Treasured Secrets (19 page)

Placing the book aside he reached into the box for the videotapes. He sorted through them, readjusting the order until he found tape number 17. There was no need to watch it; he had long ago memorised every second of his video footage. His time would not have been wasted.

Nox twisted his bulky ring over and unclipped the jewelled lid. He licked the tip of his little finger and dipped it into the vial concealed within the ring. His fingertip was now covered in black powder as fine as the ashes he'd seen removed from the crematorium. He resisted the urge to lick it off, knowing just how potent it was. But then he realised his error. He might need every trace of the poison and it took months to make. Now he couldn't put it back, nor could he use it.
Stupid. Focus
.

With clenched teeth he wiped the powder onto his robe. He shoved the book and all the other videos back into the tin and returned the box to its hidden chamber within his bed. The second he tugged the mattress back in place, Shadow jumped onto the bed. Nox again ignored the cat as he placed tape 17 on his bookshelf, amongst his collection of bibles. The time for using it would come around soon enough.

He turned to Shadow. The feline was sitting up tall, his yellow eyes alert, his tail a controlled movement from side to side, as if performing some kind of hypnotic induction. ‘You looking for dinner?' Nox gathered him into his arms and smoothed Shadow's thick fur. ‘I'm not going to be around much soon. You'll have to get your own dinner.' Shadow had been his roommate for years. The feline had turned up one day and although he could leave through a small air tunnel at the back of the room, he always came back. Nox liked to think Shadow enjoyed his company, but it was probably because of what he fed him. Nox lowered the cat to the stone floor and, as he walked towards a second tank hidden behind his bookshelf, the cat began to meow. ‘You know what's coming, don't you?'

Nox glanced at the wall behind yet another tank. He stared at one brick, ensuring there was nothing distinguishing about it. It was important that it remained an identical replica of every other block in the wall. Because behind that brick was the one piece of evidence that had been driving him for decades. The scroll would stay there for now. Nox didn't need it where he was going, and he'd already memorised every word anyway.

He reached into the glass tank and with expert swiftness latched onto the tail of a scampering mouse. Shadow went crazy at the sight of his dangling dinner and voiced his excitement with a deep growl. Nox tossed the rodent onto the floor and Shadow dashed after it. Although Shadow was at least ten years old, he still had the agility of a kitten. It was over in a matter of seconds. Nox was confident Shadow would survive quite well without him. He'd miss his feline friend, though.

‘Good boy.' Nox ran his hand down the cat's back. When Nox returned to this room later, he knew there would be no evidence of the bloody meal.

Nox carefully selected a dozen or so mushrooms, tucked them into his robe pockets and walked out the door. He turned and locked it behind him and then went in search of his father. Although the old man had been helping out at the orphanage all day, he would most likely already know about what had happened yesterday. The cunning old bugger still had his spies all over the place. As Nox travelled along the dark corridors, he embraced the familiar sensations flowing into his mind from the hallucinogenic mushroom.

* * *

Nox stood at the stove, stirring his steaming pot of mushroom risotto. It was nearing perfection when his father entered the kitchen and took a seat at the end of the table. ‘Good evening, my son.'

‘Hello, Father. I'm making your favourite.' Nox had been practising his mushroom risotto for years, waiting for this exact moment. His stomach fluttered with excitement. Adding his dried mushroom powder to the risotto, already filled with an abundance of mushrooms, he hoped it wouldn't affect the taste too much. The added poison would ensure the deadly result would happen swiftly.

He turned off the gas but continued to stir the risotto until it was ready. Then, with his back to his father, he scooped the potent meal into a fine china bowl and spooned his own meal from another pot.

He turned with the two plates and his father looked up at him with interested eyes. The old man's mouth opened, readying to speak, but then he closed it without uttering a word. He was certain his father knew what was coming, and was now preparing for his ultimate sacrifice. As Nox placed the plate before his father, he smelt his own body odour, a rare occurrence; he had become almost immune to it. It was usually only present in times of stress or excitement. He believed today was one of the latter.

