“Then we shouldn’t have a problem.”
“I appreciate your optimism. I hope you’re right.” Her heart was beating hard as she plunged down into the water within the passage. It was difficult to be optimistic at the moment. They had moved very quickly since they had left the mountaintop, but it might not have been quick enough. They had to try to make up more time in this steaming cauldron. She could only hope that Kadmus had not moved at top speed when they found the sentry or that his chosen direction was not toward the mountaintop.
* * *
The lama Padma Nagtal’s face was now as red from the blood streaming down his cheeks as the color of his crimson robe.
“I do not know any more,” he said hoarsely as he tried to struggle from his knees to his feet and regain dignity. “I have told you all.”
“And did you tell the Americans about that passage, too?” Kadmus punched him in the stomach and knocked him back to the ground. “Did they come to you in the village and beg for a route to freedom?”
“I did not see them. I would not have risked the lives of my people in the village to save foreigners.”
“But you didn’t tell me about that passage down the mountain when I sent you and the rest of your stinking brothers away from my palace.”
“You did not ask.”
He kicked him in the face. “And there is no way that they can get away once they reach that hot spring? You say there is no opening to the outside.”
“There were only a few, almost forgotten, texts concerning the hot spring in our library.” He paused. “The library that you burned. None of the texts mentioned any way to leave that spring once reached. Since neither I nor my brothers considered it our duty to explore that place of cold and fire, I must assume that the texts were correct.”
“Assume? I don’t assume anything.” He bent down. “And I’d burn your library again, old man. All those books meant nothing.”
“Except when you needed them.” He met Kadmus’s eyes. “And someday men like you will find you have nothing and will search for our holy books to find your way.”
“Fool. I will own the world. I’ll not need you or—”
“We’ve found the sentry.” Brasden hung up his phone as he approached. “Dead. He was found in the brush about five hundred feet down the mountain. What do we do now?”
“What I planned before. Search all the possible roads down the mountain. But I’m taking eight men with me to the top. I think our lama’s help warrants that increased force, don’t you?”
“It’s still only a rocky hole in the mountain.”
“Then we’ll chase them down to the bottom of that rocky hole. We’ll go so fast and hard that there’s no way they’ll escape.” He took out his gun. “But first I have something else to do.” He pressed the barrel to the lama’s temple. “Good-bye, holy man. We’ll see who reaches his special paradise first.”
He pulled the trigger.
CHAPTER
8
“It’s getting colder.” Erin was panting with effort as she forced herself through the water. “We must be away from the mountain. Could we slow down?”
“No.” It hurt her to say the words when she knew what Erin must be going through. “Not until we reach the hot springs at the other mountain. Even then it will be dangerous.”
And when would that be, she wondered. It seemed as if they had been wading, half swimming and crawling forever down this rocky water passage. It had just narrowed again, and Erin was ahead of her crawling through shallow water on hands and knees over the rocky ground. Catherine’s own hands and legs were scratched and cut from the sharp rocks.
“Cameron, you’d better have been right about this damn spring.”
“I’m right.” Soothing gentleness, removal of all pain. “You’re not too far. Keep her going.”
“I don’t hurt anymore. Is that one of your tricks?”
“One of the better ones.”
“Well, don’t waste it on me. Take care of Erin.”
“I’ve already done it. I had to attend to her first. She’s my responsibility.”
“No, she’s my responsibility.” She added wearily, “But I’ll let you share. I’m too tired to argue.”
“You’ve had a rough—” He stopped, then said sharply, “Tell Erin to stop. The floor of the cave falls off just ahead. She won’t be able to see—”
“Catherine!” Erin suddenly plunged forward, hitting her shoulder on the stone bank as she fell.
Water.
Water up to Erin’s shoulders.
No, up to her neck!
Panic jolted through Catherine as Erin’s words came back to her. Never let your head go under the water. Brain disease and death.
“Erin, hold on to the bank.” She was crawling frantically forward. “Tread water. I’ll be there in a second.”
“Having trouble,” Erin gasped. “It’s deep here. And I can’t hold on to those stones. I think my shoulder popped out again when I hit it against the bank when I fell.”
Dammit!
Catherine threw her flashlight into her boot and dove after her in the water.
Hot. The water was hot.
“And it will get hotter. Get her to the left side of the passage. There’s cold water flowing in there.”
Catherine grabbed Erin and pulled her toward the left. The water didn’t cool until she was almost to the edge of the water. “Why didn’t you tell me you were boiling like a lobster?” she asked as she held Erin above water.
“There seemed to be enough problems to tell you about,” Erin said. “And I wasn’t scalding.”
“Yes, there is that.” She took her flashlight from her boot. “Let’s see how far this stretch of water goes…” The water was wider, deeper, and the sound of rushing water was clearer.
“Cameron?”
No answer.
“We’re on our own? Fine. I didn’t need you anyway.”
She grabbed Erin under the chin, carefully keeping her head above water, and started to propel them both through the water. “Look, try to kick, but let me do the rest.”
“I don’t have any choice.” Erin began to kick rhythmically. “I’m sorry, Catherine.”
“For what? It’s not as if you could keep that shoulder from going out again. If we’re going to blame someone, let’s blame Kadmus.”
Erin chuckled. “I’ll second that motion. I’ll just add it to my list and—” She stiffened. “My God, did you hear that?”
“Yes,” Catherine’s pulse had jumped, then began to pound hard.
Shit.
Voices. Men’s voices. Shouts. Curses.
Coming from behind them.
“Kadmus,” Erin whispered. “I was hoping—”
“Me, too.” Catherine began to swim harder, stronger. “But we didn’t luck out. We have to get out of here.”
“By all means, but it may not be as bad as you think. These passages act as one huge echo chamber. They could still be on their way down.”
She had just remembered that echo syndrome herself, and relief was pouring through her.
“It’s bad enough, Cameron.”
She said out loud to Erin, “Echoes. We’ll make it.”
“That’s right, why didn’t I think of that?” She added, “I think the water is getting cooler again.”
“Not too bad.”
But it was cooler. What was happening? All they needed was to be dumped in an ice pool instead of hot springs.
No, the water was getting warmer again and rough, very rough. She had to struggle to keep Erin’s head above water.
“Move left. There are rocks ahead. Grab hold of them and pull Erin up with you.”
“I don’t see—”