He was back home, standing on the deck he'd built himself onto his house on Oahu. The sun was setting just beyond the mountain, and Maouri was standing beside him, dressed in a blue sarong. A white orchid opened against her cheek where he’d tucked the delicate flower behind her ear when she joined him outside. The garden here was full of such wonders. Maouri had always had a green thumb.

          “You have to be careful,” she said to him. He felt her touch on his cheek and looked into her wide, dark eyes. “This path is dangerous, Alan. You should listen to your brother and stop.”

          He smiled at her. “He doesn’t understand how it makes me feel, Mao. And besides, wasn’t it my stubbornness that you fell in love with?” He nuzzled her neck with his lips.

          Maouri didn’t respond as she always had. Instead her hands found his shoulders and he felt her push him away. He felt his expression sadden.

          “We can be together again if you stop,” she smiled.

          “We’re together now.” He wanted to hold her, to delight in her smell and her warmth. It had been so long since he had been held in the arms of someone he loved, and who loved him.

          “No, Alan. We’re not. But we can be.”

          He moved to the side and looked into her face. In the light of the setting sun her skin held an odd gleam, much like the luminescence of a moth’s wings when turned in the light. Iridescent. Unreal.

          Unnatural.

          Her eyes hardened as she returned his gaze. “We can be together...” Her face changed, and slowly he saw the marks of something dark and wet across her face. He reached up and touched them. Slick. Sticky. He squinted at it in the darkening light.

          Blood.

          He looked back at his wife and time stood still. He tried backing away but was stopped by the wooden post of the house’s deck. Maouri stood before him, her body twisted at an odd angle as tubes and wires protruded from her skin. Some snaked out from her waist and rounded about her middle to re-attach themselves into her neck. It looked as if she was enveloped in a nest of snakes that looped and writhed in on itself.

          One of the tendrils reached out for him. He grabbed a hammer he’d left on the deck’s banister and struck the tube away. Three more replaced that one, each piercing his middle-section and he cried out. There was no pain – only an indescribable terror that washed over him. The writhing tangle of tubing pulled him to her as she held out her snow-white arms. He saw the gunshot wound to the right side of her head, where half of her skull had been blown away.

          Her arms enfolded him as he struggled. The tubing became wiring that traveled inside his ears. He felt it crawling around his brain, seeking out hidden ports and connections. He was all at once she and himself - two beings in one skin. And as he tried to speak she silenced him with a kiss.

          Her tongue snaked down his throat and he choked. He couldn’t move. He couldn’t breath. He couldn’t speak. Again he heard voices in the dark as he squeezed his eyes shut.

          “Relax Alan...” a female voice said. “It’s all for the best...” Again he knew the voice, had loved the voice, felt comfort in it, had...trusted...

          ...had...married...

          NO!

          Mac sat up in bed, a scream on his lips. He blinked wildly as he looked about his room in the Hotel Sacher in Vienna. The light was gone in the window, and the alarm clock buzzed inanely. He panted harshly and put his left hand to his chest. Breathe...breathe...breathe...

          It was only a nightmare.

          Someone knocked on the door as he turned to switch the alarm off. “Mac?”

          It was Derrick.

          “Yeah?” He stood and went to his bathroom. “I’ll be out in a minute.” He splashed water on his face and brushed his teeth. He avoided looking at himself. He couldn’t bear too - he feared he’d see her.

          Maouri.

          God...what is wrong with me?

          With a deep breath, Mac grabbed his jacket, checked on the vial and the file in his VR, and then stepped out of his room.

          Everyone else was seated in the Ladies’ suite when Mac, Johnny and Derrick arrived. Like their own living area, the center was filled with a U shape of couches, the centerpiece a glass and wood coffee table. Mac moved to sit beside Huang.

          Everyone looked at him.

          Deep breath. Mac pushed all thoughts of Maouri to the back of his mind as his eyes glazed and he pulled up the paragraph he’d translated earlier. “What I as able to gleam from the pebbles reads as follows:

          Honor the hero of Minos, then
          (with leave from her fair Knight) kiss Sofia’s hand
          Take tea with the Devil and ride the Wheel in the sky
          Walk the Spiral Garden and visit the House of the Hundred Waters
          Sing Stephen’s message to God and Tread carefully in the House of the Bones
          Read the Glorious story of Boromeo
          And remember that all roads lead to der Ring.”

          He blinked several times to remove the image.

          “Can you put that on paper?” Arden asked.

          Mac stood and went to the suite’s desk. There he found Sacher stationery and began writing down what he’d translated.

          “Right...” Huang said, her expression thoughtful. “Then I suggest we pool our resources to puzzle through this. Mac, could you make several copies of this?”

          Mac nodded and set to writing.

          Nearly an hour and a half of browbeating, cursing, singing and down right arguing issued amongst the group before the riddle began to make sense.

          Mac zeroed out of his Navigator and blinked when Derrick nudged him. He moved to where the others were lounged in various stages on the floor and couches. Mac himself had been lying prone on one couch, his hands folded over his chest, as he’d cruised the Digital Web for answers.

          Arden and Mark figured out the first line. Honor the Hero had to be Theseus. There was a temple of Theseus in one of the gardens of Vienna. Sofia represented knowledge or wisdom and to continue the Greek theme, Athena also represented these aspects. There was a statue of Athena in front of the parliament building so all agreed that kiss Sofia's hand meant Athena.

