Ozgur examined the key again. “I’m sorry to be of so little help. No, I do not recall seeing any of these.”
Griffin’s voice held a note of despondency. “Well, no matter. I’m sure we’ll pick up the trail somehow.”
The old man seemed not to hear him. “‘When the soul of the lady rises with the sun.’ Since your riddle speaks of time, perhaps you should begin with the stone circles.”
“What stone circles?” Erik sat forward.
“The megaliths on Ida.”
“Megaliths?” Cassie echoed.
“Yes, large stones set in circles, like your Stonehenge in England. We believe the ancients used them as calendars to measure the seasons.”
“That’s brilliant!” Griffin exclaimed. “It makes perfect sense. If there’s an event we’re meant to witness, the most likely observation point would be a stone circle.” He frowned as another thought struck him. “But we must be facing east. The riddle makes a reference to sunrise.”
“It just so happens that one of the circles on the mountain does face east,” Fred informed them. “I was part of a team that was checking overlord shrines on Ida. A lot of them were built over the ruins of goddess sites. While we were collecting Cybele artifacts, we stumbled across a stone circle.”
Ozgur turned to his assistant. “Do you think you can show our guests where to find it?”
Fred nodded with assurance. “Absolutely. No problem.”
Griffin could barely contain his elation. “That’s wonderful. We may actually have a chance at solving this!”
The trove keeper smiled. “I am glad we were able to be of some small assistance. Fred will accompany you back to the Troad and guide you up the mountain. Perhaps fortune will be with you, and you will find the first of five you seek.”
Erik leaned over and whispered to Cassie. “Better put on your size six and a half sneakers, toots. It sounds like you’re gonna be tripping over some really big rocks.”
Chapter 15 – The Elephant in the Garden
Twilight came and went over Faye’s cornflower blue farmhouse. An afternoon thunderstorm had left the summer air muggy. As the old woman opened her front door to let in a breeze, she found Maddie standing on her porch just about to knock.
“Come in, my dear, come in.” Faye stood aside to let her enter. “I must say this is a surprise.”
“I was on my way home, but I thought I’d swing by and give you an update.” The operations director towered over her hostess as she stepped into the foyer. Her briefcase was bulging with papers.
Faye noted the portfolio. “Taking work home again?”
Maddie shrugged indifferently. “It’s gotta get done somehow. I’m a little short-staffed just now.”
“Shall we go outside and sit in the garden?” Faye suggested. “It’s much too stuffy in here.”
“Suits me. You wouldn’t happen to have a pot of coffee made, would you?” Maddie asked wearily.
“Of course. In the kitchen. Help yourself.”
The two women poured mugs of coffee and walked outside into Faye’s immense backyard. It was densely planted with fruits and flowers and vegetables and trees old enough to pre-date Columbus, all of which muffled the sound of suburban traffic. They seated themselves under a pergola strung with miniature Chinese lanterns. The only other light was emitted by fireflies blinking on and off in their meandering flight over the lawn.
Maddie leaned back in her chair and let out a tired sigh. “What a day!”
“A particularly rough one, I take it?”
The operations director laughed humorlessly. “Lately, they’ve all been rough. This new relic hunt just added another layer of enrichment to my job.”
They sat silently for a few moments. Their eyes adjusting to the semi-darkness.
“You haven’t been around headquarters much lately.” There was a hint of reproach in Maddie’s voice.
“I don’t like to… what’s the word you young people use nowadays? Micromanage. That’s it. I don’t like to micromanage.” She paused. “Besides, I have great faith in all my associates.”
“Well, I suppose we’re all experienced enough to know what we’re doing,” Maddie grudgingly agreed.
“Ah, but that isn’t faith. To rely on you because of your demonstrated competence is simply a reasonable conclusion based on observable facts.”
“You make it sound all clinical and scientific.” The operations director smiled through half-closed lids.
Faye stared off into the distant darkness. “I don’t much care for science myself. Trusting it has a tendency to limit one’s possibilities.”
