Noticing that the memory guardian’s cup was empty, Cassie grabbed the coffee pot and poured a refill while the paladin continued.
“Yup. They’ve got armed guards posted at the entrance to each of those places with surveillance cameras mounted above the gates. Wherever I went, I made it a point to chat up the locals, and they all had the same story to tell. No weapons and no cameras at any of the compounds as recently as a year ago. Then two strangers showed up in the neighborhood. I was able to ID one of them as a Nephilim named Joshua Metcalf. The odds are pretty good that he’s another of Abe’s sons. The other guy is an outsider by the name of Orvis Bowdeen. I did some checking on the guy. His friends call him Chopper. He’s ex-military and a crony of Leroy Hunt’s.”
“The Nephilim aren’t known for fraternizing with anyone from the outside world,” Griffin observed.
“I wouldn’t exactly call it fraternizing,” Erik said. “From what I was able to piece together, the Nephilim needed Bowdeen to provide weapons training to their own people. He also helped set up their surveillance systems at each satellite compound. After Bowdeen finished his part of the set-up, Joshua would show up to hand pick the best of the trainees for some kind of secret mission. Not sure what that is yet.”
“Global weapons training, surveillance, covert ops,” Cassie murmured. “It sounds like Metcalf is building an army.”
“That’s what worries me,” the paladin agreed. “I know all this activity links back to Aboud and his secret lab, but I’m not sure how.”
“Any progress on that front?” Maddie asked.
“Not much. Once my road construction gig ended, I didn’t have an excuse to hang around that spot anymore. I picked up a stint as a sanitation worker, but the lab incinerates everything. There was nothing to sift through but ashes, so I still don’t know what lethal concoction the good doctor is cooking up.”
“You might not know what it is, but we all know who’s gonna get it,” Cassie noted gloomily.
“It’s not the ‘who’ that bothers me,” Erik objected. “It’s the how and the when. Until we know that, we can’t do anything to stop them.”
“That’s not entirely true,” Faye interjected.
They all turned to look at her in surprise.
She continued. “I realize this hardly constitutes an action plan, but you must remember that Abraham Metcalf rules a religious cult. The bedrock of their organization rests on nothing more tangible than a set of bizarre beliefs. If you can shake those beliefs, you may yet succeed in dismantling their military plan.”
Her listeners traded puzzled looks. Apparently, the memory guardian was still several steps ahead of them.
Faye gave a small smile and elaborated further. “I’m convinced that whatever nefarious scheme the diviner intends to launch won’t begin until he has the Sage Stone in his possession. Although I’m at a total loss as to why our pagan artifact holds such sway over a fundamentalist Christian, we can be sure that it plays a major role in his plans. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have gone to the trouble of chasing it halfway around the world.”
“All the more reason for Griffin and me to get gone,” Cassie said. “The sooner we find the fifth relic, the sooner we can claim the Sage Stone.”
“Easier said than done, I fear,” the scrivener retorted. “I still haven’t completely solved the meaning of our latest riddle.” Without being prompted, he repeated the clue. “‘The kindred stir upon the high sharp peak where the river flows red to the serpent’s heart. Under the lawgiver’s glare, its coils tremble in the mirror at the lion’s feet.’”
“Which means?” the paladin demanded.
“Something far more obscure than I’ve been able to comprehend. We have learned a few things, however. The first line refers to a river originating in the Himalayas which travels to a location called ‘the serpent’s heart.’ The reference puzzled me until I remembered the Minoan fondness for astronomy. Our African relic contained an entire constellation map, and I thought the golden serpent we collected in India might be designed along the same lines. If you’ll recall, the artifact was a rearing serpent with emeralds spaced at various intervals along its head and body. The center of the serpent’s body featured a large ruby. After some digging, I was able to determine that the constellation in question is called ‘Serpens.’ It bears the distinction of being the only constellation which is divided into two parts: the serpent’s head and the serpent’s tail. The brightest star in the serpent’s head constellation is a red giant known as ‘Cor Serpentis’ or ‘the heart of the serpent.’”
“Makes sense.” Erik nodded. “The emeralds in our snake artifact must have been positioned to match the other stars in the constellation. The ruby was supposed to stand for the serpent’s heart.”
“Quite right,” the scrivener agreed. “The constellation itself has some unusual features. It’s very faint. In fact, Cor Serpentis is the only star which can be easily seen and only during the summer in the northern hemisphere when one is facing south.”
“We thought maybe the mention of the serpent’s heart in the riddle was a directional pointer,” Cassie chimed in. “In riddle speak, it’s a sign that we should be following a river that runs south.”
“This is all very promising,” Faye said. “You know the origin point of the river and the direction it flows.”
“But wait, there’s more.” Cassie nudged the scrivener. “Tell them, Griffin.”
“I was able to partially solve the second line of the riddle as well,” Griffin said.
“‘Under the lawgiver’s glare, its coils tremble in the mirror at the lion’s feet,’” the pythia repeated helpfully.
“Yes, I believe both ‘lawgiver’ and ‘lion’s feet’ refer to a second constellation – Leo the Lion. Alpha Leonis is the brightest star in Leo. It is commonly known by the name ‘Regulus’ which translates to mean ‘lawgiver.’ Depending on
