Stones of Fire

89

‘ “… if you warn the wicked, and he does not turn from his wickedness, or from his wicked way, he shall die for his iniquity.”’ As he spoke, Gallagher motioned Edie and Cædmon to take a seat on a nearby slab of limestone.

Cædmon plonked down on the raised stone. ‘I’ve had enough apocalyptic rambling to last a lifetime.’

Wordlessly, Edie sat next to him, while approximately a hundred yards away she could see MacFarlane and his crew piling into the military-style truck. The same truck into which they’d earlier loaded the Ark of the Covenant. She assumed the plan was to drive the truck to the shore and then transport the Ark out to the yacht via a small boat.

From there it would be plain sailing. All the way to Israel.

That thought enraged and terrified her all at once. But it was an impotent rage. And an equally impotent fear. There was nothing she or Cædmon could do to stop the ancient prophecies from being fulfilled. With the End Times hanging over them, the voice of reason had become eerily silent. Instead, she’d reverted to being the terrified child who had feared the death and destruction that was part and parcel of God’s wrath.

‘Cædmon, I’m afraid. I don’t want it to end. Not the world. Not any of it,’ she murmured lamely, unable to put her feelings into words. At least not words that made any sense.

He placed an arm around her shoulders, pulling her close to him. ‘As the Irish are fond of saying, “At least we had the day.”’ Edie guessed that he was speaking of their lovemaking onboard the ferry.

Knowing they didn’t have much time, she took her fill of him. The thick red hair. The lean rangy physique. The beautiful blue eyes. The relationship over before it ever began.

‘I’ve given it a lot of thought and I’ve decided that it’s more than mere physical lust,’ she informed him, speaking in a low whisper.

‘Do I detect a deathbed confession?’

‘You know, gallows humour has always eluded me.’

‘Then perhaps we need to get off the scaffold and shine some light.’

‘Yeah, but —’ She stopped, suddenly realizing what Cædmon was alluding to.

The laser light.

Cædmon had said that it could temporarily blind a man.

Edie surreptitiously placed her hand over her jacket pocket. The pen-like device was still there. In all of the pandemonium no one had thought to search her for weapons.

‘Be ready,’ she whispered in a hushed voice, certain that when the time came Cædmon would know what to do.

A few seconds later Gallagher reached into his breast pocket and removed a crumpled pack of Marlboros. Next he patted the front of his cargo pants, searching for a match. Or a lighter. It didn’t much matter but it gave Edie the opportunity to slide her hand into her jacket pocket, all the while praying their captor’s gaze didn’t land on her slow-moving hand.

Her fingers wrapped around the laser. Quickly, she found the small power switch — in the same place where you’d expect to find the clip on a fountain pen. She removed the pen from her pocket.

Gallagher’s head suddenly swivelled in her direction.

‘Hey, bitch! What the hell are you doing?’

‘Bringing you to Jesus!’ she retorted, aiming what she hoped was the ‘business end’ of the laser at Gallagher’s face.

A thin ray of green light immediately stabbed out, hitting Gallagher first in one eye then the other. Instinctively he raised his arm to shield his eyes.

‘Quick! Turn it off!’ Cædmon hissed, snatching her by the forearm to get her attention. The abrupt motion caused the laser beam to shoot heavenwards, making it seem as though the thin green light actually touched the marmalade moon hovering thousands of miles above the earth.

Edie switched it off.

Like a striking viper, Cædmon lunged forward, his right hand whipping out, his fingers wrapping round the barrel of Gallagher’s gun. One quick strong twist and the gun was out of the other man’s grip. The pistol now in his possession, Cædmon used it to bludgeon Gallagher’s bald skull. An instant later, he went limp. Grabbing him by the scruff of the neck, Cædmon unclipped Gallagher’s mobile from his belt and lugged him behind the slab of limestone. Out of sight. Edie scanned the area, terrified that the scuffle, which had lasted only a few seconds, had been observed.

Mercifully, there was no alarm. In the distance MacFarlane’s men continued clambering into the back of the truck.

‘Is he…?’ She jutted her chin at the man sprawled on the other side of the limestone slab.

Cædmon tersely shook his head. ‘But pray the bastard doesn’t wake up any time soon.’

Taking her by the elbow, Cædmon headed towards the truck. Not only did they keep to the shadows, but they kept down, crouching as they moved.

About fifty yards from the truck, Cædmon yanked her behind a scraggy clump of dead vegetation.

‘Our objective, our only objective, is to prevent the Ark being loaded onto that yacht in the bay. If that happens, it will be lost forever. I mean this, love — no heroics.’ As he spoke, he lightly held her chin.

‘Do you think we’ve actually got a chance?’

‘So long as our escape goes undetected, their success is not a fait accompli.’

‘If they find Gallagher, they’re gonna turn on us like a pack of wolves.’

Still holding her by the chin, Cædmon stared at her. Taking a deep breath, he said, ‘The bloodletting, if it comes, will be extensive. And pitiless.’