Cassie blinked. She was back. The other two were looking at her intently.
“Where did you go?” Griffin asked in a slightly worried tone.
“I was attending a funeral,” she said tersely. “It was loads of fun.” She told them exactly what she had seen.
The Scrivener seemed to view her with a newfound respect. “That’s very helpful,” he said at last. “It sounds as if you were in a tholos tomb. That’s a type of burial chamber. The fact that it was partially underground suggests a Mycenean design rather than Minoan but no matter. Xenia, are there any tholoi near Karfi?”
“Yes,” the trove-keeper assented. “There are a few cemeteries near the settlement and a number of tholos tombs. Some are partially below ground.”
“Excellent!” Griffin sounded hopeful once more. “By tomorrow Erik will be here and we can search the Psychro cave and the cemeteries around Karfi.”
“Oh good,” Cassie thought to herself. “More underground stuff.” She decided that if she ever owned a house someday, she’d get one that didn’t have a basement.
Chapter 36 – A Plot In The Country
It was almost midnight when Leroy and his charge arrived in Heraklion. Hunt was annoyed that they had rushed off the mainland to Crete with no advance warning. Apparently, Junior’s talk with the preacher hadn’t gone too well. The old man must have lit a fire under the kid because they left the minute after he got off the phone. The Nephilim groupies chartered a boat to take them from Pylos to Heraklion.
Daniel was pretty quiet on the trip over. Hunt watched him staring at those blasted photos of the key until they were like to burn a hole in his eyeballs. No sense asking the kid what he thought he could see there.
Once they docked in Crete, Leroy was introduced to another one of the boy’s faithful flunkies—some weedy little islander named Nikos. He gave Hunt the once over and then pulled Daniel off to the side to whisper to him. Kept looking back over his shoulder at the cowboy. After a couple of minutes of gesturing and pointing, they walked back toward him.
“Brother Nikos says you must come with us,” Daniel told him hesitantly.
“I just gotta ask. Is he your actual brother? ‘Cause the way your daddy keeps collectin’ wives, I figure maybe he’s got a couple stashed away in Greece too.”
“No, Mr. Hunt,” Daniel said stiffly. “Brother Nikos is my spiritual brother not my biological brother.”
“Well, considering how many acorns is hangin’ off your family tree, you can’t blame a body for askin’.”
Daniel doggedly repeated his earlier statement. “Brother Nikos says you must come with us.”
Lerory rubbed his neck irritably. It was late, he was tired from doing nothing all day and the last thing he needed was to get prayed over. “Now I already told you son, I ain’t sleepin’ in one of your confounded compounds.”
Daniel looked around the dock area nervously. “Brother Nikos says he has something important to tell us. Something he can’t say here.”
Hunt’s annoyance faded as curiosity took its place. “Well now, that sounds like it might be worth the trouble. But you tell him from me that once he speaks his piece, he’s gonna hustle me back to a hotel in town. You got that?”
“I understand English, sir,” the local said. “I will do as you ask. But now you must come. My car is parked over this way.”
Hunt shrugged and hoisted his duffle bag. “Whatever you say, Brother Nick.”
“Nikos,” Daniel corrected anxiously. “His name is Brother Nikos.”
“Ain’t that what I said?”
***
Twenty minutes later they were driving through a landscape that was darker than dirt. Hardly any lights anywhere. Daniel was up front with his new best friend giving Leroy the back seat all to himself.
Hunt tried to make conversation. “So you got a compound out in the sticks here too? Jeez, you Nephilim got more hidey holes than a gopher.”
“No sir,” Nikos answered gravely. “There is no compound. We are going to my brother Dimitrios. He has a farm house some distance from the town.”
“Guess one of you Nephilim boys made good, huh? He got a house of his own and don’t have to share except maybe with his twenty odd wives and such.”
Nikos corrected him. “My brother Dimitrios is not of the Blessed Nephilim, sir.”
“How’s that?” Hunt asked blankly.
