Atlantis

Chapter 39

The sound of voices drew closer. Bones drew his Glock and took up a position at the corner where he could see the Dominion operatives’ approach.

“Give me some light,” Dane whispered. Jade and Sofia trained their Maglites on Orion’s belt. Quickly, Dane placed the crystals in their proper spots. As he pressed each into its slot, some invisible force, almost like magnetism, snatched the crystal from his fingers and held it fast.

“I can see their lights,” Bones whispered. “We’re almost out of time.”

“Got it.” Dane set the last crystal into place and the door swung inward. He shone his beam inside, making a cursory inspection for booby traps, and then ushered the others inside. After they all entered the chamber, he pried the crystals free and pushed the door closed. With a hollow click, it locked into place. “Now, let’s see if Krueger was right.”

Turning around, he swept his light around the room.

“Oh my God,” Jade whispered. Her free hand found his and squeezed. “This is it!”

Statues of Egyptian gods lined the Hall of Records. Between each statue, the walls were honeycombed with alcoves for storing scrolls. A band of hieroglyphs ringed the chamber just above the alcoves. It was laid out like the Atlantean temples, but with a large stone table at the center where the altar to Poseidon would have been.

Jade and Sofia immediately began snapping pictures.

“We don’t have much time,” Dane said.

“Why not?” Sofia asked, still clicking away. “We’re in here, they’re out there, and they don’t have the crystals.”

“I don’t think that will slow them down for long. The best we can hope for is they try the door for a few minutes. Once they realize they can’t get in, I believe we can count on them to resort to other means.”

“Like what?” Sofia asked.

“Like blowing the door,” Jade said. “Maddock’s right. We need to hurry. I just hope we can find the information we need in time.”

“What happens when they do blow the door?” Sofia’s voice dropped to a scant whisper.

“You two will hide while Bones and I deal with them.” Dane wished he felt half as much confidence as he feigned. He had a feeling the Dominion would have sent enough trained men to make sure a job this important came off without a hitch.

“Guys, there’s something weird in here.” Bones pointed to the nearest statue — Osiris. “Notice how every statue has been defaced?”

“Every one?” Jade asked, moving deeper into the hall. “That can’t be right.”

“He’s right,” Sofia said. “Every face is smashed. That can’t be an accident. Someone’s been in here.”

“That’s not the worst part. Check out the alcoves.” Bones shone his light along the wall.

Every alcove was empty.

“No,” Sofia wailed. She balled her fists and pressed them to her forehead. “All this work, and grave robbers beat us to it.”

“Not grave robbers,” Dane said.

“How do you know?” Jade cocked her head to the side and fixed him with a questioning look.

“The thieves left a calling card.” He shone his light on the wall above the door, where someone had carved a few squiggly lines and a familiar symbol.

“The Templars? No freaking way.” Bones looked like he was about to say something else, but just then, they heard voices on the other side of the door.

Dane couldn’t make out the words, but it was clear by their excited tone that they knew they’d found the entrance to the Hall of Records. He looked at Bones.

“There are bunch of guys out there, Maddock.” He said it with the clinical detachment of an engineer sizing up a challenging task.

“We’ll have surprise on our side, and they’ll have to come in two at a time.” Dane thought fast. “We’ll lay our Maglites in alcoves, with the beams directed at the door. They’ll aim for the lights at first. That will buy us a little more time.”

“Maybe we won’t have to fight.” Sofia grabbed him by the arm and pulled him deeper into the hall.

“We can’t hide from them,” Dane said. “When they find the chamber empty, they’ll give it a thorough search.”

“That’s not what I mean.” Sofia continued to pull him through the hall. Bones and Jade followed behind them, bemused expressions on their faces. “This place is laid out exactly like the Atlantean temples.”

“So?”

“So, that means there should be an air shaft leading out. That’s how I got away in Spain.” She released Dane’s arm and hurried ahead.

Dane glanced at Bones. “It’s worth a try.”

