Page 49 of Birthright

I went right after him, bending lower.

He kept moving and I followed, making as little noise as possible. When we neared the front, he motioned that he was going around. I waited this time. He swung around with his sword up, ready to engage.

I stayed a heartbeat and heard nothing from him, so I followed. We stood in front of the first group of shacks and could see into all four at once. There were torn bits of faded, old fabric that might have covered the openings once upon a time, but now they stood open to our eyes…

The stench hit me, violent cramping twisted my stomach, and I spun, falling away from the sight, holding my breath against the smell. I landed on my knees, sucking in hot air, fighting the urge to vomit.

Manus was backing away as well. “Collectors,” he whispered. “Remember, they’re collectors.” He gripped my shoulder strap and yanked me from the ground. “Come on, we’re too late here.” He dragged me, moving as fast as he could to get past the sight, his strong jaw quivering.

I stood and tried to walk past without looking again, but I couldn’t bring myself not to. Before we passed the last of the four shacks, I turned back.

The shacks were stacked from floor to ceiling with bones. Not clean, old, dry bones, like those on the other side of the island. Most of these still had some meat that used to be someone’s flesh. Each of the structures held different types of bones, well sorted and stacked with great care. The skulls in the last one were arranged by size. The ones nearest the top were the tiny remains of babies or little animals. My gaze was drawn to one at my eye level, a skull that would be about the same size as mine. There was a tuft of blond hair still attached and bits of skin clung to the side of one cheek.

I held my breath in fear, not able to walk past it. These people deserved better. The rotting smell was overwhelming in the heat and my stomach threatened again.

“My lady,” Manus said in his formal voice to get my attention. “We have to move on.” He was able to keep his head turned away. Maybe he had seen something this awful before. His face said that perhaps he had. I hoped it wasn’t more than once.

He finally pulled me in the direction of the next set of shacks. I found it hard to move my feet. I didn’t want to see what was in the next. He rubbed his hand down my back to comfort me as we moved but I could only think of Abbey. Had they done this to her?

The thought panicked me and I ran ahead of him and around the nearest shack without even bothering to hold my blades up for protection.

Manus slid up next to where I’d stopped, his sword out and ready. I did still need my guardian. He looked relieved when we realized it was a collection of a different sort.

There was an eon’s worth of garage-sale stuff. Pottery that looked like it had Egyptian markings, bicycle tires, radios, ship parts, kitchen stuff, tools—all manner of day-to-day objects of life through the ages. Even a computer monitor was thrown on top of one of the piles. This junk wasn’t as carefully sorted or cared for as the bones had been. Not as precious?

I took in a deep breath in relief. We only had one group of shacks left to go.

I let Manus take the lead but I was counting on another unprotected collection.

Goddess help us, what would this one hold?

He swung himself around the side of the shack and I watched his face as he gazed over the contents. He looked surprised, even amazed, but not frightened.

I stepped around and my mouth fell open to match his astonished look.

These four shacks were in the same U-shape. They too were filled floor to ceiling and from side to side—but these held all things shiny and glimmering.

There were chests and baskets of jewels, reams of silk, stacks of gold and silver bars as high as me and every gold-covered thing you could imagine. On one shelf there were Aztec masks, more Egyptian trinkets, and a golden bowl the size of a large pizza—filled to overflowing with gold teeth.

The afternoon sun was hitting all the gold, making it twinkle and shine. It was hard to see as we made our way to the far side of the treasure to end all treasures. I spied a stack of gold, silver, and ornamental swords, daggers, and a variety of weapons. “Manus, hang on.”

I stepped to the pile and pulled out a blade, holding it up for inspection. It looked like an old pirate sword. I swung it back and forth. Too heavy. I dropped it back on the pile and pulled out another that wasn’t as ornate and looked Asian. It felt good in my hand and was well-balanced. I tucked my blades back into their sheaths and grabbed another dagger from the pile and stuck it in my waistband. Manus let out a little laugh as I grabbed one more.

“I saw those bones back there. I need all the help I can get.” He made a face in agreement and grabbed one more dagger for himself.

Howard screeched loudly. It wasn’t his normal call—it sounded panicked and alarmed. I couldn’t tell which direction it had come from. I froze and cast the spell to see through his eyes.

Everything was black. I held my breath as my heart started pumping too fast. “What is it?” Manus asked, turning slowly with his sword and the new dagger pulled.

“Just blackness.” I heard the panic in my own voice.

The blackness lightened to reveal a man tied to a large wooden crucifix up against a stone wall. His face was gaunt and pale, bruised from abuse, cheekbones narrowed from hunger. Something hit him from the side and he opened his eyes, ever so slowly.

They were my eyes—golden and brilliant against the ashen skin.

“Father!” I looked around frantically, although I only saw what Howard saw. I spun in my spot.

Manus shook me. “Keena! What was it?” I opened my eyes as the scene before me went black again.