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  She was thrown into the darkened interior of the van, and the door was slammed shut, leaving her bound, gagged, and now blind. The sounds from outside were also muffled, and she realized the walls, the floor, even the ceiling of the van were all covered in some sort of spray foam, deadening all sound from the outside—and from the inside.

  Dr. Horelica kicked at the side of the van and tried to scream, but the sounds were muted, falling back on her in dull tones.

  These men had been too good—too methodic—to be mere rapists or kidnappers. Grabbing her wasn't part of a whim, it was part of a plan. She was being kidnapped by professionals.

  But why? What could someone want from her? She was a linguist. She specialized in dead languages and ancient symbolism. She wasn't part of any government contracts, and she had no connection with national security or anything that could influence tides of money or politics. She was, as most of her friends thought of her, the most boring type of researcher there was—one who reads for a living.

  She felt more than heard the slight thud of the van’s doors closing, and the rumble of its engine starting. In seconds they were moving, and Evelyn started screaming through the gag, kicking frantically at the sides of the van, the floor, the back doors. Some part of her knew it was pointless, but these were the options she had left to her. This was the only fight she could give.

  It wouldn’t be enough.

  American Museum of Natural History — New York, New York

  The medallion was part of an exhibit of ancient American artifacts.

  The very phrase seemed like an oxymoron to most museum patrons. The words “ancient” and “American” just didn't belong in the same sentence, and that was precisely what made it intriguing. America was, and had always been, the new world. The civilization that currently stretched between her shores had a lifespan that could be measured only in centuries, not millennia. There wasn’t anything ancient here.

  At least, that was the way most people thought of it.

  The truth was, European descendants were relatively new to the ecosystem of the Americas. They’d been preceded in North and South America by cultures extending thousands of years into history: Aztec, Mayan, Inca, hundreds of indigenous tribes—the so-called “Indians”—all had cultures that stretched back almost infinitely beyond the arrival of the Niña, Pinta, and Santa Maria.

  In fact, as it was turning out, Europeans weren’t even the first non-natives to set foot in the Americas. Now making headlines, in archeological and historical circles at least, was mounting evidence that Vikings had once landed on the eastern shores of what would become Canada and the United States. And as it turned out, Eric the Red was just the tip of a Scandinavian iceberg.

  It was all so astounding.

  Vikings—making a home for themselves in a world that was so far from their native soil it wasn't even supposed to exist. This was the edge of everything, to the ancient seafarers. But nothing as trivial as the edge of the world, or a harsh and freezing expanse of empty ocean, could possibly keep Vikings at bay.

  The possibility of something ancient in the new world might be bizarre to most of modern society, but it was no less a reality. The medallion hinted at that new reality, providing tantalizing proof of something ... well, something impossible by the standards of current archeological research and the known historical record.

  Named for its discoverer, Dr. Eloi Coelho, the Coelho Medallion had been found in perhaps the most startling location anyone could think of—a dig site near Pueblo, Colorado.

  This was the spark that ignited a raging fire of public astonishment and excitement. Pueblo, deep in the center of North America and surrounded by an expanse of mountains and foothills, was the very last place anyone expected to find any sign of the seafaring Vikings.

  It seemed impossible.

  It was captivating.

  It hinted at an alternate history of the United States, filled with mystery and adventure and a strange new perspective that no one in either the public or the scientific community had ever considered.

  No one knew for certain what the history of the medallion might actually be, and that was its most attractive feature.

  Deepening the mystery further, there were markings on the surface of the medallion, both front and back, that could count their origins among any number of Native American cultures. But it was the symbols that looked for all the world as if they were Norse that were fueling a flood of speculation from both inside and outside the scientific community.

  This led a few brave researchers to wonder—aloud and in print no less—whether there had been some kind of intimate contact between several of these pre-European North American cultures and the Norse.

  Why not? In light of recent discoveries, it seemed plausible enough. Sure, it went against hundreds of years of established facts and known history, but discovering something like the medallion—a sort of Rosetta Stone of ancient American culture—put every former idea under a microscope for reexamination. These were new and exciting days.

  These well-meaning researchers, of course, were quickly snubbed, and their careers briefly called into question, highlighting the dangers and foibles of daring to question the status quo in academic and scientific circles. New ideas and new perspectives were not always welcome—hardly ever welcome if one were being honest.

  All of that aside, however, the controversy surrounding the medallion, and its lack of an origin story, made it just the sort of mystery that the American Museum of Natural History needed. It had given the Museum a much-needed boost, amounting to the biggest attraction in decades.

  Dr. Albert Shane, the museum's Curator of Human Origins, was tickled by the press coverage of the event. He particularly liked a quote from the New York Times:

  “At the heart of the exhibit, a mystery: What is the origin of the Coelho Medallion, which headlines the event? A circular object, two inches in diameter, covered with ancient symbols and images—the medallion inspires the imagination toward fantasies of khaki-clad archeologists on a quest to solve the mystical riddles of a lost culture.”

