***

  Though many in the city thought of Kelly Emerson as merely “the curator’s daughter,” she was in fact much more. A graduate of Sovereign University, Kelly held doctorates in archaeology and anthropology. Standing nearly six feet tall and possessed of flowing red hair, she looked like a modern Amazon, with enough curves to unsettle even the most ardent of playboys. Her glittering green eyes and full lips had warmed Gray’s heart when he’d first met her and their love affair was still recent enough that both of them found it slightly uncomfortable to be in the same room. It hadn’t lasted very long and was, in fact, best described as a fling… but the passion had burned so brightly that it had threatened to consume the both of them.

  Lazarus stood facing her cluttered desk, his eyes traveling over the familiar walls. Several tribal masks from Africa were placed above a crowded bookcase, while a mummified cat sat perched watchfully on a nearby table.

  Kelly wore a long white dress that buttoned down the front. She normally hated to wear dresses or skirts but found that it eased dealings with men when she was at the museum. Given her druthers, she would have traipsed around in hiking boots, khaki shorts and a sensible shirt. Alas, it was still a man’s world, even in the modern era of 1935.

  Kelly held the egg-shaped rock in her lap, her fingers sliding across its smooth surface. She could feel the eager stare of the dark-haired girl but she didn’t rush the moment. She was enjoying the thrill of discovery and it was a heady rush.

  “You know what it is?” Lazarus asked and Kelly let out a small sigh, knowing that she’d need to slip into professorial mode now.

  “Yes. It’s a Soul Stone. There are stories about them dating back to the Zhou Period.”

  Agnes glanced at Lazarus. “I don’t understand what that means,” she admitted.

  Lazarus crossed his arms over his chest. “The Zhou Period refers to a Dynasty that lasted from 1027 to 221 B.C. in China. It began when a warlord chieftain overthrew the last of the Shang Emperors.”

  Agnes accepted this and looked back at Kelly. “So what are the Soul Stones?”

  “In 771 B.C. the Zhou royal court was sacked by barbarians and the king was killed. A sorcerer who was loyal to the king performed a ritual that was supposed to remove the dead man’s soul from his body, trapping it in one of these stones. The Chinese at the time believed in something called The Mandate of Heaven, which basically stated that the kings ruled through the divine will of the gods. Their defeat or dethronement would indicate that they had lost the favor of their deities. A fallen king’s soul was believed to be cast into a fiery inferno where they would suffer for their sins in life. It was believed that those sins would have to be plentiful for the gods to have revoked their blessings. This sorcerer wanted to protect the king from suffering this fate and it became tradition for future court wizards to do the same, encasing the spirits of dead kings in these Soul Stones. When the last of the Zhou rulers died, all of the Stones were supposedly put into hiding, both to protect them from thieves and from agents of the underworld, who would seek to finally capture the lost souls. If they were all found today, they’d be worth a fortune.”

  “I’m more interested in simply finding my sister,” Agnes pointed out.

  “Well, I’d bet my last dollar that this came from Outer Mongolia. And the museum might be interested in funding an expedition to find more of these… and that might provide a good cover story to explain why a bunch of Americans might be poking around over there.”

  Lazarus nodded, having hoped that Kelly would take the bait. He could certainly have funded the operation himself but with the museum’s backing, his cover story would have more credibility. “You don’t have to secure much in the way of money. I can cover the majority of the costs as long as you get me paperwork to show that my aides and I are working for you.”

  Kelly stood up, a crooked grin on her face. “If we’re taking all three of your Assistance Unlimited crew, we should only have to hire some locals for the transportation and we’re set.”

  Lazarus narrowed his eyes. He’d hoped it wouldn’t come to this. “I don’t think you should come,” he said calmly.

  “I’ve been to Mongolia before. Three years ago. You haven’t. You’ll need me.” Kelly walked over to a series of maps tacked to the wall, flipping through them until she came to one of Asia. She ran a finger from Shanghai to the heart of Asia. “The trip’s going to be incredibly dangerous: roasting heat during the day, freezing temperatures at night. Throw in storms, maps that are outdated even before the ink is dry on them and vicious bandits and warlords… you might as well be talking about taking a trip to the deepest pit in Hell. And that’s not even considering what the Russian-controlled government in Mongolia might be like these days. Their moods shift like the wind.”

