The scrivener avoided her gaze. “I thought it best to chat about the matter once we were all together. It was hardly something we could discuss over the telephone.”
“Why don’t you begin at the beginning?” Faye suggested.
They all started talking at once until she held up her hands for silence.
“One at a time, please. My hearing isn’t what it used to be. Cassie, dear, why don’t you start.”
The pythia didn’t need much encouragement to regale Faye with her impressions of Knossos and the Cretan trove even though neither location turned up any key symbols.
Griffin took over to describe their trip to Psychro Cave.
“Psycho.” Cassie chuckled.
Her male companions groaned in unison.
“You think she’s ever gonna get tired of that?” Erik asked bleakly.
Griffin shrugged. “In a decade or two she may give it up.”
Faye eyed them all closely. Her lips curved into a subtle smile. She obviously concluded that the three had worked out their issues during the course of their adventure.
Griffin proceeded to talk about the tombs at Karfi and Cassie’s role in discovering the key symbols on the boulder.
Erik recounted their narrow escape from Leroy Hunt.
The memory guardian seemed troubled by this part of the tale. “I am so sorry you three were subjected to such an experience.” She sighed. “The Nephilim’s ambition to possess these relics seems limitless. I only wish I knew why.”
“It must be pretty important because they sent one of their leader’s kids on the mission,” Cassie said.
“Really?”
“We never got to see his face, but the cowboy called him Daniel. Kind of a wimp, but it didn’t seem like he wanted to hurt us. Hunt threatened to report him to his father if he didn’t cooperate.”
“One of the diviner’s own sons,” Faye mused. “This relic quest certainly has top priority. They generally don’t allow their young people to mix with the outer world at all. The diviner must want the Bones of the Mother very badly indeed.”
She furrowed her brow, pondering the situation, but didn’t seem prepared to offer a theory. “No doubt an answer will emerge in time,” she mused. Shaking off the problem, she brightened. “What happened next?”
Cassie picked up the narrative with their discovery of the hidden line of code.
“What was the translation?”
“We don’t know,” the pythia replied irritably.
“Griffin wouldn’t tell us,” the security coordinator clarified. “The minute he got done with his secret decoder ring, he said we had to come back here and talk to you about it.”
“I thought it was something that needed to be discussed by the whole group,” the scrivener hedged defensively. “Faye’s input will be instrumental in deciding what to do next.”
“That sounds ominous,” the old woman observed.
“It isn’t really. In fact, it’s quite amusing.” Griffin chuckled.
“Then let us in on the joke!” Cassie could barely suppress the urge to shake him.
“Very well. As I said earlier, the translation of the first three lines of symbols is: ‘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.’ While we aren’t sure of the meaning of the second line yet, we do know the term Mountain Mother refers to the peak sanctuary of the goddess on Mount Ida.”
“And we know that particular mountain is on Crete,” Cassie added helpfully.
“It would be reasonable for one to reach that conclusion,” Griffin remarked slyly.
“OK, there’s something else you aren’t saying,” the pythia challenged.
“Oh, a great deal, I assure you.” The scrivener was reveling in the suspense he’d created.
“So, spill already!” Erik cried in annoyance.
Faye’s lips twitched in amusement. Cassie suspected she was already five steps ahead of them and had probably guessed the part of the puzzle that Griffin was withholding.
“Why don’t you just give us the translation of the final line of code, dear,” the old woman prompted. “The suspense is killing your colleagues.”
“Yes, I imagine I’ve tortured them enough. But it was just too good—”
“Griffin, I swear to goddess!” Erik threatened.
“Yes, yes, all right,” the scrivener conceded. “The fourth line is: Where flows the River Skamandros.”
“What?” Cassie asked blankly.
“This is the full translation of the code: 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, where flows the River Skamandros.”
“Ah!” Faye nodded appreciatively.
“Glad you two get it,” Cassie said bitterly. “Want to explain it to the mythologically-challenged over in this corner?”
Griffin beamed. “It’s brilliant actually! As you know, there is a Mount Ida on Crete where the Mountain Mother has a shrine.” He paused for effect. “But that isn’t where the relic is.”
Cassie and Erik both sat forward.
Faye continued the explanation. “The River Skamandros isn’t on the island of Crete.” She turned to Erik. “Perhaps you’ll remember it from the Illiad as the Skamander River?”
“But that means it’s in Turkey!” he exclaimed.
“In Turkey! But what about the Mountain Mother business and Mount Ida?” Cassie asked.
“That’s the brilliant bit,” Griffin said. “There are actually two Mount Idas. One is on Crete, the other in Turkey. The Skamander River flows from Mount Ida in Turkey.”
“And the Mountain Mother?” Cassie was still puzzled.
“That name also refers to Cybele, the great goddess of ancient Anatolia—modern day Turkey.”
Erik looked thunderstruck. “Holy sh—”
“Language, dear,” Faye corrected him gently.
He looked at Griffin, then turned to Cassie excitedly. “They won’t have a clue that they’re looking for the relic in the wrong damn country!”
The pythia laughed jubilantly. “They could be at it for months before they figure out their mistake! If they ever figure it out at all!”
“Precisely,” Griffin agreed, still beaming. He shifted his attention to Faye. “I believe there’s a way we can take advantage of this misdirection. It can do far more for us than give us a good head start. That’s why I wanted to wait until we could speak to you before taking any further action.”
“What do you have in mind, dear?”
Griffin sat forward. “When we started on this
