Fireworks: Riley by Liliana Hart Read Free Book Online Page B

a deal. If we unseal the door and manage not to get killed, I’ll let you be the boss once we’re inside the tent.”
    “Well you know I’d never pass up a deal like that. Lets get busy.” She smiled but then her grin faltered. “In all seriousness, who do you think the blood belongs to?”
    “I don’t know,” Riley admitted. “But I have a feeling Walker may have gotten a little help with his illness. There’s one thing I’ve learned in this business, and that is you can’t trust anyone. Not colleagues and certainly not friends. You and me, babe. That’s where it begins and ends.”
    Riley opened the journal and studied the code Walker had left incomplete. But it was just enough for him to see the pattern. He scribbled it out twice on his own and tried other variables just to make sure there were no other options, and once he was satisfied he laid the journal flat on top of the platform, next to the raised blocks.
    “Maggie, I want you to go back into the passageway. Just to be safe. That way you can get out to call for help if you need to.”
    “I’ll pass, thanks. I’m not leaving you in here by yourself.”
    He rolled his eyes, but didn’t argue with her. He wouldn’t have left her alone if the tables were turned either. “Stand directly behind me then and shine your flashlight from up above. I want to make sure I’m seeing the marks clearly. Some of them are very similar.”
    She did as he asked and then he traced the markings on each of the blocks gently. Then he took a deep breath and he pressed the one in the middle with two hands. It took a great deal of strength and the stone of the block grated as he pushed it so the top was even with the platform. The noise seemed louder than it should have, an echo that surely they could hear from outside the tomb, but he knew it was his own heightened senses.
    A loud click echoed in the room once the block was in place and the silence that followed was deafening. They both held their breath as they waited for the first sign of danger. But there was nothing.
    Riley moved to the next block, this one in the upper right corner, and did the same thing, pressing it until it was level with the platform. Sweat dripped from his brow, but his hands were steady, just as Maggie’s were as she held the light.
    The next block pushed down much easier than the previous two, and then he was left with the final block. At least according to the code that had been deciphered. Once he pushed down the fourth block there were still two blocks that remained. But that didn’t necessarily mean they were part of the key.
    “Here goes nothing,” he whispered, and pressed down the fourth block. It clicked into place just as the other three had, but then there was nothing but silence. And the door didn’t open.
    They were quiet for several minutes, listening for any sign of change in the room. Riley started looking around for the final piece to the puzzle and then found it on the floor just in front of the door to the sealed room. There was another grid of nine square stones, but each one had four different hieroglyphs etched on every square. Only one of them had the four he’d just pressed onto the platform in the correct order.
    Riley grabbed Maggie’s hand and carefully stepped onto the correct square. The floor trembled slightly as the stone sunk with his weight, and he was careful to stay completely still so he didn’t accidentally touch one of the other stones. Another click was heard as the stone went down as far as it could and the sealed door in front of him snicked open with a soft pop of stale air and dust.
    “No matter what you do,” Riley said, pushing the door open wider and shining his flashlight inside. “Don’t step on any of those other squares. I don’t have a good feeling about being in here. Let’s look for the book quickly and get out. Patience is going to keep us alive today.”
    Maggie nodded and he helped her cross over the threshold without