by David Wood
“Six steps lead up to…” Jade whispered.
On the seventh step stood a throne of such magnificence that it almost hurt to look upon it. The seat was made of ivory, its frame of gold. Atop the seat stood a golden candelabra topped by a golden basin. Twenty-four golden vines entwined above the throne and topping it all was a dove clutching a tiny hawk in its claws.
“…Solomon’s throne.”
Maddock dropped to his knees, and the others did the same. He took Jade’s hand in his left and Amanda’s in his right, who in turn took Bones’ hand. They remained there, in reverent silence, gazing upon what, until now, had only existed in memory and legend.
“I don’t understand,” he finally whispered.
“Understand what?” Jade asked, turning to stare at him.
“There are more clues,” he said, unable to take his eyes off the throne of the greatest king in Hebrew history. “This isn’t the end. But what else can there be?”
Bones stood and one-by-one hauled everyone to their feet. He looked at Maddock with an unreadable expression.
“As to that question, my friend, there’s only one way to find out.”
Chapter 31
At the far end of the chamber, the steps led to a simple doorway, so out of place amongst the splendor of the treasure that surrounded it.
“In the sepulchre, in the third course of stones,” Amanda read. “Is that a sepulchre?”
“In ancient Hebrew practice, a sepulchre was usually carved into the side of a hill,” Jade said. “Perhaps that’s what the simplicity is supposed to symbolize.”
Golden statues of Anubis guarded the door, each holding a spear. Bones paused for a closer look.”
“Hey! They come out!” he exclaimed, removing one of the spears and hefting it. “It’s heavy!”
“Put it back,” Amanda said as if speaking to a child.
“You’re no fun,” Bones said, but he returned the spear to its proper place and followed her up the steps.
The chamber they entered was nothing more than a perfect square carved into the rock. Down the center of the room stood a line of seven piles of loose rock. Maddock and Bones immediately set to moving the third pile of stones, and soon they uncovered a manhole-sized cross and clover disc. Together, they lifted it from its place and moved it to the side. Maddock could hear the rush of water down below, and another sound he recognized immediately.
“Get out of here!” He shouted, pushing Jade toward the door and drawing the .22. A dark blur burst from the hole, snarling with unearthly rage. Maddock pumped three rounds into the beast, but when it hit the ground, it turned toward him and tensed to spring. Before it could leap, Bones blew a hole in the back of its head with his Glock. They weren’t out of the woods yet, as two more of the beasts clambered out of the hole. Maddock emptied the .22 into the first, then drew his knife, and backed up to the door, ready to protect Amanda and Jade. Bones put four rounds into the second beast, then moved cautiously to the hole and peered down inside.
“Here, kitty, kitty,” he called. No sound came from the hole save the steady flow of the underground stream. “Hopefully that’s it,” he said. “What are these things?”
In the light, Maddock could clearly see the beasts for the first time. He squatted down next to the nearest of the fallen creatures. Amanda and Jade returned to the room, Jade clutching her knife and Amanda holding one of the Anubis’s spears. Amanda shrank back from the dead creatures, but Jade dropped down on the balls of her feet next to Maddock.
The creature’s body was long and sleek, with a broad chest and a sturdy rib cage. It was hairless, its flesh a mottled, dark green and as tough as old leather, with a pronounced spinal ridge that jutted up like the plates of a stegosaurus. Its haunches were so thickly muscled that they reminded Maddock of a kangaroo. The front legs were also short and powerful. Jade lifted one of the padded front paws and squeezed it, causing its wicked, black claws to extend, and retract when she let go. The head was vaguely catlike, save for the long snout, with oversized ears and large, black eyes. Its mouth was filled with razor sharp teeth, two of which extended below the lower jaw line like fangs.
“Chupacabra,” Bones whispered. “It’s got to be!”
“Choo choo. Justin was trying to warn me of the chupacabra. He must have seen one at some point in the past, and it scared him enough to draw those pictures. Unbelievable.”
