by N. J. Croft
John was on his knees by the hole, shining a torch inside. “It’s only a little over five feet deep. We can drop down safely.”
This was it. Her heart was thumping, speeding up. But she ignored the panic clawing at her guts and sat on the edge. Taking a deep breath, she twisted around and lowered herself. He was right; her feet touched the ground and she forced her fingers to loosen, letting go. She stood in the light from the opening, staring up at the blue sky.
Keep me safe.
Then the light was blocked as Yuri lowered himself into the cave. Then John.
She’d mapped out the underground passageways, using Star’s image, and given them all copies. Just in case they were separated. Now she flicked on her torch and studied the map. Mostly narrow, twisting tunnels, but they widened into chambers in a couple of places. She flashed her light around the walls and ceiling. Dark rock. It wasn’t too bad, she could just about stand up straight, though the men were stooping.
Her beam found the entrance into the first tunnel. About three feet across. She could do this.
She set off, flashing the light in front of her, hearing the shuffling footfalls behind her and Yuri’s slow, steady breathing. She counted out her paces as she walked, measuring the distance.
“You should hit the turn-off any moment now,” Yuri said.
She didn’t answer. She wasn’t sure she could speak.
She was back in the metal box. Total darkness. She’d thought they were going to bury her alive. That she’d never see light again. The walls had pressed in on her. She’d screamed until her throat was sore, and she could feel the same scream welling up in her now, clawing for release. Finally, she’d blacked out, believing it was the end, only to wake up in her cell. And have them repeat the process. Again and again. Until it was indelibly printed on her brain. A part of her soul.
Now the rocks above seemed to close in, pressing down, so heavy. They were going to come crashing down, burying her…
“Eve?”
She’d stopped. Without realizing. She closed her eyes so any darkness was of her own making and she was in control again. She counted her breaths, breathing in through her nose and out through her mouth. Up to ten. Opening her eyes, she gripped her flashlight in her sweaty palms, swinging it around so the light played across the rough rock walls. She found the opening, black against the darkness. Big enough to walk through, and she calmed a little.
The first chamber was just up ahead. Only a few more feet.
She counted the steps until the walls widened. But she knew immediately that she was shit out of luck. There was nobody here. No spear. The chamber was about ten feet by ten feet, clear of anything, nowhere to hide.
She checked the map again, though she knew which way she had to go; she was just putting off the moment. She flashed the light around the chamber, found the tunnel leading out. This time she had to stoop to enter. It was still wide enough to move easily. But she knew what was coming.
The tunnel narrowed until the rock touched her on all sides. Her mind and body closed down. She literally could not move. Petrified in place. Unable to drag the air into her lungs.
“Eve?” Yuri spoke from behind her. “Are you okay? Is the tunnel blocked?”
She tried to speak, but all that came out was a quiet whimper. A hand grabbed her from behind, and she was being pulled—almost dragged—backward. She closed her eyes.
“It’s okay, you’re safe, Eve. Talk to us.”
She forced her eyes open. They were back in the chamber, and she sank to the sandy floor, light-headed, gulping great breaths of air.
I’m okay. I’m okay.
She looked up and found the other two watching her, Yuri with a worried frown, John’s face expressionless.
“You’re going back,” Yuri said. “We’ll take you back, and then we’ll decide what to do next.”
“No. I just need a moment. I’m not going back,” she snapped as he opened his mouth to argue. “I’ve come this far. I can do the rest.” She hoped.
Yuri turned away; his fists clenched at his side. He really was worried for her. Which was sweet but unneeded. She was quite worried enough on her own.
Finally, he came back to stand in front of her. “Okay then. But let me go check it out. It’s just a short stretch. But if it’s too narrow, then we’ll turn back and find another route. Just wait here, for five minutes.”
He was right. She might relax if she knew what was coming. She nodded. “Okay. But come straight back.”
Yuri removed his rucksack and held it in front of him while he bent over and almost crawled into the tunnel, disappearing from sight.
Think about the Spirit Banner.
Think about the Eternal Blue Sky.
So vast and open. A small measure of peace washed through her. She opened her eyes to find John Chen watching her.
“You must think me a complete wimp.”
“Actually, the opposite. There’s no such thing as bravery without fear. We all have things that haunt our nightmares. You know your fears, and yet here you are.”
She supposed he was right. In some ways, these last few days, she’d felt like she was waking from a nightmare she’d been trapped in for a long time.
She felt steadier, so she got to her feet and crossed to the tunnel, peered inside. Yuri should be coming back soon. But she heard nothing. She turned to John…just as a loud roar filled the cave. The very rock trembled.
“What was that?”
“An explosion,” John said.
She guessed it was from close to the entrance. An earthquake? Or had someone followed them? Blown up the entrance to stop them from getting out. John was already running out of the chamber. She followed him, her fear gone for the moment, swallowed by a greater need to survive.
Ahead of her, John skidded to a halt, and he whirled around. “Go back!”
“What—”
He reached for her, grabbing her by the shoulders and hurling her backward. “Run!”
