Chapter 58

Two weeks later, in Thailand

Dave was perplexed as he took out the photograph of the dots he had taken from Tyler's grandfather's home. The map he had on his hands was supposed to pinpoint the location of the treasures the old Johnson had been hiding. His gaze was drawn to its contents. The dots on the back were more distinct, but not entirely. His two captors stood a breath away, calm, but Dave could see the urgency in Javier's eyes. The man had grown exceedingly agitated, even twitchy, since their flight from Scotland to Thailand International Airport a few hours ago.

It was a trait he'd observed in many treasure hunters and his fellow artists over the years. The more novice treasure hunters searching for infinite wealth could practically taste their thoughts of a life of comfort and luxury as they got closer to their goal. Not that he could blame them; even Mary didn't have any idea about his many trips with the hunters during his college days, and he knew well enough that Javier was worried. Even this skilled assassin appeared to have gotten the bug of excitement and anxiety, or was there something else bothering him?

Earlier, they went to the museum. One of the best and most polluted tourists in Thailand, however, had started to close up his counter and was about to announce that the museum was closing when Dave had a thought. His eyes locked on something in the picture. "Sir, excuse me, sir."

"Can I assist you?" The Thai yellow-shirt man's response seemed forced. He must have been plagued all day by the shrill voices of the children. His eyes were puffy, and his hair was twisted from running his hands through it in a hurry. “I'm about to close.”

"I realise you're going to close, but I just had a quick question for you," Dave explained, temporarily relieving her frustration. "Where can I find the dots on the wall in this picture?" he pointed at his map in his hand.

Dave knew well from Tyler’s grandfather's diary that the ancient keepers of the area had constructed many such chambers, but the ones he was looking at in the picture seemed different than most, with walls covered in dots and runic symbols that were covered in dust.

"Actually, we have that in the underground, but it was just an ordinary basement used for tools and old staff. Nothing in there, maybe a snake." The man smiled, "but if you look right here in this area," he pointed to the map at a spot between the two photographs. "It's the picture of the Buddha. Try turning it upside down."

Dave nodded.

"These kinds of dots, however, were nonsense, just a few sayings, but look closely. It was more than just dots, it was like dot drawing," the Thai added, glad to fill the ignorance of the tourists.

"Oh, that is interesting," Javier said, with a motion to Dave to keep the conversation going.

"Oh yes, it is. They are remarkably preserved, and scientists have dated them too. The most interesting thing about them is that they are some of the only stone-made drawings in the basement, but they were close to the visitor."

"Why?"

"Because there is nothing there, just some old things, some replicas, and some old computers. There isn't much for tourists to see."

Interesting, Dave thought. "That is a little bit odd."

"Yes, and another interesting point of note is that it wasn't as remarkable. However, the underground itself is ancient." The Thai looked at his watch, obviously done being courteous.

"I’m sorry to bother you." Dave could hardly contain his excitement. "But how would we get there?"

The man gave them an annoyed sigh and then gave them a few quick directions before excusing himself to finish closing up. Dave nodded his head in the direction of the door, and Javier and his two men followed him back outside. The sidewalk area in front of the building was finally free of noisy children.

"So we are going to the place on the map?" Javier asked as they neared the exit.

"It looks that way. I’d say the place is at least worth taking a look at. It’ll be getting dark in a little while, and that’s pretty much the only guess I’ve got at this point."

Javier looked awkwardly at the prisoner. So far, Dave has been right with every guess. And, surely, they were getting close. It just seemed too easy. Still, he had no other choice.

Going out, Dave saw the six pairs of giant demon guardians flanking all entrances to the Temple of the Emerald Buddha. They are known as yaksha, or in Thai, simply called yak (giant), and they are Buddhist gods that protect against evil spirits. The yaksha was placed there during the reign of Rama III. Javier rolled his eyes as Dave admired the massive statue. "Did you know?" Dave asked, but was halted when Javier sighed as if he was willing to kill anyone who would give him another historical story about the weird statues that covered the place. Dave ignored him as he continued, "Did you know that the mythical and historical past of the statue highlights an important belief surrounding Buddha images? In fact, it is believed that they protected the monarch, their city, or capital. If a king or prince was dethroned or defeated in battle, the Buddha image was taken as a hostage and kept in the capital of the victor in a subordinate position to that of the victor's Buddha image."

"Shut up, Borthman, I don't bloody care."