Her companion made no comment.
“You had something you wanted to report to me, dear?” Faye prompted gently.
Maddie’s eyes were now fully closed. It appeared as if she’d dozed off and not heard the question until she spoke. “I don’t know what it is about your garden. Especially on summer nights. But it makes me feel like I’m falling backward into a dream pool where I can drift outside of time.”
Faye chuckled. “Why Maddie, that bordered on the poetic.”
The operations director yawned and stretched. “Yeah, I know. It doesn’t sound like me at all, right? That’s what I mean. This place makes me a little dazed in the head.”
Faye took a sip of coffee. “On the contrary. I think the effect my garden has on people, you included, is to make them sane in the head.”
“Maybe,” Maddie conceded, sitting up straight. “A little extra sanity would be good right now. I’ve had a few updates about what’s going on in the field. Leroy and that Nephilim they call Daniel have landed in Crete.”
“We can only hope they aren’t able to make heads or tails of the riddle too quickly.”
“At least they’re missing the final line.” Maddie paused to light a cigarette. The tip burned red in the darkness. “That ought to buy us some time.”
“Yes, it should,” Faye agreed, but her tone indicated worry. “If only we knew why they want the Bones of the Mother so badly.”
“That’s a riddle in itself,” agreed Maddie. “I’d love to get some intel from inside their organization, but they’re awfully twitchy about who joins the ranks.”
“An opportunity may present itself in due course,” Faye observed. “At least for now, we can monitor Mr. Hunt. As long as he stays tethered to this Daniel person, we have some idea of what’s going on.”
“That’s true,” Maddie conceded. “We might not have much info, but we’re getting the basics. As for our side, we’re making a little bit of progress. I got some good news from Griffin today.”
“Yes?”
“He said Ozgur was able to put them onto a lead about some calendar stones on Mount Ida.”
“Calendar stones,” Faye echoed. “Of course, I should have thought of that myself. Poor Griffin. He was in such a state before he left. I thought he was going to give himself an ulcer over that riddle.”
“He is wound kind of tight,” Maddie agreed. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen that boy relax.”
A breeze stirred lightly in the treetops releasing the scent of angel’s trumpet into the air.
“Speaking of boys,” said Faye, “has Erik been behaving himself? I know he had some reservations about working with Griffin and Cassie.”
“If you’d asked me that question before they left for Crete, I wouldn’t have given it a week. But from what Griffin tells me, it sounds like Erik’s gotten used to the idea of cooperating with them. Then again, Erik’s idea of cooperation is when he holds himself back from punching you in the face if you get in his way.”
Faye laughed softly. “Are you still annoyed with him about that Venice retrieval?”
“Annoyed doesn’t begin to cover it! An entire hotel room trashed.” Maddie snorted in disbelief. “Who does that?”
“Someone who is determined to finish the task you sent him to do,” Faye observed quietly. “No matter what
.”
“Yeah, maybe.” The operations director crossed her arms and blew a puff of smoke. “But I’m not letting him off the hook with a smile and a ‘Sorry, chief.’ Not this time.”
“Oh Maddie, you didn’t,” Faye protested. “Substandard accommodations again?”
“That boy’s gotta learn that he’s not ten feet tall and bullet-proof. Being reckless has consequences.”
Rather than argue the point, Faye changed the subject. “And what about our new pythia? How is she faring?”
“It sounds like she wowed the Anatolian trove team with another great performance.”
“I’m glad of that.” Faye smiled and took another sip of coffee. “Each time she succeeds in bringing hidden information to light, her confidence in her gift will grow.”
“She’s doing great by all accounts.” Maddie’s voice struck a false note.
“And this disturbs you?” Faye peered through the darkness at her companion.
“No, it’s not that. I’m really glad she’s working out but…” She hesitated.
“But?”
Maddie ground out her cigarette in the grass. “Dammit! Why isn’t anybody talking about the elephant in the room?”
