The Lost Power: VanOps, Book 1

by Avanti Centrae

  Antoine shimmied up the wooden ladder, lithe as a monkey. Maddy and Bear followed.

  Once up the ladder, the space did open up.

  Antoine commented, “This tower was built as a defensive structure, with a quadrangular base and five levels, which date all the way back to the end of the ninth century AD. In its lower part, the tower has the remains of the old heavy walls. When we get higher, you’ll see the walls are lined with planks, simple plaster, and some sort of lime concrete. That lining was thinner to allow the architects to reach greater heights.”

  Antoine was in full tour-guide mode now. Maddy wondered how many times he’d given his spiel.

  On the first level, Maddy noticed horseshoe shaped arches dividing two separated naves. Looking around, she appreciated the sense of balance and the compound’s interesting blend of Eastern and Western architecture. This section was in the Eastern style. She could see the remains of colorful Muslim brickwork in the brick façades. The art was all well and good but how many attackers had been murdered through that entry hole?

  Wanting to explore further, Maddy found the ladder to the second floor, climbed up, and stepped off the rungs. The ladder area opened into a narrow hallway with an arrow slot ahead. She headed toward the light and, from behind, someone grabbed her shoulder. Startled, Maddy let loose a martial arts battle cry.

  CHAPTER 24

  7:30 p.m.:

  Later, seated toward the end of a long table in the castle’s formal dining room, Will looked across the table, from Maddy to Catherine and back. They were seated next to each other, two seats to the left, heads lowered in conversation. Catherine’s hands jerked as she talked.

  He fought back the knot of grief in his throat. Maria’s hands had moved gracefully. He missed her, still feeling as if the air had been knocked from his lungs. Maria was always the wind in his sails, and now that she was gone, he felt slack and empty and useless.

  Which reminded him of the embarrassing events of several hours earlier. From his station below the Troubled Tower, Maddy’s high-pitched scream had enticed him four rungs up the ladder before he looked down, became dizzy, fought back bile in his throat, and had to lower himself to the ground, swearing at what a wimp he was the entire time.

  It was a long few minutes before Maddy, Bear, Antoine, and Catherine had climbed down the ladder. Laughing, the group recreated for him the post-scream aikido moves that Maddy had put on Catherine when she had reached out to warn Maddy away from a broken floorboard. It turned out that Catherine had been in the tower before they arrived.

  Although Will had studied aikido with Maddy and Bear for a summer when they were seventeen, all he remembered was rolling. Front shoulder roll. Back shoulder roll. Repeat. The wrist grab and throw that Maddy had executed on Catherine didn’t ring a bell. Even knowing Maddy was training to become an aikido instructor, he’d still been surprised by her quick action.

  Now, it seemed, the altercation had somehow bonded the two ladies. As they sat in the dining hall, they were involved in a thick-as-thieves conversation, almost as if they shared a secret. He marveled at Maddy’s ability to make quick friends, even with someone who was a little loca. It always took Will awhile, as he liked to joke to himself, to make sure new people weren’t going to eat him. But once he knew he could trust them, he was loyal to the bone.

  The dining hall was in the center of the castle, so there was only a single set of two long, narrow windows that looked down onto an interior courtyard and fountain. With windows open to the warm summer night, Will could hear the fountain gurgle below. Tapestries hung on the stone walls, and at the end of the long room stood two matching stone Egyptian statues. Both statues were sculpted with tall conical headdresses, short square beards, and decorated kilts. In addition, the sculptor had added crossed arms and hands that held onto short rods or scepters.

  Five ornate crystal chandeliers were spaced out over the table at two-meter increments. The table was so long it could have seated a small army. Perhaps it had at some point. His active imagination could see Knights of the Round Table types sitting side by side, then he saw one of them poisoned for treason, choking, and--he cut off that imaginary train of thought and hoped tonight’s dinner would be safe enough.

  The king, white-haired and over eighty, but clear-eyed and jocular, was at the head of the table wearing a garment that looked like a priest’s cassock. Will figured it to be a royal robe, as it had the family coat of arms, including the cross-like signum regis he’d seen earlier in the day, embroidered over the heart.

