Finding North (31 page)

“
Good,” Eloise Le Grande
said. She pushed the oak panel to the side.

“
Who are you?” Alex asked.
She continued speaking French because she couldn’t match Eloise Le
Grande’s language.

“
We have no time for
that,” Eloise Le Grande said. “They will break through any
moment.”

“
Break
through . . .”

Eloise Le Grande shook her
head and reached into the panel. Her arms and head disappeared,
leaving only her round behind and supple legs behind. Jesse pointed
to the door. Alex nodded.

“
You will not leave,”
Eloise Le Grande commanded from inside the wall.

Alex was frozen in place.
Jesse’s apparition was rooted to the wood floors. Terrified, Alex’s
heart pounded against her rib cage. She gulped in air and tried not
to throw up. Glancing at Jesse, she saw the same fear on his
face.

“
There it is,” Eloise Le
Grande said.

She came out of the wall
with something covered in a filthy rag. Mouse droppings, cobwebs,
and dirt tattooed the cloth. Alex choked on her own anxiety. Eloise
Le Grande gave two big, dramatic sneezes to the dust before casting
off the rag.

Eloise Le Grande was
holding an ancient bound book. Covered in calfskin, the pages
seemed to be vellum.

“
You will find what you’re
looking for here,” Eloise Le Grande said.

“
What am I looking for?”
Alex tried to move and found that she had been released from her
frozen prison.

“
The language you call
‘Linear A,’” Eloise Le Grande said. “The language of kings! Hide it
away! Hide it away!”

Alex gawked at the
woman.

“
Do it now!” Eloise Le
Grande said.

Alex felt compelled to
tuck the volume into the back of her pants. She pulled her fatigue
jacket over the book.

“
You will find the key
here today,” Eloise Le Grande said. “The key is very important.
Don’t lose it or give it away.”

“
Who are you?” Alex asked
again.

“
Where is the rider?”
Eloise Le Grande asked. “There’s a rider on your team.”

“
Uh . . .”
Alex shook her head. “Rider?”

“
Your pilot?”

“
Zack?” Alex
asked.

“
Where is he?” Eloise Le
Grande asked.

“
He is attending to a
personal matter,” Alex said.

“
He will explain,” Eloise
Le Grande said.

“
What . . .?” Alex asked.

“
Time is of the essence,”
Eloise Le Grande said. “You must learn this language, become
fluent, or . . .”

“
Or what?” Jesse
asked.

“
The world will burn,”
Eloise Le Grande said.

FF

Alex was standing outside
the bookstore again. Jesse was to her left, and Raz was standing to
her right. A dark sedan pulled up with the French Intelligence
agents inside. It was as if going into the bookstore and getting
the book from Eloise Le Grande had never happened. Alex glanced at
Jesse.

“
What the hell?” Jesse
asked in Spanish.

Chapter
Twenty-two

Jesse looked as distressed
as she felt. She blinked.

The French Intelligence
officers stepped out of their vehicle.

“
Lieutenant Colonel?” said
the man Alex recognized as one of Dom’s assistants.

“
Oui
,” Alex said. She put her hand to her lower back. The antique
book was still there.

“
We are ready to open the
bookstore,” Dom’s assistant said in Parisian French.

“
Where is Eloise Le
Grande?” Alex asked.

He motioned to something
behind her. Alex and Raz turned to see an elderly woman shuffle
toward them. Eloise Le Grande had returned to her elderly form.
This time, she came right up to Alex.

“
I’m so glad you made it,
dear,” Eloise Le Grande said in clear Parisian French. She took
Alex’s hands. “I was heartbroken when I heard about your friends.
I’m so grateful you survived.”

“
Yes, ma’am,” Alex said
out of years of military practice.

Eloise Le Grande patted
Alex’s hands and shuffled to the bookstore. Alex, Jesse, and Raz
followed.

“
Let’s take a look and see
if we can find that map,” Eloise Le Grande continued speaking in
Parisian French.

This time, she threw the
door open and waited there. Trece and White Boy went into the
building to ensure it was safe while Alex, Jesse, and Raz stood to
the side. Eloise Le Grande went in the bookstore only after Trece
and White Boy gave the all-clear.

Alex waited for her entire
team and the French Intelligence to go into the bookstore before
stepping through the door. Following her lead, Raz stayed at her
side. Raz entered the shop, looked around, and then indicated that
it was safe for Alex to enter.

This time, she stepped
into the shop she remembered. The oak shelves were vibrant tan in
color, with rose tints. The yellow sun glinted off multicolored
books. The warm morning light splashed upon the rich-brown parquet
floors. Alex walked to where she’d seen the compass rose. Now that
color had returned, she could see only the faintest lines of the
compass rose detailing. She knelt down to touch it. The compass
rose was virtually invisible to the naked eye.

Inside the shop, Eloise Le
Grande had the Fey team looking through every bin and under every
cabinet. Trece stood guard at the front door, while White Boy
guarded the back door.

“
We are looking for any
maps,” Eloise Le Grande said as she walked from room to room in the
shop. “If you find one, bring it to the front so Ms. Hargreaves can
take a look.”

Eloise Le Grande looked at
Alex and smiled.

“
May as well get all these
young people to do the dirty work,” Eloise Le Grande winked at
Alex.

Alex gave an involuntary
shudder.

“
I think I found
something,” Troy said in French.

“
Good, good,” Eloise Le
Grande said as she rushed off to take a look. “That’s very
good.”

Alex and Raz stood in
place. Alex looked at Jesse, who shook his head. He had no idea
what was going on, either.

“
You look like you don’t
feel well,” Raz said in Irish Gaelic. “Shall we head
back?”

“
It’s just weird to be
back here,” Alex replied in Irish Gaelic. “Did we ever come
here?”

