The Lazarus Tree

By Mac Wilkey

When Ryan Parker travels to Cyprus to meet one of the leaders of XXIV, he knows she has a mission for him that must be related to the 1st century relics the group had stored in an underground vault in Jerusalem. The relic she wants him to recover is a controversial one and may still be dangerous to a certain group of people. An ancient scroll written in a vary rare script holds the key to the mystery of the relic taken from Lazarus' tree. Ryan must hire his own team led by Judith Davidson and use the skills of his friend Aubrey Patterson to solve the mystery, neutralize the 'bad guys' and keep the relic safe for its beneficial use in a surprising way.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Aug 6, 2015
• ISBN: 9781329447608

Book preview

The Lazarus Tree

The Lazarus Tree

XXIV, a 1st century group of men and women who collected and stored relics of Jesus’ ministry, stored one controversial item in the vault labeled in Hebrew  with the name ‘Salome and the Δ mark.  Because of the controversy, the wood from the fig tree Jesus cursed has been moved two different times.

Ryan Parker, a best-selling author whose adventure in XXIV rivaled those of his characters, is at it again.  This time, Sandra Owens has thrown him into a dangerous mission to recover the missing wood before it can be used by another XXIV group known by the Ω mark.

Ryan enlists the help of his first XXIV adventure teammates (Judith Davidson and Aubrey Patterson) to find clues in hidden scrolls written in cryptic script as well as an ancient storage room inside the Church of St. Lazarus on the island of Cyprus.   The ‘bad guys’ don’t give back the stolen wood without a fight, and Ryan gets to ‘observe’ more hand-to-hand combat that he can use in his future novels.

As with XXIV, the ending will warm your heart (if you have one) and Ryan’s life-changing experience may also cause you to reevaluate your own conversion experience.

The Lazarus Tree

By

Mac Wilkey

Sempine Publishing

Copyright Page

©2015 by Mac Wilkey

All Rights Reserved.

No part of this publication can be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the prior permission of the publisher and/or author.

While every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this book, the publisher assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions, or for damages resulting from the use of information contained herein.

Cover Design By

Maggie Pagratis / custom-book-tique.com

Prologue

Samuel was a strong man—like his Biblical namesake.  His chest and arms were bare and browned by the August sun.  As usual for Jerusalem in August, the air was dry and he was accustomed to working outdoors.

The year was A.D. 48 by our reckoning, but Samuel, a Levite by birth and a member of a much more select group by choice, knew nothing of that numbering system.  He had known the man whose birth is referenced by both ‘BC’ and ‘AD.’

Samuel’s head and lower body were wrapped as was the custom of the Jewish people with whom he spent most of his time.  He and two others had welcomed the task of moving some lumber stored in one of the XXIV’s underground vaults to a more prominent location.

As soon as the last load of lumber passed out of sight along the winding mountain road, he looked back inside the tunnel for a sign of light and listened for even the slightest sound.  Neither was seen or heard.

His job would be to seal the secret entrance to the underground vault that bore the Δ mark or symbol.  That subgroup of XXIV was led by a strong-willed woman named Salome who had seemingly willed twelve other members of XXIV to vote with her so that the controversial lumber would be stored with the other precious relics that the group had collected since A.D. 24.

The current twenty-four members of XXIV no longer included Salome or Vera.  The vote for removing the lumber from the vault had not even been close.  Samuel had suggested that the boards be used for a constructive purpose rather than simply being buried underground or stored in another location.

Now the lumber was on its way to a nearby location where it would be used by Samuel and another carpenter to build a very special door.  Samuel believed that his mother, the strong-willed Salome, would have agreed with using the wood to build the door.  He could almost picture her standing at that door now.  Samuel needed to hurry, he knew.  He didn’t want to disappoint her now; he had done that enough when she was alive.

The boulders he had selected to seal the entrance to the tunnel had been selected for two reasons.  They were very large and they were not very round.  No one man would be able to roll them aside to gain entrance to this particular tunnel.  Even if he had enough help to move the boulders, there would be no way for that man to know which boulders needed to be moved.

Looking along the bank at the similar boulders that had already been put in place, Samuel thought again about how slight the chance was that anyone would find the tunnel entrance again.  There would be no distinguishing mark placed on the boulders nearest the entrance.  Although no boulder was the same, they were also not significantly different.

Enough room was left for two large boulders to sit side by side at ground or road level.  The next boulder was longer, but only Samuel would remember that distinction in the pattern of the boulders.  Three smaller stones, weighing about one hundred pounds each were then allowed to drop in place to cover the very top of the tunnel entrance.

All that was left to do was to remove the long poles and timbers that had been used to hold the boulders in place.  As each of them was pulled free, sand and dirt flowed down into the gaps between the boulders.

Although Samuel could tell where the fresher sediment had just settled, he wouldn’t be able to in a few days.  By the time the next rain came, even Samuel would need to rely on measurements rather than a visual inspection of the area.

Heading along the side of the road that led further up the Mount of Olives near Jerusalem, Samuel looked at his hands.  The skin was cracked; his nails were cracked; bright red splotches covered the back of his hands.  He had worn gloves, but gloves could not protect his hands from the material he had been handling.

He wished for the seventy-seventh time that he had voted ‘no’ when his mother had pleaded with him and the other twenty-two.  We need the bad as well as the good, she had argued.