Faye looked cautiously around her garden. “Well, for one thing, we’re outdoors.”
Maddie immediately lit another cigarette. “Don’t play coy, Faye. Why isn’t anybody talking about Sybil? I mean the kid lost her sister barely two months ago. Didn’t just lose her. Saw her murdered, in fact. Yet she’s perky and happy to be bouncing off on this relic hunt. That doesn’t seem normal to me.”
Faye studied the tips of her shoes for a moment. “You’re right. It isn’t normal, but nothing about Cassie’s relationship with Sybil was normal.”
“What do you mean?” Maddie turned in her chair to stare at the memory guardian.
Faye set down her cup and folded her hands in her lap. “When Cassie first came to me, it was obvious she was shattered by her sister’s death, but I got the impression that it wasn’t personal.”
“How in the hell could it not be?” The operations director leaned forward. “Sybil was her last living relative.”
Faye nodded. “Yes, Sybil represented family to her and her family was gone. For that, she grieved. But on a personal level, Sybil and Cassie were strangers to one another. Cassie never knew her sister at all.” The old woman paused, lost in thought for a few moments. “If I’d realized it in time, I might have tried to intervene. I’ve always believed that the Arkana has no right to pry into people’s personal lives. In this instance, however, it was a mistake. I should have done something.”
Maddie remained uncharacteristically silent. An owl hooted softly in one of the ancient oak trees at the back of the garden.
“After their parents’ death, Sybil became obsessed with protecting her sister—making sure neither one of them became easy targets for the Nephilim or any other artifact thieves. They moved constantly. Cassie never had time to catch her breath much less make a single friend while Sybil was bustling her around the country. When I first met her, the poor child was defensive and belligerent, betraying just how insecure she felt. Unfortunately, much of the blame for that distress belongs to Sybil. Our late pythia was so focused on her sister’s physical safety that she forgot all about her emotional well-being. Cassie never felt safe anywhere or with anyone.”
The operations director watched a lightening bug crawl onto one of the Chinese lanterns, adding a strobe effect. “For somebody who spends so little time at headquarters, it amazes me how much you seem to know about all of this,” she remarked.
Faye gave a little shrug. “I don’t need to spend much time at headquarters. The world has a habit of finding its way to my door as a matter of course.”
“I’m not just talking about Cassie and Sybil. You seem to know exactly what’s going on at the Arkana all the time. I bet if I asked you to tell me the last artifact reported from Japan, you could.”
“It was the Jomon trove, I believe. A clay figurine of a mother goddess unearthed last week.” Faye retrieved her mug and took another sip of coffee.
“You see!” Maddie exclaimed. “How do you do that?”
The old woman smiled. “Like most people nowadays, I have both a cell phone and a computer, dear.”
“That’s not what I mean, and you know it,” the operations director challenged. “It’s almost like you pull the intel right out of thin air.”
“Perhaps I do,” Faye replied cryptically. “Perhaps I’m tuned in, as the saying goes.”
Throwing up her hands in exasperation, Maddie went back into the house to fetch the coffee pot. She returned and refilled both their cups. When she resettled herself, she changed the subject. “You know, it’s kind of ironic.”
“What is, dear?” Faye had lost the line of Maddie’s reasoning.
“About Sybil, I mean. She spent her whole life fixated on protecting Cassie. And in the end, she couldn’t protect either one of them.”
“It was more than ironic. It was tragic.” Faye grew silent as she contemplated a new idea. “And yet it’s also true that Sybil’s obsession, and the estrangement it created, may have helped soften the blow for Cassie when the end came.”
“Huh?”
The old woman elaborated. “One can’t miss what one has never had.”
“You mean like a real relationship with a real sister?” the operations director asked archly.
“Quite so,” the memory guardian agreed. “Once she passed through the initial shock of her sister’s murder, Cassie adjusted rapidly. I suspect learning about us and her special place in our organization may have helped ease the transition for her.”
