Oracle (21 page)

Jade looked down into the murky water.
“You think you can find it down there? Be my guest.”

She opened her hand and let the orb fall. It hit the water with a loud
plop,
and vanished.

Roche
’s reaction was almost primal. He leaped from the boat, reaching out as if he might somehow be able to catch the transparent globe before the water claimed it. The dory began bobbing violently from the abrupt shift in its mass, and the effect was magnified when Roche hit the water, throwing up a spume of water.

The bodyguard threw up his hands in a reflexive grab for a handhold, releasing the scull, but not before Jade got a hand on the dory. She rolled over the side, dropping into the motor boat, and before the bodyguard could recover his wits, she brought her joined fists down in hammer blow that caught him in the back of the head. The strike didn
’t knock him out, but it was enough to daze him. He barely resisted at all as Jade got her arms under his torso and heaved him up and over the side.

Jade scrambled back to the outboard and twisted the throttle to
‘full.’ The boat lurched forward, throwing out a rooster-tail of white water. She glanced back and saw the bodyguard thrashing in the wake but there was no sign of Roche, who had evidently made a deep dive to retrieve the sunken orb.

She turned the boat toward the south shore and ran it up onto a sandbank not far from where she had gone in. She was a little worried that someone might have called the police, so despite her eagerness to be away, she ran back up toward Roche
’s flat and skirted along the apartment buildings until she found a narrow alley leading back to the main street. Then with as much nonchalance as possible given her sodden appearance, she stepped onto the sidewalk and began strolling toward the waiting car.

“
Jade?” Dorion leaped out of the car. “Where did you go?” He didn’t wait for an answer. “Your friend Professor called. They’ve made an amazing discovery in Delphi. We have to hurry if we’re going to catch our flight.” He stopped, looked at her. “Why are you all wet?”

“
It’s a long story. I’ll tell you after I dry off.”

“
Were you able to make the switch? Did everything go as you planned?”

Jade dropped a hand to her pocket and brought out her prize. She thought about Roche groping in the mud at the bottom of the river, rooting around like a catfish. How would he react when he finally found what he was looking for, only to discover that the orb she had dropped into the Thames was not Dr. Dee
’s Shew Stone, but a cheap reconstituted quartz crystal ball she’d picked up at an occult bookstore a few blocks from the British Museum?

The thought brought a smile to her face.
“Almost exactly as planned.”

Delphi, Greece

Professor gazed up
into the darkening eastern sky, and found the moon, a misshapen white disk that looked more like an over-inflated football than a sphere. The technical name for the current phase was ‘waxing gibbous’ but in a few more days it would be completely full. If Dorion was right about tidal forces cancelling out the dark matter field, then they might have already missed their opportunity.

After his conversation with the physicist, it had occurred to Professor that there might be another explanation for the oracle choosing to speak only on the seventh day of the lunar month; the timing of moonrise and lunar zenith. The first quarter moon would be in the sky during midday, when the oracle was active. As the month progressed, moonrise would come later and later, until in the latter half of the month, the moon would only be overhead in the middle of the night. Perhaps it wasn
’t the alignment of sun and moon that mattered, but simply having the moon overhead. That too was something they could test, which was why he and Ophelia had been cooling their heels at the hotel until after dusk.

He turned to Ophelia.
“Ready to play oracle?”

She returned a playful smile.
“You know, according to tradition, we should ritually bathe first.”

“
We also should have spent the last few days fasting,” he replied, evenly. “Let’s hope it doesn’t make a difference.”

She laughed and seemed content with his answer. Professor waited until she had turned away to roll his eyes in frustration. At first, he had thought perhaps he was misreading her, but after a while, it had been impossible to miss the signals; the sly glances, the comments thick with innuendo, and perhaps most significant of all, the fact that she was trying her damnedest to impress him with how intelligent she was. He had been flattered, and then he had grown suspicious. He wasn
’t arrogant enough to believe that every woman swooned in his presence, and since Ophelia was both beautiful and wealthy, it seemed unlikely that she was desperate for suitors, especially someone so far outside what he assumed was her normal social circle. So why was she trying so hard to get his attention?

He decided that, despite her seemingly confident manner, Ophelia was either a narcissist, in which case what she really wanted was for every person in her life to worship her; or deeply insecure, which essentially meant the same thing. Either way, nothing good could come of indulging her. He had decided it was better to feign being oblivious to her advances; this was a partnership of convenience, nothing more, and it would be over soon enough.

