Curse of the Druids (8 page)

Chapter Fourteen

“You sure you don’t want me to drive?”

My question came when Marie struggled to remove the amulet and then insisted on putting it inside her purse I brought from Ishi’s room. An oversized model, I would’ve figured she could store a small arsenal inside. However, it looked like she’d have to dump out most of her makeup products and other contents to make room for our prize.

“I’ve got it!” she insisted.
“Shit!
Can you resist the urge to grab the steering wheel, please?!”

“Maybe we should pull over to do this?” worried Ishi, watching Marie repeatedly take her eyes off the road ahead.

“I’ve got this damn it!”

Whatever you say, sweetheart….

It’s what I wanted to say, but anything abrasive could make the danger of weaving in and out of traffic more potentially deadly than it already was. Not to mention the odd looks we had received from quite a few occupants of the vehicles we passed. Could be the reckless lane changing going on…. Or, perhaps we were in some quasi ‘now you see us, now you don’t’ state. By the time we sped past Salisbury’s city limits, I could clearly see Ishi and Marie. But as long as the amulet rested on her lap, like a fortune teller’s glowing crystal ball, chances were high the three of us were invisible to the rest of the world.

“You’re a great driver, babe, and I’m not trying to undercut your abilities in any way. But I can get us to the airport just fine.” I hoped I found the hair-thin line of sounding compassionate and persuasive. “Besides, you’ll be better handling the flight change information over the phone, since it’s all in your name—”

“We’re not going to the airport!”

She lifted her chin smugly, and at first I thought it might be on account of the fact she had somehow succeeded in her mission to find a home for the Ambrosius Amulet inside her purse. Even managed to zip it up while navigating with her forearms and elbows. Glad Ishi missed that part, as his wide eyes alternated madly between both passenger windows in the rear of the car. Who could blame him? Especially after two near misses resulted in several blared horns in response.

“She’s gonna get us killed,” he whispered, resignedly.

“What in the hell do you mean we’re not going to the airport?” I demanded. “We can’t stay in this frigging country any longer. For Christ’s sake, can’t you see that?!”

She took her eyes off the road to regard me. Honestly, the fairer sex seem to be the only ones capable of pulling off the transformation from homicidal anger to angelic peace with such speed and grace. A process that took at most five to six seconds.

“We’re going to Scotland,” she said, calmly, like a sea left placid in the wake of a hurricane moving on to terrorize someone else. Again, how in the hell does
any
woman do that? “I can’t tell you why. At least not yet.”

“Huh?!
Don’t bullshit me…
us!”
I motioned to Ishi, whose focus had joined mine, completely on her.

“You’re going to have to trust me,” she said, her voice softer, resolved. “I promise you’ll be glad you did…. In the meantime, I need Ishi or you to find us a hotel with a vacancy in or near Edinburgh.”

“You’re going to drive up there?” I asked, and yes, in utter disbelief. “Have you forgotten that we’re being followed? Those guys
will
catch up to us—not an
if
statement here, but a
when!”

It was almost like she had completely forgotten our predicament from less than twenty minutes earlier. Hell, the wind whistling into the car from the shattered rear window should have served as a constant reminder of what was following us from some unknown vantage point, and of what could portend our fate.

But changing Marie’s mind would be impossible—unless there was plenty of time to work with. Right then, there wasn’t opportunity to plan anything. No alternatives—none that I could see, anyway. Either to America by air or to Scotland by highway, it was dicey. In all likelihood, Yassir Ali already had someone waiting for us at Heathrow, and probably at the other airports as well. By now, his men knew our vehicle description and likely the license plate number, as well. They would eventually catch up to us on the road, too—it was logically inevitable.

So, we were screwed in every way, whether it was by car, plane, or….

“Ishi, do you still have your tablet hooked up for roaming?”

“What do you need it for?” he asked.

They both eyed me quizzically. At least for a moment, and then Marie’s round doe eyes of the deepest blue grew wide with terror.

“Oh, holy hell, here they come!” She pointed to the rearview mirror.

True. It was the Audi, flying toward us from the rear and gaining fast.

Shit!

“I need you to find a train station, Ishi—
Quick!”
I reached down to remove my knife from the ankle sheath. “Find one that looks like we can get to after we elude these assholes again!”

