"Forget it," Jack said, pushing Logan out of the way. "So, let's see this dagger that I'm supposed to have stolen. It must be inside that box."
Here's the thing: It actually was a box. A wooden box, made of what looked like teak—and I'm pretty good with identifying wood, from the shop—about eighteen inches long, six inches wide, and four inches deep. Jewels covered the entire lid and all four sides.
Lots of jewels.
Lots and lots and lots of jewels.
"Is that egg-sized gem inset into the center a ruby?" Logan asked, wiggling his way back up to see the box.
"I think it's a red diamond," I said. "I had to learn a lot about gems to work in the shop, not that we get that many, but … if that's a red diamond, at that size, and the clarity is amazing … that one gem alone may be worth millions of dollars."
Susan gasped. "Millions?"
"I think I'm getting aroused," Logan said. "Yep. Definitely aroused."
"Shutup," the rest of us said.
I smacked his hand away when he reached for the box. "Okay, we can worry about the jewels later, and I can't believe I just said that, but sure, fine, millions of dollars of gems, no big deal, but let'sopen the box already!"
Carlos chuckled, but then he held the box out toward Jack. "You should do the honors, my friend."
Jack took a deep breath, reached out, and unfastened the silver catch on the front of the box. Then he looked around at all of us, back down at the box, and flipped the lid open.
We all eagerly leaned forward.
Somebody—I didn't even know who—gasped.
The box was empty.
16
Tess
"Somebody else got here first," Jack said grimly. "Why they wouldn't take this box, though, I have no idea. It's got to be worth a fortune."
"We can give her this," I said, feeling desperate. "Surely she'll want this back. It has to be precious to her—the Fae love beautiful things."
"Jewels are a dime a dozen in the Fae lands, though," Logan said. "She won't care. But I know a guy who knows a guy … we can make a fortune with it. Even split, right?"
If disgust were a physical weapon, Logan would have been bleeding on the ground from the looks we all gave him.
"What now?" Susan, ever practical, asked. "The box is here, and that's clearly an indentation on the velvet lining that was made by something shaped exactly like a dagger. Odds are, this is our case—just without the part we need."
"We need to find out who got here first. Jack, can you, I don't know, sniff around and find out who else put their arm down that hollow?" Carlos asked, flickers of red glowing in his dark gaze. A vampire's eyes only turned red because of extreme emotion, and I didn't think the one he was feeling right then was happiness. If he hadn't been my friend, I would have been terrified of the scowl on his face.
Jack sighed. "As I keep telling everyone, I'm a tiger. Not a wolf. Superior hearing, not sense of smell. We need a werewolf."
"Or a bloodhound," Susan said. "If lifting the dog twelve feet into the air to sniff the inside of a tree didn't scare it to death."
"The box, though." I reached out a tentative finger, but my head ached even more the closer I got to it, so I stopped without actually touching it. "What this tells us is that somebody found it. Maybe the dagger is in town still? Jack, Carlos, Logan, do you feel this magical resonance you mentioned?"
All three of them nodded.
"It's like electricity stabbing at me with mild shocks," Jack said.
"An icy burn radiating out from my hands where I'm holding it," Carlos said.
"And it makes my head hurt, just like the runes in the well must have," I admitted.
