Finally the truck came to a stop and the men began to gather up their gear. Betsy and Gabriel followed their example, and picked up their own packs as well. Gabriel helped Betsy secure hers snugly, and she checked the straps on his pack as well. They followed the others as they filed out the back of the truck and fell in step behind Rico as he began to walk quickly toward the massive pyramid that towered over the place they’d parked.
“We’re behind the pyramid on a side not visible from the road,” Gabriel observed. “Thinking ahead again, I see.”
“A little planning goes a long way,” Rico agreed. “I would guess you’ve never entered a pyramid before?”
“No, I haven’t,” said Gabriel. “At least not this kind. Betsy and I went with a tour to see the South American variety before the twins were born.”
“I would say there are plenty of differences between the two,” Rico explained as they passed through the entrance and into the main hall. “The first one is, always keep your eyes open for traps. Even though it’s believed they have all been found, there’s always certain to be a few surprises left in store for anyone foolish enough to let down their guard. Never touch the walls, walk slowly near the center whenever you can unless I tell you otherwise. If a floor tile looks suspicious it probably is. So good luck, and let’s go.”
“Do you have any idea which way to look?” Betsy wanted to know.
“The lower levels, I’m sure,” he said. “There’s still a lot down there to explore. Luckily, I studied hieroglyphics for fun as a kid, so I might be able to read the walls at least enough to have a clue. We’re looking for a picture of a half wolf, half man god, possibly Wepwawet or Set, or maybe even Anubis. He should be guarding mortality from those who would wish to cheat death. Sort of like Cerberus, really, but I don’t think there was an exact Egyptian equivalent of him.”
“The three-headed dog that prevented dead people from escaping the underworld?” Betsy clarified. “Interesting. So, maybe he also doesn’t let immortals go in?”
“The stones are meant to protect the werewolf holding them from death—in other words, they prevent the bearer from being killed, so they would thus not need to enter the underworld,” Rico agreed. “So that’s sort of like cheating death. Maybe Cerberus doesn’t pay any attention to werewolves holding the stones at all.”
“You two are starting to really sound crazy,” Gabriel mentioned. “We’re not talking about a real creature, just a myth.”
“There’s no way of knowing if Cerberus is a myth, any more than we could absolutely know the stones are real, or that the lance ever truly existed and if so, whether it remains in existence today,” Rico defended himself. “But I’ll tell you one thing, boss. If we find those rocks, it’s a sure bet we’re likely to find a real lance as well.”
“Rico, we’ve found the entrance that will take us further underground,” reported one of his men. “The hieroglyphics were strange, though. The painting was clearly Roman in nature, and must have been put there much later than the others. It looked like the other gods, but the human figure had sprouted three heads. Maybe jackals, like Anubis.”
“Well, this is starting to sound promising,” said Rico with a pleased smile. “We may have discovered exactly what we came here for. Everyone, be very careful not to touch anything when we go in. Don’t even make a sound.”
*
The doorway, if in fact it was one, looked no different than any other part of the wall to Betsy. Hard as she looked, she could see no seam in the wall that would hint at something beyond. The painting of the three-headed dog was not overly large, but it didn’t quite match with the others on the wall, as if the paint was not the same kind, and the artist had not been the same person.
Wordlessly, Rico stepped up to the wall and touched the middle head of the dog painting, and an audible click sounded. Then stone sliding against stone. Dust flew up all around them, and finally the entrance popped open.
He placed a finger to his lips, and then motioned for everyone to follow him down the stone steps. They didn’t need to light the way, since all of them were werewolves and could see in the dark better than a normal person would. It was cold and dark but no signs of danger presented themselves as the group moved downward. They reached the bottom without incident, and they were now deeper under than pyramid than any explorer had documented before.
This part of the pyramid was clearly not a tomb. The usual treasures and sarcophagus were not present. Instead a large altar stood in the center, and on it was placed a golden platter covered with smallish, hand-sized stones.
“It can’t be that easy,” Betsy commented, and Rico shushed her, but not before her voice had triggered the trap he’d been worried about. A huge pendulum, the end of which was a razor-sharp, curved blade, swung across the room. They would either have to wait until the thing swung back and forth, moving down each time, until it finally cut into the floor, stop it somehow, or risk crossing its path to get to the stones.
As soon as the blade hit the floor, Rico took the opportunity to surge forward and grab as many stones as he could, stuffing them into a small box he’d brought along. Just as swiftly, he moved away again, narrowly avoiding being hit when the trap suddenly reset and the blade began to swing again.
He held a finger to his lips and pointed at the stairs, and they all took his meaning and headed up again. When they were back in the outer pyramid again, he cast Betsy a chastising glare, and she looked contritely back at him.
“That took longer than it might have done,” he commented. “But at least we’re all in one piece. Now, we head back to base and wait until night falls once again.
“Maybe you should give us each a stone now,” Gabriel suggested. “It never hurts to be prepared.”
“I will give stone to you two, but the rest we ought to keep until we know who we’re sending in at any given time,” Rico decided. “It’s very important to arm whoever that is, or they may never return to tell us what they’ve discovered, right?”
