Keepers of the Labyrinth

A
LSO
BY
E
RIN
E. M
OULTON

Flutter

Tracin
g Stars

Chasing the
Milky Way

P
HILOMEL
B
OOKS

Published by the Penguin Group

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Copyright © 2015 by Erin E. Robinson.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available upon request.

ISBN 978-0-698-17255-5

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For Pa,
wh
o checked on the bod
y count and messages
from beyond the gra
ve

The urge to disco
ver secrets is deepl
y ingrained in human
nature; even the le
ast curious mind is
roused by the promis
e of sharing knowled
ge withheld from oth
ers.

—John Chadwick,
The Decipherment of
Linear B

Prologue

T
he wind blew in from the A
egean and swept towa
rd the Libyan Sea. I
t tumbled rocks from
mountaintops, sendi
ng them echoing into
the bellies of gorg
es. It whipped towar
d houses, filling ha
nging clothes with i
ts hot breath, stret
ching them to wick a
way the last of thei
r water. It danced t
hrough the olive gro
ves, pulled the frui
t from boughs, and s
ent it careening to
the ground. It disru
pted a goat grazing
under the cypress tr
ees before it sailed
down the dirt road
that led to Melios M
anor. It knew the pl
ace well and took a
moment to admire it.
The building stood
austere and looming.
It was the best of
the old and new, lea
ning into the mounta
in like a child into
its mother's embrac
e.

When the wind had
had its fill, it do
ve toward the garden
and lifted a few be
es from their work.
It stoked the outsid
e fire pit and licke
d the olive oil off
a hanging pot of len
til soup before it s
ailed past the open
kitchen. Then it bul
leted upward and int
o Athenia Pelia's st
udy, toppling a stac
k of manila envelope
s on her desk. Athen
ia rushed to clasp t
he window and snatch
ed at the envelopes
as they landed at he
r stockinged feet. S
he was a small woman
with black ringlets
that would tumble d
own her back if she
let them. Instead, t
hey were pinned into
a rough twist at th
e nape of her neck.

“Mitera Gaia, Mitera Gaia,”
she said under he
r breath as she push
ed the envelopes bac
k into a pile. Athen
ia's quarters were s
triped with every co
lor—like a candy-mon
ger's den, only inst
ead of candy, the co
lors were ribbons an
d yarns that hung ou
t of stacked baskets
. A wooden rack heav
y with decorative bu
ttons leaned into a
corner. And from the
top of that rack tu
mbled a stack of sta
ined olive-wood boxe
s filled with metall
ic charms.

A knock c
ame at the door, but
before Athenia coul
d answer, it swung o
pen.

“Ah, Bente,
kalimera,
” Athenia said
, pulling a pair of
glasses from her fac
e as she surveyed th
e older woman. “You
look worried.”

The t
all Norwegian swallo
wed, entering the ro
om. “It's nothing. A
t least not yet.”

Sh
e clasped her hands
together, stretching
veins taut from her
knuckles to her wri
sts. Despite her age
, Bente was strong,
agile and nearly as
sinewy as she had be
en in her youth.

“Sh
all we?” Athenia sai
d, reaching up to a
cast-iron sconce tha
t stuck out of the s
tone wall and yankin
g it downward. The s
tained-glass window
at the top of her do
or swung in its spot
and came to rest up
side down in its fra
me. On the other sid
e of the room, penda
nts shimmered as the
wall behind them sw
ung open. The women
slipped inside and s
ealed the door.

Athe
nia pulled a lighter
from her pocket, ga
ve it a flick and se
t it to the nearest
wick, which peeked o
ut of a cast-iron ar
m on the wall. The f
lame caught, and mom
ents later, as if by
magic, another one
lit in the opposite
corner. But that was
n't all. Flames rose
in a spiral, climbi
ng the stone of the
antechamber. Higher
and higher they stre
amed, until they met
the rafters. Then t
hey bloomed along th
e beams, sitting lik
e clusters of birds.
Finally, upon reach
ing the center, the
flame stopped at the
chains of an ancien
t candelabra.

Atheni
a waited, wondering
if she needed to hav
e Trudy repair it ag
ain, but a moment la
ter, with a snap, th
e candles sparked to
life like a wave of
fire. Then all went
quiet.

On the oppos
ite side of the ante
chamber, another doo
r swung open, and in
walked Trudy and Co
lleen. Trudy brushed
a curl away from he
r face as she remove
d her lab coat from
her shoulders and to
ok a seat. Colleen p
ulled a clipboard fr
om underneath her ar
m and a pen from her
pocket.

