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THE ARKANA SERIES: Where Alternative History Meets Archaeology Adventure
Volume Two – The Mountain Mother Cipher
“From Kindle Nation fave N.S. Wikarski, (The Granite Key) a new installment in The Arkana Series” – Kindle Nation Daily
Unlikely Relic Hunter
College freshman Cassie Forsythe never set out to be a relic hunter. Her life unravels when her sister is murdered over a stone artifact called the Granite Key. The girl allies herself with a secret society called the Arkana who want to recover the key and find the killer. Teamed with librarian Griffin and bodyguard Erik, Cassie travels to the Minoan ruins of Crete to crack the key’s code. There they discover that five artifacts need to be recovered in sequence to reveal the location of a mythological relic called the Sage Stone. Learning this vital piece of information almost costs Cassie and company their lives when they are attacked on Crete by operatives of a religious cult known as the Blessed Nephilim.
Avoiding The Enemy
Barely eluding their enemies, the trio returns to Arkana headquarters to decide what to do next. Faye, the organization’s elderly leader, explains that continuing their quest endangers the entire group. For centuries, the Arkana has unearthed artifacts of ancient civilizations which predate patriarchy and tell the forgotten history of the world. These advanced goddess-worshipping cultures existed on every continent and the Arkana has set up troves to preserve their artifacts. If the Nephilim ever discovered the Arkana’s vaults, the religious cult would eradicate all the archaeological treasures which the Arkana has worked so hard to protect. The pursuit of the Sage Stone puts the two organizations on a collision course. The Nephilim’s leader, Abraham, will stop at nothing to acquire the artifact because he believes its power will allow him to win a global religious war. Sooner or later, his disciples are bound to cross paths with the Arkana retrieval team.
Bait And Switch Scheme
Since Cassie and her allies concealed their identities from the Nephilim while on Crete, Faye proposes that they exploit this advantage. She orders them to find the rest of the artifacts and to plant substitutes in their place. The Nephilim will collect false relics while the real ones will be protected in the Arkana’s vault. Cassie objects to the riskiness of the plan. Not only must they find each artifact first, they must duplicate it, deposit the copy and slip away unseen before the Nephilim arrive. To add to their worries, Faye announces that the Nephilim are already on their way back to Crete to continue the search.
The Race For The Relic
Because Griffin believes the next artifact is actually hidden in Turkey, the trio flies to Istanbul hoping that an Arkana operative who knows the country will be able to help them. Their struggle to function as a team continues. Griffin still frets about doing fieldwork, Cassie still doubts her psychic abilities and Erik barely tolerates the other two. The treasure hunt leads them to ancient megaliths on the top of Mount Ida. While searching the mountain, they receive intelligence that the Nephilim are only days behind.
Disaster Strikes
At the worst possible moment, the Arkana team discovers that the Nephilim aren’t their only competitors for the lost relic. Unforeseen obstacles and unknown enemies thwart their efforts to complete their mission and escape undetected. This new crisis teaches Cassie where her real loyalties lie. Will the Arkana team succeed or will they fall into the hands of the Nephilim? The answer isn’t as simple as you might e
