TEMPLARS QUEST: LUCEM SANCTAM (THE TEMPLARS QUEST CHRONICLES: A Historical Mystery Book 3) (10 page)

Adam pulled up a computer picture of the Hooked X carved into a big stone. “It looks like this picture.”

Eddie stared at the colored picture for a few minutes. “I have seen that mark.”

“Yeah, you told me that already. But where have you seen it?” I asked.

“You will not believe this … but I think … at Isis Temple. It was carved above a cave entrance.”

“Are you sure? You’re not just saying that so we go rescue Stephen, are you?”

“No, honest, Jack. When Adam showed me the picture carved in the rock it jarred my memory. Please, believe me, I would never lie about something like that.”

“Ok, I believe you.”

By now it was 8 am. Picking up the radio I got ahold of Baldwin, advising him we found the Hooked X. This meant we didn’t have to wait for the summer solstice. About thirty minutes later, all the warriors showed up at the cabin, with the exception of those working security.

Eddie told everyone the story how he had seen the X before. Then he added some more information. “It’s going to be difficult to ride those ATVs down the trial. They are almost as wide as the trail. The hike up Isis will not be an easy one.”

I said, “Yeah, it won’t be easy. Eddie, you’re used to climbing up and down the canyon at this altitude. The air is very thin. Your lungs and leg muscles have developed so you can hike the canyon with no problem. We’re not in as good of shape as you are, so you’ll need to take it slow with us tagging along.” 

“I see your point, Jack. Once we get down to the bottom you can only take the ATVs to the river. It’s impossible to cross the river on the Silver Bridge because it is too narrow. We can leave the ATVs at the bottom on this side of the river. After we cross the bridge, there is a hidden small dirt trail. It has hardly been used, so it is not noticeable to most people. It will take us to the cave with the Hooked X. The trail will be difficult to hike with your guns and gear.”

“Ok, what else can we expect?”

“I can’t explain all the details, but once we get to the base of Isis the trail becomes very difficult and steep.”

“Ok, let’s pack up and get ready to move out,” I said. “Adam, I want you to stay here.”

“Grandpa, are you kidding? I have to come along.”

Putting my hand on his shoulder, I could see the disappointment in his face. “It’s safer if you stay here.”

“You don’t understand. I had a dream last night. God told me I must go to the cave and bring the sword.”

If Adam had a dream and God spoke to him, then I believed him. He has a connection to God that normal people don’t have. I have seen his dreams turn into real-life events, like when the Sword of Jerusalem beheaded Christian de Molay.

“Ok then, Adam, you ride with me.” I glanced at Maggie and Eddie Moon. “Eddie, you ride with Maggie. Maggie, you take the lead and follow Eddie’s directions. George, pick out six men, including you, for the trip to Isis.”

Baldwin told Pete he was coming along and ordered him to select four more men. That meant we had a total of ten people on five ATVs going on this adventure. I left the dogs with the Warriors, working security.

After packing up the guns, gear, supplies, and water we motored to Bright Angel Trail and started the decent into the abyss. I had hiked this trail thirty years ago and forgot how bumpy it was. I didn’t remember all the stone steps the Park Service had put in. Maybe the steps weren’t here when I made the trip. I don’t recall.

Of course, when you’re on foot you don’t notice the bumps and holes in the trail. The path was just wide enough for our small ATVs. The wheels were missing the large rocks, lining the edge of the trail, by inches on both sides. Any slight mistake could spell death if you went over the 3,000-foot cliff. We moved at less than 5 mph most of the time.   

Isis Temple is a pyramid formation north of the south rim. It is about 5 miles directly north of Grand Canyon Village. It lies north of the Colorado River, and is just north of Middle Granite Gorge. Trinity Creek flows due-south at its western border, and its northeast border is flanked by Phantom Creek were Phantom Ranch is located.

Isis Temple is part of an uplifted rock formation about 3.5 miles long by 2.0 miles wide. It is a little over 7,000 feet in height. A sub-peak near Isis is named Cheops Pyramid, which is 5,392 feet tall. The Isis Pyramid is erosion resistant cliff-forming Coconino Sandstone.

