‘They’re sending the chopper ahead to block us,’ he realised. ‘If it can pin us down from the front, the others can pick us off from behind.’
‘Mr Chase, Dr Wilde!’ called Amaanat. ‘If we give them the Crucible, they may leave us in peace.’
‘They won’t.’
‘You have such little faith in others?’
Nina gave the abbot a world-weary look. ‘If they catch us, we’ll all be reincarnated pretty damn soon!’
The helicopter pulled into a hover two hundred metres from the mountainside. The larger Crucible swung beneath it. The winch operator supported himself against the door frame and leaned out—
‘Gun!’ yelled Jayesh.
Eddie had seen it too. The mercenary was armed only with a handgun rather than a rifle, but was still within range. ‘Everyone down!’
The winch operator fired, twice, three times. He was concentrating his fire on the greatest threats, the two armed men – but hit nothing except stone. One round cracked off the cliff wall between the crouching Eddie and Jayesh, but the other bullets impacted below the ledge.
‘He missed!’ Nina cried.
Eddie was less jubilant. The shooter hadn’t been that far off target, even firing one-handed through the turbulent downwash of an unsteadily hovering helicopter. The merc reached the same conclusion, shouting an order to the pilot. The aircraft tipped sideways, lazily moving closer.
Jayesh lifted his gun. ‘Wait!’ said Eddie. The Nepali arrested the movement. ‘Let him get nearer.’
‘Are you crazy?’ Nina said.
‘We’ve only got one shot each. We need to be sure of hitting him.’
‘He’ll hit us soon,’ snapped the Gurkha. But his rifle remained still.
Eddie watched the helicopter intently. The AW169 was well within his Kalashnikov’s range; the question was, could he be absolutely certain of hitting his target? Given even one more round he would already have fired, using the first as a sighter for the second, but right now he couldn’t afford to miss . . .
The mercenary shifted, muscles tensing. About to fire . . .
Jayesh snapped up his own rifle. His last bullet cracked across the gap—
And missed. Only by a couple of centimetres, shock flashing across the merc’s face as it struck the cabin roof above him, but it may as well have been by a mile. Jayesh hurled the useless gun into the void in frustrated defiance.
The helicopter kept closing. The mercenary recovered, lining up his pistol—
Now Eddie fired.
His shot was on target.
The final Kalashnikov round hit the mercenary squarely in the centre of his face, splintering as it tore through bone and brain before bursting from the back of his skull. The dead man flopped grotesquely out of the open door and plunged into the valley below.
Jayesh gave Eddie an approving nod as the helicopter made a hurried retreat. ‘Good shot.’
‘Not that good. I was aiming for the pilot!’ The Yorkshireman grinned to make it clear he was joking, then threw away the empty rifle. ‘Okay, we’re clear! Come on!’
Jayesh led the group along the line of planks. He soon reached the bridge, making short work of the treacherous crossing. Eddie took hold of one of its support posts and leaned out from the ledge so the others could pass. ‘Everyone across, quick!’
Nina gave him a worried look, but started across the gap, still cradling the small Crucible in one arm as she held the guide rope with the other. The monks lined up ready to follow. Eddie glanced across the valley. The helicopter was returning, the pilot realising that the fugitives were now unarmed. His wife reached the far side. ‘Okay, your turn!’ he told the first monk in the queue. The man tentatively made his way on to the crossing.
Axelos, leading the remaining mercenaries towards the ladder, signalled them to stop as his radio crackled. ‘They’re going over a bridge,’ the pilot told him. ‘They can only cross one at a time, though.’
‘Can you stop them from getting across?’
‘How?’ came the incredulous reply. ‘I’m in a helicopter!’
The Greek scowled. ‘Yes, you’re in a helicopter. So use it!’
One by one, the monks reached the far side, continuing along the platforms past the waiting Jayesh and Nina. Amaanat clearly wanted to be the last across, but a younger man insisted that the abbot go before him. Reluctantly, he did so.
