in person. And liked it enough to use it five hundred years later.â
She could forgive his thoughtlessness, Alice decided. âAn immortal,â she agreed.
âBut obviously not a demon.â He gestured to another fresco from the Abu Simbel temple, that one depicting a scene from the Second Battle. A figureâs status could be determined by his sizeâand the demons were half as tall as the seraphim.
And Lucifer, at the head of the dragon, was the smallest of all the demons.
This time, Jake didnât go on alert when she smiled. âObviously not. And youâll note the Guardians are equal to one anotherâeven Michael. Only the angels are given divine rank.â
âBut no wings. Here, or on any of the other pieces.â Jake scanned the room again as if making certain, then glanced over at her. âIn Tunisia, I assumed the female was a goddess figure. Nike or Nemesis, maybe. Until I saw the friezes.â
Alice nodded. âI believe itâs the same woman who is one of Michaelâs companions in the early transformation scenesâbut if so, it is also the first time I have seen her winged.â
Jake returned to the Mycenaean figure. âYeah. Her sword, her posture, her position. The hair and clothes change a little, but . . .â He trailed off, leaning in before slanting an assessing look at Alice. âActually, sheâs kind of like you.â
âPardon me?â
He nodded to himself. âYeah. All angular. HerâI know itâs the style. But you, youâre just kind of sharp and bony. And sheâs softened by her clothing instead of being all buttoned up and choked by herââ Jake clasped his neck in both hands. He glanced at her, froze. His arms fell back to his sides, and he cleared his throat. âBut, uh, youâre American, right? Not Greek.â
âMy father was American.â Alice held out her hand. Her self-control was truly remarkable, she thought. When the five-dollar bill appeared in her palm, she vanished the money without tearing it to pieces. âMy mother was Egyptian. Like that panel. â
Not so remarkable then; her irritation had slipped through. But he looked almost grateful for her pointed change of subject.
âWhat about Michael?â
She might have looked stiff to Jake before, but she felt stiff nowâher braid pulling too hard on her scalp, her arms crossed too tight. âWhat of him?â
âWhat does he say that all of this is?â
âHe says it is âsomething best left buried by history, and forgotten. â But he also tells me that I am, of course, free to excavate it.â
Jake frowned, clearly disappointed. âButââ
âMichael also cannot see it. Any of it, except for my sketches. He teleported to Abu Simbel with me, and couldnât see or enter the templeâeven when I took his hand and tried to lead him over the threshold.â
That left Jake speechless. He ran his hand over his head and looked at Alice, then the artifacts, several times.
Finally he asked, âWhat about the symbols over the antechamber entrance? Have they shown up before?â
âNo, this is the first time.â Something else that was new. But although she was eager to discover the symbolsâ meaning, she did not look forward to taking the steps to learn it. âI will have to ask Michael for the translationââ
â âWe go north,â â Jake interrupted. He met her surprise with a quick grin. âI asked Lilith. So, they left directions in this one, but not the others.â
âApparently.â
âThen howâd you find them?â
âMy Gift.â She saw that response wouldnât satisfy him, and added, âWhen these temples appear, it disturbs the spiders in the area.â There was no other word for it. âThe disturbance spreads quickly, but the farther away it is, the weaker it feels. So I follow it to