Di Salvo began the translation. “You sure it’s from here?” Chase asked quietly.
“It has to be. They know what it is.”
The elder spoke again, di Salvo listening intently before translating. “He says it was stolen by white men in the time of his great-grandfather. They punished some of the white men, but the others escaped.”
“The Nazi expedition,” said Kari. “It must be.”
Chase grimaced. “Sharp stick up the arse—now that’s punishment.”
Di Salvo looked confused. “Now he’s asking about… I don’t understand it. He wants to know if Ms. Frost is one of … the old ones?”
Kari and Nina exchanged glances. “Ask him what he means,” said Nina.
“The old ones who built the temple,” di Salvo translated. “He says they had hair like … white gold.”
“Tell them that’s why we came here,” Kari said, authority returning to her voice. “To find out.”
“You sure that’s a good idea?” Chase muttered. “If they think you’re lying, you’ll be the first one on the pole!”
The elder spoke again, his two companions joining in with additional declarations. Di Salvo struggled to keep up. “They’re saying that the artifact—they call it the ‘pointing finger’—must be returned to its home in the temple. They want you to do it, Ms. Frost.”
“Me?” Kari chewed her lip.
“He says that putting it back will prove if you’re really one of the old ones—no, a child of the old ones.”
“And what happens if she’s not?” Nina asked.
Chase made an aggrieved noise, tipping his head to indicate the sharp weapons still aimed at them. “Come on, Doc. Keep up.”
“Oh…”
Di Salvo continued. “They want you to go into the temple and face … three challenges. The Challenge of Strength, the Challenge of Skill and the Challenge of … of Mind, I think.”
Nina gave him a frozen grin. “Again! Thinking not the same as knowing!”
“If you beat the challenges, you will have proved yourself worthy to enter the temple. If you lose …” Di Salvo pursed his lips. “What Eddie just said. For all of us.”
Chase winced. “Anyone else just pucker?”
Kari took a deep breath. “Tell them I accept the challenge.”
“You do what?” Nina yelped.
“Really?” asked di Salvo, shocked.
“Yes. But tell them that I want my friends to come with me.” She indicated Chase and Nina.
“Oh, bollocks,” said Chase as di Salvo relayed her request.
“Are you insane?” Nina hissed.
“You’ll be safer in there than out here,” Kari said. “At least we have a chance inside the temple. And I can’t read their language—I suspect I’m going to need someone who can, and I don’t think Professor Philby is quite up to the challenges.”
For a moment, offense almost overcame fear on Philby’s face. “Well actually, I think that—”
The elder interrupted him, one of the hunters giving him a warning jab in the back. Di Salvo continued to translate. “He says yes,” he said, surprised. “The challenges are for two people. Because you’re a woman, he’ll let you have more help.”
Kari nodded. “Hmm. I never thought I’d say this, but thank God for sexism.”
“You have until nightfall. If you haven’t returned by then, the others will be …” di Salvo paled, “put to death. And so will you, if you emerge.”
Castille looked up at the sky. “Sunset is only an hour away. Maybe even less.”
“In that case,” said Kari, giving the elder an imperious look, “we’d better get started, hadn’t we? Tell him to cut us free so we can go. And ask him what we can take with us.” She looked over at the team’s packs, which had been dumped in a pile nearby.
“Explosives, ropes, a crowbar or two …” Chase suggested quietly.
The hunters untied their wrists. “He says all you can take in with you are your clothes, and torches,” di Salvo told them. “That’s all you’ll need if you’re worthy of the challenge.”
“I think this is a bad idea,” Nina told Kari, rubbing her stiff arms.
“Then help me make the best of it,” Kari replied.
“How are you staying so damn calm?”
“I’m not. I’m absolutely terrified. But I’m not going to show it in front of these people. And nor should you.” Kari took Nina by the shoulders. “I know you can do this, Nina. Trust me.”
