Chapter 1

THE MAZE OF BONES

迷宫般的骨头

Chapter 1. Five minutes before she died, Grace Cahill changed her will. Her lawyer brought out the alternate version, which had been her most guarded secret for seven years. Whether or not she would actually be crazy enough to use it, William Mclntyre had never been certain. "Madam," he asked, "are you sure?" Grace gazed out the window, across the sunlit meadows of her estate. Her cat, Saladin, snuggled beside her as he had throughout her illness, but his presence was not enough to comfort her today. She was about to set in motion events that might cause the end of civilization. "Yes, William." Her every breath was painful. "I'm sure."

第1章。格蕾丝·卡荷尔死前五分钟，改了遗嘱。 她的律师拿出了另一个版本，这是她保守了七年的秘密。 她是否真的会疯狂到使用它，威廉·麦克林泰尔从来都不确定。 “夫人，”他问，“你确定吗？”格蕾丝凝视着窗外，对面是她庄园里阳光普照的草地。 她的猫萨拉丁（Saladin）在她生病期间一直依偎在她身边，但今天他的存在不足以安慰她。 她即将引发可能导致文明终结的事件。 “是的,威廉。”她的每一次呼吸都很痛苦。 “我确定。”

William broke the seal on the brown leather folder. He was a tall craggy man. His nose was pointed like a sundial so it always cast a shadow over one side of his face. He had been Grace's adviser, her closest confidant, for half her life. They'd shared many secrets over the years, but none as perilous as this. He held the document for her to review. A fit of coughing wracked her body. Saladin meowed with concern. Once the coughing passed, William helped her take the pen. She scrawled her weak signature across the paper. "They're so young," William lamented. "If only their parents—" "But their parents didn't," Grace said bitterly. "And now the children must be old enough. They are our only chance." "If they don't succeed—" "Then five hundred years of work have been for nothing," Grace said. "Everything collapses. The family, the world — all of it." William nodded grimly. He took the folder from her hands. Grace sat back, stroking Saladin's silver fur.

威廉打开了棕色皮革文件夹上的封条。 他是个瘦高的人。他的鼻子像日晷一样尖尖，所以总是在他脸的一边投下阴影。 他是格蕾丝的顾问，是她人生中最亲密的知己。 多年来，他们分享了许多秘密，但没有一次像这次这么危险。 他拿着文件让她看。 一阵咳嗽折磨着她的身体。 萨拉丁担心地叫了一声。 咳嗽一过去，威廉就帮她拿笔。 她在纸上草草地签了个弱字。 “他们太年轻了，”威廉哀叹道。 “要是他们的父母——”“可是他们的父母没有，”格蕾丝痛苦地说。 “现在孩子们一定长大了。 他们是我们唯一的机会。” “那么五百年的努力都白费了，”格蕾丝说。 “一切都崩溃。家庭，世界——所有的一切。” 威廉严肃地点了点头。他从她手中接过文件夹。 格蕾丝靠在椅背上，抚摸着萨拉丁的银色皮毛。

The scene outside the window made her sad. It was too gorgeous a day to die. She wanted to have one last picnic with the children. She wanted to be young and strong and travel the world again. But her eyesight was failing. Her lungs labored. She clutched her jade necklace — a good-luck talisman she'd found in China years ago. It had seen her through many close calls with death, many lucky misses. But the talisman couldn't help her anymore. She'd worked hard to prepare for this day. Still, there was so much she'd left undone … so much she had never told the children. "It will have to be enough," she whispered. And with that, Grace Cahill closed her eyes for the last time. When he was sure Grace had passed away, William Mclntyre went to the window and closed the curtains. William preferred darkness. It seemed more proper for the business at hand. The door opened behind him. Grace's cat hissed and disappeared under the bed. William didn't look back. He was staring at

窗外的景色使她伤心。 这一天太美好了，不能死。 她想和孩子们最后一次野餐。 她想要变得年轻强壮，再一次环游世界。 但她的视力正在衰退。 她的肺部疼痛。她紧握着玉项链——这是她多年前在中国发现的一种好运护身符。 它见证了她无数次死里逃生，无数次侥幸脱险。 但护身符再也帮不了她了。 她为这一天做了很多准备。 不过，她还有很多事情没有做，还有很多事情她从来没有告诉过孩子们。 “这就够了，”她低声说。 说完，格蕾丝·卡荷尔最后一次闭上了眼睛。 威廉·麦金太尔确信格蕾丝已经去世了，便走到窗前，拉上窗帘。 威廉喜欢黑暗。 这似乎更适合手头的业务。 他身后的门开了。 格蕾丝的猫嘶嘶地叫了一声，消失在床底下。 威廉没有回头。他盯着

Grace Cahill's signature on her new will, which had just become the most important document in the Cahill family's history. "Well?" a brusque voice said. William turned. A man stood in the doorway, his face obscured by shadows, his suit as black as oil. "It's time," William said. "Make sure they suspect nothing." William couldn't tell for sure, but he thought the man in black smiled. "Don't worry," the man promised. "They'll never have a clue."

格蕾丝·卡希尔在她的新遗嘱上的签名，这份遗嘱刚刚成为卡希尔家族历史上最重要的文件。 “怎么样？”一个粗鲁的声音说。 威廉了。一个男人站在门口，他的脸被阴影遮住了，他的衣服黑得像油。 “是时候了，”威廉说。 “确保他们不会怀疑。” 威廉不能肯定，但他认为那个黑衣人笑了。 “别担心，”那人答应道。 “他们永远不会知道的。”