Thankfully, by the time Sal received word back from the Consul that she would see us, it was almost dawn. That wouldn't have bothered the head of the Senate, as she'd long since ceased to be bound by the sun cycle, but Alphonse and company weren't in that league. So I had a day's reprieve before I found out if my plan was going to work. And since I'd already screwed up my sleep cycle, I decided to use it for other things.
Nick was holding the fort when I got to the research room. He had his nose buried in a huge, dusty old tome, but looked glad to take a break. "There's been no word on your friend, Tami," he told me before I could say anything. "Not that I have the same level of access anymore, as a fugitive from justice."
I squirmed slightly. "Yeah. Sorry about that." Someone should have warned him that I tend to have that effect on mages.
"It had to happen sooner or later. The system is antiquated, but the Council refuses to see that."
"And here I just thought they were a bunch of power-grubbing asshats."
"That, too," Nick said dryly, shutting the cover of his book. It had a familiar symbol embossed on it, silver scales bright against the worn green leather.
"The ouroboros," I said, and was immediately sorry when his face lit up with the delighted air of a fanatic who has found a kindred soul.
"I didn't know you were interested in magical history, Cassie."
I hadn't been, before the Codex came along. Now I didn't have much choice. "Symbol of eternity, right?"
He nodded enthusiastically. "That's one interpretation. The snake—or dragon in some depictions—eats its own tail, thus sustaining its life and ensuring an eternal cycle of renewal." He flipped to the frontispiece, an almost translucent sheet covered with the image from the cover rendered in bright jewel tones. "This one was copied from an Egyptian amulet, dated to 1500 B.C., but it was also known to the Phoenicians and the Greeks, the Chinese and the Norse…really, it's the ultimate archetype. There's hardly a culture that didn't know it in some form!"
"How interesting." And it was, sort of. But I didn't have time for a magical history lesson. "Have you seen Pritkin today?"
I was too late; Nick was already buried in another book. "It's also one of the oldest protective symbols in the world, possibly the oldest. Not to mention the most widespread. The Aztecs believed that a giant serpent resided in the heavens as protection for Earth until the end of the age. The Egyptians had a similar myth. Both cultures thought that when the ouroboros' protection failed, the age of man would come to an end."
"Nick?" I waited until he looked up. He had a smudge of dust on his nose. "Bad-tempered blond, in need of a haircut?"
"John? Oh, he's around somewhere." Nick dismissed him with one hand, while grabbing another book with the other.
I plucked it out of his hand. "This is what you've been researching down here?" There seemed to be an awfully lot of books devoted to Nick's hobby and none to the geis.
He saw my expression and hurried to explain. "No, no. Or, rather, yes, but it does tie into our search."
"It does."
"Yes. You see these?" He pointed out a line of symbols on the frontispiece, rendered in silver gilt and curving around the outside of the snake's scales. "The Ephesia Grammata," he announced proudly, as if that explained anything.
"And that would be?"
"Sorry. The Ephesian Letters. They gave an added…oomph…to the protection. You often see them on amulets in conjunction with the ouroboros symbol. They were said to have been written by Solomon himself." He flipped to a line drawing showing the snake surrounding a guy on horseback with a long spear. "That's him, attacking evil," he added, pointing to the figure in the middle of the circle. "And there's the Ephesian letters again."
"But what are they?"
Nick blinked at me owlishly for a moment through his glasses. "You've never even heard of them?"
"Why would I ask you about them if I had?"
"It's just…they're famous. Even to norms." He looked slightly offended at my level of ignorance. I crossed my arms and stared at him. "They were said to have been inscribed on the statue of Artemis at Ephesus, the center of her cult in the ancient world," he explained. "She was closely associated with protective magic, and the words were considered some of