Griffin inspected the spot, scraping the soil away from the face of the rock. There were dirt-filled carvings at its base. Another line of symbols from the key.
“Cassie, I could kiss you!” Griffin exclaimed.
“What about you?” she asked Erik archly.
“Don’t press your luck,” he said, though he was grinning when he said it. Looking around the hillside in the early morning light, he added, “Maybe we should translate this at the hotel. I don’t like the idea of hanging around here any longer than we have to.”
“Agreed,” Griffin said readily. “Just let me copy down these symbols, and we can be on our way.”
“Of course, you’ll have to move the flat rock back in place,” Cassie suggested sweetly.
The two men looked at her in bewilderment.
“Same logic applies, guys. You wanted to cover that hole in the dome in case Leroy and his sidekick came back. Do you really want to leave that rock over to the side, so they can see the line of code they’re missing?”
Griffin and Erik groaned, but neither one contradicted her.
For once Cassie got the last word.
Chapter 41 – In the Name of the Father
When Daniel and Leroy returned to Chicago, a car was waiting at the airport to bring them back to the compound. They were to be taken to see the diviner immediately. Daniel experienced nothing but dread at the thought of the interview. He felt as if he had aged several years during the week he had spent in Greece. In contrast, Hunt seemed elated, even jaunty, at the prospect of giving a full report.
As they approached the compound, the car paused briefly at the wrought-iron gates with their Chi-Ro cross insignia. In days gone by, Daniel had always felt a sense of relief every time he crossed that threshold. It had always meant that he was returning to a comforting and familiar world—a world in which right and wrong were clearly defined. Obedience meant salvation. Now his only emotion was dismay. The Fallen Lands had proven to be far less simple than he imagined them to be. Evil was not something that the compound gates could ward off.
The two men silently entered the main house and were escorted into Abraham Metcalf’s office. When they were announced, the old man was standing at the window, hands clasped behind his back. He turned to face them with a feverish look.
“Well?” he demanded without preamble. “What do you have to tell me?”
“Lots of things, boss,” Hunt drawled. “Depends on what you want to hear first.”
Metcalf had obviously exhausted his limited supply of patience waiting for them to arrive. Without further comment to Hunt, he turned his attention to Daniel. “What did you find?”
Whenever his father fixed him with that intense stare, Daniel found it hard not to stutter. He took a deep breath before commencing. “We found the coded message on a b… boulder in the mountains of Crete.”
“Excellent!” Metcalf gave a rare smile. “What did it say?”
Mechanically, Daniel recited, “You will find the first of five you seek, when the soul of the lady rises with the sun, at the home of the Mountain Mother.”
To Daniel’s surprise, his father didn’t fall into a fit over the cryptic message.
“Five, is it?” Metcalf mused to himself. “I had no idea they would be hidden separately.”
Without waiting to be invited, Leroy lowered himself into one of the visitor chairs in front of the old man’s desk. He fanned himself with his hat. Metcalf and Daniel remained standing.
Abraham continued, “No matter. We will recover them all. Since you were able to find the message, the Lord surely intervened on your behalf. It is a sign.”
“We had a little help,” interjected Hunt.
Metcalf’s bushy eyebrows shot up. He scowled at Leroy. “What do you mean? Speak plainly!”
Hunt wasn’t about to allow himself to be bullied. He looked up at his employer with a casual smile. “Well sir, we were havin’ a rough go of it in Greece when one of your local boys came across some other folks lookin’ for that same message.”
“What!” Metcalf thundered.
Daniel jumped slightly, struggling to resist the urge to flee the room.
Leroy continued unflustered. “Yup, like I said, one of your boys was out scoutin’ at some old ruin when he come across this other bunch. They was talkin’ about the granite key and what all else I can’t remember.”
“Who were they?” Metcalf leaned over Leroy’s chair.
“You’ll never guess,” Leroy said coyly.
“I don’t intend to,” Metcalf countered icily. “I repeat, who were they?”
“One of ‘em was the little sis of that antique lady.”
Metcalf drew himself up and folded his arms across his chest, trying to assimilate the information. “You mean her younger sister? But she was barely more than a child. What could she have to do with the matter?”
“A whole lot from the looks of things,” Leroy replied. “She had a couple of fellers helpin’ her out. Fact is, they got to the rock before we did.”
Daniel glanced nervously at his father. Metcalf’s complexion was turning a mottled shade of fuchsia.
“Daniel, explain to me how it is possible that an ignorant Fallen girl and her accomplices could have found the message before you did?” The tone of the question was unmistakably menacing.
While Daniel attempted to frame a response, Leroy interposed. “It don’t matter why they got there first, boss. We’re the ones who got the intel.” Leroy looked particularly pleased with himself. “No need to fuss about them folks. They met with a little accident.”
Daniel was appalled. Accident? He couldn’t shake the memory of Hunt taking aim against three innocent people, Fallen though they were. It was no accident.
“Explain yourself!” Metcalf barked.
“Well sir, it was like this.” Leroy warmed to his tale. “Your Nephilim boys on Crete told us these folks was searchin’ some mountain graveyard. I gotta say, your local crew sure knows the lay of the land in those parts. They mapped out a way for us to get to that
