A small curved cross was etched into the bottom of the casket.
It was a symbol that Nina immediately recognized as the mark of the Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem—or as they had become more famously known in the centuries—the Hospitallers. One of the most recognized sects of knights during the Crusades. Their black robes with the white eight-pointed Maltese Cross adorning them. They weren't as famous or controversial as the Templar Knights, but she still felt a tinge of astonishment just seeing their symbol.
Seeing it here, though, was rather peculiar. The tomb certainly predated the Hospitallers. Though, maybe they had discovered this tomb during the Crusades and that's when they had engraved their symbol inside. Maybe they even used the tomb as a headquarters of sorts. It might have provided a strong enough defense against their enemies.
That all seemed plausible until she saw the etching beneath the cross.
A thin line ending in an arrow-headed point.
It almost looked like an arrow—or even a spear.
“I think I found something!” she said, louder than she intended. Galen was clearly startled by the outburst and almost fell off of the casket.
Everyone huddled around her. Purdue and Sam looked proud of her and also relieved that maybe there was some sort of progress being made. The two mercenaries just looked curiously at the casket, trying to figure out what they were supposed to be seeing. Galen brushed some dust off himself and folded his arms, trying not to look overly impressed that an actual discovery was literally underneath his nose.
Nina pointed her finger down at the symbols. “Look.”
“What is it?” Maddox asked.
“The Maltese Cross adopted by the Hospitaller knights during the Crusades. And underneath...” She tried to contain her own budding excitement. She drew an invisible line with her finger from the cross to the symbol beneath it. “And this, could be a spear, don't you think?”
Galen shifted away begrudgingly. “Or an arrow. Or a traffic sign. Or just a line.”
“You told us to find something,” Nina said. “And I found something.”
“This is hardly something. And if it is a spear, that's not much to go on, is it?”
“Sure it is,” Purdue spoke up. “It could mean the Hospitallers found the spear here.”
“Then someone beat us to it,” Sasha said.
“Not necessarily,” Sam said. “Correct me if I'm wrong, Nina, but if the Hospitallers discovered this tomb and found the spear, there's a chance they might have brought it back home with them.”
“That's right,” Nina said. “And the Hospitallers’ home was on the island of Rhodes in Greece.”
“Who says it made the journey there? Who says they even took it?”
“I'm not saying it's guaranteed, but it's something at least. We could go to Rhodes. Try and learn what we can. If there's even a chance it's there...”
“It could still be here!” Galen snapped. “In one of these tombs. We can't just abandon the search to—”
“We're not abandoning anything,” Purdue said. “We're going off of the only solid evidence we've found here. And we've gone through dozens of these tombs. Found literally nothing until now. If you want to keep digging up empty grave sites, be my guest. We'll head to Rhodes and come back if we don't find anything.”
“This wasn't part of the arrangement, Davy.”
Purdue took a forceful step toward Galen and he looked like he was about to melt where he stood. “The arrangement was to find the Spear of Destiny. That's what we're trying to do. You asked us to help you. This is us trying to help.”
Galen fell silent, surprisingly. When his mouth wasn't constantly flapping about how great he was, he even looked thoughtful. He was considering their argument and then slowly relented, nodding.
“We do this together, Davy. Like old times, remember? We go to Rhodes. We give it a good look. We come back if we don't find anything.”
Purdue put his hand on Galen's shoulder. “That's the plan.”
A voice from behind them spoke. “Perfect.”
6
Sunset In The Desert
Sasha drew her gun on Galen. He yelped and flung his arms into the air. Nina raised her own hands while Purdue sighed and stepped away from Galen, leaning against the tomb wall in disappointment. He didn't look surprised. He must have been expecting something to go wrong on a venture that had otherwise been fairly uneventful.
Maddox reached for his own gun.
“Don't.” Sasha hissed.
Maddox slowly withdrew his hand from his holster and obeyed her instruction. It was the first time Nina had seen the mercenary look even remotely shaken. Even still, he managed to keep calm given the situation.