  Prince Carlos was at the king’s right hand, Will at his left. Bear sat next to Will and Antoine next to Prince Carlos, with Maddy and then Catherine at the end of the group on the other side of the table.

  They made small talk through a delicious meal of quail, green beans, roasted squash, fresh bread, wild rice, and berry pie.

  The king seemed in good humor, joking as he ate. At one point, he turned to Bear. “And how are you called? Bear? Is this true?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  The king’s English was heavily accented. “Please. We meet as friends and family tonight. I would like to hear how you got this name, ‘Bear.’ Was it from your birth?”

  Bear laughed. “No, it is what we call a nickname, or a name for fun. It was given to me by friends in high school.”

  Seeing Bear was going to be taciturn, Will prodded Maddy. “Why don’t you tell the story?”

  Maddy looked at Bear for permission. He sighed, chewed an ice cube, and nodded his nearly shaved head in agreement.

  Maddy patted her mouth with her napkin. “Let’s see if I remember the details. When he was born in North Carolina, his first name was Theodore, which became abbreviated to Teddy in grammar school. Many children in America have small toy bears called ‘teddy bears,’ and from the time he moved to Lake Tahoe in high school he was often teased with his childhood nickname: ‘Teddy Bear.’”

  The king nodded. “Go on, please.”

  “When he was fourteen, he went camping with his family. During the trip, his younger brother wandered out of camp and was attacked by a bear. Teddy yelled and jumped on the back of the bear with only a stick! The bear scratched Teddy’s shoulder and threw him to the ground, but the noise brought the rest of the family and they scared off the bear. Teddy here saved his younger brother’s life and was lucky to live. After word got around, he became known simply as Bear.”

  The king looked at Bear. “An impressive feat for one so young. And with the shortness of your hair, it appears you have joined your country’s military. You are a warrior in your heart, yes?”

  Bear’s face flushed. “Yes, sir, I am.”

  Dinner continued, with the king drawing each of them out in turn.

  Once the dessert was finished, the king spoke, “Now there is a private matter I must discuss with the twins. Leave us now, Prince Carlos and Antoine. Catherine, you as well.”

  “But, Father--” Prince Carlos broke in, speaking in Spanish.

  “No contradictions. Your time will come and soon enough. Tonight is their time,” the king replied, also in Spanish.

  Prince Carlos’s eyes narrowed. He nodded in acquiescence, yanked Catherine up and out of her chair by the elbow, then followed Antoine out the door. Will decided that he definitely didn’t trust Prince Carlos.

  Bear got up and started to follow, but to Will’s surprise, the king said, “Bear, you can stay.”

  Before he could stop himself, Will said, “But I thought--”

  The king must have understood Will’s objection, because rather than ask for clarification, he turned to Maddy. “There is a precedent for having a loyal friend here. We’ll call him a bodyguard. Would you like Bear to stay?”

  Frozen in place, Bear’s eyes darted about in confusion.

  “Yes, please,” Maddy said in a rush.

  The king, Maddy, and Bear turned their gazes to Will. Knowing the king was okay with sharing the family legend with Bear relaxed Will’s concern and seemed
to match the one exception in their father’s letter. Will didn’t trust Bear yet, but did appreciate his strengths. There was a time for brawn.

  “Yes, thank you,” Will said.

  The king motioned for Bear to retake his seat. Bear’s brow furrowed, but he sat down again next to Will without asking what was going on.

  “Madeline, please sit here now.” The king gestured to the seat that Prince Carlos had vacated. Maddy moved next to the king and sat at his right hand.

  Before they could talk, maids cleared the pie plates and brought coffee. Will fought off a yawn, welcoming the brew. Jet lag was a brutal mistress.

  The king added sugar to his coffee and stirred. “I am deeply saddened to hear that my nephew, your father, was so suddenly taken from us.”

