Then, she leaped.
For a moment, Zahra had thought Rabia, like her brother, had misjudged the distance. It looked as if Rabia would fall short. Her heels barely made it to the fourth step, but she wheeled her arms around and kept her balance.
Unfortunately, half of the landing zone broke apart from the impact. She hopped forward as the third and fourth steps fell away.
Now, the gap was four entire steps, not two.
Shit…
“Screw this…” Zahra unclipped her collapsed hook and tossed it to Rabia. The sniper caught it. “Just in case.”
Rabia gripped it in her free hand. Zahra climbed back up a step, then got somewhat of a running start. She bounded forward and jumped, doing as Baahir had done and overshot her target. Still, it meant she wasn’t going to fall short and plummet to her death. She collided with Rabia, and the two women went down, but they were both cognizant enough to prevent themselves from rolling uncontrollably.
Zahra scraped her left shoulder and palm in the process, opening two new wounds. She climbed off Rabia and felt a stinging sensation in her right knee as well.
Make that three new wounds.
The rough igneous rock had not only torn through her flesh, but it had also ripped through her heavy-duty pants. Rabia was also bleeding from a cut to her chin.
Both women stood and faced Baahir. He looked terrified of what was to come.
“I’m not so sure about this.”
“I’m not, either.” Zahra tossed the head of the hook up to him. He caught it. “But we don’t have much of a choice.”
Baahir snuck a peek over the edge and cringed. Even though they were only forty feet up, the drop was a guaranteed death. Baahir understood that. Like Zahra, Baahir backed away to give himself some space to speed up, then launched forward over the gap.
This time, there were two people to catch him. They wrapped their arms around him and dug their boots into the grainy surface. Thankfully, Baahir wasn’t heavy. His lean frame allowed the two petite women to effectively stop his momentum. Rabia went high. Zahra went low, accidentally jamming her shoulder into his solar plexus.
Baahir was driven back onto his ass. He plopped down with both women in his lap.
“That was… um, thanks.”
They silently nodded, and picked themselves up. Baahir pushed himself to his feet, and the three turned and faced Ali, the last one to make the jump.
He didn’t look at all pleased.
Zahra brought the grappling hook up and tossed the head to him. With three adults on this side, the grappling hook would be a safer method for Ali to get across.
Hopefully, he’s not ten percent heavier than me…
Ali fumbled with the line, causing him to lose his balance. He leaned right, toward the drop, then overcorrected and dove back into the cavern wall.
He hit his head on the rocks.
“You okay?” Zahra asked.
“Yes. I… it has been a long day.”
“Come on,” she said. “Not too much more.”
And let’s hope there’s an exit as well, she thought. The last thing they needed was to get stuck in Anubis’ lair without a way out.
Baahir slid in between Zahra and Rabia. The three of them held the cord, ready to accept the man’s weight if he toppled off the side of the cliff.
Ali squeezed the grappling hook, then jumped. Just at the edge of the stair, a piece of stone broke beneath his foot.
He lost nearly all his lift. There was no way Ali was going to make it.
“Hold the line!” Zahra shouted, leaning back.
Baahir and Rabia did as Zahra did and held on tight.
Ali hit the bottom step chest-first…
…And then disappeared.
Zahra screamed, but was thrilled to then feel the rope go taught. All her muscles tensed, and she felt the line yanking her over the step.
But Ali was still hanging in there — literally. He floundered around, kicking, and wrestling for control of himself.
“Down!” Zahra screamed, getting an idea. “Lower him down!”
Inch by excruciating inch, the trio of Zahra, Baahir, and Rabia lowered Ali down. He let go with a few feet to go and crashed to the cavern floor, rolling to a stop a few feet later.
Zahra’s hands stung like hell. Still, Ali was alive, and so was everyone else. After a moment of catching their breath, they continued down the remainder of the stairs with no issue.
Ali met them at the foot of the staircase and hugged them one after another.
“Thank you,” he said.
Zahra waved him off. She was already focused on the edge of Anubis’ infernal kingdom. It was the closest thing to hell that Zahra had ever seen. She could only imagine the mentality of the people that had once called this place home. Were they faithful devotees, or tormented souls with nowhere else to go?
Hang on…
Zahra spun and looked up toward the opening, picturing the lived-in rooms. Then, her mind went further back — to the crucified bodies. Lastly, she, once again, took in the glowing city, closely examining the structures. They weren’t beautifully ornate or designed with lavish comfort in mind.
It came to her.
“The bodies,” she said, working it out.
“What about them?” Baahir asked.
She faced him. “I don’t think he performed tests on his own people.”
“How do you know?” Ali asked.
“This place. Look at it. Does it look like any kingdom you’ve ever seen?”
Baahir shook his head. “No, and now that you mention it, it kind of looks like a—”
“A prison,” Rabia finished, coming to the same conclusion. “Anubis imprisoned people here. Then, he conducted his awful experiments on them.”
“And the rooms upstairs?” Ali asked.
Zahra shrugged. “I don’t know, his guards — the Scales of Anubis?” All three of them stared down Zahra. She felt uneasy. “It’s just a theory…”
Chapter 99
Zahra
“You see that?” Baahir asked.
“See what?” Zahra asked, resting her palm on her holstered pistol. They had reached the extreme edge of the city after having descended the stairs. She was exhausted, but knew their journey wasn’t over yet.
“Over there,” he said, pointing down the road. “I think I saw something move.”
“Khaliq?”
Baahir squinted, but didn’t say anything.
“I think you are tired, my friend,” Ali said. “We are all seeing things.”
Even Rabia’s eyes looked heavy.
Zahra was scared, too, unsure of what might happen next. She was leading this expedition into hell.
And if any of her present company died, their blood would be on her hands.
The shadows did seem to dance in the wavering light produced by the river of fire. The radiating heat was intense, but it was a comforting blanket to Zahra. She felt exposed without her jacket, and the warmth reminded her of home. Of anything besides this place.
The Prison Camp of Anubis.
“There’s a bridge up ahead,” Rabia announced.
She had moved further up the road, leaving the rest of the group behind. If it was anyone else, Zahra would have suggested they stay with the pack, but the sniper knew what she was doing.
Ali must have been thinking the same thing. “Rabia, you—”
She turned and held up a hand, silencing him quickly. Then, she pointed at her right ear. It was the universal sign for “listen, numbnuts!” Zahra didn’t hear anything, but she trusted Rabia’s instincts. But after twenty seconds of inaction, much of which Zahra had spent holding her breath, Rabia signaled for them to keep moving. The sniper threw her rifle around her back, tightening the sling as she did. She opted for her sidearm instead, drawing it and keeping it at the low ready.