He took the stone from his pocket and began moving it in a broad arc. Nearby, Bones cocked his head and held up a hand in confusion. Maddock continued to sweep the stone around until he felt it grow warmer. He continued this game of “Cold, Warm, Hot” until he found himself at the very back of the sinkhole. Letting the stone be his guide, he pushed aside a chunk of decking and brushed away the sand beneath it. His fingers found something solid…and warm. Heart racing, he once again pocketed the Noah Stone and dug with both hands until he had freed a second shiny stone. It too was triangular and roughly the size of his fist. Aside from being a dark shade of gray instead of black, it was nearly the twin of the first stone, and it burned with the same heat. This was it!
He turned toward Bones, held the stone up, and gave the thumbs-up. Bones returned the gesture emphatically. They moved to the center of the sinkhole, where Maddock secured the mesh bag containing the items they’d recovered to a large lift bag, and proceeded to fill the lift bag with air from his scuba tank. Once filled, it slowly began to rise, and Maddock and Bones swam alongside it.
As they exited the deep hole into open water, Maddock again spotted movement nearby. He turned, expecting to see the shark, and was forced to dodge to the side as something small and fast-moving sliced through the water where his head had been an instant before. A diver, armed with a harpoon gun, had been lying in wait for them. Another harpoon whizzed past them, this one from the other direction. Maddock and Bones released the bag, letting it fly free, and dove for the sinkhole. There wasn’t much safety to be found there, but they’d be sitting ducks if they swam for the boat right now.
They were in trouble. Neither he nor Bones carried a weapon other than a dive knife. He considered his options. There were no good hiding places inside of the sinkhole, no spot from which they could ambush the attackers. If the crew, watching through Uma, didn't see what was going on and send help in time, they were done for. Or were they?
He reached into his thigh pocket and pulled out the first Noah Stone. He had no idea if it would work underwater but it was worth a try.
He dragged the blade across his forearm, cutting deeper than he had when he had used the stone previously. A cloud of blood swirled up and he concentrated. It was working! He could feel the mysterious bond between him and the stone forming.
He reached out with his mind, just as he had at Archer’s house, and his thoughts connected with the shark, which still lurked nearby. He called out to it, at least that was the best way he could think of to describe what he was doing. As if on command, it turned and made a beeline for the attackers.
One of the newcomers had broken off the attack and was swimming for the lift bag containing the items they had recovered from the wreck. The other was closing in on Maddock and Bones, his harpoon gun loaded and held out in front of him, ready to fire.
Maddock focused his thoughts on this man and tensed. Would it work?
In a flash of gray and white, the shark appeared in the circle of light at the top of the sinkhole. The diver with the harpoon gun had only an instant to turn and fire a shot that went wild before the shark was on him. Its jaws closed on the diver's leg. The surprised man dropped his harpoon gun and began beating ineffectually on the shark’s snout. A few moments of violent thrashing and then the shark swam away with his prey in tow, leaving a thin cloud of blood trailing behind.
Bones turned to look at Maddock, saw the Noah Stone, and nodded. Without wasting another second, they swam for the boat.
When they reached open water, there was no sign of either diver. How had the second man gotten away so fast? That question was answered when they broke the surface and found their friends waiting for them.
"What happened down there?" Matt asked. "A diver surfaced holding the lift bag. About the time we realized it wasn't you, another guy came zipping by on a Sea Doo, fired a few shots across our bow, picked up the other fellow, and was gone."
"We wanted to chase them, but we didn't know what had happened to you. Matt and I were about to come in after you." Willis' tall, muscular frame quaked with suppressed rage.
"They took the lift bag?" Bones asked. "Holy crap. They got the stone."
"No they didn't." Maddock reached into his thigh pocket and pulled out the second Noah Stone. "There's no way I was letting either of these babies out of my sight for a second." He took a moment to enjoy the surprised grins of his crew mates. "Now let's get out of here before they realize they failed and come back with bigger guns."
Chapter 23
Dima turned the stone over in her hands, her fingers tracing it smooth surface. She held it up to the light, transfixed by the sparkles that seemed to emanate from beneath the surface of the glossy black stone. It was all almost too much to believe.
She looked out the cabin window at the darkening sky. They were headed south, eager to put as much distance between themselves and the Trident, if that’s who, in fact, they had encountered earlier, as possible. Their destination was Key West, where Maddock and his crew made their home. She considered how odd it was that she had so quickly and completely put her trust in these men but instincts told her it was the right decision.
She glanced up as Maddock and Bones entered the cabin.
“Are you enjoying your pleasure cruise?” Bones asked.
“Oh, yes. Getting shot at today was a high point.”
“Stick with us. You’ll get used to it.”
She frowned. “You say that like it’s a good thing.”
“That’s just the way it is.” Bones pulled up a chair and sat down beside her.
“You’re confident this is the second Noah Stone?” she asked, looking at the artifact they’d brought up from the sinkhole. “I mean, it certainly looks the part.”
“Absolutely.” Maddock reached into his pocket, pulled out the triangle-shaped stone that had belonged to Bones’ family, and handed it to her. “They’re the same size and shape, the color is slightly different but both appear to be formed of the same stone — a stone the likes of which we’ve never seen. But the clincher is the way they react to one another. Try bringing them close together.”
Dima had already noticed the strange warmth in the stones but as she brought them closer to one another the heat intensified. “This is impossible. Stones don’t work this way.”
“Don’t be so sure,” Bones said. “We’ve seen some very strange phenomena from unusual stones. It just might surprise you to find out what all is possible.”
“You’ve seen stones that grow hot when they come close to one another, even without an energy source?”
“The heat is a new thing, but we’ve seen stones that absorb and amplify light, stones that pass energy from one to the other, and much crazier stuff.”
Dima looked him in the eye, searching for signs of deception, and found none. “You two are either full of crap or you have led a very interesting life.”
“A little of both.” Maddock said.
“You said our next move would be to search for the book of Noah. Any idea how and where, exactly, you want to start? I was hanging my hopes on the Native American legend, but it seems like we’ve hit the end of the line on that score.”