“Shall we b
egin?” Athenia asked
, stationing herself
at the head of the
table. She pulled a
small wooden peg tow
ard her. It was deco
rated with ten butto
ns showing old picto
graphs, and her thum
b made quick work of
punching in the cod
e.

A square of the f
ar-left wall swivele
d, revealing a pedes
tal holding a large
tome. It sat open on
the wooden stand. S
he moved swiftly to
it. It was heavy in
Athenia's arms, and
as she returned to h
er seat, she set it
carefully on the tab
le.

She plucked a cr
acked leather strap
from the center and
flipped the book ope
n to the selected pa
ge. It was split int
o four columns. She
took a moment to let
her eyes fall on th
e familiar letters i
n the third column.
The letters of her a
ncestors. Greek. She
had studied the anc
ient alphabet and kn
ew it well.

She clea
red her throat and b
egan. “As you know,
we have completed ou
r recruitment select
ions. In just a few
weeks, we will begin
our leadership conf
erence and assess ea
ch pupil to see who
best displays the fo
ur virtues. To see w
ho will follow in ou
r footsteps.” Atheni
a gestured to the pi
le of manila envelop
es next to her. “We
have a promising gro
up of young women fr
om around the world.
”

“And we have a pro
mising set of challe
nges for them to fac
e,” Bente added, sit
ting up straight and
clasping her hands
in front of her.

“Ye
s, throughout the we
ek, I suspect all wi
ll have a fair chanc
e to display their s
kills.” Athenia gest
ured to Colleen. “Do
you have the assess
ment sheets for us,
Col?”

Colleen nodded
curtly, her short b
lack hair swinging i
n a bob around her f
ace. “Yes,” she said
, taking a sheet fro
m the top of her cli
pboard and passing t
he pile to her right
.

“Very well,” Athen
ia said, accepting t
he papers as they re
ached her. “We must
be sure to evaluate
thoroughly in every
workshop.” She looke
d at the ancient Gre
ek, examining the pa
rameters of the firs
t virtue. She read t
he old phrases, her
mind working them in
to English. “First,
we seek the Historia
n, whose virtue is k
nowledge—mainly, the
ability to cull and
access information
through the written
word.” She looked ac
ross the table at Co
lleen. “Col, as curr
ent Historian, what
is your plan to asse
ss these attributes?
”

Colleen clipped th
e extra assessment s
heets onto her clipb
oard. “I'll be discu
ssing knowledge foun
dations worldwide, i
nformation storage a
nd knowledge sharing
. I'll also be looki
ng for someone parti
cularly interested i
n history, its inter
pretation and how to
access and assess a
rchives.”

Athenia no
dded, scribbling in
the margins of her p
aper. She placed a f
inger back on the pa
ge. “Next, the Inven
tor, whose virtue is
creation. We will b
e watching for the a
bility to think outs
ide the box, innovat
ive spirit and a sci
entific mind. Trudy,
as current Inventor
, have you settled o
n a plan to assess t
hese attributes?”

Tr
udy set her glasses
on the table in fron
t of her. Her Irish
brogue filled the ro
om as she spoke. “I
have several challen
ges set up for them,
but we'll be explor
ing genetic experime
nts, natural energy
storage and climate-
control solutions wi
thin our workshop mo
dules.”

“Very nice,”
Athenia said. She l
ooked down at her sh
eet. “Next is the Ar
tist, whose virtue i
s empathy. I will be
looking for the abi
lity to connect and
sympathize with even
the darkest and mos
t brutish of spirits
. My classes will co
ver cross-cultural a
rt and universal rel
ation to expression.
”

The others around
the table nodded as
Athenia's eyes fell
to the Greek once mo
re. The final virtue
.

“Finally, we seek
the Protector, whose
virtue is boldness.
Attributes are stre
ngth of body, mind a
nd spirit.” She look
ed up from the book.
“Bente, as current
Protector, do you ha
ve a plan for assess
ing these attributes
?”

“I've made some a
djustments to the co
urse on the back hil
l,” Bente said, “whe
re I will be watchin
g for their enduranc
e, strength of will
and team-leading abi
lities. The ropes co
urse on the first da
y should help us wee
d out those who lack
a call to adventure
.”

Athenia surveyed
the book and gave a
satisfied smile. “I
think we're in line
with the tenets.” Sh
e closed the book an
d returned it to the
pedestal on the ant
echamber wall, and p
ushed a small button
on the stand. It sw
iveled away from her
and out of sight. S
he stopped to look a
t the picture that n
ow took its place.
H
ELENE BENNETTE, ARIA
DNE 400
was inscribed on the
bottom of the frame
.

“Do you think her
daughter will be any
thing like her?” Ath
enia asked as she ra
n her fingertips acr
oss the inscription.