Buccaneer (Dane Maddock Adventures) (44 page)

Not for the first time in the past few days, Dane felt overwhelmed by the magnitude of their discoveries. His
mind was abuzz
, wondering if what they saw here connected with other,
similar finds
he and Bones had made in the past.

“
Do you want to see him?
”
Avery
’
s voice drew him from his thoughts.
“
Arthur,” she whispered
, as if they were attending a viewing in a funeral home.
“
Come on.
”

Two stone footpaths formed a cross above the chasm, supporting a central platform. Upon it, a casket of blue-tinted crystal lay on a bier
in the center
. As they drew closer,
Avery gasped
.

“
He looks like he just died yesterday.
”

Indeed, Arthur
’
s had to be the most remarkably well-preserved corpse he had ever seen. He was a handsome man of early middle years. His wavy brown hair and thick beard were streaked with silver. He wasn
’
t as tall or broad of shoulder as Dane had imagined, but had probably been a big man for his day. He had been put to rest in simple garments
—
no armor or chain mail like Dane had always imagined. His expression in death was serene, as if he were enjoying a pleasant dream.

“
What is he holding?
”
Angel asked, pointing to a simple, stone bowl Arthur held upon his chest. It was carved of chalky white stone, but sparkled throughout with the same substance found on his weapons. It was deeper than an ordinary bowl, and three holes, evenly spaced, were bored just below the rim.

“
I think it
’
s the Holy Grail.
”
Avery
’
s face was as pale as the stone from which
the bowl was carved
.

“
Doesn
’
t look like a chalice to me,
”
Angel said.

Dane considered what he knew about Grail lore.

“
There are a lot of different ideas about the Grail. Some said it was a chalice, a bowl, even a dish. One legend said it was a stone that fell from the heavens, and later fell into the hands of the Templars.
”

“
Lapis Exillis,
”
Avery whispered.
“
Though some people call it Lapis Elixir.
”

“
The Philosopher
’
s Stone,
”
Dane finished.
“
I see how it could be both. It
’
s a bowl
that could be used
to catch blood, but it also looks like a chalky stone someone could scrape a bit off of and use it for an elixir.
”

“
Yeah,
”
Angel said.
“
It
’
s sort of got that Alka Seltzer look to it.
”

“
It
’
s not quite that simple.
”

They whirled about to see Morgan enter the chamber, flanked by Locke and another man on one side, and a huge dragon on the other.
She and her men
aimed their pistols at Dane.

“
Hello, Jacob,
”
Angel said to the man standing between Morgan and Locke.
“
Thanks for letting me go, but you forgot to tell me about your boss
’
s reptile fetish.
”

Jacob looked uncomfortable, but Morgan ignored Angel.

“
I must commend you on your resourcefulness,
”
she began.
“
I did not anticipate the challenge you and your people would pose, but we beat you in the end. Now, I want the three of you to lay down your weapons. You should know, Mister Maddock, that if you try anything, we will shoot the ladies first.
”

Dane gritted his teeth. He didn
’
t see a way out of this one. He wasn
’
t fast enough to kill all three before they could take a shot, and even if he could take hold of Carnwennan, which he had sheathed on his hip, its cloaking power would not help Angel
or
Avery. Slowly, he drew his Walther and laid it on the ground. On either side of him,
the ladies
did the same.

“
Very good. Now, back away from them.
”

They did as they were told, moving to either side of Arthur
’
s casket.

“
Arthur,
”
Morgan breathed, her expression enraptured.
“
After all this time, I shall finally fulfill my destiny.
”
She looked up at the glowing walls.
“
And tonight is a full moon. How fitting. It only remains to be decided
who will provide the sacrifice.
”

An icy certainty crept over Dane. If Morgan was going to sacrifice someone, it wouldn
’
t be him. Morgan would delight in his agony as he watched the woman he loved, or his sister, die. He couldn
’
t let that happen.

Morgan took two steps closer, then froze.
“
Where is it?
”
She hissed.
“
Mordred will drink your blood for this.
”

Dane just stared at her. What was she talking about?

“Where?” she shrieked.
“
Where is Rhongomnyiad?
”

“
It
’
s right here, you crazy witch.
”
Bones stepped out of a side passage and hurled Rhongomnyiad at Morgan. She d
ived
out of the way and the spear
embedded in
the far wall in a flash of blue light. The crystals all around the cavern shone white hot and showered the chamber with sparks.

Dane made a move for his Walther, but Mordred was almost upon him. He sprang back, unsheathing Excalibur. He hit the pommel and its blade burned.

“
Get out here!
”
He called over his shoulder to Angel and Avery, who turned and ran. He only had a moment to register that people were pouring like angry bees from a hive out of the warren of passageways and into the chamber. He heard someone bark orders in German, and he caught a glimpse of Tam and Willis enter the room, guns blazing, and then Mordred was on him.