Nox slipped into a chair at the opposite end of the table and watched the old man scoop a spoonful of risotto into his mouth. The taste between the two almost identical mushrooms was similar, but he could barely breathe as he waited to see if his father detected a difference.

‘Mmm, delicious as usual.'

‘Thank you.' Nox's voice trembled and his mouth was so dry he wasn't sure he could even eat. He reached for the glass of wine before him and sipped at the full-bodied nectar without losing sight of his father. With breathless anticipation, he waited for the moment when Father Benedici would be gripped with the pain Nox knew was coming.

‘Did you get over to the orphanage today?' His father paused with a fully laden spoon at his lips.

‘No, I didn't. I'll go tomorrow,' Nox said. Father Benedici spent many hours at the orphanage, but Nox knew from experience that he used the orphanage to wield his authority like it was some kind of divine power. With the flick of his bony hand he could change the life of any child.

Nox ran his tongue over the gap from his missing tooth as he waited for the deadly toxins to attack. The poison would penetrate his father's liver first, causing vomiting and diarrhoea. Next he would be struck down with excruciating stomach cramps, his body heat would rocket into extreme temperatures causing hyperthermia and, within a very short amount of time, he would be dead. Death would be a welcome relief from the crippling pain his father was destined to suffer.

Father stopped again with his spoon to his lips. Nox stared.
Is this the moment I've waited years for
?

‘I heard you had a bit of excitement here yesterday. Want to tell me what happened?' His father pressed his lips together in a look that was meant to reflect his authority. Nox was a regular recipient of this look, and knowing this would be the very last time he'd see it made him take in every line and wrinkle of the old man's face.

‘I wondered if you'd heard.' Nox had been certain one of the men would tell him. Their twisted loyalty couldn't be trusted. But then again, not much went on in this church that Father didn't ultimately learn about. It was just another reason why tonight's meal was justified.

‘I hear everything. I've told you that.'

Over the years Nox had found his own way to keep secrets. And he'd heard his share of them. One of the benefits of crawling all over the church looking for the treasure meant that he'd also discovered all the key places in the building where sound travelled. He often hid in the shadows and listened into a conversation that was being held one or two corridors away.

Bribery, he'd also learnt, was the most successful way to contain secrets. Unfortunately he hadn't had time to implement any backup plans today though. Hence the mushroom risotto. ‘Yesterday was one of the most exciting days in the history of our church.'

Father Benedici lurched, clutching his stomach. His spoon flew from his hand, spewing rice across the table.

Brother Nox reached for a grain that landed near him and lifted it onto his finger. ‘You are about to be a part of that history.'

‘What have you done?' Benedici pitched sideways, scuttling the bowl. It shattered into a sticky mess on the stone floor. The old man dropped from his seat and landed upon it.

Nox placed the rice on his tongue and bit into the softened grain, but was disappointed he couldn't taste the poison.

‘What have you done?' Father repeated his question and Nox moved to stand over him.

Benedici writhed in pain, contorting his body in violent moves that threatened to snap his neck at any moment.

‘Father, don't pretend you didn't know this day would come. This is why you chose me. I'm destined to find that treasure and you know it. Today's events prove you chose well.'

‘I saved you!' As Benedici spat the words, chunks of rice sprayed from his blueing lips.

‘No, Father, it is I who is saving you.' Nox held a pen forward. ‘You should have let me into your secret little group a long time ago. I told you not to mess with me. You have given me no choice but to do it this way. But I am a forgiving man. If you sign this document, declaring me as your successor, I will save you.' He held up a syringe. ‘I have the antidote here.' Even in the dimmed light the blue liquid inside the plastic cylinder still had an unusual glow, as if it were somehow alive.

Benedici reached out with shaky fingers, his eyes riddled with red spider veins. ‘Save me. I did nothing but the best for you.'

Nox handed the pen to the trembling fingers. ‘Sign the power over to me and I will save you.' Nox reached for a clipboard and then screamed. Pain shot up his leg. Benedici had stabbed the pen into his ankle, right into the soft skin between his Achilles tendon and his anklebone.

