“Can the Book of the Dead help us get through these tunnels?” Dec asked.
She shook her head. “I think it was too late in the timeline. I suspect Zerzura has been here a very long time. For now, I think we look for the set-animals in the paintings and see where they lead us.”
Dec loved watching her work. She muttered to herself, her gaze narrowed as she studied all the cave paintings.
They started farther into the tunnels. Sometimes the set-animals were obvious, other times, they were hidden amongst other beasts and harder to spot.
Then the artwork changed and turned more colorful.
“They aren’t hiding anymore,” Layne said. “The artwork here is definitely classic ancient Egyptian.”
“Look.” Dec nudged her over to the left-hand wall.
“Hieroglyphs. You who seek Zerzura must be fearless like our Protector Seth and brave Apep’s realm.” She pulled back. “Uh-oh.”
“What? Who’s Apep?”
“He was the enemy of the sun god, Ra, and also known as the God of Chaos. He attacked Ra’s solar boat.”
“Why am I getting the feeling you aren’t telling me everything?”
“Apep was—” she grimaced “—a giant snake.”
Dec groaned. “You’re kidding me.”
“I’m sure there aren’t any giant snakes out here.”
Dec made a sound. “The way things have been going, I won’t hold my breath.”
“Come on, you’re the big, bad Navy SEAL.”
He mock-glowered at her and they kept moving.
“Seth protected Ra by spearing Apep,” she said. “That was Seth’s first role in mythology, as a protector.”
They reached a place where the tunnel speared off in three different directions. “Which way, Rush?”
She studied the glyphs and paintings. “Right.”
The tunnels became a maze. As Layne deciphered and picked the tunnels, Dec hoped they didn’t have to get out in a hurry. He pulled out his knife and made a small scratch on the wall.
They kept moving through the never-ending maze.
Layne studied the wall again. “There’s the set-animal.”
Dec spotted something else. “Layne?”
She spun. “What is it?”
He pointed. “See this scratch? I left it there. Earlier.”
“That can’t be.” Her brow scrunched. “And what do you mean, you left it there? Are you scratching historical cave paintings?”
“Layne, it’s not touching the painting. But I left that scratch. We’ve passed here before.”
Her face went pale. “We’re going in circles.”
Chapter Thirteen
“The key has to be here somewhere.” Layne pressed her fingers to the stone wall, careful not to touch the paint.
“Layne. Take a break.”
“No, I have to find the key. The clue that’ll send us in the right direction.”
Hands descended on her shoulders, kneaded. “Get some rest, Rush. You’re pushing too hard. We’ve been going in circles for over an hour.”
She let him nudge her down and she leaned back against the wall and closed her eyes. “We’re so close, Declan.”
“Break.” He shoved something at her.
She took the nutrition bar and opened it. It tasted pretty bland and chewy. “I’m missing something. The set-animal symbols are there, but they keep leading us in a circle.”
“Break, Rush. Switch it off for a bit.”
She huffed out a breath. He leaned back against the wall beside her, his legs outstretched. She was caught for a second by the triangle of bronze chest bared at the top of his shirt. God, he’d turned her into a quivering mass of need. She’d never felt like this before.
Declan glanced at his watch. “It’s getting late. We’ll need to get some rest.”
She nodded. “Do you think Anders is following us?”
“Yes.”
“Logan and your brother?”
“They’ll be looking for us. And I have my tracker.” He lifted his wrist.
“The signal will get through the rock and sand?”
His jaw tightened. “They’ll find us. Logan isn’t the kind who gives up easily. Even when it’s a lost cause. He’s like a bear—he’ll just keep charging. It’s his greatest strength and his greatest weakness. And Cal…well, he’s never given up on me, ever.”
“You love them.”
Declan’s brows raised. “If you mean in a manly, brotherly kind of way, yeah. I’m close to Cal, and I think of Logan the same way.” A tiny smile on his lips. “Logan’s saved my ass more times than I can count.”
“I assume you’ve returned the favor.”