“During the final stages of WW2, Hitler started to search for anything that would give him an advantage. He turned to mysticism, and began a global hunt for holy weapons. There were two items he desperately wanted. The first was the Ark of the Covenant, the final resting place of the Ten Commandments, which he never found.”

“Bullshit. That’s just a made-up story,” Casey sneered, but then her brow knitted when Sam shook his head. “Isn’t it?”

“Oh, it’s real all right,” the big HAWC said. “The second item Adolf searched for, the Spear of Destiny, sometimes known as the Holy Lance, he had more success with. This is the weapon used by the Roman soldier who pierced the side of Jesus of Nazareth as he hung dying on the Cross. Hitler obtained it, used it, and nearly conquered the world.”

Adira nodded. “Napoleon, Caesar, Mao, all megalomaniacal leaders, sought and used dark magic or second sight – mages and seers – to gain a military edge. The Iranian mullahs also seek this advantage, and perhaps they have finally found a way to translate the Book of Stones’ secrets.”

Alex exhaled, his mind whirling. Part of him wanted to scoff like Casey, but he had seen things in his life that would tear at a normal person’s sanity. And he had seen with his own eyes the thing in the room – its dead flesh, suddenly becoming reanimated. The world still had so many secrets.

Adira looked up at him. “You asked if I was scared? Yes, I was, but not for myself. There is an old Jewish prophecy that says that Israel will stand until the dead rise to wage war against it. Maybe someone has managed to find a way to get the dead to fight.”

“The rabbi stopped the Golem by erasing part of the inscription carved into it,” Sam said. “Maybe there’s something similar we can use.”

Alex shrugged. “We beat it. We proved it could be stopped.”

“We beat it?” Adira looked back at the ground. “There were five crates, four empty. You beheaded one, and we know of three more that were deployed. Two carried out their mission, and one we took down in the Golan Heights. That leaves one unaccounted for. Where is it? Whose country is it walking toward right now?”

They walked in silence for another few minutes, until Alex reached out to grab her shoulder. “Don’t worry. We’ll find them and figure this out – together.”

She smiled weakly, but didn’t look convinced. Alex had wanted to tell her that they’d kill them all, but he knew they hadn’t even killed the one whose head he carried. He felt the head now, still squirming, as if silently screaming in his backpack.

*

The Mosul captives, now free, ran from the city. They headed back to their hometowns, by stolen pushbike, by car, or on foot.