by N. J. Croft
Eve came up beside him. “What’s happening?”
“You’re going to get the hell out of here. I’m going to go back and get Tarkhan.” If he was still alive. “I’ll catch up with you.”
“I don’t think—”
He leaned down and kissed her. “Go. I’ll be fine. I’m hard to kill, and there’s a good chance no one else is coming after us.” Did he believe that? “And if there is, they’re less likely to spot me alone than a whole group.” He’d tie her on the bloody horse if he had to. But she gave a quick nod, so he said, “Go find your spear and don’t give it to anyone without telling me first.”
“I won’t. Stay safe.”
John came back. “The guide said head for the trees on the left and then turn due east, aiming for that double peak, stop when you get to the lake. That’s as far as the horses can go.”
Zach waited until the others had all mounted up and he’d watched them ride away. Time to get back in the saddle.
Chapter Fourteen
Eve was still functioning, and that was way beyond surprising. She was doing okay, apart from a slight tremble in her fingers and a sick churning in her stomach.
Her heart had stopped for a moment when she’d thought the helicopter was going to crash straight into Zach. She might have even screamed. She hoped not.
Breathe.
She rode on autopilot, upright in the saddle, hands gripping the reins as her mare followed the guide. Her mind going over what had happened. Trying to find a way forward. Or a way back.
Someone had tried to kill them. This wasn’t an attempted kidnapping. Or a warning. Someone wanted her dead. And that should have terrified her. She should be running for home. Instead, a steely core of determination solidified inside her.
Besides, who was she to say that going home was the safe option anyway? Maybe she’d be leading whoever it was straight back to her children. And no way was that happening. This had to finish where it had started. Under the Eternal Blue Sky. She’d pray to it if she thought it would do any good.
The fact was, until she could find out who wanted her dead, and why, then she would remain in danger. Okay, even if she knew the answers to those questions she might likely still be in danger. But at least she would have some clue as to where to go next.
The why? It had to be the fact that she was close to finding the Spirit Banner. Which meant someone didn’t want it found.
The who? Could Zach have been right and the Descendants of Genghis Khan were planning on taking over the world? It sounded more than a little far-fetched, but so did being attacked by a freaking helicopter. Besides, if his theory was right, then why would they try to kill her? They’d asked her to find it for them. Given her a big chunk of money to help her do it, and carte blanche to employ whoever she liked. Why do all that and then kill her?
So the other guys. The Darkhats. That made more sense. They wanted to stop anyone—it wasn’t personal—from finding the spear and then the tomb. But the idea still bordered on crazy.
Perhaps it was just some rival archaeologist who didn’t want her to get to the tomb first. But really, while she knew a few who were quite capable of throwing obstacles her way, she didn’t know any who would shoot her down from a helicopter.
How was Tarkhan? Was he even alive? She couldn’t bear to think about it. He had been through so much in his life. It didn’t seem fair.
She’d heard nothing behind them, no shots or helicopters. That had to be a good sign, and slowly some of the tension drained from her. She slumped in the saddle as the adrenaline faded from her system.
They’d been riding for thirty minutes and had reached the relative cover of a conifer forest. It was cold out of the sunlight as they wove their way through the dappled light, their horses picking a path between the trunks of the trees. Behind her, John and Yuri were talking in low, heated voices. They were arguing about something.
She pulled her mare to a halt and waited for them to catch up. “What’s going on?” she asked.
“Nothing,” John said.
That reminded her. John carried a gun. What kind of translator went about with a gun? “Just who are you and why do you have a gun?”
“I’m exactly who I said I was. I’m employed by The Mongolian Historic Society to facilitate your trip here. That includes driving and translating and anything else that comes along.”
“Like things that need a gun.” Shooting at helicopters perhaps. Zach had said John was her bodyguard. Was that true?
“There are many dangers you can meet. It’s best to be prepared.”
“I’m sure someone told me that Mongolia is the safest place to travel in the world.”
