Chapter Eleven
Peri’s heart was a loud hammer in her ears. Like the previous cavern, the walls and ceiling of this one also glowed with a soft blue light and let her see the temple in all its glory.
It was carved from dark rock, with columns rising up in an elegant style vaguely reminiscent of Egyptian temples. The central part of the temple was pyramid-shaped, with neat rows of columns flowing away from it. A large opening at the front of the pyramid had apparently once had a waterfall flowing out of it, but it was now frozen solid in a drape of blue ice.
All of a sudden, a shout sounded behind them. Peri twisted, and saw a big body fly out of the tunnel. Logan hit the ground beside them with a solid thud. Cursing steadily, he turned and pushed to his feet.
A moment later, Lars and Dec landed. Lars lay sprawled on the ground, stunned, while Dec rolled athletically to his feet.
“Everyone okay?” Ronin asked.
“I think so,” Lars said, rubbing his hip.
Dec nodded and hitched his backpack up higher on his shoulders.
Then Lars’ mouth dropped open in shock. “My God.”
Dec eyed the temple with no surprise, and Logan just put his hands on his hips and scowled. Peri figured they were both a bit jaded when it came to discovering fantastic lost temples.
“Well, Zach and Layne will be happy,” Dec said. He lifted his camera.
“I can hardly believe this,” Peri said. “It’s true. There was a civilization here in Antarctica, once upon a time.”
“Come on.” Ronin grabbed Peri’s hand and pulled her toward the structure.
They walked up some steps, and entered the temple complex proper. They fanned out, weaving slowly through the columns. Peri spotted more hieroglyphs etched into the rock. The columns looked more delicate than what she’d seen in Egypt, a little more refined and elegant. In places, ice covered the rock in a shiny blue film.
The central pyramid loomed ahead.
Dec looked up. “This might be directly beneath the pyramid above.”
“Over here,” Logan called out.
Anticipation shot through Peri, and she hurried over with the others. Logan was standing beside the remnants of a camp.
Peri bit her lip. There was gear stored by a rock wall—backpacks, large water bottles, tents. She searched for any sign of Amber’s gear, but nothing looked familiar.
“What the hell is that?” Logan toed a large piece of equipment that looked vaguely like missile launcher.
Ronin crouched. “Some sort of tech for making the tunnels. Could be a laser of some sort, I’m not sure.”
“No time to examine it now,” Dec said.
Ronin started opening the bags. He pulled items out, studied them, then discarded them. He pulled out a tablet in a heavy-duty case and tapped the screen. “It’s password protected.”
“Can you get into it?” Dec asked.
“Not as quickly as Darcy would.” Ronin stood. “But give me a minute.”
Peri watched as he expertly tapped commands into the tablet, and a second later, data filled the small screen.
He scanned it, before tilting it toward Dec. The other man cursed.
“What?” she asked. “What is it?”
“We know what Silk Road is after down here,” Ronin said, his tone dark.
A shiver skated through her. The weapon. “How could they know what they were going to find down here?”
“They found a secret Nazi record.” Dec shoved a hand through his hair. “The Nazis discovered this place when they were scouting to build a base here during the war.”
Ronin lifted his head from the text he was reading. “And then Silk Road sent a recon team. They explored what they could, and recorded what they saw. Looks like their people managed to decode some of the hieroglyphs.” He showed her the image on the tablet.
It showed a metallic artifact. It was a small club with what looked like claws at either end. She’d never seen anything like it. The closest thing she could compare it to was a scepter that a king or queen would hold. “What is it?”
“It’s called a vajra,” Dec said.
“Which is what, exactly?” Peri asked.
Dec sucked in a breath. “Vajra is the Sanskrit word meaning both thunderbolt and diamond.”
She blinked. “Sanskrit? It’s Indian?”
Dec nodded. “It was a weapon that belonged to Indra, the god of rain and thunder. The vajra had the indestructibility of diamond, and the unstoppable force of lightning.”
“It’s a weapon,” she said quietly.
“Yes,” Ronin said. “This is what Silk Road is after.”
