Chapter Thirteen:
Ambush

There were many things Chris wanted to do in his life before the end came. Getting seats behind the dugout at Yankee Stadium, taking a walk through the Forbidden City without getting his head handed to him by the Imperial Guard and maybe getting laid by Garbo and Crawford, preferably at the same time. There was a laundry list of things he wanted to do, some impossible, some lacking opportunity and others just too plain crazy to expose to the light of day.

Riding the rapids down the drain of an ancient death trap wasn't one of them.

There was only a split second to register the sudden hollow opening in the floor after Vin pushed the stone trigger that brought an end to the deluge minutes away from drowning all of them. Almost immediately, the whirlpool caused by the draining water, created powerful currents tearing them away from the wall. Both men were barely able to keep from being dragged away as the water escaped through the newly created opening.

"VIN!" Alex uttered a short scream behind him before she lost her grip on the statue she was clinging to and disappeared into the darkness. The flashlights they brought into the place was dying one by one, plunging them into literal blackness, as they short circuited in the water.

"Alex!" Vin shouted back but she was beyond hearing him, not with the flood creating a dull roar as it drained, losing his voice in the rush of swirling water. Casting Chris a look, he signalled his intentions and Chris knew then, the younger man was going to go after his girl. Everything Vin had done since meeting Alexandra Styles told the older man Vin was in love and Chris wasn't so jaded he didn't recognise something special when he saw it.

Struggling to maintain his own footing, he saw Vin dive under the water, presumably down the drain Alex was swept into. For his part, he searched the ever-darkening walls of the chamber for Mary when yet another torch finally succumbed to the deluge. He saw her silhouette against the wall, a shadow clinging to the handholds on one of the stone engravings, fighting to keep from being borne away.

"MR LARABEE!" Mary raised her head through the diminishing light to see him searching for her. Her fingers were aching as they pressed against the rock, trying to maintain her grip despite how slick the stone was becoming. She had seconds she imagined, before her grip gave way all together. "Do something!"

Did she ever stop bossing him around?

Chris thought with irritation and made his way to her by edging along the wall. The water was draining fast and taking with it any chance of making a swift exit out of this sealed chamber. He had no idea if where it would deposit them could be any worse than being entombed in this room. However, at the moment, their options were limited. Reaching the water logged woman, he could see her face through the remaining light and knew, she was a little afraid, though trying not to hide it.

"Mary!" He grabbed her arm, not wanting to lose her when the lights finally went. "There's only one way out of this chamber!"

Her eyes widened. "Oh, I just knew you were going to say that!"

"Yeah Alice," he slipped his arm around her waist. "Let's see where this goes!"

She said nothing for a moment when he pulled her to him, but Chris swore she blushed and had to admit, despite the cold and danger of their situation, he enjoyed seeing those pale cheeks fill with colour. Once again, he was struck by his first impressions of her, when he thought she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen since...

The memory of Sarah had a more sobering effect on him than the flood they were in. Shunting the thought aside, he ignored how it felt to have her arms around his neck. She met his icy blue eyes and Chris saw her anxiety, as well as her trust.

"I hope you know what you're doing Mr Larabee."

"Me too," he said maintaining his grip on her and realising he wasn't talking about just their present circumstances but something deeper he wasn't yet to address. "Take a deep breath."

Both took a big gulp of air as Chris pushed himself into the current, taking her with him.


JD Dunne was impressed.

The books Doctor William Styles had in his library rivalled the ones the young man saw at the university and JD felt a little uncomfortable handling them with bare hands. When the Professor had claimed the doctor had made it his life's work to understand the nature of the Tablets and the Cult of Erran, JD doubted the Professor knew how thorough the man had been in his research. Styles had amassed an impressive collection of ancient scrolls, artefacts and texts the Erran would have pillaged if they weren't interrupted by Chris, Vin and Buck when they rescued Alexandra Styles.

As it was, evidence of the previous night's violence was apparent by the bullet wounds across the walls and the breakage throughout the house. In the study itself, he could see walls riddled with holes and the floor covered in debris comprising of chipped mortar, shattered glass and broken objects. Fortunately, the bodies were gone. After the police were notified and the scene cleared, the local sheriff, a friend of Doctor Styles, had granted them access to the house following Alex's ordeal out of respect to her father.

