18. Edgar

Edgar strode into the keep"s security office with the rolled-up map of Tibet tucked under his arm. He didn"t really need it. It would have been just as easy to tell the guys to zoom in on the Mount Kailash area, but he wanted to make sure that they printed the entire area Jasmine had circled.

The place was primarily staffed by humans, but one immortal was on duty at all times, except for the duration of the cruise, when keeping an eye on things had been done remotely through the security feed.

Naturally, the humans had no idea that they were working for a clan of immortals or that the officer in charge was anything more than a highly skilled security operative.

Edgar approached Gavin with a smile. "How are things going?"

They embraced and clapped each other"s backs.

"Boring as usual." Gavin stepped back and looked at the map tucked under Edgar"s arm. "Problems with the printout?"

"No. It served its intended purpose beautifully, but we must zoom in." He rolled out the map and pointed to the area Jasmine had circled. "Can you get this part enlarged to the size of the original map?"

Gavin nodded. "Shouldn"t be a problem." He took it and handed it to one of the humans.

The woman nodded, turning to the computer to generate the new, zoomed-in printout.

"Do you want to grab coffee while we wait?" Gavin asked.

"Sure." Edgar wanted to be back with the new map as soon as possible, but printing it would take time, and it was evident that Gavin wanted to talk out of the humans" earshot.

As they entered the staff"s breakroom, the Guardian turned to Edgar with a raised eyebrow. "Did it work?"

Edgar nodded. "Jasmine repeated the scrying several times, and the stick kept pointing to the same spot. That"s why we want a larger map of the surrounding area. Maybe she will be able to get an even more precise location."

Gavin snorted, pouring coffee from the carafe into two paper cups. "I can"t believe Kian and the Three Stooges are basing the expedition on what a wannabe witch says. You know as well as I do that witches don"t exist. To tell you the truth, I get unpleasant flashbacks every time I hear the word witch. Too many innocent women died terribly because barbaric morons accused them of worshiping the devil."

Gavin was old enough to remember the witch hunts, but, thankfully, Edgar had been spared living through that dark era. Not that things were much better nowadays. The world was regressing again, overtaken by hordes of fanatics who championed death and destruction.

"Innocents die all the time." He took the cup Gavin handed him. "Politicians get rich, their sponsors get even richer, and the poor sods who are just trying to survive are paying the price with their lives and the lives of their children. There is nothing new under the sun."

"True. Sad, but true." Gavin took a sip of his coffee. "Still, following the word of a woman who claims to be a witch is ridiculous. Kian should know better, as should Aru."

Gavin"s dismissive tone grated on Edgar"s nerves. Jasmine wasn"t a fraud. Besides, Kian trusted his wife"s vision, which had foretold that Jasmine would find the pod.

"Jasmine has a real gift, and she uses the Wiccan set of beliefs and the tools they recommend to help channel and focus her innate ability. I would never put my trust in a stick made of wood, but I trust her intuition, especially since it is backed up by Syssi"s vision. Or do you question that as well?"

Gavin held up his hands in a placating gesture. "I meant no offense. I was just voicing my opinion. But if you say Jasmine is the real deal, I believe you."

Edgar took a deep breath, forcing himself to relax. "No one is certain that it will work, least of all Jasmine, but we have nothing to lose except time. Aru and his team were heading to Tibet, following a rumor about strange energy readings somewhere. They didn"t tell us where, to avoid influencing Jasmine"s results, but if the two match, that would be a good indicator that she"s onto something."

Gavin nodded. "That makes sense." He finished the last of his coffee and tossed the cup into the recycling bin. "The map should be ready by now."

Edgar followed his example and threw away his cup before returning to the security office.

"It"s ready." The human staff member looked up from her monitor and rose to her feet with a pleasant smile. "I zoomed in as much as possible on the area you marked." She handed over a freshly printed map. "It"s a satellite picture, but I added names and colored topographical details and landmarks to make it easier for you to orient yourself."

"Thank you." Edgar took the map, unfurled it, and scanned the intricate lines and contours. It was precisely what Jasmine needed: a detailed view that would help her refine her search. "This is perfect," he said, flashing the staff member a grateful smile. "Thank you so much for putting in the extra effort."

"It was my pleasure." She dipped her head and returned to her station.

With the map in hand, Edgar bid farewell to Gavin and the other security staff and then returned to the penthouse.

He found Jasmine exactly where he"d left her, sitting cross-legged on their bedroom floor, meditating.

Not knowing whether he should disturb her, he placed the rolled-up map on the floor next to her.

Her eyelids fluttered for a moment, and then they were up. He was once again mesmerized by her gorgeous brown eyes with gold flakes swirling inside them.

"Did you get it?" she asked.

"Of course, I did." He pointed at the cylinder resting beside her. "A super-detailed, zoomed-in map of the area around Mount Kailash, courtesy of a security person named Heather."

He knelt beside her and spread out the map on the floor.

Her eyes widened in amazement. "This is incredible." She traced her finger over the contour lines that marked the valleys and ridges of the mountain range. "She"s even colored it for clarity. I didn"t know that could be done with a printout."

"I hope the amount of detail will help you zero in on the exact location."

"I pray to the Mother of All Life that it does." She picked up her scrying stick and began to pass it over the paper, moving her hand in slow, deliberate circles.

It was a little jarring to hear her invoke the Kra-ell deity, but apparently, the Wiccan also believed in her. Only the Wiccan goddess was a purely benevolent deity. At the same time, her Kra-ell namesake was a reflection of her believers—cruel and vengeful toward those who strayed from her path but generous with her rewards toward the true believers who adhered to her teachings and followed the heroes" path, or something like that. He had never delved too deeply into the Kra-ell"s belief system.

Watching Jasmine do her thing, though, he could see a marked difference between her expression when she had done this before and now. Instead of the look of calm focus he"d seen on her face before, Jasmine"s expression was pinched and uncertain. Her hand wavered as she moved the stick, and after a few moments, she let out a frustrated sigh and opened her eyes.

"I"m not getting anything," she said, sounding defeated. "Maybe I was deluding myself before, and I can"t do this."

"Hey," he said, crouching next to her. "It"s okay. This is a new map with a new level of detail. It might take some time for your mojo to adjust to it."

Jasmine shook her head. "But what if it"s not that? So much is riding on my supposed ability to locate the pod." She traced her finger along the contour lines that marked one of the valleys. "I just hope we"re not too late," she murmured.

"Listen to me." He took her hand. "I"ve seen what you can do. Your gift is real, and it will only get stronger with time and practice. Perhaps you overworked yourself and exhausted that special something that guides your hand. You need to give it a rest and come back to it later."

She frowned. "You might be right. Syssi said something about paranormal abilities diminishing with use and needing to let the mind rest."

Edgar smirked. "I have the perfect method for resting the mind."