Purpose

by  Julie O.

Edited by Amelia R.  &  Tyrone Slothrop
Background information on Santorini  by  Steffen M.

 

Chapter Seventeen

Alex had been right, a swim felt wonderful after a day at work, thought Hallie. She was sitting on a towel, next to Kim.

Lane was lying next to them; she seemed disappointed that Theon wouldn't join them.

"I don't mean to pry, but just what do you see in Theon?" asked Kim.

"What do you mean?" asked Lane.

"Come on, he's a total sexist. I saw when he grabbed your butt while we were working," stated Kim.

"That was just him being playful," replied Lane with a laugh.

"Bull! If any guy back on campus had done that to you, you would have screamed bloody murder," snapped back Kim.

"I like lots of things about Theon. He treats me like a lady," replied Lane.

"He treats you like he owns you, and you've only known him for a few days. I can't image how he'll be treating you in a few weeks," added Hallie.

Lane let out a long sigh, as if she was imaging how he would be treating her.

"Lane, I've known you for a few years now, and I'm stumped as to why you let him walk all over you," continued Kim.

"I don't mind. It's so refreshing to be with a man who wants a lady," answered Lane.

"I guess we should feel lucky we're not in the Middle East, where we'd all be in bhurkas!" quipped Hallie.

"No way, besides Theon told me how much he'd like me to wear shorter skirts. I guess being lesbians you just don't understand men!" replied Lane, with a laugh.

"Um… Lane, remember I used to be a man?" replied Hallie.

Lane suddenly had a look of disbelief on her face. "Don't tell me that you actually care about me?"

Hallie shrugged her shoulders. "I don't like to see anyone taken advantage of."

Lane laughed. "It's okay, I'm not being forced into anything. It's not as if I'm under a magic spell or anything like that!"

Hallie raised an eyebrow and looked over at Kim. She wondered if her guardians were responsible for Lane and Theon's budding romance, but decided to keep it to herself for now.

Chapter Eighteen

For dinner Carla had made a lamb stew, and everyone agreed it was spectacular. After dinner they sat outside and Stefanos opened another bottle of wine to refill everyone's glasses.

Hallie was amazed by the amount of wine she had consumed since they arrived in Crete. What was even more astonishing was that only once did real really feel drunk, and that was the first night.

"Quite an eventful first day," Alex remarked, as he sipped his wine. "Wonderful selection, Stefanos!"

"So who were those two thugs that were with Konstantin?" asked Kim.

"To be honest, no one knows their real names. The locals call the tall one "Big Boris," and the shorter one 'Fat Boris.' They rarely speak, although they've been seen in a lot of the bars and clubs in town," answered Theon.

"They look like they've been watching The Sopranos. Do they always dress like that?" asked Hallie.

"You should see them when they're in the clubs! And their aftershave! They put enough on for the entire male population of Crete!" exclaimed Lydia, who was snuggling next to Stefanos.

"I'll pass," replied Kim, with a laugh.

"They do tip well. They've never caused any problems inside any of the clubs," continued Lydia.

"No, they take care of their business in the back alleys," stated Theon.

"What do you mean?" asked Carla.

"They've beaten up a few people, usually over a woman or something like that. They also don't take to being insulted. I hear a local called Big Boris a psologifitis, and he ended up in the hospital," explained Theon.

"Okay, what's a …psolo…gif…it…is?" asked Kim.

"A crude insult, meaning he likes to give oral to other men," replied Hallie.

Her response raised a few eyebrows. "Hallie, no offense, but who taught you Greek? A sailor?" quipped Stefanos. He broke out laughing.

"I guess I heard it somewhere. I guess I have a knack for learning languages," replied Hallie, who started to blush.

"Just be careful with some of those more colorful terms you've picked up," advised Stefanos.

Hallie nodded.

As the night progressed, people began to leave, until only Hallie, Stefanos, and Carla were left.

"I'm glad we have some time to talk. I have so many questions for you," remarked Stefanos.

"I hope you're not going to ask them all tonight?" replied Hallie.

Stefanos poured out some more wine and laughed. "No, of course not. I do want to know more about the temple. Are you sure that the one you saw is the same one we're working on?"

Hallie nodded. "In the moonlight I could see the hills rising behind the temple, particularly the one with the split crest. It's the same place."

"And the bath was behind the wall where the fresco originally was located?"

"Yes."

"Then the mound of dirt behind the wall isn't natural. The bath must have been filled in hundreds, if not thousands of years ago. I wonder if it's still intact?"

"We can find out easily enough," added Carla.

"It would take a lot of digging," replied Stefanos.

"Why not use ground penetrating radar? It will at least tell us if something is there," continued Carla.

Stefanos nodded. "Of course. I saw them using one of those last summer at Knossos. I'll call my friends there and see if they still have it."

"It will tell us if something is down there. The tub was carved out of stone, so it should show up," remarked Hallie.

"Even if we don't find the key to the Minoan languages, finding the tub would be a spectacular find," added Stefanos.

"So, did Artemis show up today?" asked Carla.

"Who told you about her?" asked Stefanos. He started to laugh again.

"Who is Artemis, besides the Greek goddess of the hunt?" asked Hallie.

"She's a stray cat that patrols the temple area. She keeps the museum free of mice, so she was named after Artemis. Lydia told me about her," explained Carla.

"Just a stray cat," dismissed Stefanos. He waved his hand as if the cat meant nothing to him.

Carla smiled. "Lydia told me that you sometimes put food out for her."

"Cool. What does she look like?" asked Hallie.

"She's black and white. For a stray, she's very friendly, but only with people she trusts," replied Stefanos.

"I hope I see her tomorrow," stated Hallie, as she held back a yawn. "I'd better get to bed. Good night."

Hallie stood up and hugged both Stefanos and Carla goodnight.

Chapter Nineteen

The next day Hallie continued working on the drawing and also sketched out a map of the area for Stefanos. While she enjoyed what she was doing, Hallie couldn't wait to help with the actual dig. She nibbled on some grapes and some apricots that she had brought from the house.

A few hours into her work, Hallie began to sense that someone or something was watching her. She looked up and saw two glowing eyes in the back corner of the museum. Hallie cocked her head and saw a lean black and white cat staring back at her.

She crouched down and spoke softly to the cat. "How long have been there? Are you Artemis?"

The cat sat there for a moment, as if she was checking out Hallie. Then she slowly slinked over and rubbed up against Hallie.

Hallie reached down and began to rub Artemis, who in turn began to purr contently. "I guess I found the right spot."

Hallie returned to work under the watchful gaze of Artemis, who climbed up on a chair. A short time later Hallie noticed that her new companion had fallen fast asleep. Hallie wished she had brought her camera, and made a mental note to bring it tomorrow.

An hour later over lunch she told them about Artemis.

"Is she still in the museum?" asked Kim.

"She was when I left. I don't think she's going anywhere anytime soon," replied Hallie.

"Cool. I hope she's as friendly with me."

"She will be; just like her namesake, she likes young women," interjected Theon. "Artemis was the protector of young women. She doesn't like me all that much, even though I've never done anything to her."

"Have you found anything yet?" asked Hallie, shifting the conversation, not wanting to say something she would regret later.

"No, but we're getting to the layer that Alex thinks looks promising. We're working a test area, if we find anything we'll know how far we should dig," stated Lane.

"We'll call you if we find anything," added Kim.

"So have you found anything in your studies of the fresco?" asked Lane.

Hallie nodded. Lane and Theon had been told that Hallie was studying the fresco; they didn't know she was drawing the missing sections. "I should have an approximate size of the missing section for you by this afternoon. I've been studying the notes of the men who found it and then extrapolating from similar frescos," lied Hallie.

"Oh, Papa, I have to leave. My editor has been screaming for my latest article," stated Theon.

Stefanos nodded. "Theon, you've already given us more time that I could have hoped for. Will we see you for dinner?"

Theon looked at Lane with hungry eyes. "I think so."

When Hallie returned to work, she saw that Artemis was still in the chair. Hallie poured some water in a small bowl and set it down near the cat and then she returned to work.

An hour later Hallie heard Kim calling her name. "Hallie, we found something!"

Hallie dashed outside and ran over to the dig site. The others were gathered around the screen they used to sort the artifacts from the dirt. Kim was holding a small piece of painted stone. It was less than a half-an-inch in length and maybe an eighth of an inch in diameter. The color matched the lower section of the gowns of the priestesses.

"How far down did you find it?" asked an anxious Hallie.

"Six inches," replied Kim. There was a huge smile on her face.

"Look, there are two more pieces in the screen," announced Lane excitedly, pointing to the screen.

"Okay, let's control our emotions. Now, we need to record these items where we found them," stated Alex. "Place all suspected pieces of the fresco in this tray. For each dig section, there will be a separate tray."

"So after we record the fragments, we start putting the puzzle back together?" asked Hallie.

"Exactly. Lane, make sure you take photos of the fragments. Kim, don't forget to record the location that we found them," continued Alex.

