Griffin glanced up briefly from the volume he was perusing. “Yes, it’s the closed door at the far end of the second floor. She rarely uses it.”
Cassie nodded. “OK, then. See you upstairs in a bit.”
***
Fifteen minutes later the key members of the Arkana were assembled in Faye’s office waiting for Griffin.
The space was cozy, as Cassie imagined it would be if it belonged to Faye. A lacquered chinoiserie desk sat in the front window which overlooked the lawn. There were antique bookcases lining the walls, and one corner of the room was reserved for guests. A leather sofa and loveseats were arranged in a horseshoe around a coffee table set with a silver tea service. Cassie wasn’t sure who had bustled up to brew tea, but Faye was already playing hostess and handing out cups of the steaming beverage.
Maddie refused the refreshment. She sat with her arms folded, clearly in a grumpy mood. “You’d think Griffin could be on time.”
“What’s the matter? Did we pry you out of the chimney too soon?” teased Erik.
He was referring to the bell tower that Maddie had commandeered as a smoking lounge.
“How’d you guess?” Maddie asked, chewing on the end of an unlit cigarette in an effort to calm herself down.
“Let’s just wait a few more minutes for him before I begin,” Faye said. She sat perched demurely on the edge of the couch, sipping her tea. The quintessential grandmother in her flowered dress and cardigan, a little pillbox hat balanced on her head.
Cassie was secretly amused by Faye’s appearance. Like the schoolhouse itself, she was far less bland than she seemed to be.
At that moment, Griffin came skidding through the door, a pile of papers under his arm, and breathlessly took a seat next to Erik. “Very sorry I’m late,” he offered apologetically.
“You ought to be,” muttered Maddie.
“I’m sure you’re all wondering what this is about.” Faye handed Griffin a cup of tea. She looked mildly distressed as she gazed from one quizzical face to another. “I’m afraid we must speed up our timeframe a bit.”
Her listeners still appeared confused, so she elaborated. “Ever since you returned from Crete, I’ve taken the precaution of keeping close tabs on our adversaries.”
Eric raised his eyebrows in surprise. “I don’t see how you managed that. I couldn’t sneeze within twenty feet of the Nephilim compound without somebody seeing me.”
“Quite right.” The memory guardian nodded. “Fortunately, there is a weak link in their chain mail. Mr. Hunt is not of the brotherhood.”
Griffin sat forward intently. “Of course. He doesn’t live with them. Not difficult to set someone to keep watch of his whereabouts.”
“Or to monitor his communications.” Faye smiled sweetly.
Cassie laughed to herself. Harmless little granny. Yeah, right.
The old woman’s smile faded. “Unfortunately, I just received some disturbing news this morning. The Nephilim are mobilizing once more. We intercepted a message between Mr. Hunt and Abraham Metcalf. Apparently, Mr. Hunt has been instructed to prepare for another trip to Crete.”
“When?” they all cried at once.
“I gather the departure could be any time now.”
“How’s that possible?” Maddie barked. “I thought you all were convinced they weren’t going to move on the relic for months.” She turned to stare at Erik. “Didn’t you tell me they couldn’t find their way out of a paper bag without help?”
Erik shrugged. “Guess it was a paper bag with a map printed inside.”
“Oh, but this is terrible.” Griffin ran his fingers through his hair—an unconscious gesture whenever he was perturbed about something.
Faye noted the reaction to her announcement. “I see you all understand our dilemma. I’m afraid you’ll have to leave for Turkey much sooner than anticipated.”
“But how can we?” Cassie asked. “Last time I checked, Griffin still couldn’t make heads or tails of that clue we discovered in Crete. The one that’s supposed to lead us to the first relic. How does it go again?”
“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.” Erik rattled off the lines in a sing-song voice. “That little ditty has been running through my head for weeks now, and it still doesn’t make any sense.”
“Well, we do know a few things,” countered Faye. “We know that the artifact is somewhere on Mount Ida and since the Nephilim are missing the critical fourth line of the riddle, they will be searching Mount Ida in Crete rather than Mount Ida in Turkey.”
Griffin appeared panic-stricken. “Yes, but I remain utterly baffled by the second line. ‘When the soul of the lady rises with the sun.’ What does that mean? I’ve searched every reference book I can think of. There is simply no context in which the ancient Minoans used the expression ‘soul of the lady.’”
“Despite your hesitation, we must act and soon,” Faye said softly. “I’m open to all suggestions.”
Griffin glanced at her sheepishly. “Under the circumstances, our only hope is for Cassie to touch things.”
Erik swiveled in his seat to stare at the scrivener as if he’d lost his mind. “That’s your idea of a plan? You expect us to go stumbling up and down a mountain while the kid trips over rocks and gets a vision?”
“I’m not a kid,” Cassie corrected him, trying to sound dignified. Although Erik had become far less hostile to her presence as a member of the Arkana since Crete, he could still be thoughtlessly insulting. For someone who was only in his mid-twenties, he considered himself the wise old man of the team.
“Sorry, toots!” He gave her a half-smile, knowing that this new name would irritate her even more.
“My name isn’t toots, either,” she retorted in an injured tone. “I’m the pythia. Try to remember that! If it wasn’t for me tripping over rocks in Crete, we wouldn’t have any intel at all about where the first relic is hidden.”
“That’s true,” Erik said more seriously, “but the area we were searching around Karfi was a fraction
