Stones of Fire

68

‘The corpus delecti is about to be uncovered. But not by me,’ Cædmon murmured, standing so close to Edie that she could feel his body heat.

She sidled even closer, a cold breeze setting her teeth chattering.

They were standing a few feet from where Braxton and Sanchez swung and shovelled in unison, the excavation already well underway, the stone cross upended in the frenzy that had ensued after Cædmon translated the bronze plaque. Believing the inscribed plaque to be no different to a giant X inscribed on a treasure map, MacFarlane hadn’t bothered with a ground scan, clearly convinced the Ark of the Covenant was buried beneath the stone cross.

‘Incredible to think that it’s been nearly seven hundred years since someone last set eyes on the Ark,’ she remarked, if for no other reason than to keep her terror at bay. According to her watch, there were six minutes left. ‘I now know how Galen of Godmersham felt when he found the Ark on the Plain of Esdraelon.’

‘If you recall, he had to fight to the death for possession of the relic.’ Like her, Cædmon stared intently at the deepening hole. ‘However, if it means coming away with our lives, I’ll gladly forfeit all claim to the prize.’

‘Somehow, I don’t think you’ll have much say in it. Which still leaves the matter of battling MacFarlane and the terrible trio.’ Having had to endure several minutes of threats while Braxton rowed her over to the isle, the man a blunt instrument in search of a victim, she was acutely aware of the fact that they were outgunned and outnumbered. ‘I’m not much of a military tactician, but I’m guessing that being out here, literally, in the middle of nowhere, is not to our advantage. Even if we could sneak over and untie a boat, there’s no way we can row to shore fast enough.’ At least not fast enough to elude the bullets.

‘Like you, I fear Philippa’s fish pond will become a watery grave should we attempt to escape.’

‘So, where does that leave us?’

‘In very dire straits,’ Cædmon quietly replied, not one for sugar-coating the truth.

Out of the corner of her eye Edie noticed that MacFarlane had carefully removed several items from the canvas equipment bag that Sanchez had brought over to the isle. Unzipping what appeared to be a waterproof garment bag, he took out a long white robe and some sort of striped apron. Unconcerned that he had two avid onlookers, he unbuttoned and removed his waterproof. Raising his arms, he pulled the robe over the top of his cargo pants and military-style sweater. Over that, he donned the apron, belting it at the waist.

Attired in the strange-looking garb, he next opened a padded container from which he removed a gemstudded item that Edie instantly recognized.

She nudged Cædmon in the ribs. ‘Look, it’s the Stones of Fire.’

With an air of rehearsed solemnity, Stanford Mac-Farlane donned the gold breastplate.

‘What in the world is he doing?’ she whispered out of the corner of her mouth, suddenly wondering if, in addition to being dangerous, their adversary might well be deranged.

‘Unless I’m greatly mistaken, he’s preparing to view the Ark of the Covenant. Which is why he’s attired in the garb traditionally worn by a Hebrew high priest.’

Edie squinted, the breastplate not quite as she remembered it. ‘It looks as though MacFarlane had the twelve stones reset. Maybe it won’t work and he’ll get blasted to the fire pits of hell. Just like the Nazis in Raiders of the Lost Ark.’

‘According to the Bible, it was the twelve stones, not the gold breastplate, that gave the high priest the necessary protection to interact with the Ark.’

MacFarlane, wearing what could only be called a patronizing sneer, approached them.

‘Steadfast faith and the Stones of Fire will ensure my safety,’ he announced, evidently having overheard Cædmon’s last remark. ‘For just as the Ark was constructed according to God’s specific instructions to Moses, so too was the breastplate. As you undoubtedly know, the twelve stones were God’s gift to Moses, the first guardian of the Ark.’

‘Implying that you have appointed yourself the new guardian of the Ark,’ Cædmon replied.

‘I am the ordained guardian of the Ark.’

‘How interesting.’ Folding his arms over his chest, Cædmon smiled mirthlessly, Edie sensing that he was about to use the only weapon left to him, his superior intellect. ‘Were you aware of the fact that the Stones of Fire once belonged to Lucifer?’

MacFarlane’s eyes narrowed, his angry expression near-comical.