  “There’s more,” Lazarus said.

  Kelly laughed softly. “With you, there always is. What else is there?”

  “Last night Walther Lunt appeared to Samantha and the others. He asked them to warn me away from this investigation. Apparently, he says that things are dangerous enough without me being involved but he went on to say that if I or any of my friends did enter into this, that we’d all end up dead.”

  “Nice,” she replied. “So in addition to all the dangers I listed before, we’d probably have The Illuminati on our tails.”

  “And the demonic forces of The Devil’s Circus,” he pointed out.

  Kelly took a deep breath and then her grin stretched even wider. “I can’t wait. Let me talk to dad and we should be ready to head out in a few days.”

  Agnes stood up and retrieved the Soul Stone, returning it to her handbag. “Is it okay if I keep up with this? It’s the only link I have left to my sister.”

  Kelly nodded. “For now, it’s fine. Assuming we come back from Mongolia alive, I’ll need that and whatever else we find to turn over to the museum.”

  Lazarus moved towards the door. “We’ll wait to hear from you, Kelly.” He hesitated. “And thank you.”

  ***

  As Lazarus and Agnes headed towards the third floor elevator that would take them back to the museum’s foyer, Lazarus noticed a pair of men studying the whale. They appeared to be marveling at the massive beast and taking notice of little else. Maybe it was their attire; dark suits and ties, but something about them set off an alarm in Lazarus’ head. The men didn’t seem at all accustomed to wearing such garb and as they talked, both seemed to nervously fidget with the knots of their ties.

  Agnes walked closest to the men. As she passed, one turned his head slightly and gave a small nod. His smile revealed that one of his upper teeth had been lost and replaced with a gold tooth. It gleamed brightly and Agnes returned his smile.

  The man then struck, snatching the handbag from her hands.

  “No!” Agnes screamed.

  The man with the bag was sprinting toward the stairwell, his black shoes clattering on the smooth floor. Lazarus jumped to pursue him but the second man blocked his path. He kicked the man in his left knee and when the thief winced in pain, Lazarus delivered a roundhouse punch that sent the man toppling over. He immediately jumped over him and raced after the culprit.

  The escaping thief was already bounding down the stairs, taking them two at the time. In his haste he ignored the sign that had been placed on the landing: CAUTION WET FLOOR. Indeed, a janitor was currently mopping it, whistling an old Southern minstrel tune as he worked. The janitor jerked back, his mouth falling open in amazement as the man fell past him, sliding on his rear end, careening into the wall.

  The handbag slipped from his fingers as the thief landed in a fetal position. He groaned as Lazarus came into view, skating across the slippery surface on the bottom of his shoes, navigating the scene like a figure skater. Lazarus reached down to grab the handbag as he slid past but the thief kicked out with a foot and sent the bag flying.

  Twisting himself around and grabbing hold of a nearby doorway, Lazarus came to a stop. He saw the thief was scrambling back to his feet and drawing a small knife from under his coat. “Toss me the bag!” Lazarus yelled, directing his comments at the stunned janitor.

  The janitor took one look at the knife and threw his mop to the ground, bolting towards the stairs. With a grunt, Lazarus leapt towards the handbag but he overshot his mark, slipping in the soapy water. Instead of the bag, he ended up with the mop in hand.

  He spun about just in time to throw up the mop and block a swipe of the thief’s knife. Brandishing the cleaning utensil with both hands, Lazarus sought to find balance on the slick floor, using the mop’s wooden shaft to parry each thrust of his opponent’s weapon. He finally ducked down and adjusted his hold on the mop, swinging it like a baseball bat at the other man’s stomach. He connected with a mighty blow and the man gasped in surprise. Lazarus then raised the mop overhead and brought it down atop the other man’s head, its impact snapping the wooden stick in two.

