Both Riley and Thatcher agreed, and soon the three of them picked up various stones and small rocks lying around the ground and threw them up the temple steps.

  After an interval, Thatcher said, “Nothing’s happened,” just as Riley threw another rock.

  At that moment, arrows flew out of the walls, about three feet into the air.

  Thatcher froze on the spot. “Did you see that?”

  Abigail clutched Riley’s arm. “Booby-trapped crossbows are said to be hidden in the tomb of China's first emperor, Qin Shi Huang. Have you heard of him? He’s famous for building the Great Wall of China and for the army of terracotta warriors.”

  Both Riley and Thatcher nodded, so she continued. “Today, most people think the crossbows are a myth, but the renowned Chinese historian, Sima Qian, who was born about sixty years after Qin Shi Huang’s death, recorded that Huang’s tomb was protected by lakes of mercury and booby-trapped crossbows. In recent years, archeologists discovered high levels of mercury in the soil surrounding the tomb, so maybe Sima Qian was right about the crossbows too.”

  Riley nodded. “In that case, we’ll have to crawl up the stairs and keep low to the ground.”

  “It happened when your rock landed on that step there,” Abigail said. “Riley, can you throw rocks on the steps either side of it?”

  He did as she suggested, but no more arrows shot out. Finally, he threw a rock on the same step and arrows shot out almost too fast for Abigail to see.

  Riley pointed to the step. “It might be just that step, but it’s too wide for us to jump across, so we’ll have to crawl up anyway.”

  Abigail was shaking. She dug her fingers into Riley’s arm a little tighter and said, “That means there will be other booby-traps. That won’t be the only type.”

  “Yes, I know that.” Riley’s tone was calm.

  Abigail wondered how he could be so brave. She wanted to turn tail and run back to the safety of the outside air, to feel the sun’s warmth on her face, and to breathe crisp fresh air rather than the eerie air of the giant cavern.

  “What are we waiting for?” Thatcher said. “Come on!”

  “Keep low,” Riley said again.

  It seemed to take an age. Abigail crawled along, keeping as low to the wide steps as she could. The marble felt cold under her hands and her knees were raw. She was in awe of the ancient building and at the same time, terrified for her life. She fought the panic as it came at her in waves and threatened to overwhelm her time and time again.

  When they reached the top of the stairs, Abigail sat down and tried to steady her ragged breathing.

  “Do you think there are more arrows or will there be a different type of booby-trap up ahead?” Thatcher asked her.

  “I really don’t know, but I’m sure there will be more.”

  “What type of booby-traps did they have in ancient tombs?”

  Abigail scratched her head. “Oh gosh. Well, the crossbows were supposed to be a myth, but I guess we found out that they weren’t.”

  “What about proven ones?” Thatcher pressed her.

  “Many of them were used in warfare, like the explosive Chinese land mines from the thirteenth century.” Thatcher’s mouth dropped open as Abigail continued. “They used a rip cord or a pin that released falling weights. Those rotated a flint wheel, which created sparks to ignite the fuses for the land mines.”

  “See if you can find any inscriptions,” Riley said to Thatcher.

  “If you’re looking for warnings, I don’t think there will be any,” Abigail told him. “Croesus and his men would have had no reason to warn anyone of the booby-traps.”

  “I’m sure you’re right, but it won’t hurt to check,” Riley said.

  Nevertheless, they didn’t find any inscriptions warning of booby-traps, just as Abigail had predicted.

  Riley and Thatcher cracked some more chem lights and threw them inside the building. Abigail wished there was electric lighting so she could take in the true magnificence of the structure. The chem lights were bright, but they were not pervasive.

  When they carefully walked inside the building, Abigail expected to be impaled by an arrow at any minute. Her imagination was running away with her.

  “What now?” Thatcher said. He stopped right by a fluted column.

  “We proceed—carefully,” Riley said. “Abigail, stay behind me.”

