called a street, stretching straight away for a distance that looked greater than several football fields. Both sides of the street were lined by more buildings ranging in size and intricacy. There was no way to know the original purpose of the place, but the design, the craftsmanship, that went into each building was impressive, if not hauntingly beautiful.
After a quick listen, Knight whisked across the street, to the far side, where buildings rose up into the bone-covered stone wall. He hoped to find a tunnel that would take him out of this place and into the bright yellow light of day. Hell, even the dull filtered light of the jungle’s canopy-covered day would be an improvement. Even the humidity and heat of the jungle, which could not be found in the cool, dry caves, held greater appeal than the necropolis. It was the air that bothered him. He could feel the dusty air clogging his nose, dust created by the bones and bodies that were left to rot in this cave. He was breathing the dead.
Doing his best to stay in the shadows, Knight moved as swiftly as possible on his injured leg, but the glowing green moss that covered every external surface filled the cavern with ambient light. If one of the creatures that lived in this cave happened to look in his direction, he would stand out like a black meteorite on an arctic ice shelf.
So it was, when he heard the steady slap of broad bare feet approaching from a side corridor, he ducked into the first dark tunnel he found. Before disappearing into the darkness he removed a bandanna from his pocket and wiped several bones clean of their green moss. He pocketed the glowing rag and moved away from the necropolis.
When the footfalls came closer he had no choice but to follow the tunnel. It ran straight for fifty feet, and as Knight covered the distance he hoped to find it turning upward, but it didn’t. It descended, deeper into the mountain. Deeper into the lair of the Nguoi Rung.
THIRTY-EIGHT
WAVES OF HEAT caressed Sara’s body. She still couldn’t see, but she knew from the dry warmth and the occasional pop that she was sitting in front of a fire. The cold stone against her hands, which were tied tight behind her back, coupled with the occasional echoed voice, revealed she was in a cave. She tried to focus on her other senses, her odd senses, but something about the enclosed space and constant heat of the fire kept her from “feeling” anything more than her immediate surroundings.
She couldn’t even tell if King was with her. She had sensed a struggle behind them when they were still on the path and wondered if Queen had escaped. A group of their captors gave chase to something, but there was no way to really know what had happened. Queen might have escaped, but Sara held out little hope that she could make it far, never mind return to free them.
“Sara, you there?”
A wave of emotion, both joy and dread, swept through Sara. “King,” she said, his name infused in a sigh of relief. “You’re alive.”
“Given my current condition and the pain in my head, I’m starting to wish I wasn’t.”
“Are you injured?”
“Nothing that won’t heal, but they’ve got me hog-tied upside down. Don’t suppose you managed your loose-rope trick again?”
Sara fought with her bindings but quickly gave up. “Not a chance.”
King sighed. This mission had been one humiliation after another. Landing in a battlefield. Sara’s abduction. Being captured and tortured by the VPLA. And now, after rescuing Sara, they had been captured again.
The question nagging him was who had captured them. He couldn’t remember a thing up until a minute ago when he woke to a pounding headache. At least they were still together. Or were they? “Queen?”
“She’s not with us,” Sara said. “I think she escaped.”
King didn’t know if that was a good thing or not. They’d already been separated from Knight, Rook, and Bishop. The team found strength together. Each represented a part of the whole. King the head, cunning and cool. Bishop and Rook the arms, strong and steady. Knight and Queen the legs, mobile and deadly. Still, with Queen on the loose, a rescue attempt would be no doubt forthcoming—if she was still alive.
Sara waited for an answer, but King remained silent. She couldn’t handle the silence. Not now. With her senses shut down and her vision blocked, his voice helped ground her.