Arms of Nemesis

CONSULT THE SIBYL AT CUMAE GO QUICKLY

'Well, Eco, this changes our plans. No swimming this morning. Someone has arranged for us to receive a message directly from the gods.'

Eco looked at the scrap of parchment, then handed it back to me. He seemed not to notice, as I had, that wherever the letter 'A' occurred it was given an eccentric flourish, with the crossbar tilted sharply down to the right.