Virgin

By F. Paul Wilson

An international thriller about the search for Mary, the mother of Jesus, from the New York Times–bestselling author of the Repairman Jack novels.
 
During the Gulf War in 1991, an ancient scroll is found in the Negev Desert of southern Israel. Years later, scientists declare it a fake, but an American nun believes it will lead her to the resting place of the Virgin Mary.
 
What she finds seems to possess miraculous healing powers that attract believers and skeptics from across the globe. She also draws the attention of a mysterious Israeli Shin Bet officer determined to retrieve the remains of “The Mother” at any cost. And that is only the beginning . . .
 
Previously published under the pseudonym Mary Elizabeth Murphy.
 

• Language: English
• Publisher: MysteriousPress.com Open Road
• Release date: Jun 26, 2018
• ISBN: 9781504051705

F. Paul Wilson

F. Paul Wilson is a New York Times bestselling author specializing in thriller, science fiction and horror. He won the Prometheus award in 1979 and 2004, as well as a special Prometheus Lifetime Achievement award in 2015.

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Virgin

A Novel

F. Paul Wilson

After they banished me from Jerusalem I wandered south, leaving my position and my inheritance behind. What need had I of money? I wished to be dead.

I tore my blue robe with the three-striped sleeve and cast it from me. I traded it to a beggar for the filthy, louse-infested rags on his back. But the lice have not bitten me. They deserted the rags as soon as I donned them.

Even the vermin will have nothing to do with me.

from the Glass scroll

Rockefeller Museum translation

1991

Israel

The Judean Wilderness

Don’t spare that switch, Achmed, Nabil called back from the lead position where he played the flashlight along the slope rising ahead of them. Getting there second is as good as not getting there at all.

I know that, Achmed thought and swatted the donkey’s flanks with greater vigor.

He and his brother panted as they pulled and drove the reluctant beast up the incline into the craggy foothills below the high wilderness.

Behind him the parched land sloped away to the Dead Sea; ahead lay the mountains, forbidding during the day, terrifying at night. Countless stars twinkled madly in the ebon dome of the sky, and the near-full moon on high etched the sere landscape with bleached light and bottomless shadow. The beam from Nabil’s flashlight was barely distinguishable in the moonglow.

An empty sky now, but not long ago a dark object had screamed through the night, trailing fire and smoke. Achmed and Nabil had leapt from their camel-hair blankets and stumbled out of their tent into the cool night air in time to see the bright flare of its explosive collision with the nearby hills.

Achmed remembered his initial awe and terror. It is the hand of Allah!

He also remembered Nabil’s none-too-gentle shove against his shoulder.

"Goat! It’s a missile. You heard the talk around the fire last night. The hero Saddam is sending missiles against his enemies. Thousands of missiles. And he’s killing Jews and infidels by the millions. Already he has sent the Americans howling with their tails between their legs. Soon there will be no more Israel and our herds will graze among our enemies’ bones in the ruins of Tel Aviv. Let’s go!"

Go where? Achmed cried as his older brother began pushing through the huddled goats toward their tethered ass.

Into the hills!

Why? He wasn’t challenging his older brother—a good Bedouin boy did not question the eldest son of his father—he simply wanted to know.

Nabil turned and pointed toward the jagged sawblade of rock that cut the western sky. His face was shadowed but Achmed knew from the impatience in his voice that his brother was wearing his habitual you’re-so-stupid scowl.

That was a missile that just passed, a giant bullet. And what are bullets made of? Achmed opened his mouth to answer but Nabil wasn’t waiting. Metal! And what do we do with any scrap metal we find?

We sell it, Achmed said quickly, and suddenly he saw the reason for Nabil’s haste. "There will be lots of metal!" he said.

Nabil nodded. "Tons of it. So move those feet, camel face!"

Once again he realized why their father placed so much trust in Nabil, and why he was glad Nabil had been born first. Achmed doubted he could handle the responsibility of being the eldest son—the only thing he did better than Nabil was play the rababah, hardly a useful skill. He hoped he was as muscular as Nabil when he reached seventeen in three years, and prayed he’d be able to sport such a respectable start at a beard. At times he despaired of outgrowing this reedy, ungainly body.

