While he felt a deep discomfort about using Nazi material to aid his search-to the extent that he hadn’t even told his daughter about the documents’ origin-he also knew that without it, he would never find Atlantis. Somehow, half a century ago, the Nazis had discovered something that had enabled them to jump almost to the end of the trail.
The Ahnenerbe had organized expeditions to Tibet during the 1930s, and even into the 1940s as the war raged in Europe. At the behest of the prominent Nazis who were members of the sinister Thule Society, Himmler among them, three expeditions had been sent to Asia. The Thule Society believed that beneath the Himalayas lay underground cities built by the legendary descendants of the Atlanteans, who shared a common ancestry with the Aryan master race. While the explorers made many discoveries about Tibetan history, they found nothing of the Atlanteans, and returned to Germany empty-handed.
But what the papers now in Henry’s possession revealed was that there had been a fourth expedition, kept secret even from Hitler himself.
The Führer was not as inclined as his followers to believe in myths. As the war escalated, he decided pragmatically that the country’s resources were better spent on the Nazi war machine than in sending expeditions halfway around the world to hunt for a legend.
But Himmler was a true believer. And the Ahnenerbe’s discoveries had convinced him that legend was within his grasp.
What came as a shock to Henry was that he and Laura were on the same path… but half a century too late. Piecing together clues from dozens, hundreds of historical sources, tiny scraps of evidence gradually forming a picture like a jigsaw, the Wildes had traveled with Nina ten years earlier to a site on the coast of Morocco. To Henry’s jubilation, they had found traces of an ancient settlement hidden beneath the African sands… only for delight to turn to despair when they realized someone had beaten them to it. Aside from a few worthless scraps, the site had been picked clean.
Now Henry knew by whom.
The Nazis had assembled the same puzzle pieces and sent an expedition to Morocco. The handful of Ahnenerbe documents he now held revealed only hints of what they had found, but on the strength of those discoveries another expedition had been mounted in South America. What they had found there, the documents didn’t reveal-but they did reveal that the mission had led the Nazis to Tibet, to the Golden Peak.
To here.
“I just wish we had more information,” Henry complained. “I’d love to know exactly what they found in South America.”
Laura turned the pages. “We’ve got enough. They got us this far.” She read one phrase from the decaying, blotchy paper: “‘The Golden Peak, said to glow with the light of dawn between two dark mountains.’ I’d say…” she looked up at the looming mountain, “this fits the bill.”
“So far.” Henry examined the text. Even though he had already read it a hundred, a thousand times, he checked it again to assure himself that he hadn’t made a mistake in the translation.
He hadn’t. This was the place.
“So the entrance is supposed to be at the end of the Path of the Moon… whatever that is.” He surveyed the rising landscape through his binoculars, seeing nothing but rocks and snow. “Why do legends always have to have cryptic names? Does it seem to lead to the moon; does it follow the movements of the moon; what?”
“I think it looks like the moon,” said Laura meaningfully. “Specifically, a crescent moon.”
“Why do you think that?” There was still nothing even remotely moonlike in view as he panned across the face of the mountain.
“Because,” she replied, placing a hand on the binoculars and gently pulling them down from his face, “I can see it right in front of me.”
Henry blinked, wondering what she was talking about… until he saw it himself.
Ahead was a long, curving path that swung off to the left, rising up the flank of the peak before sweeping back around to the right and ending at a broad ledge some distance above. In contrast to the jumbled mix of dark rocks and patchy snow around it, the path was an almost unbroken crescent of pure white, indicating flatter, smoother ground. He couldn’t believe he hadn’t noticed it before.
“Laura?”
“Yes?”
“This is another one of those moments when I’m so glad that I married you.”
“Yeah. I know.” They smiled at each other, then kissed. “So,” she said when they pulled apart, “how far do you think it is?”
“A mile, maybe… about five hundred feet up. Fairly steep.”
“If the ancient Atlanteans could get up there in sandals, I figure we can manage in hiking boots.”
“So do I.” Henry returned the binder to his pack, then waved to the rest of the expedition. “Okay! This is it! We’re moving out!”
The path proved trickier to negotiate than expected. The snow camouflaged a surface strewn with loose rubble from landslides, making each step treacherous.
By the time they reached the ledge, the sun had passed over the summit of the mountain, casting the entire eastern face into shadow. Henry turned and scanned the horizon as he helped Laura up the last few feet of the path. Heavy clouds were rolling in from the north. He hadn’t noticed it during the effort of the ascent, but the temperature had definitely fallen.
“Bad weather?” asked Laura, following his gaze.
“Looks like we might be in for a blizzard.”
“Great. Good thing we got up here before it starts.” She looked back at the ledge, which even at its narrowest was a dozen yards wide as it cut across the face of the mountain. “Shouldn’t be any trouble setting up camp here.”
“Get the guides to pitch the tents before the weather turns,” said Henry. The path ended here; above the ledge, the rock face was steep enough to require proper climbing gear. That was no problem, as they had the necessary equipment. But if the Ahnenerbe documents were correct, they shouldn’t need it…
Laura passed on Henry’s instructions to the Tibetans before returning to him. “What are you going to do?”
“I’m going to have a look around. If there are any entrances that might potentially lead into caves, they shouldn’t be too hard to find.”
Laura arched an eyebrow, a flash of amusement in her intense green eyes. “Anything to get out of pitching the tents, huh?”
“Hey, that’s what we’re paying them for!” He turned to the man sitting alone on a rock nearby. “What about you, Jack? Coming?”
The third American member of the group peered up at them from inside the hood of his parka. “Give me a chance to get my breath back, Henry! I think I’ll wait here, get some coffee once the water’s boiled.”
“Can’t shake your caffeine habit even in Tibet, huh?” Husband and wife mockingly rolled their eyes at each other as they walked up the slope, leaving Jack on his own. “All those years he keeps telling us we’re mad for searching for Atlantis, then we finally come up with a solid lead and suddenly he practically begs to come along… and when we’re right on the doorstep, he decides to take a coffee break!” said Henry.
After a few minutes Henry paused, staring at the rock face. “Something?” Laura asked.
“These strata…” he said, pointing. Countless eons before, the immense forces causing the Himalayas to rise up where the Indian and Asian tectonic plates collided had also warped the rocks themselves, twisting the layers so they ran almost vertically instead of horizontally.