Shay didn’t care, as long as they got to the site. Finding the Rod of Supay would make her a lot more money and burnish her tomb-raiding reputation.
All her concerns about everything else, let alone Brownstone vanished before the good feeling she’d get from completing the job.
Colorful plants and animals passed in a blur, mostly ignored by the treasure hunter and the bounty hunter. They were more concerned about their mission than sightseeing.
Brownstone stared into the jungle as if he expected the Warlocks to burst through the brush at any second.
Shit, for all we know they will. Shay’s focus wasn’t on fighting and hunting every crazed rogue magical group out there. That was the big guy’s job.
She’d brought him because the Professor made it part of the deal, but she could admit that after some of her recent close calls having a large man with a lot of guns watching her back wasn’t the worst thing in the world.
Brownstone had barely spoken since they’d gotten into the jeep, not that he’d spoken a lot the entire time she’d known him. The guy liked to deliver a few smart-ass remarks, then retreat into watchful silence. Pushing back against his conversation attempts on the plane probably didn’t help.
Being this close together only reinforced in her mind that James was probably gay. The bastard hadn’t made one move on her the entire time. She had to appreciate how meticulous he was with his equipment. She shared the same attention to detail.
The silence was starting to get to her. It was one thing if she were by herself but having the man so close and not saying anything was forcing her attention away from the job. Get over it Shay. If he wanted to talk about barbecue now, she wouldn’t mind.
“You know, Brownstone, you could talk,” Shay said.
“I don’t know how. Sometimes I forget.”
Haha. Very funny, Brownstone.
Shay shrugged. “This might end up being pretty boring and not profitable for you if your boys don’t show up.”
Brownstone peered into the jungle ahead. “Oh, they’ll show up.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“The bait’s too great, and the Professor wouldn’t have bothered asking me to come if he didn’t think you needed me.”
It’ll be interesting to see what three Warlocks can bring. Snegurka times three would have been damned hard to win against by myself. But both of us should be able to take them down easily.
“That’s a comforting thought.”
Brownstone grinned. “Well, I’m not here to make you feel better. I’m here to take out any bastards that bother us.”
Shay slowed the jeep as a large mound in the distance caught her eye. “Looks like we’re almost there.”
The only problem was the trees thickening ahead of them. Where was a clear-cut when you needed it?
They both fell back into silence and searched the area for any signs of recent passage. From what Brownstone had told Shay on the first leg of their plane trip, the Red Warlocks specialized in blood magic. At least they wouldn’t have to worry about a fireball exploding over them out of nowhere or ice lances.
Shay frowned and brought the jeep to a stop. “We’ll have to hoof it from here. Too bad. A few miles in the jungle isn’t a recreational hike.”
Brownstone moved his head back and forth, popping his neck. “Then we’d better get going.”
Chapter Four
They got out of the jeep and hiked through the jungle, finally coming to stand in front of a crumbling stone archway and weathered stairs leading into inky darkness below. Torn small flags and the occasional discarded tool hinted at the last group of explorers.
Shay glanced around the area, taking in the details. It wasn’t underwater. That was a plus.
“Not a lot of climbing involved.” Shay linked her fingers and stretched her arms above her. She double-checked her holster, her machete sheath, and her knife sheath.
“Sure.”
The noise of the jungle surrounded them. The flutter of birds’ wings, buzzing of insects, the shuffling of unknown beasts.
Shay glanced around, looking for any sign of the Warlocks. That kind of men getting their hands on the Rod of Supay would make for a huge mess. I might be here to make money, but nobody needs a zombie rod getting into general circulation. There goes the neighborhood, forever.
The tomb site lay atop a tall cliff with a river snaking past well below it. The site was inaccessible from that side because of the difficulty of scaling a cliff in the middle of dense jungle, but in an emergency, they could probably climb down and follow the river.
They approached the stone arch, and after exchanging glances, they pulled out their flashlights and turned them on. The beams cut into the darkness, revealing nothing but stairs descending to a dusty chamber below.
“Let’s do this.” Shay felt a calm come over even as the thrill of the hunt came over her.
Brownstone nodded.
Their footsteps echoed in the eerie silence until they arrived at the bottom of the stairs, where smaller tunnels branched off in three directions. Their equal spacing around the room made them hard to differentiate. Shay could see how someone could easily get disoriented in the chamber.
She was ready. She’d paid close attention to her angle as they entered the chamber and knew exactly where to go.
The treasure hunter pointed to her left. “That leads to the main burial chamber. Given the small size of this place, I think it’ll be easy to find the rod.” She stepped toward the tunnel.
“Glad some things in life are easy.”
Shay grinned. “This place has mostly been excavated already, so we don’t have to worry about traps or anything until we get near the main burial chamber.” She grinned, the shadows of the
