by David Wood
A few more breaths and he was back to searching. With patient care, his fingers probed the floor, searching every crack and indentation until he felt a circle. Hastily he scrubbed the area around the shape until he had uncovered a clover. This was it!
He needed two more trips back for air before he could finish the job, but soon he and Bones were headed back across the lake, another box secure in his dive bag.
Chapter 20
Maddock and Bones sat in reclining pool chairs, soaking up the moonlight and the aroma of sage drifting on the dry breeze, barely suppressing the chlorine smell of the hotel pool. He trailed his finger absently across the condensation on his bottle of Dos Equis and pondered their next move.
“I suppose if I was a chick I’d say something like ‘what are you thinking’ or something equally annoying,” Bones said. “Spill it, bro.”
“We’ve hit a wall,” Maddock said. “We’ve found all the pieces of the puzzle we’re going to find, but the clues don’t lead us anywhere.”
“Au contraire,” Bones said, “they will eventually lead us somewhere just as soon as we figure out where the starting point might be.”
“And therein lies the problem,” Maddock said. “And I can’t shake the feeling that the other side might already know, and the only thing holding them back is waiting for Saul to get them the translation of the final pieces of the scarab.”
“If that’s the situation, the only thing we can do is get there first. At least we have a head start on them. We need to figure out the next step, and make certain that no more of Jimmy’s translations fall into Saul’s hands. This is going to be a race.” Bones took a gulp of his Cherry Coke and belched the letters A through F. “I never make it to ‘G’,” he muttered. “So, have you thought any more about what I said this afternoon?”
“You mean about you getting married?” Maddock said.
“No, about you and…”
“I know what you mean,” Maddock said, cutting him off in mid-sentence. He realized he had made a decision. “I’ve thought about it. Maybe it’s not that Jade is wrong for me. Maybe I just need to quit being such a wuss around women. Melissa wouldn’t want me to spend the rest of my life moping around. If the situation was reversed, I’d want her to have a good life, and to keep being herself.”
“I knew you’d get there eventually,” Bones said. “And thank you for not making me say it.”
“Thank you for making me figure it out. Matter of fact, I’m going to go talk to Jade.” He rose from his chair, chugged the last of his beer, and made it all the way to H.
“Show off,” Bones said.
“Anyway, I’ll catch you later.”
Maddock knocked on Jade’s door. He didn’t know if it was the beer, his epiphany, or both, but he felt… different. Like whatever decision he made right now would be the right one.
You’re not you when you’re with her… you take a step back.
Bones was right. Jade was smart and sexy and a pain in the neck, but she wasn’t too good for him.
Jade smiled and wrapped her lithe, brown arms around his neck, pulling him close.
“I was just about to come and get you,” she breathed. “Your friend Jimmy just e-mailed me. He’s been looking at the pictures Bones took and he thinks there’s a connection to our mystery. He says he’ll have something for us maybe by tomorrow. He’s being a bit mysterious, but I get the impression he knows something already.”
“Jimmy’s like that,” Maddock said. He had taken the look in her eyes and the hug as happiness at seeing him, and he was disappointed to realize that she was happy to see him, but only because of the new development in the mystery. “He likes to drop the bomb on you, then step back and take his bows. This piecemeal translation has probably been driving him crazy.”
“Well, I hope he’s…” Her gaze locked with his and her expression turned serious. “What’s wrong?
“Nothing,” Maddock said. His heart pounded out a relentless beat and his stomach felt like frozen cement. If he didn’t do it now, he’d never do it. “I just wanted to give you something.” Before he could change his mind, he cupped her chin in one hand, wrapped the other arm around her waist, drew her close, and kissed her.
He felt her stiffen and for a moment he thought he’d made a mistake of epic proportions, but then she relaxed. Her lips responded to his with a gentle insistence. Her fingers tangled in his hair and she drew away, kissing his cheek, his neck, his chest. He groaned and pulled her closer, pressing his body against hers.