“Okay, but if this doesn’t work, it’s your fault.”

“
Fair enough.” He donned his hat and headed for the door. He wasn’t, in truth, prepared to accept any kind of blame in that regard. As far as he was concerned, the visit to Delphi had already borne fruit. If he or Ophelia actually experienced some kind of precognitive vision at the ruins of the sanctuary of Apollo, well that would just be icing on the cake.

Flanked by
Ophelia’s security detail, they headed out through the bustling streets, toward the archaeological site. The site was technically closed for the day, but years of generous donations from the Doerner Charitable Trust had earned her “special access.”

They made their way along the trail by moonlight, and came to the ancient temple. Professor had seen pictures and models of what the temple might have looked like during the heyday of
Delphi; now, all that remained was a foundation of cut stone blocks and five upright columns, only one of which was still mostly intact. As they approached, Ophelia stepped ahead of him, practically racing to the edge of the temple site.

“
Watch your step,” he warned. His advice was probably unnecessary. Ophelia had been here so many times, she probably could have negotiated the irregular maze of footings and excavated trenches blindfolded.

She looked spectral in the silvery moonlight, more a wraith than a prophetess.
The vision—
no, don’t call it that
—left him ill at ease, but he kept his anxiety to himself.

Despite his scientific skepticism, he had grudgingly come to believe that both Jade and Paul Dorian had glimpsed some kind of alternate reality, and that Dorian
’s dark matter hypothesis was accurate. It furthermore seemed very probable that a solid sphere could act as a dark matter collector, and that one sphere could seed another, drawing in WIMPs like iron filings to magnet; maybe Costa Rica had been some kind of ancient Omphalos farm.

Ophelia roamed back and forth across the ruin, moving more slowly but not, Professor suspected, because she was unsure of her footing. She walked with her arms slightly apart, palms facing down, as
if she might somehow feel the energy of the ancient oracle rising up from the below. Professor just watched, hanging back to observe the outcome of the experiment.

After ten minutes, in which Ophelia never stopped moving for more than few seconds, he finally called out to her.
“Anything?”

She stopped.
“No. Maybe we’re doing something wrong.”

“
There are too many variables. Maybe we’re not close enough to the dark matter field. The oracle always received visions in the lower level of the sanctuary. Maybe there’s too much earth in between.” He took a breath, and then told her what he was really thinking. “Or maybe the field has dissipated over the centuries. I spent the afternoon looking for anecdotal evidence of any kind of paranormal activity at Delphi, and came up empty. There are dozens of so-called ‘power spots’ all over the world—Stonehenge; the Pyramids; Sedona, Arizona; even Teotihuacan—where people report all kinds of weird stuff. I couldn’t find so much as a whisper of strange activity at Delphi. Maybe there was a residual dark matter field after the Phoenician raiders stole the original Omphalos…maybe that’s how the oracle was able to prophesy…but it’s gone now.”

Ophelia seemed to deflate. She picked her way across the ruin to join him.
“Let’s go,” she said, dejectedly.

Professor thought about reaching out to her, giving her a hug or holding her hand as they made their way back up the trail, but resisted the impulse. Now was definitely not the time to send her mixed signals.

As they started toward the theatre, he spied lights moving down the trail toward them. Immediately wary, he extended a hand to block Ophelia. “I don’t like the look of this.”

“
It might be the night watchman.”

Professor watched the lights bobbing as they moved along.
“I don’t think so. There’s more than one. Let’s find another way out of here.”

Before he could turn however, one of the security men called out.
“It’s okay. They’re friendlies.”

“
Friendlies? What does that mean?” He leaned close to Ophelia. “I don’t care what he says. Be ready to move.”

There were four
vehicles in the convoy, each one carrying four men; sixteen men in all. Hodges wondered if it would be enough. All of them, with the exception of Gutierrez, had been with Hodges on Isla del Caño, and all were hungry for payback, but there had been even more of them when they had gone after Chapman and his friends on that island. Gutierrez was confident of success and his own ability to lead the men in combat—evidently, he had attended some kind of elite commando school run by former Delta Force guys. In his mind, he was the next best thing to Rambo—but Hodges wasn’t sure exactly how Gutierrez’s plan of action was much different than the one they had used on Isla del Caño, other than the fact that they wouldn’t have any air support. There were other parts of the plan that concerned him as well.

“
Isla del Caño was remote,” he had told Gutierrez, “and Costa Rica doesn’t have a military, so we knew we wouldn’t have to worry about local intervention. That’s not going to be the case at Delphi.”

