by Jack Geurts
As they approached the centre of the doorway, Jasper saw two large, ring-like objects come into their turquoise glow – ancient door handles, rusted beyond use. He crouched down and tried to pick one of them up. It was heavier than he expected, and even with both hands, he couldn’t get it off the ground.
“Would you like a hand with that?” Io said, joking.
Jasper ignored her and let it drop. The resulting clang echoed throughout the uncharted emptiness all around them, making the mausoleum seem endless.
“They would’ve been attached to the gate,” he said, a little short of breath. “But since it was probably made of wood, the doors are long gone. These handles and hinges are all that’s left.”
They both stood there, staring out into the void. Dia cowered behind his master’s legs.
“What do we do?” Io said.
Jasper shrugged. “Why don’t you fire off a shot, light the place up a bit? See what we’re dealing with.”
“What if I hit something?”
“You can go for another walk out there if you want.”
Io studied the trigger-stones arrayed before them and decided against it. Instead, she raised her glove and fired off a blast of Elemental. It shot out into the abyss, driving away the blackness all around it and illuminating a flight of stairs.
The stairs were fully lit up at the top, but as the Elemental continued on its horizontal trajectory, they grew less and less visible – descending down into the dark where Jasper and Io could not see. At the top of the staircase, there was a stone rail on either side that rose to about waist height. Set into the top of these rails were deep grooves containing some kind of black liquid, not unlike oil. Jasper only had a second or two to notice this before the stairs were cast back into shadow.
He watched the bolt of energy, expecting it to collide with the far wall at any moment. Instead, it just kept going.
And going.
And going, until eventually it petered out. Before it did, Jasper thought he saw a shimmer in the void below, like moonlight reflected in still water.
Both of them stood there, speechless with the realisation of how huge this place truly was. Larger than the chamber they were in now by orders of magnitude. So big that none of the walls were visible in the Elemental’s light, and neither was the floor or ceiling.
There had only been that faint shimmer far below to give any indication of the cavernous space, and if the legends were true, Jasper had a pretty good idea what that was.
He remembered the grooves set into the railing on either side of the staircase, and he made his way back to where Io had been shot, careful to stay safely within the antechamber. He could see the lowered trigger-stones that they had stepped on, and he stretched out his foot, tapping it on the nearest one to test it.
Nothing happened.
He put more of his weight on the stone, expecting any second to hear another thunk as an arrow was sent hurtling in his direction. But there was no sound – the crossbow connected to this particular stone was empty. Each trigger must have only been good for one shot, Jasper reasoned.
Finally, he put all his weight on the depressed stone and stepped forward, placing his other foot on the next one. From here, he peered into the groove. At the landing he was on, the rail was flat and so the black liquid pooled there. As the rail descended with the staircase, he could see that the liquid which had once flowed down it had dried and formed into a tar-like paste on the inside of the groove.
“What do you suppose it is?” said Io, from the safety of the antechamber.
“Looks like some kind of flammable liquid. Can you light it?”
She was stunned by the question. “What if the whole place explodes?”
“I don’t think the Emperor would have designed his tomb to explode.”
Io wasn’t convinced.
“It’s probably some kind of ancient lighting system,” Jasper said, trying to reassure her. “They would’ve needed a way to see down here.”
She still looked uncertain, but could see Jasper’s point. They switched places so now Io was by the stone railing and Jasper was back in the antechamber. With some hesitation, she reached out her glowing hand and touched the tips of her fingers to the black liquid.
Instantly, the tar-like substance caught alight and flames shot across the top of the stone rail and down the decline. Another thin trail of fire made its way vertically up the wall on a second, dried tar-slick as the first one went deeper into the cavern, lighting the stairs more permanently.
When it reached the bottom, the flames took a sharp left and continued following the stone rail across what appeared to be the ground floor. Jasper, Io and Dia could only stare, wide-eyed in amazement, as the fire shot up the left-hand side of the chamber. Only it wasn’t a chamber.
It was a palace.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Quicksand And Quicksilver
...a vast, underground palace.
The flames proceeded to travel around the man-made cavern, banishing the dark and illuminating everything by degrees. Gigantic stone pillars were revealed, running around the perimeter of the cavern in a perfect rectangle – beginning and ending with ones on either side of the staircase. The columns were topped by a strip of marble that formed the outline of a rectangle without filling in the middle. This left the interior of the palace exposed to the cavern’s domed ceiling.
It was along the marble strip that the second trail of fire was running, parallel to the first one down below. The flames that shot vertically up the wall had connected to what Jasper assumed was a similar groove up above. As the lower fire lit up the ground floor, the upper fire lit the ceiling.
And there, Jasper beheld a recreation of the heavens.
A constellation of stars wrought from silver, planets from gold – all of them shining brightly in the glow of the fire, like celestial bodies burning in the far-off corners of the universe. They were affixed to the ceiling of the cavern, which had been sculpted into a perfect dome and painted black to imitate the night sky. It curved beyond the pillars to some unseen horizon, giving the palace the impression of floating in a void.