  The thief swayed on his feet for a moment and then fell to his knees, momentarily stunned. This gave Lazarus the opportunity to snatch up the bag. He scrambled back up the stairs, aware that the criminal was once more in hot pursuit. The thief lunged for Lazarus at the top of the stairs and the two men fell against the railing. Lazarus watched helplessly as the handbag flew from his grasp, landing with a thud atop the back of the blue whale.

  Lazarus spun about; delivering a backhanded blow that sent the thief tumbling away from him. Without another word, the founder of Assistance Unlimited clambered up onto the railing and jumped. For a moment, he seemed to hang in the air, suspended three floors above ground, and then he was crashing down onto the back of the whale. The wire mesh buckled and bits of plaster began to fall all around him as the cable anchors were strained by his weight. Precarious as it may have been, everything held. In those brief moments Lazarus was glad Agnes had interrupted his plans to drink.

  Lazarus had just picked up the handbag when he felt the whale shift again and the rain of plaster doubled in intensity. He turned around to see that the thief had followed suit and was now facing him with a grin on his face. Lazarus knew it was only luck that was still anchoring the cables.

  “Whatsamatter, Gray? Didn’t think I’d join you?” the man asked. He held out a hand and wiggled his fingers. “Give it to me and you’ll get to walk out of here alive. Otherwise, I’ll gut you like a fish.” To punctuate his words, the man waved his newly recovered knife menacingly with his other hand.

  Just then, the whale tilted preciously to the side. Lazarus looked up to see that several of the cables had come undone and the entire structure was in imminent danger of collapse.

  Both men looked at each other in shock as the inevitable happened, the rest of the cables snapped. Somewhere, a woman was screaming but Lazarus had no idea what direction the sound was coming from: all he could hear was the whistling of the air past his ears as what was up was now down. He knelt quickly as he braced for impact. Slamming a fist through the papier-mâché material he held on for dear life as the whale slammed to the floor of the museum.

  The would-be thief was not so lucky. He lost his footing on the way down and fell over the side. He smashed to the floor and was buried by the bulk of the whale as it fatally crashed down on top of him.

  Lazarus rolled off the ruined whale and sat panting for several minutes on the floor. When he looked up, he saw Kelly running towards him with Agnes in tow.

  “The other man,” Lazarus said between pants of breath. “Where is he?”

  Agnes knelt at his side, touching a bruise on his forehead. “He ran off during all the commotion. I’m sorry. I wasn’t sure how to stop him.”

  Lazarus held up the handbag, offering it to Kelly. “At least we kept this.”

  Kelly took the bag, surveying the destruction all around them. “We can’t afford to wait,” she said. “I’ll work it all out with Father. We’ll have a plane ready to go by tomorrow morning.”

  Lazarus slowly stood up and nodded. Agnes had mentioned that three men were following her: even with one of them now dead, that still left two more in Sovereign City. Kelly was right—there was no need to wait and give them more opportunities to strike.

  “I’ll get the rest of Assistance Unlimited packed and ready,” he said. He reached out and squeezed Agnes’ hand. “Are you sure you want to go through with this?”

  “I have to, Mr. Gray.” Tears welled up in her eyes as she looked up at him. “You understand, don’t you?”

  Lazarus studied her for a moment before turning away. Mongolia was a long way from Sovereign City and the trip would be fraught with peril… but there was a part of him that was eagerly looking forward to the challenge. He needed the distraction.

  ***

  Miya Shimada was a Japanese-American and her beauty was the perfect mixture of the two races that made up her ethnic background: the slim features of the Japanese melded with the hips and breasts of a Western woman. She was a trusted member of The Illuminati but in her heart of hearts, she served only one true master: that of her destiny.

  Miya wore a black jumpsuit that hugged the contours of her body and afforded maximum range of motion. Black gloves and boots completed the outfit, with a heavy belt around her waist holding a pistol, a flashlight and several other pieces of equipment. The only splash of color was from the small flower that rested in her hair. The red petals of the rose stood out in stark contract from her milky white skin and raven hair.

