“That’s right,” she said. “You knew my brother?”
“Yes. My name’s Dexter Cunningham. I worked with your brother at MI-6, in the project code named King Arthur. He was a good man, despite his flaws.”
“Thank you,” she said.
Dexter remembered how much Patrick liked to kill. He had often wondered if the man hadn’t entered MI-6 how long it would have taken him to commit murder and end up spending the rest of his life, wasting away, in a high security prison.
“If I recall correctly, you were at MI-6 too. If you’re anything like your brother I guess you’re pretty dangerous.”
Sam said, “You’d better believe it. We were attacked a few days ago, and she got rid of five elite soldiers like they weren’t there.”
Dexter breathed heavily. “They would have been working for Excalibur, paid mercenaries, deadly and committed to the highest bidder.”
“Dexter Cunningham!” Sam grinned as though suddenly recognizing his name. “Your name’s Dexter!”
“Yeah?”
“You were one of the seven members of the original team from MI-6 who went to work for Camelot Weapons Industries in Oregon!”
Dexter arched an eyebrow. “That’s right. How do you know about that?”
Sam said, “Because I examined the wreckage of the Hoshi Maru. On the bulkhead, where Excalibur slept for nearly seven years while he was trapped on board the drifting wreck, there were seven names. Four had already been crossed out — presumably killed — but your name and two others were still there.”
“I take it Dr. Jim Patterson was on the list of people still alive?”
Sam nodded.
Dexter said, “He’s not anymore.”
“We know. He left a USB flash drive hidden on Caliburn’s dog tag. It outlined the King Arthur project and advised the only way to defeat Excalibur now was to locate Merlin’s SPELL book. Of course, not knowing where to find it…”
“You’re going to try and fix Caliburn so that you can kill Excalibur.”
“That’s right,” Sam said. “The question is will it work?”
Dexter thought about it for a moment. “If you can find the second piece, and somehow join the two shards together I believe you have a chance. The thing is a mended sword is never the same as one that hasn’t been broken.”
Sam said, “It doesn’t need to be great. Just sharp and strong enough to penetrate Excalibur’s defensive skin.”
“Do you know where the second piece of the sword is?”
Sam said, “We have a lead that it was buried with Mordred — AKA General Belisarius — somewhere in Jerusalem.”
Dexter nodded. “That’s what we heard, too. But we never found it.”
Sam shrugged. “You never found King Arthur’s tomb, either.”
“You’re right. You got one step further than us.” Thinking of their next immediate problem, Dexter asked, “Do you know where the forge is?”
“We know Merlin’s cave was somewhere in Majorca, Spain. But like here, we only have a rough idea, and nothing solid.”
Dexter said, “That’s right. The entrance is somewhere inside the Dragon Breath Cave in Majorca. It’s well-hidden and below the water line. You could easily miss it even if you knew it was there. I’m not even certain I could find it again, much less work out how to enter it.”
“The thing is blocked?”
“Yes. An ancient stone mechanism that Merlin crafted himself to protect his magic grotto from intruders. It’s said to be the source of his wealth. The ore he mined there was used to imbue his SPELLs with unimaginable powers.”
Sam asked, “Do you want to come with us? We could use your help.”
Dexter shook his head emphatically. “No. I don’t. I haven’t stayed alive all these years by trying to challenge Excalibur. I’m going to return to a monastery, where I’ll remain in hiding for the remainder of my days.”
Sam frowned. “It doesn’t sound like much of a life for a professional soldier. Isn’t it worth facing your fears and helping us defeat Excalibur?”
Dexter exhaled slowly through pursed lips. “You don’t get it, do you? Excalibur likes his new found powers. When they experimented on him, the SPELL changed him in ways you can’t imagine. The very same SPELL that worked on Caliburn’s innate goodness, and strengthened it, latched onto Excalibur’s evil side — making it flourish, and turning him into a monster so far removed from the man he once was, to make him unrecognizable as human.”
“He’s that bad?” Sam asked.
Dexter nodded. “There are worse things than dying. You’ll know that if you meet Excalibur without Caliburn in your hand.”
Sam said, “All right. If that’s the case, we’d better get going. Thanks for your help.”
“You’re welcome. I’ll rebury King Arthur’s tomb. The last thing we want is for Excalibur to know that you’re making progress.” Dexter met Sam and Guinevere’s eyes, holding their gaze for a moment. He said, “Good luck.”
Chapter Sixty-Six
Sam rented a Fiat 500, the tiny Italian two door car that blended in with every other small rental car at Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv. He figured it was better to rent something that didn’t stand out for what they were doing. It might take them a while to find the second piece of Caliburn and the last thing they needed was for people to be asking questions about who they were.
They took Israel Highway One southeast into Jerusalem.
By 8 a.m. they reached the Old City of Jerusalem and first set their eyes on the ancient walled city, which had been occupied for more than three thousand years. Sun struck the ancient stone wall turning it a golden bronze.
They parked the car, and lined up with a throng of people to enter the Old City of Jerusalem through the Damascus Gates.
Sam stared at the massive wall.
It was built in 1535, when Jerusalem was part of the Ottoman Empire. Its sultan, Suleiman the Magnificent ordered the ruined city walls to be rebuilt even higher. Under his rule, 2.5 miles of the stone walls were lifted to an average height of forty feet, with a thickness of eight feet. The walls contained thirty-four watchtowers and seven main gates open for traffic, with two minor gates reopened by archaeologists.
The wall protected a wealth of historical and religious sites of major significance after the region had witnessed nearly four thousand years of brutal exchanges of ownership. In the present day, the Old City had been divided into four uneven quarters. Moving in a counterclockwise direction from the northeastern corner, was the Muslim Quarter, Christian Quarter, Armenian Quarter and Jewish Quarter.
Some of the greatest religious sites were located within the monumental walls. Temple Mount and Western Wall were sacred to the Jews, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre for Christians and the Dome of the Rock for Muslims. The Dome of the Rock, a gold-domed Islamic shrine, was built on the site of the destroyed Jewish Temples in Jerusalem. The Dome, located on the Temple Mount, was built by Caliph Abd al-Malik. It’s the oldest surviving Islamic building and was constructed at the very site where Muslims believe Muhammad ascended to heaven. Next to it, was the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in the Christian Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem. The church contains, according to traditions dating back to at least the fourth century, the two holiest sites in Christianity: the site where Jesus of Nazareth was crucified, at a place known as Golgotha, and Jesus' empty tomb, where he is said to have been buried and resurrected. The tomb is enclosed by the 19th-century shrine called the Aedicule.
Sam, Guinevere, and Caliburn gave the border guard his paperwork for Caliburn that showed the dog was a specially trained archeology dog, who had been granted approval to visit the Old City to assist with a current archeological project. Elise had hacked the official Israeli Customs Office, and issued the pass for Caliburn — making the pass technically legal, but the documented archeological dig was fictional, and Sam just hoped the border guard didn’t have time to check.