Rogue Angel - The Spirit Banner Part 35

Why put a series of letters there if they didn't actually spell anything? she wondered.

"Come on!" she shouted over the roaring of the water, and took off back down the length of the corridor without waiting to see if Mason was following.

Reaching the door at the other end, she discovered that despite her height she could not reach the ivory wheel. Mason had already figured out her quandary, however, and bent over so that she could climb up on his back. From there, he leaned against the door, using it for support while she clambered all the way up until she was standing on his shoulders and found herself directly opposite the disk. This close she could see that there was a small arrow just below the image of the Khan, pointing down at the disk.

"I don't know what you're doing, but whatever it is, you'd better hurry," he shouted up to her. In that short time since the flooding had started, the water had already risen over Mason's knees.

Despite having hung there for centuries, it only took a gentle push to get the disk moving. Working quickly, Annja spun the disk like a combination lock, lining up each letter in the name Temujin Temujin with the arrow below the carving. with the arrow below the carving.

She looked down, noting that the water was now up to the middle of Mason's chest, and said, "Try the door."

With his hands already against it to help in holding Annja up, all Mason had to do was push.

Nothing happened.

B Y LAYING THE TREE TRUNKS Y LAYING THE TREE TRUNKS on the floor one at a time and pus.h.i.+ng from behind, they were able to slide each of them across the gap without too much difficulty. The rope in Davenport's pack was sacrificed and cut into shorter strips, which were then used to tie the ends of the logs together in an effort to keep them from sliding away from one another. on the floor one at a time and pus.h.i.+ng from behind, they were able to slide each of them across the gap without too much difficulty. The rope in Davenport's pack was sacrificed and cut into shorter strips, which were then used to tie the ends of the logs together in an effort to keep them from sliding away from one another.

Vale volunteered to make the crossing first and he did so by s.h.i.+mmying across the makes.h.i.+ft bridge while seated on the logs with a leg hanging down on either side. His position spread his weight out as much as possible and helped keep the logs from separating beneath him by trapping them between his thighs.

Once he was across, he took several strips of rope he'd carried over with him and used those to bind the other end of the logs together.

With a man holding down either side of their makes.h.i.+ft bridge, the others followed Vale's example and crossed to the far side as quickly as possible.

Nambai was the last one to cross and the older man did it with more panache than any of his younger colleagues. Standing and walking across as though it was something he did every day of the week, he strolled along the narrow causeway with a gaping void to either side that would have given a mountain goat second thoughts.

Fresh lit torches in hand, they hurried after their colleagues, afraid that they might already be too late.

They pa.s.sed through the first room and into the short tunnel beyond, only to find that the door at the other end of the tunnel was blocked by a large slab of stone.

Pus.h.i.+ng against it got them nowhere and it was clear from the size of the stone that attempting to lift it, particularly without the proper tools to give them leverage, would be an act of futility.

A roaring noise could be heard on the other side, and once Davenport thought he heard Annja's voice, but it was too hard to tell for sure. They banged on the stone, shouted at those they believed to be on the other side, but to no avail.

If Mason and Annja were on the other side, they were trapped good and proper.

"T RY IT AGAIN RY IT AGAIN !" Annja shouted down to Mason. !" Annja shouted down to Mason.

He gave the door another shove.

Still nothing.

Annja swore. What had she missed? Was she using the device incorrectly? Did she need to spin the disk in only one direction? Clockwise? Counterclockwise? Did she have the right pa.s.sword?

She tried the Khan's given name twice more, moving the disk only clockwise the first time and then, when that failed, trying the same thing in the other direction.

It still didn't work.

"Annja?"

She looked down and saw that the water was almost up to Mason's chin.

"Better hurry," he said, looking up at her, a strange calmness in his gaze.

She turned back to the disk. She needed a different pa.s.sword. That had to be it.

But what?

Her thoughts whirled.

What would have been important to the ruler of the known world? Wealth? Power? Territory? His t.i.tle?

There were too many options, too many choices, and not enough time.

She heard Mason take a deep breath and knew the water had just risen over his face. She had less than a minute or two.

With one last desperate attempt, she tried again. If she was wrong this time, she wouldn't have another chance. Once Mason collapsed she wouldn't be tall enough to reach the disk.

She spun the last letter into place and felt the water creep up over her knees.

Mason had been submerged for a minute and a half.

A grinding noise filled the chamber and the door in front of them burst open, carrying them forward in the rush of the current.

35.

Annja went under in the sudden flood and was swept away from Mason. She felt herself slam into a few objects and got tangled up in them, but couldn't tell what they were as she was carried several yards into the room by the receding waters.

In moments it was over.

Wet, tired and very thankful that she remembered the name of Temujin's first, and favored, wife, Borte, she came to rest on the stone floor.

Something large and heavy lay atop her.

With her torch gone, she opened her eyes into darkness. Her left hand was pinned beneath the weight but she could move her right and she used it to pull her flashlight from the cargo pocket of her pants and turn it on.

A mummified Mongol face stared down at her from just a few inches away, its blackened flesh shrunken against the bones of its skull, its eyes deep in their sockets and dried out like oversized grapes.

Annja screamed.

"Annja!"

The mummy was suddenly pulled away and Annja found herself looking into Mason's concerned face. "Are you okay?" he asked.

She nodded, still too surprised to speak.

Having an eight-hundred-year-old corpse leering at her was not something she'd expected after escaping from the flood.

Mason helped her climb to her feet and together they shone their lights across the s.p.a.ce around them.