  She grunted as she pulled herself up the exterior of her quarry’s home. Like a practiced mountain climber, she found the exact purchase needed to propel her upwards until she reached the third floor window. A soft orange light illuminated the room within and Miya swung a leg over the balcony railing. She crouched just out of sight, scanning the scene before her.

  Kelly was inside, checking her packed bags for the final time. Miya felt a brief pang of jealousy upon seeing the statuesque woman but she quickly pushed the emotion aside. Like Kelly, Miya was a former lover of Lazarus Gray’s. In Miya’s case, they had fallen in love soon after meeting in 1927. Their romance had lasted for almost six years but it had been stop-and-go from the very beginning, as Lazarus had quickly become disenchanted with The Illuminati. Miya was supposed to ensure that he would remain loyal but she’d failed—something that had greatly weakened her own position within the secretive group. An attempt to seduce him after the formation of Assistance Unlimited had been fruitless, forcing Miya to seek other avenues of proving herself to her superiors.

  Recently, she’d managed to successfully steal from and assassinate a range of targets. This had allowed her to move away from Lunt’s not inconsiderable shadow and stand on her own feet. For nearly three months, she’d avoided him completely. It had been too good to last.

  Now she was once more under Lunt’s command, which chafed at her more than she cared to admit. He wanted her to sabotage her former lover’s mission to Mongolia without directly confronting Lazarus. That meant that Kelly was a prime target.

  Miya took out a small circular device that she pressed against the window. A cord led from the device to a smaller earpiece that she quickly slid into place. Instantly, it sounded like Miya was in the room with Kelly and she heard everything with crystal clear clarity.

  Kelly’s father, a rotund man with thick glasses, thinning hair and a busy moustache, had entered the room. He had his hands pushed deep into his pockets and he bore a paternal expression of concern. “Are you sure you’re going on this adventure for the right reasons?”

  Kelly knelt and rummaged around beneath her bed, finally returning with a pair of dusty boots in her hands. “If we find a cache of Soul Stones, the museum will be set for another century. You know if you were younger, you’d be the first one lined up to board the plane.”

  “I don’t deny that. But I know that this business between you and Lazarus isn’t quite finished.”

  “Yes. Yes, it is.” Kelly turned to face her father. She towered over him and Miya assumed that she got her looks from her mother’s side of the family. “You know Lazarus almost as well as I do. The man’s an enigma wrapped up inside a riddle. He’s cold and distant. Worst of all, he keeps secrets from everyone around him. I don’t think he means to be deceptive… it’s more like he’s so wrapped up in the mysteries he faces that it never occurs to him to share all he knows until the affair is resolved.”

  “Despite all that, you still love him.” Her father spoke as if there could be no debate about that and Miya noticed that Kelly didn’t even bother to try.

  “I’ve given up on a relationship with him, Dad. This is purely business.”

  Professor Emerson moved forward, placing his hands atop his daughter’s shoulders. “I just worry about you.”

  “I know.” Kelly smiled and embraced her father. Miya stared at the scene, pulling a small handgun and silencer from a pouch on her belt. She screwed the silencer over the barrel and took aim, knowing that she could kill both Emersons in the space of a few seconds. She didn’t think this would stop Lazarus from undertaking the mission but it might delay him for a few days, which was all that Lunt wanted.

  She was about to pull the trigger when voices from below made her pause. She turned and peered down into the gloom. She saw Morgan Watts and Eun Jiwon approaching together, deep in conversation.

  Miya uttered a curse in Japanese under her breath. She could still fulfill her mission but then she’d have to evade the two men from Assistance Unlimited. She was confident that she could do so but there was a part of her that wanted to avoid any conflict that could identify her. Though she knew that Lazarus was now the enemy, she was much like Kelly in that she still harbored feelings for him. She wondered how a man who was so emotionally stunted could stir such fierce passion in so many women.

  “I think it would be smarter to leave all these hangers-on at home,” Eun was saying as they passed beneath the balcony. “I know that Kelly is a smart girl but Agnes is just going to slow us down. There’s no reason to put them in harm’s way.”

 

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