for us here.” Jill headed for the trapdoor and started down the ladder.
There were over twenty steps, and she saw Novak standing on the ground beside the ladder. She jumped from the fourth rung and caught hold of him to steady herself. The earth was soft and mushy beneath her feet, and the smell was a blend of earth scents and rotten vegetation. And something else that was causing Jill’s stomach to tense. She moved the beam of the flashlight to pierce the darkness. Stone walls, a path leading south, away from the creek.
“I think we know what that code is.” Novak had pulled out his pen flashlight and was looking around at the stone walls. “She gave us enough clues.”
And he’d already figured it out, she thought. He’d probably done it before she had. That intelligence and the amazing ability to put puzzles together…“I need to be sure.” Jill started down the narrow, rocky path.
“I don’t suppose you’ll let me go ahead, Jill,” Novak said.
“No. My story.” She gave him a smile over her shoulder as she moved faster. “I brought you here. Are you trying to cheat me?”
“Perish the thought. I just wanted to be sure there weren’t any snakes down here.”
“Keep an eye out. But I don’t think Zahra would permit that. I’m sure she always sent Dalai down to check it out.”
Then she made the turn in the stone path.
She stopped and inhaled sharply.
“It’s true…” She had to gather her composure before she glanced over her shoulder at Novak again. “Now you can tell me what four-letter code Dalai punched in at that boulder.”
“Kiya,” he said softly. His gaze was traveling around the sizeable room and all the treasures it held.
“Too easy.” She was dazzled as the beam of her flashlight fell on wonderful vases, trunks overflowing with gold and precious jewelry. And several truly superb gold statues. “If Zahra hadn’t been so arrogant, any security expert would have told her that was the least safe password she could have chosen.” She crossed the room and touched one of the statues. “Well, we found where Zahra grabbed that wonderful statue she gave to Dobran. But none of those statues are as fantastic as the Great Beloved Wife.”
“Amazing.” Novak was examining one of the engraved gold coffers. “There’s so much here. I know that it was supposed to be a wagonload of treasure. But that was a long time ago. You would have thought the family would have gradually let some of it go.”
“Family tradition,” Jill said. “Gideon said that Zahra was an absolute fanatic about family history and tradition. Evidently, it was a trait passed down through the ages.” She drew a deep breath, then wished she hadn’t. That sickeningly familiar scent…
“Jill?” Novak’s gaze was on her face.
“I’m fine. I just want to get out of here. We should get back to Dalai.”
“I’m here.” Dalai was standing behind them. Her face was chalk pale. “I told you I’d only be a minute.” She pulled the cloak closer about her as if to ward off a chill. “Have you seen enough?” She was gazing searchingly at Jill’s face. “Maybe more than enough. You’re very clever, Jill. I believe you see things that others wouldn’t see.”
“I see that you look ill.” Jill moistened her lips. “And frightened. Why are you so frightened to be down here?” She was thinking back, trying to put together everything she knew about Dalai. “Gideon said that you were terribly afraid of Zahra.” She was trying to remember. “He said you said something about the place with no air.” Her gaze flew to Dalai’s face. “Is that this place, Dalai?”
Dalai nodded. “I can’t breathe down here.” She swallowed. “I know it’s my imagination, but it doesn’t make any difference. My heart starts to pound, and I want to scream.”
“Just being underground?”
“What?” Dalai looked at her as if she were crazy. “No, it’s the cage.” She moved jerkily across the room to a row of large, gold, bejeweled chests against the far wall. “That’s what Madam called it, the night she made me get into it.” She paused beside an elaborate gold chest whose top was thickly patterned with a beautiful, closely woven, openwork design. She threw open the chest, and Jill saw that it was empty. “It was that first year she brought me here, and she had to make sure I was broken enough that I’d never betray her.” Her voice was trembling. “So one night she made me climb into this