“So, do we go on?” Bones asked. “There could be more, and I don’t have many bullets left.”
“There could be more behind us as well,” Jade said. “I didn’t come this far to stop now. I vote we go on.”
It did not escape Maddock’s notice that Jade was no longer taking the lead, but treating everyone as an equal member of the group. This was no longer her expedition, but a shared experience.
“Me too,” Amanda said. “Let’s finish this.”
Maddock went feet-first through the hole, landing on a stepping stone inscribed with the symbol that had become so familiar. He was in the middle of a fast-moving underground river. Stepping stones like the one on which he stood were set at three-foot intervals in five rows running the length of the passage all the way to the end, where another arched doorway waited. He was about to hop onto the next stone when something caught his eye. He stopped himself at the last second, almost losing his balance and flailing his arms as he fought to keep himself from tumbling into the fast-flowing current.
“Are you doing some kind of bird imitation down there?” Bones called to him. “What’s the holdup?”
“There are stepping stones down here,” he called back. “But they’re not all the same. Some of them have the symbol on them, but some only have the clover. Pass the spear down here.” Bones handed him the spear, and he reached out and tapped the stone upon which he had almost jumped— one with only a clover. It sank beneath the surface, floating back to the top when he pulled the spear away. He tested his theory on another stone that had both the cross and clover on the surface. It held. But would it support his weight? Here goes nothing! Bracing himself for a swim, he hopped onto the stone. It held.
“All right!” He called up to the others. “Come down one at a time, and only jump on the stones that have the cross and the clover. Make very sure where you’re stepping. Got me?” He led the others on a zigzagging path through the river, testing each stone with the spear before moving on. Soon, he hopped out of the river to stand at the doorway.
“Beit Adonai,” Jade again read the inscription. “The house of God.”
Maddock stepped through the doorway, and the spear clattered to the ground from his limp fingers.
The chamber was carved into the shape of the interior of a pyramid, and all its walls were gold plated, save the cap of the pyramid, which was natural stone. The light that shone down from that small section at the top, and up from the floor, was so intense that it set the entire space aglow with a flickering golden light as it reflected off the water and the shining walls. High above him, a golden chain hung from the capstone, supporting a platform though he could not see what it held. Water poured down through the seams of the capstone as well, soaking the hanging platform and falling in a curtain that enshrouded an island in the very center of the pyramid floor. Through the haze of falling water, Maddock could just make out a stone sarcophagus on either side of the island. The island seemed to beckon to him, and he continued, as if in a trance, along the walkway that led to the island.
Jade moved to the first sarcophagus and ran her fingers across it. The lid was carved in the image of a woman of unsurpassed beauty. Her striking face and swanlike neck were reminiscent of the famed bust of Nefertiti. She was not rendered in the Egyptian style, with royal headdress and accoutrements, but as she might have truly looked, with long, flowing hair and simple garments.
“Nefertiti,” Jade whispered.
“And the other one?” Maddock asked.
“Let’s see.”
The man on the lid of the other sarcophagus had t
he long face, prominent nose, broad cheeks, and hooded eyes of Akhenaten. His shoulders were narrow and his hips wide for a man, but nothing like the exaggerated images portrayed in art. Like Nefertiti, he was not rendered in his kingly Egyptian garb, but as a regular man. His hair was long and flowing, as was his beard. His slender arms lay folded across his chest, and in his right hand he gripped a staff engraved with Hebrew writing.
“The staff of Moses was reputed to bear the names of the ten Plagues of Egypt,” Jade said.
“So this is…” Bones said, his voice quavering.
“The mose,” she said. “Moses.”
“I have to see this for myself,” Maddock said. He didn’t know why, but the compulsion was so strong that he could not help himself. He needed to see. “Bones, will you help me with this.”