“It’s here!” Sofia called. “Come on!”

“Okay, everybody into the shaft,” Dane ordered. “Bones take the lead; I’ll bring up the rear.”

“No way. Why do you get the good view?” Bones winked. “Besides, I’m the biggest. If I get stuck along the way, everyone behind me is stuck too.”

“Fine.” Dane stuck his Maglite in his teeth and began to climb. He’d made it about ten meters when an explosion rocked the passageway. “I guess they blew the door.” He wondered if the others could even hear him. If their ears were ringing half as loudly as his, he doubted it. He looked back to make sure everyone still followed, and continued the climb.

The climb through the shaft went on with agonizing slowness. The stones were fitted together with such precision that he found it difficult to find handholds. Every muscle ached from crawling in a hunched position. It felt like boot camp all over again.

As the ringing in his ears abated, the voices of the Dominion’s men rose. Angry shouts and arguing reverberated through the shaft. I know how you feel, he thought. You came all this way for nothing. Listening to the men in the hall below, a sudden thought struck him.

“Everybody turn out your lights,” he said around his own Maglite, which he still held between his teeth.

“Why?” Sofia asked.

“In case they look into the shaft.” He paused enough to douse his light. “I don’t think Bones’ butt is big enough to block the light.”

“Hey, my butt is perfect. Just ask your old lady.”

“Your sister is my old lady,” Dane retorted.

“Oh, yeah.”

Even Jade laughed at this, though they quickly fell silent.

“Do you see anything yet?” Jade whispered. “Any light at the end of the tunnel?”

“Not yet, but we entered the labyrinth just before sunset. It will be dark outside.”

He couldn’t deny, he was worried that the shaft wasn’t a true air shaft that would lead outside. If a shaft this size were open at the other end, wouldn’t it have been discovered by now? Nothing to be done about it, he supposed. At worst, they’d hide in the shaft until they were certain the hall was empty, then try to sneak out the way they’d come in.

His fears were confirmed minutes later when his skull met a stone wall. He halted, and Jade crashed into him a moment later. He heard twin grunts as Sofia and Bones joined the pileup.

“Why have we stopped?” Jade whispered.

“End of the line.”

“There’s got to be a way out,” Sofia protested.

“I don’t know.” Dane ran his hand across the wall in front of him. It was smooth, just like the sides of the shaft. He felt for a seam, but the stone was seated tightly in the end of the shaft. “I think we’re out of luck.”

“Let me see.” Light blossomed in the darkness and Jade squeezed in beside him.

“Warn me when you’re going to do that.” Dane tried to blink away the spots in his eyes.

“Somebody had to find the doorknob. Look.”

He squinted against the too-bright light, and looked at the spot where she’d trained her beam.

“It’s a slot for a crystal. I must have missed it in the dark.”

“Duh. Now hurry up. I want a bath and a beer, and not in that order.”

“Can I join you?” Bones asked.

“Only for the beer.”

“Just like old times.” Dane pulled out the bag of crystals, found the one that fit, and set it in place. Silently, the shaft swung open. Cool breeze and the glow of artificial light bathed his face. He looked around at his surroundings and laughed.

“What’s funny?” Jade asked.

“You’ll see. Just be very careful climbing out. Bones, be sure to take the crystal and close the door behind you.” Carefully, he climbed out of the hole. When they all reached the ground, they stood, looking up, and laughing.

“I can’t believe that we just climbed out of the eye of the Sphinx.” Bones couldn’t tear his eyes away from the battered stone face of the ancient monument.

“Believe it,” Dane said. “Let’s get out of here. If we hurry, we should be able to get back to the car long before the Dominion gets out of the labyrinth.

They took off at a slow trot. Dane and Bones could have stood a faster pace, and probably Jade, who always kept fit, but he didn’t know if Sofia would be able to handle it.

As he ran, he punched up Tam’s number. She wasn’t going to like his report.