The Gods' Gambit (37 page)

James, Lao and Lino went into a different downcast in the
direction of the ‘House of the Seers’ dressed in the maintenance overalls. In
contrast to Irina and Sonam they couldn’t afford going all the way through the
ventilation downcast system because it would take too long. As a result, soon
after leaving the chamber, they moved into the tunnel system.

For quite a while, they didn’t encounter anyone. Just once,
two armed men appeared further ahead in the tunnel but they managed to turn
into the closest side tunnel. Lino then used the tablet to re-adjust the route
and they continued ahead. Fortunately, that was the only time they stumbled
upon the enemy.

On the last stage, they had to enter a ventilation pipe that
led right into the ‘House of the Seers’.

Using a wireless screwdriver from the toolset in the
maintenance bag that James had taken with him, he removed the protective
grating from the pipe’s end and put it back again once they got in. Five
minutes walking on all-fours brought them to their intended destination. The
pipe came out in a well-lit tunnel where they could see doors through another
grating. James removed the grating and the three jumped to the ground. The zone
indicated on the tablet as the ‘House of the Seers’ was an area of about thirty
meters in length in-between two grill-doors.

James drew his gun, stepped to the closest door and slowly
pushed down the handle. The door wasn’t locked. He opened it and squeezed
inside, gun pointed, followed by Lao and Lino. The room was barely furnished:
two beds, a small table with two chairs, and a cupboard. A man in a brown robe
stood in the middle of the room; another man lay on one of the beds facing the
wall. The standing man was of mid-stature, thin, just skin and bones. Although
he was facing the door, he didn’t look at them. His eyes were aimed somewhere
above James’ head. A smile twisted his lips. “Ooo …” he exclaimed faintly. He
said several words in Russian, then stopped, and then said in English, “The
light … I’ve lived to see it. Now I can die in peace.” He dropped on his knees,
tottered towards James and made a move as if to embrace his legs. James stepped
back and held the man who, due to his weakness, was going to fall flat on the
floor. James helped him get on his feet.

“Who are you?” asked James.

“I am Vitali Sorokin … or what is left of him. I am the one
who discovered you, Rainbow Carrier. I know you. Your name is James. You are a
writer. I saw all about you.”

“You are a seer. You discovered James by means of the Divine
Eye, didn’t you?” asked Lino, his expression and tone excited.

Sorokin responded without looking at him. “There was time
when I was a man. Now I’m a seer. I saw the Rainbow Carrier.”

“We’re looking for Malee … the new lady. She was brought
here recently. Do you know where she is?” asked James.

It was written on Sorokin’s face how difficult it was for
him to concentrate on the question. His eyes continued to concentrate on the
space above James’ head.

“I don’t know anybody with that name,” he said. “You say
she’s new?”

“She probably arrived several days ago,” James sensed a
spasm of fear in his heart. If Malee had not arrived here they would probably
never find her.

“As a rule, the newly arrived seers are lodged in the front
rooms. Normally room number one,” said Sorokin.

“Are there any guards nearby?” asked James.

“No. The first sentry point is at the beginning of that
gallery. It’s a few minutes’ walk.”

“Lao, let’s go and find Malee,” said James. “You stay here,”
he said to Lino. “Nobody goes out until we come back.”

Sorokin lifted a hand as if to halt him. “The woman you’re
looking for … If she’s a true seer, she won’t come with you. She wouldn’t wish
to be separated from the Eye.”

“What are you talking about? What do you mean with ‘true
seer’?” James’ tone was tense.

“A seer has his inner vision. There are not many people on
earth like that. Even the Rainbow Carrier can’t be a seer … Ooo, your wondrous
light …” Sorokin raised his eyes up again and made a weak gesture as though
embracing something invisible.

James stepped close, grabbed his shoulders, and shook him.
“The girl I’m talking about has potential to be a seer. So what?” he asked
looking closely into Sorokin’s eyes.

“The true seers get addicted to the Eye. One glimpse through
the Pipe of Five Elements is enough for that to happen,” Sorokin suddenly
twisted his lips in a predatory smile.

“The five elements … The colours and the emptiness. That’s
it,” said Lino.

James looked at him in bewilderment.

“The pipes used by the priest-seers from Don Federico’s
myth. They were made of four types of precious stones. In some esoteric
tradition the primordial elements have colours …”

“Yes. Earth element is yellow, fire – red, air – green,
water – blue,” said James.

“And the pipe’s empty passage represents the space element,”
Lino concluded. “This pipe device may have an effect on the brain similar to
drugs. If that is the case a process to reverse the effect could be possible.”

