We left the ancient monk and wandered into another tunnel, much larger than the one we'd been crawling through. This one was high enough so that by bowing our heads, we could walk almost upright. As the light from the oil lamp faded behind us, I switched on the heavy flashlight Lady Ahn had provided.
'We must be getting close,' Ernie said.
There was less bat shit on the ground. Someone had been cleaning this portion of the tunnel network regularly.
In another open cavern, we found pools of water. Ernie almost stepped into one but I stopped him in time. I pointed the beam of the flashlight into its depths. The water was clear but agitated by the pebble Ernie had kicked into it. Still, we could see down at least ten feet before the pool faded into darkness.
'How far down does this thing go?' Ernie asked.
'I don't know. This mountain is porous. Filled with tunnels. And water.'
'That's interesting,' Ernie said, 'but do you know where in the fuck we are?'
I glanced at the sketch map Lady Ahn had given me. After the myriad turns and twists we'd been through, the diagram had long ago stopped making sense.
'Sure,' I said. 'No sweat. We're almost there.'
Ernie sighed. 'We'd better be.'
I pointed the beam of the flashlight back into the water. The ripples had settled now, and the light probed to a depth that must've been at least thirty feet. That's when we saw them. Shimmering and white. Globes of death.
Human skulls.
'For Christ's sake,' Ernie grumbled. 'These damn monks aren't as peaceful as Lady Ahn makes them out to be.'
I resisted the urge to cross myself. 'Maybe this is just the way they bury their dead.'
'Maybe, but I don't think so. Some of those skulls have been crushed.'
He was right. Deep gouges slashed into the bony craniums. Other bones lay snapped in two, as if some great beast had feasted on human marrow.
'Come on,' I said. 'Let's keep moving.'
Ernie didn't argue. He just followed me deeper into the catacombs. Anything to get away from that pile of the macabre.
Ernie pulled out his pack of gum and offered me a stick. This time I accepted. The stuff was bitter and tart in the mouth, but at least the juices started flowing again.
Finally, we reached another cavern and another shrine. Instead of a skeleton, this one featured a bronze statuette about three feet high. Of our old friend Kuan Yin, the goddess of mercy. I sighed with relief.
'This is where we're supposed to meet Lady Ahn,' I said.
Ernie flopped down at the naked feet of the goddess and glanced around. Disappointed. 'Doesn't this little gal rate any pears?'
'I guess not.'
I sat at the entrance to the tunnel leading deeper into the mountain and leaned my back against granite. When we were both settled, I flipped off the flashlight. The darkness became absolute. All we could hear was the steady drip of water on rock and the occasional squeak of a bat.
Ernie spoke in a voice of reverence. 'This is like being high,' he said. 'Not on booze. But on the real stuff. Pure China White.'
'Cheaper though,' I said. 'And easier on the liver.'
'Maybe so,' Ernie answered. 'Unless those damn monks show up.'
The soft footsteps jolted me out of a doze, the foot-steps stopped just a few feet from us. When I realized it was only one person, I rose to a crouch and switched on the flashlight.
Lady Ahn covered her eyes.
'They're following me,' she said.
'Who?'
'The monks. Come. We must hurry.'
Ernie was up and right behind us, molars grinding on stale gum.
We wound through passageways for what must've been twenty minutes. Finally, we stopped in another cavern, this one with a pool much larger than the ones we had seen before.
Lady Ahn pointed. 'It's down there. The jade skull of Kublai Khan.'
Ernie peered after the beam of my flashlight. 'Must be a little soggy.'
'No. There is a chamber,' Lady Ahn said. 'There. See the dark spot on the water's bottom? It leads back up toward the surface. And there is a dry area with an airhole. Many of the remaining artifacts of the Sung Treasure are still there. Along with the skull.'
'Cute,' Ernie said. 'How do we get in?'
'I will swim.' Lady Ahn began to unknot her robes.
Ernie stood back, arms crossed, a half-grin on his face. Prepared to observe.
I grabbed her arm. 'No. I will go in.'
'You can swim?' she asked.
I remembered the plunge on Slauson Avenue. Free on Thursdays. Compliments of the L.A. County Board of Supervisors. Half the kids there to swim were black. Half the kids were Mexican. About every third week, someone drowned.
'I can swim,' I told her.
'Hurry, then. I had to make sure that the monks weren't planning any ceremonies back here today. They weren't but they missed me as soon as I slipped away. They have already started their search.'
I stripped down to my undershorts; Lady Ahn calmly folded every article of clothing as I handed them to her.
Ernie gazed at the golden cross on my chest. 'I didn't know you wore that.'
'Only when I break into heathen temples.' I glanced at Lady Ahn. 'Sorry,' I said.
No expression showed on her face.
I tested the water. Icy as hell. I splashed some of it on my chest and arms. My body exploded with pimpled flesh.
Lady Ahn knelt down and grabbed a handful of mud. 'Here. Rub this on. It will keep you warm.'
'No time.' I took a deep breath and, feet first, leapt into the pool.
The shock almost collapsed my lungs. I felt as if a huge fist of ice was squeezing my heart out of my rib cage. Everywhere, my skin burned. Not with fire, but with a searing flame of cold as intense as a blowtorch. Somehow, I managed to keep the blood pulsing through my body. Still quaking with cold, I continued to sink into the water. At the bottom, I followed the beam of light Lady Ahn held steadily on my target. Reaching the narrow cave entrance, I slithered in.
Inside, after a few feet, it became pitch-dark again. I rose quickly, expecting to break water, but nothing happened.
My lungs ached with stale air. I let it out in a steady stream of bubbles. Soon, my lungs were empty, and screaming to be refilled.
I must've swum up half the depth of the pool, maybe twenty feet. Still no air. Panic churned inside of me. I fought it down.
I kept swimming, frantic to breathe again. Maybe I should turn back?
I stopped, swiveled around, started to kick back the way I had come. But then I stopped. No way. I'd never hold my breath that long. I had to go on.
I turned and continued up through the darkness. Reaching forward, groping for the surface, praying for it to arrive. My chest writhed in agony.
I had to have air and I had to have it soon.
Something slimy grabbed my arm.
I wrenched at it. A poisonous eel? The tentacle of a great squid? Whatever the hell it was, I jerked it from my arm, my fingers sinking into mushy flesh, and broke free.
