Charles Brokaw - The Lucifer Code

‘Yes. Signifying the end of the world.’

The other members of the Brotherhood closed in and started whispering among themselves. Cleena got the impression that many of them were surprised that the scroll had actually been found, and that it was what they had expected it to be.

‘Let me get a picture of the seal.’ Lourds gestured with his camera.

Joachim presented the scroll while the professor took pictures.

Then everyone took a collective deep breath.

Gently, Joachim slid a thumbnail under the curve of the paper and sliced through the red wax drop that closed the scroll. When he was finished, he unfurled the parchment. He stared at the writing for a long time.

Stepping closer, Cleena peered at the page as well. She didn’t recognize the words, but it was handwritten in beautiful, flowing script. Nine names lined the bottom of the page.

‘What does it say?’ Olympia asked.

Reluctantly, Joachim shook his head. ‘I don’t know. I can’t read it.’ His shoulders sagged a little.

Lourds started to say something, then caught himself and stopped. He licked his lips, his eyes never leaving the scroll, and said, ‘May I?’

Joachim let out a frustrated breath. ‘Of course.’ He handed the scroll to Lourds.

Cleena moved closer to the professor, drawn by the inexorable mystery of the scroll. She wondered what everyone was going to do it if Lourds said he couldn’t read the document either.

Sevki’s voice sounded tense when he spoke. ‘You’ve got problems.’

‘What problems?’ Cleena asked.

‘I don’t think you’re down there alone anymore.’

Stone Goose Apartments

Zeytinburnu District

Istanbul, Turkey

19 March 2010

‘What do you mean, we’re not alone?’

Sevki’s adrenaline spiked as he stared at the computer monitor before him. He had hacked into the security cameras round the Hagia Sophia once he had found out that was where Cleena and the others were heading. It was a reflex move on his part. Hacking into the camera system served two purposes. One, it would give him a visual presence over the area. Two, it was possible he might catch someone else hacking into the system. Either way would provide an early warning system. On the screen, three sports utility vehicles sat along the main road. Though the cameras weren’t of top-shelf quality, they were good enough for him to see the man’s movements. Those movements were deliberate, and the man walked a grid, returning over the same area again and again.

It was obviously something he had been trained for.

‘I think the guys you ran into at the university are back,’ Sevki told her.

‘Where are they?’

‘On the grounds round the church.’

‘Then they’re not down here,’ Cleena said.

Sevki watched as light flickered from a device one of the men held.

‘I wouldn’t want to bet on that,’ he replied. ‘They’re carrying some sort of device and walking a set pattern. It appears to mean they’re tracking something.’

‘Us?’

‘Or another team that’s gone underground.’ Sevki watched the figures for a moment and the sense of unease within him grew. ‘You’ve got the scroll. If you ask me, it’s time for you guys to get out of there.’

Before Cleena could answer, the sound of a deep, powerful explosion rocketed along the earwig transmission frequency.

Crypt of the Elders

Hagia Sophia Underground

Istanbul, Turkey

19 March 2010

Lourds stared at the open scroll in his hands. The handwriting looked familiar, and he felt certain that it had belonged to one of the scribes who had written in the book Qayin had shown him. When working with written documents rather than inscribed, the writer’s handiwork often showed itself in stylization, size and placement on documents. Knowing that the writer might be the same was worth something. It helped place the timeline of the document. But the bottom line was that Lourds couldn’t read it. Some of the words looked familiar, but the context was wrong and he couldn’t make sense of too many of the words on the vellum. Resigning himself to defeat, Lourds looked up at the anxious faces surrounding him. Before he could say anything, Cleena freed her pistol and the monks nearest her stepped back and spread out.

Then a deafening blast crashed through the room. Immediately, a fusillade of broken rock tumbled down the corkscrew stairway, followed by a dust cloud that pooled into the room.

With the BOOOOOM of the explosives echoing around him, Eckart took a fresh grip on his pistol and the small flashlight he held. Dust coated his tongue and caked his nostrils. His breath seized at the back of his throat.

When he played his flashlight over the wall, he saw the charges had destroyed the secret door and fractured the walls on either side. Further down the exposed passage, a jumble of rock half closed the hidden entrance. Eckart peered over his gun sight but saw nothing moving. He waved to his point man and indicated the doorway. At once, the man crouched and followed the steps down. Eckart trailed behind him with his pistol gripped in both hands. The other men fell in behind him.

Only a few steps later, the debris rose enough to close the stairway. Broken rock had tumbled down and been caught to form a day against forward progress.

Eckart cursed the bad luck, then holstered his weapon and put on his gloves.

‘Form a line. We’ve got to clear debris.’

The point man slung his weapon over his shoulder and reached for the first rock. He swung round and handed it to Eckart, who handed it to the next man in line. By the time he turned back, the point man had another rock ready. He listened for noise on the other side of the barrier and wondered if his quarry had got away again, or if the blast had killed them.

When the force of the blast filled the room, Lourds grabbed Olympia and pulled her down with him into a protective embrace. She clung to him as rocks ricocheted from walls. Several of them slammed against Lourds’ back and shoulders and stung sharply.

Choking on the dust, he looked up. Grit stung his eyes and brought tears. For a moment he sat frozen and wondered what he was supposed to do. He thought about how the Elders had perished in that room all those years ago. Primitive fear screamed through his brain at the thought of being buried alive. He had to force himself to be calm. Even with his arms wrapped round Olympia, he hadn’t dropped the scroll.

‘Is everyone all right?’ Joachim asked. Blood leaked from a shallow wound by his left eye.

The other monks answered affirmatively. Behind them, Cleena shoved herself to her feet. She still held the pistol in one hand.

A few loose rocks bounded down the staircase and bounced into the room. Scrabbling noises followed.

‘They’re still up there,’ Lourds said. More rocks tumbled into the room.

‘They’ll dig down to us as soon as they can.’ Joachim turned to Lourds and held out a hand. ‘The scroll, please, Professor.’

Reluctantly, Lourds passed him the scroll. The monk dropped the scroll into the leather tube and blocked it once more with the wax seal.

‘Quickly. We haven’t much time.’ Joachim crossed the floor to the gravesite in the corner opposite to the one that had held the scroll. ‘Professor, your pry bar, if you don’t mind.’

Lourds picked it up from the floor and joined Joachim. The monk hunkered down over the grave and took the bar in one hand.

‘What are you doing?’ Olympia asked. She stood behind her brother.

More rocks shifted in the stairway. Men’s harsh voices could be heard in the room. Occasional shafts of light from flashlight beams splintered through the debris. Lourds knew it wouldn’t take much longer for the men to break through. Then they wouldn’t have a chance.