Page 9 of Monsters in the Museum (Defenders of the Light #1)
Chapter nine
T hree days after Nora had left for a simple coffee meeting with Adam, she collapsed back onto her own bed with a sigh. She stretched out, glad for the sense of comfort and normalcy that washed over her. Although she knew that there was a guard from the Eteria somewhere nearby, Adam had kept his promise, and she’d seen neither hide nor hair of them on her trip home.
She took a few moments of comfort in the sound of the traffic outside and the gurgle of her coffee maker running in the kitchen before her phone buzzed against her thigh.
Sitting up, she pulled the phone out to see Odelle’s name on the screen and grimaced before answering. “Hello?”
Her sister didn’t even acknowledge her with a greeting before launching into a tirade.
“Where the hell have you been? I’ve called you twenty times, and you only pick up now?”
Nora winced, pulling the phone away from her ear so that her sister’s yelling didn’t blow out her eardrum. Apparently, the Eteria had not yet figured out how to get cell phone service in pocket dimensions.
“You were at the hospital after almost bleeding to death, and then I go back to see you, and you aren’t there anymore. You and Drew just vanished without telling anybody where you were going. I would have filed a missing person report already if Drew hadn’t called me this morning and told me you were safe.” Under the rage in Odelle’s voice, Nora could sense a slight edge of hysteria.
“Well, he was right. I’m safe. I just got back to my apartment.” Nora did her best to sound reassuring, but the effort was wasted on Odelle.
“You were safe the whole time, and you didn’t even think to call me and let me know? I’ve been out of my mind over here. I spilled a cup of coffee on myself on live TV during the news because I was so distracted, worrying about what happened to you.”
Nora’s heart sank, and she covered her face with the hand that wasn’t holding the phone.
“I’m sorry, zaika . I didn’t have cell service where I was, and I was really out of it.”
“Of course, you were out of it; you ran out while being treated for blood loss and a concussion. And where were you that you didn’t have service?” Nora could envision Odelle with her hands on her hips, tossing her hair in exasperation.
“I was… with Adam.” Nora gave the only answer she could think of. She supposed she hadn’t promised anybody that she wouldn’t tell her sister about the Eteria, but somehow, she couldn’t bring herself to burden Odelle with everything that had just happened.
Odelle was far from satisfied with her answer.
“You ran out of the hospital with the professional acquaintance who got you into a car accident? I know I said he was attractive, but I didn’t mean for you to run away with him right then! How hard did you hit your head?”
“Drew came with us,” Nora offered lamely.
“Of course he did!” Odelle was beyond incensed. “He didn’t want you to die when you decided it was a good idea to run out of the hospital with a man you barely know!”
“I didn’t decide to run out. It was more complicated than that.” Nora stood and started pacing back and forth from the window to her closet.
“Then explain it to me. Contrary to common opinion, I’m not stupid,” Odelle fired back.
There was a long silence on the line before Nora answered. She opened her mouth, ready to spill the truth to her sister, whom she’d shared everything with for as long as she could remember. The words stuck in her throat. How did one begin when everything they’d believed to be true about the world had just been upended?
Nora thought about how her whole life, everything she had worked so hard for, was in jeopardy. Then she thought of the same thing happening to Odelle’s life, all the obstacles she had overcome to get where she was being for nothing. She knew Odelle wouldn’t be able to stay out of this conflict if she knew about it, just the way she ran toward every playground fight when they were kids. Odelle was always jumping in to protect Nora and getting herself in trouble, and Nora would be damned if she didn’t try to protect Odelle from this fight.
“I can’t tell you,” Nora finally whispered.
“That’s not true,” Odelle answered in her typical obstinate fashion. “You always tell me everything.”
“Not this.”
There was another long silence, and a lump rose in Nora’s throat. Finally, her sister’s voice came through the line.
“Then I guess we aren’t the sisters I thought we were. If you change your mind and need somebody to talk to, you know where to find me.” Odelle’s voice was followed by a faint click, and then she was gone.
