“So, try them all,” Bryson suggested.
“Well,” Ollie responded, “I am not opposed to that method, though we may trigger something with an incorrect choice.”
“What if we station someone at each pillar? Then if we try one and it triggers something bad, we can toss it to the next and hope we find the right one before… we’re… well, you know,” Maggie said.
“I don’t like this plan,” Bryson argued.
“Why?” Maggie questioned.
“It puts my men in harm’s way. We’d need three of them to cover the remaining pillars. That’s more than half of my remaining crew.”
“You could untie Henry, Tarik and Sefu,” Maggie suggested.
“Fat chance, Ms. Edwards,” Bryson said. He glanced into the first chamber, then back to Maggie, Ollie and Emma a few times. “We’ll give you the punk rocker and her boyfriend.”
“That’s only five, we need six,” Maggie countered.
“Not my problem,” Bryson snapped.
“It sort of is,” Maggie argued.
“Fine,” Bryson acquiesced. “Garrity, you’ll do it.”
“But sir!” Garrity began.
“I said you’ll do it. Now follow the instructions the professor gives you.”
“Okay,” he grumbled.
Maggie rolled her eyes. “Cut Piper and Charlie loose and we’ll get everyone in position.”
Ollie led Garrity to the pillar to the left of the entrance. Bryson shouted the order to one of his men, who cut the wrist restraints on Piper and Charlie. He led them to the second chamber and shoved them through the opening. Ollie quickly explained the plan to them.
“Once we get everyone in position, Maggie will begin with the pillar to the right here,” he said as he motioned to the pillar. “If it unlocks the next chamber, stay where you are until we can safely move you to the next chamber. If not, Maggie will slip the ankh into the padded bag and toss it to you, Piper.
“You’ll try the ankh, if it works, don’t move, if it doesn’t remove it as quickly as possible, place it in the bag and toss it to Charlie. We’ll continue around the room until either the next chamber is unlocked or we trigger something else. If anything goes wrong, don’t panic. We’ll need to keep the ankh moving despite any danger.”
“What kind of danger?” Piper questioned, a perturbed expression on her face.
“We don’t really know,” Ollie admitted.
Piper glanced around with an uncomfortable countenance. “You don’t have to do this if you don’t want to, Piper,” Maggie said.
“Yes, she does,” Bryson challenged.
“No, she doesn’t,” Maggie argued. “We could get someone else.”
“No,” he retorted.
“One of us could try to move between columns,” Maggie assured Piper.
Piper swallowed hard. “No,” she said with a shake of her head. “No, I’m good. I won’t let you down.”
“Okay,” Ollie said with a nod. “Let’s get you all in place.” Ollie led each person to their column, pointing out the trigger tiles on the floor to avoid. When he finished, Ollie positioned himself at the fifth pillar near the back wall. Emma stood to his right and Garrity on his left.
Maggie stood at the first pillar. “Ready?” she asked, scanning the room for everyone’s response. Flames flickered overhead, casting everyone in shadows. Tiny nods answered her question. Maggie took a deep breath as she eyed the ankh outline.
After a deep inhale, she blew the breath out through her mouth. Maggie swallowed hard and raised the ankh into position. Her hand trembled as she placed it in the outline. With a final glance around the room and a nod from Ollie, Maggie pushed the ankh into the hole. A click sounded again. Everyone glanced around the chamber, finding nothing else had changed.
Maggie shrugged. “Guess that didn’t work,” she said. She dug the ankh from the depression and placed it in the bag. “Ready?” she asked Piper.
Piper nodded and readied her hands to catch the bag. Maggie zipped the bag shut and tossed it underhanded to Piper. She caught it mid-air and unzipped it.
“Okay, here goes,” Piper announced. She lined up the ankh and pressed. A click sounded, then a screeching noise.
“Uh-oh, that’s not good,” she groaned. A shout arose from the outer chamber as the stone door to the first chamber slid shut, cutting them off from the rest of the group. From the decorative colonnades on the walls, spears now poked out. The poles and the walls they were attached to crept inward. They were trapped and about to be impaled like an onion slice on a kebab.
“We’ll be skewered!” Piper shouted.
