Silver Tomb (The Lazarus Longman Chronicles Book 2) by P. J. Thorndyke Page B

one of his many areas of expertise. And this is Miss Katarina Mikolavna, a Russian traveler who is a friend of Longman’s.”
    “Charmed to meet you both,” said Rousseau.
    “Likewise,” said Katarina without a smile. Lazarus instantly detected the tension in the Russian. He knew Katarina far too well to hope that she might get on with the likes of Eleanor Rousseau.
    “But what on earth are you all doing down here?” Rousseau asked. “Don’t you know that this area is off limits to everybody but those Dr. Lindholm gives special permission to?”
    “As Dr. Lindholm has not even applied for a concession with the Antiquities Department,” Petrie said, “I find it a bit much that he forbids anybody else to come here. And those fellahs guarding the entrance! What is he doing here, raising his own private army?”
    “You have no idea how close you are to the truth in saying that,” she replied. “He is truly a monster. But you must go! Immediately! Your lives are in the greatest peril!”
    “Very well,” said Lazarus. “But you are coming with us.”
    “I cannot,” said Rousseau. “My work here is too important.”
    “But you just said that Lindholm is a monster,” said Lazarus.
    “Even so, he will not hurt me. He needs my knowledge, and I must remain to ensure the safe removal of Kiya and the other artifacts in this tomb.”
    “You do not understand the situation,” said Lazarus. “I am acquainted with your husband, Henry. We worked together for the Royal Archaeological Society when we were younger. We did not part on the best of terms but that is no longer relevant. I have since been employed by Her Majesty’s government as an agent. My mission is to bring you safely home.”
    “What?” he heard Katarina exclaim behind him. “You’re here for her?”
    He ignored her. “Please, Eleanor, see that you must come with me. We’ll let the Russians deal with Lindholm. Katarina here is under the Tsar’s orders. Once he is gone I am sure you can return here and continue your work, free from all this danger and secrecy.”
    “You are sweet, Mr. Longman,” Eleanor replied. “But I fear that it is you who does not understand the situation.”
    She did not say any more, for they could all hear the shuffling, stomping sound they had heard before, rustling, scraping and hissing as it came closer and closer.
    “For God’s sake, go, all of you!” said Eleanor. “Don’t let it trap you in here!”
    “What is it?” Lazarus asked her.
    “One of Lindholm’s creations.”
    “I won’t leave you here with it.”
    “It won’t harm me, but it will tear you three apart!”
    “Even if we flee now, I’ll still come back for you, Eleanor. That’s my mission and by God, I’m going to fulfill it.”
    “You mustn’t come back! Lindholm occasionally lets me come into Cairo to organize supplies and deliver paperwork. I can meet you if you like and we can discuss things further. Where are you staying?”
    “Longman, we need to get moving!” warned Katarina, her revolver pointed at the darkness from which the sounds were coming.
    “Shepheard’s Hotel. Look, I really don’t…”
    “Now, Longman!”
    “I think we’d better go,” agreed Petrie.
    “Cairo, then,” said Lazarus to Eleanor by way of parting, and they headed out into the corridor.
    Katarina’s gun spoke out twice, filling the hallways with a deafening sound and lighting them up with brief orange flares. In those short bursts of light, they finally saw the thing that was advancing on them.
    It was tall—taller than a man, but clearly not a man. It had parts of a man, and from the yellowed bandages and brown, shriveled flesh, Lazarus knew exactly where Lindholm had got those parts. One leg was a bandaged spindly thing, but the other was a mass of gears and pistons that elicited the occasional jet of hot steam. Its arms were mechanical too, ending in viciously serrated pincers like those of a giant crab, and powered by pistons that looked