The Minoan Cipher

CHAPTER SEVENTY-THREE

As Salazar’s helicopter skimmed the castle’s crenelated ramparts and hovered in preparation for its landing, Chad peered down through a window and saw that the space enclosed within the castle walls was as empty as when he’d glimpsed it from the air with Hawkins. But when the helicopter landed and he stepped out the door with Salazar and his guards, he blinked his eyes in astonishment.

Directly in front of him, barely fifty yards from where he stood, was a strange-looking building. The façade consisted of three towers, with the tallest in the center. Downward tapering columns supported raised plinths surmounted by horn-shaped sculptures. Standing on steel legs over the building was a huge tent-like structure made of pale green material.

Salazar stepped up beside Chad. “What do you think of our little illusion?”

“Amazing, but what is it?”

“An example of octopus technology. It’s the latest in camouflage techniques. The roof is actually a system that includes light and temperature sensors. Color-switching controls adapt to changing light conditions the way an octopus switches color. The walls hid the castle’s interior for centuries, but we live in the age of Google Earth and prying satellite eyes. Walls are obsolete, no matter how tall they are.”

“Very cool,” Chad said. “What’s with the funky building?”

“Don’t let the priestesses hear you say that. They’ll cut your tongue out for denigrating the entrance to their most sacred site. This facade is called the Tripartite Shrine. It was built centuries ago to replicate the Knossos shrine that served as the entrance to the sanctuary of the Snake Goddess. The red on the back walls represents the Underworld, yellow is earth and blue is the heavens. The horns are the symbol of Poteidan, the Bull God. But enough of theology; we have work to do.”

“Sure thing, Mr. Salazar.”

As he waited for an order, Chad took in his surroundings with the eye of a Special Ops team member. High walls. Portals in the base of the four towers. Tall steel doors. A couple of big SUVs. The drone sitting on its launcher. Points of possible threat. Points of possible escape.

He was puzzled by the number of sentries. Only two. One was walking toward the helicopter while the other stayed near the door. Where the hell were the rest of the security guys Salazar had mentioned? The walking guard stopped suddenly and yelled. A woman had popped out of the entrance next to the shrine façade and was racing toward a castle tower.

The guard nearest Chad peeled away and did a fish hook run that cut her off. She saw the maneuver and changed course. The guards adjusted their pursuit so that both were closing in on the woman. Salazar’s men joined the chase.

The woman’s features were distorted with exertion, but Chad recognized Kalliste, Hawkins’ friend, who’d been kidnapped by the goons on Santorini. She’d been focused on her pursuers and didn’t see Chad directly in her path until she was around twenty feet away. That’s when Salazar yelled:

“Don’t just stand there, you fool! Grab her.”

Kalliste saw Chad standing in her way. She tried to veer off to one side, but momentum carried her into his waiting arms where she fought against his tight embrace.

“Let me go!” she snarled.

He put his mouth close to her ear. “Can’t do that, darlin’. They’ll shoot us both.”

She continued her struggle. “I don’t care. Let me go, you bastard.” She was breathing hard and barely able to get the words out.

He held her tighter. “I’m a friend of Matt and Calvin. Don’t give them an excuse to kill us.”

She stopped fighting and their eyes locked for a moment before the guards pulled her from his grasp and dragged her to the shrine entrance. Chad experienced the same feeling of rage he had when Salazar’s men had killed his girlfriend. Hate for Salazar flowed through his veins like a mega-shot of adrenaline. He would not let the same thing happen to this woman.

His skin crawled when Salazar came over, put his hand on his shoulder, and said,

“Good work, Leonidas. If she’d gotten away, the ceremony would have been canceled.”

“Who was that?” Chad asked, because it was a natural question Salazar would have expected.

“Her identity is of no consequence. She’s an unimportant grain of sand whose escape could have brought our enterprise to a grinding halt.”

“Where are those guys taking her?”

“To a place men have seen only in their fevered dreams. Come with me, Leonidas. It’s time to introduce you to the Labyrinth.”