Chapter 10

The woman smiled, and turned her attention forward once more. People in the room were now actively chattering, and the auctioneer stood on stage, chewing the scenery as the anxious energy built. Tasia found herself sitting on the edge of her seat, wondering if her father’s intel was true. The two Order teams were equally intrigued, the four of them now studying the room. Were they planning a smash and grab?

“And now for our final item of the evening.” The auctioneer grinned. “Now I know there have been rumors as to its identity and I want to assure you… the ones I spread are true.” The man turned to the curtain and nodded. The drapes parted, revealing four people blindfolded and holding poles with a suspended vessel roughly the size of a thermos between them. “Now before we begin, I must warn you. The actual object is not in the building for reasons you will soon understand.”

Frost had formed along the bottom of the thermos. The people carrying the vessel moved forward i