"How can you be so calm?" asked Hallie.

"Trust me, my dear, on the inside I'm jumping for joy!" replied Alex. "But we must remember that we're scientists."

Hallie nodded and returned to the museum. She saw that Artemis was up and taking a drink. "You like that?"

Artemis looked up at Hallie and went back to quenching her thirst. Hallie smiled and returned to her drawing. She never heard the cat leave.

Chapter Twenty

By the end of the day, they had dozens of pieces of damaged fresco. The place where they were digging was over two feet from the location of the fresco and Alex firmly believed that they would discover larger pieces the closer they got to the wall.

The girls were caught up in the wave of euphoria caused by the discovery and wanted to keep working, but Alex insisted that they stop for the day.

"What we've found today has been there for centuries, and the remaining parts will still be there in the morning. Remember, this isn't a race," stated Alex as they packed up for the evening.

"I hope we find some bigger pieces, otherwise it will be like doing a jigsaw puzzle without knowing what the final picture is supposed to look like," remarked Lane.

"Maybe not," replied Hallie. It was time to let Lane in on the secret. "Lane, I know what the fresco looks like. I've been working on a drawing the past couple of days."

Lane stared at Hallie. "How do you know what it looks like?"

Hallie took a deep breath and gave Lane a condensed version of her dream journey.

"Do the rest of you believe her?" asked Lane.

"Sure, why not? We're entering uncharted waters here. If Harry could become Hallie, then dream journeys shouldn't be that farfetched," replied Kim.

"And none of this scares you?" asked Lane.

Hallie noticed real fear in Lane's eyes. "I'd be lying if I said that I'm not a bit concerned about where all this is leading us. I do believe that the guardians are benevolent and that they will protect us."

"Has anyone thought that they could just be using us?" added Lane.

"Maybe, but maybe that's what the so-called gods did in the ancient times," answered Hallie.

"I agree with Hallie. The guardians might be using us to unearth this site. But everything that Hallie has seen shows that the site was used voluntarily. Additionally, the Minoan society was trade-based and not a warlike society. I don't see any danger to us," interjected Alex.

"I think we should continue this discussion over a bottle or two of wine," added Stefanos.

Lane turned to Stefanos. "So, you agree with them?"

He nodded. "I've always believed that the ancient myths were based on facts. The idea that a god or goddess could transform someone was explained as either an overactive imagination or a metaphor. Well, Hallie is living proof that transformations occurred. Even today we see this as magic, but maybe it's just science—granted, advanced beyond our comprehension, but science nevertheless."

"Think about it, Lane. How would an ancient person explain something like electricity?" asked Kim.

"But why make the object in the form of a dildo?" asked Lane.

"Sexual tools were part of the Minoan culture. Maybe they created the object in an image that the Minoans would find familiar?" asked Alex.

"I think I need some of that wine," replied Lane, with a nervous laugh. "I'm sorry, but this weirds me out a bit."

"Of course it does. You don't have any experience similar to this in your life. Try to keep an open mind, Lane," explained Alex.

"Lane, do me a favor and keep this a secret from Theon and Lydia, okay?" asked Hallie.

Lane nodded.

"Well, we'd better get going, Carla will be upset if we're late," stated Alex.

A few minutes later, they headed back to Stefanos' home. They failed to notice the two men observing them from a nearby hill.

Chapter Twenty-One

The following morning Kim, Hallie, and Lane arrived at the site ahead of Alex and Stefanos. They were waiting for word on the availability of the ground penetrating radar.

It was a pleasant morning and the three young women had decided to walk down to the site.

Kim pointed to some goats grazing. "Look up on the hills, there are dozens of them."

"That's pretty cool," replied Hallie. She took out her camera and took a few photos.

"I have to admit that Crete is beautiful. It's easy to imagine what it looked liked in the time of the Minoans," added Lane.

"Not that easy," replied Hallie. "There were many more trees back then."

"I noticed that you and Theon spent some time down on the beach together last night," remarked Kim, with a smile.

Lane smiled back. "I know it's ridiculous, but I'm falling deeply in love with him. I can even picture us with our children."

"Well, now you and Hallie have something in common, she's all gaga about babies too," quipped Kim.

"Really?" asked an excited Lane.

Kim rolled her eyes and tried to ignore Hallie and Lane's conversation about infants.

They reached the site a short time later. Hallie immediately felt something was wrong. She stopped and scanned the site.

"What's wrong?" asked Kim.

"I don't know, but something isn't right," answered Hallie.

"Do you think we should go back to the house?" asked Lane.

Hallie looked at Kim and shook her head. "Come on."

They walked cautiously towards the museum and dig site. Everything looked normal from a distance. It was only when they got closer that they heard the noise. There was a loud buzzing. It came from the side of the museum, near the shed where they stored their tools. When they turned the corner they saw it, an impaled goat's head on a stake next to the door to the tool shed. The buzzing was from the multitude of flies attracted to it.

In spite of herself, Hallie let out a scream, but she immediately recovered.

"That's disgusting!" exclaimed Lane.

Hallie's scream attracted the night watchman, who came running around the corner.

"Please, ladies, leave that horrid thing alone. I found it this morning and was hoping that Stefanos would get here first," explained the man.

"It's okay," replied Hallie. She looked at the man and remembered his name was Demos.

They walked back to the front of the museum.

"I'll get a shovel and bury that thing. I found the rest of that poor animal over there," stated Demos, pointing towards the hill behind the temple. "I'll have to tell Mikos what happened."

"Who's Mikos?" asked Kim.

"He's the goatherder who owned that animal," stated Demos. "He'll be devastated. He treats each animal as if it was part of his family."

A short time later Alex and Stefanos arrived. Stefanos flew into a furious rage seeing the impaled goat's head.

"That bastard Konstantin thinks that he can scare us off by killing a goat?" exclaimed Stefanos. He then began to shout angrily in Greek. Suddenly he stopped. "Please, forgive me, I forgot my manners."

Kim leaned over to Hallie. "What did he say?"

Hallie shook her head. "I'll tell you later."

Demos buried the remains of the goat and they returned to work. Hallie began to color the drawing. She was relieved to see Artemis saunter into the museum.

Hallie crouched down and petted Artemis as she rubbed against Hallie's legs. "I'm glad that those idiots didn't get their hands on you."

Artemis just purred back, as if nothing was wrong. Hallie poured her companion some water and returned to work.

By lunch Lane, Kim, and Alex had recovered many more parts of the fresco. Stefanos had driven back into town to talk to the local police. He didn't think they could or would do anything, but he wanted to make sure that the incident was reported. He also wanted to stop by the home of Mikos. Hallie wondered if the goats that they had seen that morning belonged to him.

As they ended their lunch break, Stefanos returned.

"Mikos was very angry and stated that if he catches them touching another of his goats, he'll personally slit their throats," announced Stefanos.

"Do you think he means it?" asked Lane.

Stefanos nodded. "Mikos fought with my father during the war. He's old, but I wouldn't take him lightly."

"Is there anything we can do?" asked Hallie.

Stefanos shook his head. "Thank you for asking, but he doesn't blame us."

"Any word on the radar?" asked Alex.

"Yes. I stopped by the house on my way here and Carla told me that we'll get it in a few weeks," replied Stefanos.

"Cool, we'll be able to confirm the bath exists!" exclaimed Hallie.

"If it does, then this site will get a lot of attention," added Stefanos.

"We can withhold the announcement of the discovery until we finish the fresco," interjected Alex.

"I agree. The fresco is our first priority," concurred Stefanos.

"I also want everyone to be careful. I imagine that this was just the beginning," warned Alex. "I don't want you girls here alone."

"Theon is picking up some two-way radios; everyone will have one, just in case," added Stefanos.

"Are all digs this exciting?" asked Hallie.

Alex laughed. "Well, maybe not this exciting, but there is a level of danger to many digs. There're criminal elements that profit off artifacts, and we're seen as easy targets."

"He's right. The black-market in ancient goods is very profitable. Private collectors will pay huge sums for an item, much more than a museum can afford. The private collector also doesn't worry about local customs and cultural heritage," added Stefanos.

"So, the criminals will let the archeologist find the site and then they steal the goods?" asked Lane.

"Sometimes. Sometimes they discover the site first and loot it clean, damaging the area forever," explained Alex. "Well, let's get back to work."

"I'll talk to Demos and have him increase the security of the site," stated Stefanos as they headed back to the dig. Hallie decided it was time to take a break from her drawings and help the others. She hadn't come all the way to Crete to sit inside a building.

The rest of the afternoon was spent recovering parts of the fresco. Hallie noticed that some of the pieces had characters that looked like Linear A, but they weren't big enough to contain whole words.

"Soon, we'll break you up in shifts. You'll spend time here on the dig and in the museum sorting through the parts of the fresco," remarked Alex, as he took a drink of water.

