“Τα Παιδι? του Μιν?ταυρου.”
The Minotaur’s Children.
* * *
The next hour was ablur. The four of them crammed into a van without windows with two cloaked figures guarding the door. Despite a barrage of demands and questions from Christos and Andreas, the figures didn’t speak. Theo didn’t even bother trying to get answers. His only focus was on Dani.
He wrapped one arm around her, and with his other hand he held her hands. He could feel her trembling, though she kept a stony face. He wanted to tell her it would be okay, but being ushered into a windowless van didn’t exactly instill confidence.
Finally, the van stopped, and the engine turned off. Theo’s heart pounded, but he tried to stay strong for Dani. When the doors finally opened, the cloaked figures ushered them out. And there, right in front of them, was one of the grandest estates he’d ever seen in all of Greece.
All four of them lined up in a row, staring at the house, a modern multilevel estate spanning what felt like the length of an entire football field. The building was all clean lines and angles, something he’d picture in a Sotheby’s International luxury real estate magazine. The large windows at the entranceallowed them to see through the center of the house to a view of the sea. They were perched somewhere high above the Aegean, but Theo couldn’t quite place it. If he had to guess, they were somewhere between Poseidon’s temple and Athens.
“I wonder who lives here,” Christos said.
“Something tells me we’re about to find out,” Theo said.
One of the cloaked figures led the way, taking them through a maze of rooms and winding their way downstairs until they finally came to a large set of double doors with an emblem of the eye and the μ. They all looked at one another, unsure of what lay before them on the other side.
Theo was both frightened and fascinated as one of the cloaked figures pushed open the doors in the center and motioned for them to enter.
On the other side of the doors was a large room overlooking the sea with a swimming pool outside. There were low meandering walls built into the floor, twisting and winding in random patterns with benches and chaises at various dead ends and one larger open area in the center with a single bench. Sitting atop the center bench was another cloaked figure, though this one a man with the hood off.
“Welcome,” he said, motioning for them to come closer.
Dani held on to Theo’s hand tight as they all made their way toward the center of the room like Dorothy and her friends inThe Wizard of Oz.
“What is this place?” Andreas asked, looking around the room, running his hand along the walls.
“This is the Labyrinth. I take it, you have not heard of it, Dr. Demetrious?”
“You know who I am?” Andreas asked.
“I know who all of you are. An interesting cast of characters.Dr. Andreas Demetrious, archaeologist at the National Archaeological Museum. Christos Samara, food purveyor and cousin to Dr. Demetrious. Daniela Guiterrez, American librarian. And Dr. Theo Galanis, the dead Greek American archaeologist. Except it seems, maybe notalldead.”
“Buthowdo you know who we are?” Andreas asked.
“I make it my business to know who might be searching for the eye of the Minotaur,” the man said.
“And who are you, exactly?” Theo interrupted. “You seem to know all about us, but you haven’t introduced yourself.”
“You can call me ιερ?ας.”
“Priest,” Theo said.
“That is correct.”
“And what are we doing here? Where are we even?”
“Like I said, I make it my business to know who might be searching for the eye. I’d heard about your incident yesterday at the National Library. We, the Minotaur’s Children, are very protective of our father. We can’t have anyone searching the grounds at Poseidon’s temple after hours.”
“So then you know where it is?” Andreas asked.
“Where what is?”
“The eye.”
The priest laughed. “Oh no. That’s a myth.”