Daniel tried to explain. “Nikos is a convert to our brotherhood, Mr. Hunt. The rest of his family was not born into our faith.”
“Well, don’t that beat all,” Leroy chuckled. “Quite a pickle, Brother Nick. You got a brother who ain’t a brother. I tell you what. You gotta come up with another word for them that joins your blessed whatsit and stop callin’ everybody brother. It’s downright confusin’.”
They drove in silence for ten minutes until another thought occurred to Hunt. “So how come we’re goin’ for a confidential chit chat at your brother’s house. Who ain’t even a brother, by the way?”
“Brother Nikos lives at our Athens compound,” Daniel explained. “Because he is Cretan by birth, I asked him to come here ahead of us and begin to search the ruins at Knossos. We have no compound on the island where he could stay so he asked his brother for refuge.”
“Uh huh,” Leroy said. “So if you gotta stay with Brother Dimitrios too that means you’re gonna have to break your taboo about not eatin’ outside of a sanctuary, ain’t that right?”
“Where two Nephilim are gathered, that is a sanctuary,” Daniel intoned piously.
“I knew he’d weasel around it someway,” Hunt thought to himself. “This better not take long,” he said aloud.
“An hour and no more,” Nikos assured him.
Leroy leaned his back up against the car door and tilted his hat brim over his eyes. “Well good. You wake me when we get to your fake brother’s place.”
***
It took twenty more minutes for them to arrive and exchange pleasantries with Dimitrios and his family. It might have gone quicker but none of them spoke English.
The three men were shown out into the garden where a table was set for a late night snack of bread, olives, and feta cheese. Nikos and Daniel refused spirits and primly asked for tea while Hunt cheerfully accepted a glass of ouzo. Dimitrios was obliging enough to leave the bottle near at hand.
Once they were sure the family had retired, Nikos began to explain himself in a whisper. “I believe someone else is looking for these markings you sent me to find, Brother Daniel.”
“What?” Leroy sat bolt upright, alert for the first time since leaving Chicago.
Daniel nervously picked apart a piece of bread. “But that’s not possible. Who else could know about the granite key?”
“At Knossos I saw three of the Fallen. Two women and a man. They were walking through the ruin looking for the same strange markings you wanted me to search for.”
“That so!” Leroy’s interest was piqued. “What’d they look like?”
“The Fallen man was young, in his twenties, with light brown hair. He spoke with a British accent. One of the Fallen women was Greek and middle-aged. The other was an American, a teenager with dark hair. They called her Cassie.”
“Well, don’t that beat all!” Hunt exclaimed, slapping the table with his palm.
“Mr. Hunt, please!” Daniel shushed him like a spinster librarian. “The family will hear you.”
Leroy ignored the admonition. “So little sis was in the game after all. Lord almighty! Gotta say I didn’t see that one comin’.” He poured himself another drink.
Nikos continued his account. “They spoke of Linear B and the granite key. I followed them. At one point, I brushed close enough to see the papers they were all looking at. Each one had a copy of the symbols on the key.”
“How can that be?” Daniel’s voice was shrill, panicky. “Nobody had that information.”
“Sorry to burst your bubble, son, but somebody did. That antique dealer who I got the key fr
om in the first place.”
“You?” Daniel gave him a puzzled stare.
“Guess your daddy didn’t tell you all the odd jobs I done for him, huh? Well sir, I’m the one he sent to find that doodad in the first place. It come from a fancy antique store. Lady who ran it had herself a terrible accident. Bumped her head and didn’t get up no more. Left behind a little sister. Gal named Cassie.”
“This can’t be happening,” Daniel murmured. His pasty complexion was ashen.
Ignoring the young man’s distress Hunt addressed Nikos. “So what else you find out?”
Nikos stared worriedly at Daniel for a moment before transferring his attention to Leroy. “I do not believe they found anything at Knossos. I followed them for the rest of the day. They went to a vineyard in the hills and stayed there for two hours.”