Hallie was on her hands and knees and looked up at Alex. She then saw a flash of light up near the top of a nearby hill. She suspected it was the sun glinting off a pair of binoculars. "You know we're being watched?"

Alex looked towards the hill. "I thought so. Let them watch."

Hallie nodded and returned to her work. "Maybe we should suggest to Mikos that he take his goats up that way."

Kim, Lane, and Alex laughed.

Up on the hill, Fat Boris stared down at the archeologists through the binoculars. He couldn't understand why they were so interested in digging in the hot sun. He wiped his brow and thought about the way the one girl screamed when she saw the goat's head. "I'll make you scream, you smart-mouth whore," he said to himself. He couldn't believe the boss had let her insult him. He hoped that he would be allowed to use her, and her friends. American girls were so sexy, he thought.

Big Boris walked over from the SUV parked up the road. "Boss won't be happy that they're still there. I knew the goat's head wouldn't scare them off."

"I agree, maybe if we paid those girls a visit they might leave," replied Fat Boris, as he rubbed his crotch.

Big Boris shook his head. "Boss doesn't want that…yet."

Chapter Twenty-Two

Over the next week they found more and more of the fresco. As Alex had hoped, the pieces got bigger the closer they got to the wall. They made an even more exciting discovery when Lane found that there was a flagstone floor under the dirt. It was an inch below the area where they were finding most of the pieces. They found a layer of volcanic ash on the floor. Alex suspected it was from the Thera explosion and sent off a sample to be analyzed. Hallie was bothered by the fact that the ash was found. Did that mean the temple had been abandoned after the Thera explosion?

One day, Kim, Carla, and Hallie drove into Aghios Nikolaos to go to the market. They talked about the discovery of the floor and the ash.

"Being we're finding the parts of the fresco above the ash level, it shows that the damage occurred long after the temple was abandoned," stated Hallie.

"I agree. Judging by the layers of dirt you've described, I'd estimate the damage occurred sometime in the Middle Ages," remarked Carla.

"That would make sense. The images would have offended any of the religions in that era," stated Kim.

They pulled into town and parked. Hallie looked out over the bay and saw a warship anchored out there.

"Hey, that looks like one of ours," announced Hallie, pointing to the ship.

"Ohio State has a navy?" asked Carla.

Hallie laughed. "Funny!"

"We'll meet back here in an hour. I'll need your help when I pick up the supplies," stated Carla.

Hallie was wearing a pair of olive colored shorts, a blue cotton t-shirt, and her sandals. Kim was dressed in a similar outfit.

They were walking around town, looking in the shops, when they started seeing American sailors. There were both men and women, but it was obvious by their dress and demeanor that they were Americans.

"I guess this is not the best day to go shopping. The prices have gone up overnight," remarked Kim. "They've doubled the prices of almost everything."

"I guess the Cretans believe in making hay while the sun shines. The prices don't seem to be scaring off the sailors," answered Hallie.

They walked back towards the SUV when Hallie and Kim heard someone addressing them.

"Excuse me. Do you speak English?"

Hallie laughed and debated answering in Greek, as she turned around and saw two men and a woman standing there. She froze when she saw that one of the men was the spitting image of the man in her dreams.

The first man was attempting to read from an English to Greek phrase book. He was trying to ask directions to the museum.

"It's just up the road," answered Hallie in English.

"Whoa, you speak English," exclaimed the man.

"Why wouldn't we? We're from Ohio," laughed Kim.

"Wow, I didn't think we'd meet other Americans here," stated the woman.

"I'm Hallie, and this is my friend, Kim. We're on an archeological dig down the coast."

The first man nodded. "We're off the Churchill, the destroyer anchored out in the bay. I'm Josh Anderson," replied the tall muscular man. He had dark red hair and a thick moustache.

"I'm Sarah Mason," greeted the woman. She looked as if she was in her early twenties. Sarah was short with long blonde hair, pulled back into a ponytail.

"I'm Tyler Clarke," stated the other man. He cocked his head at Hallie. "Have we met? You look awfully familiar."

Hallie smiled. "I don't think so," she lied.

"So how long are you in port?" asked Kim.

"A few days," replied Josh.

"What do you do on the ship?" asked Hallie.

"I'm the Nav/admin, Sarah's the ASWO, and Tyler is Guns," answered Josh.

"Do you speak English?" asked Hallie with a smile.

"Idiot!" quipped Sarah at Josh. "He's the navigator and administrative officer. I'm the officer in charge of the anti-submarine warfare division, and Tyler is the gunnery officer."

"Thanks," answered Kim.

"We heard that there's a cool archeology museum here," stated Tyler.

"There is. Hey, why don't you come out to our dig instead?" suggested Hallie.

The three officers looked at each other. "Sounds great."

"Cool, walk this way," stated Kim.

Along the way, they told them about the dig. Hallie told them a sanitized version.

"Have you found anything interesting yet?" asked Tyler.

"We're finding parts of a damaged fresco," answered Hallie.

They met Carla and loaded up the SUV.

"Thank you for helping. Of course, you'll have to stay for dinner!" remarked Carla.

"What time do you have to be back onboard?" asked Hallie, as they drove out of town.

"We have to be back by midnight," answered Josh.

"No problem, we'll have you back by then," replied Carla.

After unloading the food, Carla drove them down to the dig site. "Call me when you're ready to leave."

Kim and Hallie showed the three officers the dig site and the fresco.

"This is fantastic. What was this temple used for?" asked Tyler.

"We're not totally sure yet. We think it was used by a religious cult," answered Hallie, continuing with the sanitized story of the temple.

"And that dust was from the big explosion at Santorini?" asked Josh in amazement.

"Yes," replied Hallie.

"We're doing a training exercise near there next week with the Greek Navy," stated Josh.

"Sounds like fun. I'm hoping to catch the ferry up there before we go back to the states," replied Hallie.

"We're due to come back here in a month. Can we come back and see how far you've progressed?" asked Sarah.

"Absolutely, that would be great. Maybe we could even put you to work!" answered Kim. "We always need help."

"Really? I'd like that!" exclaimed Tyler.

Hallie looked at her watch. "Well, we'd better get back to the house. Carla will have dinner ready soon. She's an incredible cook."

Kim called up Carla on the radio and in a few minutes Alex picked them up.

Chapter Twenty-Three

"That was fantastic, Carla! It's been so long since we've had anything that good," commented Josh.

Carla had barbecued some of the local seafood. She had even splurged and bought some large prawns and cooked them in garlic butter.

"You're welcome," replied Carla.

During dinner, Hallie and the others learned about their guests. Josh was married and had two beautiful children. Hallie felt her maternal urges shift into overdrive when she looked at their photos.

Sarah was a graduate of Annapolis and loved being on a ship. Her problem was her boyfriend wanted her to resign her commission and get married.

"He doesn't like the fact that I'm underway so often," explained Sarah.

Hallie noted that Theon seemed disturbed that the pretty young woman was in the military. She hoped that he wouldn't say anything sexist.

Tyler was single and had gone to Miami University in Ohio as a history major. Hallie couldn't believe how much he looked like the man in her dreams. He was a nice guy and seemed to be well liked. She was confused about how he would need her help.

"I can't believe that you get to spend the summer here. It has everything you could want!" exclaimed Tyler.

"Well, I do miss a few things from back home," replied Hallie.

"Like what?" asked Sarah.

"I'd kill for a real cheeseburger!" laughed Hallie.

"Me too!" added Kim.

Josh and the others laughed. "You know, we might be able to solve that problem. We could bring some sliders from the ship."

"Sliders?" asked Lane.

"Sorry, that's Navy for burgers. We could bring everything for a barbecue. We can even bring a few more guests," offered Josh.

"That would be wonderful," announced Stefanos! "We need a party!"

Carla, Josh, and Lydia began to plan the party. Josh, good friends with the Supply Officer, called the ship's satellite phone and confirmed that they would be able to bring the food and soda. Lydia agreed to bring the beer.

"Is fifteen people too much?" asked Josh. "Most of the off-duty officers want to come."

"No, not at all. I'm looking forward to meeting your comrades!" announced Stefanos.

"Do you have a bathing suit, Sarah?" asked Kim. "We have a great little beach here."

"Really! Cool! I'd love that!"

"Yes, tell all your friends to bring their bathing suits," offered Stefanos.

Tyler and Hallie talked. He was becoming more convinced that he knew her from somewhere.

Later that evening, Theon drove them back into town to meet their boat.

Hallie retrieved the drawing of the man in her dreams and showed it to Carla and Kim.

"It's him," replied Carla. "You even drew the frames of his glasses perfectly."

"Spooky. I wonder what's the significance," remarked Kim.

"I still have the feeling that I'm supposed to help him. But how?" asked Hallie.

"Time will tell," suggested Carla.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Two days later, the officers of the USS Winston Churchill arrived at Stefanos' home for a barbecue. Tyler, Josh, and Sarah returned with twelve other officers, including their commanding officer. Captain Nick Andropos became an instant celebrity in Stefanos' eyes. He was overjoyed to welcome an American of Greek decent into his home.

