Icefall (Dane Maddock Adventures) (18 page)

“
Are you all right?
”

“
Fine. Just banged up and worn out.
”
She pressed her cheek to his chest and he stroked her hair.

“
Where
’
s Issachar?
”

“
He fell into a hole in the floor and got stuck. I took the skull and ran.
”
Her breath came in gasps.
“
Had to try and find a new way out. I
’
ve just been doing the opposite of what the stone told me to do.
”

“
You
’
re headed in the right direction, but it
’
s a long way back,
”
Bones said.

“
I
’
m just glad you
’
re all right.
”
Dane didn
’
t want to let her go.

“
Maddock, there
’
s a branch of the Dominion in Germany.
”

“
I know. You can fill me on the way out. Let
’
s go.
”
He took her hand and turned to lead her back up the tunnel and was surprised when she held him back.

“
Are you kidding me?
”
She looked from Dane to Bones and Back to Dane, a disgusted look on her face.
“
I travel across Germany, get kidnapped, all to solve a stupid mystery and you don
’
t want to see it through to the end?
”

“
Jade...
”

“
Don
’
t
‘
Jade
’
me. You two are here now. I
’
m safe. Let
’
s finish this.
”

Dane hesitated. Of course he didn
’
t want to stop now.

“
You do what you want,
”
Jade said.
“
Bones and I are going. Come on, Bones.
”
She brushed past Dane and headed down the tunnel.

“
You attract the stubbornest chicks, Maddock.
”
Bones clapped him on the shoulder.
“
We might as well go with her.
”

Shaking his head, Dane drew his gun and followed Jade.

As they went along,
Jade
recounted Issachar
’
s belief that he would find the
Magi
’
s gift of myrrh, and that it could resurrect the dead. Dane remembered what Ulrich had told him about Heilig Herrschaft
’
s plan, and was about to fill her in when Jade came to a sudden stop. Right in front of her a deep hole barred their way.

“
Good catch.
”
Dane put a protective hand on her arm.
“
Wouldn
’
t want to step into that.
”

“
He was here.
”
She knelt and shone her light into the hole.
“
This is where Issachar was stuck. I
’
m sure of it.
”

Dane and Bones added their light to hers. All they could see was darkness.

“
Nothing we can do about it now. We
’
ll just have to keep an eye out.
”
Dane stood and hoisted Jade to her feet. Now he was even more alert, he took the lead as they moved deeper into the labyrinthine tunnels.

With each step, the compass stones seemed to shine brighter, and the tunnel filled with a bluish-white glow.

“
I don
’
t think it
’
s the compass stones doing this,
”
Dane said. The glow was coming from the end of the passageway. They turned the corner and stopped dead in their tracks.

Dane looked at his friends and then at the sight that lay before them.

“
I don
’
t believe it.
”

They stood on a ledge overlooking a yawing cavern so wide they could scarcely see the other side. Floating in midair down below them was a glowing blue-white orb. Its surface pulsed and sparkled, bathing the jagged rocks of the cavern in a pale glow. The light had an odd quality
. T
hough Dane sensed an intensity to it, he could look on it without so much as squinting. And though the cavern was a comfortable temperature, the thing was obviously not giving off heat.

“
What
’
s keeping it up in the air?
”
Bones asked.

Dane shook his head. He had never seen anything like it. It seemed to be a self-contained ball of pure energy.
“
I want to know what fuels it. It can
’
t just burn perpetually, can it?
”

“
Guys, look at this.
”
Jade held up the skull she was carrying. The stone gleamed with a light the exact color and quality of that which burned below.
“
It
’
s the same.
”

“
All along, these compass stones weren
’
t pointing to a pole.
”
Bones scrutinized his own
Magi
skull.
“
They were pointing to this place.
”

“
Jade, what
’
s the German word for light?
”
The pieces were falling together in Dane
’
s mind.

“
Licht,
”
she said, mesmerized by the pulsing ball of light.

“
Remember what the dying priest said?
‘
Ewige l...
’
He wasn
’
t saying
‘
eternal life,
’
he was saying
‘
eternal light.
’
He meant this light.
”

“
Whoa.
”
Bones took a step back.
“
Like how we thought the stones were making their own light! If this is a source of perpetual light...
”
He looked at Dane.

