The Sons of Destiny (The Reluctant Hero Trilogy Book 3) Read Free Page B

help but ask anyway. “Are you alright?”
    He looked surprised at her concern. “That’s why you’re a good person, Miss Nightcloud You care that I am sick. Very sick. I won’t bore you with the details, but suffice it to say, I don’t have much time left.”
    “I’m sorry.” She sighed. “You were saying about your son going on an expedition?” She had no choice but to go back to the virtual reality program since he was being vague about his illness. She wanted no part of pushing him into an uncomfortable conversation.
    He was noticeably physically uncomfortable anyway, after his coughing bout. “My colleague took Daniel and several other members of his team into Israel and a few other places that I never bothered to remember. I do remember the day that Daniel came back like it was yesterday. I was notified by the only other surviving member of the expedition that they had just arrived back in town. In a state of panic, his voice quivered as he begged me to come get my son.”
    Magena could almost see tears forming in his eyes, but she wasn’t sure if it was real or a trick of the light.
    “I went to the disclosed location with several of my employees. The ones I used in times like that. I saw that Daniel was in shock and unable to talk. Other than being pale, he did not look injured. The man he was with was in bad shape. Barely able to talk, he told me that the rest of the team was lost. Sitting on the ground in a pool of his own blood, he said that they had not expected what they found.”
    DiBenedetto now had Magena’s full attention.
    “The man was severely wounded and died before he could explain what happened. Daniel had blocked the entire episode out of his mind. Literally. He remembered nothing. All I knew was that they had stumbled into a rich find. They found the jewels of Jezebel.”
    He took a sip of water and gulped hard. His breathing became erratic as he pulled out a key from his pocket and unlocked one of the drawers in his desk. He looked down at the contents and smiled.
    He removed a small leather pouch that was tied shut with wire. He looked at Magena, then tossed her the pouch.
    Even though she wasn’t expecting it, she managed to catch it with one hand.
    “Hah!” he exclaimed. “I knew your reflexes were astounding! Now open it.”
    She looked cautiously at him as he nodded.
    Magena looked down at the pouch. It felt warm in her hand. She untwisted the wire and opened it. She couldn’t describe it but there was a smell of the past coming from inside. She reluctantly reached inside, expecting some sort of trap from DiBenedetto, but she found something else instead.
    Her mouth dropped and her eyes widened, as she pulled out a coin. An old coin. There were barely visible markings, but there was the image of a woman on it. She raised her eyes and looked at the older man. “Jezebel?”
    “Jezebel,” he calmly repeated.
    Magena was in shock. “I don’t… ever recall hearing of a woman of any stature being put on a coin in her time. I’m not saying it didn’t happen…”
    “It’s never been reported,” he interrupted. “No documentation of any kind for this. Anywhere. I believe that this is one of a kind.”
    She looked up at him as she remembered seeing the hidden treasure trove of Jezebel. She recalled that none of the treasure looked to be worn. It was all as if it had just been made. “If this is the only one, that makes it priceless.”
    “Yes,” he agreed with a smile. “I spent years trying to find out from Daniel where they found this coin. Nothing I tried succeeded. His memory had been locked up so tight that all my attempts did was hurt him. I couldn’t afford to destroy his brain, so I waited. I knew that eventually, something or someone would come along and be able to crack the code needed to find the treasure. This coin is only a teaser to what’s out there. I saw it all when you two found the treasure underground. I must admit that Jezebel isn’t how I