Tomb Raiding PHD

by Martha Carr

  Shay scoffed. This wasn’t magic. She knew a thief who could move quickly and gain access to the top floors of buildings without any magic at all. The whole thing screamed of Marcus.

  She still owed him for humiliating her the night they met. It wasn’t like she planned to kill the man. Beating her at parkour wasn’t an executable offense, but she did want to chase him down and prove to him that no one could beat Shay Carson forever.

  Shay rinsed her hair as she considered her victories and defeats in recent months.

  She didn’t feel any shame at some, such as having to run from the invisible army in Ohio. Her defeats at the hands of Marcus, Francois Durand, and Yulia burned the most.

  Her jaw clenched at the thought of the Ice Witch. Both Lily and Shay had their reasons to take her down. Someday it might be worth tracking her down, but for now, Shay would only worry about the witch if the opportunity presented itself. She didn’t ignore revenge, but she couldn’t deny it wasn’t very profitable.

  Don’t worry, bitch. I’m gonna find you and take you down for me and Lily’s father.

  5

  The tall bay door of Warehouse Two rumbled and groaned as it closed behind Shay’s Fiat. It was time to start her workday morning.

  Shay might have an evening lecture at the university, but her morning routine still included her visiting Warehouse Two to chat with Peyton. Whatever she decided about her future plans, for the moment, she was still a tomb raider, and the more money she earned, the more options she’d have.

  The occasional magical club meeting might be okay to discuss business, but her warehouses were some of the few places where she felt completely secure.

  That’s probably gonna screw me someday, but got to go with what I have for now.

  She threw open the door of her car and stepped out. The mouth-watering scent of scrambled eggs, sausage, and cheese ambushed her, and her stomach rumbled.

  Guess I should have grabbed a bigger breakfast.

  A few more steps brought Shay around the corner. Peyton stood in front of a table with a breakfast pizza on his paddle. An unexpected but familiar gray-haired teenager sat close by.

  Shay was smiling before she realized it. She didn’t know when or if Lily might decide she wasn’t interested in being a tomb raider, but Shay was more than happy to continue to train the girl in the meantime.

  A dark, cynical part of Shay’s mind almost wanted to laugh. She still remembered the times she’d pulled a gun and threatened to shoot Peyton because she couldn’t trust him, and now she was happy to see him and Lily first thing in the morning.

  Friends. Maybe even a little bit family.

  Osiris padded underneath the table and purred as he rubbed against Lily’s leg.

  Hell, Shay was even happy to see the damned cat.

  I’m getting soft. I wouldn’t last a week anymore as a killer. Just need to make sure I’m the most badass tomb raider ever to make up for it.

  Peyton slid the pizza onto a tray. After putting his paddle down, he waved to Shay. “Hey.”

  “Hey.” Shay walked over to the table. “Good to see everyone here bright and early.” She shot Peyton a glance. “Especially since some of us had time management issues.”

  He grinned. “It’s been a while since I’ve been late.”

  Lily swallowed a bite of her pizza and shrugged.

  Peyton clapped his hands together. “Oh, good thing you’re here. I was going to send you a text, but I figured you’d be here soon. I’ve got a job lined up for you.”

  “A job?” Shay asked. “Where? And does it involve catacombs or some frozen lake? I’m not fond of frozen lakes.”

  “No catacombs, and no frozen lake. It’s in Switzerland. It’s in a forest, and well, you know it’s not that cold in Switzerland in late spring.” Peyton shrugged.

  “A Swiss forest? Now you’ve got me interested.”

  Peyton nodded. “Yes. Now, a little background first.” He pulled his phone from his pocket and tapped the screen, bringing up an image of a small golden coin decorated with an image of a man wearing a laurel wreath crown. “Recognize this?”

  “Ancient Roman coin.” Shay frowned. Common treasure hunts were rarely worth it, especially since moving the items forced her into legitimate channels with middlemen who asked too many questions.