  Abigail didn’t need telling twice. She certainly didn’t want to go ahead.

  She heard the sound before she saw anything. Riley and Thatcher heard it at the same time.

  “Quick, retreat,” Riley said. They ran back the way they had come. Abigail was going to keep running, but Riley caught her arm. She swung around.

  To Abigail’s horror, where they had just been standing was now a stream of silver liquid.

  “What is it?” Thatcher asked.

  “Mercury,” Abigail said. “We must have stepped on something that released it. Archeologists have found mercury in at least four sites around Central America. They found a large quantity of liquid mercury in a chamber below the Pyramid of the Feathered Serpent in Teotihuacan, in central Mexico. And I’ve already told you about mercury in Qin Shi Huang’s tomb.”

  “Enough of the history,” Thatcher said. “What else are we likely to encounter?”

  “Don’t touch anything covered with red powder, because that could be the deadly mercury sulfide I mentioned before. Apart from that, the only other booby-traps I know of are oil and liquid tar, and the ground suddenly opening up into a pit.” She thought for a moment and then added, “And sometimes spikes come up from the ground.”

  Thatcher rolled his eyes. “Great! Well, so we proceed and look for the treasure? The mercury seems to have drained away.”

  Riley hesitated a moment and then said, “I would prefer to leave, but it’s our mission.”

  They edged on ever so carefully until they came to the giant statue of Artemis.

  “Wow,” was all Abigail managed to say.

  Thatcher seemed impressed. “Is the statue gold all the way through?”

  Abigail shook her head. “I doubt it. One ancient writer said the cult statue at Ephesus was made of cedar wood, but others said ebony or grapewood covered in silver or gold. I’m surprised those crossbows still worked after thousands of years,” she said as an afterthought. “Surely the cords would have been destroyed by bacteria by now or the metal mechanisms rusted.”

  “Maybe that’s why they only worked on that one step,” Riley speculated. “Maybe the crossbows were supposed to work on every step.”

  Abigail shuddered. “I didn’t think of that. Still, archeologists recently found chromate on weapons excavated with the terracotta warriors, and chromate would prevent the mechanisms from rusting.”

  “Let’s keep moving,” Thatcher said. “You said the treasure would be behind the statue?”

  “In a normal temple it would be.”

  Thatcher edged forward, followed by Riley and Abigail.

  There was a wide door in the wall behind the statue. When they reached the door, Riley cracked a chem light and threw it in.

  The three of them gasped in unison.

  25

  SARDIS: UNDER THE ACROPOLIS NORTH

  Abigail couldn’t believe her eyes. Innumerable mounds of gold and treasure stood before her. There were solid silver stags as well as golden stags, piles of jewelry, and huge wooden chests that Abigail figured were full of gold items as well.

  Thatcher was the first to find his voice. “It’s here! I can’t believe it!”

  “Don’t move,” Abigail said. “This is surely booby-trapped.”

  Despite the light from the chem lights, the three of them shone their flashlights over the walls and then over the ground. “What’s that?” Thatcher asked, pointing to a stream of liquid silver in front of them.

  “It’s mercury again,” Abigail said. “Whatever you do, don’t touch it. I’m surprised it’s here. Two Cretan architects, father and son, were responsible for the rebuilding of the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus in Croesus’s time. Surely they didn’t build this one, not with the booby-traps. I haven’t heard of that type of technology from the Minoan civilization.”

  “Idle speculation is of no help in a time like this,” Thatcher said.

  “That’s enough, Thatcher,” Riley snapped at him.

  Abigail thought that Thatcher certainly had seemed to develop a different personality. He had always been pleasant before, but now he appeared tense and moody. Maybe it was the stress of the booby-traps and the realization he could meet his death at any moment.

  “We can cross over there,” Riley said, indicating a small structure to his right. “There’s a little bridge.”