“Yes, of course,” Gabriel agreed. “But will we not be going in as well?”
“Not into the smaller temples,” he said. “I don’t see the need. We will send in recon, and when they return to tell us what they found, we will decide at that time if it’s worth our time to go inside. But for now, we return to base so I can get a better look at the stones. Who knows, we may be able to make more and outfit everyone in the camp, or make armor for them as I said. Only think how much stronger our defenses would be then.”
“I don’t know if you are aware of this, Rico, so I think I will emphasize it yet again,” said Gabriel with a frown. “I miss my children. I would like to get back to them as soon as may be. I hope that this study of the stones is not slated to take up even more time.”
“Boss, I do understand your situation,” he told him. “But if we don’t prepare for this war the right way, we may never fight it at all.”
“War,” Gabriel repeated the word. “I hadn’t thought of it as a war, but I suppose that must be exactly what it is. And one that has some very high stakes for myself and my wife.”
“What are you saying, Gabriel?” Betsy wanted to know. ”We can’t be at war.”
“Then what would you call it?”
“A disagreement?” she asked lamely.
“No, ma bella, this is a war, just as Rico says,” he told her. “We must treat it as such if we are ever to succeed. He knows what he is talking about.”
“This discussion is getting us nowhere,” Rico pointed out. “Everyone back into the truck and we’ll at least analyze the stones’ structure. We’re going to need to rest up before we head out again either way.”
The ride back was almost completely uneventful as well. Just as they were about to park, however, Rico was stopped by local law authorities for a few minutes. They never bothered to check inside the truck, and after a few minutes they let him go. Gabriel and Betsy wondered why until everyone had gone inside again.
“What was
that all about?” Gabriel wanted to know as soon as he’d caught up with Rico in the doorway out of the garage.
“Oh, that?” Rico said causally. “Nothing much, they just wanted their weekly bribe.”
“Wait, what?” Gabriel gasped. “Are you telling me the cops here expect protection money?”
“Something like that,” Rico smirked. “The world can be a pretty strange place.”
Gabriel laughed. He couldn’t help it. Betsy, who had been right behind him and heard the entire exchange, couldn’t help but join in as well. “I guess the world is a lot more similar than I first suspected,” she said between giggles.
“Get some rest, you two,” said Rico. “I will put this under the analyzer. It will take it a few hours to make any sort of a determination about its contents. I admit, I’m fascinated to discover what we will find.”
“Yes, we will do that,” said Gabriel. “I did not realize how tired I am, but I am feeling more exhausted than I have in years. I wonder if everything that has been happening is catching up to me. What about you, Betsy? Are you tired also?”
“I think I slept a lot yesterday,” she admitted. “But I suppose I could use a bit more.”
Gabriel and Betsy went back to their room and curled up into each other’s arms, and soon they were fast asleep. They were unused to Rico calling all the shots, of course, but it did not seem like such a bad combination. The man had a plan and that’s exactly what was needed now. Hopefully, his research concerning the lance would prove as sound as the research he’d done on the stones.
They didn’t wake again until it was time for breakfast. They were served a hearty meal of the traditional breakfast foods in this land. Betsy enjoyed it very much. Gabriel, on the other hand, was too interested in getting on with the day to even notice what he was putting in his mouth. He and Rico exchanged a look as they finished their meals, and the two men disappeared together, leaving the others to wait for their return.
“Do you remember that while we were in the labyrinth we encountered a dampening field of sorts that kept up from transforming?” said Rico with a curious light in his eyes. “I believe these stones might just be a confirmation of that effect. They are a blend of the metal we found there and other minerals that can be readily found in the native soil here. Blended together, they seem to cause that outcome. But because of that, I’m not certain how much use they could be on the night of a full moon, considering they would prevent us from transforming then as well.”
“If we can’t transform, then wouldn’t they also prevent the Alphas from transforming while they were near us?” Gabriel pointed out. “They could be even more useful than you know.”
“There is that,” Rico agreed. “But the added effect is supposed to be that it prevents injury to the bearer. Perhaps that would be an advantage.”
“Against other wolves, yes,” agreed Gabriel. “But you know that not just wolves await us wherever the lance is to be found. Still, I expect these stone will be very useful either way.”
*
Gabriel was starting to grow tired of Jerusalem. The teams had examined so many sites within that city and its outlying areas, it made his head swim. Betsy seemed to be having fun though since she’d discovered a renewed interest in examining architectures. It was one thing to read about the old ruined castles built during the Crusades and quite another to get to see them all in person.
But as fun as a site-seeing trip might be, it was not bringing them any closer to their goals. Gabriel really felt that they should be concentrating on Rome. After all, the item they were looking for was known as Gordral’s lance, and that was predominantly where Gordral had resided for the greater part of his life.
Rico tended to agree with him but he felt it would be foolhardy to ignore the other temples and churches and castles on the list just because of impatience. They could very well miss something important and Rico was nothing if not committed to knowing all the details.
