The Eden Factor (Kathlyn Trent/Marcus Burton Romance Adventure Series Book 2) (33 page)

Kathlyn was beginning to feel an
extremely strong Flow. Like a silent river, the surge moved past her, pulling
her into the darkened shaft. It was an odd awareness, but something she had
long become accustomed to. And she, like Otis, knew there had to be something
inside the tunnel for her to be feeling the Flow so strongly.

Taking a deep breath, she squared
her shoulders and was the first one into the shaft. She knew Marcus would have
killed her for her bravery, so it was a good thing he wasn't around.

It was painfully dark. The
flashlights barely made a dent on the black soup that churned around them.
Puffs of dust from their feet came into the beams of light now and again as
they traveled inward at a slight decline. It took the team a moment to realize
that Hassan and the elder hadn't followed them in, and that was a bit
concerning. She sent Larry back to try to convince them to come with them, but
the student returned informing her that the pair wouldn't budge. Something
about ghosts.

"This wall isn't
man-made," Mark ran his hands over the stone. "No cut marks of any
kind. Completely natural."

"But wouldn't there be
stalagmites and things like that?" Debra Jo asked.

"Not necessarily," Mark
said. "You have to remember that this is arid country. In order for
stalagtites and stalagmites to form, you need three things - water, minerals,
and time."

"Good point," Debra Jo
said.

 They continued to travel for
some length of time; it was difficult to gage because of the confinement and
darkness of the area.  Finally, the shaft opened up into a cavern with a
soaring ceiling.  It was so large that the beams of light couldn't stretch all
the way across it.  It smelled like rotten food and urine, and of an oldness
that was difficult to describe. Kathlyn guessed this is where some of the
villagers had made camp when the military had chased them out of their homes.
She took a few steps into the chamber and flicked the flashlight at the walls
closest to her. Suddenly, she froze.

"Oh, my God," she
gasped.

All of the flashlights began zig-zagging
towards the source of her surprise. Kathlyn's beam rest on one particular
thing; Juliana saw it, too, and together they moved toward it in a huddled
pair.  The closer they got, the more astonished they became.

The source of their awe was, at
first glance, an unrecognizable lump. Imbedded in a niche cut into the wall of
the chamber, it was covered with the dust and decomposition of the ages. A
naturally mummified body, about six and a half feet high and tanned like
leather, huddled in a position that almost suggested it had died protecting
itself. Its arms were crossed in front of it, the eye sockets half-lidded as if
just awaking from a deep sleep.  The boney legs were covered with browned skin,
the sex undeterminable at first glance. Kathlyn and Juliana stared at it.

 "Jesus," Juliana
breathed. "It's... it's...."

"Yes, it is," Kathlyn
couldn't even find the words to describe what she was seeing.

  "The villagers were
right."

"Hell yes, they were."
Kathlyn reached up and ever so carefully ran her finger across one of two
protrusions on the brow bone. "Horns don't lie."

"And look; it has
wings."

"A demon."

"It sure looks like
it."

By this time, everyone was
crowded around the mummy. It really was a horrific sight. Due to the drying
process, the skin on the jaw had tightened, rendering the expression in a
permanent scream. The massive wings were folded behind it, leathery looking
protrusions that extended in length from above the head to the ankle. 
Scrunched and folded back upon itself, the mummy was shoved into the niche as
if it had been forcibly put there.

 They were awestruck and
intimidated at the same time. A skeleton was one thing, but a mummified body
was another. As a group, they had done and seen a lot. But the thing in front
of them was just about the creepiest they had ever come across. And clearly the
most fascinating.

"Look around," Kathlyn
snapped her people out of their trance. "See if there are any more of
these. Andy, Larry, see about setting up the small generator so we can get some
lights in here. We need to get a better look at all of this."

A bit on edge, the team
nonetheless swung into action. Kathlyn stood there, staring at the mummified
creature, feeling a heaviness settle in her chest. The Flow was still swilling
around her, giving her an uneasy feeling. They had stumbled onto something;
that was for sure. She just had to figure out what.

"Where's Hassan?" she
turned to Mark. "Get him in here. I need to ask him and the old man some
questions about this."

Mark disappeared down the shaft.
He returned a minute later. "They're gone."

"You've got to be
kidding."

"Nope."

"Where in the hell did they
go?"

Mark shook his head. "I
don't know, but I don't like it."

Otis heard them. He was helping
Andy and Larry secure the generator. Leaving them to finish, he walked over to
Mark and Kathlyn.

"I don't like it,
either," he said. "This whole thing is too goddamn weird. They
wouldn't come in with us, and now they're gone. I think we need to get the hell
out of here, or at least find out where they went."

Mark nodded in agreement.
"They wouldn't even come in with us. Something smells fishy."

"Maybe they just went to get
flashlights," Kathlyn said. "Who the hell knows? Or maybe they just
got scared.  This is some pretty creepy stuff."

"We need to find out,"
Mark insisted. "I'd hate to get trapped in here, or worse."

"Worse what?" Kathlyn
frowned. "You're imagination is running wild, Marky. You've been watching
too many ‘Z File’ episodes."

  "Hell, I live ‘Z File’
episodes every time I go on excursion with you," he shot back. "I
agree with Otis. We need to find out what is going on before we play the
innocent victims in all of this."

"A trap?"

"Maybe."

She shook her head impatiently.
"I think you're both over reacting."

"Humor us."

"And if I don't?”

"Then Marcus gets a phone
call."

Kathlyn scowled at him. "You
wouldn't dare."

"Try me."

Glaring at him, she turned her
attention back to the relic. "Oh, all right," she sighed. "If it
will make you happy, let's back out of here and find out where the two of them
went before we proceed any further."

