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 – Religious 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,
