by Alex Archer
Someone had opened the door. But had someone come in?
Or had someone left?
She couldn’t fathom walking around outside in the middle of the night. Not in this cold. It was almost suicidal. And she’d been in the woods enough to know that at night, it was terribly easy to wander in the wrong direction, lose your way and end up lost and dying from exposure.
She turned over onto her side and scanned the room as much as she could. She counted several distinct breathing patterns emanating from the floor. Six of them to be exact.
So the miners were all accounted for.
Godwin rested in his bed, snoring slightly. She almost smirked. There was no way he’d be going anywhere tonight. He was lucky just to be alive.
Annja snored once, turned over onto her left side and looked at Derek’s bed.
She saw the rumple of blankets and his sleeping bag. But the zipper was open and the bed was empty.
Derek was gone.
Annja frowned. What was he up to? And where had he gone?
She thought about earlier this evening when he’d wanted to go into the burial mound and use the ground radar to see farther into the shaft.
Annja sighed. If Wishman caught him doing that, the whole agreement could be jeopardized.
More likely, it would make the somewhat tense conditions around camp more tense. The miners didn’t seem to have any problems with the Araktak and vice versa, but Derek, Godwin and Annja were all somewhat less fortunate. Derek and Godwin represented the company. And Annja was a woman. An outsider, as well.
Anything that upset the delicate balance could result in serious repercussions. Wishman didn’t look the type to take lightly to stupid moves such as the one Derek might be making right now.
Annja unzipped her own sleeping bag slowly, trying her best to keep the noise at a minimum. She detected no real change in the breathing patterns of the miners. Probably they were being helped to sleep by the whiskey they’d drunk. Their full bellies would have kept them more asleep than awake, as well.
Annja slid out of the bed, carefully picking her way through the maze of arms, legs and bellies. She put her coat on and then right by the door, she pulled her boots on, as well.
She grabbed the door handle and waited until one of the miners closest to her uttered a particularly loud snore. In that second, she shot out of the door, pulling it shut quickly before the cold could rouse any of the men.
Annja squatted outside the door and scanned the darkness. She detected no movement or anything else that would betray the presence of someone out in the night. She tied her boots and then zipped up her coat. She put her hat and gloves on now, as well.
The icy air cut at her face. She felt her sinuses open and then snap shut. She sniffed quietly and the air in front of her clouded as she exhaled.
A brief sickle of moon hung suspended against the black backdrop of sky, shedding just a little illumination across the area. The pines blocked most of it, sucking the light into the black hole of their long shadows.
Where would Derek have gone? Annja wondered. But even as she thought it, she knew too well that he would head right for the burial mound.
The question really was, what should she do?
She could wake Wishman and explain things to him and hope he’d understand. But in doing so, she would no doubt wake the rest of the Araktak men and they would be highly annoyed that Derek had gone where he was not supposed to.
Or she could simply try to get to Derek first and convince him that his idea was a really bad one.
She frowned.
She moved off through the snow, using the already trampled tracks to help muffle the sound of her steps. Fortunately, no new snow had fallen this night, meaning she would not crumple the ice crystals beneath her boots.
She paused at the edge of the trees and looked back at the camp. Nothing stirred in its sleepy grip. Annja took a final look and then pushed through the pines toward the burial mound.
She could smell the delicate scent of pine even in the midst of the frozen world. It reminded her of how much she loved the scent of it around Christmas.
Branches tugged at her sleeves, but Annja lowered herself even more until she cleared them all with ease. Her thighs burned but she was used to the strain on her legs. Being skilled at combat meant that she had strong legs. All the better for some of the crazy maneuvers she’d performed in the past and would no doubt perform in the future.
She came through the trees and saw the burial mound silhouetted against the night sky. She paused and took in the entire scene. A friend of hers who had served in the British special forces had once told her that tuning in to a new environment sometimes meant just sitting still for twenty minutes and letting your subconscious catalog everything around you.
But the area didn’t have any wildlife to speak of. Annja detected very little in the way of noise or ambient sounds. Just the cold wind blowing over the plain and through the trees. The vague rustle of something could be heard, but nothing human seemed to stir in the dark.
Annja moved closer to the opening of the burial mound. She could see the twinkle of something inside.
Derek had turned on the lights that the Araktak men had strung up to help them underground.
What was he looking for?
Annja slid closer to the burial mound opening and could hear scuffles and movement. Derek was definitely down inside the shaft. Annja looked up and around.
The ground-radar unit was missing.
One glance at the ground confirmed that it had been dragged down into the shaft. Annja shook her head. Curiosity was going to get them into serious trouble with the Araktak tribe.
And all because Derek couldn’t wait another day or two for the transferring to be completed. The idiot.
Annja took a step into the shaft and paused. Should she go down? It was bad enough that Derek was already inside. Wishman, if he found out, would be insulted and outraged.
But what about her? She had some degree of status within the tribe as Friend of Bear. Should she risk that to make sure Derek didn’t blow this entire operation?
