Cassie gave an odd little laugh.
The men beamed their flashlights at her.
“I expect she’s gone mad,” Griffin murmured wryly. “A latent case of claustrophobia, no doubt.”
The pythia rolled her eyes at the scrivener. “You know I’m not crazy. I stopped here for a reason. It’s almost like something anchored my feet to this spot.” She turned her torch to a section of wall about seven feet above the ground. “And look what I found.”
“The lily!” Griffin cried.
Carved into the stone above them was the familiar lily symbol.
“The artifact must be nearby. Look around on the ground,” Griffin instructed excitedly.
Flashlight beams bounced in every direction as the four of them scoured the walls and floor for any evidence of chisel marks or other tampering.
After several minutes of fruitless searching, they regarded one another with dismay.
“It’s solid stone,” Erik said.
“The cave in Spain had a gravel floor,” Cassie added. “This is nothing but sheets of rock. The walls are too.”
“Nothing has been scraped away,” John remarked. “Other than the lily carving, this cave appears untouched—as it must have been since the beginning of time.”
Cassie narrowed her gaze. Pointing her flashlight at the lily symbol, she studied it. “This is new,” she remarked. “The lily is upside down. The stem is on top, and the flower is on the bottom.”
“You’re right,” Griffin agreed with wonder in his voice. “In every other instance we’ve seen so far, the flower is upright. Logically, one would assume if the flower is pointing downward, then we’re meant to look at something on the ground. But what?”
They mechanically searched the area underfoot one more time.
“No dice,” Erik finally said.
“I’ve got an idea,” the pythia said. “Erik, grab hold of me.”
“Sure,” he agreed willingly. Then pausing, it occurred to him to ask, “Um, why?”
“Because I need you to hoist me up, so I can reach the lily symbol. Maybe I can channel something if I touch it.”
“Oh, right.” He belatedly understood.
The minute his hands gripped her waist, Cassie realized what a bad idea this was. Her senses were riveted by his nearness when all her attention should have been focused on finding the relic.
Erik grinned at her rakishly. “Best idea you’ve had all day.”
She sternly reminded herself that she was still on the clock. Out of the corner of her eye, Cassie noticed that Griffin had turned his back, intent on studying something on the ground. Placing her hands on Erik’s shoulders to steady herself, she said, “I’m ready.”
“Alley oop!” he hoisted her up until she could place one palm flat on the lily symbol. Then the next thing she remembered was her body going limp as it slumped over Erik’s shoulder.
The Minoan priestess stood against the opposite wall. She was conversing with two hooded confederates. Cassie’s consciousness had lodged in a man who was positioned in very nearly the same spot as she had been before she lost consciousness. He was balancing himself on some kind of makeshift ladder. But he didn’t have a chisel or hammer in his hands, and he wasn’t sculpting the lily. He was doing something else entirely.
Cassie jerked back into wakefulness. By now she was seated on the floor with her back propped against the cavern wall. The other three were crouched around her.
John was staring at her with alarm. Obviously, he’d never been treated to the sight of a pythia in trance mode before. “Are you... are you alright?”
“That was a quick trip,” Erik commented in surprise.
“What did you see?” Griffin urged.
Cassie chuckled wordlessly for several seconds.
“There it is again,” the scrivener murmured. “Laughter for no reason is a sign of incipient madness.”
“You’re a riot,” Cassie murmured, sitting up straight. “Down is up.”
Griffin scowled at her. “You do realize that you’re not building a convincing case for your sanity.”
“Down is up,” she repeated pointedly. “Think about it. The floor of this cave is solid rock. Anything someone tries to hide here wouldn’t be very well hidden. Chisel marks would show, not to mention that any fake covering over the artifact wouldn’t blend at all.”
“I see your point,” the scrivener relented.
Cassie turned her eyes upward.
Following her gaze, the scrivener glanced at the roof of the cave. “Oh, I see!”
“Took you long enough,” she joked, clambering to her feet. “In my vision, I saw one of the Minoans hiding something above our heads. I think they carved the lily symbol downwards as a coded way of telling us that things are upside down here. Not where we’re used to finding them.”
“You mean in the ground,” Erik commented.
“Right. Down-facing lily means don’t look down. Look up. Griffin, give me a boost,” she commanded unexpectedly.
“Why him and not me?” Erik asked, sounding offended.
“Because he’s the tallest of the four of us. I don’t think I can reach the ceiling if you hoist me up there.”
“So, let him boost me up. I’m taller than you,” the paladin insisted.
“But you aren’t lighter,” Cassie countered. “I might have to be up there a while.”
“She’s quite right,” Griffin agreed. He seemed oddly pleased that she’d chosen him. “Where would you like to start?”
Cassie paused to consider. “In my vision, the Minoan was standing on a ladder about here.” She stepped a foot to the left of the lily symbol and looked up. “I can’t tell anything from this distance. John, could you point a flashlight at the ceiling once I get up there?”
“Yes, of course,” their guide hastened to agree.
Erik picked up his torch as well.
The two men stood to the side while Griffin positioned himself with his back to the wall. He locked his fingers together to create a foothold for Cassie.
“Here we go,” she said.
The scrivener boosted her up high enough, so she could plant one knee on his shoulder while he held her other foot cupped between his hands. She leaned against the wall for support.
At this height, her face was about a foot below the ceiling of the cave with the beams of two flashlights revealing every nook and cranny