“Your gun. Throw it in that corner. Your whole belt. Don't even think about drawing that weapon.”
Maddox complied, his face growing red, and took his entire holster off. He gently tossed it to the back corner of the tomb. Turning back to Sasha, he looked at his fellow mercenary with fury behind his eyes.
“The hell is this?” Maddox asked through gritted teeth. “You out of your head, Sasha?” He pointed at Galen who was still in Sasha's cross hairs. “You really going to shoot our client? Shoot me?”
“If I have to,” Sasha said plainly. “Gladly.”
“Wow.” Maddox spat on the floor in front of her.
“It's nothing personal, Roland. He's not my client. Not really. And you're not my boss. No, the people I answer to are much higher up in the world. Not hired gun buffoons who spend all their time trying to make a couple of dollars.”
“And who are these mysterious benefactors that you answer to?” Nina asked, her hands still in the air.
Nina already suspected the answer. Sasha turned to Nina and Purdue and flashed a broad, toothy grin.
“We're well acquainted with you all.”
“Great,” Purdue said, taking a step toward her. “The Order of the Black Sun.” They sent you here to execute us, eh? Bunch of cowards. Catching us with our pants down.”
“Why pretend this long?” Nina said. “You've been with us for weeks. Why not just kill us and get it over with?”
“That's a silly question. We've known about the spear being in one of the empty tombs for some time now. Though, we were admittedly and embarrassingly stumped. Thought you might be able to help us figure out the rest. Who do you think made sure those scrolls ended up in your hands, Irishman?”
Galen's mouth opened but no words came. He stood there in stunned silence, his eyes wide as he clearly thought back on the events that led to this moment. He'd been manipulated, and was probably going mad trying to figure out how someone as amazing as him could be fooled.
“We thought you would be of use to us. And look at that, you were.”
“Lazy,” Purdue said suddenly. “We do all the work and you just ride our coattails. Though if you were really smart, lass, you would have waited until we actually found the damn spear before stabbing us in the back. Just like your moron Willard did when he tried to kill me and take my collection. And thanks to the chaos he caused, I lost the spear of destiny, or whatever that spear was.
“Poor, Purdue. You have no idea what you're dealing with. You're right. Willard was a moron. Always trying to rise up the ranks, but incompetence makes that difficult. He never did get over losing Excalibur to you.” Sasha shrugged and spoke to him like he was a baby. “No matter. We have enough information to take it from here.”
“Are you sure?” Nina asked suddenly. “What if you get stumped again? You won't have us to find the answers for you this time.”
“I think we'll manage. We're a resourceful bunch.”
“Fair enough,” Purdue said, taking a seat on the edge of the casket. “Though, since we contributed, I do hope you and your friends give us a portion of whatever reward you get when you find it.”
“Doubtful,” Sasha laughed. “They really don't like you.”
Purdue chuckled a little
under his breath, like he had just remembered a funny joke. When in actuality, he was thinking of all of the drama of their past encounters with the Order of the Black Sun. “I can't imagine why.”
Galen's wide panicked gaze bounced from the gun in his face to Purdue and then back to Sasha.
“That's what all this is about? Davy pissed in yer cereal? Well that has nothing to do with me, does it? Truth be told, he and I haven't been close friends in years. In fact, I kind of hate the bastard. Never gave me the proper respect, did you, Davy?”
“Galen,” Purdue said. “Stop talking.”
“Do what you want with him. Just get on with it so my men and I can—”
A shot rang out.
It was so loud. The sound didn't have much space to travel so just bounced through the tomb. Nina covered her ears and crouched down. Purdue leaned down behind the casket for cover.
Galen crumbled to the floor, screaming and clutching his knee. Blood poured through his grip and pooled on the ancient floor beneath him. He let out a furious scream. He'd never been hit before and he'd certainly never been shot.
“You shot me! You crazy bi—”
“Don't tell me what to do, little leprechaun. I don't care how much money you have.”
