Rou blushed with pleasure at the compliment.
Sensing how close the two had become, Cassie cautioned, “You’d better not be toying with this young lady’s affections, Rinchen. Your brother warned me about you. He said you’re a real heartbreaker.”
“What?” The agent gasped. “He’s one to talk. Rabten is the player in the family. I think he’s overcompensating.”
“What on earth for?” the scrivener asked.
“Because Rinchen received the good looks,” Rou concluded sagely. “Rabten only received the brains.”
Cassie and Griffin traded baffled glances at the observation.
“Rou, surely you realize that Rabten and Rinchen are identical twins,” the scrivener ventured.
The girl remained unfazed. “Oh no. Rinchen showed me pictures. I can tell the difference.”
“You see,” Rinchen agreed without a hint of irony. “She can tell.”
“Let it go,” Cassie mumbled under her breath to Griffin.
“Here is your stun gun.” Rou presented the object to the pythia with both hands as if she were handing over a samurai sword.
Cassie pocketed it. “I’m going to send you one of these engraved with your name on it.”
Rinchen scratched his chin. “I know we had only minutes to put this plan together before the Nephilim got to the cave but here’s something I don’t understand. Why the bandit ruse? If all you wanted to do was put Hunt out of commission long enough to escape, you could have pistol-whipped him when you left.”
“Ah, there was more to the scheme than that, my friend,” Griffin retorted. “If I had dispatched him, he would have turned these villages upside down trying to find us and take revenge. We needed to make his departure a matter of some urgency.”
“That’s where you guys came in,” Cassie continued. “Luckily for us, you’re both Asian, so you could pose as locals.”
“Bloodthirsty local bandits,” Rou piped up gleefully.
“If Daniel was convinced that the area is crawling with desperados, he would have believed the artifact was at risk here,” Griffin concluded. “Even Hunt would have to agree that their top priority would be to get the relic to a safe location.”
“And I think we guessed right.” The pythia poured herself a cup of tea. “You two saw their getaway with your own eyes.”
Griffin leaned back in his chair, lacing his fingers behind his head. “All things considered, our plan went swimmingly.”
“Oh, I forgot to tell you,” Cassie confided. “Maddie texted me that the real artifact arrived at the vault today.”
“Speaking of all’s well that ends well.” Griffin treated Rinchen to a quizzical look. “You’ll be escorting Rou back to Liaoning tomorrow, yes?”
“I’ll make sure she gets home safe and sound.”
Rou beamed at him adoringly.
The pythia nudged Griffin. “It’s time we booked a flight home too.”
“After our assorted trials during the past few weeks, I must say I’m looking forward to a quiet, predictable environment. Thank heaven nothing eventful ever happens at HQ.”
Cassie’s gaze narrowed as she regarded her partner. “You know you’re just asking for trouble when you say stuff like that.”
“Are we about to have another dire prediction from Mr. Murphy?” Griffin’s eyes twinkled with mischief.
The pythia sighed and gave a lazy smile. “Nope. I can’t bring myself to harsh your mellow on a night when the stars are this bright.”
Griffin looked upward. “They are indeed.”
Both Cassie and Griffin pretended not to notice when Rinchen slipped his arm around Rou’s shoulder as they too gazed up at the night sky.
Chapter 37—Nephilim Ninjas
Joshua sat in the front seat of a black van parked in the dirt lane behind the farmhouse. It was still quite dark out—two hours before dawn. A week earlier he’d acquainted his father with Hunt’s surveillance activities. As the Fallen man was still out of the country with Daniel and his trustworthiness in retrieving Hannah remained open to question, the diviner decided to delegate the recovery operation to the spymaster. Joshua was to observe the activities of the household. When he was sure the time was right, he was to strike quickly to reclaim Hannah. No one was to be harmed in the process. This was less an indication of his father’s merciful nature than it was an attempt to avoid complications with the police.
Joshua stepped out of the van and went around to the back doors. He opened them. Three armed men wearing ski masks and black flight suits confronted him. “You know what to do,” he said curtly, pulling a ski mask down over his own face.
They all nodded silently and got out. Each one held a set of night vision goggles which they donned over their ski masks. The four men then climbed over the privacy fence into the garden and headed for the kitchen door.
***
Faye awoke from a sound sleep. She blinked several times, trying to orient herself. Checking the digital alarm, she saw it was four AM. Her heart was beating quickly with an unaccountable sense of anxiety. She didn’t know why but she could feel something wasn’t quite right. Then she heard a faint sound coming from downstairs. Had Hannah gotten up to find a snack in the refrigerator? She lifted herself out of bed and put on a bathrobe and slippers. Cracking her bedroom door open, she peeped around the edge. There were no lights on downstairs. Surely, if the girl was in the kitchen, the light would be on. Then she heard the faint tinkle of glass falling. Someone was breaking in. She seriously doubted that this was a random burglary. It wasn’t a matter for the police. It was a matter for the Arkana.
Scurrying to her dresser, she slid open the middle drawer and pulled out a cell phone. It was the one she used only to communicate with Arkana personnel. Maddie’s number was on speed dial. She waited tensely for a groggy voice to answer. When it did, Faye’s words were succinct. “Maddie,” she whispered urgently. “Someone’s trying to break into the house. I believe it might be Leroy Hunt come for Hannah. Send help
