“Don’t worry. I got this one.” Tam smiled, and Dane could tell she was thinking the same thing he was thinking. “Romulus and Remus were the founders of Rome. They were abandoned as babies and…”
“…nursed by a mother wolf!” Kaylin exclaimed. “So it’s a choice between the African lion and the Roman wolf.”
“No choice at all, really.” Tam smiled and took the passage on the left.
The way continued upward in a steep ascent. They must be nearing the top by now, Dane thought. Just then, the tunnel leveled out, but after only a few paces, Tam stopped and put her hands out.
“Wait!” she snapped. “I think we’ve come to the next step.” She shone her light across the floor. It was made up of square tiles, five wide and at least twenty deep. Each tile had a symbol engraved on it.
“Too far to jump across,” Bones observed, walking right up to the edge and looking things over. “Bummer. That would simplify things.”
“This step is an odd one.” Kaylin knelt down in front of the tiles. “Walk safely across the moon.”
“None of them look like the moon to me,” Bones mused. “They aren’t even round.”
“I actually know something about this one from a religions course I took in college.” Kaylin bit her lip, like she always did when she was deepest in thought. “At least, I think I do. I’d hate to be wrong.”
“Your guess is better than anything else we have to go on,” Dane said. “What are you thinking?”
“The main deities of the Punics were the god Ba’al and the goddess Tanit. I remember her symbol because I thought it looked like an angel without wings.” She pointed to one of the tiles.
“It also looks like an ankh,” Tam added, “except for that strange thing at the top.”
“Exactly.” Kaylin’s voice grew stronger as she warmed to her subject. “That’s the moon clue, I think. Tanit is the moon goddess, and that symbol is a crescent moon!” She looked up at Dane with a hopeful expression. “What do you think?”
“Makes sense to me. Anyone else have a better idea, or another suggestion?” He looked around, but the others shook their heads.
“Alrighty then.” Tam rose to her feet with a sigh of resignation. “I hope you’re right.”
“Wait a minute. You’ve taken enough risks. It’s my turn.” Dane took of his pack and handed it to Bones.
“No way, Maddock.” Bones shoved the pack back into his arms. “We need you. I’ll do it.”
“We’re all needed, Bones. I’m going.”
“I’ll go,” Kaylin interrupted. “I’m sure if I just keep to the tiles, I’ll be fine. Besides, I’m the most expendable one here.”
“You are not,” Dane said.
“Excuse me.” Tam moved between them. “How about I just go, while you and your girlfriend argue?”
“She’s not my girlfriend,” Dane muttered.
“Really?” Tam raised her eyebrows. “She’s cute. You should go for it.”
“That’s what I keep telling him,” Bones chimed in. “But does he listen? Not a chance. He’s all about figuring women out instead of just chilling and having a good time.”
“You two both suck.” Dane looked at Bones. “Give Tam back her dazzle gun.”
“Are you sure?” Bones and Tam said at the same time.
“No, but let’s do it anyway.” Bones unslung the gun from his shoulder and handed it to Tam. “You’ve done everything we’ve asked, and you could have easily stolen Kaylin’s gun or her knife when she knelt down beside you just now.”
“You would have shot me.” Tam didn’t look or sound accusatory, but spoke in a matter-of-fact manner.
“Yep, and I still will if you try anything, but I believe Bones is right about you. You didn’t kill Andy, when it would have been easier to do so, and that says a lot. Besides, we’re coming up on the final step, and we don’t know what’s waiting for us. You need a way to defend yourself.”
“Thanks.” They shook hands and she looked at him with a solemn expression. “I want to finish this as much as you do, and I give you my word. I’m not against you.”
“We’ll see,” Dane said. “Now, I don’t care what anyone says. I’m taking the lead on this one.”
He focused on each tile, choosing those carved with the Tanit symbol. He could not let go of the thought that these tiles were probably more than two thousand years old. It would be just his luck to be the one under whom they finally broke. One step, then the next. Each stride was uncomfortably long — just enough to make it difficult to maintain his balance. The third tile shifted as he put his weight down, and he froze.
“Hurry up, Maddock!” Willis shouted. “Even the army boy could go faster than that.”
Dane kept his eyes on the tiles and saluted his friend with an upraised middle finger. When he finally stepped off the last tile, everyone cheered him with sarcastic applause.
Willis had been resting up, and he went across next. He had been weak and wobbly on his feet, but you couldn’t tell it from the confident manner with which he crossed the tiles, each foot firmly set in its proper place. Dane breathed a sigh of relief when Willis was finally across. The others followed in short order, with Bones last.
“Glad you could join us,” Dane joked as Bones made a mocking bow.
“I just scouted ahead,” Tam said from behind Dane. “It looks like the fifth step is just around that corner.”
Dane couldn’t help but smile. “We’re there!”
Kennedy stood and stared at the two paths— the lions on one side, the wolves on the other. This clue had him stumped, though he hated to admit it.
“What did the girl say, again?” Smithson asked. “Something about Rome?”
“Rome is forever glorious.”
“Well, that’s easy, then. The lions, the arena, gladiators. We go that way.” Smithson gestured to the tunnel guarded by the lions.
“Perhaps, but the wolf is associated with the founding of Rome. Also, the first clue was anti-Roman, saying their funeral pyres were perfume.”
“Maybe they’re burning the bodies of their enemies,” Wesley suggested.
Kennedy thought about it. He couldn’t wait too long. Maddock was out there somewhere, and so was Tam. The longer he stood here thinking, they were either gaining on him, or perhaps extending their lead if they had managed to get in ahead of him. Furthermore, indecisiveness instilled no confidence in those who followed you.
“Let’s go with the wolves,” he finally said. “But keep your eyes open and stay close to one another.”
Wesley took the lead, his eagerness tempered only by Kennedy’s order to remain close together. He stalked between the wolf carvings, their bared fangs seeming to portend doom. He had taken only six steps when the floor gave way beneath him. Wesley cried out in surprise as he plunged downward. Kennedy dove forward and grabbed his collar a split-second before Smithson and Brown grabbed Wesley by the arms. A good thing, too, else Wesley’s weight would have dragged Kennedy down as well. They hauled the shaken man out of the pit.
“I guess it was the lion,” Kennedy said, massaging his shoulder and staring down into the dark hole which had no visible bottom. Now he really wanted to kill Tamara Broderick and Dane Maddock.
Dane rounded the corner to find that the passageway ended at a wall carved with a landscape. To the left was a lake, at the center a field, and a wooded ridgeline to the right. An iron ring set in a round plug hung below each image. On the floor in front of each, a seam outlined a six foot square, perhaps a pair of trap doors. A similar outline in the ceiling above each indicated something else potentially dangerous. He had visions of the floor dropping out from underneath him, or a giant block turning him into strawberry jam. He’d better interpret the last clue correctly.