“Goddammit.” Dec pressed a hand to the back of his head. “I was hoping they wouldn’t find anything here. If this is some sort of advanced tech, it could be really dangerous.”
“We have to stop them,” Ronin said.
“Yeah,” Dec agreed.
God. Once again, Peri fought back a wave of intense fear for her sister. Silk Road had gone from antiquities thieves to possible terrorists after a deadly weapon.
“Let’s keep moving.” Dec moved up the main steps and through the pyramid’s ice-coated entrance.
Inside the main pyramid, a blue-white light glowed.
“This place is incredible.” Awe soaked Lars’ voice.
“My guess is that some survivors from this civilization made it out and spread across the world,” Dec said. “Some went to India, to South America, to North America, to Egypt. Layne loves to talk about the Egyptian legends of the Shemshu Hor. They were said to be survivors, wise mages, who settled in Egypt and shared their knowledge.”
“Read about Viracocha,” Logan said. “Creator god of the Inca. He wandered the world, sharing his knowledge of civilization.” The big man lifted his head. “He was usually shown holding two thunderbolts in his hands.”
Peri shook her head, trying to imagine bedraggled survivors of a catastrophe spreading out across the world to make a new life for themselves. She walked through the temple, and stared at the carvings on the wall. She could see things that looked Egyptian, Indian, and perhaps Incan as well. She stopped and pressed her hand to ice that had covered the image of a woman standing side-on, arms outstretched.
What had life been like here, in this lost civilization? What had it felt like when their world had tumbled and been destroyed? So many would have died, parents losing children, wives losing husbands, sisters losing sisters.
As they passed a giant slab of dark rock that had to be some sort of altar, Peri half expected to see priests and priestesses walk out with offerings to the gods. Another huge doorway leading out of the ice-covered temple appeared ahead.
She followed Ronin through the opening. They all paused and gasped. Finally, she saw something that also shocked Declan, Logan, and Ronin.
A small city lay spread out ahead of them.
In places, the buildings were pristine, like they’d just been abandoned moments before. In other places, the ice had crept in like a slow-moving wave, covering the structures.
“Look.” Peri spotted some fabric lying on the ground at the bottom of the steps. She hurried down and snatched it up. It was a green wooly hat.
Peri clutched it to her chest and closed her eyes. “It’s Amber’s.”
Her clever, brave sister was trying to leave clues.
“We need to keep moving.” Ronin gripped Peri’s arm and squeezed. “We might be able to catch up with them.”
Dec nodded. “But at some point, we’ll need to stop and rest.”
Peri wanted to argue. She wanted to charge into this eerie, dead city and find her sister. But she was an experienced guide, and she knew better than to push too hard. It could cost them all their lives.
Ronin gripped her hand. “We can make it a bit farther before we take a break.”
She smiled at him. It appeared he could read her like an open book, and she didn’t care. Sometime during the last few days, Ronin Cooper had earned her trust. She followed him into the ancient city.
***
Ronin’s steps echoed dully off the ice-covered stone. They were walking down a street lined with what had probably been shops and homes. They crossed an open square, maybe once a park where children had played, but now just a slick, ice-covered space.
It must have been an amazing metropolis.
He glanced at the ground, noting the scuff marks of boots on ice. “They went this way.”
Silk Road had left a clear trail for them to follow. The thieves clearly weren’t expecting company.
The street turned, and ahead was a giant wall of ice in a cloudy blue-green. The street continued right alongside it.
Suddenly, Peri jumped back from the ice wall. “What the hell?”
Ronin spun, reaching for his Glock. “What?” He didn’t see anything but ice.
She frowned. “I saw something move. In the ice.”
Ronin looked at Dec, who shook his head. Ronin studied the ice wall again.
Then, there was sudden movement behind the ice, and his eyes widened. A huge animal swam past. It had distinctive black-and-white markings.
“Orca,” he breathed. “There’s water behind this wall.”
“My God,” Peri said.
Another large predator swam past with graceful moves. Ronin peered through the ice and spotted distorted shadows on the other side. Something else was out there.