“Calm down, Piper,” Ollie advised. “Remove the ankh, place it in the bag and toss it to Charlie.”
With a grimace on her face, Piper pulled the ankh from the column and placed it in the bag. She struggled with the bag, tugging on it with a groan. “I can’t get it zipped!” she cried.
“Don’t worry about that,” Ollie said, his voice calm and measured. “Just toss it.”
Piper nodded and turned to Charlie. She tossed it toward him. He snatched the bag, clutching it tightly, so the ankh did not fall.
Charlie pulled the ankh from the bag and inserted it into the outline in the column. Maggie scanned the room; nothing had changed. The walls continued their slow creep toward them. Maggie pressed her lips together, fidgeting in place as she watched the slow progression of the spears. With a frustrated growl, Charlie yanked the ankh from the cavity and placed it in the bag. He pulled the zipper. It didn’t budge.
“Zipper’s stuck, going to toss it with the bag open.”
Charlie flung the bag to Emma. It shifted mid-air. Emma lunged forward to grab it before it hit the floor. She clutched the edge of the bag, closing her fingers awkwardly around a chunk of fabric. “Got it!” she exclaimed as she bobbled the bag in a desperate attempt to hang on to it. As she pulled the bag toward her, the ankh toppled from the unzipped top. It slid across the floor, skittering to a halt in the center of the room.
Emma stared after it with wide eyes. Maggie’s jaw dropped and a hushed silence fell over the room’s stunned occupants. Without thinking, Maggie darted toward the ankh.
“Maggie, watch!” Ollie shouted.
Maggie leapt over groups of tiles in a hurried attempt to reach the ankh. She made it unscathed and scooped the ankh from the floor. She set her gaze on Emma. “Ready?” she questioned, breathless.
Emma nodded.
“Don’t drop it this time,” Garrity hollered.
Maggie lobbed it to her, and Emma caught it without trouble.
“Stay there, Maggie,” Ollie advised as Emma placed the ankh into her column. She shoved it into the space. With a disgusted groan, Emma removed the ankh. She stuffed it into the bag as the spears inched closer.
She tossed the bag to Ollie. As he removed the ankh, Garrity shook his head, shouting, “I can’t. No way, I have to get out of here.”
“Garrity, calm down,” Ollie tried.
Garrity hyperventilated, sucking in short, quick breaths as he eyed the approaching walls. “Come on, mate, just relax, we’re nearly there,” Charlie counseled
“We don’t know if this is going to stop us from being killed!” he shouted. “I have to get out of here.”
Garrity fled from his column toward the sealed entrance to the initial chamber. “NO, STOP!” Ollie cautioned. Garrity did not heed the warning. He ran headlong toward the stone door. In his frantic scramble to escape, he tread on several trigger tiles.
Maggie tensed, covering her head with her hands as she shrunk away from Garrity’s path. With each tile Garrity depressed, a metal arrow shot from the ceiling. The black dots they spotted earlier launched the barrage. The first arrow missed its mark, glancing off the floor and clattering across the room.
The second arrow struck, plunging into Garrity’s back foot. He yelped as he stumbled forward. Blinded by pain, he stepped on several other tiles. Multiple arrows shot from the ceiling. One plung
ed into Garrity’s shoulder. He howled again as another plunged into his forearm. Garrity collapsed to his knees as another pelted him. He crawled forward on his hands and knees as another arrow struck him in the back.
A tear rolled down Maggie’s cheek as Garrity gurgled his final breath.
“Ohmigod, ohmigod, ohmigod,” Piper exclaimed.
Ollie rammed the ankh into his column. “Maggie, I need someone at the last column,” he stated as he pulled the ankh from the pillar when it failed to stop the deadly trap’s progression.
Maggie nodded, recovering from her shock and snapping into action. She picked her way through the tiles, climbing over Garrity’s dead body. She reached the final column and signaled for Ollie to toss the ankh.
Ollie slung the ankh over inside the bag. Maggie caught it and removed the ankh. She lined it up.
“Hurry,” Emma cried, distress in her voice. Maggie realized the reason. The ever-approaching spears were now inches from them. Maggie swallowed hard as she jammed the ankh into the hole.
