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"They will fit mine," Jacki said. "I only need one."
"Be careful." Jin handed the glove to her. "There might be snakes, scorpions, or poisonous spiders in there, or worse, a booby trap that will chop off your hand when you reach for the amulet."
Jacki grimaced. "Thanks for the images. I hate spiders."
Frankie hated all creepy-crawlies, but she was more worried about a possible booby trap. From everything they had encountered so far, that was the most likely danger.
"There’s an item right at the top of what appears to be a carved-out bowl," Kalugal said. "I can’t see what’s under it, and I'm worried that once the weight is removed, the entire chamber will collapse around us."
Rufsur chuckled. "This isn't an Indiana Jones movie."
"It sure feels like one," Jacki murmured. "Does anyone have anything that can fit in here that weighs around a pound and is disposable? We need to make a quick swap."
"You can take this." Edna removed her chunky necklace and handed it to Kalugal. "I knew there was a reason for choosing to wear this particular accessory today."
"Thank you." Kalugal walked around the pedestal and held the necklace. "Are you sure you don't mind losing it?"
"I'm sure," Edna said. "It's a relief to get it off."
Snapping the glove onto her hand, Jacki looked at Kalugal. "On the count of three."
He nodded.
Frankie held her breath, and at her back, Dagor wrapped himself around her, shielding her with his body.
If the situation wasn't so tense, she would have turned around and kissed him.
"One," Jacki started the count, "two, three!"
As she snatched the thing up, Kalugal replaced it with Edna's necklace so fast that Frankie didn't see him move.
For a moment, everyone held their breath, waiting for the ceiling to start crumbling on top of them or the walls to start moving in to crush them, but when several moments passed and nothing happened, a collective sigh of relief sounded.
"Now I know for sure that Kalugal planted the trinket." Dagor pointed at the package in Jacki's hands. "No paper or twine would have survived this long without falling apart."
Kalugal smiled and put a hand over his chest. "I don't know whether I should be flattered or offended. To plan such an elaborate setup would have been the work of a genius." He winked at Dagor.
Jacki
Jin approached Jacki with the other latex glove in hand. "You can't unwrap the package with just one gloved hand without it touching your skin. You will need both."
Looking at the small package she was holding, Jacki didn't reach for the glove. "I need to touch it to know what it does." She lifted her eyes to Kalugal. "How else will we know?"
He seemed conflicted, but then his mouth narrowed. "Let me touch it first. If it doesn't bite, I'll hand it over to you."
His gallantry was appreciated, but Jacki wasn't some wallflower who needed to be swathed in bubble wrap and protected. Why should her mate put himself in harm's way for her sake?
"What can you do that I can't?"
He smiled indulgently. "I don't like to point it out, but my lineage makes me much more resilient. If this thing is dangerous and unleashes hell, I have a better chance of surviving whatever it does."
That was a fair point. Jacki was a weak immortal who'd taken forever to transition, and her mate was three-quarters god, as he liked to boast.
"Fine." She handed it to him.
"Thank you." He took the package without hesitation, tore the twine apart with ease, and then carefully unwrapped the material that wasn't paper like Dagor had thought but some kind of fabric that was soaked in faintly fragrant oils.
"Do you feel anything?" Jacki asked.