“
It’s been taken care of,” was all Gutierrez would say on the subject. “Don’t worry. It’s not your responsibility anymore.”

Hodges
’ dislike for Gutierrez was growing; the billionaire was going to get them arrested. Or killed.

The convoy stopped on the roadside near the museum and the men began piling out. Gutierrez gathered them together for a final check of equipment and a review of the objectives. When directed to, Hodges lowered his night vision device over his eye and turned it on. The world was immediately rendered in pale green, with bright blobs from streetlights and the lights of the nearby city at the edge of his vision. He could clearly see the rest of the assault team; with their NV goggles in place, each man looked like some kind of cyborg from a science fiction movie. The effect was even more pronounced when pencil-thin laser beams began crisscrossing the darkness as each man checked the aiming devices attached to their suppressed nine-millimeter machine pistols. Hodges touched the trigger of his own weapon and saw a beam lance out from the end of the barrel.

“Weapons hot. All units move out.” Gutierrez’s voice sounded from Hodges’ earbuds.
This guy watches too many movies,
Hodges thought.

The shooters spread out and began creeping up the hill, fanning out around the museum building. The latest report they gotten from their contact at the hotel was that Chapman and Ophelia Doerner had headed out for an after-hours visit to the archaeological site. That would make what they were about to do a little easier, even if Ophelia was surrounded by her bodyguards. There was no word on the whereabouts of Jade or Dorion, but as Gutierrez had said, one thing at a time.

He followed Gutierrez up the path behind the museum. They were both walking slowly, careful not to betray their presence with the crunch of a boot on gravel or the rustle of grass. The laser beams and infrared light marked the location of the rest of the team.

Despite Gutierrez
’s ersatz expertise, Hodges felt his pessimism begin to lift. In Costa Rica, they had sacrificed the element of surprise, giving Chapman time to mount a defense. This time, they would strike quickly with no warning, and their superior technology would give them the edge over the unsuspecting targets.

As if to echo his rising confidence, a voice sounded in his ear.
“I see them. They’re at some kind of old temple ruin with five pillars.”

Hodges searched the hillside to find the indicated spot. From behind a cluster of evergreen trees, a laser beam was pointing into the sky, waving back and forth as a beacon to mark the location.

“I see you,” Gutierrez said over the radio. “Converge on that location. Quietly,” he emphasized. “And wait for my signal.”

“
What about Ophelia?” asked Hodges.

Gutierrez turned to him.
“She’s a dangerous fanatic,” he snorted. “Her brother will thank me for getting rid of her.”

The lights continued
getting closer, resolving into four distinct sources; handheld flashlights illuminating the path down which the approaching party moved. One of the beams came up and briefly flitted across the waiting forms of Professor and Ophelia.

“
There you are,” called out a familiar voice.

“
Jade?”

The group closed the distance quickly and in the ambient light, Professor quickly picked out Jade and Dorion, as well as the team of bodyguards that had left with them in England.

“Did you start without us?” Jade asked.

“
Started and finished,” he replied. “Nothing happened.”

Dorion looked even more disappointed than Ophelia.
“Well, I suppose it was too much to hope for.”

“
I think whatever power was here, whatever lingered after the Phoenicians took the Omphalos across the ocean, has long since dissipated.”

“
It’s a dead end,” sighed Ophelia.

Jade looked at her, then at Professor.
“Hey, cheer up kids. The day wasn’t a complete wash out.” She held up a small transparent orb, about the size of a racquetball, for inspection.

“
You got it?” Professor was astounded. “John Dee’s Shew Stone?”

Jade shrugged a little.
“Well, that’s what its former owner seemed to think.”

“
Former…Jade, did you steal this?”

Jade put on an expression of mock umbrage.
“Steal? I retrieved it.” She quickly recounted the outcome of the stopover in London. “And once we’re done with it, I’ll make sure it gets returned to the Science Museum.”

“
And did it, you know, show you anything?”

Jade
’s jaw slid sideways in irritation. “No. Not really. I didn’t get a chance to look at any of the Dee manuscripts in Roche’s collection. There are probably some others at museums and libraries in London, but it’s probably not a good idea to go back there, at least for a little while.”

“
We’ve made real progress here,” Ophelia said, regaining some of her earlier passion. “We can’t stop looking now.”

“
Maybe we should just take a step back,” Professor suggested. “Who knows what we’ll see after a good night’s sleep?”