Since Chris left him here to study Doctor Styles's research on the Erran and the Tablets of Destiny, JD had been diligently working through the material and filling up the notebook he brought with him, with scribblings regarding the legends of the Tablet. The notebook was mostly for Chris's benefit because he knew the leader of the seven would be interested in what he'd disseminated from his research. In truth, JD had very little need of notebooks to remember anything. He had an eidetic memory which was part of the reason why he had done so well in college.

Considering what Ezra told him this morning before setting out, particularly the sacrificial element of the Erran's ritual to bring about a new creation, JD had focussed much of his attention on learning all he could about it. According to the mythology subscribed to by the followers of Enki, the ritual needed to be performed at the Cradle of Creation on Mount Dilmun where Tiamat had first gave birth to the world. If so, it made sense the ancient site was where she would be resurrected.

Once the Erran had locked the four Pillars into the Heart of Enki, they would open and reveal the incantations for the resurrection ritual, which had to be performed at the Cradle, presumably with their sacrifice. Obviously with the death of Sarah Conley, the Erran did not need all four daughters to make the ritual work. They would only need one. It could be Mary Travis or Alexandra Styles since Donald Avery's daughter was in the wind.

JD continued to jot down notes when suddenly, he heard movement beyond the doorway. Chris Larabee who had to be the most paranoid human being in the world had required JD to be armed and it was to his surprise that after months in the company of the Seven, he reacted with equal alertness. Closing the notebook, he stepped over to the window and dropped it into the bushes outside. Expecting trouble and not wanting his research of the last few hours going to waste if that noise had sinister origins, JD stepped away from the sill and drew his gun.

"Hey guys?" He called out. "Is that you?"

There was no answer.

The man who stepped through the door was easily taller than Buck. In his exotic red robes and dark skin, he seemed even more imposing if that was possible. JD immediately recognised him as the man who had tussled with Josiah at the museum. He was one of the Erran, his mind quickly warned him. Nor was the behemoth alone. With him, were four other men, no longer armed with blades but were now carrying an assortment of guns. JD had just enough time to get behind the desk before they opened fire.

He leapt over the flat surface of the desk, sending everything on it tumbling to the Persian rug beneath the desk. The ancient books and scrolls he had been perusing earlier were now an unruly heap across the floor. Crouched behind the oak desk, JD reached for the gun tucked in its holster under his arm. Returning fire, he was painfully aware he had only a finite number of shots before he was empty. It had never occurred to him the Erran would come back after last night's mischief.

JD glimpsed one of the Erran taking refuge behind an armchair, with just enough of his head visible over the top of the chair for JD to squeeze off a shot. Since joining the team, both Vin and Ezra had put him through his paces so he not only knew how to handle a gun, he was getting to be a pretty good shot too. The explosion of blood and brain matter against the wall behind the chair, proved it as the Erran tumbled backwards, the bullet hole in the middle of his forehead, still smoking.

Putting down one of their number had increased the ferocity of the others and they were firing blindly, sending so much lead against the desk, the oak was starting to disintegrate with each new bullet. JD returned fire as best he could but with his killing of the Erran behind the chair, the others had smartened up enough to stay out of his crosshairs. Instead, they were assailing him with a barrage that was allowing their leader to close in on the youngest member of the seven.

Gunfire was turning the books still on the desk to pulp and the scholar in him felt his stomach hollow with dismay. The thought of these precious texts being destroyed after moving through history, undamaged made him fume. Returning fire out of pure outrage instead of self-preservation, JD managed to bring down another Erran, this time shooting him in the shoulder. Unfortunately, even with this minor victory, JD knew he couldn't hold out for long. Without more ammo, he knew it wouldn't be long before he was overrun.

Somehow, he knew the Erran were aware of this too.

