Canvas & Keys

18. The Sass Is Strong With This One

Chapter 18

The Sass Is Strong With This One

The looks on Drake and Cruz's faces was enough for me to start laughing any time I looked their way as I chatted with a tour guide. Sure, they both knew how many languages I could speak, but seeing – or hearing it, rather – for themselves was apparently a different story.

Another thing they had to take a second look at was what I was wearing. After seeing me in nothing but shorts and t-shirts for the past...well, ever since we started all this...they hadn't seen me in my usual pant suit I wore on any business trip. I wasn't the only one who had to look presentable. They had to wear their own suits, though they made it seem more casual by not buttoning the top buttons of their shirts or wearing ties.

I'd been to the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg before, so I knew my way around. Still, walking across the courtyard and looking up at the magnificent minty green, white, and gold building still made me pause. The inside was even more extravagant with the high painted and carved ceilings and gold accents.

The only reason I spoke with the tour guide was to ask her which direction I would find the director, Yana Andreev. The last time I'd come, I was with John and Emmy and had pretty much stayed to the side while they did the talking. Then, Yana hadn't been the director, but rather one of the curators. Coincidentally, she was in charge of the exhibit where all of Johanna Hummel's works were displayed. Now, she was on a conference call with another museum, but the guide said she would have her find us and pointed into the direction of the exhibit we were after.

The exhibit room itself was small compared to all others, but there were still so many people crowded into the space. There were at least two dozen pieces on the walls. Though they were different in the scenes depicted – from landscapes to city streets and castles atop high hills – there was an element that made a clear indication they were by the same artist. A certain similarity in brush strokes and colors.

"I knew she had quite a few pieces, but I didn't think there would be this many in one exhibit," Drake mentioned as we walked up to one of the landscapes as a family of five walked to the next.

"Which one are we looking for again?" Cruz asked from my other side.

"Derzeit," I answered.

"Bless you."

Both Drake and I snorted. "Like I haven't heard that one before."

"In English then?" Cruz continued.

"It means 'Presently'," I translated, and then dropped my voice for only them to hear. "Since the Knights represent the present in the Triumvirate, Emmy thought it was possibly this one. The name would hint at it, but not blatantly say 'Hey, this is the one the key's hidden in!' We've got paintings at the other two museums also we're going to check out just because of their names."

"And what happens if we don't see the painting in here?" Drake asked, moving slowly past the next few paintings. "Because I'm not."

I walked behind him, reading each of the names off the plaques beside each, not seeing it either.

"I'm not sure..."

"Hattie Devereaux."

At the sound of my name, I immediately turned to see Yana Andreev walking toward us with a slight smile. Dark hair pulled back into a tight bun and wearing a black suit, she looked harsher than she actually was.