‘Ah! I can see that you are familiar with the tale,’ Cædmon blithely continued. ‘Then you undoubtedly know that contained within the pages of the Apocrypha — those being the twelve books omitted from the Protestant Bible — the story is recounted of how God presented to his favourite, the beautiful and arrogant Lucifer, the Stones of Fire. Proudly Lucifer wore the breastplate as a symbol of his elevated status amongst the heavenly host.’ Tilting his head to one side, Cædmon examined the gem-studded relic. ‘Curious to think the same breastplate that you now wear once adorned the Prince of Darkness.’

In unison, MacFarlane’s three subordinates glanced at the Stones of Fire. Edie could see that Cædmon’s remarks were unnerving more than one man among them.

If they could flip one of them, they might have a shot at escaping with their lives.

While Braxton was loyal to a fault, she thought Harliss or Sanchez might be persuaded to swap teams. Assuming she and Cædmon could push the right buttons.

Hoping the relic’s infamous lineage would create some dissension in the ranks, Edie asked the obvious. ‘What happened to the Stones of Fire when Lucifer was cast out of heaven?’ As she spoke, she noticed that all three of MacFarlane’s henchmen cocked an attentive ear.

‘The Stones of Fire then passed to the archangels Michael and Gabriel. Not only did they have joint custody of the breastplate, but it is their two images that supposedly adorn the lid of the Ark.’ Picking up Edie’s intention, Cædmon glanced pointedly at Braxton, Harliss and Sanchez before turning his attention to MacFarlane. ‘Do you think it’s safe for your lads to be in such close proximity to the Ark? Unlike you, they have no protection should an accident occur.’

‘Yeah, I hear tell that skin cancer can be difficult to treat,’ Edie piped up. ‘And as far as I know, there’s no cure for the plague.’ Seeing Sanchez’s slack-jawed expression, she decided to push the fear button for all it was worth. ‘Oh, and let’s not forget about those poor guys at Bethshemesh. Not a pretty story, let me tell ya.’

Craning his head, Cædmon peered into what was now a five-foot-deep hole, directing his comments to Braxton and Sanchez. ‘Did your commander mention that the Ark of the Covenant is, in fact, a weapon of mass destruction, once used to slaughter the enemies of Israel? My own theory is that the Ten Commandments were inscribed upon pieces of radioactive —’

‘Lies! Every last word of it!’ MacFarlane bellowed, his face having turned a distinctly unhealthy shade of madder red.

Nervously gripping his shovel, Sanchez came to a standstill. ‘But, sir, what if —’

‘Keep digging!’

‘Yes, sir!’ Sanchez replied, applying spade to dirt with a renewed vigour.

Realizing the momentum had just swung the other way, Edie’s shoulders slumped. ‘So much for converting one of the faithful.’

‘There is a reason why they are called true believers,’ Cædmon replied. While he didn’t show it, she knew that he too was dismayed by her near win.

At hearing a loud metallic clunk! MacFarlane rushed over to the hole.

‘Sir, we just hit some sort of metal box,’ Braxton declared excitedly.

Edie swallowed a nugget-sized lump of fear.

‘I think they may have actually found the bloody Ark of the Covenant.’ Like a man possessed, Cædmon stared intently into the hole.

Repeating the procedure from the cloister, Sanchez fetched the coiled rope. After a little more digging he and Braxton were able to secure it around the buried object.

MacFarlane, smiling indulgently, turned his attention to Cædmon. ‘Do you by any chance know the meaning of the words “apocalypse” and “tribulation”?’

If Cædmon thought the question odd, he gave no indication. ‘Apocalypse is taken from the Greek word apokalupsis, meaning revelation. And tribulation is from the Greek thlipsis, meaning affliction. Did I pass?’

MacFarlane’s smile broadened. ‘No, you did not. Because like most, you have no concept of the power that is inherent in those two words, the prophetic truth that those two words reveal. Most people think of Judgement Day as a fairy tale that can never come to pass.’

‘I take it you think differently?’

‘“And I will plead against him with pestilence and with blood; and I will rain upon him, and upon his bands, and upon the many people that are with him, an overflowing rain, and great hailstones, fire, and brimstone.”’

Listening to the verbal sparring, Edie started to get a very bad feeling in the pit of her painfully cramped stomach.

Apocalypse. Tribulation. Judgement Day.

She’d heard those words before. Many years ago when she’d been made to sit silent while her grandfather nightly read aloud from the dog-eared family Bible.

End Times prophecies.

The Bible, both Old and New Testaments, was full of them. As a young girl, those stories of disease, famine and global warfare had terrified her.

But what did End Times prophecies have to do with the Ark of the Covenant?