Nora slid to the floor where she had been standing, not bothering to make her way back to her bed, and covered her head with her arms. It was as if a wall was sliding into place where there had never been a barrier before—not even through all the struggles they had faced together as foster children. Now Nora had placed something damaging between them, and she wasn’t sure if she’d be able to break back through.
As Nora sat on the floor under the window, hot tears squeezed out of the corners of her eyes. They ran down her cheeks, dripping off her chin to form wet pools on her collarbone. For the first time during the ordeal of the last few days, she let herself cry.
The next morning, as Nora walked up the steps to work, she felt as if somebody had dug out her brain with a spoon and replaced it with a pile of soggy cotton balls. It took all her focus to keep her feet moving up the steps after the sleeplessness of the night before.
As she pushed through the doors of the museum, however, her exhaustion faded and was replaced by puzzlement. After hearing that the museum had been closed the day before in the aftermath of the fire, she expected extensive damage. Instead of charred floors and smoke-stained ceilings though, the museum entrance looked the same as it always did. There were even a few early visitors checking in and milling around the base of the giant T-Rex skeleton in the entrance hall.
Confused, she turned and made her way down the stairs to her office, seeing no signs of damage there either. Adam had assured her that he had returned while she was unconscious and put the weapons back in their places, but she had no idea how the rest of the museum had gotten cleaned up so quickly.
As she pushed open the doors to the basement workroom, she only caught a brief glimpse of the room before a small form barreled into her, almost knocking her backward.
“Oh my goodness! I’m so glad you are okay!” exclaimed a worried voice, and Nora looked down on a head of sleek black hair.
Nora extricated herself from Mandy with a chuckle. “Yeah, I’m okay. Fit as a fiddle.”
Mandy still looked concerned. “Drew texted me from your phone and told me you were in the hospital after a car accident, so you wouldn’t be at work. I didn’t know what to think! Leo tried not to look too pleased that you were gone, and I just hoped you’d be back before he managed to take over all your projects.”
“As if he could handle all my work,” Nora snorted as she waved her hand, “Drew was being dramatic. I was just a little banged up. Nothing major,” she lied smoothly. She was disturbed by how believable the lie sounded, even to her own ears. “It sounds like you guys were having a much more exciting time here with the fire and all. I expected there to be more damage.”
“We all expected that too. According to the eyewitness accounts of all the museum guests, the fire was gigantic. But you know people, always exaggerating things to make a good story and get on the news.”
Nora hummed in assent, still looking around the office in masked disbelief.
Mandy continued. “They kept the museum closed for a few days while they were investigating the cause of the fire, but they didn’t find anything. Guess it must have been a freak accident of some sort. In terms of damage, there were just a few charred walls and some smoke stains at the end of the hall. They got that all cleaned up rather quickly.”
“And what about our office? Any damage in here?” Nora attempted to sound as nonchalant as possible.
“Nope. The fire doors closed and kept all of the smoke out.”
Nora had to work to suppress a shudder as she thought about how the fire door had failed at keeping the smoke—and the creatures it contained—out. Meanwhile, Mandy pressed on.
“All our artifacts should be fine, but we haven’t taken out the pieces from the new shipment to see if any changes in the climate control may have affected them. That should probably be our project for the day.”
Nora nodded. “Good thinking. I’ll take the sword and the spear since they’re already by my bench.” She didn’t add that she was anxious to assess them for damage caused by something other than an increase in humidity.
A few minutes later, Nora stood in front of her workbench where Adam had kneeled in a pool of her blood just a few days earlier. The floor was spotless, and she surmised that Adam must have cleaned up the mess when he came to put the sword and spear away.
It was quick work to inspect the weapons, finding them to still be in immaculate condition. She supposed she shouldn’t be surprised that Adam had done a good job cleaning them after all his insistence. He did seem serious about doing his part to keep her life as normal as possible.
Thankful her work hadn’t been jeopardized, Nora turned to making plans to integrate the new artifacts into the existing displays upstairs in the museum. She chewed on her pen as she paused in drawing out her idea to put the sword and the spear in a prominent new case. It seemed odd to display the pieces when she now knew the person who had fought with them, but Adam hadn’t actually asked her to give him the sword back, so she decided to press on with her plans.