When they’d finally exhausted all the Jerusalem leads, Gabriel couldn’t say that he was sad to be leaving. It had been three weeks, and as far as he was concerned they had all been pointless. Just another month away from his growing children. Could their teeth be coming in now? Might one or both of them have rolled over, maybe even begun to crawl? Were they learning to speak, and if so in which language? It would totally crush him if they learned to speak in a language he didn’t know and he wouldn’t even know what they were saying to him.
“And now, before we hit Italy and begin our search there, we should check a few other places along the way,” Rico mentioned. “The one lead in Greece should be eliminated and a few ancient castles from ancient Byzantium as well.”
“Gordral was not an Ostrogoth, why do we need to look there?”
“Because he paid a visit there on his way back from Jerusalem before he went to Rome,” Rico pointed out. “He could have stashed the thing there before he went home since it was unlikely he’d continue to slay werewolves once he’d become more directly involved with the workings of the Church there.”
“How do you know?” Gabriel scoffed. “I thought you told me he got thrown out of the place for devirginizing nuns or something. He can’t have been an exemplary kind of a guy.”
Betsy returned from the table full of food with a plate for each of them. “You two look like you’re having quite a serious discussion over here.”
“Gabriel doesn’t see a point in visiting the Ostrogothic castles,” Rico informed her. “He may be correct, yet still it would weigh heavily on my mind if I didn’t make sure.”
“Gabriel, I know that you miss the children, and so do I, but it makes no sense to overlook a potential site for personal reasons,” Betsy pointed out. “We don’t even know yet if the lance will ever be found but we ought to exhaust every avenue trying, don’t you think?”
“I know you are right, ma bella,” he said as he took his plate. “It is just difficult to be away from them.”
“Why don’t we start in Rome and look elsewhere if we’re not successful?” Rico said. “Would that help to ease your mind?”
“I believe it would, since it’s my opinion that the artifact is likely to be there,” he replied. “If I had such a weapon I would have kept it close to hand, where it could be made use of should any unwanted creatures present themselves in my own territory.”
“Do you think the lance kills more than just werewolves, Gabriel?” asked Betsy curiously.
“Ma bella, I still think that werewolves are the only real supernatural creatures,” he said with a smirk. “I have never seen any evidence to the contrary.”
“What about the hell hounds?” Betsy smirked.
“It is just the same effect when applied to a dog,” he said. “I imagine if I infected a rabbit it would also transform into a larger and fiercer version of itself.”
Rico chuckled at this, remembering something from a movie he liked. “With big pointy teeth?”
Gabriel raised a brow. “Yes, of course.”
“Hey, that explains a lot,” Rico chuckled, leaving his companions to stare at him as he polished off every morsel on his plate and got up to get some more.
“At least the monks let us sleep on the floor in this place,” said Gabriel with a long-suffering sigh. “I was getting tired of sleeping in the back of the truck. Finally I can stretch my legs.”
“Wow, Gabriel, you are the whiniest crime lord I know,” she pointed out. “Now come over here and be my pillow.”
“Why should I do that, when you’d make a much better one?” he asked, surreptitiously testing out one of her breasts while glancing over his shoulder to see if any of the men were looking.
“Okay, fine, then I will be yours,” she conceded. The two of them settled onto a blanket on the floor and tried to get some sleep. They were well aware that it grew closer to the time of the full moon, which was only three days away. How was Rico going to contain all these men when that happened? Betsy wondered as she drifted off into slumbe
r.
The journey into Italy by boat proved to be interesting. They had to hire a ferry and drive the truck right onto the platform. Rico had to pay extra for the ‘no questions asked’ nature of the ride. Also to be less noticeable, Rico had waited for the dark of night before attempting the crossing.
Gabriel felt it was a good idea to remind him that some of Lupo’s men had been pursuing them before they’d hopped a boat down to Libya. Although they were certainly not looking for a truck they were still likely to be in the area. Lupo was a very insistent boss, and if he had any idea that the two of them were somewhere nearby, it was certain that he had not yet called off the search.
Betsy began to pace about halfway across, unaccountably nervous. When Gabriel kissed her on top of the head he realized she was trembling a little. “What is it, ma bella?” he wanted to know.
“I’m not sure,” she explained. “I just got an overwhelming feeling like something was wrong. I have no idea why or what it is but something is terribly wrong.”
“Women’s intuition is heightened by the werewolf effect, especially right before the moon is full,” he replied. “Shall I tell Rico to increase the guard?”
“Perhaps you should,” she agreed.
But the trip was completely uneventful. They landed on Italian soil and drove out onto the road with no problems and Rico headed for the nearest destination on their map without even taking a break.
“I know that nothing has happened and all that, but I still can’t shake this feeling,” Betsy said worriedly. “Whatever it is, I don’t think it has anything to do with this mission at all. It’s almost like I should check on my mother or something.”
“Or a family member?” Gabriel asked, his face falling. “Betsy, think. I have been missing the children something fierce, and now you are feeling intuitively that a family member is in danger. What if Lupo has managed to discover the children? What if he knows where they are, or worse?”
Return Of The Real Italian Alphas Page 3
