Sin Fen lay down on the slab, half her body disappearing into the depression carved in the surface.
“What is she doing?” DeAngelo asked.
Dane ignored the pilot. He reached out to her, the mental bond stronger than he had ever felt. The air hose slipped out of her mouth and floated away.
I am ready, Sin Fen told Dane.
You should have told me the truth, he sent back to her.
I have tried, but even I don’t understand all. That is up to you. There is no more time for that now. This is my task, that is your task. Do it.
Dane twisted his hand, the pole turning.
Ragnarok twisted the pole as she had told him. It turned smoothly halfway around, then stopped. He felt the pyramid begin to vibrate under his feet and through the pole. He let go and stepped back. The darkness was very close now, less than a half-mile away.
A blue glow appeared around Tam Nok’s body, coming up out of the slab. It was darkest around her head. Her eyes were still wide open, her mouth moving in prayer.
“It is time to leave,” Hrolf was tugging at Ragnarok’s arm.
“I must see,” Ragnarok shook off his hand.
“She said to leave immediately,” Hrolf reminded him. “We have a duty to fulfill also.”
Something was happening to Tam Nok’s face, her head. The skin was moving as if something were alive underneath.
“We must go now!” Hrolf insisted. “Look!” he pointed toward the darkness where three small dots had suddenly appeared, racing toward them.
Ragnarok looked longingly at the spear, the battle rage coursing through his veins. He wanted to fight the Valkyries but he knew he had to do as Tam Nok had ordered.
Reluctantly, Ragnarok allowed the old warrior to lead him to the temple stairs, where the rest of his crew was already running down, taking three stairs at a time in their haste to get back to the longship and away from the temple and the approaching demonesses.
Halfway down, Ragnarok looked over his shoulder. The entire top of the pyramid was now enclosed in the blue glow. The Valkyries were less than fifty feet from the top, when like lightning, a streak of blue bolted out of the glow toward them. The lead Valkyrie disappeared in a flash. The other two kept coming, but two more bolts of blue destroyed them. A larger bolt then fired, straight toward the darkness. Where it hit there was a tremendous explosion in the air.
“Hurry!” Hrolf urged, his short fat legs making quick work of the stairs. Ragnarok sprinted after him.
The blue glow had completely surrounded Sin Fen’s body. Dane let go of the remote glove, releasing the pole. “Lift us up a little,” he ordered DeAngelo.
As the submersible floated up ten feet, Dane suddenly felt pain, like an ice cold spear slammed into the top of his head. He cried out, even as he did, realizing he was experiencing only a fraction of what Sin Fen was, an echo of her mind still reaching out to him.
“My God!” DeAngelo exclaimed.
Dane opened his eyes, seeing what had caused the pilot’s outburst. The skin on Sin Fen’s head was peeling away, as if melting off the skull. Her eyes changed from something solid into two dark blue orbs of light. Her hair was all gone, and in a few seconds the skin beneath followed suit. White bone, suffused with blue lines, the two blue orbs for eyes, were all that were left.
Then the bone itself changed, becoming clear, until it was pure crystal, totally suffused with the blue light. Suddenly a streak of blue shot out from the crystal skull toward the darkness of the approaching gate.
The submersible rocked from the shock wave.
“Get us out of here,” Dane whispered.
DeAngelo didn’t need to be told a second time. He throttled up and sped away.
Dane adjusted the camera, keeping it on Sin Fen- what had been Sin Fen- as more bolts of blue came out of the crystal skull, firing toward the gate.
As the image faded, Dane reached out and placed his hand on the screen, the last connection he had with her.
Chapter 30
Ragnarok staggered, almost falling. He gathered himself and jumped, clearing the side of his ship and tumbling into the bottom. He got to his feet. “Row!” He pointed at the black circle they had come out of. “There!”
More bolts of blue were shooting off the top of the pyramid toward the darkness, hitting with massive explosions, the sound hitting Ragnarok and his crew, causing ear-splitting pain.
Ragnarok grabbed the nearest oar and began pulling as Bjarni pushed the till over and pointed them at the black circle. They touched the edge and drawn in.
The sudden silence was blessed relief, but they were not off the shore of Iceland, Ragnarok knew that immediately from the warmth of the air. He stood, staring about in amazement. They were in a giant cave, a bright light like the sun shining over their heads, rock walls on all sides, a black beach circling the water they floated in.
There were ships, more ships than Ragnarok had ever seen, pulled up on the beach.
“What is this?” Hrolf slowly stopped pulling on his oar.
Tam Nok had given Ragnarok the vision of his future. He knew what his duty was.
“This is where I must stay, old friend,” Ragnarok grabbed the grizzled warrior’s forearm.
“We will stay-” Hrolf began, but Ragnarok cut him off with a shake of his head.
“No. You must go back. Go through the dark circle once more. It will take you back to Iceland. Then go back to Norway. To our village. Make peace with the king.”
Hrolf nodded. “And your mother?”
“Tell her all is well with me and give her my wishes for her happiness. Now go- take whatever ship you want- I will stay with mine.” Ragnarok watched as Hrolf had the survivors claimed another Viking ship, one even larger than his and pushed it off the strange shore. They passed him, oars hitting the water.
Ragnarok climbed up onto the gunwale of the longship. “Good sailing,” he yelled, ax in hand. Hrolf gave the order to row to the few surviving crewmembers. Slowly the slowly the other longship headed for the black circle, then as the dragon head touched the black, it was sucked in and disappeared, leaving Ragnarok alone in the graveyard of the ships aboard his own ship.
“Back through the black circle,” Dane ordered.
DeAngelo already had them headed in that direction. The inside of Deepflight was vibrating from the shock-waves racing through the water. They reached the black circle and suddenly all was still.
Dane stared at the screens showing the graveyard. He sensed a presence, not of someone alive and here, but of someone who had been here. A warrior who had painstakingly etched an important message into the metal of the Scorpion.
“Again through the black,” Dane ordered. “It will take us outside.”
Chapter 31
“Sir, look!” Ahana had lost her usual reserved manner and was literally jumping up and down in front of her work station.
Nagoya immediately saw what was causing her excitement. The level of muonic activity around the Bermuda Triangle gate had pegged out the monitor.
“It just started,” Ahana said. She turned to another monitor. “There. Just east of the edge of the gate- that’s the source.”
“Of what?” Nagoya asked, not expecting an answer as he knew they didn’t have that yet. “The muons are a by-product of something.” He slammed his hand down on the desktop. “We have to find the key!”