Galen was breathing rapidly, his body trembling from the damage. “D-d-do you have any id-id-idea who you're—”
Two more bullets flew into Galen's leg. He rolled backward, writhing on the ground. Maddox took a step forward, maybe hoping to overpower Sasha and take possession of the gun, but he found himself staring down the barrel.
She stepped around him, keeping her pistol pointed in his direction until she was at the far corner, and picked up Maddox's holster from the floor. She withdrew back toward the tomb's entrance and smiled victoriously.
“Here's what we're going to do. I'm going to go to Rhodes and maybe find out what happened to the spear. You all may be coming with me, just in case. Like you said, Dr. Gould, I might need you at some point. Would be a shame to kill you now and regret it later. I hate regrets. Hm. Then again, your survival may end up biting me in the ass later. I haven't decided yet. I'll be sure to let you know when I have. Excuse me for a moment. Don't go anywhere.”
She stepped out of the tomb and pushed the door shut. The slab of rock blocked any hope of escaping.
Maddox knelt beside Galen and wrapped his wounds in his jacket, pulling it tight to slow the bleeding. He probably didn't care about Galen's well-being. Not really. It was just about protecting his paycheck. He turned to Nina and said, “My men are out there. They would have heard the shot. They'll deal with her and we'll be out of here in no time.”
Purdue knew all too well what their enemy was capable of.
“Don't underestimate the Black Sun.”
The heavy door of the tomb couldn't be pushed open from the inside. It was a wonder how Christ had managed it. They pushed and threw themselves against the stone but to no avail. Even Maddox with his hulking stature couldn't get it to budge
Nina felt panic creeping across her skin. If Sasha didn't come back, they would all die in there. They would either suffocate or dehydrate. She supposed a tomb would at least be a fitting place for her death. Would be far less of a hassle to bury if she was already resting inside of a place like that. And, dying in the spot Jesus Christ came back to life might win her some brownie points if there was a Heaven up there.
Galen was still wheezing and groaning, holding his wrapped leg. “I can feel the damn bullets in there! Get them out!”
“I'm not touching that right now,” Maddox argued. “You try pulling those out now, you'll bleed to death. Just leave it be.”
“I'm ordering you,” Galen said with a wince.
“My job is to protect you. Obviously, that includes protecting you from yourself. I'm not going to let you do anything stupid—like exposing your wound and trying to get the bullets. Your leg has already been shot to hell, if you want to live, you need to leave it be for now.”
“You think we're going to die in here?” Nina asked Purdue. She was still focused on that.
“I really hope not,” Purdue said. “I always imagined my death would be somewhere far more interesting than this. This tomb has got Christ appeal but not much else going for it.”
There were noises coming from outside, muffled through the stone walls. They all stopped talking to listen. Bursts of sound. Loud. Gunfire.
“I told you,” Maddox said. “My boys would have realized that she turned on us by now. She's dead. And soon enough, they'll have us out of here.”
Suddenly, the slab of rock slowly shifted sideways, moving out of the way of the door.
“See?” Maddox said. “My men are more than capable of dealing with her.”
As the opening grew larger, they saw Sam prying open the tomb. The strange sounds they had heard from inside were much louder now with the door open, and were clearly gunfire. Sam looked panicked, sweaty, and was straining hard to get them out of there. Once the door opened, he looked at everyone inside.
“What the hell is going on? There's all this gunfire out here!” His attention was pulled to Galen bleeding on the stone floor. “What happened to you!?”
“Sasha,” Maddox said grimly, swinging Galen's arm over his shoulders to help heave him up. Galen let out a holler that filled the tomb. Maddox ignored the screaming man next to his hear, still focused on Sasha. “She betrayed us.”
“She was never with you,” Purdue corrected. “She was never part of your mercenary band. She was an infiltrator for the Order of the Black Sun.”
Maddox shook his head and spat on the floor. “You all keep saying that, but I have no idea what that's supposed to mean.”