She scrambled to her feet, clumsy in her panic, and she was running back the way she’d come. In her nightmares she always stopped at this point, looked back. But now she didn’t. She kept going. She dived for the chamber as the world erupted behind her, a roar filled her ears, and everything went black.
Chapter Seventeen
Eve woke to the utter darkness of the grave.
“John,” she whispered.
No answer. Just a smothering silence.
She rolled onto her hands and knees. Something stung her eyes and she reached up and found her forehead wet. With blood. She must have hit it as she fell. She wiped her eyes and stayed still for a moment, panting.
What the hell?
There had been a second explosion. Closer this time. She had no doubt that John had saved her life. If he hadn’t warned her, then thrown her backwards toward the relative safety of the chamber, she’d be dead. Not that it was likely to make a difference. The first explosion had come from close to the entrance. She was guessing it was blocked. And she was stuck in her own underground tomb. She waited for the panic to take her, but her mind remained calm and clear.
And slowly another emotion crept over her. Anger.
She was damned if she was going to just lay down and die.
Pushing herself to her feet, she held her arms out in front of her, taking slow steps until her fingertips brushed the rock of the walls. Then keeping the contact, she shuffled her way around the chamber. She scuffled the floor with her feet as she walked, hoping to find the torch, but nothing. Finally, her fingers touched space; the entrance to a tunnel. By the height and width she could tell it was the one they had entered by. The air had been relatively clear in the chamber, here it was clogged with dust that filled her nostrils and mouth. She coughed, pulled up her jumper to cover her face, and edged forward. She’d only gone a few feet when her way was blocked by rocks.
She ran her hands over them, reaching to the top, hoping for a gap she could squeeze herself though, but the
re was no way past.
“John,” she shouted. But there was no reply. She hadn’t expected one. He’d been right behind her. He must have been caught in the fall and she bit back a sob.
She backed up into the chamber and sat for a moment. She still had her backpack and she slipped it off her shoulder, found the bottle of water and sipped it, clearing the rock dust from her throat.
There was one other way out of here.
Had Yuri made it or was he caught in a rockfall somewhere? Or wedged into a narrow tunnel, unable to move. She needed to find him. And of course there was still the Spirit Banner.
Though a lot of good it would do either of them if the entrance was blocked. All the same it was better than just sitting in the darkness waiting to die. And Zach was out there somewhere. Things weren’t totally without hope. Unless Zach was responsible for this. And if that was the case, she had to get out of here, find him and…
First, she searched every bit of the floor, but her torch was gone for good. She must have dropped it as she ran and it was under the rocks. With John.
She gave up and went back to feeling the walls until she found the second tunnel, lower and narrower, but the air was clear. She didn’t give herself time to think, to panic, just crouched down and entered. Strangely, she found it less scary in the darkness. She passed the place where her panic attack had stopped her last time.
Yuri must have come this way. He was bigger than her. If he could pass, then so could she. She was crawling now, on her hands and knees, then wriggling, pushing her rucksack into the darkness ahead of her. Maybe she’d taken a wrong turn. She didn’t think the map had shown any turns, but perhaps she was wrong. Could she have she missed a tunnel? She’d been telling herself Yuri had made it this far and beyond, but maybe he hadn’t. Maybe he’d gone a different way. And she couldn’t turn. All she could do was keep going forward until she could go no farther.
She laid her head against the rock floor and rested, eyes pricking. She didn’t want to die here. She wanted to see her children again. She’d been so selfish, leaving them to go after a stupid adventure. Would Noah look after them, give them the love they needed? Tell them she’d had to try to mend herself. That she hadn’t been able to go on as she was. Noah would understand. He’d always been able to understand; he just hadn’t been able to fix her. No, she’d needed to do that. Except she’d failed.
But not yet. She gritted her teeth and raised her head. Something was different.
The darkness was not so intense. Somewhere up ahead, a light was shining.
She dragged herself on, the light brightening, and she could make out the rock walls around her and over her. The tunnel widened and she was crawling. Finally, it came to an opening, and she pulled herself over the edge, dropping to the floor of a second chamber. Picking herself up, she looked around. Her gaze fixed on Yuri where he sat, back leaning against the wall, watching her. She opened her mouth to speak, then closed it again as she noticed the pistol resting on his lap.
She wiped her hands down the legs of her pants, then rubbed at her eyes. “What’s going on?”
“I could hear you crawling through the tunnels. I couldn’t believe you were still alive. You’re tenacious, I’ll give you that. Just won’t give up.” He raised the pistol, and every muscle tensed, but he just waved it at the other side of the cave. “But in the end, I beat you to it.”
She turned slowly. Something lay on the floor across the chamber. She gave Yuri a brief glance, but he didn’t move, and she crossed to stand over the form.
Her eyes widened and she went still. For a moment she forgot everything, the gun, the explosions, John…
A skeleton still wrapped in the remains of his clothes. Lying straight out, hands on his chest. And at his side, a spear.
Her skin tingled, as she dropped to her knees.
The wooden shaft was as long as the man was tall, the blade a dull gray metal, with coarse black hairs wrapped around the shaft beneath the tip.
Reaching out a trembling hand, she reverently stroked the wooden shaft, ran her fingers through the coarse hair.
