by Cerys du Lys
“What crate?”
“On the day you carried me off, you were stealing a crated statue. I know the statue’s in here since I photographed it a little while ago. What happened to its crate?”
“The wood in that crate, even if you could find it, wouldn’t be strong enough to shift something that large.”
“I’m going to look for it, anyway,” I said. Switching on the flashlight, I started to do just that.
Chapter 39
Nick
I sat up again. I managed to contain my groans of pain this time, although I really didn’t feel any better. In fact, I felt worse. My muscles were starting to stiffen up.
I was astonished at her composure. But perhaps it was not so surprising. The things we fear the most often prove to be less daunting when they actually occur. Besides, Ellie had already confronted the worst of her fear when she’d decided to enter the cave and take the photographs.
She had been trying to comfort me, and I’d let her. Here we were, trapped in her worst nightmare, and it was her strength that was sustaining us both. Let her strength sustain us now, because we were bound to need mine later.
I felt a fierce upsurge of affection for her. She was brave, determined and optimistic, which made me hopeful, too. If there was a way out of here, we’d find it. And if we did, if we survived, maybe I’d be able to make some kind of life with her. Maybe I wouldn’t have to go through the next fifty or sixty years a lonely vagabond, running away from women, from commitment, from love.
I didn’t want to tell her that I didn’t have much hope, though. This cavern had remained hidden for three thousand years, and I hadn’t told Hepburn about it in any of my reports. When they landed on the island and found nobody around, Hepburn and his men might assume I’d left the island.
“Nick!” Ellie’s voice, coming from one of the deepest recesses of the cave, jolted me. “I think I’ve found something.”
“What?”
“I’m not sure. There’s a slab of rock here that looks similar to the one at the cave’s entrance. It’s at an odd angle, though, as if it’s been jolted by some great force. Didn’t you say there was an earthquake on this island some decades ago?”
“Yeah, that’s why the rich old recluse who used to own Granddad’s villa abandoned the island. The epicenter was at sea, but the quake was close enough to the island to do a lot of damage.”
“Well, I think there’s an opening behind this slab. It’s barely visible, but I can feel air currents moving. I’m going to investigate, if I can get up enough courage to squeeze through this narrow cleft.”
“No!” I managed to lurch to my feet. “Are you crazy? Whatever it is, you have no idea whether it’s safe. Wait for me, for God’s sake. I’m coming.”
I stumbled after her in the dark, my head aching, my legs about as responsive as stilts. I found the recess just in time to see her disappear through what, from my perspective, looked like solid rock. “Ellie!”
A moment later I heard her cry out. Fear slammed through me. Fuck! Damn it to hell! I imagined one horror after another—a steep drop-off, a poisonous snake, rotting skeletons, the face of the devil himself. I forced my useless, aching body through the narrow slit where she’d disappeared. The thought of losing her had kicked my stomach into my throat.
“Ellie!”
All was silent now. My heart was pounding at a rate that would have rivaled hers at the height of one of her panic attacks. I rounded a mammoth stalagmite and saw her flashlight beam shooting like a laser into the darkness. I stared, and then I, too, made a hoarse sound.
She was there, quite safe, standing still as any statue in the small circular alcove of an inner cave. The ceiling shimmered with light as our flashlight beams were caught, captured and thrown back by a thousand twinkling facets of quartz that arched overhead. In the middle of the alcove, rained upon by the brilliant crystal light, were several gleaming objects of varying sizes: Bowls, vases, a large caldron, several ceremonial drinking cups, bracelets, earrings, diadems and other jewelry. Most of them were tipped over at various angles, but they were still roughly grouped around a beautiful three-foot-high statue of a golden dolphin twisting as he leaped out of the sea into the arms of a young man so perfectly proportioned he could only be a god.
“Fuck me. I don’t believe it. My grandfather was right. You’ve discovered the fucking treasures of Troy.”
She pointed to the statue. “Altinyunush Adasi—Golden Dolphin Island,” she said, the awe ringing in her voice. “It was a true name for this place, after all.”
