The Thrones of Eden 3 (Eden) by Rick Jones Read Free Book Online Page A

He looked around, his light flashing off the walls, the ceiling, the crystal universe sparkling. Then he returned his light back to the upside down Ankh and the lettering upon its posts. “Those markings,” he continued, “I recognize a few to be pre-Sumerian. But most remain unknown to me.”
    “Its symbolic meaning is ‘The Key to Life,’” she answered. “And the letters on the vertical beam—” She cut herself short and shined the light against the lettering, deciphering. “It’s another riddle.”
    The ministers looked at her, their faces dropping. John Savage’s remained neutral, as did Hillary’s.
    Finally, Hillary spoke: “To what?”
    “On the wall that led to this amphitheater,” she started. “It said that if we solved the primary riddle, then to the Chamber of the One shall you pass.” She looked at John and then to Hillary, her face suddenly enlightened. “These corridors, this room—I think they lead to something far greater than what we discovered inside the temple of Eden,” she said. She then looked back at the lettering, at the writing, her mind working. “The One,” she whispered, and then she removed her scratchpad and began to copy the symbols and played with the syntax, trying to put together a meaningful message by puzzling the symbols into different arrangements to create an understanding.
     

     
    She wrote down the symbols on the vertical bar first and reconfigured them until the symbols came to light, the message crystallizing. She nodded in affirmation. “Definitely a riddle,” she said.
    “And that would be?” asked Hillary.
    She tapped the point of her pencil against the pad. “The turn of the key is the foundation to All Life Under One. Use the key unwisely, then darkness shall you forever see.”
    “Well, I see we’re back to the threat of death once again,” commented Hillary.
    Then to no one in particular, Alyssa whispered, “The turn of the key is the foundation to All Life Under One. Use the key unwisely, then darkness shall you forever see.” She walked around the Ankh. “The key . . .” Obviously that was the structure itself, the upside-down Ankh. The foundation, she considered. And suddenly it came to her like the bulb of enlightenment going off in her head. Of course! she considered . The Foundation to the Key of Life !
    She immediately got to a bended knee and began to examine the crystal-clear plinth, the foundation of the Ankh, the foundation of the Key.
    She traced her fingertips against the plinth.
    “Alyssa, what are you looking for?” asked John.
    “This is the foundation holding the key to life,” she told him. “This plinth holds the answer to the riddle somewhere. Help me find it!”
    Hillary and Savage joined in, as did the four ministers, crowding the area until they found themselves in each other’s way. Hands and fingertips grazed the crystal, searching, everyone looking for odd niches or recesses, finding nothing but smoothness.
    But one of the ministers found four thimble-sized indentations that were deep enough to place the four fingertips inside them, excluding the thumb. The excited minister shouted in Turkish, drawing immediate attention.
    They soon discovered more recesses.
    “They’re finger holds,” Alyssa said. “The idea is to allow people purchase points to turn the key at its foundation.”
    “But in what direction?” asked John.
    “That’s a good question. And one we’ll need to answer before turning the plinth in a certain direction.” She looked at the lettering: Use the key unwisely, then darkness shall you forever see. “We cannot afford to make the wrong choice,” she added.
    “So what do we do now?” asked Hillary. “Since the choice is fifty-fifty. We either turn the base to the left or to the right.”
    The four ministers began to scrutinize the plinth closer, which drew a warning from Alyssa for them to be careful. “There has to be something more,” she said. “The lettering surrounding