The Codex (An Armour of God Thriller Book 2)

by Daniel Patterson

  "I didn't have time," Sydney said.

  They took the last step to the edge of the tunnel, and it became apparent why Sydney had come to an abrupt halt. The opening was on the face of a cliff. If Sydney hadn't stopped him, he would have plummeted to his death into the jagged rocks and the icy waters of the North Atlantic hundreds of feet below.

  Chapter Sixty-Five

  "I'M REALLY STARTING TO hate this place," Sydney said. Her voice beginning to crack.

  Zack closed his eyes and rubbed his hands up and down the fronts of his legs and stamped his feet hard against the rock floor trying to work some feeling back.

  When he opened them, Sydney was looking at him, tears spilling from her eyes.

  He pulled her to his chest, circling his arms around her. They stood that way for a while, his cheek on her head, her fingers clinging to his back. The faint scent of lavender wafted through his senses. He didn't try to stop her from crying, just held her close.

  Moments had passed before her sobs grew quiet, and her body sagged from her released emotion.

  "I'm so sorry," she began, and he just hushed her, still holding her close. Another few minutes passed while they took comfort in each other's arms, then she finally pulled back and looked up at him.

  "Thank you," she said, and he touched his lips to hers. They were soft and warm and melted into his own. He felt her smile, and he smiled in return, opening his eyes to gaze into hers.

  Pressing his forehead to hers, he whispered, "No, thank you."

  A brisk wind interrupted the stillness of the tunnel they were standing in. Reluctantly they pulled apart and started looking around.

  Zack stepped to the edge of the cave opening and looked up. He almost couldn't believe it. They were only forty or fifty feet from the top.

  He drew back into the tunnel with a huge grin. "Have a look," he said.

  Sydney held onto Zack's hand for support and looked out and up. "We've found the way out!"

  "We just have to figure a way up," Zack said.

  Their eyes were more accustomed to the bright sunlight, and they could now see carvings on the walls, depictions of people telling what looked to be a story.

  "Zack, look at this," Sydney breathed, pointing to a series of drawings.

  They were magnificent.

  A picture close to the opening looked like men climbing up a cliff. If these were stories, then it meant something. Were these clues to how the people had lived in this vast cavern of tunnels?

  Zack leaned out of the opening again. This time to get a closer look at the cliff face.

  "Zack be careful!" Sydney said, grabbing the back of his jacket to keep him steady.

  "Give me a second. There's something here."

  "What do you see?"

  "A hole, I think..." The wind blew against his face, tousling his hair. Sydney grabbed two fists full of his jacket.

  He inspected the hole. It was man-made. Nothing in nature looked like that all by itself. Rounded at the top but with a flat bottom. He looked up. There were more of them, set at equal intervals all the way up against the cliff. He pulled himself back into the cave entrance.

  "There are footholds out there," he said. "We can climb up. Someone made a ladder of sorts. We're going to have to do a little free soloing. It's only fifty feet or so."

  "Only? And hundreds of feet down."

  "This is your specialty," he grinned. He took a step toward Sydney and squeezed her hand. "It's going to be alright. You can do this."

  Sydney swallowed and nodded. Her jaw was clenched and her eyes wide and shiny, but she stepped toward the opening.

  "You go first," Zack said. He wouldn't be able to do much if she slipped, but at least he would feel like he's protecting her.

  Sydney stood on the edge of the cliff and bowed her head in silence. Her short hair blew away from her face in the cold wind. "God give me strength," she whispered as she edged closer to the wall. In one quick motion, she reached one foot out and over until it was in the closest foothold and then grabbed the one at head level with her hand.

  Zack bit the inside of his cheek. "Good job Sydney," he encouraged her.

  For a moment his heart stopped when she swung out of the cave, but then she got her other foot in and she was safe against the wall of the cliff. The danger was far from over, but so far so good.

  He followed her, doing the same as she did. He pulled himself against the wall with his stronger arm, using the other to steady himself. The pull of his heavy backpack made the going more difficult, but he wasn't prepared yet to drop it.

  The climb was slow and treacherous. Sydney slipped once and bit off a shrill scream. The sound sliced through the air around them, echoing off the cliff, but she held on and managed to get her foot back in a foothold.

  Finally, Sydney reached the top of the cliff. She scrambled the last bit, her feet only touching the foothold to shift her weight over and onto the top. Then her other leg disappeared, and she was safe.

  Zack breathed out in relief. The worst was over. She was safe, and he would be—

  One of the footholds crumbled and his left foot slipped, catching him by surprise. He grunted and locked his hand into the rock, trying to drill his fingers into the hard stone.

  He couldn't find another handhold and he was slipping.

  "Zack!" Sydney called, her head over the edge she'd just climbed onto.

  Zack hung on, his whole body weight relying on four fingers.

  Then three.

  The rock was cold and smooth. He looked around and kicked his legs, searching for other footholds, but found nothing.

  Two fingers.

  At least she was safe.

  "Please, God. Help me. Don't let me die here. Not like this."

  His sudden need to ask God for help surprised him, but at the same time, it didn't. He'd always believed in God, he realized, even when he'd been angry at Him. Even when he'd given up on expecting God's favor.