Chapter 28
A grinding noise filled the chamber, followed by a hissing. Maggie spun to face the exterior wall. The spears receded into the decorative columns. The walls retreated to their former position. Two holes gaped at them now. Both the original entrance glided open along with the wall across from it with the ankh outline.
Maggie slumped against the pillar in relief. “We did it!” she exclaimed. She slid to the floor as a voice called her name.
“Maggie! Maggie!” Henry shouted. He rushed through the doorway, stopping short when he entered the room. His eyes widened as he spotted the dead body in the room’s center.
“I’m here,” she called, pulling herself up to standing. “I’m fine. We’re all fine.”
Bryson pushed past Henry into the room. He stared at his colleague’s body. “What the hell happened?” he demanded.
“He panicked,” Ollie informed Bryson.
“That’s bull! I don’t believe you!”
“It’s true,” Maggie answered. “We hit a snag, and he just lost it. We tried to stop him, but he ran from the column to try to escape. Arrows shot from the ceiling and killed him. It wasn’t our fault.”
Bryson grimaced at them. “We did the best we could do, dude. We nearly died in here because of your greed,” Piper railed against him. “Don’t stand there and get ticked off at us for risking our lives because your guy couldn’t hold his stuff together.”
Bryson’s jaw tightened as he continued to frown. He took a deep breath before he addressed them. “Fine,” he growled. “I suppose there is nothing to be done about it now. We proceed. But I warn you, professor, another slip up and I will even the score.”
“It wasn’t a slip up,” Maggie retorted.
“Actually, it was,” Emma countered, “on your guy’s part. Quit blaming us.”
“Let’s move on,” Ollie suggested. “We’ve made a pathway using the sand that everyone should follow. Be careful not to step on any of the small square tiles. They can prove deadly.”
Mr. Richards ambled into the room, followed by Tarik, Sefu and Seth who walked at the end of the rifles pointed at them by Bryson’s remaining two team members. Ollie moved the others to the room’s center.
“Oh, no,” Mr. Richards lamented, “what happened to Garrity?”
“The professor claims he panicked and triggered one of the traps. It resulted in his death.”
Mr. Richards frowned. “Terrible shame. Everyone, please be more careful and listen to the professor going forward.”
The group gathered on the fringes of the room as Maggie, Ollie and Emma made their way to the new doorway. Bryson picked his way carefully across the room to zip tie Charlie and Piper’s wrists.
Ollie peered into the next chamber with his flashlight. “What do you see, professor?” Bryson inquired after finishing his tasks.
“It appears to be a long, sloping corridor. Your group should remain here while we inspect it.”
“No,” Bryson argued. “From here, we move forward together.”
“That could prove dangerous,” Ollie countered. “We have no idea what traps may lay on the opposite side of that doorway. We want to prevent any further mishaps.”
Bryson narrowed his eyes at Ollie. “As do I, which is why I propose we move forward together. I will not tolerate another ‘accident.’ What better way than to watch your every move.”
“I cannot be responsible for anything that happens if you proceed into that corridor with us when we have no idea what dangers may be present.”
“We’ll take our chances,” Bryson snapped.
Bryson motioned for his associates to push the group forward. Ollie entered the long hallway. It extended beyond the reach of the flashlight’s beam. Maggie inched forward next to Ollie. Emma crept on Ollie’s other side.
“I feel like Dorothy going to see the wizard,” Maggie said as she swung her beam over the ceiling, wall and floor.
“We need to get rid of the wizard,” Emma whispered in a hushed tone.
“Yep, we need a plan. We’re running out of time,” Maggie agreed.
“Let’s concentrate on making it through this corridor alive,” Ollie said, refocusing their attention.
“What are you three discussing?” Bryson inquired.
“Making it through this passage alive,” Ollie answered.
Finally, Maggie’s light bounced off a wall at the end. “Looks like the end’s up ahead.”
“Careful,” Ollie cautioned.
They crept to the corridor’s end. Maggie, Ollie and Emma swung their flashlights around searching the walls, floor and ceiling near the wall.
“Is this a dead-end?” Bryson queried.
