by Anna Hackett
Finally, they all pulled to a stop.
“We’ll take a look around on foot,” Dec called out.
“Did you spot anything?” she asked Ronin.
He shook his head. “If they’d been here, there should be some sign. A camp, tracks, trash, something.”
God, what if this wasn’t Silk Road’s destination? Peri’s stomach turned hard, like a rock sat at the bottom of it. What if Amber wasn’t here?
Lars, Dec, and Logan fanned out, beginning their manual search. Peri eagerly followed, keeping Ronin in sight.
Amber had to be here, somewhere. Peri trudged through the snow. She wouldn’t stop until she found her sister.
But as she walked the line of the pyramid, she didn’t see anything out of the ordinary. Her shoulders sagged.
There was nothing here but rock, ice, and snow.
As they fanned out around the structure, Ronin sensed Peri’s growing tension.
They hadn’t found any sign of Silk Road, or her sister.
He moved along the edge of the pyramid, stopping to look up the slick rock side. He still couldn’t decide if it was manmade, or a natural formation.
Dec called out. Ronin waited for Peri, and together they hurried over to where Dec and Logan were standing, looking down at the snow. It had been flattened out, and possibly the site of a camp.
But there were no tracks.
“Could be a camp spot,” Ronin said slowly.
“But nothing definitive,” Dec said.
Peri kicked the snow. “There must be some sign that they were here.”
They moved back around the next side of the pyramid. Lars was up ahead, looking at the snow.
“Anything?” Peri called out.
The scientist shook his head. “Doesn’t look like anyone has been here.”
Ronin glanced down where Lars’ boots had left tracks in the snow. He spotted a flash of color, partly buried, and strode over. As the scientist stepped back, Ronin knelt down and scratched away at the icy snow…and pulled out a red wrapper. He held it up.
Peri grabbed it and turned the wrapper over. Then she grinned. “It’s a candy bar wrapper. They’re Amber’s favorite! She always takes a stash with her on trips.”
Ronin looked around. “So, they were here.”
“Where the hell did they go?” Logan asked with a scowl.
“There’s nothing here,” Lars said. “And this pyramid looks like a natural mountain to me.”
Peri shook her head and turned in a slow circle, her gaze narrowed. Ronin watched her gaze zero in on a patch of snow nearby that looked churned up. She moved closer to it.
Suddenly, she let out a sharp cry, and dropped waist-deep into the snow.
“Peri!” He rushed toward her.
She was stuck in the snow, but she remained calm. “I’m okay.”
Ronin grabbed her hand, worried she was dangling over the top of a deep crevasse.
“Careful,” Dec called out.
“No, don’t worry. I’m all right,” Peri said. “My feet are touching firm ground.” She scooped up the snow. “This is covering a shallow hole.”
“Logan and Lars, get the foldable shovels off the snowmobiles,” Dec ordered.
Ronin pulled Peri up and out, shocked that his heart was hammering so hard. He watched her dust the snow off her clothes.
The men returned and soon started to shovel out the snow.
Finally, they all stepped back in silence.
“What the hell?” Peri breathed.
They’d uncovered an entrance to a tunnel, about seven feet in diameter.
“It goes down under the pyramid,” Dec said.
Ronin crouched and craned his neck to look into the tunnel. It burrowed down into the ice below and was perfectly circular. “The ice looks like it’s been melted to form this tunnel.” What the hell had Silk Road used to make it?
“Can you see anything in there?” Peri asked.
Ronin pulled out a flashlight and shone it inside the tight space. The light glinted off something metal.
“There are five snowmobiles hidden in here.”
“It’s them.” Peri crouched beside them. “We need to go in there.”
“Let’s grab our gear,” Dec said.
They pulled their snowmobiles in close to the pyramid, and grabbed their backpacks. Each one was kitted out with tents, sleeping bags, rations, and other gear for surviving in the cold weather. Then, each of them clicked on their flashlights.
“We sure this is a good idea?” Lars said, his expression worried.
