Part 34 (1/2)

Ken stood in front of the first entrance and closed his eyes. Annja watched at him.

”What are you doing?”

He motioned her over. ”Stand here and close your eyes. Remember what we were talking about at the waterfall? Go inside and check yourself against using this as the way in.”

Annja closed her eyes and saw herself walking into the cave. Almost immediately, she felt a vague stab of pain in her stomach. ”No,” she said, almost shouting.

She opened her eyes. ”Sorry, I didn't mean-”

Ken shook his head. ”Don't apologize. I got the same feeling. This is not the one to use.”

They moved down to the next entrance and repeated the process. Again they both got a bad feeling.

At the entrance to the third, Annja smiled. ”Do we even need to do this with this one? It's the only one left.”

Ken nodded. ”Just to be sure.”

Annja closed her eyes again and walked into the entrance in her mind. This time she found it perfectly comfortable. She opened her eyes to tell Ken this was definitely the one to use.

”Ken-hey!”

She was already standing in the cave entrance with her torch. Ken stood next to her smiling.

”Cool, huh?”

”How did that happen?”

Ken shrugged. ”The only way I could explain that is that our bodies took over and moved us in there in order to show it was safe. Much of this next stage might be a willingness on our part to almost switch off our conscious minds and let our instincts take over.”

Annja frowned. ”I wish I could do that easily. But honestly, I don't know if I can turn it off.”

Ken put a hand on her shoulder. ”The fact that you're standing in the cave with me right now proves that you can. Just relax and pay attention to how you feel physically as we proceed. That will be the best source of answers, I think.”

They moved deeper into the cave, walking slowly. The walls closed in as they advanced, forcing them to switch to single file.

”I'll go first,” Ken said. ”No sense in making you trip any traps. This is my family's relic, after all.”

”We'll swap it out every so often,” Annja said. ”I knew the risks going into this thing. It's not fair for you to take them all.”

He nodded and then continued along. The cave walls suddenly opened up, and then in front of them, they saw a huge chasm. Swirling air rushed around them, emanating from somewhere far below and continuing up for hundreds of feet.

”Looks like we've arrived at our first challenge,” Annja said.

”Second,” Ken said. ”The first was getting in here, remember?”

Annja stood near the lip of the chasm. ”It's too far to jump to the other side. We'd never make it.”

Ken looked at the rim. ”Our ledge ends just down there. There's no way to skirt across to the other side. And we don't have climbing gear to attempt the walls.”

”They look pretty smooth, anyway,” Annja said. ”Probably worn that way by the air and water over the years.”

Ken crossed his arms. ”I guess we'll have to think of something else, then.”

”Or not think about it at all,” Annja said.

Without hesitating, she walked off the ledge into the chasm.

NEZUMA SQUIRMED his way deeper into the mountain. He was rather surprised that Shuko's death hadn't affected him all that much. He smirked. I must be even more coldhearted than I thought. his way deeper into the mountain. He was rather surprised that Shuko's death hadn't affected him all that much. He smirked. I must be even more coldhearted than I thought.

He heard movement ahead of him. The cave had narrowed significantly as he got farther in, forcing him to keep his arms pinned by his sides and use his torso to do all the work.

But up ahead, he could see flickering lights. Torches, judging by the smell. And he heard people talking, too.

Guards?

He frowned. Taking them out in his current position would prove suicidal if he even attempted it. He'd need to get himself into better position in order to do it and live.

But as he was trying to figure out how to do that, the voices dwindled. Nezuma could hear footsteps and realized he was most likely nearing a corridor of some sort.

All he'd need to do was make sure it was clear before he exited.

Then he could track down the dorje dorje. And kill Kennichi and Annja Creed.

He still wished he had backup with him. Shuko would have easily held her own against either one of them, freeing Nezuma to enjoy himself rather than leave him to do all the work.

Still, he was satisfied with how the events seemed to be unfolding. If the G.o.ds smiled on him, he'd recover the dorje dorje and be back home within the next few hours. and be back home within the next few hours.

And tomorrow, he could go out searching for a suitable candidate to replace Shuko.

Life was about to get good.

”ANNJA!”

Ken ran to the edge of the chasm and looked down, expecting to see nothing but blackness. Instead, he saw Annja staring back up at him.

”Hey,” she said, smiling.

He shook his head. ”How the h.e.l.l did you know to do that?”

She shrugged. ”It was the only thing that made sense. I closed my eyes and just walked forward. It's a rock bridge of some sort, but it's wide enough to allow the air current to come up on either side, helping the overall appearance look like one giant bottomless pit.”

Ken hopped down. ”You're amazing.”