Despite her growing fear, Nina felt oddly buoyed by Kari’s faith. “Okay, I do. But if we get killed—”
“We won’t.”
Nina let out a nervous laugh. “Promise?”
Kari nodded. “Promise.”
“Sunset’s in fifty-eight minutes,” said Chase, checking his watch. “So if you’re done with all the female bonding chick flick stuff, you need to be thinking more Tomb Raider-y.” One of the tribesmen emerged from a hut, carrying several long sticks with their ends dipped in what looked like tar. “Torches, eh? I think we can do better than that.” Raising both hands, Chase looked questioningly at the rucksacks, very slowly sidling towards them. All around him, bowstrings creaked as the hunters took aim. “Okay, just me being harmless, see, big friendly smile …”
Sweating, and not just from the heat, he reached the rucksacks. Acutely aware that one wrong move would bring about a rapid and extremely painful death, he gently slid an LED torch out of his pack. “See? Not a gun. Just a torch. Which is in your rules, right? Agnaldo, remind ’em that it’s in their rules?” He switched on the torch and shone it first at himself to show what it did, then at the hunters around him. Some of them jumped back in surprise, blinking at the bright light—but to his intense relief, none of them released their arrows. One of the men stepped forward and waved his hand back and forth over the lens, amazed that it gave off no heat. He said something to the elders, who considered it before giving di Salvo a reply.
“They’ll let you use it,” di Salvo told Chase.
“Good. Now, about those explosives …”
“We’re running out of time,” Kari said. She strode forward to the elders and held out one hand. Slightly taken aback, he placed the metal bar in her palm. “Okay. Nina, Mr. Chase, let’s go.”
“See you soon,” said Castille as the trio was guided to the entrance. “Please?”
The dark passageway was under six feet high. Nina and Chase could fit in it easily, but the top of Kari’s head barely cleared the ceiling, forcing her to duck under clumps of overhanging moss and creepers. The temperature and humidity dropped rapidly as they progressed.
Nina saw something on one wall as Chase swept his flashlight back and forth. “Eddie, hold it. Give me some light here.”
The beam revealed a long line of symbols carved into the stone. Familiar symbols.
“It’s the same language as on the artifact,” Nina confirmed. “It reads like … I think it’s an account of the building of the temple.” She leaned closer. Among the Glozel and Olmec characters was something new: groups of lines and chevrons. “I think they’re numbers. Could be dates, or maybe—”
“Nina, I’m sorry, but we don’t have time,” Kari reminded her. “They’ll have to wait until we get back.” Disappointed, Nina followed her and Chase down the passage.
About thirty feet in, they reached a left turn. Chase flicked the flashlight beam suspiciously around the walls and ceiling.
“Mr. Chase, what’s wrong?” Kari asked.
“I don’t know about you, but I’m getting a bad vibe from this whole ‘three challenges’ thing,” he said. “I just want to check that we’re not going to walk into any traps.”
“Eddie,” Nina sighed, “I already told you that even if there were any, they would have stopped working centuries ago.”
“Yeah?” Chase directed the beam back towards the entrance. “What if our feathered friends out there’ve been fixing them? Wouldn’t be much of a challenge otherwise, would it?”
“Oh.” Nina’s stomach clenched with the realization that he could well be right. “Then … let’s be careful.”
The passage seemed safe, so they set off again. Another turn soon presented itself.
“Challenge of Strength, you reckon?” Chase asked as they paused at the entrance to a small chamber.
It was only slightly wider than the passageway, about eight feet to a side. Against the right wall was a rectangular stone block running across the chamber at roughly knee height, like a bench. At its foot was another passage, little more than four feet wide. Above the head of the bench, disappearing through a slot in the wall, was a thick branch bound tightly in vines, a smaller branch attached to its end to form a T shape. Apart from that, the chamber was empty.
Chase held up a hand for the two women to stay back as he cautiously advanced. He shone the light down the narrow passage.
“What do you see?” Kari asked.
