The Lost Tomb

by N. J. Croft

  They came to a stream, and Zach drove straight through it, water splashing over the sides, then up the other bank without slowing.

  “Hey,” Noah said, clutching tighter onto the roll bar. “You do know where you’re going, right?”

  “Same route as last time. I have a photographic memory for routes. We were on ponies then, so it took a lot longer. Eve looked great on a pony. I fell off.”

  Noah smiled picturing the scene. While he’d never ridden with Eve, he knew she had as a child, and all their children had taken lessons. He’d learned to ride in Afghanistan by necessity. He’d been undercover with one of the mountain tribes for a while. He’d liked it—until his horse had been shot from under him by a sniper.

  After another hour, Zach slowed the vehicle and waved a hand out of the window. “This is where we camped for the night. We’ll stop for a minute. Have something to eat. Drink…whatever else. We’re close now, and we have an hour before we’re due to meet Tarkhan.”

  Noah got out, rolling his shoulders to ease the tension. It was nearly noon, and the sun was high overhead and hot on his skin. Only weeks earlier, Eve had stood in this very place, and a few days after that, she’d been dead. A wave of sadness washed through him. He’d been too busy in the days and weeks following her death to mourn her. Also maybe a little bitter. She’d left him because of the inherent danger in his job, but then she’d somehow managed to get mixed up in something just as dangerous, got herself killed, and fucked up his life. It had been a selfish thought, and he was ashamed for even thinking it.

  He went back to the vehicle and got the small black box from his bag. Zach was nowhere to be seen, and Noah walked away from the ATV into the shadow of the trees. At the base of a tall birch tree, he dug a hole and buried his daughter’s finger.

  Her mother had been close by. It would have to do.

  He stood for a moment but couldn’t think of anything to say, then he shook his head and headed back. He pulled a bottle of water from the cooler in the back of the ATV and perched on a rock. He was trying not to think about Harper. Why hadn’t he done more to keep her safe?

  Maybe he was wasting time. He should contact her kidnapper. Lie. Tell them he had the location and would give it to them in exchange for his daughter. Somehow, he would make it work.

  And would it really make a difference if they got this talisman or not?

  The thing that held him back was that he didn’t trust them not to kill Harper anyway. These were ruthless people. They’d killed Eve, and she had evidently been working for them. There had been no real reason for her death. So he had to work out a plan that would guarantee Harper’s safety, and right now he was scrambling to find an answer. Maybe after this meeting, he would have a clearer picture, would be able to see a way forward.

  One thing he did know—if any more harm came to Harper, he would dedicate his life to hunting down her kidnappers and ensuring they suffered the same fate.

  Zach cleared his throat, and Noah glanced up. The other man stood a couple of feet away and was watching Noah, a small frown between his eyes. “Is there something you’re not telling me?”

  Noah swallowed the last of the water and stood up. “Why do you ask?”

  Zach snorted. “Just a guess. For a moment there, you looked like you wanted to kill someone. Like it was personal.”

  “It is personal. They murdered my wife.”

  “Ex-wife.”

  Why the hell did he keep emphasizing that? Just what had his relationship been with Eve? “They killed my ex-wife. And they had a damned good try at killing me.”

  Zach studied him for a minute longer. “I think there’s more. You still don’t trust me. I can’t say I blame you totally, but we’re in this together.” When Noah didn’t reply, he frowned. “Well, if you feel the need to share, I’m here. Let’s go. It’s nearly time.”

  Noah climbed back into the passenger seat of the ATV and braced himself against the inevitable bumps and jolts. They were driving through a narrow valley between two steep rises, the sky a deep blue strip above their heads.

  Zach slowed the vehicle. “The attack happened not long after we set off that morning,” he said. “A helicopter came from behind and started shooting. The horses were out of control. Tarkhan’s was shot from under him, and he went down.”

  Noah could picture it, the helicopter overhead, the horses panicking, nowhere to go but straight on. He searched the area and saw what must be the carcass of Tarkhan’s horse. It had been picked clean, only the bones left. Vultures or dogs. Did they have wolves here? He wouldn’t be surprised.

  “Tarkhan broke a leg but managed to drag himself to cover over there.” Zach waved a hand to the left where an area of huge boulders would provide a place to hide. He increased their speed and drove for another few minutes then pointed to what looked like a gap in the wall of the canyon, protected by a rocky overhang. “The rest of us took cover in there, but it’s a dead end. And it was only a matter of time before they picked us off. Or landed and came after us on foot. We had two pistols between us—not enough to fight off well-armed men.” He pulled the ATV to a halt and switched off the engine.

  “Two pistols? You and John Chen?”

  “Actually, Yuri had one as well, but he wasn’t letting on back then.”

  Noah followed him out of the vehicle. About fifty yards away, he could see the burned-out wreckage of a helicopter. Choppers could be vulnerable, all the same, taking one down with a handgun was pretty impressive. “How did you bring it down?”

  Zach scanned the area then pointed to a ledge about twenty meters’ climb up the side of the canyon. “I positioned myself there, and John distracted them from the ground. I took out the pilot.”

  “Good work.”