  That had just the right flavor, Dr. Shane thought. It set the tone for the entire exhibit. It attached a bit of mystery and intrigue to the medallion that overrode any academic or scientific controversy. And the controversy itself, he had to admit, only propelled more people to want to see the medallion for themselves.

  So far thousands of people had come through the museum's doors, wandered among the glass cases and read the placards, looking to be even a small part of that figurative “khaki-clad archeologist’s” quest. Those same patrons bought trinkets and souvenirs in the gift shop, concessions from the cafe, and more than a few season passes.

  These were good days for the bottom line. Dr. Shane felt they had a winner on their hands—and it was about time.

  For most of his tenure here, the museum had seen only modest and fairly dull returns on exhibits and showings. Frankly, they made more money on the novelty events—cocktail parties and high school lock-ins among the exhibits, all of which required having unhappy employees on hand to keep people from messing with the displays.

  The most popular exhibits tended to be novelties as well—cringe-worthy collections such as “royal sex toys” and “ancient cursed treasure.” The public just didn't have an appetite for mummies or dinosaur bones or broken shards of pottery anymore. They could see all of that on YouTube while seated on the toilet, and it cost them nothing. Why should they shell out money to see these things in a stuffy building that didn't even have a Starbucks?

  But the Coelho Medallion was different.

  Nothing stirs the public like an ancient mystery. The mere fact that this object and the other artifacts from the dig site pointed to Vikings in the mainland was stirring all sorts of interest from the public, who had a constant craving for something new and interesting and exotic, especially if it was right in their own back yard.

  Of course, that mini-series on the History Channel had helped a bit. Some of the museum patrons even recognized Dr. Shane as he moved about, his bow tie and suspenders making him easy to recognize. He was even being asked for his autograph—definitely not an everyday occurrence!

  It was definitely a banner event for the museum, and for Shane’s career.

  Dr. Shane felt so good about the exhibit, in fact, and about the positive impact it was having on the museum, that very day he’d given the green light for an extension. The artifacts would be on display for an additional two weeks before they were taken on a national tour. By his calculations, that would mean another hundred thousand dollars in ticket sales alone. The concessions, the souvenirs, and season pass sales would be through the roof.

  It was enough to make him feel ok with his life choices again.

  Back at the start of his career, Shane had wanted very badly to be like one of those khaki-clad adventurers mentioned by the Times. But life didn't always take the turns one expected, and his experience, not to mention his need for a steady income, had eventually made working in a museum the best alternative to a career spent crawling around in ancient ruins and digging up artifacts from lost cultures.

  He might still have preferred being out in the field, actually being part of the discovery, to sitting behind a desk in an office tucked into the back corner of a museum. Being in the field had always been the dream of his youth. He had never wanted to be the Curator. He’d wanted to be that khaki-clad adventurer. But this was good too. He had learned to be satisfied with his career and his life. It was comfortable, and it gave him some notoriety and respect. That was reward enough, he had long ago decided.

  It was later, on a Thursday night, after Dr. Shane had retired for the evening and was just pulling into his garage when his mobile phone rang. The caller ID showed
the number for museum security.

  His stomach twisted instantly, and all of his life choices once again seemed to press in upon him.

  “This is Dr. Shane,” he answered.

  “Sir, you'd better get back here right away,” said Neil Gossner, head of museum security.

  “Neil, I’ve just arrived home,” Shane replied. “Unless this is something of vital importance …”

  “The exhibit has been robbed.”

  It was so abrupt. So matter of fact. Not a hint that Gossner was aware of the crushing, existential meaning that came with the words.

  “Robbed?” Dr. Shane said quietly. He felt like throwing up, and before he even asked the question, he knew what Gossner's answer would be. Still, he had to ask. It was his job. “What was taken?”

  “We're not sure how they did it, sir. Not yet. But it looks like the only item stolen was the medallion.”

  The only item stolen?

  The medallion?

  The centerpiece of the entire exhibit?

  “I'm on my way,” Dr. Shane said, his voice hoarse from the feeling of dread that was gripping him.

  He sat for a moment, feeling his heart pounding, feeling the blood rushing in pulsing waves through his body, his face and neck flushed and warm and wet with perspiration.

  Then, as if he’d been shocked awake, he put the car in gear and stepped on the accelerator.

  He slammed the brakes at the last second as he almost lurched through the back wall of his garage, having put the car in the drive without thinking. He shifted into reverse then, calmly and deliberately, then sped backward out of his driveway and onto the street with a thud, squealing away in the direction of the museum.

  Part I

  Chapter One

  Columbia University—New York, New York

  “As far back as the 10th century AD, there is evidence of ... well, let’s call it Norse dabbling in North America.”

  There was a minor chuckle at this, mostly from the heavy academics in the room, and Dr. Dan Kotler was grateful for it. When he had agreed to speak on this topic, the research was already making its rounds through the scientific community, but it hadn't yet caught on. Most of his fellows thought of it as absurd, despite all the best evidence.