"Good idea," Mark went
to tell Juliana and Debra Jo. Otis wound his way back to Larry and Andy. When
everyone began to move toward the exit, beams from flashlights coming back
through the tunnel flickered off the walls. Kathlyn was relieved to see that
Hassan and the elder were coming back. She opened her mouth to speak, but the
man emerging from the shaft wasn't Hassan or the elder. In fact, it was the
very last person she had expected to see.

 She knew her face had gone
white. She just couldn't help it.  But the other person merely smiled at her
shock.

"Hello, Kathlyn. Long time,
no see."

CHAPTER
FIFTEEN

“Fayd," Kathlyn hissed
slowly. "What in the hell are you doing here?"

His smile broadened. "I’ve
come to see you, of course. We have some unfinished business."

Kathlyn could see immediately
that this was an ugly situation.  She was glad Marcus wasn't here. He would
have made a move for Fayd out of instinct and probably would have been killed
for his efforts.

  "Then if it's between you
and me, let my team go," she said quietly. "They don't need to be
involved."

"They're already involved,"
Fayd said. There were shadows behind him, more men with guns. He took a few
steps forward into the cavern. "So what do you think about all of this?
Magnificent, wouldn’t you agree?"

Kathlyn moved away from the rest
of her team, trying to draw Fayd's attention away from them. "You've been
here before, I take it."

"I have," he said.
"Only once, though. Several weeks ago, actually.  Hamid Mosket Ibn Kander,
our host, was kind enough to tell me about it."

Kathlyn sensed sarcasm in his
statement. "Somehow I doubt that. What did you do, Fayd? Pay him off?
Torture him?"

"You make it sound very
ugly. It was nothing of the kind. When my uncle's troops were here, they
discovered people hiding in this cave." He gestured to the cavern
surrounding them. "Word of this inevitably got back to me."

Kathlyn was confused as well as
apprehensive. "So if you already knew about this, I don't understand why
my team and I were called in."

"Because I asked them
to," he said. "I assumed it was the only way I was ever going to see
you again. I hadn't heard from you since our last meeting and I was growing
impatient.  Don't worry; I didn't torture them in an effort to have them do my
bidding. They were well paid."

Kathlyn's eyebrows lifted.
"This was all a ruse to get me back here so you could kidnap me
again?"

"I hope that won't be
necessary. But enough time has passed and I need to know if our little
experiment worked."

She knew instantly what he was
talking about and her hand instinctively flew to her belly.  Now there was no
doubt as to the origins of the child growing inside her, and chills of horror
ran down her spine.

 "Damn!" she hissed.
"So it is true. You did do this to me!"

Fayd's eyes lit up. "So
you're pregnant?"

Kathlyn didn't know what to say.
Her control was slipping rapidly. She looked at her team, their expressions
full of fear, anger and confusion. At a loss, she simply turned away.

 Fayd moved towards her. Behind
him, more men filed in, men no one recognized. There were six of them in all,
swarthy and toting guns.  The very last man, however, was familiar. De Tormo
had heard every word of the conversation between Dr. Fahdlan and Dr. Trent.

"She's pregnant?" he
asked Fayd. "Is it true?"

Kathlyn wouldn't look at either
one of them. Fayd came up, standing indecently close to her, waiting for an
answer.

"Well?" he asked her
softly.

Mark couldn't keep his mouth shut
any longer. "Leave her alone, Fahdlan. You've done enough damage."

Fayd was cool as he turned to
Mark. "Dr. La Coste, I understand your protective instincts. But this has
nothing to do with friendship or hatred, or any kind of emotion. This is
science, pure and simple. Dr. Trent is a scientist and I think, deep down, she
understands the need for what we are trying to accomplish."

Kathlyn sighed deeply.
"There is no need for something like this," she said. "Fayd,
this whole thing has been making me sick. I don't feel well and my discomfort
is growing.  Whatever you've done, it needs to be stopped."

Before Fayd could answer, de
Tormo spoke. "I need to examine her.  This is absolutely remarkable."

Kathlyn whirled on him.
"You're not touching me, you lunatic. Get the hell away from me."

Fayd put his arm between them
before Kathlyn's fist could make physical contact with de Tormo.
"Kathlyn," he said calmly. "I understand how you feel. But you
must understand that something is happening here that is almost too great to
comprehend. You may hold within you the key to Creation itself. It's the Eden
factor, Dr. Trent, the beginning of life as we know it. As a Biblical Archaeologist,
doesn't that mean anything to you?"

She shook her head. "No, it
doesn't. Not the way you two are going about it. You've kidnapped me, violated
me, and now you want me to be excited about it? You're crazy."

"No, not crazy," he
said softly. "Just immensely curious. This could be the most fantastic
event ever in the recorded history of the world, Kathlyn. If for no other
reason, let de Tormo take a look at you just to make sure things are going
well."

She looked at him as if he had
completely lost every faculty he possessed. "Let me make this perfectly
clear, Fayd; you're not touching me, and neither is your freaky friend."
She was regaining some of her spunk. "If I were you, I'd just turn around
and get the hell out of here. The CIA and the FBI are onto you and it will only
be a matter of time before you're captured and prosecuted for a whole list of
crimes. And I'll be the first one to testify against you and make sure you're
put away where you can never do this crazy stuff again."

Fayd gazed into her green eyes.
It was evident that there were a thousand thoughts rolling through his mind.
Abruptly, he grabbed her by the arm. Her entire team tensed, ready to jump in
and protect her, but the men Fayd had brought trained their guns on team and in
the interest of not getting their heads blown off, they froze.

"Come with me," Fayd
began dragging her across the cavern. "The rest of you, stay here and
watch her crew. They're tricky, so be vigilant."