Skin Game
Page 115
The light came primarily from the outstretched hands of two twenty-foot-tall golden statues in the center of the room. I found myself walking to one side, enough to see the details of each statue. Both consisted of the shapes of three women, standing back to back, in a triangle, their arms thrust outward and up, palms lifted to the ceiling. One of the women was an ancient crone. The next was a woman in the full bloom of her strength and maturity. The third was that of a young woman, recently matured out of childhood. The flames of one statue burned golden-green. The other statues flames were an icy green-blue.
And just looking at that, my heart started beating faster all over again.
Because Id met every single one of them. I recognized their faces.
Is that Hecate? Ascher murmured, staring up at the statues in awe. The triple goddess of the crossroads, right?
I swallowed. Uh. It . . . Yes, it might be.
And it might also be Grannies Summer and Winter, Mab, Titania, Sarissa, and Molly Carpenter. But I didnt say anything about that.
I pulled my eyes down from the statues and forced myself to look around the rest of the vault.
The room was about the size of a football field. The walls were a parquet of platinum and gold triangles, stretching up out of sight overhead. The floor was a smooth surface of white marble shot through with veins of pure, gleaming silver. Corinthian columns supported rooftops straight from ancient Athens in scores of small, separate display areas around the vault. Some of them were raised as much as seven or eight feet off the floor, and had to be reached by stairs of more silver-shot marble. Others were sunken in descending rows in a curling bow that looked almost like a Greek amphitheater, if it had been built with box seating.
I looked at the nearest . . . shrine. Or display case. Or whatever they were.
The spaces between the columns had been filled with walls made from bricks of solid gold. Those were just the backdrop. The backdrop.
The nearest case was filled with paintings by Italian Renaissance masters, all working in the theme of divinity, showing images of saints and the Virgin and the Christ. Veneziano. Donatello. Botticelli. Raphael. Castagno. Michelangelo. Freaking da Vinci. Maybe fifty paintings in all, each displayed as meticulously as they might have been in the Louvre, in protected cases, with lights shining just so upon them from oddly shaped lanterns that might have been made from bronze and that put out no smoke whatsoever.
Surrounding the paintings, framing them, was a variety of topiary shapesexcept instead of being made from living plants, I saw, after several glances, that theyd been made from emeralds. I couldnt tell how whatever craftsman had shaped them had done it. Hell, I could barely tell that they werent plants at all. A fountain poured water silently into a shining pool in the displayscenter, but then I saw that it wasnt water, but diamonds, tiny and shining, pouring out in streams that somehow gave the impression of liquid.
That fountain could have filled every backpack wed brought with us, plus all the improvised containers we could manufacture from our clothes. Never mind the emeralds. Never mind the tons of gold. Never mind the hundreds of millions of dollars in priceless art, paintings that had probably been written off as lost forever.
That was only one of the displays. And, I realized, as I swept my eyes slowly around me, it was one of the more modest ones.
Okay, Ascher breathed, her eyes wide. I dont know if Im about to pass out or have an orgasm.
Yeah, I croaked. Me too.
Valmont shook off the awe of the place first. She strode over to the diamond-fountain, unzipped her backpack, and held it beneath the spigot in a matter-of-fact gesture, filling it as if it were a bucket.
Seriously? Ascher asked her. You arent even going to shop?
Highest value for the weight, Valmont replied tightly. And theyre small enough to move easily. Theres no point in taking something you cant sell when you get it back home.
But theres so much, Ascher breathed.
Ascher, I said. After a couple of seconds, I said, louder, Hannah.
Uh, yeah?
Go tell Nicodemus that it looks clear. Lets get our stuff and get gone.
Right, she said. Right. Gone. She turned and hurried from the room.
I turned to Michael and the Genoskwa and said, Im going to do a quick circuit of the room with Valmont and check for anything else, just in case. Dont wander anywhere until I give you the high sign.
Michael nodded slowly. There has never been a backpack made that was big enough for the Genoskwa. But he had several military-style duffel bags looped to a long piece of cargo strapping like you see used on diesel trailers on the highway.
Come on, Anna, I said. Lets check for more booby traps. I started walking. Valmont shouldered her pack and came after me. I lifted my staff as we went, pouring out more light, until Valmont had to squint against it, and we walked out of sight of the others. Our shadows faded to mere slips beneath the extreme illumination.
