A hand clamped down on his shoulder.
He whirled to smash a fist into his attacker - and stopped just short when he saw it was Shankarpa. The guardian flinched. ‘Jesus!’ Eddie said. ‘What the hell are you doing?’
‘I saw you fall,’ Shankarpa replied. He was carrying a Martini-Henry and a pouch of ammunition. ‘I came to find you.’
‘What about Nina, and Kit? Are they okay?’
‘They ran into the Vault - I do not know what happened to them.’
Eddie looked back up. Someone pulled the dangling harness on to the ledge. ‘I’ve got to get up there.’
‘That is why I came for you.’ He pointed into the darkness.
‘There is a tunnel - it will take you to the bridge on the fifth level. It is the fastest way back to the Vault. My men will give you cover as you cross.’
‘So you’re helping us now?’
‘My father trusted you. But these people, the Khoils - they are enemies of Shiva. They must be stopped. Come, this way.’
Hunched low behind the chest, Zec secured it to the winch line. The guardians were still directing intermittent shots at the ledge, but the suppressing fire from the MD 500 was holding them off. How long that would restrain them when they realised their treasure was being airlifted away he didn’t know, or care to find out. He fastened the last clasp, then spoke into his headset. ‘Take it up!’
The line tightened and the chest rose from the ledge, suspended in the web of netting and straps. As soon as it was airborne, the Dhruv sideslipped away from the cliff face so the chest could be winched up without fear of its swinging into the rock.
Zec ran back to the doors, another helicopter on his mind. ‘Chinook to recovery position!’ he ordered. ‘We’re evacuating. Ready rocket launchers!’
Kit tried to push the dead mercenary away, feeling another blinding burst of pain as the corpse’s limp arm bashed his wound. For all the effort and agony, he only managed to move him a short way; the sword poking from the man’s belly had wedged against the gondola’s wall. Cursing, he tried to wriggle out from under the body—
The floor lurched.
For a moment he thought it was an earthquake. But then he heard a metallic scraping beneath him - and realised the gondola itself was moving.
He looked up, seeing to his shock that the hot air from the furiously blazing fire in the brazier had partly inflated the balloon. No longer a flaccid bundle of fabric, it had swollen enormously, reaching the roof of the cavern.
The gondola jolted again, harder. Kit grimaced at another bolt of pain in his leg. The balloon’s envelope was taller than the Vault, meant to be inflated in the open. Trapped against the rocky ceiling, heat was building up too fast. Sparks and cinders swirled in the updraft as the fabric began to burn.
He kicked with his good leg, finally dislodging the dead man. He pulled himself upright - then fell again as the balloon left the ground, the flying palace swaying beneath it.
Nina was making her way back to the entrance, keeping to the shadows, when she heard loud noises to one side. Someone starting up one of the war machines? There was no reason for the mercenaries to do so - maybe Kit was still alive.
She climbed on to the plinth of a statue for a better view - and was startled by the sight of the great bloated grub of the balloon squirming against the ceiling. A fierce fire burned inside the elaborate little palace.
A fire that was spreading to the rest of the balloon. Glowing patches of light flickered inside the silken outer shroud . . . getting larger as she watched.
If the balloon ruptured, the burning fabric would land on top of the gondola - and Kit.
No longer concerned with stealth, she ran through the cavern to help him.
Shankarpa brought Eddie to the end of the steep, narrow tunnel, the other side of the valley visible through an archway. Eddie looked out. The rope bridge was off to one side. To his dismay, someone aboard the red and white helicopter was pulling the chest into the cabin. ‘Shit, they’ve got the box!’
Dark anger crossed Shankarpa’s face. ‘They will pay,’ he said, opening the old rifle’s breech and loading a round. He took aim at the Dhruv - then both men flinched back from the hurricane of snow and grit as the Chinook descended. The big helicopter slowly backed towards the giant statue, lines dangling from its open rear ramp.
Shankarpa fired at the Chinook. The boom from the old gun was painful in the confined space, but the only result for all the sound and fury was a clang as the round struck armour. The MD 500 had pulled away to let the larger chopper into the valley, but its gunner was still watching for telltale bursts of smoke from the rifles - a rattle of fire shattered the stonework outside the arch.
‘I need you to keep that gunship busy,’ said Eddie. ‘If it catches me while I’m crossing the bridge, I’m fucked!’
‘There is another tunnel that will take me to the other guardians. I will tell them to cover you as you cross.’
‘How long will it take you to get there?’
‘Two minutes.’
Eddie glanced out. The Chinook was moving into a hover - much lower than the Khoils’ helicopter, the whumping blades of its rear rotor actually beneath the overhanging rock, tips less than ten feet from the statue of Shiva. The pilots were trying to get the rear ramp as close as possible to the ledge so the mercenaries could jump in rather than having to ascend the ropes. ‘I don’t have that long. Go - get there as quick as you can.’
Shankarpa started for the tunnel. ‘What are you going to do?’
Eddie looked back at him. ‘Run like buggery!’
The downwash from the Chinook’s rear rotor blasted through the Vault, sweeping up the dust of centuries in a blinding swirl. Nina squinted as the gritty storm stung her eyes.
The wind caught the balloon, setting the palatial gondola swinging like a pendulum. She expected it to be blown further back into the great cave, but the combination of the gondola’s gyrations and air currents gusting round the cavern’s ragged natural roof instead sent it spinning towards the entrance.
Fire burst through the balloon’s skin. Either there was a hotspot above the brazier or the material had torn on the ceiling, but it didn’t matter - a rush of escaping air sent a huge spray of embers across the Vault, falling like glowing snowflakes. Nina hurriedly pulled up her hood as they dropped around her, scorching her parka.
Rapidly losing height, the gondola hit a siege engine near the launch ramp. She glimpsed Kit as he bailed - or was flung - out of the door, then the whole thing crashed to the floor, knocking over the brazier she had originally lit.
The balloon itself was being consumed with frightening speed, large parts already reduced to ash and motes of hellfire. The air filled with smoke. Coughing, Nina weaved through the flames, hoping Kit hadn’t already been swallowed by them.
Eddie looked out at the Chinook. It was hovering precariously with its rear ramp just above the lip of the ledge. He spotted Zec crouching low, waving his men into the helicopter.
He couldn’t wait for covering fire. He was out of time - the mercs would soon be gone, firing their parting shots to destroy the Vault.
And Nina.
He ran to the rope bridge, arms outstretched for balance as he traversed the planks two at a time. Still no booms from the Martini-Henrys. He looked for the MD 500—
The men aboard saw him, the little helicopter pivoting to bring the M249 to bear.
Laser-lines of tracer fire seared past him as he ran.
Zec heard the gunfire, and glanced down the valley to see the MD 500 unleashing a barrage at a figure