“A few have popped up!” he said, frantically, after confirming our pursuers were less than fifty feet behind us, and closing. “We’re going to Edinburgh for Marie, right? How about this one… London Kings Cross station. I’ll give you the address, and enter the details into the tracking system…. “

Honestly, I never thought we’d get much further, so I didn’t hear the details. If the Egyptians opened fire on us, we’d be dead. Or, they might opt to drive up along side us again to gloat before either forcing us off the road or rolling down the windows to shower us with bullets, or launch a grenade. The image of the assholes rolling down their windows appealed a little to the frontiersman fantasies I had carried with me since a kid. I could leap from our vehicle and into theirs, taking out the sons of bitches with well-placed punches and my Bowie knife. The bastards and me would then die in a fiery crash veering off the highway, an incredibly heroic fantasy….

A big stupid fantasy that only worked in Hollywood.

Suddenly, the car lurched forward as Marie floored the accelerator. In the next few minutes, I realized I didn’t know my gal well at all. Had no idea she possessed the skills necessary to not only elude the bad guys having trouble keeping up as she scurried across multiple lanes of traffic to make an exit that damned near took the Volkswagon’s front bumper in the process. Nor did I notice the police that soon came after us, until there were at least three cars in pursuit.

“At least I lost the Audi,” she said, her eyes half on the road and half on the GPS guide telling her which streets to take. Mind you, all of this was done with no regard to anyone’s safety. I braced myself for a sudden deadly impact until the Volkswagon skidded to a stop under a bridge. “The train station is just a few blocks away, according to what I see here.”

She pointed to the small GPS monitor in the dashboard and then cut the engine. Meanwhile, amid Ishi’s and my labored breaths, police sirens grew closer. From the sound of things, several more police vehicles had joined the chase.

“We’re running out of time—Grab your shit and let’s get out of here!” urged Marie, throwing off her seatbelt and preparing to bolt from the car.

Ishi cut me a look that begged me to take over the reins, but she was right. We needed to do another disappearing act quickly, and not the temporary ‘amulet’ kind. We loaded our arms with what we could comfortably carry, and set out on foot in the direction of the train station. Before we made it a hundred feet from the Volkswagon, the police arrived. In seconds, they surrounded all exits from beneath the bridge. There was nowhere to go.

Marie and Ishi froze where they stood, while half a dozen officers exited their vehicles. That’s when I noticed a small archway to one side of the bridge. I grabbed them both and sprinted for it, ignoring the calls for us to stop.

“Get the amulet ready, Marie!” I told her, as we neared the archway. Yeah, I know what I had just said… but I called an audible as we ran toward deeper shadows. Meanwhile, several flashlight beams crept up fast from behind. It would be quite an encore if playing Houdini this time worked as well as it had earlier. “Is it out—”

“Yes!” she said, cutting me off. Just in time.

Hard to tell when exactly we ‘vanished’ from sight, but the cops—four guys and two gals—shook their heads in disbelief as they investigated the area around us. I worried our body heat might alert them to something odd going on—especially when one of the females shivered. She looked right at me, squinting her eyes to see what her instincts said was standing there in the gloomy emptiness. I prayed she didn’t follow up on her gut and reach out to grope the air.

“What is it, Shirley?” asked one of the men.

“Not sure… just a feeling.”

“We missed them,” said the other gal. “I guess we can try to find out who they are from the car.”

“The car is empty!” one of two cops investigating the Polo called to the others.

Ishi’s dessert tort from the sandwich shop was all they found. Marie would thank me later for remembering to take the rental agreement from the glove box, even though technically only the diminutive Tawankan’s ass would be in hot water. Just joking, of course…. But at least it would take a little while to match up the serial number with the rental car company, and then finally to Ishi.

“All right, let’s get a team out here to process the Volkswagon,” said the first cop. “The rest of us need to spread out and find these guys. They couldn’t have gotten far.”

“I think one was a woman, and another was a kid,” said the lady cop who kept looking toward me, and thankfully seeing nothing. “Could be a family on the run?”

“From what?” asked the other girl, as they began to move out from our area. “Anyone get a good look at them, so we’ll have something discernible to look for?”