And tonight was but further proof of his unsuitability for leadership. Never would he have thought of making profit for the family from the remnants of a spent and exploded missile. But he could lend his back to gathering the scrap so that his abu could be proud of both of his sons.

And now, as they clambered up a slope that seemed ever steeper, a thought struck him. The goats! Father had entrusted them with one of the family herds, to take it north in search of better grazing. That herd now stood untended and unguarded on the plain below, ready to be driven off unchallenged by any passer-by with a larcenous heart.

Achmed turned and gazed back down the slope. The Dead Sea gleamed in the moonlight like a strip of hammered silver, shadowed on the far side by the mountains of Jordan and outlined on the near by the black, shore-hugging ribbon of Highway 90. No lights moved on the highway. Their herd was safely huddled in a dry basin kilometers from the road. He realized his fears were groundless. Who would be wandering about the wilderness in the dead of night? The only thing moving here was Hamsin, the desert wind.

As he returned to the climb, a question popped into his mind.

Nabil! Why has this missile landed here instead of in Tel Aviv?

Probably one of the Israelis hit it with a lucky shot and knocked it off course.

Of course, Achmed thought. Why didn’t I think of that? Nabil always had an answer.

Achmed followed his brother up the steepening incline of the dry wadi, so steep at times that he had to heave his shoulder against the donkey’s smelly hindquarters to assist the beast up the slope. Eventually they came to a ribbed outcrop of stone that towered over them. In the daytime this rock would have looked sandy red and yellow. Now in the moonlight it glowed goats-milk white, streaked with the stark shadows of its crevices.

What do we do now?

Nabil looked around, then up, then ranged left and right along the face of the rock as if he expected to find a path into the cliffside.

I don’t know. There must be away around this. The missile crashed atop it. We must find a way up.

Maybe it crashed on the other side. I couldn’t tell from where we stood. Could you?

Achmed saw his brother shake his shadowed head. "I’m sure it crashed atop this cliff. Almost sure. Maybe if we travel around it we’ll find a way up."

To the left looked no more promising than the right, but something in Achmed drew him leftward.

That way, he said, surprised by the certainty in his voice as he pointed south.

Nabil stared at him a moment, then shrugged and turned south.

As good a way to start as any.

The going got rougher. No path here, no sign that man or beast had ever traveled this route. Their sandals and the donkey’s hooves slipped on the loose shale that littered their way. The jagged edges angled up, cutting Achmed’s feet and ankles.

After struggling along for a few hundred feet, Nabil turned and stopped the donkey.

This isn’t going anywhere. We’ll turn back and try the other way.

We’ve come so far already, Achmed said. Just a little further. Let’s see what’s around that bend before we turn back.

All right. To the bend and no more.

They struggled farther along the narrow path, and as they were slithering past a jagged rib in the cliff wall, Nabil called back from the lead.

You were right! It ends here. We can get past it here!

As Achmed followed the donkey around the rib, he saw that the far side was just as steep as the near, with no gully or ravine to allow them passage to the top. And worse, the leading edge of the outcrop was topped by an overhang of stone that would have daunted them even had there been a way to climb the face.

They had entered the mouth of a deep canyon. Beyond the outcrop a broad dry wadi swept down from the upper reaches of the range; half a dozen feet above that, a small, raised field. And beyond the field stood another sheer-faced cliff even more forbidding than the one they had just skirted.

Nabil stood in the moonlight, head back, hands on hips, staring at the cliff face.

There’s no way up.

Achmed’s voice choked on his disappointment. He could only nod. He’d been so sure …

Something stung his nostrils. He blinked his suddenly watery eyes. He couldn’t see it but he could smell it. Smoke … riding the breeze that wafted down the wadi.

Nabil…?

But his brother had smelled it too.

Achmed! Follow! Quickly!

They drove the donkey up the gentler slope of the dry riverbed. As they neared the small field the smoke became thicker. Another hundred feet and Achmed spotted the flames.

