The question caught him off-guard. Abraham paused for several seconds before framing a reply. “Because…because… he wishes to destroy our community from within, that’s why! By sowing the seeds of error among the people.”
“Oh.” She didn’t seem entirely convinced by his explanation.
Her obstinacy angered him. He raised his arm and pointed at the door. “Now go to your quarters and pray. Pray that God will cast out the demon who has tricked you. Go!”
She jumped off the bed and pelted from the room without another word.
Abraham sat down heavily. This was worse than he had expected. It was enough of a trial that the Nephilim were assailed every day by the Fallen World outside their gates. But this? The greatest threat to his congregation now was the cancer springing up within its own ranks. Satan had found the perfect means to undermine Abraham’s authority. Destroy the credibility of the scion. And the Evil One had chosen as his instrument this naïve child whose memory could be easily manipulated. The diviner was determined that the devil would not succeed. He would take steps to subdue the forces of hell. This delusion would spread no farther.
Chapter 18 – Ida Ho!
Cassie ventured out onto the wooden balcony of her hotel room. She took a deep breath of clear mountain air. It was shortly after sunrise, and everything felt fresh and very still. She was surprised by how piney this mountain was. She wasn’t sure what she’d expected, but the waterfalls and jagged rock formations had surprised her. Except for the elevation and the fact that nobody was speaking English, she might have been staying at a lodge in Yosemite. They were, in fact, registered at a boutique hotel halfway up the slopes of Mount Ida or, as it was now called, Kaz Daglari.
The mountain ran all the way down to the Gulf of Edremit. That’s where they’d started their journey the day before. Fred had arranged everything, acting as both tour guide and chauffeur. They’d left the concrete jumble of vacation homes lining the shore and headed upland. The foothills of the mountain were dotted with farms and miles of olive groves. They’d passed through a number of small villages that couldn’t be described as anything but quaint or maybe even charming. Tiny hamlets of old stone houses, cobbled streets and village squares complete with bubbling fountains. The higher they ascended, the fewer the villages. Farms and olive groves gave way to pine forests, rushing rivers and cooler temperatures. Just when Cassie was sure they’d left civilization behind for good, they arrived at their destination. A four-star hotel complete with Olympic-sized swimming pool and gourmet cuisine. They gratefully piled out of the car to check in and get a good night’s sleep. They would need it before tackling the summit of Gargarus which rose a mile above sea level.
Cassie took another deep breath of mountain air. A good night’s sleep had certainly done wonders. She felt rested and ready to find the fabled calendar stones. She wondered what they would look like. Just then, her reverie was punctured by the blast of a car horn. Looking down into the hotel courtyard, she saw Fred waving at her. He was standing up in the driver seat of an open Jeep.
“Hello there, sleepyhead. Are you and your team just about ready?”
“Two minutes,” she called. Sliding the patio door shut, she hastily left her room and sped down to the lobby.
Eric and Griffin were already waiting for her. Griffin appeared restless, alert. Cassie knew him well enough by now to recognize his inner relic hound. He was on the scent of something. It reminded her of a beagle just before a fox hunt. At least he wasn’t barking.
“Down boy.” She patted him on the arm.
“What?” he looked at her quizzically.
Eric gave a subdued chuckle. Apparently, he had noted the resemblance too. “Time to get this show on the road.”
The trio emerged into the brightening day and climbed into the four-wheeler Fred had rented for their trek.
“A few roads crisscross the top of the mountain,” their guide explained, “but the place I’m taking you is pretty far from any of them. Hang on. Some of these trails can get awfully bumpy.”
Cassie gripped the roll bar above her head as the Jeep jolted to life. Once again, Eric was seated up forward with Fred while Griffin was doing the best he could to keep all his gangly limbs inside the back seat.
“Now this is more like it,” Cassie said to the scrivener appreciatively, savoring the feeling of adventure.
“More like what?” he asked testily. “Trundling over boulders in a sardine tin?”
“You’re really not a morning person, are you?” she teased.
He relented a bit and smiled back. “It is exciting, isn’t it? By the end of today, we may be holding the first relic in our hands.”
The pythia nodded in agreement. “That would be something.”
The Jeep lurched and bounced over rocky trails, cut across fast-moving streams and wove its way through dense thickets of pine. The terrain was too uncertain to allow them to travel at high speed. Cassie settled in for a long ride.
“You know this mountain is one of the most famous landmarks in the classical world,” Griffin began. “It’s mentioned no less than forty times in the Iliad.”
Anticipating a history lesson, Cassie cut him off. “Yeah, I know. The Trojan War and all that.”
Griffin gaped at her in amazement. “You actually know something about Troy?”
Cassie glanced at his puzzled face and grimaced. “Close your mouth. You don’t have to act so surprised. I occasionally know facts too. The Iliad was the last thing we covered in my ancient lit class before I left school. Let’s see if I remember the story.” She gave him a sidelong glance. “I just know you’ll correct me if I’m wrong.”
“Have at it,”
