anyone follow us. These guys just showing up without

  warning doesn’t sit right with me.” Levi’s mind started

  whirling.

  “I agree with you, and you know the best way to proceed,”

  her grandmother said. “Leaving won’t be a problem.”

  “I do, but I need you to finish this.” The answer was for

  them to split up.

  “Bear, there are ways to send information through secure

  channels. All you need to do is get away clean.”

  “How exactly do we do that?” Yasmine asked.

  “It won’t be as hard as you think,” Levi said with a quick

  kiss. “Right now, we need to finish the books before we go.

  Our best bet is getting you home early for your grandmother’s

  birthday. Morocco is one of my favorite places, and we can

  work from there with no problem. I have more contacts there

  than in the boonies of France, and if we fly a little under the

  radar, we might get a head start.”

  They took their regular seats and Yasmine opened the third

  volume. It was another list of words that had no message at all.

  The book only had three pages of just words and nothing else,

  like the scroll locked up back home. Considering the story that

  Farah had started, this didn’t make any sense. Levi opened the

  fourth book. It also contained three pages, only this time in

  French and in different handwriting.

  “André must have had something to add,” Levi said,

  handing it to Yasmine.

  “Oui,” Yasmine said and laughed. “How do you deal with

  all these frustrating turns?”

  “I try to concentrate on the end of the hunt and how it will

  be worth it. When someone makes it this hard, it captures my

  attention. It meant whatever they hid is a true treasure they

  valued.” She framed Yasmine’s face and smiled. “It means it

  was me who was meant to find it and no one else. Then we can

  share it in the classroom as well as with the world so we can

  all learn from it. I’m a treasure hunter, honey, but I also have

  the heart of an academic.”

  “I believe you.”

  “Good. Now, start reading.”

  ✥ ✥ ✥

  Written in the year 1312 AD

  The battle I had trained for all my life was a lie. We

  traveled for days to the place where my superiors had

  been scouting and waited. There was little doubt in my

  heart that I would be left to rot in this dry, unfamiliar

  place, but I had given my father my word. The sun

  streaked the sky in shades of pink, and I thought of

  nothing but Farah.

  The doors of the military compound opened, and I

  looked to my brothers. It was not the enemy they

  expected but the soldiers with the pope’s colors. The

  pope’s men took swift action and cut us down without

  thought. My rage at seeing men I had tried to emulate

  growing up because of their devotion to God kill my

  brethren was hard to contain. I wielded my sword and

  tried to send as many of them as I could to the bowels

  of hell. Every cut sliced away a piece of my soul, and

  the only thing that kept me from succumbing to death

  was Farah.

  In her eyes I have found my paradise, and unlike

  God, Farah has faith in me. The Vatican soldiers still

  alive left me for dead. As night fell, I thought that

  might be true as the light of the world dimmed and I

  lay down and waited for the peaceful darkness I knew

  was coming. After watching the soldiers of the Vicar of

  Christ kill my Templar brothers, the faith I had devoted

  my life to was dead. There would be no heavenly hosts

  to welcome me to the kingdom of God.

  When the sun warmed my face, I looked on a new

  day and knew what my future would be. The ride back

  to Farah was four days, and I remember nothing after

  seeing the oasis in the distance. I woke days later and

  saw her face. If this was heaven, I was glad to be dead.

  “You came back to me,” she said as she touched my

  face. She used the words I had taught her, and my

  world filled with joy at the happiness she brought me.

  My future with Farah meant following the village and

  serving our community. We would never have children,

  but we would have each other, and she tells me that is

  all she needs.

  The dream came to me one night, and the

  messenger who told me the pope’s soldiers were

  hunting me down. I had never dreamed of her, and I

  believed what she was saying. The infection of one of

  my wounds sent me into another fever, and my mother

  came to me over and over. She said they knew I still

  lived. I was a voice who could tell who the pope was

  and what he was capable of. That could never happen.

  My wounds finally healed and I left with Farah to

  travel back to my home. There I would take the

  information my father kept of the Templars and who

  we were. Where I would hide this to keep it safe, I did

  not know, but I cannot see it destroyed. The year I

  started my return for home was January of 1307. We

  appeared like every other couple on the road to

  Avignon. We left the sands behind and rode through the

  green fields of my youth.

  Seeing the world again through Farah’s eyes gave

  me renewed hope for the future. Farah was not only my

  love but the person who brought me back to life from

  the death I had been running to. My return home was a

  time to rejoice for the workers who had worked the

  land in my absence. I made love to Farah in the home

  of my ancestors and in the rows of grapes. It was three

  months of love and happiness until that last day.

