Earhart greeted the Viking in his language, and he said something to her. Dane could see the other man’s armor dated and placed him to sometime in the middle of the Roman Empire. The woman was less easily placed, but he picked up the same aura from her as he had with Sin Fen. She was a priestess, of that he was certain. He noted the Naga staff in the soldier’s hand.
Earhart said something to the Roman in what Dane recognized as Latin. They conversed, the priestess joining in for several minutes. The Viking had slumped down and was being attended to by one of Earhart’s group.
“Centurion Falco of the XXV Legion and Priestess Kaia from Delphi,” Earhart introduced them. Then she gave their names to the others. “They came through a gate in what I think is southern Russia,” Earhart finally said to Dane, Shashenka, and Ahana.” It caused the eruption at Vesuvius and is threatening the Roman Empire.”
Dane frowned. “But we know our history. We know that gate couldn’t have—”
“No,” Ahana’s voice was sharp. “You cannot think like that. What we are facing may be an attack that spans time. Because we are here, and they are here” — she indicated Falco and Kaia — “there is a connection between their time and ours.”
Dane held his hands up, trying to think. “All right, all right. Hold on for a minute here. They came through a portal inside a gate, right?” he asked Earhart, indicating Falco and Kaia.”
“Yes.”
“And they can go back out that way?”
“They think so, but it will probably take them back to their time. And things are not so good there and then, apparently the legion they came with is surrounded by barbarian forces.”
“Can we stop the power that the Shadow is using to affect the Ring of Fire?” Dane asked Ahana.
“We have to find the portal the power from Chernobyl is being channeled through,” Ahana answered. “It’s the one that we have to destroy.”
‘How do you propose to do that?” Dane asked.
“I don’t know yet,” Ahana answered. “Perhaps Rachel can help you find it?”
Dane could still sense the dolphin’s presence, even though she was a distance away. He closed his eyes.
‘What is he doing?” Earhart asked. “Who is Rachel?”
Dane tuned out Ahana as she explained. Rachel was nervous, he could tell that immediately. She sensed danger closing in all around. The Crab with Loomis was still just offshore, she also had the location of their portal still firmly in mind, and to his relief, it appeared that Nagoya’s plug was still in place. He asked her to see if she could find the portal that was channeling the Shadow’s power.
Dane was completely unaware of the people around him as he immersed himself in Rachel. He had never felt such an experience. It was as if he were inside her head, swimming with her as she dashed through the water, sending out clicks to echo sound.
“She’s found it,” Dane said, slowly opening his eyes. “Not far from our portal.”
“Then we—” Ahana began but she stopped as another samurai came running up, rattling off something.
Earhart cursed. “An army of Valkyries is massing. They are moving to surround us.”
“We need time,” Ahana said. “We have to go back to Nagoya, figure out how to cut the power. Then come back through and do it.”
Falco understood nothing of what was being said except for what the brown-haired woman called Earhart had translated for him. That the people here were from different times he found confusing but not important. He could see the darkness in the man — Dane’s — souclass="underline" almost as black as his own. Their time was threatened by the same enemy as his: that was the important thing.
He turned to Kaia, who was also observing auras since she didn’t understand the languages either. “Can you get my men in here?”
Kaia frowned. “What do you mean?”
“You protected us at Thera. Can you protect General Cassius and the men long enough for them to come here?”
She slowly nodded. “Yes, I have seen it. The skull can protect them long enough.”
Falco knew what she meant by long enough. He turned to Earhart and got her attention, quickly explaining his plan to her in Latin. When he was done, she interrupted the others and spoke to them.
The B-1 Bomber did one pass low over the flat plain of snow and ice that served as the landing strip for McMurdo. It had made the flight from the United States at supersonic speed.
Ariana, Miles, and Professor Jordan stood off to the side and watched as the large plane did a long, curving turn and headed back toward them, losing altitude as it came.
“This will be interesting,” Jordan said.
“You must have some pull with the Pentagon,” Miles said as the plane came in long and sleek, it was the model of aerodynamic forms, from an age of warplane construction where speed was considered more important than stealth. Two massive engines were under the body of the plane, just behind the swept wings.
“The Pentagon finally appreciates the threat,” Ariana said.
The B-1 was just fifty feet above the ice, two miles away, and the landing gear had not been lowered. It crept downward toward the surface, and when it was a half-mile away, the bottom of the engines touched down, sending up spume of ice and snow. The plane bounced, was airborne, then was down again.
The sound of metal tearing echoes across the frozen space as the engine intakes scooped into the ice. The plane slowed, then the right engine gave way, and the nose of the bomber turned. Fortunately, the left engine ripped off a scant second later, and the belly of the plane grounded.
The bomber slowed and finally came to a halt a half-mile from their location. Jordan already had the tractor in gear, and they headed toward the aircraft. By the time they arrived, the crew was already outside, standing on the ice looking at their stricken plane.
Ariana jumped out of the tractor, yelling orders. “We need the bombs off-loaded immediately! Put them on the sled.”
The pilot of the B-1 turned toward her. “We had orders to do this, but I don’t understand why. Why couldn’t we have just dropped the damn things wherever you wanted?”
Ariana pointed over the inert metal of the bomber. “Because that’s going to blow any minute now, and where we need to put those bombs you can’t get to from the air. Now move!”
Falco ran behind Kaia, trusting that she could get them back where they came from. He could sense the cold presence of Valkyries all about, but Kaia was weaving a path through gullies that avoided the creatures.
Amelia Earhart signaled for Dane, Ahana and Shashenka to halt as two samurai slowly crept up a ridge to peer ahead. When they turned back and gave her a sign, she indicated for Dane and his companions to follow.
They crept forward, heading toward the inner sea.
“Muonic forces are peaking at Erebus.” Nagoya was looking at the feed being sent to him via satellite from the superkamiokande in Japan. “It’s almost at the level we registered when Iceland was destroyed.”
“The Shadow needed our nukes to destroy Iceland,” Foreman noted.
Nagoya shook his head. “The Shadow needed nuclear weapons to initiate the destruction. Here they will use the pent-up power already in Erebus.”
“Let’s hope Ariana is right,” Foreman said.
“Even if she stops Erebus, the Shadow can shift the power elsewhere,” Nagoya said.
“One thing at a time,” Foreman said. “How long before Erebus goes?”
“Any minute now.”
Ariana staggered as the ground shook and cracks appeared in the ice, accompanied by sharp sounds like cannons going off.