It’s here! Nabil cried. It crashed here!

They dragged and pushed the donkey up the far bank of the wadi and stopped at the top to stare at the tiny field that ran across the base of the canyon mouth. Stunted fig trees reached their twisted branches heavenward at regular intervals across its narrow span. A few of them were burning. Dozens of tiny grass fires crawled along the field’s smooth surface.

Let’s get to work! Nabil said.

As his older brother tethered the donkey to the nearest tree, Achmed spotted a dark lump in the sand to his right. He knelt and touched it, gingerly. Hard, with sharp, twisted edges. And warm. Still warm.

I’ve found a piece! he cried aloud.

The first piece! he boasted silently.

Nabil pointed to a spot near the donkey’s feet. Drop it here. When we’ve collected as much as we can carry, we’ll load up and head back to the herd. And hurry, Achmed. As sure as you breathe, we’re going to have company soon.

Company? Did he mean other Bedouin, or Israelis? Not that it mattered. Either way, they stood to lose whatever metal they gathered.

Over Beit Shemesh

Chaim Kesev set his jaw to keep his teeth from chattering. He wasn’t cold—far from it in this bulky flack jacket. No, the incessant vibrations from the engine coursing throughout the helicopter’s fuselage were penetrating the padding of his seat, jittering up his spine, piercing his skull, and running to his teeth. He was sure a couple of them would rattle loose if he had to take much more of this.

Man was not meant to fly.

Kesev hated flying, and he hated flying in helicopters most of all. But after he’d watched the computer plot the course of the errant SCUD on the map, and seen the area encircled for maximum probability of impact—120 kilometers southeast of Tel Aviv—he knew he couldn’t wait in the city for the report from the crash site. Everyone else in the tracking center had been relieved that the SCUD had landed in an unpopulated area of the Southern District wilderness. Not Kesev. Not when it was that particular area.

As soon as the all clear had sounded, he’d pushed his way aboard the reconnaissance helicopter. His presence had raised eyebrows among the crew. Who was this pushy little man, this swarthy, slight, five-eight, middle-aged, bearded wonder to elbow his way onto their craft? But when he’d flashed them his Shin Bet identification they’d sealed their lips. None of them had the nerve to challenge the wishes of a Domestic Intelligence operative when the country was under attack.

Kesev stared down at the mountainous terrain below and wondered where they were.

How much further? he asked the copilot lounging in the seat directly ahead of his.

Not much longer now, sir, the airman said, then laughed.

What’s so funny?

Sorry, sir. It’s just that whenever my family used to take a trip, I’d drive my father crazy saying, ‘Are we there yet? Are we there yet?’ And that’s the answer he’d always give me: ‘Not much longer now.’ And here I am, saying it to you.

I was not aware, Kesev said icily, that a question concerning our arrival at the crash site of a weapon hurled at us by one of our most vicious enemies, a weapon that might contain chemical or biological toxins, could be construed as childish.

Sir, the copilot said, straightening in his seat and half turning toward him. I meant nothing like that. I—

He knew he was being unfair, but he was edgy and irritable and wanted to lay off some of that burden on this youngster.

Nor was I aware that I was driving you crazy.

Sir, I was just—

Just keep us on course.

Yes sir.

On course. The missile in question had been anything but. SCUDs had a reputation for being about as accurate as fireworks rockets, but this particular missile’s course had added a new dimension to the concept of erratic. It had turned so far south that it never came within range of the Patriots the army had borrowed from the Americans. For a while it looked as if it might crash into the Dead Sea, but its trajectory had flattened momentarily, carrying it into the Wilderness.

Near the Resting Place.

Kesev had no doubt that it had missed the Resting Place. A direct hit was inconceivable. But anything focusing attention on that area posed a threat to the secret. He wanted to see the crash site himself, and wanted to be present when the inspection team arrived. He’d be there to deal with any other intelligence service that might try to tag along. Domestic intelligence was Shin Bet’s domain and Kesev was here to claim it for them. He feared that if he didn’t stake out his territory now, Mossad and Aman would be horning in, and might wander into areas they shouldn’t.

