30
As the largest of the group, Vladislav Nyavolski had the honour of threading through the crevice first. He tucked his long arms tightly against his body and tilted his head to the side, his bulky frame taking on a somewhat aerodynamic shape.
“This isn’t going to work. You should wait in the car,” Helena suggested.
Nyavolski bared his teeth and shoved one of his army boots into the gap. A few pebbles rolled off the rock while he was wedging himself in. With some strained manoeuvres and a couple of profanities, he squeezed his body past the obstacle. The rest of them followed.
After everyone had made it through, Nyavolski led them along a narrow tunnel forming in between the rocks. Amelia was in the middle, marching forward, goosebumps tingling across her skin.
The initial passage widened into a corridor between the cliffs, with bare lower parts and greenery draping the tops. Steep, almost vertical slopes closed in around them, casting shade over the path. When Amelia looked up, however, a clear blue sky loomed above the surrounding rocks.
Gradually, the slopes tapered, and the path opened up into a lush valley. Its green mass stretched far ahead, widening until it transitioned into a dense forest.
“It’s marvellous!” Alex took in the view.
Amelia inhaled the fresh scent of blooming spring flowers. In the centre of the valley rose a rock formation with a concentric, even base, supporting a second, more massive stone structure. Between the two rocks was a small, dark crevice that resembled a mouth.
“Just as it’s shown on the map,” Helena noted, staring at the rocks.
“This is it?” Alex frowned.
Nyavolski glanced around. “Where are all the mummies? Are they hidden with some kind of concealment magic?”
“They’re not! They’re inside the temple. This is the entrance.” Helena pointed with her chin at the strange pile of rocks.
The others exchanged glances. If that little black opening was the entrance, none of them – Nyavolski included – could squeeze through.
Helena hopped over the grass and began tapping on the rock. “There’s a password to gain entry. You need to knock a certain number of times right on the—”
The rock began to shift upwards, opening the “mouth.”
Amelia took a few tentative steps forward. The rock stopped moving once it had formed a large enough entrance, revealing a corridor of stone steps that descended into shadowy depths.
Helena gestured to the inside and smiled at Amelia. “Ladies first.”
The awaiting darkness made Amelia twitch, but she hadn’t come this far to give up now. She bent down, ready to step into the unknown.
“Ladies first, my arse!” Nyavolski shoved her, harder than necessary, and ducked down.
“What the hell is this children-sized door, for fuck’s sake?
Are we entering the kingdom of the Lilliputians?
” With surprising agility for his size, the surgeon folded himself into a small ball and waddled through the opening in the rock.
The others fell silent, half-expecting to hear a scream – or at least a swear word.
“Ah, there’s room to breathe! C’mon, what’re you waiting for?” Nyavolski’s voice called out.
Helena followed and, after a moment, the clacking of her heels faded. Amelia made another attempt to enter, but Zacharia placed a hand on her shoulder.
“Wait,” he said, gesturing for Viktor and Alex to go first.
After Alex and Viktor vanished into the rock, Zacharia told her, “Mikhail has more than one reason to oppose getting genetic material from the temple, and none of them has anything to do with him being set in his ways. In this world, nothing is ever that simple. Helena has no idea what she’s getting into. ”
Amelia understood his concern, but they had taken precautions. “We’ll have enough time with the mummy to perform the procedure.”
“My issue isn’t with the procedure. I’m worried about what happens after.”
“What happens after?”
“I don’t know… An entire tribe of vampires is guarding corpses that nobody really cares about. Doesn’t that strike you as strange?”
“Isn’t it a sacred place? It’s only natural to protect it.”
Zacharia squinted. “Protect it from who? Most creatures are atheists. They don’t care about these mummies. And those who truly worship them wouldn’t dare defile them. There must be another reason the Beduin tribe protects the temple so zealously.”
Amelia frowned. “And what do you think that reason is?”
“They’re protecting something inside, and it’s not the mummies.”
A chill ran down her spine. “Even if that’s true, we’re not here for that. There shouldn’t be any issues.”
“Right. I just wanted to warn you. Don’t be upset if I’m a little too vigilant. Mikhail’s not around to lead us, but I’ve sworn to serve him until the day I die. You’re important to him. So, I’ll guard you with my life, whether you like it or not.”
