The Sacred Vault_ A Novel - Andy McDermott [123]
‘Eddie!’ Nina warned, seeing a man climbing through another gap in the ledge about forty feet away. Eddie whipped the gun round - as something heavy struck his hand with tremendous force and a savage bolt of pain surged up his arm.
The Wildey was jarred from his grip, clanging off the edge of the tier and tumbling down to the ground. ‘Buggeration and fuckery!’ Eddie spat, clutching his hand.
The object that had hit him lay nearby. It was a dumbbell-shaped piece of metal almost a foot long, the bulbous sections formed from four thick, curved arms. A vajra, another ancient Indian weapon, which could be held and used as a club - or hurled at a target.
The climber saw that he had disarmed his opponent - and reached over his shoulder to draw a sword from a sheath across his back.
‘Uh, I think we should go,’ said Nina, pulling urgently at Eddie’s sleeve.
‘Go where?’
‘There’s only one place we can - up!’ She started to scale the carved wall to the fifth level, Kit doing the same.
Eddie looked across the valley. The robed men emerged from cover, and began to climb the walls. The man who had thrown the vajra ran along the ledge towards him, sword raised.
He snatched up the Indian weapon and hurled it at the running man. The vajra hit him hard in the face with a dull clang. He collapsed, face bloodied.
Eddie was about to run to the fallen figure and get his sword when a fusillade of missiles from the other side of the canyon deterred him. He ducked to avoid another chakram and several fist-sized stones, then scrambled up the wall.
Nina was already hurrying along the next tier. ‘Eddie, this way!’ she shouted, reaching one of the rope bridges. Its widely spaced planks were coated with snow, icicles hanging from them.
‘Are you bloody mad?’ he gasped as Kit helped him up.
‘There isn’t a way up from here!’ This section of ledge was truncated by a gap far too wide to jump, and any carvings they could have used to shimmy across had also been scoured away by whatever had fallen from above.
‘Shit!’ He looked down. The guardians had the home advantage, knowing the fastest routes up through the different levels, and were quickly gaining. Across the valley, though, he spotted an intact stairway connecting the level opposite to the sixth tier. If they could find a way to the top level, they might be able to get across to the giant statue of Shiva . . . ‘Nina! That key - will it get us into the Vault?’
‘What?’ she asked, surprised. ‘I don’t know. Why?’ He pointed up at the enormous figure, frozen in its dance. ‘If we can get inside, we might be able to shut them out.’
‘But they’ll have a key too!’
‘Maybe we can jam the door. Go on, get across!’
She hesitantly took hold of one of the bridge’s guide ropes. ‘I don’t think this is safe . . .’
‘If they can use it, so can we!’ More stones hurtled across the gap, smacking against the wall. Eddie threw one back. It hit a climbing man; he screamed and fell to the ledge below. ‘Go!’
Nina put one foot on the first plank. It creaked, but held. Both hands clutching the ropes, she took another step, and another. Icicles cracked and fell away as she moved across.
‘You go next,’ Eddie told Kit, picking up another stone. The guardians seemed reluctant to attack Nina, concentrating their missiles on the two men. Maybe they were worried about damaging the bridge. He ducked another lump of rock, then looked back down. Some of the guardians were only two tiers below, running along the ledge to reach more ropes where they could continue their ascent.
Nina was over halfway across, taking the bridge step by frightening step. The planks were not regularly spaced, requiring her to look down to be sure of finding a foothold - which gave her a horrible swaying view of the ground fifty feet below. But she pressed on. Only fifteen feet to go . . .
Movement through the wafting snow. Guardians were scaling the ropes to the fourth tier, only one level below.
She quickened her pace, gasping ‘Shit, shit, shit!’ in time with each step. Two planks left, one, there! She looked back, seeing the progress