“Kaz what?”
“Daglari. It means Goose Mountain in Turkish. That’s the modern name for Mount Ida which, by the way, isn’t a single mountain. It’s actually a mountain range. That’s a whole lot of tripping for one pair of size eight sneakers to handle.”
“Six and a half,” Cassie protested. “I don’t have floppy clown feet!”
“My dears,” Faye chuckled. “Calm yourselves. Have some cookies. They’re homemade.” She held out a plate of sugar cookies. The two combatants helped themselves and began crunching loudly.
Faye gave her full attention to Griffin. “I do believe Erik’s point is well-taken. We will need to focus the search in a specific direction if Cassie’s talents are to be used effectively.”
“There are a few ways we could narrow the field,” Griffin answered. “I expect we’re looking for an ancient ruin. That would be the most likely place the Minoans might have hidden the relic.”
“Good luck with that idea,” Erik snorted. “You should know better than anybody that Mount Ida is riddled with ruins. They’re scattered all over the countryside.”
“I beg your pardon. Will you be contributing anything to this discussion other than disparaging remarks?” Griffin drew himself up. “I wasn’t proposing we go there without a plan.”
Maddie sighed and shifted her position causing the couch to squeak under her ample weight.
“Then what are you proposing?” Erik challenged.
“We should start with the Anatolian trove keeper, obviously. Find out if he can recall any sites that bear unidentified marks that might match our translation key.”
“Anatolian?” Cassie asked. She still wasn’t up to speed on all the Arkana terminology.
“Anatolia is the name for the Asian part of Turkey,” Griffin explained. “It was once known as Asia Minor. I think the trove keeper has been dividing his time between the excavations at Catal Huyuk and Hacilar.”
“OK, slow down.” Cassie held up her hands in protest. “What does that mean?”
“Here, I’ll show you.” Griffin selected a page from among the stack he’d brought with him. Spreading it out on the coffee table, he revealed a map of Turkey.
“This is Mount Ida.” He pointed to a mountain range on the west coast of the country. “It’s very close to the ancient city of Troy. So close, in fact, that Homer mentions it in the Iliad. He describes the gods standing on Mount Ida and watching the conflict in the valley below from its slopes.” He moved his finger in a line due east of the mountains and about halfway across the country. “This is the ancient city of Catal Huyuk. It has provided invaluable information about matristic civilization in this part of the world. The same is true on a smaller scale at Hacilar.” He pointed to a spot to the southwest of Catal Huyuk.
“So why would the Anatolian trove keeper know anything at all about Mount Ida if he’s hundreds of miles away?” Cassie challenged.
“Because he’s responsible for every find that’s catalogued in the Anatolian trove all across the country. He’s also very old and has a long memory.”
“I suppose that makes sense,” Cassie conceded. “But I’m still not sure I understand what all the rush is about. So what if the Nephilim are on their way to Crete way sooner than we expected? I mean it isn’t as if they’re going to magically figure out they’re looking for the relic in the wrong country, jump on a plane, and beat us to Turkey.”
The scrivener shook his head. “I don’t credit the Nephilim with an overabundance of brains, but it would behoove us to be on our guard.”
“Behoove?” Erik echoed incredulously “Did you actually just say behoove?”
Ignoring the security coordinator, Griffin continued. “I’m merely pointing out that we can’t afford the luxury of complacency. We must still move with the utmost speed especially because of that one devilish word in the riddle.”
His listeners looked at him blankly.
He clarified the point. “When the soul of the lady rises with the sun. ‘When’ is the word that’s most worrisome.”
“Nice alliteration,” Erik joked.
Griffin sprang out of his seat unexpectedly and began to pace “Don’t you understand? We’re looking for an object that isn’t merely hidden in space. It’s also hidden in time. Some event that happens at sunrise must occur in order for us to find the relic we seek. For all I know, we’re running out of time with respect to that event if we haven’t already.”
“I see,” Faye murmured speculatively.
“All I can glean with any certainty from that line of the riddle is the direction we must be looking toward. East.” Griffin sat back down and glanced helplessly at Faye.
“You’ve just demonstrated that we know a good deal more than nothing,” she consoled. “Perhaps once you’re searching the landscape, the meaning of the line will become clear.” Turning to Maddie, she asked, “Do you think you can coordinate the trip for them on such short notice?”
The operations director frowned. “Not overnight I can’t but give me a couple of days to pull the arrangements together.” She glanced briefly at the security coordinator. “Erik’s going to need a few days to get their papers in order.”
He nodded in agreement. “The Turkish government likes to keep an eye on visitors. We’re going to be poking around places we may not be welcome or authorized to visit.” Erik looked earnestly at Cassie. “Crete was a walk in the park compared to what’s coming next. I hope you’re ready for it.”
With all the bravado she could muster, Cassie replied, “Only one way to find out.”
Chapter 7 – A Bedtime Story
Hannah Curtis sat cross-legged in the middle of a strange bed. Everything was strange. Her entire life, in fact, had taken a strange turn. She came from Missouri and was raised in a house surrounded by brothers and sisters and a mother who was always ready with a hug or a smile of encouragement. Her father had been a distant figure. He was the leader of the Missouri Nephilim and therefore a man of importance. When he came to
