“Sure,” he said, immediately remembering the image on the gold disc Bones had recovered. “So, Bones’ disc has an Egyptian symbol on the back. Our puzzle is carved into a dismembered scarab, which is also Egyptian. Is that it?”
“Nope, there’s more. The translation of the writing on the disc tells the story of the downfall of Akhenaten. He and his most faithful follower recovered the treasures of the temple at Amarna and fled into the desert, where they lived in exile in the Sinai for forty years. He continued to teach his monotheistic faith, and taught them ten laws for living, based on Spell 125 of the Egyptian Book of the Dead. They continued to revere him as the “mose” or “heir” to the throne.”
“Whoa. Ten rules for living… the Sinai… mose… You mean Moses…”
“Moses and Akhenaten are one and the same, at least according to the writing on the disc. They eventually settled in what we know as the Holy Land. Aten became Yahweh, or “I Am,” and the Jewish faith grew from the seeds planted by Akhenaten.”
“Unbelievable.” Dane was stunned by what Jade was telling him. Of course, the story on the disc could be completely wrong, but he had seen enough on his last foray into the Middle East to make him realize that anything could be possible. “So, you’re saying that God isn’t God? That he’s just this Aten in new robes?”
“I’m not saying that at all. In fact, I’m not much for religion one way or the other. You could look at is as Aten being the beginning of understanding the true nature of God. A polytheistic, pagan people were discovering the underlying truth. Maybe Yahweh, or God, is the culmination of that spiritual journey.”
“I hear you. Anyway, is there a connection to our scarab other than the fact that they’re both Egyptian artifacts with Hebrew writing engraved on them?”
“You left out the fact that both are in the middle of the American Southwest, and based on some of the cave artwork, both are associated with Spaniards. But yes, there’s more.
“Akhenaten, now known as Moses, wanted to develop a cultural identity apart from that of Egypt. He ordered the treasures hidden away, and appointed a sect of followers to be the keepers of the secret. This group, called the Essenes, recorded the secrets of the treasure on a scroll made of copper.”
“The Copper Scroll,” Dane breathed.
“It’s been generally assumed that the Copper Scroll leads, or led, to the treasure of the temple at Jerusalem, but the Egyptian connection makes sense. Another Essene scroll, the Temple Scroll, gives dimensions of a temple that coincide nicely with records of the size of the temple at Amarna.”
“And the connection to our mystery?” Dane still wasn’t seeing the link, though he was fascinated by the story Jade was spinning.
“Jimmy also discovered that the writing on our scarab consists entirely of quotes lifted directly from the Copper Scroll.”
“What? But…” His mind buzzed with conflicting thoughts. Why would Fray Marcos come to America to hide pieces of a larger treasure map that led to an Egyptian treasure hidden in Israel? What would be the point?
“This is where the cave art comes in. Legend has it that the Knights Templar found the temple treasure, and carried it back to Europe. Another legend, one given less credence over the years, holds that the treasure was brought to the New World and hidden away. The idea seemed absurd. Why would anyone do that? But if you believe the story on the disc, well…”
“There’s no way they could have revealed to the world that Moses was an Egyptian pharaoh who worshiped the sun,” Dane finished, the pieces now fitting firmly in place. “They couldn’t bring themselves to destroy it, so they hid it in America. And that’s why Fray Marcos left the clues. He understood how dangerous the secret was, but he wasn’t willing to let it be lost forever.”
“I think so too,” Jade said. “The cave art depicts a group of Spaniards, transporting sacks of something a great distance. Obviously, someone thought this was worth recording. Fortunately for us, landforms in the pictures are very distinctive. Whoever made those images knew the place quite well. Jimmy was able to pinpoint it to a place in southern Utah.”
“And our clue?”
“Snatches of phrases from the copper scroll, carefully selected to guide the seeker once they’ve found the site where the treasure is hidden. And you’ll never believe the name of the place.”
“Umm… Jerusalem National Park.”
“Close,” she said, turning to look at him for the first time. “It’s called Zion.”
Chapter 21
Bones re-read the printout of the e-mail from Jimmy. It was unbelievable. Could it possibly be true? Moses a pharaoh? The legendary Seven Cities of gold merely steps on a journey to a single, fabulous treasure? He checked his watch. It was early, but not too early to wake Maddock.
He rapped on the door that connected their rooms. Amanda groaned and turned toward him.
“What are you doing?” she moaned. “It’s five o’clock.”
“Solving a mystery,” he said. “Get out of bed and I’ll tell you all about it.” He knocked again on Dane’s door, but no reply. “I’m going to get Maddock, and I’ll tell you both.”
“Maybe he’s in Jade’s room.” Amanda said, rubbing her eyes with her fists.
“Yeah, I’ll check.” Bones replied. He hurried out the door, but encountered Saul almost at once.
“Have you seen Jade?” Saul asked.
“Nope. You seen Maddock?”
“He’s gone too?” Saul looked around, as if Dane or Jade might be hiding in the parking lot. “Oh crap.”
“What’s up?” His distrust of Saul notwithstanding, there was something in the man’s voice that worried Bones. Saul met his gaze with a long, level look.
“Can I come in? There are some things I need to tell you. I wish I had done it before, but…” He shrugged and set his jaw, still looking Bones in the eye.
“Sure,” Bones said. “Just let me make sure Amanda is decent.” Amanda had dressed and was brushing her teeth, so Bones let Saul in. She joined them around the small table and waited for Saul to explain himself.
“I don’t exactly know where to start,” he said. “Have either of you heard of the Deseret Dominion?”
Bones shifted uncomfortably in his seat and looked at Amanda, who nodded.
“Okay,” Saul said. “The thing is… Jade works for them.”
“What the…” Bones said, sitting up straight. “But we thought you…” I stopped myself about three words too late, he thought as Saul’s eyes darted from Bones to Amanda and back.
“Me? Hell no. I’m working against them.” He saw the skeptical expressions on their faces and hurried on with his explanation. “I didn’t know at first. She seemed okay, but I got suspicious when I started noticing some of the calls and e-mail she got.”
“What about it?” Bones asked, still not sure whether or not to believe Saul. “What made you suspicious?”
“I recognized some names.” Saul hung his head. “My dad was in the Dominion. I thought he was out of it, but it’s too big a coincidence that he put so much money into Jade’s expedition and set me up to work with her. I guess he’s still involved.” He took a deep breath, but kept looking down. “Anyway, when those guys showed up at Chaco Canyon, I knew. I didn’t say anything to Maddock, since I didn’t really know him, but it was kind of obvious what was going on.”
“And what exactly were you going to do about it?” Amanda asked.
“I had hoped to stop her from getting some of the clues. Maybe I could beat her to them. I thought that if I could keep her from passing complete information to the Dominion, I could keep them from doing whatever it was they are trying to do. I even tried to steal the breastplate from Maddock’s boat back when this all started, not knowing Jade had taken it with her after all. Of course, I didn’t have a plan for what I would have done with it. If nothing else, I was hoping that, when the time came, I could take the information and get there first. But since the first few pieces turned up, I haven’t had a chance to do anything. It’s like you’ve been keeping me…” He looked from one to the other, understanding dawning in his eyes. “Oh.”