  “Yeah. After that, Eve, John, and Yuri went off after the spear. I went back for Tarkhan. I was going to have to stretcher him out—we had one horse between us, and he was in no state to walk or ride. Then we heard a vehicle approaching. I provided a distraction, and we managed to take it and go after Eve.”

  “A busy day.” He thought for a moment. “So you know who they were?”

  “Not really. At the time, I thought they were on the same side as the helicopter. Since then, I’ve changed my mind. I think they were on different sides. I think the helicopters belonged to the Darkhats—the same side as Yuri. They wanted to stop Eve from finding the spear. The guys in the land vehicle were John Chen’s lot. They were there as back-up but also to get John and the spear out once they had found it.”

  Noah went still as a shiver ran down his spine. They weren’t alone.

  Zach opened his mouth, but Noah gave a small shake of his head. A rider appeared at the top of the canyon, silhouetted against the blue sky. Then another and another, until there was a line of them staring down. “Looks like Tarkhan brought a few of his friends along. What do you want to do?”

  Zach’s eyes narrowed. “I think we should get the fuck out of here.”

  They walked slowly backward until they hit the ATV. Noah squinted upward, but he was looking into the sun and couldn’t make out any details of the riders. Were they armed?

  They both climbed in, the skin of his shoulders prickling in anticipation of a bullet. Zach started up the engine. They pulled away, and Zach turned the vehicle around so they were facing the way they had come. Then he hit the gas, and they shot forward. Noah gripped the bars of the cage to stop from being thrown around.

  He glanced back over his shoulder as riders appeared around a bend in the canyon, galloping flat out toward them. He heard the crack of a rifle. Drawing the pistol, he turned in his seat. He aimed, shot, and one of the riders fell, but there were too many and he was soon out of ammunition.

  “In front of us,” Zach said, and he turned back. A horse galloped toward them, the rider leaning to the side, a rifle in his hand. The loud crack of a shot and the ATV lurche
d to the right.

  Then they were rolling, and Noah was thrown around inside the cage. His shoulder slammed into the bars, and pain flashed through him. Then the vehicle hit the canyon wall and came to an abrupt halt. His head crashed against the roof of the cage, and everything went black.

  When he opened his eyes, he was upside down. He blinked to clear his vision and could make out a sea of legs surrounding the vehicle.

  Beside him, Zach groaned.

  The door was wrenched open from the outside, and a hand reached inside, grasped his arm, and pulled him out. He grabbed the edge of the vehicle for support as his legs threatened to give way under him. He swayed then took stock. He didn’t think he was badly hurt, though blood trickled down his forehead from a cut on his scalp and he was sure the wound in his shoulder had opened up again.

  He glanced across as Zach was pulled from the vehicle and caught his gaze. Zach shrugged. At least he looked in one piece, but how long would that last?

  They were surrounded by armed men.

  Mongolians, from the dark hair and eyes, their clothing a mixture of denim and leather. Behind them, he could hear the stamping and snorting of horses.

  Without warning, someone kicked him from the side. His legs were swept out from under him, and he crashed to the hard ground, landing on his damaged shoulder. Pain lanced through him, and he swore under his breath then rolled onto his back.

  His hands were wrenched in front of him, metal cuffs snapped onto his wrists, and he was yanked to his feet again. Across from him, Zach didn’t seem to be getting the same treatment. He was talking with a tall man who appeared to be their leader, their voices too low for Noah to pick up what they were saying. They both glanced his way, and Zach caught his gaze and gave another shrug.

  “Tarkhan has vouched for me. I have safe passage. You, they’re not sure about. Apparently, they suspect you may be working for the Descendants. Plus, you shot one of their men. They’re not happy.”

  He wasn’t fucking happy, either. He didn’t have time for this. He forced his breathing to slow. This was not a situation where losing his temper would help, but he could feel the waves of panic building inside him. Swallowing, he took a slow deep breath. “So what happens now?”

  “I’ve persuaded them not to kill you on the spot, which was option number one. They’re going to take us to their base camp and then decide what to do with you. So spend the time working out how you can convince them you don’t work for the Descendants and you haven’t been trying to find the tomb of Genghis Khan.”

  He didn’t get a chance to say anything in reply—his arm was jerked and he was led to where a dark brown horse with a black mane and tail stood, head almost hanging to the ground. It looked up and snorted as they stepped beside it.

  The man said something, presumably in Mongolian, he had no clue what. Then he nodded to the horse. Presumably he was to get on.

  Noah lifted his cuffed hands to the pommel of the saddle, stuck his foot in the wide stirrup, and pulled himself up. The man tied a rope to his cuffs and lashed it around the pommel holding him in place then took the horse’s reins. He crossed to the next horse and leaped into the saddle, and then they were moving. The horse whinnied as the reins were pulled taut, and Noah balanced himself as the horse danced under him. He glanced over his shoulder; Zach was toward the rear of the group, looking awkward and uncomfortable in the saddle. Then the speed picked up, and he tightened his grip on the pommel and closed his knees around the horse’s side.

