There was a wide door in the wall behind the statue. When they reached the door, Riley cracked a chem light and threw it in.
The three of them gasped in unison.
25
SARDIS: UNDER THE ACROPOLIS NORTH
Abigail couldn’t believe her eyes. Innumerable mounds of gold and treasure stood before her. There were solid silver stags as well as golden stags, piles of jewelry, and huge wooden chests that Abigail figured were full of gold items as well.
Thatcher was the first to find his voice. “It’s here! I can’t believe it!”
“Don’t move,” Abigail said. “This is surely booby-trapped.”
Despite the light from the chem lights, the three of them shone their flashlights over the walls and then over the ground. “What’s that?” Thatcher asked, pointing to a stream of liquid silver in front of them.
“It’s mercury again,” Abigail said. “Whatever you do, don’t touch it. I’m surprised it’s here. Two Cretan architects, father and son, were responsible for the rebuilding of the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus in Croesus’s time. Surely they didn’t build this one, not with the booby-traps. I haven’t heard of that type of technology from the Minoan civilization.”
“Idle speculation is of no help in a time like this,” Thatcher said.
“That’s enough, Thatcher,” Riley snapped at him.
Abigail thought that Thatcher certainly had seemed to develop a different personality. He had always been pleasant before, but now he appeared tense and moody. Maybe it was the stress of the booby-traps and the realization he could meet his death at any moment.
“We can cross over there,” Riley said, indicating a small structure to his right. “There’s a little bridge.”
Abigail could smell the pungent odor of mercury sulfide. She just wanted to get out. But for now, she had to try to stay calm. “No, see that red powder on the hand rails? That’s cinnabar, mercury sulfide. If anyone touches that, they’ll die. Maybe not right away, but they will die within weeks. It was used in the tomb of the Mayan Red Queen. I wonder who devised these traps for Croesus?”
“Like I said, now is not the time for academic reflection,” Thatcher snapped. “Let’s find a way across. We could walk across the bridge easily enough without touching the rails.”
Before Abigail could suggest caution, he hurried across the bridge. She and Riley followed him.
“Now what?” Thatcher asked. “There’s a drain in front of me.”
“The drains would have been used to carry moisture away from the temple,” Abigail said. “It’s quite a common device in underground tombs, and this is an underground structure. Or maybe there’s an underground stream and they directed it into the drains.”
Riley shone his flashlight into the drains. “I’m guessing it’s an underground stream. That would explain why the air in here is so fresh and well oxygenated, although maybe there’s another entrance as well. Abigail, do you think this is simply necessary engineering and nothing to worry about?”
Abigail bit her lip. “I can’t say for sure that it’s not connected to a booby-trap somehow. But yes, it is a necessary part of an underground tomb.”
Thatcher jumped across the drain onto a ledge. He cracked another chem light and threw it in front of the treasure, despite the fact the chamber was already well lit. “This would have to be worth millions, billions, even,” he said. He ran over to a pile of gold jewelry and picked it up, before letting it run through his fingers.
He seized a handful of coins. “How much do you think these would be worth?”
Abigail stopped to stare. “One coin would be worth thousands, I’m sure, depending on its condition.”
“One coin would be worth thousands?” Thatcher parroted. “There are hundreds, maybe thousands, of coins here!”
Riley helped Abigail across the drain, holding her wrist firmly. “Be careful of that large pit there,” he said. “Keep well away from it.”
Abigail shone her flashlight into the empty pit where the ground ended. “It’s part of the drainage system, I’m sure.”
“So we made it then!” Thatcher said. “We safely arrived at the treasure. That’s the last of the booby-traps. Or maybe there were more and the mechanisms didn’t work.”
“Quite possibly,” Abigail began, still shining her flashlight into the void. She would have said more, but she heard Riley’s sharp intake of breath and looked up.
Thatcher was holding his gun on them. “Well, it’s the end of the road for you two.”
26
SARDIS: UNDER THE ACROPOLIS NORTH
Abigail gasped and edged closer to Riley.
“So you’re the mole!” Riley said in disbelief. “What did you do to Ellis? Why couldn’t we find him?”
“I hit him over the head and dragged his body to a spot between the rocks,” Thatcher said. “I then screamed, pretending I was him, and told you he’d fallen over the edge. That’s why you couldn’t find him.” He made a clicking sound of derision with his tongue.
“So, to clarify, you’re working for Vortex?” Riley said. “Or have you gone independent since you saw the size of the treasure?”
Thatcher sneered at him. “Maybe a bit of both! They won’t notice any missing.” With his free hand, he stuffed his pockets with gold coins as he spoke.
Abigail’s hands were shaking from sheer terror. They shook so much her flashlight traveled over the marble floor at Thatcher’s feet and caught sparkles in a thin vein of quartz. It was then she noticed strange striations on the marble floor to his left. At first, Abigail thought the green color was a result of silica impurities, but then she took another look.
Was that what she thought it was?
She squeezed Riley’s arm and then stepped to her right a little, hoping he would take her meaning.
It seemed to work and he followed her as she edged away toward the pit.
“How long have you been working for Vortex?” Riley asked him.
