“Whoa, hang on there,” the pythia protested.
All three of the Arkana operatives raised their hands above their heads.
“What do you intend to do? Shoot her if she gives an incorrect answer?” Griffin cried in disbelief.
“No, I’ll split, and you’ll never see me again,” Elle replied. “This gun is for my protection. Who’s to say you aren’t imposters? One of me, three of you. You might force me to take you to the artifact using unpleasant means of persuasion.”
“We’d never do such a thing!” Griffin protested hotly.
“I’ve known you for all of fifteen minutes, so you’ll excuse me if I don’t take your word as gospel.” Elle’s tone was grim.
“Ask your question,” Cassie commanded flatly.
Elle transferred her attention back to the pythia. “Here goes. You need to give me a physical description of the person who hid the artifact in this cave.”
“What?” The scrivener’s voice echoed into the darkness. “That’s absurd! How is she supposed to know that?”
“Griffin, it’s alright. I got this.” Cassie lowered her arms cautiously. “I have to walk back to the niche to pick up a vibe about what happened here.”
“Knock yourself out.” Elle kept the pistol trained on her as Cassie moved toward the shadows blanketing the side wall.
The pythia contemplated the now empty niche. She tried to ignore the butterflies in her stomach. So much was riding on this moment. If she couldn’t get a vision on cue, the sentinel would vanish forever. Elle would take with her the Arkana’s only hope of finding the Sage Stone. The quest that had led them across four continents could end in the next five minutes depending on the answer Cassie gave. She smiled wryly to herself. No pressure there. She uttered a silent prayer to the Minoans. “OK, you guys. If you really want me to find your precious relic, then you better step up. Show me what happened in this cave three thousand years ago.” She closed her eyes and placed her hand inside the niche. Immediately, the scene sprang to life in vivid detail. Cassie waited until she was sure there was no more left to see. Then, giving a sigh of relief and a whispered “thank you,” she turned to face Elle.
“There were only four of them left by the time they got here. It was a larger group when they first started out from Crete. A few must have died along the way. I saw the priestess. She was the one who placed the artifact in the niche. She’s an old woman with long white hair. I’ve had visions of her before. She’s always dressed in a white robe. When she was here, she was wearing a white hooded cloak too. It must have been cold that day.”
“Congratulations.” Elle nodded with grudging respect. “You’ve just won our stupendous grand prize along with a six-month supply of carnauba wax.” Treating Griffin to a scornful glance, she added, “And I’m the one who’s crazy for trusting East Coast psychics.”
He shuffled his feet in embarrassment. “I withdraw the observation.”
“No hard feelings, I hope.” The sentinel slipped the gun back into her bag. “Dealing in lost treasure is a dangerous business. A girl can’t be too careful.”
Cutting to the chase, Rou demanded, “Where is the artifact?”
Elle raised her arms expressively. “Not here, lemon drop. The cave isn’t safe anymore which is so ironic when you come to think about it. This was a secure hiding place for three thousand years. The locals were never a threat. It would have been sacrilegious for them to touch, much less remove, anything from the cave. Nope, the locals were OK. Even the first wave of tourists was OK since the only way to get here was on foot or by horse. Right up through my grandmother’s time, sentinels could keep tabs on strangers in the area by simply using the village grapevine.
“But that was the end of an era. When the cableway was built in 2005, it could haul droves of people to the top of the mountain in a matter of minutes. What used to be a handful turned into hundreds and then thousands. When I became sentinel, I knew I had to move the damn relic or lose it.” She shrugged philosophically. “That turned out to be a blessing in disguise since it meant I wouldn’t have to hang out here full-time. I could stash the artifact someplace else where nobody but me could find it.”
“So where is it now?” Cassie asked.
“The safest place in all of Asia to hide a goddess artifact.” The sentinel gave a knowing smile.
“And that would be?” The pythia was growing impatient.
“Indonesia, of course.”
“I beg your pardon,” Griffin squinted at her.
‘Did I mumble?” Elle challenged.
“Right then.” The scrivener sighed helplessly. “Ours is not to reason why. Cassie, pack your bags. We’re off to Indonesia.”
Chapter 28—Abominable Writing
“Are you done with these?” Chris leaned over the pile of journals Daniel had been perusing.
The scion rubbed his eyes wearily. “This man may have been a competent explorer, but it’s obvious he was no writer!”
“He is kind of long-winded.” Chris slid three slim volumes under a stack of reference books. He placed all of them on a cart to be wheeled back to storage.
For the past week, the pair had combed through the explorer’s journals searching for something that might help them find their mysterious Himalayan river. They worked on a few volumes at a time so that the full collection wouldn’t be missed.
Chris took a seat beside Daniel and lowered his voice. “We need to pick up the pace. I just heard the entire set might be moved to a branch library next week.”
“How many more books do we have to go through?” Daniel’s tone was bleak.
“About ten volumes.”
The scion slumped over the reading room table. “I don’t think I can stand any more. The man