  The only thing that saved us was the loyalty of the

  people who loved my family and the land. They

  brought word that the soldiers were riding hard toward

  us, giving us time to escape. The death of my Templar

  brothers was only the beginning of the treachery of the

  supposed voice of God on earth. Farah and I fled with a

  few of the families who knew their connection to the

  Sonnac family would mean their death. Most of the

  army of God was dead by the time we left France and

  the pope had declared my family home as belonging to

  the Church. He had become a puppet of King Philip IV.

  I knew what treasures the soldiers sought, and I

  carry a part, and three other surviving Templar brothers

  carry the rest. We travel until we are far from the

  church’s reach, and my only prayer now is for the

  safety of my wife and of the papers we carry.

  For you who reads our words, do what you must.

  Know, though, that the Church is full of men capable of

  great sin, greed, and evil. The story of my love and

  what she helped me to do deserves to be told. Follow

  us home and shout out the truth of what happened and

  of the men who chased us for no other reason but to kill

  us to ensure our silence. To find us you must go

  through what you already have.

  I will fight until the end for Farah and for myself.

  That is my belief now. Her and nothing else.

  ✥ ✥ ✥

  “I think you were wrong,” Yasmine said to Levi. “The

  stories they wrote are just that—their story. The answer lies in

  the third book. That list of words is where the answers are.”

  “See, Granny, beautiful and smart.” Levi’s compliments

  weren’t unexpected, but in a way they were, and Yasmine

  blushed every single time. “Put the key words in and let’s see

  what we get.”

  They all glanced up when the alarm rang again. “They’re

  moving closer,” Zara said, looking at the monitor.

  “How thick are these walls?” Yasmine asked. “If they were

  listening in, they know what I just read. If those men are

  working with the church, we’re in trouble. These people are

  trained to achieve all their objectives. There’s no way we’re

  leaving here without an escort.”

  “Let’s go back inside that room and finish this,” Levi

  whispered in her ear.

  The soft voice and warm breath in Yasmine’s ear made her

  nipples hard. Her craving for sex was getting ridiculous, but

  she wouldn’t change a thing.

  “Later, honey, I promise.”

  Yasmine had to laugh at that and pressed herself to Levi’s

  chest, not wanting to show everyone in the room how turned

  on she was. “You’re incorrigible,” she whispered back.

  “But you love me anyway.”

  “But I love you anyway,” Yasmine said, laughing. That

  proved she was losing her mind. They were in real danger, but

  all she could think about was being alone with Levi, learning

  what would please Levi most.

  “I would love you both more if you stopped making out

  and figured out what to do next. We’ll never eat otherwise,”

  Zara said as if she realized she had to watch her words.

  Yasmine put in the two words they’d used from the

  previous scroll and ran it with the new list of words, and they

  all stood around waiting. Pierce and God weren’t on the new

  list from what Yasmine could see, and running the program

  took no time at all. It left only one paragraph, and she had no

  trouble translating.

  “Follow the path of the devil. Begin where the land falls

  away to the sand. Find the high point in Zagora and the map

  of our life will be written in the sand. It will be three cycles of

  the moon to the trees of life. Look where the shield points to

  find our secrets. It is where you will find the victory that leads

  to eternity.”

  Yasmine finished reading the translation, which Levi had

  written down as she spoke. The notes Levi always took

  reminded Yasmine of her most eager students, and that

  enthusiasm was endearing. The clues Farah and André left

  were not.

  “Where the land falls away to the sand has to be the

  Sahara, if this is anywhere near Zagora,” Levi said.

  “You do realize the Sahara is like three and a half million

  square miles? That, my love, is a lot of sand.”

  “We have to think of the year they wrote this and think like

  a treasure hunter,” Levi said, pointing to her laptop.

  “Not here, bear.” Jane stopped her from typing anything.

  “If they are monitoring the house, they can tap into the Wi-Fi

  and figure out what we’re up to. Let’s not lead them right to

  the spot with the big X before we get a chance to see what it

  is.”

  “We have the answer to the next step, and hopefully it’s the

  final one that will lead us to our answer. All we have to do is

  get out of here and find it.” Levi unlocked another small

  compartment in the room and placed the books inside. The

  copies of what they had would have to do.

  “That might be harder than leaving London, no?” she

  asked as they locked the room again and stepped out into the

  library.

  “Let’s finish dinner and we’ll talk about it.” Levi walked

  Yasmine and Zara upstairs and whispered for them to get

  packed. Once they were ready, Percy helped Levi carry

  everything down to the wine cellar. Jane was already waiting

  for them and pushed a section of the wall to open another

  secret door behind a shelf full of wine bottles.

