“Things stayed that way for a long time until England expanded its empire to India, Africa, and the rest of the world. And the Arkana expanded too. We reached out to include other cultures whose origin myths turned out to be a lot like our own.”
She leaned back further and looked at the ceiling, deep in thought. “We kept our headquarters in Britain until things got a little dicey during the Second World War. When the Germans started bombing England, nobody thought Europe was a safe place to keep headquarters anymore. Even though America joined the war, it wasn’t being invaded, so we moved the vault here during the 1940s.”
“Why not New York or LA?”
“Because Illinois is right in the middle. Easy to fly to either coast if you have to, and it’s not going to be the first target in an invasion. Remember who got hit on September 11th?”
“I see your point. You’ve got centuries’ worth of valuables collected. But why are you hiding all of it and hiding yourselves? Isn’t it about time you went public and set the record straight?”
Maddie seemed uncharacteristically silent. She looked down at the coffee table before replying. “That may be your best question yet, kiddo.” She sighed. “Every generation or so we rehash the issue about whether the time is right.” She made air quotes around the last four words. “Even though the world isn’t changing fast enough to suit me, it is heading in the right direction. For now though, there are still loads of people out there who would be scared out of their wits by our version of history. And it’s the kind of scared that leads to killing. They would try to eradicate us and destroy everything we’ve recovered.” She shook her head. “No, it isn’t quite time yet for us to take center stage and brag about our finds.”
Both of them remained bleakly quiet for several moments, contemplating how traditional minds might react to the Arkana. Then a new thought occurred to Cassie. “I haven’t seen much of it yet, but if this is a global operation, how do you afford it? I mean, who pays for everything?”
“I do,” Maddie replied grimly. “I keep this merry little ship of fools afloat.”
The girl looked at her blankly, and she relented. “Forget that part. That’s just me feeling pinched when I have to sign checks. I hate letting go of money. That’s why they put me in charge of it.” She grinned. “Truth is, we have hefty cash reserves. Sometimes we come across artifacts that don’t interest us but are worth a fortune to collectors. We sell them on the private market or to museums. It’s enough to fund our operations and then some.”
Maddie reached for her lighter again. “Sorry,” she said, a cigarette dangling between her lips. “Can’t help myself. If I didn’t smoke, I’d be three hundred pounds by now.”
Cassie’s brain was beginning to feel overloaded with too many new facts. She didn’t want to ask about anything else that required a major explanation, so she settled for something small. “One last thing. When I came in, I noticed a huge round table in the middle of the schoolroom downstairs. Griffin didn’t really explain what it was for.”
“That’s for meetings of the Concordance.”
“An answer that leads to another question,” she thought to herself ruefully. “And what is a Concordance exactly?”
“It’s the governing council for the whole global enchilada. Sort of like the United Nations except that we actually get stuff done.”
“I counted thirty chairs. That’s a lot of people. Isn’t it a free-for-all if everybody starts talking at once?”
“Thirty is only a fraction of the people involved. The wall seating is for the rest. As for a free-for-all, Faye keeps things moving.”
“What’s her title?”
Maddie chuckled. “She’s the glue that holds everything together. The lynchpin of the entire operation.”
Cassie waited silently.
“Oh, all right. If you insist on being so serious, her official title is the Memory Guardian. We think of ourselves as a collective. We don’t like the idea of somebody at the top barking orders, but if the Arkana had a leader, Faye would be that person.”
“Who appointed her?”
“The memory guardian gets elected by the rest of the Concordance.”
“And how long does she keep the job?”
Maddie shrugged. “Until she decides to retire or if she loses the confidence of the Concordance, and they vote her out. I really don’t see that happening. Everybody loves her.” She was about to elaborate when she noticed the look on Cassie’s face. “Are you all right, kiddo?”
The girl rubbed her temples. “I’m starting to get a headache. If I tilt my head, I think some of this new info will leak out of my ears. Can we stop now?”
The older woman laughed. “You think this was bad, wait until Griffin gets started.” She hesitated for a moment, weighing her next words. “Before you leave, I’ve got a question of my own to ask.”
Maddie reached out for the paper on the coffee table and turned it over. A sketch of a man’s face stared up at the two women. “Is this your guy? Faye said you saw what he looked like when you dreamed about Sybil’s death.”
Cassie felt the breath catch in her throat. It was the cowboy, or almost. “How did you figure out what he looked like?”
“Erik caught a glimpse of him when he followed him out of the apartment.”
“Oh, so his name is Erik. He never exactly introduced himself.”
“He’s part of the security team here. You’ll meet him another time.” She picked up the page and handed it to Cassie. “Did we miss anything?”
Cassie recoiled for a second before taking the paper. She studied it briefly. “In my dream…” she began hesitantly. “When I saw him in my dream, his eyes were narrower. Light colored and kind of mean. He took his hat
