Enigmatic: Sapphire City Supers

Chapter 8: Night at the Museum Take Two

Instantly, the faintest rose of embarrassment drifted across my own face. 

"Oh god, sorry Jackson. I wasn't looking where I was going, obviously."

"No, it's nice to see you! You interested in Ancient Greece, then?" He was smiling now.

"Well, yes, and the museum more generally, but we're also friends with the curator so we wanted to be at the opening." I indicated Seb, beside me, who'd stopped once I bumped into Jackson. "This is my brother, Sebastien. Seb, this is Jackson, the new agent who is shadowing Grace." I found myself looking down when I said it, remembering Stu and Grace ribbing me earlier. "Grace is here too, actually!"

"Oh, no kidding! Nice to meet you, by the way." He shook hands with Seb.

The way his voice had tilted in slight trepidation made me laugh. "Relax, she's off the clock, she won't be taking notes on you."

He grinned guiltily. "Grace is fantastic. She's just very, very good at her job."

I beamed proudly, as if I had anything to do with that. "Yes, yes she is. You're in good hands."

"That's cool that you're friends with the curator. If you see him around, I'd love to tell him how great the exhibit is."

I glanced around but didn't spot Ewan. "He's not here now but I will do!"

"Thanks. Good to see you again, Kenna. Glad to meet you, Sebastien."

"Likewise," Seb nodded.

Grant and Tristan had spotted us now and were enthusiastically waving us over.

"So that's the new agent you're working with, huh," Seb mused, when we were out of earshot of Jackson.

"Shut up," I said immediately.

"Suits me," he retorted.

"Joneses!" Grant exclaimed when we reached them.

"Kenna, you look like a work of art yourself," Tristan schmoozed.

I rolled my eyes. "This is the museum, not the art gallery, Tristan."

Seb stared at him in horror. "Dude. Boundaries."

Tristan gave me a grin. "Sorry, couldn't help myself. And I know this is a museum, Kenna. Look at all these museum things! Seriously, though, this one is cool." He pointed down into the case beside us, where I could see a worn and weather-beaten set of coins.

I peered at them a little closer. They were stamped with classical Greek profiles; their sign said they would be the patron god or goddess of the region that produced them, and there were several different ones, which indicated trade between regions. They were dated circa 500 BC on the sign. It astounded me how much time had truly passed since these were new, and yet they were fundamentally recognisable for what they were.

"Just like you to gravitate towards the money," I teased, smiling at Tristan. "They are amazing though. What did you think of the amulet over there?" I saw Seb glance sharply at me out of the corner of his eye.

Tristan's brilliant eyes flicked across to the case. "It's really something, kind of grabs your attention, doesn't it?" My heart beat a little faster, but then he laughed. "Ewan was telling me something really nerdy about it earlier, but I've forgotten exactly what its deal is."

"Well that was obviously a waste of breath, then," Ewan said suddenly from behind Tristan, who jumped.

"What the hell dude, where did you come from?" He demanded.