“Little obstacle course. The passage’s about twenty feet long, but there’s poles coming down from the ceiling, so you have to twist between ’em.” He made a face. “Poles with spikes on. Guess they’re not for dancing.”
“What about the wooden thing?” Nina asked, indicating the bench.
“That? There’s stuff like that at my gym!” Chase nodded for them to come in, then straddled the bench, lying on his back under the bar. “I guess you lift it as if you’re doing a bench press, and if you’re strong enough, it opens an exit.” He realized there was an indentation in the ceiling directly above matching the size and shape of the bench, but couldn’t see any reason for it.
Kari took the flashlight, aiming it down the confined passage. It seemed to be a dead end—but there was something on the far wall, a square hole. “Or one person has to hold the weight up while the other goes down there and triggers the release. The elder said two people were needed to perform the challenges.”
“So why not just go down to the other end before anyone lifts the weight?” Nina suggested.
“’Cause that’d be way too easy.” Chase reached up and experimentally raised the bar. It moved easily for a couple of inches before encountering resistance. “So what do we do? Do I lift this and see what happens, or…”
Kari peered down the passage again. “We have to go down here anyway, so it might be a good idea to get to the other end first… What do you think, Nina?”
“Me?” Nina nervously regarded the two-inch barbs protruding from the maze of metal poles. There was enough room between them for even Chase to fit, but they would all find it tricky to avoid the spikes. She looked up, to see that each pole disappeared into a hole in the ceiling about five inches across. Oddly, the holes in the floor fitted them far more precisely. “I have absolutely no idea.”
“Fifty-three minutes, Doc,” said Chase, holding up his watch arm.
Hating being put on the spot, Nina looked to the end of the passage. The recess in the wall was big enough to reach inside; maybe it contained a lever to open a door. “Okay, well then … we’ll go to the other end. Once we get there, you lift the bar and we’ll see what happens.”
“Right. And Nina?”
“Yes?”
“Don’t get scratched. You neither, boss. Tetanus shots are a right pain.”
“We’ll try,” said Nina, almost smiling.
Kari went first, turning sideways and effortlessly slinking between the poles. Nina followed her more awkwardly. Without exchanging words, they fell into a routine: Kari lit the way and advanced a few steps, then switched the light to her other hand so that Nina could see as she followed.
“Keep talking,” Chase said. “Let me know how far you’ve got.”
“There’s about four meters to go,” Kari called out as she stepped forward. “I still don’t see an exit, but I think the recess—”
Clunk.
Something shifted under her foot.
“What was that?” Nina gulped. Dust trickled down through the gaps between the blocks. “Oh crap.”
“Move!” Kari shouted, grabbing Nina’s wrist and pulling her down the passage between the spiked poles as the entire ceiling started to descend with a horrific grinding sound, the individual blocks lowering in unison.
Even in the dim light, Chase saw the ceiling drop towards him too—as a door slammed shut, sealing the entrance. Now he realized the purpose of the indentation above the stone bench—it allowed the entire ceiling to descend all the way to the floor, leaving nowhere for anybody to hide—
No way to escape being crushed!
FOURTEEN
Oh my God!” Nina screamed as Kari pulled her between the poles.
A protruding barb slashed through Nina’s sleeve. She cried out, instinctively pulling away from the source of pain—and slamming into another one, driving a spike into her left shoulder.
Behind them, Chase desperately pushed up the bar, not knowing what else he could do. It was heavy, but not so heavy that he couldn’t support it, like bench-pressing two hundred pounds.
The ceiling slowed, but didn’t stop.
“I’m holding it!” he yelled. “Keep moving!”
Nina squealed in agony as Kari’s attempt to pull her onwards twisted the spike inside her flesh. Kari immediately let go and tried to turn back to help her—but the lowered ceiling forced her into a semicrouch, making it harder to maneuver.
“Keep going!” Nina shouted, pointing at the end of the passage. Tears streamed down her face.
