The Last Second (A Brit in the FBI #6)(27)

“Soon,” she whispered, “soon enough, we will be together. First I will clear the heavens for you, then anarchy here on Earth, and finally rebirth, and then we, my friends, will lead the Earth into its future.”

When she and Kiera stepped off the plane, they were greeted by Rayyan Megat, the head of her observatory facility, Aquarius, so named for Nevaeh’s own astrological sign and her favorite constellation. The station was a two-hour drive from the airport, deep into the mountainous center of Sri Lanka.

It was here where she would meet the Numen in person again, she had told them that and they’d said in their beautiful single voice that it was good. And she’d had Aquarius designed specifically—it was both a refuge and a place from which to strike. And a place of welcoming. She didn’t know how they would arrive, they hadn’t told her. A spacecraft? Who knew? They were all-powerful, omniscient. Of course they’d changed over the past years, as her world had changed, as demands had changed, as she’d learned and planned, and spoken to them often. And in that moment, she found herself wondering if they’d changed or she had. No, no need to concern herself about any of that now. It was nearly here, her day of triumph.

Rayyan bowed deeply. “Welcome home, Doctor. Everything is ready for you. There are waters in the truck—as you know, it’s going to be very hot on the way, so we don’t want to get dehydrated. I know you want an update on the coming storm. We are expected to take a direct hit on the coast, which will mean severe winds and flooding rains at the facility. The generators have been fueled, the shutters are in place. The kitchens are stocked as well. Even if there should be more damage than anticipated in the lowlands, we are prepared.”

“Very good, Rayyan.” They settled in and Kiera silently took both bottles of chilled water, cracked their lids, and drank deeply. She handed the other bottle to her boss.

Kiera lightly touched her arm. “That’s right, drink it down. Good. Now, rest. You have a big few days ahead.”

As she drifted into sleep, Nevaeh thought again how everything had gone so perfectly, the plan she’d been laying in place for nearly a decade coming at last to fruition. But wait, something was bothering her. Something felt—wrong.

Was it the unexpected storm? She hadn’t planned for a typhoon in the middle of all of this. Would it hurt the Numen’s chances of coming back to Earth? No way to know without talking to them, which she planned to do as soon as she arrived at the facility and had some privacy.

If not the impending storm, was it the Grail? Her Heaven Stone? It was inside its box at her feet. And strangely, it felt somehow restless to her. Restless? Wait, was she really hearing it give out a tiny buzz? Where was the warmth she’d expected? The welcoming? And its heaviness, it didn’t seem right. It worried her. No, Broussard and all his books and letters had been wrong. It was heavy, very heavy, and it buzzed. Who cared? Because above all, she had not a single doubt she was worthy of the Grail, her goals were worthy, everything she’d done and planned to do was justified, necessary, even critical to survival. She was bringing peace to the Earth—peace dictated by her and the Numen, naturally, but given the savage brains of most humans, again, what she would bring would be a blessing. She suspected Jean-Pierre had wanted the Grail for some specific purpose he hadn’t shared with her. But what it was, she had no clue. Probably self-aggrandizement. He wasn’t worthy, not to her mind. Nothing noble or selfless in his actions.

The stone was hers. But why the constant low buzzing? It was driving her mad. She prayed the Numen would understand.

But still—something was off.

Her satellite phone rang, and it was a number she recognized.

Her secretary, Alys.

Nevaeh debated answering, but the sense that something wasn’t right made her scramble the call before she picked up. No matter what was happening, she couldn’t run the risk of being tracked down. Only Kiera knew about Aquarius. Nevaeh wanted to keep it that way. She watched the screen until she was satisfied she couldn’t be traced, then pressed the talk button.

“Oh, Dr. Patel, I am so glad you have answered. I have terrible news. Monsieur Broussard’s yacht is missing. They fear he has gone down with the ship, and his crew, as well.” There were liquid tears in Alys’s voice, though Nevaeh could tell she was trying to keep it together.

Nevaeh felt her heart kettledrum in her chest. It was too soon, way too soon. “What do you mean, the ship is missing?”

“I don’t know when the word came, but I only found out moments ago. The manufacturer of the ship’s transponder called into the office to speak to Jean-Pierre. Apparently, the transponder went offline sometime last night. Claudette tried to raise Jean-Pierre, but he wasn’t answering and she alerted me. The Malaysian coast guard and a search is underway.”

“How is this possible, Alys? Why didn’t Claudette notify me immediately?”

“There’s been so much confusion, no one knowing what to do. I’m sorry, ma’am.”

She yelled, “You should have called me first!” but Alys was crying, distraught.

“Calm down, calm down. I’m sure he’s fine. Jean-Pierre is an experienced sailor, the battery probably ran out on the transponder. Who contacted Claudette?”

“I don’t know, I don’t know. I’m sorry.”

Nevaeh said, “It’s all right, Alys. I know this is very upsetting. Thank you for alerting me so quickly. Listen, why don’t you go home, Alys. I will take it from here.”