Page 15

Fifteen

W e walked the length of the castle on the way to Sasha’s room. The high-vaulted ceilings echoed every footstep on the stone floor. Full suits of armor that I swear held the battle scars of a medieval joust were displayed along the main hallway. Tapestries hung in niches, antiques tables with busts of some famous folks, I assumed, perched against walls.

Fredericka stopped at the end of the hall. “Sasha preferred the tower. The elevator doesn’t go up there.”

“Perfect.” I glanced upward at the staircase spiraling above me.

I followed her up three flights of stairs. I had to stop at the top and catch my breath.

“You had better train harder if you want to fight the Mafusos,” Fredericka said, not the least bit out of breath.

She opened the door to a circular room. Mullioned windows ringed the outer half of the room. A four-poster bed draped with white linen fit for a princess sat in the center. The princess in the tower.

“Wow! This room’s amazing.” I crossed to the wall of windows and looked out at the frothy waterfall spilling down the side of the neighboring mountain and into the crystal blue water below. In the distance, a glimpse of the Caspian Sea sparkled against the sunbeams.

Fredericka moved beside me to share the view. “There are no family photos. No journals. No clue to her life before here.”

“Did Elma bring her here?”

“I don’t know. Folded inside her wallet was a write-up of my grandfather in one of his many celebrity hunts torn from a newspaper that dates a few months before she arrived here. I’m not sure how she made the connection.”

“From what I gathered, Elma died before Sasha arrived here.” I turned to face her.

“Sasha was always more clever than me with our trips into town, dealing with people. What is the word?” She paused.

“Street smarts,” I answered.

“Yes, street smarts. It’s possible Elma gave her the clues to find my grandfather, but why didn’t she tell me?”

I shrugged and explored the room. A wardrobe full of clothes. A stuffed carnival bear. A fluffy chair. A book on medieval torture that didn’t encourage me to find her.

“I’ve looked under the drawers, in pockets of clothing. Caiyan and I tore this room apart.”

“Caiyan?” I stiffened that he’d been here and not told me.

“Yes. And then Marco did the same. We’ve searched the entire estate. There is nothing.”

Where would I keep important information? My Mamma Bea hid her mad money under the wooden floorboards. I looked down at the floor. Stone. “No tile left unturned, right?”

Fredericka rolled her eyes but helped me search. After examining the hand-cut tiles and finding nothing disturbed, I focused on the French Aubusson rug under the bed.

“Help me push the bed.”

We pushed, and it moved easier than expected. I knelt and drew back the rug. “One of these tiles looks wonky-jawed.”

“What?” Fredericka wrinkled her nose at me.

“This tile has been ungrouted.” I pointed to the tile in question. “Do you have something to lift it?”

She rummaged through a drawer and came up with a letter opener. I used it to pry the tile loose.

Under it was a small jewelry box. It contained a rolled-up paper no bigger than a cigarette tied with twine. I unrolled and studied the torn section of a map. It looked like my Aint Elma’s map, and much like the drawing Marco sent me except this one had the island marked New Providence and the name Lidiya written at the bottom.

Fredericka bent over my shoulder, examining the map. “Lidiya was my mother.”

I handed her the box and the map, then stood. “Did your mother have the gift?”

“I don’t know. She wore a key, but she never spoke of it. I never saw a vessel. It skips a generation, yes?”

“Not always. What about your father?”

Fredericka’s face clouded. “He was a bastard, according to my mother. A sailor she met while he was on shore leave. A one-night stand. She told me never to ask about him again.”

She placed the box on the dresser and studied the map. “I recognize this map. My grandfather had it the day he died. He asked Sasha and me to leave the room so he could speak to Caiyan in private. When we returned, he held this small paper.”

I didn’t want to tell Fredericka about Ace’s discovery of the five maps, but why was the name Lidiya written on it in ballpoint pen? I took a deep breath and decided trusting her was the way to go. I explained about Ace’s grandfather and the torn-up map.

“Yes. That must have been what my grandfather spoke of before he died. He gave Sasha his map and told her we must all work together to destroy the King’s key.” She shrugged. “Caiyan thought he was delirious from the illness, then Gian-Carlo arrived with you, and you know the rest.”

“Is it possible your mother isn’t dead? Could she have jumped to the past to hide from the man who wanted to take you to America?”

“Why would your meddling aunt tell me my mother was dead, if she was not?”

“I’m not sure. It’s not her style to keep family apart.” I looked down at the map. “Maybe Elma hid your mother and Sasha the same way she hid you.” And maybe she hid an even bigger secret, like the location of the King’s key.

“My mother could be alive.” Fredericka’s eyes went damp. I lifted my arms and made a move to hug her. She stopped me short with an evil glare.

I took a step back and reviewed our theory. “And just maybe the bad man found them and Elma sent Sasha to Rogue for safety.”

The part of my theory I didn’t share was if Sasha jumped to 1718, she not only gets the King’s key, but might find her mother.

Fredericka did some mental math and nodded her confirmation. “If my grandfather knew where my mother was, why didn’t he go and get her?”

“Maybe Elma didn’t tell him your mother’s whereabouts.” Because it would give away the location of the King’s key , I thought. I pulled the corner of my lip between my teeth, chewing over the option to share my thoughts. My aunt always had reasons for her decisions. “Elma didn’t tell Rogue or Sasha about you either.”

“Elma knew I’d leave the WTF, join Rogue, and search for her.” Fredericka snapped her fingers. “This is the reason I’ve been summoned to headquarters.”

“You were?” I looked at her, stunned.

“I received a text from Agent McCoy to report for duty. We’re short transporters. He’s going to send me to find my mother.”

Crap. Fredericka would show Jake the map and demand to jump to Nassau. He’d send her instead of me.

Our destination was the same, but our itineraries were different.

“I’m not going.”

I breathed a sigh of relief.

“I’ll jump on my own. I can find my mother, find Sasha, and maybe find…more.”

Damn. Not good. If Fredericka’s already in Nassau, Jake may not send me. No way was Vampira screwing up my chance to save Marco. I hated to admit that she wasn’t her evil self today, but I’d be damned if I’d let her change my flight plan.

“You should report to headquarters. We don’t have all the pieces of the map so you won’t know where to look and besides, going solo is never a good idea. Potts can arrest you, and then you’d never get to see your mother or sister.”

“Fine. I’ll play by the rules. But stay out of my way.”

There she is. Vampira was back. So much for co-worker bonding.