“Not sure… But I’ll recognize them if I see them again.”

Two of the cops almost brushed up against us as they left to search elsewhere. We stood deathly quiet. It took me a moment to realize we still had our arms full of our shit. I was amazed that inanimate objects touching our persons had also become invisible. How did the damned amulet discern what belonged to us and what did not? I was beyond being amazed, and shook my head when I noticed Marie giggling.

“How quickly you forget the miraculous,” she chided, apparently amused by my childlike wonder. “And, yet, you haven’t seen anything. Not really.”

She refused to expound further. Ishi and I would have to wait for answers… hopefully not long. Damned straight our coy princess had some serious explaining to do.

Nothing short of a detailed report would suffice. One where
all
the facts were honestly revealed.

Chapter Fifteen

We had enough cash to buy three tickets for the 2:00 p.m. train to Edinburgh. Since it was just after one o’clock when we stepped away from the ticket booth, it meant we had to survive another hour before our train would depart.

Feeling a bit antsy, since it had seemed far too easy to enter London’s Kings Cross station and procure our passage north, I kept a wary eye out for our Audi buddies. I hoped our crowded surroundings served as an effective deterrent to getting assassinated. Of course, in a city known for its ethnic diversity, anyone of Middle Eastern descent came under suspicion. Equally important, we had to hide our wariness and nervousness.

What about the police? That would be the most urgent question. Correct?

Believe it or not, we walked right past three of the team looking for us. One cop hovered near the main entrance. Spotting him gave us ample time to collect ourselves and casually enter the train station, laughing jovially as if we had not a care in the world. This officer glanced at us a few times, but never lingered long enough to reveal he had made a connection from earlier. I recognized him as the one investigating the Volkswagon.

The other two officers, however, caused a nice big lump to form in my throat.

We didn’t see them until after we had purchased our tickets, and for a moment I worried they were about to accost us as they walked swiftly in our direction. Thankfully, Ishi and Marie were laughing at a YouTube video on Ishi’s tablet, and missed the pair until they were upon us. I could tell the sudden appearance of these two officers—the main guy and gal who had earlier conversed the most in our presence—startled my companions. But Ishi’s and Marie’s reactions were subtle, and could easily be mistaken for a number of emotional responses. Other than a cursory glance, the pair stepped past us to continue their search.

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t dying to turn around, or cast a quick glance over my shoulder, to make sure they carried onward and the hell out of our lives. But I remained nonchalant. I’m proud to report that Marie and Ishi successfully resisted the urge, as well.

“That was close, huh, Nick?” whispered Ishi, when we found a bench to occupy while we waited for two o’clock to arrive. Restlessly waited, I might add. “Do you think they recognized us… even a little?”

“We’ll see,” I said, glancing at Marie, who sat down on the other side of Ishi. We had him sandwiched between us. “It’s best to keep looking relaxed. You two should continue having fun with your YouTube account, Ishi…. I’ll keep an eye out for them and our other friends.”

“Okay… but since we have time, I have a question. Something on my mind since this morning, when we first discovered the amulet,” he said, and waited for Marie and I to nod before going on. “How does this thing ‘know’ who is a friend and not an enemy? I mean, how did the amulet hide us all when Marie alone was wearing it?”

The same thing I had asked myself. Before my basic survival instincts kicked in, and I thought of nothing else beyond still being alive in the afternoon. The question hit me hardest when I dove into what looked like a vacant car and heard Ishi’s and Marie’s voices in the Volkswagon’s emptiness. Pretty eerie. It took a few minutes before they materialized for me, as if the amulet was checking my ass out, to see if I remained a friend or not.

“I had hoped the amulet would behave like that,” said Marie, quietly, as if afraid the damned thing in her purse would hear her and count the revelation as betrayal. “Papa said one of the older accounts about King Richard told how it would act like this. It protected the king and his closest allies for years. But then something happened, and it betrayed him. The amulet tunes into the person wearing it—so much that it takes on their preferences and becomes loyal to what matters most to them. It obviously reacted to how I feel about you guys.”

Ishi blushed and looked away, while I wasn’t sure how to digest this latest information. Maybe my alpha male side felt slighted a bit at sharing her affections. Silly shit, I know, and she must’ve picked up on it. She sent me a kiss and seductive wink. Now I was the guy blushing.

