“Yes. It’s a Soul Stone. There are stories about them dating back to the Zhou Period.”
Agnes glanced at Lazarus. “I don’t understand what that means,” she admitted.
Lazarus crossed his arms over his chest. “The Zhou Period refers to a Dynasty that lasted from 1027 to 221 B.C. in China. It began when a warlord chieftain overthrew the last of the Shang Emperors.”
Agnes accepted this and looked back at Kelly. “So what are the Soul Stones?”
“In 771 B.C. the Zhou royal court was sacked by barbarians and the king was killed. A sorcerer who was loyal to the king performed a ritual that was supposed to remove the dead man’s soul from his body, trapping it in one of these stones. The Chinese at the time believed in something called The Mandate of Heaven, which basically stated that the kings ruled through the divine will of the gods. Their defeat or dethronement would indicate that they had lost the favor of their deities. A fallen king’s soul was believed to be cast into a fiery inferno where they would suffer for their sins in life. It was believed that those sins would have to be plentiful for the gods to have revoked their blessings. This sorcerer wanted to protect the king from suffering this fate and it became tradition for future court wizards to do the same, encasing the spirits of dead kings in these Soul Stones. When the last of the Zhou rulers died, all of the Stones were supposedly put into hiding, both to protect them from thieves and from agents of the underworld, who would seek to finally capture the lost souls. If they were all found today, they’d be worth a fortune.”
“I’m more interested in simply finding my sister,” Agnes pointed out.
“Well, I’d bet my last dollar that this came from Outer Mongolia. And the museum might be interested in funding an expedition to find more of these… and that might provide a good cover story to explain why a bunch of Americans might be poking around over there.”
Lazarus nodded, having hoped that Kelly would take the bait. He could certainly have funded the operation himself but with the museum’s backing, his cover story would have more credibility. “You don’t have to secure much in the way of money. I can cover the majority of the costs as long as you get me paperwork to show that my aides and I are working for you.”
Kelly stood up, a crooked grin on her face. “If we’re taking all three of your Assistance Unlimited crew, we should only have to hire some locals for the transportation and we’re set.”
Lazarus narrowed his eyes. He’d hoped it wouldn’t come to this. “I don’t think you should come,” he said calmly.
“I’ve been to Mongolia before. Three years ago. You haven’t. You’ll need me.” Kelly walked over to a series of maps tacked to the wall, flipping through them until she came to one of Asia. She ran a finger from Shanghai to the heart of Asia. “The trip’s going to be incredibly dangerous: roasting heat during the day, freezing temperatures at night. Throw in storms, maps that are outdated even before the ink is dry on them and vicious bandits and warlords… you might as well be talking about taking a trip to the deepest pit in Hell. And that’s not even considering what the Russian-controlled government in Mongolia might be like these days. Their moods shift like the wind.”
“There’s more,” Lazarus said.
Kelly laughed softly. “With you, there always is. What else is there?”
“Last night Walther Lunt appeared to Samantha and the others. He asked them to warn me away from this investigation. Apparently, he says that things are dangerous enough without me being involved but he went on to say that if I or any of my friends did enter into this, that we’d all end up dead.”
“Nice,” she replied. “So in addition to all the dangers I listed before, we’d probably have The Illuminati on our tails.”
“And the demonic forces of The Devil’s Circus,” he pointed out.
Kelly took a deep breath and then her grin stretched even wider. “I can’t wait. Let me talk to dad and we should be ready to head out in a few days.”
Agnes stood up and retrieved the Soul Stone, returning it to her handbag. “Is it okay if I keep up with this? It’s the only link I have left to my sister.”
Kelly nodded. “For now, it’s fine. Assuming we come back from Mongolia alive, I’ll need that and whatever else we find to turn over to the museum.”
Lazarus moved towards the door. “We’ll wait to hear from you, Kelly.” He hesitated. “And thank you.”
As Lazarus and Agnes headed towards the third floor elevator that would take them back to the museum’s foyer, Lazarus noticed a pair of men studying the whale. They appeared to be marveling at the massive beast and taking notice of little else. Maybe it was their attire; dark suits and ties, but something about them set off an alarm in Lazarus’ head. The men didn’t seem at all accustomed to wearing such garb and as they talked, both seemed to nervously fidget with the knots of their ties.
Agnes walked closest to the men. As she passed, one turned his head slightly and gave a small nod. His smile revealed that one of his upper teeth had been lost and replaced with a gold tooth. It gleamed brightly and Agnes returned his smile.
The man then struck, snatching the handbag from her hands.
“No!” Agnes screamed.
The man with the bag was sprinting toward the stairwell, his black shoes clattering on the smooth floor. Lazarus jumped to pursue him but the second man blocked his path. He kicked the man in his left knee and when the thief winced in pain, Lazarus delivered a roundhouse punch that sent the man toppling over. He immediately jumped over him and raced after the culprit.
The escaping thief was already bounding down the stairs, taking them two at the time. In his haste he ignored the sign that had been placed on the landing: CAUTION WET FLOOR. Indeed, a janitor was currently mopping it, whistling an old Southern minstrel tune as he worked. The janitor jerked back, his mouth falling open in amazement as the man fell past him, sliding on his rear end, careening into the wall.
The handbag slipped from his fingers as the thief landed in a fetal position. He groaned as Lazarus came into view, skating across the slippery surface on the bottom of his shoes, navigating the scene like a figure skater. Lazarus reached down to grab the handbag as he slid past but the thief kicked out with a foot and sent the bag flying.
Twisting himself around and grabbing hold of a nearby doorway, Lazarus came to a stop. He saw the thief was scrambling back to his feet and drawing a small knife from under his coat. “Toss me the bag!” Lazarus yelled, directing his comments at the stunned janitor.
The janitor took one look at the knife and threw his mop to the ground, bolting towards the stairs. With a grunt, Lazarus leapt towards the handbag but he overshot his mark, slipping in the soapy water. Instead of the bag, he ended up with the mop in hand.
He spun about just in time to throw up the mop and block a swipe of the thief’s knife. Brandishing the cleaning utensil with both hands, Lazarus sought to find balance on the slick floor, using the mop’s wooden shaft to parry each thrust of his opponent’s weapon. He finally ducked down and adjusted his hold on the mop, swinging it like a baseball bat at the other man’s stomach. He connected with a mighty blow and the man gasped in surprise. Lazarus then raised the mop overhead and brought it down atop the other man’s head, its impact snapping the wooden stick in two.
The thief swayed on his feet for a moment and then fell to his knees, momentarily stunned. This gave Lazarus the opportunity to snatch up the bag. He scrambled back up the stairs, aware that the criminal was once more in hot pursuit. The thief lunged for Lazarus at the top of the stairs and the two men fell against the railing. Lazarus watched helplessly as the handbag flew from his grasp, landing with a thud atop the back of the blue whale.