by S. L. Menear
“And I’ll walk ahead and scope out the area.” Pete headed for the curio shop.
After donning Lance’s cap and windbreaker, I walked a reasonable distance behind Pete with Lance tailing me. It had been forty-five minutes since we’d left the strange shop.
Fifteen minutes later, I saw Pete turn into the alley. By the time I reached the end of the block, Pete had walked back to me, looking shocked and confused.
“This is the right street, isn’t it?” he asked. “You’re certain?” Pete’s face was pale.
“Yes, what’s wrong?” I asked as Lance joined us.
“Come and see for yourselves.” Pete led us down the alley.
We stopped and stared at the spot where the curio shop had been. The store was empty, the windows were partially boarded over, and the shopkeeper was nowhere in sight.
I knocked, but no one answered. I felt like we were in an old episode of The Twilight Zone. We walked back to the hotel in silence.
All the stress from our weird violent day triggered a familiar craving. I bought a small bag of dark chocolate squares from the hotel gift shop.
“I suggest we go to my suite and discuss everything,” Pete said.
Lance glanced around the lobby. “I agree. We can order dinner from room service and lay low while we figure this out.”
I popped a chocolate in my mouth and let it melt as I nodded.
We didn’t encounter any of our passengers on the way to Pete’s suite on the eighth floor. Pete pulled out a chair for me at a table in front of the windows overlooking the harbor. I scanned the room service menu and handed it to Lance.
Pete called in our orders and handed us bottled water from his mini bar. “How good do you think the hotel security is here?” he asked after taking a sip.
“This is a five-star hotel. The security must be good,” Lance said. “I doubt the last gunman will come here, but we should be careful.”
“What if those gunmen had nothing to do with us?” I asked.
“Yeah, right, Miss Danger Magnet,” Lance said with a roll of his eyes.
“Sorry, Sam, but Lance has a point.” Pete nodded at Lance.
“After what happened in Hawaii, I understand why you think they were after me. But open your minds and think about where we are—the land of the Triads and Tongs. Could be those men were shaking down the shop owner. He seemed to be expecting them. Remember how he opened fire without a word? He must have known them.” I looked from Lance to Pete for their reactions.
“The gunmen weren’t Asian, and the shopkeeper was expecting you. His expression was obvious when he saw you walk in.” Lance looked smug. “He used the words Solraya Twin twice. I don’t know if it’s a name or something in Chinese.”
“What if he thought I was the twin of someone named Solraya and that’s why he gave it to me?” I bit my lower lip. “This is bad. I have no way to return it if it wasn’t intended for me.”
“Relax, Sam.” Pete patted my hand. “Remember how it lit up when you touched the crystals, and you saw visions while you held it? Nothing happened when I touched it. I don’t know what Solraya means, but that black pyramid was definitely meant for you.”
Room service arrived, and Lance pulled out his smart phone to google the terms I’d suggested as we ate.
“Nothing on Poseidon’s Sword. Google says Poseidon wielded a gold trident. Vril is Earth’s electromagnetic energy. The name came from a science fiction novel, The Coming Race, written in 1871,” Lance said.
“The gunmen were tall with blond hair and blue eyes. Definitely not aliens,” Pete said.
“That book may not have been about aliens. What else did you find?” My gut turned.
“Black Sun is a Nazi cult started during World War II. Not much info on the Dragon Society. They’re believed to be an ancient secret society of experts on dragon currents. Dragon currents, also called ley lines, are paths of concentrated electromagnetic energy that crisscross the Earth and intersect in many places around the world.”
Pete frowned. “So how do we decide which one to follow?”
“Wish we had a map that shows dragon currents.” I scrolled through the pictures I took in the shipping office. “There’s a map on the black pyramid, but this picture’s too small to see where the trident symbols are located. I hope Professor Armitage figures this out for us.”
Lance narrowed his eyes. “What the hell have you gotten us into, Sam?”
“Wish I knew.” I looked at their worried faces. “Might all be a coincidence.”