Abigail was relieved that Riley was keeping Thatcher talking. If only he would be able to keep him talking long enough for her plan to work.
They edged further away until they were at an angle to Thatcher.
“What’s it to you?” Thatcher said rudely.
“You don’t need to kill us,” Abigail said. “Will you let us go if I give you the car keys?” She threw the keys onto the middle of the platform.
Thatcher was momentarily distracted. “Of course I won’t, you foolish woman,” he said. He stepped onto the platform and reached for the keys.
As he did so, the slab collapsed under him.
Abigail clutched Riley as Thatcher’s screams echoed below them. “I didn’t want him to die,” she said in a small voice.
“I’m afraid it’s too late for that—it sounds as though he’s fallen a long way down,” Riley said. “Come on, let’s get out of here. Abigail, you did the right thing. Another minute and he would have shot us both. Are you all right?”
“Of course I’m not all right,” Abigail said, dismayed that her voice was shaky.
“What you did was very clever,” Riley said in soothing tones. “You saved both our lives. Now let’s just get out of here in one piece.”
They turned back and were about to walk over the little bridge over the mercury when they stopped.
Moving lights.
Voices.
Riley seized Abigail’s arm and drew her to him. “Did you call for help?” she whispered.
“No. Quick, we have to hide.”
Vortex had found them.
Abigail hoped there were no more booby-traps, but there was no more time for caution. Riley took her hand and pulled her over to the treasure. They both hid behind a large wooden chest.
Soon the voices were in the room.
“That’s mercury,” a deep voice said. “Don’t touch anything. Where’s Thatcher? Are you in here, Thatcher?”
The voices echoed around the cavern. “Thatcher,” the man called again.
“Maybe
he hasn’t made it this far yet?” another voice said.
“Then who put the chem lights in here?”
“He texted that he found the entrance and disposed of one of the agents. He should have disposed of the others by now, but I don’t know where he is.”
“Maybe they all succumbed to one of the booby-traps,” the other voice said.
“Possibly.”
Abigail thought the owner of the deep voice did not seem at all concerned about Thatcher’s possible demise. “Let’s make sure no one is around. Shoot on sight.”
Abigail tensed. There were too many chem lights in the chamber. There was nowhere to hide, nowhere dark. Not anymore. She looked over at Riley. He was holding his gun, but how many Vortex agents could he shoot at once?
And how many voices had she heard? Three? Four? And were there others who hadn’t spoken? She had no idea. For all she knew, there could be an army out there. And how did they get past the booby-traps? Perhaps some of the men had fallen foul of the arrows and the mercury stream.
As soon as Riley took a shot, their position would be given away and the Vortex agents would come. He couldn’t shoot them all at once.
Abigail sat there, terrified by her own thoughts. Riley signaled to her to stay down. Of course, she was going to stay down. There was no other option.
If only those chem lights weren’t so bright.
Abigail realized she was holding her breath and let it out slowly. She kept very still. Riley crawled away from her a little and she looked at him in shock. Was she meant to follow him or stay where she was? Her mind wouldn’t work properly. Thankfully, Riley indicated she should stay there. She nodded.
She watched as Riley crawled away and then out of sight. Where had he gone? And would she ever see him again? What if he was shot and killed? She trembled violently. Her blood ran cold as a bout of dizziness overwhelmed her.
Abigail crouched lower to the ground, trying to make herself as small as possible.
She heard a sound and looked up, expecting it to be Riley. To her horror, a man appeared in front of her. A look of shock passed over his face when he saw her. She had no time to react before Riley hit him hard over the head. The man landed with a thud beside her.
Abigail spun around and stared at him. Riley held his finger to his lips and moved away again.
It was all too surreal. Abigail wouldn’t have been surprised to have woken up and found it all had been a terrible nightmare.
Abigail sat there by the unconscious man, wondering what she should do if he regained consciousness and wishing she could tie him up. She realized Riley had taken the man’s gun, but she was no match for a man of his size.
Abigail could hear footsteps, but no one was speaking. Maybe the Vortex agent had realized Riley was there and didn’t want to give away their position.
A fresh wave of terror hit Abigail. Riley was hopelessly outnumbered. How would either of them get out of this alive? All she could do was sit there and watch the unconscious man.
She was flooded with relief when Riley crawled back to her. “I’ve taken out four of them,” he said. “There are likely more out there. Could there be a back way out of this temple?”
“I have no idea. If it was simply a temple, then yes, but it’s in a cavern. I have no idea if there is a back way out of this cavern.”
“You’re doing well,” Riley said. “It’s almost over now. All we have to do is find another way out and then everything will be all right.”
Abigail shot him an incredulous look. He made it sound so easy, but she knew that the reality was far worse than he had indicated.
She pointed to the huge pile of treasure by the back wall. “There should be a doorway behind that wall,” she said. “If there is a back way out, it will be through that door.”
“We won’t be able to use chem lights because if anyone’s out there, they’ll see us. Just use the night vision goggles, but we won’t put them on until we’re back in the dark. Okay?”
Abigail gave him the thumbs up.
