the Source (2008) (25 page)

Chapter
56.

Ross hung back, keeping a discreet distance from the nymphs. The meandering path was wet and uneven but his Timberlands held their grip on the crystal-encrusted steps. As he climbed he became aware of two things: the tunnel was long, and it appeared to get brighter the further he went.

He estimated he had been walking for about fifteen minutes when the nymphs stopped singing. The light was now so bright it seemed to bleach everything. Unable to see without squinting, he pressed himself into a recess in the wall and put on his sunglasses. Now he could marvel at the gilded crystal rock that surrounded him. It was more dramatic even than the amazing formations in the vast Lechugia caves of New Mexico.

Peering out of the recess he saw that the tunnel ahead curved and widened to form a chamber with a small waterfall. The ground there was flat but beyond it the path rose to another level, leading to the light above. On this higher level, by the top of the waterfall, the tunnel widened again to form another small chamber to the right of the main path, its walls pockmarked with a warren of small holes and tunnels. Each was pitch black, beyond the reach of the light, but as he stared at the holes he thought he saw dark shapes writhing within them. Two spots of red flickered, then disappeared into the shadows, reminding him of the crocodile-infested river. A shudder rippled through him.

The nymphs had congregated at the base of the waterfall. Three, laden with the fruit and plants, approached the path to the higher level. As they climbed, the others again burst into song. This time it was more a chant, an incantation: two notes repeated again and again.

As the sound reverberated round the walls, the three nymphs reached the upper level and walked to the right, into the centre of the chamber. They placed the fruit and plants on the ground in front of the holes. Then, as soon as they'd returned to the others, the chanting stopped. Within seconds the upper chamber exploded into a writhing orgy of violence. Long dark shapes shot out of the holes and tunnels and attacked the food. They didn't linger, just tore at the fruit and plants and retreated to their lairs. Then they launched another attack, repeating the frenzied process until there was nothing left. It was over so fast that it was hard to make out what had happened.

When the food was gone and the creatures had retired to their holes, Ross could still see them shuffling restlessly, red eyes staring. The nymphs started their chant again and the creatures froze. This time four nymphs carried the dying one to the same spot where the fruit had been left. It whimpered but didn't struggle when the others laid it down and retreated to the lower level. Again, when the chanting stopped, the creatures twisted out of the walls like missiles, their long worm-like bodies never leaving the holes entirely. This time the feeding frenzy took longer and Ross watched in horror as the dark, armour-plated beasts drilled through their prey, extracting circular chunks of flesh from the nymph, then retreating to their holes and propelling themselves forward again. In seconds the screaming nymph had been shredded. In a little more than a minute it had been consumed.

When it was over the nymphs made their way back down the tunnel, reverting to the same fractured melody they had sung on the way up. Ross pressed himself deeper into the recess to watch them pass. It seemed that even in this miraculous paradise nature had to maintain a balance, however cruel. For every birth there had to be a death. One in, one out.

As soon as the singing receded, he ventured out to where they had been standing and looked up to the next level. Ahead, he could see the tunnel leading to the source of light. To its right was the dark chamber, its walls pocked with tunnels and holes. A jutting shape, which didn't fit with the crystalline rocks, caught his eye. It took him some seconds to see that it was a sword. Its blade was encrusted with crystals but the handle and hilt were clearly recognizable. He looked round and saw, encased within the rocks, a breastplate punched with holes and half of a helmet. All lay only a few yards from the dark holes and in that instant he knew they had belonged to the ill-fated conquistadors who had climbed this passage to what they thought was treasure. He thought again of the passage in the Voynich.

The scholar priest watched each of them disappear into the tunnel andfor many minutes nothing happened. Then the screaming started. Andthe stream turned red with their blood.

If they had kept to the path on the upper level the conquistadors would still have fallen prey to the rock worms. Their armour and weapons, invincible against the Inca, were useless against such predators. He shuddered at the image of twenty-one men being butchered like the nymph. No wonder it had been a bloodbath.

He looked up the passageway towards the beckoning light. Unlike the conquistadors, Ross knew it wasn't the glow of treasure but something far more valuable. A famous quotation from Louis Pasteur came to mind: 'I am on the verge of mysteries and the veils are getting thinner.' Excitement and frustration pulsed through him. Just out of reach was what promised to be the holy grail of geology, of all science, the point of origin for life on this planet - and a certain cure for Lauren. He watched the shapes moving in the dark, guarding the passage to whatever was up there. He was tantalizingly close to the most incredible discovery in Earth's history - something that had given birth eventually to humanity, although only one man had ever seen it - yet he couldn't reach it. If only he had more time to find a way to get past the creatures, as Father Orlando had.

Ross licked his dry lips, opened his mouth and replicated the nymphs' two-note chant. Immediately, the movement in the holes stopped.

