“We weren’t delaying for you,” Angel said. “We were just delaying. I didn’t even see you until Bones popped out from between those pews and motioned for me to throw the box.”
“We’re SEALs.” Bones retrieved the stone box and held it up for inspection. “All part of the training.”
“You did a lot of in-church camouflage work in the service?” Jade kissed Dane on the cheek, which sparked an unexpected flare of jealousy in Angel. What the hell? Maddock was like a brother to her. She supposed she’d feel protective of Bones if he ever got serious with someone.
“These guys will be coming to any minute.” Dane scooped up Uhlrich’s pistol and tucked it in his inside jacket pocket. “Let’s get out of here.”
Bones grabbed the other dropped weapon, and the four of them headed for the exit. Angel paused long enough to give Niklas and Uhlrich each a kick in the groin.
“Two down,” she said to herself, and chuckled. Skulls or bad guys? It fit either way.
Chapter 12 — Eichstatt
“There’s something weird about these skulls.” Dane had been examining stones set in the matching crowns on the two skulls and the odd phenomenon of the internal lights continued. “The lights are still here and they’re getting brighter.”
Bones glanced over from the driver’s seat. “They’ve been kept in the dark for who knows how long. Maybe they’re absorbing the light.”
“Maybe,” Dane said doubtfully, “but they get brighter when they’re closer together.”
“Let’s see,” Jade said from the back seat.
Dane held the skulls up and slowly moved them apart, then together again. Sure enough, the light dimmed as they moved away from each other and glowed brighter as they came back together. Dane set his jaw. “There’s something else, though. You know how we noticed the light looked sort of like an arrow? Well, they both look like that and, get this, no matter how you turn them, the arrow always points in the exact same direction. He demonstrated, first with one skull, then with two held side-by-side.
“Are they like compasses?” Angel asked.
“They seem to work that way, but which way are they pointing?”
“Bethlehem.” Bones expression was serious. “Maybe the star the Wise Men followed wasn’t literal.”
“I swear I’ve heard a legend of a compass stone,” Jade mused.
“The Vikings supposedly had one.” Dane had always enjoyed reading about early sailors and expeditions, and the Vikings had been among his favorites. “They called it a sunstone because it pointed the way to the sun on a cloudy day.”
“But these stones aren’t pointing toward the sun.” Bones took another quick glance at the skulls. “Looks like they’re pointing south to me. My vote is either Bethlehem or a reverse compass pointing to the South Pole.”
“Or we’re reading them backward and they’re just plain old compasses. That would be the simplest explanation.” Jade took one of the skulls from Dane so she and Angel could have a closer look.
“Yeah, but simplest isn’t funnest,” Bones griped.
“Funnest? Bones, do you even know what you sound like?” Angel sounded exasperated but her amused smile told a different story.
“I sound like a guy who doesn’t have a stick up his butt.”
Dane had to laugh. Bones and Angel were definitely the brother and sister he never had and wasn’t completely sure he wanted, but they were fun.
“All right, let’s put the skulls away. We’re there.”
The Catholic University of Eichstatt-Igolstadt was the only Catholic university in the German-speaking world. Its history dated back to a sixteenth-century seminary, and some digging had produced the name of one of their faculty members, August Adler, as an expert on local Magi lore. They hoped he might be able to provide them with some clues that weren’t easily found through an internet search.
“Call me nuts,” Angel said, looking out the window, “but even with this crazy mystery, this place sort of puts me in the Christmas spirit.”
Indeed, the snow-covered forests and mountains of Bavaria were some of the most beautiful Dane had seen, and the traditional Alpine-style architecture was everywhere. It almost made him want to forsake the search and settle down in a warm pub in front of a cheery fire and let the holiday spirit wash over him. Almost.
“I know this isn’t the Christmas trip you guys signed up for.” Jade bit her lip.
“Nope, this is better.” Bones looked as happy as he ever had. Though he loved a relaxing good time as much as the next guy, like Dane, he was happiest when on the trail of something lost, be it a shipwreck, a treasure, or an artifact.
“I’m cool with it,” Angel added. “I’m starting to see why you guys let yourselves get hooked up in these sorts of things. I feel so… alive.”
“Facing death does that to you,” Dane said, admiring the campus, now almost empty with students on holiday. “It makes you appreciate the little things.” Out of the corner of his eye he caught Jade gazing at him with a strange expression on her face. There would be plenty of time later to figure out what was on her mind. Right now, they had an appointment to keep.
August Adler was a short, stocky man with wavy white hair and a bushy salt and pepper mustache. He reminded Dane of Mark Twain, if Twain were an aging German professor of theology. He ushered them into his office, where dark wooden shelves sagged under the weight of books stacked double.
“I understand you are all archaeologists?” He settled into his chair and placed his folded hands on his cluttered desk.
“Three of us are,” Jade said, not adding that Dane and Bones were marine archaeologists.
“Odd man out.” Angel waved. “I’m just along for the ride.”
“Very good.” August nodded. “Tell me how I can be of help.”
“We are interested in legends surrounding the Magi,” Jade said.
Adler frowned. His bushy eyebrows looked like two aging caterpillars performing calisthenics. “I assume you have heard about the theft of the bones from the Shrine of the Magi at Kölner Dom.” A note of suspicion rang in his words.
“We did.” Jade nodded gravely and the others followed suit. “That was terrible.”
“What is your interest in the Magi?”
“It’s really for me. I’m researching the connection between the Three Wise Men and the three hares symbol.”
“Aha!” Adler relaxed visibly and leaned back in his chair. “A very interesting subject, but only to me. I assume you have read my paper on the subject.”
“I just learned that the paper existed, which is how we found you. Since we were in the area, I couldn’t miss the opportunity to meet you, though I would love to read your work.” Jade flashed her smile, just warm enough to melt a man’s heart like butter.
“I will give you a copy before you leave.” Adler took a deep breath and looked up at the ceiling, collecting his thoughts. “The connections between the hares and the Magi are speculative. The hare has long been associated with mythology and imagery of the divine. It symbolizes fertility, renewal, and new birth. The rabbit was adopted as a symbol of Easter due to its connection with a pagan fertility goddess of the same name whose festival was celebrated in the spring. The three hares are a pagan symbol, though the church adopted it, like so many other pagan symbols, as an emblem of the Trinity. Like the Magi, the origins of the symbol are unknown, but they have been found across Europe and the Far East.”
“The Magi came from the east,” Dane commented.
“So it is believed.” Adler nodded and went on. “Little is known about the Magi and, to be honest, scholars take little interest in them compared to other figures in the Bible. They appear only in a single gospel. Consequently, many consider them to be a fabrication inserted by the author in order to make the Nativity story better fit Old Testament prophecy. For that reason, a scholar is left to gather rumors and legends about them, nothing more.”