  “Yeah, this coin was part of a trove of ancient Roman coins found by a farmer a few decades back in Switzerland.”

  Shay nodded. “And why do I care about some ancient coins that someone already found? I can’t easily steal a trove of coins even if there’s a good reason for it.”

  Lily continued to gobble down her pizza. Her face was impassive as she listened.

  Peyton slipped his phone back into his pocket. “Our client has already acquired that coin collection, and he found in his audit that it was missing a particular coin he wants. A coin enchanted by Apollonius of Tyana. It turns out he was a wizard.”

  Shay nodded. “Not a huge surprise, even before Oriceran. A lot of people associated him with magic. So what’s the big deal with this coin? Does it hypnotize people or some shit?”

  “With the proper rituals, the coin can be used for divination. Allegedly, Apollonius used it to help predict a plague. That actually got him into trouble with the Roman authorities and the emperor.”

  Shay glanced at Lily, who shrugged.

  I guess just because she has divination powers doesn’t mean she’s an expert on all forms of it.

  Shay nodded. “So, divination coin, got it. How come the client’s so certain it’s still there? It could be in the ground, or in the ocean, or underneath some dragon in Oriceran for all we know.”

  Peyton shook his head. “The client has received new information with the help of a wizard. They know it’s in Switzerland. They even have decent coordinates to narrow down the location.”

  “Why do they need me, then? Why not just go with the wizard and pick it up?”

  Peyton sighed. “That’s where things get complicated.”

  “Complicated?” Shay frowned.

  Lily finished her pizza and pushed her plate forward. “Wouldn’t get paid a lot if this stuff was simple, right?”

  Shay snorted. “You got me there. But the question is, how complicated? A few idiots I can deal with, but it could be as annoying as being dropped into some anti-technology zone where I have to ride a horse and fight a bunyip with a sword.”

  Lily eyed Shay. “I’m pretty sure they don’t have those in Switzerland.”

  “Who the hell knows anymore? A wizard could have teleported one from Australia.”

  Peyton shook his head. “No bunyips. At least, I think no bunyips. A team of Japanese treasure hunters is on the move. Not a big official firm or anything, and not even real tomb raiders, just a few guys and some guys they hired. The leads are Daisuke Naota and Asahi Yamamura. From what I’ve been able to dig up they aren’t psychos or anything, but they aren’t the kind of guys who are going to step aside just because there’s a tomb raider poking their nose into it. They are greedy.”

  “’Some guys they hired?’” Shay asked. “You mean mercenaries?”

  “Nah, not from what I can tell. Nothing serious anyway, but the buzz is that they somehow got information on the location from a spell.”

  Lily shrugged. “Maybe whatever that wizard did for the client made the coin easy for other people to find. Magical resonance and that kind of thing. I’ve heard of it before.”

  “Damn.” Shay nodded. “Could be. But that means if we’re going to do this, we’re going to have to hit Switzerland soon, if not immediately.”

  “Yeah, that’s what I was thinking,” Peyton replied. “Which is why I’m glad you’re here. So what’s the call?”

  “Book a couple seats on a supersonic for tonight. I have my lecture to deliver, and I’ll head out right after that. If we have the coordinates, it should be a quick pick-up.”

  “A couple of seats?” Peyton looked at Lily. “You’re taking her?”


  Shay nodded. “Yep. Can’t learn to be a tomb raider if she never goes out on tomb raids, and this one sounds low-key enough. I’m sure we can avoid the Japanese guys without trying too hard.”

  Lily blinked and jumped to her feet, excitement all over her face.

  Peyton laughed. “Wow. Don’t think I’ve ever seen you express that much emotion.” He shrugged. “Okay, I’ll get another set of equipment ready to go.”

  Switzerland and magic coins might have weighed on her mind on any night, but as Shay finished delivering her lecture to the wide-eyed undergraduates in the lecture hall, she didn’t give a shit about the artifact or the raid.

