The Minoan Cipher (A Matinicus “Matt” Hawkins Adventure Book 2) Read Free

the air. “I have other work for them. The priestess and her brother can’t be allowed to gain control of the treasury. It must be moved out tonight, as soon as darkness falls, while they lay in a trance after the sacrifices.”
    “So soon?”
    “No better time. I have prepared for this day. I will join you in the gardens after darkness falls. Now go !”
     
    The commander followed a pathway that ran through an olive grove bordering the elaborate gardens behind the palace, to the barracks and stables used by the Followers. Couriers instructed the men scattered around the palace to assemble in the gardens as soon as the sun rested. Horses were brought in and a handful of sentries were posted in the gardens.
    The commander led two dozen of his strongest men into the palace along a corridor that was high and wide enough for the horses to pass through.
    The passageway ended in a wall decorated with a fresco that showed a school of fish in exuberant flight. The commander pushed with the tip of his sword against the third fish eye from the left. A lock clicked and the wall swiveled open to reveal a wide doorway. He and his men stepped into a huge vault and used their guttering torches to light wall lamps. The smoke escaped through an ingenious ventilation system.
    The Minoans had amassed vast wealth, but most of that treasure was invested in the fleet of warships and merchant vessels, often one in the same, and in the buildings and infrastructure that were the hallmarks of a great empire. The jewels and gold accrued from commerce were scattered among the prosperous port cities. Aware that the delicate balance of power between the king and high priestess could be upended at any moment, Minos had secretly diverted the finest gems and precious metals to his own treasury secluded deep in the bowels of the Labyrinth.
    The treasure was contained in dozens of bronze chests stacked on wagons that were ready to be hitched to the horses. Some chests were empty, in anticipation of riches yet to come. If any of the men thought it odd that the commander ordered them to hitch the wagons with both the empty and full coffers, they kept their questions to themselves.
    One-by-one the wagons were pulled through the passageway to the gardens. Shortly after darkness fell, the king emerged from the olive grove. He wore a hooded cloak and carried his sleeping daughter over his shoulder. The nanny trailed behind them.
    “All is well, I trust,” he said in a low voice.
    “The treasure is ready to be transported at your word,” the commander said.
    “Good. I want you to go to the south coast where a great ship will be waiting. Sail to Egypt and use the treasure to build a new navy. Each chest has more than enough for a great ship, its crew and contingent of marines. I will stay here.”
    The commander scowled in disbelief. “You must leave with us, sire. It is too dangerous.”
    Minos rose to his full regal height and pushed the hood away. “I am still the king. I will reason with the people.”
    “The priestess has whipped them into a fury. They are beyond reason.”
    “I am not the first King Minos, nor will I be the last. At the very least, if I stay, you will gain time to escape with my daughter.” He slipped the sleeping girl from his shoulder and held her body cradled in both arms. “I entrust you with my greatest treasure. On your life, keep her from harm’s way!”
    The words came not from the monarch of a wealthy empire, but from the mouth of a stricken father saying farewell to his child forever.
    “As you wish, sire,” the commander said.
    He lifted the slumbering girl into his brawny arms.
    The king removed a leather pouch from under his cloak and looped the strap around the commander’s thick neck. “Fill this scroll with your words. Write every day. If you or I are lost, it will show those that follow the way to the treasure. It must never fall into the wrong hands. Promise me!”
    “I give you my promise, sire.”
    The