“These quarters wouldn’t happen to be guarded, would they?” Dane was not certain how long he would tolerate being caged, and he knew Bones to be doubly impatient with such things.
“For your safety, only. Some people are suspicious of new arrivals, you know.” The words sounded artificial, and Fawcett reinforced Dane’s instinct with a quick shake of the head. He mouthed the word “later,” and led them away from the pyramid.
To Dane’s disappointment, they were given a room, not in one of the huts, which would have been easy to escape from, but in one of the ancient stone buildings. A contingent of guards escorted Kaylin and Tam away to separate quarters. “Don’t drink any tea,” Dane warned them as they parted ways. Kaylin looked at him with fear-filled eyes, while Tam merely looked calculating, like she was already planning their escape.
At the room that was to be their quarters, Fawcett entered with Dane and Bones, and a guard closed the door behind them. They heard the lock turn, followed by the sound of a bar sliding into place.
Willis, looking weary, sat on a mat of woven reeds, his bandaged leg stretched out in front of him, and his back against the wall. They all stared at Fawcett, who began pacing the room.
“I understand,” he said, “how you must feel.”
“I doubt that,” Bones said. “And I doubt you have any idea who you’re messing with.”
“Please, give me time,” Fawcett pleaded. “You only just arrived. We need to convince Hamilcar that you only came in search of Thornton. Then, he will believe you mean no harm.”
“So Hamilcar is in charge?” Dane asked.
“Technically, no, but everyone on the council defers to him and follows his lead.”
“If ScanoGen shows up, he’s going to regret locking us up and confiscating our weapons. I doubt there’s a person here, besides us, who can use them.” Dane kept his voice calm. “We came to rescue Thomas. That’s all. We’re not here to steal anything from their tree.”
“Thornton told you about it, did he?” Fawcett chuckled. “I should not have told him, but I fear holding my tongue is not a talent I possess. Besides, I felt that I owed it to him after he told me all about my grandparents and their homeland. The man is quite the expert on Percy Fawcett, you know.”
“We know; believe me.” Dane grimaced. “If he’d been a little less interested, we wouldn’t be here right now, and neither would ScanoGen.”
“Maybe the ScanoGen guys were killed by the Mot’jabbur.” Matt’s flat voice was devoid of optimism. “Then we’ll just have to worry about getting ourselves out of here.”
“You are welcome to come with us,” Dane said to Fawcett. “I know this is your home, and I won’t pretend it’s not going to be a dangerous trip back, but if you wanted to see the outside world, you can come along. Like I said before, you’d be a famous man.”
Fawcett shook his head. “No. I fear it is not so simple in my case. At any rate, I don’t want to see anything happen to Kephises, which is why I am trying to convince you to remain patient. If you try to fight, you will be killed, but I don’t doubt you are capable of doing your share of harm, even without your weapons. I don’t want to see anyone hurt, especially my brothers and sisters here.” He ceased his pacing. “This is a magical place. We live peacefully, work together, care for one another, all without the interference of the outside world.”
“I hate to tell you, but that’s probably over for you.” Dane truly did hate the fact that the secret of Kephises was out of the bag. Hopes of keeping it hidden from the world hinged on the silence of a few ScanoGen members, not to mention that of Thomas, once they got out of here. Dane trusted the rest of his group to keep their silence, including Tam. For some reason, he had already developed confidence in her. He hoped she would be an asset, and not prove to be a mole, cleverly placed by ScanoGen. He had been there before. “Forget the Grecian urn you guys have hidden away somewhere,” Dane said. “Thomas opened a Pandora’s Box when he got in bed with ScanoGen.”
Fawcett flinched at the mention of Pandora’s Box. “I really should not have been so free with what I told Thornton. But, I suppose it does not matter now. Promise me you won’t try anything reckless.”
“That’s not a problem.” Dane ignored the frowns Bones, Willis, and Matt directed at him. “Just make sure Hamilcar understands that, if ScanoGen attacks, the four of us, with our weapons, will give your people their best chance at survival.”
“I shall try.” Fawcett made an awkward bow and backed to the door. At the sound of his voice, the door was unbarred and opened slowly, several gleaming spearheads filling the empty space. When the guards were satisfied that their prisoners were not making a rush for escape, they drew back and permitted Fawcett to exit.
No sooner had the door closed than Bones was on his case.
“Are you kidding me?” Bones stared at him like he was from Mars. “What do you mean, telling him we wouldn’t try anything?”
“What I said was, we won’t try anything reckless.” Dane grinned. “That word, my friends, is subject to interpretation. And what other people think of as reckless is just another day at the office for us.”
“That’s what I’m talking about.” Willis nodded. “You just say the word and I’m ready to move. I can deal with the leg.”
“Wouldn’t expect anything less.” Dane took a careful look at the room in which they were imprisoned. It was a wonderful example of ancient architecture, made of solid stone, each block precisely fitted together. The floor consisted of smooth, square tiles, so precise they looked as if they were manufactured by modern machinery. Truly, they had stepped back in time.
Which was what he was counting on.
Moving to the far wall behind Willis, he put his hand against it, and found it was cool to the touch. He put his ear to the smooth stone, listened intently, and smiled at the soft sound of running water.
“Okay, everybody look around for a hole, or maybe something in the floor or at the base of the wall that looks like a vent.”
“Care to let us in on your little secret?” Bones, to his credit, was already searching the floor even as he asked the question.
“This building has Roman-style air conditioning,” he explained. “Well, not actual air conditioning, but water is piped through the walls, which cools the room. It might also have an ancient heating system, which consisted of vents that carried warm air from a fire in a central location throughout the building. Also, when archaeologists excavated the ruins of Carthage, they found that the houses had waste holes that ran down into a communal drain. If they went to the trouble of installing the cooling system, I’ll bet you they put in waste disposal.”
It required only a few minutes to give the room a thorough search, which turned up nothing. Dane gritted his teeth, thinking hard. There had to be a way out.
“Any more ideas?” Matt asked.
“I’ve got one,” Bones chimed in. “Maybe Willis could move his fat butt so we can see if there’s anything underneath him.”
“Oh, sorry.” Willis winced as Dane and Matt hauled him to his feet.
Dane pushed aside the mat with his toe. Up against the wall, where Willis had sat, lay a square floor tile four times the size of all the others. Grinning, he dropped to his knees and ran his fingers along the edge of the tile. Centuries, or more, of dust and dirt had accumulated in the cracks. As he began scraping and brushing it loose, Matt and Bones lent a hand. Finally, the edges were clear. Dane slipped his fingers down into the open space, and felt a groove running all the way around.
“All right,” Dane said. “Everybody grab hold and let’s do it.”
The ancient stone must not have been moved in a long, long while, for it held tight. Veins stood out on Bones’s neck as he tugged. Sweat beaded on Matt’s forehead, and his face was screwed up in intense concentration. Dane shifted his weight, gave the tile a jiggle, and was rewarded by a bit of movement.