Solomon Key

Chapter 33

The Tsingy de Bemaraha National park was located in northwestern Madagascar just north of the famed Avenue of the Baobabs. Its unique geological makeup had led to the formation of tsingys — karstic plateaus in which erosion had formed forests of limestone needles.

Maddock could not believe his eyes as they wound among them. He’d never seen anything quite like them. He gazed up at the tall, spiked columns of limestone that rose high above the sparse tree line.

“This gives new meaning to ‘petrified forest,’” Bones observed.

“It’s magnificent,” Isla agreed.

“If King Solomon’s Mines are hidden somewhere in here, it’s no wonder they’ve never been discovered. This place is a warren of caverns and crevasses. A man could get lost in here and never find his way out,” Maddock said.

Isla smirked. “Only because he’d be too stubborn to ask directions.”

“What does tsingy mean, anyway?” Bones asked.

“It’s a Malagasy word that translates to ‘where one cannot walk barefoot.’” Isla’s eyes flitted toward the ground as she spoke. “And I can see why.”

“Looks like we’re almost there,” Bones said, checking his GPS. “I hope this is the place, or else we’ve come a long-ass way for nothing.” He cast a meaningful glance at Isla, who glared back.

“It’s the right place. I’m certain of it.”

The clue hidden at the Rova of Antananarivo, the images of the lion, bird, and elephant, had confounded them at first. And then Isla had found a tourist’s photograph of three unusual-looking rock formations in the middle of Tsingy de Bemaraha. There was no denying the shapes bore a strong resemblance to those in the carving. What was more, they were oriented in such a way that the setting sun would sink behind them.

What had sealed it for Maddock, though, was what lay in between the Rova and the rock formations. Drawing a straight line from one to the other, the line started at the Rova, the center of the Sacred Twelve, the House of the Seven. It passed over the Ikopa River, and then through the Analavory Geysers, carbon dioxide driven, cold water geysers that could definitely qualify as “bad water.”

It had been at this point where Maddock’s pitch had been derailed by Bones, who couldn’t stop laughing and talking about “Anal Lovery Guy-zers.” Things had only gotten worse when Isla corrected his spelling, prompting a barrage of “Anal Avery” jokes and a vow to give Maddock’s sister a new nickname when they returned home.

After much too long a delay, Maddock had resumed his analysis. “Haggard places the Breasts of Sheba forty leagues from the river. That’s approximately two hundred-twenty kilometers. Which would place them about here.” He clicked on the satellite map and zoomed in on two very round hills, each almost the twin of the other. “I think these could qualify as the Breasts of Sheba.” The others had found his argument persuasive, which brought them to this spot, on the southern edge of the national park.

The sun was high overhead by the time they located the rock formations. Maddock mopped sweat from his brow, took a swig of water, and passed it along to Isla, who sipped sparingly. She offered it to Bones, but he declined.

“Pop a stone in your mouth,” he said, opening his mouth so they could see a round pebble. “Keeps you from getting thirsty.”

“But it doesn’t keep you from dehydrating,” Maddock said. “Take a drink. I won’t have you slowing us down on the climb.”

“Last one up buys dinner,” Bones said. He took a swallow from the canteen and handed it back to Maddock. “You don’t have to play if you don’t want to,” he said to Isla.

“I’ve done my share of climbing,” she said. “And I don’t have to drag three hundred pounds of fat arse all the way up there.”

“Three hundred? Chick, don’t get a job at the fair guessing people’s weight.”

Isla laughed. “Which one do we climb first? The lion symbolizes God as well as kings.”

“But if that’s a Jesus fish, we’ll have wasted a lot of effort.” Bones pointed up at the odd formation.

“I think it’s the fish, but not for the reason you mention,” Maddock said. “Remember the last part of the clue?”

“Speak the words and enter?” Isla said.

“No, the other part.”

Bones ran a hand through his long hair, frowning. “You shall return as the wise king did.”

Maddock nodded. “The wise king is obviously Solomon. I was reading through some of Isla’s research. There’s a story about how he once lost his ring and was forced to wander the world as a commoner until he got it back again.”

Isla clapped herself on the forehead. “He found the ring inside the mouth of a fish.”

“What do you say?” Maddock asked.

“It’s worth a try,” Bones said. “Let’s go.”

It was a strenuous climb, but not particularly challenging for any of the three. In the end, Bones reached the top a few seconds ahead of Maddock, who slowed himself down by constantly checking on Isla. As it turned out, the young woman didn’t need help, and almost finished ahead of Maddock. Both men were impressed by her skill and Bones even offered to let her off the hook for dinner, an offer she flatly declined.

“A bet is a bet. But I choose the restaurant.”

“Holy crap,” Bones muttered, “now we’re in for it. Don’t Scots eat sheep scrotums and cat crap?”

“No, that’s the Irish. Now, where do we go from here?”

Maddock pointed down the steep slope that led into the shadowy mouth of the fish.

“That way.”

“It is them!” Ronald raised his pistol and took aim at the three figures standing atop the rock formation high above them.

Nomi smacked his hand down. “Don’t waste your shot. You’d never hit any of them at this distance without a rifle. All you would accomplish would be to alert them to our presence. We’ve worked too hard for that to happen.”

Ronald gave her a hard look but did not argue.

They’d followed Maddock’s trail, first to the synagogue and then to the so-called royal village. The fools who called themselves “kings and scribes” had not denied that Maddock and Bonebrake had been there, along with their new female companion, but the men swore that they had told the outsiders nothing.

Cleo had killed two of them before they finally broke down and told all that they knew.

Maddock and Bonebrake had descended into an underground sanctuary where they supposedly communed with spirits. Nomi had considered inspecting the place, but the kings and scribes had been a bit too eager to oblige. Probably there were booby traps down there. Instead, she’d focused on extracting information.

Upon emerging from the chamber, Bonebrake had asked about the “Sacred Twelve,” “bad water,” and the Breasts of Sheba. Afterward, one of the scribes had shadowed them and overheard them talking about paying a visit to the Rova of Antananarivo. Hot on their heels, Nomi had nearly caught up with them. Plenty of people at the Rova remembered the big Native American showing a great deal of interest in the tombs.

Ronald had finally made himself useful by identifying a fragment, in French, of the same scripture found on H. Rider Haggard’s grave, and finding the clue hidden beneath it. Learning about this rock formation had been a stroke of good luck, and even then they were not certain they were in the right place. It was what an American football fan would call a “Hail Mary.” But Maddock’s presence here seemed to confirm that they’d made the correct call.

“What do you want to do?” Cleo asked.

“We wait a few minutes and then we go up after them. If the mine is up there, Maddock will have opened it. I am certain of it.”