These boards do not need to be preserved by us, responded Nicodemus.  They should have been left with their roots and branches where everyone could see them.  The tree should never have been cut.

There had been some confusion about the wood that was even now being unloaded at a location just a few hundred meters higher up the Mount of Olives where it would be used to build the door.

Samuel believed that some members of XXIV still thought that the wood had once held the man named Jesus when he was breathing his last.  Each member of XXIV had been assured that this was not that wood.

But it is cursed, you said, argued Vera, the oldest member of the group.

Nicodemus had explained again.  That wood held he who was cursed.  This wood was cursed by him.

Even with multiple explanations, Vera had smiled knowingly and kissed one of the boards.  If it touched our Savior, then it can surely touch these old lips.

Please don’t, pleaded Samuel then.  "Back then, his hands had not yet experienced the devastation that he was looking at today.  He thought back to Vera’s death not two weeks after she kissed that ‘cursed’ board, but he was certain that her death was not a result of her kissing the wood then.

Even more puzzling to everyone was Samuel’s physical reaction to the wood.  He was the only member of XXIV to be so affected.  Of course, Samuel knew why, but the others continued to wonder.  He suspected that Nicodemus might come up with the correct solution to the puzzle if pressed.

Joseph and Julia were to meet him at the entrance way to the long room built out of stone and mortar—the room used by XXIV for over twenty years.  Smiling as he counted out the years, Samuel realized that it was indeed the 24th year that their special building had been in use by their group of 24 individuals.  Perhaps it was fitting.

The carpenter that waited with Joseph and Julia had already removed the original door.  Again Samuel inspected it with the appreciation that only a skilled carpenter could have for a crafted item.

Despite his admonishment, the other carpenter wore no gloves on his hands and had even removed his shirt.  Samuel shook his head, but he was beyond recriminations.  A grown man would see no need to listen to him especially when the man saw that Samuel wore no shirt or gloves.

What will we do with the scrap pieces? asked Julia.

Samuel shook his head wearily.

I don’t know.  We can’t burn them.

Joseph seemed surprised.  Do you mean they won’t burn?

Managing a weak smile, Samuel placed his huge hand lovingly on Joseph’s shoulder.  I believe they will burn, but I wouldn’t want to think about how much damage the smoke created would cause.

Can we just leave them on the floor inside the door? asked Julia.  I believe we all agree that this door will not be used as an actual entrance for this building.

Samuel and Joseph both seemed to accept Julia’s suggestion at about the same time.  Let’s do that, said Samuel.  Anyone who breaches this door will already be contaminated.  They are not likely to know the source of the wood scraps they find inside.

Joseph hated that Samuel had chosen ‘contaminated’ as his description of the wood.  It was cursed for sure, but its reputed harmful effects on anyone touching it had yet to be settled.

However, Samuel had his wood-working tools ready for when their job was finished.  Etched into the wood door in large letters would be these words: DO NOT TOUCH THIS DOOR.

There would be no further recriminations on Samuels’s pars.  He had said all that he would ever say on the subject.

Chapter 1

Was there ever anything of value in the last vault—the delta vault? asked Ryan Parker.  The best-selling author, whose last thriller had sold almost a million copies in the first two weeks, was talking to the lady who could have lost $100 million because of his book.

After arriving in Tel Aviv as one of Ryan’s guests, Sandra Owens had barely escaped being kidnapped on the ride to Jerusalem.  Later, when she and Ryan had joined the team investigating eight underground vaults, a would-be terrorist had actually held her hostage.

I can’t believe you started this conversation with that question, said Sandra Owens, a well-known Christian author.  You have to be the most intuitive person that I’ve ever met.

When the team opened the door to the last vault, thought to be empty by Sandra, Emir Hezekiah had faced them holding an automatic weapon.  Ryan’s diversionary action had allowed Sandra and the others to escape.  Of course, several policemen were involved, but Ryan and Sandra had played key roles in the capture of the ‘bad guys.’

Don’t tell me that’s why you asked for this meeting, said Ryan.  I thought you considered me a renegade when I didn’t pursue your precious basket after I told you I would.

Sandra smiled and couldn’t keep from laughing.  I was okay with that, she said.  The basket is in very good hands and doing a very good work.  You know that we both feel the same way about the basket.

Sandra was a present day member of an ancient group of collectors.  During the first century her predecessors had stored the wine jars from Cana, a drawing of Jesus, and the actual baskets containing the loaves and fishes that Jesus had blessed.

However, the current members of XXIV had no longer known the location of their underground vaults because the entryway to the vaults had been covered up with rubble for many centuries.  A new entrance had been created when a Mossad agent posing as a monk at Dormitian Abbey fell through a hole in the garden outside the abbey’s wall.

When Ryan,  Sandra and the rest of the team finally opened the vault where Sandra believed the basket had been stored, the basket was no longer there.  The only evidence that it still existed was a video taken by some unknown missionaries in an unknown desert region.  Ryan had not been willing to take that mission any further.  The basket was where it needed to be, and people could continue to operate on faith rather than fact as far as Ryan was concerned.

As far as his own belief system was concerned, all of his personal ballots were not ‘in.’  Ryan had been a proclaimed agnostic when the adventure began, but he had been swayed by