sought that day. Perhaps the monks warned them in time.”
Blake heard the curiosity in her voice. “You’re going there, aren’t you?”
Morgan nodded. “If you think that’s where the Valkyrie is heading, then yes, I’ll go … but with some backup this time.”
Blake knew this was probably the end of his time with Morgan, but his experiences with Jamie Brooke on the Hunterian murder and now this were helping him to see that his gift could be useful. Perhaps there could be a way to use it to help, rather than just to see visions that haunted his nightmares.
“Need a sidekick?” Blake asked, turning on his most charming smile. Morgan laughed, and he chuckled along with her, for there was no entrancing this woman. She was smart as well as attractive and saw right through his attempts. Morgan put her hand on his arm, suddenly serious.
“Thank you for your help with this, Blake. Now I can use this information to go after the Valkyrie.”
“Will I … see you again?” he asked, not wanting this to be the end. “I want to know what you find, and I doubt that I’ll find any kind of truth in the media. At least our kind of truth anyway.”
Morgan hesitated, then nodded. “I’ll find you afterwards, I promise. Why don’t you stay and look at the Gospels for a bit longer. I’m sure the librarian would be happy to take you on a personal tour.”
As they both laughed, Morgan leaned forward and kissed Blake on the cheek. He looked into her blue eyes, like cobalt from the illuminated script, the slash of violet in her right darker now, almost indigo. He wanted to read her, wanted to know her emotions, and her past. She intrigued him.
“This is goodbye for now,” she said, turning to the door and walking out, without looking back.
***
Morgan pulled out her phone in the atrium of the library. Marietti answered on the first ring.
“Did you find anything?” he asked, his voice tense. She could hear talking in the background, and a news bulletin that still looped on the museum hostage crisis.
“I think they might be heading to Iona,” Morgan said. “The Scottish island also had a famous monastery that was raided by the Vikings, and it could be that they were looking for the same thing the Valkyrie is. She called it the Eye of Odin, and the staff was just a step on that journey. The museum wasn’t the end game.”
“Hmm. Interesting, but things look a little different from here. We’ve had a report of a suspicious murder in the Orkney Islands, a man ritually killed in the Ring of Brodgar, a Neolithic stone circle. The local police say there’s a group who follow the ways of the Vikings in the islands, expected back later tonight. Harmless, or so they thought.” Marietti laughed bitterly. “I’m sending a team there to investigate and intercept the return of the Valkyrie.”
It was over 200 miles from Orkney to Iona across land and sea, Morgan thought. If she was wrong, then she would miss out on dispensing the justice she so desperately wanted. Betting on Blake’s visions over hard evidence was crazy, but she thought of how he had been in the trance. It was as if he had left his physical body, and working for ARKANE had eroded the skepticism she used to have about the inexplicable.
“I’d like to go to Iona,” she said. “Then we’ll be covering both angles.”
“Hold on a minute.” Morgan heard Marietti barking commands to those in his office before returning to the phone. “Alright, get to Iona. But if you insist on investigating there, I can’t spare anyone to come with you. We’re stretched as it is, and you might find nothing. We can send backup if you do get a lead. Still want to go?”
Morgan’s rage about the murder in the museum was still simmering, and she didn’t want to continue this fight back in the depths of the ARKANE offices. Her preference was always for action, if she had the choice. Of course, Blake’s unusual talent could be completely useless,
Blake heard the curiosity in her voice. “You’re going there, aren’t you?”
Morgan nodded. “If you think that’s where the Valkyrie is heading, then yes, I’ll go … but with some backup this time.”
Blake knew this was probably the end of his time with Morgan, but his experiences with Jamie Brooke on the Hunterian murder and now this were helping him to see that his gift could be useful. Perhaps there could be a way to use it to help, rather than just to see visions that haunted his nightmares.
“Need a sidekick?” Blake asked, turning on his most charming smile. Morgan laughed, and he chuckled along with her, for there was no entrancing this woman. She was smart as well as attractive and saw right through his attempts. Morgan put her hand on his arm, suddenly serious.
“Thank you for your help with this, Blake. Now I can use this information to go after the Valkyrie.”
“Will I … see you again?” he asked, not wanting this to be the end. “I want to know what you find, and I doubt that I’ll find any kind of truth in the media. At least our kind of truth anyway.”
Morgan hesitated, then nodded. “I’ll find you afterwards, I promise. Why don’t you stay and look at the Gospels for a bit longer. I’m sure the librarian would be happy to take you on a personal tour.”
As they both laughed, Morgan leaned forward and kissed Blake on the cheek. He looked into her blue eyes, like cobalt from the illuminated script, the slash of violet in her right darker now, almost indigo. He wanted to read her, wanted to know her emotions, and her past. She intrigued him.
“This is goodbye for now,” she said, turning to the door and walking out, without looking back.
***
Morgan pulled out her phone in the atrium of the library. Marietti answered on the first ring.
“Did you find anything?” he asked, his voice tense. She could hear talking in the background, and a news bulletin that still looped on the museum hostage crisis.
“I think they might be heading to Iona,” Morgan said. “The Scottish island also had a famous monastery that was raided by the Vikings, and it could be that they were looking for the same thing the Valkyrie is. She called it the Eye of Odin, and the staff was just a step on that journey. The museum wasn’t the end game.”
“Hmm. Interesting, but things look a little different from here. We’ve had a report of a suspicious murder in the Orkney Islands, a man ritually killed in the Ring of Brodgar, a Neolithic stone circle. The local police say there’s a group who follow the ways of the Vikings in the islands, expected back later tonight. Harmless, or so they thought.” Marietti laughed bitterly. “I’m sending a team there to investigate and intercept the return of the Valkyrie.”
It was over 200 miles from Orkney to Iona across land and sea, Morgan thought. If she was wrong, then she would miss out on dispensing the justice she so desperately wanted. Betting on Blake’s visions over hard evidence was crazy, but she thought of how he had been in the trance. It was as if he had left his physical body, and working for ARKANE had eroded the skepticism she used to have about the inexplicable.
“I’d like to go to Iona,” she said. “Then we’ll be covering both angles.”
“Hold on a minute.” Morgan heard Marietti barking commands to those in his office before returning to the phone. “Alright, get to Iona. But if you insist on investigating there, I can’t spare anyone to come with you. We’re stretched as it is, and you might find nothing. We can send backup if you do get a lead. Still want to go?”
Morgan’s rage about the murder in the museum was still simmering, and she didn’t want to continue this fight back in the depths of the ARKANE offices. Her preference was always for action, if she had the choice. Of course, Blake’s unusual talent could be completely useless,
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