Quest (Dane Maddock Adventures) (29 page)

“So, when Carthage fell, they took what remained of the seeds and escaped?” Dane tried to imagine the courage or desperation required to cross the Atlantic Ocean in an ancient sailing vessel.

“Their Phoenician ancestors had visited what is now the Americas and the priesthood held on to that knowledge. When it became clear that Carthage was going to fall, they sent a remnant to the New World. Hasdrubal and his followers found this place, settled down, and planted a new tree.”

“What does the white side of the leaf do? Mellow people out?” Bones grinned.

“Yes. White tea will pacify the drinker for a short period of time. They will temporarily forsake all thoughts of violence. In a way, it’s more deadly than the black tea. Slip your enemy some white tea and you can slaughter them. I imagine you could do just about anything you want to someone who drinks enough of it.”

A cloud of suspicion passed through Dane’s mind. “Do you think that’s how they pacified the natives? Maybe it wasn’t that they thought the Punics were gods.”

“If that’s not how they initially gained their allegiance, they definitely have used it since then as a way of developing a servant class that won’t be quick to fight back. They even give it to the animals to make them more docile.”

“So ScanoGen hired you to bring them, what, seeds, fruit, leaves from this tree?” Dane asked.

Thomas nodded. “They want to develop this into a weapon. Modify people at the genetic level to make them perfect soldiers.”

“And turn enemies into pacifists,” Bones finished.

“So, what about those zombie guys?” Dane felt something was not adding up. “Did they get too much black tea or something?”

Thomas took a deep breath. “You aren’t supposed to eat the fruit, or at least that’s what legend said. But the people here didn’t heed that warning. There were natives living in the next valley, and once the five steps were in place, the Punics saw in them a potential extra line of defense. Problem was, the effects of the tea were only short-term, and the supply of leaves limited. They took a chance and used the fruit. At first it seemed like it had worked, but slowly, the people changed. They not only became killers, a threat to anyone who was different than them, but they lost the ability to feel altogether. They don’t feel physical pain, and they don’t seem to have any emotions, either. They live in caves, hunt, eat, reproduce, and try to kill anyone who enters their realm. It’s a miracle I made it through.”

“What does the white half of the fruit do?” Dane tried to imagine the polar opposite of the condition in which those natives now lived.

“It puts them in a state of utter contentment, to such an extreme that the person no longer feels the need to do anything. They forsake all human interaction, and just sit and smile. They don’t want anything. They stop eating and drinking, and eventually they stop breathing.”

“That’s even more horrible than the Mot’jabbur.” Bitterness singed Kaylin’s every word.

“I can see why the Dominion wants this.” Tam pursed her lips, deep in thought. “Shoot, I can see why anyone would want this. Governments, terrorist organizations, the potential is unthinkable.” Her eyes grew wide.

“Wait a minute! Project Pan. The Greek pottery...” She gasped. “It can’t be.”

“Pandora’s Box.” Thomas nodded. “The Greek urn in which the seeds of the tree were kept.”

“You’re telling us that
the
Pandora’s Box is here?” Why this was surprising to Dane, after everything else they’d seen, he could not say.

“It goes deeper than that.” A mysterious smile played across Thomas’s lips. “Think for a moment. Have you ever heard of a tree that bore forbidden fruit?” Dane’s mouth went dry as Thomas went on. “A fruit that, when eaten, could cause you to be cursed. Could give you the ability to know evil and do evil things.”

“No freakin’ way.” Bones was on his feet. “That is the tree from the Garden of Eden?”

“Hardly.” Thomas chuckled. “But I suspect it is a descendant of the tree or trees that inspired the Garden of Eden story.”

Dane stared down at the silver tree with its black-and-white fruit, and wondered if his life could get any stranger. How was it that these things kept happening to him? The others were equally silent, gazing at the wondrous sight in awed, reverent silence. As he looked at the tree, though, something else occurred to him.

“You know what that tree reminds me of? Look at the leaves and the fruit. A circle, half black, half white.”

“The Yin and the Yang,” Tam whispered. “Maybe it’s all tied together somewhere back in very ancient history.”

“All I know,” Dane stood and looked at Thomas, “is you’ve uncovered a deadly secret, and because of you, we just might have led men here who would like nothing more than to unleash this on the world.”

“Thomas, how could you do this?” Kaylin looked angrier than Dane had ever seen her. “You’re helping them do Lord knows what? I never dreamed you were this kind of person.”

“You don’t understand,” Thomas pleaded, dropping to his knees in front of her. He reached out to take her hand, but she slapped it away. “For me, it was always about Fawcett. ScanoGen funded my expeditions, and, yes, they paid me well. The money was going to be for us, for our future together. I swear. Once I solved the Fawcett mystery for myself, I was going to tell them I had failed. That I didn’t find anything.”

“And you thought they’d just let it go like that? I can’t believe you.” Kaylin buried her face in her hands.

“Kaylin, I…”

“Just forget it. We’ll talk about it later.” She waved him away. “Talk to them.”

Thomas stood, clearly exasperated. “You have to believe me. I didn’t intend to give the information over to ScanoGen. I was just using them to finance my work on Fawcett. I’ve been fascinated with his story all my life. The mystery grabbed hold of me and wouldn’t let go. You,” he said to Dane, “of all people, understand that, don’t you?”