The last monk started to cross the moment Amaanat was clear. He had only taken a few steps when a harsh gust rocked the unstable crossing, forcing him to stop and crouch to regain his balance.
But the wind only grew stronger – and the helicopter’s roar became louder. ‘Christ, he’s trying to blow us off the bloody ledge!’ Eddie cried as the AW169 dropped towards them, hot downwash forcing him to squint into the blowing ice and grit.
The monk froze again as the bridge lurched violently. The aircraft kept descending. Eddie grabbed the rock face for support, knowing from painful experience how hard it was to hold on against the force of a helicopter’s rotor blast. ‘Keep hold of the rope!’ he yelled. The monk clawed at the line, but the wind was now pummelling him so hard that his feet slipped off the icy wood. ‘No!’ Eddie cried, seeing his hold on the rope weakening. ‘Keep hold, keep—’
Terror filled the man’s eyes – then the rope was left flapping in the gale as he plummeted into the chasm below.
But the Englishman had no time to feel rage over his death. The helicopter drew closer, angling as if to slice him up with the tips of its rotor blades—
Jayesh snatched out his kukri and hurled it at the aircraft.
It slammed against the cockpit window beside the pilot, the long blade punching straight through the thin Perspex before the broader wooden hilt jolted it to a halt. The man yelped in fear, any thoughts of attack instantly vanishing as he stared at the machete’s needle-sharp tip less than three inches from his face. He twisted the throttle to full power and yanked up the collective control lever, hauling the chopper back towards the safety of the sky.
Eddie straightened. ‘Okay, now that was a good shot,’ he called across the gap.
Jayesh blew out an aggrieved breath. ‘That was my favourite kukri. Doubt I’ll get it back!’
‘I’ll buy you a bloody gold-plated one.’
‘Might hold you to that.’
‘Just don’t tell Nina.’
‘Standin’ right here,’ said his wife. ‘Come on, quick, get across before—’
She broke off in alarm. The helicopter was still retreating, but its sudden change of direction had again set the large Crucible swinging pendulously beneath it, the hanging crystal rushing towards the mountainside like a wrecking ball. ‘Oh shit!’
Jayesh pushed her ahead of him along the platforms after the monks. Cautious steps were no longer an option – they both vaulted on to the next plank as the Crucible whooshed at them.
It reached the end of its arc, slowing almost to a stop and glancing off the rock wall with a sound like the ringing of a glass gong before falling away again. Nina watched it go. ‘Damn, that was close!’
‘Chase, hurry up!’ Jayesh shouted.
‘And here I was about to have a picnic and enjoy the view!’ was Eddie’s sarcastic reply. He started across the bridge, moving as quickly as he dared – then looked up in cold shock as the giant geode swung back towards him. The pilot had overcome his panic, realising he had a new weapon.
And using it.
The Crucible rushed at the bridge—
Eddie threw himself back on to the ledge as the massive crystal hit the crossing. Planks smashed and ropes broke like thread as it swept into the deep cleft in the rock, then arced back the way it had come.
Eddie stood to find himself facing a fifteen-foot gap over a very long fall. The only part of the bridge
that had survived intact was the guide rope, still attached to the posts at each side of the chasm. ‘Oh, that’s just bloody brilliant!’
The helicopter pulled back out into the valley, its pilot satisfied with the destruction he had caused. Jayesh came back and yanked at the hanging rope. ‘This should hold! Climb across!’
‘There isn’t time!’ Eddie had already made his own assessment. Even though it had survived the assault, the supporting post on his side had been partially uprooted. He would have to make a slow and careful traversal, and with Axelos and the remaining mercenaries probably already descending the ladder, it wouldn’t be long before they could shoot at him.
He backed up along the ledge. ‘What are you doing?’ cried Nina.
‘I’ll have to jump it! Jayesh, get ready to catch me.’
‘Are you crazy?’
‘Probably!’
Nina and Jayesh retreated to make room for Eddie’s landing as he psyched himself up for the leap. The gap was only about half the length of the world long-jump record, so in theory he could make it, but he didn’t have much of a run-up – and athletes who fell short had soft sand to land in rather than empty air. ‘You ready?’ he called. The Gurkha nodded. ‘Okay, here I come!’
