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«Map of Bones», James Rollins
JAMES ROLLINS
MAP of BONES
A SIGMA FORCE NOVEL
ALEXANDRA AND ALEXANDER
MAY BOTH YOUR LIVES SHINE AS
BRIGHTLY AS ALL THE STARS
The precision of any fiction is a reflection of the facts presented. As such, while truth may sometimes be stranger than fiction, fiction must always have a foundation of truth. To that end, all the artwork, relics, catacombs, and treasures described in this story are real. The historical trail revealed within these pages is accurate. The science at the heart of the novel is based on current research and discoveries.
CONTENTS
EPIGRAPH
PROLOGUE
DAY ONE
BEHIND THE EIGHT BALL
THE ETERNAL CITY
SECRETS
DUST TO DUST
DAY TWO
FRANTIC
DOUBTING THOMAS
ROLLING THE BONES
CRYPTOGRAPHY
THE SCAVI
TOMB RAIDER
DAY THREE
ALEXANDRIA
RIDDLE OF THE SPHINX
BLOOD IN THE WATER
DAY FOUR
GOTHIC
HUNTING
THE DAEDALUS MAZE
THE GOLD KEY
EPILOGUE
AUTHOR’S NOTE
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
OTHER BOOKS BY JAMES ROLLINS
CREDITS
COPYRIGHT
ABOUT THE PUBLISHER
The holy relics were granted to Rainald von Dassel, Archbishop of Cologne (1159–67), following Emperor Barbarossa’s sacking of the city of Milan. Such a treasure was granted to the German Archbishop for his aid and chancellorship in service to the current Emperor. Not all were content to see such a treasure leave Italy…not without a struggle.
—FromL’histoire de la Sainte Empire Romaine
(The History of the Holy Roman Empire), 1845,
HISTOIRES LITTÉRAIRES
PROLOGUE
MARCH 1162
THE ARCHBISHOP’Smen fled into the shadows of the lower valley. Behind them, atop the winter pass, horses screamed, arrow-bit and cleaved. Men shouted, cried, and roared. The clash of steel rang as silvery as a chapel’s bells.
But it was not God’s work being done here.
The rear guard must hold.
Friar Joachim clutched the reins of his horse as his mount slid on its haunches down the steep slope. The loaded wagon had reached the bottom of the valley safely. But true escape still lay another league away.
If only they could reach it…
With his hands clenched on the reins, Joachim urged his stumbling mare down to the valley’s bottom. He splashed across an icy brook and risked a glance behind him.