The Cradle of Life by Dave Stern

Author:Dave Stern
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Pocket Books
Published: 2003-08-29T04:00:00+00:00

Ten

Head no longer spinning, Lara stalked silently through the vast cavern of terracotta warriors, her eyes darting in all directions, searching for Chen Lo.

She had thought his claim that there were thousands of statues an exaggeration, but now, after a few minutes of traversing through row after row of the unmoving warriors, she decided he’d spoken the truth. Which made this chamber a discovery on the order of the Longmen grottoes—the fabled treasure trove of the Qin emperors Chen Lo had spoken of earlier. She had no doubt there were experts around the world who would give their eye teeth to be where she was right now.

She’d have to appreciate the scenery later though. Right now she was more concerned with staying alive.

Lara paused a moment, sensing something.

Shadows flickered uneasily all about her—she looked up to see one of the strands of lightbulbs above swinging gently from side to side, as if stirred by a breeze.

She doubted very much, though, that the wind had moved them. Which meant only one thing: Chen Lo was close.

Lara pressed back tight against the statue behind her. She needed a weapon of her own—to face Chen Lo unarmed was like suicide. If she could—

The head of the warrior in front of her exploded.

Lara caught a glimpse of Chen Lo’s face, grim, unsmiling, determined—and spun away to her left. Metal flashed—and the warrior on her right collapsed, suddenly carved into two.

Wonderful, Lara thought. Chen Lo has a sword.

She spun again and slammed backward into another statue, almost knocking it over. It wobbled, then unexpectedly steadied itself.

Move, a little voice inside her head told her.

Lara dove forward, just as a spear point burst through the stone, impaling the terracotta warrior and the air where she had just stood.

She did a forward roll and sprang up on her feet, ready to confront Chen Lo.

But the cavern was silent and still.

Lara drew a breath and slid forward. She moved behind one statue and then a second, her eyes scanning the cavern. Nothing. No one.

She listened a moment, then took a hesitant step out from the shadows. The warriors facing her held their swords (stone, unfortunately)—at the ready, prepared to attack.

Lara flashed suddenly on a memory from the none-too-distant past—of stone soldiers coming to life and trying to kill her. Their weapons had been rock, as well—but effective enough, if used correctly. She looked up at the statue before her, wondered about trying to remove its sword for her own use.

Angered, the statue lunged at her.

At least, that was her first surprised thought. Lara was so shocked to see the stone warrior move, all she could do was fall backward. She landed hard on the ground and looked up to see the statue falling straight toward her.

She rolled to the side, and its sword missed her by an inch.

A second warrior came crashing down toward her.

She rolled away from that one, too, and scrambled to her feet.

Chen Lo stood in the space left by the two terracotta warriors, sword in hand, smiling at her.

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