He fell silent and the movement started again. Some of the creatures shot out of the holes, jaws snapping. It seemed that the chanting not only stilled them, but also primed them to expect food. He sang the notes again. The creatures instantly retreated to their holes and froze. He stopped and they sprang into life once more.

Was this how Father Orlando had eventually reached what he had called el origen?

Ross wondered how much further away the source was. He also wondered how long the creatures would stay immobile if he maintained the chant, and whether, once he got past this section, he would be safe. He thought of the crystal in his backpack. Sister Chantal was convinced it was enough to cure Lauren, and she had almost as much at stake as he did. He should he grateful for what he had, hurry home and not look back. And yet---

Bang.

The sharp report was muffled but unmistakable.

Bang.

Another report. Then silence.

He turned, horrified, and ran back to the antechamber.

Why would anyone be firing a high-powered rifle in the garden?

Chapter
57.

For an orphan bastard born in the gutters of Naples, Leonardo Torino had experienced many triumphs in his life, not least the day he became Superior General of the order that had moulded him. Nothing, however, came close to the elation he felt now. After stumbling through caves filled with bat filth and sulphur, he breathed in the fresh, scented air, wiped his stinging eyes and stared. Everywhere he looked there were plants from the Voynich and before him the circular lake described in Falcon's testimony, the forbidden caves too. An ecstatic tremor ran through him. Father Orlando's mythic garden existed and Torino would claim it for the Holy Mother Church. He would save the Church that had saved him. The whole world would bow down before her majesty and power, and depend on her for their salvation.

Torino turned to the soldiers. All were staring, open-mouthed, struggling to believe the vision before them.

'What is this place?' asked Fleischer.

Torino smiled. 'This, Feldwebel, is what we must claim for the Holy Mother Church. This is the Garden of God.'

Weber, the soldier who had followed Ross's party, raised his rifle. 'They're over there, to the right of the lake, and they've seen us.'

Torino raised his binoculars and saw a man and two women three hundred yards away. One was the red-haired student from America, the other the nun, Sister Chantal, but he didn't recognize the man. Ross Kelly wasn't with them. They were standing by a pile of backpacks, preparing to leave. He had got here just in time.

'They're armed,' said Fleischer, shouldering his weapon.

Torino saw the man bend to the backpacks, then pull out a revolver and a rifle. He handed the revolver to the red-haired woman and raised his rifle. Torino imagined how threatening armed soldiers must look, appearing suddenly in this isolated place.

'What are your orders?' said Fleischer.

Torino took in the situation. He could easily defuse matters. Tell the soldiers to lower their weapons, approach Kelly's party and show them the legal documents granting him possession of the garden. But then what? He couldn't let them leave. Aside from the soldiers, they were the only people who knew of this place's existence. They would undoubtedly tell others about it. Kelly certainly wouldn't go quietly, not without a cure for his wife and the opportunity to tell the world of his geological discovery. It wasn't in the Vatican's interests for anyone to know about the garden yet, not until Torino had learnt more about its power and decided how best to use it. Far better to stoke the conflict. Use his superior force to cow and control Kelly and his friends.

'These people are dangerous and can't be trusted,' he said. 'You must disarm them. Take no chances. Fire a warning shot.'

Weber did so. The man stood his ground and gestured for the women to run to the caves.

Weber fired another shot but the man still didn't flee or return fire. He edged backwards, gun raised, covering the women's retreat.

Weber pulled the rifle closer into his shoulder, peered down the sight and squeezed his finger on the trigger. 'I can disarm him from here.'

Torino raised his binoculars and scanned the garden for Kelly. He couldn't see him or anyone else. 'No, leave him. Let them gather in the caves. It'll make it easier to round them up.'

'It might be difficult to flush them out,' said Fleischer.

Torino smiled to himself. 'That won't be a problem, Feldwebel. Trust me.' He walked into the garden and headed for the caves. 'Come. Let's do God's work.'

Chapter
58.

The first thing Ross saw when he scrambled out of the tunnel was Mendoza crouching by the antechamber's small waterfall, gripping his rifle. 'Where the hell have you been?' he hissed.

Ross pointed back to the tunnel. 'I've been trying to find out what's behind this place. You won't believe what's up there.' He glanced anxiously to the back of the cave where the nymphs watched from the shadows. 'What were you shooting at?'

Mendoza shook his head. 'It wasn't me.' He pointed to the cave's entrance. 'Seems we've got company. We were packing to leave, getting a last look at the place, and I came to fetch you. These guys appeared out of nowhere.'

Ross crouched behind a boulder and peered out. Zeb and Sister Chantal were running towards him as fast as they could, Zeb clutching Hackett's revolver in her right hand. Hackett covered the rear, rifle raised, retreating at a more dignified pace towards the cave. Ross couldn't see who they were running from so he stood up. His blood ran cold. 'How the hell did he get here?' he muttered.

