He heard Ben cry out, but he couldn't see him through the veil of dust and falling rock. "Ben!"
The rocks had stopped falling. The lantern had been smashed, but he still had his flashlight. He turned it on and looked around. The entrance to the chamber was blocked with rocks, and the ceiling had collapsed. The only wall fully intact was the one on which the mural was depicted. Peseshet was still sitting serenely on her throne staring coolly out at the world that had called her a goddess, then destroyed her.
Tavak heard a choked gurgling sound behind him.
Ben.
He spun around to see Ben half-buried in the rubble, with a mixture of blood and dust caked over his mouth.
"Don't try to move," Tavak said. "I'm on my way."
"Like I have a choice?" Ben rasped.
Tavak lifted the larger stones from the right side of Ben's torso and shined his flashlight over him.
Blood.
Chunks of flesh protruding from his ripped shirt. Shit.
"That bad, huh?" Ben's voice was hollow.
Tavak grabbed the first- aid kit out of his backpack. "You'll be fine."
"That's not what your expression is telling me."
The blood was flowing, not gushing. He could probably stop it. He set to work. "Be still. Don't try to talk."
"Fat chance." Ben winced in pain. After the spasm subsided, he glanced around the chamber. "Looks like your brilliant calculations were wrong. You almost brought down the entire tomb."
He sliced through Ben's trousers to look at his legs. No open wounds. Maybe broken bones in his hips or back. Better not move him. "No way. I don't make that kind of mistake." Tavak sniffed the stale air. "Cyclotol."
"I thought you used C-4."
"I did. Someone else set another charge. One meant for us."
"Ali?"
"If not him, then someone he told about us." Tavak nodded toward the still-intact south wall. "It's no coincidence that wall is still standing. Someone besides us knew the room was here."
"Then don't let the bastards get away with it. Find a way to get yourself out of here."
"I'm working on it. And it will be both of us, not just me."
Ben grimaced in pain. "I don't think so, Tavak."
"You're coming with me."
"I can't feel my legs, and my chest hurts like hell." His lips were thinned with pain. "Sorry to be… such a wimp."
The extent of Ben's injuries scared the hell out of him. They had to get out of here. Tavak began to go through the contents in his knapsack. There had to be something he could use… "You're not a wimp, or you wouldn't have come along for the ride."
"If Ali really set us up, no one even knows we're here."
Tavak shook his head. "Except the person who wants to kill us."
"Dawson?"
"Good chance." He looked at the mural on the wall. "You know, many of the priests in the Middle Kingdom hated Peseshet. I'd think they rigged something to make sure no one would ever resurrect anything she stood for, except that they had no explosives in 2500 B.C."
Ben closed his eyes. "Keep looking in that magic bag of yours. I hope to hell you find something to use to get us away from here."
So do I, Tavak thought grimly. He wasn't claustrophobic like Ben, but he didn't like the idea of spending his final days being buried alive down here. "It's not magic. If it was, I'd be turning it into a flying carpet and buzzing out of here." He set out the contents of the knapsack on the ground. "But I might be able to find something."
"Have you ever been in a cave-in before?"
"Once. Australia. Opal mine outside Perth."
"And were you prepared then?"
"No, I almost died of thirst before I crawled out of there. Live and learn. I swore I'd never go more than six feet underground. And then only when they buried me."
"Yet here you are."
"What can I say? I got greedy."
"So did I, my friend."
Tavak stared at the stones and rubble separating him from the rest of the tomb. Even if they made it out, they might be met with lethal force. Whoever had set up this scenario hadn't wanted them to come out alive and wanted to preserve the information on that wall. "There's got to be a way to get out."
"Like Jonah in the whale? I wouldn't count on divine intervention."
"I never do. I've always believed God helps he who helps himself. If he feels in the mood. Let me think about this."
* * *
Someone was holding her hand…
Rachel knew that touch. She had to open her eyes. Maybe Allie needed her.
"Allie… " She struggled to lift her lids. Lord, it was hard. The sedative had taken hold, and every effort was almost impossible. She finally managed to open her eyes.
Allie's face a blur beside her. Allie's hand on hers. "Go back to sleep, Rachel. I didn't mean to wake you."
"Are you… okay?"
Allie nodded. "I should have known that would be the first thing you'd say. You're the one who was shot."
"Who told you?"
"Not Simon. But he's not hard to read. I had Letty check and see what was really happening."
"Did she bring you?"
"Yes, she's in the waiting room. Now hush. I'll have to leave if I disturb you."
She was barely able to form the words. "Shouldn't be here. It's not good for you. Hospitals… "
"Don't bother me anymore. I've been in so many, it's like a second home. And where else should I be when my sister is sick?"
"Not sick. Some nut—"
"Tried to blow your head off." Her eyes were glistening with tears. "And you didn't even want them to tell me. How worthless do you think that makes me feel?"
Don't cry, Allie. It hurts me. You never cry. "Sorry. I thought… Don't worry. It will be all right."
"I love you. I'm not well, but I'm still able to function as a human being. Why did you try to take that away from me? Listen to you. Even now you're trying to comfort me."
Didn't she understand? "It's not right. I'm… so strong. There should be some way I could give some of it to you."
"Yeah, real strong." Allie leaned forward and brushed a kiss on Rachel's cheek. "Go back to sleep."
"You shouldn't be here."
"I'll leave as soon as you drift off."
Rachel's lids closed. "Promise?"
"Yes. I'll let Letty take me home and tuck me into my safe little bed."
"I just want you to be… "
"I know. I know."
* * *
"How is she?" Letty Clark asked, when Allie came into the waiting room. "I was talking to the nurses. They think she'll be fine."
"She's Rachel. What else can I say?" Allie took the jacket Letty handed her and slipped it on. "She wants you to drive me home and take care of me." She shook her head. "And she doesn't even realize how ridiculous she's being."
Letty smiled. "She's protective. But then so are you. You'd like to whisk her away from this place." She tilted her head. "And I can see you standing guard over her."
"As she hired you to stand guard over me?"
"It made her feel better since she couldn't always be with you." Letty handed her a cup of coffee in a Styrofoam cup. "And we've made a good thing of it, haven't we, Allie?"
"A very good thing." Allie smiled affectionately at Letty. When Letty Clark had appeared in her life eight years ago, she'd fiercely resented this new inroad on her independence. She'd known at once that the term "house keeper" was really a misnomer. Letty had been a registered nurse for most of her career.