The Templar's Code

CHAPTER 95

A moment of stunned silence ensued.

Only to be shattered when the Indian rifleman deftly yanked the bolt handle on his weapon, ejecting the spent shell casing. Grim-faced, he closed the bolt, chambering the next round.

“Something tells me that we’re not out of the cave just yet,” Edie murmured. In her right hand, she held a lantern, its white beam skittishly jerking about. Evidence of her jittery unease.

Tonto Sinclair strolled over to the gaping hole and peered down. “What do you wanna bet there’s no big white rabbit down there?”

“You have my gratitude, Mr. Sinclair,” Caedmon said, well aware that the Indian had saved his life.

Resting the rifle in the crook of his arm, Sinclair stared at him with hooded eyes. “Last I heard, white man still speak with forked tongue. And I didn’t take out the bastard to save your ass.”

“Indeed? Which begs the question, why did you pull the trigger?”

“You’re a smart motherfucker. Figure it out.”

“Mr. Sinclair did it to prevent Yawgoog’s Stone from being removed from the cave,” Edie said, walking toward them. She fixed her gaze on the rifleman, her earlier fear replaced with a calm certainty. “Isn’t that right?”

“Smart lady. It’s been more than four centuries, but Yawgoog’s Stone has finally been returned. The curse on my people will be lifted.” The harsh tone had noticeably softened.

“You mentioned Yawgoog’s Stone when we first met, but… Did you know then that Yawgoog’s Stone and the fabled Emerald Tablet were one and the same?” That Yawgoog’s Stone was the link between the Knights Templar and the Egyptian pharaoh Akhenaton.

“Jason Lovett was using me to find Yawgoog’s gold. The scrawny shit was on a treasure hunt. He didn’t believe that Yawgoog entrusted my people with the sacred stone. Or if Lovett did believe, he didn’t care.”

Caedmon stood silent. Guilty of the same crime as the ill-fated archaeologist. From the beginning, he suspected that the legendary Yawgoog was a Knights Templar. Or, at the very least, a descendant of the fugitive knights. But he’d given little thought to the relationship that may have existed between the Templars and the Narragansett. Simply put, it had no bearing on his investigation. His treasure hunt.

A treasure hunt that just came to a startling finale, the Emerald Tablet flushed down the proverbial drain.

His initial relief having congealed into hollow regret, Caedmon walked over and examined the gaping hole. Deep? Most assuredly. But certainly not bottomless. With the proper equipment, he could—

“Let it go, Caedmon.” Standing beside him, Edie took hold of his right hand. Under the pitiless glare of the florescent light, her skin appeared translucent. Her deep-set brown eyes heart-wrenchingly serious.

Although she uttered but four simple words, Caedmon had the distinct impression that he’d just been presented with an ultimatum: Edie or the relic.

He cast one more glance at the pit. Then took a deep breath.

“Right.”