  Kotler was able to lecture openly about Norse influence on North America only because he wasn’t bound by the usual limitations of academia and science. He was an independent—as credentialed as any of his contemporaries, holding multiple PhDs in Anthropology and Quantum Physics. But he had the good fortune of being his own benefactor, thanks to his personal wealth. This, coupled with his lack of direct affiliation with any given university or institute, ensured he was free to posit any absurd theories he wished with very few repercussions.

  Well, other than occasionally being blackballed from certain peer review journals and thought of as a fringe lunatic by his peers. Consequences he could live with, for the most part.

  He worked hard, however, to present impeccable research and evidence for any claims he made or conclusions he drew, which kept him more or less in the good graces of the scientific community.

  More or less.

  His musings on the Norse influence on North America had ridden the fine line of academic absurdity and legitimate archeological research for years now, and he was fully aware of that. The theories were starting to gain acceptance in the broader scientific community, an inch at a time, but only grudgingly. Kotler felt sure he'd been invited to do this talk only because of recent findings in Pueblo, including the medallion unearthed by Dr. Eloi Coelho and his team. If not for the popularity of that medallion and the exhibit associated with it, Kotler might still be lecturing, just on a very different topic. The symbolism of ancient pottery, perhaps.

  Then there was that History Channel miniseries.

  Vikings in America had been rushed through production, spurred at least in part by the exhibit that included the Coelho Medallion itself, but that hadn’t stopped it from catching fire with the public. For an audience weaned on Ancient Aliens, and other programs that routinely presented wildly speculative theories and viewpoints of history and archeology, Vikings in America was almost tame by comparison. The show had just the right mix of dramatized reenactments, as well as testimonials from some of the rock-star level researchers and scientists in History Channel’s roster, to create a frenzy with the public. Everyone wanted to know: How had Viking artifacts come to be found nearly 2,500 miles from where they’d initially landed in the New World?

  It was the sort of baffling mystery that set public curiosity on fire.

  Kotler had been asked to be a part of the program, as an expert on both Norse history and mythology and as a general anthropologist and cultural expert. During his interview, he'd spoken at length about symbology, specifically about the symbols discovered at the site, and he had outlined much of the history he was discussing today, in this very lecture hall. A lot of what he'd said ended up on the cutting room floor, but some of the more sensational revelations had come directly out of his mouth. And that had given him a nice boost as a minor celebrity, he had to admit.

  The miniseries event had aired over the course of four nights, and it had brought in high ratings for the channel. It had fueled a passion for finding out more about this strange idea—Vikings discovering America before Europeans had ever set foot here. Suddenly the whole discovery became wildly popular, drawing a crowd to the exhibit and, somehow, to this lecture that had never been intended as anything serious. This was supposed to be a cheeky nod to the quirks of history, with the Viking discovery presented as a one-off anomaly. Now, suddenly, it was a standing-room-only presentation.

  They were forced to upgrade the venue at the last minute to accommodate all the ticket-buying patrons who wanted to learn more. Now, instead of the few dozen academics and graduate students Kotler had expected, the auditorium was jam-packed with highly interested ...

  What was he to call these people? What was the half-joking nickname that Evelyn Horelica had used? History groupies?

  “We’ve long known that Vikings had at least two settlements in Greenland. But what has come to light more recently is evidence of a small settlement in L’Anse aux Meadows, in Newfoundland.” Kotler touched the screen of his iPad, and the large display above him changed to show a collage of shots from L’Anse aux Meadows. “What looks like a fenced-in grassy knoll at first glance is actually the remnants of what we have confirmed to be former Viking houses.” He paused for effect. “This is a Viking village, on the shore of Médée Bay, right here in North America.”

  He advanced the presentation again, and now the audience was treated to a computer model of what the village might have looked like circa 1,000 AD. Kotler was again pleased to hear some satisfied ahs and oohs from the audience.

  He advanced the presentation to show some artifacts. This was one of the things the history groupies came to see. The weird and mysterious stuff. The unusual, that hinted at some tantalizing and hidden history.

  They hung on his every word as he described the function of various pieces, their role in Viking culture, and the conditions under which they were unearthed. He cycled through various carved stones and markers, to the pleasure of the audience.

  “This is one of my favorites,” Kotler said, pausing on an image of a man in a top hat standing beside a large stone with white runes carved into it. “This is Dighton Rock, which was discovered half-buried in the mud of the Taunton River, in Massachusetts. It was discovered as early as the 17th Century when it was at first mistakenly determined that these markings were made by Native Americans. Later, in the 19th Century, they were thought to be Phoenician, and later still they were even thought to be Portuguese. But I prefer a 20th Century interpretation,” he paused, looking around at the rapt faces in the audience, “which identifies them, correctly, as Norse runes.”

  He let that soak in. Norse runes in Massachusetts of all places? Even the academics in the room were whispering to each other at this point, though Kotler decided they were probably discussing how best to crucify him.