot of his bed. He rifled through it for a moment before surfacing with a small sheath that he handed to her.

“Here, that should keep you from disemboweling yourself with that when you tuck it inside your jacket.”

Nora took it from him, slipped the dagger into it, and slid it into the inner pocket of her jacket as he instructed. As she worked, Adam brought over their finished cups of tea and passed her one, which she brought to her lips to let the steam wash over her face.

“Nora, I need to warn you of something.”

Nora looked up to find Adam watching her, his tea forgotten in his hands.

“Warn me of something beyond the fact that I’m being used as live bait for evil incarnate?” Nora winced as her attempt at a joke fell flat.

“This is serious, Nora.” Adam’s eyes left no room for argument. “I know you are going to have to get the agent talking to keep him distracted, but you can’t listen to what he says.”

“What?” Nora drew back. “Won’t that make it difficult to keep them talking?”

“Well, you may have to listen to them, but you have to promise me you won’t believe anything they say. The Shadow grows by instilling fear and doubt in their enemies, which is why they love to talk so much. They use their words to feel out weaknesses and turn allies against each other. You can get them talking, but you can’t let them poison you. Don’t let your guard down, not even for a second.”

Nora gulped. The hairs on her body stood on end as she remembered what Adam had told her about what the Shadows could do to a person’s mind. Then Antony’s voice came to her, reminding her that love and hope could help keep the Shadow at bay. Glancing around the collections on Adam’s shelves, she took in all the beauty that was at stake here at the Sanctuary. She looked back at Adam to find his eyes searching her face with a seriousness that bordered on desperation.

“Ok, I can do that.” Nora was pleased by how steady her voice came out.

Adam let out a breath, and some of the tension drained from his shoulders at her promise. He was still visibly nervous, though, and Nora’s eyes landed on his fingers, fidgeting on the handle of his teacup.

“I do have something else to give you while we’re here,” Adam continued. “I was planning on giving it to you the other night at the gala, actually, but then, well, that didn’t really turn out to be the type of evening either of us planned on.”

Adam picked her teacup out of her hand and turned to the trunk behind him to set them down. Nora wondered where on her person she might be able to hide another weapon with her one pocket already occupied by the dagger, but when Adam turned back around, his hands were empty.

“Where is it?” Nora inquired, but Adam didn’t answer, instead stepping toward her until their toes were almost touching. He brought one hand to rest gently on her arm as the other came up to cradle her cheek. As he leaned in, Nora had the split-second thought that this was a very different sort of a gift than a weapon, and then his lips pressed against hers.

Nora thought she might be nervous about kissing Adam for the first time, but the experience was not what she expected at all. She might have been more prepared for a searing kiss like she had seen in dramatic movies before the leads leapt into a certain-death situation, considering what Nora was about to do. Adam, however, managed to surprise her.

He pressed his lips against hers gently, savoring her warmth and closeness as if this were all he ever wanted. Warm honey filled Nora’s veins as her hands drifted up to grip the lapels of his jacket and she began to kiss him back in earnest, causing him to sigh into her mouth.

Adam’s hands drifted up her body, leaving sparks in their wake as they came to weave into her hair. He tipped her head back, opening her up to his mouth for further exploration, and Nora went willingly. The honey in Nora’s veins pooled in her belly and she found herself pressing against Adam’s body, wanting to feel more, to mold herself to the shape of him.

It was over far before Nora would have liked it to be, but when Adam pulled away, he left his hand cradling her face. She might have been proud of the distinctly dazed expression on his face if she hadn’t been sure she looked equally stricken.

“I hope that was all right.” Adam’s musical voice came out breathier than usual. “I just had you to myself for a second, and well…I’m not exactly sure what the protocol for first kisses is anymore.”

His earnestness earned a soft chuckle from Nora. “Neither do I.” She let go of his lapels and tried to smooth out where her fists had rumpled them. “It’s been a while since my last first kiss.”

Adam snorted as he finally dropped his hand from her face, his other hand on her arm brushing down to intertwine with her own. “Not as long as it’s been since mine.”

“Really? How long has it been?” Nora knew it was rude to ask, but after being shocked by the fact he had once been married, she realized she knew very little about his romantic history.