Lance and I locked eyes. Another adrenaline-charged day with the hot Texan.
“Um, I think I’ll go to my room and call Ross. I’ll see you guys out front at pick-up time.” I rushed out the door before Lance could follow me.
I ducked inside my room, sat by the window, and hit Ross’s number on my cell. Damn voice mail. I left a message that I was in Hong Kong and missed him.
Adrenaline from the day’s events made me feel wired. I changed into workout clothes and headed for the hotel gym to burn it off.
An hour later, I returned to my room soaked in sweat and ready for a shower.
Six
Professor Ben Armitage opened the front door on his hilltop home in Marblehead and accepted the package sent by Samantha Starr. The documents indicated the crate had been shipped next-day air from Hong Kong, which was possible because the package had crossed the international dateline into the previous day during its long journey.
Ben carried the crate up to his newly built study over the garage, set it on his antique Chippendale desk, and walked downstairs to get a crowbar from the tool chest.
A few minutes later, he pried open the wood slats and pulled out the obsidian pyramid. As he sat in front of what he thought might be an artifact, he looked into the face of the gold-haired statue.
“What have you sent me, Sam?” Ben mumbled as he ran a hand through his thinning gray hair. He read Sam’s letter, and his mind reeled with cryptic terms and possible explanations.
Statues look like her, especially the one with the gold hair. Glowing crystals, visions of an ancient civilization, and “Poseidon’s Sword.” Shopkeeper referred to himself as Dragon Master of the Dragon Society, called her Solraya Twin, warned her about the Black Sun and Vril. Told her to follow the dragon current.
Ben knew many ancient structures were built at ley line intersections. His fingers danced over the keys on his laptop as he selected an archaeology website for professionals to research Poseidon’s Sword, Black Sun, and Dragon Society.
Ancient scrolls mentioned tales of a doomsday weapon metaphorically named Poseidon’s Sword, but gave no details except that it was rumored to be a massive obsidian pyramid.
Not much on either group. Black Sun and Dragon Society are secret organizations. Could secret societies and ley lines be connected with this unusual piece?
Ben stared at the small crystal pyramids held by the statues.
Still glowing, so they must have a function. This is more than a work of art.
Lost in thought, he gazed out the window at the picturesque harbor below. Sailboats tethered to their moorings bobbed in the autumn breeze. Determined to discover the strange object’s secret, he touched the crystals. They felt cool. Next, he studied the gold-and-jeweled diagram on the side of the pyramid with the blond statue facing him. No clues were evident.
He turned the black pyramid around to its map. Accurate drawings of the Mediterranean Sea, European coastline, Asia, and Atlantic coastline of the United States, including the Gulf Coasts of the US and Mexico, were carved into the obsidian, and the borders were lined with gold. Gold tridents were placed near Santorini, in Egypt, the Himalayas, the Yucatan, and areas off Cuba’s northeastern coast and Bimini. Major cities were marked with jewels.
The most unusual aspect was a large landmass in the Sargasso Sea where no land existed. It was marked with a gold trident bordered by gold pyramids and labeled with an eight-lettered word in a language he’d never seen
before.
Ben turned the pyramid to check the two sides covered in the strange language. No help there.
Gold-haired statue has a seven-letter name carved into her belt and a sun image by her feet. Black-haired one has a four-letter name and a moon image. Redhead has a five-letter name and a fire image. Might be from an era when people believed in gods and goddesses. Could be the goddesses of Sun, Moon, and Fire. Sam looks like a twin of the Sun Goddess. Solraya has seven letters.
Assuming SOLRAYA was the name carved into the gold belt on the Sun Goddess, Ben found letters corresponding to the L and A in the four-letter name for the Moon Goddess.
L _ _ A. He surmised her name was LUNA. The same two letters were no help in naming the Fire Goddess, _ L A _ _. Maybe I can figure out the word on the map. Matching the letters A, L, N, and S to the unknown land mass, A _ LAN _ _ S, he guessed the eight-letter word was ATLANTIS.
