HDA - Living in Darkness Trilogy - Pt 2 - The Search

He glared at the phone on the desk as he passed it, then turned around and paced to the other end of his office. As he turned again, he glared at the phone. His frustration was almost boiling over and the conversation with his obtuse brother hadn't helped.

"A watched pot never boils."

Donovan jerked his head to the doorway. "How long have you been standing there?"

"Long enough to know you'll have to go get your blood pressure checked if you don't settle down."

He grunted. "Marcus--damn it, he was absolutely no help."

Brittani walked into his office and shut the door, then walked around his desk and sat down in his chair. "Well, I thought it was a bad idea. Messing with your sister's love life could have dangerous and lasting repercussions."

"Whitfield would never walk out on Casi."

"There are different ways to inflict damage--physical or emotional, Donovan. He may be a workaholic; he may be the type who will by his actions will make Casi resent him from their wedding on. Think about it, Donovan. She's a grown woman, capable of making choices--and mistakes--on her own."

"She's my sister. I don't want her hurt."

"And yet by doing this, you may be the one to hurt her the most."

Donovan stopped in mid-pace and stared at his wife. That day in the kitchen at Castle MacFairlaigne sprang into his mind. What had she said? Hell hath no fury like a sister pestered. Donovan cleared his throat. "I worry about her, Brittani. I'm worried one day I'll open the newspaper and--" He swallowed hard. "It'll be there in blatant letters--she's dead."

"Worrying about it won't accomplish anything." Brittani stood up and walked over to him. She placed her hands on his shoulders. "Life is risk. Everytime we walk through a door, there's a danger. Everytime we step off a curb, we risk getting hit by a car. Everytime a woman gets pregnant, she runs a risk of dying or of losing the baby. Life is risk, Donovan. Living in fear takes too much time from living."

Donovan took a deep breath and touched her hair. "Brittani, it's so hard not to want to protect my sisters--Casi and Cat. But Cat doesn't rush into things like Casi does. Last year...last year, she could have died when that witch got her---"

"But she didn't. Which means someone is watching out for her."

"I'm quite tempted to pray to the patron saint of fools everyday."

Brittani frowned. "Is there one?"

"If there isn't, there should be." Donovan shook his head. "I'm sorry I bit your head off. I'm worried about Casi."

"Yes..." Brittani tried hard not to smile. "I know."

Donovan grunted and started pacing again but Brittani stepped in his path and stopped him. "Go sit down. You have a ton of things to do. Do them."

"But--"

"Focus on the business at hand. The rest will take care of itself." She gave him a gentle push towards his desk. "Go."

"God, I hope you're right. I need a break." He moved to sit down behind his desk, then glanced at the computer. "Oh shit, it's inventory time."

"Exactly. Boring work to make you forget all else."

"You could help."

"I've got work of my own to keep me busy. I'll make sure you get some lunch." She waved at him. "Have fun."

Donovan watched her walk out and close the door behind her, then groaned. "Damn it, she's been hanging around Casi way too long." He sighed and started working, hoping she was right--and praying his sister was okay. There really wasn't much else he could do....unless he called directory assistance in London. Maybe he could get Whitfield's phone number that way...

***

22 May 2003

Cairo, Egypt

2:11 pm

The sun glittered brilliantly on the water making her squint her eyes against the glare. The sun washed out the pale buildings in the distance with heat shimmers. Ariel sighed and welcomed the brisk breeze that blew across the water. Clad in thin cotten pants and shirt, she was still hot. Down below was air-conditioned, but Ariel wanted to see the Nile.

"With that fair skin, you're likely to sunburn easy," came Thane's voice behind her. Then he groaned. "God, I sound like Michael."

"I was just going inside. It's hot out here."

"That it is." Thane shifted to let her go down the steps, then followed her into the large central room that served as galley and computer lab. Ariel shed the baseball cap as soon as she reached the room, letting her ponytail hang free. To Thane, she looked like a teenager now, with no makeup and her hair pulled back.

Sheldon looked up and nodded. "I've found something curious." he said, taking a jeweler's loup from his eye. "Have a look," he told Thane.

Thane took the circlet and the loup. He put the loup to his eye and scanned the circlet. After a moment, he asked, "What exactly am I looking for?"

"On the left arm toward the center. It's a tiny circle, quartered with four symbols."

Thane squinted through the loop and frowned, then because Ariel was standing right next to him, he handed circlet and loup silently to her. Ariel arched an eyebrow at him, then looked through the loup. The small circle was magnified by the jeweler's loup's lense and she could see four symbols in each quarter. In the top left quarter was a sinuous shape that resembled a snake, next to it was two zigzag lines that looked eerily familar. In the bottom left quarter was a single line with a tiny branch angled downward and next to it was a small plus sign topped by a slightly squashed circle with horns. She lifted her head and looked first at Thane, then Sheldon. "What does it mean?" she asked, as she handed both items back to Thane.

