Zach dropped his pistol and then rounded on his leader, looking furious enough to throttle her. “Great plan, Maddie!”
The chatelaine ignored his outburst and laid her handgun on the floor of the cave.
Cassie and Griffin followed suit.
“Lars, you too,” Maddie prompted.
The guide half-heartedly complied.
“Daniel, search them and collect their guns,” Abraham commanded.
The scion reluctantly advanced to check the Arkana agents for concealed weapons. Then he deposited their pistols on the ground beside Matthew.
“What? No bug zapper this time, Miss Cassie?” The cowboy smirked. “Looks like I might stand a fightin’ chance for once.”
“We’ve done what you want. Now stop threatening the hostages and let Cassie read the artifact,” Maddie insisted.
The diviner gave a sign for Matthew and Hunt to lower their guns though both men still kept a grip on the captives.
Hannah was trembling. She appeared ready to faint.
Maddie stepped forward to body-block Zach who wanted to run to her aid.
Cassie retrieved the labrys key from the lock. After scanning the faces around her apprehensively, she closed her eyes and pressed the artifact to her forehead.
Chapter 52—Parting Shots
The pythia stood transfixed, apparently listening to voices none of the rest of them could hear. Daniel offered a silent prayer for assistance from her unseen guides. Everyone else marked the time in edgy silence.
After what seemed like an eternity, Cassie opened her eyes. “There was one last riddle to solve. We got the order of the artifacts wrong.” She held the labrys key toward Griffin. “It’s in the gems. Can you see it?”
The scrivener seemed perplexed but, after studying the relic for a few seconds, he nodded. “Yes, of course. Every other relic we’ve collected used the color of the jewels to help us solve the next puzzle. This one is no different.”
“In what way?” Metcalf inquired frostily.
“We forgot to follow the clue on the key itself,” Cassie said.
“What clue?” Daniel felt lost.
Griffin transferred his attention from the labrys in Cassie’s hands to the artifacts resting on the reliquary. “It seems that we need to match each relic to its corresponding scale. The top left is topaz—a yellow stone. That must mean the golden bee goes there.”
The scrivener hastened back to the reliquary and moved the bee to the leftmost scale.
“The stone below it is an emerald,” Cassie hinted.
“So, that would mean the next scale holds...” He paused to consider. “The dove with emeralds on its back.” He switched the location of the bird sculpture. Moving to the right, he asked, “Now what?”
“A sapphire.”
“That would be the bull with blue stones spangling its neck.” Griffin moved the artifact into its proper place. “By process of elimination, that must mean the ruby-hearted serpent goes on the final scale.” He made the necessary adjustment. “Let’s give the key another try, shall we?”
Cassie advanced to the middle plate and placed the key in its slot. She easily moved it a quarter turn to the right.
The diviner watched in greedy anticipation.
For a few seconds, nothing happened. Then, from behind the cave wall came a groan of protest as metal began to grind against metal. Cracks formed in the clay seal beside Cassie’s feet until it shattered completely from the force of an object being thrust outward. The pointed end of a metal trough appeared first. Resting inside was a covered box emerging from three thousand years of darkness.
The pythia knelt down beside it. “I’m sensing something. I might be able to get a message, but you all need to stand back!”
Surprisingly, Abraham didn’t object. The pythia’s ability to decipher the key had obviously impressed him. “Hold your positions,” he instructed.
Cassie removed the lid from the box. Her face was immediately bathed in an unearthly glow. She reached inside and lifted out a cone-shaped object, about a foot high and nine inches wide at the base. Rising, she held the relic aloft. Both her hands and the artifact were suffused with a hazy green nimbus which shot off reflective sparks in the lantern light.
The pythia’s eyes took on a dazed quality. In a deep voice that sounded nothing like Cassie’s own, she said, “Behold the Sage Stone.”
The spectators in the cave seemed mesmerized.
“What is that thing?” Hunt asked guardedly.
“A meteorite of molten iron,” Cassie replied in a faraway tone, still under the object’s spell. “It fell from the sky at the beginning of time.” Her eyes glazed over completely. “The voice of one called Jedediah Proctor comes to me through this stone.”
“What?” Metcalf quavered. “The founder of the Blessed Nephilim?”
Daniel leaned in to explain. “Cassie can hear the voices of the dead as well as read objects. I’ve seen her do this before.”
“Out with it, girl,” the old man prompted. “Speak forth the message of our beloved forefather.”
The pythia closed her eyes. “There is a prophecy concerning this relic.”
Metcalf listed to the side. When Daniel caught him, he could feel his father’s arm tremble.
Cassie continued. “‘And in the end times shall arise a mighty leader. He shall rule the Blessed Nephilim and set their feet upon the path of righteousness. His name shall be called Abraham for he shall be the father of his people as it was in the beginning. And he shall cleanse the world with pestilence and plague. He shall grind the Fallen to dust beneath his feet. But let him be mindful of the Bones of the Mother. For whosoever shall lay hands on them will claim the Sage Stone and receive the power to change the world forever.’”
Daniel stared at the diviner. “Father, is this true?”
“Every word,” the old man gasped, obviously astonished by the revelation.
The pythia pointed at Metcalf, her eyes open but still unfocused. “diviner, you have been led astray by your ambition.”
“What?”
“Take heed. Jedediah Proctor now speaks: ‘I am mightily offended with thee, Abraham Metcalf!’”
The diviner reeled as if he had been struck. “No, that can’t be. I have done as the angel Phanuel commanded—as the Lord himself commanded.”
“You are deluded,” the pythia channeled in a merciless voice. “It was Satan who whispered in your