Her heart fluttered at his words. She quickly reminded herself that Mikhail cared about her because she was the Oracle. There was no other reason.
***
“You coming?” Helena’s muffled voice called from inside.
Amelia leaned against the wall for support and descended.
She’d gone down about ten almost vertical steps when the hallway opened into a spacious cave.
The ceiling hung low, and had a round opening in the middle, allowing the afternoon sun to stream in and fill the cavern with light.
Strange how they hadn’t seen the cave from above…
Amelia observed the walls, with their various rock formations in different shapes and sizes.
Stalactites hung from the ceiling around the opening, and iron rails began just beneath it, leading deeper into the cave. A strange console with handles and a button was set into the lower part of a nearby wall.
Helena studied the map. “This is the place that—”
A strange rumbling filled the hall, followed by the sound of rocks grinding against each other, then silence.
“I think the entrance closed up,” Alex whispered, eyes wide.
“Welcome to the Temple of the Dead Immortals.”
Amelia searched for the source of the voice.
By the entrance was a man who hadn’t been there a moment ago.
He had an oblong face, a bald head, and the palest skin a living being could have – just seconds before being declared dead.
His brown sleeveless robe reached his bony knees, and leather sandals wrapped around his chalk-white feet.
He approached them and Amelia thought he must be at least six foot nine.
“My name is Vlas Beduin. It is a pleasure to welcome you to our sacred home.” Despite his words, his even tone gave no indication of any pleasure. His black eyes scanned each of them without lingering longer than necessary.
“Thank you for your hospitality, Vlas Beduin! My name is Eleonora Davidoff, heir to the famous bloodline of Sergei Davidoff,” Helena recited her rehearsed speech.
When Vlas stared back with an impassive face, Helena pointed to Vladislav.
“This is my husband, Vladislav Davidoff. As you can imagine, the glory of my bloodline tempted him to take my family name instead of me taking his.” Vlas Beduin nodded.
“We’ve brought our daughter, Melissa Davidoff”—the nymph gestured to Amelia, then to Zacharia—“accompanied by her fiancé, Haraldin.”
Amelia managed a half-smile, while Zacharia just stood there with his arms crossed.
Vlas Beduin scrutinised him. “Haraldin? Interesting name.”
Helena redirected the conversation back to her. “And, of course, our loyal domestic helpers, Ingrid and her father, Han, who are like family and deserve to pay their respects to Grandfather as well, especially on the five hundredth anniversary of his death.”
Alex bowed, and Viktor inclined his chin.
A smile appeared on Vlas Beduin’s face – wide enough to seem welcoming. “We, the Beduin tribe, are always happy to meet those who wish to feel the energy of our ancestors. Sergei Davidoff’s sarcophagus is in the middle hall, slot fifteen.”
He moved to the strange console and pulled a lever. A rumble erupted at the bottom of the cave, growing louder until a metal construction of three empty wagons appeared along the rails, each the size of a golf cart. The train was old and rusty, with patches where the paint had peeled away.
Vlas Beduin gestured for them to board. After a brief exchange of glances, they took their places in the carts. “When you’re done, pull the lever by the wall to come back here.”
The train clattered down the tracks, carrying them deeper into the cave. Amelia’s heart pounded, her fingers clutching the wagon’s railing.
Darkness engulfed them and the air grew colder, causing the hairs on the back of her neck to bristle. She couldn’t see anything, but perceived they were in a very narrow tunnel, moving forward and downward. And she couldn’t shake off the unsettling feeling that someone was watching them.
Amelia kept reminding herself that Viktor and Alex, being lycanthropes, and Zacharia, half-lycanthrope, had better night vision and would spot any threat.
But no amount of reassurance could make her muscles relax.
She was just about to lose it when a pale light filtered through the dark.
It was coming from some light bulbs, which were lined up like Christmas lights along the tunnel walls.
They illuminated the countless stalactites and stalagmites filling the cave.
The train emerged from the tunnel into a spacious hall. Her breaths easing in the light, Amelia inspected the incredible natural formations. Rocky spears hung so low in some places that Nyavolski had to lean and bend to avoid colliding with them.
A flicker in her peripheral vision caught Amelia’s attention, and she jerked to her right. Initially, there appeared to be a yellowish-white shape crouching on the edge of the cliff, but it turned out to be nothing more than a stalagmite, illuminated by an eerie glow.