The God Extinction

by Kevin Tumlinson

  The God Extinction

  A Dan Kotler Archaeological Thriller

  Kevin Tumlinson

  Copyright © 2019 by Kevin Tumlinson

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  PRINT ISBN: 9781386867173

  Also by Kevin Tumlinson

  Dan Kotler

  The Coelho Medallion

  The Atlantis Riddle

  The Devil's Interval

  The Girl in the Mayan Tomb

  The Antarctic Forgery

  The Stepping Maze

  The God Extinction

  Dan Kotler Short Fiction

  The Brass Hall - A Dan Kotler Story

  The Jani Sigil - FREE short story from KevinTumlinson.com/joinme

  Citadel

  Citadel: First Colony

  Citadel: Paths in Darkness

  Citadel: Children of Light

  Citadel: The Value of War

  Colony Girl: A Citadel Universe Story

  Sawyer Jackson

  Sawyer Jackson and the Long Land

  Sawyer Jackson and the Shadow Strait

  Sawyer Jackson and the White Room

  Think Tank

  Karner Blue

  Zero Tolerance

  Nomad

  The Lucid — Co-authored with Nick Thacker

  Episode 1

  Episode 2

  Episode 3

  Standalone

  Evergreen

  Shorts & Novellas

  Getting Gone

  Teresa's Monster

  The Three Reasons to Avoid Being Punched in the Face

  Tin Man

  Two Blocks East

  Edge

  Zero

  Collections

  Citadel: Omnibus

  Uncanny Divide — With Nick Thacker & Will Flora

  Light Years — The Complete Science Fiction Library

  YA & Middle Grade

  Secret of the Diamond Sword — An Alex Kotler Mystery

  Wordslinger (Non-Fiction)

  30-Day Author: Develop a Daily Writing Habit and Write Your Book In 30 Days (Or Less)

  Watch for more at kevintumlinson.com/books

  Contents

  Prologue

  Part I

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Part II

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Part III

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Epilogue

  A Note at the End

  Here’s how to help me reach more readers

  About the Author

  Also by Kevin Tumlinson

  Keep the Adventure Going!

  Prologue

  EASTERN DESERT, EGYPT – FIVE YEARS AGO

  The moonlight was a problem.

  Here, on the Western side of the mountain, Amsu was exposed. Anyone in the camp could look up at any time and see him silhouetted against the cliffs. But it was a necessary risk. This was the only path in that was not guarded—a rugged climb over the mountaintop, scaling down a sheer face with only his own hands and feet. A rope would be spotted. It was too risky.

  Amsu was a skilled climber, but that was in the daylight. One poor hold, one shift of stone, and he would plummet. But he knew these mountains and cliffs well. He had climbed them all his life, and always without the aid of ropes or special shoes or any other tools. He was amused, when the Westerners worried after him, practically forcing him to take climbing gear. He always left it on the mountainside, once he was out of their reach.

  It would only have slowed him down. He would not have been able to provide for them the information they needed, about the caves and ridges of this region. His usefulness to them would be limited. They would no longer need him, and that meant they would no longer pay him. It had to be this way.

  It was his explorations of the area that had led to the discovery of the shaft, his current destination.

  Some decades earlier, one of the archeologists from this research site had found something in these hills. Amsu did not fully understand everything the researchers here said about the discovery, but their whispers of it were enough. And he did understand one thing plainly: Within these cliffs was treasure.

  That was worth the risk of scaling these cliffs in the late hours, after everyone in the camp was asleep and the full moon was his only light source. It was worth everything, even his life.

  The shaft had once been a source of light for some interior chamber. It had been covered by a large quartz stone, about the width of a man’s shoulders. During an earthquake, the shaft had widened slightly, and the stone had fallen into its interior. Amsu had found the shaft, had climbed inside, and using one of the small cameras the researchers had given him, he had transmitted images back to the camp. They were astonished by what he’d found.

  Treasure.

  Not gold, but many jewels. Items made of bronze that would fetch a great value, if they were sold. More wealth than Amsu had ever imagined in all his life, and all of it out of his reach, even as he stood inches from it.

  Amsu used the camera to show the researchers a sweeping view of the chamber, and they cheered. He could hear them over the little speakers in his ears. It went on for several minutes, as he stood in the treasure vault, listening to them while studying the jewels and statues and walls of this place. They then told him to come back, and leave everything he’d found.

  He went back, but he took one of the jewels with him.

