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Lo’zar
Yeah, it’s probably stupid. If my hunch that there’s more to this ruin than meets the eye is wrong, the hunters could simply corner us at the top. My ears pick up their shouts in the distance, so I’m pretty sure they’ll come after us, even up here. This is their territory, not ours, after all.
But there’s no way out of this great big bowl, either. The lake is surrounded on all sides by cliffs as sharp and steep as the one we leapt off. From what I could tell when we emerged from the water, there didn’t appear to be a path up and out again.
If I learned anything on the street, it’s that when you can’t wriggle your way out of a bind, find a good place to hide until the worst has passed. I don’t know what lies inside the pyramid, but at the very least, I can funnel our attackers into a small space and pick off the hunters one at a time while Ree-mee goes on ahead. With their hatchets they don’t stand much of a chance against my gun, at least not at long range.
And at short range, I’m deadly with a sword.
Holding my little human close against my chest, I’m highly aware of her body and how her breasts are rubbing against me, her legs around my waist and her face nestled in my neck. If I weren’t running at full speed up a flight of a thousand steps, I would be really turned on. Instead, I’m panting, my body already ragged from our sprint through the jungle and the following mad swim.
But Ree-mee swam well, and I’m proud of her. In addition to everything else, she can be brave and fierce. Unfortunately, she is small and weak like a child, too. It’s up to me to protect her.
I don’t think it was coincidence that Gusak assigned me to this job, and there’s a greater reason I ended up her caretaker. After a lifetime spent taking, hurting and sometimes even killing, I’ve been given a different job now: to keep Ree-mee out of harm’s way and help her to safety, wherever that might be. I’m sure of it.
I’m gasping by the time we reach the top of the stairs, where the slopes of the pyramid spread out around us. You could slide down one on your ass—and get the worst rug burn of your life—from the top to the bottom. It would probably be a fun ride.
Up here at the peak, there’s only one notable feature: another short set of steps leading down into a dark tunnel in the stone. Immediately I’m repulsed by it. Who would step into a black abyss set inside a gigantic pyramid that’s likely thousands of years old? Even if there aren’t mummies or booby traps down there, we’ll still have to contend with cobwebs and spiders.
I turn around and survey our surroundings, setting Ree-mee down. Three dots are moving through the water to the west. I suppose we don’t have a choice. I nod toward the entrance to the pyramid and grab Ree-mee’s hand. She looks down at our hands, then at me, as if disbelieving that I would ask her to descend into the darkness. I don’t have anything with me that could light it up. We abandoned all our stuff when the hunters appeared. But what choice do we have?
Wait. I dig into one pocket. The little fire starter that I’d accidentally taken from Graz when we had some hash together the other night.
I look around for anything we could use, and there’s a big dead vine growing between two rocks. I rip it out, then bring up the fire-starter and light the dry wood. It takes a while for it to catch, but eventually it does. I hold it out in front of us and the dim hallway lights up.
Ree-mee steps forward, then looks back at me. I nod ahead.
“Go. I’m right behind you.”
* * *
Rimi
Lo’zar holds up the torch, and it casts an orange glow down the ominous-looking stairway. He urges me to go on, so I do, even though this all seems like a terrible idea. They could easily corner us down here, and we’d have no means of escape if they blocked the only tunnel out.
Despite that, Lo’zar hasn’t given me a reason not to trust him. He’s done nothing but keep me safe, so I give a faint nod and start down the steps. He follows close behind, and I’m reassured knowing he’s here with me.
Once we’ve reached the bottom, the stone hall pivots and continues on straight ahead. The light of day is fading behind us, sending a shiver down my arms. There are carvings along the walls, but we’re keeping a quick pace and I don’t get a chance to stop and look at them.
We reach more stairs and pivot again, descending deeper into the pyramid. What would happen if there was a sudden earthquake? We would be buried inside here. For some reason that thought sits at the forefront of my mind as we continue downward. Now the only light comes from the torch, and the walls are too close, too tight around us. My breathing speeds up, and my heart beats faster. I can almost see the tiny holes in the crate, feel the wood pressing in from all sides.
As if he can sense my anxiety, Lo’zar touches my shoulder.
“Yag iz kag,Ree-mee?”
I nod quickly. “I’m okay. I think.” I take a few deep breaths, and we continue on.
Suddenly the hall stops, splitting off in a three-way intersection. I glance to Lo’zar for instruction, but when I look over my shoulder, he seems just as baffled as I am.
That’s when I notice something to the left—a tiny burst of white. I squint and head towards it. Lo’zar follows, the torch lighting the way, and I wonder how long it will last.
As we get closer, I realize that it’s actually light up ahead of us. Real sunlight. I rush towards it, and the tunnel suddenly gives way to a cavernous room. Light streams down from holes left in the ceiling filled with moss, and it’s enough to see by.
I glance back at Lo’zar and raise an eyebrow. What do we do now? But I don’t think he knows the answer, either. He’s studying the walls, and I track his gaze to find he’s staring at the black markings painted all along them, faded with time. They look like humanoid figures, but strange and contorted, and I wonder if perhaps it’s writing of some kind.
The longer I look at it, the more I get a tingling feeling at the base of my neck, like we’ve found something more than just an ancient ruin.
Lo’zar follows the writing across the room, where another hallway branches off and continues on. He shoots a look back at where we entered, and his ear twitches as he listens.
