This place was probably in the Bricks, but it was likely an apartment building with a basement. Maybe there were multiple doors to multiple dwellings, but she was certain Cyrus didn’t share a hall with anyone, because when they reached the bottom of the stairs, they were still in a narrow corridor as Arcadius opened the door to his home.
The door wasn’t steel—that much she knew. From the inside, it reminded Gem of a hotel or apartment door. It made her wonder why they bothered with all the digital locks if someone could probably kick the door down or break in with a battering ram.
These men were ruthless and strategic, but they weren’t very bright.
He shoved her inside, and Gem stumbled over her chunky boots before falling to her knees. The bag hit the floor, and she quickly removed the blindfold.
Moisture dripped from Cyrus’s dark hair, but it wasn’t sweat. He looked relaxed, his skin flushed and smelling of soap. She stared at his bare feet and sausage-like toes. None of them wore shoes in the house. Maybe it was their custom or maybe it was to protect the wood floor, but she hoped that he didn’t make her take off her shoes. The tracking device needed to stay with her at all times.
Cyrus knelt in front of her, a paring knife in one hand, half an apple in the other. He bit down on the apple to hold it in his mouth and then gripped her wrists with his meaty fingers. Cyrus shoved the slim blade between her hands and cut the zip tie. The hard plastic fell to the floor, and Gem quickly scooped up the satchel.
He chewed a bite of his apple and stood up. “Don’t disappoint me, girl. Is that what I think it is?”
“Where’s Niko?”
He jerked his head to the side. “In the back. Alive.”
“You promised to let him go.”
His narrow eyes darkened. “If you don’t let me see what’s in the bag, I’ll never let you go. How would you like that?”
Gem swallowed hard and slowly unbuckled the flap. While she did that, Cyrus handed his apple and knife over to Lykos before wiping his fingers on his black pants.
She pulled out the heavy book, and Cyrus’s eyes glimmered at the sight of it.
“You promised,” she reminded him.
He knelt down and pulled the book in front of him. His expression altered as he looked upon the cover with reverence. His fingers skimmed across the red leather binding. “There she is.” After flipping open the first page, he let out a breath. Then he looked at Gem as if she were an afterthought. “I will remove his cuff.”
She sprang to her feet and darted down the hall. Gem pushed open every door in search of Niko, but she found him kneeling in the middle of her bedroom, his head down and long hair obscuring his face.
Gem sat in front of him. Could he ever forgive her for taking matters into her own hands? “Why did you hide it in plain sight? Inmystudy, of all places?”
“Because the only place a book would be safe is with you.”
When Niko lifted his gaze, Gem clutched her pendant. A deep cut severed his bottom lip, and his left eye was swollen shut.
“When I first joined Keystone, I searched for a place to hide it,” he explained, his voice tired and hollowed out. “A man never hides something truly valuable in his immediate space. It lived in one of Viktor’s libraries for a while until he mentioned donating books to auctions and charities. I had no choice but to move it to your secret room.”
“But nobody knows where my study is. Well, no one except for Viktor and Raven. I’ve never taken anyone in there. Not that it’s a big secret, but I need peace and quiet when I’m working, and if people know about it, they’ll pop in any old time they want. How did you find it?”
A phantom smile briefly touched his lips. “You leave behind an energy trail. The ribbons of light always led me to the wall. One day when you were out with Claude, I went inside.” Niko heaved a sigh. “I should have buried it.”
Gem sat on one leg and bent her other knee. “Weren’t you afraid I’d find and translate it?”
“Before the owner died, he mocked us. He said that not even the high scholars could read that language.”
“But someone wrote it. Someone obviously knew.” Gem glanced at the closed door and lowered her voice. “I found a book, Niko. One that had direct translations of an old language written above select passages. The translations are symbols, and they’re the same as the ones in your book. Someone figured it out. Maybe he was a Relic like me, or maybe he found the book and had no idea what any of it meant, but he kept it anyway.”
Niko’s face went ashen. “Tell me you did not bring that book.”
“No,” she said quietly. “But someone knew the language. If there’s one, there could be more. You can’t hide from this, Niko. People from that era might still be alive. You can’t protect language. Does Cyrus know it?”
Niko shook his head but looked uncertain.
“He’s had a thousand years to learn it.”
Niko clenched his fists and leaned forward. “Thenwhydid you bring it?”
