“Now, even to the Hellenes, Gaia was the oldest of the old ones. They admitted she had created everything out of herself before their gods arrived. Her name translates to something like Grandmother Earth but to the people who worshipped her before the Hellenes took over she was a whole lot more than just a nature goddess. She was the creator of the universe and she lived in and through every part of her creation. Olympian mythology tried to tame her and make her play nice with the new kids on the mountain. The Hellenes told stories of how she defied their gods and got trounced by them but they were never able to get rid of her completely. She was in the hearts of the people who worked the land.”
“Like the Pythia,” Cassie said softly.
Maddie stared at her in surprise. “Did Faye tell you that story?”
“Yeah, and that they couldn’t write the Pythia out of their mythology either.”
“You’re exactly right, kiddo,” Maddie nodded approvingly. “Gaia remained a thorn in the side of Zeus and his cronies. They loosened her hold but couldn’t uproot her. In the end they had to tolerate her existence even though she’s the exact opposite of everything they valued.”
“What do you mean?”
The frown lines around Maddie’s mouth deepened. “Gaia is nothing less than the principle of creation. The overlords valued destruction because that was how they acquired land, wealth and power. All the people who came before them valued creation and creation was originally viewed as female.”
“Why is that?”
The older woman rolled her eyes impatiently. “It should be obvious. When you talk about building life, biologically speaking, we all know which sex does the heavy lifting. The ancients knew it too. That’s why the earliest origin myths tell of a primordial goddess who gave birth to everything. There might even be some science behind the notion of parthenogenesis. At least a few researchers are convinced that the female sex evolved long before the male. After all, there are lots of species on this planet that are all female, but none that are all male.”
“What?” Cassie was stunned.
Maddie blew a final puff of smoke and ground out her cigarette in the ashtray on the coffee table. “The basic template for the human body, for all mammal bodies, is female. Until they’re seven weeks old, all embryos start out being proto-female. It doesn’t take a huge change for a fetus to grow up to be a girl. That’s what it does naturally. But with little boys, at seven weeks, the Y-chromosome kicks in and testosterone turns a “she” into a “he.” How else can you explain nipples on a male body? I mean, for crying out loud, what’s that about?”
Cassie was speechless. This theory had never been discussed in her Biology 101 class.
“And it isn’t just physical creation that’s associated with the female sex. It’s the creation of the necessities of life. Things that have been around for so long that we take them for granted: clothing, houses, cooking, not to mention agriculture, domesticated animals, and, oh yes, art and writing. All invented by female humans.”
“But…but…” Cassie stuttered. “How can that be? Didn’t men come up with the ideas for all that stuff?”
Maddie noted her expression and grinned. “Nope. Shocking, isn’t it, when you realize how much you’ve been brainwashed by overlord values. I make some of my associates cringe when I get on my soapbox but they know I’m right.”
She seemed to realize she had roamed far afield in her explanation. More softly she said, “It isn’t simply the artifacts that the Arkana is protecting. The people who crafted those artifacts had a different way of looking at life. A more constructive way. That’s what we’re really protecting, until the day comes when the overlord system loses its shiny appeal.” She smiled ruefully. “I guess I’ve beaten your first question to death. Now you know why we call ourselves the Arkana. What else do you want to know?”
Cassie was silent for several seconds, trying to wrap her brain around the rush of radical ideas Maddie had just thrown at her. When she had time to recover she asked, “If this is an international organization, what made you pick Illinois of all places to set up your operation? There can’t be many artifacts here.”
“Good one,” Maddie commented approvingly. “Actually the Arkana started out centuries ago in England right after the witch hysteria that swept Europe in the 1600s. You’ve heard about that, right?”
“So you’re all a bunch of witches?” Cassie asked warily.
Maddie let out an exasperated groan. “We don’t have enough daylight hours left for me to set you straight on all the popular misconceptions about witches. The short answer is ‘No, we’re not.’ The point I was trying to make is that a lot of valuable information was lost during the witch craze. Women and men who were the herbalists, midwives, and healers of their day died at the stake and their knowledge died with them. Once the last fire burned itself out, whoever managed to survive went underground. A small group of them banded together to preserve what they knew about healing, about the natural world, and about the old deities of the earth.”
“Things stayed that way for a long time until England expanded its empire to India, Africa, and the rest of the world. And the Arkana expanded too. We reached out to include other cultures whose origin myths turned out to be a lot like our own.”
She leaned back further and looked at the ceiling, deep in thought. “We kept our headquarters in Britain until things got a little dicey during the Second World War. When the Germans started bombing England, nobody thought Europe was a safe place to keep headquarters anymore. Even though America joined the war, it wasn’t being invaded so we moved the vault here during the 1940s.”
“Why not New York or LA?”
“Because Illinois is right in the middle. Easy to fly to either coast if you have to and it’s not going to be the first target in an invasion. Remember who got hit on September 11th?”
“I see your point. You’ve got all this valuable stuff collected—centuries’ worth. So why are you hiding it and hiding yourselves? Isn’t it about time you went public and set the record straight?”
