Read Online The Dragon Queens (The Mystique Trilogy) by Traci Harding - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Traci Harding
Ads: Link
‘Hence my influence with men of power—I have a gift they respect and need.’
‘Of course.’ She realised that she was being overly protective and pulled out her set of keys. ‘Come and I shall let you in.’
‘I am much obliged.’
On the way back to the site house we walked in silence; Miss Koriche was not one for idle chitchat—not with me in any case. I was so very tempted to psychically probe her thoughts. I wanted to know why she was wary of my party;was it just because we were foreigners? Miss Koriche was not a native of Persia herself, but was born into a wealthy Moroccan family and educated in Cairo. My other concern was her interest in my son. I could see Levi’s attraction, as not only did the linguist share his interests, but she was beautiful and astute as well. She was a good five years older than Levi and would have to have been deaf, dumb and blind not to notice the crush he had on her. They had been spending a good deal of time together this last week, and Levi maintained that he was learning a lot from Miss Koriche—a claim I was not entirely sure how to interpret. Miss Koriche was not your typical subservient Eastern woman, and even more unusual was the fact that she was a scholar who claimed to subscribe to no particular religion. The archaeological evidence that she had deciphered seemed to indicate that no doctrine was able to expose the entire truth behind the origin of life on Earth—on that point we were in total agreement.
Despite my curiosity regarding the young woman, I resisted violating her mind. I had learned through experience that more harm than good came from spying on the private thoughts of others, as one seldom perceived any train of thought in its entirety and thus it was easy to draw the wrong conclusion.
Inside the adjoining rooms in the site house that served as a storage area for the treasures recovered during the excavation—kept tightly locked by Miss Koriche—I cast my eyes over the relics laid out on tables and the large clay tablets and columnsplaced around the walls to see if anything in particular drew my attention. I bypassed the clay pottery and seals in favour of a woman’s hair comb made of ivory. It was engraved with the symbol of a gold serpent coiled in a circle and consuming its own tail. My fingers reached for the item, but Miss Koriche took up the piece instead.
‘You have a fine eye indeed,’ she conceded. ‘I believe this may be the oldest of the artefacts that we have found so far.’
‘May I?’ I held out my hand for the piece.
Miss Koriche knew that she had no authority to deny me, although I could clearly discern that given a choice she would have. Was she concerned about the artefact being damaged, or had she found out I was a psychometrist? I doubted very much that Levi would have disclosed as much to her, when I had drummed into him how important it was to keep his own talents hidden.
Miss Koriche reluctantly placed the ancient hair accessory into the palm of my hand and observed me closely.
‘Do not let me keep you from your work, Miss Koriche. I will seek you out if I have any questions.’ I smiled and waited for her to depart.
‘I shall be in the next room,’ she said, leaving me to my business.
I turned to face the opposite direction to the room where Miss Koriche had gone and held the comb up to the light to make a good show of assessing it—for I had a sneaking suspicion that I was still being observed. Then, holding the item in my left palm, I ran my right-hand fingers over the smooth ivory and within seconds of focusing myinner eye upon it, my sight, inner and outer, was engulfed by a vision.
I was in a single-file procession of young women dressed in long, flowing red robes. The dark hair of the woman directly in front of me was wound in an intricate knot that was held in place with a serpent comb—all the scarlet women wore the same comb, including myself. But this was no ceremonial procession; it was an
‘Of course.’ She realised that she was being overly protective and pulled out her set of keys. ‘Come and I shall let you in.’
‘I am much obliged.’
On the way back to the site house we walked in silence; Miss Koriche was not one for idle chitchat—not with me in any case. I was so very tempted to psychically probe her thoughts. I wanted to know why she was wary of my party;was it just because we were foreigners? Miss Koriche was not a native of Persia herself, but was born into a wealthy Moroccan family and educated in Cairo. My other concern was her interest in my son. I could see Levi’s attraction, as not only did the linguist share his interests, but she was beautiful and astute as well. She was a good five years older than Levi and would have to have been deaf, dumb and blind not to notice the crush he had on her. They had been spending a good deal of time together this last week, and Levi maintained that he was learning a lot from Miss Koriche—a claim I was not entirely sure how to interpret. Miss Koriche was not your typical subservient Eastern woman, and even more unusual was the fact that she was a scholar who claimed to subscribe to no particular religion. The archaeological evidence that she had deciphered seemed to indicate that no doctrine was able to expose the entire truth behind the origin of life on Earth—on that point we were in total agreement.
Despite my curiosity regarding the young woman, I resisted violating her mind. I had learned through experience that more harm than good came from spying on the private thoughts of others, as one seldom perceived any train of thought in its entirety and thus it was easy to draw the wrong conclusion.
Inside the adjoining rooms in the site house that served as a storage area for the treasures recovered during the excavation—kept tightly locked by Miss Koriche—I cast my eyes over the relics laid out on tables and the large clay tablets and columnsplaced around the walls to see if anything in particular drew my attention. I bypassed the clay pottery and seals in favour of a woman’s hair comb made of ivory. It was engraved with the symbol of a gold serpent coiled in a circle and consuming its own tail. My fingers reached for the item, but Miss Koriche took up the piece instead.
‘You have a fine eye indeed,’ she conceded. ‘I believe this may be the oldest of the artefacts that we have found so far.’
‘May I?’ I held out my hand for the piece.
Miss Koriche knew that she had no authority to deny me, although I could clearly discern that given a choice she would have. Was she concerned about the artefact being damaged, or had she found out I was a psychometrist? I doubted very much that Levi would have disclosed as much to her, when I had drummed into him how important it was to keep his own talents hidden.
Miss Koriche reluctantly placed the ancient hair accessory into the palm of my hand and observed me closely.
‘Do not let me keep you from your work, Miss Koriche. I will seek you out if I have any questions.’ I smiled and waited for her to depart.
‘I shall be in the next room,’ she said, leaving me to my business.
I turned to face the opposite direction to the room where Miss Koriche had gone and held the comb up to the light to make a good show of assessing it—for I had a sneaking suspicion that I was still being observed. Then, holding the item in my left palm, I ran my right-hand fingers over the smooth ivory and within seconds of focusing myinner eye upon it, my sight, inner and outer, was engulfed by a vision.
I was in a single-file procession of young women dressed in long, flowing red robes. The dark hair of the woman directly in front of me was wound in an intricate knot that was held in place with a serpent comb—all the scarlet women wore the same comb, including myself. But this was no ceremonial procession; it was an
Similar Books
