‘It even has the little animals.’
Bells’ head tilted with a frown. ‘I don’t see them.’
Nicole pulled the sketchpad from her bag and drew the knotted beasts more simply: stylised serpentine creatures with their jaws outstretched. Some looked like birds, or other mythical beings. She held it up next to the glass.
‘It’s ingenious. To stop the designs being destroyed by the change from pagan to Christian religion they were incorporated. It’s called religious syncretism: when a new culture or religion adopts pieces of the old one. Whether to ease others over to a new religion with familiar visuals, or in an attempt to erase the previous one. In this case, they kept the La Tène design, but used it for Christian iconography.’
‘But where could the torc be hidden in this?’ Bells asked.
‘My money’s on inside. Look how thick the sides are, it’s nothing like a thin modern plate. If the base was made and the torc placed inside it, then liquid metal could have been poured on top, which might have generated the Tène … unless the creature found the torc later on and decided to keep it.’
‘Only one way to know if there’s a Tène in there,’ Bells said, pulling out Remi’s lullaby recording.
Kyan found them as the melody’s warm hum filled the room and Nicole kept an eye on the dual entrances to make sure no one strolled inside.
‘Huh, I guess it’s not—’ Bells stopped as the knotwork details around the piece began to move.
They swirled and clicked. And like a mechanism, the little creatures shifted, and the mirror-like surface of the paten undulated, and sank.
The silver disappeared, but it didn’t reveal a torc.
Instead, Bells’ head tilted, her silky ponytail shining. ‘Oh, it’s the Tène!’
The tiny dragon-like creature curled around a card of pure gold. No symbol. No writing.
No torc.
Kyan got closer.
‘That looks like a calling card,’ he said. ‘Extremely good thieves can spot a Tène and take its treasure. It’s rare, but it happens.’
‘So, someone got to it first?’ Bells asked, chewing her bottom lip.
‘How?’ Nicole demanded. This had been so meticulously hidden.
Kyan didn’t show a flicker of emotion. Instead, he pulled out his phone and scowled at the card as it rang. ‘Luca. What thief leaves a gold calling card?’
Nicole heard the stranger’s Italian curse on the other end of the phone, then, ‘No one knows what he is, just that he was a restorer at the British Museum. He worked on a lot of supernatural artefacts to make sure their varnishes were renewed or they were treated with the proper materials and weren’t too dangerous or exposing to be put in human exhibits. It also meant he got a taste for the art world, artefacts, and the black market.
‘Now, though, he throws elaborate parties that are often invite only. Sometimes to show off his pieces, sometimes to host an auction. Whispers say he’s hosting one in Edinburgh in—’ He paused as if he was checking. ‘Three days.’
Nicole’s gaze slid to Kyan.
‘Thanks, Luca,’ Kyan said tightly.
‘Woah, you’re not thinking of getting near him, are you? He’s infamous. No one can steal from him and he’s outwitted everyone that’s tried to stop him. Not to mention his prices. They say he keeps all the best stuff for himself. No sales. And before you ask, I’ve tried already. The guy has better security than the Wake.’
Kyan’s lips pressed into a hard line. ‘Thanks.’
He hung up and they stared at the tiny sleeping creature in the centre of the paten.
‘So, this thief has it?’ Bells asked.
‘It seems so,’ Nicole mused, frustration turning her restless. ‘So it looks like we’ll just have to go and get it.’
But, when had the torc been taken? Years ago? Last week? What if it had already been sold on?
Kyan nodded his chin to the solid gold card the Tène was sleeping atop of. ‘Considering we get in by invite only, I suspect thatisour invite.’