Nora was still considering things when she headed down the steps at the end of the day. She slowed when she noticed more than a few people loitering at the bottom of the steps and giggling. Nora followed the direction of their stares, and her gaze landed on Thad, jauntily perched on one of the railings as if he owned the place.
When Nora saw what he was wearing, she could understand why people were staring. She strolled up to him with raised eyebrows.
“Nice threads, Thad,” she commented as she took in his lavender suit. As she got closer, it looked to be made of velvet.
“Thank you,” he said, straightening his silver ascot, the movement making his matching drop earrings twinkle in the sunlight. “I’ve been told the color compliments my complexion.”
“You were told the truth,” Nora said as he hopped down off the railing. She had to look down a few inches to meet his eyes.
“What are you doing here anyway? I got the impression you didn’t leave the Sanctuary much.”
“I don’t,” Thad began walking and motioned for her to follow him. “I’m here to pick you up and bring you to the Sanctuary to train with Ezra.”
Nora fell into step beside him. “We’re starting that today?”
“Adam convinced him to train you, and as long as he is going to do it, he is going to take his job seriously. You’ll be coming every day after work.”
“I guess he really plans on whipping me into shape then.”
“Oh, Nora, you have no idea what you’re in for.” Thad shot her a pitying look.
“Well then, why don’t you fill me in while we walk? I still have a lot to learn about the Eteria.”
Thad glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, “What do you want to know?”
Nora didn’t know where to start, but she settled for asking, “Why does nobody but Adam leave the Sanctuary very often?”
Thad looked pensive for a moment before he spoke.
“It was hard watching the world around us go by as if nothing had happened after the Defeat. The Eteria, as we knew it, had come crumbling down. Our leadership was dead or disheartened, and with the Shadow vanquished, we had no real purpose. It was easier to stay in the Sanctuary and grieve all we had lost. After that…” Thad shrugged. “It exhausts you to your very soul to watch everybody you ever met grow old and die.”
Nora walked in silence for a moment, considering how horrible the Defeat must have been to send the entire Eteria into hiding.
“Then why does Adam stay out in the rest of the world?” Nora eventually asked. Adam was a mystery she couldn’t resist trying to solve.
“Adam is in a… unique situation. He always has been curious about where the world is going. It’s been good for the rest of us, too, to have him bringing pieces of the world back with him. Keeps us young, as it were.”
“What kinds of things does he bring back with him?”
“Have you ever tried chili cheese fries? Life-altering.”
Nora laughed. They had reached Millenium Park, and Thad led her toward the spectacle that was The Bean. He pulled her under the curved edge of the perfectly polished, kidney bean-shaped structure. They stood under its wide arch, facing toward one of the mirrored sides.
Nora shook her head in disbelief as she commented, “I still can’t believe this is the entrance to the Sanctuary, just out in plain sight like this.”
“You should see the Paris entrance. It’s straight through one of the walls in the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles.”
Nora’s mouth fell open. “But how do you keep people from just falling through the wall into the Sanctuary? Or are you constantly besieged by extremely confused tourists? And don’t people notice you popping in and out of walls?”
“You’d be surprised what people miss when they aren’t looking for it. Besides that’s the thing about these portals that’s so brilliant—you can only get through them if you know where you’re trying to go.” He took her hand and drew her a step closer to the mirrored surface. “You could do this on your own; I’m just here for insurance this first time. After this, you should be able to come and go as you please.”
Nora raised a brow and glanced down at him. “Are you sure you want that? You know you might never see the end of me if I can get in here and explore all I want.”
Thad’s smile was crooked as he responded. “Oh, I’m sure. We could use a little variety around here after two thousand years. You’re just the change we need.”
Nora hit the dirt with an ungraceful thud for what had to be the twelfth time in the last hour and rubbed her backside as she clambered back to her feet. She didn’t bother to dust off her clothes, surrendering to the fact that the red tunic Thad had supplied for her was now hopelessly crusted with dirt from the ground of the training ring.
