Chapter 25

Everything was quiet when Keith woke up. Maddie was still nestled into the crook of his arm, which felt like it might fall off soon if he didn’t move it. A stone under the tent floor seemed to be lodged directly under his kidney. He carefully extracted himself from the sleepy embrace and slid his clothes on. The wind had died. When he unzipped the tent flap it was still dark outside but the skies were clear. He slid out of the tent and scanned the area with his flashlight. There was a clean crust of icy snow on the ground and Keith thought absently that it was a shame to spoil it with urine. He found a place against the overhang downhill from the tent to relieve himself as he gazed up at the millions of visible stars. They were scintillating. With no city within a hundred miles to light up the sky, nothing interfered with the clarity of the patterns. It crossed Keith’s mind that Gutenberg could have meant charting heavenly stars according to the pattern drawn on the lion. If so, they would not find the treasure on this trip. It had been hard enough to find the moon and star symbols at the tumulus. Regressing a star chart 600 or 2000 years to get the right pattern was not in his mental repertoire. It would require computer software and time that he didn’t have right now. He heard a sound behind him and without turning said, “It’s beautiful, isn’t it, darling?”

“I’m not your darling,” said a male voice, “but for what it’s worth, it is beautiful.” Keith began to spin around, but the voice halted him. “Keep that thing pointed away until you’re finished, if you don’t mind.” Keith zipped himself up and then turned to face the newcomer.

“Who are you?” Keith asked.

“I’m your secret Santa,” the man said. The voice was even and cultured, and creepily smooth. The flashlight he held swung toward the tent. “Wakey-wakey, Madeline,” he called. “Get your freckled ass out here and talk to papa.” There was a frantic stirring in the tent and Maddie’s head popped out.

“Derek?” she said, startled.

“Please take time to get dressed, Mrs. Zayne,” Derek answered. “It’s cold out here.”

“So you’re Derek Zayne?” Keith asked.

“Yes,” the man answered, “and you’ve been sleeping with my wife.”

“Ex-wife,” Keith responded.

“Yeah, yeah.”

“Go to hell, Derek,” Maddie called from inside the tent.

“Be civil, Madeline,” Derek responded. “You were supposed to be in the village on the other side of the mountain tonight. Poor Yousef will be worried sick.”

“What do you mean?” Keith asked.

“Madeline’s brother has been so afraid she would get hurt, what with buildings seeming to blow up wherever she goes,” Derek said. “He asked me to please come and find his dear defenseless sister.”

“I told you to stay away from Joey,” Maddie said as she emerged from the tent pulling on her second boot.

“That is the fastest I’ve ever seen you dress,” Derek said. “We can have our little meeting now and you can tell me where Daddy’s long-lost treasure is buried. In the morning we’ll all go collect it.”

“Why would anyone tell you anything?” Maddie said. “You should be thankful we even came out of the tent. I don’t know how you found us, but you are just as stranded out here as we are.”