Maddock shielded his eyes as brilliant light erupted from the trident. He staggered backward, regained his balance, and dared an upward glance.
Tyson stood in a nimbus of gold, head thrown back in ecstasy, the trident upraised in his clenched fist.
“I can feel it!” he cried. “It is so…” Whatever it was, the words escaped him. He turned slowly on the spot, enraptured by the power of the shining artifact of another world.
Dima scrambled down the steps and hurled herself into Bones’ arms. “Isn’t there anything we can do?” she gasped.
“Let’s just get the hell out of here.” Bones turned and headed for the door.
“Stop!” Tyson’s voice was a thunderclap that shook the chamber. “You will stay and witness my glory.”
He loomed over them like the Greek god he so ardently worshiped. The golden light began to creep along his arm. Where it touched him, flecks of gold like tiny stars shone in his dark skin. “Yes! Come to me, Poseidon. Bestow upon me your power.”
“If I had even one bullet left, I’d shoot him,” Bones growled.
As the light continued to consume Tyson, sparks began to fly from the points of the trident. They shot up to the ceiling and clung there. Soon the sparkling light danced all over the cavern, sizzling where it touched the still-falling drops of water.
“This place is changing,” Tyson boomed. “It will be my throne room. From here shall the Trident rule.”
“His throne room?” Dima said. “That thing is doing something to his brain.”
“I think he was already unhinged,” Bones said softly. “Dima, why don’t you see if you can slip out of here? Maddock and I distract him. Don’t worry, we’ll catch up with you as soon as we can.”
“I won’t leave you.” She shook her head, long dark hair spilling over her face. “This isn’t over yet.”
Tyson cried out again in a sound a touch too inhuman to be a laugh. Maddock and the others covered their ears as the shrill sound pierced their eardrums. Behind them, a chunk of ceiling broke off and crashed to the ground.
The light now covered Tyson’s body. His clothing had burned away, and he stood there cloaked in flashing gold. The light began to pulse, slowly at first, and then faster, and with each flash, an image began to form.
Maddock squinted to make it out, but it quickly resolved into the outline of tall, muscular man with mahogany skin, long, white hair, a twisted beard the color of seaweed, and flashing golden eyes. Faster and faster the image flickered like an old projector skipping frames. Tyson, then the image, and then Tyson again. Back and forth it went.
The glowing form seemed to grow firmer, more tangible by the second. Inside it, Tyson began to struggle. He twisted and jerked, teeth gritted, spittle dripping from his lips.
“What…is…happening?”
“It’s trying to take control of him!” Dima shouted.
As if the figure carried real weight, Tyson’s shoulders hunched, his waist bent, and then his knees buckled and he dropped to his knees. All around the cavern, the golden lights burned with searing intensity, and the dripping water turned to steam, filling the air with hot mist.
Snarling, Tyson regained his feet, and for a moment, he seemed to be winning the battle against the force that fought to overcome him. His eyes turned toward Maddock and the others, standing frozen at the foot of the steps.
“That’s it. A sacrifice!” he cried. “Poseidon demands a blood tribute.” He leveled the trident at Dima.
“No!” Bones threw himself in front of Dima as triple bolts of fine, golden lightning crackled from the points of the trident and shot toward him.
Maddock was already in motion as the surge of electricity blew his best friend off his feet. In one fluid motion, he drew his knife and hurled it at Tyson as he ran.
Tyson never saw it coming. He screamed as the blade took him in the eye. He thrashed about, lightning still bursting forth from the trident. All around them, the walls began to crack and water once again poured through.
Maddock was up the steps in a flash. As Tyson turned, half-mad with pain, to face him, Maddock leaped and struck the man full in the chest with a double side-kick that sent Tyson crashing into the wall. The trident slipped from his grasp and clattered across the floor, coming to rest against the back wall, which cracked and split as the still pulsing weapon struck it. A section of wall fell away to reveal a previously hidden passageway.
The golden sparks still spun around Tyson, who struggled to rise. Maddock lashed out with another kick, connecting with his temple, then followed with a vicious knee to Tyson’s forehead. Tyson slumped to the ground, unconscious. The golden nimbus flickered and died, but golden sparks still danced in his skin.
“Maddock! Help me!” Down on the floor, Dima was performing CPR on Bones.
Maddock’s knees nearly buckled at the sight of his friend, his brother in all the ways that mattered, lying still on the floor. He hurtled down the stairs, dropped to the ground beside Bones, and pressed an ear to his friend’s chest.
He heard nothing.
Maddock quickly took over the resuscitation efforts. First two rescue breaths, and then a series of chest compressions.
“Come on, Bones,” he urged.
All around them, the chamber was coming apart. Water gushed in from holes burned in the stone by the golden sparks. It was a deluge that Maddock knew wouldn’t be stopped this time. If Bones didn’t come back to them soon…
And then Bones coughed, and his chest began to rise and fall on its own. He hacked, coughed again and sat halfway up, resting on his elbows.
“Come on, buddy, let’s get you on your feet.” Maddock tried to slip an arm around his friend, but Bones shoved him away.
“No time for hugging. Let’s get out of here.” Bones lurched to his feet, wobbled, and took a look around.
“Nice waterfalls. Are we screwed, or what?”
“Maybe not,” Maddock said. “I think there’s a way out behind Noah. Come on.”
They hurried up the stairs, shielding their heads from the falling rock. At the top, they rounded the bier and headed for the passageway the trident had blasted open.
The trident!
Maddock searched for it, but it was gone, washed away by the pouring water or crushed beneath falling rock. Either way, it was probably better off buried here.
“Maddock!” Bones grabbed Maddock by the belt and yanked him back into the shelter of the passageway as a huge section of ceiling collapsed, burying Noah, perhaps for all eternity.
“Thanks.”
“No sweat. Just answer one question for me.” Bones stared intently at Maddock.
“What’s that?”
“Did you do the rescue breathing, or was it Dima?”
Maddock threw back his head and laughed.
“I’m serious, Maddock,” Bones protested. “I need to know.”
“We’ll talk about it later. For now, let’s see where this passageway leads.”