I had solved the puzzle, damn it! I, of all people, who had failed every logic test in school like a shot bird. I felt the elf's hand wrap around my arm, shoving me behind him for safety. So he wasn't sure if what awaited us inside the mausoleum was friend or foe. My heart was pounding up to my throat and I stood on my tiptoes so I could see something over Legolas' shoulder.
He took a step forward and I cautiously followed. Dust particles danced through the air in the light of the setting sun. I peaked past the elf's right arm and could see that the sun, which was behind the mausoleum, was shining through the stained glass windows, painting an unreal light in the small room. There was nothing to indicate that dead people were buried there.
"Stay here until I make sure nothing attacks us."
I looked up at Legolas."You wish."
"You wish."
He shook his head briefly, but did not send me back. Either he accepted my decision, or he didn't have the nerve to discuss it now, of all times. I grinned. Won.
Step by step we pushed our way into the room. Legolas seemed to have grasped the situation within seconds and immediately headed for an altar set up in the middle. Again, I discovered no Christian symbols or quotes from New or Old Testaments.
"It's safe. For now, at least."
I relaxed a bit and stepped up beside him. When my eyes fell on the object lying in the middle of the block, I raised an eyebrow in surprise.
"What's that all about?"
"I'm wondering the same thing."
"Your friend not only has a wry sense of humor, but also a knack for keeping people busy."
I reached out my hand, intending to grab the item, but Legola's fingers shot forward and stopped me. "Don't! You don't know if it's cursed or not."
"It's just a cell phone."
"A what?"
I ignored his question and reached for it. Of course, it hadn't been cursed and didn't bite my hand off when my fingers closed around it. I pressed the button that had the power-on symbol on it and hoped fervently that the battery didn't die. The model didn't seem to be the latest, and if it had been sitting here for a while, the chances of successfully turning the phone on were relatively slim.
However, we were lucky.
No pin was requested either, instead a message about a missed call popped up right after the phone booted up. No date. No name.
I frowned. "I guess your friend wanted us to call this number," I said.
"I have a hard time imagining him with one of those... devices."
In my mind's eye, I saw a wizard talking into the cell phone, displaying the same attitude as the businessmen who thought themselves incredibly important. "Believe me, I feel the same way."
I was about to have the number dialed when something whizzed by with force just beside my head and smashed through one of the stained glass windows. I spun around.
At the same time, Legolas yelled, "Get down!" and threw himself against me, causing me to hit the ground hard. The cell phone was flung from my hand and I groaned.
Without paying attention, the elf pulled me with him behind the stone block, only to scan the surroundings afterwards.
"Shit, what was that?", I asked, my voice high and thin and I could clearly hear the hysterical undertone.
"They found us."
Oh no. "And they shot at me!"
He turned to me and I saw the concern in his gaze. "Are you hurt?"
"I... I don't know. I don't think so." At least I didn't feel anything, but that probably wasn't surprising with the amount of adrenaline that was rushing through my veins right now.
I sat up. "How many are there?"
"I count five."
We didn't stand a chance against them. So we would meet our end in a graveyard. How fitting.
I closed my eyes for a moment and thought about how I would have loved to return home to see my friends again. What would they think now? That I had been kidnapped? Or had they been convinced that I had joined a terrorist organization?
My heartbeat stopped for a moment as terror swept through me. I would never be able to make this clear. They would think that I had been hiding something from them, something that had been more important than them, something that, from their point of view, I had obviously been willing to die for.
I felt someone touch me on the arm and looked up. Legolas had crouched down in front of me and was looking at me with urgency. "We will do this."
"And how?"
"Let's start with the trapdoor you're sitting on."
"What?!" I scrambled to my feet and stared at the floor, perplexed. Fact. "Where did that come from?"
Legolas wiped dust and rotting leaves from the floor, exposing an iron ring embedded in the floor. Deftly, he pulled on it and a dark rectangle opened up before us. "After you."
I shook my head. "We need the cell phone."
"It's behind the block. We can't reach it without them shooting at us again."
I peeked around the corner and immediately pressed back against the stone. Several figures scurried around in front of the mausoleum, approaching us. They would be here soon.
"Ina, we have to leave. Now."
We needed that damn cell phone, otherwise it would all have been for nothing. I hadn't driven through half of the country, getting chased and shot at, to give up now! I bit the inside of my cheek. Legolas would not let me put myself in danger. But what if I was faster?
In one leap, I jumped out from behind the stone block and rolled, escaping the grasping arms of the elf.
"Ina!"
I heard his cry, but I did not turn back. I had to do this now!
With another dive, I threw myself at the cell phone and stuffed it into my pants pocket. Then I raised my head and managed to throw myself to the side just in time before the first bullet hit next to me.
Holy crap!
My heart fluttered like a bird in its cage and I felt my hands start to shake uncontrollably. I scrambled to my feet, stumbled, and fell again. I could see the shooter now aiming at me and turned away as his finger pulled the trigger. But I was not fast enough.
The bullet brushed my arm, tearing open my jacket and leaving a trail of searing pain. I cried out.
Not a second later, I felt Legolas above me, dragging me back to the trapdoor. His eyes flashed with anger. "Don't ever do that again!"
With that, he gave me a shove and I slid into the hole in the ground. The pain in my arm exploded as I hit the bottom and I suppressed a groan. Had it been worth it? Anyway, I had the cell phone.
My eyes slowly but surely adjusted to the dim light and showed me a narrow passageway leading into an indefinable blackness. Very trustworthy. That's where we were supposed to crawl in?
I heard the slam of the trapdoor and that Legolas had landed behind me. "Come on, what are you waiting for?"
Normally his tone would have driven me to the barricades, but now I simply obeyed as the pain clouded my senses. As best I could, I scrambled forward on all fours, careful not to strain my right arm. I managed reasonably well, but the throbbing and pulling intensified with every movement I made.
I felt my way through the blackness of the corridor and it seemed as if we had been crawling through the darkness for an eternity. With every inch I progressed, I grew weaker. Damn, that had only been a grazing shot. If the bullet had pierced me, I would have noticed. Wouldn't I? I shook my head to dispel the stars before my eyes and at that moment I heard the voices.
They had found the trapdoor.
"Faster, Ina," Legolas whispered behind me. Even faster? I was already trying! But when I tried to put weight on my arm, it kept buckling.
I bit my lips and the fear of dying here in a dark hole in the ground made me mobilize my last reserves of strength. I pulled myself forward, grimly intent on not letting our pursuers catch up.
And then my hands grasped at nothing. A small scream escaped my lips as I simply toppled forward and fell into the void.