This spear had led Genghis Khan into battle. He’d held it in his hands.
The spear will point the way.
Remembering the words of the old monk, she looked around, took note of where the spear lay in relation to the two tunnels that entered the chamber. That would enable her to pinpoint the direction. Or would, if she ever got out of here.
A noise behind her made her turn. Yuri had risen to his feet, the pistol dangling from his hand.
Mouth dry, she licked her lips. “Is that what this is about? You wanted to beat me to the prize?” She eyed the pistol, her heart rate faster as adrenaline kicked in. “We can share it. Or you can make the announcement yourself. I don’t mind.”
He raised the pistol, aimed it at her chest, and every muscle locked tight. “Haven’t you worked it out yet?”
“You set the explosions?”
He nodded. “There is no way out. I’ve blocked the entrance. It was the only way I could be sure that nobody would ever find the spear. It stays here.”
“But so will we. Neither of us will get out.”
“That’s a price I’m willing to pay. To keep the secret of the tomb.”
Shit.
She saw it now. Something must have shown in her eyes, because he gave her a small, rueful smile, the pistol never wavering. “You’ve worked it out?”
“You’re a Darkhat.”
“Born and bred and trained to keep the secret of the tomb. I’ve been your shadow for years. Ever since it became clear you were a danger.”
“I’m not a danger. Just let me go. I’ll forget I ever saw this.”
“There’s no point, the place is sealed. No one is getting out. Besides, you’ve seen it now, and you’d take that knowledge with you. And I know you, the tomb calls to you. It’s a pity. I really like you.” His features hardened. “And over and over I gave you the chance to walk away. I even faked the attack outside the hotel so you would see the danger and leave. But you wouldn’t listen. So intent on your personal path to glory.”
“It wasn’t glory I wanted. Just the truth.”
“The truth isn’t yours.” He sounded angry now, but then the hard lines smoothed away and he smiled. The expression sent a chill through her. He was a zealot. A true believer and beyond any rational thought. “I know how scared you are of the dark. So I’ll make this quick for you.”
I don’t want it quick.
His finger tightened on the trigger. The loud roar of the shot filled the chamber as she dived to the left. The bullet slammed into her side, the force knocking her over, hurling her onto the skeleton of the Buddhist monk.
She lay unmoving as footsteps headed toward her. Keeping her body still, she slid her hand over the rock, her fingers feeling for the shaft of the spear. She sensed as Yuri stood over her, his breaths harsh and loud in the confines of the cavern, and she held her own breath, feigning death. Closing her eyes, she pictured the wide blue skies.
A hand gripped her arm, turning her over as her fingers grasped the wooden shaft. She lunged upward and forward, finding strength she didn’t know she had, feeling the resistance as the spear met the body of the man. She shoved harder, and it slid in with ease.
She stared up into his face—wide-eyed, mouth gaping. Then he collapsed on top of her, the weight forcing her down.
And she lay beneath him as hot blood soaked her clothes, the spear still clasped in her hand.
Chapter Eighteen
Eve opened her eyes and released her grip on the spear.
Sliding her hands between them, she thrust as hard as she could. Yuri slid off and lay on the rock floor, staring up out of surprised-looking eyes. She swallowed down her nausea as she studied the body. The spear was still lodged firmly in his chest. It looked like it had gone in low in his belly and then upward, piercing his heart.
She’d killed a man. She’d slept with him, shared her secrets
, introduced him to her goddamn children. And now she’d killed him. But no way was she sorry.
He’d tried to kill her first. He had killed John.
She pushed herself to her feet and winced as agony sliced through her. She’d almost forgotten she’d been shot. The shock of everything else had masked the pain, but now it ripped through her side like fire, and she clutched her hand to the wound. She stood for a minute while she fought for control, then peered down. It was hard to tell which blood was Yuri’s and which was hers. She didn’t want to look at the wound, but she forced herself to peel open her jacket, then pull up her shirt.
Ugh.
The bullet had caught her just above her waist, but she couldn’t see much past the blood. She spotted her rucksack where she had entered the cave and hobbled over. She pulled out the bottle of water, opened it, and poured a little over the wound, washing away the blood. She twisted around so she could see her back and poured more water. The bullet had gone right through. The ragged hole was oozing slightly, but not bleeding. She’d been lucky, though maybe “lucky” wasn’t the right word considering her circumstances.
She had a spare T-shirt in her rucksack, and she folded it into a pad and pressed it to the wound, tucking her shirt in tight to hold the makeshift bandage in place. It was the best she could do.
Yuri had said he’d blocked all the exits. But there had to be some way out. No way was she going to lie down and fucking die in this goddamn hole in the ground. She pulled out the map and studied it. Found a second tunnel leading out of the chamber. It continued on past the boundaries of the map, but there were no more chambers.
Was she mistaken, or was the light dimming? The torch batteries must be running down.
She had to move.
She took a mouthful of water, then glanced around, her gaze skittering off the body. But she wasn’t leaving without the thing she had come for.
Avoiding looking at Yuri’s face, she grabbed the smooth wooden shaft. It was harder to pull out than to put in—Yuri’s body did not want to give up the spear, even in death.