“Dec? What do you make of that?” Ronin pointed. Something was definitely sitting on the other side of the ice in the cold water.
“They almost look like…vehicles,” Dec said, a frown in his voice.
“Or submarines, maybe?” Peri added.
Dec took a few pictures. “They look ancient. My guess is they were made by the people who lived here. Layne is going to be so pissed she isn’t on this mission.”
They moved on. They passed through several more neatly-laid-out streets, following the boot tracks. Silk Road was moving deeper into the heart of the city.
“Look at that,” Peri breathed.
Not far away, ice had infiltrated the city, creating a giant curve of ice that formed a cavern. She hurried over and glanced inside.
To Ronin, it looked like water had rushed in like a wave, and frozen. It was a beautiful blue-green color.
“The ground is rough in there,” she said. “But the walls are smooth and gorgeous. It’s amazing.”
“Look at that.” Ronin shone his flashlight upward.
Dec hissed in a breath. “That doesn’t look stable.”
The ceiling of the ice cavern was covered in sharp icicles.
“Well, I’m glad Silk Road didn’t go that way,” Logan said.
His voice echoed through the cavern, and a second later, several icicles crashed down to the ground like missiles.
They all leaped back.
“Shit,” Peri muttered.
“Come on,” Dec said. “Let’s keep going.”
They turned away from the ice cavern and headed back down the street. Soon, their group stepped out into a large main square. Ronin took a second to scan ahead, but didn’t see any movement, or hear any sounds. A giant, rectangular stone dominated the square, set upright. It was covered in engravings.
They paused in front of it, and Dec moved closer, pressing a hand to the symbols. “Definitely similar to Egyptian hieroglyphs.”
“Can you read it?” Peri asked.
“A little. When you grow up with a history professor and a treasure hunter for parents, you absorb a lot.”
“And when you marry an archeologist who specializes in Egyptian history,” Logan added.
Dec grinned. “I have better things to do with my wife than decipher hieroglyphs.”
Logan snorted.
When Dec turned back to the stone, Ronin watched the man’s brow crease. Dec let out a breath. “It talks about a terrible calamity, and the fall of the city. The ground shook and moved, and in days, the ice came and many died.”
Peri pressed a hand to her mouth. “There would have been thousands of people living here.”
“And very few survivors,” Dec said. He looked back at the stone. “This stone is a remembrance and a warning.”
“A warning?” Lars said.
“From what I can make out, it says greedy people used a great power, and that was what caused the destruction of the city.”
Ronin cursed. “They used the vajra and it did this? Shifted an entire continent?”
“It says the city is the tomb of the great power, and that it shouldn’t be tampered with. Any who enter here will find nothing but death.”
Peri gasped. Ronin scanned the empty city.
“Where are the bodies?” he said.
“What?” Peri looked up at him.
“A catastrophic event froze the city fast, and only a few survivors made it out. Where are the bodies? You’d expect to see some frozen in the ice.”
Dec frowned thoughtfully. “No idea. That’s probably not a good sign.”
Logan crouched nearby, studying the ground. He looked up at them. “Looks like the Silk Road group split up here.”
Ronin studied the markings on the ice and nodded. “Half the group went that way—” he pointed down another street “—and the other half in that direction.”
He pointed into what looked like a huge building that was mostly covered in ice.
“Why would they split up?” Lars asked.
“Maybe they could translate the entire stone,” Dec mused. “It might give more information than I can read.”
“Any way to tell which way Peri’s sister went?” Logan asked.
Peri scanned the ground. “I don’t see anything she might have dropped as a clue.” She huffed out a breath.
Dec was silent for a moment. “We need to split up. Ronin and Peri, you head into the building. Logan, Lars, and I will go the other way. Ninety minutes, then we come back and meet here. Got it?”
They all nodded, everyone checking their watches.
Moments later, Ronin and Peri walked into the large building. His flashlight illuminated the vast, empty space.
“Their version of a warehouse?” Peri suggested, stepping cautiously on the floor. Here, the ice floor was bumpy and rough.
