A smirk appeared on Samantha’s face. "Of course." She noticed a basket of flowers sitting nearby and stood up to look at them. "Who sent you flowers?"
"Dunno. They were there when I woke up. Haven’t even looked at the card yet. I figured they were from Assistance Unlimited."
Samantha picked up the card and opened it. She knew that no one at the office had sent them and was curious who had. "Mind if I take a look?"
"Go ahead."
The words printed on the card made Samantha pause and, for some reason she couldn’t fathom, they seemed to bode ill for all involved:
Get well soon. I look forward to getting to know you and your friends.
Samantha stared at the card, picturing the attractive Asian woman who had so unsettled Lazarus. She crumpled up the card in her hand and tossed it into the trash.
"Who are they from?"
"Wrong room," she said cheerily. She picked up the flowers and headed for the door. "I’ll make sure they get where they should have gone."
Morgan watched her go, taking another bite of his hamburger. Women, he mused. You just never knew about them.
THE BURNING SKULL
Chapter I
Blood Red
"Who am I?"
Under normal circumstances, such a question would have seemed absurd. But where Lazarus Gray was concerned, it was a perfectly valid inquiry.
Just over eighteen months before, he had woken up near the Sovereign City Harbor, battered and weary. He’d had no memory of who he was or how he’d come to be there and the only clue to his identity had been a strange coin on his person. It had depicted a nude man with the head of a lion, the words ‘Lazarus Gray’ printed below the image.
Within minutes of coming to, Lazarus had found himself the target of an assassination attempt. That had set the tone for his time in Sovereign City, which had been filled with one dangerous threat after another. Along the way, he had formed Assistance, Unlimited, a group dedicated to aiding those for whom there was nowhere else to turn. He had adopted the name he’d found on the coin, hoping that it would draw out anyone who might know the truth.
It had taken far too long for Gray’s liking, but in the end, the strategy had worked. Miya Shimada had arrived outside the Assistance Unlimited headquarters and her arrival had brought with it a flood of contradictory memories: he knew that he and Miya had been lovers but he also knew that they’d had an awful fight that had ended their relationship. Furthermore, he’d seen images of himself setting fire to a small building in Mexico, deliberately killing men, women and children.
Now Lazarus and Miya were dining together at Amici’s, an upscale restaurant in the heart of the city. Normally, reservations had to be in place for weeks ahead of time but the maitre d’ had once been nearly put to death by a bizarre and insidious form of poison. Assistance Unlimited had not only managed to find an antidote, they had also proven beyond a reasonable doubt that the person responsible for the attempted murder was the man’s own brother.
Miya took a sip from her glass of wine and cast a glance outside. It was raining cats and dogs, as it always seemed to do in gloomy Sovereign. She saw men and women scampering about in vain attempts at staying dry, their feet splashing in the puddles that lined the streets. "Is this really how you want to spend the evening?" she asked. "I was hoping to renew our friendship before diving into all the mysteries surrounding you."
Gray’s impassive face showed no trace of emotion. He was a handsome man, with hair that was more gray than brown, making him appear older than he was. His eyes were mismatched, with one being a dull brown, while the other glittered like an emerald. He wore a dark suit and driving gloves. "Miya, I’ve spent the past eighteen months not knowing if I was a monster or a saint, or something in-between. Do you realize that I don’t even know my real name? I’d love to renew our friendship, as you put it, but the first step to doing that is you telling me all you know about my past."
Miya stared down at the pasta on her plate. "Can I at least eat while we talk?"
"Feel free."
Miya sighed, noticing that Lazarus didn’t bother picking up his own silverware. He was obviously planning to wait until she’d explained things. She reached up and brushed a strand of raven black hair behind her ear and she caught him watching the motion. A tiny smile touched her lips. So he did still find her attractive. That was nice to know. She knew that her mixed heritage — she was a Japanese-American — gave her an exotic appearance and she’d accentuated it by wearing a Western style evening dress and Japanese-themed earrings and necklace. "We met nearly eight years ago, in Tokyo. You were there with a German named Walther Lunt and I was working in my father’s shop. The two of you came in just before closing and Lunt told my father that he was there to purchase a small statue called The McGuinness Obeslisk."
"What sort of shop did your father run?"
"He collected and sold occult books and artwork."
Gray wasn’t surprised. From his own spotty memories, he knew that his past was filled with mysticism. A prior encounter with the disfigured Lunt had made him wonder if he and the German had once been allies or enemies. Apparently, he now knew the answer. They had worked together in some capacity.
Miya paused while she savored the exquisite cuisine. "The Obelisk was supposedly capable of controlling the minds of any female within 100 feet of it. My father kept it under lock and key so it wouldn’t affect myself or my mother." Miya smiled shyly, avoiding Gray’s gaze. "I was enamored of you from the first moment I laid eyes upon you. When Lunt and my father could not agree on a price, I stole the Obelisk and took it to your hotel room, hoping to impress you."
"And did you?"
"Yes. You took me to your bed that very night."
Lazarus shifted uncomfortably. More and more, he was becoming convinced that he wasn’t going to like the man he used to be but he couldn’t find the strength to stop the hunt. He had to know the truth. "And after that?"
"I went back to Europe with the two of you. I was indoctrinated into The Cabal. That’s just what I called it, of course. It has no real name, though people have attributed many to it over time: The Damnation Society, The Hellfire Club, The Illuminati, The Seekers. It’s a group of occultists who seek forbidden knowledge and who aren’t afraid to use it for their own ends."
"And I was a part of this?"
Miya hesitated and though Lazarus didn’t know her very well, he was sure she was keeping something from him with her answer. "Oh, yes. You were a willing participant. In everything."
"Including burning children alive in Mexico?"
Miya blinked before suddenly leaning forward and taking Gray’s hand. She squeezed it hard but he didn’t reciprocate. "Oh, you poor dear! It must be so hard to remember only bits and pieces, without context! Those weren’t innocents, my love. Those were vampires. A coven of them. They’d even turned children into the undead. It was horrible. You did them a favor by releasing their spirits."
"You still haven’t told me my name."
Miya withdrew her touch and took a deep breath. "All right. We’ll handle things your way. Your name is Rich-"
"Mr. Gray?"
Lazarus glanced up at the maitre d’, who looked slightly chagrined. "Yes?"
"Please forgive me. I know that you said you didn’t wish to be disturbed but… well, there’s been an incident up front that might require your attention."