Adam cleared his throat and shifted his weight. “Let’s just say it’s definitely been longer than you’ve been alive.”

Nora’s mouth fell open, but before she could even draw breath to launch into her next line of questioning, Adam jumped in and skillfully changed the subject.

“Isn’t there a group of people waiting on us to join them so we can set out to vanquish evil, or some such thing?”

Unfortunately, he was right. Nora closed her mouth and tucked away this tidbit of information about him for later examination as she followed him out his bedroom door, their fingers still intertwined.

As Nora let herself into the museum, the rattling of the door sounded deafening in the empty vastness of the space beyond. The one security guard had recognized her from her many nights of working late in the past and waved her on with a smile as she told him that she had forgotten her phone in the office. She hoped he wouldn’t come check on her when the Shadows were present as she stuck a rubber stopper under the door, leaving it cracked open so the attack team could enter after her.

They were currently stationed in Soldier Field, about a third of a mile away, hoping it would be far enough for them to not be noticed by the Shadow, but close enough to respond quickly when Nora called Adam using the cell phone that was already in her hand.

Nora recalled the image of them gathered there, ready to leap into action at a moment’s notice to calm her nerves and remind herself that she was not really alone. Ezra, Antony, Thad, and Adam were all there, as well as a half dozen other members of the Eteria that she had been briefly introduced to but was too nervous to remember the names of. She had been surprised that so many strangers had agreed to join her harebrained mission, but they had all smiled at her warmly as if they were pleased she was there.

The entire crew had assembled under the tall pillars of the stadium, looking like they felt extremely uncomfortable in the black leather jackets and jeans Thad had acquired for them, instead of being clad in their traditional armor. The effect of their modern clothes was somewhat ruined by the fact that they were all armed to the teeth with spears and swords, making the group look more like a biker gang that enjoyed going to Renaissance festivals than an actual fighting force. Drew had also seemed rather amused by the picture they painted but had managed to keep a straight face, given the gravity of the situation.

Drew had given her a bone-crushing hug when she parted ways with them, offering again to come with her if she had changed her mind, to which she shook her head. She warmed when Antony, Thad, and Adam had all hugged her before she left too, and even Ezra gave her an affectionate pat on the head that set her off into the night feeling braver than she had before.

Now that she was alone in the museum, though, most of that bravery had dissipated into the thick darkness surrounding her. She used the light of her cell phone, already opened to the call screen with Adam’s number typed in, to illuminate her path up the side stairs to the arms exhibit. As a group, they had decided that the Shadow was most likely to respond if she stood close to the powerful artifacts.

Nora wove her way through the darkened exhibit, moving slowly so she wouldn’t run into any displays in the blackness. The silence was only broken by her footsteps. It was as if the suits of armor she passed were watching her, haunted by ghosts of dead warriors waiting to watch her plunge into her own battle.

Nora shook the image from her head. Instead, she thought about joyful things that would bolster her when the Shadow tried to poison her with its words like Adam had warned her it would. She pictured the beautiful sunlit library at the Sanctuary and Drew crushing her to his chest in one of his signature hugs. She pictured Adam’s face after he kissed her.

She stepped up to the glass case to look down on the weapons of Adam and his late wife. The light from her cell phone was dim enough to cause her to squint to make out the engravings. She remembered then that she hadn’t had the chance to ask him what the phrase meant to him. Nora added it to the long list of things that she would have to ask at some point.

A ripple of heat danced across the back of her neck. She whipped around, eyes frantically searching the darkness in front of her for the glowing eyes of a Shadow creature, or movement that might belong to the agent. Her thumb hovered above the call button on her phone, and her other hand shot into the inner pocket of her jacket to grip the hilt of the dagger concealed there. Seeing nothing, Nora attempted to calm her breathing so she wouldn’t call Adam too soon and alert the Shadow to their plan.

After several tense moments with no further signs of company, Nora let the hand gripping the dagger hilt slide out of her jacket pocket. As soon as her hand fell back to her side, Nora felt a sharp tug at her ponytail, forceful enough to pull her backward and cause a shriek of surprise and pain to tear from her throat. Her phone slipped from her grasp as she fell, right before her head cracked against the glass of the display case behind her, and she lost all awareness.