Read Icefall (Dane Maddock Adventures) for Free Online Page A

beautiful women. ”
    “ You ’ re such an ass, Maddock. ” Jimmy chuckled. “ Of course, Bones is probably there too, which sucks all the fun out of everything. ”
    “ I ’ ll tell him you said so. Can you send me the translation? ”
    “ Sure. The last word was partially rubbed out or chipped away or something , so I didn ’ t get it all. Emailing it to you right now. And, of course, you owe me a meal... again. ”
    “ What would I ever do without you? Thanks Jimmy. ”
    Dane ended the call and punched up his email on his phone. Everyone leaned toward him as he began to read.
     
    “ As the lion roars for the king, the peacock be your guide into the depths of the well. The kings point the way to the falling ice that hides eternal l... ”
     
    It ended just as Jimmy had said – with an incomplete word.
    “ There it is again, ” Bones said. “ You know, we figured the priest just didn ’ t manage to get the last word out, but if he knew the words on this disc, maybe he was trying to tell us all he knew. ”
    “ Maybe. ” Dane looked up as their next round of drinks arrived. He found he had lost his thirst, though, and drank mechanically as he pondered the words. “ It ’ s a f ar cry from step-by-step instru ctions. ”
    “ And this should lead us to the missing skulls, you think? ” Jade leaned over to read Jimmy ’ s email. She shook her head. “ The wording makes it sound like there ’ s something more. But what? ”
    “ Should we go to the police with this? ” Angel asked.
    “ I don ’ t know. ” B ones spoke slowly, absently spinning his beer mug as he thought the problem through. “ What do we really know? The killers want the skulls of the wise dudes. I ’ m guessing you told them as much. ” He looked at Otto who nodded. “ We could give them this clue but what would they do with it? Can you see a cop who ’ s probably got a ton of cases on his hands taking the time to trying to figure this thing out? That ’ s what we do. ”
    “ I could share this with the police, ” Otto volunteered. “ I will tell them it is something I found in my research. I suspect it will all be meaningless to them, but at least we will not be holding back anything significant. ” He frowned as he said the last.
    Dane nodded. It made sen se. Still the fact that they were hiding their presence at a murder scene, though they arrived after the fact, fe lt wrong. He remembered that the killers had left no footprints, and he had a hunch they ’ d been careful not to leave behind any fingerprints or DNA.
    “ The safest course would be to go on with our vacation and just forget the whole thing. Then again, my gut tells me the only hope there is for finding the murderers lies with us. Maybe if we can solve this riddle we can figure out who was after the Magi ’ s bones and why. Even then, who knows what we can really prove? ”
    “ I say we go for it. ” Bones had the familiar gleam in his eyes that Dane associated with the start of a treasure hunt. “ What better way to celebrate Christmas than solve the mystery of the lost bones of the Magi ? ”
    Jade nodded. “ You know I ’ m in. And you, ” she turned to Dane, “ live for this stuff, whether you want to admit it or not. ”
    Dane grinned. He and Jade were kindred spirits; both loved the sea, archaeology, and mysteries. That left only one person. He turned to Angel, whose cheeks were aglow and her brown eyes sparkling as she gazed back at him. He was suddenly struck by her beauty, and there was something in her expression that made him uneasy. He was pleased to see that Jade ’ s attention was once again on the stone disc, and she hadn ’ t seen whatever might have passed across his face. He took a quick drink, buying himself a moment to clear his head.
    “ How about you, Angel? You signed up for a vacation, not a mystery. ”
    “ Are you stu pid? I ’ m all over it. Do y ou know how sick I am of Bones coming home and bragging about wrestling