own blood.
During her recovery, she had received a call, congratulating her.
From the man on the phone now.
It was said he was one of the Guild leaders, those who were only referred to as 'Echelon.'
She finally found her voice. 'Sir, I take full responsibility for the failure.'
'And I imagine you've learned from this mistake.' The tone remained flat. She could not tell if the speaker was angry or not.
'Yes, sir.'
'From here, leave the matter to us. Steps are being taken. But a new threat has arisen, more immediate than Sigma sniffing at our door. Something you'd best handle on the ground there.'
'Sir?'
'Someone knows there was a survivor of the Mali massacre. They are meeting with Senator Gorman tonight.'
Krista's fingers tightened on her phone. How could that be? She'd been so careful. Her mind raced through the last few days. She'd kept herself well hidden. Anger warmed through her terror.
'That meeting must not happen,' the speaker warned and told her the details of the midnight rendezvous.
'And the senator?'
'Expendable. If word reaches him before you can shut this down, take him out. No evidence must be left behind.'
She knew it wasn't necessary to acknowledge that.
'As to the operation in England,' the man continued, 'all is in place there?'
'Yes, sir.'
'You know how important it is that we find the key to the Doomsday Book.'
She did. She stared up at the Monolith's writhing tower of bodies. The key could either save them or damn them.
'Do you trust your contact over there?' he asked.
'Of course not. Trust is never necessary. Only power and control.'
For once, a hint of amusement tinged his words. 'You were taught well.' The phone connection ended. But not before a last few cryptic words. 'Echelon has its eyes on you.'
Krista remained standing before the Monolith. With the phone still at her ear, she shuddered again-with relief, with terror, but mostly with one certainty.
She must not fail.
Chapter 14
October 12, 4:16 P.M.
Lake District, England
Gray eyed his transportation doubtfully.
His transportation stared back at him, equally unsure, stamping a hoof for emphasis.
'The Fell Pony,' Dr. Wallace Boyle said as he worked among the assembled horseflesh. 'You'll not find a heartier pony on God's green earth. Perfect for mountain trekking. Sure-footed and strong as an ox.'
'You call these guys ponies?' Kowalski asked.
Gray understood his partner's consternation. The dusty-black stallion being saddled for Gray had to stand over fourteen hands, almost five feet tall at the withers. It chuffed into the cold air and scraped a hoof into the half-frozen mud.
'Ack, be still already, Pip,' a ranch hand said as he gave the saddle cinch another tug.
The group had left Hawkshead by car an hour ago. Wallace had guided them to this horse farm deep in the mountains. Apparently the only way to reach the excavation site from here was either on foot or by horseback. Wallace had called ahead and arranged for their four-legged transportation.
'The Fell Pony has a long tradition in the region,' he continued as their mounts were tacked. 'The wild Picts used them against the Romans. Viking farmers used them as plow horses. And the Normans who came later made pack animals out of them to haul lead and coal.'
Wallace rubbed the neck of his brown gelding and climbed up into his saddle. His terrier, Rufus, trotted through the assembled horses and lifted his leg on a fence post. The dog's initial distrust of Seichan seemed to have settled into a wary truce. He gave her a wide berth as she slipped a toe through a stirrup and leaped smoothly atop a sturdy-looking bay mare.
''Fraid you're going to have to excuse ol' Rufus,' Wallace had explained back at the pub. 'Set in his ways, he is. And I'm embarrassed to say he's a bit of a bigot. Took a bite out of a Pakistani grad student last spring.'
Rachel had looked aghast.
Seichan had not reacted at all. She merely stared at the dog until its tail sank, and it retreated into its master's shadow. Afterward she joined them at the table.
Rachel, having been recognized, had come clean about their true intentions with Wallace, though she kept some details sketchy. She didn't mention the mummified finger.
The professor had listened soberly, then shrugged. 'No worries, lass. Your secret is safe with me. If I can help you catch the boggins who killed Marco and sent your uncle to the hospital, then all's the better, I say.'
So they had set off.
But even now, they still had a long way to go.
Gray mounted his stallion, Pip, and after a bit of a shuffle, they left the farm and headed overland. Dr. Boyle led the way atop his gelding. They followed single file up a winding trail.
Gray had not been on horseback in ages. It took him a good mile to feel comfortable, to fall into an easy rhythm with his mount. Around him, the English fells climbed higher and gathered closer. Off in the distance, the snowy crown of England's highest mountain, Scafell Pike, shone in a last blaze of fire as the sun sank away.
As they trekked, a wintry silence blanketed the highlands. All that was heard was the crunch of snow under their ponies' hooves. Gray had to admit that Wallace's estimation of their mounts was not all bluster. Pip seemed to know where to place each hoof, even through the snow. Going downhill, the stallion never lost his footing and kept a steady balance.
Another two miles, and the way opened enough for Gray to sidle his mount next to Rachel and Seichan. The two had been whispering together.
As Gray joined them, Rachel struggled to free her plastic canteen. Seichan noted her difficulty and dropped her reins. Guiding her horse with her legs, she freed a thermos and unscrewed the top.
'Hot tea,' Seichan said and held a cup out to Rachel.
'Thank you.' Rachel took a sip, the steam bathing her face. 'Ah, that's good. It warms right through you.'
'It's a special herbal blend of mine.'
Rachel nodded her thanks again as she finished her tea and passed back the cup.
Ahead, Kowalski slouched in his saddle, half-asleep, his head nodding, trusting his pony to follow behind Wallace's.
They rode through a sparse forest of alder and oak, over ferny bracken in a landscape of snow-covered turf and icy trickles of streams. Gray was glad to be on horseback, not trekking on foot. Unlike Rufus, who didn't seem to mind as he trotted alongside them, hopping from hillock to hillock through the damper areas. The air grew colder as the sun sank away.
'How much farther, do you think?' Rachel asked. She kept her voice hushed. The cold silence of the place had that effect.
Gray shook his head. Wallace had refused to give any more detail than 'far up in the wilds of the fell.' Still, Gray didn't worry about finding their way back. Before he set off, he had activated a handheld GPS unit in his pocket. It monitored their trail, leaving little digital bread crumbs to follow.
Rachel huddled deeper into her heavy jacket. Her breath puffed into the cold air. 'Maybe we should have waited until morning.'
Seichan spoke hollowly. 'No. If there are any answers out here, the quicker we find them and move on, the
