Maddock ignored him. As he drew nearer, he saw Isla kneel and begin to dig. A few seconds later, she drew from the earth a small box.
“How did you find us?”
He’d thought to surprise her, but Isla didn’t flinch.
“I know about Haggard, too, which means I know about Lilly.”
Maddock wasn’t buying it. “You couldn’t know about the message Haggard left unless you went back to the cathedral, and I doubt you did that considering the chaos we left behind.”
“You refuse to accept that I’ve got some talents of my own,” she said, striding over to him and poking him in the chest. “I’m a treasure hunter now, just like you, but you have no respect for me or for what I can do.”
“What are you talking about?” Maddock asked. “I just want the ring.”
At the mention of the ring, Isla danced backward a few steps. “Let’s work together.”
“No.”
“Come on, Maddock. You can’t open Solomon’s Mines without the ring. Also, I’ve got resources at my disposal.”
“You really think we can’t take the ring if we want it?” Bones appeared behind her.
“Don’t come any closer.” Isla drew a small pistol and aimed it at the big Cherokee. Maddock noted her steady hand. She was not afraid.
“You won’t shoot me,” Bones said, taking a step closer. “Your finger’s not even on the trigger.”
Isla fired a shot, the bullet tearing up the turf a few feet in front of Bones. “It is now. Next time I’ll aim just a little bit higher.”
“Isla, this is ridiculous. There are others on the trail of the ring and we don’t have time to stand here arguing.”
“You’re correct,” Isla said. “So stop being a wankpuffin and help me find the mines.”
Maddock couldn’t believe he was even considering her offer. Yes, she’d run away when they’d been under attack by the Tuatha de Danaan. He’d assumed she was joining them, but perhaps she was telling the truth, and she’d only been running to safety…to her mother. And he couldn’t deny an attraction to her remained. God, she was beautiful, and this newfound confidence only made her more so. But no, he couldn’t do it. He had no idea who she was working for. What if this new group were worse than the so-called cousins?
“Give me the ring.” He started walking toward her. “I know you won’t shoot me.”
“Perhaps not,” said a new voice from the darkness, “but I will.”
A sturdily built man with a shaved head stepped into the faint light cast by the moon and by Isla’s flashlight. He held a Colt AR-15 semi-automatic rifle aimed at Bones’ chest.
Maddock tensed. The pistol he had taken off of Ronald was tucked into his belt. No way could he draw and fire before this man shot him. Hell, the safety was still on.
“Who the hell are you?” Bones asked. He stood with his hands up, clearly having assessed the situation and seen no strategic advantage to a frontal assault.
“This is Gowan,” Isla said. “He’s my partner in this.”
“So you also work for…” Maddock left the sentence hanging, but Gowan didn’t bite.
“None of your concern.” He glanced at Isla. “Why are we wasting time with these tossers? You have the ring, don’t you?”
Isla raised her eyebrows. “I don’t know, actually.” She tugged at the lid of the metal box. “Rusted closed. You want to know what’s inside? Join our team and we can find out together.”
“What are you doing, Isla?” Gowan asked.
“They are experienced treasure hunters. No one in the organization can match them. They can help.”
“We couldn’t trust them.” Gowan’s frown flitted from Maddock to Bones and back. He took two steps to move in between Isla and the two men. “They’d betray us first chance they got.”
“Not if they gave their word,” Isla said over Gowan’s shoulder. “If they say they won’t betray us, they won’t.”
“Unlike some people,” Bones said.
“Please,” Isla said. “We can work together, beat these cousins or whoever they are to the mines, and share the treasure.”
Despite himself, Maddock found his resolve crumbling. He wanted to forgive Isla. “Tell us who you’re working for and I’ll consider it.”
“There’s nothing to consider.” Gowan raised his rifle. Maddock dove to the side as he heard the report of a gunshot.
He hit the soft earth face-first, his ears ringing. The breath left him in a rush, but he felt no pain. Had Gowan missed? He rolled over, grabbing for his pistol, but there was no need.
Gowan lay in a pool of blood, the side of his head ruined. Isla stood over him, pistol hanging limply at her side, her face white as a sheet.
“I can’t believe I shot him,” she whispered.
“I can’t either, but thanks,” Bones said, gently taking the pistol from her hand.
“He was going to kill you,” she said to Maddock. “I couldn’t let him.”
Maddock didn’t know what to say.
“I’ve done it now,” she said, forcing a weak laugh. “I’ve made an enemy of the Tuatha and the Sisterhood.”
“Sisterhood?” Maddock and Bones said in unison.
“They’ve joined forces,” Isla said. “I’m surprised you’ve heard of them.”
“We’ve met them before,” Maddock said. “I thought they were finished.”
“Not by a long shot.” Isla stared forlornly at the night sky. “What am I going to do?”
Maddock took a breath, looked at Bones. A small jerk of the head, as if to say, Do what you’ve got to do, was his only reply. Maddock stood, reached out, and took Isla’s hand.
“You’re coming with us.”
Chapter 28
Vohipeno sat nestled on the east bank of the Sandrananta River in southeastern Madagascar just a few miles from the Indian Ocean. The small town and commune had a population of less than 20,000, almost all of whom were farmers, who produced rice and coffee. As they wandered along, Maddock couldn’t help but feel he was in another world. Many of the homes were weathered, tin roof shacks set on thick posts to avoid flooding, and virtually all the buildings, even the businesses, were in a similar state. Some looked like they’d been cobbled together from driftwood. The whole town seemed to be graying wood and rust-pitted metal.
“I still think this is a weird place to look for King Solomon’s Mines,” Bones said. “Is Avery sure she got the code deciphered right?”
“If not, it would be one heck of a coincidence for her to screw up the code and still get a coherent message out of it,” Maddock said.
“It’s roughly the proper distance from Israel to fit the legends, and Madagascar is rich in resources,” Isla said.
Since the incident at Lilly Archer’s grave, Isla had buried herself in research. After relieving Gowan of his wallet and smartphone in order to hopefully make him more difficult for police to identify, they’d fled the country. Fortunately, Avery had decoded the message before their departure, giving them a place to head to.
Maddock had some idea of what Isla was going through. Taking a life, even justifiably, took a toll on a person. She would need time to deal with it. Her struggle with what she’d done had gone a long way toward smoothing over relations between her, Maddock, and Bones, especially since she’d admitted to placing a tracker on Maddock’s jacket when she’d picked them up outside the cathedral.
“Also, our research seems to support a possible connection. Rather, Jimmy’s research supports it,” she added.
Maddock nodded. They’d called upon his old friend, Jimmy Letson, to see if he could find any connection between King Solomon’s Mines and the island of Madagascar. He had uncovered a remarkable, yet little-known legend called the “Malagasy Secret.” Some Malagasies believed that they were of Israelite descent, and that their forebears were seafaring members of Israel’s “lost tribe.” Furthermore, local lore amongst these tiny pockets of Judaism held that Madagascar was, in fact, the biblical land of Ophir, the home of King Solomon’s Mines, and that Madagascar provided many of the building materials for King Solomon’s temple, including gold and rosewood. Curiously, he’d also turned up reports that Madagascar had been considered by France in the late 1700s and the Nazis as a dumping ground for “undesirable” citizens.