We didn’t know exactly where we were going, because Eddie never told us. All we knew was we were headed to Isis Temple, but none of us had ever been there, except for the Indian. I did know that the canyon trails are not well-marked and some trails have no markings at all. I directed Adam to use his GPS and mark way points once we arrived at the bottom of the canyon. That way we could find our way back safely if something happened to the Chief.

It was a two-hour bumpy ride, but a scenic one down Bright Angel Trail. Upon reaching the Silver Bridge at the bottom, we spotted the nomads ATVs parked under some trees. We decided to hide our ATVs in the bushes, about a mile away from the bridge. Baldwin damaged the nomad ATVs by stabbing the tires and ripping out the spark plug wires, throwing them into the river.

It was a clear day at the bottom of the canyon and the temperature was a comfortable eighty degrees. We crossed the Silver Bridge over the Colorado River and proceeded up to the northwest, or so it seemed. It was hard to tell because the trails wind around and are not straight. One minute you’re heading west and the next east or north. After an hour of climbing, we stopped for a break. Everyone found a rock to sit on and rest.

Eddie said, “From here the hike becomes a little harder, so we’ll take a break for a while.”

I asked, “Eddie, exactly where is the cave located?” I only knew we were proceeding around the west side of Isis Temple.

“I can’t tell you exactly. But it is on the north side, about half way up the mountain. You cannot see it from anywhere until it is in front of you. To reach it, we must hike about three hours until we reach the stone steps. Then we go up the steps which takes us to the cave.”

“How much longer till we’re at the cave?” Baldwin asked him.

“I think about four hours. Let’s move before it gets too hot.”

This trail had no markings. It didn’t even look like a trail because it was not worn. We started climbing north or northeast on a steep slope. The trail was full of switchbacks until we reached a fifty-foot high vertical cliff. The cliff had hand and footholds to use for climbing.

Eddie warned us. “Be careful, there are a lot of loose stones.”  We watched him reach the top and then we slowly made our way up, one at a time. The loose shale and unsecured small rocks made your foot slip out of the footholds, raining stones on those below. It was a dangerous climb – one slip you could be badly injured or killed. It was clear that someone had made these footholds, but who?

By the time I reached the top, my arms and legs were shaking from the strain. My fingers were bleeding from being cut by the sharp little shale stones. Once on top, the almost invisible trail continued north-northeast and then it became flat again. It was a good place to take a break considering everyone was exhausted. I opened a bottle of water and took a few big gulps. 

The trail was still winding in a general north-northeast direction as we came upon huge boulders, or large blocks of stones, the size of cars that we had to climb over. We could not go around them because on each side there was a cliff that dropped at least 800 feet. Climbing over these boulders zapped our strength once again.

Finally we reached a flatter area that was very large, but it slanted slightly up hill. The trail appeared to be more of less straight from this point. This area was covered with some grass and Prickly Pear cacti. I assumed this was the top of an Isis arm. We took another break.

Looking up, I could see a sheer wall of rock far ahead. Eddie commented, “It’s not much further to the stone steps.”

After a thirty-minute rest stop, we proceed up the flat area. The problem was, it went from flat to steep. It became steeper and steeper the further we proceeded up. Because of the loose gravel and shale rocks, each step we took we slid back half a step. We had to bend over and use our hands some of the time, crawling our way up the hill on all fours, like an animal.

We were all out of breath and dead tired, but the Indian kept up a fast pace as we dropped far behind him. It was getting steeper and I estimated the angle was at least 45 degrees now. After taking three or four steps you had to stop and catch your breath. My heart was pounding so fast I could feel it thumping in my chest.

Adam grabbed my arm. “Here Grandpa, I’ll help you.”

“Thanks, Adam … I’m out of shape for this hike. I forgot … how tough the canyon can be.” Neither of us said another word as we gasped for air.

