“Stop titillating us and open it already,” Corey said.
“Dude, you said tit.” Bones elbowed Corey, who winced and rubbed his arm.
“Are they always like this?” Avery cast an annoyed glance at Bones and Corey.
“What did I do?” Corey complained.
“Never mind,” Dane said. “Masks on and we’ll do this.” When they had all donned surgical masks, Dane took hold of the lid and lifted it free.
The inside was stuffed with a tangle of string brown material.
“Coconut fiber,” Avery said. “It was used for packing material. They even found some in the Money Pit.”
Dane reached a gloved hand inside and pushed the fiber aside to reveal a dagger with a dark, mottled blade and a gleaming white handle. He looked up to see Avery holding the casket lid in trembling hands, and Bones and Corey looking over her shoulder.
“Carnwennan.” She turned the lid so Dane could see the Latin word carved on the inside. The word was unfamiliar, but the look in her eyes told him it was significant.
“And what is that?” he asked.
“King Arthur’s dagger.” She leaned in for a closer look. “He had three legendary weapons: Caliburn, which we know as Excalibur, Rhongomnyiad, his spear, and Carnwennan, his dagger.”
“Wait, so we’ve just found proof that…” Bones began.
“King Arthur was an actual, historical figure?” Dane finished. His mind was numb with shock. He’d expected to find treasure beneath Oak Island, but not this.
“It was one of the legends associated with Oak Island, but probably the most far-fetched one of them all.” Avery’s voice trembled.
“But why would somebody try to kill us for it?” Bones asked. “I mean, it’s a huge discovery, but there’s got to be more.”
Dane withdrew the dagger and held it up to the light. The blade was made of a substance unfamiliar to him. It was mottled gray, its surface covered in a hexagonal grid of alternating light and dark metals. The blade was honed to razor sharpness, and the butt was translucent, almost black, like obsidian.
As he gazed at it, the handle began to pulse with a dull, bluish white glow that gain strength with every beat.
“What is it doing?” Avery took a step back as if it were a venomous snake.
Dane didn’t reply, but removed his hand from the hilt and, carefully holding the knife by the blade, held it up to the light. The pulses came faster, the light more intense until it shone so bright that Dane had to avert his eyes, and a low hum filled the room.
And then it stopped.
The hilt no longer shone, but it glowed a brighter white than before. Pinpoints of light like tiny galaxies sparkled deep in the handle and butt, and threads of blue flickered around the hexagonal patterns on the blade.
“It’s like it absorbed energy from the light,” Avery said. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”
“We have.” Bones grimaced.
Dane examined the dagger closely, carefully running his finger along its length. There was something odd about the way the butt was made. It was concave on the bottom and flattened out so that it did not quite conform to the dimensions of the hilt. Frowning, he pressed his thumb into the recess. Nothing. Then he gave it a twist.
The dagger vibrated and his vision swam for a split second.
“What the hell?” Bones said.
“Maddock! Where did you go?” Avery sounded panicked.
“I’m standing right here.”
“No way.” Bones reached out awkwardly, as if he were playing Blind Man’s Bluff, and grabbed Dane by the forearm. “He really is here,” he marveled.
“But… how?” She gaped at a spot a few inches to Dane’s left.
“What are you two talking about?” Dane looked back and forth between the two of them. If it were only Bones, he’d figure it was a lame joke, but Avery appeared rattled.
“Dude, you’re invisible.” Bones’ matter of fact tone was void of humor. “One second you were there and then you were gone.”
“It must be the dagger.” He explained what he had done, and what he had seen and felt.
“The stories are true,” Avery whispered. “Legend says Carnwennan had the power to cloak its owner in shadow. It really does make you invisible.”
Dane turned the butt back and, once again, the room swam for an instant.
“He’s back!” Bones said. “Here, let me see that.”
Dane handed him the dagger and, a moment later, Bones vanished.
“I don’t feel anything,” Bones’ voice said from nowhere. “Am I really invisible?”
“Yes, but we still recognize your foul stench,” Dane deadpanned.
“Star Wars quotes are my job,” Bones said.
Dane stared at the spot where he heard Bones’ voice. He thought about what Avery had said. Carnwennan cloaked its bearer in shadow. He wondered…
“Bones, do me a favor and move side-to-side a little.”
“You mean like line dancing? You know I hate anything redneckish.”
“Just do it.”
“Fine, I’ll do the Casper Slide. Ready? To the left!” Bones began chanting lyrics and, presumably, dancing.
Dane followed the sound and, sure enough, he saw movement.
“Avery, Corey, can you see it?” He drew them to his side and pointed. “If you really focus, you can tell a difference between the space where Bones is and the wall behind it.”
Avery narrowed her eyes and, a few seconds later, smiled.
“It’s like an imperfect piece of glass. You can see through it, but something’s just a little bit off.”
Bones stopped chanting and, an instant later, reappeared.
“I don’t think a woman’s ever called me imperfect and a little bit off in one breath.”
“No one’s ever made the mistake of thinking you were only a little bit off.” Dane relieved his friend of the dagger and held it out so everyone could see it. “Look at the pattern on the blade and think about what this dagger does.”
“It’s a cloaking device!” Bones said, following Dane’s line of thought almost immediately. “This isn’t some magic weapon. It’s seriously advanced technology.”
“Scientist are in the early stages of developing technology that bends light rays, making a particular spot invisible,” Dane said, noticing Avery’s confused expression. “Nobody’s achieved anything like this, though.”
“But this has clearly been down there for centuries. And if it’s really Carnwennan, how did they get their hands on such technology?”
“I don’t know,” Dane said, though he was turning over a myriad of ideas in his mind. “But now we know why someone would kill in order to get their hands on it.”
Chapter 18
Angel sat perfectly still, her eyes on the widening band of gray light where someone was opening the door to her small room. She was locked in what looked like a basement storage room, but she didn’t know where. A dark figure loomed in shadow, and then a light clicked on. In the instant before she closed her eyes against the sudden glare, she caught a glimpse of a blocky man with red hair.
“Glad to see you’re awake.” He smiled. “We need to talk.”
Angel’s only reply was to suggest he use an orifice other than his mouth when speaking. She usually liked a guy with a British accent, but not under these circumstances.
“That won’t do.” Still smiling, he shook his head, his eyes roving up and down her body. “I’ll explain.” He pulled up a stool and sat down next to her. “We want information, and we will have it. If you talk to me, things will go easier for you. If you talk to Locke…” He let the words hang there, and gave her a look that told her Locke was the last person she wanted to deal with.
“Where am I?”
“We’re in the museum. Now, tell us what we need to know and we can have you back with your friends in a thrice.”