Icefall (Dane Maddock Adventures) (12 page)

“
Fine.
”
Dane eyed the men who were slowly moving toward the east end of the cathedral.
“
You two keep out of sight and look for peacocks and anything else that might be promising, just in case we
’
re wrong about the shrine. Let
’
s go Bones.
”
His friend nodded and they made their way through the nave, eyes on their quarry. The men were moving faster now, presumably headed for the crypt.

The columns that supported the roof were huge and it was easy to remain out of sight as they stalked the two
men
. Their quarry disappeared down a flight of stairs where a sign read DIE KRYPTA. A few lines in German followed. He recognized the name
Liborius
and the words
“
please do not.
”
At the bottom,
“
Silence Please
”
was written in English.

Not a problem, he thought.

At the bottom of the stairs, Dane peered around the corner, seeking the two men. What he saw took him by surprise. The crypt, Jade had told them, was one of the largest in Germany
–
more than one hundred feet long, but he still was not prepared for the sight. The ornate columns, arched ceiling, and tiled floor made the place look like a church beneath a church. Indeed, the space to his left appeared to be a small worship area complete with pews, a confessional, and an
altar. To
their right, a gated archway opened into a dark, gloomy place where the tomb of Saint Liborius lay and, directly across from them, a second set of stairs led back up into the cathedral.

The chamber in which the saint
’
s remains were held had a semicircular ceiling that reminded Dane of a
q
uonset
hut. The faint light danced off the ornate walls, casting the space in a bluish glow. A representation of the saint was carved on the lid of the stone tomb. Beyond the tomb, beneath a stylized representation of peacock feathers, an arched doorway led into a second, smaller chamber, where a low plexiglass wall guarded a golden shrine.

Dane was surprised at the lack of security afforded to Liborius
’
s remains compared to that of the Shrine of the
Magi
, but he supposed the Three Kings were just a bit more famous. As that thought passed through his mind, the two men appeared from either side of the doorway in the back chamber. One of them took a quick look around to see if they were alone, then nodded to his companion. They vaulted the plexiglass wall and approached the golden shrine.

Bones took a step toward the tomb but Dane held him back.

“
We have to assume we
’
re outgunned. Take up positions outside the door to the first chamber and we
’
ll jump them on the way out.
”

Bones grinned. He loved a good brawl.

They moved like shadows, eyes never leaving the men in the burial chamber, who were now lifting the lid off the shrine.

“
Gottverdammt!
”
The dark-haired man with the bruised face swore.
“
Es ist hier nicht!
”

Dane
’
s German vocabulary was sufficient to get the gist of the words
–
It is not here.
He looked at Bones who arched an eyebrow and nodded. He
’
d understood too.

Inside, the men replaced the lid and clambered back over the barrier.
“
Das grab?
”
the blond man asked. His partner nodded and they moved to the tomb of Liborius. Dane moved back from the doorway so he would not be spotted and listened until grunting and scraping told him the men were hard at work trying to remove the lid.

A sudden crash shattered the silence.

“
Dummkopf!
”

Dane grinned. These two were having a bad day. He stole a glance into the chamber and saw that the blond-haired guy, apparently worried that someone had heard the noise, had drawn his gun.

His partner inspected the tomb for a long time, moving things around and muttering under his breath. Finally, he let out a long sigh.
“
Nicht
.
”

The blond man sagged visibly, pocketed his weapon, and indicated that they should replace the lid. They set to the task with angry expressions on their faces.

“
Let
’
s go.
”
Dane mouthed the words to Bones, who nodded. No sense in picking a fight if the bad guys were on their way out. Before they could head up the stairs, though, he heard the lid slam into place and footsteps echoed in the crypt. He ducked into a nearby alcove, hoping Bones had hidden too, rather than let his usual fight response take over. He breathed a quick sigh of relief as the men passed his hiding place without so much as a sideways glance, and mounted the stairs up into the cathedral. His relief was short-lived, however, for it suddenly occurred to him that Jade and Angel were alone and unarmed in the cathedral. He had told them to keep out of sight, but this was Jade and Angel. With a grimace, he slipped from his hiding place and followed.

“Where else to search?”
Angel looked down at the English language brochure, searching for any clue they might have missed.
“I thought this mystery solving was supposed to be fun and exciting, not discouraging. I’m starting to think this place is a dead end.”

“
It can
’
t be.
”
Jade stood with her hands on her hips, scowling at the big stained glass window in the cathedral
’
s east wall as if it was somehow at fault.
“
The connection is too perfect.
It’s got t
he hares
and the peacock. This has to be the right place. It’s just got to be!”

