Pentecost by J.F. Penn Read Free Book Online Page B

the rest of the stones here for Pentecost Sunday, May 27th. You’d better hurry. Only nine days’ time and a lot of travel ahead of you. Keep the cell phone on you and I’ll contact you with where to bring the stones. You’ll have the help of ARKANE, and of course if you want your family alive, then you will do this. If not, I’ll continue to experiment with the effects of fire on human flesh. Tick tock Morgan.”
      The screen changed back to the smoldering bodies and then went blank.
      “Bastard!” Morgan said, slamming her hand down on the desk. She looked at Jake.  
    “It’s Everett, the American academic. ARKANE must be able to trace his whereabouts.”  
    Jake nodded, pulling out his cellphone. “We’ll get started on it.”
    David gripped the back of the office chair, knuckles white, his voice low but insistent.
      “But you have to do what he says, Morgan. You can’t risk their lives. You have to bring them home.”
      “Of course. I’ll do whatever it takes. We’ll find them.”
      David turned and walked from the room, shoulders hunched. Morgan whirled round to face Jake.
      “I will rescue my sister, but why does he want ARKANE involved? Did you send him to me? Are you working with him somehow?”
      “Of course not. I’m sure he was already coming for you. No doubt you’ll find your parents mentioned in these books. They didn’t know to keep the stones secret.”
    Morgan looked puzzled.  
      “Is that how ARKANE found us as well?”
      “Yes, after Varanasi our research uncovered the dig report of the stones which was linked to your parents. Unfortunately we were just behind the Thanatos team.”
    Morgan felt lost, as if she was whirling in a maelstrom of fear and guilt. Faye and Gemma were her only surviving family so whatever it took, she would get them back but she also felt the first tendrils of intrigue as she considered the possibilities of the stones. She picked up one of the Moleskine journals, flicking through the first few pages. There were notes and diagrams in spidery handwriting. One of the initial pages showed a map of Europe and the Near East with red dots and lines drawn on it. Jake looked over her shoulder.  
    “That looks similar to the ARKANE map of where the Apostles went and where the stones might be, so it looks like you need some resources to back you up if you want to get the stones. We have contacts all over the world as well as facilities and transport so we can support you with whatever you need.”
    Morgan knew it was impossible to cover this amount of ground alone in the time she had. She saw the lifeline Jake offered, but she was still wary of him. ARKANE was an unknown entity. Protecting secrets was one way to see them, but perhaps their motives could also be darker.  
      “I’m thinking about it,” she said. “Did you find out which Apostles our stones belonged to? I need to narrow down the places to look for the others.”
      “We think you have the stone of the Apostle John, the author of Revelation, and Faye has the stone of James Alphaeus.”
      “That accounts for two of them and ARKANE’s stone is from Matthew Levi.” She paused, then asked, “How come ARKANE had one of the stones all this time but didn’t collect the rest of them?”
      “Do you know how many Christian relics there are in the world?” Jake questioned.
      Morgan couldn’t help but laugh, despite the dire situation. “Enough of the true cross to fell a forest of trees, enough nails to build a house with and enough sacred stone to fill a quarry. I see what you mean.”
      “Exactly. It was just another unsubstantiated myth. The stones weren’t important until the miracles of Varanasi and the discovery of the Resurgam comet.”
      “And until my sister and niece were kidnapped.”
    Jake nodded.  
      “Of course, and I’m sorry it got this far. But if you don’t let us help you, there’s no way you can fulfill his demands, certainly not in time