Read Online Treasured Dreams by Kendall Talbot - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Kendall Talbot
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stairs to his left, also covered in peeled paint and plaster, curled up the wall to an upper landing. The steps creaked under his weight, but they felt every bit as solid as they had thirty years ago. What looked like decades of dust caked his hand as he glided it along the once highly polished balustrade.
At the top of the stairs was a long corridor. The sunâs rays streamed in the windows at a sharp angle, creating alternate light and dark shadows along the walkway. He smelt the salty ocean air but on his tongue he tasted old concrete, dust and mould.
Nox knew exactly where he was going. It was like heâd walked these halls yesterday. Plaster that had crumbled off the walls lay in neat piles along the skirting boards. The door to an electrical box hung open and dozens of wires scrambled in all directions.
Nox wondered if there was electricity. He doubted it. A bare bulb that hung from the ceiling near his head consisted of jagged pieces of white glass. Just like the next three he saw along the corridor.
Nox turned at the fourth open doorway. Before him was a curved balcony. In the distance were grand high-arched windows that looked out across the ocean. Most of the glass was gone. Nox stepped up to the balustrade and looked down.
The beds were still there, dozens of them. All lined up like soldiers. Some had pillows and sheets, some were just a frame and a bare striped mattress, some were nothing more than a metal frame.
He closed his eyes and saw himself, lying in the bed sixteen along from the fireplace, his sheet pulled up to his chin, and staring up into the eyes of the monster.
Zanobi.
Chapter Nine
Alessandro hadnât been able to sleep. The excitement of what today held had kept his mind working overdrive into the small hours of the morning. Ginger, on the other hand, had slept peacefully at his side. She turned with the elegance of a ballerina, and at one point when sheâd rolled towards him, heâd studied her beautiful face bathed in the glow from the moonlight filtering through a small crack in the blinds. He watched that slither of light move from her left cheek to her right, and it wasnât until it slipped into her golden hair that he finally drifted off to sleep.
The morning brought unusual chaos aboard Evangeline . Their typical morning routine involved a delicious breakfast prepared by Rosalina or Ginger, or both. That would be followed by plenty of discussion, usually revolving around treasure. But not today. Not after Alessandro had received the call last night heâd been waiting for ever since theyâd arrived back in Italy.
Professor Sezoine from the Dipartimento di Scienze Archeologiche in Pisa had agreed to decipher the Egyptian hieroglyphics engraved into the gold monkey statue. But he was only free for six hours today before he headed to Rome for a flight to New York, so this morning it was. Jimmy and Archer would be tied up most of the morning with some of the finer details of Evangeline âs renovations, and Rosalina had to visit both her doctor and Nonna.
Archer had performed his usual magic, and as heâd arranged, an armoured truck arrived at 6.30a.m. at the marina gates, and the two burley security guards who were as efficient as they were unfriendly transported the sealed crate from Evangeline âs lounge area to the waiting truck. Under Archerâs orders, Alessandro and Ginger were to remain with the crate at all times.
Alessandro was happy with that, and judging by the grin on her face, Ginger was too.
Ginger climbed into the back of the truck, skirted the wooden crate, and chose a seat at the front, up against the wall of steel that separated them from the driverâs cabin. Only a rectangular glass window gave them visibility to the outside world when the doors locked them in. She patted the seat beside her as Alessandro sidled around the crate. He joined her, and as he slipped onto the seat at her side, her arm curled over his leg and
At the top of the stairs was a long corridor. The sunâs rays streamed in the windows at a sharp angle, creating alternate light and dark shadows along the walkway. He smelt the salty ocean air but on his tongue he tasted old concrete, dust and mould.
Nox knew exactly where he was going. It was like heâd walked these halls yesterday. Plaster that had crumbled off the walls lay in neat piles along the skirting boards. The door to an electrical box hung open and dozens of wires scrambled in all directions.
Nox wondered if there was electricity. He doubted it. A bare bulb that hung from the ceiling near his head consisted of jagged pieces of white glass. Just like the next three he saw along the corridor.
Nox turned at the fourth open doorway. Before him was a curved balcony. In the distance were grand high-arched windows that looked out across the ocean. Most of the glass was gone. Nox stepped up to the balustrade and looked down.
The beds were still there, dozens of them. All lined up like soldiers. Some had pillows and sheets, some were just a frame and a bare striped mattress, some were nothing more than a metal frame.
He closed his eyes and saw himself, lying in the bed sixteen along from the fireplace, his sheet pulled up to his chin, and staring up into the eyes of the monster.
Zanobi.
Chapter Nine
Alessandro hadnât been able to sleep. The excitement of what today held had kept his mind working overdrive into the small hours of the morning. Ginger, on the other hand, had slept peacefully at his side. She turned with the elegance of a ballerina, and at one point when sheâd rolled towards him, heâd studied her beautiful face bathed in the glow from the moonlight filtering through a small crack in the blinds. He watched that slither of light move from her left cheek to her right, and it wasnât until it slipped into her golden hair that he finally drifted off to sleep.
The morning brought unusual chaos aboard Evangeline . Their typical morning routine involved a delicious breakfast prepared by Rosalina or Ginger, or both. That would be followed by plenty of discussion, usually revolving around treasure. But not today. Not after Alessandro had received the call last night heâd been waiting for ever since theyâd arrived back in Italy.
Professor Sezoine from the Dipartimento di Scienze Archeologiche in Pisa had agreed to decipher the Egyptian hieroglyphics engraved into the gold monkey statue. But he was only free for six hours today before he headed to Rome for a flight to New York, so this morning it was. Jimmy and Archer would be tied up most of the morning with some of the finer details of Evangeline âs renovations, and Rosalina had to visit both her doctor and Nonna.
Archer had performed his usual magic, and as heâd arranged, an armoured truck arrived at 6.30a.m. at the marina gates, and the two burley security guards who were as efficient as they were unfriendly transported the sealed crate from Evangeline âs lounge area to the waiting truck. Under Archerâs orders, Alessandro and Ginger were to remain with the crate at all times.
Alessandro was happy with that, and judging by the grin on her face, Ginger was too.
Ginger climbed into the back of the truck, skirted the wooden crate, and chose a seat at the front, up against the wall of steel that separated them from the driverâs cabin. Only a rectangular glass window gave them visibility to the outside world when the doors locked them in. She patted the seat beside her as Alessandro sidled around the crate. He joined her, and as he slipped onto the seat at her side, her arm curled over his leg and
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