Page 50 of Obsidian Dream

But now Talik stood behind it, the tunnel wall a good ten feet behind him.There was now another row of coffins.Her heart skipped a beat as she followed Talik’s light.

She froze.There were two sets of footprints outlined in the dirt, heading in the same direction.They appeared to be the same dimensions as theirs.

All her senses went into overdrive as she held her breath.On instinct, she pulled out one of her swords, comforted by the familiar touch.The sound of it unsheathing echoed through the enclosed space as everything slowed down.Just like what had happened to Dante and Idris.

Somehow, despite walking along the path, they were going around in circles.

Chapter Twenty-One

TALIK

“How long do you thinkwe have been going around in circles for?”Talik asked, unable to hide the annoyance in his voice or his frustration.He combed through his mind, trying to work out when they had lost their way.It was as Dante had explained it, a maze.Slowly standing up, he cast another glance at the footprints.Nothing else looked familiar about the section they were in, except that at some point they had walked through here and had no recollection of it.

He tapped his watch.It was still working as far as he could tell.The reception this far underground left a lot to be desired, but they were not entirely cut off from the rest of the world.Not that he completely trusted technology.

“I don’t know,” Khalida answered.She hadn’t moved from her position, still holding the flashlight up so he could see.Even in the dim light, her hair was like a beacon in the darkness.She tilted her head and closed her eyes.“Do you hear that?”

Tap.Tap.

The sound of water dripping.He followed the sound and looked up toward the corner of the ceiling.It was directly above the symbol of Ninhursag.He could have sworn there had been no water when Khalida had reached out to touch it, but now small droplets pooled on the ceiling.Somehow defying gravity, and as if by divine intervention, the water appeared to roll along the rocks, keeping a wide berth around the carving.He shook the flashlight, just in case he was hallucinating, and looked back up.The pit of his stomach dropped when it continued to occur.Gravity was not supposed to work that way.

There was no other sound or hint that they were no longer alone.Except for every fiber of his being telling him that something else was down there with them.The hairs on the back of his neck were standing up as some sort of warning signal.The last time he’d had that feeling was in Egypt, when they had come face-to-face with the wayfarers.And he didn’t believe in coincidences.

Khalida stiffened behind him.The faint scrape of her sword as she ran the tip along the stone top told him she had sensed the same thing as him.

He moved to unholster his blaster, checking that he was primed to go.The muted red light near the scope reminded him it was set to lethal and that he had switched to live rounds.Focusing on their surroundings, he strained to hear as much as he could, but there was nothing else—not even the scurry of a fattened rat or an insect.

The absence of life should have triggered a reaction from them earlier, but neither of them had noticed.Now, it was him and Khalida, and the systematic tap of dripping water that appeared on cue.

Where had the water come from?

He took a step forward.An ivory pedestal, hidden by the shadows but wedged between the coffin and the wall, came into sight.It had not been there before.Goose bumps exploded over his body as he took another step.The reaction made him pause for a second before he pushed it away.

The pedestal was a singular carving of a woman with wings, holding what looked like rope in her hand.Cobwebs surrounded most of the figure, and the rest had been ravaged by time.But even now, he could see the beauty it once held.

He angled his wrist, so the pale-blue light placed an ethereal glow over the pedestal.He crept to where it stood, placing the flashlight in his mouth as he dusted the top.Cobwebs and fine dust flittered around him, the particles settling on him like a thin layer of snow.A small rectangular box lay on the pedestal.There were no obvious carvings or jewels that would have made it tempting for thieves and treasure hunters to steal.A pale, boring brown color, Talik would have ignored it entirely in any other situation.