“Don't get too cozy,” Maddie cautioned. “You're gonna hit the road again pretty soon.”
At that moment, Faye shuffled over bearing a plate of homemade biscuits. She set them down and took the chair at the head of the table. “Maddie, let them enjoy one more day to relax,” she remonstrated gently.
“I'd say they've had plenty of rest,” the operations director grumped one last time before grinding out her cigarette and reaching for a drumstick.
Following her lead, the others dove into the feast laid out before them.
Faye smiled benevolently on them all as she passed around platters of fried chicken, corn on the cob, and cole slaw.
Griffin handed the memory guardian a tumbler of iced tea. “It's rather an interesting coincidence that we're launching our endeavor on your American holiday of Labor Day.”
“Labor Day,” Cassie echoed. “That’s always meant it was time for me to go back to school.”
“Yeah,” Erik added. “Except that now you’re enrolled in the school of hard knocks.”
“Our Nephilim foes certainly haven't made it easy for us,” Griffin concurred. Turning to Maddie, he asked, “Have you heard any news about our adversaries while we've been away?”
The operations director stopped gnawing on an ear of corn to consider. “It’s been tough getting any kind of information from inside the compound lately. Monitoring Leroy Hunt’s calls was our best source for crazy cult news, but it seems like they put him on furlough ever since that last relic was brought back.”
“There's no need for haste,” Griffin reminded her. “The clues indicate we won't be able to find the location of the next artifact for another six months.”
“But the Nephilim probably don't know that,” Erik corrected. “No matter how good their resident expert Daniel is, I'd be really surprised if he cracked that line of code before you do. If anything, he’s going to ignore it, and they’ll be on the road before we are.”
“It might be a good idea to get our act together soon,” Cassie agreed. “I mean, if we wait too long, they could stumble across the right spot ahead of us. Then what? They think we're all dead.”
“Let's recap what we know thus far,” Faye suggested helpfully. “Could one of you remind me of the riddle that's to lead to our next artifact?”
In unison, the trio of relic hunters recited: “Let Eurus fill the sails twelve days, then follow Eberos where it climbs to the sky. Set your course three bees from the dragon’s wing to the sea. When the bull turns the season, mark where the goat grazes the spinner’s peak. There lies the second of five you seek.”
Startled by their ready response, Faye said, “Oh, my.”
“Been thinking about that riddle much?” Maddie asked archly.
“Not just thinking about it, dreaming about it,” Cassie said ruefully.
“We all have, toots,” Erik concurred. “It’s been nagging at us because we still don’t know what the hell any of it means.” He turned to the Brit. “Griffin?”
“Sorry to disappoint but nothing occurs to me as yet. All we know with any certainty is that the bull is a reference to the vernal equinox, hence my observation that we won’t be able to find the relic until the beginning of spring. I also believe I made a slight error in translating the phrase ‘three bees.’ It should be ‘four bees’ actually. As for the rest of it, I’ll have to immerse myself in research for a while.”
“Great. Until Griffin has one of his usual brainstorms, that means we’re left twiddling our thumbs,” said Erik.
“Your thumbs will be busy sorting through the stack of paperwork that’s been piling up on your desk,” Maddie told him.
“Oh, yeah. I forgot about that.”
“I have another idea for a way to keep Erik busy while our Chief scrivener is hitting the books,” Cassie offered.
Erik turned to regard her suspiciously. “You do, do you?”
“Yup,” the pythia answered. “You need to train me.”
“In what?” he demanded.
“Self-defense.”
The security coordinator laughed. “Considering how you slammed that Turkish thief on our last junket, I’d say you know plenty about how to defend yourself.”
“No, I mean real self-defense,” Cassie insisted. “Like what’s the quickest way to knock somebody out cold. Where’s the best place to shoot somebody to do maximum damage without killing them.”
Erik stared open-mouthed at the pythia.
The others laughed at his shocked reaction.
“Our pythia has a point,” Maddie agreed. “Cassie should be able to defend herself in case of trouble.”
“You never made me train Sybil when she was the pythia,” Erik objected.
“That’s because nobody was trying to kill Sibyl every time she went on a field mission,” Maddie countered. “Being pythia was always a risky occupation, but mortal danger wasn’t part of the job description until Cassie came along.”
“Lucky, lucky me,” the pythia murmured.
“I still don’t—”
Maddie cut him off. “Being in mortal danger is now part of her job description. You know what’s in your job description? As security coordinator for the pythia, you’re supposed to keep her safe. That includes teaching her how to keep herself safe, too.”
Erik held up his hands in a gesture of surrender. “OK, I give.”
While the others were debating, Faye had slipped from the table and gone into the house. She now returned bearing an apple pie in her hands.
“Dessert, anyone?” she asked sweetly.
The nefarious schemes of the Blessed Nephilim and the unsolved riddle of the Bones of the Mother flew out of everyone’s heads at the mention of pie.
Chapter 3 – The Wait Staff
Dr. Rafi Aboud, impeccably dressed in a twelve-hundred-dollar suit, stood in the middle of what had once been a cornfield. Beside him lay a large mound of dirt, an idle backhoe, and a gaping hole in the ground. He regarded his surroundings with deep exasperation. Glancing at his Rolex, the exasperation turned to impatience. He was waiting to meet his benefactor and had been waiting for twenty minutes in this desolate spot. He was on the point of storming off to confront the man at his compound when the doctor saw a dust
