Buccaneer (Dane Maddock Adventures) (45 page)

“
I know exactly who you are, and it is time I put a stop to your plan.
”
She snapped her fingers and the men who guarded Willis and Bones now trained their weapons on Morgan.
“
Jacob, stop choking that girl,
”
she ordered.
“
And you,
”
she said to Bones,
“
may stand down. We mean your people no harm.
”

Dane nodded at at Bones, who reluctantly lowered his knife.

Morgan
’
s beautiful face was cold with fury. For a moment, it looked as if she would turn her weapon on Rhiannon, but instead she lowered it a few inches.

“
A wise choice,
”
Rhiannon said, walking toward Morgan.

“
You mean to take my place.
”

“
I mean
to stop your foul plan, and to prevent this,
”
her gesture took in the entire chamber,
“
from ever being revealed to the world.
”

“
Why?
”

“
Show him, Adam.
”
One of Rhiannon
’
s men pulled down the neck of his shirt, revealing a brand on his chest. A Templar cross!

“
No,
”
Morgan whispered.
“
The Templars are dead.
”

“
We are very much alive, Sister, and we find your pagan rites foul in the sight of God.
”

“
God.” Morgan laughed
.
“
After what we know about these weapons, you still believe in your God?
”

“
Perhaps His creation is greater than our imaginations, but He is still the author of it all.
”

Morgan began to laugh. It was a crazed, mad sound that chilled Dane to the bone. But her laughter cut off when her eyes fell on Mordred
’
s body. The dragon
’
s death throes had nearly subsided, and he now twitched weakly.

“
You killed him!
”
She cried in a voice that was beyond pain, beyond sanity.
“
Very well.” Her entire body quaked.
“
You kill my family, I kill yours.
”

“
No!
”
Jacob dove at Morgan, wrapping her in his bearlike arms and bearing her to the ground just as she pulled the trigger. Morgan cursed and fought him with all her
might, struggling to
free her gun hand, but Jacob held her down.
“
Don
’
t do this,
”
he pleaded.
“
I believed in you. Believed in your vision for
Britain
, but I don
’
t believe in this.
”

Morgan spat in his face and fought to break free. In the midst of her struggles, Dane heard a loud pop. Morgan gasped, her eyes wide with shock. Jacob took the gun from her limp fingers and rolled off of her, revealing a gaping wound in her side. She raised her trembling, bloody fingers in front of her face.

“
Damn you all,
”
she gasped.

Dane barely heard her. He rushed to where Avery lay on the ground, blood seeping between her fingers as she held them pressed to her stomach.

“
We
’
ve got to get you out of here,
”
he said.
“
Somebody give me something I can bandage this with.
”
His voice rang hollow. She wasn
’
t going to make it. It was Melissa and Mom and Dad and too many good friends all over again.

“
Shut up, Maddock.
”
Avery managed a smile.
“
I hate it when you treat me like a child. Big brothers are all alike.
”

“
I don
’
t want you to die,
”
he choked.

Tears spilled down Avery
’
s cheeks as she reached out and took his hand. Suddenly, Dane was aware of someone shaking him hard. It was Rhiannon.

“
I said, it
’
s not too late to save her. Give me the dagger.
”

Dumbly, Dane
handed Carnwennan
to her.

“
Bring
me the Grail
,
”
she snapped as she collected Excalibur and Rhongomnyiad.

Bones and Willis hurried to the casket and raised the crystal lid while Dane reached inside and withdrew the Grail.

Up close, it looked even more ordinary than it had before
.
The outside still sparkled in the light, but he noticed the
inside
was stained a dark reddish brown. He sat the Grail down next to Rhiannon and returned to Avery
’
s side. She lay with her head in Angel
’
s lap, looking up at the ceiling.

“
It
’
s beautiful here,
”
she whispered.
“
I think Dad would have liked it.
”

“
He would,
”
Dane said.
“
Now just hang on a little longer.
”

Rhiannon knelt down beside Morgan, who stared balefully at her.

“
We need a sacrifice, Sister. Will you give it?
”

“
No,
”
Morgan hissed.
“
Sacrifice her and save me instead.
”

“
I will not. I am giving you this chance to make your final act in this world
one of redemption
. Perhaps you can atone for the evil you have done.
”

“
I
’
ll do it.
”
Jacob said, dropping to a knee beside Morgan.
“
For all the wrong I
’
ve done in her service.
”

Morgan looked at him in bewilderment, and then, to Dane
’
s utter amazement, began to cry. She took Jacob
’
s hand and kissed it.