He smiled. “Maybe for some.”
Not for her, obviously. “So what are you two arguing about?” She looked between the two of them. John remained silent.
Yuri scowled. “I think we’re foolish to go on. Someone clearly doesn’t want us to find the spear. We need more information. More protection. It’s not safe for you here. We should head back to Ulaanbaatar. We can come back another time.”
“If we go back now, I lose my funding. There won’t be another time.”
He urged his horse closer to hers. “Listen to me. I have a bad feeling about this.”
She didn’t want to listen. The shock was wearing off, eased by the fact that all was quiet behind them. Replaced by a flame of excitement that burned inside her. She turned to John. “What do you think?”
“We go on.” He smiled. “Anyway, who’s to say it’s any safer behind us than in front?”
“Thanks for that,” she muttered. Words definitely not designed to ease her fears. Yet in a way, they did. He was right, they didn’t know which direction was safe. Maybe safety was just an illusion. But they did know which way the Spirit Banner lay. She turned her attention to Yuri. “We go on.”
“I—”
She interrupted him. “If you don’t want to continue with us, turn back. Find Zach, and we’ll meet up with you on the return journey.”
For a moment she thought he was going to leave. And part of her was glad. She’d included him in the expedition because he’d been involved from the start and had almost as much invested as Eve herself. But he was being a pain.
“No. I’ll come.”
“Good.” She turned her horse and trotted after the disappearing guide.
After a couple more hours, they splashed through a stream, and the horses drank. The guide handed around a skin flask—she had a suspicion it contained more fermented camel’s milk, so she drank from her water bottle instead.
Afterward, they climbed, passing deep drifts of snow and winding their way through granite outcrops. If anyone found them here there was little cover, but the sky remained clear except for the occasional eagle flying high. And nothing broke the peace. She’d drawn a little map from the images Star had sent and she knew they must be close now. Finally, they topped a rise and the deep blue of a lake stretched out before her.
They skirted the edge of the water, and on the far side, Gansukh motioned for them to dismount. He said something in Mongolian.
“This is as far as he goes,” John translated. “We have to walk the rest of the way, but it’s only about a mile in that direction. He says we can’t go wrong.” He waved a hand to the east, where the ground rose steeply. “He’ll make camp here. We come back after we find the spear, and then leave in the morning.”
Eve reckoned that if they were going to find anything, they would find it today.
She climbed down from her horse and rubbed her backside. How was Zach managing? Had he found Tarkhan? God, she hoped so.
Gunsakh was handing around strips of dried meat, and she sat on a rock and chewed on hers as she looked around. The colors here were so vivid, the bright green of the grass, the dark blue sky reflected in the lake, the snowcapped peaks beyond.
She unsaddled her horse and hobbled her so she could graze on the short, lush grass. Then she transferred some items from her saddlebags to her
rucksack, slung it over her shoulder and she was ready to go. Yuri was doing the same, and he caught her gaze and nodded to her. As well as his rucksack, he had a coil of rope over his shoulder. They had no clue what they would encounter. Only that they were following in the footsteps of a badly wounded monk, so the going couldn’t get too hard. At least Yuri appeared to have accepted that fact now. Though he seemed brooding; she’d thought he would be excited. He’d worked as hard as she had toward this goal. That was the main reason she had chosen him—he deserved this.
As she set off, the others fell into step behind her. The trail narrowed quickly and they had to walk in single file. They were passing through a gorge. At least it was impossible to go wrong; this was the only available route. Then the gorge ended abruptly and the only way was up. After a few minutes, she was scrambling, almost on all fours, the ground rocky and treacherous. And finally, she came to point where she could go no farther. She straightened and searched around her. At first she saw nothing of interest, then her gaze snagged on a clump of spiny bushes off to the right. She scrambled over and found what she was looking for. An entrance leading beneath the earth.
Cold washed through her, settling like a ball of ice in her stomach. The hole was small and dark, and fear coiled inside her like a snake ready to strike.
