subterranean quakes triggering a landslide. One had exposed the entrance to the Temple of the Gods—and now a vastly larger one was erasing it from the face of the earth.
Ninety knots, and three thousand feet in altitude. They were well above the summit, but still only about two miles from where they had taken off. Nina twisted in her seat, gawping at the sight that greeted her. “My God!” Great sprays of molten rock burst from the crater, splattering down on the crumbling cone of rock below.
It struck her that she had been the cause. One person, channeling earth energy, was directly responsible for a volcanic eruption. Any lingering doubts about whether she had done the right thing instantly vanished. Nobody should have that power.
And now nobody ever would. The meteorite and the primordial DNA it contained were destroyed, consumed by the rising lava, and the piece Sophia had taken would end up buried beneath dozens of feet of ash. Even the Group itself had been eliminated. That threat had ceased to exist.
Another remained, however, growing more deadly with every passing second. The gouts of lava became stronger as pressure built up inside the confined shaft, even the noise of the helicopter overpowered by the basso roar of escaping gas. More landslides stripped the volcano’s flanks. One whole side of the mountain began to bulge, visibly swelling as she watched.
Four thousand feet. One hundred and twenty knots. Three miles from their start point. Still climbing and accelerating, but it might not be enough …
The distended mountainside pulsed, rippling from within. For a moment, the jet of lava and ash choked as the enormous pressure rising from below was blocked, the mouth of the shaft too narrow for it all to escape at once …
Then it forced its way through.
The volcano erupted.
THIRTY-SIX
The mountain’s entire upper half disintegrated in a single burst of unimaginable violence, a shock wave racing outward. Behind it followed a colossal cloud of searing ash and superheated steam, pulverized rock and globs of red-hot lava churning within like a lethal blizzard. The explosion would be heard hundreds of miles away, and shake buildings in Dubti.
The helicopter was much closer.
There was a strange silence after Nina and Eddie witnessed the obliteration of the volcano’s summit, light outpacing sound—then the blast wave caught up with them. It was as if the AW101 had been rammed from behind. Nina screamed, but couldn’t even hear it over the earth’s uncorked fury. The chopper swung around, loose items flying through the cabin. Eddie was thrown backward, grabbing the harness straps on a seat just in time to stop himself from following the dead pilot out of the open rear ramp.
Senses reeling, Larry struggled with the controls. The helicopter spiraled toward the desert plain. The altimeter needle whirled down toward zero with terrifying speed. He applied full throttle and pulled up the collective for maximum lift, but the AW101 was still spinning, still falling.
Eddie dragged himself upright. The landscape blurred past beyond the windows. “Dad! Stop the fucking thing!”
“I don’t know how!” Larry yelled. Below four thousand feet, and dropping—
“Turn it!” Nina cried. “We’re spinning counter-clockwise—turn the other way!”
In the turmoil, Larry’s feet had come off the rudder pedals. He found them again and jammed one foot down to apply full power to the tail rotor. The helicopter rocked sharply, throwing more unsecured objects around its interior. Nina shrieked as an emergency kit rebounded off the console in front of her and broke open, showering her with its contents.
Three thousand feet—but the spin was slowing. Teeth bared, Larry gradually eased his foot up as the aircraft came back under control. “Jesus!” he gasped. “I think I’ve got it.”
The chopper straightened out, pointing almost directly back at the ruined mountain. Eddie caught his breath, then returned to the cockpit to look over his father’s shoulder. “We don’t want to be going this way, though.” He pointed at the compass. “Go south-southeast, about one sixty degrees. That’ll take us back to the town we came from.” A pause, then: “Nice work, Dad.”
“Glad I finally did something you approve of,” said Larry with a shaky grin.
Nina stared at the volcano. “Look at that …,” she said breathlessly. Though the initial shock wave had passed, a second destructive front was still advancing as a heavy, corpse-gray cloud swept outward. A pyroclastic flow, hot gas and pulverized rock scouring and sterilizing the earth beneath it. “We need to get back into the sky before it reaches us.”