Lindsey’s head swiveled around. He looked skeptical. But he was considering the idea. A silent moment of thought passed before he answered.
“Very well, Sean Wyatt. You may as well die now rather than later.”
Sean raised one hand slowly, pointing at Firth. “I need the professor, just to help me read the inscription over the doorway.”
A look of fear doused the professor’s face. He clearly didn’t want to be brought into this little ruse. He shook his head quickly, desperate not to be involved.
“Fine,” Lindsey said gruffly. “Take him, too. We were going to have to kill him anyway.
“No,” Firth begged, moving back a few steps towards the wall behind him. “This is your mess, Sean Wyatt. Don’t try to drag me down with you.”
Lindsey’s head drooped to the side, tired of the theatrics. “Kaba, if you would?” he pointed a hand at the professor.
The mocha-skinned woman took a few long strides over to Firth then grabbed him by the arm and jabbed the gun into his back. He let out a short howl as he tripped forward.
Sean caught him before the professor could fall over. “It’s going to be fine, Doc,” he whispered in Firth’s ear.
The archaeology professor was still leaning over from his near fall. He looked up into Sean’s eyes, trying desperately to find any reason he should believe the younger man. What he saw was conviction to the point where he realized Sean didn’t care whether he died or not. But he also saw belief.
“I just need you to interpret the Cuneiform for me. You’re one of the few people on this planet that can do it. Just be sure to stand clear of the opening.”
He looked back at Adriana. For the first time he saw a pained expression on her face, one that told him not to go. But he had to. Deep down he knew he had the best chance of getting through the ancient traps.
Firth straightened up. His expression had changed to one of resolve as he nodded slowly. “Alright, Sean.”
Chapter 52
Sean and the professor slowly made their way past where Lindsey stood. The man scowled at them as they went by. He was hunched over slightly. Sean figured years of some spinal problem were likely taking their toll. The two men made their way up the steps as Jabez descended them. The Arab didn’t look ungrateful. Rather, he seemed awed that Sean would make such a sacrifice for someone he’d just met.
Sean had stared death in the face on more than one occasion. One more wouldn’t kill him. He snorted a short laugh at the thought. That’s exactly what it could do. When they reached the top of the steps, they stopped in front of the door on the right.
“What does it say?” Sean asked as they stared up at the symbols etched in stone.
Firth pushed his glasses a little further up his nose while squinting to view the inscriptions. His lips moved silently as he translated the ancient language in his mind. After a minute, he turned to Sean.
“The righteous stand for the right.”
“That’s what it says?” Sean was clearly hoping for more than that.
The professor nodded. “Yes. It would seem there is some sort of riddle at play here. Do you have any idea what it means?”
Sean crossed his arms and lowered his head. The gears in his mind were running at a million miles a second. He thought about humility and what it meant. People who were humble were usually quiet, reserved types. They didn’t get out of line much.
None of those facts seemed to help with his current situation.
“What are you waiting for?” Lindsey shouted. “Go.” He turned back to Kaba and jerked a finger at Adriana. Kaba immediately snagged Adriana’s arm and put her pistol’s barrel to the back of Spaniard’s head.
Will followed suit, taking a few threatening steps towards the stairs to make sure Sean saw his weapon was aimed right at the IAA agent. Will also flashed a menacing grin that begged Sean to make him pull the trigger.
“Either move or get down on your knees and let me put a bullet through the back of your skull,” Will said through clenched teeth. “I want to do it. And I want her to kill your pretty, little girlfriend over there.”
Sean’s eyes drifted to the side of the corridor. They widened slightly. There was a black line of stone running along the edge of the wall on the right side. “The righteous stand on the right, not for the right,” he whispered to himself. Sean hoped he was right. If he pressed against the wall, there might be just enough room to get by the huge pendulum.
Sean shoved the anger he was feeling deep into the back of his mind, and stepped quickly over in front of the doorway. At the threshold, he took a long, deep breath. He stared ahead into the darkness. His hand unconsciously put the flashlight back in his coat pocket as his eyes peered forward. A slight draft blew from the mysterious passageway, tossing a few loose blonde hairs around. He stepped over to the right corner of the passage and pressed his body against the stone wall. He scooted his left foot sideways and shuffled forward with the right.
His left foot crossed the dark, stone line marking the doorway, his right followed slowly. There was a sudden rumbling accompanied by a gust of wind. Sean pressed his chest harder into the wall, keeping it as flush as he could. Suddenly, the huge pendulum swung by, nearly scraping his back. The thing shook the floor and walls, whooshing past him at an incredible velocity. He forced himself to stay close to the wall as the object swung back through again in the other direction.
After what seemed like an eternity shuffling sideways, Sean found himself clear of the ancient pendulum’s reach, and was able to stand in the clear on the other side. He pulled out his flashlight and shone it on the wall. A few feet away, a lever made from stone stuck out through a narrow slit in the wall. He reached over and tugged on the device as hard as he could. Slowly, the lever gave way and slowly descended to the bottom of the slit. A loud clicking resonated through the corridor, followed by a grinding noise. The pendulum began to slow until it finally reached a complete stop. It was designed in the shape of a double-sided war hammer, with conical points sticking out of the hammer’s head.
He took a relieved breath, and looked back through the slim space between the wall and the hammer’s side. “I’m through,” he yelled.
In the atrium, Lindsey seemed surprised, while Will was clearly disappointed.
“He made it,” Lindsey sounded astonished.
Beyond the enormous swinging hammer, Sean had turned his attention back to the passage in front of him. He took a cautious step forward and immediately realized there was a new problem. A black abyss opened up in the floor in front of his feet. The ceiling loomed high above the deep pit. On the other side of the gap, a long, narrow stone stood at the edge of where he needed to be. The plinth reached about twenty feet into the air. It was difficult for him to gauge the distance. He figured it to be about twelve to fifteen feet. With a running start, and just the right push, he might have been able to clear it. But there wasn’t enough room to get up the momentum it would require. And therein was the problem with the riddle of the second trap.
He flashed his light on the wall to his left, but found nothing of value. When he shined it to the right, it was a different story altogether. More Cuneiform script had been engraved into the side of the passageway. He took a step closer and felt the cuts of the symbols cut into the smooth stone.
“Professor,” he shouted back. “I’m going to need you to come through. There’s another message you’ll have to interpret.”
In the first room, Firth looked back at Lindsey with a face full of apprehension. Will also seemed leery of the notion.
“Follow him through,” Lindsey ordered his apprentice. “If they try anything, shoot them both.” Will acknowledged the order with a nod, waving his gun at Firth in a motion to move forward.