Dane rose to his feet and looked Thomas in the eye. “Do I know that feeling? Yes. Do I think that makes it okay to do something rash and reckless out of utter selfishness? No way.”

Thomas looked like he was about to argue, but words must have failed him. He lapsed into a sullen silence and turned away from Dane.

“What do we do now, Maddock?” Bones asked. “I could throw this dude down the pyramid if you like.”

Tam suppressed a chuckle as Thomas’s face reddened.

“It wouldn’t help us any. We need to get our weapons back and be ready in case ScanoGen shows up. I say we give them a couple of days, and if they don’t show, that means they’re either lost or the Mot’jabbur got them. If Willis is up to it by then, we’ll make our way back home.”

He turned to Tam. “Do you think there’s any chance of keeping this,” he pointed at the tree, “under wraps? You said only one person at ScanoGen knows about it.”

“As far as I know, he’s the only one. I suppose there’s a chance he shared the information, but I doubt it. Other than the Fawcett map, Salvatore Scano only knew in a very general way what it was Professor Thornton here thought he would find—an Amazon plant that would allow them to manipulate human aggression. No one dreamed of this.”

“If you’re really F.B.I., what do you plan on telling your superiors when you get back to the States?” He searched her big brown eyes, seeking whatever truth might wait there.

“I don’t know.” She didn’t look away as she answered him. “I have a duty to my country, and I take that to heart, but I’m almost as afraid of it falling into our government’s hands as I am of ScanoGen and the Dominion, whoever they are, getting hold of it.”

“I’d say we chop the thing down and get the hell out of Dodge.” Bones stood and stretched. “But I suppose they’d plant another one.’

“There’s only one seed left.” Thomas said in a soft, almost inaudible voice. “Fawcett told me. Some of what they brought with them from Carthage never took root, nor have many of the seeds the trees here have produced. The trees also don’t live as long in this place as they did in the old world. They don’t say so, but the people here are worried.”

“It would be a blessing for them if the tree had already died,” Dane said. Of course, it was too late now. “Let’s head back down before it gets dark. I have a bad feeling about tonight.”

Brian Fawcett was waiting for them when they reached the bottom of the pyramid, a nervous look painting his face. Armed guards stood nearby, eyeing Dane and the others. He had the feeling they were not there by coincidence.

“Quarters have been prepared for you.” Brian cleared his throat. “I shall show you to them. We have food and drink waiting there for you as well. Also, your friends are already there.”

“These quarters wouldn’t happen to be guarded, would they?” Dane was not certain how long he would tolerate being caged, and he knew Bones to be doubly impatient with such things.

“For your safety, only. Some people are suspicious of new arrivals, you know.” The words sounded artificial, and Fawcett reinforced Dane’s instinct with a quick shake of the head. He mouthed the word “later,” and led them away from the pyramid.

To Dane’s disappointment, they were given a room, not in one of the huts, which would have been easy to escape from, but in one of the ancient stone buildings. A contingent of guards escorted Kaylin and Tam away to separate quarters. “Don’t drink any tea,” Dane warned them as they parted ways. Kaylin looked at him with fear-filled eyes, while Tam merely looked calculating, like she was already planning their escape.

At the room that was to be their quarters, Fawcett entered with Dane and Bones, and a guard closed the door behind them. They heard the lock turn, followed by the sound of a bar sliding into place.

Willis, looking weary, sat on a mat of woven reeds, his bandaged leg stretched out in front of him, and his back against the wall. They all stared at Fawcett, who began pacing the room.

“I understand,” he said, “how you must feel.”

“I doubt that,” Bones said. “And I doubt you have any idea who you’re messing with.”

“Please, give me time,” Fawcett pleaded. “You only just arrived. We need to convince Hamilcar that you only came in search of Thornton. Then, he will believe you mean no harm.”

“So Hamilcar is in charge?” Dane asked.

“Technically, no, but everyone on the council defers to him and follows his lead.”

“If ScanoGen shows up, he’s going to regret locking us up and confiscating our weapons. I doubt there’s a person here, besides us, who can use them.” Dane kept his voice calm. “We came to rescue Thomas. That’s all. We’re not here to steal anything from their tree.”

“Thornton told you about it, did he?” Fawcett chuckled. “I should not have told him, but I fear holding my tongue is not a talent I possess. Besides, I felt that I owed it to him after he told me all about my grandparents and their homeland. The man is quite the expert on Percy Fawcett, you know.”

“We know; believe me.” Dane grimaced. “If he’d been a little less interested, we wouldn’t be here right now, and neither would ScanoGen.”

“Maybe the ScanoGen guys were killed by the Mot’jabbur.” Matt’s flat voice was devoid of optimism. “Then we’ll just have to worry about getting ourselves out of here.”

“You are welcome to come with us,” Dane said to Fawcett. “I know this is your home, and I won’t pretend it’s not going to be a dangerous trip back, but if you wanted to see the outside world, you can come along. Like I said before, you’d be a famous man.”

Fawcett shook his head. “No. I fear it is not so simple in my case. At any rate, I don’t want to see anything happen to Kephises, which is why I am trying to convince you to remain patient. If you try to fight, you will be killed, but I don’t doubt you are capable of doing your share of harm, even without your weapons. I don’t want to see anyone hurt, especially my brothers and sisters here.” He ceased his pacing. “This is a magical place. We live peacefully, work together, care for one another, all without the interference of the outside world.”