“Maddock, maybe you shouldn’t,” Amanda began. “I mean, it’s…”
“Babe,” Bones said, “this is the only man on earth who’s seen the dead body of Lucifer himself and lived to tell the tale. Amanda smirked, obviously assuming he spoke in jest, but Jade paled visibly.
They carefully drew back the lid. Maddock peered into the stone coffin. There was no second, ornate sarcophagus, as was the Egyptian tradition. There were no mummified remains.
Moses lay in the bottom of the sarcophagus, his body somehow perfectly preserved despite the thousands of years.
“He looks like he could stand up and walk out of here,” Jade said, peering over the side along with Maddock and Bones.
“Wrong testament,” Bones said.
Maddock reached down and touched Moses’ staff. Unlike many of the legends, it was not made of sapphire, but of solid wood, polished to a high sheen. The Hebrew words were there, worked in gold along the length of the staff. The ends were capped in bronze, with the symbol of Aten etched in the top.
Amanda screamed and turned to see two dark-clad men burst into the room. They dashed across the walkway, the first clutching a military-style knife, the second holding the spear Maddock had dropped. Bones brought down the first man, a powerfully-built blond man, with two well-placed shots. His final shot went wild as the man with the spear, a veritable brute of a man with dark hair cut G.I. style and arms and legs like tree trunks, bore down on them.
Without thinking, Maddock grabbed the closest weapon, Moses’ staff and dashed out to meet him. The man thrust the spear at Maddock’s chest, but Maddock parried the blow and cracked his opponent’s elbow. It wasn’t much of a blow; enough to sting, perhaps, but the man hissed as if he had been burned. Maddock pressed his momentary advantage, driving the larger man back. Staff met spear with crisp, sharp clacks. His opponent was not tiring, he was obviously in peak condition, but his inability to penetrate Maddock’s defenses was clearly frustrating him because he began taunting Maddock, trying to distract him.
“You think you can win, little man?” He bared his teeth in a predatory grin. “Issachar has killed better men than you.”
“Does Issachar always speak of himself in the third person?” Maddock shot back. The surreal nature of this entire experience gave things a dreamlike quality, and with it, a subtle feeling of unreality, as if nothing could harm him, no matter how reckless he might be.
“Funny man!” Issachar growled. “You’ll die whimpering like those pathetic beasts I killed in the tunnels. I ran out of bullets and had to strangle the last one with my bare hands.” His blows rained down harder, but Maddock turned them with ease. A quick side thrust to the chest and Issachar gasped in pain. Now, clearly frustrated, he barreled forward, seeking to knock Maddock down by main force, but Maddock was too quick. He dodged to his right, swept Issachar’s feet from under him, and gave him a smart rap on the back of the head. The blow would have rendered a weaker man unconscious, but Issachar bellowed with rage and kicked out, catching Maddock’s heel and bringing him down hard on his backside.
They both sprang to their feet, but once again Maddock was quicker. As Issachar tensed to make an impaling thrust, Maddock whipped the staff around with all his might, cracking Issachar on the right temple. Issachar screamed in agony, covered his face with his hands, and staggered backward. Maddock pursued him, the staff whirling like a windmill. Issachar shrieked as each blow struck him. To Maddock’s great surprise, everywhere the staff struck his opponent, angry boils rose on his flesh and slowly began to spread. Issachar drew his hands away. The festering sores now covered all of his exposed flesh. He cried out again, this time in sheer horror, and dove into the water. His cries trailed away as he vanished from sight.
“Most impressive.” Maddock recognized the cool pressure of a gun barrel pressed against the base of his skull. “Very slowly, hand me the staff.”
Maddock’s first reaction was to fight, but even the feeling of invincibility that still flowed through him was not sufficient to conquer common sense. The man, whoever he was, need only to pull the trigger to end Maddock’s life. Careful not to make any sudden moves, Maddock handed the staff back to his captor.