My God! Have I found the lost continent?
Excited, he turned the black pyramid back to the diagram, but he couldn’t discover how the artifact functioned. No pictorial instructions or symbols. The diagram’s images of the three goddesses seemed to match the actual statues. He looked closer and noticed their jeweled diadems were aligned a quarter turn clockwise ahead of where the diadems were on the actual statues’ heads.
The height of the entire artifact was twenty-five inches.
Unlikely something this small would be dangerous.
He placed his right thumb and index finger on opposite sides of the blond woman’s diadem and gently twisted it a quarter turn clockwise. Her hinged fingers released the crystal pyramid. Ben placed it in the square slot in front of her feet. The slot tilted the tiny pyramid enough to make the tip point above her head.
He repeated the procedure with the other two statues. When all three crystal pyramids were inside the slots, they glowed with blinding brilliance. In seconds, bright beams from their tips merged above the statues’ heads, forming a searing laser that fired up through the ceiling and roof and left two-inch diameter holes with flaming edges.
Ben shielded his eyes and froze. He dared not move the black pyramid. The powerful laser would burn down his house. He tried to turn back the gold diadems, but they were locked.
Don’t panic! He studied the diagram. The tiny crystal pyramids depicted were actual diamonds embedded in the obsidian. He steeled himself with a deep breath and pushed his right index finger against one.
The blazing crystal in front of the blond statue popped out of the slot and landed back in her hands. Her fingers closed around it as her diadem rotated back to its original position.
The moment the crystal left the slot, the laser stopped. Ben pushed the other pyramid-shaped diamonds on the diagram. When all three crystals were locked in the statues’ hands and their diadems had rotated back to their normal positions, the brilliant lights extinguished. The scent of ozone lingered.
Ben gasped and realized he’d been holding his breath. With the laser off, he sighed in relief. But it was short-lived as the shriek of the smoke alarm assaulted his ears. He ran downstairs and grabbed the full-size CO² extinguisher in the garage workshop. The fires in the ceiling and roof were small, but the smoke alarm had triggered the security system, and now his phone was ringing.
Ben ran up to his study to answer the phone. “Yes, this is Professor Armitage. There’s no fire. My cigar lit some paper in the waste basket, but I took care of it. Sorry to bother you…. Yes, thank you.”
Better to put out the fire before anyone noticed.
How would I explain it? Good thing I live alone.
He pulled the cord for the drop-down stairs to the attic and walked to the tiny fire. The handheld extinguisher smothered the two-inch flaming holes in the ceiling and roof and cooled the seared edges and singed fire-proof insulation. Ben plugged the openings with a foam sealant and called to arrange permanent repairs.
Thirty years of studying antiquities and ancient civilizations had taught Ben the importance of keeping secrets. He opened his large wall safe and placed the artifact inside. It barely fit. He locked the safe and swung the hinged painting of the Great Pyramid back into place.
The room smelled like burnt wood. A smoky cloud hovered near the ceiling.
He typed a text to Sam: Artifact is powerful weapon, possibly from Atlantis, and could be small prototype of Poseidon’s Sword. Burned holes through my ceiling and roof. I’m OK. Fire is out. Statues may be Goddesses of Sun, Moon, and Fire—Solraya, Luna, and don’t know name of Fire Goddess. Artifact locked in my safe. Keep secret.
He opened the windows to air out the smoke, then retreated to his den and pulled a bottle of Macallan from the oak cabinet. He poured a double measure of the Scotch whisky and drank half of it in one swallow.
Ben finished his drink and poured another. He swirled the whisky and thought about all that power locked away above his garage.
Well, crisis averted.
He’d run some tests to determine the artifact’s age as a starting point for his research, but he’d have to use the university research lab late at night so no one would see him.
India
Werner sat on a wide leather seat aboard the private Gulfstream jet as it parked on the ramp at the Indira Gandhi International Airport near New Delhi. Filled with regret, he ignored the pain in his shoulder from the bullet wound, picked up the satellite phone installed in the armrest, and called the Master of the Black Sun. The line connected, but the man on the other end said nothing.
