“Yeah and I know you.You work faster than me, Gunnar and Giles together.”
Emmett, blushed.“Okay, so it’s not just a fancy knife,” Emmett said.“It’s fascinating.The Ottoman dagger, called a khanjar, dates back to the court of Mehmed the second.I’ve found references to it in several occult texts, which is a bit freaky.”
“I wasn’t expecting that!What kind of references?”
“According to this,” Emmett said, turning his screen so Bryn could see, “it was one of five ceremonial daggers created for a specific ritual.The daggers were supposed to have been consecrated with the blood of five different supernatural creatures.”
“Gross,” Bryn said.“Any idea what the ritual was for?”
“That’s where it gets interesting.”Emmett pulled up another document.“Most sources are vague, but they all point to some kind of summoning or binding ritual involving human sacrifice.I found out that three other knives have been stolen too.”
“That doesn’t sound good.This thief gets around, wonder if he or she has frequent flyer miles.”
“All the thefts seem to have followed the same pattern.Inside jobs, minimal security disruption, targeted extraction of only these specific artifacts.I’d say they were stolen to order.”
“So someone is collecting ritual daggers.For what?”
“I guess that’s what you need to figure out.”Emmett handed him a stack of printed materials.“You can start with these.They’re translations of Ottoman court records regarding the creation of the daggers.”
Bryn groaned but took the papers.“And here I thought I’d escaped the paperwork.”
“Gunnar’s always saying that good detective work is only ten percent excitement.The rest is grunt work.”
“You got that speech too, huh?Fine.But while I read, you can tell me if Warden is as intense in personal situations as he is at work.”
“Bryn!”
“What?It’s a legitimate question.”
Emmett’s face had turned an impressive shade of red.“I’m not discussing this with you.I brought you coffee!”
“Your reaction is answer enough,” Bryn said with a grin, turning his attention to the papers.“Now let’s see what these creepy daggers were really made for.”
As they dug deeper into the research, the historical significance of the daggers became clearer.They weren’t just a valuable antiquity, at the time they were believed to be powerful magical tools created for a specific purpose.
“Look at this,” Emmett said after an hour of silent reading.“According to this account, the daggers were commissioned by a secret sect within the Ottoman court.People who believed they could harness supernatural powers through blood magic.”
“That cannot be good,” Bryn commented, skimming through his own documents.“Wait, this says something about the daggers being used to ‘bind the essence of the five powers’.Is that referring to the supernatural creatures, do you think?”
“I’d say so.”Emmett pulled up an image on his computer.“Each dagger has different markings, look.Symbols representing different kinds of supernatural beings.”
“And someone is collecting all of them,” Bryn mused.“I wonder why Giles is so interested.”
“The others were stolen from collections in Paris, Dallas and Shawnee, Oklahoma.”
“So including the Boston one, they already have four out of five.I wonder where the last one is.”
“I haven’t had a chance to research yet.”
“Always the overachiever,” Bryn teased.“I guess we should get back to other work but if you get a chance, try to track down the fifth one.”
“Okay.It shouldn’t be too difficult.”
“For you, maybe.And seriously, not even a hint about you and Warden?”
Emmett sighed but there was the ghost of a smile on his face.“Focus, Bryn.Work first, gossip later.”
“Fine, but I’m holding you to that.I need deets.”