“I’m not leaving you!” Kari grabbed her hand. “Come on! You can do it!”
Holding in an anguished wail, Nina pulled free. Blood spurted down her shirt. “Oh God!”
“Come on!” Kari guided her through the poles. They were halfway down the passage, ten feet to go—but there were still more of the spiked obstacles to negotiate.
The ceiling kept descending, dust and grit cascading from the blocks. It was now almost at Nina’s head height, Kari hunched over ahead of her.
Chase held up the bar, his arms extended to their limits. At least he could support the weight almost in definitely …
Another clunk, the sound of something large and heavy moving behind the slot in the wall. A mechanism—
Bang!
The pressure on Chase’s arms suddenly increased.
“Jesus!” he gasped, caught by surprise. An extra fifty pounds, at least, had been dropped onto the weight he was already supporting. His elbows bent… and the ceiling began to move faster.
“Shit!” Muscles straining, he forced his arms straight again.
The descending stones slowed—slightly. The passage was only five feet high now, and still shrinking.
“Keep going!” Kari cried. Only eight feet to go, seven, but each step she took became smaller as she fought to keep her balance in her unnatural position.
Chase heard the mechanism rattle again. Teeth clenched, he gasped, “Watch out!” just as—bang!—another weight fell, even heavier than the last. He roared as he forced his arms to stay locked under the extra strain. He was now supporting well over three hundred pounds, and the impact alone when the new weight dropped had almost slammed the bar out of his grip.
One more like that, and the challenge would be over.
The ceiling jolted sharply downwards before slowing again. It hit Kari, making her stumble and fall against one of the poles. A jagged barb stabbed deep into her left bicep. She choked back a scream, trying to pull herself free of the spike, but the ceiling pressed relentlessly down on to her, driving the barb deeper into her arm.
“Nina!” she groaned through the pain. “I’m stuck! You’ll have to get to the end!”
Nina looked down the passage. Only six feet to go—but Kari was blocking the easiest route between the poles. “I can’t make it!”
“Yes you can! You have to! Nina, go!” Kari released her hand.
Sweat streaming down his face, Chase heard the mechanism again. Another weight was about to drop. “I can’t hold it!”
Nina moved. r />
Bent over, head scraping along the shuddering ceiling, she squashed herself as hard as she could against one wall and squeezed through the first gap. A barb ripped her shirt, but she was through.
Four feet.
Chase braced himself for the impact of the next stone, knowing he wouldn’t be able to hold it.
Nina twisted between the next two poles, but the ceiling was now too low for her to walk upright. She dropped to a crawl, another spike slicing one thigh.
The cold stone blocks pressed against Kari’s face and shoulders, forcing the spike deeper into her arm.
Two feet—
Clunk!
“Shit …” grunted Chase, every muscle tensing.
Nina saw the dark hole set in the far wall start to disappear behind the last ceiling block.
The pain in her arm became unbearable. Kari screamed.
As did Chase, his straining arms finally giving way under the pounding sledgehammer impact of the final weight.
The ceiling shot downwards.
Nina lunged for the hole as the last block dropped like a guillotine blade.
Her hand closed around something: a wooden handle. She pulled it.
Nothing happened—
Thunk.
With an echoing crunch of stone, the ceiling stopped.
Chase opened his eyes. In the distant light, he saw that the wooden bar was now resting an inch above his neck—and barely the length of a finger above that was the cold stone that had been about to crush him.
Kari held perfectly still. Any movement just made the pain in her arm worse. She tried to see what had happened to Nina.
Nina’s right arm was inside the hole in the wall. Trapped inside. The ceiling had dropped so low that she couldn’t pull it back out. Another inch, and it would have first crushed the bone, then sheared off her arm above the elbow.
With another monstrous grinding of stone and a flurry of dust, the ceiling started to ascend.
Chase glanced to his side. The door blocking the entrance opened again.