The Emperor's Tomb

FIFTY-NINE

NI STOOD. HE’D DOVE DOWN, LYING FLAT AS KARL TANG FIRED into the darkness, using one of the bulky incense burners for cover. He’d laid still as bullets cascaded off the walls, then watched as his three assailants disappeared back into the tomb. The man he’d knocked unconscious clearly worked for Tang, but he also apparently possessed a separate agenda.

But who’d called out, then fired from the burial chamber? Should he help them? What could he do, beyond place himself back in jeopardy.

Getting killed would solve nothing.

He had to leave.

MALONE CAUGHT THE SHADOWS REAPPEARING IN THE ANTECHAMBER. He’d heard four rounds fired and wondered what was happening. But apparently one problem had either been solved or was no longer a concern. Instead—

“Our turn,” he said.

He spotted heads peering around the archway, reconnoitering the burial chamber.

“Can we draw them out?” Cassiopeia whispered from the other side of the plinth.

“They’re not sure we’re still here. They see that hole in the wall behind us, too. We could be in there, as far as they know.”

Unfortunately, their haven was a hundred feet away, the space in between wide open except for a few pillars, none of which would provide much cover.

His mind rifled through the possibilities.

Not many.

He studied the tripod of lights that illuminated the plinth. His gaze drifted down to a river of mercury flowing a few feet away—a representation, he surmised, of the Yellow River spanning the ancient empire from east to west. He recalled again what Pau Wen had read to them yesterday. Using quicksilver, they made the hundred rivers of the land, the Yellow and Yangtze, and the wide sea, and machines kept the waters in motion. Were the reservoirs connected? Regardless, what he had in mind should work.

“Get ready to move,” he whispered.

“What are you going to do?”

“Create a problem.”

TANG SPOTTED SHADOWS ON THE CENTER PLATFORM.

Someone was there. Two forms.

One on either side of the jade table that stood at a diagonal to the hall. His gaze raked the remainder of the chamber and confirmed that there was no other place to hide.

So where was the third person who should be here?

“Kill both of them,” he ordered. Then, to Viktor, he made clear, “And this time I want them dead. We need no further distractions.”

Viktor seemed to understand that things had not gone right and nodded. “We’ll take care of them.”

MALONE SAW THE BARRELS OF TWO GUNS, ONE POSITIONED AT either side of the archway.

Both fired.

Bullets popped off of jade.

Time to act.

He dropped back on his butt, lifted his right leg, and slammed the sole of his shoe into the tripod supporting the electric lamps. The spindly metal toppled, bulbs exploding in a shower of sparks and heat that ignited the mineral oil. He knew fire-breathers and special effects experts preferred mineral oil since it possessed both a high flash point and a low burning temperature. It didn’t take much for it to ignite, nor did it last long once aflame.

Like magician’s flash paper, it produced a spectacular effect.

Bright flames erupted across the burial hall as the burning oil atop the mercury in the lakes, rivers, and ocean consumed itself. A rush of air echoed off the walls, like a wave rushing to shore, generating quick heat and bright light.

Malone wasted no time, springing to his feet and joining Cassiopeia as they rushed the hundred feet back toward the break in the chamber wall. They avoided more rivers and lakes, but thankfully the western portion of Qin’s empire was more desert and mountain.

The oil quickly exhausted itself, and the light faded. What remained was a dark cloud seeping up from the floor, and he knew what that deadly waft contained.

Mercury.

“Take a breath and hold it,” he said.

TANG SAW THE TRIPOD CRASH TO THE FLOOR AND THEN FELT heat as the mineral oil ignited in a burst of blinding light. He shielded his eyes with a raised arm. The brother and Viktor did the same.

The unexpected flash left black spots winking in and out, but as his vision settled he saw through the rising clouds of gray-black fog two figures at the far side of the chamber running toward the break in the wall.

“We can’t stay here,” Viktor said.

Tang knew the smoke was toxic and its first wisps were only a few meters away, so he retreated from the archway.