Riley told her to wait and then crawled around the wooden chest. He nodded to her and indicated she should follow him. They both crawled quickly until they were behind the pile of treasure. It was only when Abigail stood up, she realized how sore her legs were. They cramped painfully. She stopped for a moment and dug her heels into the ground to try to relieve the cramps.
Riley held out his hand and she took it. They hurried out the doorway into the posticum.
There, standing in front of them, was a man with a gun.
27
SARDIS: UNDER THE ACROPOLIS NORTH
It happened so fast Abigail scarcely had time to take it in. Riley kicked the gun out of the man’s hand. The man aimed a punch at Riley and within nanoseconds they were engaged in a fight.
Abigail stood back helplessly, not knowing what to do. She looked around anxiously in case the sounds attracted any other Vortex agents, but there were none. She noticed a statue of Artemis holding an iron spear. She tried to remove the spear from the statue’s hand so she could use it as a weapon, but it was stuck fast. She picked up a beautiful jug, intending to hit the agent over the head if she could get a clear shot at him. Yet, try as she might, there was no opportunity.
The fight seemed to last forever. Abigail couldn’t tell whether Riley had the upper hand. Both men seemed to be landing punches.
Riley stepped backward and then forward again. Abigail saw a slight movement under his foot, the white chem lights affording visibility. She took another look and saw the same striations on the marble that she had seen when Thatcher had fallen into the pit.
“The marble!” she called out to Riley. “Where you just had your foot. Just like what happened with Thatcher.”
Riley gave no sign that he heard her, but he at once maneuvered the man onto the marble. The man grabbed Riley’s neck, and for a horrible moment Abigail thought Riley would fall with the man into the crevice.
Riley lifted up both hands and moved them out and downward, thus breaking the man’s grasp at the very moment the panel opened.
The man disappeared from view.
Abigail hurried over to Riley. His breathing was coming in ragged bursts. “You’re bleeding,” she said, touching her fingertips to the gash across his forehead.
“Good work,” he said by way of response. “You did well.”
Abigail opened her mouth to say more when a loud crack rent the air. She froze. “What was that?”
“Berat’s dynamite! We can’t go back the way we came. Let’s look for another way out.”
The exit was blocked. Abigail’s stomach muscles clenched so hard they hurt. She went cold all over. Then a disturbing thought occurred to her. “That means any Vortex agents will head this way, looking for another way out too.”
Riley nodded. “We have to hurry.”
Abigail pointed to the striations on the marble. “See those marks there? Don’t step on anything that looks like that.”
“You can be certain I won’t,” Riley said.
He took her hand again, which made Abigail’s heart flutter. She silently scolded herself for thinking about her attraction to Riley in circumstances such as these.
The two of them carefully made their way around the back of the temple. The illumination from the chem lights did not reach that far. Riley signaled that Abigail should put on her night goggles, and she did so.
They reached a corbeled arch, an entrance to another tunnel, without encountering any more booby-traps or Vortex agents. Abigail was relieved, but if there wasn’t another way out, then they were doomed.
Riley touched Abigail’s arm. “There’s an inscription there. Can you read what it says?”
“It’s hard to see,” she said. “Can I use my flashlight?”
“It might not be safe,” he said. “Maybe there are Vortex agents still in the tunnels behind us. Only use it as a last resort. Try to see if you can read it first.”
She peered at the inscription and th
en said, “It’s okay. I can read it. You know, maybe those Cretan architects did build this place after all. The inscription says, ‘Beware the Minotaur’.”
“Wasn’t he half man, half bull? He lived in caves in Crete.”
“Not in caves,” Abigail corrected him. “In a labyrinth. If I were to guess, I’d say the inscription means we’re about to enter a labyrinth.”
“That doesn’t sound good.”
“No, it doesn’t,” Abigail agreed with a shudder. “We could easily get lost. In the legend, Ariadne gave her lover, Theseus, a ball of twine so he wouldn’t get lost in the labyrinth, but we don’t have a ball of twine.”
“So the reference isn’t a clue?”
Abigail was confused. “What do you mean?”
“The Minotaur isn’t a reference to something else, like to a passage in an ancient work that gives us a further clue?”
Abigail rubbed her forehead hard. “I doubt it. And if that’s the case, then it’s of absolutely no help, as I can’t remember any ancient writings on the Minotaur. Except Plutarch,” she added darkly.
Riley stepped closer. “Plutarch?”
“A biographer and historian who lived around the time the Book of Revelation was written. You won’t like what he said about the Minotaur’s labyrinth.”
“Try me.”
Abigail sighed and quoted,
“After wandering in the labyrinth, they could find no possible way out, so they ended their lives there in misery.”
“You’re right,” Riley said. “I don’t like it. Look, we’ll have to take things as they come. Let’s go inside.”
Abigail was reluctant to go into the tunnel, but Plutarch’s words urged her forward. If they couldn’t find an exit this way, then they would be trapped in there forever.
They were only fifty or steps into the tunnel when the tunnel branched into two. Each tunnel entrance had an inscription over it. “This inscription is from the first century,” Abigail said. “Someone much later than Croesus found this temple. Maybe it was Bulut’s ancestors.”
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