“
No, Jacob,
”
she whispered,
“
I will do it if you will hold me up. I want to face death on my feet.
”

Jacob lifted Morgan like a baby and stood her up, wrapping his arms around her to keep her from falling.

Rhiannon lay the three weapons in a triangular pattern as they had seen on the doorway to t
his place. They all watched the weapons
shone brighter and brighter, each seeming to draw energy from the other. When they shone so brightly that Dane could not stand to look at them, she reached down and picked up the dagger. The glow subsided, but each weapon pulsed with palpable energy.

“
Hold the Grail for me,
”
she said to Dane.
“
It must be family.
”
Dane picked up the stone bowl and, together, they turned to face Morgan.

“
Are you ready?
”
Rhiannon asked.

Morgan nodded.

Rhiannon sliced open the front of Morgan
’
s shirt, turned the knife flat side up, held it above her heart, and slowly pushed it into her Sister
’
s body. Morgan gasped as the blade entered her, but she maintained her mask of serenity.

Rhiannon did not push the knife in deeply, only far enough to draw blood. She waited until the fuller, the groove in the center of the blade, filled with blood, and then she turned and poured it into the Grail. She repeated the process with the spear, and then she hefted Excalibur.

As she pressed the sword to Morgan
’
s chest, their eyes met.

“
Goodbye, Sister,
”
she whispered.

“
May the gods forgive me,
”
Morgan replied, closing her eyes.

With a powerful thrust, Rhiannon drove the sword deep into Morgan
’
s heart. Morgan made not a sound as her lifesblood flowed onto the blade. When Rhiannon withdrew the sword, Jacob laid her gently on the floor.

When Rhiannon poured this last measure of blood into the Grail, it began to glow. Flecks of light
swirled
, and the blood inside bubbled and steamed.

“
She must drink it now.
”

Dane knelt in front of Avery and tipped the cup into her mouth. She choked and gagged, but was too weak to resist. In a few moments, she had gulped down the contents of the cup and, with a sigh, fell back onto Angel
’
s lap.

She lay there for only a few seconds before her eyes jerked open. Her breath came in gulps and her legs twitched. She clutched her wounded stomach and cried out in pain.

And then, she was calm.

She looked up at Dane in disbelief. Rhiannon knelt and raised
Avery’s shirt
high enough to reveal that the
wound was healed
.

“
It worked.
”
Dane shook his head. Another thing he couldn
’
t believe.

“
Is she, like, immortal?
”
Bones asked, looking at Avery in wonder.

“
No. All Morgan
’
s remaining years now belong to her. Morgan was a healthy woman, so she should have a long life ahead of her.
”

Now that he knew Avery was going to be all right, Dane had questions.

“
So, you
’
re a Templar?
”

“
We
are what remains of them,
”
said.

“
Did you know about this place?
”

“
We knew of its existence, but its location was lost over three hundred years ago, along with the hiding places of the three weapons.
”
She sighed.
“
The knowledge was believed to be lost
forever,
until 1701,
when William Kidd, imprisoned i
n Newgate for piracy, offered three lost Templar maps in exchange for his freedom.
”

“
But how did he get the maps in the first place?
”
Dane asked.

“
Through one of his acts of piracy. The captain of the ship he took was a Templar. He had recovered the maps and was taking them to England when he was mortally wounded in Kidd
’
s attack. Kidd promised to deliver them, but he betrayed the captain. He tried to recover what he assumed was a treasure from Oak Island. When he failed, he left a false trail in the form of a stone inscribed with runes. By this time, accusations of piracy were catching up to him, so he tried a new tactic. He hid each map in a sea chest and secured them in various locations for safe keeping until he could see his way free.
”

“
But it didn
’
t happen,
”
Bones said.

“
No. He
attempted to negotiate his release, but no one in authority believed he had anything real to offer, and Kidd refused to provide proof until he was set free. Finally, on the eve of his execution, he made his confession to a priest, though he refused to tell to whom he had entrusted the chests. We began our search immediately, but failed to locate them, and the secret faded into legend.
”

She picked up Excalibur in one hand and Carnwennan in the other.

“
Now we can finally complete our task.
”
With a look of regret, she stepped to the edge of the pit and tossed them in.

“
Wait! What the hell?
”
Bones, Avery, and Angel shouted over one another.

“
Why did you do that? Those are irreplaceable treasures.
The technology…
”
By the look on Tam
’
s face, it was a good thing she no longer had a loaded gun.