Page 30 of Revelations

Other than his testimony, she would not even believe in them anymore. Not after the horrors that she hadwitnessed since becoming a guardian angel. If she ever met a true angel—aside from the fallen type—she intended to ask about the guardian angel design oversight by trapping them in their human bodies; not exactly efficient.

“I don’t know, Grey. I’ve broken into places that appeared more secured than this, but according to Thomas’s blueprints, this is going to be far more difficult than your average breaking and entering feat. This is not Tiffany’s, which I’d gladly break into for you. This is the freaking Smithsonian. Didn’t you see that Ben Stiller movie?”

“We don’t have a choice, Jasper. We have to get that gem.”

Part of that was fact. If she did not discover this prophecy, Kelly and her child would be in danger again. There was no other choice but the path forward. Her only clue so far was the Tree of Knowledge seedpod. She hoped thathaving the original would help in her search for answers. Even that was not a guarantee.

Conducting one last scan of the area for signs of any humans, even though it was close to two in the morning, Greylyn found the water drainage gate that they needed to access the building underground. “This way.”

The grate was not difficult to lift, although it did make a horrendous screeching noise. Jasper held out his hand to assist in lowering her down through the small opening in the concrete. Water splashed up her jeans and soaked her boots as she landed.Yuck.It looked as thoughshe would have to throw away her favorite pair of Timberland boots after this.

“Note to self. Next time we go hiking in the tunnels underneath a city, let’s bring masks or nose plugs.” Jasper led the way through the intertwining passageways as if he had his own personal compass to navigate the labyrinth. “The catacombs under Paris don’t smell this foul.”

The sound of creatures scurrying echoed in the vast tunnels. Rats. Hopefully, there were no snakes. She really hated snakes.

“Actually, if you recall, they were far worse before the modern era. You’re just basing it on that last expedition.”

The catacombs had been significantly cleaned up over the years with tourists getting their morbid kicks hiking through the remains of centuries’ worth of skeletons.

Following the map that he hadmemorized earlier, Jasper barely avoided colliding with the door. “Here we go. Remember, they have both motion and sound sensors. Thomas should have had his contacts in the area knock out the motion detectors by now.” He checked his watch and crossed his fingers. “Tommy Boy had better pull his job off with precision or this will be a real short robbery with a long stay in a federal jail.”

Greylyn nodded and raised a finger to her lips.

Jasper flashed her a confident grin, then punched in a stolen security code into a rusty-looking device to the right of the heavy steel door.

Why the architects of the city had designed a tunnel system complete with entrances to every building on the National Mall was anyone’s guess. Surely, the President of the United States would not use these rat-infested passageways to escape the White House just to check out the Hope Diamond—or maybe he would.

They waited. For thirty or more seconds, they held their breath. Nothing.Damn, the code didn’t work.

Just before Jasper could try to re-enter the code, the grinding sound of the lock disengaging echoed through the tunnel. Its screeching, as the rusted components scraped against each other, sent shivers up her spine, much the same as nails scraping against a chalkboard.

Icy cold and complete darkness enveloped them once inside. According to the blueprints, they should be in a break room just off from a secondary storage unit where the curators kept high-value gems and minerals overnight. Breaking into that vault was their next hurdle. Thomas had obtained the nightly security procedures, including the most valuable items, such as the Yowah Nut and the Hope Diamond, which would certainly be stowed away in the vaults and not left in their display cases.

No alarms blared—yet.

But something nagged at her; a prickling of the hairs at the nape of her neck, a tightness in her abdomen. Greylyn could not pinpoint what it was. It was not like a warning bell of imminent danger. The sensation was more like the invisible force that had pulled her back to the vampire’s garden to retrieve the seedpod from the Tree, but not so friendly this time.

After wiping off the bottom of their shoes so as to not leave footprints on the concrete floor, they tiptoed in unison down the hallway until they reached the secured vault with a blue metallic door. It looked large enough to drive a bus through. Unfortunately, Thomas had been unable to provide the code.

Pulling a small, black velvet bag out of her jacket, Greylyn recited a magic spell in Romani that Sofia had given her earlier. She had never used magic to break into any place before, and she prayed that this would work.

The dust from the bag glimmered as it fell on the lock, even in complete darkness. The reinforced steel door groaned as the lock disengaged and the door swung open slowly on hydraulic hinges.

A sigh of relief barely escaped her lips when piercing sirens erupted. Jasper yanked her back toward where they had entered the building.

“I can’t leave without the nut!” She wrenched her arm away and sprinted into the vault.

“What the hell, Grey?” He cursed under his breath before racing after her.

They both shoved against the door to close it. The rapid thudding of heavy combat boots reached her ears. The guards would be there in a matter of seconds. Greylyn spun around the vault in a panic.

Come on. Where are you, little nut?

Damn it! This was going to be more like hunting for the proverbial needle in the haystack than a scavenger hunt.

The vault was cavernous, seemingly endless even in the pitch-black darkness. Their comingled breaths echoed back to them. Her vision adjusted just enough so she could make out the silhouette of hundreds of file cabinets lining three walls.

Greylyn followed the inward pull she’d felt earlier. She slid along the steel and concrete floor like an ice skater, fearful of making a sound. Her head swiveled right, then left, but the inner tugging kept her moving toward the back wall where mausoleum-like mini containers were embedded in concrete walls, from the floor all the way to the fifteen-feet or higher ceiling above.

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