  The sun was hot on the back of his neck, and he felt lightheaded, probably from hitting his head. Hopefully he didn’t have a concussion. He had to decide how he was going to persuade them he didn’t work for someone he hadn’t even known existed until a few days ago. Even now he wasn’t totally convinced it wasn’t all some fabrication. This whole thing was surreal.

  Maybe the truth was his best option. At least up to a point.

  They rode through a sparse forest, and it was cooler under the canopy, the light dappled. Then they splashed through a shallow stream and up the opposite bank. He’d eventually gotten the feel of his mount and finally relaxed in the saddle, going with the horse’s movement.

  They’d had files on all the major terrorist groups when he’d worked for Project Arachnid, and he had never come across the Descendants of Genghis Khan. Or anything to do with Genghis Khan, for that matter. Could they be so powerful and yet so well hidden? It didn’t seem possible that he’d not even had a whiff of them.

  Having said that, it tied in almost perfectly with his own theories. An organization without allegiance to any country or government at the center of it all, using other groups to do their dirty work. Setting things in motion, putting the pieces in place.

  And now they were almost ready to make a move. After which he suspected the world would never be the same.

  They had to be stopped. There were only days to go before the summit, days to go before Harper would die if he didn’t give them what they wanted. And how could he do that when he was handcuffed on the back of a goddamn horse going God knew where?

  The panic was rising again, blurring his mind.

  These people had to be the Darkhats. And according to Zach, they’d tried to kill Eve more than once, even if they hadn’t succeeded. He supposed he was lucky he was still alive.

  Could they be allies? As Zach said, they had a common enemy. If he managed to persuade them he wasn’t working for the Descendants and had fuck-all interest in finding anyone’s tomb except so far as it might mean life or death for his daughter, maybe he stood a chance at winning them over.

  He glanced around and realized that the group had shrunk. Obviously many of the riders had peeled away and disappeared off in another direction. Zach was still at the rear and still on his horse, if only just. He caught Noah’s gaze and scowled. Had he led Noah into a trap?

  His gut feelings told him no. That Zach could be trusted. Only thing was he wasn’t sure he trusted his gut anymore. His gut feelings hadn’t done him any good where Star was concerned. He’d never questioned that she was who she’d said she was, and he’d believed every word that she’d spoken. He’d let his guard down, and look how that had ended up. He still had no clue who she really was and who she worked for.

  His head hurt, and his shoulder hurt.

  They’d been riding around two hours, and he still hadn’t decided what his next move should be—not that he had many options—when he caught sight of where they were heading. A camp of sorts, though there were no permanent structures, just a number of the large circular yurts he’d seen dotted around the Mongolian landscape. They rode through the camp and to a corral on the other side. His horse halted. He couldn’t dismount because his hands were tied to the pommel, so he waited, trying to push down his impatience, that feeling that time was running out. That they were all teetering closer to the edge of the abyss.

  All around him, men dismounted, unsaddled their horses, and released them into the corral, where they shook themselves and got down in the dirt and rolled away the sweat. He looked around for Zach, but he’d disappeared, and nobody seemed to be taking much notice of him. Finally, someone untied the rope that bound him to the saddle, and he swung his leg over and stepped down, trying not to jolt his shoulder, which was on fire. He leaned against the horse for a moment, swaying as a wave of weakness washed over him. His mouth was dry.

  At that moment, Zach appeared at his side eying him up. “You look like shit.”

  “Thanks.”

  “Here.” He handed Noah a bottle of water, and he took it with his cuffed hands and drank, feeling almost immediately steadier. “Look,” Zach said, “there’s something you need to know. Something they told me on the way here. I still can’t quite believe it.”

  Noah frowned. “What?”

  “Noah?”

  At the woman’s voice, he turned around, his eyes widening. What t
he hell?

  “Eve?”

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Was he hallucinating?

  Maybe he’d banged his head harder than he thought when the ATV crashed.

  He blinked a couple of times. She’d come to a halt only feet away from him. She looked real. And alive.

  In fact, she looked good, if a little pissed, her mouth in a tight line, her eyes narrowed, hands on her hips. She wore a pair of denim shorts and a tank top, her arms and legs brown from the sun.

  “You’re not dead,” he said.

  “Really?” She sounded…sarcastic.

  He ran a hand through his short hair, trying to get his brain to function a little faster. “Eve, what the hell’s happening here?”

  She took a step closer to him, within touching distance, then raised her hand and stroked her fingers over his forehead. He winced. Then her gaze dropped to his shoulder, and her eyes narrowed even further. “You’re bleeding.”

  He glanced down; the material of his T-shirt was drenched with blood. He must have torn open the wound pretty badly this time. Right now, he didn’t care. Right now, he just wanted to know how his dead wife had suddenly miraculously come to life. Not that he wasn’t happy, he just wanted to understand.

  Because absolutely nothing made sense.

  He took a step toward her, swayed. His head swam. Then the ground was somehow coming to meet him. He put his cuffed hands out to break the fall, but they gave way, his strength gone. And then for the second time that day, everything went black.

  When he came around this time, he was lying on his back, staring up at an off-white canvas ceiling. He was on some sort of mattress on the ground. He thought about moving but decided he didn’t want to quite yet.

  “Couldn’t you have looked after him a little better?”