The Cleric's Vault (12 page)

Chapter 26

Santa Fe, New Mexico

Tommy
and Will had taken the agency jet from Atlanta to the desert southwest a few
hours before.
 
Will had gotten
clearance from the boss to provide police protection for Tommy, which meant he
had to go wherever the archaeologist went.
 
The pilot was not exactly happy about having to file a
flight plan on such short notice but then again, he knew the deal when he
signed up for the job.
 
It was good
pay and really very few hours.
 
The
only catch was that sometimes Schultz or Wyatt needed to fly somewhere on short
notice.
 
It was early in the
afternoon when they had landed in the high desert.
 
The sun beat down warmly on the tarmac as they’d exited the
plane and hopped in the car that had been made ready by agency connections at
the airport.
 
Nothing fancy but it
would do the job.

Tommy
guided the gray Chevy Cruze down the highway leading out of Santa Fe towards
Bandelier National Monument.
 
He
had been paranoid, constantly checking in the rear view mirror to see if they
were being followed.
 
There hadn’t
been anything out of the ordinary, though.
 
The craggy desert mountains that had lingered in the
distance were now surrounding them as the straight road became curvy, weaving
in and out of the dry terrain.
 
Cypress trees dotted the landscape along with some Schultz didn’t
recognize, their pale-green foliage splashed a contrast of color onto the
natural canvas setting.
 
The drive
up had been somewhat silent.
 
Both
men were tired from the events of the night before and didn’t feel much like
talking.
 
Tommy was okay with
that.
 
He didn’t like forced
conversation anyway.
 

“That
the place?”
 
Will broke the long
silence.

Up
ahead, the tourist and information center for Bandelier National Monument
appeared in a clearing situated in the middle of a rocky canyon.

Tommy
eased the car into an empty parking spot in front of the tourist information
building.
 
The air was cool and
dry, fairly typical for the high desert during that time of year.
 
In the winter, temperatures could reach
zero at times while the summer sported highs in the 100s.

Will
took a deep breath.
 
“I love the
air out here.
 
Clears up my
sinuses,” he said with a big smile.

Tommy
laughed.
 
“Well, we do live in one
of the worst places in the world for allergies.”

“I
think I remember reading about that.”

The
two men closed the car doors and made their way into the wooden structure and
over to an information desk.
 
There
were only a few tourists milling around inside, probably belonging to the two
other cars that were in the parking lot.

Behind
the desk, a happy looking Native American woman stood next to a computer
checking something on the screen.
 
As they approached, she turned and greeted them with a robust and
genuine smile.
 
Her round face and
long, black hair framed the squinting eyes and huge grin.
 
She was fairly short, but stood proudly
in her park ranger uniform.
 
“Welcome to Bandelier.
 
Can
I help you, gentlemen?”
 
She asked
in a perky tone that surprised both men.
 
Apparently, she liked her job.

Schultz
returned the smile.
 
“Yes, we are
doing a little research on ceremonial artwork of Native Americans from this
region, and we were wondering if you could show us where the stone lion
sculptures were located.”

“Actually,
we have a replica of the sculpture right outside that door over there if you
would like to see it.
 
It was cast
directly from the original.”
 
She
pointed past some display cases to a door off to the side of the large room.
 

“I
don’t mean to be rude but would it be possible to see the originals?
 
I’m kind of a history buff.”
 

She
opened up a drawer and pulled out a small piece of paper with a little map on
it.
 
“The original site is right
here,” she pointed to a spot on the map that had a drawing in the likeness of
the sculpture.
 
“Just take this
trail to get there.
 
It’s only a
short walk.
 
“We do ask,” she
added, “that you treat the location with care.
 
It is a sacred site for our people and should be treated
with great respect.”
 
Her smile had
been replaced by a solemn look.

“Understood,”
Tommy replied.
 
“We will leave no
evidence we were there.
 
Thank you
so much.”

The
two men walked out the door and found the prescribed trail.

“What
was that all about?”
 
Will
asked.
 
“Sacred site?”

“Ancient
Native locations are all some of these tribes have left of their ancestors or
their traditions.
 
Most Native
Americans had everything taken from them in one form or another.
 
The last few spots they can cling to
must be respected by all since they are their only direct link to the past.”

Will
nodded silently, understanding the gravity and implication of Schultz’s words.

The
path was actually well maintained, evidence that the place they were going was
still visited consistently.
 
There
weren’t a lot of sounds along the desert path that wound through the canyon.
 
An occasional bird would chirp for a
minute or two in one of the scattered trees nearby.
 
Tommy wondered if they might see any snakes.
 
He and Sean both had a healthy fear of
that particular reptile, venomous or not.
 
In the area they were walking through, rattlesnakes were common.
 
Even though they had their patented
warning sound that resonated from their tails, rattlers didn’t necessarily use
them all the time.
 

The
two men plodded their way through the warm air until they came around a small
curve in the trail and found themselves entering a small clearing.
 