“I take full responsibility for what happened in Hong Kong,” Werner began in an unsteady voice. “The burden of my failure weighs heavily upon me.”
“On me also. Fix this.”
“Jawohl, Master.”
“Where is the key to Poseidon’s Sword?”
“I don’t know. I was wounded and barely escaped with my life.”
“I hope you know where she and her companions went.”
“After our doctor tended my wound, I hired a local artist to draw her picture based on my description and sent men with copies of it to all the best hotels. The doorman at the Lotus Blossom Hotel recognized her.”
“Good, did he give you her name?”
“She and the two men are pilots with Luxury International Airlines, Captain Samantha Starr and First Officers Lance Bowie and Pete Winston. They’re flying a round-the-world charter flight.”
“Solraya’s twin has an interesting surname. Did the hotel doorman see her carrying that artifact you saw her with in the shop? The key must be inside it.”
“She and her copilots had nothing with them when they returned to the hotel, and they didn’t have any extra luggage when they departed the hotel for the flight to Delhi.”
“Perhaps she took the key and left the artifact behind. What is your plan?”
“I bribed a ticket agent who handles Luxury International’s flights through Hong Kong and secured a copy of their itinerary. The agent thought I was a fan of the movie stars on the flight. Captain Starr is scheduled to accompany the celebrities on a private night tour of the Taj Mahal.”
“The Golden Twin is following the prophecy to the mausoleum. Sounds like an ideal place to kidnap her. Leave the others unharmed. We don’t want to draw too much attention.”
Werner rubbed his bandage. “My best men are preparing the ambush in Agra. I will ensure the jet is ready to depart when they arrive with her. How are the renovations progressing? Will the chamber be ready?”
“The pipe for the gas-fired flame is being installed in the vault chamber. Take your time and do this right. She must arrive unharmed. Once she is secured in the chamber, she will tell us everything we need to know.”
“As you wish, Master.”
I got a text from Professor Armitage during the crew bus ride to the Star of India Hotel. Lance was seated beside me, and I trusted him with everything except my womanly virtue. He’d risked his safety on my weird shopping expedition in Hong Kong, so I figured he had the right to be includ
ed in whatever facts I learned about the artifact. Pete too.
I nudged Lance and showed him the text.
Lance stared at the message. “It sure didn’t look like a weapon. I wonder what it does.”
“He said it set his house on fire, but he didn’t explain how.”
I typed back: How does weapon work? Be careful. 4 gunmen attacked me in Hong Kong shop. Dragon Master killed 3, but 1 escaped and may be looking for artifact. He could be from group called Black Sun.
Lance focused on me. “Solraya’s the Sun Goddess on the pyramid? That means Dragon Master thinks you’re the goddess’s twin, especially because your touch activated the artifact.”
He grinned. “Hot damn! My captain’s a real goddess. When we check in, I’ll stop by your room so you can demonstrate your divine powers. It’ll be our secret.” He winked.
I laughed and shook my head. “You don’t give up, do you?”
“Hey, a man can dream, can’t he?”
The crew bus stopped in front of the hotel at 10:00 a.m. local time, and we checked in. After a late-night departure and morning arrival amid more time changes, we were ready for a good rest.
I pulled Pete aside. “I received an interesting text from Professor Armitage. Let’s meet Lance for dinner, and we can discuss it then.”
“What about the celebs? Won’t they see us in the restaurant?” Pete sounded concerned.
“Tawnee said the VIPs plan to rest up before the excursion to the Taj Mahal late tonight. They’re worn out after their big party in Kowloon, plus more drinking on the flight. Unfortunately, we’re mandatory chaperones tonight, but the Taj will be beautiful under the full moon because the marble is translucent.”
I picked up my key card and headed for the elevator. “I’ll see you in the restaurant tonight at six.”
Eight hours later, I joined Lance and Pete at a corner table in the hotel restaurant. A large potted plant obscured the view of our table from the entrance.