30 Pieces of Silver (61 page)

Glancing toward the cave opening, the bright muzzle flashes told her that the sergeant was otherwise occupied. Besides, Rebecca knew that this would be one discovery Brandt would not be happy to find. She would leave him to his battle while she began hers.

Gulping, Rebecca took another step forward. Trying to summon up some semblance of professional detachment, Rebecca leaned over to study the skull. These letters were far tinier than any of the other bones. It was as if someone had tried to cram double the information onto these remains. Having to squint, Rebecca concentrated on the area just above the thorny crown. Without a magnifying glass she could only make out three words.

Cross.

Golgotha.

Christos.

Stumbling back, Rebecca read the next line.

Here lies a Son of God.

*
* *

Brandt had to keep himself from constantly checking over his shoulder. Rebecca would let him know if she found… Well, what they were looking for.

But these fucking monks were maniacs, trying to kill anyone who wasn’t wearing a brown robe. Add that to Davidson taking potshots at his head as frequently as he could, and Brandt was a little busy.

Tok had holed up somewhere to his left, taking shelter in one of the caves. Petir had tried to get back into the maze a while ago, but even armed, the older man had to retreat in the face of the monk’s ferocious attacks.

Tightening the wrap, Brandt realized he had soaked through completely. The sergeant wasn’t sure how much blood he had left.

Rebecca had tasked him with formulating a plan to get out of here, but she wasn’t going to like it. Looking at the kill zone, there was no way they were both getting out of here alive. Even if you assumed the monks would be severely thinned, that still left three guns, one of them an expert sniper.

Which left him the only option, to lie to her. He would tell Rebecca that he would stay behind only long enough to provide cover fire, then join her, but Brandt doubted if he could even crawl halfway across the open space, let alone run across it and up the steep stairs toward freedom.

No, in reality, he would lay down cover fire, but once Davidson rose to take the kill shot, Brandt would nail the little fucker between the eyes. Rebecca should be able to rush up the stairs past the private’s bloody body and get the hell out of there before Brandt was either sliced to ribbons by the monks or gunned down between Petir and Tok’s positions.

While he solidified the plan, an arrow narrowly missed his shoulder and bounced off the rock. Turning, Brandt fired and didn’t miss his quarry. But another three arrows rained down upon him. Scrambling deeper behind the rock, the sergeant cursed.

He was going to have to update his fucking plan.

*
* *

Mesmerized by the tiny scrawled writings, Rebecca let the names and words flow past her eyes. The Twelve were well represented. Especially James, Paul, and, of course, Judas. But the Thirty were also in abundance. Magdalene, Ruth, and Ameil. In addition, there were others she had not seen before. Deliah, Sevat, and Turvas.

Give her a year and a dozen grad students, and Rebecca could rewrite the Bible. There was so much she had found, yet so much she still didn’t understand. Unlike the other remains, much of the writing seemed to be hurried, as if the inscriber had been rushed. Some sentences left off without finishing while others were repeated, oftentimes right next to one another, like the carver had forgotten what he had just written.

But for now, Rebecca had not moved beyond the skull. It was almost easier to gather information rather than stop and really soak in the ramifications of truly finding Christ’s body. However, as the gunfire from the cave entrance intensified, Rebecca knew she had to finish her survey.

It would take an entire accredited laboratory weeks or months of radio-isotope dating to prove the skeletons age and another league of scholars to confirm the body’s identity, but Rebecca had not doubt that who lay before her had died on the cross that day in Jerusalem.

No other might ever see these remains, so it was her duty to document as much as possible in the time she had left.

Freeing her mind, Rebecca began another circle of the body, this time trying to rectify her own doubts against the proof under her fingertips. As she walked, Rebecca dragged a finger along the skeleton just as she had done with John’s bone back at the hotel room, feeling the contours of the bone, reading it like a gypsy.

His arms were long compared to most. His embrace must have been bountiful. The radius and ulna had grooves where the nails had attached him to the wooden cross. His rib cage had a tiny knick. Exactly where legend said the Roman spear had pierced his chest. His pelvis was sturdy and much more narrow than Magdalene’s. His femur was straight, but thinner than John’s had been. The tibia was slightly irregular. The tarsus, of course, showed similar damage at the wrist, confirming crucifixion.

Backing up, Rebecca’s fingers found the tibia again. It was more than slightly irregular. Had there been an old fracture there that had healed poorly? Not only was there a substantial callus around the bone, but arthritis had set into the knee joint. She didn’t remember any mention of Jesus having a leg injury.

But weren’t there multiple mentions of a lame man amongst the Twelve?

Hadn’t Judas complained of a poorly healed leg?

Sucking in a breath, Rebecca leaned over the tibia. The damaged leg was the right leg. The leg that caused Judas so much trouble.

She stumbled back as she realized that body lying before her was not Christ… but Judas.

The Sacrifice

Jerusalem

AD 42

Judas paused at the entrance to the small garden they had been calling home while in Jerusalem. How could he face his friend? From his vantage point, he watched Jesus pace in an antechamber lined with great palms. His mother clearly tried to comfort him, but there was no solace for the Savior.

“Judas? You’ve come!” Jesus asked as he squinted toward the door. “Where are the guards?”

Entering alone, Judas opened his arms wide. “I am alone.”

“
But…”

Tears sprang to his eyes. “I could not do it, Jesus. I could not turn my one friend in all the world over to the Romans. My heart would not bear such a burden and still beat after.”

“
Oh, Judas. What have you wrought?” Jesus asked, not accepting his embrace, but Mary seemed most pleased.

“
Perhaps this is God’s will after all. For you to live.”