She drew back long enough to help him out of his shirt before leaping fully into his arms, wrapping around him like a hungry parasite. For a brief moment, he was once again struck by her scent. It was like sage and cinnamon, and for some odd reason he found that quite remarkable. That was his last rational thought for some time, as he lifted her off her feet and carried her to the bed, where they collapsed into a writhing tangle of arms, legs, bed sheets, and discarded clothing.
He awoke in the semi-darkness with Jade leaning over him, speaking softly. He grinned and stretched luxuriously.
“Aren’t you tired?” he asked.
“Get up,” she whispered. “I’ve gotten a message from your friend Jimmy.”
There was something in her voice that brought him instantly awake. There was a sense of urgency, and an underlying strain that puzzled him. It must be because of Saul. If Jimmy had made a breakthrough, she’d want to follow up on it before Saul could find out.
“What is it?” he asked, rolling out of bed and searching around for his clothes.
“He’s found a connection between our mystery and the discovery Bones made. I’ll tell you about it in the car. Come on!”
He barely had time to get dressed before she ushered him out of the room and hurried him to the car. Ten minutes later they were winging down the road, the aroma of cheap, gas station coffee assaulting his senses.
“So, are you going to finally tell me about this breakthrough?”
Jade paused before explaining.
“The writing on the disc Bones found was not exactly in Hebrew. Or, it was, but it was a cipher. Jimmy suspected as much when he first tried to translate it, so he set some computer programs to trying to crack it, and went back to our puzzle. The computer managed to crack the code late last night. The disc tells a very interesting story.” She bit her lip, her eyes fixed on the road ahead.
“So, are you going to tell me or not?”
“Sorry,” she said. “I’m just preoccupied.” She paused again as if deciding how to proceed. “Have you ever heard of Akhenaten?”
“Wasn’t he some sort of Egyptian sun god or some-thing?”
“Not quite. Akhenaten was pharaoh from about 1350 to 1336 B.C. You might have heard of his wife, Nefertiti.”
“Okay, but I thought she was a fertility goddess or sex symbol or something.”
“Maddock,” she sighed, “it’s one thing to not know, but you don’t have to advertise it. Anyway, Akhenaten is known as the heretic pharaoh, or the enemy, because he tried to convert Egyptians to monotheism. He declared that the sun disc Aten, from whom he derived his name, was the one true god. This didn’t set well with the polytheistic Egyptian people, and when Akhenaten died, there was a backlash against everything associated with his rule. Buildings were demolished and all ties to his religion were severed. Even his remains and those of his family disappeared. Egypt returned to what they considered normal.”
“Wait a minute,” Maddock said, remembering something Bones had once told him. “Wasn’t he the guy with the weird body? He had feminine and masculine features, and some people think he might have had a disease?”
“Very good,” Jade said. “You’re smarter than I thought.” Her laugh sounded forced. “There’s a picture of him.” She indicated a printout lying on the seat in between them.
The image was a familiar one, now that he saw it. The pharaoh was rendered with an elongated face and pear-shaped body.
“I rememb
er him now. Bones thinks he’s an alien.”
“Oh, good Lord,” Jade groaned. “Does Bones always connect everything to aliens?”
“Not everything,” Maddock replied, trying to lighten Jade’s mood. “He’s pretty sure the Loch Ness Monster, Bigfoot, and Elvis are earthlings.”
“Lovely. At any rate, the symbol of Aten was a disc with rays beaming down, each with a hand at the end. Sound familiar?”
“Sure,” he said, immediately remembering the image on the gold disc Bones had recovered. “So, Bones’ disc has an Egyptian symbol on the back. Our puzzle is carved into a dismembered scarab, which is also Egyptian. Is that it?”
“Nope, there’s more. The translation of the writing on the disc tells the story of the downfall of Akhenaten. He and his most faithful follower recovered the treasures of the temple at Amarna and fled into the desert, where they lived in exile in the Sinai for forty years. He continued to teach his monotheistic faith and taught them ten laws for living, based on Spell 125 of the Egyptian Book of the Dead. They continued to revere him as the “mose” or “heir” to the throne.”