Up ahead we could see the shear wall of rock that was extremely high. It went straight up, making me wonder,
how in the hell are we going to climb that?

We finally reached the base of the rock wall where everyone plopped down and took in some much needed water. It was much hotter up here and I was sweating like a pig. Looking down the trail, I guessed we were about 3,000 feet from the floor of the canyon.

I asked Eddie, “Are we on Isis now?”

“Yeah, we have been for the last couple of hours.”

“How are we gonna get up that cliff? It must be 300 feet high.”

“Actually, it’s probably higher than that.”

Baldwin asked, “So, are we gonna climb that?”

“I already told you. We’ll use the stone stairs,” Eddie replied.

Glancing around, I said, “I don’t see any stairs.”

“Of course not. They are not visible from here.”

After resting 30 minutes, Eddie got up. “Follow me to the staircase.”

Baldwin told everyone to lock and load because the nomads were probably at the top waiting for us. He asked, “Eddie, can they see us down here or when we’re going up the stairs?”

“No, because the staircase has switchbacks, and it ends about 200 feet east of the cave, out of sight of the entrance. You cannot see the cave even when you reach the top.”

Moving along the vertical cliff, all the stones looked the same, making it appear to be a confusing maze or puzzle. You had to be careful, as we followed in single formation, not to slip or you could tumble down the steep grade to your death. The heat of the sun was radiating off the stone wall making it even hotter. It felt like an oven blasting me in the face.

Eddie abruptly stopped. He said, “Here are the steps.”

As I rounded a slight indent in the cliff wall, I turned my head to the right peering at where Eddie was pointing. At first I didn’t see them, and then as if by magic the steps appeared in front of me. The stone staircase was an incredible sight. The steps were carved out of the sandstone rock. They looked so much like a natural part of the cliff. They were hidden in plain sight. Many people had probably passed by here and never noticed them, hiding in the open. The stairway was covered with small rocks, stones, and rubble. It was not obvious they were steps, and without Eddie we would have walked by them.    

The steps were about three feet wide. Each one was at least twenty inches high, which forced us to climb one step at a time. You had to put your right foot up and then the left one. Moving one leg at a time was very slow-going and strenuous. The stairs seemed to be carved out for giants. They were almost vertical, with a seventy-degree angle, winding back and forth like a snake every ten or twenty steps. Because of the sharp switchbacks, it always appeared that the stairs ended at the point of a sharp turn. The rocks all looked the same, so it fooled your depth perception, which made me feel dizzy.

Baldwin and Pete had taken the point in case someone was waiting at the top. Eddie was behind them, then me, Adam, and Maggie. The rest of the Warriors followed behind. Finally, after almost an hour, we reached the top. As I climbed up the last step, I fell to the ground on a large ledge, gasping for air. Everyone else did also, except for Eddie.

Looking up, I saw the stone cliff continued up, but I couldn’t see where it stopped. I surmised it went straight up, at least another 500 feet. 

Then I noted Eddie was standing next to a body. I saw a white cowboy hat on the ground and Stephen, Eddie’s friend, was next to it. I went to check him out. He had been shot in the face. “You were right, Jack. They are bad men. Stephen never hurt anyone,” Eddie said, with a tear in his eye, as he gazed at his dead buddy.

I put my hand on his shoulder. “Don’t worry, Eddie, we’ll get the guys who did this. Maybe they’re still here.”

Pete and Baldwin stood guard, watching both sides of the ledge we were on, while the rest of us, following Eddie’s lead piled rocks on top of the body. It was Eddie’s way to bury his friend, because we could never carry him off the mountain.

Once we were finished, Baldwin asked, “Eddie, which way do we go?”

Eddie pointed west. “Go around the point. After rounding it, the cave is directly to your left, in a corner.”

We were standing on a ledge about fifty feet wide. Looking east, the ledge seemed to disappear into nothing, after an estimated 100 feet. Looking to the west, the ledge narrowed to a few feet and went around a bend along a sheer cliff. You could see how it curved around, a little, but you couldn’t see what was on the other side.