  Truth. That’s what I delivered to them. Fucking truth. I love it, and they love it. Maybe there’s some hope for this shitty world after all.

  A petite blonde in the front row raised her hand.

  Shay pointed at her. “What’s your question?”

  The girl smiled. “Well, you talked a lot about how there were two tunnel systems, but most of the legends seemed to concern only the upper human tunnel system. It was basically incidental that they discovered the other tunnel system.”

  “Yes, I’d say that’s an accurate evaluation of what happened.”

  “Do you think that the legends were fueled more by the Oriceran tunnels then, or it’s just a coincidence, and people were lucky to have even found the older tunnel system?”

  Shay smiled. “Great question. Yes, in this case, I think it is a bit of a coincidence. In most cases of Oriceran influence, there’s at least a semi-direct link between the existing lore and the truth. At least the truth as best we know when it comes to the artifact or location, even if it’s obscured behind heavily accreted myths and legends. In this case, we were just lucky there happened to be more ancient tunnels. Nothing wrong with a little serendipity in the pursuit of the truth though, right?”

  The gathered students chuckled.

  Shay moved to her lectern and tapped the tablet. A picture of a smoothly-carved tunnel lit by portable string lights appeared on the screen in the front of the lecture hall. “This is where things get very exciting. Just because we know about Oriceran now doesn’t mean that every rumor or legend is true, or even evidence of anything more than good storytelling.

  “This is where historians and archaeologists have a lot of work to do to dig, metaphorically or not, into these rumors and legends to discern the actual truth. Then, and only then, can we have a true understanding of what has unfolded on Earth and Oriceran. The more we understand about what might have happened, the better we know what to look for.”

  A huge undergraduate in the front seat raised his hand.

  “Yes?” Shay asked.

  He shrugged. “So, you know, everyone’s talking about how all this old stuff maybe is Oriceran, maybe it isn’t, but they didn’t say that before. They used to say a lot of stuff was alien, you know, like the pyramids, but now they say it’s Atlantean.”

  Shay nodded slowly. “That’s correct.”

  “Just saying, how do we know that’s right? Maybe there’s like a thousand planets out there filled with elves and crazy aliens, and they’ve all done different things. We’re all just assuming it’s Oriceran because that’s the easy explanation. Like you said earlier…something with a P?”

  Damn. Good instincts, kid. I wish I could tell you the complete truth, but this time I just have to point you that way.

  Shay shrugged. “It’s definitely a possibility, and one I don’t think any responsible truth-seeker should discard. Paradigm changes in our understanding make certain things seem obvious in hindsight, such as Oriceran influence. It’s entirely possible that in the future, provided we get concrete evidence, we’ll find there are other ancient influences on our world that haven’t previously been accounted for.” She rubbed her hands together, and her eyes gleamed with excitement. “If you take anything away from my lectures, it’s that you should continue to question. The truth isn’t what someone says in a book. The truth exists out there, yearning to be found, and it’s your responsibility as future scholars to find it, even if it’s uncomfortable.”

  The blonde from before frowned. “Uncomfortable?” She looked at her friend sitting behind her, but the other girl just shrugged, clearly not understanding what might be discomforting about archaeology.

  “Yes, uncomfortable,” Shay repeated. “Most of you don’t get it. You’ve grown up your entire life with magic being a real and obvious thing—something taught in school alongside history, with elves and dwarves and wizards being something the government had to make laws for.” She shook her head. “I was just a kid when the truth came out about Oriceran, but it still blew me away. Everyone had always told me, ‘Magic isn’t real. It’s just something in books and movies.’ And then the next thing you know, magic’s not only real, but it’s helped shape our world, and changed our history and our very understanding of our civilization.” She swept her hand through the air, gesturing to the entire class. “You take for granted the wonder that is Oriceran. You take it for granted that everything we thought was true for centuries, if not thousands of years, turned out to be crap.”

  Scattered laughter filled the room.

