Kathlyn Trent, Marcus Burton 01 - Valley of the Shadow (9 page)

His cobalt blue eyes regarded her a moment. “Is that why you want to stay so badly? To redeem yourself in the eyes of the archaeological community?”

“No,” she said softly. “It was never that. I want to stay here because you’re here. I can learn a lot from you, and I can also be with you. As for me deserving worldly men, I could care less about them. I know what I like, and I know what I want, and you’re both.”

He looked at her, realized she was dead serious, and they both started laughing like a couple of giddy teenagers.

“This is crazy,” he said. “I have never felt like this in my entire life. I feel like I could walk on clouds right now.”

She put her hands on his face, touching him, reveling in the fact that she had permission to touch him. “It’s called infatuation, I think.”

“It’s called happiness or something like it.”

“Don’t say it.”

“I won’t. Not now.”

“So you don’t mind if I stay?”

“I was going to kill anyone who tried to force you to leave.”  His gaze lingered on her a moment. “I’ve got a stash of Tequila in my tent. Maybe we should move to someplace  quieter.”

She feigned shock. “Dr. Burton, are you going to try to get me drunk so you can take advantage of me?”

“No,” he scratched his head in an awkward gesture. “Not really. Well, now that you mention it, maybe. I just thought we could go and talk some more, out of this public venue. Now that I’ll be your boss, we should probably get a few things straight.”

“I can think of one thing right now.”

“What’s that?”

“That you’ll never be the boss of me, big guy.”

He rubbed his chin and took her by the hand. “I can pretty much guess that. And I can see it’ll probably be the other way around.”

She laughed at him and he tried to kiss her again. With a shriek, she tried to pull away but he tugged her hard, bent over, and threw her over his shoulder.  He carried her across the storage area, kicking and giggling all the way.

When they were gone, Lynn and Mark emerged from Kathlyn’s tent, gazing off in the direction of Marcus’ tent. Lynn finally held out his hand to Mark.

“I win,” he said. “The money is mine.”

Mark shook his head. “No way. You said it would happen yesterday. I said today. The money is mine, pal.”

Lynn sneered at him. “You’re out of your mind. Juliana?”

On cue, Juliana emerged from the tent, holding a piece of paper in her hand. She turned it sideways to read the grid patterns she had drawn out over two weeks ago.

“You’re off, Lynn,” she said. “Mark wins this one. He had the right spot in the pool.”

Mark whooped happily. “Man O man, what am I going to do with all that money?”

Lynn frowned. Dennis emerged from the tent, reading over Juliana’s shoulder. “Damn,” Dennis said. “I had tomorrow afternoon.  How come I got into this pool so late? You guys took up all the good days.”

Juliana folded up the paper and stuck it back in her pocket. “It doesn’t matter now,” she said. “Mark’s won and we’re all out five bucks. Just do me one favor; don’t ever tell Kat we had a pool going to see when she and Marcus would finally get together. She’d kill us all if she knew.”

“Then give me a chance to get even and I won’t say anything,” Dennis blackmailed her. “Start another pool and I get first pick.”

“What kind of pool?”

“Like when they’re getting married.”

The evil underlings fell back into Kathlyn’s shared tent to conspire.

***

Her employment with UCPR didn’t last twelve hours. The next day, Debra Jo made a couple of phone calls and Kathlyn and her team were officially sponsored by World Geography Magazine. The publication was already flying in tents and equipment since Kathlyn would have to surrender all of SCU’s property to Gary Crawford upon his arrival. Abrahams had been calling all morning, as had the Director of the Board of Regents for SCU, but she had ignored their messages. Truthfully, she felt very free, riding on a wave of popularity within the scientific world and looking forward to excavating Ay’s tomb with Marcus.

By late morning, she was seated on the floor of her tent packing essentials into a nylon backpack that also doubled as a life preserver when filled with air. She was dressed in heavy jeans, an olive green tank top with another lightweight long-sleeved shirt on over that. Her hair was caught up in a twisted bun on top of her head, better not to catch on things in the dark confines of a tomb. The ever-present heavy boots were on her feet, for they had been with her for her entire career and she would never dream of wearing anything else. Her team made jokes about bronzing them someday with her still in them.