Fortunately, she and Ishi returned to watching YouTube and I subtly surveyed the endless crowd that swelled with each train arrival. I began to think we’d make it out of there with nothing more than near misses from London’s finest. The fantasy lasted until right after we gathered our backpacks and headed for our assigned boarding spot.

“It’s them!” whispered Ishi, pointing worriedly at the five Yassir Ali thugs who relentlessly pursued us.

The dudes were bobbing in and out of the crowd, surely looking for us. Thankfully, they had yet to notice our presence. Maybe separating in their search would’ve helped… and a definite strategic flaw to capitalize on. Knowing we had less than five minutes to completely elude these guys and make the boarding call for our train, I grabbed Marie and Ishi, hunching low and scurrying away from our enemies’ field of vision.

“Why are we doing this?” she demanded. “The gate is in the other direction, and we’re going to miss our train!”

“No… no we won’t miss it,” I assured her, casting one last glance at the Egyptians. I could barely see them from my lowered vantage point, and prayed it was the same for them seeing us. “Okay, stay low, and here goes nothin’!”

I scurried back to the gate with my frightened cohorts in tow. I kept a smile on my face, hoping most folks would pass us off as three terrible Marx Brothers imitators. None of us looked to where the Egyptians had been a moment ago. We soon reached the short line getting ready to board the train. More importantly, our arrival went unnoticed by Ali’s men.

I casually scanned the area around us and at first didn’t see our pursuers anywhere in the area. But then I caught sight of the tallest one’s slicked-back hair… moving further away. The others were with him and none looked back in our direction.

Whew!

The next worry was getting on the train without delay and without being recognized by anyone else.

“Come on…
come on!”
I whispered impatiently, my knees weary from crouching. Marie and Ishi had given up that part of the charade. But as the tallest one among us, I feared being picked out from afar, and giving away our vulnerable location.

“What happens if we don’t make it?” asked Ishi, after the latest wary glance over my shoulder.

“Well—”

“We have no choice! We
better
make it, you guys,” said Marie, focused on boarding the train, with an eye to ending the suspense. “Scotland awaits!”

Surely, there are those wondering why we simply didn’t resort to the amulet again. I wish I had a good answer as to why we didn’t. It certainly would’ve saved the anxiety, and we might’ve got a better seat by sneaking onto the train, picking out a place to our liking, and then…. Then what? Abruptly reappearing in a half-full car? Yeah, that would’ve definitely gone over well.

And, wouldn’t you know Yassir Ali’s five stubborn henchmen suddenly appeared next to the train. Fortunately, we had just boarded, and watched in relief as our persistent menaces moved past our car with no indication they had seen us. Still, it wasn’t until the car began its northern trek to Edinburgh, and they were still searching in the crowd, that I relaxed.

“Looks like we’re going to make it after all!” beamed Marie, as she leaned in close. “That was too close for comfort back there, wasn’t it?”

She smiled like we had just stepped off a thrill ride at an amusement park. Girl likes a hefty helping of danger, for sure! Ishi graciously let her have the window seat, and this time I sat in the middle, with Ishi on the aisle. We had purposely taken an open row in the very back of the car. For the moment, the area was mostly vacant, with the closest passenger several rows away. Conversely, the front of the car was fairly packed. At least we could stretch out during our near three-hour trip.

“So, when are you planning to fill us in about why it’s crucially important for us to risk our necks by prolonging our stay in the UK?”

It sounded harsher than delivered. Trust me, I was almost an angel at first, since we could ill afford for her to clam up. I wanted clear details about what to expect next.

“I know you’re dying to find out why we’re headed to Scotland, instead of the States,” she said, releasing a low sigh, like she didn’t want to talk about it—despite her earlier promise. “Even though the Ambrosius Amulet is one of five amulets ascribed to the ancient druids, it stands alone in what it can do…. We’re headed for the Scottish Highlands to look for the largest cache of gold and jewels anywhere in the British Isles. The amulet will help us find it.”

“You sure you don’t want to visit the Tower of London instead? I’ve heard they give daily tours, which is a far easier way to get to them,” I quipped. She frowned. “But your not talking about
those
jewels, are you?”

