Chapter 1

Kurtis stepped off the plane at Brussels; something was malfunctioning and needed fixing. They would board later if it got fixed; otherwise, they were going to board another plane. So Kurtis sat down to have a bite to eat; he ordered hamburger and fries. While he waited for his meal to come, he studied his father's notebook. Obscura Paintings? Done that. Engravings? Same. The Periapt Shards? Been dealt with. "Blah, blah, blah," Kurtis muttered softly. He flipped the pages about Rouze; Kurtis had read them over and over in the plane but couldn't find anything useful. He took out another notebook that had belonged to his father; Kurtis had never taken a look at it till now. There was a small lock on the side of the leather binding. Kurtis studied it. The lock seemed to have the similar imprints as his Lux Veritatis ring. Let's try it out, Kurtis thought as he took off the ring and placed it in the lock. It fitted with a faint click and Kurtis turned his ring to unlock the notebook. Kurtis read for a while. The notebook contained information about artifacts of alchemical power. He passed the pages about the Sanglyph. Finally, he found what he was looking for; a sketch of the diamond Kurtis had seen in his dream. He started to read the caption beneath:

"The Diamond of Artemis, which is believed to be made in 2200 BC, is believed to be buried someplace under the Temple of Artemis in Seljuk, Izmir, Turkey. It is thought to be used by the Amazonian Warrior Priestesses as a totem to ward off the Nephilim race, also by the Ionians for the same purpose afterwards."

"Interesting," Kurtis mumbled absently. There was a note below the caption, written in his father's handwriting: "Highly powerful artifact. Protect it from the Cabal at all costs. Equally powerful artifacts: The Silver Hyena of Callusk and The Onyx Boomerang. Destroy them to avoid the Nephilim waking."

Kurtis lit a cigarette as he read the transcript again. I'll read more in the plane, he thought. Kurtis looked up and noticed the waitress with his meal. She smiled flirtatiously as she put his meal down. "Thanks," said Kurtis gruffly; he wasn't in the mood to put up with teenagers. He had work to do. Kurtis decided to call Lara's friend as soon as he finished his meal. The estimated time to fly to Istanbul would take less than an hour and he needed someone to pick him up. He didn't know Turkish; he also had no intention of being swindled by taxi drivers.

Kurtis got up, paid the bill and headed to the nearest phone booth. As a habit, he looked around to see if anyone was watching him. He stuck the credit card and dialed one of the numbers Lara had given.

A tired, but melodious voice answered. "Alo?"

Kurtis cleared his throat. "Ma'am, I'm Kurtis Trent. I suppose Lara's mentioned me."

"Oh yes, Mr. Trent. Have you arrived to Istanbul?"

"No, I'm in Brussels at the moment. There was something wrong with the plane." Kurtis paused to listen to the announcement. "Excuse me ma'am, but they're announcing my flight. I'll be there in about an hour."

"Of course. Have a good trip Mr. Trent."

"Thanks." Kurtis hung up and dashed towards the gate.

The stewardess gave him a stern look. "We've been waiting for you, Mr. Trent."

Kurtis smiled warmly at her. "Sorry, I had some business to take care of."

"Very well. Take your seat; we'll be taking off soon."

"Was that Kurtis?" Lara asked as she stabbed her fork in the beef in front of her.

"Yes, that was he. He'll be here in an hour. Ayla leaned forward, as if she was going to say something confidential. "Is there something going on between you two?"

Lara lifted her eyebrows and looked at Ayla as if she'd completely lost it. "Us? As in Kurtis and me? Nah."

"Why?"

Lara looked at her. Then she threw her head back and laughed; the other customers looked at Lara curiously. Lara covered her mouth to suppress her laughter.

Ayla fidgeted in her chair uncomfortably. "Did I ask an unsuitable question?"

"No, it's not that. He just has some issues."

"Oh." Ayla paused and waited for the waitress to gather the plates. "Would you like some dessert?"

Lara patted her stomach happily. No, I'm stuffed." She checked her watch; it was behind local time. She pulled Ayla's wrist toward her, checked Ayla's watch and fiddled with hers. "Shouldn't we get going?" Lara looked out the window to view the busy traffic. "It'll take more than an hour for us to reach the airport."

"I agree. I'll ask for the bill." Ayla grabbed Lara's wrist when she realized she was reaching for her wallet. "You're my guest, I will pay."

