The Seal of Solomon by Rick Yancey Read Free Book Online Page B

‘Bob’ would be more an alias than a code name, don’t you think?” Abigail was smiling.
    â€œWhat’s going on?” I asked, struggling to sit up, but my head was throbbing and the room was spinning, and I decided sitting up wasn’t such a good idea at that moment.
    â€œWe don’t know the answer to that question,” Abby said.
    â€œIt seems an odd turn of events, given what we know about Mike Arnold’s plans.”
    â€œMaybe that’s something you could share with me,” I said. “Mike’s plans.”
    â€œAfter he was terminated, Michael Arnold stole two very valuable items from the OIPEP vaults. We are on our way to intercept him before he can put them to use.”
    â€œWhat did he take?” I asked, and waited for the usual answer: That’s classified.
    Op Nine glanced at Abby, who gave him a sharp nod. He looked at me. His eyes were very dark, almost black.
    â€œThe Seals of Solomon,” he said in that deep, undertaker-like voice. If he was waiting for some sign of recognition from me, he was going to be waiting for a long time. I just stared back.
    â€œYou have heard of King Solomon,” he said.
    â€œFrom the Bible, right?”
    â€œYes. In the days of his reign, Solomon possessed two items of great power, immeasurable gifts from heaven. The Great Seal and the Lesser Seal, also called the Holy Vessel. These two charges he jealously guarded until his death three thousand years ago. The Great Seal was lost in antiquity, but the Lesser Seal was recovered from its hiding place in Babylon by an archeological expedition in 1924—”
    Abby cut off the lecture. “The Greater Seal, or Seal of Solomon, is a ring, Alfred. The Company recovered it in the 1950s from a now-defunct apocalyptic death cult in the Sudan—” “Wait a minute,” I said. “Did you say the Seal of Solomon is a ring ? Like a wear-on-your-finger-type ring?”
    â€œPrecisely.
    â€œHave you paged Elijah Wood? I think I saw this movie.”
    She smiled. “The ring to which you refer is a product of art, a fiction. The Great Seal of Solomon is an artifact of history. It belongs to our world, not an imaginary one. Most significantly, Solomon’s ring is not the creation of evil. Of course, in the wrong hands it could be used to that purpose, and that is precisely why we recovered it and kept it safe for the past fifty-five years—”
    â€œUntil Mike stole it.”
    â€œWe have since launched a complete overhaul of our security protocols.”
    â€œBoy, that’s a comfort. So Mike stole these two things from you guys . . . and then comes to Knoxville to kill me. Why?”
    They looked at each other.
    â€œWe don’t know,” Abigail said. “We were hoping you might.”
    â€œMe? OIPEP’s looking to me for answers? We’re in bigger trouble than I thought. What about Ashley?”
    Op Nine frowned. “What about her?”
    â€œWhy was she spying on me?”
    Again they looked at each other.
    â€œThe Company often assigns operatives to keep tabs on Special Subjects.”
    â€œ ‘Special Subjects’? I’m a Special Subject?”
    â€œHow could the last son of Lancelot not be a Special Subject?” Abby asked tenderly. “Mike’s entrance into your particular interface took all of us by surprise. Fortunately, Ashley was watching your house when Mike made his move.”
    â€œSo you knock me out and bring me to this boat off the coast of Oman—where is that, Africa or something?—to do . . . what? ”
    â€œIntercept Michael Arnold before he can use the ring to open the Lesser Seal.”
    â€œLesser Seal . . .”
    â€œThe Holy Vessel,” Op Nine said.
    â€œWhy don’t you want the Holy Vessel opened?”
    For the third time they exchanged a glance. I was like the little kid in the room while the parents danced around the facts-of-life