          Kyle frowned. “They’re landmarks.”

          The first line and second part of the second line was ready - but was with leave of her fair Knight?

          The group then gathered together around the coffee table with several maps. Mac concentrated on a smaller map he’d found at the bottom. Thoughts of his previous nightmare continued to intrude on him as he tried to focus and concentrate.

          Mac’s greatest embarrassment came when Calen stood from his place to the right, away from everyone else, strode forward and yanked the map from Mac’s hands. The VE then refolded it and pointed to the front. “You’re looking at Venice. We’re in Vienna.”

          They figured on ten landmarks in all that formed a circle about the city. Only a few of them gave them a bit of trouble. The only Knight anyone can find on the map was the one seated on top of the City Hall, called the Rathausman.

          And the phrase Taking tea with the devil was more than enough to stump all of them.

          Since it was paired with Wheel in the sky, the group assumed it be reference the huge Ferris Wheel in the amusement park. Arden suggested that there may be a ride in the amusement park dealing with the devil.

          Walking the Spiral Garden could be Belvedere Gardens that were known for their spiral patterns.

          The House of the Hundred Waters was the one Oz had guessed. Dealing with a local artist who was quite crazy with his work and often built fountains.

          Mark believed that Sing Stephen’s message to God pertained to St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna, and Tread carefully in the House of Bones could refer to the Cathedral of St. Stephen, which contained what was known as the Bone House.

          “The Crypt,” Arden beamed.

          Mac gave her a withering look. She seems way too happy about possibly looking for clues in a graveyard.

          The glorious story of Boromeo referred to the Kapuzinerkirche, another church in Vienna. There were two columns outside the Church that told the story of St. Charles who helped the Viennese get through the last plague.

          "All roads lead to der Ring,” Laura mumbled as she looked through the tour guide manual. “It might refer to the Ring Roads that lead to the two main museums and the statue of Maria Teresa, which is close by.”

          “Seems like a scavenger hunt,” Johnny said.

          “So we need to go to each one?” Kyle asked.

          “I suppose,” Arden said. “My suggestion is look at each one in order as they’re named.”

          “Could take too long,” Derrick said. “I think we should split up. Cover more ground that way.”

          Calen began punching keys on his laptop. “The only lines leading to landmarks that intersect are those at the statue of Theseus.”

          Huang sighed. She checked her watch. Mac looked at his own internal clock. It was sometime after eight and...

          “Mac?”

          The Adept blinked. He looked at each of the others. Who had called his name?

          “Mac?”

          He smiled. Syd! He leaned back into the couch and moved into VR. Syd was there in his library. Mac had forgotten he’d given the young VA access. “Sorry...we were meeting.”

          The young man’s face was flushed but he smiled. “I’m glad to see you,” he looked about. “There’s a very hot woman in my room.”

          “Zydeco? Syd, I know she’s beautiful, but I’m not sure hot is the best word to...”

          The kid held up his hands. “No...I mean she’s hot. Angry. Mad. Hopping. She wants to see Johnny now.”

          Crap. Mac peeked back at the meeting. Others were still talking. “Look, just a few more minutes, okay? I’ve already got the space cleared on my hard drive. You got her ready?”

          But Syd was talking to someone not there - someone back in his own RL. He looked back at Mac. “Sorry...I was explaining that I was talking to you and that you were in a meeting.” He gave a bigger grin. “She really is hot, isn’t she?”

          Mac understood his meaning that time. “Yes, she is. I’ll get a hold of Johnny as soon as we break. You keep Zydeco there.”

          “Will do.”

          Mac pulled out of VR just as Huang spoke. “Does anyone have any suggestions?”

          Mac looked at Calen. “Any suggestions?”

          He looked forward. “I’m following the group.”

          The Adept sighed. I should just give up – there is no getting through to this guy that I’m not an enemy. The fact the fucker still wants to shoot me is unnerving enough. And what was with that look in his eyes back in Monaco? It was like he was... possessed or something.

          “Well most of these are public places,” Arden said. “Which means they’ll be closed at night.”

          Huang nodded. “True - but several of these things involve statues and many are pretty high off the ground.”

          “And,” Arden said, “They give pretty good directions. Like one says to kiss Sofia’s hand. Does that mean someone has to kiss the statue of Athena?” She shrugged.

          “Doing many of these things will cause a scene, and draw attention to us that we do not need.” Huang noted.

          Derrick spoke up. “Except the Knight,” he looked at Huang. “I could always do it as a publicity stunt. With my profile, I could easily climb to the top and to check out the Knight, atop the Parliament building.”

          Mac opened his mouth to speak, but Huang stepped in. “I might be able to arrange for you to do that. It would ease that one riddle, and free others up to check out the others. You haven’t been linked in connection with us, and it does fit your profile,” she smiled.

          The Adept frowned. That might be true - but shouldn’t they be keeping a low profile? And how was Derrick getting his picture in the paper going to help?

          Syd buzzed him again as the group began to disperse. Zydeco was persistent. He moved from the couch and went to Johnny, who was about to shuffle out of the door. “Come with me.”

          “What?” Johnny said.

          Mac winked. “Trust me. I have something for you.” He motioned for the singer to follow him and the two disappeared into their suite down the hall.

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