Josh was as good as his word. They brought several cases of burgers, hotdogs, rolls, condiments, soda, and everything else needed for a first class American barbecue.

The Supply Officer was a pleasant woman named Maria Gonzales. She eagerly agreed to help Carla with the meal.

"Now, I'll need some help on the grill. Josh, since you set this all up, you're up first!" announced Maria, with a laugh.

"Aye-aye, Ma'am!" stated Josh as he saluted her.

"Carla, we also brought a special treat. We got a supply of sweet corn this week. I don't imagine you can get corn on the cob here," stated Maria.

"Did you say corn on the cob? Yum!" exclaimed Alex, rubbing his belly.

"I took the liberty of making a big salad," stated Carla, ignoring her husband.

"That's wonderful," replied Maria.

Tyler introduced the rest of the officers to Hallie, Lane, Kim, and Alex.

"Papa, Lydia is here with the beer," announced Theon, as he greeted his father.

In short order, the officers of the Churchill assisted in the unloading of the beer. Lydia had brought several large metal tubs with ice and these were set up on the deck.

Soon the burgers were grilling and the beer was flowing. While there were three other female officers besides Sarah and Maria, Kim, Lane, and Hallie were exceedingly popular among the male officers. Lane fled the attention of the male officers and moved closer to Theon. He responded by having her refill his plate.

"Should we tell them that we're a couple?" whispered Hallie to Kim.

"No, let them have their fantasies, there's no harm in that," replied Kim.

Tyler definitely had his eye on Hallie. Later in the evening, they went for a walk together down on the beach, both in their bathing suits.

"We've been away from home for nearly four months, and this is the most relaxed that I've felt since we left Norfolk," stated Tyler as he sat down on a beach towel next to Hallie.

"It's been fun for us too."

"May I ask you a question?"

Hallie nodded.

"Do you like me?" asked Tyler. He groaned. "That's not what I meant…."

Hallie laughed. "It's okay."

They looked into each other's eyes. Hallie felt as if forces were sweeping her along beyond her control. She felt a strong desire for Tyler growing in her body. Her nipples began to harden, and she felt her vagina getting moist.

Whatever was happening, it was affecting Tyler too. With slight hesitation he leaned over and kissed Hallie on the lips. She instantly responded in kind and they were soon locked in passion.

Tyler carefully guided his hands over Hallie's body. Hallie offered no resistance and caressed Tyler back. He pulled away as if to say something and Hallie put her finger to his lips and shook her head. He understood and went back to kissing her. His hands began to caress and massage her now erect nipples. Hallie began to breathe more heavily.

She ran her hand down to his trunks and felt his erect cock straining through the material. She wanted to feel him inside her so badly. Wanted wasn't the right word—needed was a better description. Hallie surrendered rational thought and gave in to her overwhelming lust. Later she would laugh at how she lost her virginity on a beach in Crete.

As if Tyler could read her mind, he stripped off his suit and slowly undressed Hallie. She let out a sudden gasp as he entered her. It was followed by moans of pleasure as he began to make love to her. As Harry, she'd had a pretty active sex life, and had sex many times, but she'd never imagined that it could feel like this. The feel of Tyler's erect cock slipping in and out of her vagina was mind-blowing. She rode him and their bodies were soon in the matched rhythm of intercourse. Hallie could feel the orgasm growing in her body and worked for its release.

Tyler, for his part, also seemed to be approaching orgasm. Hallie knew that it would be simultaneously; she didn't know how she knew this, but something told her that something incredible was about to happen.

Thankfully for Tyler and Hallie, the combined sounds of the waves and the music of the party drowned out their moans of passion. They approached climax together and, in what Hallie remembered as a flash of energy, they reached orgasm. In that moment of passion, Hallie had complete access to Tyler's soul. She suddenly knew why she had been destined to meet Tyler. The quandary was how would she tell him.

Chapter Twenty-Five

Tyler cuddled Hallie in silence after they made love. Hallie wasn't sure, but he appeared to be crying. She debated discussing with him the secret she had just learned, but decided against it. No, she would think about it first. Tyler's ship would be back in Crete in a few weeks, and that would allow her time to plan her next move.

"We'd better get back to the party. I'm going to slip into the sea and wash up. You want to join me?" asked Hallie.

Tyler appeared to wipe his eyes. "Okay."

There was a full moon, and the sea was lit up brightly, but neither Tyler nor Hallie went out very far. Hallie let the waves gently wash up against her body. She wondered if her Minoan predecessors had done the same thing along this very beach. So, she had made love with a man. It was so different from being with Kim. Not better, just different. She did come to one conclusion; women had better sex than men, no matter who they had it with. She felt that she was uniquely qualified to make this observation.

They dressed and rejoined the party. Thankfully, no one paid them much attention. Hallie looked around and saw Kim talking with Sarah. She immediately knew that she would tell Kim what she had done.

She sat down next to Carla, who was swapping recipes with Maria. "Is there any wine left?"

"Sure, where's your glass?" asked Maria.

Hallie walked over to the table and grabbed an empty glass and extended it to Maria.

Carla sensed something was up. "Maria could you excuse me for a minute. It's getting chilly. I want to get a sweater."

After Carla left, Hallie excused herself and walked over to Alex and Carla's guest cottage. She hesitated outside the door and then knocked.

"Come in, Hallie."

Hallie smiled and walked into the cottage.

"You seemed like you wanted to talk about something. What is it?" asked Carla, who was sitting on the small couch.

Hallie smiled back and walked over and sat down next to Carla. "I just made love to Tyler."

"Oh."

Hallie sighed. "It was wonderful and I did it willingly. But part of me felt compelled to do it. Am I just rationalizing my behavior?"

Carla just nodded and reached over and began to braid Hallie's hair. She would wait until Hallie was finished before talking.

"I learned why I have been dreaming of Tyler," announced Hallie.

Carla nodded again.

"He's in conflict. He's transgendered. When we climaxed, I could see deep into his very being. Everything he's done in his life has been to fight his true essence. I think I'm supposed to transform him into the woman he was meant to be," continued Hallie.

"You sure?"

It was Hallie's turn to nod. "I just don't know how to tell him what I know."

"If this was destiny, then you'll get the guidance you'll need. Your guardians haven't let you down yet."

"I also have to tell Kim what I did. I'm so afraid that she'll feel I betrayed her."

"Dear, tell her like you just told me. She loves you and knows that you're special. You've always been honest with her, so I know she'll understand."

Hallie opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out, instead she began to cry. Carla pulled her close and began to hold and rock her, as a mother would her child.

"I just want to be normal. Is that too much to ask?" cried Hallie.

Carla just rocked Hallie. Let it out, she thought.

After a few minutes, Hallie recovered and regained her composure. She wiped the tears away from her eyes.

"Feel better?" asked Carla.

Hallie cracked a small smile and nodded.

"Good. Now go and wash your face. We need to get back to the party."

"Just in case I haven't told you this lately, thank you for everything. I love you."

"I love you too, dear," replied Carla, who gave Hallie one more hug.

Chapter Twenty-Six

The party slowly died out. Carla had more than enough help in cleaning up.

Captain Andropos stood up and addressed everyone. "I just want to thank our gracious hosts for the wonderful party. This has been the highlight of this deployment."

"It has been my honor to have you all in my house," replied Stefanos. "You're welcome back anytime."

There was a loud round of applause and cheering.

"Excuse me, Captain, but if you're coming back here in a month, why don't you let me cook you the Greek version of a barbecue. We all appreciated the taste of America you brought us here today, but I think your crew would like to try some local tastes in return," commented Carla.

"That is very generous," replied Captain Andropos.

"I insist on it!" exclaimed Stefanos.

"Very well, I don't want to create an international incident!" replied the Captain.

"Excellent. We will have a feast when the gallant crew of the Winston Churchill returns!" announced Stefanos in a big booming voice.

There was more cheering.

"Captain, while there isn't room for your whole crew here, I would like to let you know that my club will be happy to throw a party for your crew," added Lydia.

"That's very generous. Josh, you're in charge of making the arrangements for the crew party when we return. Maria, I think we can help out Lydia with supplies," stated the Captain.

Between Stefanos' SUVs and the ship's rental vans, they ferried the officers back to the boat landing. Hallie gave Tyler a big hug and said goodbye. She watched the SUV drive away and then helped Carla finish cleaning up.

"There's not much left to do, the crew did most of the work," stated Carla. "Why don't you all go to bed?"

Hallie walked slowly over to their cottage and found Kim sitting out on their small patio. She sat down next to her.

Hallie wondered how she would tell Kim what she had done. She was about to open her mouth when Kim spoke.

"So, how was it?" asked Kim. There was a grin on her face.

"You know?"

Kim laughed. "I could see you glowing the whole way back. I don't mind. I suspected something like that would happen when we saw Tyler."

