“Those are prayer flags,” Rabten continued. “People attach them to the chortens hoping their prayers will be answered. Supposedly, the wind releases the prayers written on the flags into the atmosphere. That’s more of a Buddhist custom than a Hindu one.”
The cave itself was narrow, no more than ten feet wide and much narrower than that in places. Chortens had been erected all the way from the entrance to the point where the fissure rejoined the mountainside. Beyond that lay a sheer vertical wall of rock.
Cassie and Griffin silently followed the twins about halfway through the cave where the two men stopped abruptly.
Rinchen smiled and pointed to something on the back wall slightly above eye level. “Is this what you were looking for?”
Griffin rubbed his eyes as if he couldn’t believe what he saw. “It would appear that finding an artifact hidden in a holy mountain isn’t going to prove that difficult after all.”
Cassie’s mouth dropped open in shock. “Shortest relic hunt ever!”
Chapter 40—Triple Play
The Arkana group stood clustered together staring at a spot on the back wall of Saptarishi Cave. The familiar lily symbol was carved into the rock, but it was the object displayed in a glass-covered niche below it that caused them all consternation.
“It is a magnificent sight, isn’t it?”
They turned in surprise. An Indian man, obviously on pilgrimage, had come up beside them to admire the artifact.
The newcomer continued. “It was only discovered a few decades ago. The story is told of a pilgrim from my country who came to this spot to pray. He was so overcome to be in the dwelling place of the Almighty that he pressed his forehead against the rock and wept with joy. The stone crumbled beneath his touch. When it fell away, this miraculous gift was revealed.”
“So, you think this was a present from your god?” Cassie asked suspiciously.
Griffin tugged at her coat sleeve and shook his head slightly. Obviously, he didn’t want her skeptical attitude to antagonize their informant.
“What else could it be?” The Indian man appeared baffled by the question. “Shiva is often pictured in this way. In a matter of days, a shrine was built around this precious relic. Of course, it had to be covered with glass. It was too fragile to withstand the harsh climate on the mountaintop.”
“That’s very interesting,” Griffin said encouragingly. “Thank you for telling us.”
The pilgrim nodded and walked off toward the cave entrance, chanting a Hindu prayer as he went.
The scrivener nudged the group to the opposite end where the fissure terminated. About a dozen people were milling around the chortens, but none seemed interested in going all the way to the back of the cave. The Arkana group stood in a little circle debating what to do next.
“Well, this sure complicates things,” Cassie said.
“Indeed,” Griffin agreed.
“Of all places for the Minoans to pick.” The pythia shook her head in perplexity. “Why here?”
“I’m sure it was ideal in 1000 BCE,” the scrivener countered. “That was centuries before the Hindus, Buddhists, and Jainists had made any incursions into Tibet. When the Minoans arrived, this cave was the sacred abode of a sky goddess, and she didn’t have to share it with an overlord god. People only came here infrequently to perform religious rites. It was isolated and therefore perfect.”
“Guess the Minoans had no way of knowing this mountain would end up becoming the Asian equivalent of Vatican City.” Cassie sighed.
“Not only that,” Griffin added. “By a perverse bit of bad luck, the shape of the artifact placed in this cave happens to correlate with the iconography of the Lord Shiva.”
“It is one of Shiva’s most well-known symbols,” Rinchen agreed.
The pythia gave an unexpected chuckle. “I’m taking a beat to process the irony. Our obscure little Minoan artifact somehow morphed into the Hindu Shroud of Turin, and now we have to figure out a way to boost it without anybody noticing.”
“We could come back at night,” Rabten suggested. “That piece of glass covering the niche is only held in place by a metal frame.”
“All we need is a couple of screwdrivers and a flashlight,” his brother offered.
“I’m afraid we have a bigger problem than merely removing the artifact,” Griffin observed.
When the twins treated him to a puzzled look, Cassie elaborated. “We need to replace the artifact with a replica right away. Since people visit this place all the time, we can’t take the original out of the case to get it copied. That sort of thing might get noticed.”
The twins seemed nonplussed. “We forgot about that,” Rinchen admitted.
Griffin reached into his backpack. “I don’t know what possessed me to bring a camera along on this trip, but I’m certainly glad I did.”
He walked back to the glass-covered niche and began taking pictures of the artifact from every possible angle. He took close-up shots of the inscriptions carved into the front of the relic as well. “Let’s hope there aren’t any glyphs carved on the back,” he murmured.
“Don’t even think that!” Cassie exclaimed in alarm.
“I don’t suppose any of you has brought a tape measure?” he asked the group in general.
“Oh, I might.” Rabten volunteered. He searched his backpack and obligingly produced one.
“Brilliant!” Griffin said approvingly. “Now someone keep watch, please. It’s one thing for tourists to photograph this relic. It’s quite another for us to measure its dimensions. That might appear suspicious to the casual observer.”
His three companions formed a wall blocking the path of any stray pilgrim who might want to venture farther into the cave.
“All clear,” Cassie mumbled over her shoulder.
Furtively glancing toward the entrance, Griffin produced a notebook and quickly copied the dimensions of the piece. “I’ll have to estimate the depth,” he murmured half to himself. After several more minutes, he said, “I’m finished.”
His companions relaxed their vigilance. They clustered once again in front of the shrine.
“How are we supposed to get this thing