Ronin ignored the man, and dropped down into the tunnel. He reached up and caught Peri’s waist as she climbed over the edge. He lowered her down, and the others followed them in.
They headed down the tunnel. The ground was slick and on a slight incline. They skirted the Silk Road snowmobiles, and Ronin heard Logan grumble. The big man’s head was brushing the top of the tunnel.
Then, a moment later, the tunnel opened up into a large cavern.
“Wow.” Peri shone her light upward.
The empty grotto was made entirely of white-blue ice. The slick walls looked like art.
“This is natural,” Ronin said.
“Are we sure it’s stable down here?” Lars asked.
“The ice is intact,” Dec said. “No signs of cracking or instability.”
They crossed the large space. Ahead, a giant wall of dark rock appeared out of the darkness. It was covered in places with a thin film of ice.
Then Peri stumbled to a stop. “Holy shit. Look at that.”
Ronin moved his light to join hers. The two narrow beams illuminated a giant doorway in the rock. It was open, with darkness beyond.
Fuck. Ronin stared at it. The edges were ornate and lined with engravings.
“What the hell?” Dec said, staring at it.
Peri rushed forward, and pressed her gloved hand to the edge of the large doorframe. It was over twelve feet high.
“Look at this,” she said, smoothing her hand down the rock. “There are inscriptions here.”
Ronin moved his light and saw them more clearly now.
“They’re similar to Egyptian hieroglyphs,” Dec murmured. “Not quite the same. Some are different, and there are a few I’ve never seen before.” He pulled out a small camera and took some shots.
“Let’s go in.” Peri stepped inside.
“We should think about this,” Lars called out.
Ronin stayed right behind her. They moved quietly, and the only sound was their boots crunching on the ice.
The large tunnel was perfectly rectangular and lined with blue-ice walls. They glowed from within with a faint light.
“Where’s that light coming from?” Logan’s rumble echoed off the walls.
Ronin shrugged. “No idea. Some sort of phosphorescence?”
“Could be bioluminescence if there are organisms trapped in the ice,” Dec added.
Ronin shook his head. This was all pretty incredible. The tunnel continued for a few more feet before a solid wall of ice stopped them.
Peri frowned. “That can’t be it!”
“Maybe over the years, the ice has filled up whatever tunnels were down here,” Ronin said.
“Over here,” Lars called out.
The man was standing near a side wall a few feet back. He was shining his flashlight down toward the ground.
Another perfectly circular tunnel had been melted down into the ice. Ronin really wanted to see what tech Silk Road was using to make their tunnels. He crouched at the edge, peering into the darkness. This tunnel was almost vertical.
The light didn’t penetrate far. “No idea how deep it goes.” Ronin caught Dec’s gaze, and then Logan’s.
“If it goes too deep,” Dec said, “getting out will be hard.”
“They had to have gone this way.” Peri stabbed a finger at the tunnel. “My sister is down there, and running on borrowed time.”
“You can’t help her if you’re de
ad,” Dec said.
Peri pressed her lips together, and waited. Ronin hated seeing the helpless look on her face. He grabbed her hand. “We’re going down.”
Her gaze met his, a gleam in them. “Thank you.”
Dec made a noise. “If we end up a mile under the ice, let’s hope to hell Silk Road has a way to get out of there. Let’s go…before my sense returns.”
Ronin and Peri stepped up to the edge of the tunnel. He sat down on the lip. “This is going to be a hell of a slide. I’ll go first.”
“I’m coming with you.” She moved in close beside him. “Ready?”
“Ready,” he said.
He grabbed her hand and pushed off. They slid down the slick surface on their backs, gathering speed. The darkness swallowed them, and he kept a tight grip on Peri’s hand and his flashlight. The beam of light danced dizzyingly on the tunnel’s smooth surface.
They were moving fast, and he heard Peri make a small squeak of unease. Hell. Ronin had no idea where they’d end up. He shoved the flashlight in his pocket and grabbed Peri. He hauled her closer until she was practically on top of him. She wrapped her legs and arms around him.
