Chapter 27 - Julie

I roll over in bed and set my book down, my phone pressed to my ear as I chat with Kaius.

"I swear, this one is so bad," I say with a chuckle. "Dragon shapeshifter and a human mate, but they have a mate bond that appears as a tattoo, very mysterious and angsty."

"Oh man," Kaius teases, his voice warm through the phone. "Let me guess, she"s the only one who can see past his tough exterior?"

"Of course," I reply, laughing. "But she just can"t resist his fiery charm. He"s always trying to protect her, throwing her over his shoulder at every opportunity. Why is that such a thing?"

"So, is there a love triangle or a prophecy to fulfill?" he jokes, and I can hear the smile in his voice.

"Both, and a secret pregnancy," I say, rolling my eyes. "The heroine has a destiny she never knew about, and there's a rival suitor who's got nothing on the dragon hero and has really bad hair. But there's also a super mysterious old crone in the woods who keeps dropping new prophecies."

"Sounds like a real page-turner," Kaius says, laughing softly. "Do you think I should read it?"

"You'd hate it," I reply, teasing him. "Too much angst. They're also wholly trying to have this girl ride him as a dragon."

"Oh man, sounds pretty hot. I'm going to have to read it now," he admits with a chuckle.

"He does that whole doorway lean thing you seem to have mastered," I laugh.

"Doorway lean?"

"Come on. You can't tell me you did that at my parents' house, and it wasn't planned? The whole ‘Oh, I'm just going to casually lean here in this doorway with my arm up so that my bicep looks amazing, and you can see just the tiniest bit of my abs' thing."

"Oh, that. No, that wasn't nearly as planned as all that. There was a smoke detector on the other side of that doorway, so it just seemed like as good a place as any."

"Mmhmm, sure. I believe you," I laugh, clearly not buying what he's selling.

"You liked the view, though, so not sure why you're mad about it. And I'm pretty sure you love being picked up and thrown over my shoulder."

"Except when you drop me in snowdrifts," I laugh.

"I enjoyed that far more than you did."

"Asshole."

"It is my current title, right? World's biggest asshole?"

"Definitely," I laugh as I think about the fact that I still haven't changed his name in my phone.

"That's your entire plan for tonight? Dragon-smut?"

"Well, since I can't have any actual live reenactments at the moment and we're talking, I thought I would go down and work on unpacking some more things for an exhibit."

"I mean, I can come down that way if you need to try any of those scenes out. Happy to work on my proper doorway lean etiquette."

"If you'd like, but you're not staying the night."

"Sounds fair. What are you working on while I'm walking?"

"There's a box with a bunch of the original deeds for some of the property around here that I thought was pretty cool," I tell him as I make my way downstairs.

The museum is quickly becoming my sanctuary, a place where I can immerse myself in the town"s history and forget about my worries. It's quiet, and I can lose myself in the stories of the past as I handle the old artifacts. The room smells faintly of old paper and wood, a comforting aroma that makes me feel at home.

As I walk through the small maze of boxes and crates that I have sprawled across the lobby, Kaius keeps the conversation going, telling me about what the team is up to, his voice a comforting presence in my ear. I enjoy hearing his stories, and the sound of his voice makes me feel less alone in the quiet museum.

"Roscoe took another pair of his sunglasses?" I ask with a grin.

"Oh yeah," Kaius replies, chuckling. "I have him convinced that Roscoe has a personal vendetta against him."

"You should train Roscoe to bring him random things," I suggest, my mind spinning with ideas. "Like banana peels, or just random stuff like a battery or a safety razor, enough that it'll be just a little ominous. Just make sure it's increasingly weird and random."

Kaius laughs, the sound warm and genuine. The sound makes my chest tight with how right it feels to sit laughing with him. The irritation and angst of our earlier argument seem strange in hindsight.

"The trick will be how to get him to actually give anything up to Rufus. Usually, he'll only give me things when I trade him for food."

"It would be absolutely hilarious."

We continue to chat as I work, my fingers tracing the edges of an old land deed. The paper is worn and yellowed with age; the ink is faded but still legible. As I handle the worn document, I try to imagine what it must have been like for those who once held it and the history they lived through.

A vision hits me like a wave, pulling me away from reality and into a moment frozen in time. The world around me fades, and I"m somewhere else entirely.

I am floating above a room, looking down. I see a map laid out on a table with the locations of the cuprite keys marked in scarlet ink. The map is detailed, showing mountains and valleys, rivers, and forests.

I try to focus on the shapes and lines, trying to memorize the details as Julie and Milo taught me. Landmarks that register as vaguely familiar stick out to me. The waterfall, the canyon.

I see a woman lean over the map, making additional markings. As she does, she is discussing that she needs to keep these secrets spread out through the town. She's pointing to the small black iron boxes that she has on a table next to her. She handles the keys, wrapping them in fabric and placing them in the boxes while the man next to her watches in silence.

The man she's talking to looks familiar. There's something in his eyes that looks so familiar. The vision continues, and several people come to help her carry off the boxes. Right after they're gone, the door to the small room she's in crashes open, and another man walks in. I know him…

I'm trying to focus my attention on the map, but it's forced back up to the man who entered. His face is distorted in rage, twisted with the anger that he has. His eyes have gone completely reptilian.

The map glows faintly as if lit from within. I try to see the names of the places one more time to get a better sense of where the keys might be hidden.

Before I can make out any details, the vision fades. It leaves me disoriented, my mind still spinning with images of the map. I find myself back in the museum, the world around me slowly coming back into focus. My heart is racing, and I take a few deep breaths to steady myself.

"Are you still there?" Kaius"s voice is faintly coming through the phone.

"Kaius," I say, my voice trembling. "I had another vision. I saw the keys. I saw their locations."

"What do you mean?" he asks, his tone immediately serious.

"There was a map," I say, my mind still spinning. "It showed where the keys were hidden."

"That's incredible. Do you know where they were placed then?"

"No," I admit, frustration welling up inside me. "I couldn't see enough of the map. It was weird, I swear Tom was there."

As the excitement and frustration of the vision wash over me, I hear a sound from the front gallery. My heart skips a beat, and I feel a chill run down my spine. There are shadows where there shouldn't be.

"Kaius, something's wrong," I whisper, my eyes scanning the room.

"What's going on?" he asks, his voice tense.

"I don't know," I say, my breath coming in quick gasps. "I think someone's here."

I hear footsteps echoing through the gallery, and panic takes over as I see shapes moving toward me. I clutch the phone tightly, my mind racing with fear. "Kaius, I think someone's—"

The words die in my throat as men burst into the back room, their faces twisted in anger as they rush toward me. I drop the phone, my hands shaking as I turn to run for the stairs. My mind is racing, and I struggle to think of a way out.