Solomon Key

Chapter 7

Maddock covered his ears as the grenade boomed inside the cave. Sheltered inside a cleft in the wall, he none the less felt the effects of the blast. Flying fragments of rock sliced into his back and debris rained down on him from above. The floor vibrated beneath his feet and he winced, waiting for the ceiling to collapse.

After a few seconds of tense waiting, he opened his eyes and uncovered his ringing ears. Smoke filled the cave and the floor was covered with rocks and debris, but it remained structurally sound. He took a step and felt the floor crack. All right. It was sound for the moment.

“Bones?” he called tentatively. He had no idea where his friend had taken shelter.

The beam of his dive lamp sliced through the smoke, a fine line of white in the choking darkness. It was like ground zero. The furnishings, already half-rotten, had been blown to splinters. The rusted weapons were shattered. Even the pool through which they’d entered the cave was now covered with debris. Everything was gone.

Including Bones.

“Bones! Where the hell are you?”

Maddock hurried from one pile of rubble to another, pushing debris aside, searching for a sign of his friend.

“Yell, groan, say something so I can find you,” he called to the darkness.

In response, a large hand poked out from the flotsam-choked pool. Then another. Seconds later, Bones heaved his bulk out into the cavern, rolled onto his back, and lay looking up at the ceiling.

“Was that you yelling?” he panted. “You weren’t worried about me, were you?”

“I was afraid you were lying unconscious somewhere and I’d have to haul you out.” Maddock couldn’t hide the relief from his voice. “Risky move, diving into the water like that.”

“You know me. I jump first and think about it later. It shielded me from the blast, but a whole hell of a lot of ceiling came crashing down on me. I barely got out.”

“Can we get back out that way?” Maddock asked.

“Not a chance.”

Maddock helped Bones to his feet and the two men inspected the cave. There was no longer anything to see except rubble.

“Not much left,” Bones said. “But I did manage to hold on to our share of the gold. The weight made it harder to swim out again, but I wasn’t leaving here empty-handed.”

“Assuming we can get out of here at all.” Maddock continued his examination of the cave, but he could see no means of egress.

“Always the pessimist.” Bones folded his arms and scowled at the small, blackened crater where the grenade had gone off. “Why do you think she did it? It wasn’t about the treasure. She had her half, and killing us wouldn’t get her our share. As soon as she bagged up that ruined journal, she booked it out of here.”

“I can’t say for certain, but I think it has something to do with this.” Maddock moved to the spot where he’d seen the strange carving on the ground, knelt, and cleared away the debris to reveal a pair of interlocked triangles forming a six-pointed star, surrounded by a circle and six dots. “Do you recognize this?”

“Star of David?” Bones asked.

“Close. The Star of David was inspired by this symbol.”

“Maddock, we’re in a cave that might collapse at any time. How about you belay the suspense and just tell me what the hell it is?”

“It’s Solomon’s Seal.”

“As in King Solomon? Dude with a thousand smoking hot wives?”

“Not quite that many, but he did have a ton of them. I doubt all of them were hot.”

Bones shook his head. “Why do you always have to ruin things for me, Maddock?” He paused, scratched his chin. “So, what’s the connection between Black Caesar and King Solomon?”

“I don’t know, but this has to run deeper than a woman tracking down a pirate lair, and a conspiracy involving Solomon would fit the bill. She definitely wouldn’t want experienced treasure hunters on the trail.”

Bones’ eyes lit up. “You’re talking about King Solomon’s mines?”

“That’s what my gut tells me. For what it’s worth, I don’t think Nomi saw this carving. I think she hoped the journal would lead her to the mines. When that didn’t happen, she left, and tried to kill us just to be safe.”

A sharp crack rang out and Maddock danced sideways as a hunk of rock fell. It struck the floor where he’d stood moments before and shattered.

“What’s our play?” Bones asked. “We could try to clear the pool, but my hopes aren’t high.”

Maddock had a different idea. “I want to try something.” He took a few steps and paused when he felt the floor crack beneath his feet. Here goes nothing. He raised his foot and stamped down.

Crack!

Pain shot up his leg. For a moment, he’d forgotten he wasn’t wearing shoes. Brilliant, Maddock.

He took a step back, raised his foot, and repeated the action.

Crack!

And then the floor gave way beneath his feet. He felt himself falling, but Bones caught him from behind and hauled him back.

“I get what you’re doing,” Bones said, “but there’s no guarantee there’s water down there. Might be another cave.”

“Good point.” Cautiously, Maddock looked down into the hole he’d created. A few feet below the surface his light reflected off of dark water. This entire region was a honeycomb of underwater tunnels. He was gambling that they could find one that would lead them to safety.

“It’s a risk,” Bones said. “We get down there and find out it’s a dead end, we’re screwed.”

“Not necessarily. We’ll keep an eye on our air. Worst case, we come back here and try to dig our way out.”

Bones nodded. “It’s your brilliant idea. You go first.”

“Fine.”

They recovered their gear and suited up. Maddock wondered if they were doing the right thing. Possibly they would accomplish no more than waste precious air.

“Anytime, Maddock.”

Maddock was about to suggest they take one more look for a way out when the decision was taken out of his hands by a low rumble and the crack of the ceiling above them shattering. The place was coming down around them. Cursing inwardly, he plunged into the icy water.

The two men hit the water simultaneously and began to swim. All around them, chunks of stone fell through the water. One caught Maddock on the back of the head and he saw stars, but kept on swimming. The dark passageway curved to the left, looping back in the direction of the spring. But Maddock’s rising hope was quickly dashed as he rounded a corner and hit a dead end. This was it. They couldn’t keep going and couldn’t go back to the cave. He’d led them to their death.

Damn!

In frustration he punched the wall in front of him. The brittle limestone shattered, revealing a familiar-looking passageway up ahead. There was their guide rope! Eroded by the flow of water over time, the wall he’d struck had been wafer-thin. It was only due to dumb luck, but he’d saved them.

By the time they returned to the surface, their tanks were nearing empty. They paused to catch their breath, enjoying the fresh air and sunlight.

“Not bad,” Bones said. “Usually, I’m the one saving our asses by breaking stuff.”

“I learned from the best.” Maddock took a moment to reflect on the day’s events. They’d gone from a simple dive in search of the lair of an obscure pirate, to almost being killed. And if his guess was correct, they were now on the trail of one of the greatest treasures in history. He turned to Bones. “I know we’re supposed to be on vacation, but I’m in the mood for a treasure hunt. How about you?”

Bones smiled. “Glad to see you getting back to normal. I’d also like to see if we can find out who Nomi really is and who she works for.”

“I’ve got some ideas on both counts.”

“Works for me, but it’ll have to wait until tomorrow. I’ve got other plans.”

“Like what?”

“Like rewarding attractive young ladies for their patriotism.” He pointed off to their right, where the two young women they’d seen the previous day lay sunbathing. They’d traded their Confederate flag bikinis for the stars and stripes.

“That’s technically a violation of the flag code,” Maddock said with mock sincerity.

“I agree. They should take those suits off immediately.”

Maddock rolled his eyes. Some things never changed.