  “They don’t make houses like this any longer, do they?”

  Jane turned on the light to the passage that appeared to have

  been carved out centuries before. “Get going, and don’t worry

  about what you’re leaving behind. We’ll keep it safe and try

  our best to join you in a few days once the cavalry arrives.”

  “Cavalry? You’re not coming with us?” Yasmine asked.

  “The director is sending in reinforcements to ask these

  guys some questions. If you take a job with British

  Intelligence, they expect you to be loyal to the company and

  only the company. That supersedes any religious beliefs or

  family matters.” Jane opened her arms, and Zara hugged her

  first. “Take care, my lovely, and keep your sister and my bear

  in line.”

  “I’ll try my best.” Zara held on to to Jane for a long while.

  “Stay safe. I’ll need you to help me get through my next year

  at Oxford.”

  “Don’t worry, she’s an old dog, but she knows every trick

  in the book,” Percy said, hugging Zara next.

  It wasn’t a long goodbye, but Yasmine felt the separation

  keenly. They hadn’t known each other long, but Jane and

  Percy had made them feel so welcome that she embraced both

  of them like Zara had.

  “She’s a mess of trouble sometimes, but she’s the best of

  all of us,” Jane whispered in her ear. “No matter what comes,

  she loves you. Take good care of each other.”

  “I will, and I feel the same.”

  “I know you do, and I’m so glad.”

  Yasmine and Zara watched Levi load all their luggage into

  a cart close to the door and then followed her down the

  passageway. The floor was damp, but the space was roomy

  enough to walk comfortably in, and the lights overhead made

  it less gloomy.

  “What is this place?” She had her hand in the back of

  Levi’s belt, and Zara walked on the other side of the cart.

  “There was never really Prohibition in France, but that

  didn’t mean some folks didn’t like to run illegal liquor to make

  a few dollars. I can’t say if anyone in Granny’s family ever

  did, but that’s what the tunnel is for. It’s also a good way to

  leave the house without anyone seeing you even if they have a

  good vantage point on the cliffs.” Levi stopped at an ancient-

  looking door, but the thing still appeared to be solid. The only

  odd thing about it was the modern lock with a keypad.

  “Are we swimming out?” Zara asked.

  “I think we’re a bit more prepared than that. Pirate alleys

  are only effective if you can leave via the water.” Levi swung

  the heavy metal gate open and pulled the cart to a concrete

  dock. There were two fishing boats tied up. “Give me a minute

  to lock up.”

  Levi handed both of them raincoats and hats before

  cranking the motor and maneuvering past the large cliff rocks

  that jutted out from the ocean floor. They left the cave and

  headed into open water and sunshine. Their bags were under a

  canvas, and Yasmine guessed if anyone did see them, they

  looked like some fishermen going out for the day. Levi

  followed the coastline until she reached a marina, where an

  older gentleman loaded their bags onto a large sailboat.

  “You sail?” she asked Levi.

  “I do. It’s the easiest way to get you home without leaving

  a trail. This thing also has Wi-Fi, so we can work as we go. I

  promise I’ll get you there in one piece. We’ll stay close

  enough to the Spanish coast to avoid rough seas.”

  Levi guided them out of the harbor. The sails were

  controlled by a push of a button, so they picked up speed as

  soon as they were clear. The beauty of the shore made

  Yasmine almost forget that they were being chased by some

  crazy people. She stood behind Levi with her arms around her

  waist as she set their course. Zara, of course, was exploring

  every inch of the boat, so Yasmine kissed between Levi’s

  shoulder blades.

  “How long will it take for us to get there?”

  “Since neither of you sail, it’ll take about three days. I’ll

  anchor at night so we can get some sleep, but we’re fully

  stocked so we won’t need to dock anywhere, which means we

  don’t leave a trail.” They stood together for a while before

  Levi tied off the wheel. “Let’s start with the key to everything,

  which is the clue Farah left us,” Levi said, taking out her

  laptop. She wanted to work but also kept an eye on their path.

  “What do you think the first line means?” She brought up

  the paragraph they’d figured out.

  “Follow the path of the devil,” Zara said.

  “Think the pits of hell,” Levi said, and Yasmine stared at

  her. “Hell, in all the biblical references that’s down, so it’s

  another reference for south. I could be wrong, but Ait

  Benhaddou in Morocco makes me think I’m not.”

  “So this treasure is buried in Morocco?” She couldn’t

  believe that could be the case. “Crusaders didn’t go through

  Morocco to get to the Holy Land. I wouldn’t think it was a

  logical place to hide something important to them.”

  “That’s the part I couldn’t put together, but I think André

  and her troops were somehow tricked into going a new way. A