How would the Araktak feel about a woman, even Annja, going into the burial mound without their permission?
She sighed. It was either she go in and stop Derek or stay up here and call him out. In that case, she would probably wake up the Araktak.
And Annja was growing very cold standing out in the night air.
She took another look around. Perhaps Wishman had stationed guards to make sure that no one disturbed the site during the night.
She almost laughed. Who would be able to stand out here in the absolute freezing cold of night and stand guard? Certainly no one she knew of.
All right, then. She nodded. Time to go get him back.
Annja took a step into the shaft of the burial mound.
She promptly felt her feet go out from under her and she slid right down the shaft.
18
Somehow, Annja managed to keep from screaming out in surprise as she slid down the slick tunnel. She came to a rest by bumping into the squat yellow box containing the ground-radar unit and then looked up to see Derek staring down at her.
She grinned. “Hey.”
He frowned. “You following me?”
Annja got to her feet and almost slipped again. “I didn’t expect this to be so slippery.”
Derek shrugged. “It is frozen, after all. You should have been more careful when you came down here.”
“I wasn’t intending to come down quite like that,” Annja said. “Most times, I’m content to keep upright and walk carefully.”
“Well, so much for that thought, huh?” He turned back to the shaft as if studying something. Annja brushed herself off and glanced back up toward the surface. Had anyone seen or heard her come down here?
“Derek,” she said looking back. “We shouldn’t be down here. There’s no telling what Wishman will do if he finds out we came into the burial mound before all of the bodies have been relocate
d. We were asked not to do this.”
“So? He doesn’t have to find out, does he?”
“It’s not as though I’m going to go running to tell him,” Annja said. “But we really should get out of here.”
Derek shook his head. “I’m trying to get the radar set up so I can see how deep the shaft goes.”
“Why are you so obsessed about this?”
Derek eyed her. “There’s that word again.”
Annja held up her hands. “All right. Sorry about that. I just don’t get the rush. There will be time for this when Nyaktuk and his men are done with the bodies of the dead.”
“You mean the bunches of bones?” Derek smiled. “The BOBs?”
“You definitely don’t want to be making comments like that, Derek. Seriously, that’s pretty disrespectful.”
Derek glanced around at the numerous branches going off from the main shaft. “Well, really, it’s not as though we’re talking about the recently deceased, are we? Everyone that’s here has been for at least several hundred years. Or more. And the decomposition has reduced them all to bones. It’s not like Nyaktuk is going to pop into one branch and see his mother looking at him from behind some rotted-away visage, is he?”
“You’re being disrespectful to the culture and also to your promise to them. Not like they haven’t already been disappointed with the way this deal is resolving itself, Mr. Bearer of Bad News.”
Derek shook his head. “Look, you can go right back to bed if you want. There’s no need for you to share in the horror that I’m supposedly committing here. If Wishman finds out, the blame will be all mine.”
“And what if he does find out? What then?”
“Then I’ll deal with it.”
A cold breeze swept down the shaft, making Annja shiver. “I don’t get it, Derek. A day ago you were so concerned about letting the Araktak down and now you’re standing here flagrantly ignoring their request to stay out of here until they were finished.”
“Well, maybe I’m just incredibly curious.” He continued positioning the radar unit and managed to set the second probe some distance down the shaft.
“Yes, you obviously are. I am, too—”
“Then help me.”
Annja shook her head. “I can’t be a party to this. My word has to mean something. And it would hurt Godwin, as well.”
“Ah.” Derek’s eyes flashed at her. “I wondered if that was the case.”
“What?”
He smirked. “Godwin.”
“What about him?”
“You two. You’ve got something going on, haven’t you? I heard you tuck him into bed earlier. It was all very Florence Nightingale and all, you know.”
Annja sighed. “Godwin and I do not have anything going on, Derek. He nearly died today.”
“Yes, that was supposedly what happened.”
“Supposedly? You think he faked that?”
“Why not? He admitted that the Araktak haven’t accepted him as one of their own. No doubt tonight’s stunt aided him in that cause to be seen as one of their own. I have to tip my hat to him. It was a genius bit of planning. Took a lot of nerve to pull it off so convincingly, too.”
“You’re nuts.”
“I most certainly am not.”
Annja turned to leave. “I’m going to get Wishman. I don’t want this destroying everything we’re supposedly working for.”
Derek prepared a hole and pushed another probe into the ground. “You won’t go.”
“Excuse me?”
Derek looked up at her. “You won’t leave. Despite all your words and demonstrations about what I’m doing, there’s a part of you that is desperate to know just how far the shaft goes. You hide it better than I do, and yes, maybe you’ve got a bit more self-control, but here we are—almost ready to fire up the unit and see what the truth is. All you’ve got to do is choose to stay.”
Annja shook her head. “You underestimate me.”
“Do I?” Derek watched her for another moment and then shrugged. “So, in that case, go do what you have to.”
“You’re not going to come out of here?”