Whats with the light show? she asked me.
Trust me, I said quietly, and dropped my voice to a bare whisper, leaning down close to her ear. When it starts, stay close to me. Ill protect you.
Her eyes widened and she gave me a quick nod without saying anything back.
And just looking at that, my heart started beating faster all over again.
Because Id met every single one of them. I recognized their faces.
Is that Hecate? Ascher murmured, staring up at the statues in awe. The triple goddess of the crossroads, right?
I swallowed. Uh. It . . . Yes, it might be.
And it might also be Grannies Summer and Winter, Mab, Titania, Sarissa, and Molly Carpenter. But I didnt say anything about that.
I pulled my eyes down from the statues and forced myself to look around the rest of the vault.
The room was about the size of a football field. The walls were a parquet of platinum and gold triangles, stretching up out of sight overhead. The floor was a smooth surface of white marble shot through with veins of pure, gleaming silver. Corinthian columns supported rooftops straight from ancient Athens in scores of small, separate display areas around the vault. Some of them were raised as much as seven or eight feet off the floor, and had to be reached by stairs of more silver-shot marble. Others were sunken in descending rows in a curling bow that looked almost like a Greek amphitheater, if it had been built with box seating.
I looked at the nearest . . . shrine. Or display case. Or whatever they were.
The spaces between the columns had been filled with walls made from bricks of solid gold. Those were just the backdrop. The backdrop.
The nearest case was filled with paintings by Italian Renaissance masters, all working in the theme of divinity, showing images of saints and the Virgin and the Christ. Veneziano. Donatello. Botticelli. Raphael. Castagno. Michelangelo. Freaking da Vinci. Maybe fifty paintings in all, each displayed as meticulously as they might have been in the Louvre, in protected cases, with lights shining just so upon them from oddly shaped lanterns that might have been made from bronze and that put out no smoke whatsoever.
Surrounding the paintings, framing them, was a variety of topiary shapesexcept instead of being made from living plants, I saw, after several glances, that theyd been made from emeralds. I couldnt tell how whatever craftsman had shaped them had done it. Hell, I could barely tell that they werent plants at all. A fountain poured water silently into a shining pool in the displayscenter, but then I saw that it wasnt water, but diamonds, tiny and shining, pouring out in streams that somehow gave the impression of liquid.
That fountain could have filled every backpack wed brought with us, plus all the improvised containers we could manufacture from our clothes. Never mind the emeralds. Never mind the tons of gold. Never mind the hundreds of millions of dollars in priceless art, paintings that had probably been written off as lost forever.
That was only one of the displays. And, I realized, as I swept my eyes slowly around me, it was one of the more modest ones.
Okay, Ascher breathed, her eyes wide. I dont know if Im about to pass out or have an orgasm.
Yeah, I croaked. Me too.
Valmont shook off the awe of the place first. She strode over to the diamond-fountain, unzipped her backpack, and held it beneath the spigot in a matter-of-fact gesture, filling it as if it were a bucket.
Seriously? Ascher asked her. You arent even going to shop?
Highest value for the weight, Valmont replied tightly. And theyre small enough to move easily. Theres no point in taking something you cant sell when you get it back home.
But theres so much, Ascher breathed.
Ascher, I said. After a couple of seconds, I said, louder, Hannah.
Uh, yeah?
Go tell Nicodemus that it looks clear. Lets get our stuff and get gone.
Right, she said. Right. Gone. She turned and hurried from the room.
I turned to Michael and the Genoskwa and said, Im going to do a quick circuit of the room with Valmont and check for anything else, just in case. Dont wander anywhere until I give you the high sign.
Michael nodded slowly. There has never been a backpack made that was big enough for the Genoskwa. But he had several military-style duffel bags looped to a long piece of cargo strapping like you see used on diesel trailers on the highway.
Come on, Anna, I said. Lets check for more booby traps. I started walking. Valmont shouldered her pack and came after me. I lifted my staff as we went, pouring out more light, until Valmont had to squint against it, and we walked out of sight of the others. Our shadows faded to mere slips beneath the extreme illumination.
Whats with the light show? she asked me.
Trust me, I said quietly, and dropped my voice to a bare whisper, leaning down close to her ear. When it starts, stay close to me. Ill protect you.
Her eyes widened and she gave me a quick nod without saying anything back.
