“The Keys!” she shouted. “They’re after the Keys!”
Caleb got up, reaching for his son—but suddenly the room pitched and buckled and the table rocked into his side and thrust him backwards while Alexander stood there, helplessly.
“Dad!”
Caleb climbed over the table, and was about to leap and swoop him up when a huge section of the ceiling collapsed, masonry crashed between them, and everything turned black.
He stayed on his knees, arms outstretched toward the mass of debris: layers of twisted concrete, metal and girders. And all he could think of was: this can’t be happening!
Robert and Lydia and all the Keepers had given their assurances that this library was built to withstand the ages, time and especially, earthquakes. Not only were the upper levels built upon shifting, standalone foundations that should have been impervious to ground fault tectonic shifts, but this sublevel especially was reinforced. A veritable bunker. Even if the unthinkable were to happen up above, the most treasured documents should have been safe down here.
Safe…
The rumbling subsided, the vibrations died down. But now what replaced it was infinitely worse:
Silence.
It was as all-pervasive. One set of flickering lights above remained, highlighting the cracked forms of the lower half of the Zodiac.
“Alexander?”
He held his breath, listening for anything. Studying the wall of debris, trying not to think the worst. Keeping it out of his mind, just as he kept away the horrors of what must be happening on the surface, up in Alexandria. What kind of devastation…?
A glimpse, a curse rewarding his lack of willpower: A birds-eye view from two hundred feet up… The slanting glass roof destroyed, just a jagged semi-circular foundation left in the earth. Great chunks of glass and twisted metal girders strewn about an area that looked like a meteor had struck a direct hit. Centered perfectly on the library.
Not possible, Caleb thought. Pausing now in his search. Going with the vision, the power that wanted, needed him to see.
Show me, he whispered, and mentally stepped back a few moments…
The domed library, scintillating in the sun, through the transparent windows hundreds of patrons could be seen strolling the aisles, reading at tables, looking at exhibits, while outside tourists took in the gardens, the fountains, or marveled at the planetarium.
Then, without warning, without even a flash of light, nothing but a faint ripple in the air, as if an invisible wave had just disrupted the fabric of the atmosphere—the dome imploded, shelves and floor were slammed down and met the exploding ground levels. Chunks of metal, concrete and earth rending and splitting, thrusting up and out and slamming down again, pulverized into Alexandria’s foundation.
The force of a meteor, just like—
He’d seen this before. Something Orlando had shown him…
Caleb shook his head, gagging on the visualization of the complete destruction of such a grand monument, not to mention the instant death of all those people. And only minutes after his arrival!
There could be no natural event. Just like he now believed Tunguska, Siberia was anything but natural. That place by the snowy mountains… Calderon…
He hung his head, fighting the tears, the guilt threatening to rend his heart of its last remaining strength. Willing it all away. He had to get to Alexander.
As much as it might be the final nail in his heart, he had to see…
But before he even looked, he knew what he’d find. Alexander was okay. He just had to be.
If Calderon did this, he would only have gone so far if he knew of the vault down here. Knew they’d be here. Calderon gave them enough time to get settled in, then he brought the world down upon them, sealing them in.
Keeping Caleb and Alexander—and the other Keepers—from the worst of the destruction.
But Alexander had the keys.
That was the one thought that kept Caleb going.
If Calderon still wanted that translation, he needed the keys. Sure he could mount an excavation in the guise of a rescue, and dig up the lower vault to find the keys, but that could take months, especially given the level of response and world attention that would be starting even now.
No, something told Caleb that Calderon knew that there would be an easier way.
One that would only be possible if he knew about the other exit from the vault, and if he knew that Alexander might actually be okay. Or at least reachable quickly.
Caleb knew it had to be true. After all, Mason Calderon was not without his own resources. Resources that could see, most likely, as well as anyone on the Morpheus Initiative.
Caleb’s other boys.
12.
Cairo
Mason Calderon put away his cell phone, slipped it inside his suit coat pocket, and turned back to the twins, standing on either side of their mother.
“It’s done. If your visions were right, your brother is now buried under the sadly short-lived Bibliotheca Alexandrina.”
Isaac shrugged. “We no more doubt our visions than you doubt when you look up into the sky and say it’s blue.”
Mason took a moment. “A shame really, about their library. Such noble endeavors for the sons of Thoth, but in the end, what is it I always tell you boys?”
Jacob looked at his brother, and they both intoned the mantra at once: “Nothing ever lasts, least of all knowledge.”
Calderon smiled, a grin that lingered despite the concern he saw on Nina’s face. “Don’t worry, my dear. I’m sure you’re old lover has managed to survive. Although what he’s feeling right now, I can hardly guess. To actually be witness to the destruction of the great library on both occasions, and with his fondness for wisdom…”
Nina’s lips curled up at the edges. “I still have a score to settle with him. So, are we going?”
The boys looked up at her with something like flashing respect. She was all business, a quality they understood.
Calderon nodded, motioning the soldiers to carry up the heavy chest and prepare to take it away. He addressed the senior guard. “Seal the door when we’re gone. I want no evidence of this entrance, and no further questions. Tell the press the situation is controlled. The bomb threat was a false alarm.”
Nina followed, lost in her thoughts amid confusion about her feelings for Caleb. Feelings now that seemed mired in shifting sands. Caleb and Nina shared something now, a connection to a line of heredity. Their genes, their individuality merged in these two living beings. She never imagined she’d feel this responsibility, this curiosity, or this stake in the future of other beings. Halfway up the stairs, she realized that Jacob was holding her hand, as naturally as if he’d been with her all his life.
Two more steps, and Isaac noticed. Scowling at his brother, he took Nina’s other hand and led her up the last few steps impatiently.
“Come on,” he said, manic glee in his voice. “I want to meet my father. Let’s go dig them out.”
“And get those keys,” Calderon said over his shoulder as he headed for the helicopter. “And then…” He held the briefcase in a tight grip, feeling the handle tremble with the power of the Emerald Tablet inside. Another step and he paused and looked around the perimeter to the armada of jeeps, soldiers and onlookers. Then, back to the imposing sight of the Great Pyramid rising from beyond the Sphinx’s back.
The Shepherd’s tool was blunted, useless. But a new one was operational, halfway around the world. His gaze shifted and he looked up, beyond the pyramid’s hulking outline, to the shining half-moon.