Island Chaptal and the Ancient Aliens Treasure by Camilla Monk

Author:Camilla Monk [Monk, Camilla]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Yaypub
Published: 2020-05-11T18:30:00+00:00

TWENTY

The Hide

Evil is there, at the gate, against the skin.

— Marguerite Duras, The Lover

There’s a gory visual in my mind that I wish I could erase, and my temples are growing damp from a sudden sheen of sweat. “He was flayed, and someone turned his skin into a hide?”

March’s eyes narrow at the scene. “It would seem so. I’m afraid I know who Franz thinks this is.”

His cryptic response does little to alleviate my concern. Franz’s fervent yell booms through the door, answering my next question before I can even ask. “Tonight, after years of research, I can announce with absolute certainty that I have found the body and legendary hide of Alonso de Cornellà, the forefather of ancient astronaut theories, and founder of the Collegium!”

Some would say the profound silence that follows is one of shocked reverence, but all I read on the faces of Franz’s guests is a sense of perplexity. At my side, March slowly massages the bridge of his nose and mutters, “You have to be kidding me.”

“Do you know him?” I whisper.

“I’ll tell you about it later, but he’s essentially a Lion with a taste for archaeology who devoted the latter half of his life to cataloging their ancient history and reviving their creeds. The brotherhood won’t turn a blind eye on this discovery, even knowing it could be a hoax. They’ll do anything to recover that mummy.”

Like shooting Vince or trying to snatch an entire car with a giant magnet.

Meanwhile, the grilling is still going strong on the other side of the door. “Do you have hard evidence for any of these claims?” the blonde probes, eyeing the hide with blatant disgust. She waves her hands as she goes on. “I can create a moment, get the press on this to promote a special, but they’re gonna try to fact-check us. We need a solid story; otherwise all we’ll get is alternative media as usual.” The air quotes accompanying this comment speak for themselves: the only big newspaper that ever wrote about Franz’s work is The Sun, and they’re also the ones who came up with that headline about UFOs hitting windmills.

“What’s so special about this guy anyway?” Faux Sonny Crockett asks.

Franz slams his palms on either side of the hide, causing Jaime to shrink away. “For God’s sake, that’s his skin!” he yells as the group recoils in horror. “There’s a lion carved into his skin right here. Symbol of Nergal, like in their secret temple! Have any of you paid the slightest amount of attention to the keynote I sent you?”

“All right, cool down, Gualt.” The old man chuckles. “What I’m asking is where you’re going with this. You wrapped a solid nineteenth season already, and your budget is spent, so what does this”—he points at the hide— “bring to the table that we don’t have yet?”

Franz looks like he’s about to explode, but Jaime creeps back toward the crate to intervene in an unsteady voice. “I’m not gonna try to sum

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