“You’re such an incredible bastard sometimes,” she said, shaking her head. But there was laughter in her eyes, and love. “It’s Papa’s ‘Secret of the Loch’, which he discovered while researching the life of King Richard the First.”

“The old Lionheart, huh?”

“He never made it to old age,” she said, not quite as amused. I did my best to pull back my latest smirk. “Remember what I said about his betrayal? You’d be wise to take it very seriously, Nick. Richard should’ve lived many years as England’s most beloved king, but he lost his life before his forty-second birthday.”

“And it has something to do with the Ambrosius Amulet?”

Ishi sounded excited as he said this. Ready to believe anything… careful, little buddy.

“It has
everything
to do with the amulet,” she replied, her tone hushed, almost reverent. “Papa said Richard had heard of the vast treasure hidden in a cavern, and that it once belonged to Britain’s ancient druid nations. Apparently, the cavern holds additional troves of gold, silver, and jewels from when Rome tried to purchase the loyalty of the Picts.”

“Bet that went over well with the proud native peoples who once resided here,” I said, thinking back to my brief study of Rome’s failed takeover of the British Isles—an event believed by some to have marked the beginning of the end for the Romans’ unquenchable thirst for conquest beyond Italian soil.

“Perhaps they considered tossing it all into the ocean,” Marie agreed, nodding thoughtfully. “But, perhaps for future considerations, they hid it away instead.”

“Near a loch, right?” asked Ishi.

“Yes, definitely near a loch,” said Marie. “But, determining which one may take a week or so to figure out.”

“What? Dear old dad didn’t leave behind a map to lead you to it?”

Sorry. Couldn’t resist.

“He did leave a map… and Uncle Leo has it. Or, he
had
it at one time. It hasn’t been seen for years.” She turned away, looking at London’s northern suburbs through the window as we sped northward.

“Then why in the hell are we doing this?” I persisted, feeling my ire heat up. “Please tell me we’re not going to scour the Scottish hillsides with a divining rod!”

“I have the coordinates of a bluff not far from the loch and symbols to confirm it’s the right one!” she said, returning her attention to me. Our heated gazes met. “Uncle Leo stole the map many years ago, but Papa had already memorized most of the details. He determined the location involved one of three lochs: Loch Ness, Loch Lomond, or Loch Morar. He shared everything he could recall; testing me to make sure I had all the details straight in my mind. Once we visit the right location, I’ll know it.”

“Wait a minute… so your father’s intent for the Ambrosius Amulet was to find buried treasure? Can you tell me where the procuring of it for a museum fits in with that notion?”

“You think I lied to you, Nick?”

“Maybe not intending to lie, but withholding important details can certainly make things look a bit dishonest. Don’t you agree? Besides, won’t Zeus and the rest of the ancient pantheon take issue with their precious amulet being used for selfish gain?”

The golden flecks seemed to swirl inside those cobalt eyes ablaze from anger. Maybe I should’ve worded things more gently, or better yet, held my tongue. Tough to do when I’m pissed.

“Surely you mean Aengus, the Celtic entity. And, as to your other accusation, the intent to deliver the amulet to the museum
always
remained my father’s priority!” she said, biting off harsh syllables—surely to keep from drawing attention to our little corner of the train car. “Papa had spent nearly all of his and my mother’s savings on other projects. So, he did something similar to what you would do, Nick. He agreed to help a very rich aristocrat here in the UK to locate the amulet and then find the legendary treasure. If my mother hadn’t contracted a rare strain of pneumonia during their initial trip to England, he would’ve succeeded in finding both the amulet and the hidden cavern three years ago. But they returned home, and Mom died of complications shortly thereafter. Then Uncle Leo took care of Papa…. My father’s last wish that we discussed was for me to ‘find the Ambrosius Amulet and claim the treasure hidden in the Scottish Highlands’. He trusted me, and with or without you, I’m going to fulfill his dying wish!”

Marie didn’t say anything else. She had already asked us to trust her, and only Ishi had given his faith, though blindly. Even now, Ishi’s look of childlike fascination told me he was willing to see this wild goose chase through to either a joyful or bitter end.