Another crack resounded through the chamber and lights began to explode. He heard an electrical surge and something popped behind him in a shower of sparks.

The junction box into which the cable from outside fed power.

“They’re shorting out,” Viktor yelled.

Then the world went black.

CASSIOPEIA KEPT RUNNING, SENSING THAT THE ELECTRICAL current surging through the mercury had finally backtracked through the lines.

The last thing she saw before all the lights extinguished was the wall, about ten meters away.

She stopped short and heard Malone do the same.

“We have to go,” he whispered.

She exhaled. “Find the wall. The exit was about twenty meters to the right.”

“We might have a minute or so of good air this far over, but we need to hurry.”

Darkness was absolute. She could not even see her hands. Carefully, she groped the air and found the wall with the tip of her gun. The flashlight was still in her pocket, but all that would provide was a perfect target for a spray of bullets through the fog.

“Go,” Malone whispered. “Fast.”

Beams of light erupted from the far side of the hall, the rays threading a path through the cloud, now maybe six feet above the floor and rising.

The beams found the wall and started searching left and right.

For them.

“THEY HAVE TO BE THERE,” TANG SAID.

All three of them used their lights to scan the far side of the chamber for the two figures. The beams were weak, but strong enough.

“Find that opening,” he ordered. “That’s where they were headed.”

The beams continued their dance. One of them located the break in the wall—and then, to its right, a figure.

Heading straight for it.

“There,” he said. “Shoot.”

“HIT THE GROUND,” MALONE YELLED, KNOWING WHAT WAS coming.

The beam had located Cassiopeia just as she’d made it to safety. He decided not to give anyone a free shot.

He took aim across the room and fired at the center of the three lights.

TANG HEARD THE BULLET SLAM INTO THE BROTHER. THE MAN was thrown back by the impact, his light zigzagging in the darkness, his body thudding to the bricks.

Tang immediately retreated behind the archway, as did Viktor on the other side. The mercury cloud was advancing toward them, now only meters away.

They had to leave.

But first.

CASSIOPEIA SAW ONE LIGHT FALL AND TWO OTHERS DISAPPEAR, most likely seeking cover. She sprang to her feet, found the break in the wall with her hand, and slipped inside, a thick slab of stone between her and any more bullets.

Malone, though, was still out there.

“Are you in?” she heard him ask.

“I’m here. Your turn.”

The lights were starting their search again, focused on the opening. But they were noticeably weaker from the fog, which she saw was thickening and advancing toward their end of the hall.

Another thirty seconds and it would be here.

The lights moved away and lowered.

Both locked on Malone.

“THERE HE IS,” TANG SAID TO VIKTOR. “SHOOT HIM NOW.”

Their guns banged.

MALONE SPOTTED THE DARK CLOUD, LESS THAN TEN FEET AWAY. He flattened himself to the floor just as guns fired from the other side of the hall.

He held his breath and the lights stayed just above him.

Standing, even crouching, would be fatal.

But he needed to go.

Now.

CASSIOPEIA AIMED AROUND THE STONE DOOR AND EMPTIED her magazine across the room, firing at the lights.

“Get your ass in here,” she yelled to Malone.

MALONE REALIZED THAT IT WASN’T QUITE THAT EASY. THE beams had retreated from sight with Cassiopeia’s barrage, which he assumed was the whole idea, but it also plunged the scene before him back into absolute darkness. He knew the opening was about eight feet to his right. Still, he had to feel his way across the wall, heading for the sound of her shots.

Repeated clicks indicated that her magazine was drained.

He found the opening, hopped inside, and exhaled.

“We need to get the hell out of here,” he said.

TANG REALIZED THAT COTTON MALONE AND CASSIOPEIA VITT were gone, escaped into the far exit. The fog was nearly upon them, so there was no way to pursue them through the chamber.

He dropped back, as did Viktor.

“It doesn’t matter,” he said. “I have two brothers waiting for them when they emerge from the ground.”