Chapter 40
Ellie
Nick insisted on examining the “treasure” with me, even though it was obvious that he was feeling rocky. “So close and yet so far,” he said as he gingerly brushed dust from the golden dolphin and scrutinized the beautiful object with the flashlight. “My grandfather will leave this island not realizing that only a few feet of stone separated him from his greatest discovery.”
“How do you suppose they missed finding the inner cave?” I asked him.
“It’s well-hidden. It’s probably a sacred shrine, dedicated to the gods. Whoever left the items here in the first place didn’t ever want them found.”
“I couldn’t see the opening. I only found it because I’m so desperate to find a way out of this place. I was following something that felt like a draft.”
He laughed hoarsely. “Leave it to Nigel to seal us up in a cave that’s concealing priceless artifacts.”
“I’m glad they didn’t find it,” I said fiercely. “These things should be on public display in a museum, not pirated into illegal collections.”
“It’s nice, finally, to be able to agree with you.”
“Do you suppose all this is really from Troy?”
“I’m not an expert on metallurgy. The golden treasure Schliemann found at Troy actually dated from an earlier epoch than Homer’s city. That stuff was more primitive than this, though. The dolphin is very finely executed. Did the Trojans of the Homeric epoch have the skill to do such work? I don’t know. It’ll have to be evaluated by the experts.”
“If the experts ever get a look at it.” If we die here, I was thinking, Nick and I would take this secret with us across the silent borders of death.
I started panicking again when Nick put a hand to his head and swayed slightly. I grabbed him, and he leaned on me. “What is it? You need to lie down, Nick.”
His lips had whitened. “My blasted head aches, that’s all.”
“You shouldn’t have followed me. You’re supposed to be resting. Are you dizzy? Nauseous?”
“Yeah. A bit.” He sat, looking weak and frustrated because of it. “I probably have a slight concussion. I had one a few years ago, and this is what it felt like. I must have cracked the back of my head on the rocks when Nigel knocked me down.”
My fingers felt for and found the lump just below the crown of his head. Another horrible series of what-ifs ran through my mind. What if it’s a serious head injury? What if he loses consciousness? What if he dies?
Stop it! Shut up, dumbass brain!
I helped him settle so he was leaning against the wall of the inner cave. If only there was a blanket to cover him with. It wasn’t damp, but the air was cool. I could feel a draft on my legs and ankles. If only we weren’t so thinly dressed. I’ve got to get him out of here. There has to be a way.
“Close your eyes and rest, but don’t go to sleep.”
“Aye aye, doc.”
“Nick—”
He touched my hair gently. “Relax, darlin’. I’m not dying of a brain hemorrhage, if that’s what you’re worried about. I have a hard head. I’ll be fine. I’m going to meditate for a while and try to gather my strength.”
“Will meditating help?” I asked doubtfully.
“Can’t hurt. Jeff, one of my friends from home, swears by it. It’s very calming. If we’re stuck in here for any length of time, I’ll teach you how to do it.”
“Okay. I
’m going to look around a bit more and see what else there is to discover.”
“Please don’t disappear through any more mysterious passageways.”
“I won’t. I promise. Rest.”
It didn’t take me long to find the tunnel. I’d become increasingly convinced of its existence by the air currents flowing around us. And every now and then, I got a tangy whiff of the sea.
So I poked around stalagmites, shone the flashlight into recesses and crawled on my hands and knees on the cold, rough floor of the cave, seeking the source of the draft. I was confused by the way the airflow was distorted by the irregular shape of the cave, but at last I identified the one deep recess through which the currents seemed to be moving.
There I found a crack less than two feet high. Lying on my stomach, I stared into blackness, beaming my flashlight into what appeared to be a low, narrow horizontal shaft. The drafts assaulted my face. But I could see no light, nor any other indication, apart from the cool, fresh air, that the shaft led to the outside world.
“Nick.” I knelt down beside him and touched his shoulder. Nick lifted his head from his arms. His face was white and his mouth was set in a tense attempt at a smile. He probably felt even worse than he looked. He wouldn’t complain because he wouldn’t want to worry me.