Sheldon shook his head. "I'm not sure. There are the symbols for Aquarius and Mercury, but the other symbols I am not familiar with."

"The top one on the left kind of looks like a snake or maybe a curvy river or something," suggested Thane.

"A snake." Ariel couldn't shake the feeling that was the correct interpretation but she had no idea how she knew. When both men looked at her, she shrugged. "I don't know if I'm right. It just looks like a snake to me."

"A snake?" Sheldon gazed at her a moment. "Cristina mentioned that the circlet was worn by the high priestess of Wicca, or something similar. How on earth would a snake connect to that?"

It popped in her head so quickly that it nearly left her breathless. "Python---Delphi." She blinked, as the thought faded away. "The oracle of Delphi. Supposedly---"

"Apollo killed the python at Delphi." Thane studied her a moment, an odd look crossing his face. Then he cleared his throat and looked at Sheldon. "Could the snake mean prophecy?"

Sheldon sighed. "Possibly but where do the signs for the water bearer and the planet Mercury fit in?"

"A talisman? Protection?" suggested Ariel. She felt dizzy as if there were a million of images, thoughts, memories hiding just out of sight, ready to push her over the edge. She swallowed hard and grabbed hold of a nearby chair back to steady herself.

Thane saw the movement and frowned. "Are you all right?"

"I---" She took a deep breath and felt the dizziness fade slightly. "I think I got too hot out there." She pulled the chair out and sat down. "Once I cool off--"

Sheldon reached for the small refrigerator and opened it. He took a bottle of water out and handed it to her, then pushed the door of the refrigerator closed. "Drink that."

Ariel uncapped the bottle and drank until the icy coldness numbed her throat. She set the bottle down and took a breath. "Thanks."

"Protection," mused Thane. "It's possible. But for what?"

Sheldon shook his head. "The question is, when was the talisman etched onto the circlet? When it was made or much later? And how old is any of this? Ancient? Modern? Somewhere in between?" added Sheldon, gesturing to the three objects sitting before him.

Thane sat down at the table, placed the circlet and loup on the table next to the unicorn, bracelet and chalice. "We may never know."

He sighed. "I mean, if we try and date all these, we'll come up with a nice big chunk of a time range. If we try to make a match with any known art style or jewelry style, it'll take years to find anything."

Ariel felt a little better with the cold water and the cool air washing over her. "So...you're giving up on it?"

"No." Sheldon ran a light hand over the unicorn. He'd noticed that even when it had sat out in the heat for the brief amount of time it took to load everything on the barge, the statuette had stayed cool to the touch. Now it felt almost icy. "Just because it will be a difficult task, does not mean it cannot be achieved."

Ariel stared at her bottle of water. "You sound like my science professor," she said absently. "He drove me crazy talking like a dictionary."

Sheldon paused in his touching the unicorn. Carefully, he glanced at Thane, then looked at Ariel. "You said you took cosmology in college. Which college?"

"U Mass. Covengton drove me crazy with all his archaic talk but I loved hanging with his daughters. Me and----me and---" She blinked and looked at the two men. "What?"

"You studied cosmology at U Mass," said Thane. He glanced at Sheldon. "Isn't that in Amherst?"

Sheldon nodded. "There can be only one science professor who talked like a dictionary. I happen to know him personally. Ambrose Covengton."

The name didn't spark a single flash of anything. Ariel sighed. "I guess so. He was....tall, older. That's all I remember."

"He has two daughters," continued Sheldon, as if she hadn't spoken. "Twins, I believe. Named after trees."

Thane arched both eyebrows. "Trees?"

"Willow and Rowan." Ariel blinked again and stared at the two men. "Willow and Rowan, blond, grey eyes." She shook her head a moment later. "That's all. Damn it, I can't remember." Her fingers clenched on the plastic water bottle and she almost threw it. Instead, she gulped back the water. When she set the bottle back down, she saw both men share a look. "Don't do that like I'm not sitting here."

"I'm sorry," said Sheldon. "It seems that either your memory is returning, however sporadically, or the mental block that won't allow you to remember is fading."

"That's sort of the same thing," said Thane. "Isn't it?"

"Not exactly. If it is a mental block," Sheldon nodded to Ariel, "the only way you can remember is to remove the mental block. If it's merely your memory resurfacing, then it is only a matter of time. To remove the mental block would mean you're consciously aware of what made you forget."

Ariel carefully touched the bruise on her temple. It had faded to a pale purple and black and was hardly sore anymore. "But I thought it was because I hit my head."

