Daniel’s eyes grew wide. He said nothing but looked up at his father in shock.
Abraham could feel the shadow of the outer world inching closer to his flock. Already it was corrupting the mind of his own son. He feared that in his zeal to unlock the secrets of the stone key, he had unlocked a portal for the devil to creep into this bastion of purity. He leaned forward over the table and sighed heavily. “Daniel, nothing has prepared you for dealing with these people. They are not like us. Their ways are treacherous, and you must remain on your guard.”
“Yes, of course, sir,” Daniel hastened to agree.
“Remember the task I have set you,” Abraham urged earnestly. “Ask only about ancient languages and nothing else, is that clear?”
“Absolutely. I am sorry, Father.” The young man bowed his head in submission. “I wasn’t thinking.”
The diviner became unnerved as a new thought struck him. “You didn’t tell this David why you wanted the information, did you?”
“Oh, no sir!” Daniel quickly reassured him. “I was very careful. I showed him photographs of the characters I wanted to translate. He didn’t ask me anything about them.”
The old man relaxed his stance. “Good. That’s good. Have you been able to establish anything at all yet?”
Daniel grew thoughtful. “Well, we are certain of all the things it isn’t. With David’s help, I’ve been able to rule out every ancient language including Egyptian and Sumerian, but that’s where the trouble begins. All the history books in his library say that the earliest written language is Sumerian cuneiform. These characters look nothing like that. They may, in fact, be older, and we’ve gone back as far as 3000 BCE.”
Abraham attempted to conceal his dismay. “My son, I don’t think I need to remind you how important it is that you solve this puzzle for me.”
Daniel stared at the tabletop, afraid to meet his gaze. “No, Father. I know. I would hate to disappoint you.”
Abraham gave a humorless laugh. “It isn’t me you would be disappointing, Daniel. It’s God. This has all been set down in prophecy for nearly a century now. You will find the answer I seek, or I fear the Lord will be mightily displeased with both of us.”
***
Daniel listened to his father’s footsteps retreat out of the library. He swallowed hard. He remembered Annabeth’s terror of damnation. Suddenly, her dread didn’t seem so ridiculous anymore.
Chapter 22 – In Security
Cassie knew that déjà vu meant you had the feeling you’d already done something once before. She wondered if there was a French expression for something you’d already done twice before. Deja deux? She shrugged and knocked at the front door of the schoolhouse.
This time there was no Griffin popping out to greet her. The door opened slowly to reveal a young man in his mid-twenties with shaggy blond hair. Cassie decided that he was much too good-looking, and since he probably owned a mirror, he already knew that. She tried not to stare.
“Come on in,” he said laconically. “I’m Erik.”
“I’m C—”
He cut her off. “Yeah, I know. This way.” He turned his back and started walking, assuming she would follow.
Cassie stood in the doorway, shocked by his rudeness. Who did he think he was? She wasn’t sure whether to fall in line or turn around and go home. Finally, curiosity won out over resentment, and she hurried to catch up.
He was already at the hidden elevator door, swiping his key card.
She peered at his profile for a few seconds until recognition dawned. “You’re the guy from my sister’s apartment, aren’t you?”
“Yeah, that was me.”
The elevator doors opened, and they entered.
“Why were you there? Were you following me?”
Erik punched in his code, and the elevator descended to the vault level. “Faye wanted me to keep an eye on you. We weren’t sure if the guy who went after Sybil would go after you next.”
“What does that make you? My secret bodyguard?”
He shrugged. “I guess you could call me that.”
Cassie had known Erik for less than five minutes, and she already disliked him intensely. His good looks were only exceeded by his bad manners. “Are you always this charming?” she asked pointedly.
He looked down at her impassively and then gave an infuriating grin. He had perfect teeth too. Dislike was rapidly turning to loathing.
The doors opened, and Cassie found herself once more in the Central Catalog. Several people looked up from their work as the pair entered. They waved at her cheerily.
Erik jerked his head to the left. “This way.” He once again turned his back, expecting her to trail along.
She complied but made a mental note to complain to Faye about him the next time she saw her.
Erik walked through the door marked “Security Division.” The interior was a large space carved up into office cubicles which were staffed by about twenty people. Some were staring at security monitors. Others were working at computers. Still others were reviewing paperwork. In contrast to the scribes outside, nobody looked up when they entered.
Her guide didn’t bother to introduce Cassie to anyone. “Over here,” he said offhandedly.
She followed him into one of the offices against the back wall. There was no lettering on the door. Inside was a desk, computer, phone, and printer. Stacks of paper were piled on filing cabinets and scattered around on the floor. Half a dozen paper coffee cups were parked haphazardly on top of the cabinets. A greasy paper plate with a stale, half-eaten piece of pizza sat on the desk. Because of the mess, Cassie immediately concluded this must be Erik’s office.
“Nice digs,” she observed sarcastically. “Do you do your own housekeeping?”
He shrugged. “Neat is for wusses.” Picking up a stack of papers that had been parked on a chair, he dropped it unceremoniously on the floor. “Have a seat.”
“Great filing system too,” she added.
He threw himself into the swivel chair behind the desk. “I hate reports.”
“I would
