and—with its cargo of fanatical Neetha warrior-monks—crashed into the forest, exploding in a great billowing fireball.
Wizard, Lily, and Ono hauled Zoe up into the hold while Diane Cassidy closed the rear ramp. The ramp thunked shut, and they all sat there for a moment on the floor in the wonderful silence of the hold.
“Th-thanks guys,” Zoe gasped.
“You’re thanking us?” Wizard said in disbelief. “You’re thanking us? Zoe, did you see yourself these last few days? You killed a warrior on the Fighting Stone, you deciphered an unconquerable maze, you flew a Neetha- covered plane out of Hell and almost died to make sure we all got off it safely.
“Honestly Zoe, I’ve never seen anything like it. What you’ve done was extraordinary. Jack West Jr is not the only out-and-out hero I know. When he was gone, you stepped up to the plate. You’re an absolute wonder.”
Zoe bowed her head. She hadn’t even thought about what she’d done. She’d just done it.
Lily gave her a huge hug. “You were awesome, Princess Zoe. Five-star girl power. Grrrr!”
And for the first time in days, Zoe smiled.
BACK AT THE Neetha village, through sheer force of arms, Wolf’s people had taken control of the town.
Neetha villagers and warrior-monks were gathered together on their knees, bound with flex-cuffs and guarded by Congolese Army men.
Switchblade came striding over to Wolf.
“Sir, we have it,” he said proudly, stepping aside to reveal the Delta man, Broadsword, who held the Second Pillar.
Wolf’s eyes sparkled at the sight. He took the cleansed Pillar and held it reverently in front of his face.
“We also found this young gentleman.” Switchblade shoved Alby forward, clutching his wounded shoulder. “Name’s Albert Calvin. Says he’s a friend of Jack West’s daughter.”
Wolf eyed the little boy before him and snuffed a laugh. “Tend his wound. He comes with us from here.”
Switchblade went on: “Rapier’s up in the inner sanctum above the maze. He says he’s found the Firestone, the Philosopher’s Stone, and the First Pillar, all laid out on altars. He’s bringing them down.”
“Splendid,” Wolf said. “Splendid. The Neetha took them from Max Epper. This is turning out to be an excellent day.”
He turned suddenly to Switchblade. “What about the Orb, the Delphic Stone?”
“It’s gone, sir. As are Professor Epper and his group.”
Wolf snorted. “Alive or not, Epper won’t be happy. Because he knows that we now have every trump card in the deck: the first two Pillars, the Philosopher’s Stone,and the Firestone.”
“There’s one more thing, sir,” Switchblade said.
“Yes?”
Switchblade nodded to someone, and from the crowd another prisoner was brought forward.
Wolf’s eyebrows arched in surprise.
It was the warlock of the Neetha.
The gnarled old man’s hands were cuffed, but his eyes blazed with rage.
“And just how can you help me ?” Wolf said, knowing the old shaman couldn’t possibly understand him.
To his surprise, the old man answered him. But he didn’t speak in Thoth. Rather, he spoke in a language that Wolf recognized: Greek, classical Greek.
“The Second Corner of the Machine,”the warlock drawled in slow but perfect Greek. “I have seen it. I will take you there.”
Wolf leaned back in surprise, a sly smile forming.
“Switchblade, Broadsword. Fire up the choppers and call our people in Kinshasa. Tell them to prep a plane for Cape Town. It’s time to get our fucking reward.”
AS The Halicarnassus soared southeastward in glorious peace, Zoe and the others joined Sky Monster in the seating area immediately behind the cockpit.
Ono and Diane Cassidy were introduced and Sky Monster explained what had happened to him since they’d left him in Rwanda.
“After Solomon’s boys arrived with some start-up fuel, I flew to the old farm in Kenya and gave my baby a full checkup and refuel, even had a brand-new engine mounted.”
“You keep spare jetengines there?” Zoe asked.
“I might’ve…found…some in my travels and kept them for a rainy day,” Sky Monster said bashfully. “Anyway, I’ve been tracking every aerial scramble in central Africa, and sure enough, earlier today, I spotted these Congolese guys on the satellite scanner—in some Clipper transports and escorted by a few US choppers—all heading to this region. Figured they’d found you, so I tagged along from a distance. Then when I saw you take off in the other direction, I figured it could only be Zoe flying.”
“Ha-de-ha-ha,” Zoe said.
Sky Monster said, “Hey, where’s Solomon? I gotta thank him for sending that fuel.”
Zoe shook her head.