“I doubt it is,” Ollie answered. “We need to find the way to open it.”
“Here!” Emma exclaimed. She pointed her flashlight toward a pulley wheel.
“Should we try it?” Maggie inquired.
“Hmm,” Ollie mumbled. He followed the pulley system into the ceiling. He rubbed his chin as he pondered the question.
“What’s the hold-up, professor?” Bryson asked.
“We have discovered this device, but we don’t know what it does. It could be a trap.”
“Or it could lead to the library, correct?” Bryson asked.
“Yes,” Ollie confirmed. “It could.”
“Then use it,” Bryson said.
“Just a moment,” Ollie objected. “I’d prefer to have a better idea of what this does before we plunge headlong into it.”
Bryson leveled his gun at Maggie’s head. “I said use it.”
Maggie swallowed hard, a lump forming in her throat.
“All right, all right,” Ollie acquiesced. He reached toward the pulley wheel. Ollie grasped the handle on the wheel. He pulled it. It didn’t budge. Ollie grabbed it with both hands and tugged. With a groan, the wheel started to turn. He twisted it clockwise, spinning it around several times.
As the wheel spun, a clanking sounded, and a trigger engaged. The stone wall at the end of the corridor lifted little by little. Ollie continued to spin the pulley until the door raised into the ceiling. As Ollie let go of the wheel, it untwisted, and the stone began to fall.
“We need to wedge it,” Ollie shouted, grabbing hold of it to stop its spin. One of their guards passed a file to Ollie. He shoved it into the wheel to hold it from moving.
After a careful check of the doorway, Ollie led the group into the next chamber. Their flashlights did little to light the room. A stairway led down to another level.
Ollie studied a channel running down the stairway. He removed the lighter from his pocket and lit the fuel in the channel. Flames raced down the side of the stairs and around the room. The chamber lit up in a dazzling display of light, revealing its contents.
Ceiling-high shelves lined the room filled with tablets and scrolls. Various other items were stuffed into the space. Statues, jewelry, golden coins and other valuable ancient items.
Maggie’s eyes lit up as the room did. “Wow!” she exclaimed.
“Indeed,” Mr. Richards agreed. “Amazing!” He proceeded to the top of the stairs.
“Careful!” Ollie cautioned.
“Get going, then, professor,” Bryson prodded.
Ollie, Maggie and Emma proceeded down the stairs, ensuring the safety of the structure before the remaining group members were forced to the lower floor.
“We’ve found it, sir,” Bryson said, congratulating Mr. Richards.
“Yes, our buyers will be quite pleased.”
“The take looks promising,” Bryson agreed.
“Yes,” Mr. Richards agreed. “I have a few calls to make. I suggest you finish your business while I do so.”
Mr. Richards climbed the stairs and disappeared through the doorway into the corridor beyond. Maggie swallowed hard as she realized they were out of time. Mr. Richards removed himself from the chamber while Bryson dealt with the more unpleasant details, specifically, their demise.
She glanced at Henry, who raised his eyebrows at her. She understood the gesture. If she found an opportunity, whether it be to escape or even to delay the inevitable, take it. Maggie offered a subtle nod.
“Well,” Bryson began, twirling to eye everyone in the group, “it appears we have reached the end of our time together.”
Charlie stepped in front of Piper, shielding her with his body.
“Now, Bryson,” Henry said, “let’s not be hasty. Most of these people are innocent. Don’t take whatever grudge you have with me out on them.”
“Oh, shut up, Taylor. You’re not going to talk your way out of this one.”
Bryson took stock of the group as he clicked the safety off his weapon. “It is rather a shame about you, Ms. Edwards. Such a pretty girl. We would have made a lovely couple under different circumstances.”
Emma stood behind Bryson, staring at Maggie. She winked before she rolled her eyes. “Oh, you can’t even be serious! Of course, of course!” she exclaimed, flinging her hands in the air. “The beautiful, beguiling Maggie Edwards can charm her way out of a death sentence by batting her eyelashes. What else would I expect?”
Secret of the Ankhs: A Maggie Edwards Adventure (Maggie Edwards Adventures Book 2) Page 32