He thrust the glowing sword at the oncoming dragon, but it sprang back with incredible agility. Dane drew back, and the creature stalked him. The chaos all around him seemed to fall away, like turning down a television set. It was him and the dragon. And then it struck him that, as a child, he
’
d often pretended he was a knight doing battle with a dragon. He almost laughed.

Mordred sprang forward again and he thrust. The blade opened a smoking gash in the dragon
’
s hide, but it kept coming. Dane continued to backpedal around the crystal casket, keeping the dragon at bay, but not dealing it enough damage to incapacitate it.

The dragon charged again, and he took a mighty swing, hoping to split its head in two, but Mordred sprang to the side and Excalibur sheared off a chunk of its frill. The creature hissed and slashed at Dane
’
s leg with its razor sharp claws. Dane wasn
’
t quick enough, and the dragon opened a gash in his leg. Dane stumbled, and Mordred lashed out with his powerful tail. Dane leaped just high enough to avoid a broken leg, but the
strike
knocked him off his feet.

Mordred tensed to strike, but a torrent of bullets stopped him in his tracks. Avery had circled around and retrieved both her pistol and Dane
’
s. Most of her shots missed, but enough struck home to put the dragon on the defensive.

As she emptied the magazines and her weapons fell silent, Dane regained his feet, raised Excalibur, and brought it down with all his might, cleaving the dragon
’
s head f
rom its body. Still snapping, the head
rolled off the platform and down into the pit.

Dane leapt back from the dragon
’
s tail that, even in death, lashed about with deadly force
,
and ran back across the footbridge onto solid ground.

“
Avery, you
’
ve got to get
away
,
”
he ordered, and pushed her toward the nearest tunnel. He looked up just in time to see
Locke
standing before him
, clutching Rhongomnyia
d
.
.

“
Say good night, Maddock.
”
Locke thrust the spear at him and Dane parried, sending up a shower of sparks, and struck back. Locke blocked his stroke, and the blades flashed as they met.

They circled one another, locked in a dance of death. Dane
’
s injured leg slowed his movement, and he found himself increasingly on the defensive. Each of Locke
’
s slashes and thrusts came ever closer to striking home. Step by step, he drove Dane out onto the foot bridge, forcing Dane to give way until Locke had him backed up to Arthur
’
s casket.

Dane glanced behind him and saw his chance. As he fended off another vicious slash, he pretended that his injured leg had given way, and reeled backward. As a gleeful Locke leapt in for the kill, Dane threw himself over Mordred
’
s still-thrashing body.

Locke, whose attention had been focused entirely on Dane, sprang right into the path of the dragon
’
s powerful tail, which struck him square in the side of the knee. Locke went down, screaming agony. The tail caught him again, this time in the side of the head, and Rhongomnyiad fell from his limp fingers and rolled to the edge of the platform.

Dane dashed around the far side of the casket and scooped it up before it could go over the edge. He stood over Locke, who looked up at him with bleary, hate-filled eyes.

“
I know how you think, Maddock. You won
’
t kill an unarmed man. You
’
re too noble for that.
”

“
Maybe.
”
Dane reversed Rhongomnyiad and held the tip just above Locke
’
s heart.
“
But I
’
ll kill any man who lays a hand on my girlfriend.
”
Fear flashed through Locke
’
s eyes in the moment before Dane drove the spear home. Blue light danced across Locke
’
s body and smoke poured from his mouth, nose and ears. Dane grimaced as the sickly sweet odor of burnt flesh filled his nostrils.
He watched as Locke’s body burned down to a blackened husk and crumbled to dust.

And then a voice sounded
above
the din, cold and clear.

“
Drop the spear or the girl dies!
”

Dane heard Morgan clearly over the waning sounds of the battle. It sounded to him as if a lot of people had run out of ammunition, been killed, or both. He wanted to look around for Angel and his friends, but he could not tear his gaze away from Morgan who held a pistol trained on Avery. Dane’s sister stood with her hands upraised, quaking with terror. Why hadn’t she run?

The room fell silent. All around them, the fighting stopped. Willis and Tam were on their knees, hands behind their heads, guarded by three white-clad men, as was another man he didn’t recognize. Bones, knife in hand, faced off with another man in white, who aimed a pistol at him, but seemed reluctant to use it. Behind Morgan, Jacob had Angel in a headlock, though she was still fighting to free herself.

“
I will not be denied.
”
Morgan spoke the words like an oath.
“
Especially not by you.
”

“
That is enough, Sister. It is over.
”

A beautiful woman with red hair and green eyes entered the chamber.

“
What are you talking about, Rhiannon? Have you forgotten who I am?
”
Morgan quaked with rage, but she held her gun stead
y
.