The tiny town of Halac lay deep in the shadow of Mount Ararat. Faruk steered the jeep along the narrow dirt street that ran between the mud and stone huts. Few passers-by looked up as they passed. Tourists were, according to Faruk, not uncommon here. People came to see Ararat or Durupinar, but the ice cave drew its share of interest.
"What do you think he was looking for in the ice cave?" Bones asked, keeping his voice low.
"Difficult to say," Maddock said.
"The cave is part of a massive system of lava tubes," Dima said. "Maybe he was looking for a passageway leading to…I don't know, maybe up to the anomaly?"
"It's possible," Maddock agreed. "Or maybe something connected to the monastery, since that's what he was interested in, according to Bentley."
They spent the remainder of the short ride exchanging ideas. They quickly ran out of realistic scenarios and soon delved into the absurd, each idea more ridiculous than the one before, until they had one another in stitches. By the time Faruk stopped the jeep, the three were in high spirits.
Maddock stepped out into the hot afternoon sun and looked around. "I don't see a cave."
"It's down in the hole." Faruk pointed to a spot in the distance. "We will have to walk the rest of the way."
"You can wait for us," Maddock said. "No need to exert yourself unnecessarily on our account," he added, seeing the hurt on their driver’s face. "We've already taken you out of your way with this side-trip."
"It is no trouble. I would also like to visit the cave," Faruk said. "It would get me out of the heat."
Maddock couldn't think of a believable reason the man should remain behind, so he acquiesced and they followed the guide to a deep hole at the foot of the mountain.
"You can't see the cave from here," Faruk said. "It's at the bottom. We must be careful on the way down. The way is, how do you say it, steep?"
Maddock and Bones exchanged amused smiles.
"We've made our way down a steep hill or two in our time," Bones said.
"Very good." Faruk bobbed his head, smiled, and beckoned for them to follow him into the hole.
They worked their way down the steep slope until they reached the bottom. Here, the ground was flat but cluttered with undergrowth, boulders, and sharp, broken rocks. On the far side of the pit a dark shadow beckoned.
"That is the way in," Faruk said. He led the way toward the entrance, which was partially obscured by fallen stones from the ceiling of the cave entrance.
The moment Maddock set a foot inside the cave, the cool air raised goose bumps on his flesh. The difference in temperature from outside was remarkable.
The fifty foot descent to the main chamber, over slick, mud-covered rocks, proved to be much more challenging than their climb down into the pit, and by the time they reached the bottom they found themselves in deep darkness, with only faint light from the entrance to show the way.
"Looks like admission is free," Bones said. "At least there's no security guard or guides to avoid." He turned and looked at the slope down which they had just come. "Weird. Look at the entrance." He pointed up at the source of the light.
"I'm not seeing anything," Dima said.
"The way it's shaped. It looks like the Rolling Stones logo."
Maddock couldn't deny that the opening resembled a mouth with plump lips. What he didn't like was that the jagged rocks at the bottom reminded him of fangs.
"It looks more like a vampire's mouth to me," he said.
"That's what I love about you, Maddock. You find a way to take the fun out of everything."
Dima made a face and turned away, her shoulders quaking in silent laughter.
"I will wait here. I have seen the cave before." Faruk plopped down on a flat stone, pulled his knees to his chest, and wrapped his arms around his legs. “I am happy just to cool off.”
"I don't know how long we will be," Maddock said.
Faruk made a small wave. "You hired me for the day. If I get cold I will go back to the Jeep. Take your time."
They thanked him, turned, and made their way into the cave. Maddock and Bones took out their Maglites and turn them on. As the bright, narrow beams sliced through the darkness, Dima let out a tiny gasp.
"This place is beautiful."
Up ahead, the cave sparkled with refracted light. All around stood tiny ice formations like crystalline sculptures. Most were transparent and the light shone through them, spreading out to illuminate deeper parts of the cave. Others were a cloudy white and glowed like low-wattage light bulbs.
"This is pretty cool," Bones said. "Weird we've never heard of it before."
"With all the traveling we’ve done,” Maddock said, “I kind of like knowing the world still has plenty of surprises in store for us."
"You mean like stones that can let you boss animals around?" Bones asked.
