“Oh.” Rou sat forward, gazing with newfound interest at the body of water before her.
“If the Minoans are running true to form, then I’ll bet they hid the artifact in a cave on the mountain.” Cassie groaned. “That’s a lot of real estate to cover.”
“I believe I can cut our search by three-quarters,” Griffin countered.
Her eyes narrowed as she studied him. “You’re being oddly precise with that estimate.”
“I’m quite convinced that the specific constellations named in the riddle can tell us which side of the mountain to search. Both Leo and Serpens are prominent in the southern sky during the summer months.”
“I’ll take a wild guess and say we search the south side of the mountain,” Cassie ventured.
“And I would heartily concur.” Griffin scowled as he contemplated the mountain. “Which way are we facing now?”
“North,” Rou piped up helpfully. “We are viewing the south side of the mountain.”
“Excellent.” Griffin rubbed his hands together with glee.
“Gemu Goddess Cave is facing us,” the girl added.
Both Griffin’s and Cassie’s smiles faded.
The pythia said, “Just to be clear. You mean the tourist cave that’s listed in the brochure? The one with a cable car that drops dozens of people right at the entrance. That cave?”
“That cave.” Rou seemed mystified by their reaction. “Good, right?”
“Not good,” the pythia retorted. “So not good!” She turned to her colleague. “Griffin, it’ll be a repeat of Kailash all over again. Honestly, I don’t think I can take another night of flashlights, and frostbite, and being kidnapped.”
Rou looked from one to the other in helpless distress.
“Cassie, do calm down. We don’t know with certainty that the Minoans hid anything in that particular cave. Let’s investigate first, shall we?”
The pythia stood up and dusted off her jeans. “OK, but we both already know how Murphy’s Law works. I’ll wait til we get up there to say, ‘I told you so.’”
Chapter 26—Antipodal Alliance
Joshua Metcalf stowed his gear in the back seat of Chopper Bowdeen’s rental car. The mercenary had come to pick him up personally at the Melbourne Airport. The spymaster climbed into the left front seat and Chopper darted away from the curb.
As the breeze ruffled his hair, Joshua made a vain attempt to smooth it down. “I’ve never ridden in a convertible before.”
Chopper couldn’t tell from his tone whether he was offended or simply making conversation. “Nothing like it in the world, son. We both spend too many hours cooped up indoors. You need to breathe in some fresh air.”
Joshua gave a noncommittal smile.
They rode in silence through the suburban area that surrounded the airport and then onward to the valley. Although the airport was far removed from the center of town, it still looked like an extension of the city. This urban feel eventually gave way to acres of vineyards and rolling green fields encircled by mountains.
The spymaster took note of the changing landscape. “I’m surprised that the brotherhood succeeded in finding such a remote location. We aren’t that far from Melbourne, are we?”
“No, not too far,” Bowdeen agreed. “But we’re in the Yarra Valley which is mainly agricultural. It’s far enough from the big city to give some privacy to what goes on here.”
They drove in silence until the car approached a narrow dirt lane branching off from the main highway on the right. Instead of turning into the lane, Chopper pulled onto the shoulder across the way and parked the car near a row of gum trees for shade.
The spymaster turned quizzically toward his companion.
“Let’s get out and stretch our legs here,” Chopper suggested. “There are a few things I wanted to talk over with you before we go inside.”
Joshua nodded and complied.
The two men strolled along the shoulder of the road and took up a position near the trunk of a tree.
“Well, this is it,” Chopper began conversationally. “The last compound on the last continent. My work for the Nephilim is done. You can take it from here with my blessing.”
“What will you do now?” Joshua asked casually.
The mercenary hesitated. “That all depends.”
“On what?”
He stared the spymaster directly in the eye. “On whether your father will let me go or not.”
Surprisingly, Joshua didn’t try to reassure him of the diviner’s good intentions.
That fact alone gave Chopper a sense of foreboding. “Son, is there something you should be telling me?”
Joshua sighed and cast a furtive glance toward his colleague. “I don’t know. I just don’t know. There are things...” he trailed off and seemed on the point of walking back toward the car.
Bowdeen stepped between him and the vehicle. “What things?” he urged.
Joshua appeared unwilling to meet his gaze. He turned aside but murmured, “I’ve recently discovered some facts that are upsetting, to say the least.”
“Something that concerns me?”
“It might,” the spymaster hedged. He retraced his steps and leaned against the tree trunk. Folding his arms across his chest, he asked, “Do you remember when you asked me to look into a secret lab several miles away from the main compound?”
The hair stood up on the back of Chopper’s neck. Despite his original intention to uncover Metcalf’s master plan, he felt he was on the brink of finding out something he really didn’t want to know. “Sure do.”
“It seems the foreign doctor running that lab has been tasked with developing some kind of lethal substance. I don’t know what it is or what its intended purpose may be.”
“Way back when we talked about this last, you mentioned that the diviner was having you round up ne’er-do-wells in the congregation. Did they end up in that lab?”
Joshua nodded. “Yes, I was able to confirm that much. The doctor who runs the lab would send a driver to the collection point to take them away.”
“And what happened to them after that?” Bowdeen feared he already knew the answer.
“They were never seen again,” Joshua murmured furtively.
“Seems the diviner found some use for them after all.”
“That isn’t what worries me.” The spymaster