But that wasn’t what drew Jasper and Io’s attention most.
The twin flames ran parallel, as if racing on separate tracks. As the upper fire traced a path over the pillars in a wide rectangle around the palace, the bottom one did the same thing, only down below, where the stone rail was contained within the pillars – much like the inner and outer city walls on the surface above.
Finally, the fire came back to meet Jasper and Io, racing up the stone rail on the opposite side of the staircase, as its twin climbed down the wall from the pillar-tops above. The two met directly at the place where the stone rail met the wall and became one.
With the ancient lighting system complete, Jasper and Io didn’t need their gloves to see any more. She came back to join him in the doorway and they looked upon the underground palace in all its glory.
Taking up the centre of the immense courtyard was a man-made mountain range. Though they were too far away to get a proper appreciation of the detail, they were still able to make out the intricate ridges and valleys that had been hand-carved to mimic nature.
Threading through these mountains were a system of rivers that crossed over each other and emptied into a pool surrounding the entire range. But it wasn’t water running through these fake river beds and flowing into that artificial sea.
It was mercury. Thick, silver mercury, like liquid metal, glimmering in the firelight.
Beyond that, all around the sea of mercury and the mountain range within, the floor was made of sand. But not like sand you’d find on a beach. Jasper had read enough about this place to know that that was quicksand, and if by some misfortune he happened to fall in, odds were he wouldn’t be able to get back out again. Same thing if he fell into the pool of mercury. Sure, he might be able to climb out, but he wouldn’t live long if he did.
Quicksand and quicksilver. Hell of
a combination, he thought.
And right there in the centre of it all...
The second Marker.
It shone like a beacon in the mountains – its smooth, metal sides in contrast to the more natural shape of the ridges and valleys around it.
When Io could find her voice again, she said, “Do you suppose he is buried under there?”
Jasper didn’t answer, but guessed she was right. If the burial mound had been modelled after the Marker, then it was likely the Emperor valued that above all his other possessions. For him, there would have been no better tombstone in the entire world – a gift from the gods, or so he would have thought.
Just as the legends had foretold, there lay the first Emperor of China, beneath a starry sky, surrounded by mountains and rivers. A microcosm of his empire under the heavens.
“How do we get there?” Jasper said, looking out over the quicksand and the mercury. He began to notice the Terracotta Warriors positioned throughout the palace, armed with swords, spears and axes. All of them were painted in the same garish colours that he had seen in the tunnel.
There was a row of them down either side of the staircase, one every few steps. Up above on the pillar-tops, they were posted at intervals, back-lit by the flames. A number of them had also been set up on a low wall separating the mercury from the quicksand – the inner wall within the inner wall.
Finally, Jasper saw the crossbows.
There were dozens of them – hundreds, maybe. They were affixed to the two closest pillars on either side of the staircase, all directed inward at any person foolish enough to enter the mausoleum. Three of the crossbows were missing their bolts, and three of the stones Jasper could see on the landing had been stepped on.
But there were many, many others that had not been. In fact, the entire rest of the landing was made up of identical triggers, as were the stairs below it.
It appeared that once a person reached the bottom of the staircase, that was it for the crossbows. But then they had the quicksand to contend with. Then they had the mercury to contend with.
“I say we make a run for it,” said Io.
Jasper just stared at her in disbelief. “You wanna make a run for it? Sure, why not? Just run down a gauntlet of arrows shooting at you from every direction, wade through the quicksand, paddle through the poisonous mercury and we’re there. Easy.”
“You got a better plan?” she said, imitating what he’d said earlier.
He smiled, shaking his head. “Not right now, but give me a minute.”
But they didn’t have a minute. Right then, a blast of red energy came down from the stars, hurtling towards them like a comet.
Io grabbed Jasper and pulled him behind the wall as the red Elemental slammed into the ground like a fireball, sending up a shower of dust and rubble. Dia retreated also, in a flurry of flapping wings and squawks.
“Janus,” Io said, though Jasper had already guessed as much. They stood there panting on the dark side of the wall, safely concealed within the antechamber, waiting for the rider to announce himself.
“Come out, princess.” Janus’ deep voice echoed in the cavern. “Let me see your pretty face.”
Jasper saw Io thinking hard, thinking fast. Trying to figure out their next move. She dared a peek around the corner and quickly withdrew when another bolt of red energy blew a chunk out of the wall where her head had been.
“He is up on the pillars,” she said. “At the far end of the courtyard.”
Jasper rested his head against the wall, heart racing. “What do we do?”
Io swallowed, trying to stay calm. “I will go up and deal with him. You make a run for the pyramid.”
“Are you crazy?”
“You do not think that I can handle it?”
“No, I don’t think I can handle it. The arrows maybe, but how the hell do I get past the quicksand? And even if I do, what about the mercury?”
“Use your glove,” she said. “You have seen what it is capable of. Now, see what you are capable of.”