I swallowed hard. I was choked up; I tried to hide it.
“I’m not asleep.” He spoke so defensively that my heart jerked. “I’m okay.”
Sure you are.
“I think I may have found a way out.” I described the air currents I’d been following. “There’s some kind of tunnel. It looks as if it’s man-made. Maybe the people who stashed the treasure here carved a secret entrance for themselves. I can smell the sea every now and then, so I think it must lead out of the cave.”
“Can you see the other end? A light of any kind?”
“No, but maybe the shaft curves.” I paused, adding in a voice that shook, “I thought I might crawl in and see where it goes.”
Nick’s eyes came fully open. “I’ll do it.”
“No. You’re hurt. Besides, it’s narrow. You’d have to slide along on your stomach. You’ve got a concussion and maybe a couple of broken ribs. You can’t do it.”
“Neither can you. You’re claustrophobic.”
“I want to get out of here. I want to get you out of here. So I’ll do whatever it takes.”
“Let me see this tunnel.”
I gave him my hand and helped him to his feet. He tried to hide his unsteadiness from me. His weakness hardened my resolution. I could do this. Couldn’t I?
Nick squatted beside me and examined the tunnel with our flashlight. He sniffed the air. “You may be right,” he conceded. “But it’s black as the devil and there’s no way to know whether it’s safe or even how far you’d have to crawl. The source of the draft might be nothing more than a small hole like the one in the roof of the outer cave.” He turned back to me, his expression grim. “It’s too dangerous, Ellie.”
I was briefly relieved. Too dangerous. Not likely to save us. Good—I wouldn’t have to crawl into that hole. “But what alternative do we have?”
“We can return to the outer cave and wait. We can hope Metin’s free to come after us. If something’s happened to him, Hepburn might find us. If neither of those things happens and we’re really desperate, we can attempt this. By that time maybe I’ll be better.”
“And maybe you’ll be worse. Maybe we’ll both be so weak and dispirited that we won’t have the energy to escape. We don’t have much water, and we’ve got no food. There are no blankets to keep us warm at night. We can’t wait, Nick. If we wait we’ll die.”
His lashes came down and curtained his eyes. He must know I was right. His headache would probably get better with each passing hour, but broken ribs wouldn’t heal overnight. How cold did it get in this place at night? We could die of hypothermia if we couldn’t keep warm.
What if the damn shaft actually did lead out? Wouldn’t it be foolish not to investigate it?
“Let’s give it a couple hours,” he said. “Maybe I’ll start feeling better after I rest a bit. I was the one who got you into this mess. Broken ribs or no, I’ll be the one to take the risk.”
“No. I’ll go.”
“Ellie, it’s dangerous! We have no idea how stable the tunnel is. If you crawl in there, disturbing things, the whole shaft might collapse. I have no tools, nothing to dig you out with—”
I quivered at the image but kept my chin high. “Suppose you go in and it collapses on you.”
“Then I’ll be dead, which is probably exactly what I deserve.”
“And I’ll be trapped here, alone in the dark and waiting to die. I couldn’t bear that.” Involuntary tears filled my eyes. “I can’t just sit here and do nothing.”
Nick swore, then caught his breath. Dammit! I could see that breathing too deeply hurt him.
“Anyway, your shoulders are too wide,” I dropped to my hands and knees and measured the opening to the shaft with my hands. “Look—I’ll barely fit myself.”
“And if it gets narrower?”
“I’ll come back.”
“Oh, God, Ellie!”
“There’s really no choice, is there? Let me try this. Now, because if I sit here and think about it I’ll chicken out. But, hey, if I succeed, I’ll probably never be claustrophobic again. If I get through this, I can get through anything.”
He caught me to him and held me hard. “I love you.”
The tears fell faster then. I didn’t know if he meant it, but it gave me courage. “I love you, too.” I lifted my face for his kiss. It was fierce and tender. His hands moved gently over me, as if memorizing my body.