  He'd always believed.

  He could feel his middle finger slipping and was about to give up when two warm hands wrapped around his wrist. When he looked up, Sydney had her head and shoulders over the edge and was clinging on to him.

  "Let go, I'll pull us both down," Zack yelled.

  "No!" Sydney answered, and ground her teeth with the effort. Her determination fueled Zack's, and he kicked hard, still searching for a foothold.

  Sydney screamed through clenched teeth as she began sliding from her perch.

  He looked up, ready to convince her one last time to release him when, like a miracle, his foot sank into a small hole in the rock. It wasn't much, but it was all he needed. He pushed up hard and with Sydney pulling on his arm, together they hoisted him over the edge. They both lay on the cold rock, heaving and gasping.

  "How many times do I have to save you?" Sydney asked between gasps.

  "We're partners. We're not supposed to count," Zack answered back, and they both laughed.

  He looked at her, and she rolled her head to look at him, a smile playing on her lips.

  "So we're partners now? I thought you liked to work alone," she said.

  He didn't have an answer to that.

  Chapter Sixty-Six

  ZACK AND SYDNEY LOOKED across the frozen landscape.

  No sign of Dingo.

  No sign of Mikkel.

  No sign of anything.

  They were in a part of Greenland Zack didn't recognize. Patches of ice could be seen here and there but, for the most part, it was just flat rock stretching to all sides.

  "I can't believe we're safe!" Sydney cried out.

  "Sometimes all you can do is keep moving forward," Zack said and smiled.

  "Thank God," Sydney said.

  Yes. Zack had to agree. There was no way their safety was of their own doing.

  "Oh no..." Sydney sank down to her knees and looked devastated.

  "What is it?"

  "The Bible, it's still down there. And those two... Oh, no!" She covered her h
ands with her face and sighed.

  Zack smiled and for the first time took his heavy backpack off. He opened it and took the limestone case out. When Sydney looked up, he was holding it in front of him, a smile plastered across his face.

  "When did you—?"

  "What did you think I knocked Waterson out with?"

  Sydney looked at him for a moment. Then she grabbed his head with both her hands and pulled his face close to hers. He was sure she was going to kiss him, but then she stopped, her beautiful eyes gazing into his. She dropped her hands, quickly stood, and took a step back.

  She blushed bright red, and Zack's cheeks warmed up too.

  "I'm sorry," she said.

  Zack smiled and shook his head. She shouldn't be sorry, but he didn't know how to say it to her. He reached for her but stopped as the thwack, thwack, thwack of helicopter rotors broke the silence.

  He wanted to make her understand it was all right with him if she wanted to because he wanted to kiss her as well, but he never had the chance.

  Moments later Mikkel landed a few feet away. He jumped out of the helicopter with a big grin on his face. "Looks like you lost something, my friend," he said, pointing at Zack's legs.

  "Mikkel!" Sydney cried out and rushed over to him.

  "How did you find us?" Zack asked over the whirl of the still turning blades

  "I put a GPS in your backpack, of course."

  Zack could only thank his good friend. He had amazing people in his life, people he wanted to see again.

  They climbed into the helicopter, and Zack grabbed a blanket for his legs, and then pulled another around Sydney's shoulders. She huddled down into the warmth with a grateful smile.

  As they flew back to the Tasiilaq heliport, Zack looked at the gray and white landscape passing below. Greenland was a beautiful country, the starkness magnificent in its simplicity. His fingers played around the edges of the gold medallion embedded in the case on his lap, the priceless artifact they had recovered. The impact of the bullet had cracked the limestone, damaging the lid but not breaking through. This was an amazing find. The country had so much to offer on many levels.

  Would he miss it? Maybe. But right now he could really do with a hot bath, food, and the reality that he was safe and with the woman he loved...

  He paused.

  Loved?

  He glanced at the now sleeping Sydney bundled in her blanket. Her dark lashes fanning on her still rosy cheeks.

  What had he gotten himself into now?

  * * *

  Turn the page for a sneak peek at Zack and Sydney's next adventure...

  One

  Forty-eight hours later

  Williamsburg, New York

  ZACK HAD SLEPT THROUGH most of the six-hour flight back to New York, but he was already embracing the stability of this world. He'd found a new appreciation for life and the necessity to live in the here and now. The old cliché, you don't know what you've got until it's gone, holds true for almost gone as well.

  Zack knew there was another he needed to thank. Without a doubt, there had been a presence with them those days, watching over them, saving them when they should have died again and again. He wasn't ready to be the every Sunday, church-going person he was before his parents died. But he couldn't deny that if it weren't for God's help, he and Sydney would both be dead.

  Several times over.

  Sydney. It had been so hard saying goodbye to her, harder than he'd anticipated or thought possible. They'd had an additional day and a half together in Greenland, avoiding Dingo and his men, while Father Giovanni made arrangements to get them safely out of the country. Although Zack loved spending the extra time with her, it somehow made their parting worse. They'd stayed with Mikkel and talked for hours.

  It was so strange. Zack and Sydney had been through so much together but, in reality, knew very little about the other. She'd talked about her childhood, how she rescued every animal in her path.