“My kinda folks. Civilized,” Hunt said approvingly. “They know when it’s time to take a break and sip somethin’ in the shade.”
“After that, they returned to their hotel in Heraklion.”
Leroy felt an adrenaline surge. “So you know where they’re stayin’?”
“Yes, I can take you there in the morning.”
Hunt rounded on him. “Boy, we ain’t got that kind of time!”
Daniel was sitting with his head in his hands, moaning an inarticulate prayer.
Leory shook him roughly by the shoulder. “Listen up, son. I need you to get on the horn with your boys. You got anybody else on the island, you call out the reinforcements. I need them brethren to take turns watchin’ the hotel through the night. Keep tabs on these folks.”
“Why?” Daniel bleated
“Son, you ain’t seein’ the big picture here. You think they’re gonna steal your thunder and get them bones before you do. That ain’t gonna happen.”
Daniel gaped at him dumbly.
“Don’t you get it yet, boy? They’re gonna do your work for you. All we got to do is stay out of sight and follow them around awhile. Odds are they’ll lead us straight to your buried treasure.”
Leroy withdrew the SIG Pro pistol from its holster. He checked the magazine. “Brother Nick, you think maybe you could scare me up some extra .357 bullets for this thing?”
Chapter 37 – Psychro
The following morning found Cassie and Griffin well rested and ready to continue their search. The same could not be said for Erik. He’d arrived late the night before and his surly mood hadn’t improved much after a few hours sleep.
The trio met for breakfast where the Security Coordinator was briefed on everything the other two had discovered. They outlined their plan to search the Lasithi plateau for symbols from the key.
Erik listened in silence during their lengthy summation. When they were done speaking, he nodded curtly. “OK, I’ll rent us a car.”
“Why?” Griffin asked in surprise. “Xenia drove us around yesterday.”
“No need to bother her. She’s probably got better things to do that chauffeur tourists.”
Cassie opened her mouth to offer a sarcastic retort but Griffin laid a warning hand on her forearm. His gesture seemed to imply that locking horns with Erik so early in the day wasn’t a good idea. “We should really go with someone who knows the area,” the Scrivener suggested tactfully. “Someone who speaks the language.”
Erik gave no reply but instead gestured to the waiter. In flawless Greek, he asked for more coffee.
“Show off!” Cassie muttered under her breath.
Grinning impudently at both of them, he explained. “I ran security for quite a few recoveries in this part of the world. Learned to speak like a native and I know my way around the island pretty well. Like I said, I’ll rent us a car.” Without warning he rose and walked out of the dining room.
His companions stared at one another uncertainly.
“Be ready in half an hour,” Erik called over his shoulder. “I’ll pick you up at the front door. And bring jackets. The plateau can get cold in the evening.”
“Nice to see he’s such a team player,” Cassie commented acidly.
“On the contrary,” Griffin countered. “I think we just saw his cooperative side.”
***
As promised, Erik arrived at the hotel entrance in a BMW sedan. He insisted that Cassie take the back seat because he said he didn’t want to shout to carry on a conversation with Griffin.
“At least he’s decided to talk to one of us,” Cassie thought to herself.
The trip from Heraklion to the plateau was more than fifty miles. For the first half of the journey, Griffin and Erik exchanged shop talk about issues back at the vault. Cassie took the opportunity to sightsee, watching as vineyards, orchards and farms drifted past her window.
When she began to feel the car climbing steadily, she knew they were heading up into the mountains. Realizing that they were nearing their destination, she sat forward and tapped Griffin on the shoulder. “So tell me about this Lasithi place we’re going to see.”
Griffin swiveled around in his seat to address her directly while Erik did his best to ignore them both.
“It’s a fascinating bit of geography,” the Scrivener began. “Quite unlike anyplace else on the island. Lasithi is a flat table of land about seven miles wide and four miles long that sits at approximately three thousand feet above sea level.”