“Nope.”
Annja sighed. “You’re damned frustrating, you know that? I never knew this side of you existed before.”
Derek fiddled with the machine and then got the final probe ready. He scampered farther down the shaft to another fixed point and then drilled a hole and pushed the probe deep into the frozen ground.
He looked back up at her. “Haven’t you left yet?”
“Shut up.”
He smirked. “You see? It’s got you, too, hasn’t it?”
“What?”
Derek stood up and spread his arms. “This. This place. The tunnel. You can feel its life even as it bathes in the death of those who were buried here. It’s almost a living thing. This shaft and the wind that passes over us even now, it’s like something is breathing through this tube. We’re on the road to its heart, the beating heart, at which lies an untold vein of diamonds and other precious minerals.”
Annja shook her head. “I don’t feel it. It’s nothing but a mound of earth turned into something sacred by the people who used it.”
“And just what do you think they did to make it holy ground?”
Annja shrugged. “I have no idea. They probably consecrated it somehow and that was it.”
“Do you think that Wishman has magic abilities? That he could commune with the spirit world and turn this place into something living?”
“Like what he did earlier with Godwin? That was one thing. It was impressive as hell. But I’m still not sure if I’d call it magic.”
“Then what would you call it?”
“I don’t know. But this and the burial mound’s traditions are something else. I don’t know if one is connected to the other.”
Derek frowned. “You’re supposed to be an archaeologist, Annja. Surely you’d be the first to admit that there’s always something of a connection. Especially when a secretive tribe like this is concerned. All of their traditions and history are interwoven. One ceremony to save a man’s life from the ravages of hypothermia could very easily connect with a ceremony to consecrate a burial mound.”
“Perhaps Wishman does have an arsenal of abilities that deal with this type of thing,” Annja said. “But I have no knowledge of it.”
“Your own sword,” Derek said. “Isn’t that proof enough of magic for you? Or do you cling to some silly notion that there’s a scientific principle at work there?”
“I’m not sure what to make of that.”
Derek’s eyes narrowed. “You’re being ridiculous. If I had such a thing, I would go insane trying to figure out exactly what it was and its origins. But again, if that’s not magic, then what on earth is?”
“How about love.”
Derek looked at her and then laughed. “Love is something that is lost to me.”
“The love of a child is as magical as the love of the opposite sex. Surely you haven’t forgotten about your children and their devotion to you?”
Derek stopped. “I miss my children very much. But my wife has custody and I get to see them very little.”
“You still love them.”
“I do.”
“Then there’s all the magic you need. Why quest for anything further?”
Derek examined the ground radar. “Because I can.”
“If this goes wrong, you could lose your job. Then what would happen to your children?”
“They’d be fine. As I told you before, I’ve taken great pains to make sure they will always be taken care of.”
“And I’m sure that as they grow up, they’ll want to spend more time with you and make their own memories and judgments about whatever might have happened in the past—whatever it was that caused your wife to leave you.”
Derek took a breath. “It’s late. I’m tired and cold.”
“Then haul this back to the surface and let’s go back to the shelter and gra
b a few more hours of sleep. Tomorrow’s a busy day,” Annja said.
Derek smiled. “Maybe…no.” He turned and flipped the switch on the radar.
Annja heard the series of beeps sound and Derek’s face lit up. “There.”
Annja frowned. “You shouldn’t have done that.”
“But I did.” He examined the screen closely. “Now, that’s interesting.”
“What is?”
He looked up her. “Oh, I wouldn’t dream of telling you anything about it. I don’t want you to have to compromise your beliefs and your word. That wouldn’t be fair to you.”
“I could just beat the crap out of you,” Annja said. “How would that be, Captain Wiseass?”
Derek grinned. “Curiosity getting the better of you, Annja? Is that drive sparking up in you? That push for answers? You know you want to find out how far this thing goes.”
“Show me,” Annja said. “Show me the screen.”
Derek waved her over. “Come closer, then. I’ve got the unit perched on a small rise in the ground here and if I move it, I’ll disrupt the picture.”
Annja looked back up the shaft toward the surface. As far as she could tell, nothing stirred up top. What would the harm be in just taking a look? She could take a look and then get Derek to switch the unit off and haul it back out. If they did it right, they could make sure the shaft looked as though no one had been down here all night. And in the morning, no one would be the wiser.
She hoped.
“Annja, come on.”
She turned back to Derek. “I’ll take one quick look and then we get this place back to looking like we haven’t been here, okay?”
He nodded. “Fair enough. You have my word.”
“Oh, please. Like that’s good for much.”
Derek touched his hand to his chest. “You slay me.”
Annja came over and squatted next to him. “Shut up. I’ll deal with you another time. Now show me.”
Derek pointed on the screen and Annja frowned. She could clearly see that the shaft continued on, but the angle of slope increased dramatically after another several hundred yards.
“Looks like an elbow, doesn’t it?” Derek asked.
Annja nodded. “But what in the world is that?”