Jasper didn’t have time to argue or agree with her, for then she said, “I will go out first and draw his attention. As I lay down suppressing fire, you and Dia come out behind me and run down the stairs.”
Dia’s head cocked at this, not liking the sound of being separated from his master – the idea of being paired with Jasper, even less. Io saw this and stroked the creature behind his ears.
“It is alright, Dia. Only for a little while.”
But the bird continued to pout.
“I need you to look after Jasper. Can you do that for me?”
Dia looked at Jasper, trying to decide whether or not he was going to obey. Jasper knew the real reason was that Io wanted to keep the bird away from Janus, but he wasn’t sure what good Dia would be to him – more likely to slow him down than anything else. All he’d seen so far was a creature more hampered by evolution than aided by it – ugly on foot, and even uglier in the air.
Finally, the Archaeopteryx sighed in a gesture of consent. Io smiled and stroked it again, then turned back to Jasper.
“I saw a ladder going up the back of the closest pillar. I will climb that to go and hold off Janus while you make your way to the pyramid.”
Her voice was a little shaky. Rather than giving the impression of being in control, she seemed to be convincing herself that she was.
“But won’t he just teleport down here?” Jasper said.
“I hope not.”
“You hope not?”
Io’s eyes flashed with anger. “Yes, I hope not. What do you want from me, Jasper? I am one person. One. He is the leader of an entire rebel army. You saw what he did to us in Eridu, how he is able to move through time and space like that. I...”
She broke off, staring down at her hands, feeling outmatched, overwhelmed. Jasper didn’t know what to say to make it better.
“I’m waiting, princess,” Janus called.
The voice seemed to make Io withdraw further into herself. Each word reminding her of the danger that awaited, the brother he had taken from her. Jasper saw how tormented she was by this man and leaned in close, lowering his voice to a whisper.
“You’re not just one person,” he said. “I’m right here with you...for whatever that’s worth.”
Io looked up and searched his eyes for a moment, then smiled. It seemed to be worth something to her, having him here. He was glad to see her smile, glad he could alleviate at least some small measure of doubt or fear – in her, if not in himself.
“Why isn’t he doing the same thing he did in Eridu?” Jasper said. “Moving time around to throw us off.”
“He probably thinks he does not need to, that he can kill us by hand before we even get close to the Marker.”
He’s probably right, Jasper thought, but didn’t dare give voice to that opinion. There was no point in complaining – they were in this situation now, and there was no way out of it until they unlocked the secret of the pyramid. All he had to do was touch it and hope that it revealed its clue before Janus killed them both.
That was all. Just a walk in the park.
A park made of quicksand, and mercury, and flying arrows, and a dinosaur rider flinging bolts of energy at him.
“If he teleports too much, he will tire himself out,” said Io. “Hopefully, I can stay alive long enough to force a fair fight.”
Jasper wasn’t sure if that was meant to bolster his confidence, and if it was, then it failed miserably.
“Are you ready?” she said.
Jasper nodded, and hoped she couldn’t tell he was lying. She nodded back, stroking Dia’s feathers one more time.
Then she was gone – out the door and running.
Jasper exchanged a terrified look with the bird, then followed before he had a chance to come to his senses. Dia scurried after him.
Up ahead, Io had her glove raised and was loosing a round of blue Elemental up at Janus, who teleported away. Instead, the blast connected with one of the
Terracotta Warriors, turning it promptly into dust. The ceramic shards cast out by the explosion were so small they floated down like confetti, tinkling softly as they showered the stone floor.
Normally, Jasper would have been devastated by the loss of so important an ancient relic, but at this particular moment, he had other things to think about – like the arrows flying at him from either side.
The death orchestra was in full swing now. A staccato chorus of loud thunks as the bolts were fired from their crossbows, whistling as they flew and connecting with a loud crack into the stone that summoned them. A terrible grinding and scraping as every step caused one of the trigger-stones to begin lowering, setting off yet another arrow.
Jasper and Io ducked and weaved as the bolts whizzed past them. Dia made his way forward in long, flapping bounds, using the downward slope to his advantage. He cut left and right to avoid the projectiles, gliding in the most ungraceful sense of the word.
“Good luck!” called Io, and Jasper looked over just in time to see her step up onto the stone rail and launch herself through the flames and into the air.
Time seemed to slow as Io soared across the gap between rail and pillar. She landed deftly on one of the rungs of the metal ladder, clutching a higher rung with her hands. Without missing a beat, she began scurrying upwards, and Jasper turned his attention back to the stairs.
He did this just in time, for the next moment it wasn’t just arrows he was dodging – it was a blast of red Elemental, coming straight at him...
Jasper dived forward and rolled under the blast. He tumbled end over end, all the way to the bottom of the stairs. Every time he spun to face the direction he was travelling, he saw the quicksand rising up to meet him, getting closer every second and him with no way of slowing down. He felt his stomach drop – barely able to feel the staircase bruising his soft flesh with every rotation.
Luckily, the steps emptied out onto a bit of a landing, so as he came tumbling onto the flat, he slowed a little.
But not enough.