  He looked at Maddy and Will in turn, and Will could sense the keen intelligence, perhaps even wisdom, that radiated from the man. Although Will had grown up knowing they were related to the King of Spain, seeing him, actually dining with him, was a humbling experience.

  Taking a drink of coffee, the king added, “But every rain is followed by sun, yes?”

  Will wasn’t so sure yet. He still felt hollow inside.

  The king looked at Will. “I’m sorry also, that you, my great-nephew, lost your wife. You are young yet. I hope you will find love again.”

  Will’s throat choked and he couldn’t say anything. Instead, he nodded and sipped his coffee.

  “I have heard you are an engineer and skilled with languages. Your grandfather was a scientist, too, you know, may his soul rest in peace.”

  Will colored, a little embarrassed at the praise from this man who had seen so much in his life. “Thank you. Yes, I work as a test engineer in Brazil and do speak several languages.”

  The king turned his keen gaze on Maddy. “And you, young lady. You look like your grandmother, Emma, on her wedding day. I understand you used your martial arts training today and are a computer genius as well.”

  “I’m so sorry about Catherine--she startled me, and I just reacted on instinct.”

  “No need to apologize, niece, I am proud of you. But I think you did not travel all this way to hear the ramblings of an old man. What did your father tell you about coming here?”

  Will cleared his voice and spoke with an effort to mask his disbelief. “With his last words, he sent us to his attorney, who gave us letters from him that told of a family legend.”

  The king turned to Bear. “Turn off that camera on your shoulder.”

  Bear complied and turned off the GoPro. “Sorry.”

  The king turned to Will. “Go on.”

  Will couldn’t stop skepticism from creeping into his tone. “He said, when a member of the family dies, the heirs can go on a quest to find an artifact hidden by Ramiro One, something that has power. Something inside the Aragon Châsse.”

  “And that the theoretical quest starts here, with an old book you have,” Maddy added.

  Bear’s jaw dropped open.

  The king locked eyes with each of them in turn. “You want to know if your father was loco, was crazy.” It was a statement, not a question.

  Maddy nodded.

  The king looked at Will, who also nodded. “Crazy, or maybe joking,” Will said. “Dad was a prankster. Perhaps he just wanted us to come meet you. See some of the world.”

  The king took a deep breath and measured it out. “Your father told the truth.” He turned to Will and said with clear conviction, “He was not crazy, nor was he making a joke.” In a softer tone, he added, “This is a club of sorts, a club you enter when your parent dies only. And now you are part of the club.”

  Will felt deflated for a moment, he’d been so sure this whole thing was ridiculous. Irritated, he scratched at his beard. Then he had an idea. “If there is something to be found, the Russians might be seeking it, too. The man who killed father and Maria--Maddy overhead him speak. He spoke Russian.”

  The king’s eyes lit up. “Your generation is so bright.” His smile waned. “I planned to warn you about this.”

  “About what?” Will asked.

  “My intelligence forces intercepted a recent communication from a scientist at the Russian Ministry of State Security, or MGB.” The king paused, looking at each of them in turn, eyes heavy with the mantle of responsibility. “I believe somehow they have learned our secret. They are also after the lost power.”

  Will swallowed hard.

  The room was silent for a moment.

  “Can you give us any resources, or tell us anything else?” Bear asked.

  “I’m sorry, no. I wanted you to be aware of their interest, but it seems you already are.”

  Maddy bit her lip. “Any idea how they would know about the Aragon Châsse?”

  “I do not know. I would not want to believe any of our family would tell them. All who learn are sworn to secrecy as you are now.” The king paused and sipped at his coffee. Then he looked at Bear. “You as well.”

  Bear nodded.

  The king put his cup down. “But power can twist a mind. Family legend tells us there is much power to be found. But so hard to find. I did not have time to find it, nor find it did my brothers. My youngest brother, your grandfather Maximillian, was the last to try and the angriest to fail. Only Ferdinand and Isabella have found it in a thousand years, and history tells us of their later accomplishments.”

  Columbus had sailed the ocean blue but Will was still skeptical. “How do we know they hid it again?”

  “That is...how do you say?...part of the deal. If you find it, you must hide it again before your own death.”