"Huh! Of course, you care, but you have to know that the Emerald Buddha spent hundreds of years journeying back and forth between countries, right? But it is now the powerful symbol of the Chakri ruling dynasty, and the Thai people believe it brings great fortune and protection to their country. No wonder Tyler’s grandpa is a bit odd. He believed it."

"Why are you telling me this again?"

"Because your little brain needs an upgrade, mate."

If looks could kill, Dave would definitely be dead in a blink. However, looking at the exit area, he realised that the Thai’s directions had been accurate, and it only took about five minutes to get to the location he’d shown them on the map. Arriving at the southern part, Dave was worried about being caught by the locals.

In the passageway. He noticed how the underground path was paved; it was like he had been in mediaeval times, even if the lantern poles were similar in height, around seven feet from what he could tell. But the one in the middle was different in every way. First off, it was several inches higher than the others. "This place is creeping me to the bone," he grumbled under his breath. And he thought about how he preferred a more rustic style underground. It was like he was in a barren stone cave with heavy wooden beams on the ceiling and torches strewn about the walls.

“Borthman, are you sure we are in the right direction? I swear if you are wrong. I'm going to send dozens of men to your sister and her husband, and I’ll make sure they won't be lucky this time.” Javier thought it was a risk, but after Elizabeth ended up being captured in London, he had to hurry and make sure the treasure would be his.

“Okay, okay!” Dave walked slowly from one pike to the next, examining the intricate handiwork of the many carvings in the walls, and yes, the man earlier wasn't lying; even the passage was way older than the modern equivalent they had seen earlier. He stopped at the largest one in the middle and ran his hand over the face of a kind-looking replica of the Buddha.

Then he stepped over to the other three, his face alight with admiration.

"Amazing," he finally said, breaking the silence. "It must have been an extremely painstaking effort to create them, even for just a mere replica."

Javier seemed to be slightly interested but was less intrigued. He stood, arms crossed, with a stern demeanour.

Dave stopped at the last sculpture and examined it closely. Some were animal statues of lions, foxes, and the three demons. He traced the stonework with his finger, still amazed by what the ancients could do.

"What are you looking for, Dave?" Javier’s annoying voice interrupted his thoughts.

He’d been crouching over slightly, and at the question, he had stood back up straight. "I don’t know for sure; maybe a clue to the key you need," he said, rolling his eyes.

Javier motioned for his men to lower their gazes to the opposite end of the room. Dave finished examining the first pole and proceeded on to the second, closely followed by Javier. They attentively examined the stone's surfaces for several minutes and discovered nothing out of the ordinary. He walked around the stone centrepiece, hoping to locate something. This had to be the spot. Everything they'd found up to that moment had pointed to it.

As he came back around to the front of the chiselled stone, he noticed it. Small and almost invisible at first glance, Dave had not seen it before, even though he’d thought he was looking carefully.

A dark lion statue stared at him, its eyes lifeless and eerie. The animal’s face contained amazing detail. Its mouth, in particular, caught his attention because, unlike the other animal carvings, the mouth was open.

He moved his finger up to the opening. "This is it."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, it was like in the diary," Dave replied. "I’m sure. It makes so much sense now. In ancient Thai lore, lions were guardians of the other world. They protected the spirits of ancestors who were already on the other side. It was also believed that sometimes the lion itself was a long-gone relative who had returned as a guide for a person or people. It seems logical that whoever built these would have put an owl here to protect their greatest secret."

Javier stood up straight again. "So, what do we do now?"

Dave sighed, thinking for a moment. "There must be some kind of key we have to use here. If my guess is right, whatever the key is, it probably fits into this lion’s mouth."

“So where the hell is this key?”

“How the hell would I know? “Dave growled back, “I don't know. I thought it was here. The map says so."

"Why do we not simply pick locks?" The guard suggested it in broken English.

"We can’t do that."

"Why not?" Javier asked.

"Do you honestly think that the ancient people who put this here would have hidden everything so well and simply closed it up with a padlock? I guess that it is probably rigged with some kind of anti-manipulation device. If we try to mess with it without the correct key, we may lock ourselves out of the chamber forever or something worse."

"So how do we find this key you speak of?" Javier asked, as Dave could make it appear out of thin air.

"Are you referring to this key?" From behind, a male voice disrupted the conversation.

The unexpected intrusion caused all four males to turn around immediately. Tyler and Mary were about fifteen feet away, pistols aimed at them.

Tyler grasped something small and white in his left hand—a ring held dangerously in his fingers.