‘Three more holes,’ said Brice, ‘and by my count, one, two, three supernumeraries.’ He indicated Lydia, Fortune and finally Eddie. ‘Archaeologists and a cameraman, we need, for now. Anyone else, well… a phrase involving coal mines and canaries comes to mind.’
‘A phrase involving my boot and your arse comes to my mind,’ said Eddie, glaring angrily at his countryman.
‘That is a very good idea, Mr Brice,’ said Mukobo. He pointed at Lydia. ‘Begin with her. I grow tired of her whining.’
The sound woman tried to flee, but barely made a single step before being grabbed by the militia. ‘No!’ she screamed. ‘No, no!’
‘Wait, wait!’ Nina cried. She aimed her own light back at the inscription. ‘The answer’s here, it’s got to be! Just give me time, I can find it!’
There was no pity in Mukobo’s gaze. ‘Find it quickly,’ he said, gesturing towards the panel bearing the fig tree. Three leering members of the Insekt Posse hauled the New Zealander to it, her protestations becoming a shrill, incoherent cry of terror. ‘Put her arm inside.’
‘Nina!’ yelled Eddie, Luaba’s gun locked upon him. ‘Whatever the real answer is, you need to find it right fucking now!’
‘I’m trying, I’m trying!’ She stared helplessly at the inscription, struggling to remember Ziff’s translation. The only word she knew for sure was the name sitting alone on its own block, Samson—
‘Wait!’ she gasped — not in panic, but sudden hope. ‘David, the line with Samson’s name in it — what does it say? What’s the exact translation?’
The militia forced Lydia’s arm into the second hole. Ziff regarded her fearfully before turning his gaze to the ancient text. ‘It — it says, ah… “Samson has the—” no, “holds” would be more accurate. “Samson holds the answer that… that will allow, permit, those who enter this place to pass, but the wise—”’
‘“—will know how to find it,”’ she finished for him, recalling his earlier words. ‘That’s not the important part, it’s the part about Samson. Samson holds the answer!’ She ran to the inscription — and dug her fingernails around each side of the lettered block, clawing at the precisely cut stone.
Mukobo signalled for his men to pause. ‘What have you found?’
‘The answer — the real answer!’ She finally found purchase and pulled. A nail broke as the block edged out, but she ignored the pain in the rush of discovery. ‘Solomon gave the answer to the first challenge in a riddle. But the second one,’ she tugged it free, ‘was literal! Here, it’s here!’
Mukobo and Brice came to look. ‘What is it?’ demanded the African.
‘The switch that opens the exit!’ The new hole in the wall contained a bronze lever. She reached for it.
‘Are you sure?’ Ziff cautioned.
‘I’m sure,’ she replied as she wrapped her fingers around the handle, lifting the inscribed block in her other hand. ‘Samson really did hold the answer. It’s so obvious in hindsight, but just like Samson’s riddle, you’d only know the answer if someone had already told you. Which Solomon did. The test was to see if you were paying attention to exactly what he said, rather than jumping to the obvious conclusion.’
She pulled the lever. Metal creaked — then the section of wall bearing the inscription moved slightly, one edge inching outwards.
‘Ouvrez-le,’ Mukobo ordered. His men pulled it wider. Another passage was revealed beyond. ‘Ah! We are getting closer to the treasure!’ Almost as an afterthought, he signalled for Lydia to be released. Her captors let go, the New Zealander dropping to her knees in tears. Fortune went to help her, daring any of the Insekt Posse to stop him. None were willing to try.
‘Well done, Nina,’ said Ziff, relieved. ‘Well done. I would never have thought of that. It seems that Solomon liked to play word games.’
‘Perhaps his next challenge will be a Sudoku puzzle,’ Brice remarked snidely. ‘Well, you’ve got us this far, so let’s hope your luck doesn’t run out.’
‘It already did,’ said Nina, looking sadly at Kimba’s body. She closed her eyes in silent tribute to his bravery and sacrifice, then — at Mukobo’s menacing urging — led the way through the door.
18
The passageway descended deeper into the palace. Nina was sure they were nearing the mysterious ‘Mother of the Shamir’ that Solomon had constructed the great building to conceal. A huge structure with only one, hidden entrance; lead-lined walls; death traps guarding the way — whatever it was, the king had taken extreme measures to keep it from the world. Yet the fact that there was a way through all these hazards suggested that he still wanted it to be accessible if necessary. What could it be?
A new chamber opened out ahead. ‘There’s something else here,’ she reported, surveying it with her flashlight.
More Old Hebrew inscriptions told her that Solomon had set another challenge. She would have to wait for Ziff’s translation to get its full meaning, but another frieze offered a strong clue. This showed what she guessed was Solomon himself, seated upon a throne. Before him stood two women — and directly between them, a small child.
‘The Judgement of Solomon,’ she whispered.
Mukobo stopped beside her. ‘What does it mean?’
‘It’s his most famous parable,’ said Brice, before Nina could answer. ‘Two women came before him, each claiming to be the boy’s mother. Nobody could tell which was telling the truth — until Solomon found a way.’
‘He decreed that since neither woman would give up the boy,’ Ziff continued, ‘he should be cut in two and one half given to each woman. One of them immediately surrendered her claim, so Solomon knew she was the real mother. She would rather lose her child than let him be harmed.’
Mukobo nodded, though he seemed unimpressed by the tale’s moral. ‘Then what is the test?’
‘Something to do with that, would be my guess.’ Nina directed her light across the room. Set into the far wall was what appeared to be an exit — but simply walking out of the chamber was not an option. Immediately beyond the opening was a small circular antechamber with a cage-like wall of hefty metal bars running around its perimeter. There was a way in… but no apparent way out. She guessed that once Solomon’s challenge had been successfully completed, the cage would rotate through a half-turn so that anyone inside could leave via another doorway on the far side.
That challenge somehow concerned what sat beside the entrance. A round dais about a foot high and six across stood proud of the floor. Directly above it hung a huge cylinder of stone, suspended from the ceiling by thick chains. ‘David, what does the text say?’
‘It’s another message from Solomon.’ A pause as Ziff digested the ancient words. ‘It says, “The Judgement of Solomon stands as an example. Heed the lesson of the mother, and you shall reach the heart of the Palace Without Entrance.”’
‘Another fucking riddle,’ muttered Eddie. ‘Where’s Batman when you need him?’
‘If we figure out what the lesson of the mother actually is, we should be able to get through,’ Nina assured him. ‘So… what is it?’
‘Always follow the better judgement of men, perhaps?’ offered the smirking Brice. Mukobo laughed.
Nina shot the Briton a look of disgust. ‘Not helping. Asshole,’ she added.
The rest of the group advanced into the chamber, though none of the Insekt Posse were willing to go too far. Fortune risked a look through the exit. ‘I cannot see anything on the far side. But there is another big stone hanging above the cage.’