Seven Ancient Wonders by Matthew Reilly Read Free Book Online

sacred words be uttered
.’
     
    Then Lily blinked and returned to the present.
    ‘It’s this one!’ she said, reaching down for the pendant she had just read.
    West said, ‘Wait, are you sure—’
    But she moved too quickly and lifted the golden pendant from its shallow recess on the Colossus’ neck.
    The flaming drop-stone lurched.
    West snapped up and winced, waiting for the end.
    But the drop-stone didn’t fall and—
chunk!
—suddenly his legs were released from their submerged bonds.
    Lily had picked the right one.
    She jumped happily back into his arms, holding the heavy golden trapezoid like a newborn baby. She threw him a winning smile:
    ‘That felt really weird.’
    ‘It looked really weird,’ West said. ‘Well done, kiddo. Now, let’s blow this joint.’

     
     
    The Outward Charge
     
    Back they ran.
    West charged through the waist-deep oil pool, pushing hard with every stride, the torch-edged ceiling descending above him.
    They hit the floor of the entry hall as the lowering ceiling hit 70 centimetres in height.
    The smoke coming in from outside was now choking, dense.
    Lily crouch-ran across the wide low-ceilinged space, while Horus swooped through the haze.
    West was the slowest, scrambling on all fours, slipping every which way in his oil-slicked boots, until at the very end of the chamber, as the ceiling became unbearably low, he dived onto his belly, sliding headfirst for the entire last 4 metres, emerging just as the ceiling hit the floor with a resounding
boom
and closed off the Colossus’ chamber.
    Wizard was waiting for them outside on Level 4.
    ‘Hurry! Del Piero’s men have almost finished their crane—they’ll be on Level 2 any second now!’
    Level 4
     
    The other members of the team—Big Ears, Stretch and Princess Zoe—were also waiting on Level 4, covering the first three traps on the way back down.
    When he reached them, West handed Big Ears the priceless golden trapezoid, which the big man placed inside a sturdy backpack.
    Down the giant rockwall they went, again in leapfrog formation, sliding down ladders, dancing across booby-trapped ledges, all the while dodging flaming waterfalls and fire-rain. Giant drop-stones now fell constantly from the upper regions of the cave, tumbling dangerously down the rockface, blasting through the smoke.
    Level 3
     
    West scooped up Fuzzy as they came to Level 3. ‘Come on, old friend,’ he said, hoisting the big Jamaican onto his shoulder.
    They ran down the sloping ledgeway, across the face of Level 3, covering their mouths to avoid inhaling the smoke.
    The Europeans had almost finished their crane by now. It was lined with armed men, all waiting for the last piece of the crane to be screwed into place, thus giving them access to Level 2—where they would cut off West and his team.
    The last piece of the crane fell into place.
    The Europeans moved.
    Level 2
     
    West led the way now, leaping down onto Level 2 ahead of Fuzzy, where he landed like a cat—
    —and was confronted by a crossbow-wielding French paratrooper, the first member of the European force to step off the now-finished crane.
    Quick as a gunslinger, West drew a Glock pistol from one of his thigh holsters, raised it and fired it at the French trooper at point-blank range.
    And for some reason
his
bullet defied Wizard’s Warblers and slammed into the Frenchman’s chest, dropping him where he stood.
    No blood sprayed.
    In fact, the man didn’t die.
    Rubber bullet.
    West fired another rubber round—similar to those used by police in riot situations—at the next French paratrooper on the nearby crane, just as the Frenchman pulled the trigger on his crossbow.
    West ducked and the arrow-bolt missed high, while his own shot hit its mark, sending the French commando sailing off the crane and into the lake below, still crowded with panicking crocodiles.
    Screams. Splashing. Crunching. Blood.
    ‘Move!’ West called to his crew. ‘Before they switch to rubber rounds,