  "I always thought I'd be a veterinarian," she had confessed over dessert. "Then I learned it included euthanizing sick animals and that dream ended pretty quick. That's when I decided to make archaeology my passion. I liked the idea of bringing the Bible to life much better than putting the present to sleep."

  He'd just smiled at her, wishing he'd had a chance to know her longer. He could have listened to her stories for hours. They talked about the future as well, the places she wanted to travel, and the places she wanted to discover. They'd talked about everything, it seemed.

  Finally, it was time to go. Zack had sent the Bible to the Chicago Museum of Biblical Antiquities the day before. There was something special about this artifact, and Zack wanted it out of this country and into the safe hand of Father Giovanni as soon as possible. Although Mikkel had vouched for the honor of the courier, Zack had held his breath until he'd received notification that it had been delivered.

  When Zack walked through the lobby of his Williamsburg apartment building, he knew he looked like something the cat dragged in. But Patrick, the doorman, still greeted him with a smile and a nod—a consummate professional.

  He marched straight to the elevator and stepped out when it reached the fifth floor. As he walked the familiar hallway to his apartment door, his feet were heavy as sleep threatened to claim him again. Maybe he'd just climb into bed, pull the covers up, and forget the world existed for a week or so.

  Funny, life never works out the way you expect it to. This trip had cost him a lot. But it had opened him up to the possibility of being with someone again and, the possibility of trusting in God...and another human being.

  He looked around his empty kitchen space, his empty living room with the overstuffed couch. This place of his had never seemed so dark and lonely to him.

  The blinking light on his answering machine caught his attention, the display informing him of eleven missed calls. They'd just have to wait—his bed was calling to him from down the hall.

  Shower first, then blessed oblivion for at least the next twelve hours.

  He headed for the bathroom and then paused, grumbled under his breath, and turned back to the phone. Never one to shirk responsibility, he should at least take a look to see who had called.

  He scrolled through the caller ID...four calls from women he wanted to avoid, six from toll-free numbers he was glad he missed. Then, the last one, from the 312 area code.

  Chicago.

  It wasn't the museum or Father Giovanni's number.

  Did Sydney have his home number?

  He'd missed the call by only a few moments. He needed to get a replacement cell phone first thing tomorrow.

  Just as he was about to press the redial button, the phone rang in his hand. He almost dropped it as it rang to life. A touch of post-traumatic stress had kicking in.

  It was the same 312 number.

  He cleared his throat, took a deep breath and answered, "This is Cole."

  "Zack, it's Sydney."

  It had been less than a day since they parted ways, but he was amazed at how much he'd missed her. The warmth he felt for her now caught him by surprise. It was such a contrast to the irritation he'd felt the first time they'd met. "Miss me already?" he said, trying for humor but falling flat.

  "Zack, it's Uncle Sal..."

  "What happened Sydney? Is he okay?"

  "There was a robbery... At the museum. They stole the Bible. Uncle Sal was hurt. They hurt Uncle Sal, Zack!"

  His blood turned to ice colder than the underbelly of Greenland. Adrenaline surged through his body, and he was instantly awake again. "Hurt? How serious? Please tell me he'll be okay."

  Another small sob. "I don't know. He's in surgery. I'm on my way to the hospital now. Zack, I'm sorry. You were the first person I thought to call."

  Zack closed his eyes, glad she had turned to him. He wasn't going to let her down, no matter how tired he was. "It's going to be okay. I'll take the next flight out. I'll be there as soon as I can."

  "Zack," she paused, pushing out a
breath that crackled in his ear. "He asked me to call you...before he was hurt, I mean."

  "About what?"

  "He wanted to meet with us. He...he said he found something in the Bible. Something that wasn't supposed to be there."

  Goosebumps traveled across Zack's body. "Not supposed to be there? Like what?" he asked.

  "He didn't say. I talked to him earlier this evening, and he said it was something he had to show us in person. He was anxious to get back to work. You don't think..." She paused and then started again. "You don't think the robbery and him getting shot has something to do with what he discovered?"

  Zack's intuition screamed yes, even as he tried to sound reassuring. "Your uncle was probably just in the wrong place at the wrong time."

  "But Zack...how did they even know about the Bible?"

  Time stopped for a moment as scenario after scenario played through Zack's mind. "I don't know. We'll find out who did this, but your uncle's well-being is the primary concern. I'll see you in a couple of hours."

  "I'll be waiting for you."

  With that, Zack was out the door.

  A hot shower and a warm bed would have to wait for another time...

  * * *

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  Chapter One

  Seven months ago

  Harmony, New York

  THE SOUND OF HEAVY footsteps on the creaky hardwood floor woke Pastor Charles Griffin from a restless sleep.

  Bang!

  The bedroom door slammed open, sending splinters of wood everywhere.

  Charles threw the blankets off with a flurry and sprang out of bed. The Bible he had been reading, his constant companion, crashed to the floor.

  The confrontation was inevitable. If only he time to gain some strength. The seventy-six-year-old pastor of New Hope Church had been stricken with a nasty flu virus. He'd fought it off once, but he was still bedridden and nowhere near full health.