“I don’t think we’ll get very far in a Ferrari,” Castille noted of the yellow F355 near the doors, “not on the local roads. And it may be a little… high profile.”

“A Hummer isn’t exactly hard to spot either,” added Kari, examining a bright green H3 disdainfully.

“You got any preferences, Doc?” Chase asked Nina.

“Please stop calling me that. And I just want whatever gets us out of here as quickly as possible.”

“Well in that case,” he said, eyes lighting on a particular vehicle, “might as well do it in style. Maybe Hajjar wasn’t so bad after all…”

A few minutes later, a silver Range Rover charged down the twisting road from the fortress, then with the throaty roar of a V-8 engine headed away into the mountains.

TEN

France

Iran was a long way behind her. And thank God for that, thought Nina, as she gazed out from the hotel balcony over Paris. From the penthouse suite, she had a clear view across the city. Landmarks like Notre-Dame and, farther away, the Eiffel Tower stood out in their floodlit glory against the clear night sky as if placed there for her personal pleasure.

But sightseeing would have to wait. She had work to do first. And she didn’t seem to be getting anywhere.

Someone knocked on the door. “Come in,” she called, turning away from the balcony. Kari entered.

“Are you ready, Nina?” she asked.

“I don’t know…” Nina shot an aggrieved look at the Atlantean artifact, which was surrounded by her notes beneath an illuminated magnifying lens. “I’ve done as much as I can, but it’s not enough. I still can’t translate some of the symbols. Why, is your father waiting for me?”

Kari nodded, then smiled. “But don’t worry. You’re one of the few people in the world he’s willing to wait upon.”

“Well, I’m honored, but it doesn’t make me any less nervous.”

“There’s no reason to be nervous. You’re already closer to finding Atlantis than anyone since the ancient Athenians.”

“Yeah, and look what I’ve been through-what we’ve been through-to get there! I still don’t think I’ve got that horrible stink out of my hair.”

“Come on,” Kari said reassuringly, “let’s tell my father what you’ve found out.”

Nina picked up the artifact and Kari led her into the adjoining room, a lounge at the center of the suite. Chase lurked near the door, his jacket off and his Wildey’s shoulder holster in plain sight. Castille was absent; Nina suspected he was guarding the corridor outside. “Hi, Doc,” Chase said cheerfully. He nodded at the top-of-the-line laptop sitting on a table. “Hope you’ve got your makeup on, you’re going to be on camera.”

“Oh, we’re videoconferencing?”

“My father likes to talk face to face, even when he can’t do so literally,” said Kari. “Come on, sit down. Do you want anything?”

“No thanks.” Although she wouldn’t have minded a drink to settle her nerves.

Nina sat in front of the laptop, Kari joining her and tapping a key on the computer. The screen came to life, revealing Kristian Frost in his office. “Dr. Wilde! I’m glad to see you again!”

“I’m glad to be seen!” Nina told him. “It was a bit more… well, violent than I expected.”

“So I heard. Were there any problems getting out of Iran?”

“Nothing serious,” said Kari. “Mr. Chase’s local contacts got us back to Esfah?n, and the foundation’s influence with the government let us clear the country unchecked.”

“And Hajjar?”

“Dead.”

Frost nodded. “Good. A shame about the ten million dollars, but it’s a small price to pay.” His face became eager. “So, Dr. Wilde. Please tell me what you have found.”

Nina cleared her throat. “Well, I’m afraid it’s not a direct route to Atlantis, unfortunately. But it’s definitely a map of some kind.” She held up the metal bar, turning it to the laptop’s camera. “The line running down its length represents a river-the Glozel word is unmistakable. And there are other markings, which I’ve been able to partially translate.” She checked her notes. “‘Begin from north mouth of’ the something ‘river. Seven, south, west. Follow course to city of,’ um, something. ‘There to find…’ I’m afraid that’s all I’ve got so far. But these markings to each side, I think they show the number of tributaries you have to pass to reach the destination. Four on the left, seven on the right, and so on.”

Frost was intrigued. “I take it the words you can’t translate are not Glozel.”

“No. They’re actually more like hieroglyphics than letters, part of a different linguistic system. The frustrating thing is that they seem familiar, but I can’t place them. They could be a regional variation…”

“Interesting. Kari, can you take pictures of the markings and send them to me, please? I want a closer look.”

“Of course, Far,” Kari answered, using the Norwegian term for father. She took the artifact from Nina and started a program to photograph it with the laptop’s camera.

Chase came over as she worked. “So who are these Glozelians, Doc? I did GCSE history, but I’ve never heard of them.”

Nina laughed. “You wouldn’t have, because they don’t exist.”

He looked puzzled. “Eh?”

“Glozel is-at least at the moment-the oldest known written language,” she explained, “a sort of ancestor to several others, including Vinca-Tordos and Byblos.” Chase’s expression didn’t change. “Which I guess you’ve never heard of either!”

“I said I did GCSE history. I didn’t say I passed it.”

“It’s named after the town where it was discovered. Here in France, actually.”

Kari finished taking pictures and put the artifact down, addressing Chase as she sent the files to her father. “The Glozel Tablets were found in a cave beneath farmland in 1924 by a man called Émile Fradin. Because they indicated an earlier origin than any language known at the time, they were dismissed as fakes-but when they were tested with new dating techniques fifty years later, it turned out that they really did date back to at least 10,000 BC.”

Chase whistled. “Bloody hell. That’s really old.”

“There was a civilization using a complex written language in Europe several millennia before even the ancient Greeks,” said Nina, “and that civilization was widespread enough to influence the languages of the Phoenicians, the Greeks, the Hebrews… even the Romans and Persians.”

“And that civilization…” Chase gazed at the artifact, the golden reflected light illuminating his features from below. “You think it was Atlantis?”

“She does,” said Kari. “And so do I.”

“In that case? I do too.” He smiled at Nina. “So how do we find out which river to check?”

“That’s the problem,” Nina told him reluctantly. “I don’t know. This figure on the main inscription,” she pointed out the little group of seven dots, “seems to be some unit of distance. The words following it mean ‘south’ and ‘west.’ ”

Chase examined the artifact more closely. “So it could mean seven miles southwest of somewhere, or seven south and then go west…”

“Exactly. The problem is, we don’t know what units are being used, or even what they relate to-their ‘zero point.’ ”

“Atlantis, I’d guess.” Nina looked at him, impressed. “Hey, I’ve been known to use my brain from time to time.”

“Dr. Wilde,” said Frost over the videolink, catching everybody’s attention, “I’ve just looked at the markings. I didn’t expect that my knowledge would be any greater than yours, and I was right. I don’t recognize them either. But,” he went on, catching Nina’s glum expression, “I will arrange for an expert in ancient languages to view the artifact.”

Nina’s face fell further. “Oh. So you don’t need me anymore, or…”