“
A limitless supply of clean energy without the need for fuel. Unless we
’
re way off base.
”
He took a deep breath, trying to i
Magi
ne a nation harnessing such a power. Even if it was not put to any sort of military use, it could give a country
’
s economy such a boost that it could re-allocate massive resources to its military. It would be a treasure far b
eyond the rumored gifts of the Magi
.

Jade suddenly tugged at Dane
’
s wrist.
“
Maddock, you remember the story Adler told about the star the Wise Men followed being hidden underground! Do you,
”
she swallowed and her voice became very small,
“
do you think this is the Star of Bethlehem?
”

“
Maybe. Or at least, it
’
s whatever is behind the story. It
’
s obviously not an actual star.
”
He chuckled.
“
Nothing like stating the obvious, huh?
”

“
I wonder...
”

Jade did not get to complete her thought because, they suddenly found themselves surrounded by men armed with spears and arrows tipped with blue stones that shone like the ball of light down below. They had crept up silently and taken up positions in a semicircle, leaving Dane, Bones and Jade trapped between a pit with no visible bottom and a line of armed men.

Except they weren
’
t men.

Horns protruded from their long, shaggy brown hair, and though they appeared human, if overly muscular and hairy, from forehead to waist, they were definitely animal-like from the waist down. At the waist, their body hair grew thick and glossy, and coated their thick thighs and lean calves. Their legs, which bent backward, ended in dark, cleft hooves, like a...

“
A goat,
”
Dane whispered.
“
They
’
re satyrs.
”
His thoughts flashed to the pagan temple beneath the cathedral in Cologne.
Satyrs were associated with Dionysus, or Bacchus, depending on your preferred mythology. A creature like this was the Krampus whom Adler had seen so many years ago.

One of the goat men c
ocked his head at the word
‘
satyr
,
’
and
nodded once.
He pointed and Dane realized he was indicating the pistol tucked inside his jacket pocket. Slowly, Dane took it out and laid in on the ground; Bones did the same. The satyr gave another nod and came forward to collect them when a loud voice rang out in the cavern.

“
Nobody move or the goat dies!
”
Issachar emerged from a nearby passageway. His left arm was wrapped around a satyr, holding it tight. In his right hand he held a knife pressed to its throat.

They emerged into the light of the cavern and Issachar
’
s eyes fell on the glowing ball of energy. Unlike the others, he did not
seem
mesmerized or even impressed. Instead, his face contorted in rage.

“
Where
’
s the myrrh?
”
he screamed.

The satyrs exchanged glances, their expressions so foreign to Dane as to be unreadable.

“
It
’
s not here, Issachar. You had it all wrong.
”

“
I wasn
’
t wrong.
”
There was a pleading tone to his voice.
“
The secret to eternal life...
”

“
Eternal light!
”
Dane corrected.
“
Ewige licht, not ewige leben.
”

The satyrs looked at him as if the German words were familiar. Dane could have sworn one of them looked at Issachar with a scornful grin.

“
There is a miracle here, but not the one you thought you would find.
”
Dane took a step forward.
“
Let him go.
”

“
I don
’
t believe you. The
Magi
’
s treasures are here.
”

“
The one treasure is here. The Star of Bethlehem, whatever it is, but you can
’
t take it with you. Do yourself a favor, give it up and run. You might even get away.
”
He took another step forward and the ring of satyrs parted to make room for him.

“
But Lazarus... Jesus... how did they rise from the dead?
”

“
I don
’
t know.
”
Dane shrugged.
“
Maybe it was a regular old miracle. Whatever it was, you won
’
t find the answer here.
”
He spoke the last slowly, as if to a dimwit.
“
Let him go.
”

“
What do you care about a goat?
”
Issachar
’
s eyes burned with hatred.

“
I don
’
t care. I care about kicking your ass.
”
Dane grinned.
“
Again.
”

“
That
’
s what I
’
m talking about,
”
Bones said.

Dane
’
s grin split into a broad smile as rage boiled in Issachar
’
s eyes.