The Tenth Saint Read Online Free PDF Page B

to crucify me.”
    He walked toward her, stopping a few inches short. He spoke calmly, but a warning was in his eyes. “Don’t jump to conclusions, wildcat. You don’t know anything about me.”
    She edged back, studying his face. She couldn’t tell whether he was friend or foe, but he’d backed her into a corner and she had no choice but to come clean. “A couple of weeks ago, I came up here with one of the locals. He was taking me to see some caves with pottery fragments. Said he’d seen some glass, maybe even some jewelry. I slipped from the path and fell down that cliff, landing on the escarpment.”
    “Let me guess. That’s how you hurt your arm.”
    She nodded. “I saw the oddest thing. An ideogram that looked like a Coptic cross etched into the stone next to a pile of rocks. I e-mailed Dr. Simon right away. He told me off, saying I should be concentrating on finding the entrance to the necropolis because UNESCO are growing impatient and, as you well know, they pull the strings.”
    “But you defied him anyway.”
    “Don’t make it sound so criminal. I know something’s up there. I’m an archaeologist. I can’t look the other way. I have to trust my instincts.”
    He smiled. “And I suppose you think I can’t relate to that.”
    “I don’t know what to think. As you pointed out earlier, I know nothing about you. Except what I see on TV.” She couldn’t resist the dig.
    “What were you doing with the rope?”
    “We have removed some rocks and exposed a shaft—an entrance to what I think is a cave. I was planning to go in.” She looked at the sky. “Oh, what’s the use? We’ve lost too much light already.” She radioed her crew to instruct them to wrap up for the day.
    Daniel walked with Sarah to the jeep and helped her pack the equipment. “You know, I’m something of an expert on caves. Spent a good chunk of my career exploring them in the Empty Quarter, looking for the ruins of a city. I’d like to come with you tomorrow.”
    She opened her mouth to protest.
    He raised his hand. “I insist. The way I see it, you have no choice but to trust me.”

    They started at first light. With the rope tied securely around her waist, Sarah shimmied into the tight opening.
    Daniel followed. “I knew I shouldn’t have had that second piece of toast,” he joked, face pressed to the rock.
    She was not in the habit of laughing. For better or for worse, she was the serious type. Her colleagues often called her Stony, and she took it as a compliment.
    Once inside, they tapped on their headlamps to illuminate the blackness. The light shimmered on the cave walls, casting shadows on the nubby texture of the tubelike chamber. With their hands outstretched, they could touch the ceiling and the walls on both sides. The stone was crumbly and chalky and felt to Sarah like dried mud, which was curious since the mountains were mostly granitic.
    As they ventured farther in, the tunnel narrowed and they had to crouch to half stature, bending at the knees and waist.
    The mustiness and putrid sharpness of long-since rotted flesh overwhelmed her. The scent of death. Did someone live here? Or was it merely a long-abandoned animal den?
    “Over there …” Daniel pointed to a small sphincterlike opening.
    “Spot on. That might be the chute we’re looking for.”
    “One way to find out. Let me go first, just in case there’s something foul in there.”
    “I don’t think so,” she said, pushing him aside. “Last I checked, I was still the leader of this expedition. That means I call the shots.”
    He didn’t press the issue. “Suit yourself. I just didn’t want you to think chivalry is dead.”
    She low-crawled through the opening, propelling herself with her forearms. The stone was cool and rough against her body, and the stench of decay and charred earth grew more fetid the deeper she went. She tried to ignore the urge to gag, but what was harder to ignore was the lack of air. Her lungs seemed compressed