  The king looked around and nodded to himself as if acknowledging the empty room. He reached into the folds of his tunic and opened his large hands to reveal a slight bundle wrapped in black cloth. With care, he opened the cloth, revealing an old book. Light from the overhead chandelier lit the book’s cover with blue and green fire.

  Maddy gasped.

  The gold cover of the enameled book was outlined with dozens of cobalt-blue and emerald-green gems. Another line of sapphires and white pearls formed a bordered frame for a single haloed figure in the center.

  “Wow,” Maddy said. “Are those emeralds?”

  Even Bear’s tone held excitement. “Is that a saint in the middle?”

  Will was left speechless, shocked by the solid reality of the quest’s instigating artifact.

  Maddy’s olive eyes were wide with wonder. “May I touch it?”

  The king ignored Bear’s question and slid the codex toward her on its cloth. “Yes.”

  Maddy opened the old tome. It creaked a bit with age, as the cover swung back. The handful of pages looked even more ancient than the cover.

  Bear reached out. Reverence shone in his eyes as he touched a corner of a page. “Vellum.”

  Will recalled how well Bear had always performed in history classes. It had been a passion for him and his interest was on full display now.

  The color of the first page was faded, but an image was clear. There was an artistically rendered mini-painting of a blond, handsome rider leading an army, one hand raised, holding a short scepter the color of blood, his wavy locks half hidden by a lion’s head. One eye appeared dark as the night and one blue as the sky. Although clean-shaven, his neck was slightly twisted, so that he appeared to be gazing upward at an angle. Will glanced at Bear who wore a puzzled, questioning look for a moment. Then he leaned back and sat up straight with recognition shining in his eyes. All eyes turned to Bear.

  “’Fess up, Bear. What do you see?” Maddy asked.

  “The man is Alexander the Third of Macedon, also known as Alexander the Great.”

  “How do you know that’s him?” Will asked.

  “Well, the rider is blond and has an army. Alexander was the greatest military leader the world has ever known, so I’ve studied up on him. The lion’s head and his curly hair are dead giveaways, as is his different colored eyes. Also, Alexander had a bit of a twisted neck, which the artis
t captured.”

  The king nodded and said to Maddy and Will, “Your bodyguard is astute. Many in the family agree with his assessment.”

  Will considered. “So, what does he have to do with all this?”

  “Hard to say without more information,” Bear said.

  Maddy turned the page and exposed a hand-drawn, muted-colored sketch. “Maybe the rest of the book will tell us more.”

  A person wearing a tall, rounded ceremonial headdress held up two slight ruby-red obelisks in a V formation to the sun. The person and the sun were bordered by three columns of tiny hieroglyphs on one side of the page and two vertical rectangles, also inscribed with hieroglyphs, on the other.

  Will had no idea what this drawing represented, and although Bear had hit the bulls-eye on the first page, he scratched his head as he looked at this sketch. Maddy stared, too, and Will wondered, Is that person an Egyptian priest? Are those red obelisks the same thing that Alexander was holding on the prior page? None of this makes any sense.

  The king remained silent as Maddy turned the page again.

  She gasped.

  Where there should have been a third page, the vellum was torn next to the binding. In such a beautiful book, the tear was like a jagged scar on a pretty girl’s face. Will winced.

  “What happened here?” Bear asked.

  “That is a good question, young Bear,” the king replied. “Thirty years ago, when my father died and I became king, my uncle showed my brothers and me this book. At that time there was a drawing here, a hand-drawn view of the sky, perhaps a constellation, in similar colors as the other two drawings. However, by the time the book fell into my hands for safekeeping several weeks later, the drawing was torn out.”

  Bear’s face was flushed and his voice tight. “Who would do such a thing?”

  “I know not. It saddens me as well.” The king paused. “Of course, I asked all my brothers, aunts and uncles, anyone who would have seen the codex and the sky drawing. They all assured me they would do no such thing.” The king shook his head slowly from side to side. “The good news is I do not believe it leads to the artifact.”