“There’s something down there.” Corey’s outward calm could not mask the tremor of excitement in his voice. As Uma descended into the sinkhole, her lights gradually illuminated the bottom. There amongst the rocks and sand lay the unmistakable remains of a shipwreck.
“Come on, baby,” Willis whispered. By his side, Bones and Dima stood shoulder to shoulder, both watching in tense anticipation. As they stared at the monitor, Dima absently took Bones’ hand and laced her fingers between his. Maddock couldn’t help but smile.
“It’s definitely a wooden ship,” Corey said. “But I don’t think I will be able to tell much more with Uma. You guys are going to have to check it out up close and personal.”
“We’ll take it in shifts,” Maddock said. “Bones and I will go first.”
“Aw, come on man, let’s at least flip for it,” Willis protested.
“It’s okay, Maddock,” Bones said. “Why don’t we let the second string have the first crack at it? Save the big guns for last.”
It was a measure of how badly Willis and Matt wanted to dive the wreck that neither of them responded to the second string comment. Maddock wasn’t fooled. Bones hated hanging out on deck when there was diving to be done. Clearly, his friend wanted to spend time with Dima.
“All right,” Maddock agreed. “One hour and not a minute more. If you get into any kind of trouble, come back up. “
“Yes, mom,” Matt said. “Would you like to dress us, maybe tie our shoes for us too?”
“Just be careful.”
Fifty minutes into the dive, Matt and Willis high-fived, then turned and gave the thumbs-up to the crew via Uma’s underwater camera through which those on board Sea Foam had been following the divers’ progress. They began working at something in the midst of the wreckage, stirring up a cloud of silt. Moments later, they emerged. Willis swam toward the camera and held up a long, narrow object. Maddock recognized it immediately.
“A short sword.” The blade was dark and pitted, but the image on the hilt was clear — a Templar cross!
“Yes!” Bones shouted. “You did it, Maddock.”
“We’re not there yet. Let’s get ready to take our turn.”
Matt and Willis surfaced, grinning broadly. “Jackpot!” Willis exclaimed as Maddock hauled him out of the water.
“Good work.” Maddock accepted the sword from Willis and held it out in the bright morning sun. Time and salt water had done its work on the blade, but it was still a fine piece.
“You know, this here dive could make us some serious change, stone or no stone,” Willis said. “I think there’s a lot more down toward the back of the sinkhole. We were picking up a lot of hits with the detector, but you know how that thing works. Can’t tell treasure from junk. Lots of metal down there.”
Maddock had been so immersed in the search for the stone that he hadn’t even considered that this was what they did for a living. “That would be a nice bonus, wouldn’t it?” He handed the sword back to Willis. “You guys can make sure this is properly cared for.”
“I’ve never seen a Templar sword up close before.” Dima gazed in admiration at the aged weapon. “It’s really something.”
“Maddock, we should get going.” Bones tone was brusque and his countenance dark.
Dima frowned at the big native but didn’t ask what was on his mind.
Maddock thought he knew — early on in their days in the SEALs they had been called on to find another Templar treasure, and Bones had lost someone dear to him. He supposed wounds like that never truly healed.
“Ready when you are,” Maddock said. They finished their prep, secured their masks, and slid into the cool water.
Maddock descended slowly, savoring the way the cool, dark water enveloped him. The sea felt like home. Down below, the dark circle of the sinkhole loomed large in his vision. He was about to turn on his dive light when something moved off to the side. A quick glance told him it was a shark — a Great White if he was not mistaken. He motioned to Bones, who spotted it immediately and nodded. No need to panic. Sharks typically kept to themselves unless given good reason to attack. Still, he kept an eye on it as they continued their descent into the darkness.
By the time they reached the bottom of the sinkhole, all thoughts of the marine predator were forgotten. Here they were, diving on a five hundred-year-old wreck. He couldn’t wait to begin the search.
Bones operated the pulse induction underwater metal detector while Maddock swam at his side, eyes scanning the wreck. Several times, they stopped when Bones got a strong hit. They sorted through many bits that held no value, but they did find a number of gold coins and a few carved pieces. Maddock secured them in the mesh bag at his waist and continued searching.
