Page 124 of The Last Kingdom

“Which explains why Jefferson Davis made this a gift,” Koger said. “But the question of the moment is, what does this have to do with what we’re dealing with?”

Chapter 71

RIFE MADE HIS WAY THROUGH THE DARK WOODS, DOWN FROM THEsnow-covered rocky promontory and back toward Neuschwanstein. Knight followed, keeping watch on their rear. A bit unsettling to know that the Duke of Bavaria had his own private militia. Frankly, he’d not given the Guglmänner much thought until a few hours ago.

He and Knight finally arrived back at the gatehouse entry into the castle. Still no one around, the place conveniently quiet. They returned to the same exterior door at the top of the stone risers and reentered, making their way quietly up to the third floor. There, they carefully avoided the corridor that led to the king’s study and scampered ahead, taking refuge in the throne room, a palatial space that stretched up two stories with rows of colorful pillars forming an upper colonnade. He knew that the corridor just outside would take them around the third floor through a series of rooms, eventually finding the study. He decided they should get closer so he motioned and Knight led the way.

He had to wait for confirmation before acting.

They’d eliminated the annoyance of Prince Stefan, secured Albert’s complete cooperation, and now only had to wait and see if Koger and Malone solved the puzzle. Why work when others would do it for you? Seemed like a good plan. But that was the thing about good plans. They could go to hell in two seconds.

Especially here.

The Chinese were impatient and unsettled, demanding immediate results. Nothing new there. Paul Bryie had checked with his people at Langley. They were aware of the attack in Munich and Randy Miller’s death, all of which had been attributed to the Scythe. He realized that repercussions could come, but Bryie was providing enough misinformation to lead that hunt in a different direction. All he needed was a little time and he might well have that deed. The Chinese had first made a deal with the Germans, but once he came on the scene they saw that money would be far easier to part with than future political favors. Those had a nasty habit of becoming never-ending. Fifty million US dollars to him for the deed was one and out. So they’d accelerated the Germans’ timetable to three days, placing pressure on them to perform. He’d assured the Chinese he’d have results before that. A solid payday. But the real payout would be sticking it up the asses of his former bosses. It would be the first of many insults he planned to inflict on the Central Intelligence Agency.

Oh, yeah.

They’d regret firing him.

Knight led the way as they headed through a series of rooms. He realized that the way the floor was designed, half the rooms ran down one side of the center, the other on the opposite side with connecting doors. They came into what had obviously been a dining room and he realized that the study was just on the other side of the closed double doors. He could hear the murmur of voices through the thick walls, but nothing specific.

He motioned for Knight to keep going.

But his partner turned into the table and jostled one side hard, causing the gilded bronze centerpiece to move across the top with a loud scrape.

Rife froze.

So did Knight.

* * *

DERRICK HAD A FAMILIAR FEELING.

One he’d honed over the years. Something was wrong. He could feel it. How? Why? Where? Those were unknowns. But his brain was on high alert, his eyes and ears assessing everything around him. The immediate vicinity seemed calm. But there was something about the whole setup that simply did not add up. Hard to say why. But he’d learned not to argue with the feeling. If he was wrong? Okay, he might look a little foolish. But if he was right and ignored it, he could end up dead. Bad enough he’d allowed Rife and Paul Bryie to get ahead of him this morning. He wasn’t about to make the same mistake again. Both he and Malone were armed, which was somewhat reassuring. But this castle had the feel of a rat maze. Lots of room to run, just no place to go.

Malone was still examining the cipher wheel.

“Can you use that thing?” he asked.

“I think I can.”

Fenn and the curator stood nearby, watching carefully.

“And what can you two add to this growing mess of mystery?” Derrick asked them.

“Many of Ludwig II’s personal effects disappeared after his death,” the curator said. “Through the years a lot of items have resurfaced. I have bought some myself for this castle’s collection, as have other sites throughout Bavaria. But I have never seen anything like this before.”

“You told me Ludwig III created this whole mystery game,” Malone said to Fenn. “So how did he get this cipher wheel?”

“The family eventually took possession of Ludwig II’s belongings,” Fenn noted. “They were passed down to various branches. Some were donated to museums, some were kept. I can only assume that cipher wheel was retained by the prince regent Luitpold, who gave it to his son Ludwig III. It’s not gold or silver, so it had no value back then. But isn’t it marvelous? The Rätselspiel has come to life. It is real and we have the solution within our grasp.”

“How do you figure?” Derrick asked.

“You don’t see?” Fenn said. “All of the clues—the book, the note from Ludwig III, then the one from Lehmann, even the key you produced—they all point right here. I think, finally, we have all of the pieces in one place.”

“How do you know that?” Malone asked.

“It is quite simple,” Fenn said. “The wording. ‘Where the minstrel aims his praise, and Parsifal points his gaze, the seer and dove offer help from above.’ That happened. ‘Faithfulness keeps guard by day and night.’ That’s here. Now we have only the final part to decipher. ‘The gateway opens and closes with Wagner.’ Along with those random letters and numbers. Tell us, Herr Malone, do they relate to the cipher wheel?”

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