“It turns out that I have a gift if you want to call it that.” The pythia shrugged. “I can see things that nobody else can. The Arkana needs my eyes to find pieces of our lost past. The artifacts we recover prove people used to know how to live in peace with each other and with the planet. Someday, when they’re ready to remember, the Arkana will be ready to show them who they were. As long as I can help shed a little more light in a dark world, I’ll keep on riding the wind horse, as Olga might say.”
“I guess I’m not the only hero in the room,” Daniel kidded her shyly.
“You’re right about that.” Cassie chuckled. “I never thought false modesty was a virtue.”
“Still...” He trailed off, shaking his head. “You visit eerie realms that I’d rather not even imagine. How do you stay sane?”
“That’s easy,” she answered readily. “I’ve got Griffin. He’s never failed to pull me back from the brink.”
“You two seem very in tune with each other. Are you a couple?”
She squinted at him uncomprehendingly. “A couple of what?”
Daniel hesitated. “A romantic couple.”
Cassie jerked her head back in alarm. “No! Of course not! We’re partners. He’d put his life on the line for me, and I’d do the same for him, but that doesn’t mean—”
“I must be mistaken.” The scion rushed to reassure her. “Everything in your world is so different from the ways of the Nephilim. I’m still learning. Please forgive me if I offended you.”
“No problem.” Cassie relaxed and grinned wryly. “At least you’re open-minded enough to try to understand us. It’s too bad you don’t have anybody in your own ranks to confide in.”
“Oh, but I do. I have a friend. He’s not a Nephilim, of course. Nobody in the brotherhood would consider making sense of the Fallen. Chris is a librarian. He’s the most wonderful person, and he’s taught me so much about the wider world. There’s nobody like him—so handsome and so wise.” Daniel’s eyes glowed as he extolled his friend’s virtues.
The pythia studied him narrowly. “You have feelings for this guy.”
“Of course I do.” The scion seemed stumped by her comment. “He’s my friend, and I care about him.”
“Are you sure you aren’t in love with him?” she hinted gently.
Daniel leaped out of his chair as if he’d been struck. “That’s absurd! Men don’t feel that way about each other.”
Unflustered, Cassie gazed up at him. “Sure they do. A whole three per cent of the population is attracted to the same gender.”
“It’s an abomination that strikes at the very heart of Nephilim principles!” Daniel insisted hotly. “How can a man build his celestial kingdom through another man? My father has excommunicated members of the brotherhood for such an offense.”
“Is building a celestial kingdom your dream future?” Cassie asked pointedly. “Or is it your father’s?” She stood and placed a hand on Daniel’s shoulder. “Don’t mind me or my hunches. I specialize in reading artifacts and talking to dead people. What do I know about the living?”
“Sorry I overreacted.” Daniel winced sheepishly.
“I’m glad you have somebody. This Sage Stone quest is a rough gig. We both need people in our lives we can rely on—people who care about us as much as we care about them.”
“Yes, we do.” Daniel wavered a moment. “I’d like to believe that you and I are friends now, too.”
“Absolutely.” Cassie gave him a reassuring pat on the back as she turned to check the readout on the alarm. “We’d better get moving. It’s show time.”
***
When Daniel and Cassie reached the scrivener’s door, it swung open on the first knock.
“Olga has already arrived. We’ve been waiting for you.” Griffin beamed down at them both.
Cassie turned to Daniel and confided, “This is a good sign. He’s smiling.”
Then, addressing the scrivener, the pythia said, “You cracked it, didn’t you?”
“By Jove, you must be psychic,” he observed dryly. “Come in.” He ushered them into the room, rubbing his hands together with anticipation. “I can’t wait to show you.”
They all gathered around a laptop computer which lay open on the table.
Griffin took a seat at the keyboard and began typing. “Ladies and gentlemen, it gives me great pleasure to present to you the golden road of Boreas.”
Everyone leaned in and peered at the screen.
“It’s a map,” Daniel said flatly.
“It is a map of Poland and Lithuania,’ Olga added.
“Among other things,” the scrivener remarked mysteriously.
“Stop playing around.” Cassie smacked him lightly on the back of the head. “Just point to the spot you want us to look at.”
Griffin obligingly tapped the screen, indicating a large body of water.
“That wasn’t hardly helpful,” the pythia said.
Daniel read the caption. “‘The Baltic Sea.’”
“The Baltic Sea,” Griffin echoed. “In ancient times, it was part of an important trade route that originated in Scandinavia, traveled overland through central Europe, and terminated at Venice.”
“So?” Cassie asked blankly.
“This particular trade route was devoted exclusively to one item.” Griffin paused for effect. “Amber.”
“Ah!” Olga exclaimed. “Now I begin to understand.”
“So, when the Minoan priestess gave me an amber necklace...”
Griffin completed the thought. “It jogged my memory about the ‘Amber Road.’”
“I’m not sure what that proves exactly,” Daniel demurred.
“You’ll see in a moment,” Griffin told him.
“You have to let him take his time,” Cassie whispered in the scion’s ear. “He loves long explanations.”
“I’m not actually deaf, you know.” The scrivener typed another search string. “There, you see?” He pointed to the screen once more.
The scion read aloud: “‘The Amber Road transported what was commonly called the gold of the north.’” He paused as the implication struck him. “Boreas is the god of the north wind. So, Boreas’ golden road must be a reference to this Amber Road of yours.”
“Precisely,” the scrivener concurred.
“But how can you be sure the Minoans knew about this trade route?” the scion challenged. “It makes sense that such a road would have existed in Greco-Roman
