If that weren’t enough, he also had to deal with the new problem of Annabeth’s sexual appetite. Once he’d opened that particular floodgate, there appeared to be no way to shut it off. If he missed even a single night in her chamber, she sulked. He feared that repeated disappointment might result in a vindictive desire to punish him by spreading gossip about Hannah and her language lessons. The scion needed an excuse to distance himself from his wife, and the excuse had to be unassailable. There was only one legitimate pretext available to him—the relic hunt.
He glanced at his father. The old man continued to stare at him, waiting for an explanation. Daniel launched into his well-rehearsed story. “I’ve discovered an obscure reference to the east wind in the riddle, but I need to go back to Crete to unravel it further.” At least the first part of his statement was true. He had solved the reference to Eurus but had no idea what to do with that bit of information just yet. He didn’t know if returning to Crete would be helpful or not in solving the riddle—only that the trip would be helpful to him personally.
“Well, if that’s what you need to do,” Abraham offered nebulously.
“Oh, and Father,” Daniel added as a seeming afterthought. “There’s no need to involve Mr. Hunt quite yet.”
The diviner nodded in agreement. “I’m glad to hear it. As it is, I can’t spare him at the moment. I’ve directed him to take charge of the search for Hannah.”
A chill ran down Daniel’s spine at this news. On the one hand, he was overjoyed not to have the cowboy dogging his heels. On the other, he dreaded Hunt’s involvement in the search to retrieve the girl. Although the scion held a low opinion of the mercenary’s general intelligence, the man was very good at his job. While the Nephilim sentries could be counted on to bungle the search, Hunt knew the Fallen Lands and very likely knew where to look. Perhaps Hannah’s instinct to burrow further underground had been right after all.
“I’ll send for him when I have a definite trail to follow,” Daniel said reassuringly.
“Yes, yes, of course.” Abraham rose to terminate the interview. “Do what you must.” He drifted back to the prie-dieu and left Daniel to add this new source of worry to the collection already churning in the pit of his stomach.
Chapter 15 – The Dating Game
The morning after Cassie deposited Hannah at Faye’s house, she was speeding through the countryside en route to the vault. Griffin had called her the night before to say there would be a team meeting in one of the upstairs conference rooms. Closed-mouthed as ever when it came to revealing information beforehand, he refused to say what the gathering was about. Cassie glanced at her watch. They were supposed to assemble at 10:30. Since she already had a reputation for being late, she hastily parked her car, ran through the old schoolhouse and up the back stairs with two minutes to spare before the appointed time.
“Hah!” she said triumphantly as she rounded the corner and saw her colleagues seated at a conference table. “Made it before the bell.”
“You’re still the last one here, toots,” Erik observed.
Cassie did a double-take when she noticed Griffin connecting his computer to a large flat screen monitor at the front of the room. “What’s going on?”
“He said one picture is worth a thousand words,” Maddie replied enigmatically. “And that’s all he said.”
“Isn’t Faye going to be here?”
“Nope,” the operations director answered. “Our fearless leader told me to act as referee in case you two started scrapping.” She cast a warning glance toward the security coordinator.
“On my best behavior, chief.” Erik held up a hand. “Scout’s honor.”
Cassie spied a carafe of coffee on a side table and eagerly poured herself a cup. “I didn’t get a chance to stop for java this morning,” she explained, taking a seat across from the others. Pointedly, she added, “You know how long the drive is from the city. On top of that, I hit rush hour on the outbound expressway.”
“Rush hour, really? That’s the excuse du jour?” Erik quipped.
“Dude, you do not want to get into it with me before I’ve had coffee.” Cassie glared at him. “Remember last Thursday? How’s that bruise on your ribs healing?”
Her words had a surprising effect on Erik. He blanched. “I should’ve known better than to teach you a roundhouse kick.”
Griffin chuckled softly. “‘Oh, when she’s angry, she is keen and shrewd! She was a vixen when she went to school. And though she be but little, she is fierce.’”
“Shakespeare?” Cassie guessed.
“Yes,” the scrivener replied. “From A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The quote seemed unusually a propos.”
“Are we gonna get started or what?” Erik grumbled irritably, eager to move away from the topic of Cassie’s newly-acquired combat skills.
“Right then.” Griffin cleared his throat. “I suppose you’re wondering what this is all about.”
“Since you told us zip, yeah, we are,” Maddie drawled.
“I may have found a starting point for the next stage of our relic quest.” He paused for effect. “Malta.”
“Malta?” Cassie repeated uncertainly. Her other two companions remained silent. She inferred this meant that all three of them were equally in the dark.
The scrivener gave a knowing smile. “As I expected. None of you has a particularly strong knowledge of the area, hence the visual aid.” He rose to dim the overhead lights then returned to his seat and tapped a few keys on his