  It had once been mounted in a statue of bronze, but the falling quartz had knocked it loose. Amsu had not shown it to the researchers but instead had stooped and quickly slipped it into his pocket, careful to keep the eye of the camera facing the other way. In their celebration, no one noticed.

  Once he was back at the camp, he gave the cameras to the researchers and was told to go back to his village. For once, he made no argument or plea.

  He waited several days, to make sure no one from the research camp approached him, to ask questions about the missing jewel. They were busy organizing ways to get into the chamber, to use their ropes and equipment, and to have professional climbers do what Amsu had done with his bare hands.

  No one knew he had the jewel.

  Amsu knew of a man who often came to the village. He was a rich man and drove a very nice car. And he was forever asking about treasure. "Have you seen anything? Do you know of any statues or objects that these researchers have not seen? Can you show me to any places where the archeologists have not yet gone?"

  Amsu knew who this man was, and what he was after. He bought treasure so he could sell it to other rich men. And he could make Amsu rich as well.

  On one morning Amsu found the man in the village, at the small cafe that the researchers often visited for meals, when they wanted to be away from the camp. The cafe owner counted on that business, Amsu knew, and the researchers were selfish for not e
ating here more often. That was how Amsu and others felt. The researchers had money and could help many businesses in the village if they would just come more often.

  None of the researchers were in the village when Amsu found the man, sitting at a table in the cafe and drinking coffee.

  Amsu approached and stood close, silent.

  “Yes?” the man asked, perturbed. “I won’t give you any money. Go away.”

  “I have something,” Amsu said, quietly. He looked around at the rest of the people in the cafe, but no one was paying attention. Or no one seemed to be paying attention.

  “You have something,” the man said flatly. “Alright, let’s see it.”

  Amsu took a small piece of cloth out of his pocket and placed it on the table, in front of the man.

  The man looked at Amsu’s face for a moment, then carefully folded back the cloth, revealing the jewel. He quickly covered it.

  “Where did you get this?” he asked.

  Amsu knew that it was wise to keep such secrets to himself. Giving anything away meant giving all away.

  “It is a secret place. Only I can reach it, for now. But the researchers know of it.”

  “Is it from their dig site? Did you steal it from them?”

  “No!” Amsu responded. “I took it from a cave. I must climb the mountain to reach it. But there are other treasures there.”

  “How much other treasure?” the man asked.

  Amsu knew he had to be careful. He wanted to entice this man, but giving him too much information would be dangerous.

  “A few things,” Amsu said. “Small things. Bronze. Some jewels.”

  Again the man studied his face, and Amsu wondered if he might be a mystic. Could he read Amsu’s mind? He had heard of such things, and had been warned never to trust a mystic. But this man seemed ordinary, other than his wealth.

  “Can you bring me more?”

  Amsu considered this. It would be difficult, but he believed he could return to the chamber. It would mean another difficult climb. The moon was different now, as well. Less light. But he knew the cliff face well.

  “Yes,” he said, finally. “Will you buy this jewel and anything else I bring?”

  The man reached into his pocket and pulled out a thick stack of Egyptian pounds. It was more money that Amsu had ever seen in his life.

  “Bring me everything you can, and I will pay you for it.”

  “But the jewel,” Amsu said. “You will pay for the jewel now.”

  It was bold, and Amsu knew that the man could ruin him, if he chose. He could raise the alarm, accuse Amsu of being a thief. The authorities would never take Amsu’s word over that of a rich man.

  Instead, the man smiled at him and shook his head. He counted out some of the money he'd been holding, folded it, and put it in Amsu's pocket.

  “Bring me everything you can,” the man said.

  Amsu left the cafe and raced away to prepare, though there wasn't much preparation necessary. He grabbed his cloth sack, and a couple of other useful items. And he carefully hid the money he'd been paid, wrapping it in a piece of upholstery cut from the seat of a wrecked automobile, at the village's edge. He buried this deep in the soil, beneath a stone, and prayed over it, that it would be kept safe.

  Several hours later, as the night came, Amsu once again scaled the mountainside, in the weak moonlight. He was less worried about anyone seeing him, this time, but more worried about a misstep. He held his nerve, however, and eventually climbed into the shaft.

  Once he was a bit deeper in the shaft, he turned on the small flashlight that had been tucked into his pocket—something he'd stolen from one of the researchers. He tilted the light down and held it in his teeth and he made the descent, wedging his knees and elbows against the slanting stone and lowering himself a few inches at a time.

  It was slow progress, but once he reached the bottom, he moved rapidly.

