On the other hand, If I ended up dying because of some brain-eating amoeba rather than some asshole shooting me, it’d be kind of funny.
Shay finished by removing her holster and tactical harness and grabbed a single adamantine knife. She didn’t expect to find anything in the water, but she didn’t want to end up dying because some random underwater plant snagged her leg.
She moved to the edge of the pool and took several deep breaths. “Yeah, gonna have to shower five times when I get back to Quito to feel clean after this.”
Shay closed her eyes and dove into the pool. She kicked with her legs to dive straight down, her free palm out. The slimy bottom of the pool turned out to be only eight feet down.
The thick algae coated her exposed skin as she pushed through the water. She shuddered under the light touch of the plants and didn’t dare open her eyes.
Fumbling around with her hand, she felt along the bottom of the pool. Thirty seconds passed without finding anything more than rocks. A minute.
Shay shot up, breaking the surface and taking a deep lungful of air. Her disgusting first trip had given her nothing, but she’d only explored a small portion of the pool.
“Okay, attempt number two.”
Six tries later her hand passed over something angled and smooth, but her burning lungs forced her back up before she could get a good hold on the object.
Shay tossed her knife into the pile with the rest of her gear and returned to the spot in the center of the pool. Using both hands, she felt along the edges of the suspicious object, which was clearly some sort of metal box. She braced her feet, and with a mighty tug, she freed the box.
Once back at the surface, she dared opened her eyes. A smooth golden box with a hinged lid rested in her hands. She swam to the edge of the pool and climbed out, a stupid grin on her face.
“Now let’s see if all that disgusting swimming was worth it.”
Shay turned on her headlamp and lifted the lid, and something gold shone under the light—a small figurine, a thick golden triangle with two long connected wings and what might charitably be interpreted as two tail fins, rested inside. The Bomber.
Up close, the figurine didn’t strike the tomb raider as looking all that close to an aircraft, but it didn’t resemble any animal she’d ever seen either.
Of course, the artisans might have just been making something cool.
Shay shrugged and gathered her gear. She’d get paid whether it was the key to an ancient alien mystery or a nice toy for the emperor’s kid. Before she handed it over to the client, she’d perform a thorough examination and take some pictures.
Other than the whole swimming through muck thing, this wasn’t so bad.
The small chamber shook, and a loud bellowing groan echoed around her.
“Now what?”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Stray rocks shook loose from the walls and roof of the small chamber, pelting the ground and splashing into the pool. The shaking stopped, but a dark shadow moving in the pool made the tomb raider’s heart pound.
Yeah, that’s what I get for thinking it’d be so easy.
She yanked out her gun and backed toward the passageway leading to the next chamber. Water splashed all over the room as something leapt out of the pool with a screech.
Shay’s headlamp illuminated the slick and scaly body of a tall humanoid creature. It was more lizardman than demon, having glowing red eyes and long sharp claws. The monster hissed as he landed.
“You don’t have to die here,” Shay yelled, “but I’m not going to either. Back the fuck off.”
The lizardman charged, and Shay’s three shots echoed in the small chamber. The lizardman jerked back and dropped to the ground, his wounds spewing glowing blue blood. Shay put two more bullets into his head to be sure.
“Okay, that wasn’t so bad.”
Several additional dark forms appeared in the pool.
“Shit. This is what I get for not bringing a grenade on the climb.”
Shay spun and rushed through the passageway. Red eyes and hisses followed her from the darkness. She unloaded her magazine into the darkness. Two loud screeches followed.
The tomb raider maneuvered between the dense stalagmites and stalactites choking the next chamber. A claw sliced at her from the side, from a lizardman hiding in the shadows. She ducked, whipped her gun up, and pulled the trigger.
Click. Empty.
Fuck.
Four more enemies lumbered from the darkness, snapping mouths filled with razor-sharp teeth and brandishing their claws.
Let’s see how sharp my babies are.
Shay dropped the gun and yanked out an adamantine knife for each hand. She rushed the closest lizardman and slammed a blade into his head. The monster collapsed in a spray of glowing blue.
The tomb raider stayed low and darted between the mineral formations, slashing with both knives at two closing lizardmen. Her blades dug deeply, but didn’t finish the creatures off. Both screeched and stepped back.
At least now I know these things understand fear. I can work with that.
“That’s right, you ugly assholes. Don’t fuck with me if you want to leave this cave alive.”
More screeches and hisses sounded from the passageway.
“How many of you things were hiding in here?”
An unwounded lizardman leapt at her. She met his throat with a knife, but his claws ripped into her, slicing through her shirt and undershirt. Shay hissed as pain lanced through her side, warm blood welling up from the wound.
The two enemies she’d wounded earlier pressed a new attack. Both charged her, but their movements were unsteady and their glowing blood dripped to the ground. Shay met their charge by thrusting knives into their chests, and they screeched and thrashed for a few seconds before slumping to the ground.
Guess their hearts are in the right place. Lucky me.
Shay hurried through the chamber, not willing to