Father General Leonardo Torino looked different out of his robes but Ross knew him instantly. Dressed in thick boots, canvas trousers, a white cotton shirt and sleeveless jacket, he was flanked by four uniformed men, all armed and carrying large backpacks. They were clearly confident that their quarry couldn't escape.

When Zeb and Chantal reached Ross, they slumped down, panting, behind the next boulder. 'Give me the gun,' Ross said. Zeb was only too happy to hand it over. She looked scared but Sister Chantal's face was white with fury. Just as she had been about to fulfil her vow and surrender her responsibility for the garden, everything she had striven for, every sacrifice she had made, had come to nothing.

Hackett rushed in, cradling his rifle. He crouched beside Ross. 'Is our visitor your dodgy priest?'

'Father General Leonardo Torino.'

'What's he doing here?' Sister Chantal hissed. 'How did he find this place?'

'We must have led him,' Ross said.

'But how?' demanded Hackett. 'I thought we'd lost him when Osvaldo killed his pirates on the river.'

'I don't know,' said Ross. 'What happened out there? They just appeared?'

'Out of nowhere and began firing.'

'If they'd wanted to shoot you, you'd have been hit by now,' said Mendoza, from deeper within the cave. 'They wanted to contain us here.'

Hackett turned and glanced round the cave. 'Is there another way out?' He pointed to the tunnel. 'Where does that lead?'

'You don't want to go up there,' said Ross. He thought of the exit across the magma pool behind the antechamber. 'There's a possible way out at the back of the cave but it's not a route I'd recommend.'

'What do we do?' said Zeb. 'Fight them?'

Hackett grimaced. 'Those soldiers are well armed. And judging by their backpacks they've brought a mini arsenal with them.'

'We can't just let them take over this place,' said Sister Chantal.

Torino's voice boomed out across the lake. 'Dr Kelly, you and your party are trespassing.' He held up a leather attache case. 'I have the required legal documentation to claim this land. We mean you no harm but these soldiers are here to enforce my rightful claim.' The priest approached the forbidden caves, flanked by the soldiers. 'Show yourself. You have nothing to fear from us.'

Yeah, right, thought Ross. As he looked at the men's hard faces and weapons, the exit across the magma pool seemed more appealing. As Torino neared them, Hackett raised his rifle and Ross fingered his Glock. It seemed so puny. This was madness. They couldn't win. They'd only be killed. They had to accept defeat. Behind him, he heard the metallic click of Mendoza's rifle bolt engaging and Ross remembered how he had dispatched the three bandits on the river.

'Put your guns down or I'll shoot,' Mendoza ordered.

'You're a bit hopeful,' said Hackett, peering out of the cave. 'And you'll have to speak a lot louder than that if you want them to hear you.'

'Not them. You.'

Ross turned. Mendoza's rifle was trained on his chest. 'What?'

'You can't be serious,' said Hackett.

'Drop your guns. Now.'

Hackett and Ross did as they were told. Mendoza stepped closer and kicked the guns behind him. 'I don't understand,' said Ross.

'You will.' Mendoza raised his voice. 'Father General, can you hear me?'

A pause. 'Is that you, Marco?'

'Yes. They're here, all accounted for. I'm sending them out.'

'Marco?' said a stunned Zeb. 'I thought your name was Osvaldo.'

He ignored her. 'Raise your hands and step out of the cave.'

'You made a vow,' said Sister Chantal, stunned.

After the initial shock, nausea swirled in Ross's gut. He couldn't believe what was happening. He had allowed this man, who had pretended to be his friend, to undermine his already impossible quest to save Lauren. Now, when against all the odds he had found what he sought, he was to be denied. All the anger, frustration and grief he had suppressed since the night of her injury erupted within him. He had never known rage like it. He leapt at Mendoza, lunging for the rifle, taking him by surprise.

'What have you done?' he roared, as he flung the man to the ground and wrestled him for the rifle. 'What the fuck have you done?' In his rage, he had no idea how long they fought, but when he had finally wrested the gun off Mendoza and pointed it at the man who had betrayed them, his whole body was trembling.

Then he glanced at Mendoza's right leg and froze.

Mendoza's jeans had ridden up over his boots, revealing a transmitter strapped to his shin. But it was the thick scar above his right ankle that stunned Ross and revealed the full extent of Mendoza and Torino's duplicity. He had seen that scar once before, through a haze of blood on the night Lauren had been injured, moments before she had been thrown from the landing and broken her neck.

Ross had never wanted to kill anyone before but in that instant, as he looked down at the man who had destroyed Lauren's life, he wanted to kill Mendoza - or whatever the bastard's name was. As his finger tightened on the trigger, a soldier rushed in behind him, rifle butt raised, and bludgeoned him across the head. Ross collapsed, the pain so intense he clamped his eyes shut to dull its white glare. A second blow turned the white to black.