Endgame: The Calling (41 page)

Baitsakhan scans the ground. He picks up the trail of Kala and Christopher, toes the small puddle of vomit Christopher left behind, grimaces. He looks up at Maccabee and says, “There are two of them. They went this way. We need to find them and kill them.”

Maccabee points his flashlight back into the pit. He says, “But this
is
the Temple of the Consuming Vulture. This is where my clue led.”

“I don’t care. Others are here. They killed my brother. Blood for blood.”

“Fine,” Maccabee says, not wanting to argue. “But then we come back. There is something here. Something for me. For us.”

Whatever Maccabee is looking for, Chiyoko is sure that the Sumerian has already found it. Baitsakhan looks at the tracks and trots away without saying another word. Maccabee shakes his head, turns, and follows him. Chiyoko breathes. She consults the screen on her watch. Sarah and Jago are 48 miles away, traveling 50 mph. She has some time.
I can’t risk fighting all three of them, plus the strong American boy. I will follow. As always, follow.

She rises out of the dirt.

Follows.

Silent.

Invisible.

Alt
n Odas
, Ground Level, Turkey

Christopher jogs, Kala right on his heels. He knows the gun is still pointed at him. She’s been telling him where to go, left, right, left again, toward that hill, around that stone. He’s tried to ask questions, but each has been greeted with an order of “Silence!” They’ve traveled over half a mile in 11 minutes and the rave, behind them in the night, is an afterthought.

Finally Kala says, “Stop!”

They are in front of an unexceptional mound of earth crisscrossed by long dry grass. It’s the only vegetation Christopher has noticed on this barren plain. Kala scans the countryside and drops to a knee. Christopher watches her.

“Are we staying out here all night? Digging stuff up and killing people?”

Kala ignores him and rests the gun in the dirt. “Don’t get any ideas,” she reminds him.

“I won’t. I saw what you can do.”

“Good.” She clicks on the light and keeps one hand cupped over its beam. It shines on the ring. Christopher leans in, getting his first good look.

It appears to be a simple iron ring, though for something that’s been buried for 10,000 years it is in remarkable shape. It shows no rust or calcification. The band of the ring is about an inch thick. Etched into its surface are strange markings and glyphs. Kala extinguishes the light, looks at the small hill.

“It’s here,” she says and smiles, barely able to contain her giddiness.

“What’s here?”

“One of their chambers.”

“The Sky People?”

“The Annunaki.”

“Let’s go say hello,” Christopher says, trying to mask his terror with humor. Kala ignores him, grabs the pistol, stands, starts moving around the mound. She doesn’t bother pointing the gun at him. Christopher follows, his curiosity piqued. “What’s the chamber for?”

Kala digs in the dirt again. It falls away in clumps. She digs until she hits stone. A perfectly flat stone with a crescent depression, one in which the ring will fit perfectly. She smiles, inserts the ring, turns.

There’s a grating sound as a large stone door, at least two feet thick, swings downward, the earth on top of it collapsing. There’s a black stone spiral staircase leading down. Christopher takes a step back, shocked. Kala looks at him, elated, shaking with excitement.

“Gold. It’s a chamber for the Annunaki’s gold.”

MgO, Fe2O3(T), & MgO / Fe2O3(T) vs. Fe2O3(T) + MgO
^lxv

Alt
n Odas
, Ground Level, Turkey

Baitsakhan and Maccabee follow the tracks.

“Do you think they’re both Players?” Maccabee asks.

“No. Only one acted. The other was in the pit when brother Jalair was killed. Vomiting.”

Maccabee nods. “But the other was a Player.”

“No non-Player could kill Jalair,” Baitsakhan barks.

Baitsakhan takes off at a jog, eager to catch the murderer. Maccabee follows, less enthused, hoping something worthwhile will come of this. They leave the orbit of the party, passing a ridiculously attired couple making out on a blanket under the stars. The boy wears a feather boa and the girl has a huge rainbow Afro wig that has fallen to the ground. Both wear oversized sunglasses. Maccabee smirks.

The Players move on, unnoticed. It takes them nine minutes to reach the small hill. Baitsakhan stops, kneels, picks up some dirt, smells it. Maccabee moves around the mound, preferring not to play in the dirt with his partner.

Maccabee stumbles, surprised as he almost falls down a shadowed staircase that leads underground. He snaps his fingers. Baitsakhan stands and joins him. They peer into the shadows. Maccabee checks his gun. Baitsakhan takes the whip off his belt, cracks it, the tip snapping violently.

Baitsakhan smiles.

“Blood for Blood.”

They start to descend.

11 m South of Alt
n Odas
, Turkey