“That’s right.” Zach nodded with relief that he’d finally gotten her to focus. “We call it Junior Prom and I’d like you to be my date.”
The girl gave a dreamy smile. “I would get to dress up, wouldn’t I?”
“Sure.” The boy warmed to the topic. “All the girls wear fancy dresses. Not long ones like for Senior Prom but fancier than regular clothes. The guys wear suits and ties.”
“Oh, my.” Hannah seemed flustered but excited by the prospect. “When Granny Faye took me shopping for school clothes we looked at dresses like the ones you’re talking about. They were made of shiny, gauzy fabrics. In my whole life, I never saw anything as fine as that.”
“Not likely.” Zach snorted with derision. “When you were living with the Nephilim, they made you dress in old horse blankets.”
She giggled self-consciously. “You’re not wrong about that.” Then her eyes glazed over as her imagination switched into overdrive. “And I would have to get my hair done in a salon. And wear evening makeup and maybe some jewelry. Granny Faye showed me a beautiful necklace of hers. She said I could borrow it if ever I went anyplace fancy.”
Zach propped his hand under his chin, watching her make plans. It was nice to see her so happy. She’d come a long way from the scared runaway who’d taken refuge with his grandmother. Hannah kept up a steady stream of chatter for several more minutes. He wasn’t really listening. He was just basking in the glow of her excitement. The way her eyes sparkled made his head spin.
Finally, she paused to catch her breath.
Taking advantage of the momentary lull, Zach grinned. “Should I take all of that as a ‘yes’?”
“Oh, Zach!” She beamed at him. “I’ll get to be a fairy tale princess for one night. Like Cinderella. Absolutely, I’ll go with you.” She paused. “There’s just one thing...” Her tone was tentative. “Do you think you might be able to borrow your father’s car that evening? Even though Cinderella rode to the ball in a pumpkin, it didn’t have a bad muffler and polka dot spray paint on the doors.”
“If I ask to borrow the sedan, you know he’s gonna make me clean out the garage,” the boy warned ominously.
“That doesn’t sound so bad,” Hannah countered.
“My family’s garage hasn’t been cleaned out in five years.” Zach groaned at the prospect.
“Then I’ll just have to ask my Fairy Godmother to help you out.”
“Unless your Fairy Godmother has a wand that doubles as a grenade launcher, it’s not gonna cut any ice with my dad.”
Hannah giggled mischievously. “My Fairy Godmother’s name is Granny Faye.”
“Oh, that Fairy Godmother.” Zach laughed. “Well, in that case, she’ll get my dad to hand over the keys before you can say ‘Bippity Boppity Boo.’”
“For such a tiny, soft-spoken lady, she certainly seems to have a lot of influence over people,” Hannah observed.
Thinking of his ancestor’s secret life as the leader of the Arkana, Zach cocked an amused eyebrow. “You’ve got no idea.”
Chapter 4—Go with the Flow
Maddie motioned with her head. “Let’s adjourn to the dining room, shall we?” By now the table had been cleared.
Faye took a chair at one end. “Would it be too much trouble to ask for another cup of coffee? I don’t have as much energy as I once did for late night meetings.”
“Oh, of course.” Cassie darted into the kitchen and put on a fresh pot while Maddie took a seat at the end of the table opposite Faye.
Erik wandered to the refrigerator to grab a leftover sandwich. He silently returned to the dining room and sat down on Maddie’s right.
Griffin retrieved cups and saucers and carried them to the table for Cassie to pour.
After gratefully receiving her beverage, Faye swept her gaze around the apartment. “I never got the opportunity to visit you in this place before. You’ve done a lovely job of decorating, my dear.”
The pythia shrugged. “It’s just your basic one-bedroom suburban apartment with post-modern decor. Big on the grey-and-chrome accents. I rented it furnished. All of Sybil’s antiques are in storage. I figured if Leroy Hunt ever got a bead on me again I could decamp a lot quicker if a moving truck wasn’t involved.”
“A wise precaution, I’m sure.” The old woman stirred cream into her coffee.
Cassie deposited the coffee pot in the center of the table and then sat down next to Griffin. Focusing on Maddie, she asked, “So what’s this pow-wow all about?”
“First off, sorry to end your special day with a business meeting,” the chatelaine began. “But this is probably the only chance we’ll all have to talk face-to-face before you leave.”
“You’re leaving?” Erik asked sharply.
Cassie nodded. “Within the next couple of days, Griffin and I will be heading back to Asia to find that frozen river of ours. The Himalayas ought to be thawing out about now which means we can start hunting down the fifth relic.”
“The final relic,” Faye added quietly.
“You’re right.” The pythia felt startled. “I’ve been so focused on staying one step ahead of the Nephilim that I forgot. This is the last one. Once we get this artifact, we’ll know where the Minoans hid the Sage Stone. And after we snag the Sage Stone, it’ll be game over for the bad guys.”
“Not exactly,” Erik countered. “We still don’t know how the Sage Stone fits into the Nephilim’s grand plan.”
“And just what is their plan?” Maddie directed her question to the paladin. “You’ve been overseas for two months now scoping out their satellite compound operations. Were you able to learn anything new?”
“Not as much as I wanted to find out,” Erik admitted, “but enough to make me nervous. Tonight, I flew back from Spain and what I saw there is the same as everyplace else. It looks like the intel you got from Hannah when she first showed up didn’t only apply to their headquarters.”
“You
