Shay slowly let out the breath she was holding. “Not bad, but if you’re going to go on missions with me, you’re going to have to learn to wait for instructions,” Shay shouted. Still, she was impressed. Girl has spit and vinegar. Shay let herself smile, just a little. It was not going to be easy to get to know this teenager. She had more layers than Alison, but there was something there to work with. Soon enough.
Chapter Three
The red-rock desert extended below Shay as she sailed through the air. She shifted her body to adjust her paraglider to keep the landing zone on the mesa in front of her. A glance back showed the three dark forms of her enemies approaching quickly.
Damn it. So much for losing them in Sedona.
Shay hissed under her breath as the top of the mesa grew larger. She needed to be on the ground. A gunfight in the air wasn’t a bright idea, even for her.
The tense seconds ticked by until her feet hit the rock. As she unbuckled her harness, the dark shadows dove toward her. She ducked when they sliced the lines connecting her canopy to her harness, thankfully missing her. The wind caught the fabric and it flew off.
The shadows dropped to the ground, each forming a black-eyed coyote the size of a small horse.
Isn’t this fun.
The coyotes spread out, growling. Another gust of wind took the paraglider canopy over the edge.
Shay sighed. “So much for getting off this rock the easy way. Whatever.”
The tomb raider pulled out her 9mm and put two rounds into the first coyote, which collapsed and sizzled.
Okay, didn’t expect that.
She jumped to the side as another one leapt. The animal let out a howl as it fell over the edge to the waiting ground far below.
The remaining coyote charged Shay and she squeezed off three shots before the animal reached her. Blood splattered its gray fur.
Shay hissed as the huge mass of muscle slammed into her, knocking her to the hard ground. Her gun flew from her grip and landed close to the edge, so she went for one of her adamantine knives, but the dying shadow coyote didn’t move.
The body sizzled and slowly started to disintegrate into smoke. The tomb raider pushed what was left of the corpse to the side.
“That was close.”
Shay retrieved her gun and holstered it. Moment like this would be nice to have a partner. Not yet, though. Lily wasn’t ready, even if she was itching to go.
Peyton was barely able to contain her in the warehouse with things to do. Shay thought about introducing her to the library warehouse but no one knew of her private sanctum and for now, she was going to keep it that way.
Soon there was nothing left of the two bodies but a cloud of thick black smoke that floated above her.
She didn’t know how the magic used to summon the coyotes worked but didn’t care since bullets and falling hundreds of feet killed them. Sometimes the fine details were just a distraction. Plus, them being visible was handy.
Shay shook her head and walked to the edge of the mesa. The wind rushed past her as she leaned over and surveyed the area. The shrub- and tree-covered ground lay hundreds of feet beneath her. Four intimidating buttes surrounded her, but there was no sign of any magical portal.
The only sign of magic was the cloud of black smoke drifting from near some trees, confirmation of the fatal fall for the shadow coyote.
“Damn it! This is the place. It has to be.”
Shay’s phone still refused to power on, and she stared down at the spinning compass in her other hand.
She snorted. “So much for the backup plan.”
Tomb raids were a lot like hits—sometimes the job didn’t go according to plan, but a professional didn’t whine. At least, they didn’t whine too much. If she couldn’t handle a few inconveniences here and there, she might as well get an office job.
Shay snickered at the thought of sitting in some office pushing paperwork. She’d last about two days before she shoved some asshole’s face into a toilet or HR received complaints about her foul mouth.
“I keep pulling people off the street, I’m going to need my own HR.”
More coyotes howled in the distance, and the tomb raider gritted her teeth. She’d thought she’d have more time to find the entrance to the Cueva de Niza, but the dark reinforcements were already closing on her. If they hadn’t known where she was before, the clouds of their buddies’ smoke was a dead giveaway. Nice, that.
“Guess the AR goggles are pointless with all this interference,” she muttered.
She recalled the translation from her notes.
Come from the sky to stand in the center of the mesa between the four buttes. Look to the north, then walk to the edge. Turn then to the east and walk to the edge. Turn then to the south and walk to the edge.
You must walk this exact path. Once you reach the final edge, prove your courage. You must jump. The cave is watching. Those who refuse risk will be denied entrance for their cowardice.
Shay moved to the center of the mesa and followed the directions. When she reached the final edge, she fished a grappling hook connected to nylon rope out of her backpack.
She took a deep breath and secured the hook on an outcropping near the edge.
“Here goes nothing.”
The tomb raider leapt off the edge and plummeted toward the ground. Her rope caught and jerked her and she dangled there for a moment, but there was still no sign of the portal.
“Why can’t this shit ever be easy?”
Shay climbed up the rope and pulled herself back onto the mesa.
More howls ripped through the desert air, this time closer.
She unfastened her hook and coiled her rope. A