Maddie was uncharacteristically silent. She looked down at the coffee table before replying. “That may be your best question yet, kiddo.” She sighed. “Every generation or so we rehash the issue about whether the time is right.” She made air quotes around the last four words. “Even though the world isn’t changing fast enough to suit me, it is heading in the right direction. For now, though, there are still loads of people out there who would be scared out of their wits by our version of history. And it’s the kind of scared that leads to killing. They would try to eradicate us and destroy everything we’ve recovered.” She shook her head. “No, it isn’t quite time yet for us to take center stage and brag about our finds.”
Both of them remained bleakly silent for several moments, contemplating how traditional minds might react to the Arkana. Then a new thought occurred to Cassie. “I haven’t seen much of it yet, but if this is a global operation, how do you afford it? I mean, who pays for everything?”
“I do,” Maddie replied grimly. “I keep this merry little ship of fools afloat.”
The girl looked at her blankly and she relented. “Forget that part. That’s just me feeling pinched when I have to sign checks. I hate letting go of money. That’s why they put me in charge of it.” She grinned. “Truth is we have hefty cash reserves. Sometimes we come across artifacts that don’t interest us but are worth a fortune to collectors. We sell them on the private market or to museums. It’s enough to fund our operations and then some.”
Maddie reached for her lighter again. “Sorry,” she said, a cigarette dangling between her lips. “Can’t help myself. If I didn’t smoke I’d be three hundred pounds by now.”
Cassie’s brain was beginning to feel overloaded with too many new facts. She didn’t want to ask about anything else that required a major explanation so she settled for something small. “One last thing. When I came in, I noticed a big round table in the middle of the schoolroom downstairs. G
riffin didn’t really explain what it was for.”
“That’s for meetings of the Concordance.”
“An answer that leads to another question,” she thought to herself ruefully. “And what is a Concordance exactly?”
“It’s the governing council for the whole global enchilada. Sort of like the United Nations except that we actually get stuff done.”
“I counted thirty chairs. That’s a lot of people. Isn’t it kind of a free-for-all if everybody starts talking at once?”
“Thirty is only a fraction of the people involved. The wall seating is for the rest. As for a free-for-all, Faye keeps things moving.”
“What’s her title?”
Maddie chuckled. “She’s the glue that holds everything together. The lynchpin of the entire operation.”
Cassie waited silently.
“Oh all right. If you insist on being so serious, her official title is the Memory Guardian. We think of ourselves as a collective. We don’t like the idea of somebody at the top barking orders but if the Arkana had a leader, Faye would be that person.”
“Who appointed her?”
“The Memory Guardian gets elected by the rest of the Concordance.”
“And how long does she keep the job?”
Maddie shrugged. “Until she decides to retire or if she loses the confidence of the Concordance and they vote her out. I really don’t see that happening. Everybody loves her.” She was about to elaborate when she noticed the look on Cassie’s face. “Are you all right, kiddo?”
The girl rubbed her temples. “I’m starting to get a headache. If I tilt my head, I think some of this new info will leak out of my ears. Can we stop now?”
The older woman laughed. “You think this was bad, wait until Griffin gets started.” She hesitated for a moment, weighing her next words. “Before you leave, I’ve got a question of my own to ask.”
Maddie reached out for the paper on the coffee table and turned it over. A sketch of a man’s face stared up at the two women. “Is this your guy? Faye said you saw what he looked like when you dreamed about Sybil’s death.”
Cassie felt the breath catch in her throat. It was the cowboy or almost. “How did you figure out what he looked like?”
“Erik caught a glimpse of him when he followed him out of the apartment.”
“Oh, so his name is Erik. He never exactly introduced himself.”
“He’s part of the security team here. You’ll meet him another time.” She picked up the page and handed it to Cassie. “Did we miss anything?”
Cassie recoiled for a second before taking the paper. She studied it briefly. “In my dream…” she began hesitantly. “When I saw him in my dream, his eyes were narrower. Light colored and kind of mean. He took his hat off so I know his hair was dark brown and he wore it combed back like somebody from the 1950s.”
“You mean wavy and high, like a pompadour?” Maddie asked in surprise.
“Yeah, I guess that’s what it would be called. His lips are thinner than this and his nose is a little bit longer.” She exhaled a deep sigh. “Otherwise, that’s him. That’s the guy who decided a stupid piece of rock was more valuable than my sister’s life.”
Maddie’s expression was grim. “We’ll find out who he is. Don’t worry. He won’t slip away from us. Just give us a little more time, OK?”
The girl nodded mutely, unconvinced. It could take years.
Sensing her visitor’s skepticism, Maddie added, “A guy like this has made a career out of shoving people around to get what he wants. He’s left a trail somewhere for us to follow. But I’d be willing to bet that in all his years as a professional bully he’s never come up against a goddess before.” She gave a harsh laugh. “I don’t like his odds this time.”
Cassie noted the sharp gleam in Maddie’s eyes and her doubts faded away.
Chapter 19 – Conjugal Wrongs
Daniel let himself into his wife Annabeth’s chamber unannounced. He caught her sitting at the small table waiting, her hands jammed into her apron pockets, no doubt to keep from biting her nails. At the sight of him, she sprang out of her chair and ran to the mirror above the dresser. She smoothed her hair and tried to pinch some color into her pale cheeks before nervously turning to face him.