“Nothing good,” Nina said.
“Black Sun?” Sam asked from the doorway, looking petrified. He stared, probably waiting for someone to tell him that he'd heard it wrong. He realized that no one was going to reassure him. His hearing was working just fine.
“Yes,” Purdue said. “They're here right now.”
Sam flinched as more gunfire rang out somewhere close by. He glanced in both directions, looking more and more nervous, now understanding just how dangerous of a situation they had found themselves in.
He pushed the door open even wider and waved his hand frantically. “Well don't just stand there. Let's get the hell out of here.”
“Don't panic,” Maddox said. “Those sounds are probably just my boys taking care of that lying bitch.”
Purdue wanted to believe, and he saw that same hope cross Nina's face for a moment but just as soon fade away from both of them. They knew the Black Sun too well. They knew that this simple expedition to the Holy Land had now taken a very, very dangerous turn.
They all started to file out of the tomb. Nina hastily explained their discovery to Sam. How the Hospitaller knights left their mark in the tomb along with a symbol that looked a lot like a spear. Sam listened carefully, despite the gunfire raging somewhere in the distance.
“Their order was based on the island of Rhodes,” Nina explained as they all tried to move in the opposite direction from where the guns were firing.
“So, that's where we're going?”
“Yes,” Nina said. “But Sasha was there and heard that part. So Black Sun won't be far behind.”
“We've outrun them before,” Sam said. “We can do it again.”
A voice said, “Not this time.”
Sasha was walking up to them, over a dune with a number of armed men backing her. Once again, Purdue and Nina were staring at Sasha's pistol.
“I was really hoping you weren't going to try and run. I'm gone for five minutes and you're already causing trouble. How did you get out of that tomb?”
“Just like Jesus after his resurrection,” Purdue proclaimed dramatically. “A lot of sweat and a lot of good old-fashioned prayer.”
Sasha ignored his response and her gaze drifted to Sam. She nodded in silent confirmation to herself.
“Oh, I see.
Almost forgot about you. Was hoping you would have been gunned down with the others, if I'm being honest.”
“The others?” Nina asked, and immediately wished she hadn't.
Sasha waved her weapon and her men did the same, leading their captives up the dune they had come from. When they reached the top, they had had a view of a dozen or so bodies strewn about. The sand around them had turned red.
Sasha was dementedly satisfied when she displayed the horrific scene.
Maddox, still helping Galen be upright, let out a roar. “What is this!?”
“Our comrades, Roland. Don't you recognize them? Couldn't have them interfering in our plans. They never expected an ambush. You told them this was just going to be a quiet mission, remember? That we were just keeping an eye on a couple of bored rich men. I wonder how many of your friends thought back to those words when they were bleeding out.”
Maddox was a snarling, chained beast, ready to tear her head off. It looked like he was going to toss his injured client off of him and pounce on Sasha. He would rip her apart for what she did to his squad.
“Don't be so upset,” Sasha cooed. “Now there's far less cuts of your pay to give out. Tell you what, I'll even give you mine. No need to pay me, Galen. Just give my share to our squad leader.” She was giggling now.
“I wasn't planning on paying you,” Galen mumbled, barely conscious. “You shot me.”
“And just like that, Maddox, I've made you far more money than you were going to make before. You should be thanking me.”
“I should be killing you,” Maddox spat.
“You're welcome to try,” Sasha cackled. “But I'm letting you live.”
Maddox's anger took a breath and he looked bewildered. “Why?”
Sasha didn't say anything for a moment and her amusement dimmed. “Maybe because we formed a genuine friendship during our time together. At least, I thought we did.” She looked genuinely remorseful for a moment, but that sorrow disintegrated from her face and she burst into even more laughter. “Or maybe I thought it would be fun to see how your arrogant ass deals with survivor's guilt. All your friends are dead! That must hurt.”
Order of the Black Sun Box Set 9 Page 5