“Whoa. Ten rules for living… the Sinai… mose… You mean Moses…”
“Moses and Akhenaten are one and the same, at least according to the writing on the disc. They eventually settled in what we know as the Holy Land. Aten became Yahweh, or “I Am,” and the Jewish faith grew from the seeds planted by Akhenaten.”
“Unbelievable.” Maddock was stunned by what Jade was telling him. Of course, the story on the disc could be completely wrong, but he had seen enough on his last foray into the Middle East to make him realize that anything could be possible. “So, you’re saying that God isn’t God? That he’s just this Aten in new robes?”
“I’m not saying that at all. In fact, I’m not much for religion one way or the other. You could look at is as Aten being the beginning of understanding the true nature of God. A polytheistic, pagan people were discovering the underlying truth. Maybe Yahweh, or God, is the culmination of that spiritual journey.”
“I hear you. Anyway, is there a connection to our scarab other than the fact that they’re both Egyptian artifacts with Hebrew writing engraved on them?”
“You left out the fact that both are in the middle of the American Southwest, and based on some of the cave artwork, both are associated with Spaniards. But yes, there’s more.
“Akhenaten, now known as Moses, wanted to develop a cultural identity apart from that of Egypt. He ordered the treasures hidden away and appointed a sect of followers to be the keepers of the secret. This group, called the Essenes, recorded the secrets of the treasure on a scroll made of copper.”
“The Copper Scroll,” Maddock breathed.
“It’s been generally assumed that the Copper Scroll leads, or led, to the treasure of the temple at Jerusalem, but the Egyptian connection makes sense. Another Essene scroll, the Temple Scroll, gives dimensions of a temple that coincide nicely with records of the size of the temple at Amarna.”
“And the connection to our mystery?” Maddock still wasn’t seeing the link, though he was fascinated by the story Jade was spinning.
“Jimmy also discovered that the writing on our scarab consists entirely of quotes lifted directly from the Copper Scroll.”
“What? But…” His mind buzzed with conflicting thoughts. Why would Fray Marcos come to America to hide pieces of a larger treasure map that led to an Egyptian treasure hidden in Israel? What would be the point?
“This is where the cave art comes in. Legend has it that the Knights Templar found the temple treasure and carried it back to Europe. Another legend, one given less credence over the years, holds that the treasure was brought to the New World and hidden away. The idea seemed absurd. Why would anyone do that? But if you believe the story on the disc, well…”
“There’s no way they could have revealed to the world that Moses was an Egyptian pharaoh who worshiped the sun,” Maddock finished, the pieces now fitting firmly in place. “They couldn’t bring themselves to destroy it, so they hid it in America. And that’s why Fray Marcos left the clues. He understood how dangerous the secret was, but he wasn’t willing to let it be lost forever.”
“I think so too,” Jade said. “The cave art depicts a group of Spaniards, transporting sacks of something a great distance. Obviously, someone thought this was worth recording. Fortunately for us, landforms in the pictures are very distinctive. Whoever made those images knew the place quite well. Jimmy was able to pinpoint it to a place in southern Utah.”
“And our clue?”
“Snatches of phrases from the copper scroll, carefully selected to guide the seeker once they’ve found the site where the treasure is hidden. And you’ll never believe the name of the place.”
“Umm… Jerusalem National Park.”
“Close,” she said, turning to look at him for the first time. “It’s called Zion.”
Chapter 21
Bones re-read the printout of the e-mail from Jimmy. It was unbelievable. Could it possibly be true? Moses a pharaoh? The legendary Seven Cities of gold merely steps on a journey to a single, fabulous treasure? He checked his watch. It was early, but not too early to wake Maddock.
He rapped on the door that connected their rooms. Amanda groaned and turned toward him.
“What are you doing?” she moaned. “It’s five o’clock.”
“Solving a mystery,” he said. “Get out of bed and I’ll tell you all about it.” He knocked again on Maddock’s door, but no reply. “I’m going to get Maddock, and I’ll tell you both.”
