The Babel Codex by Alex Archer Page B

opened it and took
out a large duffel bag. He also took out a staff for walking. “I thought it was
entirely possible that you found some bauble from Babel.”
    “I will.”
    “And I thought that if you did, that could be a dangerous
thing. The Tower of Babel was filled with raw power, it is said. God’s wrath is
a potent thing, and has a tendency to hang around. Like as not, if you don’t
know how to handle whatever you find, it will kill you instead of Garin or
Bhalla.”
    “O ye of little faith.”
    Roux harrumphed. “You could be more appreciative of the efforts
I’ve gone to.”
    “No, I couldn’t.”
    He peered up at her. “You could at least help an old man ease
his burden.”
    “You passed old a long time ago.
And I’ve never seen a day when you weren’t able to handle yourself.” Except for
when he’d been wounded on occasional adventures and hospitalized. Those memories
still plagued Annja from time to time.
    Roux muttered something under his breath and strode up the
mountain effortlessly despite the pack he carried and the staff that was
supposed to support him. In just a couple minutes more, he joined her on the
ledge.
    “What have you found?”
    * * ** * *
    Annja quickly related the events that had landed her in
possession of the brick, keeping the information concise because Roux didn’t
always have a long attention span. While she finished her version of the tale,
she and Roux made it over to the seventh ledge and began searching the
surface.
    “Do you know what we’re looking for?” he asked.
    “No.”
    Roux grunted. “It would help if you did.”
    Annja didn’t comment. The sun was going down quickly now and
the sky was starting to darken. She was also distracted keeping watch for Garin
and Bhalla. Still, she worked at the surface with a stiff-bristled brush, hoping
to uncover some kind of sign.
    After a few more minutes, Roux straightened and massaged his
back. “We’re wasting our time. It’ll be better to get a good night’s sleep and
try again in the morning.” He picked up the duffel. “Or maybe rethink that
translation you’re working with.”
    Annja didn’t want to leave. She was certain what she was
looking for was here , hidden in plain sight. Only
she’d looked everywhere....
    Then she realized she hadn’t looked everywhere. Abandoning the
ledge, she scrambled down, knowing then where the entrance trigger would be
hidden and hopefully protected.
    Find the entrance hidden from God’s
wrath , in the shadow of His mercy.
    Below the ledge now, she took out her mini-Maglite and switched
it on. She wiped at the surface with her brush, and stared till her eyes burned.
The image of a fish, the early sign of the Christians, stood out against the
stone.
    Around the symbol of the fish, she saw lines too straight and
clean to be natural.
    Annja put the flashlight aside and pressed on the symbol. At
first, nothing happened, giving her a strong sense of déjà vu. Then, slowly, it
recessed and she heard a hollow click from within. She stepped back as a section
of the mountainside pulled inside, just as it had at the mouth of the tunnel to
the hidden cave, and left an open space the size and dimensions of a child’s
coffin. A chill coursed down Annja’s spine at the unintended comparison and she
shivered.
    “You found it,” Roux said. Then he scowled back down the
mountain. “And it appears your opponents have found us.”
    Annja turned and stared, watching as a small convoy of trucks
braked to a halt at the foot of the mountain. She recognized Bhalla as he got
out. If she had to be found right now, she wished it would have been by Garin.
At least with Garin they would have had something of a chance.
    Bhalla shouted orders to his men and pointed at her.
    “Come on. You’re not going to do any good standing around out
here.” Roux took her by the hand and pulled her into the mountain.

Chapter Twenty-One
    Bhalla charged uphill, cursing his ill luck. How many times had he