He burst into a run. It took only a moment to reach the end of the ledge. He leapt—
Wind shrilled in his ears as he flew across the gap – and realised he wasn’t going to make it.
He flung out his arms—
The wind was knocked from him as he hit the end of the planks at waist height. Jayesh grabbed his wrists as he fell backwards. The Nepali strained to hold him, feet slithering on the frozen wood. ‘Chase!’ he gasped. ‘I’m slipping!’
Eddie swung his legs, toecaps barking against the cliff. One caught a jagged protrusion – it was barely half an inch deep, but just enough to give him purchase. Jayesh shifted position, securing his own footing, and pulled the Englishman up; slowly at first, then faster as Nina grabbed him from behind to add her own strength.
The plank bent under their weight, the poles and ropes securing it to the cliff face creaking in protest. Eddie managed to bring one knee on to the platform, then levered himself all the way up. ‘I’m okay,’ he wheezed. ‘Get back before this fucking thing breaks!’
Nina hopped to the next platform, where she had put down the wrapped Crucible. ‘You sure you’re all right?’
Jayesh helped him stand. He grimaced as he straightened. ‘Feels like someone whacked me across the stomach with a fucking golf club, but yeah.’
‘I guess the dam’s broken on your not swearing, then.’
‘Well, after three fucking years I’ve saved up a whole bastard load of shit-cock bollocking arse-wank shitehawk buggeration and fuckery fuckington fuckety-FUCK! Twatnoodles.’
‘Feel better now?’
‘Yep. Come on, get moving. They’ll be here soon.’ He looked up at the helicopter, which had pulled away to keep watch from a distance.
‘They can’t get across the bridge, though.’
Eddie turned back to the cleft. The post supporting the guide rope on this side was still solidly mounted in the rock. ‘They can still use this. Jayesh, don’t suppose you’ve got anything we can cut it with?’
The Gurkha glanced towards the chopper, where his kukri was still jammed in the window. ‘Used to.’
‘Arse chives. We’ll just have to hope it slows ’em down long enough for us to get back to the monastery.’ He recovered his breath, then followed Nina and Jayesh down the line of platforms after the monks.
Axelos’s radio squawked. ‘Come in, come in,’ said Collins.
The Greek and his men had just descended the ladder. He halted, the mercenaries following suit. ‘Did you stop them?’
‘No – and they, ah, took out the bridge.’
The American’s hesitancy made Axelos suspect that he was not telling the whole truth, but there were more important concerns. ‘Will we still be able to follow them?’
‘There’s a rope across the gap, so maybe. I wouldn’t want to risk it myself, though.’
‘That’s very helpful,’ said Axelos, annoyed. ‘Do they still have the other Crucible?’
‘Yeah. The woman’s carrying it.’
‘Then keep tracking them. We’ll try to catch up.’
He waved the other men on. Before long, they arrived at a rocky ledge before a deep cleft in the mountainside and he saw what the pilot had meant. The two halves of what had been a rope bridge hung limply down into the gap. All that remained intact was a single line spanning the void, and the post holding it at this end was damaged. He peered at its counterpart on the far side. It looked intact. ‘Keep hold of this,’ he told the Nepalis, indicating the crooked support. ‘I’m going to climb across. If I make it, follow me.’
‘What if you fall?’ asked one of the twins. He did not seem concerned by the prospect.
‘Then you can go back and keep all the gold in the cave for yourself. If you can dig it out. And if you can get down from this mountain once you have it. And if the monks don’t warn the government what happened here.’ He gave the Nepali a stern look. ‘So it’s best for everyone that we stay together and get the other Crucible before they do.’
The brothers exchanged glances, then moved to secure the pole. Axelos started his crossing.
15
The end of the long run of platforms was in sight, to Eddie’s great relief. The first monks had almost reached the ledge with the little hollow containing wood and ropes. After that, there was only the last stretch of the plank walkway before the monastery.