  Shay grinned. “I hope you live long enough for something else big to shock you and make you question everything like it did me. It’s uncomfortable at times to stare into the truth when it goes against what you think you know, but in the end, you’ll feel more satisfied.”

  The gathered students nodded, many with eager looks on their faces. Even the students who’d looked bored at the beginning of the lecture now looked interested.

  Do what I could never do. Go find the truth without a dark detour first.

  6

  Shay glanced at Lily as the rental SUV barreled down the dirt road leading toward the coordinates. Her thoughts flashed back to their encounter with Yulia in Antarctica. Even though they’d both survived, Lily had managed to get her arm broken.

  A few regrets crept in about bringing the girl along on the tomb raid.

  She’s a newbie. She might be street smart, but that’s different from surviving on a tomb raid, especially if bullets or serious magic starts flying.

  The girl had done well helping Shay take down the thugs in New York, but a tomb raid was a much more dangerous scenario. Lily had probably run into more than her share of criminals in her time on the streets, just as Shay had in her previous career, but the strange monsters and magical beings that flocked around artifacts made even the most vicious mobsters seem weak and ineffectual in comparison.

  Shay barely stopped herself from sighing. The last thing she needed to do was inject doubt into Lily’s mind.

  Don’t want to see the kid dead, but she’s never going to reach her full potential if she’s never put to the test. With a little training, those twitch reflexes could make her unstoppable against traps and people. I don’t have any magic, so she could end up even better than me.

  Lily smiled a little as she looked out the window at the tall pines filling the area. “It’s very pretty here. I’m so used to just dirt, concrete, metal, and glass.”

  “Yeah, that pretty much defines LA. They stick a few trees in to convince us we still have nature, but it’s millions of people crammed together breathing in smog.” Shay snorted. Not that NYC was any better.

  “Thanks for bringing me. I know you’re not crazy about me splitting my time between the tunnels and your warehouse.”

  Shay shrugged. “We still have a lot we can offer each other. I’m not gonna throw away a good resource just because she’s mildly inconvenient at times.”

  Lily chuckled. “That’s one way to put it, but I figured out after what happened the other day that you care a lot more than you want to admit.”

  “Not saying I don’t give a shit, but I’m different than you. You’re used to depending on your friends, and I’m used to using people and depending only on myself. A lot of things are new to me and I’m still getting used to them, including tra
ining people. This isn’t always the safest job, so I need to be careful for both our sakes.”

  “Living in tunnels and having to scavenge…having to steal to survive isn’t safe either.” Lily stared out the window defiantly. “I need something better…a future. One farther out than fifteen minutes. This is a way to do that. A way to do something useful with my powers.” She shrugged. “So I’m grateful for the chance and the training.”

  Shay glanced at the display on the front console. They were closing in on the coordinates Peyton had sent them. She pulled the SUV off the dirt road, and into the trees. After a few minutes of slow maneuvering, the trees grew too thick, and Shay stopped the car and shifted into Park.

  “Okay, let’s grab our gear. Should be pretty close to here. I’m hoping this won’t take a huge amount of digging, but if we can’t find it quickly, we’ll see what you can come up with.”

  Lily blinked a few times. “O-okay.”

  “What’s up?” Shay frowned. “You have a vision? Spill it.”

  Lily shrugged. “It was mostly just you cursing a lot, shaking your fist at the sky, and yelling at Peyton. I don’t know what that means.”

  Shay smirked. “That’s most mornings, afternoons, and nights for me. Guess you can see into the past after all.” She winked.

  She got out, headed to the back of the vehicle, and popped the back hatch to grab her tactical harness and backpack. She strapped a collapsible shovel to the backpack. She finished by grabbed a metal detector, slipping on her AR goggles, and linking them to her phone.

  Lily picked up her equipment and a shovel. “Oh, the glamorous life of a tomb raider. I get to dig in a forest. Yay, me.”

  “Don’t forget you also get to see me yell and curse at Peyton. Don’t discount how awesome that shit is.”

  “Oh, yeah, I almost forgot about that.”