One area—the Resting Place—was not to be disturbed. Never disturbed. He shuddered to think of the consequences …

Kesev tried to shake off the unease that had encircled his throat since he’d seen the computer MPI printout.

I’m still waiting for the answer to my question, he said to no one in particular.

ETA twenty minutes, sir, the copilot said without looking at him.

That’s better, Kesev thought. That is the proper way to treat one of Shin Bet’s top operatives.

Then he reconsidered. Perhaps he was being too hard on the youth. He’d been a young upstart once.

Dear Lord, how long ago had that been?

Never mind.

Who do you think aimed this missile? Kesev said, trying to lighten the leaden mood that had settled on the cabin. A blind man?

Yeah, the pilot said. Ayatollah Stevie Wonder.

The copilot laughed and Kesev forced a smile, all the while wanting to ask, Who is Stevie Wonder? But he feared sounding out of touch. He was ever on guard against sounding out of touch.

Yeah, the copilot said. Someone put a mean hook on that SCUD.

Hook?

You ever play golf, sir?

Kesev had tried it once or twice but had been unable to comprehend the fascination the game held for so many of his countrymen.

Of course.

Well, you aim a SCUD at Tel Aviv and it just misses the Dead Sea. I’d say that’s one hell of a hook.

Missed Tel Aviv by 120 miles. That was indeed far off course. Too far off. Almost …

Don’t think crazy thoughts, he told himself. It’s an accident. Just another one of those crazy things that just seem to happen.

But he’d long known from personal experience that some things that seemed to just happen, didn’t.

And he trembled at the possibility that this errant SCUD incident might be one of those.

The Judean Wilderness

Achmed darted about the field, collecting metal scraps of assorted sizes until both arms were full, then he scampered back and dumped his finds on the steadily growing pile by the donkey. The clang of metal on metal echoed like cracked bells through the still air.

On his next run, he ranged farther, searching for the crater where the missile had exploded. He figured he might find the most metal there. Then again, he might not—the blast might have hurled it in all directions, leaving metal everywhere but the crater. But either way, he wanted to see it, be near it, wanted to stand in the heart of its power.

He thought he saw a depression on the far side of the field, at the base of the opposite wall of the canyon. He ran for it.

As he neared he noticed that the otherwise smooth sand of the field was increasingly littered with shards of stone and streaks of darker earth, and how that trees surrounding the depression were broken or knocked flat. The sparse grass smoked from fires that had already burned out.

This was it. The missile must have exploded here.

When he arrived at the crater he saw that the blast had shattered part of the cliff wall, causing a minor landslide into the crater. A deep cavity there in the wall. Almost as if …

He picked up a stone and hurled it at the hollow. It flew into the blackness but did not bounce back. It disappeared, as if it had been swallowed. Then Achmed heard it strike. Not with the solid impact of rock upon rock—with more of a clink. And then a clatter. As if it had struck something hard and thin and hollow … and broken it.

Achmed stood on the crumbling rim of the crater and stared into the blackness in the wall. No mere blast cavity here. This was a cave. He shivered with anticipation as thoughts of Muhammad adh-Dhib raced through his mind. Every Bedouin knew the story of the ten-year-old boy who discovered the first Dead Sea scrolls in Qumran, not too many miles north of here; the tale had been told around the fires for more than half a century. And had there been a Bedouin boy since who did not dream of finding similar treasure?

Nabil! Nabil come quickly! And bring the light!

Nabil come running up. What is it?

I think I’ve found a cave! Achmed said, pointing to the dark splotch in the wall.

Nabil snorted. There are caves all over these hills.

"No. A secret cave."

Nabil froze an instant, then flicked on the flashlight and aimed the beam into the darkness. Achmed’s heart picked up its rhythm when he saw the smooth edges of the opening and the deep blackness beyond.

You’re right, little brother. Nabil kept the beam trained on the opening as he moved around the rim of the crater. "It is a cave."

