The Reincarnationist by M. J. Rose

the circus while we still can. Gabriella, do you have the keys?”
    Focused on Josh, she didn’t answer.
    â€œI just realized who you are. You’re Josh Ryder, aren’t you?”
    He nodded.
    â€œYou were here the whole time?”
    â€œI was. I’m sorry.”
    â€œWhere did all this happen?”
    â€œWe were in the tomb when—”
    â€œYou were in the tomb with him?” she interrupted. “This happened inside the tomb?”
    â€œYes.”
    â€œI want to go down to the site…I need to see it.” Pushing past Josh she got out of the car. Both Josh and Malachai got out and followed her. Catching up to her before she got too far, Malachai put his arm around her shoulder and stopped her. “It’s better to leave all this to the police. We’ll take you to the hospital. Come back to the car with me.”
    â€œNot yet. I need to see the site first,” she said, shaking free.
    â€œLet me go with you, then,” Josh said, concerned that she not be alone when she saw the blood, the broken artifacts and the state Sabina was in.
    Not answering, or waiting, she took off, but before she had gone five feet, two policemen intercepted her.
    The conversation appeared to go smoothly for the first three or four questions, until one of them must have asked something that agitated her, because she gestured wildly to the road, then turned, pointing back toward her car, inadvertently including Josh and Malachai in her gesture.
    The policemen followed her glance.
    Thirty seconds later, the two carabinieri approached Josh and Malachai.
    â€œMr. Ryder?” the younger one asked, looking at Malachai.
    â€œNo. I’m Josh Ryder.”
    He asked him something in Italian.
    Josh shook his head. “Sorry, I don’t understand.”
    It seemed as if he’d said that to a dozen people already that morning. The language barrier was frustrating. He wanted to tell the policeman not to waste time with himwhen there was a man out there somewhere who had a gun and an ancient treasure and who was getting farther and farther away, but there was no way he could communicate that.
    While this was going on, the carabinieri had their back to Gabriella and so they didn’t notice when she broke away. There were other police on the scene, busily interviewing people in the crowds, but, curiously, none of them were paying attention to the real scene of the crime—Gabriella’s destination, the tomb.
    Of course not, Josh realized. None of them knew that the shooting had happened underground.
    The policeman, who was still trying to talk to Josh, noticed him glance away and looked to see why. When he saw Gabriella, he called out to her.
    She turned. There was fierce determination in her eyes, tear marks and dirt smeared on her face, dust on her clothes. She yelled back something Josh couldn’t understand and then descended into the tomb she had been responsible for discovering.
    Josh’s heart lurched as she disappeared. He was desperately worried for her. There was no time to wonder why he was reacting so strongly to a stranger because, at that moment, two things happened almost simultaneously: the group of onlookers broke free from the sawhorses, and all the police took off to contain them.
    Josh took advantage of the distraction to race toward the crypt.
    â€œStop, Josh. Let’s get out of here. Don’t—” Malachai shouted.
    â€œShe shouldn’t be down there alone,” he yelled back. He kept going, not knowing if the police were behind him or not. Not caring.
    He was only a foot away when he heard Gabriella’s scream coming up from the ground. It was sharp and ragged, and so pained it sounded as if she were being tortured.

Chapter 13
    S he was on her knees in the corner of the crypt, kneeling beside Sabina’s broken body, emitting a low, keening cry of grief. It took Josh a few seconds to understand that Gabriella was saying the word