For reasons of which she was not wholly clear, Karolen had found herself in charge of a large group of milling, confused .

"Just get them out of here!" Nuroon had shouted, staring at his filth-covered hand with horrified fascination. "Take them to the staffroom!"

The had, for a good few seconds, assumed that those instructions were intended for either Culloden or Kregg, but when neither of them made any sign of responding, and with tensions reaching a breaking point, she had used her most 'Big Sisterly' voice and started to usher the out of the vault.

Other than Preece and Harker—who had somewhat of a ring-side seat to the horror that had unfolded—none of the others really knew what had happened. They had heard the crash of the falling sarcophagus lid and Kregg's subsequent explanation, but they were abuzz with questions Karolen was not anxious to answer.

Harker had, somewhat in a daze, led the way to the 'staffroom', which, despite what she had just witnessed, Karolen could not help but notice was lavishly equipped, far beyond what she would have expected for a functional museum space. Indeed, the quality of furniture, refreshments and general decor would not have been out of place in the most exclusive of Gentleman's Clubs. Not, of course, that she had ever been invited to one for a social occasion, but she had several clients who enjoyed displaying the extent and reach of their power during her professional visits.

How had Grackle Nuroon found access to this much gold?

But then what had just happened to the young, blonde caught up with her, and she felt somewhat ashamed at the intrusive thought.

The - none of them higher in level than mid-teens - clustered themselves to the centre of the room, all trying to get Preece or Harker to tell them what they had seen. The understanding reticence of the two men to answer questions was adding to an atmosphere of borderline hysteria.

To try to break the mounting tension, Karolen moved towards the refreshment table and said brightly, "I could do with a coffee; I don't know about anyone else!" The room turned quickly to her as if, for the first time, it remembered she was present.

"Coffee? I mean . . . What? Who are you?" A squat, dark man with unfortunately large lips asked. "What were you doing in the vault?"

"She's the , stupid. Can't you read?"

All eyes flicked upwards to read her Level and Class, and the buzz of conversation utterly stilled.

"I mean, sure. I prefer to be known as 'Karolen' rather than 'Auditor', though. How about the rest of you?"

As they worked their way around the group, each giving her a short introduction, Karolen thought that, by hook or by crook, she seemed to be doing a decent job of calming things down.

Until, that is, they reached the young man with the green spectacles, who promptly burst into tears. "It melted her!" Harker said in a voice reaching a shriek. "It was waiting for her in the sarcophagus! The second Delphina climbed in, it started to eat her!"

There were a few awkward coughs, and then voices emerged from the press. "Bard Kregg said it was an accident . . . "

"The lid fell on her. We all saw it happen. One moment it was in the air and the next . . . splat."

"You lot didn't tie it tightly enough. Nuroon will have your hide for this!"

"It wasn't me who brought the ropes, was it? If anything . . ."

"Stop!"

All turned to look at the older , Preece, who was standing a little distance from the rest of the group. Karolen wondered at that and, again, was interested in the story behind what she assumed must have been a change of Class late in life. However, regardless of what had led him to the decision, she was glad he was there right now. The others seemed to have a natural deference to him.

"I know what Bard Kregg said, but Delphina was dead long before the lid collapsed down upon her. None of you who were involved in holding it up need to worry. You weren't to blame. Both Harker and I will testify to that if need be."

"Testify!" One of the other gave a little burst of laughter. "Why should anyone need to testify?"

Karolen frowned at that. "You do understand that one of your friends has been killed? Regardless of whether she was crushed to death or by - " her mind rebelled for a moment at the memory of the woman's liquified body being pulled out of the sarcophagus - "other means," she added lamely, "there will need to be an investigation."

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

"Oh, I wouldn't have thought so. Old Grackle won't stand for anyone sticking their nose into the workings of the museum. Especially not now. It's bad enough that the Trustees have insisted on an audit at this crucial time . . . "

The speaker's voice drifted away to silence as she realised to whom she was speaking. Karolen gave her a small, encouraging smile for them to continue, but it seemed that no more was going to be said about that particular matter.

A few of the other were trying to encourage more details from Harker. None, Karolen noted, were attempting the same with Preece.

"But that's crazy. Why would there have been anything waiting in the casket?"

"I don't know, but there was! I could feel its presence in there. And it was waiting for Delphina to climb in before it struck!"