Achmed followed him to the mouth. Together they peered in. The floor of the cave was littered with small rock fragments, a thick layer of dust, and … something else.

The beam picked out an object with four short straight legs and what appeared to be a seat.

Achmed said, "Is that—?

A bench or a chair of some sort.

Achmed was shaking with excitement. He grabbed Nabil’s shoulder and found that his brother too was shaking.

Let’s go in, Nabil said.

Achmed’s dry mouth would not allow him to speak. He followed his brother’s lead, climbing over the pile of broken and fallen-away stone. They entered the cave in silence.

Dry, musty air within, laden with dust. Achmed coughed and rubbed his nose. They approached the little bench, covered with a think coat of dust like everything else. Achmed reached out to brush the dust away, to see what sort of wood it was made of. He touched it lightly.

The bench gave way, falling in on itself, crumbling, disintegrating into a lumpy pile of rotted flakes.

Oaf! Nabil hissed.

May Allah be my witness, I barely touched it!

Apparently Nabil believe him. "Then this cave must have been sealed for a long time. This place is old."

He flashed the beam around. To the right—another bench and what looked like a low table; to the left—

Nabil’s gasp echoed Achmed’s.

Urns. Two of them: one lying on its side, broken; the other upright, intact, its domed lid securely in place.

That’s what my stone must have hit!

Nabil was already moving forward. He angled the beam into the broken urn.

A scroll!! His older brother’s voice was hushed. "There’s a scroll in this one! It’s torn and crumbling … it’s ancient!"

Achmed dropped quivering to his knees in the dust.

Allah be praised! He has led us here!

Nabil lifted the lid of the second urn and beamed the light into its mouth.

More scrolls! Achmed, they will be singing our names around the night fires for generations!

Allah be praised! Achmed was too overcome to think of anything else to say.

Nabil replaced the lid and swung the flashlight beam back to the broken urn.

"You take that one. It’s already broken but be careful! We don’t want to do any more damage to that scroll. I’ll take the unbroken one."

Achmed bent, slipped his sweating, trembling palms under the broken urn, and gently lifted it into his arms as if it were a cranky infant brother who had finally fallen asleep. He rose to his feet and edged toward the mouth of the cave. He didn’t need the flashlight beam to light his exit—after the deep night of this tiny cave, the moonlit canyon outside seemed noon bright. He stepped carefully over the jumbled rocks outside the mouth, then waited on level ground for Nabil.

This is wonderful, he thought. Our family will be rich, and Nabil and I will be famous.

He saw the hand of Allah in this, rewarding him for his daily prayers, his fasting, and his strict observance of Holy Days. He turned and faced south, toward Mecca, and said a silent prayer of thanksgiving. Then he looked at the moon, thanking Allah for making it bright tonight.

But the prayer choked in his throat and he nearly dropped the treasure in his arms when he noticed a figure standing atop the far cliff they had skirted to reach this canyon. Silhouetted against the moonlit sky, it seemed to be watching him. For a moment he was transfixed with fear, then he heard Nabil behind him. He turned to see his brother stepping over the rubble before the cave mouth.

Nabil!

His brother looked up and stumbled, but caught himself before he fell.

"What is it?" he said between his teeth.

Up on the cliff … Achmed turned to look and saw that the upper edge of the cliff was now empty. The sentinel figure had vanished.

What? Nabil said, the irritation mounting in his tone. Finish what you begin!

Nothing.

Then why are you standing there like a blind camel? Move! We’ll take these back to the donkey then search the cave for more.

They had just reached the donkey and were laying their treasures in the sand when Achmed heard something. He lifted his head and listened. A low hum. No … a pulsating thrum.

"Tayya’ra!"

Nabil leapt into motion. Quickly! The scrolls! Bundle them up!

They pulled the blankets they had brought, wrapped the urns in them, then slung them over the donkey’s back.

Let’s go!

What about the metal? Achmed cried.

Forget the metal! We have a far greater treasure! But if the Israelis find us, they’ll steal it! Hurry!

