side effects are pretty bad. What's happening in the valley?”
“We’ve been double-crossed. Vreely showed his colors all right. Heard shots when I was walking to the door, so I double-timed it out to the steps and found Rojar in a helluva fight with three guards. Next thing I know, they're all shooting at me, so I returned fire and ducked inside.”
Not good, not surprising. I should have taken more precautions. Mike shifted to create a more comfortable position for Shalira, whose tremors were decreasing. “What happened to Rojar?”
“Don't know. Last I saw, he was surrounded by guards, yelling for us to get out of the tomb before it was too late.” Johnny was keyed up, eyes wide, movements jerky.
“Any other way in or out of here, Saium?” Mike asked.
The guardsman shook his head.
Mike gathered Shalira in his arms and carefully stood. “Here, take the princess. Johnny and I are going to the door to check things out. You stay put, understand?”
Accepting the princess’s limp form while she began to murmur indistinguishable words, perhaps beginning to revive, Saium said, “As soon as she wakes, we’ll search for the insignia.”
“Good plan.” Activating his own enhanced night vision with a mental command to the implant, Mike drew his gun. Left a guy with a hell of a headache if he used the vision for very long, but sure came in handy.
The two men worked their way up the corridor cautiously, in case any of Vreely's men had ventured inside, but the tomb remained empty. Evidently, their enemy was willing to let time do its work and seal them in with no further effort required from him or his men. Experimentally, Mike threw a rock across the opening and out the tomb door. He was rewarded with a fusillade of the local bullets. Ricocheting inside the vestibule alarmingly, the gunfire forced the two Sectors Special Forces operators to duck into the protective cover of the tunnel.
“Bastard must have all his guns trained on this entrance,” Mike said.
“Yeah. Be suicide to try to rush them. How much time left?” Johnny was breathing hard.
Mike glanced at the readout of his chrono. “Two hours. We've got no reason to think the spell won't work, either. So far, all of Shalira's other predictions about this place have been right on the mark.” He pounded his fist against the wall. “I thought Vreely might try something after the temple, but when he didn’t, I figured we were home safe.”
“You’ve been kinda distracted by Her Highness.” Johnny’s remark wasn’t accusatory, just factual. He was making a quick search of the small vestibule. “Nothing we can use in here.”
“And no cover anywhere close to the mouth of the tomb, either.” Mike considered their options, which took a depressingly short amount of time. “You stay here in case Vreely gets tired of waiting and decides to rush us. I'm going to the crypt to let Saium know the situation, see if there's anything in the burial chamber we can use.”
“Maybe the princess could whip us up some magic,” Johnny said without much humor, settling into a defensive stance with a view out the tomb door.
“I'll be sure to ask her.” Mike clapped Johnny on the shoulder and ducked into the long tunnel.
“Yeah, you do that,” his cousin called after him.
Mike traced his steps back to the burial chamber as fast as he dared, given the sloping, slippery tunnel. Wouldn't do anyone any good for me to break a leg. Nothing presented itself as a feasible course of action. No use wishing for all the modern gear stashed in our saddle bags. Might as well hope for the battleship Andromeda to come and hover with all guns blazing.
As Mike slid into the chamber, Shalira was getting to her feet, leaning heavily on Saium's arm. They both regarded him with hopeful expressions but he had to shake his head.
“Vreely's got us nailed down. If we take one step outside, we're going to be blown away.”
Releasing her grip on the guardsman’s arm, Shalira
“We’ve been double-crossed. Vreely showed his colors all right. Heard shots when I was walking to the door, so I double-timed it out to the steps and found Rojar in a helluva fight with three guards. Next thing I know, they're all shooting at me, so I returned fire and ducked inside.”
Not good, not surprising. I should have taken more precautions. Mike shifted to create a more comfortable position for Shalira, whose tremors were decreasing. “What happened to Rojar?”
“Don't know. Last I saw, he was surrounded by guards, yelling for us to get out of the tomb before it was too late.” Johnny was keyed up, eyes wide, movements jerky.
“Any other way in or out of here, Saium?” Mike asked.
The guardsman shook his head.
Mike gathered Shalira in his arms and carefully stood. “Here, take the princess. Johnny and I are going to the door to check things out. You stay put, understand?”
Accepting the princess’s limp form while she began to murmur indistinguishable words, perhaps beginning to revive, Saium said, “As soon as she wakes, we’ll search for the insignia.”
“Good plan.” Activating his own enhanced night vision with a mental command to the implant, Mike drew his gun. Left a guy with a hell of a headache if he used the vision for very long, but sure came in handy.
The two men worked their way up the corridor cautiously, in case any of Vreely's men had ventured inside, but the tomb remained empty. Evidently, their enemy was willing to let time do its work and seal them in with no further effort required from him or his men. Experimentally, Mike threw a rock across the opening and out the tomb door. He was rewarded with a fusillade of the local bullets. Ricocheting inside the vestibule alarmingly, the gunfire forced the two Sectors Special Forces operators to duck into the protective cover of the tunnel.
“Bastard must have all his guns trained on this entrance,” Mike said.
“Yeah. Be suicide to try to rush them. How much time left?” Johnny was breathing hard.
Mike glanced at the readout of his chrono. “Two hours. We've got no reason to think the spell won't work, either. So far, all of Shalira's other predictions about this place have been right on the mark.” He pounded his fist against the wall. “I thought Vreely might try something after the temple, but when he didn’t, I figured we were home safe.”
“You’ve been kinda distracted by Her Highness.” Johnny’s remark wasn’t accusatory, just factual. He was making a quick search of the small vestibule. “Nothing we can use in here.”
“And no cover anywhere close to the mouth of the tomb, either.” Mike considered their options, which took a depressingly short amount of time. “You stay here in case Vreely gets tired of waiting and decides to rush us. I'm going to the crypt to let Saium know the situation, see if there's anything in the burial chamber we can use.”
“Maybe the princess could whip us up some magic,” Johnny said without much humor, settling into a defensive stance with a view out the tomb door.
“I'll be sure to ask her.” Mike clapped Johnny on the shoulder and ducked into the long tunnel.
“Yeah, you do that,” his cousin called after him.
Mike traced his steps back to the burial chamber as fast as he dared, given the sloping, slippery tunnel. Wouldn't do anyone any good for me to break a leg. Nothing presented itself as a feasible course of action. No use wishing for all the modern gear stashed in our saddle bags. Might as well hope for the battleship Andromeda to come and hover with all guns blazing.
As Mike slid into the chamber, Shalira was getting to her feet, leaning heavily on Saium's arm. They both regarded him with hopeful expressions but he had to shake his head.
“Vreely's got us nailed down. If we take one step outside, we're going to be blown away.”
Releasing her grip on the guardsman’s arm, Shalira
Similar Books
