Chapter 10
Confrontation
Her eyes locked onto the pistol. Any second now she expected the man to fire it. For the bullet to plow into her chest, explode inside her heart, and kill her almost instantly. Or for her to be knocked backwards, and she would bleed all over her uncle’s office. All of those scenarios flitted through her mind within the span of the handful of seconds before the black-clad man spoke again.
“Where is the kalorshai?” he demanded.
Brielle frowned, and she decided to play it dumb. “Where is the what?”
“The kalorshai. The seal. The idol.” He gestured with his other hand. “What’s that in your hand?”
Rather than answer, she pressed the issue. “What are you talking about? What kind of seal?”
“From the ruins outside of the Valley of the Kings where Dr. Kelling has been digging. We know a shipment just arrived from that location.” He waved his gloved fingers at her. “That thing in your hand. Give it to me.”
“It’s not a seal,” she argued.
“Give it to me anyway.”
“It’s a vial. See?” She popped the head off of the figurine and showed it to him.
He fired a shot into the desk. She jumped at the sound of the pop that was no louder than a cork being pulled from a wine bottle, but he’d made his point. Brielle replaced the head on the idol and held it out to him.
The man snatched it from her hand and stuffed it into a small bag suspended from a belt loop on his jeans. “What else do you have?”
“I told you—”
He pointed the pistol at the middle of her face. The man was done with the delaying tactics. “The rest of the shipment. Now.”
Holding up her hands, she slowly got to her feet. The man moved aside to let her pass him, then followed her down the hallway to the area where the crates were stacked. Brielle pointed to them.
“It’s all in there. We’ve only inspected the items that were in that one crate on the table. We haven’t had the chance yet to inventory what’s in the other crates. We just opened them to make sure everything arrived safely.”
The man went behind the long table and quickly rummaged through the items lying there. Taking a couple of things, he stuffed those into the bag. He walked over to the other crates, knocked their lids onto the floor, and began pawing over the antiquities inside. Brielle quickly glanced over at the doorway and wondered how far she could get before the man shot her. The guy must have sensed her plan.
“Don’t try it. I only came for the seal. Would be a shame to have to kill you because of some stupid stunt you pulled.”
She chose to stay put.
The man found one more object to take with him, then turned his attention back to her. “Okay, sweetheart. Come here.”
She saw him pull out the handcuffs from behind his back, and her survival instincts kicked in. He may have a gun, but she was willing to bet her life that he wasn’t that familiar with this place. If he was, he would have known to come directly to this room first, since this was where every new delivery was unpacked, sorted, photographed, and tagged before it went anywhere else.
She started to walk toward the big table, then suddenly shoved it into the man, catching him at waist level. The push was enough to knock him temporarily off his feet. As he stumbled and caught himself, she bolted out the door and made straight for the elevator.
Luck was with her. The doors promptly slid apart, which made her believe that no one had used them since she’d gotten there. Seeing the man coming from the inner offices, she jumped out of view and slapped the button. If she could make it up to the first floor, she could flag down one of the guards who was always on duty.
Another bullet zinged inside the cage, but the doors closed before the man reached her. The elevator shuddered slightly and began its ascent. It went up one floor and stopped, and she threw herself out of the elevator, only to realize she’d hit the wrong button and ended up back at the delivery warehouse.
The sound of footsteps pounding up the stairwell alerted her that the man was almost upon her. Panicking, she made straight for a pile of lumber stacked near the opposite wall. She did her best “slide into home plate” maneuver as memories of her years playing softball came back to her, and hid behind it.
Peering between a couple of slats, she watched as the man in black burst through the door, noticed the elevator still with its doors wide open, and headed straight for the rear exit on the other end of the room. But when she heard him jiggle the bar, her heart sank. She’d forgotten that the outer door would be locked at this time of night.
She glanced at the other exits left to her. She couldn’t get back to the public elevator or the stairwell without him spotting her. The service elevator was directly across from her, but to get there would also put her in clear view for the shooter. The man had her trapped, and he’d soon discover that fact as well. After that, it would only be a matter of time before he found her.
Unless I’m lucky. Unless he gives up looking for me and leaves of his own accord.
She really didn’t believe she could be so lucky, but, as far as she could see, it was her last hope. Not unless a guard, for some reason or another, decided to check the warehouse during his shift, which she seriously doubted. Yes, eventually someone would make it down here, but not before this crazy man with the gun discovered her.
She heard him moving around, the sound of his feet echoing on the concrete floor inside the large room. She could also hear him mumbling to himself, although she couldn’t make out the words.
The sound of the stairwell door opening caught her attention. It was also noticed by the black clad man, who whirled around and raised his weapon.
“Look out! He’s got a gun!” she screamed at whoever had come downstairs, hoping it would save the person’s life. She heard the pistol fire, and expected to either hear a returning shot, or a body to hitting the ground.
Something stepped into view. Something she didn’t fathom at first. It was tall. Huge. Bulky.
Inhuman.
The man fired again. The bullet zinged off of the thing’s chest, but it never faltered. It continued to walk toward the man with slow, lumbering steps. Brielle caught sight of an immense pair of wings rising above the thing’s shoulders. Rising and spreading outward, almost blocking her view of the man.
He fired twice more, and both times the bullets ricocheted off. One struck close to her, and she shrieked as the wood planks next to her exploded in splinters.
The creature advanced on the man and reached out with muscular arms that ended in hands bearing thick claws. The man in black bolted for the back door where he fired twice at the lock, then barreled into the door with the side of his body. The door slammed open, and the man vanished out the rear.
The creature stopped just short of the exit as the claxons went off. Brielle saw this as her opportunity to make a run for it and tried to make it to the service elevator, which was closer.
She never believed the creature could move so fast. Before she was halfway across the room, it was there, blocking her way. She zigzagged in an effort to elude it, when its hand snagged her by the arm. She screamed and tried to fight it off, but her fists were ineffective. It tossed her over its shoulder and carried her out the broken back door, where it launched itself into the air.