“Hold on!” he shouted.
They kept moving downward and soon it felt like they’d been sliding forever. Peri tightened her grip on Ronin’s jacket.
“We’re going deep. Really deep,” she called out.
“I think the tunnel is flattening out.” His voice echoed off the ice. “We’re slowing down.”
Without warning, they shot out of the tunnel and they were airborne. Ronin had the impression of pale light and ice. As they fell, he cursed loudly and Peri gripped him harder.
He twisted them midair. A second later, they slammed into the ground. He hit first, and Peri landed on top of him. Pain exploded through him and he groaned.
“God, are you okay?” She scrambled up, patting him down. “Anything broken?”
He sat up. “You aren’t that heavy. I’m fine. You?”
She nodded. “You make a good landing pad.” She grabbed her flashlight, turned, and shone it back at the tunnel they’d shot out of like some kind of damn waterslide. It was several feet off the ground. The echo of male voices filled the air and he knew the others weren’t far behind.
Then she turned back and Ronin stood, dusting himself off. She looked beyond him and her jaw dropped.
“Oh, my fucking God.”
He stiffened and spun, reaching for his gun. When he saw what she was looking at, he muttered, “Hell.”
A perfectly intact rock temple rose up to fill the large cavern.
Chapter Eleven
Peri’s heart was a loud hammer in her ears. Like the previous cavern, the walls and ceiling of this one also glowed with a soft blue light and let her see the temple in all its glory.
It was carved from dark rock, with columns rising up in an elegant style vaguely reminiscent of Egyptian temples. The central part of the temple was pyramid-shaped, with neat rows of columns flowing away from it. A large opening at the front of the pyramid had apparently once had a waterfall flowing out of it, but it was now frozen solid in a drape of blue ice.
All of a sudden, a shout sounded behind them. Peri twisted, and saw a big body fly out of the tunnel. Logan hit the ground beside them with a solid thud. Cursing steadily, he turned and pushed to his feet.
A moment later, Lars and Dec landed. Lars lay sprawled on the ground, stunned, while Dec rolled athletically to his feet.
“Everyone okay?” Ronin asked.
“I think so,” Lars said, rubbing his hip.
Dec nodded and hitched his backpack up higher on his shoulders.
Then Lars’ mouth dropped open in shock. “My God.”
Dec eyed the temple with no surprise, and Logan just put his hands on his hips and scowled. Peri figured they were both a bit jaded when it came to discovering fantastic lost temples.
“Well, Zach and Layne will be happy,” Dec said. He lifted his camera.
“I can hardly believe this,” Peri said. “It’s true. There was a civilization here in Antarctica, once upon a time.”
“Come on.” Ronin grabbed Peri’s hand and pulled her toward the structure.
They walked up some steps, and entered the temple complex proper. They fanned out, weaving slowly through the columns. Peri spotted more hieroglyphs etched into the rock. The columns looked more delicate than what she’d seen in Egypt, a little more refined and elegant. In places, ice covered the rock in a shiny blue film.
The central pyramid loomed ahead.
Dec looked up. “This might be directly beneath the pyramid above.”
“Over here,” Logan called out.
Anticipation shot through Peri, and she hurried over with the others. Logan was standing beside the remnants of a camp.
Peri bit her lip. There was gear stored by a rock wall—backpacks, large water bottles, tents. She searched for any sign of Amber’s gear, but nothing looked familiar.
“What the hell is that?” Logan toed a large piece of equipment that looked vaguely like missile launcher.
Ronin crouched. “Some sort of tech for making the tunnels. Could be a laser of some sort, I’m not sure.”
“No time to examine it now,” Dec said.
Ronin started opening the bags. He pulled items out, studied them, then discarded them. He pulled out a tablet in a heavy-duty case and tapped the screen. “It’s password protected.”
“Can you get into it?” Dec asked.
“Not as quickly as Darcy would.” Ronin stood. “But give me a minute.”