“If we get out of this, you and I are going to be together, hayatim. I mean—” He stopped, looking vulnerable in a way I’d never seen in him before. “If that’s what you want.”
“You think I’d crawl through a dark, eighteen-inch-wide tunnel for the sake of anyone else?” I grinned. “Only for you, master.”
He rolled his eyes, and then hugged me. “If we get out of this, I’m gonna fucking thrash your ass for even suggesting such a crazy stunt.”
I kissed him one more time, and turned to begin my journey into the night.
Chapter 41
Ellie
There was barely room to crawl. I had to slither along on my stomach, one hand holding the flashlight, the other reaching out in front of me and feeling for obstacles. My light revealed the inner walls of the shaft to be quite solid-looking. The sides were smoother than nature could have made them. Someone had hewn this tunnel out of rock, hundreds, perhaps thousands of years ago. It had to lead somewhere.
Calling back my findings to Nick, I began to move a little faster. I could see no exit—there was nothing but gloom and darkness ahead. I concentrated on propelling my body forward, trying not to think about the possibility of a cave-in.
After several excruciatingly slow minutes of forward motion, I noticed that my light seemed to be glancing off stone ahead. Oh, no. Could someone have constructed a tunnel only to abandon it after a few yards? But the air still smelled fresh. Crawling a few more feet, I saw why. The tunnel did not end; it took a sharp turn to the right.
Again I called back and explained. My voice echoed oddly and Nick’s sounded faint as he replied, pleading with me to be careful. I clung to the sound of his voice. I stuck my head around the corner, hoping now to be able to see some daylight. But there was nothing. The shaft continued as black and forbidding as before.
This was depressing. And scary. Rounding the bend made me feel as if I was cutting myself off. Separating from him even more dramatically. I thought about earthquakes, like the one that had shaken this island in the past. I pictured the tunnel convulsing as the earth moved and hundreds of meters of dirt and rock above my body crashing down and burying me. Faltering, I paused, not sure I could go on.
Don’t quit now. That’s sea air you can smell in here. There must be a way
out.
Getting around the corner was no easy task. I had to jack-knife my body, and in the process I scraped my breasts and my belly on the rough stone. Worse, the tunnel seemed to grow narrower, and for a few moments as I negotiated the turn, I got stuck. My heart, which had been remarkably well behaved so far, leaped into panic-alert. Sweat burst out under my arms and along my spine. Terror swept over me.
“Ellie?” Nick yelled.
I wriggled my hips and pulled free. Maybe the sweat that had blossomed on my skin actually helped. But Nick would never make it through the tunnel. He was too big. “I’m fine,” I told him. “I don’t see anything yet, but I’m going on.”
I few minutes later, I thought I saw something move ahead of me in the darkness. Visions of snakes halted me, but I determinedly pushed that idea from my mind. If anything did live in here, it would hear my noisy approach and get the hell out of my way.
I came to another bend in the shaft. This time I hesitated. I was panting from the effort of dragging myself along, and my knees and palms were growing numb. If I got stuck I’d be in a real fix. Too wide-shouldered to get past the first turn, Nick wouldn’t be able to reach me. I’d be doomed to lie here, trapped, watching helplessly as my flashlight got dimmer and dimmer until it went out, leaving me to die alone in the dark.
For the first time since Nigel had sealed the entrance to the cavern, I felt my will and courage utterly fail me. Tears squeezed out of my eyes and carved a ragged path through the grime on my face. I can’t do this. I’ve tried my best, but I just can’t go on.
My flashlight flickered. I remembered that Nigel and his men had been burning the flashlights all morning. This one was running out of power. How much time did I have before it died altogether? Not enough to waste feeling sorry for yourself, Ellie, my girl, I thought.
Determinedly scrunching myself up as small as possible, I took a steadying breath and ventured slowly around the second bend. As soon as I did so, the quality of the darkness changed. Pressing my flashlight against the rock to hide its feeble light, I squinted into the gloom. Ahead of me, like a star shining in the velvet depths of night, a light gleamed. It looked blue. Sky or sea? I didn’t care which.