With Nabil pulling from the front and Achmed again switching from behind, they drove the donkey down the bank and across the wadi. As they slipped around the leading edge of the outcrop, the sound of the helicopter grew louder.

It could be anywhere down there, the copilot said.

Kesev stared below, watching the bright beam of the searchlight lance the darkness and dance along the peaks, plateaus, and crevasses that dominated this area of the Wilderness. They had been running a crisscrossing search pattern for thirty minutes now.

I think we can be pretty sure no one was hurt by this thing, the pilot said after a few more minutes of searching. Maybe we’d better put this off, come back when it’s light and—

Keep going. Kesev was getting the lay of the land now. Follow this canyon south.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw the pilot and copilot exchange glances and discreet shrugs, but neither challenged his authority.

The canyon widened below them, and then the search beam picked up white wisps trailing through the air.

Smoke! the copilot cried.

Kesev pointed. It exploded on the canyon floor.

He released a soft sigh of relief. A glance to his left at the top of the east wall of the canyon reassured him that the Resting Place was untouched.

Close, he thought. Too close.

And then he remembered that the canyon floor had its own secrets.

Swing the light around, he said. See if we can find the point of impact.

It took less than a minute.

There! the copilot said. At two o’clock. Looks like it took out part of the cliff wall too.

Kesev went rigid in the seat. The SCUD crater was right where the cave had been—still was. Had the explosion—?

Take us down.

Sir, we’ve accomplished our objective, the pilot said. We’ve found the impact sight and determined that there’s been no personal injury or property damage, so—

Land this thing now, Kesev said softly, just loud enough to be heard over the engine noise, or you’ll spend the rest of your career working a broom handle instead of that joystick.

The pilot turned. For a heartbeat or two he stared at Kesev from within the confines of his flight helmet, then took the copter down.

As soon as the wheels touched earth, Kesev was out of his harness. He pulled off his flack jacket—he didn’t need it, had only worn it because of regulations—and reached for the hatch handle.

Stay here and train the search beam on the crater. This will take but a minute.

He opened the hatch and ran in a crouch through the hurricane from the whirling blades, following the path of the search beam. He cursed as he neared the crater he saw that the cave had been exposed by the blast. What abysmal luck!

On the other hand, how fortunate that he’d obeyed his instincts and come along to check this out. As a result, he was first on the scene. He could prevent this minor mishap from escalating into a catastrophe. He skirted the edge of the crater and stepped over the rocks tumbled before the cave mouth. Whoever was working the search beam back in the copter was doing a good job keeping it trained on him. The cave lit up before him.

That was when he noticed the footprints.

Panic clamped his heart in an icy fist as his gaze ranged wildly about the cave.

Empty. But in the dust on the floor … sandalprints … two sets … one larger than the other … the old chair—reduced to dust … the urns …

The urns! Gone! No, not completely. Fragments from one lay scattered in the dust.

How could this be? How could a pair of thieves have come and gone so soon? So swiftly? It wasn’t possible!

And yet the fresh footprints reminded him that it was indeed possible.

The urns … what had they held? It had been so long, he could barely remember. Anything of value? Old shekels? He didn’t care about losing little bits of gold or silver. What he did mind was word of the find getting out and causing archeological interest to center on the area. That could prove extremely dangerous.

But what had he put in those urns? He prayed it was nothing that might reveal the secret of this place. He racked his brain for the memory. It was there, just out of reach. It—

The scroll!

Dear Lord, he’d left the scroll in one of those urns!

Kesev staggered in a circle, his breath rasping, his heart beating wildly against the inner surface of his sternum as his vision blurred and lights danced in his vision.

He had to get it back! If it fell into the hands of someone who could translate it—

He leapt from the cave and ran back to the helicopter.

Give me a flashlight! A canteen too. When the copilot handed them out, Kesev jerked a thumb skyward. Return to base. I’m staying here.

That’s not necessary, sir, the pilot said. The inspection team will be here at first light and—

"Someone’s already beat us here. Probably picking up scrap metal. I’ll stay on and make sure they don’t come