Peri watched as he expertly tapped commands into the tablet, and a second later, data filled the small screen.
He scanned it, before tilting it toward Dec. The other man cursed.
“What?” she asked. “What is it?”
“We know what Silk Road is after down here,” Ronin said, his tone dark.
A shiver skated through her. The weapon. “How could they know what they were going to find down here?”
“They found a secret Nazi record.” Dec shoved a hand through his hair. “The Nazis discovered this place when they were scouting to build a base here during the war.”
Ronin lifted his head from the text he was reading. “And then Silk Road sent a recon team. They explored what they could, and recorded what they saw. Looks like their people managed to decode some of the hieroglyphs.” He showed her the image on the tablet.
It showed a metallic artifact. It was a small club with what looked like claws at either end. She’d never seen anything like it. The closest thing she could compare it to was a scepter that a king or queen would hold. “What is it?”
“It’s called a vajra,” Dec said.
“Which is what, exactly?” Peri asked.
Dec sucked in a breath. “Vajra is the Sanskrit word meaning both thunderbolt and diamond.”
She blinked. “Sanskrit? It’s Indian?”
Dec nodded. “It was a weapon that belonged to Indra, the god of rain and thunder. The vajra had the indestructibility of diamond, and the unstoppable force of lightning.”
“It’s a weapon,” she said quietly.
“Yes,” Ronin said. “This is what Silk Road is after.”
“Goddammit.” Dec pressed a hand to the back of his head. “I was hoping they wouldn’t find anything here. If this is some sort of advanced tech, it could be really dangerous.”
“We have to stop them,” Ronin said.
“Yeah,” Dec agreed.
God. Once again, Peri fought back a wave of intense fear for her sister. Silk Road had gone from antiquities thieves to possible terrorists after a deadly weapon.
“Let’s keep moving.” Dec moved up the main steps and through the pyramid’s ice-coated entrance.
Inside the main pyramid, a blue-white light glowed.
“This place is incredible.” Awe soaked Lars’ voice.
“My guess is that some survivors from this civilization made it out and spread across
the world,” Dec said. “Some went to India, to South America, to North America, to Egypt. Layne loves to talk about the Egyptian legends of the Shemshu Hor. They were said to be survivors, wise mages, who settled in Egypt and shared their knowledge.”
“Read about Viracocha,” Logan said. “Creator god of the Inca. He wandered the world, sharing his knowledge of civilization.” The big man lifted his head. “He was usually shown holding two thunderbolts in his hands.”
Peri shook her head, trying to imagine bedraggled survivors of a catastrophe spreading out across the world to make a new life for themselves. She walked through the temple, and stared at the carvings on the wall. She could see things that looked Egyptian, Indian, and perhaps Incan as well. She stopped and pressed her hand to ice that had covered the image of a woman standing side-on, arms outstretched.
What had life been like here, in this lost civilization? What had it felt like when their world had tumbled and been destroyed? So many would have died, parents losing children, wives losing husbands, sisters losing sisters.
As they passed a giant slab of dark rock that had to be some sort of altar, Peri half expected to see priests and priestesses walk out with offerings to the gods. Another huge doorway leading out of the ice-covered temple appeared ahead.
She followed Ronin through the opening. They all paused and gasped. Finally, she saw something that also shocked Declan, Logan, and Ronin.
A small city lay spread out ahead of them.
In places, the buildings were pristine, like they’d just been abandoned moments before. In other places, the ice had crept in like a slow-moving wave, covering the structures.
“Look.” Peri spotted some fabric lying on the ground at the bottom of the steps. She hurried down and snatched it up. It was a green wooly hat.
Peri clutched it to her chest and closed her eyes. “It’s Amber’s.”
Her clever, brave sister was trying to leave clues.
“We need to keep moving.” Ronin gripped Peri’s arm and squeezed. “We might be able to catch up with them.”
Dec nodded. “But at some point, we’ll need to stop and rest.”