“Very good. Now, get down on the ground and put your hands behind your head.” Despite the circumstances, the man sounded completely at ease as if he was accustomed to his orders being obeyed. Maddock complied with the man’s instructions, lying face-down on the cold stone. With Maddock no longer standing between them, the others finally got a look at the intruder.
“Mr. Zollinger!” Jade gasped.
“As in Jude Zollinger, the bank president?” Amanda blurted.
“He’s also Saul’s father,” Jade said.
“I am all of those things,” the man replied as if making introductions at a formal party, “but you may call me Elder.”
Chapter 32
“You’re the Elder?” Jade’s ashen face reflected her stunned disbelief. “But… you had your own son killed.”
“Saul was no longer a true believer,” the man said. His voice was cool and uncaring as if he was discussing something stuck on the bottom of his shoe. “He was no longer of use to me. Besides, the Lord has shown us that it is noble to sacrifice your son. You, however, might have earned your reprieve. I was going to kill you all, and I still might, but I think perhaps I shall let you live.”
“Why?” Bones eyes burned with fury as he stared at the Elder.
“As Ms. Ihara is well aware, there are a few items of particular interest to me. I cannot remove them alone. I shall carry the staff, keeping my gun hand free, while the four of you carry the other.”
“And what item is that?” Maddock asked.
“Oh, forgive me, Mr. Maddock. I have left you lying on the cold floor for too long. Please stand, keeping your hands behind your head of course, and proceed out to the island. If the rest of you would please move to the side and kneel, also with your hands behind your head?” The congenial manner in which he made his requests was chilling. “Please understand that I have no qualms about shooting any of you, and I have the skill to do so.”
Maddock complied, moving cautiously toward the island. The others also cooperated with the Elder, moving off to the side and dropping to the ground. Maddock joined them, and they knelt there looking up at the Elder who leaned casually against Moses’ sarcophagus. This was Maddock’s first good look at the man. He had a distinguished-looking man with intense blue eyes, graying black hair, but his athletic build and confident bearing removed any doubt as to whether or not he could handle himself.
“All of you seem to have forgotten that we have not exhausted the remaining clues. There is one discovery yet to be made, and it hangs above us.”
Their eyes went to the platform suspended from the top of the pyramid. The intense glow that emanated from the walls of the pyramid made the water seem to sparkle and dance as it cascaded down. For the first time, Maddock noticed a haze of steam around the platform. He thought about what he had seen when he had first entered the pyramid.
“You know, I don’t think I would mess with that platform,” Maddock said. “That water isn’t supposed to be coming down from there. It�
�s leaking through the seams of the capstone. You try to bring that platform down, you might just bring the whole place down with you.”
“I’m disappointed,” the Elder said. “I thought yours was a more adventurous spirit than that.” He turned to Jade. “Miss Ihara, as you are the last remaining member of my organization who has any knowledge of this quest, I shall permit you to do the honors. If you will please?” He pointed his gun at her. “I am not really asking.”
“I’m not part of your organization,” Jade muttered as she slowly rose to her feet and looked uncertainly from the Elder to Moses’ tomb, and back to the Elder again.
“Details. The next clues read, ‘Under the tomb, in the chain platform.’ I assume there must be a hidden mechanism to lower whatever that is up above us.” She cast uncertain eyes to the platform hanging above them. She moved to Moses’ tomb and circled it, inspecting the floor all around it.
Maddock kept his gaze fixed on the Elder, who moved away so that he could keep an eye equally on Jade and the others who remained on the floor. Obviously, they could charge him, but at least one of them would die in the process. He couldn’t risk it… yet.
“It’s not here,” Jade said, her voice uncertain. “It’s either inside or it’s somewhere there.” She nodded to Nefertiti’s resting place. She looked inside the sarcophagus where Moses lay, inspecting every inch. Her eyes narrowed. “Could that be it?” she whispered. “Bones, give me the Aten disc.” Once again focused on solving the puzzle, her air of command had returned.
