The rain intensified.
Elijah placed his palm over the glass, letting the chill seep into his skin before he turned his attention to the other person in the room.
"In every religious book you pick up, you'll find different practices. Some tell you to drink wine and eat lamb; others insist on staying vegetarian and surviving on plants."
"Oh, yeah. I know that." Alexei bobbed his head, red hair swaying with each exaggerated nod.
Elijah slid the book closer to Alexei, forcing the inclined head to lean back.
"If you compare them to the lands they came from, you'll see a pattern. Colder regions favored wine and meat. Foods that warm the body and keep up the strength through the winter."
On the open pages were carefully annotated maps, sketches of ancient markets, and Elijah's own sticky‑note scribbles.
Neat cursive arrows connected 'red wine' to 'Judean hills, cool winters' and 'mutton' to 'nomadic tribes'.