“
We
’
ve looked at every peacock in this place and found nothing.
”
Angel wasn
’
t sure why Jade got under her skin so badly. She was actually pretty cool
–
quick-witted and not too girly. She i
Magi
ned it was worry over Bones and Maddock that had her on edge.
“
I think we should check on those two.
”

“
They
’
re fine.
”
Worry painted Jade
’
s face but she shook her head.
“
Whatever you might think of your brother, neither of them are dumb, and they
’
ve been through plenty of dangerous situations before. They won
’
t let themselves get into serious trouble.
”

“
You
’
re sure about that?
”

“
I have to be. If the bad guys didn
’
t kill us, Maddock would. He knows what he
’
s doing. Let
’
s just keep looking.
”
Jade turned about slowly.
“
Anywhere we haven
’
t looked?
”

“
How about this Trinity Chapel? The hares are a
Trinitarian
symbol and there were three
Magi
.
”
She shrugged.

“
Sounds good,
”
Jade agree.
“
Let
’
s do it.
”

There was not much to the chapel. Its most prominent feature was a gilded relief of Liborius himself, set in a niche between a window and a pillar. The saint held a staff in his left hand and a book, presumably the Bible, in his right.

“
What are the three things on top of the Bible?
”
Angel cocked her head to the left.
“
Rocks?
”

“
Rocks, stones. They symbolize healing. He
’
s the patron saint against gallstones.
”

Angel guffawed.
“
No, seriously.
”

“
I
’
m not kidding. Think about how bad it must have been to have gallstones back in the Middle Ages.
”

Angel took a closer look at the odd sight. A saint of gallstones! It sounded like some ridiculous crap Bones would make up. She ran her fingers across the stones and, as they passed over the center stone, she felt something. She frowned and leaned in close. There was a faint shape there! Heart pounding, she beckoned for Jade.

“
Check this out!
”

“
What is it?
”
Jade
’
s eyes popped when she saw what Angel was pointing at.
“
The three hares! It
’
s faint, but definitely there.
”
She grinned at Angel.
“
Want to do the honors?
”

Angel put two fingers on the stone and pressed down. It resisted at first, but when she put all her strength into it, it slid
back into the wall. The Libori
us relief swung forward, revealing a small alcove containing stone box. It was small, but not too small to hold a skull
–
even a crowned one. More nervous than she
’
d ever been before one of her fights, Angel removed the box and held it out for Jade to see. The three hares were engraved in the top.

“
This has got to be it.
”
Jade
’
s low voice trembled with excitement.
“
You found the second skull!
”

“
We thank you for that.
”
The voice startled them, and they whirled about to see the two men who had accosted Angel two nights before standing with guns trained on them.
“
Now give us the box.
”
The blond man grinned at her.

“
I see your friend isn
’
t smiling.
”
Angel glanced at the dark-haired man
’
s battered face.
“
Tell you what. I
’
ll fight you for it. Hell, I
’
ll fight both of you. Put away your guns and take me on like men.
”

“
Let
’
s kill them, Niklas,
”
the dark-haired man said.

“
Calm yourself Ulrich. If they give us the box, no one need get hurt.
”

Angel could see the lie in Niklas
’
s eyes.
“
First, you let her go, then I
’
ll give you the skull.
”

“
Angel, no!
”
Jade protested.

“
Quiet!
”
Niklas snapped.
“
If we shoot you now, we will take the skull and still be away before anyone notifies die Polezei. I would prefer to leave here quietly, but it is not necessary.
”
He tightened his grip on his gun.

Angel saw him swallow hard. She had a feeling the guy wasn
’
t really a killer, but he was still dangerous.

“
Fine.
”
She kept her face blank, though her heart was pounding with fear and excitement in equal measure.
“
Here you go.
”

She heaved the stone box in his direction. After years of training with a medicine ball, the weight of the box was nothing. She didn
’
t throw it at Niklas, but tossed it
high
over his head.

As the men turned their heads to follow the flight of the box, and Niklas moved to catch it, Bones, who had crept up behind Niklas, drove his fist into the man
’
s face, sending him crumpling to the floor. Uhlrich whirled about, pistol upraised, but Dane stepped out from behind a pillar and cracked him across the back of the head with a candelabra.

“
Nice job delaying them while we got into position.
”
Dane wiped the candelabra with his shirttail and dropped it the ground.