Hallie didn't know whether to laugh or cry, instead she hugged Kim.

For the next twenty minutes, she told Kim about learning about Tyler's secret.

"The ceremony shows that three priestesses are used in the ceremony. I would like to be one of your assistants," stated Kim.

"You would do that?" asked an astonished Hallie.

"To participate in a ceremony that was performed by the Minoans? You must be kidding! I can't wait to help," replied Kim. "Besides, I can't wait to wear one of those skirts."

"Thank you. So who is number three?" asked Hallie.

"Don't you know?" asked Kim.

"Do you think Carla will do it?" asked Hallie.

"Yes, but only if Tyler volunteers to do it. Neither one of us will do to Tyler what Lane did to you."

"I'll ask her," stated Hallie.

Kim leaned over and kissed Hallie. "Do you still like girls?"

Hallie giggled. "Hmm, we'd better make sure about that."

Kim and Hallie stood up and walked together into the master bedroom.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

The Churchill got underway the following morning and work continued on the dig site. Over next week, they continued to find more pieces of the fresco. Carla joined them at the end of the week to assist with the reconstruction.

"I love doing this, it's like doing a very old jigsaw puzzle," remarked Carla as she sat down at the table with the fresco on it. Stefanos had brought in a wooden board and placed it in the area of the missing parts. Hallie's drawing was placed on the board.

"I'll sort them by color for now," remarked Carla.

For the first couple of hours, Hallie assisted Carla. To Hallie's surprise they actually made some progress in the reconstruction of the damaged section.

"I hope Alex is right and that the parts get bigger," remarked Hallie.

"Why? Do you have something else you want to do?" quipped Carla. "This is a big part of archeology; slow, tedious, work."

"I don't mind that part. I just want to get this done before the Churchill gets back," explained Hallie. She then went on to explain to Carla her theory about Tyler.

"And you want me to be the third priestess?" asked Carla.

"Yes. I trust you."

"Thank you," added Carla.

"Does that mean you're saying yes?"

"It means I'll have to think about it," replied Carla.

"That's fair," replied Hallie. She then picked up a piece and matched it to the fresco. "Oh, look, this is a piece of the priestess's gown."

Carla nodded.

They continued working until lunch. Carla and Hallie stretched and headed out to join the others.

"When did you get here?" asked Hallie, looking at Artemis grooming herself on top of the file cabinet.

Artemis looked up and then returned to her grooming.

"That's strange, I didn't think we were concentrating so much that we'd miss that cat walking in here. Is that Artemis?" asked Carla.

Hallie nodded and walked over to give the cat a chin rub. "For a stray, she's very friendly."

Carla walked slowly towards the cat and reached out her hand. Artemis watched her movements and rubbed her head against Carla's extended hand.

"You're right. She also looks very healthy," remarked Carla, as she began to pet Artemis. "I wonder if she's always been a stray?"

"You might be right. She's very comfortable around us," added Hallie.

"Well, we'd better join the others. It was a pleasure to meet you," stated Carla as she gave the cat one last pet.

They walked over to where Alex, Kim, and Lane were sitting. "We made some progress in the fresco reconstruction," announced Hallie.

"Good, because we found many more pieces, including some larger pieces," replied Alex. "Look at this one." He held up a piece of the fresco that was almost four inches long and two inches wide. It had markings on it.

Hallie took the piece and nodded. "It's Linear H. It says 'The Goddesses.' It looks like the beginning of some sort of prayer."

"We're moving closer to the edge of the wall. Apparently the vandal or vandals who destroyed the offending section were content to just smash it, and didn't seem to crush the offending pieces. As we move closer, we should find more," commented Alex.

"Cool. I was getting tired of sorting through the tiny pieces," stated Hallie. "Can I help out here this afternoon?"

"Okay, who wants to help Carla?" asked Alex.

"I will. I want a break from the sun," stated Lane.

"Good. Hallie, you can assist Kim with the digging for the first hour," stated Alex.

Alex was right and they began to find larger pieces of the fresco. Hallie found some more pieces of the prayer. She felt a growing excitement that they might actually discover the entire prayer in all three languages.

"Okay, pack it up," announced Alex.

Hallie glanced at her watch and was stunned to see that it was already five. She knew it would be useless to try to convince Alex to let them stay longer.

That night over dinner, they discussed the progress that they were making. Stefanos had more good news.

"We'll be getting the ground penetrating radar tomorrow. Thankfully, the university is sending someone with it who knows how to use it," announced Stefanos.

"Cool. I've heard about them, but never seen one work," stated Kim.

"From what I've read, they have to run it over the site and it will show any disturbances in the ground," stated Hallie. "The hardest part is analyzing the data."

"We do have an advantage, as we have you," added Kim.

Hallie laughed.

"I thought Theon was going to join us?" asked a concerned Lane.

"He had to fly up to Athens, something about a new article that his editor wants him to write," stated Stefanos.

Lane looked as if she was going to cry. "Oh."

"He'll be back in two days," continued Stefanos, oblivious to Lane's infatuation with his son.

Hallie and Kim looked at each other and rolled their eyes. Lane's behavior continued to baffle them. She had gone from a very independent career-driven woman to being totally obsessed with Theon.

"Oh, I have something interesting to tell you all. Seems Konstantin has been trying to get the local construction workers to hold a protest at our dig site," stated Stefanos.

"And?" asked Carla.

Stefanos began to laugh. "I must thank my father's rather colorful past for my connections. The owners of most of the construction firms were friends of my father, they wouldn't protest us, even if they liked Konstantin."

"So they don't like him either?" asked Hallie.

Stefanos shook his head. "They think he's a pig. But he has money; they'll work for him if it doesn't mean hurting us."

"That's good to know. What do you think he'll do next?" asked Kim.

"That I don't know," replied Stefanos.

"Well, those two thugs of his have been hanging out in my club lately. It's starting to make me nervous," explained Lydia.

"I already talked to some friends. You'll have protection," replied Stefanos.

Hallie had never seen Stefanos act so seriously. She suddenly felt a cold chill run through her body, thinking about what Stefanos would do if Konstantin hurt Lydia.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Stefanos, Kim, and Lane drove up to Aghios Nikolaos to pick up the radar and the operator. Alex was looking up information on Minoan ritualistic baths online, so Hallie decided to ride down to the dig.

It was a pleasant bike ride. She arrived at the site and parked her bike next to the museum. Everything seemed in order as she unlocked the door to the museum. Artemis ran past her legs into the cool building.

"Good morning to you, too!" quipped Hallie. She looked at the fresco and was pleased with the progress they were making.

She didn't even look up when she heard the SUV pull up next to the museum. "I'm in here," she yelled, as she continued to work.

"Well, well, look who's here? I'm surprised that Stefanos would let you be here alone," exclaimed a German accented voice

Hallie turned around suddenly and saw Konstantin and his two thugs standing in the doorway of the museum. Angrily, she glared at them. "What're you doing here?"

"I wanted to see for myself what's been going on here. I can't believe that you're holding up my hotel for some stupid picture!" exclaimed Konstantin.

"It's not just a picture, it's a significant fragment of an important civilization," replied Hallie. She thought about making a grab for her radio, but decided to wait and hope the others showed up.

"I could care less. You can't dig a hole to shit in around here without unearthing some significant fragment of an important civilization," replied Konstantin, in a sarcastic tone.

"This could bring people to your hotel," snapped back Hallie.

Konstantin laughed. "Do you think my guests are going to give a rat's ass over some ugly picture? They're coming here to drink, soak in the sun, and fuck!"

Hallie noticed that, as he got angrier, his accent became more pronounced.

"Besides, my investors want me to get started, now! They're tired of delays," continued Konstantin.

Hallie tried to think of something to say. "I'm sorry, but…." In a flash, Artemis ran past her and the others. Hallie wondered if the cat knew something she didn't.

"I'm sorry too," interrupted Konstantin. "I was actually hoping that it would be one of the others that we caught alone. I like you, you've got guts. I was hoping it would be the brunette with the huge tits." He patted his stomach with his hand to emphasize his words.

Hallie suddenly knew she was in deeper trouble than she'd imagined. She felt her fear rise, wondering what they were going to do to her. As Harry, she might have stood a slight chance, but as Hallie, she was pretty much defenseless.

Konstantin motioned to his two thugs. Fat Boris leered at Hallie. "Oreo visya!"

Hallie tried to ignore the fact that he'd just said "nice tits." "Na pas sto dilao!"

Konstantin laughed. "My place in hell is already reserved."

"What're you going to do to me?" asked Hallie, continuing to stall.

"My men will have their way with you and your body will be found up the road. We have a local criminal in the back of the SUV. He'll be found next to you, shot dead. It will seem to the police that the criminal raped and murdered you, and my men in turn shot him dead. The police will believe us, your friends will go away, and I'll have my hotel," explained Konstantin. "It's nothing personal, it's just business."