Lara smiled. "You shouldn't."

Ayla smiled devilishly. "You can buy me a Ferrari and I'll erase all your debts."

"Ha-ha. I forgot your weird sense of humor."

Ayla showed her teeth in return. She paid the bill; the ladies got in the car and blended into the bustling traffic.

Kurtis exited the tunnel and looked around. The airport sure is big, he thought. "Let's see." He looked at the arrows pointing several destinations. The "arrivals" arrow pointed left, so Kurtis headed that way. The long path combined with others and ended in front of the duty-free shops and many plastic seats. It was a typical airport, with people giving typical reactions to typical airport events. Some people were hugging each other, some were crying and waving good-bye, some were running to the gates pulling their suitcases, a few were running towards each other and exclaiming happily. You could see it in any other part of the world; only the faces would be different.

Kurtis studied the faces but he couldn't see Lara. He was about to sit down when he saw Lara and another woman walking to him. That must be Miss Melodious, he thought as he studied the woman with Lara.

She was small, 5ft3in at most. Her dark brown eyes covered half of her face; her long black hair was done in a ponytail. Wire-rimmed glasses rested on her nose and a mole was on her right cheek. She looks like an intellectual gypsy, he thought and smiled at it. He walked up to the ladies and shook Lara's hand.

"Hi Kurtis, you look good. How's your wound?" Lara pointed at his chest.

Kurtis joked about it. "It aches before rain." He faced Miss Melodious and shook her hand. "Kurtis Trent."

"Ayla. I'd tell you my last name, but foreigners find it hard to pronounce," said Ayla and smiled. Her British English was slightly tinted with her Turkish accent. "Do you have any luggage?"

Kurtis shook his head. "Only my backpack."

"Fine then. Let's head home. You might not feel it now, but the effects of jet-lag will come sooner or later."

"Look, I don't want to give you any trouble. I'll book a room someplace."

"Nonsense. You're my guest; let's get going."

They finally reached the parking lot. Ayla and Lara stopped in front of an old Volkswagen.

"This is your car?" Kurtis asked in bewilderment.

Ayla's lips curled sarcastically. "If I knew you were coming Mr. Trent, I'd have taken out my Lamborghini from my garage."

Lara laughed at what Ayla had just said. "Good one!" She gave Ayla a high-five.

Kurtis put his hands up. "I surrender. I'm sorry for being a brat Ayla, but when Lara gave ma all those numbers, somehow I assumed you'd have something expensive."

Ayla shrugged as she opened the door and bent the seat forward. "Get in. As for your remark Kurtis, I spend my money on other things." She started the car as soon as Lara shut her door.

"It's going to be a long and tough way home, brace yourselves.

About three hours later, they had reached Ayla's flat. "Please take your shoes off," said Ayla as she stepped inside. She took Lara's suitcase, headed down the corridor and turned left. Lara followed her.

"This is the guest room. Make yourself at home." Ayla headed to the living room after that.

Books. Shelves and shelves of books were the first thing that caught Kurtis' attention when they had first entered Ayla's apartment. So this is what she spends her money on, Kurtis thought admiringly as he studied the shelves. Most of them were archeology journals and history books, particularly about ancient Greece, Ionia and about the Ottoman Empire lots of books about Ataturk, and many novels. Kurtis was surprised at the number of languages Ayla knew. Most books were Turkish and English; quite a few were German and French, and last but not least, there was Dante's Divine Comedy in Italian. He was quite impressed. Kurtis heard Ayla's footsteps approaching.

"Have you read all those books?"

"Uh-huh. Are you hungry? I don't have much; but I can fix a breakfast type of thing."

"No, thanks." Kurtis paused to yawn. "I'm feeling tired. I think I'll take a nap."

Ayla nodded in reply and pointed at the sofa. "You can sleep there; it's quite comfortable."

Kurtis walked up to Ayla and put his hands on her shoulders. "We really owe you one."

Ayla stepped back as she said: "Glad I could help. Rest now." She quickly walked out of the living room and out to the balcony. She found Lara there, admiring the view of the Bosphorus.

"You're so lucky to be living in Istanbul," Lara remarked.

Ayla didn't reply. Instead, she asked: "Do you know what Kurtis is after? Has he told you anything?"

Lara shrugged. "He didn't have the chance to. I'll find out first thing tomorrow." She returned her gaze to the Bosphorus. The boats were waltzing in the water, the city lights and the purplish sunset reflected on the still water. It was picture perfect.

