Jon and Karyn Tell Athena About the Stone

"Okay, you should know the truth," Jon said. Karyn's eyes went wide. "Jon, no. I don't think ..." "Karyn, we might need her help. Plus, she obviously knows a little about magic anyway. It might be a good idea to have her around. You know, if things get bad." "Would you *please* tell me what you're talking about?" Athena asked, getting even more impatient. She needed to know what was happening so she could find her friend. Karyn sighed. "It's a stone. A *wishing* stone." "You're joking," Athena said, but she didn't act like she didn't believe them. She looked around, then pushed the two of them into an alcove for some privacy. "You mean you really have a wishing stone?" They nodded. "Let me guess. It's small, flattish, kind of metallic, and has a reddish hue." "That's ... exactly right. How did you know about it?" Jon asked. "It's described in one of my tomes. I don't know how you got your hands on it, but the last place it was located was ..." "Peru," Jon finished her sentence. "Okay," Athena said. "Tell me how you know *that*." "My grandfather was an archeologist, before he died." "I heard about that. I'm sorry." Jon nodded, then continued. "He found the stone on one of his digs in Peru. I got the stone as my inheritance." "So, you really do have the Jewel of Cusco?" Athena asked. "Jewel of what?" Jon asked. "That's the official name of it." "We just call it the stone." "Kind of lame, but accurate," Athena said. "So where is it?" "That's our little problem at the moment," Jon said. "We lost it," Karyn said. "We think someone is using it to make wishes." "That's probably why your friend ... what was her name again?" "Zoe." "Right ... Zoe. That's probably why Zoe disappeared." "So, we need to find who has the stone," Athena said. "That's right."