“Maybe he’s in Jade’s room,” Amanda said, rubbing her eyes with her fists.
“Yeah, I’ll check.” Bones replied. He hurried out the door but encountered Saul almost at once.
“Have you seen Jade?” Saul asked.
“Nope. You seen Maddock?”
“He’s gone too?” Saul looked around as if Maddock or Jade might be hiding in the parking lot. “Oh, crap.”
“What’s up?” His distrust of Saul notwithstanding, there was something in the man’s voice that worried Bones. Saul met his gaze with a long, level look.
“Can I come in? There are some things I need to tell you. I wish I had done it before, but…” He shrugged and set his jaw, still looking Bones in the eye.
“Sure,” Bones said. “Just let me make sure Amanda is decent.” Amanda had dressed and was brushing her teeth, so Bones let Saul in. She joined them around the small table and waited for Saul to explain himself.
“I don’t exactly know where to start,” he said. “Have either of you heard of the Deseret Dominion?”
Bones shifted uncomfortably in his seat and looked at Amanda, who nodded.
“Okay,” Saul said. “The thing is… Jade works for them.”
“What the…” Bones said, sitting up straight. “But we thought you…” I stopped myself about three words too late, he thought as Saul’s eyes darted from Bones to Amanda and back.
“Me? Hell no. I’m working against them.” He saw the skeptical expressions on their faces and hurried on with his explanation. “I didn’t know at first. She seemed okay, but I got suspicious when I started noticing some of the calls and e-mail she got.”
“What about it?” Bones asked, still not sure whether or not to believe Saul. “What caused you to be suspicious?”
“I recognized some names.” Saul hung his head. “My dad was in the Dominion. I thought he was out of it, but it’s too big a coincidence that he put so much money into Jade’s expedition and set me up to work with her. I guess he’s still involved.” He took a deep breath but kept looking down. “Anyway, when those guys showed up at Chaco Canyon, I knew. I didn’t say anything to Maddock since I didn’t really know him, but it was kind of obvious what was going on.”
“And what exactly were you going to do about it?” Amanda asked.
“I had hoped to stop her from getting some of the clues. Maybe I could beat her to them. I thought that if I could keep h
er from passing complete information to the Dominion, I could keep them from doing whatever it was they are trying to do. I even tried to steal the breastplate from Maddock’s boat back when this all started, not knowing Jade had taken it with her after all. Of course, I didn’t have a plan for what I would have done with it. If nothing else, I was hoping that, when the time came, I could take the information and get there first. But since the first few pieces turned up, I haven’t had a chance to do anything. It’s like you’ve been keeping me…” He looked from one to the other, understanding dawning in his eyes. “Oh.”
“We’ve suspected you. No lie. But I don’t know,” Bones said. “How do we know you’re not the one in the Dominion, and you’re just trying to get information from us?”
“Oh, my…” Amanda’s voice was cold with realization. “Bones, I’m so stupid. It never occurred to me before. Jade teaches at Central Utah University.”
“And your point is?”
“When Orley was taken from his ranch, where did they have him?”
“Holy crap,” Bones muttered. Orley had been at the Central Utah University Neuropsychiatric Institute. Even had he been aware of Jade’s affiliation with the university, it was unlikely he would have made the connection, but it did seem to fit with what Saul was telling them.
“That’s one reason to believe me,” Saul said, “but I have another.” He dug into his pocket and produced something wrapped in a handkerchief. “The Dominion didn’t get the Ship Rock piece. I did.” He unfolded the cloth to reveal the missing piece of the scarab. “There you go. My cards are on the table. Maybe I’m nuts for telling you this, but now that we’re at the end, and Jade’s disappeared, I don’t know what to think. I’ve got this crazy idea that she and the Dominion know where Cibola is.”
“They do,” Bones said. With numb fingers, he slid Jimmy’s e-mail over to Saul. The other man’s eyes widened as he read. Bones was cold all over. How could they have been so wrong? And what about Maddock?
