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In agitation the Megalania Prisca reared up into a bipedal position, more than five meters in height, sixteen feet not counting the length of its tail. Its frill shook like a tambourine while its receptors tried to register the source which seemed to be everywhere, confusing it.

And then the earth stood still, the reconfiguration complete.

The Megalania Prisca remained in its standing position, its frill fanning outward picking up new sensations.

Its quarry was close. Their scents were quite strong.

But they were behind walls of black silica, leaving Prisca the option of running a maze of warrens to get to its prey.

It then it fell down to its natural quadruped nature and launched itself forward with unbelievable speed for something so large, and navigated easily through the cloak of darkness as if it had full sight.

With every step it took, the scent grew stronger.

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

Western Turkey

The Bell UH-1 Iroquois is a military helicopter powered by a single, turbo-shaft engine with a two-bladed main and tail rotor. For all purposes beyond transportation, however, it has become antiquated in the war arena.

Leviticus and his team hovered over the given coordinates in one Iroquois; the bricks of Semtex inside the second chopper, waiting.

Leviticus was the first to lead the way by rappelling down to the rocky terrain. Isaiah and Nehemiah followed with Micah and Job behind them. Dust and sand blew everywhere from the rotor wash of the blades, the visibility along the ground exceptionally poor. Once Leviticus and his team detached themselves from their lines, the bricks were carefully lowered from the second chopper, and removed from their umbilical ties. Once the job was complete the choppers veered off to the east where the rosy streamers of morning light were beginning to appear.

Once the dust settled, they found themselves at the base of a sandy rise that was a constant height which ran an equal length of one-half kilometer on all four sides.

“What is this place?” asked Job.

“It’s our target,” answered Leviticus. “That’s all you need to know.”

When they climbed and stood at the edge of the hillock, they could see something of magnitude. The flat landing consisting of rock and dirt was perfectly square, the footage of what lay beneath perhaps in the tens of millions of square feet.

“This is going to be a massive job,” Isaiah commented.

Leviticus was wearing light clothing but already sweat blotches were beginning to stain his back and underarms. It was going to be a hot day and the sun had yet to crest the horizon.

“We have enough bricks to set along the perimeter to do the damage once the charges are evenly spaced. But I want several bricks in the center with additional charges fanning out so that they go off in domino progression from the center point to the perimeter. By the time we get through with this implosion, I want to see nothing but a huge crater,” said Leviticus. And then to Nehemiah: “How long do you think it’ll take?”

Nehemiah gave a quick perusal, looking in one direction and then the other. “This place looks much larger than it did from the chopper.”

“How long?”

“I have to walk the perimeter and take a few measurements for equal spacing. I’d say with something of this size, maybe ten to twelve hours.”

“Start walking the perimeter,” said Leviticus. “Hopefully we can start mapping out the charge placements by the time the sun rises. I can already tell that it’s going to be a hot one.”

Nehemiah looked skyward and wiped off the beads of sweat popping on his brow with a sweep of his forearm. “Yeah,” he said. “You got that right.” And then he began to ready the site for the implosion.

* * *

The earth stopped shaking. And behind the walls, unseen weights and balances stopped moving.

Everyone standing in front the mausoleum entrance was able to breathe normally.

Alyssa, however, dared not move from the tile she was standing on.

Savage moved beside her and grabbed her gingerly by the arm. “Are you all right?”

“What happened?”

“You did it. The doorway to the mausoleum opened.”

Once she opened her eyes she saw that the door was indeed open. The entrance to the lower lever was granted — the riddle was solved correctly.

“You were spot on with the answer,” he told her softly.

Only then did she let out a sigh of relief.

But it was only short-lived as the earth began to tremble once more.

“Now what?” he asked.

Alyssa looked around. “It’s not the walls,” she told him. “It’s not the temple.”

The vibrations grew.

Then in a voice that was beyond a whisper: “It’s something else… And it’s coming this way.”

* * *

The Megalania Prisca was at a full sprint, its weight coming down hard against the floor with every stride. It had maneuvered through the hallways with its olfactory senses serving as its guide. Its quarry was so close it could smell the salt of their sweat, could sense the chemicals of their fear squeezing through the pores of their flesh.

With ravenous hunger, it pressed forward, bounding along the corridors in great strides, its massive body caroming off the walls.

Even through its poor vision, it saw a halo of light pour into the hallway up ahead.

And then in a call of premature victory, it bellowed a cry that was deep and guttural, its frill flaring out around its head as it went for the kill.

* * *

“What in the bloody ‘ell was that?” asked Aussie, raising his weapon.

Within an instant, the lizard entered the chamber, screaming, its mouth wide enough to show a pink gullet against the glow of the lantern. In reaction it swung its paw in a wide arc, its talon catching nothing but open air, the light a source as wispy as fog.

Then it got on its hind legs, its head nearly touching the ceiling, screaming.

Aussie and Butcher Boy moved forward with their weapons poised to kill and pulled the triggers.

Bullets pocked the creature’s underbelly but still it came forward, taking one step, and then another, the light no longer a shield. And then it got on all fours and disappeared to another part of the chamber.

Aussie and Butcher Boy lost their visual of it. It was that fast.

“Where in the bloody ‘ell is it?” cried Aussie, surveying his surroundings with the mouth of the weapon upward and forward.

It cried out again. But this time it sounded like it was coming from all points of the room, the cry so guttural the air vibrated.

“Get to the level below!” hollered Butcher Boy.

Hall didn’t hesitate. He was the first one in the doorway, his movement prompting another cry from the beast and galvanizing it from one of the surrounding pools of darkness.

The smell of cordite filled the air as the soldiers set off a second volley of gunfire. The creature was moving so fast the bullets strafed the wall in its wake, chipping the black silica, the creature there and then gone.

“That thing is too bloody quick!”

When Aussie’s weapon went dry he released the clip and reseated another in fluid and practiced motion, then set off another hail of gunshots, screaming out with a warrior’s pride.

“You want some? Huh? YOU WANT SOME?”

The Megalania Prisca leapt from shadow to shadow, from one pool of darkness to the other, using it as camouflage until the muzzle flashes gave it away.

Behind Aussie and Butcher Boy, Alyssa escorted Harika to the doorway who, in turn, was escorted by John Savage.

The number of the creature’s quarry was lessening.

In unmanageable rage, the creature entered the circle of light with its frill in full blown expansion and opened its mouth wide; taking peppering shots that drew blood. With a quick and fluid motion, the creature pivoted on all fours and swung its tail at the source of the gunshots, at Aussie and Butcher Boy.