It had been at this point where Maddock’s pitch had been derailed by Bones, who couldn’t stop laughing and talking about “Anal Lovery Guy-zers.” Things had only gotten worse when Isla corrected his spelling, prompting a barrage of “Anal Avery” jokes and a vow to give Maddock’s sister a new nickname when they returned home.
After much too long a delay, Maddock had resumed his analysis. “Haggard places the Breasts of Sheba forty leagues from the river. That’s approximately two hundred-twenty kilometers. Which would place them about here.” He clicked on the satellite map and zoomed in on two very round hills, each almost the twin of the other. “I think these could qualify as the Breasts of Sheba.” The others had found his argument persuasive, which brought them to this spot, on the southern edge of the national park.
The sun was high overhead by the time they located the rock formations. Maddock mopped sweat from his brow, took a swig of water, and passed it along to Isla, who sipped sparingly. She offered it to Bones, but he declined.
“Pop a stone in your mouth,” he said, opening his mouth so they could see a round pebble. “Keeps you from getting thirsty.”
“But it doesn’t keep you from dehydrating,” Maddock said. “Take a drink. I won’t have you slowing us down on the climb.”
“Last one up buys dinner,” Bones said. He took a swallow from the canteen and handed it back to Maddock. “You don’t have to play if you don’t want to,” he said to Isla.
“I’ve done my share of climbing,” she said. “And I don’t have to drag three hundred pounds of fat arse all the way up there.”
“Three hundred? Chick, don’t get a job at the fair guessing people’s weight.”
Isla laughed. “Which one do we climb first? The lion symbolizes God as well as kings.”
“But if that’s a Jesus fish, we’ll have wasted a lot of effort.” Bones pointed up at the odd formation.
“I think it’s the fish, but not for the reason you mention,” Maddock said. “Remember the last part of the clue?”
“Speak the words and enter?” Isla said.
“No, the other part.”
Bones ran a hand through his long hair, frowning. “You shall return as the wise king did.”
Maddock nodded. “The wise king is obviously Solomon. I was reading through some of Isla’s research. There’s a story about how he once lost his ring and was forced to wander the world as a commoner until he got it back again.”
Isla clapped herself on the forehead. “He found the ring inside the mouth of a fish.”
“What do you say?” Maddock asked.
“It’s worth a try,” Bones said. “Let’s go.”
It was a strenuous climb, but not particularly challenging for any of the three. In the end, Bones reached the top a few seconds ahead of Maddock, who slowed himself down by constantly checking on Isla. As it turned out, the young woman didn’t need help, and almost finished ahead of Maddock. Both men were impressed by her skill and Bones even offered to let her off the hook for dinner, an offer she flatly declined.
“A bet is a bet. But I choose the restaurant.”
“Holy crap,” Bones muttered, “now we’re in for it. Don’t Scots eat sheep scrotums and cat crap?”
“No, that’s the Irish. Now, where do we go from here?”
Maddock pointed down the steep slope that led into the shadowy mouth of the fish.
“That way.”
“It is them!” Ronald raised his pistol and took aim at the three figures standing atop the rock formation high above them.
Nomi smacked his hand down. “Don’t waste your shot. You’d never hit any of them at this distance without a rifle. All you would accomplish would be to alert them to our presence. We’ve worked too hard for that to happen.”
Ronald gave her a hard look but did not argue.
They’d followed Maddock’s trail, first to the synagogue and then to the so-called royal village. The fools who called themselves “kings and scribes” had not denied that Maddock and Bonebrake had been there, along with their new female companion, but the men swore that they had told the outsiders nothing.
Cleo had killed two of them before they finally broke down and told all that they knew.
Maddock and Bonebrake had descended into an underground sanctuary where they supposedly communed with spirits. Nomi had considered inspecting the place, but the kings and scribes had been a bit too eager to oblige. Probably there were booby traps down there. Instead, she’d focused on extracting information.
Upon emerging from the chamber, Bonebrake had asked about the “Sacred Twelve,” “bad water,” and the Breasts of Sheba. Afterward, one of the scribes had shadowed them and overheard them talking about paying a visit to the Rova of Antananarivo. Hot on their heels, Nomi had nearly caught up with them. Plenty of people at the Rova remembered the big Native American showing a great deal of interest in the tombs.
Ronald had finally made himself useful by identifying a fragment, in French, of the same scripture found on H. Rider Haggard’s grave, and finding the clue hidden beneath it. Learning about this rock formation had been a stroke of good luck, and even then they were not certain they were in the right place. It was what an American football fan would call a “Hail Mary.” But Maddock’s presence here seemed to confirm that they’d made the correct call.
“What do you want to do?” Cleo asked.
“We wait a few minutes and then we go up after them. If the mine is up there, Maddock will have opened it. I am certain of it.”
Chapter 34
The light grew dim as they descended into the mouth of the fish. A series of weathered bumps that might have been steps a few thousand years ago provided footholds as they worked their way down into shadow until at last they stood on level ground. Maddock looked around. He hadn’t expected a flashing sign pointing them to King Solomon’s Mines, but he thought they’d encounter more than a blank wall.
“This has to be it, doesn’t it?” Isla asked.
“I suppose,” he said doubtfully. “Those steps had to lead somewhere.” He slipped Solomon’s ring onto his finger and held it out. Nothing happened.
“You look like the Green Lantern,” Bones said.
“I thought you weren’t into superhero movies.”
“I’m not, but that movie sucks so bad I like to drink beer and mock it.”
“Sounds fun, actually,” Isla said. She stood, hands on hips, gazing at the blank wall. “Let me see the ring.”
Maddock handed it to her and she slid it onto the fourth finger of her left hand. “You said you tapped three times?”
Maddock nodded.
Isla approached the wall, reached up, and rapped three times on the stone with the signet of the ring.
“Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you and ye shall live.” She leaned forward and blew on the rock.
Maddock knew it had worked even before the door opened. Blue lights deep within the stone began to glow, forming the shape of Solomon’s Seal. The outline of a door appeared, and then the entire section seemed to dissolve, leaving an arched opening wide enough to drive a truck through.
“Where did the stone go?” Isla breathed.
“Maybe it was never there,” Maddock said. “Maybe it was an illusion that the ring cleared away.”
“Felt pretty solid to me,” she said. “Anyway, who wants to go first?” She turned and looked at Bones. “You usually like to forge ahead.”
“Sure,” Bones said, “send the brown dude ahead to spring the booby traps while the white people hang back.”
“I didn’t mean…” Isla began.
“He’s kidding,” Maddock said as Bones shouldered past them and into the waiting darkness. “He complains, but he lives for this stuff.”