The Last Odyssey (Sigma Force #15) - James Rollins Page 0,123

were locked down by hidden gears.

Alerted by the scrape of boots on rock, she knew she would have to make a last stand here. If nothing else, she would buy the others as much time as possible to get somewhere safe once the firefight commenced.

And at least I’m not alone.

Strong, thin arms strangled her throat. Aggie remained perched on her shoulder, sensing the danger, or at least, Seichan’s anxiety. Her heart hammered, and fine sweat covered her skin. A minute ago, she had tried to get the monkey to head down the tunnel, but he kept bounding back, sticking close to her.

So be it.

With her eyes adjusted to the dim cave, the sunlight streaming through the stack of boulders was stingingly bright. She spotted a shadow pass through that radiance, heading toward the larger gap.

Then another.

Here we go.

She shifted her pistol higher, leaning her shoulder against the bronze gate to steady her aim. Then she felt a rumble pass through her body, radiating outward from the door. The gun vibrated in her grip.

She straightened, pushing away from the gate.

The pair of doors began to move with a groan of gears.

Finally . . .

She backed up but quickly noted that the gates were closing far too slowly. The others would soon be inside and through the doors if she abandoned her post. She held her ground and pointed her pistol. As soon as the creeping shadows reached the gap in the boulder pile, she fired.

A single round.

But not at the opening.

She hit one of the pots full of Medea’s Oil. The loud gunshot succeeded in driving the intruders away from the cave opening. Unfortunately—as much as she had hoped—the round failed to ignite the explosive load stored in those jars. The pot simply shattered into pieces, dumping a spill of faintly glowing oil across the cave floor.

So, plan B.

Aggie clung even tighter, making it hard to breathe. Seichan retreated deeper into the tunnel to avoid being crushed by the closing doors—which meant she lost her sight line on the cave entrance.

Someone strafed wildly into the space, the rounds ringing off the bronze and ricocheting all around. Seichan ducked low. She blindly returned fire, squeezing her trigger twice, just to keep the others on their toes.

She waited for as long as possible. The two doors were still ten yards apart and closing with an infuriating deliberateness.

C’mon.

Then two dark figures rolled across her view, trying to reach the far side of the cave, planning to set up a crossfire, leaving her nowhere to hide. She didn’t bother firing at them. Instead she grabbed her water bottle, used her teeth to unplug the stopper, and lobbed it like a grenade past the doors and out into the cavern. It tumbled end over end—toward the middle of the glowing pool of Medea’s Oil.

As it flew, she turned, grabbed Aggie to her chest, and sprinted down the tunnel.

The world exploded behind her in a flash of golden fire.

A blast of superheated air slammed into her back and sent her flying headlong. In midair, she scooped Aggie tighter and twisted to the side. She hit the ground with her shoulder and rolled, protecting the monkey with her body.

When she finally stopped tumbling, she spun around.

The gate remained open, framed by a roaring blaze of golden flames and black smoke. But as she watched, the gap between the doors inexorably closed, pinching narrower and narrower, squeezing the flames.

Still, too slowly.

6:24 P.M.

Nehir crouched on a lip of stratified rock, gasping for air that wasn’t on fire. Flames raged in the cave overhead. A boulder tipped over the edge and crashed down the cliff face, coming within a foot of striking her. Stone shards pelted her face as they passed by. The boulder slammed into the other rocks that had been blasted out of the cave in a massive gout of flame and smoke.

Below, four teammates lay crushed and broken beneath the pile. Another three had been inside at the time of the explosion and were surely dead.

She stared up.

Already the worst of the flames had subsided.

Anger—hotter than the fires above—drove her upward. She reached the ledge and peeked into the cave. The heat seared her eyeballs. The hot breath of a dragon, smelling of burnt flesh and oil, swept over her.

Across the cave, lit by multiple flaming pools, movement drew her tortured gaze.

A pair of doors squeezed together at the back.

Then sealed.

She ducked from the heat and pressed her cheek against the cooler stone. So close. She choked down