"Exactly like that. Let's go."
They plunged on into the darkness, Maddock navigating the maze of ice. Here and there they passed frozen stalagmites and in a few spots Bones had to duck beneath the stalactites that hung like giant icicles from the cave ceiling. All around them lay natural wonders — frozen works wrought by nature’s hands.
“You see that one, Maddock?” Bones asked, pointing at a frozen shape off to the right. “It looks like the sheep you took to prom.”
“Yeah? Well, I would say this one,” he pointed off to the left, “looks like your mom, but unlike you, your mom and sister are attractive.”
“Maddock, I knew you’re into my sister but I didn’t know you liked mothers.” Bones shook his head. “Man, you think you know a guy…”
Dima laughed out loud. “Are you sure you guys aren’t brothers? You act like you grew up together.”
They continued to explore, first following the well-worn paths, and then moving into the side chambers, all of which proved to be small and, though beautiful, not containing anything of interest.
“For the life of me, I can’t figure out what Robert was doing here,” Dima said. “Do you think he was just doing the tourist thing?”
Maddock checked his watch. They’d spent the better part of an hour investigating the cave. “Could be, but I’d like to keep looking. I want to make sure we didn’t miss something.”
“Let’s make it quick,” Bones said. “If we stay in this refrigerator much longer I’m gonna start craving coffee instead of beer. And that would be a crime.”
“Turkish coffee is excellent,” Dima said. She reached up and playfully tugged his ponytail. “We’re going to have to break you of some bad habits.”
“If you succeed, you’ll be the first.” Maddock turned and shone his light toward the back of the cave. “Let’s go as deep as we possibly can and see if we missed anything.” They kept exploring. It didn’t take Maddock long to find what he was looking for.
“Check this out.” At the base of the cave wall, where the ceiling dropped down to a height of no more than four feet, lay a jumble of broken stones.
“It’s a pile of rocks. So?” Bones asked.
“Look at the other rock falls around here. They’re all coated in ice. On these, the ice is on the underside.”
“Right. Like somebody stacked them up here. I should’ve noticed that, but I’m distracted by the hot chick.”
“What do you think is back there?” Dima asked.
“We’re about to find out.” Bones began moving the rocks aside, quickly revealing a hole in the wall. He knelt and shone his light into the opening. “There’s a passageway back there. I can’t tell how far it goes but it’s worth checking out.” Without waiting for a reply from the others he dropped down on all fours and squeezed his bulk into the narrow space. “It opens up back here.” His voice sounded hollow to Maddock’s ears. “Come on in. You’ll have to crawl but if it’s wide enough for me you definitely won’t get stuck.”
“You next,” Maddock said to Dima.
“Promise you won’t be checking me out from behind?” She batted her eyelashes and Maddock wasn’t quite certain if she was teasing.
“I promise to try. That’s the best you’ll ever get from either one of us.”
“That’s the best you’ll get from him,” Bones shouted back. “I wouldn’t even try.”
Dima chuckled, dropped to the ground, and crawled into the passageway. When she vanished into the darkness, Maddock followed along. He held his Maglite in his teeth so as to keep his hands free. This was his least favorite part of caving. He had finally reached an age where his back and knees complained constantly when he crawled through low spaces, but he never complained. If he did, Bones and his crew mates would never let him live it down.
The farther they crawled, the more the cold stone sapped the warmth from his hands and knees. At least the numbness served to minimize the scrapes and bruises he was rapidly accumulating. He knew better than to go caving without gloves, kneepads, and a helmet, but sometimes the situation didn’t allow for it. Furthermore, there was nothing to look at in this dark tunnel, except for Dima, and he was steadfastly trying to avoid ogling her. The monotony was becoming seriously annoying when Bones announced that he had found a chamber up ahead.
“Just a few more feet and you can stand up,” he said. “Just don’t impale yourself on the ice spikes.”
Maddock breathed a sigh of relief when he was finally able to rise and stretch.
“Did that crawl get to you, old man?” Bones asked.
“Now, I’m good. I just…” Maddock paused in mid-sentence. The tiny cave was magnificent. Ice hung from the ceiling like chandeliers and protruded from the floor in thick spikes. “It’s like being inside an iron maiden,” he said.