“
A couple of times,” Raz
said. “You were always looking for unique maps. Jesse wanted to
know about churches.”

“
And you?” Alex
asked.

“
I’d follow you to the
ends of the earth,” Raz said.

“
There was a girl who
worked here . . .” Alex squinted. “Small waist,
large . . .”

Alex held her hands a foot
in front of her.

“
A gentleman never
discusses . . .” Raz started and laughed.

“
I wonder where she is,”
Alex said.

“
Cote d’Azur,” Raz said.
“When I realized we were coming here, I looked her up.”

“
They didn’t bring her
back?” Alex asked.

Raz shrugged.

“
Odd,” Alex
said.

“
Oh, yes — this is
lovely,” Eloise Le Grande’s voice came from near the back of the
store. “Bring it up, dear.”

“
Did you
notice . . .?” Alex pointed to the floor.

Raz knelt down. His
fingers ran over the surface of the compass rose.

“
Proposing? In the middle
of a bookstore?” Zack said to Raz as he came in the door to the
shop.

“
Kneeling down before my
queen,” Raz said.

Zack dropped to his knees.
Laughing, Raz got up and helped Zack up.

“
Sorry I’m late,” Zack
said. “I was on the phone with the lawyer when Bestat came in. She
came as soon as she heard about Tina and the kids.”

Zack smiled at the idea
that his life partner would come all this way for him.

“
What’s a rider?” Alex
asked.

Zack flashed her an odd
look and then covered it with a scowl.

“
I have no
idea . . .” Zack started. Just then, Eloise Le
Grande came from the back. She smiled at Zack and zipped into
another alcove. “Why is there a dragon here?”

“
A what?” Alex
asked.

“
That
woman . . . she’s . . .
uh . . .”

“
She called you a rider,”
Alex said.

“
It’s a long story,” Zack
said. He shifted uncomfortably.

“
We have time,” Raz
said.

Jesse created a small ball
of energy and sent it in Zack’s direction. Zack jerked as if he’d
been shocked. He sneered in the direction of where he thought Jesse
was standing. Jesse laughed.

“
What’s a rider?” Alex
asked.

“
There are certain people
who . . .” Zack started. He scowled. “I guess it’s
genetic.”

“
Your father?”

“
His father,” Zack said.
“A rider is a dragon rider. We can ride dragons. In modern times,
most of us are pilots. Human. We each have a desperate longing for
the wide-open sky and very little fear. There’re two other guys on
the U-2 corps who are riders. The Wright Brothers were, for sure.
I’ve met a couple women riders. I guess there are more women riders
than men.”

“
And this woman?” Raz
asked. “This Eloise Le Grande?”

“
I’ve never met her,” Zack
said. “She’s definitely one of them. Not as old as Bestat, of
course, but there aren’t many that are. This . . .
what did you call her?”

“
Eloise Le Grande,” Alex
said.

“
She’s not young,” Zack
said. “She’s powerful. Dangerous. Who is she?”

“
She’s supposed to be the
bookshop assistant,” Alex said. “I’ve never met her
before.”

Zack nodded.

“
That’s got to be why
Bestat is here,” Jesse said in Spanish.

“
Is it possible Bestat
came here because of . . .?” Alex gestured to Eloise
Le Grande.

“
I love the woman,” Zack
shrugged. “I don’t try to fathom why she does one thing or the
other. I make up stories that it’s about me, but your guess is as
good as mine.”

“
Are we in danger?” Raz
asked.

“
Nah,” Zack shook his
head. “I mean, I don’t think so. Do you?”

Alex shook her head at
Zack. He pointed toward the back of the store and wandered in that
direction. As he passed the shelf-lined middle alcove, Eloise Le
Grande came out, carrying a brown leather-wrapped box that looked
something like a briefcase. Raz gave Alex a worried
look.

“
That handsome young
man . . .”

“
That was me!” Royce said
from the end of the alcove.

The team
laughed.

“
Yes, Royce Tubman found
this inside a bench,” Eloise Le Grande said. “I thought you’d like
to see it.”

She held out the box to
Alex, and Raz stepped in front of Alex. Eloise Le Grande laughed.
She leaned into Raz and said something in a low tone. Raz was so
surprised that he stepped back.

“
It’s just a little
cartography tool set,” Eloise Le Grande said in a louder voice. She
patted Raz’s chest. “I thought our cartographer would love
it.”

Eloise Le Grande went to
the front counter. With her forearm, she cleared the miscellaneous
flyers, mail, and remnants of bookstore business onto the floor.
She set the box down on the dusty countertop.

“
Ma’am?” Eloise Le Grande
waved Alex over to come to the counter.

Alex glanced at Raz. His
brows were furrowed, and he was lost in thought. Feeling her gaze,
his eyes flicked in her direction. A smile started in his eyes and
worked its way across his face. She smiled in return.

“
Ms. Hargreaves?” Eloise
Le Grande asked.

“
You’ve got to see this,”
Jesse said in Spanish.

Alex touched Raz’s arm and
went to the counter. Raz moved in behind her. Eloise Le Grande
flipped up the metal latches. The case opened on brass hinges set
into the leather on one side. Eloise Le Grande smiled at Alex and
allowed the two sides of the case to fall into her hands. In the
center of the case, over the hinges, was the now-familiar
sixteen-point compass rose with its eye in the center.

The case was padded on the
inside with slots to snugly hold a set of metal cartographer’s
tools. One side of the case held drafting tools, including a ruling
pen and an empty ink bottle. There was a metal ruler on the side
and a T-square near the bottom. There was another caliper as well
as a slot for the caliper Alex had in her safe. The same side of
the case held an astrolabe for determining the locations of stars.
The tools were gorgeously detailed with roses and stars around the
top and the sixteen-point compass rose with the eye on the
side.