Read Online Icefall (Dane Maddock Adventures) by David Wood - Free Book Online Page B

to his feet.
    Pain exploded through his skull as he cracked the top of his head on hard stone, and he crumpled to the ground with a whimper . Head swimming and ears ringing, he tried to push himself up, but his strength was gone. Only a moan of pain and desperation escaped his lips as the stone cover slid back into place, entombing him where the saint had once lain.

Chapter 10- The Peacock
     
    “ Let m e take another look at that . ” Dane reached into the back seat and accepted the skull from Angel. He sat it in his lap, its face grinning up at him. The Magi , the Wise Men who visited the baby Jesus in Bethlehem. Could it be true? He had to laugh. How many times in the past few years had he asked himself that very question ? Either the world was jam-packed with mysteries and secrets, or he and Bones were very lucky – or unlucky, depending on how you looked at things.
    “ I don ’ t know what to make of it. ” Jade leaned over his seat to get a better look. A moment later, Angel ’ s face joined hers.
    “ Hey chicks, we ’ re driving on a snowy highway. Put your seat belts back on! ” Bones shook his head. “ And they say I ’ m reckless. ”
    Angel laid a hand on his shoulder. “ We just trust your driving ability, that ’ s all. ”
    Bones rolled his eyes but dropped the issue.
    “ Does that light ever go out? ” Angel pointed to the stone set in the front of the crown.
    “ I think it ’ s just reflecting light from the dashboard, ” Jade said.
    “ I ’ m not so sure. ” Dane remembered his first impression when he removed the skull from its reliquary. The light seemed to come from within the stone. “ I could see a glimmer of light in it from the very start. ”
    “ A stone that generates its own light? Maddock, that ’ s impossible. ”
    Dane and Bones exc hanged a quick glance, both remembering an underground temple, its walls lined with stones that could absorb and amplify light.
    “ I once saw something along those lines, though not quite the same. ” He told them about what he and Bones had found in the Holy Land a few years earlier. “ I have an idea. Bones, can you pull the car over and kill the lights? ”
    A few minutes later they sat on a dark, deserted stretch of highway. They all huddled around the skull, blocking any ambient light, and peering intently at the opaque gem.
    “ I see it! ” Jade gripped Dane ’ s arm. “ There ’ s a faint sliver of light there. ”
    “ It ’ s almost shaped like a triangle, ” Angel mused. “ See how it ’ s narrower at one end? ”
    “ But is it generating its own light, or is it like the stones we saw before, and just using the light it absorbs? ” Bones asked.
    “ This isn ’ t like those stones. ” Dane shook his head. “ Those took a little bit of light and multiplied it. This is just a sliver that seems to come from within the stone itself. Weird. ”
    Just then, Jade ’ s cell phone rang, interrupting their quiet contemplation. She glanced at the screen and smiled.
    “ It ’ s Otto. ”
    The conversation was brief, and Otto must have done most of the talking because Jade ’ s contribution consisted primarily of “ okay ” and “ uh-huh. ” When she hung up, she was smiling ear-to-ear.
    “ What was that all about? ” Dane asked.
    “ Otto thinks he ’ s solved another of the clues. Paderborn Cathedral has a well-known three hares window. That by itself wouldn ’ t help us out much, but it also houses the remains of Saint Liborius. ” She paused for effect.
    “ This conversation is already feeling laborious. ” Dane grinned while the others groaned . “ Cut the suspense. What’s special about this guy? ”
    “ He was a bishop of the late fourth century during a time when paganism was strong in this part of the world. Legend has it, when the relics of Liborius, ” she emphasized the correct pronuciation, “ were brought to Paderborn, a peacock led the procession. ”
    “ The peacock be your guide. ” Dane