by Mac Flynn
Chapter 4
Stacy put her back, or rather her shoulder, into helping Ed, and the three of us navigated the narrow trail back to camp. It was dark by the time they dropped me on my cot. My legs were sturdier and my hand had stopped bleeding. I lay down on the cot and sighed. "I don't think I ever want to go back down there again," I murmured.
Stacy sat down on the end of the cot and glanced between Ed and me. "What exactly happened down there?" she asked us.
"The first room behind the door was empty, but I found another one on the side. That room is filled with treasures and a big sarcophagus," Ed explained.
"And a skeleton," I added.
"A skeleton? In the sarcophagus?" she wondered.
"No, beside the sarcophagus," Ed told her.
"Was there a body in the sarcophagus?" she asked us.
Ed and I opened our mouths to reply, but we had no answer for that. "I don't think we got a look at what was inside the sarcophagus," Ed replied.
"I didn't want a better look of that thing. My hand already had a close enough encounter with the lid," I commented. I held up the wounded hand. It was covered in dry blood.
"Well, let's get that taken care of. Ed, you start the fire outside so we can have food soon," Stacy ordered him.
Soon my hand was bandaged and a fire crackled in the pit outside. Our fellow students and the professor came up the path a half hour after us. I lay on my cot resting when the flaps were brushed aside and the professor entered. A propane lamp on the table beside my cot lit my small home-away-from-home, and by its light I saw his face was stretched with concern. He walked across the short space and knelt beside my bed.
Van Sloan's face was strained and he didn't look me in the eyes. "I can't apologize enough for my behavior down there. I. . .I believe I was taken over by the moment," he admitted.
I hated to see him like this, groveling at my feet for an acceptance to his apology. "I'm fine. It's just a small scratch on my hand," I told him.
He shook his head. "No, I can't be let off that easily, not when I'm responsible for you and the others. I mustn't let my emotions run away with my better judgment even with this fantastic discovery at our fingerprints," he replied. That familiar sparkle of fanaticism slipped into his eyes. "But all those riches. The wealth of a prince who ruled a kingdom thousands of years ago. The countless priceless artifacts that may lead to new discoveries about the ancient world!" He stood and his face broadened into a smile. "We'll be famous, and the wealth of information from the-"
"Professor?" I spoke up.
He shook himself and turned to me as though nothing had happened. "Yes?"
"Could you go get me a bowl of tonight's surprise soup?" I requested.
"O-oh yes! Of course! What was I thinking? I'll be right back," he agreed, and eagerly left to obey my order.
I rolled my eyes. "This is going to be a long dig," I murmured.
I lay back down on the cot and closed my eyes. I expected the professor to return after a minute and wasn't disappointed when I heard the flaps open. I opened my eyes and turned toward the entrance expecting to see his figure slip toward me. No one was there. I was alone. I sat up. "Professor?" I called out.
"Coming!" came his voice from outside the tent. He pushed the flaps open and came in bearing a bowl of food. "Here it is, tonight's special," he told me as he handed me the bowl.
"Thanks," I replied as I took it from his hand. I glanced around him to the rest of the empty tent. Nothing stirred. "Is there a wind outside?" I wondered.
"Wind? No wind. It's a perfectly calm, beautiful night," he answered.
"Did. . .did you see anybody come in here before you? Or maybe just pass by?" I asked him.
"No, not at all. Why do you ask?" he returned.
"Well, I just thought I heard the flaps of my tent move and somebody come in," I explained.
"I'm sure it was just your mind believing I had returned early, but just in case I recommend a good, hearty rest. I want you to be one of the ones to head to the village with me for some digging supplies and a few mirrors to lighten up that dark tomb. A treat, of sorts, for finding that secret room," he informed me.
That actually wasn't a bad treat. A little bit of civilization sounded fun to me. "Sounds great, count me in," I replied.
"Excellent! Now get that rest and I'll see you bright and early in the morning!" The professor left and I put my finished bowl on the small table.
I changed into my nightshirt with pants and slipped beneath the sheets on my cot. The nights were a little chilly in these mountains, and I wrapped myself in those thick, cotton blankets. I was exhausted from the long, tedious day of digging and that panicked finish, and in a few minutes I was asleep.
I don't know how long I lay there slumbering, but far off I could hear my peers talking around the campfire. I awoke with a start and my wide eyes glanced around the small room. Nothing stirred. Nothing made a noise. Someone outside laughed. I lay on my back and held my breath as I waited for something to happen. Something must have awoken me. I couldn't remember having a dream.
That's when I saw the shadow against the wall of the tent. It was tall and thin, and reached to the tip of the poles. Nothing in my tent stood that tall. My eyes widened to saucer plates when the shadow stepped off the cloth and became three-dimensional. It now cast its own shadow and blocked the opening. Two burning red eyes peered out from the head area, and I could see that whatever it was had a cloak wrapped around it.
I tossed aside my covers and jumped to my feet. My intention was to scream and alert the others, but when I opened my mouth the thing held up a pale hand. My scream caught in my throat. I tried to run, but my legs wouldn't obey me. They only quaked beneath me. The shadow stepped closer, and it was as though it stepped from darkness into light. Holes appeared in the old cloak, and I could see there was a thick layer of dust over the front. The head was revealed to have long, black hair that flowed down the person's back. It was a man before me, but one unlike I'd ever seen. His face was shrunken, almost skeletal, and those red eyes burned with all the damnation of hell.
He spoke, and his voice was as smooth as velvet and as cold as ice. "You are the one who revived me," he whispered. He stepped closer and I could see that beneath his pale cracked lips were long fangs. "Through your blood I have learned about this future world, but the connection was meager. Too little blood. I know some of what you know, and I am eager to see more." He stood before me now. His body reeked of dust and decay. I wanted to turn away, but he held me with those eyes. He raised his arms and from beneath the cloak slid pale, thin hands. They grasped my bare arms and his thin, dry skin crackled beneath my warm flesh.
My heart beat furiously in my chest as he leaned down, fangs bared. I turned my head to the side and closed my eyes. His teeth pressed against the flesh of my neck. Their sharp points broke through the skin, but the pain was a fraction of a second before pleasure swept over my body. From our connection came waves of heat that rippled through me. It was as though a hundred hands caressed every part of my body. I shuddered against the onslaught. My mind grew hazy. The world receded into the background. There was only him and me, and the intense, heated passion within our connection.
The creature pulled me closer to him. I was swallowed in his cloak. The darkness in there was peaceful, serene. Not even a heartbeat disturbed the quiet. I grasped a dry piece of cloth that was his shirt. It nearly crumbled beneath my fingers, but a change took place over the cloth, and over the entirety of his body. His dry hands that held me grew supple, and the dust disappeared from his clothes.
He pulled me away and his red eyes were now only black. The heat inside of me faded. My lust receded. I whimpered at the loss of the connection, and he grinned. He reached up and brushed a pale but pliable finger against my blushing cheek. "Not so soon, little one," he whispered to me. "The change takes many days. To kill you to
o quickly would be an eternal death, and I have other plans for you." He lowered me onto my cot and lay me down. I glanced up at him with my chest heaving, both from the heat and the loss of blood. He smiled down at me and stepped back. "Until tomorrow night," he told me.
He stepped back and the shadow once more fell over his form, blotting out all details. The shadow fell to the floor and slipped out beneath the canvas of the tent. The strangeness of the situation, and my own physical exhaustion, forced me to close my eyes. In a moment I was asleep, or perhaps I had dreamed the whole small adventure.
or visit Mac Flynn's website.
Want to get an email when the next book is released?
Sign up here for the newsletter