Oh fuck.
Chapter Fifteen
Zach hadn’t realized how far they’d galloped after the shooting had started. It had seemed like only seconds of frantic flight. But it took him ten minutes to ride back to the spot where it had all started. It wasn’t helped by the fact that his mount was extremely reluctant and would have preferred to have gone in the same direction as her friends.
He came around a corner and his horse skidded to a stop, whinnying. There was the hulk of Tarkhan’s horse, lying on the grassy track, eyes staring and clearly dead. But no sign of Tarkhan. So it looked like he hadn’t been killed in the fall. Maybe he’d been knocked unconscious, and when he’d come around, they’d all vanished.
What would the other man have done?
He dismounted, looped his reins around a bush, and circled the area. Closing his eyes, he visualized the accident. Where Tarkhan had fallen. He found the indentation in the grass where the body had hit the ground. Then a trail of sorts leading away, as if he’d dragged himself along the ground, so he must be hurt.
The trail led to a group of rocks, and Zach drew his weapon and held it out in front of him, finger on the trigger—he was beyond trusting anyone. For all he knew, Tarkhan could have been working with the enemy, and his fall nothing but a trick. Maybe he was armed and waiting for Zach…
Him? Conspiracy theories? Nah, he was just cautious.
He found the man leaning against the rock, face pale, sweat beading his forehead, hands in sight and no weapon anywhere to be seen. Zach lowered his gun.
“Why didn’t you call out?” he asked.
Tarkhan swallowed. Obviously in pain. “I thought you were one of them. That you’d come back to finish me off.”
“Them? You mean the Descendants of Genghis Khan?”
He gave a small smile, then winced. “No. More likely the other group.”
“The ones who want to stop the spear and tomb from being found.” He thought back. “The Darkhats?” That would make more sense, even if it wasn’t true. “Well, I’m not either of those.” He shoved his gun in the holster.
“Then who are you, Zach Painter? Because I’m pretty sure you’re not a journalist.” He waved at where the gun had disappeared.
“MI6,” he said. “Nice to meet you. What about you? Any secret affiliations you want to own up to?”
“None. I am a simple scholar. You’re alone? Where are the others? Are they all right?”
“They carried on.”
“And you came back to rescue me.”
“It made sense at the time. I wouldn’t be too much help with the archeology stuff, and John was needed to communicate with the guide. I was your only option. Now let’s see if we can get you out of here.”
“I think that’s going to be difficult. My leg is broken. In the fall. I passed out twice getting this far.”
Zach hunkered down beside him but could already see the assessment was correct. The leg stuck out at an awkward angle. He’d need to splint it, and that was going to hurt like hell. Then he needed to get him out, with one horse between them and no way Tarkhan could ride with that leg. Maybe some sort of stretcher? They had the sleeping bags rolled up on their saddles. He could fashion something out of them. And then head back the way they had come. To civilization or as close an approximation as they could get. He wasn’t happy about it; he’d prefer to follow Eve, just in case anything else occurred, but if they didn’t get that leg treated fast, then he could lose it, or at the least never walk again.
He pulled off his rucksack and delved inside. Found his last bottle of scotch. “Medicinal,” he said, unscrewing the top and handing it to Tarkhan. “Drink that. I’m going to look for something to use as a splint.”
Tarkhan stared at the bottle for a moment as though it was poison, then at his leg, and took a deep gulp.
“Stay there,” Zach said with a grin.
“Ha. Ha. You’re a funny man.”
“I seem to be getting my sense of humor back. I lost it for a while.”
“Well, you got something from the trip. I’m glad.”
He searched the area, but there was nothing. The only vegetation was stubby bushes, none of the branches long enough, or strong enough, to use as a splint. He’d just have to do a tight bandage and hope for the best. He crossed to the dead horse and unfastened the sleeping bag. Then to his own, still tied to the bush and stamping anxiously. He loosened the reins and was heading back to Tarkhan, when the horse halted abruptly, raised its head and let out a shrill whinny.
