Unable to control himself, he stopped. A siren voice called from the light. It was beautiful, feminine, flowery. It beckoned him to stop and enjoy her beauty…
Zane closed his eyes, and the spell broke. Falling behind the others, he dashed toward the gate.
Using her great speed, Keiko entered the cave first, the captive under one arm. The others followed.
“Get as far back as you can!” Zane shouted as he entered.
A volley of return fire from the guard chased them inside. It would be a miracle if they all made it unscathed.
“Against the wall!” Zane shouted. “Reduce your profile.”
Everyone dispersed. Zane ran to the right and scooted behind an irregularity in the wall. Carmen did likewise on the other side. Moments later, the gunfire died. Apparently, the gunmen were conserving ammunition. Or maybe they were preparing for an assault.
A loud hum broke the silence. The relic’s glow snuffed out as well. Zane frowned as he looked toward the cave mouth. Something was moving. A dark curtain was being pulled across the opening. What the…?
Zane’s blood ran cold as he realized what was happening. Someone was closing the gate.
And in a few seconds, they’d be sealed inside.
CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
Zane watched in horror as the wall slid shut, plunging the cave into darkness.
He wondered if he’d done the right thing. It was true. They were safe from the gunmen outside. Then again, there might be no other way out of the cave. If the only exit was through the gate, they were at the mercy of those on the other side.
At this point, it was obvious Viktor or Roger had hidden behind the obelisk after the shooting began. Zane blamed himself for not looking on his way by. Instead, he’d been transfixed by the strange siren call of the light. If he could’ve somehow taken Viktor hostage, it would’ve been their ticket out. The cult wouldn’t dare let their leader perish.
A soft blue glow erupted in the darkness. Keiko stood a few feet away, holding her lighted finger aloft. “I thought this might help.”
The others stirred, coming out from the wall and clicking on their flashlights. As Zane stood, he heard a soft groan behind him. He directed his beam deeper into the cave. Reid was on one knee about twenty feet away. Carmen already moved toward him.
“What’s wrong?” Zane asked as he arrived at Reid’s side.
Several rivulets of blood flowed down his arm and spilled onto the cave floor. One of the incoming rounds had found its mark. Carmen lowered to one knee and looked for the wound.
“I felt a little sting as I came into the cave,” he said through clenched teeth. “To be honest, I didn’t know what it was. It didn’t feel like a gunshot, not that I’d know what one feels like.”
“That’s a common reaction,” Carmen said. “Sometimes adrenaline takes over and blocks the bulk of the pain until you’re better able to deal with it.”
Reid flinched noticeably as Carmen continued to probe. Zane rested a hand on his shoulder.
“Would this help?” Emily held out a bottle of water.
“You have water?” Amanda asked, surprised.
“I always keep a bottle with me. I had it in my coat. People tease me about drinking so much.”
“Perfect. Thank you.” Carmen poured it slowly over Reid’s skin. Now that it was clean, she rotated the arm back and forth. “I don’t see an exit wound, so I’m thinking it’s a graze.”
“Flesh wound,” Zane said. “You’re going to live.”
Carmen splashed a little more water on the wound in an effort to clean it up as best she could. “Can one of you give me something to wrap it with?”
“Done.” Pratt peeled off his sweater and his T-shirt then handed the T-shirt to Carmen. “I guess he’s worth a tee.”
Carmen wrapped it around Reid’s arm and tied it off. “We’ll need to clean it up better when we get out of here, but that should do for now.”
“No longer a gunshot virgin!” Pratt slapped his partner’s good shoulder.
“Hurts like the devil.” Reid grimaced.
“Let’s not mention that name down here,” Amanda said with a laugh.
With a little help from Pratt, Reid rose to his feet. “Good as new.”
Zane was pleased to see he looked fine. As best he could tell, the wound was superficial. He’d lost blood but not enough to be a serious issue.
Zane looked at Reid and Pratt. “Are you both up for a little walking?”
“Absolutely.” Reid bent and retrieved his rifle.
“I certainly don’t want to sit around here,” Pratt said.
“How about scouting the cave? See if there are any alternate routes to the surface. I can’t believe this is the only way in or out.” Zane looked at Reid. “You sure you’re up for this?”
“I feel as good as I did a half hour ago.”
Zane doubted that was completely true, but the operative did look good, all things considered. Zane patted him on the back. “Come back if you find something.”
“Copy that.” Pratt turned and marched off with Reid.
Zane looked at Keiko. “Where is our captive?”
She pointed down the cave. “I placed him just past the turn to keep him shielded from incoming fire.”
“Did he say who he was?”
“He mumbled something on the way in, but I wasn’t listening.”
“If you don’t mind, make sure he’s still there.” Zane doubted the man could get far with bound hands, but he didn’t want to take any chances.
“Was it Viktor who shut the entrance?” Carmen asked.
“One of the three, yes. I’m fairly certain they hid behind the obelisk when they saw what was happening.”
“They waited until we ran inside then removed the relic,” Carmen said.
Keiko returned. “He’s still there.”
Zane nodded.
“What now?” Pratt asked.
Zane sighed. “We explore and try to find another way back to the city or up to the surface.”
“It doesn’t look too promising,” Emily said.
Reid looked at Zane. “And what if we can’t find a way out?”
“Then we come back here and prepare to fight.”
“You think they’ll come in?” Emily asked.
“At some point.” Zane wiped the sweat off his brow. The temperature was noticeably higher here. “I told the Oracle we’d check in with him by midnight. If he doesn’t hear from us, he’ll send out a team.”
“It’s snowing on the surface,” Amanda said. “The order will have every trace cleared away within the next few hours. And what they don’t clear away will get covered in snow.”
“Ross won’t give up until he finds us,” Zane said. “He’s a bulldog when it comes to protecting his people.”
“It will take days for them to trace our whereabouts,” Amanda said.
“We’re going to be fine,” Carmen said. “Worrying about it isn’t going to help. We need to look around, find out what’s down here. My guess is there is an alternate way out. Remember the maze of caves up near the surface? I’m guessing we’ll encounter the same down here.”
Zane looked at the group. A couple needed encouragement. “We’re going to get out of here. Period. Some of us have been in much worse predicaments than this.”
“At least we’re armed now.” Pratt patted the AR-15 hanging across his chest.
“Speaking of weapons, how do we look?”
A quick inventory showed they had six guns — four rifles and two pistols. There were no spare magazines, which meant they’d have to use their ammunition judiciously.