Maddock handed the Templar Stone to Bones and turned his eyes toward Tyson. Disgust filled every fiber of his being. He hated losing, and even more, he hated giving up. There had to be something he could do.
Bones made his way up the steps, hands held out at his sides, moving slowly to show he wasn’t about to try anything stupid.
“That’s far enough,” Tyson said when Bones neared the top. “Put them down and back away.”
Maddock could tell it was costing his friend everything to comply. If Maddock hated surrender, Bones despised it. Maddock moved to the base of the steps to stand behind Bones.
“Send Dima down to us and we’ll leave,” he said.
“In a moment.” Tyson shoved Dima to the ground, took three steps forward, and scooped up the stones. He returned to the top of the stairs and stood gazing down at the body of Noah. Dima sat nearby, frozen in fear.
“The trident,” Tyson said, raising the golden weapon aloft. “With this we shall once again claim the power of Poseidon himself!”
“Poseidon! Are you saying Noah was the Greek god of the sea?” Maddock asked, their perilous situation momentarily forgotten in light of Tyson’s bizarre statement.
Tyson’s lips curled in a sneer. “Simple man. Poseidon is much older, much greater than any of the so-called patriarchs of the Bible. The trident, the vessel for his power, was lost ages ago, long before the fall of Atlantis. It fell into the hands of Noah, and he abused that same power.”
“What are you talking about?” Dima rose to her feet and inched toward the steps, keeping as far from Tyson as possible. “He used the stones to do God’s bidding.”
“That is the story you’ve been told, but it is a lie. Noah thought himself better than those around him, believed his line purer. He committed genocide, used the power of the stones to purge his lands and begin again. The power of earth, water, and life.” He held up the other two stones.
“That’s crap,” Bones said.
“Believe anything you like. The trident is the ultimate power. Look at it.” He held the weapon high. “The power of three, the Trinity itself, sprang from the loins of the trident. Even the holy menorah is the offspring of this, the earth’s greatest force. And now you shall witness its power for yourself.”
“No!” Dima shouted. “Bringing the stones together means death. The Book of Noah said so.”
“Another lie, spread by Noah himself to prevent anyone else from daring to harness the power. His son, the ancestor of my leader, tried to take it for himself but failed. Now the power is mine.”
“You can’t.” Dima snatched at the trident, but Tyson batted her hand aside and gave her a shove, sending her tumbling to the ground.
“Dima!” Bones mounted the stairs but Tyson quickly drew his pistol and trained it on Bones.
“Stop.”
Bones froze, hands in the air.
“It would be a shame if I killed you all before you saw the true power of the trident.” He took one of the Noah Stones and slid it into one of the trident’s empty tines. It clicked into place with a metallic hum.
“Please, I’m begging you,” Dima said. “You don’t know what it might do. You’ll kill us all.”
“I know exactly what it will do. It will bring us one step closer to harnessing the power of the ancient world.” With a smile, he clicked the final stone into place.
Chapter 49
Maddock shielded his eyes as brilliant light erupted from the trident. He staggered backward, regained his balance, and dared an upward glance.
Tyson stood in a nimbus of gold, head thrown back in ecstasy, the trident upraised in his clenched fist.
“I can feel it!” he cried. “It is so…” Whatever it was, the words escaped him. He turned slowly on the spot, enraptured by the power of the shining artifact of another world.
Dima scrambled down the steps and hurled herself into Bones’ arms. “Isn’t there anything we can do?” she gasped.
“Let’s just get the hell out of here.” Bones turned and headed for the door.
“Stop!” Tyson’s voice was a thunderclap that shook the chamber. “You will stay and witness my glory.”
He loomed over them like the Greek god he so ardently worshiped. The golden light began to creep along his arm. Where it touched him, flecks of gold like tiny stars shone in his dark skin. “Yes! Come to me, Poseidon. Bestow upon me your power.”
“If I had even one bullet left, I’d shoot him,” Bones growled.
As the light continued to consume Tyson, sparks began to fly from the points of the trident. They shot up to the ceiling and clung there. Soon the sparkling light danced all over the cavern, sizzling where it touched the still-falling drops of water.
“This place is changing,” Tyson boomed. “It will be my throne room. From here shall the Trident rule.”
“His throne room?” Dima said. “That thing is doing something to his brain.”
“I think he was already unhinged,” Bones said softly. “Dima, why don’t you see if you can slip out of here? Maddock and I distract him. Don’t worry, we’ll catch up with you as soon as we can.”
“I won’t leave you.” She shook her head, long dark hair spilling over her face. “This isn’t over yet.”
Tyson cried out again in a sound a touch too inhuman to be a laugh. Maddock and the others covered their ears as the shrill sound pierced their eardrums. Behind them, a chunk of ceiling broke off and crashed to the ground.
The light now covered Tyson’s body. His clothing had burned away, and he stood there cloaked in flashing gold. The light began to pulse, slowly at first, and then faster, and with each flash, an image began to form.
Maddock squinted to make it out, but it quickly resolved into the outline of tall, muscular man with mahogany skin, long, white hair, a twisted beard the color of seaweed, and flashing golden eyes. Faster and faster the image flickered like an old projector skipping frames. Tyson, then the image, and then Tyson again. Back and forth it went.
The glowing form seemed to grow firmer, more tangible by the second. Inside it, Tyson began to struggle. He twisted and jerked, teeth gritted, spittle dripping from his lips.
“What…is…happening?”
“It’s trying to take control of him!” Dima shouted.
As if the figure carried real weight, Tyson’s shoulders hunched, his waist bent, and then his knees buckled and he dropped to his knees. All around the cavern, the golden lights burned with searing intensity, and the dripping water turned to steam, filling the air with hot mist.
Snarling, Tyson regained his feet, and for a moment, he seemed to be winning the battle against the force that fought to overcome him. His eyes turned toward Maddock and the others, standing frozen at the foot of the steps.
“That’s it. A sacrifice!” he cried. “Poseidon demands a blood tribute.” He leveled the trident at Dima.
“No!” Bones threw himself in front of Dima as triple bolts of fine, golden lightning crackled from the points of the trident and shot toward him.
Maddock was already in motion as the surge of electricity blew his best friend off his feet. In one fluid motion, he drew his knife and hurled it at Tyson as he ran.
Tyson never saw it coming. He screamed as the blade took him in the eye. He thrashed about, lightning still bursting forth from the trident. All around them, the walls began to crack and water once again poured through.
Maddock was up the steps in a flash. As Tyson turned, half-mad with pain, to face him, Maddock leaped and struck the man full in the chest with a double side-kick that sent Tyson crashing into the wall. The trident slipped from his grasp and clattered across the floor, coming to rest against the back wall, which cracked and split as the still pulsing weapon struck it. A section of wall fell away to reveal a previously hidden passageway.