Zach stopped. The horse whinnied again. “Shhh,” he muttered.
He could just make out the dull throb of an engine, still quite far away but moving closer. Not a helicopter this time, but a ground vehicle. “Shit.”
He hurried back to Tarkhan, his mind racing. Rescue? Unlikely. Who would even know they needed rescuing? So this was either the enemy coming to see what had happened to their helicopter, or totally random strangers just driving through. He had to be sure.
But if it was a follow-up team, then he needed to stop them from pursuing the others. And he wanted that vehicle. If he shot while it was moving, there was a good chance it would be irrevocably damaged in the crash. So he needed them to stop. Which meant they needed a reason to stop. Would the dead horse be enough? Maybe. Maybe not. He couldn’t risk it.
“We have company,” he said as he looped the reins around a boulder so his horse was out of sight. “A vehicle approaching.” He unrolled the sleeping bag as he spoke, then laid it on the ground beside the other man. “Sorry. This is going to hurt. Keep a tight hold of that bottle.”
He moved around behind Tarkhan, slid his hands under his arms, and as gently as he could, maneuvered his body onto the sleeping bag. Tarkhan didn’t say a word, but by the time the move was complete, blood trickled down his chin from where he’d bitten through his lip. And sweat shone on his forehead.
“I take it you have a plan?”
Zach could clearly hear the engine now. They didn’t have much time. A few minutes at most. “I need them to stop. You’re the decoy.”
He frowned. “They could just run over me. Or shoot me from a distance. Or—”
“They won’t.” He hoped. “They’ll check you first. And if they look like they’re going to do anything, I’ll shoot them. They could be just tourists. Or locals. Either way, we’ll have a vehicle. Trust me. This will work.”
He stood, then gripped the corners of the sleeping bag at Tarkhan’s head—at least he was a small man—and dragged him over the grass toward the dead horse.
“Hey,” he said as he let go. “Why didn’t we have vehicles?” He’d thought they couldn’t get here, but obviously someone had
gotten this far.
“Perhaps we wanted to give you the authentic Mongolian experience.”
He snorted. “Yeah, sore bollocks.”
A faint smile flashed through the pain.
Zach gave him one last look. Tarkhan had the bottle of scotch clutched to his chest. His eyes were closed. “Go,” he murmured.
Zach went. He crouched behind a boulder and hoped that he hadn’t miscalculated. The vehicle was close now, and he drew his pistol, aimed toward Tarkhan. Slowed his breathing. Counted his breaths until calmness stole over him.
A sandy-colored four-wheel drive came around the corner, moving fast. It skidded to a halt as the driver caught sight of the dead horse and the man lying beside it. The vehicle inched forward.
He could make out two men in the front. No one in the back. That was good.
They stopped only a few feet away from Tarkhan.
The passenger door opened, and a man stepped out. He appeared to be Mongolian, dressed in jeans and a black jacket. Nothing to give away who or what he was. He spoke through the open window.
“Come on, get out,” Zach muttered. Finally, the driver’s door opened and the second man stepped out. He reached under his jacket and pulled out a gun.
Not tourists, then.
They stepped closer to Tarkhan.
It was enough for Zach. He couldn’t risk waiting any longer. He straightened. “Hey!”
They both swung around. The second reached for his gun.
Zach squeezed the trigger.
Chapter Sixteen
“Wait out here,” Yuri said. “There’s no reason for you to do this.”
Eve stared at the dark gap in the ground and imagined lowering herself into it. Acid rose up in her throat, and she swallowed it down.
Then she imagined Yuri finding the spear without her and everything screamed in denial. She’d come this far; she could do this.
Face your fears.
Anyway, they might find the spear just inside the cave, and they’d be in and out in five minutes. Probably quicker.
She cleared her throat. “No, I can do this.”