It felt so wrong to leave his body, as if Horatio were nothing but a discarded mass of flesh.
She couldn’t lift him, and dawn was coming. Soon workers and tourists would descend onto the city streets. She needed to get back to the residence before another minion came calling. After retrieving his fluids with the syringe, Alex searched Horatio’s body and found his cell phone. She figured she would call the police about the body as soon as she had cleared the park. She looked at what should have been her bloodstained shirt. Instead of a dark red bloodstain all over her chest, Horatio’s fluids had transformed in the open air. The stain was lightened into a rose-gold color, like his eye socket had. It made sense these Immortals would be made of different stuff.
Alex’s brisk walk turned to a run. Visions of minions close at her heels ran through her mind. As she ran toward the residence, Horatio’s dying words drifted like a dark shadow over her thoughts. Was he telling her to trust no one at KHNM? Should she tell Buxton about the eye now hidden in her scribe’s bag? What would she tell the others about what happened with Horatio? Could Buxton be the mole? Alex found that hard to believe. Until she could glean more information it might be best to keep it all to herself.
Once she was out of the park she dialed 9-1-1 and told the officer who answered about a violent fight she’d witnessed. She dumped the phone in the trash and made her way to the residence. At the door, Alex realized she didn’t have a key. She pounded on the door, fully aware she would wake the entire house. As soon as her fist struck the wood, the high-pitched bark from Jeeves accompanied the flicking on of lights.
Alex turned to look down Fifth Avenue. Her arms became populated with a tiny mountain range of goose bumps. Could a minion be following her from a hair’s breadth away? Alex’s pulse raced at the thought.
The door swung open. Luke’s hair was standing up in sleep-sculpted tufts. He leaned into the door and rubbed his eyes.
Alex pushed past Luke. He barely seemed to register what was happening. She slammed the door shut and twisted the bolt lock with a satisfying thunk. She leaned against it and sighed with relief.
Salima descended from the main staircase. “Look what the cat’s dragged in. Have you been out all night?”
Buxton wasn’t far behind her, looking flustered. “Alex? Where have you been?” He rushed past Salima.
“Horatio is dead.” Saying the words aloud made the impact of an Immortal dying in her arms feel more real than when it had happened. Alex walked toward Buxton, who stood like a beacon of offered comfort. The movement made her head spin. Her body crumpled. Instead of landing against the hard floor, she was gently supported. Luke had caught her. She leaned against him as he knelt down. His earlier injury inflicted by Jeeves’s treat ball did not seem to be paining him any longer.
Buxton stood over them. “Luke, bring her into the salon. I’ll grab some brandy. I think we need a plan.”
Luke helped Alex up. She leaned on him as he guided her to the salon. After ushering her to a nearby chaise lounge he retrieved a crystal glass of cool water from somewhere and held it in front of her nose. “Drink.”
Alex sipped as instructed. By the time Buxton scrounged up the brandy, Alex shooed it away. It was the last thing she needed.
Salima had taken a seat in the far corner of the room. Luke and Buxton took the chairs opposite the chaise lounge. Both leaned in toward Alex, their faces intense with concern. “How do you know Horatio is dead?” asked Buxton.
Alex gazed out at the tableau in front of her as if in a fog. “I killed him.”
Salima shot out of her seat and instantaneously loomed over Alex. “What do you mean? How could you have killed the Lord of the Sky?”
“Raymond sent a minion. They fought. Before Horatio could put a stop to the creature, it injected him partially. He made me push the plunger home. Horus is dead.”
Salima shot Alex an odd look, then returned to her faraway perch. Alex wasn’t sure if the expression was one of disgust or fear.
Buxton sat in stunned silence. His body hunched forward. “So Raymond already has three. Only two more to go.”
“Well, maybe you are wrong, maybe he needs more than the main five.” Luke was trying too hard to sound convincing.
“So did Horus tell you anything of interest before he died?” asked Salima.
Alex resolved to only tell the three of them the one thing she thought would be safe to tell them. “He said we should try and find Thoth. Do any of you know where he might be?”
“He went underground after your father died. They were partners, you know.” There was something in Salima’s tone that made Alex cringe whenever Salima brought up her father. It was as if she was taking an odd pleasure in believing she knew things about Alex’s dad that Alex never had the chance to know.
“Are you saying nobody knows where to find him?”
“I didn’t say that. I just don’t know where he is. I’ll bet you Captain Medjay knows.” Buxton’s expression brightened. “Luke and I will try and locate Isis and Osiris. Hopefully, we can talk them into going to a safe house. Salima and Alex, I want you two to find Captain Medjay and see if he knows where Thoth is.”
Salima smiled. “I know where to find Medjay.”
“I figured you would.” Luke stalked out of the salon.
Was there something between the archivist and Salima?
Soon after Luke left the salon the meeting ended. Alex made her way to her private elevator. As the lift closed she reached into her bag for a ginger chew. She hoped the intense spicy-sweetness would energize her. Something cold and metallic brushed against her hand. She peered into her scribe’s bag and caught a flash of blue. She smiled at the thought of Niles the half-time life coach. Would she meet up with him again? If only to return his pen?
She pulled out a ginger chew and worked at its wrapper.
An old memory of better times fluttered through her mind. It was nighttime. She and her parents were sitting on a beach around a bonfire with a cadre of friends. One of the friends was playing guitar by the flickering firelight, and all were singing heartily. There was something about the singer that made Alex think of Niles. She shook the thought away, realizing how ludicrous that thought was.
Alex couldn’t remember the last time she’d allowed herself to mentally peruse the happier days, when her father was alive and her mother was joyfully engaged with the world. When he died, her mother entombed those memories six feet below the surface of the earth. After the last shovel of dirt was cast onto the coffin, it was as if they’d been willed away forever.
She could see the beach scene as clear as day. Roxanne’s body relaxed and reclined against a driftwood log. Her parents’ heads inclined toward each other. Their enthusiastic voices joining in with the boisterous shout-singing of those who are not accustomed to singing out loud. Alex couldn’t remember the exact song they were all caught up in. But something about it had struck her as comedic, judging by the verve put into the performance.
She popped the candy into her mouth as she stepped into the bedroom. The early morning light pulled her toward the balcony. Down below was the park entrance where she’d met Horatio. A wave of exhaustion rolled through her. She looked over at the phone half-heartedly.
She would call her mother after some sleep. Since the moment she stepped off the jetway at JFK, her life and world had become somebody else’s. Was it only yesterday Thorne had summoned her? Alex had never run a marathon, but she imagined if she had, her body would feel less tired than it did now.
She pulled the heavy drapes closed and headed to the bathroom for a long, hot shower.
Her mind was certainly jumping at shadows. Her subconscious mind making any sort of connection between Niles and her father was proof of that. The two men were very dissimilar. Judging Niles solely by his looks, he was probably Alex’s age or slightly older. There was no way he was a part of the sing-along. She needed rest, and she had time to take it. The next stop on her itinerary wouldn’t happen for quite a few hours. The only place Salima knew where to find Captain Medjay was in a midtown bar for an after-shift cocktail.
After washing away her battle funk, Alex picked through the clothes Salima ordered for her. She reached past the fancy silk nightgown and grabbed a roomy T-shirt. Something about slipping into the elegant silk sleepwear seemed inappropriate for a quick nap. Satisfied, she scaled the massive bed and sunk into its warm embrace.