Part 34 (2/2)

”You taught me how to do it.”

Ken looked toward the other side. ”You sure this goes all the way across?”

”Nope, but I guess we'll find out.”

Ken stopped her. ”You're closing your eyes?”

Annja smiled. ”It's worked so far.” She shut her eyes and started walking. She heard Ken sigh and knew he had done the same thing.

Each step she took made her feel more amazed than the last. Who would believe that her instincts could guide her like this? They were facing certain death if they made the wrong choice, and yet twice her instincts now had saved her.

There's probably more than that, she thought, but I'm only really becoming aware of it now.

She stopped suddenly. Annja opened her eyes. Ken stood beside her in exactly the same position.

”What happened?” she asked.

Ken shook his head. ”I don't know. I just stopped suddenly. Like my body didn't want to go on anymore.”

Annja knelt and felt the ground in front of her.

She nearly toppled off the edge into the pit.

Ken grabbed her and pulled her back.

Annja breathed out. ”So much for the bridge going all the way across. I guess it ends there.”

”It's a trap,” Ken said. ”To lull us into a sense of complacency. If we got to this point, we might not have trusted our instincts to stop us and simply walked over the edge.”

Annja nodded. ”Incredible. I wonder who built this thing.”

”Someone keenly interested in making sure the vajra vajra was well protected, apparently,” Ken said. ”Maybe a crazy old monk, maybe a samurai, maybe a ninja. Who knows?” was well protected, apparently,” Ken said. ”Maybe a crazy old monk, maybe a samurai, maybe a ninja. Who knows?”

Annja sat down. ”Now what?”

Ken sat down, too. ”I wish I knew.”

NEZUMA SLID OUT of the narrow duct and dropped to the floor twelve feet below. He immediately brought the UMP out and kept it at the ready. The last thing he wanted was to start a gun battle with anyone. But he couldn't afford to let anyone know he was inside the mountain. of the narrow duct and dropped to the floor twelve feet below. He immediately brought the UMP out and kept it at the ready. The last thing he wanted was to start a gun battle with anyone. But he couldn't afford to let anyone know he was inside the mountain.

Not yet.

He moved quickly down the corridor, making sure his shadow never fell in front of him. This necessitated his moving from one side of the hall to the other in order to keep the torches and their flames from betraying his presence.

At the end of the corridor, he had two options-left or right.

He chose left.

Down at the far end of the corridor, he saw another door.

He headed straight for it.

”HOW FAR AWAY do you think it is?” do you think it is?”

Ken shrugged. ”It looks like it's maybe ten feet or so.”

”You think we could jump it?” Annja asked.

”Maybe. But what if it's another optical illusion? We run and try to make a ten-foot jump only to find ourselves flying off into the great void. Not exactly how I saw myself going out, you know?”

”I don't know what else to do,” Annja said. ”I've tried closing my eyes and I'm not getting anything. I don't see any clear indication as to how we're supposed to proceed.”

”Neither do I,” Ken said. ”And for some reason, I can't figure out why it would end like this. There has to be a way across. A way to continue forward. But how? And where?”

Annja frowned. ”Wait,” she said.

”What?”

”What did you just say? About going forward.”

Ken held up his hands. ”I said there must be a way to go forward. What else would the point of this be?”

Annja smiled. And turned.

”That's it.”

Ken frowned. ”What?”

”We don't go forward at all,” Annja said.

Ken shook his head. ”I'm not walking backward to my death, Annja.”

”No. We don't take this bridge at all. We never had to. But this was built to protect the vajra, vajra, and that protection seems to rely on using people's preconceptions against them.” and that protection seems to rely on using people's preconceptions against them.”

”Explain,” Ken said.

”So, you manage to make it into the right cave, maybe by instinct, maybe by blind luck. Then you get to the chasm, and perhaps you find out that there's a cleverly disguised bridge across. You think that's it. You can see the other side and skip right across and fall to your death midway.”

”Okay.”

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