The Oracle (Fargo Adventures 11)

Sam said, “You should do the honors.”

“Me? If not for you and Remi, I wouldn’t be here.”

“Remi?” Sam said.

“Sorry, Fargo. Or are you forgetting there’s a curse?”

José laughed nervously behind them. “I don’t want to die a violent death.”

“Me neither,” Osmond said. “Look what happened to Hank.”

“Lazlo?” Sam said. “You’re the one who translated the map.”

“I’ll be glad to look. After you break the curse.”

Remi laughed. “Open it, Fargo. His loss.”

“Or gain,” Lazlo called out. “Depending.”

Renee nudged Sam forward. “Aren’t you the one with royal blood? Just be careful. It’s over fifteen hundred years old.”

Sam looked at Amal. “Any warnings from the oracle?”

“Sorry. Fresh out of prophecies.”

“Have at it, Fargo,” Remi said. “Before the curse changes its mind about your royal lineage.”

Sam approached the cylinder, lifted the lid, and peered in.

“Well?” Remi asked.

“It’s here. The scroll.”

CHAPTER NINETY-FIVE

A happy man marries the girl he loves,

but a happier man loves the girl he marries.

– AFRICAN PROVERB –

La Jolla, California

Goldfish Point

Sam opened up that morning’s newspaper as the light ocean breeze swept across the balcony where he and Remi sat drinking their coffee. Neither was surprised by the article that came out in the Lifestyle section of the paper, describing the historic find of the silver hoard and the Parmenides Scroll in Tunisia by Dr. Renee LaBelle, all of which was turned over to the Bardo National Museum in Tunis by Amal’s family. Of the treasure, it was Parmenides’ entire poem “On Nature” that was the greatest find since it had previously existed only in fragments. The mudslide sealing the tunnel had helped to preserve the scroll intact and it was the world’s only surviving copy.

Sam reached for his coffee cup, pausing when he saw Remi over the top of the newspaper. A soft smile played on her face as she tucked an errant strand of auburn hair behind her ear. At the moment, she was absorbed in something she was reading on her tablet. Sam lowered his paper, content to simply watch her. After everything they’d been through over the years of their marriage, it was the quiet moments like this that he appreciated most.

Eventually, she noticed him staring at her. “What,” she asked, “do you find so intriguing?”

“Besides you?”

She leaned over, kissed him. “Look what Wendy just sent. A class photo.”

Remi turned the tablet toward him and he saw everyone grouped in front of the new dorm. Pete and Wendy stood on one side of the girls, Monifa and Yaro on the other. While there were several new faces, he recognized most of the girls, including Okoro’s daughter, Zara. Beside her stood Maryam, Tambara, and Jol. But he had to smile at the sight of Nasha—front and center—wearing her little blue backpack.

THE BEGINNING