Maddock scanned the rest of the room with the light. “How about this? We take a couple of those larger rocks on the floor, put one on top of the other, then one of us lies on the ground and pushes with his feet.”
Bones raised his hand. “I volunteer. I can probably reach my arms all the way to the wall so I’ll have major leverage.”
A minute later they were ready. Bones lay on his back with both hands over his head and touching one wall. His feet touched the two three-foot long rocks they had placed in front of the door. The rocks were essentially rectangular and fortunately had settled right into the desired positions without much wobbling. Sterling had backed into the entrance to the room, while Maddock lay just in front of her, ready to lunge toward Bones to pull him out if needed.
“Whenever you’re ready, Bones.”
Bones started to straighten his legs and exert pressure. Maddock moved his flashlight back and forth between the seams and Bones, and he didn’t detect any sign of movement. Bones’ face was a mask of concentration and exertion.
After about fifteen seconds, he stopped and sucked in a few deep breaths.
“You okay, Bones?”
“Hell yes, I’m just getting warmed up. That was like five hundred pounds on the leg press machine. Time to raise it to seven-fifty.”
The second time, the stones still weren’t moving. Maddock thought Bones would have to take another break, but then an ear-shattering roar split the air. It took Maddock a second to realize that it had come from Bones. The sound reminded him of a martial arts keop, but with a deeper tone that sounded far more ominous and seemed to shake the earth. Maddock couldn’t be sure about the latter, because a split second later the stones moved.
He and Sterling both flashed their lights onto the seams at the same time. They saw that the space had opened a few feet, revealing another wall.
Bones stood and cracked his knuckles. “You’re welcome. What are you girls waiting for?”
Sterling leaned forward. “I think we’re looking for the combination to this lock.”
SEVENTEEN
“I don’t see anything here.” Wright shone her light around the empty chamber. This place was supposed to be the hiding place of the treasure, according to her source, but she saw nothing.
“Maddock and his friends were here,” Ransom said. “We spotted their vehicle parked on the side of the road, and some of those footprints outside were too big to belong to anyone other than Bonebrake.”
“Yet I neither see Misters Maddock and Bonebrake, nor Agent Sterling.” She turned her light on Ransom and shone it directly in his eyes. It was a petty action, borne of frustration, but she took a measure of satisfaction as the man raised his arm and turned his head to the side.
“They have to have gone somewhere,” she said.
“A secret room?” Ransom offered.
“Possibly, but I have yet to see anything that looks like a hidden door. Have you?”
Ransom shook his head.
“Keep up the search,” she instructed. “I’ll see what I can find.”
She closed her eyes again, trying to let go of any specific thoughts of what else to do. She imagined her thoughts were corporeal, fingers that could reach out and brush the stone walls, seeking out every nook and cranny. In her mind’s eye, she scanned the cave, feeling for an opening, for something hidden. Seconds passed, but nothing.
Dark thoughts began to intrude on her calm. Why did her search seemed doomed to failure? This was her destiny. She was the heir of Joan of Arc, by blood and spirit. Fate had chosen her to discover the existence of that greatest of treasures, and she would not be deterred.
She took a deep, cleansing breath, refocused her thoughts, only to have them shattered again as an ear-splitting shout pierced the air.
“It’s some sort of combination lock.” Maddock shone his light on four brass dials set in the wall. Each displayed a number. “We put in the four-digit combination and we’re in.”
“This can’t be right,” Sterling said. “I don’t believe Blackbeard could have constructed something like this.”
“No, but the Templars could have,” Bones said. “A pirate captain could have learned the location of a Templar vault.”
Sterling turned and fixed him with a flat stare. “Don’t even try to foist your conspiracy theories on me. Templar vaults in the New World? Save it for a cable TV show.”
Bones flashed a knowing grin at Maddock, who winked. They knew a little something about Templars and their treasures.
Sterling gaped. “Is this another thing you two aren’t going to tell me? Oh my God! I hate it when you do that.”
“Not now, anyway,” Maddock said.
“Fine, how about we get to work on this combination?”
“Work?” Bones said. “This one’s child’s play. Even I figured it out.”
“Oh really?” Sterling said. “Enlighten us, then.”
“Think about the clues. There were twelve disciples, seven days of creation, and the Trinity is three.”
“Hmmm…” Sterling tapped her chin thoughtfully. “Makes sense to me.” She spun the dials setting them to 1-2-7-3.
Nothing.
“I guess you were wrong,” Sterling said.
“I think he’s on the right track,” Maddock said. “Remember, on the seventh day, God rested. Six days of creation.” He reached out and turned the third dial a single click.
With a deep rumble, the wall slid down until it disappeared into the floor.
“Typical Maddock,” Bones said. “I do ninety-nine percent of the work and he swoops in and gets all the credit.” The big man moved through the gap in the wall. Sterling followed with Maddock bringing up the rear. All three had to duck their heads, as the top of the stone which had shifted was a few inches under five feet tall. Maddock floated his flashlight in a sweeping move across the space they had entered.
The walls and floor were cracked and pitted, speaking of great age. Water dripped down every surface, pooling in places and draining into the fractures beneath their feet. Carved vaults lined the far wall, empty save a layer of detritus at the bottom of each.
“There’s no treasure,” Bones said.
“It was probably here at one time.” Sterling moved to the closest vault, knelt, and sifted through the debris. “I found a few coins,” she called. “Like the ones you brought up from the wreck. I guess some fell through the cracks in the floor and ended up in the cave down below.” She paused. “I’m going to keep looking.” With that, she disappeared deeper into the vault.
“I guess this is the end of the road, Maddock.” Bones clapped him on the shoulder.
Maddock didn’t reply. His attention was fixed on a something to their left — a skeleton lying atop a slab. They moved toward the remains and Bones whistled.
“Is this Blackbeard?” Bones asked.
Maddock pointed to a single word carved in the wall.
TEACH
“It’s him. I guess the legends about his death weren’t true.” The damp environment had not been kind to the remains of the legendary pirate, if, in fact that was who lay here. Most of the flesh had rotted away, leaving only bits of cloth and the moldering remains of leather boots to cover the man’s bones. A few stringy bits of black hair stubbornly clung to the skull, along with patches of the once-ample beard where the fearsome pirate had tied smoking tapers to give himself a more fearsome appearance in battle. At his side lay a sword in a scabbard.
“This doesn’t look like your typical pirate sword.” Bones picked it up and slid the blade back, exposing a fine blade with five crosses engraved in the surface.
Five crosses! Maddock’s heart leaped. “Turn it over.”