‘You do realise we’ll need to go and see him. We will need to carry out a DNA test to confirm that he is indeed descended from the Palaiologos family. My ancestor Michael was the son of the last Emperor, so the Palaiologos blood runs in my family’s veins.’ Elli paused. ‘Giorgos have you made any progress with the identity of the woman’s body you found in Cappadocia?’
Giorgos shook his head. ‘Not yet. I’ve got no leads at all.’
‘Didn’t you find a tablet there as well?
‘Yes, under the body.’
‘Do you remember what it said?’
‘It was illegible. It was in a language with characters I have not seen before.’
‘Where is it now?’
‘It should be safe.’ Giorgos tried to sound reassuring.
Elli understood what Giorgos was telling her and was surprised, but could not say that she was not relieved and pleased with his sharp mind. ‘You managed to take it out of the country without permission?’
‘Well, that was not difficult. You did finance the expedition after all. Your brother Iraklios must have foreseen that such an involvement would be useful with that. He sent one of the Valchern Corporation’s private jets to get us out.’
‘So you brought it to Cyprus?’
‘No, we went straight back to Athens, the launching pad for the expedition. The rest of the team were from Greece. The sarcophagus and the tablet were taken to the Symitzis Museum vaults.’
‘That was quick thinking on your part. If you had not acted in the way you did the tablet would have been lost to us. Trying to retrieve it now and dealing with the Turkish authorities would have been a night-mare, and that would be assuming it had not been stolen or lost. Due to its value the Turkish authorities would simply not have let it go out of the country for any reason whatsoever.
‘Assuming they allowed the tablet to be studied and analysed, they would have insisted for such analysis to take place in Turkey. And there is no way we could have obtained it through underhand measures. Our influence does not extend that far. Giorgos, we need to get the tablet back from Athens and decipher it.
‘I want you to go to Athens and bring it back. You can use one of my private jets. I’ll arrange it. Pack your bag. You are leaving tonight. The jet will be waiting for you to bring you back as soon as you retrieve it. There is no time to waste. What’s on it is crucial.’
‘No problem. Of course, I’ll go.’
‘Good. Let’s adjourn for now. Come straight to see me as soon as you return to Cyprus. Good luck.’
Giorgos was back in Cyprus and sitting facing Elli within ten hours of their last encounter. He handed the tablet to Elli. Elli caressed it and felt its cool marble surface. A lot of craftsmanship had gone into its creation. She decided to try something. She concentrated and passed her fingers over the inscription.
She breathed a sigh of relief. It was written in the ancient Pallanian language that she could read with the special implant she had had inserted in her palm, an implant powered by a special fuel only she knew about.
Giorgos watched her with bated breath on the edge of his seat. When he saw the tension in her face starting to relax he felt relief washing over him together with the coursing of elation through his veins. He was dying to ask Elli what the inscription said, but did not want to interrupt her.
After a while she looked up, her eyes filled with tears. She had never seen Elli showing so much emotion before. She always saw her as this tough business-woman always in command of herself and everybody around her, always in perfect control of every situation, the rock that everybody, including her family, relied on, especially at times of confusion, distress or hardship. Words struggled to pass her lips, which quivered uncontrollably.
‘It is a very sad story. The woman in the tomb looks as if she is the abducted child’s mother. She died soon after as a result of her grief. Her restless soul is still roaming around us seeking her child and will not rest until she is reunited with her child. And she is grieving for her husband and father of the child too. She is looking for his body, his last resting place. The father’s soul is also not at peace and is looking for her. Only by bringing all three of them together will they rest in peace.
‘Giorgos, this is what we have to do, now more urgently than ever. That’s what it says here. It sounds similar to the passage Katerina and Aristo saw in Ayia Sophia on the second day.’
Giorgos had become very excited. His curiosity got the better of him. ‘Is there anything else?’
Elli stared at him amused and feigned shock at what she pretended to have been a thoughtless question. ‘One tragedy is not enough for you? You want more?’
Elli’s fake sarcasm went right over Giorgos’ head. ‘I’m sorry. But does it mention any names? The name of the father, perhaps, that of the mother?’
‘The mother, the woman in that tomb in Cappadocia, is Eleni Symitzis. The father is Konstantinos XI Palaiologos, last Emperor of Constantinople.’
Giorgos stared at Elli in disbelieving shock. ‘Eleni Symitzis? Your ancestor?’
‘It must be. A DNA test would settle that. There is enough material for a good DNA sample from the woman’s body in Cappadocia, is there not?
‘Yes, I believe so.’
‘I’ll give you a sample as well for comparison to confirm her identity.’ Elli paused. ‘Giorgos, I need to tell you about a recurring dream I’ve been having for a while now.’ She told him about her gruesome dream with the woman’s body in the tomb and the woman pleading and the child appearing and the screaming. ‘Do you see the similarity with my dream?’
‘Elli, how long have you had this dream for?’
‘A few months now.’
‘Elli, do you think it’s connected to the body we found in Cappadocia and the child?’
‘It must be. The dream must have been trying to tell me about this tragedy and what we have to do, but, even though I suspected that its recurrence should mean something important, I did not have enough real evidence till now to take it seriously, let alone to interpret it, to understand its meaning and piece it all together. And, Giorgos, we need to find the last Emperor’s tomb. We will need to compare DNA from the descendant in Crete, the body in Cappadocia and myself.’
‘What about DNA from the descendant?’
‘We can get a couple of hairs from him and some saliva.’
‘OK. Who’s going to Crete?’
Elli had already made up her mind on the next course of action. ‘I think Katerina would be the best person. It is more likely the man will open up to her than anybody else. I don’t think that even he would be able to resist her charm and air of innocence. I’ll speak to your sister. I’m going to send Aristo with her to protect her.’
‘You are not going to give her exactly that as the reason for Aristo going with her, will you? She won’t like it. She may think you don’t believe she’s capable to fend for herself and take care of herself.’
‘Of course not. It’s going to be for company, and also that two brains are better than one. But also we have to make her understand that we are in a dangerous game now with deadly and ruthless enemies and we should not be stupidly proud or deludingly complacent. I have no doubt she has enough common sense to see the sense in that.’ Elli paused. ‘Giorgos, your priority now is the location of the real tomb of the last Emperor and of course the real body of the last Emperor. You will not be alone in this. We will all help you with information obtained through the Book of the Pallanians and its tricky-to-interpret pages.’
CHAPTER 39
Ayia Galini, Southern Crete, Greece
Present day
The old man would give nothing away about who he was and where he had come from. He had always worked this barren land like his parents before him and his ancestors before then. But he had lived in a crazier world in what seemed like another lifetime now. He was trying to forget.
A rickety old car was descending along the narrow road dropping into what looked like a village set for a play