Hallie held back the urge to scream as Big Boris and Fat Boris approached her. She made a feint to the left and tried to run around them to the right. Big Boris slapped her hard across the face with the back of his hand, knocking her to the ground.

"Struggling will only make it harder for you," remarked Konstantin with an evil grin on face. He slowly pulled out a cigar and clipped the tip. Fat Boris pulled out a lighter and lit the cigar once Konstantin was ready.

Big Boris stood over Hallie slowly licking his lips and rubbing his crotch. "I'll get you first, you whore!"

There was then an unearthly sound from outside the door. It sounded like the scream of a great predator.

The two thugs stopped and turned towards the door. Konstantin also swung around. He glanced at his henchmen, and they shrugged their shoulders.

"You'd better leave, while you still can!" warned Hallie, looking up at the three men.

"Grab her," ordered Konstantin angrily, as he walked cautiously outside, preceded by Fat Boris.

Big Boris grabbed Hallie by the arms and pulled her effortlessly off the ground. He carried her outside and threw her to the ground.

Hallie looked around and at first saw nothing. There was a strange stillness in the air, as if time had stopped. It was eerily silent.

Big Boris and Fat Boris had both drawn handguns and were scanning for whatever had made the noise.

Hallie saw Artemis sitting on a rock up on the hill. The cat let out another scream. Konstantin let out a slight laugh. "It's just a cat."

The men began to put their guns away. Big Boris began to drag Hallie towards the SUV. Hallie then saw her salvation arriving. There were three glowing streaks of blue light approaching them. The Guardians had arrived.

The others saw them too. The guards looked at Konstantin and motioned for him to leave.

"Too late," remarked Hallie, as if she had read their minds.

The three streaks of light settled down in front of them. They hovered five feet from Konstantin and his guards.

Big Boris panicked and fired his gun at the glowing entity directly in front of him. Naturally, his shots had no effect.

The light moved towards him and in an instant surrounded him. Hallie and the others watched as his body began to transform before their very eyes.

Big Boris began to tremble, as if he was having trouble standing up. He fell suddenly to all fours, his face contorted in pain. He began to strip off his clothes, until he was lying in the dirt naked. His body began to change; he began to shrink, not just in height, but also all over. His body was slowly becoming covered in hair. He screamed in agony as his hands began to form into hooves. The same thing was happening to his feet. A short tail began to spring from his changing body.

The biggest change began to happen to his face. It reminded Hallie of a werewolf movie, except that Big Boris was changing into a goat! His ears grew out, as did his snout. His screams became more and more like bleats. He then began to shrink even more, until it was evident that he was now the size of a very small goat.

Konstantin stared in horror at what had just happened. "Scheisse!"

Fat Boris exclaimed "Zaebis'!"

Only later did Hallie learn that the last words Fat Boris had said were "Holy Fuck!" in Russian.

Fat Boris and Konstantin might have wanted to run, but they didn't have a chance. They were soon both on the ground screaming in pain as the Guardians enveloped them and began to transform them into goats.

As she watched the men change, Hallie was very grateful that her transformation had been so painless. The men looked as if they were in total agony.

Konstantin's transformation was much slower than the others, it also appeared to be the most painful. Hallie would have felt sorry for him, if not for the fact that he had planned to have her raped and killed.

He looked over at Hallie as he shook on the ground in painful convulsions as his body slowly changed. To her surprise, Hallie didn't see anger in his face, rather there was confusion. Konstantin couldn't comprehend the forces that were so drastically changing his life.

"Mortal men may not interfere with the plans of the Guardians of Minoa!" Hallie heard herself exclaim in Minoan.

He opened his mouth to scream and all that came out was a bleat. He held out his stiffening arms and fought to keep his fingers from coming together. The powers of the Guardians were too strong, and he soon had hooves instead of hands.

His horns were much larger than the other two. Hallie also noticed that he was larger than the other two. In another few seconds, the transformation was complete. Konstantin hopped up on his hooves and pranced over to the other two goats.

Out of the blue, the stillness was broken by a strong wind that swept down from the hills. A whirlwind of dust seemed to sweep up the clothing and belongings of the ex-men and in an instant they were gone. All that was left were Hallie and the three goats. The Guardians were gone, as was Artemis.

Hallie looked at the goats and wondered if they still knew what was happening. On a hunch she looked at the biggest goat. "Is that you, Glitsis?"

The goat bleated and ran up the hill, followed by the two smaller ones. They stopped a few hundred yards away and stared back at her. Then, as if they were overcome by their new instincts, they began to graze on the hill.

Hallie ran over to the SUV and looked in the back. Inside was the body of a young man. Apparently, they had killed him ahead of time. She stared angrily at the three goats and shouted, "You got off lucky!"

She walked over to the museum and pulled her radio out of her bag. She touched the side of her face and winced in pain from where Big Boris had slapped her. The whole side of her face hurt.

"Anyone there?" Hallie anxiously called into the radio.

There was a short delay before she heard Alex's voice on the radio. "Hallie, what's wrong? Are you okay?"

"Yes, but you'd better get down here to the site. Something's happened," answered Hallie.

 

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Carla gently placed an icepack on the side of Hallie's face. Hallie pulled back at first, but relaxed as the ice eased her pain.

"I've called the police. They'll be here in a few minutes," stated Stefanos. "Have you thought what you'll tell them, Hallie?"

"Yes, I'll tell them that I found them in the museum, I was able to radio for help before Big Boris hit me. They panicked and left," replied Hallie. "Thanks for the ice, Carla."

"Are you sure you're okay?" asked Carla in a concerned voice. She was sitting next to Hallie on the picnic table they had set up outside the museum.

Hallie nodded. "I'm just a little shaken up. Today's the first day that I've really felt vulnerable."

"Not to mention you saw three men transformed into goats," added Kim. She was sitting on the other side of Hallie, holding one of Hallie's hands.

"It was incredible. Maybe all those stories of the gods and goddesses transforming people are true," remarked Hallie.

"Are those the goats?" asked Alex, pointing halfway up the hill.

"Yes. The one to the right is Fat Boris, the biggest one is Konstantin and. …ewww! Gross!" exclaimed Hallie.

"What?" asked Kim.

"Big Boris appears be nursing on Konstantin!"

"Whoa, talk about punishment!" exclaimed Kim.

"I think I'll call Mikos and let him know there are three strays here. It seems appropriate that they replace the goat they killed. Mikos will be pleased that at least one is female," stated Stefanos.

"Do you know the man in the back of the SUV?" asked Hallie.

Stefanos shook his head.

"I can't believe they killed him just to get a hotel completed," remarked Hallie.

"He was going to kill you too," added Kim.

"I know…."

The police arrived a few minutes later and took Hallie's statement. The dead man was identified as a low level criminal. The police closed off the area around the site for their investigation.

"The police say that we'll be able to go back to work tomorrow. They're sending out a bulletin on Konstantin and the two Borises," stated Stefanos. "I suggest you all go to the beach today and relax. I'll let Stephen, the radar operator know there will be a delay. I left him with Theon and Lane back in town when Alex called me and told me there was a problem at the site."

Hallie nodded. She suddenly felt very tired and welcomed a day just resting.

Chapter Thirty

Hallie thought about the day's events as she soaked in the sun. She hoped that Artemis would be back, as she had grown fond of the cat. She wondered if Artemis was really a cat, or whether the Guardians had used her as a warning system. It was too much to contemplate on a beautiful summer day and she drifted off to sleep.

"Wake up, sleepy-head," said Kim, as she shook Hallie awake.

"Umm, what time is it?" asked Hallie. She struggled to wake up.

Kim sat down on the edge on Hallie's towel. "It's after three. I didn't think you'd want to sleep all day."

"You're right, but I think I could sleep the rest of the day if you let me," replied Hallie with a smile.

"I was just talking to Stefanos. The man found dead in the SUV was related to some local crime family. The police are worried that Konstantin and his men may be in danger or even dead due to a blood feud."

"So they're treating this all as an underworld feud?" asked Hallie.

Kim nodded. "Unless they check the DNA of the goats, we're out of the picture."

"I don't even think they'd do that on CSI," quipped Hallie.

"Too bad about those three," sighed Kim.

Hallie looked up at her in surprise. "Don't tell me you feel remorse over what happened to them?"

"Remorse? No, I was thinking it would have been better if they'd been turned into pigs instead of goats!"

Hallie laughed. It was the first time since the morning's incidents that she even felt like laughing. It felt good and she didn't even mind the slight discomfort from her sore face.

Kim reached down and ran her hand across Hallie's face. "I'm so happy that you weren't hurt. I can't imagine what life would be without you."

"I feel the same way about you," replied Hallie.

"I know you do. It's just that you're the first person that I've really loved. I've been with other women, but it didn't mean anything like this. It was just pleasure, but no depth. With you it's different. I feel whole for the first time in my life. I just want you to know that."

Hallie started to speak but was interrupted by Kim who placed a finger on Hallie's lips. She then leaned down and gave Hallie a long kiss. "You know, you still look tired. I think I should take you to bed."