“Sure. As long as she doesn’t think about the fact that we’re the reason her sister died in the first place. We might even be the reason why she never had a good relationship with Sybil when she was alive. Not to mention the fact that we’re the reason her parents are dead too. When you put all those things together, it seems like she ought to hate us.”
Faye shook her head. “But she doesn’t. I believe she thinks of us in a positive way. We’re the people who gave her a sense of belonging. A purpose in life. Perhaps it wouldn’t be too high-flown to say we revealed her destiny to her.”
Maddie scowled, unconvinced. “I wonder if Sybil would thank you for that. When she was alive, she moved heaven and earth to keep Cassie away from the Arkana.”
Faye tipped her head to one side, considering the idea. “I wasn’t the one who made Cassie a pythia. As for Sybil. She was the one who sent Cassie to us.”
Maddie leaned back in her chair and gazed at the stars. “It is kind of strange. That chain of events.”
“One might almost say it was Fate.” The corners of Faye’s mouth twitched slightly. “If one believed in such things.”
Another owl hooted from the top of the pergola. Its mate in the oak tree called back.
“You must have spent a lot of time with Cassie to know so much about her.”
“We met three times.”
“All of three times?” Maddie turned her head to stare at Faye appraisingly. “You see. That proves my point. It’s unnatural how much you know.”
“Just call me a keen judge of character.” Faye serenely finished the rest of her coffee. “One can’t have lived as many years as I have without honing one’s observational skills.”
“Oh, I don’t know about that,” Maddie disagreed. “There are millions of people in nursing homes who couldn’t tell you what they ate for breakfast. I think you’re fairly unique.”
“Then call it my special gift if you will. A certain economy of perception that frees up my time to pursue other interests.”
“Like baking?” Maddie teased. “You sure do seem to enjoy spending time in the kitchen.”
“Which reminds me. I just finished frosting a chocolate cake. Would you like to take some home with you?”
Chapter 16 – Re
ligious Inexperience
Daniel paused to catch his breath. The altitude was making him light-headed. They had been climbing up a steep dirt path well above the tree line of Mount Ida. The mountain was now known as Psiloritis, the tallest peak on the island of Crete. In the distance ahead of him, the trail ended at a gaping hole in a solid wall of rock.
His companion Nikos panted as he caught up with him. “We are here, Brother Scion. This is the cave they call Ideon Andron—the childhood home of the heathen god Zeus.”
The son of the diviner studied the landscape for a moment. He was surprised at the immense size of the cave entrance. It looked like a train tunnel. To complete the impression, iron tracks ran directly into the cave. Daniel wasn’t sure of their purpose. The gauge was too narrow for a regular train. That was a minor mystery and not one he was here to solve. His purpose this day was to find the first artifact—one of the Bones of the Mother.
As he and his companion trudged the remaining distance to the cave entrance, Daniel felt the gloom of his predicament settle over him. What was he doing here? Returning to this dusty, rock-strewn country brought back some very unpleasant memories. During his last visit to Crete, he had stood by and allowed three people to die. And for what? To carry out his father’s will. Since that time, he had disabused himself of the notion that God’s will and his father’s were one and the same.
So many things had changed in his world over the course of the past two months. He had seen more of the Fallen Lands than many of his brethren would experience in a lifetime. Though he could never tell his father this, the outside world didn’t seem to be an unpleasant sort of place at all. Not the Sodom and Gomorrah he had expected. Certainly, the women adorned themselves more. They painted their faces and wore bright clothing. Even the men wore jewelry. Golden watches and rings and necklaces. Aside from vanity, the Fallen didn’t display any obviously vicious or immoral behavior. They seemed, for the most part, friendly. Far less tense and worried than his own Nephilim brethren. Perhaps being damned carried certain advantages, he thought bitterly. There was no need to try. One who had no hope of entering the blessed kingdom could do as one pleased. For a single frightening second, he wished he was one of them. Then he smothered the thought. That idea was surely the devil’s doing.
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