“Hmmm.” Yes, his friend Adolf would have liked this man. “Perhaps I can reserve judgment for a bit.”
“I can get it tonight if you want,” Caldwell said.
“No. Not so soon. That damnable Ramsey will be hovering over her for a day or two. And if she goes to Nova Scotia, the copy will no doubt go with her. See what you can find out at Smith’s first. No sense in taking the risk of getting caught for nothing. I don’t tolerate mistakes well, as you know. Don’t fail me this time.” His hand just barely touched his patch.
Caldwell went just a shade pale. “I won’t fail.”
****
Sara was more determined than ever the next morning that Lucas would take her with him. Professor MacDonald wasn’t going to have died for nothing. She stomped down the hall to the library and opened the door.
Lucas stood by the window, looking out at the carefully tended gardens. The sunlight filtering in cast him in golden shadow, making him look like a bronzed Celtic god. She caught her breath at the broad expanse of his naked shoulders, and then realized he was wearing a tan polo shirt drawn tight over hard muscles. Better not think about Lucas nude. She had a mission to accomplish.
“If you think I’m going to stay here in Texas while you chase down the Hallows, you’re wrong,” she said a little too loudly.
Lucas turned away from the window, his amber eyes seeming to glow in the sunlight. “Good morn to ye, too, lass.”
Did he have to look so devastatingly irresistible?Mission, remember?“Sorry,” she said in a softer tone. “It’s just that I have to do something to avenge the professor. And I can’t stay home while—”
“You may come.”
Come? Did he have to put it like that? Muscles clenched deep in her belly at the thought of his shaft inside her, thrusting hard. She felt herself blush.Stop it!“What made you change your mind?”
He gave her a slow, lopsided grin. “Maybe I just thought I was fighting a losing battle and decided to surrender.”
She didn’t think he lost many battles, but the thought of him “surrendering” gave her imagination whole new ideas, like listening to him moan in earnest as she slowly…Stop! That lopsided smile wasn’t helping matters. It could melt glaciers. Big ones.Hello? Remember the Three Losers? Don’t fall for a sinfully wicked smile again!She lifted her chin.I’ll just keep this businesslike.She sighed and mentally zipped his pants up.She was glad Nim had stayed home. The faerie would have given her a good jab.
“Good. I’m glad that’s settled. When do we leave?”
“Not so fast.” Lucas sat down at the small table and motioned for her to join him. “Let’s take a look at these verses again.”
He shuffled some papers while she took a seat. “I think the lines your friend brought up make it pretty clear we need to look for the Spear first,” Lucas said as he handed a sheet to her. “But I don’t know about the second one. Roses climbing to heaven? There are hundreds of thousands of trellises in gardens everywhere. And a Druid’s tree would be an oak. Pretty common.”
Sara studied both verses for several minutes. “Hmmm. Dawn could mean that the Spear could only be seen in a certain light, perhaps.” She looked at the second verse and suddenly recalled Michael’s calling of the quarters during the full moon. She sat up straighter. “Directions,” she said. “I think that’s a clue.”
“Huh? Ye doona make sense, lass.”
“Yes, I do! What direction does “dawn” come from? East. Are you familiar with the Tarot?”
“Fortune-telling?”
“No.The disc/platter/pentacle’s element is earth and its direction is north. The Chalice, of course, holds water, so its direction is west, the direction of sunset and the Otherworld, according to Celtic legends. The Sword is fire—as in the avenging archangel Michael—and fire’s direction is south. And theSpear,” she said with emphasis, “is the element of air, whose direction is east, just like dawn.” She put the paper down triumphantly. “And Nova Scotia iseastof here.”
Lucas gave her a little smile. “Unless the world has shifted off its base, yes.”
“Then what are we waiting for? Let’s go to Oak Island.”
“I still think we’re wasting both time and money to go there. In over two hundred years of excavating, and millions of dollars spent, not to mention lives lost, nothing has been found.” Lucas raised a brow. “There’s a reason it’s called the Money Pit. It’s also privately owned. We probably couldn’t even set foot on it.”
“Ah! I did some research on the internet last night,” Sara said. “It’s currently for sale. Now, if the owner wants to sell it, he’s going to have let people see it, right?”
“And we look like millionaire investors looking for a place to throw away our money?” Lucas asked.
Sara thrust her chin out. “Well, I’m sure a Scotland Yard man could figure out a way to gain access.”
Lucas hid a smile and gathered up the papers. “Has anyone ever told you you’re a wee bit stubborn?”
She looked out the window. “Never.”
