The Orpheus Legacy

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

The mood in the hotel room was not good. After the adrenaline rush of battle had worn off and Nikolai had returned with his arm in a sling, the team began to realize just how far behind they were in the race to Hades.

In the tense silence, Hawke sipped his coffee and turned to Ryan. Even with Jazmin’s knowledge, the young man was still struggling to interpret everything in the poor quality pictures of the codex.

“Any ideas?”

Ryan looked back down at the photos. “It looks like he’s saying his journey to the Underworld was made thanks to the most beautiful one.”

“A goddess?” Hawke asked.

A bruised and shocked Jazmin gave a shrug. “Maybe.”

Lea bit her lip as she thought. “What about Eurydice? She and Orpheus have one of the most famous love stories of all time. He’d refer to her as the most beautiful one, right?”

Ryan frowned. “Again, maybe. The problem is, what then? If that was the correct translation, then he’s telling us that he visited Hades thanks to Eurydice.”

“Which he did,” Lea said. “You told us he went there to rescue her, right? So now it all makes sense.”

“I don’t think so,” Ryan said. “I’m not sure he’d put it like that. Besides, here he refers to her by name. Why would he say my journey to the Underworld was made thanks to the most beautiful one, and there I rescued Eurydice? He would say and there I rescued her. I think we can rule out Eurydice.”

Scarlet sighed. “So we’re back to goddess then.”

“I’m not so certain about that either.”

Hawke said, “If it’s not Eurydice and it’s not a goddess, then what is it?”

“It has to be a location,” Ryan said at last. Tapping the text with his finger, his eyes widened. “I’ve got it — Καλλίστη!”

“Kallisti?” Lea asked.

“Wait a minute,” Camacho asked. “Isn’t that a goddess?”

Ryan glanced at him and then back to the text. “No.”

Camacho made a face. “Well, that clears that up then.”

“Maybe you’re thinking of Calliope or Callisto or something.” Ryan’s eyes were still dancing all over the text as he double-checked his work. “Both ancient Greek — the former was a muse and the latter was a nymph.”

“I guess I was thinking that,” Camacho said with an innocent shrug.

“Is all this bollocks actually going somewhere, darling?”

“It’s Santorini,” he said at last. “Orpheus entered the Underworld from Santorini.”

“You mean the restaurant in New York?” Scarlet said. “How the hell did he manage that?”

Ryan gave the phone to Jazmin, hoping a second pair of eyes might help. Turning back to Scarlet he said, “Really?”

“No, not really. You mean the island, don’t you?”

“I’m surprised you’ve heard of it.”

“Being honest, you are easily surprised though.”

“All right, break it up.” Hawke pushed them apart and set down his coffee cup. “You’re sure about Santorini?”

“I am,” Ryan said. “The ancient name for the island was Kallisti which means the most beautiful one. It’s perfectly obvious when you think about it.”

Hawke gave him a smile. “Good work, mate. Any idea where on the island?”

“That remains to be seen, but there’s quite a bit more text here which I still need to go through. He might get more specific as he goes on. Not a great surprise really.”

“Why not?” Lea asked.

Ryan looked at her like she was stupid. “Because Santorini was the site of the most devastating volcano eruption in all of human history. If there’s an entrance to Hades anywhere on this planet, then it’s going to be in a place like that, the only question is what old Dimitrov wants down there.”

“I’m still plumping for a weapon,” Zeke said.

“I keep hearing you talk about some kind of weapon,” Jazmin said. “What exactly do you mean by this?”

“We don’t know exactly,” Lea said. “All we know is a man like Dimitrov isn’t interested in volcanology or geology or anything like that. If he’s spending millions of dollars hiring archaeologists and mercenaries and weapons and transport, then he must have a damned good reason for doing it, and that has to mean either some kind of weapon or a hell of a lot of treasure.”

“And I think we can rule out the treasure when you consider he’s one of the richest men in the world,” Hawke said.

“And an egomaniac,” added Lexi.

“Right,” Lea said. “It all adds up to a weapon, at least that’s my reading of it.”

Jazmin looked confused as she considered their explanation. “But what sort of weapon could be buried underneath a volcano? Anything that far down would be beyond primitive and no threat to the world at all.”

Hawke and the others exchanged a knowing glance. “You’d be surprised what you can find when you dig down deep enough.”

“I am an archaeologist, Mr Hawke,” she said crisply. “I know what you find when you dig deep enough.”

Hawke left it there. Inducting another unsuspecting newbie into the Hall of Madness, as Scarlet had once called it, would take too long and maybe frighten her off. “At least we know where we’re headed now — Santorini.”

Across the room, Lexi drummed her steel fingernails on the table. “You mean hell, and aren’t we kind of glossing over the fact we’re about to go there?”

The atmosphere in the room changed again. The normal tension of unfinished work had quickly given way to a terrible fear of the unknown.

“You know, that sort of thing scares the shit out of me,” Camacho said quietly. “I was raised in a strict Catholic family and matters of heaven and hell were no joke.” He shook his head and gave a gentle, cautious chuckle. “What would they all make of me now, busting my ass to find a way to go to Hades?”

“I’m sure your parents would be very proud, Jackie boy,” Scarlet said, kissing him on the temple and running her hands through his hair. “I know I am.”

“Maybe it’s not real,” Kamala said. “I hope it isn’t.”

“It’s real all right,” Ryan returned. “If I’m understanding the photos of these papyri correctly, then the legends are…”

“Woah there, chief!” Zeke said. “If you’re understanding what correctly?”

“Papyri,” Lea said. “That’s how Ryan says papers.”

“A Cuban cigar and a dozen red roses to Lea Donovan,” Ryan said. “Except for the fact it’s the plural of papyrus, not papers. In this case, we’re referring to Orpheus’s specific collection of papyri, so papers simply wouldn’t do it justice.”

Zeke had lost the trail of the conversation. “What are you talking about, man?”

Scarlet rubbed her temples. “Try not to ask it questions. You will only succeed in encouraging it and making it say more shit like that.”

“While we’re on the subject,” Hawke asked. “Does Orpheus mention anything about a weapon? That’s the meat and potatoes of this thing, mate. Like Lea says, Dimitrov didn’t hire Kashala to steal the lyre from Francken just because he has an enduring interest in the musical instruments of ancient Greece. He knew the lyre could lead him to Hades, but why does he want to get there?”

“No mention of any weapon,” Ryan said. “At least not so far. Orpheus was one of only a handful of people who visited the Underworld and also returned. Just about anyone who ever went there, according to all the written sources we have, was simply trapped there for eternity. The fact Orpheus returned means he was able to note its location for anyone brave enough…”

“Stupid enough,” Nikolai said.

“Brave enough to go there.” Ryan gave the Russian a knowing smirk. “Problem is, he wrote very little about it, and there’s certainly no mention of any weapons of any kind in these papyri.” He looked at Lea and emphasised the last word.

“Which means we’re still all at sea,” Lexi said.

Hawke quietly accepted the point made by his old flame, but felt the urge to keep the team motivated. “It just means we don’t know what Dimitrov hopes to find down there, that’s all.”

“So it’s time to let our imaginations run wild!” Scarlet said, turning to Zeke. “Say, Tex, what do you hope to find in hell when we finally get there?”

Returning her mock-serious tone, the Texan tank commander replied deadpan. “I hope not to find fire and brimstone, but maybe get me a quiet little corner and chillax with some sexy lil’ devils.”

“I think we’ll leave talk of the devil for another day,” Hawke said. “Right now, we need to stay focussed on the basics. Ryan, we’re going to need a briefing on Santorini, and fast.”