  Abigail could smell the pungent odor of mercury sulfide. She just wanted to get out. But for now, she had to try to stay calm. “No, see that red powder on the hand rails? That’s cinnabar, mercury sulfide. If anyone touches that, they’ll die. Maybe not right away, but they will die within weeks. It was used in the tomb of the Mayan Red Queen. I wonder who devised these traps for Croesus?”

  “Like I said, now is not the time for academic reflection,” Thatcher snapped. “Let’s find a way across. We could walk across the bridge easily enough without touching the rails.”

  Before Abigail could suggest caution, he hurried across the bridge. She and Riley followed him.

  “Now what?” Thatcher asked. “There’s a drain in front of me.”

  “The drains would have been used to carry moisture away from the temple,” Abigail said. “It’s quite a common device in underground tombs, and this is an underground structure. Or maybe there’s an underground stream and they directed it into the drains.”

  Riley shone his flashlight into the drains. “I’m guessing it’s an underground stream. That would explain why the air in here is so fresh and well oxygenated, although maybe there’s another entrance as well. Abigail, do you think this is simply necessary engineering and nothing to worry about?”

  Abigail bit her lip. “I can’t say for sure that it’s not connected to a booby-trap somehow. But yes, it is a necessary part of an underground tomb.”

  Thatcher jumped across the drain onto a ledge. He cracked another chem light and threw it in front of the treasure, despite the fact the chamber was already well lit. “This would have to be worth millions, billions, even,” he said. He ran over to a pile of gold jewelry and picked it up, before letting it run through his fingers.

  He seized a handful of coins. “How much do you think these would be worth?”

  Abigail stopped to stare. “One coin would be worth thousands, I’m sure, depending on its condition.”

  “One coin would be worth thousands?” Thatcher parroted. “There are hundreds, maybe thousands, of coins here!”

  Riley helped Abigail across the drain, holding her wrist firmly. “Be careful of that large pit there,” he said. “Keep well away from it.”

  Abigail shone her flashlight into the empty pit where the ground ended. “It’s part of the drainage system, I’m sure.”

  “So we made it then!” Thatcher said. “We safely arrived at the treasure. That’s the last of the booby-traps. Or maybe there were more and the mechanisms didn’t work.”

  “Quite possibly,” Abigail began, still shining her flashlight into the void. She would have said more, but she heard Riley’s sharp intake of breath and looked up.

  Thatcher was holding his gun on them. “Well, it’s the end of the road for you two.”

  26

  SARDIS: UNDER THE ACROPOLIS NORTH

  Abigail gasped and edged closer to Riley.

  “So you’re the mole!” Riley said in disbelief. “What did you do to Ellis? Why couldn’t we find him?”

  “I hit him over the head and dragged his body to a spot between the rocks,” Thatcher said. “I then screamed, pretending I was him, and told you he’d fallen over the edge. That’s why you couldn’t find him.” He made a clicking sound of derision with his tongue.

  “So, to clarify, you’re working for Vortex?” Riley said. “Or have you gone independent since you saw the size of the treasure?”

  Thatcher sneered at him. “Maybe a bit of both! They won’t notice any missing.” With his free hand, he stuffed his pockets with gold coins as he spoke.

  Abigail’s hands were shaking from sheer terror. They shook so much her flashlight traveled over the marble floor at Thatcher’s feet and caught sparkles in a thin vein of quartz. It was then she noticed strange striations on the marble floor to his left. At first, Abigail thought the green color was a result of silica impurities, but then she took another look.

  Was that what she thought it was?

  She squeezed Riley’s arm and then stepped to her right a little, hoping he would take her meaning.

  It seemed to work and he followed her as she edged away toward the pit.

  “How long have you been working for Vortex?” Riley asked him.

  Abigail was relieved that Riley was keeping Thatcher talking. If only he would be able to keep him talking long enough for her plan to work.

  They edged further away until they were at an angle to Thatcher.

  “What’s it to you?” Thatcher said rudely.