No longer able to see where the head Erran had gone, JD had a premonition if he didn't start moving soon, he was going to find out in less than ideal circumstances. He was pinned in and without help, they were going to capture or kill him. Neither of those possibilities sat very well with JD and the most prudent course was to get the hell out of the room. At least out in the open, he'd have a chance of escape. In here, they were going to overwhelm him with numbers and bullets. Glancing at the window, it was close enough for him to make a run for it.

Firing another round, he didn't look up to see where the bullet had gone but flinched when a vase shattered above the credenza resting against the wall. Fragments flew in all directions and one sharp piece penetrated his shirt to bite at his skin. Keeping his head down as he headed towards the window, he wished Buck or Josiah was here to cover his back. He was too new at this to know if he could make his escape without being cut down, knowing only that he had to try. He fired one more shot, having been conservative with his ammunition but to get out alive, he needed to risk it.

It was a risk that didn't pay off.

The bullet that struck him, entered his flesh just above the knee and while he was saved from that crippling injury, the pain that coursed through JD was enough to distract him from seeing the big man closing in on him. The pain was white hot and it occurred to JD this was the first time he had ever found himself shot. Absurdly, he thought of all the occasions where he and Chris had gone traipsing through ancient monuments and catacombs, avoiding all manner of perilous traps and hostile natives. It felt almost embarrassing to be finally downed by anything as a bullet.

Nevertheless, despite the pain, JD was not about to surrender to the Erran, not without a fight. He tried to stand, ignoring the agony of putting weight on the legs or the damp sensation of blood soiling his pants. The window was still in reach and JD was determined to make his getaway. Suddenly, he heard the audible crunch of boots against the fragments of debris across the floor and looked over his shoulder to see the Erran's formidable leader, inches from him.

Without hesitation and focus that would have done Chris Larabee proud, JD swung around sharply prepared to put a bullet in the man's head, no matter how big he was. Squeezing the trigger, he expected to hear the reassuring sound of a gunshot, only to be disappointed by the click of an empty chamber. The sound felt like the slamming door of a jail cell and drove home to JD his impending captivity.

Before JD could think of what came next, the man snatched the gun out of his hand and swatted him so hard, JD saw stars when he hit the ground. However, there was still fight left in him and JD ignored the disorientation to continue towards the window, still seeing escape despite the haze of pain and shock. However, he got no further than a few feet when he was pinned to the floor like a bug on a windshield. Uttering a groan of pain, JD felt a boot press hard against his spine.

"You're not going anywhere boy," Krestos sneered. "Not until we get what we want."


When Adam's goldfish Goldie died, Chris remembered being immediately sent out by Sarah to the pet store to replace the animal before Adam made the discovery. Meanwhile Goldie the First, as Chris called the deceased floater, was hastily flushed down the toilet with Adam being none the wiser about the imposter in its place. Later, Chris wondered if that was fair to Adam, who had taken care of the little fish with all the devotion a five-year-old could bestow upon a beloved pet. Shouldn't the kid at least be allowed to mourn Goldie and did Goldie deserve to be flushed away with such disregard?

Thoughts like this ran through Chris Larabee's mind as he and Mary were swept through the darkness, away from the sealed chamber as if someone had flushed them away like they were offending matter. Chris wondered if this was some form of karmic retribution for his treatment of Goldie.

With Mary still clinging to him, he could hear her gasps and cries through the rush of water sweeping down what appeared to be a long, dark shaft on a steep incline that seemed to take them deeper into the earth. Chris prayed it did not deposit them into a worse situation because no one knew they were down here and if they were trapped, it was going to be an exceedingly unpleasant way to die. Fortunately, the water had not filled the shaft and there were enough pockets of air for them to snatch a breath when they managed to fight the current long enough to raise their heads above it.

Sliding down the dark shaft, the turbulent passage caused them to impact against the side of the hard rock, with only the cushion of water between them and the walls, preventing serious injury, even though he felt every scrape and shudder through his skin and bones. While Mary's arms remained firmly around him, the closeness of her body created its own problems as they were constantly slamming against each other. While this might be pleasant under any other circumstances, at this moment it was downright dangerous.

