‘What, it blew up the city?’
‘Not quite — but it caused an earthquake. Most of the city was flattened, thousands of people killed. And parts of the new cave they’d dug out collapsed. According to what the historians of Sheba told Solomon, as soon as the Mother of the Shamir was covered again, the destruction stopped.’
Eddie regarded the box thoughtfully. ‘So it really does only work in daylight? Cut it off and it stops?’
She shook her head. ‘There was a mention somewhere that the Shamirs still had their power at night, so I don’t think it’s light that activates them. But they do seem to have to be outside to work, or at least not under too much cover. Lead blocks, or at least reduces, the effect, so maybe it’s cosmic radiation or neutrinos, something that can penetrate solid matter more deeply.’
He smiled. ‘Didn’t think particle physics was your thing.’
‘Kind of a hobby after all the weird science artefacts I’ve found. But even after their city had been destroyed, the first thing they did was go back down and clear the rubble so they could reach the Mother of the Shamir again.’
‘And let me guess, they got another earthquake?’
‘Smaller, but yes. This time, it stopped when the bottom of the cave flooded. Water blocking the effect is something else that makes me think the cause might be some sort of radiation. We saw it in Nepal with the Midas Cave, where the water in the natural reactor stopped the radiation from reaching us.’ She went to the altar, staring at the dark grey casket. ‘The thing is, once they opened this place up, the genie was out of the bottle. Enough cosmic rays or whatever could now reach the mineral seam to keep the effect constantly active at a low level. Obviously Solomon’s texts put it in terms of curses and God’s wrath, but the results were pretty clear in modern terms.’
‘What were they?’
‘You saw the jungle outside. The vegetation has been… twisted, mutated. Long-term exposure to the effect caused genetic damage, which got worse over time. And the same thing happened to the people. Remember what Solomon said about the people who didn’t become sterile giving birth to monsters? That’s why they died out. They weren’t willing to give up the source of the Shamirs, and it ended up making them extinct.’
‘Holding on to their ultimate weapon even though it’s killing them?’ said Eddie. ‘There’s a metaphor there somewhere.’
She smiled. ‘Once the empire of Sheba found the lost city and discovered the secret of the Shamirs, they tried to reopen the mine for themselves, but the same thing happened again. They were smart enough to learn from their mistake, though. They kept the small Shamirs they’d found, but left their source alone. When they learned that Solomon had somehow gotten hold of one and was using it to build the First Temple, Makeda travelled to see him to determine if he could be trusted to use it properly. If he couldn’t, she apparently had an army ready to take it by force.’
‘I guess he passed the test, seeing as they got married.’
Nina nodded. ‘The marriage was as much to unite and strengthen their two powers as out of love. After the wedding, Solomon went with her to Sheba to see his new domain — but he also wanted to see the source of the Shamir itself. Once he learned what had happened to Zhakana and its people, he ordered the Palace Without Entrance to be built to contain it — like the sarcophagus that’s been built over Chernobyl. He also put in the challenges so that only the wisest visitors, or those to whom he’d already entrusted the knowledge, would be able to get inside. This Shamir,’ she tapped the box, ‘is basically a weapon of last resort, one that’s only supposed to be used when all else fails. Solomon realised that any empire which used it as a first resort would eventually bring about its own downfall. History repeating itself.’
‘Solomon was wrong.’ Nina had almost forgotten about Mukobo’s presence, his words taking her by surprise. ‘Whoever used such a weapon would win a war very quickly.’
Eddie put a hand to his chin in exaggerated deep thought. ‘Hmm, who should I listen to? The bloke who was so wise he actually has a saying about wisdom named after him, or a murderous rapist arsehole who’s going to get his head kicked in if he keeps talking?’
The warlord sneered at him. ‘Here is some wisdom for you, Chase. We are in the jungle. Only power matters here. If you do not use force, use violence, to protect your power, it will be taken by others.’
‘That’s not true,’ Nina insisted. ‘There are other ways to transfer power — peacefully.’
‘Democracy?’ It sounded like a mocking insult coming from Mukobo’s lips. ‘This country claims to be democratic, so much so that the word is even in its name, but it is a joke! Men with guns control the vote, control the country.’
Eddie shook his head. ‘Don’t let him drag you into some political debate,’ he told Nina. ‘He’s not a politician. He’s just a psycho.’
‘You think that because you come from a rich country, the rest of the world is the same?’ Mukobo nodded towards the revolver in Eddie’s hand. ‘You are using force to hold power over me, Chase. You are proving that I am right, but you are afraid to admit it. When the situation changes, I will have no such fears.’ A hint of anticipation turned up the corners of his mouth.
‘The situation isn’t going to change,’ said the Yorkshireman firmly. ‘Now shut up.’ The African fell silent, but his expression did not alter.
‘How do you even know this guy?’ Nina asked her husband. ‘You said you’d met him before — where?’
‘First time was in 2006, before I met you,’ he said. ‘I was working as a troubleshooter across the border in Rwanda, bodyguarding aid workers and refugees. There was a war going on between Rwanda and the DRC, and Mukobo was leading one of the militia groups running around the place killing people. The convoy I was protecting ran into him, totally by fluke. We outgunned him, so he didn’t have any choice but to surrender.’
Nina looked at Mukobo, whose face revealed clear anger at the memory. ‘So what happened?’
‘We didn’t realise who he was, ’cause he’d been very good at keeping his picture out of the news. Thought he was just some mercenary. So we confiscated his guns and let him go.’ A small sigh. ‘That was a big fucking mistake. Not long after, he massacred another aid convoy. And that was on top of all the local people he murdered or chopped the arms off. They’d still be alive if I’d stopped him.’
‘By “stopped”, you mean…’
‘Killed? Yeah. I could have done it — one of the guys with me was all for it, because even while we had him at gunpoint he was threatening us, saying he’d hunt us down and find our families, lots of nasty shit. But I didn’t, because it was… against the rules of war.’
‘There is only one rule in war,’ said Mukobo. ‘Do what you must to win. If you pretend there are more, then you have already lost.’
‘I didn’t find out who he was or what he’d done until later,’ Eddie went on, deliberately not responding to the warlord. ‘So, when I had a chance to put things right, I took it.’
‘When was that?’ Nina asked.
‘When I went to Tenerife. Peter Alderley said MI6 had tracked him down, but they needed someone who’d seen him before to confirm his ID before they moved in. So I helped out. Things got a bit out of hand, but eventually we caught him.’
She frowned. ‘So that’s what you were doing there? Hunting down a war criminal? Why the hell didn’t you tell me?’
‘Because first of all, you would probably have thrown a fit. And second, because…’ He hesitated before making the admission. ‘Because I didn’t want you to know that I’d fucked up by letting him go in the first place.’