Shiva (71 page)

She knew what it felt like to be out in the field. To have no idea what you were doing, yet having the fate of the world on your shoulders. Rebecca must
have been
going out of her mind right about now.

A screen off to the far left flashed briefly. Out of the dozen or so alarms blaring
,
t
his one barely seemed worth mentioning. Only
,
it was perhaps the most important one
,
as Frellan
’
s face filled the screen.

The Disciples had not only survived the crash
,
but were in route to Shiloh.

“
What can we do?
”
Bunny asked Emily
,
knowing she wouldn
’
t have any better answer.

The CIA operative shook her head.
“
The area is a disaster. An internationally declared natural disaster. Even if I could raise Israeli forces
,
and even if they could mobilize anything, I doubt after Jordan they would be any kinder than the Disciples.
”

Bunny turned to Prenner.

“
The United States military has no knowledge or hand in the events occurring in Shiloh, Israel.
”

She could have punched him, but the lieutenant was right.

Rebecca and the rest were on their own.

* * *

Brandt lifted a Star of David from the wall. Nothing happened. Just like nothing happened the last five times he had lifted this particular item. The synagogue was not all that big and not all that elaborately decorated. They had tested each and every piece of iconry in the place and come up with squat.

Rebecca had wandered back to the ark. He joined her.
“
Any inspiration?
”

She shook her head.
“
I must be losing my mojo.
”
Then she cocked her head.
“
The ark is never supposed to touch the ground.
”

“
Okay…
”
Brandt said
,
backing up as Rebecca searched around the replica.
“
It also isn
’
t supposed to have doors on the side
,
either…
”

“
And this is way too big,
”
she said
,
hurrying on.
“
It should only be two and a half cubits in length.
”

“
Again,
”
Brandt stated
,
“
a
lso not supposed to have doors in the front.
”

Rebecca
’
s hand ran over the back wall.

“
We
’
ve already moved everything on
—
”

“
And where are the gold rings to hold the shittim wood rods?
”
She was really getting amped up, shoving on the ark. Apparently single-handedly trying to tip the thing over.
“
I mean, this is one of the ancient resting places of the ark. You
’
d think they would get it right.
”

Yes, you would, but he didn
’
t quite see what bullying the ark was going to get them.
“
Rebecca, let
’
s take this slow and
—
”

“
The
parachot
,
”
she said, spinning on her heel.
“
Where is the veil?
”

Rebecca began tugging at the other wall hangings.

“
Honey, you
’
ve got to tell me what you are
—
”

“
God ordered Moses to always have the ark covered by a veil.
”
Rebecca climbed up on the ark
,
searching up high for something. She found a curtain rod. A bare curtain rod.
“
Vanderwalt took it.
”

“
And that means?
”
Lopez asked.

Rebecca smiled fiercely.
“
Vanderwalt doesn
’
t know ancient religions as well as he thinks he does.
”

“
We
’
re talking about Solomon, aren
’
t we?
”
Davidson asked.

Brandt looked from his sniper to Rebecca.

“
Why
,
yes
,
we are,
”
she said
,
walking back and forth atop the ark.
“
And one of his most famous legends? The conundrum of two women who claimed the same babe. What was Solomon
’
s advice? Split the child in two.
”
Rebecca looked down at the ark.
“
And what does this ark represent?
”
she asked.

He hoped she was asking Davidson
,
because Brandt had no idea.

“
The moment that Moses stood before God,
”
Davidson filled in the gaps
,
“
h
e stood between two cherubims.
”

Before he could stop her, Rebecca raised her foot and slammed it down on the ark. Wood split as grinding filled the room. And then she tipped over backward, disappearing into a dark passage.

Brandt charged the ark, leaping up onto it as the wall behind her closed. He punched the wall to no avail. It was as solid as it could get. The top of the ark
,
though? Not so much. He kicked the remaining wood, hitting some sort of metal rod
.
T
hen he
,
too
,
felt the world tip as the other men rushed forward.