He paused at the threshold, feeling confused. “What is it, Annabeth? Is everything all right? Is our daughter sick? I received a message that you needed to speak to me.”
Tugging lightly at his sleeve, she drew him into the room and hastened to reassure him. “Everything is fine with the child, Daniel. Don’t worry.”
“Then what?” The young man asked, still puzzled.
Annabeth looked at him expectantly for a moment and then rushed toward him. Flinging her arms around his shoulders, she attempted to kiss him.
He recoiled as if bitten by a snake. “Annabeth!” he exclaimed in shock. “What are you doing?”
She hesitated for a moment and then tried to twine herself around him again.
He pushed her away. “Stop that. What’s gotten into you?”
Annabeth looked as if she was about to burst into tears.
Daniel relented. “Come over here and sit down and you can tell me what this is all about.” He led her to a chair and winced as he caught a glimpse of his formal portrait hanging above the table. It reminded him of the portrait of his grandfather that hung in his father’s prayer closet. He couldn’t bear the comparison.
She sat on the edge of her chair and looked at him beseechingly. “I don’t know what to do. You must help me, Daniel. I don’t want to lose my place in the Kingdom.”
Daniel was growing ever more bewildered. “Lose your place? What are you talking about, Annabeth?”
She couldn’t speak for several seconds. Her lips were quivering as she dabbed away the tears streaming from her eyes. “The thought of being separated for all eternity—from my baby, from my kin, from you, from everybody I ever loved.” She shook her head emphatically. “No, no. I can’t even think about something as terrible as that. I don’t want to go to hell. I don’t want to be damned.”
“Who said anything about you being damned?”
She ignored his question. “Do you find me domineering? Am I a bad wife?”
“A bad wife,” he echoed uncomprehendingly. “Where would you get such an idea?”
She didn’t answer him immediately. Turning her head, she looked over her shoulder at the bed. “It’s been a long time since you visited me—since we had relations. What have I done to displease you?”
Her words had the effect of an electric shock. He sprang out of his chair and began to pace around the center of the room. “Nothing, you’ve done nothing wrong.”
“Then why?” Her voice was plaintive.
“I’ve had a lot on my mind. You can’t understand the kind of pressure I’m under. Father has charged me with a grave responsibility and I fear the thought of disappointing him.”
“But it’s been almost four years, Daniel,” she said softly.
He stopped pacing as a new thought struck him. “Who have you been speaking to?”
She didn’t want to meet his gaze.
“Annabeth, tell me who,” he commanded.
She raised her watery eyes. “The Diviner came to see me.”
The sound of that name chilled him to the bone. He had hoped this moment would never come but had secretly dreaded it. Daniel knew it was inevitable ever since his father had remembered he was alive and singled him out for attention.
“He…he said he was concerned.” She began twisting the hem of her apron into knots. “He said we should have more children by now. And he told me…” she struggled to go on. “He…he…told me,” she started to sob. “That I was an overbearing wife and that maybe I don’t deserve to be among the Consecrated.” The words tumbled out in a rush before she began sobbing in earnest.
Daniel knelt down next to her chair and shook her arms gently. “Listen to me, Annabeth. Listen.” He shook her again until sh
e stopped sobbing and sat limp and quiet. “You are a good wife. A very good wife.”
She raised her eyes to meet his. “Then why?”
He avoided giving her a direct answer. “If my father asks about the matter again, you are to tell him that we are trying to conceive another child.”
“You want me to lie to the Diviner?” Her pasty face drained of color completely.
“It isn’t a lie.” He tilted her chin upward. “We will try again. That’s what you want, isn’t it? Another baby?”
She nodded, sniffling a bit. “Why else did God create woman? What else am I fit for? Without a husband and children, I have no place in the world. No place in the Kingdom.” Annabeth hesitated. “I…I don’t want to lose my place in the Kingdom. Daniel, if I don’t have more children soon then your father will cast me out.”
He put his arms around her lightly, in part to hide his tense expression. “Don’t worry. I’ll come to visit you very soon to try to increase our family.” He felt a flood of revulsion at the thought and instantly condemned himself for it. He released her and looked directly into her eyes. “For now, just remember what I told you to say if my father asks. You will remember, won’t you?”
She nodded again and wiped her eyes on her apron.
“You’re a good girl, Annabeth.”
Chapter 20 – Underground Intelligence
Cassie gave herself a few days to let her head stop spinning from her dizzying conversation with Maddie. When she felt that her brain had absorbed all the new facts that had bombarded it, she drove back out to the schoolhouse. “A glutton for punishment,” she thought to herself ruefully. She didn’t understand why Faye was pushing her to learn the basics so quickly. Sybil had been given years to understand the Arkana and how the organization worked. Something else was going on here. Something to do with the cowboy and the key but she didn’t know what. All she knew for sure was that she was taking the crash course in Pythia 101. She pulled into the clearing and walked up to the schoolhouse door. A familiar face peered around it just as she reached the top step.
The Granite Key (Arkana Mysteries) Page 9