The pack she would be carrying was filled with essential gear; two Maglights, a smaller battery powered light with extra batteries, special nylon ropes used by rock climbers with a couple of nylon-tipped grappling hooks, a measuring tape, several clean artists brushes, a dental explorer, a notebook and two mechanical pencils, tracing paper, a special electronic reference dictionary with software that catalogued ancient cults, sects, anomalies and the like, and a fourteen megabyte digital camera. She also wedged a small voice-activated tape recorder and a terry cloth towel into the pack.

Juliana came in, stepped over her, and plopped down on her bed. She had stuffed her own backpack that morning while Kathlyn still slept and had nothing better to do now than wait for the all-clear at the site. 

“So,” she said, eyeing the woman on the floor. “How are you and Burton getting along?”

Kathlyn stopped packing. “I knew it. You just couldn’t stand not knowing, could you?”

“What are you talking about?” Juliana asked innocently.

Kathlyn looked at her, not really angry but snapping at her like a sibling would. “Not even a ‘good morning’ from you. The first thing out of your mouth is how was sex with Burton?”

Juliana laughed at her. “You’re paranoid.”

“No, I’m not, I just know you too well.” She laughed, too, in spite of herself. “Since you must know, we didn’t do anything at all. We talked all night long, if you can believe it. I had three shots of Tequila, he had seven, and next thing I know, I’m waking up in his tent and it’s dawn. Then I wandered back over here and fell asleep in my own bed. But you know what? It was the most wonderful night of my life; no sex, no party, no nothing. Just the two of us.”

Juliana shook her head, grinning. “Wow, baby. You’ve got it bad. I’ve never seen you so consumed with someone.”

Kathlyn sighed, turning back to her pack. “It’s weird,” she mused softly. “It’s like nothing has ever seemed so right. My career is in question, I’ve totally deviated from everything I’ve ever planned in life, and here I am, stuck on a dig in Egypt with a guy who treated me like crap when I first met him.”

Juliana laid across her bed, watching Kathlyn throw a couple of energy bars and a water bottle into the pack. “So what do you think?” she asked quietly.

Kathlyn sighed again, dreamily. “I think he’s the sweetest, funniest person I've ever met. And he’s got a wicked sense of humor.”

“More than you expected?

“More than I’d dreamed.”

It was close to noon by the time Marcus and his team determined that the scorpion threat was over. Park employees had been sweeping up the dead insects since daybreak but the Valley of the Kings would remain closed until further notice. Kathlyn and her group were the first ones into the shaft, mostly because she wanted to see if she got the same feelings from it that had swept her yesterday. The feelings came, like an avalanche, the moment she stood in the entryway.

“God,” she grabbed her chest. It was suddenly difficult to breathe. She put her hand against the tunnel wall for support. “What in the hell is happening?”

              Juliana and Mark were at her side. “What are you sensing?” Juliana demanded softly.

              Kathlyn shook her head. “That same crap I was feeling yesterday. Painful prickles, a feeling of weakness, and a tremendous sense of foreboding.”

              Juliana looked at Mark. “I don’t like this at all. She doesn’t normally get like this,” she said.

              “I know,” Mark said. “I don’t even want to go in if she’s feeling this way. Makes me wonder what’s waiting in there.”

              Marcus and his boys swept up behind them, carrying ropes, lights, and other exploratory gear.  He smiled at Kathlyn as he handed her a two-way headset, oblivious to her anguish. After last night, he had pretty much been oblivious to everything but what he was feeling for her, making it difficult to concentrate on the schedule for this momentous day. Even as he saw her now, his insides turned to jelly.

“Ready to forge ahead, Livingston?” he asked her pleasantly.

She smiled weakly, tucking the support arm of the earpiece behind her ear and putting the soft cone into her ear canal. She didn’t want to spoil his day.

