amused by the “ploy.”
Still flabbergasted, Caedmon stared at the elderly man who all along had been pulling the puppet strings.
“Where is Saviour?” Dr. Lyon scanned the room, his eyes suspiciously narrowing.
Caedmon quickly glanced at Edie. A warning.
“Your neophyte suffered an unexpected bout of claustrophobia, which prompted his early departure.”
“Yeah, he had a real bad case of spelunkphobia,” Edie snickered.
“Since there’s only the one exit, Saviour ordered us to retrieve the relic while he awaits our egress
With a nod of the head, Dr. Lyon accepted the deceit as payment in full.
“All in all, well done, sir!” Caedmon congratulated with hale good humor. “We respectfully concede the field and award you the prize. Edie, if you would be so kind as to set the Emerald Tablet on the stone altar where Dr. Lyon may properly examine it.”
“Um, right… be happy to.” Always a dependable teammate, Edie did as instructed.
Like guests summoned to dinner, the three of them gathered at the altar: Dr. Lyon at the head of the table, Caedmon at the foot, and Edie, the hapless diner in the middle. And of course, the silent, uninvited guest Saviour Panos, who’d been cast into the pit just prior to the dinner gong.
Dr. Lyon’s eyes glimmered with unshed tears as he stared at his “dinner plate.” Utterly bedazzled. As Caedmon had been when he first set eyes on the sacred relic.
“I’m admittedly curious as to how you learned of the Emerald Tablet,” he conversationally remarked.
Long moments passed before Dr. Lyon finally tore his gaze away from the relic. “I was approached by Jason Lovett regarding the Paleo-Hebrew inscription that he unearthed in Arcadia.”
“Paleo-Hebrew is an ancient version of the Semitic language,” Caedmon said in a quick aside to Edie.
Like a lover caressing the beloved, Dr. Lyon smoothed his hand over the intricate gold-inlaid design, Edie having set the relic on the altar, backside up. “The Templar inscription proved to be a Latin transliteration. Properly translated, it reads ‘Thoth’s stone.’ ”
“Aka the Emerald Tablet,” Edie said. “Which is how you knew that the Templars had taken the relic to their secret New World colony.”
“No sooner did I read Dr. Lovett’s extraordinary e-mail than I knew it was the Fourth and
Taken aback, Caedmon’s head jerked. “Do you honestly believe that the hand of providence—”
“I
Although tempted to point out that
“Oh, puh-leeze! This guy’s clearly delusional,” Edie scoffed, subtlety not her strong suit. “I don’t know why we’re even wasting our breath talking to you.”
“Perhaps because I am the one holding the gun.”
At hearing the ironic riposte, Edie openly glared.
“Do you by any chance know
“The Emerald Tablet is an ingeniously crafted cryptogram that unlocks the sequences of the Divine Harmonic,” Dr. Lyon replied, back to speaking in a measured professorial tone.
He raised a quizzical brow, unfamiliar with the term.
Using the index finger of his left hand as a pointer, Dr. Lyon indicated the circular wreath of intertwined characters. “The pictograph is fashioned from the letters of the Paleo-Hebrew alphabet. Each letter, when spoken aloud, has a specific tone that generates a unique pulse and vibration. Not only can sound and vibration alter physical matter, but it can
Edie turned to him. “Tell me it ain’t so.”
“I cannot,” Caedmon honestly replied, grappling with this latest revelation. “Dr. Lyon’s claim is scientifically possible. Indeed, there is a branch of science known as cymatics that studies modal phenomenon, specifically examining the interaction of sound, vibration, and frequency. The results of these experiments tend to prove Dr. Lyon’s assertion that sound and vibration can affect physical matter.” He hesitated, well aware that the cymatic research had also proved something else. Something utterly astounding.
Dr. Lyon wordlessly lifted his chin in Caedmon’s direction, silently commanding him to continue.
“Right.” He took a deep breath, worried that rather than dousing the flame with a wet flannel, he was about to splash gasoline onto the fire. “The cymatic researchers also discovered that when the letters of the ancient Hebrew language are spoken aloud, the ensuing tonal vibration
Edie snapped her fingers. “Yeah, don’t you remember? In
“Garbled polyglot without the encryption key.” Dr. Lyon dismissively shrugged. “The
“Holy crap!” Edie turned to him, wide-eyed. “That can only mean one thing — he’s got the encryption key.”
The older man opened his mouth. Then just as quickly closed it. Neither confirming nor denying.
“Come now. You are among friends. Or at least unarmed dinner companions,” Caedmon coaxed with forced humor.
“Yes, I have the encryption key,” Dr. Lyon finally confessed. “Some years back, I inherited a rare document that chronicles the entire history of the Emerald Tablet dating back to Atlantis and the high priest Thoth. Titled the
“My God,” Edie murmured, like Caedmon, horrified. The mere mention of the place conjured a ghastly image.
“I’ve never heard of the
“Only one copy of the manuscript exists. Within its pages, the secret of the Divine Harmonic is revealed.” Dr. Lyon paused, garnering their full attention. “As well as a detailed plan to end the violent depravity that permeates this world.”
Edie immediately swung her gaze toward the head of the table. “Why am I suddenly getting a
“The wise authors of the
Hearing that, Edie gasped.