Chapter 30
McElroy’s dog perked his head up for a second and turned toward the back porch. His brown ears twitched; probably hearing a raccoon or some other nocturnal animal in the woods. Whatever it was, he lost interest a few seconds later and laid his head back down on the floor.
“Home?” Sean asked. “You mean Egypt? That home?”
Joe had presented an enormous amount of information over the last hour and it was all starting to come together in a way that Sean would never have imagined.
“Egypt,” Mac confirmed with a matter-fact nod.
“So the chambers are some kind of beacons,” Ally said more as a declaration than a question.
“Yes. And if someone can find the first one, there should be a clue that will point to the next one and so on until eventually, the final chamber is located.”
Reaching down, he scratched behind the hound’s ear. The dog tilted its head slightly in appreciation. “Naturally, the people who placed the chambers in their locations would have found it simple to find the way home. This could only mean that they were ordered not to return until an appointed time.”
“But the appointed time and path were lost to antiquity,” Sean pointed out.
“Until now.” Joe had picked up the stone disc and was examining it again. His eyes were mesmerized by the object. “Amazing that such a remarkable treasure has been hidden for thousands of years without anyone ever coming close to finding it.”
Allyson interrupted his thoughts, “So, what’s the next step?”
“We figure out the riddle, of course,” he replied straightforwardly. “That’s the reason you came here.”
Taking the sheet of paper in his hand, Joe began re-examining the lines. His finger traced the passages a couple of times before he looked up from the page. “It is so simple and yet, it is immeasurably difficult to figure out.”
“Do you have an idea of what it might mean?” Sean had hoped his friend might know something in relation to the key words used in the clue.
“Not really.” Then he corrected himself, “Well, I mean, the chambers make sense. That part we get,” he forced a quick laugh. “But the raven and dove, chariots of heaven, stones? It all seems pretty random.”
Allyson sighed. Her brain was on information overload. She paced her way over to the back door of the cabin and looked out the large window onto a darkly stained deck. Deep forest awaited just beyond the moderately sized yard behind the house. At the edge of the woods, twisted, ancient trees stood hauntingly silent in the faint lights of the house like something out of a horror film. “You mind if I step outside for a minute, guys? My brain needs a break.”
They looked over at her, aroused from staring at the disc. “Sure,” Joe responded, “Go right ahead. Take a look around.” He made a passive motion with his hand, turning immediately back to the round piece of stone in the other palm.
Allyson eased the glass door open and stepped onto the planks of the patio. Her ears filled with the sounds of the forest and, as when she arrived, her nose enjoyed the sweet smells of nature. In the clearing where the house was situated, the cloudless sky that opened up above was absolutely breathtaking. With no moon visible, the number of stars dotting the canvas of night seemed infinite. After walking across the porch, she stopped at the railing, spun around, and leaned back against it so she could just gaze at the sky.
There were many advantages of living in a big city like Atlanta, but there was something very cool about being out in the middle of nowhere. All of the day to day stuff just seemed to melt away. Well, except the current situation. That was hardly something “day to day.” She found herself thinking about what they might find. What would a golden chamber even look like? Certainly, the events of the past twenty hours were unfathomable. On the other hand, though, she felt a sort of calm at the moment.
Was she a closet action junkie? Or did she have a secret passion for history that had never been explored until now. There was one other thought that entered her mind, but she dispelled it quickly.
A shooting star burst through the black sky above, shaking her from her thoughts. It only lasted a couple of seconds before burning out. Allyson closed her eyes, just like she had done as a child whenever she had seen a falling star. Abruptly, she opened her eyes at the sound of the sliding door opening.
Apparently, the two men had decided to join her for a bit of air as well.
“What were you doing?” Sean asked, a little curious.
“Nothing. Just saw a shooting star.” Her response was lighthearted.
“Did ya make a wish?” Joe smiled playfully.
“Of course,” she said, returning the grin.
“And what did you wish for?” There was hint of flirting to Sean’s question.
“I can’t tell you that. Then it won’t come true.” She twisted her body around and propped her elbow on the wooden rail.
The group stood on the platform, staring up into the universe. Constellations and random clusters of stars all blended together in the elaborate cosmic tapestry.
“Yeah,” Joe began, “you can sure see a lot of shooting stars out here. No lights from the city to blur out anything. On a clear night like tonight, I bet you can see half a dozen an hour.”
Out of the blue, Sean exclaimed, “That’s it!”
“What?” The other two were startled by the sudden excitement and spoke in unison.
“The falling stars!” Sean said hurriedly. “Chariots of heaven. You see?” He held out his arms wide, reinforcing the question.
Allyson didn’t understand, but Joe caught on immediately. “Dadgum it boy, I think you’re onto something. I didn’t even think of that.”
Sean tried to clarify what he was saying, “Meteors, or shooting stars, as we call them, were sometimes called ‘the chariots of the gods’ in ancient times. There are several myths in which a deity’s arrival on the earth to visit mankind is by means of a falling star. The chariot was a common conveyance so whoever created the myths simply applied it to the story as a necessary detail for the ordinary citizen.”
“Oh,” she said after hearing the explanation. “I see. Sort of like those pictures of a Greek god riding a chariot.”
“Exactly!” The two men answered in tandem.
“So what does ancient mythology have to do with a golden chamber in the United States?” She placed her hands on her hips, still not seeing the big picture.
Turning his attention to their host, Sean said, “Mac, check on your computer to see if there was a significant meteoric event ever recorded anywhere here in America. I’m talkin’ cave drawings, stone carvings, anything you can find.”
Joe was already walking back to the door. “Way ahead of ya, bud.”
Still confused, Allyson followed the two of them back to the computer. The dog looked up curiously from his spot on the floor near the fireplace.
Once again, they huddled around the computer, Joe busily typing in different key words to find anything he could that might give them some kind of indication as to where they should go next. After about ten minutes of turning up nothing, he had an epiphany. “I think I know where the next clue is,” he said, looking up. “Have you ever heard of a place called Brasstown Bald or Track Rock?”
Allyson shook her head while Sean responded with a slight nod. “I think so. I’ve never been there, though. You think it has something to do with all this?”
“Yep. At this site there are a few large boulders with very odd markings on them. They’re ancient Petra glyphs,” Joe was on a roll again.
“What do you mean, odd?” Allyson didn’t want to be left out.
“Well, the shapes of the drawings are not like anything that has ever been discovered on the planet. There has never been a single documented find of cave drawings or carvings anywhere in the world that even closely resemble what is on those stones.” He held up his finger to make the point firmer. “And that is exactly what the riddle tells us to look for, ‘ancient stones.’ Along with finding these ancient stones, it also suggests that they mark not only the path of those who are seeking the chambers, but also the path of the chariots of heaven. One of the theories that I had completely forgotten about says that the markings on the boulders at Track Rock are actually recordings of celestial events. That has to be the place that will show us where to go next.”