The Orpheus Legacy

CHAPTER THIRTY

As they walked down the stone steps into the ancient crypt, they were all relieved the presbyter had not only agreed to play ball but that he and the rest of the religious community here had gotten away safely, too. They all knew what happened to civilians who got caught up in their missions and it usually ended with the spilling of innocent blood.

Entering the crypt, they began the search for anywhere that might give them access to the mountain’s interior. Dividing into smaller teams, each unit checked a different part of the chamber until Reaper and Kamala called out from the north end. They were standing beneath a low carved archway either side of a loose flagstone.

“Nous l’avons trouvé.” The Frenchman angled the beam of his flashlight at the stone and gave a crooked smile.

The team gathered around while he and Kamala pulled the stone tile free to reveal a hole in the floor the size of a manhole cover. Shining his flashlight down into the darkness, Reaper tutted as the beam illuminated a thick knot of cobwebs blocking much of the way.

“Looks like more steps,” Kamala said.

“Well, hot damn.” Zeke tapped Hawke on the shoulder and lowered his voice. “It’s been great working with you guys and if you’re ever in Texas you’re always welcome at my place.”

The Englishman regarded the tank commander and smiled. “You’d be giving up a hell of a journey.”

“I’m only yanking your chain, Hawke — ah, I see what you did there!”

Lea checked her watch. “We need to get going.”

Taking the lead, Hawke kicked the cobwebs out of the way and began his descent into the stairwell. “C’mon, everyone. Let’s get this done.”

Down the twisting stone steps and along narrow stone tunnels they walked, deeper and deeper into the mountain. The walk was damp and their footsteps echoed down into the blackness stretching out ahead of them.

Scarlet’s cut-glass accent broke the silence. “Another day, another cold, creepy tunnel.”

“Except this isn’t just any other cold, creepy tunnel,” Ryan said. “This could lead to Hades.”

Kamala spoke up. “Hey, newbie here… and she’s still pretty damned terrified when you say stuff like that.”

Hawke thought the former US Secret Service agent had responded well to Lea’s briefing about the true nature of the world. Finding out about the Oracle’s twisted cult had been a shock, and the truth about ancient gods and their technology and weapons had been an even harder pill to swallow.

They all thought it best to wait until she had settled in more before telling her about Ryan’s unsettling antediluvian theories surrounding the mysterious power that was lurking behind all this. Some things were just too hard to handle and for now, she didn’t need to know.

Kamala fanned herself with her hand. “Is it just me or is it getting hot in here?”

“Damn!” Zeke said. “Now you come to mention it, yeah.”

“So, Dante was right,” Ryan mumbled.

As she walked, Lea glanced up at him. “What did you say?”

“Dante,” he continued. “He really invented the modern conception of hell when he wrote Inferno. Before then people had a very different idea of what it would be like.”

“Hey,” Scarlet said. “Now we’re literally on the road to hell, why not scare us some more?”

Lea sighed. “Ignore it, Ry.”

An hour passed, and then another. At one point they got so tired they stopped in the tunnel and took some water and a brief rest. Hawke calculated they must be at least a mile under the surface of the earth.

“If it gets much deeper, we’ll have to stop and go back,” Ryan said. “The deepest mining operation in the world is in the TauTona Mine in South Africa, and that’s just under two and a half miles deep. They need air-conditioning equipment to make the mineshaft cool enough for people to use.”

“We could do with some of that right now.” Zeke wiped his brow and drank some more water. “Because this place is as hot as hell… shit, I didn’t mean that.”

“Let’s get back on track,” Hawke said, getting to his feet. “It’s not hot enough to stop us yet, and Orpheus made it down here and got back to the surface, right? If he can do it, then we can do it.”

The team seemed unpersuaded by his logic, but they got to their feet and followed him down the narrow tunnel. Further on, they reached an enormous cavern littered with boulders and other broken rocks. Hawke swept his flashlight along the ground and saw a number of rectangular stone blocks.

“Obviously manmade,” he muttered.

“And what’s over there?” Lea said, shining her flashlight even further ahead. “It looks like some sort of entrance carved into the side of the cavern.”

The others moved their beams to where she was pointing and saw a portico with an angled roof covered in symbols above a walkway. Leading up to it was a series of wide stone steps but inside was nothing but a gaping black void.

Stepping carefully around the boulders and broken rocks, the team gathered at the base of the steps and Ryan and Jazmin made a brief study of the symbols carved into the portico’s roof. A few low murmurs followed, then Ryan turned to face the others. “After a quick assessment, I have worked out that these symbols are in fact warning people to stay away from hell. When I say I have worked it out, I do of course mean Dr Benedek has worked it out, and now I’ll be going back up to the surface. Loved working with you guys.”

Lea rolled her eyes and grabbed Ryan by the t-shirt as he walked away from the entrance.

“Get your ass back here, Ry.”

Kamala frowned. “Is that really what it says?”

Jazmin nodded. “A loose translation would be All Who Enter the Gates of Hell Will Perish.”

“Race you back to the surface, Ryan!” Zeke said.

Lexi raised an eyebrow. “I thought you had more balls than that, Zeke.”

He swaggered over to her. “Why think when you can know, Snuggle Muffin?”

“You do not want to go there,” Ryan said, taking a step away from both of them.

Lexi cocked her head. “Snuggle Muffin?”

Kamala laughed. “It’s better than Cookie Pops.”

“Something tells me we might be ever so slightly drifting from the task at hand.” Hawke took the first step leading up to the portico, sweeping his flashlight beam over the symbols one more time before heading up to the black void. “Shall we get on? The sooner we’re finished the sooner we can get back to the hotel room and watch TV with a cold beer.”

“I’ll need more persuading than that!” Camacho said.

In the cold, blue glow of the flashlights, Hawke was now looking over their heads across to the far side of the cavern where they had entered. His eyes widened as he took in the terrible sight of Kashala emerging into the cavern, and this time he had even more men as well as Dimitrov and a small contingent of mafia thugs.

“Holy shit,” he said. “That explains why he fell behind us — he was getting more men!”

“How many more mercs has Kashala got with him now?” Lea asked, shocked.

“At least another six, maybe more — I even see a woman.”

“A woman?” Reaper peered at the group. “Nzuji. A very dangerous mercenary.”

“Holy crap!” Ryan said. “She must be seven feet tall.”

Reaper shrugged. “Maybe not that tall, but tall.”

“But no sign of Mukendi,” Hawke said. “That makes me nervous.”

“Mukendi or not,” Camacho whistled. “We’re in deep shit, guys.”

When the first line of automatic rounds drilled into the portico and showered them with rock fragments, they all knew what they had to do.

“Looks like we have no choice!” Hawke called out, taking cover behind one of the pillars as the mercs stormed closer. “We’re caught between…”

Lea glared at him. “Don’t say it, Josiah.”

“What?”

“That we’re caught between the devil and the deep blue sea.”

“Then how would you put it?”

“Between a rock and a hard place!”

“How about between the fires of hell and a psychopathic warlord?” Ryan called over.

Scarlet fired on the men and drove them into cover. “Talk about being spoilt for choice.”

Looking over their shoulders they stared beyond the gates of hell and into the black void beyond.

“Race you!” Hawke called out.

Lea shook her head. “You’re one crazy bastard, I’ll give you that.”

And with that, the two of them led the team into hell.