Judas nodded. “If you wish to rush to your fate, you must do so of your own accord.”

He was firm in his conviction, but seeing his friend’s disappointment nearly crushed his will. On the long walk to the temple, Judas had come to his senses. No matter Jesus’ wish, it was Judas’ soul at stake. He had convinced himself this was a test. A test to see if Judas was capable of such treachery, but seeing Jesus’ eyes moist with bitter tears, he feared it was no such trial. The Savior truly had wanted him to complete the betrayal.

“
But I cannot, Judas,” Jesus wept. He hid his face in his hands. “God forgive me, but I cannot.”

Mary put an arm around her son. “God has already asked so much of you. He could not expect this as well.”

Judas took Jesus’ hand. “If only I could take this burden from you.”

Head still bent, Jesus murmured, “But you cannot, dear friend.”

However, Mary’s eyes brightened, and she turned her gaze to him. “Do you mean that, Judas? Would you put yourself upon that cross?”

“
Yes,” he answered, wishing if only he could. For once, it might be he to do God’s work. “Anything to ease Jesus’ suffering.”

“
Then make it so,” Mary said as her son’s head snapped up.

“
What heresy do you speak, Mother?”

But his mother stood firm before her most holy son. “Before you decline, think on it, Jesus. What have you said time and again? That you must rise three days hence. Is that not true?”

“
Do not twist my words.”

Judas, however, could follow the Virgin’s intent. She was far more direct than her son. “She is right, Jesus. You cannot go up onto the cross. It is too great a risk. There are a hundred ways you might die.”

Mary nodded vigorously. “Let Judas go in your stead. He—”

“
I will hear no more!” Jesus’ words sounded forceful, but Judas could see his friend’s hands still shake.

“
This is but a culmination of your design, Jesus. As you said, ‘God must wish us to use our heads as well as our hearts.’ ” Judas’ words came quicker and quicker as the plan solidified. “The guards know not your face, nor mine. You can go to the temple and bring them to
my
door.”

Jesus backed away from them both. “You are both mad.”

Mary went to intercede, but Judas turned to her. “Leave us and prepare for the arrest.”

“
But—”

“
I will not fail him,” he said. The Virgin’s eyes searched his face, then she finally turned and left.

Judas cupped Jesus’ face in his hands as his friend had done to him outside the Seder. “Please, go to the guards. I beg you.”

CHAPTER 37

Deep beneath Carpuchin Church

Tok could barely hold his gun any longer, let alone bear the recoil after he fired. The monks must have sensed his handicap as they encroached closer. He had little time left to make peace with his God.

In some ways, he was elated. He had found Judas. He had touched the man who had given his life for all mankind. He should have been able to die happily, ready to meet his end, but he had failed to keep Judas safe. For that Tok would be condemned.

Turning his attention outward, he realized the monks moved more boldly, three moving as a wall toward him. Even if Tok could brace himself for the pain and fire once more, it would be useless, as the other two would surely strike before he could change clips.

Besides, the monks’ fury was well justified. Perhaps a death by the blade might mitigate his sins.

Closing his eyes, Tok lowered his weapon, letting it drop from his grasp. He needed it no longer. Feeling the rush of air as the monks charged, Tok prayed for forgiveness, but the killing blow never came.

Instead three shots in rapid succession rang out. As if they were but golems and the magic drained from their bodies, the monks crumpled to the ground, lifeless.

Looking up, Tok could see his brother’s form deep in the shadows of the stairwell. Making the sign of the cross, Samuel melted into the darkness.

It seemed God was not ready to receive Tok into his embrace quite yet. Heartened by this thought, he fired once to keep the others at bay, then gritting his teeth, changed out the clip, but found he was down to his last twenty bullets. Now that Tok was ready to live, he no longer had the tools to keep himself alive.

Then as if God directed him, Petir darted across the cavern floor. Firing to protect his mentor, Tok found the pain dulled by faith. They would overcome. They would clear these maddened brothers, kill the trespassers, and take Judas to a place where he would never be violated again.

Petir was nearly at his cave’s entrance when he stumbled. His mentor cried out and took another faltering step toward Tok. Another cry and he pitched forward, revealing three arrows in his back.

Infuriated, Tok fired into the distance, using the entire clip in retaliation. It gave him no satisfaction to hear the death scream of the archer. The damage had already been done.

He expected to find his mentor dead, but the old man grasped his hand tightly. Tok tried to pull Petir into the safety of the cave, but his mangled limbs betrayed him. His will might be strong, but his body was broken.

“
You must…” Petir whispered, but then coughed blood.

“
Quiet,” Tok insisted as he searched the staircase for Samuel. Together they could save their mentor.

But the old man’s grip was firm as he pulled Tok down to him. “Listen. You must detonate the explosives.”

Tok pulled back in horror. They had set C-4 around the tomb, but only to be used after they had evacuated the bones. Only after Judas was well safe from here.

“
Never.”

Petir was undeterred. “Look around you, Tok. Look at the death. The pain caused in his name. Our beloved savior would not want such horror. He died to save us. He would not wish his bones to cause strife.”

Shaking his head, Tok desperately looked for Samuel. “You said yourself, we just need to find a more secure tomb. He will—”

“
Listen!” The outburst cost the old man dearly, but he seemed unapologetic for it. “This was my design from the start. Even before I tempted you out with my Bible. There is nowhere safe for him. His remains must become rubble and ash so that his spirit might remain pure.”

Tok refused to accept the words. Petir was feverish. His mind warped with pain. Yet there was something in the old man’s tone that kept Tok from dismissing his mentor completely.