For the most part, the climb was nothing more than a steep incline of thick snow. The team was tethered together with a single rope for safety. Although it was not a technically difficult climb, any mistake or lack of attention, would cause her to commence a slide down the icy precipice which might not be stopped until it reached the ground thousands of feet below. She wore crampons, and carried an icepick. Her thighs burned as they slowly increased altitude.
At twelve thousand feet, she stopped. They’d reached the rough altitude of the temple, but would now need to traverse across the southern face until they reached it. The guides set up camp and the party rested there for the night.
Billie stared out as the scattered lights of Cappadocia glittered like starlight. The Black Sea appeared dark and foreboding with the occasional flickering light from a ship able to be visible. Her eyes stared out, trying to picture the underlying landscapes and cities, all the way back to the vague glow illuminating from beyond the darkened horizon, where the city of Istanbul rested.
She thought about the Temple of Illumination. She was getting close to it. Her heart raced in anticipation. It was an incredible achievement. Her grandfather had previously told her that he’d narrowed the location of the secret temple down to Turkey — most likely buried underground — otherwise it would have undoubtedly been discovered well before now. But that was akin to finding a needle in a haystack, inside a country known for its farming. Turkey was renowned for having upward of four thousand underground dwellings, cities, and temples. The soft volcanic rock of the Cappadocia led the Phrygians, an Indo-European people, in the 8th–7th centuries B.C. to build an extensive network of tunnels and cities. If it had been buried, she might never have found the hidden temple — that is, assuming tomorrow she’d find it.
Jeremy came and sat down next to her, and interrupted her thoughts. “Are you excited?”
“Nervous, more like.”
“Nervous. Really? I’ve never known you to be afraid of anything since you were a three year old girl who’d discovered a talent for climbing that frightened your parents to death. So, what are you most afraid of, now?”
Billie’s piercing brown eyes, stared out at the dark outline of the Black Sea. “What we find tomorrow.”
“And what will that be?” Jeremy persisted.
“Answers.”
“You don’t want to know the truth?”
“Of course I do. I’m just not sure I’m going to like what I find.”
Jeremy glanced at her. His eyes showed a certain amount of hope, as though he could finally persuade her to quit. “We don’t have to go there, you know?”
She shook her head and smiled, as though the notion was absurd. “I’ve spent my whole life wondering about that temple. I don’t know if my grandfather was insane or a genius. If he was right about the temple, it’s going to change everything, for everyone. The whole world is going to need to hear the truth…”
Jeremy took her left hand in his and squeezed it gently. It was a gentle show of almost fatherly affection. “It’s going to upset a lot of people. Some might not be very happy for you to hear the news.”
Billie took a deep breath in. She watched it turn to mist as she exhaled. “Even so, the world has a right to know.”
“Just be careful. Some might be willing to kill to protect such a secret.”
She nodded in silence. She could think of many who would pay to protect such a secret. That was, if her grandfather had even been right, all along. They sat there, silently watching the lights of distant cities flicker, far below. Billie was glad Jeremy had decided to join her. He had been one of the few constants in her otherwise disjointed life.
Born into a family of archeologists, she had traveled extensively throughout her childhood. Rarely staying long enough to settle into a school, she had often tagged along with whatever expedition her father and grandfather were involved in. Often, her only education came from homeschooling. Home being the remote tent or camp their expeditions occupied. Her father and Jeremy worked together on their first Doctorate, and so he seemed more like an uncle to her. He had even spent numerous hours trying to teach her geometry at one stage. And now, he would see the truth with her — whatever it might be.
Jeremy stood up. “It’s late. I’m going to get some rest. Tomorrow, we’ll see what this was all really about.”
“Goodnight.” She stood up and embraced him, giving him a gentle kiss on his cheek.
Billie’s glance turned from the distant lights, to those stemming from the camp of a second climbing team, two thousand feet below. It was unusual for there to be another team on the mountain this far into winter. She recalled the warning Jeremy had given her — Some might be willing to kill to protect such a secret. She dismissed the thought. It was impossible for anyone else to have learned about the secret of the hidden temple.
They set out early the next morning. Lengthening the rope tether between them, Billie’s party set out east, along the steep face of the mountain. It was nearly eleven a.m. by the time she stopped and checked her GPS. The ground was thick with snow. She kept moving and stopped again. Billie kicked her crampons into the snow. It had been wind blasted so that it was hard as rock. She took another reading of her GPS.
She watched as three, four, then five overhead satellites geo-synchronized, providing her position within a matter of feet. Billie carefully drove a peg into the icy wall and attached her climbing tether to it. She sat down and waited for the rest of the team to catch up.
Jeremy asked, “What is it, my dear?”
She said, “I don’t know. This is definitely the place, but I can’t see any sign of the temple.”
He glanced around. The entire area was full of snow that had covered the region for centuries. “There’s nothing here. How much variance do you think there might be between where the light shined and where we are?”
“None. The ancient people knew extensively about astrology, and would have been able to predict precisely where the sun would have shined during the sunrise of winter’s solstice.”
“Then how close are we?”
“No, you’re misunderstanding me, Jeremy. This is precisely where the sacred entrance must be.”
“Really?”
“Yes. Why do you seem so surprised?”
“It just seems…”
“Unremarkable — for the entrance to a temple containing the most important knowledge of the human race?”
“Exactly.”
“Even so, that’s what it is.”
Billie began chipping away at the icy wall, using the back of her icepick. The rest of the party caught up, and together they took it in turns to attack the side of the mountain. Two hours later, they had dug a tunnel into the snow, nearly twelve feet deep.
“You’re certain you have the right place?” Jeremy asked.
“Yes.”
“But there must be any number of variations in the sunrise since the ancient people set their gate.”
Billie shook her head. “This is the right place…”
“Then why haven’t we found any trace of it?”
“I don’t know… we’ll have to keep digging…” she didn’t finish her sentence.
Instead Ahmet came out of the tunnel. “I think we just struck something — and it’s made of metal.”
It took nearly three hours to clear away enough of the snow to open the ancient door. Billie told Ahmet and the guides to wait outside and guard the entrance. If any other climbers were to approach, they were to tell them the tunnel had been used as a snow-cave to camp in overnight.