“I was just thinking of where I might be at this exact moment if you guys hadn’t come along. Probably alone in my basement, collecting more conspiracy theories and wondering if my dad’s still alive. That’s how it was for years. But what’s awesome is that I really do believe he’s alive now. He’s somewhere, John. I know it. And I know it because of you guys.”

“I hope so,” I say. “It’s pretty cool that Henri came to Ohio to try to find him, and you and I became friends almost immediately. It’s like fate.”

Sam smiles. “Or a cosmic aligning.”

“Nerd,” I say.

After a pause, Sam asks, “Hey, John? You’re positive that skeleton in the well wasn’t my dad, right?”

“Absolutely, dude. He was Loric and huge. Bigger than any human.”

“What’s your best guess, then? Who was it?”

“I really don’t know. I just hope he wasn’t too important.”

Four hours pass, and finally we see a sign pointing the way to Ansted, six miles ahead. We fall silent. Sam makes the turn and navigates a precarious two-lane road that twists up the mountain until we pass the town’s border. We drive through it and turn left at the only stoplight in town.

“Hawks Nest, right?”

“Yep, a mile or two down the road,” Sam says, and it’s there we’ll find the map that Six drew three years ago.

The map is exactly where Six said it would be, hidden at Hawks Nest State Park, overlooking the New River. Exactly forty-seven steps down the Gysp Trail, Sam, Bernie Kosar, and I reach a tree with E6 deeply carved into its side. From there, we leave the trail, taking thirty steps past the tree to the right. That’s followed by a hard left turn, and then, a tenth of a mile away, we see a tree that towers over the others. In the small gap at the base of its twisted trunk, safely tucked away in a black plastic box, is the map that leads to the cave.

We make our way back to the SUV and drive another fifteen miles, ultimately pulling down a muddy, deserted road. It’s the closest any road can get us, five miles due north of the cave. Sam takes the address Six wrote out of his pocket and puts it in the glove compartment. “On second thought.” He removes it and puts it back into his pocket. “As safe as anywhere,” he says.

I drop the Xitharis and some duct tape into Six’s backpack that she left behind, and Sam slips the bag over his shoulders. I flip my dagger over in my hand and then stuff it into my back pocket.