Cassie found herself laughing. “It cracks me up how you can rattle off statistics like that. The geeks at your high school probably crowned you Emperor of Greater Nerdonia. How do you carry all that stuff around in your head?”
“I did a great deal of research in preparation for this trip,” Griffin said defensively. “It isn’t my fault that I can recall nearly everything I read.” He paused. “Shall I continue or would you like to mock me for a while longer?”
“Go ahead.” Cassie waved him on. “I’m done mocking you for right now.”
The Scrivener gave a martyred sighed. “Very well. Around 1100 BCE, the Dorians invaded Crete and began enslaving the local population. Those who were able to do so fled to the plateau. Lasithi is surrounded by peaks on all sides and accessible through only eight mountain passes. Any invaders who wished to conquer the region would have had to arrive through one of those gaps. Although the Minoans set up defenses at each pass, the Dorians never bothered to pursue them this far.
Fortunately, the native population who were now called Eteocretans, or true Cretans, found the plateau quite habitable. Although the altitude makes the climate much chillier than the rest of the island, the farmland is rich and water is plentiful from the spring run-off of mountain snows. To irrigate their farms and orchards, the inhabitants built windmills. Lasithi is sometimes called the land of ten thousand windmills though most of them have fallen into disuse in recent years.”
“I can see one of them now!” Cassie exclaimed, pointing out the rear window.
“Yes, I daresay the one you see carries an advert for the nearest taverna. That’s the march of progress for you.”
During Griffin’s lengthy explanation, the BMW had passed from open terrain through a succession of small villages. Erik accelerated as they emerged from yet another one.
Noting his surroundings, Griffin commented, “There are about a dozen villages that encircle the plateau. All very quaint and picturesque. Tourism is becoming a more important part of the local economy though the area is still primarily agricultural.”
The Scrivener turned to address Erik. “Do let me know when we reach Psychro.”
“Psycho.” Cassie snickered.
Griffin gave her an annoyed look. “Now you’re just willfully mispronouncing the name.”
“I can’t help myself. I think it’s funny.”
“We just passed it,” Erik said flatly.
“What!” Griffin exclaimed.
“While you two were busy playing Professor Frommer and Miss Giggles, you missed it. The town we just drove through was Psychro. You wanted to go to the cave first anyway, right?”
“Yes, that’s
correct,” the Scrivener admitted.
“It’s outside of town up the mountain.” Erik drove a short distance further until the road ended abruptly near a cluster of tavernas and souvenir shops. After parking, he got out of the car and opened the trunk to retrieve a back pack. “From here we walk.”
“Walk where?” Cassie asked.
“I’ve never been to the cave but I believe it’s about a mile up the side of this mountain,” Griffin offered brightly.
“A vertical mile!” Cassie gasped. “You don’t have to sound so perky about it.”
They hurried to follow the Security Coordinator who was already moving at a brisk pace up the stony zig zag path.
As they struggled along the steep incline, Cassie kept looking upward, expecting to glimpse the cave mouth. They paused to catch their breaths about a thousand feet above the village on a wide stone shelf that gave them a panoramic view of the plateau and the mountains. Even at the point where they had to stop to buy admission tickets, Cassie still couldn’t spy the cave. A guide offered them lanterns but Erik waved him away.
They resumed their march up the mountain single file and in silence. The trek became automatic, hypnotic, and Cassie found her mind wandering until Erik stopped abruptly and she collided with his back pack.
“We’re here,” he said simply.
“Where? I still don’t see it,” the girl complained.
“That’s because you’re looking up. Look down,” Griffin advised.
When Cassie did as he instructed, she saw a forty foot hole in the ground directly below her feet. Far beneath, she could see lights flickering from tourists already inside the cave. The sight made her dizzy and slightly nauseous. “How far down does this thing go?” she asked Griffin.
“I believe the depth is about eight hundred feet.”
“Won’t this be fun,” she said tensely. As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she could see a winding stairway cut out of the rock wall to her right and a handrail to the left of the stairs.
The Granite Key (Arkana Mysteries) Page 23