Harmony 01 After Dark Read Online Free PDF Page A

suppressed excitement in her voice amused him. "It's not nearly as old as anything from the Dead Cities here on Harmony, of course. But it is, obviously, extremely valuable."
    "Naturally." Enthusiasm lit her face. "Anything from the Old World is worth a fortune to collectors. So little remains."
    "Yes."
    Everyone knew that after the mysterious gate between worlds known as the curtain closed forever, the settlers on Harmony had found themselves stranded. Lacking replacement parts, the equipment the colonists had brought with them had ultimately failed. Everything that could be used had been stripped. Many valuable artifacts had been lost during the violent, tumultuous period known as the Era of Discord. Most of the rest had been discarded, lost, or destroyed in the two hundred years that had passed since colonization.
    "What was it?" Lydia demanded eagerly. "One of the computers? An agricultural tool of some kind?"
    "It's a box," Emmett said.
    Her face fell. "A box?"
    "A very special box. Hand-carved from some sort of golden-brown wood and trimmed with gold and silver metals. It's called a cabinet of curiosities. It contains dozens and dozens of small secret drawers. My great-grandmother claimed that no one in the family had ever found and unlocked all of them."
    Lydia frowned. "I don't understand. It sounds like a work of art, not a piece of Old Earth equipment or a mechanical device."
    "It is a work of art. Handmade by an Old World craftsman some four hundred years before the Curtain opened. One of my Earth-side ancestors had the wood especially treated to preserve it indefinitely."
    "But that's not possible." Lydia's voice gentled, although she did not trouble to hide the disappointment in her eyes. "You know as well as I do that the settlers brought no art with them. Space on the transports was too limited. And the Curtain closed before trade between the two worlds could be established. Perhaps it's something one of your ancestors made after arriving here on Harmony."
    "No," Emmett said. "The cabinet of curiosities is from Old Earth."
    "But how did your ancestors get it here?"
    Emmett glanced at her. "I'm told that my several-times-great-grandfather had no choice. He married just before he came through the Curtain, and his new wife insisted on bringing the cabinet with her. Apparently she was a strong-willed woman. Somehow, she convinced my ancestor to smuggle it on board the transport."
    Lydia looked politely doubtful. "I see."
    "You don't believe me?" he asked skeptically.
    "Every family has a few quaint legends concerning its Old World history."
    "You think I'm looking for a colonial-era box that one of my forebears crafted right here on Harmony, don't you?" She gave him a breezy, reassuring smile. "Don't worry. It really doesn't matter what I think about the provenance of your missing artifact. I don't have to believe that it came through the Curtain in order to find it for you."
    "True, but there's a small problem with that approach."
    "What problem?"
    "If you really think that I'm semi delusional or just overly sentimental about an old family antique, you probably won't be sufficiently careful."
    "Why do I need to be careful?"
    "Because there are collectors who do believe that the box dates from pre-Curtain Earth. Some of them would no doubt kill to get their hands on it"
     
     
    Chapter 4
     
    A small chest, you say." Bartholomew Greeley folded his hands on top of the locked glass case. His broad, ruddy features assumed a meditative expression. "Made of a yellowish wood. With a number of tiny hidden drawers."
    "That's how my client described it." Lydia glanced at her watch. She had only twenty minutes left on her lunch hour. "Apparently it's been in his family for several generations. Between you and me, he's convinced it's an Old World antique."
    Greeley looked pained. "Highly unlikely."
    "Yeah, I know. Probably a nice heirloom-quality piece made right here on Harmony less than a hundred years ago but with a