Free The Granite Key (Arkana Mysteries) by N. S. Wikarski Page A

to prevail. Especially when it comes Cassie. She shouldn’t be pulled into this maelstrom unless it becomes absolutely necessary.”
    “But Faye,” the young man protested. “I’m a terrible liar!”
    “I’m not asking you to lie, my dear. I’m asking you to avoid the topic with your colleagues and refrain from mentioning it to the girl altogether. As an added precaution, I think it would be wise to accelerate the training of our new Pythia if and when she agrees to join us. Poor child! She’ll have only weeks to learn what took Sybil years to master.”
    Griffin lowered his head in acquiescence.
    Faye glanced down at the photo of the key resting next to her coffee cup. “One person has already died because of this object. If this key can somehow lead the Nephilim to the Sage Stone, then one death will be only the beginning.”

Chapter 15 – Paranormal Antiquity
    Two weeks after she fled the place in terror, Cassie found herself standing on Faye’s front porch once again. Somehow she had talked herself around to this spot despite her misgivings. She knocked on the door.
    After a few moments, Faye appeared. She was wearing a kitchen apron. Her cheeks and forearms were streaked with flour. When she saw who her visitor was, a perceptive smile crossed her face. “Come in, my dear, come in. I’ve just popped a few loaves of bread into the oven. They won’t be ready for a while but I can fix you a sandwich if you’re hungry.”
    The girl entered the house hesitantly. “No, thanks. I just want to talk. There’s a lot I need to say.”
    “Why don’t we go out into the garden then,” Faye suggested.
    Cassie nodded and followed the old woman to the yard. By now, leaves had formed around the wisteria blossoms and tulips and daffodils were starting to join the ranks of early spring flowers. It was a little cooler and more overcast than their last visit but still warm enough to be pleasant.
    The girl hesitated before seating herself. It was the same chair she’d sat in when her brain started collapsing into somebody else’s consciousness. It wasn’t a happy association. She braced herself and sat down.
    Faye took the opposite chair. She wasn’t hiding any mystic bowls in the shrubs this time, Cassie noted with relief.
    “I guess I should start,” the girl began abruptly. “I’m sorry I called you crazy.”
    Faye chuckled. “I’ve been called worse than that, believe me. No harm done, my dear. Now what is it you’d like to talk about?”
    “This Pythia business. What is it exactly?”
    “Then you don’t know what a Pythia is?” Faye didn’t sound entirely surprised.
    Cassie shook her head.
    “Wait here and I’ll show you a picture.” The old woman shuffled back inside the house. It was several minutes before she emerged with a book. She placed it on the table between them and flipped to a page that had been tabbed. “Look,” she instructed.
    Cassie leaned over and gasped. The page contained an illustration showing a cup decorated with two figures dressed in ancient Greek costume. The first was a woman in white seated on a high stool. She held a shallow bowl in one hand and a laurel branch in the other. The second figure was a man in a toga who stood facing her. “That’s…that’s…” Cassie stammered.
    “Yes, dear. That’s the woman you saw in your vision, isn’t it?” Faye didn’t seem to find Cassie’s revelation startling.
    “But how…” The girl was still at a loss.
    “Let me explain.” Faye settled back in her chair. “Around 3000 BCE, on the slopes of Mount Parnassus in what is now Greece there was a place called Pytho. At this place stood a temple dedicated to the great mother goddess. The goddess was known by many names throughout the ancient world but she was always worshipped by the people as their principal deity. They used the word Goddess with a capital G to describe her the way we use the word God. Up until quite recently, you see, most people thought that the