Their ride through the rapid went on for almost a full minute with Chris thinking it might never end when suddenly, the world exploded with the vibrancy of sky and they were free falling. The shaft around them disappeared and through the kaleidoscope of colour, Chris realised they were out in the open. He could feel the wind against his damp face and took deep breaths of fresh air. There was another moment of clarity when Chris saw the ground rushing up to meet them and the realisation it wasn't quite solid.

Mary's indignant cry as they were tossed into the slurry of mud and water that almost swallowed them whole on impact, made him wince in annoyance . Chris didn't care if they were tossed in shit, just if it wasn't some deep chasm where death was a certainty. Besides, he and Vin had spent almost three years surrounded in mud during the war, this was not the worst outcome to their situation he could imagine.

"You know, I'm starting to think giving you those sugar babies was a bad idea!" Alex complained as she sat up in the mud, her lower half still submerged. She was soaked to the skin, aching from her rough journey through that underground shaft and now splattered in mud.

Vin got to his knees, attempting to wipe mud out of his face as he looked at her with a smirk. "Come on Darlin, you know I'll make it up to you." He extended a muddy hand at her.

"You're lucky you're pretty," she said with a wry smile as she took his hand and stood up.

"Are you okay?" Vin asked, his tone becoming serious. Like Chris, Vin had worried their journey through the darkness might have deposited them into some place worse than this muddy hole at the bottom of the gully they'd escaped. Looking over its edge, he could see the entrance to the mound some distance away.

"Yeah," she nodded, wiping the mud off his cheek. "I'm fine? You?"

The question immediately prompted her healer's instinct and Vin thought with a little smile, in that way she was just like Nathan, when she turned her attention to Chris and Mary.

"You two okay? Anything broken?"

Chris looked up at Mary who had lost her grip of him when they were spat through the side of the gully. She was sitting in the mud, wiping the stuff off her face with a mixture of distaste and an emotion he could not decipher. He braced himself for more complaining when her blue grey eyes caught his scrutiny and she turned to him.

"Well Mr Larabee," she said with a laugh, "I'll say this for you. You certainly know how to show a lady a good time."

Chris stared at her.

"Come on, that was a hell of a ride. You couldn't go to a movie and have that much fun." She nudged his boot.

It was at this moment, Chris realised with a sinking feeling, he was almost certainly going to fall in love with her.


As it turned out, once they trudged back to the mound, they could take the same route back through the underground temple once again. The room which had almost been the death of them had also unsealed, with the door Vin had spotted before their entrapment, awaiting their entry. Ensuring no one touched anything, Chris personally escorted Mary through the chamber, while Alex and Vin listened with fraying patience as the duo bickered incessantly about everything.

Once through the doorway, they were led to another smaller chamber, this one filled with earthenware pots of every size and description. It took them almost thirty minutes to search through each one but once they did, they were met with success. William Styles's Pillar slipped into Vin's hands, swaddled in burlap and a thin length of hessian cord. Until now they had only heard about the Pillar but none of them had seen the fabled cryptex, one of two still not in the hands of the Erran.

"We better get JD and get back to the others," Chris said as they drove back to the doctor's home after leaving Seton Village. "The sooner we get this to safety, the better."

"Well I'm not going anywhere until I have a bath," Alex stated from the back seat of the car, looking at her mud encrusted hands with distaste. "I think I've got half of New Mexico's desert in my hair."

"Yeah you do look kind of messed up," Vin teased, looking at her from the front passenger seat of Chris's car.

"Very amusing Mr Tanner," Mary grumbled, wishing she had been able to wash her face at least. She swore she could still taste mud.

Anything he was going to say in retaliation was suddenly halted because Chris's voice cut through the conversation with its hard edge. Vin immediately faced front and stiffened in his seat. Both men were tense as boards and both Mary and Alex exchanged looks, wondering what new calamity was being visited upon them. It didn't take them long to find out what had captured their attention so completely.

The column of smoke rising through the air, looked like someone had slashed at the sky and tore a hole through its fabric. Even though they were still on the highway and had yet to take the turn off onto the Styles's property, everyone in the car knew without having to utter a word, the smoke was coming from the residence Alex shared with her father.

Five minutes later, their worst fears were confirmed.

The house where William Styles kept his research was ablaze.