"Don't be ridiculous, Har. As if anything would want to harm Delphina!"

"But it wasn't supposed to be Delphina who explored the sarcophagus, was it? Culloden was scheduled to be the one to open it. We jumped the gun because Fina was so determined to get the first look. Especially after what was found in the first one!"

Karolen had any number of follow-up questions about Harker's words there but sensed now might not be the right time.

"So, what are you saying? That it wasn't an accident, that something wanted to kill Martha Culloden, but that you three blundered in first and interrupted it?!"

Karolen didn't catch who had asked that question, but she felt it was pretty damn on the nose. Especially as, at that precise moment, the door to the staffroom opened, and the slipped inside.

"Ladies and gentlemen," she said, her voice oddly flat, Karolen thought, considering what had happened, "as I am sure you have all discussed, Delphina passed away a short while ago. There are - " the ashen-faced woman paused, looking over the assembled group as if searching for a particular someone, before pressing on - "questions around what occurred. I am afraid to say that we have determined we will need to speak to Cuckoo House for them to look into what occurred."

The news was greeted with something akin to utter horror. In fact, Karolen thought, this was the most shocked the group of had seemed since the death had occurred.

"But what of the exhibits, ?"

Culloden offered a wan smile to the questioner, a stick-thin woman with massive black-framed glasses. "Director Nuroon and I have discussed the matter, and I am afraid we have determined that, as we expect any investigation will thoroughly compromise the area, we will need to purge all of the samples."

A murmur of discontent rumbled around the room, but Culloden stopped it with a raised hand. "I understand the disappointment this will cause, but a young woman has lost her life and uncovering what took place must take priority."

Karolen couldn't help but think that the woman's words and tone did not quite match up.

"Thus, I must ask you all to wipe any and all records you have made since we opened the first sarcophagus yesterday morning."

At a further gasp from those in the room, Culloden waved her hand, and a rack of blue vials appeared on a table in the corner. "There are mana potions available - Director Nuroon has paid for these personally - and I must ask that you each perform Cleansing the Canvas before the investigators arrive. It would not be appropriate for anything we have uncovered to get into the wrong hands. We can restart our research anew once Cuckoo House closes the case, and all interlopers are removed from the sacred space."

Karolen's eyes widened at the outpouring of mana as the whole room effectively performed a massive memory wipe. Well, not quite the whole room, Karolen thought. There was a certain middle-aged whose gaze was not replaced by a look of incomprehension once the Skill presumably triggered.

"Mana potions, Ladies and Gentlemen. And thank you for your support in this matter. The Director is very grateful. As am I."

The put a hand on Karolen's forearm. "We obviously cannot insist you clear your own memory of what you saw in the vault, but I have said that I will ask you to do so. As one woman to another."

Karolen's mouth turned down in distaste at how the request was made, and then she shook her head. "I cannot think that would be appropriate in any circumstances. Quite apart from my own professional obligations, the investigators from Cuckoo House will need witnesses to what took place. It would not be right for them only to hear from you, Director Nuroon, and Bard Kregg, especially now that the other witnesses have wiped their memories.

"Oh, please don't misunderstand me. Not just the will be wiping their memories of the work of the last day. All of the Senior Staff will be doing so, too. It is a massive inconvenience, as I am sure you will appreciate. We can hardly afford to lose the work at this sensitive moment. The only reason I have not done so as of yet is simply in order to pass on this message to you. I had suggested to the Director that you would not acquiesce in this matter, thus, can I assume you will be available to greet the investigators when they arrive?"

A light blossomed around the eyes, and then her expression went wholly slack.

Karolen looked around the staffroom, shocked at what was taking place. All around her, men and women were looking at each other with quiet bafflement about what was happening.

"I'm sorry, should you be here?"

The turned to look into the eyes of the older , Preece. There was not a flicker of recognition in his expression, even though she was sure he hadn't actually wiped his memory.

"Yes," she smiled back. "It is perfectly okay for me to be here. The Director has asked me to greet some visitors he invited."

Preece nodded, seemingly happy with her reply, and moved off to speak to the green-spectacled , who was obviously much calmer now that any memory of what had occurred had left his mind.

Karolen was horrified to realise that, once the investigators from Cuckoo House arrived, she would be the only person in the building who was even aware a death had taken place.