Motion flickered in the corner of my vision, and I turned my head to find Rafael squatting nearby, watching me, one hand over his mouth.
“At least this’ll make for a juicy entry in my Jezebel file, right?” The bitter words scorched my throat.
He poured some water from a plastic bottle over his handkerchief and gave them both to me. “Yes.” He said it like it was penance.
I scrubbed my face, washed off the dried blood, and drank deeply.
When I tried to stand up, Rafael was there to help, but I declined his outstretched hand and got myself on my feet. Standing was the extent of my abilities, however, so I allowed Rafael to get us to the airport and check us in without arousing too much suspicion.
Levi’s travel agent had arranged for stand-by tickets on our return flight since we hadn’t known how long it would take us to deal with Avi, and we managed seats on the last plane back that night.
Luckily, my condition had more or less worn off by the time we cleared security. Rafael led me to the gate and then hesitated, his eyes on departure boards and passengers dodging each other’s luggage as they hurried to their destinations. He opened his mouth, looked at me, then closed it. With a sigh, he slipped off to join the crowds browsing the shops and getting overpriced food before catching their flights.
I didn’t call him back. I couldn’t blame him for wanting to get away from me.
I sat in numb silence on a plastic chair watching excited passengers come and go, wondering how anyone could be happy when my father was this traveler who was never coming home, and waiting for the tears to come. Hoping they would because Dad was dead and I felt nothing beyond a grim anticipation for revenge on the person who’d orchestrated his murder.
We boarded in silence.
Dad had tried to con Chariot with the fake scroll. That was the only thing that made sense. He’d intended to give the true piece to Gavriella, and somehow this 26L1 had found out. One strike. Dad’s betrayal had been his death warrant.
There was one piece of the puzzle that my brain kept worrying over, though: what had happened to the real scroll?
It was much easier to dwell on that. I eyed Rafael, who was pretending to be engrossed in an article about the hottest beachfront resorts in Thailand. I didn’t require ice in my drink given the frostiness rolling off him.
“I’m sorry I broke my promise,” I said, “but how about you have a modicum of empathy for the shock I was in? If I ever find myself in that situation again, I swear to never ask for your help. And hey, if I die, you’ll get that nice liability-free Jezebel you want so badly.”
He stared at the same page for another minute before closing the magazine. “That was said in the heat of the moment, and I apologize. I was wrong. You’re not a liability. You’ve learned more in your short tenure than many in their entire time as a Jezebel.” He finally looked at me and for the first time I realized how fragile his gaze was. “I’ll do whatever you require of me to ensure you’re around for a long time.”
“Thank you,” I said quietly. “Our next step is to find the piece my father had. The final pillar isn’t lit up. Either he hid it and was killed, in part, for refusing to hand it over, or when Chariot learned of his betrayal, they acquired the scroll, but some high-ranking member who isn’t one of the Ten secured it on their behalf.”
Rafael placed the magazine back in the seat pocket. “For four hundred years Chariot and Jezebels crossed paths on the trail of the scroll pieces. Ever since Gavriella stole that third piece, there was never any evidence of Chariot seeking the final scroll. After what we learned today, I’m inclined to believe that your father got away with his con. Chariot doesn’t know they possess a fake scroll. That’s why they only ever endeavored to find the library. They believed they had two scrolls and wanted our other three.”
“Did they ever succeed?”
“They got close. We’ve moved it a number of times over the years.”
“Where is the library, anyway?” I got there via Rafael’s father’s ring, but wasn’t sure where it was actually located.
“We have, as Attendants, never shared that information with anyone, not even our Jezebels. It’s just traditionally not done,” Rafael said primly. “Besides, what you don’t know, no one can torture out of you.”
I waited for him to laugh or indicate that it was a joke, but he didn’t.
“Well, that’s a motto for the ages. Thanks,” I said, “for letting me know.”
I spent the rest of the flight staring out the window, seeing nothing.
I stopped Rafael outside the Vancouver airport, right before we parted ways. “When you crack the code,” I said, “I’m going to kill 26L1.”
It was a stain on my soul I could live with. In finding my father, I’d sought closure and moving on, except I’d missed a salient point.
Moving on meant leaving something behind.
I may not have gotten revenge on Avi, and neither him nor 26L1 would ever be brought to justice, but my father’s death wouldn’t be in vain.
“You can’t,” Rafael said. “He’s one of the Ten and when we learn his name, we’ll finally have the identity of one of the inner circle. We can use that to find the rest of them and reclaim the scroll that’s in their possession. If you make