  “You don’t need to kill us,” Abigail said. “Will you let us go if I give you the car keys?” She threw the keys onto the middle of the platform.

  Thatcher was momentarily distracted. “Of course I won’t, you foolish woman,” he said. He stepped onto the platform and reached for the keys.

  As he did so, the slab collapsed under him.

  Abigail clutched Riley as Thatcher’s screams echoed below them. “I didn’t want him to die,” she said in a small voice.

  “I’m afraid it’s too late for that—it sounds as though he’s fallen a long way down,” Riley said. “Come on, let’s get out of here. Abigail, you did the right thing. Another minute and he would have shot us both. Are you all right?”

  “Of course I’m not all right,” Abigail said, dismayed that her voice was shaky.

  “What you did was very clever,” Riley said in soothing tones. “You saved both our lives. Now let’s just get out of here in one piece.”

  They turned back and were about to walk over the little bridge over the mercury when they stopped.

  Moving lights.

  Voices.

  Riley seized Abigail’s arm and drew her to him. “Did you call for help?” she whispered.

  “No. Quick, we have to hide.”

  Vortex had found them.

  Abigail hoped there were no more booby-traps, but there was no more time for caution. Riley took her hand and pulled her over to the treasure. They both hid behind a large wooden chest.

  Soon the voices were in the room.

  “That’s mercury,” a deep voice said. “Don’t touch anything. Where’s Thatcher? Are you in here, Thatcher?”

  The voices echoed around the cavern. “Thatcher,” the man called again.

  “Maybe he hasn’t made it this far yet?” another voice said.

  “Then who put the chem lights in here?”

  “He texted that he found the entrance and disposed of one of the agents. He should have disposed of the others by now, but I don’t know where he is.”

  “Maybe they all succumbed to one of the booby-traps,” the other voice said.

  “Possibly.”

  Abigail thought the owner of the deep voice did not seem at all concerned about Thatcher’s possible demise. “Let’s make sure no one is around. Shoot on sight.”

  Abigail tensed. There were too many chem lights in the chamber. There was nowhere to hide, nowhere dark. Not anymore. She looked over at Riley. He was holding his gun, but how many Vortex agents could he shoot at once?

  And how many voices had she heard? Three? Four? And were there others who hadn’t spoken? She had no idea. For all she knew, there could be an army out there. And how did they get past the booby-traps? Perhaps some of the men had fallen foul of the arrows and the mercury stream.

  As soon as Riley took a shot, their position would be given away and the Vortex agents would come. He couldn’t shoot them all at once.

  Abigail sat there, terrified by her own thoughts. Riley signaled to her to stay down. Of course, she was going to stay down. There was no other option.

  If only those chem lights weren’t so bright.

  Abigail realized she was holding her breath and let it out slowly. She kept very still. Riley crawled away from her a little and she looked at him in shock. Was she meant to follow him or stay where she was? Her mind wouldn’t work properly. Thankfully, Riley indicated she should stay there. She nodded.

  She watched as Riley crawled away and then out of sight. Where had he gone? And would she ever see him again? What if he was shot and killed? She trembled violently. Her blood ran cold as a bout of dizziness overwhelmed her.

  Abigail crouched lower to the ground, trying to make herself as small as possible.

  She heard a sound and looked up, expecting it to be Riley. To her horror, a man appeared in front of her. A look of shock passed over his face when he saw her. She had no time to react before Riley hit him hard over the head. The man landed with a thud beside her.

  Abigail spun around and stared at him. Riley held his finger to his lips and moved away again.

  It was all too surreal. Abigail wouldn’t have been surprised to have woken up and found it all had been a terrible nightmare.

  Abigail sat there by the unconscious man, wondering what she should do if he regained consciousness and wishing she could tie him up. She realized Riley had taken the man’s gun, but she was no match for a man of his size.

  Abigail could hear footsteps, but no one was speaking. Maybe the Vortex agent had realized Riley was there and didn’t want to give away their position.