Slipping and sliding down the long, slick shaft, Brandt didn
’
t bother trying to find purchase,
as
there never was any. Instead
,
he spun around, feetfirst, prepping his weapon. Light shone up ahead
—
the ramp was about to dump into a chamber. He
’
d done this dance enough to know that Vanderwalt would have a guard posted at the bottom. If he didn
’
t
,
the Brit was a way bigger idiot than Brandt
had
thought.

Ready for the end of the line, Brandt hit the floor at a run, using the momentum of the slide to carry him into the chamber.

Unfortunately
,
Vanderwalt was just a douche, not a stupid one. He had posted not just one, but four guards. The rightmost
of
who
m
had Rebecca by the neck with a gun pointed at her temple.

“
Drop your weapons,
”
the second guard said in crisp British
,
“
o
r she dies.
”

Brandt didn
’
t even bother to argue as Rebecca mouthed,
S
orry
.

He ditched his rifle, kicking it over to the nearest guard. Then he pulled his sidearm out of its holster and slid it across the stone floor. Next came his knives, two grenades, and a pack of C4. What could he say
?
H
e was prepared this time.

“
Follow us,
”
the guard stated
,
shoving Rebecca toward him.

“
Super sorry,
”
Rebecca apologized.

“
New rule,
”
Brandt said.
“
No kicking artifacts until you are secured on a line.
”

A smile flickered on her lips.
“
You got it.
”

Then they walked out of the simple rock
-
hewn chamber and into…well
,
into
King Solomon
’
s
t
emple.

* * *

Rebecca sucked in a breath. The vestibule wasn
’
t very wide, but it was stunning. Every surface
—
the walls, ceiling, floor
—was
gilded. So much gold that it glowed a ruddy yellow under the light of the burning torches. Many scholars argued that King Solomon could not possibly have been as rich as the Bible implied. That there was no way for an ancient king to have collected 666 talents of gold per year.

By the sheer square footage of the gold lining the walls, Rebecca guessed
the
number was way, way, way higher than that.

They passed through the vestibule into the Greater House
—
and
greater
it was. Columns soared to the ceiling a good twenty feet
above
their heads. Again
,
everything was covered in gold. Well, not just gold. This gold was etched with drawings, passages, and pagan gods. Each of which were adorned with gems. Diamonds, rubies, emeralds. Especially the ancient goddess Astarte.

Many had guessed that Solomon had begun worshipping this deity after his affair with Sheba. None
,
however
,
knew the extent. But it all made a type of logic
,
though. If Solomon had read of the female
M
essiah, why wouldn
’
t he look to the strongest female god to grace his world?

Later
,
Astarte had been adapted by the Greeks as Aphrodite, relegating her to the goddess of love. But in ancient times, Astarte was so much more. She was the goddess of the evening star, the goddess of virility, and the goddess of war. To hear the Phoenicians tell it, she
had
birthed mankind.

However
,
Solomon did not build this temple to Astarte exclusively. As a matter of fact, if you looked hard enough, you could find every major god upon these walls. And the inscriptions? They might as well have been made by Vakasa. They were written in every conceivable language. Was it a jumble of foreign words meant for one specific little girl to understand?

“
Thor!
”
a familiar voice yelled.

Rebecca had been so fascinated by the columns she didn
’
t even see Vakasa at the front of the temple. The little girl ran hard across the marble floor and leapt into Brandt
’
s arms.

The rest of Vanderwalt
’
s party stood on the steps
,
which climbed up to the Holy of Holiest
’
s door. The innermost temple. The chamber where the ark was normally kept. Although
,
looking around her at the plethora of pagan gods, Rebecca was pretty damned sure they would find something altogether different inside.

“
Brandt,
”
Talli
—
or whatever his name was
—
said, nodding to his old sergeant.

“
Liar,
”
Brandt retorted as menacingly as he could
,
with Vakasa showering him with kisses.

“
She won
’
t tell us how to get inside,
”
Vanderwalt stated.

“
And what makes you think she
’
ll tell us?
”
Rebecca asked, but then again
,
Vakasa was still planting kisses on Brandt
’
s cheek.

“
Ask her,
”
Vanderwalt demanded
,
h
is disheveled hair no longer cute. Even his crooked teeth took on a menace. The ground trembled beneath their feet. Not even the glittering surroundings could take away Rebecca
’
s sense of dread.