"It may have compounded the situation or intensified the mental block." Sheldon shook his head. "I am no psychiatrist or neurologist, I'm merely postulating possible theories as to why you seem to sometimes remember things until you force it."

Ariel took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I'm sorry if I seem stressed. It's just that I get this close, then boom, I lose the thread I had." She shook her head. "It's frustrating."

"I would imagine so," said Sheldon.

Ariel stared down at her hands and sighed again. "Thank you for being so understanding." She glanced first at Sheldon, then Thane. "You both have been very nice and polite through all this."

"It's rather hard not to be," said Thane, with a wink and a smile.

Ariel felt her cheeks grow warm and she knew she was blushing. "Thank you."

Thane sat back in his chair. "No problem."

Ariel sipped the rest of her water. "Wonder what the others are doing?"

"With Michael, one never knows," said Sheldon, a wry smile on his face.

Ariel found herself smiling. "So Michael is famous....or would that be infamous?"

Thane laughed. "Definitely infamous. With a capital I."

Ariel's smile widened into a grin. "You are so bad."

"Well, I try."

Sheldon cleared his throat. "Let's get to work, people. Time's awasting."

***

22 May 2003

Cairo, Egypt

2:15 pm

The taxi pulled to a halt at the dock and the three of them got out, with Robert taking time only to pay the driver. Robert shook his head as he followed Melia and Joe down to the wharf. "I can't believe it. I thought she looked familiar but..."

"It's all right, Ramses," said Melia absently. "I was off-balance for awhile too. Especially when she said her name was Ariel Hathaway. I know there's the probability of every person having a doppleganger."

Robert slid a look at his sister. "Oh God help us then."

Melia shot him a glare. "Watch it."

Joe gazed up and down the river and felt his heart sink. There was no barge, nothing on the water at all. "She's gone," he said heavily. When a hand touched his shoulder, he gave a start. He glanced to his left to see Robert there, looking concerned. "She's gone."

"They're heading for Tel al Amarna," said Robert, quietly. "And so are we."

Melia frowned. "By train?"

Robert shrugged. "It would be faster. We'll be there when they arrive."

Joe turned around. "Why are you so intent on helping me?"

"I told you..." began Melia.

Robert cleared his throat. "Cassandra is one of a kind. When I first met her, I..." Robert looked everywhere but at Joe. "I may have had a little crush on her. She had this fascination with ancient Egypt, she had this thirst for adventure." He managed a laugh. "She even convinced my prim and proper little sister here to break into the pyramid of Cheops."

Joe glanced at Melia and bit back a smile. "I can't say I'm surprised. Casi has a talent for rushing into places angels fear to tread."

Robert nodded. "Cassandra and Catherine were quite a pair when they came into our lives. I'd never met two young ladies with such a passion for helping people." He nodded to Joe. "And she told me about this guy she'd met at her uncle's game reserve. How he infuriated her and fascinated her, how she said she fell in love with him the moment she saw him stargazing with his eyes closed."

Joe felt his face redden, embarrassed by the memory. "Yeah, well, I have a legitimate reason for--"

"It's okay," said Melia. "We all have our idiosyncrasies."

Joe decided to keep his mouth shut. Why explain when they already assumed they knew the reason. "Yeah."

Robert smiled. "Come on. Let's get back to the hotel so Melia can pack and we'll see about getting you on the train with us."

Joe spared one last glance for the Nile, then stopped and turned around. "Last time I was too busy working to really look at the Nile." He felt that uneasiness again. That maybe he shouldn't continue this, maybe, now that he knew she was all right and safe, with friends even, maybe he should go on to Bulgaria. "It's beautiful."

Melia walked over to him. "Joe, giving up now...you'll regret it later. A year down the road, you'll wonder why you gave up so soon."

"I'm sure she hates me." Damn it, thought Joe, she was definitely Casi's kin. How else could she read him so well. "I walked out on her." His head jerked up and he glared at Melia. "I walked out on her. Not once but twice. The first time, I walked out because I didn't know what else to do. If I stayed there, I would never have left. I would have found myself settling into her house, her life and would never have left." His tone grew harsh as he shifted his gaze to the Nile. "The second time...I had to. Damn it, I was scared. Scared as hell I'd lose her." He swallowed hard. "And I have." He started walking away, then glanced at Melia. "See how damn good I am at this?" he snarled and hurried to the nearest taxi.

Melia stood there and watched him get into the cab and the vehicle move away. "He's wrong."

Robert stepped up beside her. "It's not your place."

Melia slanted a look at him. "He's still wrong." she snapped and walked away as well.

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The Hardy Boys belong to Simon and Schuster and the Stratemeyer Foundation. The authors have just borrowed them for an adventure or two. The authors promise to put the boys back when they are done with them. The authors do claim copyright to the original characters in this story. Please do not borrow original characters without express permission of the authors.