Hallie returned the kiss and nodded. It was a wonderful idea.

Chapter Thirty-One

The next day, Stephen arrived with the ground penetrating radar and began his sweeps of the mound. Stephen was a pleasant looking twenty-something grad student. They did a series of repeated sweeps over the area where they suspected the bath was located.

"You definitely have something down there. See how the readout changes?" stated Stephen, pointing to the printout of the scan. "I'd estimate it's one meter down for the outer edge of the object. The center section drops off deeper. What do you think it is?"

"We're not sure, but it could be a ceremonial bath," answered Stefanos. "Don't worry, we'll let you know if we find something."

"That's wonderful. I'm glad I could help," stated Stephen. He then began to pack up his gear.

"I think we'll need some help for the excavation of the tub. I'll recruit some workers in town," stated Stefanos.

"Do you think that's wise?" asked Hallie.

"Sure. I'll let the local authorities know what's happening. They'll keep others away until we're ready to disclose our discovery."

Hallie nodded. It made sense, as she knew they could keep their discoveries a secret forever.

The rest of the day was spent on recovering more parts of the fresco. Carla was a genius at reconstruction. She seemed to have an eye for reconnecting even the smallest fragments. The damaged area started just below the three temple priestesses. Now they had reconstructed a good portion of the damaged image. It was clear that one of the priestesses was about to insert the dildo into a male volunteer. There was still much of the man to reconstruct, and also the areas where the written prayers had been.

Hallie had been able to put together several sections of the prayer, but nowhere near enough to use as a translator. She had a few lines in each language reconstructed, but they were just words and phrases. Nothing made real sense yet.

Hallie's mind drifted back to the previous day's attack. For the most part, she accepted that she was female, but the idea of being helpless was a new and uncomfortable feeling. It wasn't just the fact that she was physically smaller than when she was Harry; it was the perception that she was weaker. Big Boris just looked at her as weak and helpless. He didn't even bother taking out his gun until later. It was bothersome.

The idea of being sexually assaulted was also something she had never given any thought to. During the past year at Ohio State, Hallie hadn't changed her routine from when she was male. She'd thought nothing about walking back from the library late at night. Kim had asked her not to do that, but Hallie had said that nothing would happen. Involuntarily, Hallie shivered, thinking about what might have happened. Things would be different when they returned to the States.

Chapter Thirty-Two

That night Hallie dreamt she was back on Thera at the time of the Minoans. It wasn't a dream journey, but it was very detailed. She knew she was in a part of the island that would be obliterated in the volcanic cataclysm. As she walked around the city, the people showed reverence to her. Some walked up and asked her for a blessing for their child. It then hit Hallie that she was a temple priestess.

Hallie looked down and saw that she was bare breasted and wearing an intricately woven skirt. She ran her hands down along it and could feel the material against her fingers. Her wrists and fingers were decorated with ornate silver jewelry.

She approached a large temple and walked inside. Everything felt very familiar, as if she had been here many times before. She then heard a familiar voice and, just as she turned around to greet the person, she woke up.

Hallie looked at the clock; it was almost 2:30. The images of the dream were very strong, so she decided to record them before going back to sleep. She wondered if it was just a dream or if it was another message from the Guardians. After documenting the experience, she fell back to sleep.

During breakfast Hallie mentioned her dream. Both Carla and Kim stopped and stared at her.

"What time did you wake up?" asked Carla.

"2:30, why?"

"I had the same dream at the same time," replied a stunned Carla.

"So, did I," added Kim.

There was a long silence.

"Someone cue the theme from the Twilight Zone," quipped Lane.

Even Hallie smiled at that one.

"What do you think it means?" asked Kim.

Carla shrugged her shoulders.

"Well, we'd better get over to the dig. We can discuss this again this evening over a bottle of wine," stated Alex. "I'm not downplaying what happened, but we do have a lot of work left and time is running out."

Hallie nodded in agreement.

They arrived at the site just in time to see Mikos round up the three newest additions to his herd.

"It's my lucky day!" he exclaimed. "All three are females!"

Hallie smiled at the justice of the Guardians.

Stefanos supervised the excavation of the tub. He wanted to make sure they didn't disturb the remaining wall of the temple. He hoped to reach the edge of the tub by mid-afternoon. They sifted the dirt, in the hope of turning up some other artifacts, but they found nothing, unless you counted an old Coke bottle. Kim kept it as a souvenir.

Hallie helped with the dig in the morning. Kim assisted Carla in the reconstruction of the fresco.

"I heard Stefanos say that Theon is coming over later today," remarked Hallie to Lane.

Lane immediately perked up. "Really!"

Hallie nodded.

"I've missed him so much!"

Hallie wasn't sure which Lane she preferred, the old ambitious one, or the new love-struck version.

The afternoon found Hallie back in the museum working with Carla, who explained how they would permanently connect the broken parts to the fresco.

"Alex has already contacted a team from the museum in Iraklio," stated Carla.

Hallie was distracted by the welcomed reappearance of Artemis.

Hallie dropped down to her knees to pet the black and white cat. "There you are, my little heroine!"

Artemis purred contently as Carla and Hallie gave her their full attention.

"I have a special treat for you. Stefanos told me you like this!" Hallie reached for her backpack and pulled out a tin of tuna. Artemis knew exactly what it was and began to meow anxiously for her treat.

"This cat is no stray," remarked Carla.

Hallie nodded in agreement as she opened the tin and dumped it into a bowl. Artemis eagerly began to eat her reward. She purred happily as she ate.

"I guess the Guardians just used her as an alarm system. It makes as much sense as anything," stated Hallie.

"Carla, Hallie, we've found the edge of the tub," announced Stefanos as he walked into the museum. He stood there and smiled, watching Carla and Hallie feed the cat.

"Can we keep her?" asked Hallie, in a childish voice.

"Yes, she followed us home," added Carla, in a similar tone.

"Sure, why not? I doubt she'll stick around, but if she wants to come to the house, she's welcome," replied Stefanos. "Now, if you two are finished playing with the cat, would you like to see the tub?"

They left Artemis to finish her dinner and followed Stefanos around to the tub. There was a hole dug straight down from the roped off area that Stephen said should be the edge. Hallie could see the tiled edge of the tub. The rest of the tub was stone.

Hallie pointed to the left of the edge. "The run-off channel should be a few inches over from there."

"What about the pipe?" asked Stefanos.

Hallie stood on top of the mound and pointed down. "Right here. It came right out of a stone wall."

"There's no wall there, just solid rock," remarked Stefanos.

"I'm just telling you what I remembered," replied Hallie, shrugging her shoulders.

"I wouldn't put it past the Minoans to drill through solid rock," stated Alex.

"I agree. Okay, be careful when we dig here. There may be a clay pipe extending from the rock," stated Stefanos to the workers in Greek.

Two hours, later they broke for the day. It had been very exciting and the next day promised to be just as interesting. Artemis had no objections about riding back to the house in Hallie's lap.

Chapter Thirty-Three

After dinner they all sat out on the patio and discussed the similar dreams involving Thera. Lydia had just left for town, and that left Carla, Alex, Stefanos, Lane, Kim, and Hallie to ponder the dreams. Carla took out a notepad and began to list the comparisons.

"So, what do we have?" asked Stefanos, who was sitting on the couch with a contentedly sleeping Artemis on his lap. He held his wine glass in one hand, while he gently stroked Artemis with the other.

"The dreams, for all practical purposes, are identical," announced Carla.

There was a long silence as everyone absorbed what Carla had said.

"So, what should we do?" asked Hallie.

"The answer is obvious, you three should go to Thera," stated Alex.

"We can't do that, there's too much work to do on the site," stated Hallie.

"We can get along without you for a few days," replied Alex. "Considering everything that has happened with the site, we would be foolish to ignore this invitation."

"Invitation. That's a good word for it," added Stefanos.

"Lane, you want to join us?" asked Kim.

She shook her head. "I wasn't invited. Besides, I'd rather stay here."

"You're free to join us, Lane," added Hallie.

Lane looked over at Hallie and actually seemed choked up. "Thanks, that means a lot, especially coming from you. However, I have things here that I want to accomplish."

Her answer was lost to Alex and Stefanos. Carla just shook her head slightly and cracked a small smile at Kim and Hallie. Artemis continued to sleep peacefully in Stefanos' lap.

"There's a ferry leaving every morning. Let me call over there and make a hotel reservation for you, that way you won't get the tourist rates," grinned Stefanos.

"What? They gouge the tourists? I'm shocked!" quipped Carla.

"They do that back in America?" asked Stefanos mockingly.

"Back home? No, tourist sites gouge everyone!" laughed Alex.

Chapter Thirty-Four

The next morning Stefanos made reservations for Hallie, Kim, and Carla at an inn in the village of Akrotiri, near the ruins.