“Probably.” Ronin picked his way through the space.
He tried to imagine what this place must have looked like in its heyday, bustling with people and life. He couldn’t picture it.
They followed the Silk Road trail, moving through several other warehouses, all huge cavernous spaces. The next one had several rooms off the side, and Ronin felt the temperature rise a few degrees. Those rooms were free of ice, but empty of anything else.
“How are these rooms free of ice?” Peri asked.
Ronin crouched and pressed a palm to the stone floor. “It must be some sort of heated storage. Whatever is powering it must still be working.”
“Amazing,” she murmured.
The Silk Road trail led to the back of the warehouse…right up to where it stopped at a huge hunk of ice.
“What is this?” Peri said.
Ronin studied it and looked up. He cursed. “A huge chunk of ice broke off the ceiling and is blocking the doorway.”
“Dammit,” she said, swinging her light around. “Look, there’s another doorway over there.”
They headed in that direction. One of Ronin’s boots slipped and he caught himself. “Watch yourself. The ground’s slick here.”
She nodded, moving slowly.
Then Ronin heard a loud crack.
They both froze. He looked down and saw a spider web of cracks in the ice beneath him. He frowned.
Then, the ground gave way, and he was falling.
A second later, he splashed into freezing-cold water. Fuck.
“Hold on, Ronin!” Peri shouted from above.
Ronin gasped, his breaths coming in fast pants. The water was freezing. He knew hyperventilation was the body’s natural response to the shock of the intense cold, so instead, he focused on trying to control his breathing.
He tilted his head and looked up. He’d fallen down a cylindrical hole. It must have once been some sort of water tank or storage. His teeth clattered together, and his heart thumped hard in his chest. It was fucking cold. He pressed a hand to the ice wall. It was slick, with no handholds or cracks, or anything to hold on to.
He glanced upward again, watching as Peri climbed over the edge of the hole. She was lowering herself over the side, rigged to a rope. She moved with strong, experienced moves down the icy wall.
He blinked and smiled to himself. He had to admit he really liked her. Everything about her. She was strong, smart, and stubborn. She loved her sister and could curse like a soldier. It had been such a long time since he’d really liked a woman.
When she reached him, stopping just above the water, she was grim faced. “Take it easy. Contrary to popular belief, hypothermia takes a lot longer to set in than people think.”
“I…know.” His muscles were feeling sluggish, his energy rapidly draining away. “Been plunged in…lots of freezing lakes…as a SEAL.”
She reached down and held out an arm. “We need to get you out of there. Our muscles and nerves don’t work well in the extreme cold.”
Meaning he’d lose control of his muscles, and wouldn’t be able to keep his head above the water. He tried to grab her hand, but his aim was way off, and he missed. His muscles were beginning to ache, badly.
“Come on, G-Man. Stay with me.”
He tried again, and they connected. She pulled him closer, and he felt her lean down and wrap a rope around him. She tied it off with some impressive knots. Damn, he was so cold. He just wanted to close his eyes and make the pain go away.
“No, Ronin,” she snapped. “Look at me. Stay with me.”
He stared into her blue eyes, and kept staring. “Could…look at you all day.”
She smiled. “Right back at you, G-Man.”
They started upward. Ronin did what he could to help, but it was a hellishly tough climb. He heard each one of Peri’s grunts and harsh expulsions of breath. They slipped a few times, smacking against the ice wall.
He saw the strain on Peri’s face. She was killing herself to get him out. He frowned. That was unacceptable.
“Let me go,” he mumbled wearily.
“Hell, no!” Anger fired in her eyes.
“No one’s ever wanted me.” He tried to stop the words, but they tumbled out, slurred and broken. “Not even my mother. She tossed me away at birth.”
“I want you. And I am fucking getting you out of here.”
They kept moving, inching upward slowly. Just when he felt like his body had nothing left in it to give, Peri clambered over the edge. She yanked on the rope, and pulled him over.
He collapsed on the icy floor. He couldn’t feel anything anymore.