Bowdeen stood back and watched him for a few minutes, waiting for an explanation.
Finally, Joshua wheeled around and said, “My father is no longer distinguishing between the evil and the innocent.”
Chopper blinked. He didn’t know what to make of that statement. “Come again?”
“Let me go back to the beginning.” Joshua took a deep breath. “Last fall, my Brother Daniel’s principal wife suffered a mental collapse. She had just lost a baby and became emotionally unstable. Her behavior couldn’t be controlled. Ordinarily, we send disruptive wives to hospitals where they can be sedated. Some can be rehabilitated. The ones who can’t be are shut away, but they aren’t physically harmed. This month, my father announced that Annabeth had died of a contagious disease while at the hospital. Her body was cremated to avoid infecting the Nephilim.”
Chopper shrugged, not seeing how these facts pertained to him. “Sounds like a tragic accident to me.”
Joshua slid down against the tree trunk and sat unceremoniously on the ground.
The mercenary crouched down beside him, wishing the spymaster would come to the point.
“I decided to do some checking on the circumstances surrounding Annabeth’s death. She never went to the usual hospital we use for such cases. The diviner privately arranged for a hired car to deliver her to the collection point. I was taken out of the loop entirely.”
Bowdeen gave a low whistle. “Your father sure didn’t want you to know about this.”
Joshua laughed bitterly. “He didn’t want anyone to know about it. Even Daniel, her husband, has been kept in the dark as to the circumstances of her death.” He paused, weighing his next words. “Once I’d discovered that the malefactors I had collected were being sentenced to death, I still believed my father’s actions were just. Their punishment was merited. But Annabeth’s sin was nothing more than immoderate grief at the death of her son. There was no justice in sentencing her to such a fate.”
“Yeah, that’s messed up,” Bowdeen agreed warily.
In an unexpected move, Joshua grabbed Bowdeen by the shirt collar and shook him lightly, almost knocking him off balance. “You’re missing the point. Annabeth was my sister-in-law. A member of the diviner’s own family.”
Chopper extricated himself gently. “Alright, son. Calm down now.”
Joshua barely heard him. “It’s a very short step from murdering a daughter-in-law to killing a son.”
Those words brought the mercenary to attention. “So, you think he might—”
The spymaster cut him off. “Kill me or one of my brothers. Yes, I do. My father grows more irascible with each passing month. It takes very little to offend him these days. One mistake and I could be sent to the lab.” He paused and gave the mercenary a shrewd look. “Or perhaps you.”
Chopper blanched at those words, finally realizing where this conversation was tending.
“I’m sure you’ve thought about it,” Joshua challenged. “What my father would do once you’d completed all your tasks. You’re in a unique position, Mr. Bowdeen.”
“Don’t I know it,” Chopper agreed ruefully.
“A man from the Fallen World who is privy to the most confidential details of the Nephilim’s defenses. You know who the trained marksmen are. You know where the surveillance cameras are positioned. And you know those facts about every compound in every corner of the world.” Joshua gave him a sardonic smile. “It would be a tactical error on my father’s part to let you walk away from us.”
Bowdeen sprang to his feet, running distracted fingers through his cropped hair. “I been worried about this since Day One. It’s time I made myself scarce.”
Joshua stood up as well, giving a short bitter laugh. “My father can be a relentless foe. I doubt he would settle for your absence when your death could make him feel so much more secure. The brotherhood would hunt you to the ends of the earth.”
Chopper felt his heart skip a beat as Joshua voiced his own worst fears.
The spymaster placed his hands on Chopper’s shoulders and stared him directly in the face. “I can think of a better solution to your problem. In fact, it’s something that will solve both our difficulties at the same time.”
Chopper watched the spymaster’s expression. Those dark eyes didn’t blink. He was dead serious.
Joshua continued. “I’m sure you’ve contemplated this possibility from the beginning as well. You had to. As things stand now, my father hasn’t left either one of us any choice in the matter. There’s only one way to assure our own survival.” He held out his right hand. “Are we agreed?”
Dazedly, Chopper took the offered hand and shook it. Deep down, maybe he’d always known this gig wasn’t going to end any other way.
Chapter 27—Psychic Friends Network
The morning after they arrived at Lugu Lake, the Arkana operatives took the cableway to Gemu Goddess Cave to see if the Minoans had hidden their artifact there. Tourist traffic was light, partly because it was early in the season and partly because it was early in the day. The three wanted to get a head start to avoid attracting attention while conducting their search. They hired a pig-trough boat to row them across the water from Luoshui to Nisai Village which was situated right at the foot of the mountain.
In Nisai, they boarded the cableway which would carry them to the cave. The transportation system was unpopular with some locals who had once earned a living guiding tourists up the mountain on horseback. Although a few visitors still opted for the equine experience, most people preferred the convenience of the cableway. The foot of the mountain was traversed via an alpine slide. The steeper slopes were navigated by chair-lift. Each of the green metal cars could carry two passengers. Cassie and Rou took one car with Griffin following behind. The lift carried them slowly to their destination 11,000 feet above sea level with the apex of the peak a thousand feet higher still.
When they arrived, the chairs deposited them right in front of a Buddhist temple festooned with