As the minutes slipped past, they added a few more items to the dive bag, but nothing that looked like a Noah Stone. Maddock was beginning to think this was going to be an even bigger endeavor than he had feared, when he felt a warm sensation against his leg. He looked down for the source, absently wondering if something had stung him, and realized it was coming from the thigh pocket where he’d secured the pointed stone — the first Noah Stone. He wasn’t sure why he’d brought it with him. Something had told him not to leave it unattended. He quickly realized the stone itself was heating up. It had never done that before. Perhaps…
He took the stone from his pocket and began moving it in a broad arc. Nearby, Bones cocked his head and held up a hand in confusion. Maddock continued to sweep the stone around until he felt it grow warmer. He continued this game of “Cold, Warm, Hot” until he found himself at the very back of the sinkhole. Letting the stone be his guide, he pushed aside a chunk of decking and brushed away the sand beneath it. His fingers found something solid…and warm. Heart racing, he once again pocketed the Noah Stone and dug with both hands until he had freed a second shiny stone. It too was triangular and roughly the size of his fist. Aside from being a dark shade of gray instead of black, it was nearly the twin of the first stone, and it burned with the same heat. This was it!
He turned toward Bones, held the stone up, and gave the thumbs-up. Bones returned the gesture emphatically. They moved to the center of the sinkhole, where Maddock secured the mesh bag containing the items they’d recovered to a large lift bag, and proceeded to fill the lift bag with air from his scuba tank. Once filled, it slowly began to rise, and Maddock and Bones swam alongside it.
As they exited the deep hole into open water, Maddock again spotted movement nearby. He turned, expecting to see the shark, and was forced to dodge to the side as something small and fast-moving sliced through the water where his head had been an instant before. A diver, armed with a harpoon gun, had been lying in wait for them. Another harpoon whizzed past them, this one from the other direction. Maddock and Bones released the bag, letting it fly free, and dove for the sinkhole. There wasn’t much safety to be found there, but they’d be sitting ducks if they swam for the boat right now.
They were in trouble. Neither he nor Bones carried a weapon other than a dive knife. He considered his options. There were no good hiding places inside of the sinkhole, no spot from which they could ambush the attackers. If the crew, watching through Uma, didn't see what was going on and send help in time, they were done for. Or were they?
He reached into his thigh pocket and pulled out the first Noah Stone. He had no idea if it would work underwater but it was worth a try.
He dragged the blade across his forearm, cutting deeper than he had when he had used the stone previously. A cloud of blood swirled up and he concentrated. It was working! He could feel the mysterious bond between him and the stone forming.
He reached out with his mind, just as he had at Archer’s house, and his thoughts connected with the shark, which still lurked nearby. He called out to it, at least that was the best way he could think of to describe what he was doing. As if on command, it turned and made a beeline for the attackers.
One of the newcomers had broken off the attack and was swimming for the lift bag containing the items they had recovered from the wreck. The other was closing in on Maddock and Bones, his harpoon gun loaded and held out in front of him, ready to fire.
Maddock focused his thoughts on this man and tensed. Would it work?
In a flash of gray and white, the shark appeared in the circle of light at the top of the sinkhole. The diver with the harpoon gun had only an instant to turn and fire a shot that went wild before the shark was on him. Its jaws closed on the diver's leg. The surprised man dropped his harpoon gun and began beating ineffectually on the shark’s snout. A few moments of violent thrashing and then the shark swam away with his prey in tow, leaving a thin cloud of blood trailing behind.
Bones turned to look at Maddock, saw the Noah Stone, and nodded. Without wasting another second, they swam for the boat.
When they reached open water, there was no sign of either diver. How had the second man gotten away so fast? That question was answered when they broke the surface and found their friends waiting for them.
"What happened down there?" Matt asked. "A diver surfaced holding the lift bag. About the time we realized it wasn't you, another guy came zipping by on a Sea Doo, fired a few shots across our bow, picked up the other fellow, and was gone."
"We wanted to chase them, but we didn't know what had happened to you. Matt and I were about to come in after you." Willis' tall, muscular frame quaked with suppressed rage.
"They took the lift bag?" Bones asked. "Holy crap. They got the stone."
"No they didn't." Maddock reached into his thigh pocket and pulled out the second Noah Stone. "There's no way I was letting either of these babies out of my sight for a second." He took a moment to enjoy the surprised grins of his crew mates. "Now let's get out of here before they realize they failed and come back with bigger guns."