  He would only be able to carry so much, so he would need to make this raid count. Jewels were the priority, as they were lightweight and small, easy to carry. Perhaps some small statutes or other items as well, but the heavy brass would make it difficult to climb out. He focused on the glimmering stones, illuminated and sparkling in the light of the flashlight.

  Using the blade of a knife, he pried at many of the stones, trying to remove them from the brass. They proved much more difficult to remove than he had anticipated, however, and he found he did not have enough strength for most.

  It was taking far too much time. Amsu had started his climb at midnight, and it had taken a great deal of time to get to the shaft. The longer he spent here, the closer it got to dawn. He could not risk climbing at a time when the researchers might awaken.

  He had almost decided to leave, to be content with the money he now had. As he passed the light around the space one last time, however, it landed on the largest of the stones—a red one, the size of his palm. He peered closer.

  This one was set in an amulet of brass, and Amsu had smiled when he discovered it. This would surely bring him enough wealth. The man was sure to be pleased.

  He decided that the amulet was enough, and worth the risk. The rest, he would leave. He would say that this was all he could find. The man would pay him, and it would be done.

  Amsu picked up the amulet and played the flashlight over its surface. It gleamed, red and inviting. He smiled and tucked it into the small sack he had slung over his shoulder.

  He scanned the room one last time, hoping for more items. He decided he could carry at least one of the small brass statues, carved to look like some squat creature, with its tongue sticking out. It was heavy, but he could manage it. He put it in the sack and cinched it closed.

  He had decided this was enough, and was about to make the climb out when he noticed the door.

  It was tucked away, behind a bend in the stone cavern, and he'd only caught a glimpse of its outer edge as his flashlight beam passed over the space. It reflected back at him in a golden hue. More brass, he knew, but still it excited him.

  He walked toward it. Maybe it was a vault of some kind? It could have other treasures! Coins, jewels, objects easy for him to carry.

  The door was indeed brass, and rose high above his head. It was covered in the same strange symbols found everywhere in the cavern. A knotwork of etchings twisted up and around the door's edge. In the center of the door, surrounded by vines of angular symbols, was a face.

  It was smooth, and frightening. Like the face of a ghost. Amsu had seen similar faces, carved into stone and wood, recovered from the dig site by the researchers. But this was the first time he’d seen it cast in brass.

  He reached out, and put his hand on it, running his fingers over its features.

  The face moved under his hand, sinking into the surface of the door, and …

  Its eyes and mouth opened.

  Amsu screamed, jerking his hand away and scurrying back into the main chamber. He clambered up and over stones and statues, quickly moving to the shaft. He scrambled up into it and climbed as quickly as he dared, praying for protection as he ascended.

  When he reached the surface, the moon had dipped below the distant ridgeline, and the light was scant. He picked his way up the cliff face, reaching for handholds out of memory and hope. He was moving too fast, and he knew it. But his fear was giving his limbs increased strength, and he was keenly aware of every crack and crevice in the stone. Soon he crested the top, and he ran now, making speed down the hillside.

  He did not stop until he was back in the village.

  The next morning, he found the man, and after some explanations that this was all he could find, he made the sale.

  It was indeed a great sum of money. It would get him out of this village. He would start a new life, elsewhere.

  But before he could leave, the man grabbed his arm, squeezing hard. “Tell me where you found these?” he asked. “Where is this treasure?”

  Afraid, Amsu told him everything he knew. He told him of the c
limb, and of the vault of treasure, though he had wanted to keep it secret. He described the statues and jewels. “But there is a guardian in the vault,” he said, his voice going quiet. “A creature guards it.”

  “Creature?” the man asked.

  Amsu told him about the face in the door.

  The man listened, then let Amsu go. “Leave this village,” he said. “Never come back.”

  Amsu was happy to do so. He wanted to be as far from the man and the guardian of the vault as he could be. He never wanted to return here.

  He left the man sitting at a table in the cafe, and the man watched him go.

  When Amsu had disappeared into the crowd, the man looked again at the amulet and the small statue. He touched the amulet, running his fingers around its engraved edges. He recognized the symbols. He knew what this was.

  He cinched the sack closed again, and took out his mobile, dialing a number he had dialed many times.

  “I have found it,” the man said. “How soon can you get here?”

  ROSHARON, TEXAS – PRESENT DAY

  Doug's study was a cluttered but serviceable space, with a home-built table festooned with electronics, most of which were scavenged from trash bins and curbsides, and all belonging to previous eras of technology.