“What does earth energy have to do with the end of the world?”
“Well, I will ask you this. Do you think the destructive power of the elements could destroy it?”
“Yes.” Drake remembered something. “An element overload that causes destruction, chaos, rivers of fire.”
“And what do you think is the best way to describe the four elements?”
“They’re energies,” Mai said quietly. “Provided by the Earth.”
Patterson smiled. “Sure enough. The ancient civilizations knew all about earth energy. Many of them worshiped it in some form or other. Now, the most obvious signs of earth energy appear at an earth energy vortex. Basically a place of great power. A focal point, possibly a convergence of currents. Think of sites like Uluru-Kata Tjuta — Ayers Rock — in Australia. The Great Pyramid. Glastonbury Tor. Haleakala Crater in Hawaii. If you’ve ever visited these places, you’ll understand what I mean. Have you ever stood at the edge of the Grand Canyon, lost in its silent, overwhelming vastness, and wondered as to how much latent power a sacred place like that can hold? Or Waimea Canyon on Kauai. The Meteora Rocks in Greece. The Reflecting Desert in Bolivia. Death Valley, Nevada. Crystal Caverns, Mexico. The Fairy Chimneys of Turkey. The Great Blue Hole of Belize. I could go on.”
Drake interrupted, “Do you think the three tombs were positioned purposefully at earth energy vortexes?”
Patterson nodded. “Undoubtedly.”
“Excuse me.” Kinimaka walked through from the kitchen area. “This kind of history lesson certainly has its place, but as far as we know the world ain’t in danger. Now, how does it lead to Razin abducting you and using you to find these swords?”
That seemed to snap Patterson back to the real world. He stared at Hayden. “Have you found my wife?”
“The call’s gone out. We’re waiting to hear.”
“The seven Swords of Babylon were made to Alexander’s instructions. Formed of a special material they were each inscribed with a different message which, when read whole, would allow a man to wield the unlimited power of the gods.” Patterson looked each person in the eye in turn. “They were said to be mystical, powerful, and possessed of a tremendous secret that could shake the world to its very foundations.”
“How?”
“That, I don’t know. As I said the message — the instructions, if you like — are inscribed into the swords.”
“I wonder what Cayman has to do with all this,” Drake mused, staring at the pockmarked table. “I’ll take a wild guess, Professor, and say that Razin wants the swords only to bargain with. He’s not interested in the tombs.”
Patterson shrugged. “I don’t know. He does know about the tomb at Singen, though. When they found the first sword they found what they later knew to be the layout of the tomb at Singen.”
“They’ve already found a sword?” Hayden gasped.
“Oh, they’ve found four. I’m good at my job, miss.”
“Four?” Hayden sounded like she was choking.
“The first four were buried in the pit of Babylon. That’s where Razin searched first. The safety of my wife depended on my accurate research and I could not disappoint. The remaining three swords — they were buried at the Tower of Babel. The original tower.”
“This message inscribed on them,” Hayden said. “Can you be more specific?”
“I haven’t read it. Actually, I can’t read it.”
Drake swirled his water. “Why not?”
“It’s written in this new language they’ve found.” Patterson looked depressed. “The language of the gods.”
No one moved. Drake assumed everyone else was as stunned as he. “Alexander knew the language of the gods?”
“Like I said—”
“Yeah, yeah, son of Zeus. Wisest of them all. Etcetera.” Alicia pushed away from the table.
Drake eyed Mai, then turned to Hayden. “This mission isn’t over. We need to recover those swords.”
Hayden was checking her phone. “That was Dahl. He’s on his way back. Says ‘with crucial information’. We’ll wait for him and then go to Iraq. My guess is — Razin’s already there.”
CHAPTER TWENTY SIX
Drake used the downtime to allay at least one demon. He made the call to Ben Blake, the one he’d been promising himself to make for the last few weeks. A careful, profound conversation was long overdue, but, even as he dialed the phone, Drake knew this call probably wouldn’t go well. In some ways, he still partly blamed Ben for Kennedy’s death, but that was the soldier in him unable to accept that the kid hadn’t made at least some attempt to save her. On the other hand, he had dragged Ben into this from the very beginning and, at first, it had just been the two of them. Not even six months had passed since they’d begun their quest for the bones of Odin, and an awful lot of turbulent water had passed under the bridge since then. Ben himself had gotten blood on his hands and faced death many times. And now that Drake was at least starting to move on with Mai, a few things had attained a clearer perspective.
Ben Blake had been his best friend before all this began. Ben had offered his friendship and his help for free before, and after, he knew what kind of man Drake was. The poor kid had lost Hayden Jaye, possibly the best catch of his life. He deserved better than being shunned.
“Hello? Matt?”
“Hey, Ben.”
“I can’t hear you. Matt? How you doing?”
“Good. I’m good!” Drake raised his voice. The noise coming from Ben’s side of the phone was horrendous. “What the hell’s that? The frog chorus?”
Ben groaned. “In a manner of speaking. It’s the band.”
“The Wall of Sleep. I hear you haven’t improved much then.”
“I just got back a couple of weeks ago. Give me chance. What have you been doing?”
“Ah, not so much. Kidnapped, tossed into jail. Almost got to play a game of footie with the inmates, though, before God-Zanko fell on me.”
“Eh? Which god now? You went to jail? I thought you were fighting the North Koreans.”
Drake snorted. “That was last week. This week it’s the Russians and maybe someone else. You know the drill.”
“Russians?” Ben sounded scared. “Is the Blood King—”
“Nah. Don’t worry about that bastard. He’s away for life. Even his men have vanished now. This is another set of nasties. Anyway, enough of that bollocks. How’s it going with you?”
“Mum and Dad were happy to see me, but they miss Karin. How’s she doing?”
“She misses you, Ben.”
“I’m okay. And… and Hayden?”
“If you spoke to them when they called you, then you’d know.”
A powerful guitar riff drowned out Ben’s reply. Drake heard the guys calling him in the background. Ben heaved a sigh. “Well…”
“Alright, mate. But Ben, the next time I’m in England, we need to talk.”
“That would be good.”
Feeling as though he’d accomplished nothing, Drake finished up. Next he rang Sam, his ex-SAS buddy and the man who had helped him take down the terrorists in the Czech Republic not so long ago. He asked that Sam and Jo, his other great Army friend, keep their eyes on Ben whenever they were able. Sam told him it would be tough, but promised to do what he could. Drake couldn’t ask for more.
As he dumped the cell phone on the bedside table, Mai walked into the room. Her shoulder length, black hair was drawn severely back, her dark eyes troubled. Drake knew she would speak her mind if she felt the need, so said nothing.
A little while later, she sat beside him on the bed. She placed a hand on his knee, but not in a sensual manner, more of a comforter.
“Matt.” She stared at the floor. “I don’t lose often. And to get beat and lose you…” she shook her head. “I’m not used to it.”