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assignment.’
    The look on his face was unsettling. Alexa had never seen it before. ‘You have access to dozens of specialists in your section,’ she said calmly. ‘If you need somebody to do the grunt work, ask the Hunters.’
    Reznak gazed at her unwaveringly. It was then that she realized what his expression reminded her of. It was the look of someone about to impart unwanted news. ‘None of them have the birthmark on the back of your neck,’ he said quietly.
    She stiffened. ‘What do you mean?’ she demanded in a voice laced with an edge of steel.
    For the next half hour, her godfather recounted his extraordinary findings in Egypt over a month ago. Having lived with him for several decades, Alexa was long aware of his obsessive quest to discover the truth about the origins of the immortal races. She found the whole thing faintly amusing, as the only time he showed any real passion was when he discussed the subject.
    She grew still when he described the carving in the floor of the second cave he had discovered. She listened intently as he told her of his suspicions about what had gone missing from the first cave.
    A strained hush fell between them after he finished talking. Alexa sensed he had not told her everything. ‘You want me to find out who looted the first cave and bring back the missing artifacts?’ she asked, her tone not betraying her displeasure.
    ‘Yes, essentially,’ Reznak replied. ‘I have hope that this mission will also shed some light on your past.’ His gaze shifted to his hands. ‘You’ll have to keep this a secret from the Crovir First Council. The fewer people who know about it, the better.’
    She stared at him. Her origins were not something she worried about excessively; despite her missing years, she knew who and what she was. But she was aware that the subject had long frustrated Reznak. For some reason, he felt he owed her the truth. It was the only other thing he was truly passionate about.
    ‘You’re hiding something,’ Alexa finally said bluntly.
    Her godfather’s expression grew shuttered. He leaned back in the chair. ‘I won’t deny that,’ he said carefully. ‘I have never lied to you. Just call it a deliberate…omission.’
    She scowled. ‘Why?’
    ‘Let’s just say that there are other people involved in this, and it’s not up to me to reveal their secrets,’ he said with a sigh. ‘If and when it becomes appropriate to tell you the rest of their story, I shall do so.’
    She mulled this over for a silent moment. ‘Okay,’ she said finally.
    A smile dawned on Reznak’s face. It lost some of its shine when he appeared to recall something unpleasant. ‘There’s one more thing.’

     
    Chapter Three
    T en hours later, Alexa stood in the middle of an apartment near the Back Bay area of Boston and wondered briefly whether her godfather had lost his mind. She studied the mess around her.
    It had been childishly easy to break into the building. No doorman guarded the entrance to the tower block, and she had yet to see a single security camera in the entire place. Getting past the front door of the apartment had taken less than five seconds; there were no alarm systems for her to override, and a monkey could have picked the lock.
    It was glaringly obvious from the narrow vestibule that the place belonged to a man. It had the generic air of chaos that only the male half of the human species could generate.
    A pile of unopened mail sat on a side table in the hallway. Half of it was bills. The rest was a mixture of junk post and letters from distinguished universities and museums from around the world. There were several invites to conferences and lectures on obscure subjects in anthropology.
    A door on the right opened onto a kitchen. It would have been warm and inviting but for the stack of dirty dishes spilling over the sink, the cluttered countertops, and the mildly offensive smell drifting from the direction of the garbage container. Alexa walked to the