Page 41 of Sacrifice
It looked old, maybe centuries so, originating somewhere in the Middle East, she guessed, and probably worth a fortune, judging by the rest of the place. Gold leaf glimmered in places onits surface. On closer inspection, she realized a man and woman were having sex in one corner. She shook her head and smiled. How very typical of Lucien.
She moved on to inspect a clay tablet propped up on an elegant side table. It seemed to be a fragment of something larger and specifically featured a couple copulating. Eve huffed out a laugh.
“Ah, you found my Babylonian clay.”
Eve looked up to see Lucien emerge from a door at the far end of the room.
“Do I detect a theme?” she asked, raising a wry eyebrow.
“I have a taste for erotic art,” he said, “but I like to collect many things. Come, I’ll show you,” he held out his hand.
He led her back to the room he’d come from.
The theme of erotic art continued. Elegantly framed paintings hung on oak paneling. Bookcases groaned with fancy-bound books. The space was softly lit and made cozy by a crackling fire. The smell of old leather from the armchairs that flanked it hung invitingly in the air.
Lucien led her along in front of the shelves. “I also have the complete works of Dickens and Hemingway if that makes you feel any better about me. First editions, of course,” he said. Eve ran her finger along a polished shelf, eyeing the titles.
“Doctor Faustus. I read that one at school.” She pulled it out and opened it carefully at the title page. It was the first edition.
“It’s not especially old, but I’ve always been rather fond of it.
Eve slid it back into position.
What can you tell about a man by the things he’s collected?
She looked at the other books and found his literary tastes to be broad. Leather-bound editions of Shakespeare lodged beside ‘The Three Magical Books of Solomon’, which had a complex golden rune embossed on its spine. Then beside that, ‘The Mystery of Deep Magik and Divine Symbols’.
Lucien noticed her examining them. “What I’d really like you to see is over here,” he said and led her to a tall glass-fronted display cabinet lit from within.
Three shelves displayed treasures of obvious immense age. In pride of place: a richly golden crown. A mass of flowers, whose metallic petals were interwoven, formed a broad ring above which a series of winged angels connected delicately to an upper cap of overlapping oak leaves. It was quite unlike any headdress that Eve had ever seen before. She bent to marvel at it.
Lucien opened the cabinet doors, and Eve scooped it up without invitation. She flexed at the weight of it, surprised to find that something so intricate was really quite heavy. Was it solid gold? Rounded gemstones, lodged at the centers of the flowers, softly reflecting the flickering light of the fire.
“The Crown of Ishtar,” Lucien breathed. His voice was rough and reverent.
Eve tore her gaze from the crown to find the same flames dancing in Lucien’s eyes. They burned with intensity. He was deeply proud of this greatest of prizes. The crown drew her back to examine its details.
“The Queen of Heaven, or so the Mesopotamians named her,” Eve said, remembering what she’d read in the book that Henry had lent her.
Holding the crown made Eve’s blood pulse a little harder. Her fingertips fizzed. Was it excitement? Certainly, she and Lucien had become immersed in the search for treasures for their exhibition, and this was a treasure beyond anything she’d seen so far. Yet somehow, it was more than that. The crown had a buzz about it that reminded her of the Venus dagger.
“I have a passion for the Assyrian empire and Ishtar in particular,” Lucien said. “She has an intriguing web of myths surrounding her.”
“I know a little bit about her. I borrowed some books from the museum’s library,” Eve replied.
“Is that so?” Lucien’s dark eyes crinkled in a smile.
Eve nodded, grateful to Henry for the research. “Well, I am your Egyptology expert.” She gave him a wink. “Although Mesopotamia is a bit out of my wheelhouse. So, a little research seemed in order.”
Lucien nodded, amused by Eve taking over his little speech and waved a hand for her to continue.
“Ishtar was a powerful female deity. Goddess of both love and war, she stood for conflict within the heart as much as without. There’s a Botticelli painting, Mars being conquered by Venus. War conquered by love. I expect you are familiar with it.”
“Well, yes.”
She ploughed on, trying to maintain her air of expertise. “Ishtar was both sides of the coin. A warrior for both justice and love.”
“It seems so in tune with the nature of humanity, does it not?” Lucien's eyes sparkled, watching her hands move animatedly as she spoke. He took a breath and cut her off. “I wonder if you’re familiar with the story of Elham.”