The scent of sage filled their
nostrils.
 
It seemed the plant grew
vigorously in the high desert.
 
Then up ahead they noticed a circle of large stones.
 
Each rock was laid on its end as if
pointing to the sky and they were all packed in tightly next to each
other.
 
In the middle of the stone
circle, two ancient pieces of what appeared to be boulders lay side by
side.
 
As the men drew closer they
began to see clearer, the design of the ancient sculptors.

The
stones were carved in the shapes of two mountain lions, both facing the same
direction.
 
It was unlike anything
Tommy had ever seen before.
 

Even
though history or archaeology wasn’t necessarily Will’s thing, he still had an
odd sense of reverence about him as he observed the site.
 
“What did they use it for?” He asked
just barely above a whisper.

Tommy
shook his head.
 
“I’m not
sure.
 
I believe they currently use
it mostly for ceremonies.
 
Originally?”
 
He
shrugged.
 
“I’m hoping that we’re
about to find out.”

He
stepped around the circle carefully, looking at every angle trying to see if he
could notice anything out of the ordinary.
 
Nothing jumped out at him, though.

“See
anything?” Will was copying Schultz but was essentially useless.
  
He had no idea what he was
looking for.

Tommy
appreciated his help, though.
 
At
least the cop was trying.
 
“No.
 
Not a thing.”
 
He put his hands on his hips and let
out a deep sigh of frustration.
 
Whatever was there had been hidden for thousands of years, so he doubted
it would be easy to find, if it was even still there.

The
possibility that ancient looters had taken whatever had been hidden was always
something that endangered any artifact recovery mission.
 
He’d seen it dozens of times in the
years since IAA was founded.
 

One
of the more noted instances of such a problem was the great pyramids in
Egypt.
 
Grave robbers had taken
nearly all the treasures from them centuries ago.
 

“What
was it Joe said about these lions?” Will wondered out loud as he stepped
lightly around the big rocks.
 

Tommy
set down the small backpack he’d brought on the trip and reached inside,
pulling out a circular piece of stone.
 
He palmed it reverently as he spoke.
 
“The riddle says that the lions watch the gate.”

“Is
that the one from Georgia?”

Schultz
nodded.
 
“I thought it might come
in handy,” he said as he ran his fingers along the smooth stone with the spider
engraved on one side, the ancient text on the other.
 
He eyed the unique piece’s carvings.
 
His mind went back to the lions in
front of him.
 
It didn’t make
sense.
 

He
stared at the time and weather-worn faces of the old sculptures and
wondered.
 
The only thing that lay
beyond them was desert plains and cacti.
 
“I can’t figure out what it is they’re guarding,” he said finally.
 
“According to the message on the stone,
they are supposed to be guardians, but the only thing that lies in that
direction is desert.
 
We could walk
for miles and still not see anything.”

Will
turned around and looked in the direction Tommy was pointing.
 
Then he spun back around and pointed at
a rock formation in the Canyon’s edge behind where Schultz was standing.
 
“What about back there?”

Tommy
spun around and looked at the smooth rock face of the canyon with several large
stones standing at its base.
 
Random holes and mini-caves dotted the wall, probably worn out by
time.
 
Some were probably used by
natives from the local tribes in ancient times, accessed by ladders in case of
flooding or attack.
 

“The
lions are supposed to be guarding the location,” Tommy responded.
 
“They would have the gate to their back
if that’s the case.”

Will
frowned, deep in thought.
 
“But the
clue said they ‘watch the gate.’
 
If that’s the case, wouldn’t they be looking at it?”

Tommy
pursed his lips.
 
Will was right.

He
turned around and faced the reddish-tan stone of the canyon wall then looked
back at the lions.
 
Cautiously, he
straddled the stone perimeter and stepped into the sand-filled circle where the
lions rested silently.
 
There was a
narrow space between the two figures, so Tommy got down on the ground and
wedged himself into it.
 
He peered
at the wall from the point of view of the sculptures.
 
A fairly large, rounded piece of sandstone lay directly
ahead abutted against the canyon wall about fifty yards away.
 
“It’s over there,” he said confidently.

Will
leaned over trying to see exactly the spot where Schultz was pointing.
 

“See
it?”

“Yeah,”
Will nodded.
 
“Let’s check it out.”

Tommy
stood up and dusted off the sand from his jeans and flannel shirt and made his
way out of the circle, grabbing his backpack off the ground.

Will
joined him on the other side and the two started walking towards the area
they’d just seen.
 

“It’s
interesting,” Tommy spoke suddenly as they crested a small sandy hill and
descended down the other beyond sage brush and some small cacti.
 
“These little hills hide that spot
unless you are looking at it from just the right angle.
 
The dip in the terrain reveals the
location.
 
Otherwise, no one would
think that big rock was anything out of the ordinary.”

Will
nodded in agreement.

Suddenly,
the sound of a rattle began shaking nearby.
 
Both men froze instantly.