A man was sat in the large, high-backed chair behind an immense desk, writing something. There was a scar on his cheek. Another man entered the room and cleared his throat. "Yes, what is it Carl?" Benedict Thorpe was asking without even looking up.
"I'm just wondering whether we are going to have our next move." Thorpe didn't reply, but kept writing. "Shall I send some people to Los Angeles?"
"No need to." He answered, putting down his pen and finally looking up. "We will wait. In the mean time, circulate another rumour on the street about the Sword."
Carl smiled, "And the rumour is…?"
Thorpe tapped his fingers on the desk. "Be creative, Carl. You'll come up with something." Carl nodded and then made his way out.
There was another man standing in the shadow of the room, looking out of the window. He said with gruff yet soft voice: "We should act soon."
"Be patient," Thorpe replied. "Nothing is more fun than playing puppets." Thorpe watched the other man turned around, a little bit shaky. He looked very old, and there was a fire on his eyes.
"Do not tell me about being patient." He said in a dangerous tone. Thorpe didn't reply, but watched the man carefully. The man walked to the door slowly and left, slamming the door and one of the paintings fell down. Thorpe gritted his teeth.
---
Evelyn stood listening to the sound of the rain drumming softly against the window. She watched the drops of rain hit the glass, merges with other drops and formed little rivulets. She had long ago lost track of the time she had spent just watching the rain. It had been days since they buried Martin, and it had not stopped raining ever since. Someone clearing their throat behind her brought back to her surroundings. She looked back to found her butler standing near the door. "Madam, everyone is here now. Would you like to come to the main library?"
"I will be there in a minute." The butler nodded and turned to leave the room. Evelyn sighed, she hates this part. She was going to have to meet with the family lawyer. Martin had a few long distance relatives that didn't know of their situation; ever since she married him years ago they had been kept the marriage secret. Only in the last few years had she begun to make the marriage open and legitimate, and only then because Martin had asked her.
It had made the headlines for quite a while: 'young woman marries an old rich man'. Martin had been considered famous in the world of Archaeology, because of a few important, if relatively obscure, discoveries. She smiled at the memories. People didn't know that they had actually been married for 50 years, but even the few years they had been open had been troublesome. The family of course was furious, because they thought she was the female predator who wanted to take an advantage of a rich old man.
Evelyn didn't give a damn about the money. But she would do her duty as a legitimate wife and attend a reading of Martin's last will and testament. Evelyn walked slowly to the main library, where everyone, friends and family alike, had gathered. She had swallowed her pride and dignity about the whole thing, and thought this was not the time to think about the will. This was about a decent and remarkable man, who had died – leaving her behind. Evelyn's hand trembled, and she had to steel herself to avoid breaking down in the hall. Get a grip, damn it, she hissed to herself.
She couldn't break down like that. Not right now. She had something bigger on her mind. Benedict Thorpe had been sending his men, most amongst them immortals, to force her to tell them about the ancient Sword of Ishtanu. She would not let them to have the Sword. It was a dangerous Sword, and it would be fatal to have the Sword fall into the wrong hands. In this case, Thorpe's were the wrong hands. He had been looking for that Sword for a long time, and he would not stop.
Blinking back the hot, angry tears that were forming at the corner of her eyes, she took a deep breath and started walking towards the main library down the hall. Let's get this over with, she thought grimly.
As she stepped into the large room, a hush fell over the crowd gathered there and every eye turned towards the pale woman. Dark smudges under the eyes and cheekbones that looked a bit too hollow marred her beautiful face. Evelyn sat down and glanced around, but said nothing. She saw a woman whispering something to the next person beside her. She clinched her fist.
This was going to be a long day after all.