Bones immediately began headbanging, thrashing his long hair back and forth, while playing an air guitar.
“Is this really the time?” Dima asked.
Bones straightened, put his hands on his hips, and looked down at her. “There’s always time for metal.”
“Let’s check this place out,” Maddock said. “I’m sure Faruk is getting tired of waiting on us.”
They began a careful inspection of the cave, Bones and Maddock shining their lights into every recess and a crevice, Dima using the flashlight on her phone to inspect the floor. After a brief search Bones found something.
“There’s a crack in the wall. It’s pretty narrow, but if we can squeeze through here, it looks like there’s another room we can check out.”
Maddock and Dima joined him and inspected the opening. Maddock shone his light up and down, frowning.
“I think I can get through. Not sure about you, though.”
“Let me try. I’m smallest.” Dima’s face was pale but resolve firmed her tone. “I’ll slip in and see if there’s anything back there.”
“If you’re sure,” Maddock said.
She looked at the opening, swallowed hard, and nodded. “May I borrow someone’s flashlight?”
Bones handed her his. “Don’t worry. We’ll call the fire department if you get stuck.”
“Nice.” She took a deep breath, exhaled, and slid sideways into the passageway.
She needn’t have worried. Her lithe form slipped through with ease. As soon as she had entered the next chamber she let out a cry.
“Oh my God. You guys have got to see this.”
“You go, Maddock. If I get stuck in there we’re screwed.”
Maddock didn’t have quite as easy a time as Dima had, but with only a little more effort he soon found himself standing beside her in the next chamber. He didn’t need her to point out what it was she wanted him to see.
The frozen body of a man clad in a brown habit lay curled up in the fetal position. He was remarkably well-preserved, so well, in fact, that it was difficult to guess how long he had lain here. He had light colored skin, dark brown hair, and a bushy unibrow. His frozen lips were drawn back in a deathly rictus, revealing yellow teeth.
“This must be the monk Robert was searching for,” Maddock said. He knelt beside the body and ran his light up and down it.
“Do you think he found the fragment of the book of Noah here?” Dima asked.
“Definitely. Look at the monk’s hand.” Maddock trained the beam of his light onto the monk’s clenched fist. Ragged shards of paper stuck out where the man’s fingertips met his palm.
Dima sucked in her breath. “Do you think we can get the rest of the fragment?”
“Maybe. Robert must have tried and failed.”
“True, but you don’t know Robert. He would’ve found a frozen body unnerving. I imagine he didn’t try very hard before he took what he could and left.”
“I’ll see what I can do.” Maddock began working the frozen fingers, trying to pull them apart. They didn’t budge.
“Too bad there’s nothing here we could use to start a fire,” Dima said. “Maybe we could thaw him out.”
“Seriously?” Maddock cocked his head and appraised her. “You’re lot more hard-core than I gave you credit for.”
She shrugged. “Just trying to solve the problem.”
“What’s going on in there?” Bones asked through the narrow opening.
“Not much. Just trying to pry something from a dude’s cold, dead hands.”
“Just break the fingers.”
Maddock slapped himself on the forehead. “Bones, sometimes you’re a genius.”
“I don’t think I can watch this.” Dima turned her back on Maddock.
Forcing down the revulsion that was already rising within him, Maddock set his jaw, took hold of one finger, and began to pull. With a sharp crack, the finger snapped.
“Gross,” Dima groaned.
“Only three to go.” Maddock continued the grisly work until he had bent back all four fingers, revealing the monk’s frozen palm. There lay the remainder of the document. He took hold of one corner and gently tugged. It was frozen solid.
“Bad news. It’s stuck.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me.” Dima whirled around, eyes alight with anger. “All that work for nothing?”
“Maybe not nothing.” Maddock took out his phone and snapped a couple of pictures of the exposed portion of the document. “Maybe you can make something of that.”
A dull, distant popping sound reverberated through the passageway. And then another.
“What is that?” Dima asked.
Maddock came to his feet slowly. They were in serious trouble.
“Hey Maddock,” Bones said, “do you think I can fit through there?”
“I think you’d better find a way,” Maddock said. He turned to Dima. “Those were gunshots.”