"Which district of Istanbul are we in?"

"Uskudar."

"Beautiful," whispered Lara. She pulled her hands away from the railings as she said: "It's been quite a day. Good night. I hope we didn't give you too much trouble."

Ayla waved her hand dismissively. "I could use some company. Good night. If you need anything let me now; my room is next to yours."

"Thanks. Good night."

"You too." Ayla noticed a black car with a foreign license plate. She found it rather interesting, but didn't pay much attention. Tomorrow was workday and she had students to teach. She also needed to prepare in case she fell out with the dean again. Ayala went inside and headed to bed.

Martin Gunderson watched the lights go off at Ayla's flat. His phone rang. "Hello? Oh, good evening Herr Rouze. How are you?" He paused as he listened. "Yes, they're all inside. Do you want us to wait?"

"Yes Gunderson, wasn't. Make sure you follow them, especially that Turk. She's not aware of it yet, but in the future she'll cause a lot of trouble. Anyway, wait. I know they'll lead us to those artifacts; we can get rid of them afterwards."

"Of course Herr Rouze. Good night." Gunderson put his mobile phone down as soon as he heard Albert hung up. He got inside the car and stared ahead.

Ayla woke up at 5:00 A.M. She had seen a dream and didn't know what to make of it. Might as well get a glass of water, she thought; then got up to go to the kitchen.

Kurtis tossed and turned in his sleep. He could hear the moans and groans the Nephilim made as they came closer. Kurtis pressed his back against the wall; there was nowhere he could run. His eyes searched desperately for a weapon but couldn't see anything in the dark. He searched for his Chirugai, and then remembered he had lost it.

Scrape. Scrape. Scrape. The Nephilim staggered clumsily towards him, their ancient eyes glowing in fury. One of them stretched out its hand, grabbed Kurtis by the throat and lifted him up. The creature muttered something in an ancient language and then squeezed with all its might. Crack!

Kurtis gasped and fell down the sofa. He coughed, looked around and involuntarily touched his throat. "Thank God," he whispered and wiped the sweat off his forehead. I could use a beer, he thought as he got up, his chest wound made Kurtis wince in pain as he walked. He heard footsteps coming closer; they didn't sound like Lara's.

"Ayla?" he called out.

Ayla turned on the kitchen light and squinted for her eyes to adjust. "Kurtis?"

"Yeah, it's me. Couldn't sleep?"

Ayla shook her head. "Had a weird dream."

"Tell me about it. By any chance, do you have any beer?"

"Yeah, sure." Ayla opened the fridge and handed Kurtis a can.

"Wouldn't you join?"

Ayla pored herself a glass of water. "I'm going to work; I can't."

"At least keep me company," Kurtis said as he sat down.

"Ok." Ayla sat across him.

There was a long and uncomfortable silence. "What was your dream about?" Kurtis asked.

Ayla sighed and combed her hair with her fingers, trying to remember. "Well, I was in a cave, carrying a torch in my hand. There were writings on the wall that seemed to be in ancient Greek. Uh, I hear noises, as if a lid is being opened. I keep going and see an opened grave; the sarcophagus is open as well. I'm just about to turn and leave, when this bright light blinds me. I see a man who looks like a vulture." Ayla shrugged. "And then I woke up."

Kurtis' blue eyes stared intently at Ayla's dark brown eyes. "Could you tell me what the man looked like? Or better yet, wait a minute here." Kurtis went in the living room and came back with a picture. "Did he look like this?"

Ayla studied the picture and nodded. "What's going on?"

After asking that, her eyebrows went up as her brain made the connection. "He's got something to do with you and Lara."

"You catch on quickly." Kurtis leaned forward. "Did Lara tell you anything about in Prague?"

"No."

"Then I will." Kurtis gave her a summary about Eckhart, the Nephilim race, the Cabal and his duty as the remaining member of the Lux Veritatis.

Kurtis took a sip from his beer and watched Ayla's reaction. She was shaking her head in disbelief. "It's impossible! The Nephilim are just a myth, nothing more!" She pointed at Kurtis accusingly. "This is your case and Lara's not mine. How come I'm dreaming of that Rouze freak while Lara sleeps like a baby? I've got nothing to do with this!" She hissed at him.

Kurtis shrugged. "Apparently you do, princess. Apparently you do."