“Let’s rock,” she agreed.

She didn't sound right. He took a second look at her and saw that she had that ashen pallor again. His happy demeanor darkened. “What’s wrong?” he asked.

Before she could reply, Mark spoke up. “It’s those weird feelings again. They’re making her sick.”

“You’re sick?” Marcus was very concerned and put his hands on her arms. “Let’s get you out into the fresh air.”

Kathlyn shook them all off. “No, I’m fine, really. Bad vibes aren’t going to be enough to stop me from going in.”

Marcus wasn’t convinced. “Maybe you should stay here while Lynn and I go. I wouldn’t want….”

She was emphatic. “No way are you guys going in there without me. I’m fine, really.”

She didn’t look fine, but he wasn’t going to argue with her.  The woman had risked everything she had worked for to have this moment come and he would not deny her.

“All right.” He put his hand on her shoulder and rubbed it affectionately. Then he turned to Dennis. “Make us an opening, Reams. As we discussed this morning, the entry team will be Lynn, me, Dr. Trent, Dr. Maurer, Sutton and Cutro.  The secondary team is Dr. Reams, Dison, Dr. La Coste and Dyche. You guys will hang back and coordinate our assault. Any questions?”

This was the moment they had been waiting for. There were no further questions they could possibly ask; they all knew what was expected.  Marcus adjusted the two-way headset.

“Very well,” he said. “Let’s do a mike check. I have a feeling we’ll lose communication when we descend into the rock.”

Everyone checked in, one by one. Kathlyn had done this kind of thing before, many times, but not on this level. Burton had army gadgets he had bought off the black market in Cairo that gave the entire operation a very military feel. Dennis used his fancy drill to enlarge the original opening while Andy and Larry filmed away with the digital cameras.  Dust flew heavily in the shaft until Dennis finally came to a halt.

The opening was over twice its original height and width. With ropes slung over his massive shoulders and a heavy duty pack on his back, Marcus was the first one to step through.  Kathlyn, loaded down with her equipment, followed behind him.  Juliana, Ed, Andy and Lynn brought up the rear.

It was eerie and still inside, the lights from their Maglights flashing across the gloomy space like spotlights for a movie opening. It was incredibly dark, and smelled old and rotten.  Marcus and Lynn paused to inspect the dirt, looking for ancient footsteps, which they did not find because of the scorpion tracks. While they moved over to the pharonic statues that flanked the arch, Kathlyn peered down into the blackness beyond.

“We’ve got a staircase leading down at about a forty-five degree angle from the arch,” she said into her headset. “I’m shining my flashlight down it and can barely see the bottom. I’d say we’re looking at a minimum of about 25 cubits in depth, probably more.”

Lynn and Marcus stood on either side of her, peering down into the seemingly bottomless well. It was very eerie, like a black hole simply waiting to swallow them up.

“You’re right,” Lynn said. “That’s a forty foot drop, easily.”

Kathlyn always measured things in cubits, as that was the measurement of her period of expertise. Marcus and Lynn were right along with her, and that made her feel more as if she was a part of their team.

Marcus spoke into his headset. "Mark this Chamber A, Dennis. Stairwell is Stairwell B."

"You got it," Dennis came back.

“All right,” Marcus motioned to the group. “Let’s do the descent. Sutton, so you have the digital recorder ready?”

Andy, garbed like he was ready to do battle in green fatigues, gave the thumbs-up. Marcus positioned everyone behind him.“I’ll go first, with Dr. Trent behind me, Sutton, Dr. Maurer, Ed and Lynn. Ready?”

The group nodded and Marcus took the first step. The stone was sandy and the angle steep, making the descent something of a hair-raising experience. One slip and it would be a domino effect all the way to the bottom. The ceiling cut down with the stair well at a violent angle, making it seem as if any moment you were going to bang your head against it.  The smell of must was so sharp that Juliana started sneezing halfway down and Lynn had to hold on to her so she wouldn't lose her footing.