“You did?” Faye wheeled on him in surprise.
The paladin shrugged. “It’s not like we had anything exciting to do for the past couple of months.”
“Just hanging around waiting for our scrivener here to finish his research.” Cassie sighed.
Faye lost no time in making herself at home. She lowered herself into the armchair and gestured for the trio to seat themselves on the sofa. Turning to Griffin, she asked, “Speaking of your research, where do things stand?”
“Aside from digesting everything in the vault related to the Indian subcontinent, I’ve finally determined a starting point for our search. We’re ready to leave today. I must say the riddle wasn’t particularly helpful in guiding my efforts.”
“Ah, yes. The riddle inscribed on the golden bull.” Faye recollected the small figurine with a spangle of blue stones decorating its neck. “After our initial discussion at Maddie’s house, the verse completely slipped my mind. How does it go again, dear? Please refresh my memory.”
The scrivener readily obliged, rattling off the lines from memory. “The sands behind, on an island tower she alights to drink, biding til her kindred fill the jaws of the lion.”
“When last we spoke about this, I recall you had a theory that the riddle points to somewhere in central India,” Faye said. “Is that still the case?”
Griffin nodded. “Yes, I’ve been having a devil of a time trying to locate the island tower though. I’m hopeful that we’ll find it in the vicinity of Mumbai.”
“That’s where we’re headed today,” Erik added.
“But we couldn’t leave until we showed you this,” Cassie said. “We wanted to see the look on your face.”
Faye chuckled. “I hope I was sufficiently surprised.”
“Absolutely.” The pythia grinned with satisfaction.
“And I might add that I am very grateful for all the effort you expended on my behalf,” Faye added, beaming on them all.
Erik ducked his head shyly.
Griffin stood up. “It’s time we were leaving for the airport, but now that the rightful owner has taken possession, I move that we christen the room.”
“Let’s call it Faye’s Parlor,” Cassie suggested.
“That’s confusing” Erik objected. “She’s already got a parlor at home.”
“Faye’s Retreat?” Griffin looked at his two teammates for confirmation. They nodded.
“Right then. The motion carries unanimously.” Griffin cleared his throat importantly. “This chamber shall henceforth be known as ‘Faye’s Retreat.’”
“Yes,” the old woman agreed softly, stroking the arm of her chair. “I like the sound of that.”
***
After bidding the trio bon voyage, Faye was about to walk to Maddie’s office when the chatelaine herself appeared in the doorway of Faye’s Retreat.
“Can I come in?”
“Please do.”
Maddie strode into the center of the room and surveyed the interior. “So, what do you think of your new digs?”
“They made it very homey.” Faye smiled. “And thank you for suggesting the idea to them. That was most considerate of you.”
“I had an ulterior motive.” Maddie dismissed the compliment. “Cassie and Erik were in lame duck mode while Griffin was doing research. What with Cassie validating backlogged relics all day and Erik stuck at his desk filing reports, I had a real morale problem on my hands. They needed something to give them a boost, so I thought of this.” She took a seat on the couch.
“Did you have a reason for arranging a meeting with me today, dear, or was it just a pretext to lure me to the vault to view my lovely new haven?”
Maddie grew temporarily distracted as her eyes wandered around the chamber. “What?” She caught herself. “Oh, sorry, Faye. It’s just that the kids wouldn’t let me in here while they were working on this.” In wonderment, she added. “They did a really good job.” Switching gears, she sat forward and fixed her superior with a serious gaze. “The main reason I asked you to come out here today was because I wanted to run an idea past you.”
Faye braced herself for the worst. She remembered the last time Maddie had wanted to run something past her. Sending a spy to infiltrate the Nephilim compound was a suicide mission if ever there was one. “Is it about that spy business again?” she asked warily.
Maddie scowled, taken aback. “No, it’s got nothing to do with that. I haven’t had any luck finding somebody crazy enough to take the assignment. I promised you I wouldn’t assign anyone, so I put out the word I was looking for a volunteer. It’s been a month, and nobody’s come forward.”
“Apparently, your people have a fondness for remaining alive,” the old woman observed dryly.
The chatelaine waved her hand airily. “I’ve back-burnered that project for a while anyway. More pressing business.”
Faye looked around distractedly. “I don’t suppose there’s a means to brew a pot of tea here, is there?”
“Way ahead of you. I already ordered a tray from the vault kitchen. I had a feeling you’d want a pick-me-up.”
At that moment, a tyro walked through the open door bearing a tea tray. He silently placed it on the coffee table in front of Maddie, trembling slightly as he set it down. Giving a frightened nod, he scuttled out the door.
Faye chuckled at his behavior. “Maddie, dear, I’m afraid the tyros have amplified your reputation for fierceness ever since that war club incident.”
The chatelaine shrugged matter-of-factly as she set about pouring tea. “Fine with me. At least they’re too scared to pester me every five minutes now.” She handed Faye a cup. “For future reference, the kitchen will prepare anything you want. Just pick up the phone.” She tilted her head, indicating the phone on the table next to Faye’s chair.
“I feel like a queen.” The memory guardian chuckled as she took a sip of tea. “Well, if it wasn’t about the spy mission then what was it you wanted to see me about, dear?”
“A trail of breadcrumbs,” the chatelaine said enigmatically, spooning sugar into her cup and stirring it.
“Come again?”
“I want to find