“Take your stance again, and this time, keep your weight on your back foot.” Ezra’s voice reminded her to keep her focus on what she was doing, not on how silly she must look. She took the stance he had taught her again, and he crossed his arms as he appraised her, looking like a human mountain as he scowled. Nora couldn’t say whether he was scowling because of her form, though, because she hadn’t seen another expression from him the entire time she had been here, and she had begun to think that was just the way his face looked.
Nora brought her attention back to her own feet and focused on keeping her body angled to the right, with her weight on her right foot and the ball of her left just resting on the packed dirt. She lifted her hands with her left arm forward and fingers slightly open, ready to grab or strike as the occasion arose.
Ezra sighed and uncrossed his arms, making the black band tattooed around his left bicep ripple. “You must round your back more and lean forward. If you stand up straight like a board, you will not be behind the defense of your hands.”
Nora attempted to get into the position he described and felt supremely silly. It was hard to believe that just two hours ago, she had been excited to learn the Greek hand-to-hand fighting style of pankration, hoping to discover more about the techniques than anybody else ever had from examining the depictions of famous fights on pottery. Now though, she was mainly regretting never going to Pilates with Odelle, thinking maybe more exercise would have given her a better sense of coordination. As it was, Nora was a shaking ball of bruises and sweat. History lessons had rarely been so hands-on.
“Enough,” Ezra grumbled, running a hand through his sandy hair, and she gratefully stood up out of the fighting stance. “You are too tired to make any more progress today. You are only going to practice bad habits. Especially harmful for beginners.”
Nora hobbled over to the edge of the fountain where there was a towel for her to wipe the sweat away from her eyes.
“I haven’t been a beginner at anything in years,” Nora grumbled as she mopped at her face.
Ezra snorted. “I’m not surprised. You lack the patience that comes with learning new things.”
“You can’t always get good at things by taking it slow.”
“And you can’t always improve at things simply by wishing it were so,” Ezra continued with a glare. “Now stretch, or you’ll hurt yourself. I don’t want to hear about you being sore when we train again tomorrow.”
Nora groaned but flopped down on the ground and reached for her toes. Ezra was so big as he loomed above her that he blocked out the sun. She couldn’t help but ask, “So how do you end up getting stuck with training the newbies?”
“I am a Warrior. It is my job to train all the new Warriors in the Eteria.”
Nora squinted up at him as she pulled an arm across her chest to stretch her shoulder.
“But I thought everyone here at the sanctuary was a warrior?”
“We all fight against the Shadow, but not all of us are Warriors. Warriors are one of the four orders of the Eteria, charged with defending the Light in battle and known for our physical prowess. We wear red to symbolize our position in the Eteria.”
Nora glanced down at her own red tunic. “Am I a Warrior now?” she teased.
“Most definitely not.” Ezra’s scowl deepened a fraction. “Most of the training tunics we have lying around are red, since the Warriors do the most combat exercises.”
Nora contemplated, envisioning Adam’s skill with a sword in the museum, and asked, “Is Adam a Warrior too?”
“No,” Ezra scoffed. “Adam is a Defender. He has the basic combat training that all members of the Eteria receive. He’s more a librarian than a fighter.”
Nora blanched, imagining what the Warriors’ skills must be like if what Adam had done was “basic.” She also thoroughly appreciated the image of Adam as a librarian but jumped to distract herself before she fell into a hole of library-based fantasies. Nora grasped for something else to ask.
“Thad was wearing green yesterday. What order is that?”
“Healers wear green, and before you ask, the last order is Smiths, and they wear purple.” Ezra pointed accusingly at where Nora was now sitting cross-legged on the ground, squinting up at him. “Now, are you done stretching, or are you just going to sit there and interrogate me?”
Nora pried herself off the ground with a barely stifled moan. Despite her minimal attempts at stretching, she knew her muscles would feel the day’s exercises when she woke up in the morning.
“I’ll ask you more tomorrow,” she said, and Ezra glared. “I have to get home and answer some emails anyway.”
“I’ll see you back here at the same time tomorrow. You have a lot of work to do. And by Zeus, eat some meat tonight. You are going to have to put on a lot more muscle if you are going to stand a chance against the Shadows.”