Still, she pushed down such doubts before they unnerved her. Instead, she raised a worry that had troubled her all the way to this shore. “Have you heard anything about Sir Kelly or his daughter?”
“Ah,oui. Of course. I should have told you at the outset. Moira Kelly is being cared for at the hospital and faring well—though worried. Last I heard, her father was in surgery. He suffered sorely but still lived, managing to take out all but one combatant, who was killed when the Warders, alerted by Moira, went to his aid.”
Sharyn sank deeper in her seat, relieved to the point of tears.
Thank god . . .
She could not bear any more deaths on her shoulders.
“Moira informed the authorities of the attack,” Laurent continued, “while denying any knowledge of five students who were being sought by the police.”
“Still, the Brotherhood will not stop hunting us,” Duncan said.
“No. Not as long as you carry the book.”
“What about now?” Naomi shifted forward. “How many know we’re headed to Meaux?”
“Only those inside this vehicle. Even the trawler who carried you here, I arranged personally, using my former contacts with military intelligence.”
Duncan frowned. “Military intelligence? Did you once serve?”
“Oui.With the First Marine Infantry Parachute Regiment.”
From Duncan’s raised brows, Sharyn assumed it must be a significant battalion. He turned to her and explained. “They’re the French equivalent of the SAS.”
“But I took leave of them four years ago,” Laurent said. “After finishing my graduate work.”
Sharyn eyed the man, framing him in this new light. “Graduate work? In what field?”
“Archaeology.”
Naomi sat straighter, clearly intrigued, as this was her field, too. “Why archaeology?”
“A passion, of course. Generational. Following in the footsteps of my father and grandfather. The latter served with the Free French Brigade in Libya, while also being a part of theGardiens. He had been involved with the search for the cache of King Solomon’s gold, only to lose it to betrayal.”
“And you’ve picked up that torch,” Sharyn said. “Continuing with theGardiens.”
“How could I not? I’ve been working with a team to decipher the Second Adage, to discern where its treasure is hidden.”
Sharyn wondered if the man’s desire to achieve this goal was driven by an effort—consciously or not—to redeem his grandfather’s failure, to right that wrong.
Archie called from the back, where he had been silently nursing his bottle. Still, he raised an issue that Sharyn had never considered. “Mate! If you’ve been working on that puzzle, it means your group’s already made a copy of the book.”
“True, Monsieur Bailey. The entire volume has been digitized and locked behind firewalls and doubly encrypted using AES-256 and a quantum key.”
Duncan looked at Archie, then to Laurent. “Wait. If you’ve preserved its content, why is the physical book so important?”
Sharyn’s face heated up. “That’s right. Why haven’t you already destroyed it? Then there would be no need to hide it or risk the lives of its Keepers. It would also assure that theConfrérienever got their hands on its contents.”
Laurent answered, while concentrating on the curves of the dark road. “For three reasons. First, one does not destroy such a rare artifact out of hand. As a librarian, you must recognize the necessity of preserving historical treasures, especially one this unique.”
Sharyn found it hard to argue against this. She pictured the fiery destruction of the Old Library at Exeter and remembered the pain of that irreplaceable loss.
“Second, back during World War II, the physical book acted as a key to unlock access to the treasure in Africa. So, we must assume it will be needed for the others.”
Sharyn grimaced, appreciating now why protecting it had been so important, but Laurent was not done.
“Third and most important, Saint-Germain was adamant about preserving his book. And theGardiensswore to do so. Still, regardless of that pledge, many believe there are yet secrets hidden in Saint-Germain’s book, mysteriesbeyondwhat is inscribed on its pages or its use as a physical key. If the volume was destroyed, we do not know what might be lost forever.”