"You're lucky it's summer, so you can take the ferry directly from Aghios Nikolaos to Santorini," stated Stefanos. "It's a short trip, only four hours. I'll drive you to town to catch it tomorrow."

"Thank you," replied Hallie.

"I should be thanking you! I haven't this much excitement in my life in years!" exclaimed Stefanos."

"Not to mention you have a new cat," replied Carla.

Artemis was rubbing against Stefanos' legs, purring softly.

He smiled and bent down and picked her up. "She has a good personality. Reminds me of one of my ex-wives!"

They spent the rest of the day working on the site. Artemis joined them, spending the day sleeping in the museum as Hallie and Carla worked. Hallie tried to concentrate, but she was too excited about the trip to Thera. She couldn't even call it by the modern name. Something was going to happen there, but what?

The excavation of the tub progressed quickly. Stefanos made sure that they didn't damage the area where the pipe should be. By the end of the day they had excavated most of the area around the tub, including the runoff channel. The tub was still full of dirt.

"We'll start on that tomorrow. We'll go slow, so we don't damage the pipe," stated Stefanos, after the contracted workers left.

"The tile work looks like new," remarked Kim, as she ran her hand over the edge of the tub and its runoff channel.

"I don't remember tile there before, but it may have been added later," remarked Hallie

"It looks Roman," noted Alex.

Stefanos poured a bottle of water into the channel. "I always marvel at what the ancient races were able to create. Look at how efficiently the channel works." The water easily flowed down to a drainage point.

"Hallie are you sure the water was hot?" asked Alex.

"Yes, it was very soothing," replied Hallie.

"If the water comes out of this rock, then that means there must be a hot spring somewhere in the hills," stated Alex.

"I'm not aware of any, but nothing would surprise me these days," replied Stefanos.

Alex crouched down next to the tub and ran his hand across it. "Well, we can save that mystery for another day. I'm just pleased that the tub is in such good condition. The edge is tile, but the rest looks like it was carved out of a single piece of rock," continued Alex. "The side is very smooth. I can't image how long it would have taken to make."

Stefanos laughed. "Solid rock? Good! That means it cannot be moved to a museum in Athens!"

"How did we progress on the fresco today?" asked Alex, still staring at the tub.

"Come inside and look," replied Carla.

The damaged area was almost halfway reconstructed. The image of the priestesses inserting the dildo was almost complete. What was missing was the upper body of the male.

They still had a long way to go in the completion of the three prayers, as Hallie had started calling them. With only few words in each language, it was not enough to be used as a translator.

"I suspect we'll find the rest as we get closer to the wall," stated Carla.

"Even if we don't find all of the words, this is going to be considered a major discovery," remarked Alex.

"We'll find the missing parts, I'm positive of that," interrupted Hallie.

"If we find just enough of the same areas in each language that would be a huge breakthrough," added Carla.

"I just know that we'll find it all. We were meant to find it," reiterated Hallie.

"Does Hallie having inside information make her a cheater?" quipped Kim.

Hallie stuck her tongue out at Kim.

They packed up for the day and headed back to the house for dinner. Artemis sat on Stefanos' lap on the drive home.

"She may look after us, but she loves you," remarked Hallie.

"I hope Lydia doesn't mind that I have another woman in my life," grinned Stefanos, as he scratched behind Artemis's ears.

When they arrived back at the house Theon was waiting for them out on the patio. Lane squealed with delight and ran over to see him. He wrapped his arms around her and gave her a big hug. It was the first time that Stefanos seemed to notice the affection between his son and Lane. He just shook his head and smiled.

Chapter Thirty-Five

Kim and Hallie were lying together in bed. They were far too excited to sleep.

"I wonder what's going to happen when we get to Thera?" remarked Kim.

"I don't know, but I think it will be special. I feel as if I'm being drawn there."

"I feel the same way." Kim then reached over and ran her hand over one of Hallie's nipples.

Hallie flinched slightly and let out a little moan.

"Whoa, that's a new reaction, you okay?" asked Kim.

"Yes, they're just a little sensitive," replied Hallie.

"Well, I better do something about that." Kim then began to gently rub each nipple with her fingers. "I don't think either us was going to sleep much tonight anyway!"

Chapter Thirty-Six

On the ferry to Thera, Hallie stared out into the azure waters of the Sea of Crete. She hoped that they might see the Churchill. Hallie still didn't know what she would say to Tyler, the next time she saw him.

She looked over at Kim, who was reading a book she had bought that morning. Hallie debated whether to eat, but decided against it. Her stomach felt a little uneasy and she didn't want to risk getting sick.

She walked over to Kim and sat down next to her. "How's the book?"

"Pretty good. It's been on the best seller list for a few weeks now," replied Kim. "You'd like it. The main character has a forced gender transformation."

Hallie looked at the title. It was Polly Merman by Prudence Walker. "I'll have to read it when you're done with it." Hallie suddenly felt another wave of nausea.

"You okay?" asked Kim, setting her book down.

"I just feel a bit nauseous," replied Hallie. "I think I'm a little seasick."

"Here, eat some crackers. My brother told me that always helps," suggested Kim. She reached into her backpack and handed some to Hallie.

"I didn't think men in the Coast Guard got seasick," replied Hallie, reaching into the box.

"My brother says that the others get seasick," laughed Kim.

Carla walked over and joined them. "You look terrible, Hallie. You feel okay?"

"She's a little seasick," replied Kim.

"Well, we'll be there soon," comforted Carla. "In fact, you should be able to see the island soon."

"Look." Hallie pointed to the island they were approaching.

Kim and Carla turned and looked in the direction Hallie was pointing. The top of the island was white.

"It looks like there's snow on top of the island," remarked Kim.

"Those are the buildings of the villages on top of the island," stated Carla.

Hallie pulled out her camera and took a few shots. "It's so beautiful." She then felt another wave of nausea.

"You going to make it?" asked Kim.

"Yes. But it's weird, I never got seasick before."

Upon arrival they took the cable car up to the town of Fira. A car was waiting for them to take them to their hotel in Akrotiri. The driver was the son of owners of the hotel.

"What did you think of the cable car?" asked Gene, the driver.

"It was spectacular," replied Hallie.

Gene nodded. "It's much nicer than riding up the hill on the donkeys. Also it smells better!"

Carla had pointed out the donkeys, and that they shared the same path with the pedestrians. Hallie had also noticed that there was donkey crap all along the path.

The owners greeted them as they walked into the hotel. Ava and Basil were old friends of Stefanos and were more than happy to have friends of his stay in their hotel.

"How's Stefanos? Is he still seeing that beauty, Lydia?" asked Basil with a grin.

"Yes, but there's another woman in his life now, her name is Artemis," answered Carla.

Basil and Ava's eyes opened wide. "Two women? That's not beyond him, but he's getting too old for two women!" exclaimed Basil.

"Artemis is a cat," explained Carla with a smile.

Basil and Ava laughed. "A cat! That's good, he needs a pet."

They were shown to their rooms. As requested, Kim and Hallie had a room to themselves. The rooms were simple, but very nice, with white walls and tile floors. Each room had a magnificent view of the caldera, which gave them a view into the volcano. Hallie stood and stared out the window for several minutes.

"You feeling better?" asked Kim.

Hallie nodded. "What's next on the agenda?"

"Dinner. We can talk over tomorrow's plans as we eat," replied Kim.

They went to a local place recommended by Basil and Ava. The owner of the restaurant was very impressed that the three American tourists all spoke some Greek. He was also amazed at how much one of the young women resembled the ones on the museum vases.

"I think you would like to see both the ruins over at Thira and also the ruins here in town. The ones at Thira are usually less crowded," stated Carla, as she studied the menu.

"How will we get around?" asked Kim. "Are we going to rent motor scooters?"

"Ava said that Gene is our personal driver while we're here. She also said that we'd be crazy to go out on the scooters"

Hallie looked at the menu. "Look, fava beans."

"Do they have a nice Chianti?" replied Kim, who made a slurping sound.

"Fava beans are a specialty here," added Carla, ignoring the references to Hannibal Lecter.

One shared appetizer was made up of Cretan white bread with fresh cherry tomatoes, oil olive and feta cheese. Carla told them that the small tomatoes were considered to be a local delicacy. They all agreed that they were the best that they had ever eaten.

They then moved on to some fresh steamed mussels. Hallie was pleased that she was over her nausea, and while she could have made a dinner just from the appetizers, she managed to find room for dinner. The main meal consisted of fresh flaky white fish cooked with capers. Hallie wasn't sure what type of fish it was, but was convinced by the flavor that it had been swimming in the Mediterranean that same day.

Back at the hotel Hallie stared out at the caldera again. Kim stood next to her. "You okay?"

"Yes, I was just thinking about what it must have been like when the people here knew that the island was going to explode," replied Hallie.

"Let's not worry about it right now, come on let's go to bed." She then pulled Hallie close and kissed her.

"Hmm, that was nice," replied Hallie, as she followed Kim to bed.

  

  

  

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