Nox dropped to his knees and had to resist the urge to strangle his father with his bare hands. Blood oozed from his wound when he pulled the pen out. But he savoured the pain when he saw the look of pure anger in his father's eyes. ‘Sign the document and I will save you.' Nox felt an unearthly calm wash over him as he cleaned his blood off the pen and placed it in his father's hand.

Father Benedici drew his knees to his chest, squeezing into a tight ball.

Nox placed his hand on his father's shoulder. ‘Sign the document and I will stop the pain.' Father rolled onto his side, the pen trembling in his fingers.

Nox guided him to the paperwork.

The signature was an erratic scrawl, but satisfied it was sufficient, Nox whipped it away before his father threw up on it. He placed the clipboard on the table, folded the paper and tucked it into his robe pocket, along with the syringe. The blue fluid inside was nothing but liquid soap anyway, but in the eyes of his father it would have looked like saviour.

His father's moaning became pathetic sobs and Nox ignored the pain in his ankle to kneel beside him.

‘I will do great things. This I promise you.' He bent over and kissed his father's blazing-hot forehead. Not a drop of perspiration confirmed hyperthermia had already kicked in. Death would not be long now. ‘You would have been proud of me.'

Nox wiped up his own blood and washed out his bowl. Now it looked like Father Benedici had eaten alone. And died alone. Nox had detailed footage of his father gathering mushrooms in the fields around the villages. On this occasion it would seem he hadn't chosen wisely. His death would look like nothing more than an awful accident. Videotape number 17 was going to come in handy, as Nox had always known it would. As he hobbled from the kitchen he heard his father throwing up.

Brother Nox smiled, knowing the old man's pain would end in a matter of minutes.

Archer had finally told her why he couldn't commit to a relationship and Rosalina felt like her heart was going to crack. Not only did he see his father die in the most horrific way, he also blamed himself for both his father's and his mother's deaths. She tried to imagine the childhood Archer had suffered after their passing.

Archer stood up and looked down at her. ‘Jimmy should have
Evangeline
in Athens in a week or so. Will you at least think about it?'

Rosalina gathered her thoughts, trying to compose the right words to say. The tightened muscles along Archer's jawline added to the stubborn look in his eyes, confirming it was pointless continuing with the previous conversation. For now, anyway. Rosalina was determined to prove to him that love was worth fighting for and a couple of weeks on
Evangeline
would be the perfect place to start. ‘Okay. I'll come with you. But only to help find the treasure.'

The tangle of emotions that shattered his handsome face gradually disappeared as the anger melted away. His features softened and reassembled into the man she knew and still loved. A smile changed his whole look and now the old Archer was back. ‘Excellent. You won't regret it.' He held out his hand.

She reached for it and he whisked her off the seat and twirled her around the dance floor. After a series of dips and twirls, he pulled her to his chest. Her skin tingled as he ran his hand up her shirt to touch her bare back. ‘What about your job?

She shrugged. ‘I hated it anyway.'

‘What about Alessandro?'

Rosalina recalled Alessandro's excitement over the ancient diary. ‘He's involved now.' She raised her chin in defiance. ‘He has to come, too.'

‘Well,' Archer said, as he directed her into an elegant spin, ‘I hope he doesn't get seasick.'

***

The next couple of weeks were a whirlwind of packing, planning and excitement. Alessandro didn't hesitate taking time off work, and before Rosalina had a chance to really question what she was doing, she was boarding a flight to Athens with Alessandro and Archer. Alessandro was driving her crazy. He was beyond excited and fidgeted with every button and knob in his seat like a child who'd consumed an abundance of red lollies.

Despite being seated between two men who were vying for her attention, she felt decidedly calm about the situation. After all, both of them would do anything for her. Not too many women could boast that luxury. She was a firm believer in destiny and understood the rest of her life was hinged on the outcome of this treasure hunt. Red wine warmed her insides and the sound of Archer's calm breathing comforted her heart. He seemed at peace. As his chest rose and fell, she spied the pendant beneath his T-shirt. The golden enigma was about to change the course of her life.