He looked back. No sign of their pursuers, but he doubted the bridge’s destruction would slow them much. The helicopter was still a constant presence, flying languid circles over the valley. If the mercenaries had been unable to cross the chasm, he was sure it would have been summoned to collect Axelos—
‘Speak of the devil,’ he growled as a figure came into view around the mountain’s edge. ‘We need to go faster!’
Amaanat reached the ledge. ‘They are still a long way behind us.’
‘Yeah, but a bullet’ll catch up pretty quick,’ Nina pointed out as she stepped gratefully on to solid ground behind him.
Jayesh and finally Eddie arrived on the ledge. ‘Get around this corner,’ the Englishman said, ushering everyone onwards into cover. ‘They’ll have a clear shot at us while we’re on that last lot of planks to the tower, though.’
‘You’re right,’ said Nina, remembering how the route followed the great curving wall of the natural amphitheatre. ‘What do we do?’
Eddie spotted the repair supplies. ‘We’ll move a lot faster on the ground. Get the ropes – we’ll climb down the cliff and run up the hill to the monastery.’
Amaanat called back the other monks as he reached the little nook. ‘I do not know if the ropes will be long enough.’
‘There isn’t anything to fasten them to either,’ said Nina.
‘We’ll tie them together, then wedge those planks inside the cave and fix the rope to ’em,’ Eddie told them. ‘And if it doesn’t reach the ground, we’ll jump the last bit. Snow looks pretty thick down there.’
Nina peered over the edge. ‘You do know that falling off a real cliff into real snow won’t be like in Frozen, right?’
‘Aw, let it go.’ He grinned, then started to haul out the hollow’s contents.
With everyone working together, it took only a short time to knot the ropes and secure them to the planks. Eddie examined the piecemeal line. ‘How long is it?’
‘About twenty metres,’ Jayesh replied.
The Yorkshireman made a concerned sound. ‘That’s never a good noise,’ said Nina as he went back to the drop. ‘How high’s this cliff?’
‘More than that.’ Twenty metres was about
sixty-five feet; he estimated the ground to be over eighty feet below. ‘I’ll check it’s survivable.’
‘How?’
‘By seeing if I survive!’
‘Not funny.’
‘I wouldn’t go down there if I didn’t think it was doable. Here, give me that.’ He took the Crucible from her and unwrapped its top, fastening the end of the rope in a loose knot around its wire handle. Then he held the line over the edge and quickly lowered it. Once the rope had reached its full length, he took a firmer hold of it. ‘We’ll make it,’ he assured Nina. ‘We’ve got to.’
‘I hope you’re right,’ she said nervously.
‘See you at the bottom.’
Without a harness or the time to wrap the rope around his body to abseil, he was forced to descend in the crudest possible way, relying on raw muscle to take his weight as he walked himself downwards. Ten feet, twenty, without difficulty, the knots acting as handholds. Thirty feet, half the rope’s length. He looked down, and got his first clear view of the gap between the end of the line and the snow beneath it. It was more than twenty feet – and the drift itself was probably a few feet deep. Even if he hung from the very end of the rope, he would still have to fall about sixteen feet. The snow would cushion the landing to some degree, but if there were any rocks buried beneath it, the impact could be fatal.
No choice now. He kept descending, muscles starting to ache. Fifty feet, sixty, and he was at the end of the rope. The Crucible hung below him. He awkwardly reached down and tugged at the knot. It popped loose with only a little effort. Snagging the handle with his fingers, he swung the sphere outwards before releasing it. It landed in a snowdrift with a soft whumph.
It had survived; would he? Eddie looked up, seeing faces peering over the ledge. He managed a brief wave to Nina, then lowered himself to grip the rope’s frayed end. The snow along the cliff’s base undulated ominously, suggesting fallen rocks beneath the pristine surface. He would have to jump clear to land farther out, and hope no boulders had rolled down the slope.
He leaned back, bending his legs . . . and threw himself outwards.