The Project 04 - Black Harvest

was large and empty. A niche had been carved into the rock on the back wall. An image of a horse had been cut into the wall above. There were still traces of black pigment on the stone. Beside it, letters were roughly chiseled into the wall, as if someone had been in a hurry when they carved it.
    Papadakis shone his light on the inscription. Selena read over his shoulder. The archeologist sighed.

    Erinys waits for you
    By the springs of Thrace
    Where the two rivers cross
    Seek her and die

    "It's a message." he translated for Nick's benefit.
    "Erinys?" He remembered what Selena had said back in Virginia. "Demeter in her vengeful aspect?"
    Papadakis nodded in approval. "That's right. The black horse is the symbol of Persephone. A night mare. You know Persephone?"
    "I can't keep all these names straight. Persephone, Demeter, Erinys. The same goddess, right?"
    Papadakis smiled. "Not exactly, although some see it that way."
    He turned back to the inscription. "This is a taunt to the Romans. Probably written around 147 or 146 BCE during the final conquest of Greece. The legions were pillaging as they came. If something was here then it was taken away and hidden."
    He swept his hand around the room. "I've never seen anything like this before. It's completely atypical."
    The walls were unmarked except for the inscription, the horse and the empty niche. The room was plain, cut from the living rock. It was more like a storage room than a tomb.
    "It looks like a riddle." Selena ran her fingers along the chiseled letters.
    "I doubt that. Just typical poetic expression. It probably means the locals fled into Thrace and if the Romans came after them, they'd be killed. But Thrace already had large Roman settlements. Classic bravado. It's what finally got Rome annoyed enough to turn Greece into provinces."
    "Where is Thrace?" Nick looked at the inscription.
    "Modern day Bulgaria. The old Thrace ended at the Balkan Mountains to the north and included Western Turkey, this side of the Bosporus."
    "Maybe whatever was here was taken to Thrace."
    Papadakis shrugged. "We'll never know. But this is interesting. It will make for several good papers." He peered at the inscription.
    The academic mind at work. Nick saw Selena smile and look at him. They made their way out of the tomb, back to the outside world. A light rain drifted over the grass and trees. The earth smelled rich and full. After the tomb it felt like a return to life. The drops made minute explosions against his skin.
    Papadakis had stayed inside. Demetrios stood with Nick and Selena in the rain. He pulled up the collar of his coat.
    "I'm wondering about that inscription, " Nick said.
    "Yes?" Demetrios gave him a hostile look.
    "I think Selena is right and our archeologist may be wrong. I think it's a riddle, or some kind of message. More than a jab at the Romans."
    "You think it is a message about the treasure?"
    "It could be."
    Selena wiped a few drops of water from her face. They began walking to the cars.
    "You heard Papadakis, Chief Inspector. The room isn't typical. Something was there. Why else build it like that?"
    "You are both speculating. We know nothing about what was in that room."
    "But we know someone left a message there. It's the only clue we've got. I think we have to pursue it."
    Demetrios stood by the side of his car. "I'm going to Thessaloniki to interrogate Gelashvili."
    "We should go with you."
    "No, Carter, you should not. You will remain here until I return."
    Selena knew Nick was getting ready to blow. She touched his arm "We'll be here. I want to use the internet at the hotel."
    "I will return tomorrow. You are restricted to the hotel." Demetrios got in the police car and drove away.
    Nick shook his head as the car left them behind. "What an asshole."
    "An unpleasant man. Never mind him. That niche was about the right size for something two cubits high."
    "I was thinking the same thing."
    "Let's go back to the hotel."
    Neither noticed the old man standing in a grove of olive trees not far from the tomb. The man had the look of someone who had worked at hard labor in the fields all his life. He was dark and stooped. He wore a cloth workman's hat. He watched the car with the two foreigners grow smaller until it turned out of sight. He sighed, crossed himself and shuffled away in the rain.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

    Thessaloniki was a big city. There were ruins, fortifications, sites of ancient battles. Korov thought he'd look around and explore after his