“Ooo.. The shiny rainbow,” drawled Sorokin.

“We must find Malee. If she is affected, we’ll deal with it
later,” said Lao.

“Try to find out from our friend here exactly where the Eye
is. Be vigilant,” said James to Lino and pointed out the man lying on the bed
who hadn’t given any sign of life until that moment.

Room number one was next to the grill-door on their left.
Lao reached there first and opened it. James looked over Lao’s shoulder. It was
semi-obscure inside due to the muted light of one only lit desk lamp. The space
and furnishing were the same as in the other room. The difference here was that
there were two women. Both sat together on one bed, their heads stooped, and
their hair loose and disheveled. Lao’s sudden entrance startled them and they
jumped and stepped back.

“Dad, James … Oh, God!” Malee dashed towards them and threw
herself into Lao’s arms, crying. She was trying to say something but only
sobbing and partial sounds came out of her throat.

“Calm down dear. We’ll get you out of here,” said Lao.

James entered and embraced her.

“They came in the shop … I was closing … They attacked me,”
Malee only managed to articulate the words in snatches.

“Let’s leave this for now,” said James. “Malee, did they
make you look at the Eye?”

She looked at him, puzzled. “What eye, James?”

James felt as though a heavy load had been taken off his
shoulders. “Doesn’t matter. Let’s move out.”

“Can we take Lena with us? She’s a friend. They brought us
here at the same time,” said Malee. She went back to the other girl who was
cringing in the corner and held out her hand. “Let’s go, Lena. Don’t be
afraid.”

James left Lao and Malee and the Russian girl next to the
ventilation pipe and then entered Sorokin’s room. Upon seeing him Sorokin got
up again.

“Malee?” asked Lino.

“Outside, with Lao. She hadn’t looked into that thing.
She’ll be fine.”

“Thank God. That’s great,” Lino exclaimed, with relief in
his voice. “It’s as we assumed. The Eye is hidden in a separate room next to
the main cha—”

Before he could finish the sentence, a loud piercing sound
rang outside. James and Lino quickly went out into the tunnel. The sound was
coming from the direction of the closest grill-door. A twinkling red light
accompanied it.

Alarm.

James looked at Lao.

“We didn’t do anything,” Lao said.

“The sound’s coming from different places behind that door.
It’s as if this hellish place has suddenly woken up,” said Lino.

“They may have discovered the three missing workers,” James
assumed. On saying that a thought flashed through his mind:
Irina and Sonam!

The doors of the rooms in the ‘House of Seers’ began to open
and men and women dressed in long brown robes appeared. There were many – lean,
exhausted. They didn’t pay any attention to the strangers. Their eyes were
aimed towards the grill-door where the alarm had sounded and the red bulb
twinkled.

“It’s time to get out,” said Lao. He took off the protective
grating of the ventilation pipe. “Lino, you go first to show the way,” he said.

“Hold on,” James stopped them. “We must help these people to
escape.”

“We need to move quickly. They seem too weak to follow us
into the pipe,” said Lao.

“We must save them. They’ll be buried if they stay here,”
said James. He addressed Sorokin who had also come out of his room,. “This
cavern will be demolished soon. The rocks will crumble. You must come with us.
Otherwise, you’ll die.”

The hollow-cheeked face of Sorokin changed in a snap. For
the first time he stared into James’ eyes. His look was heavy and downhearted.
He turned away and started to speak in Russian to the crowd. They froze
listening to his words.

“He repeated everything you said … He says we’re going to
destroy the cave … bury the Eye and everything else,” translated Lino.

Now, people dressed in white robes turned to look at them.
Some began to murmur and move towards them.

“I don’t like this,” said Lino casting furtive glances at
the seers drawing near.

“Neither do I,” said James. “Get into the pipe. Quick.”

Lino climbed first. Lao lifted Malee into the pipe and after
that her friend. Suddenly, Sorokin was next to James and had grabbed his arm.
“You can’t destroy the Eye,” he said out loud. Madness glittered in his eyes.

James shook Sorokin’s hand from his arm . “Come with us.
You’ll be free. If you stay here, you’ll die. Do you understand?” asked James.

“You will die!” Sorokin shouted unexpectedly and grabbed his
arm again.

Some of the seers screamed out menacingly. They stepped
towards James, and started tugging at his clothes. Others reached out to Lao.

James gave a strong push and threw the seers back. Sorokin
and another man fell to the ground. Meanwhile, Lao cleared the space around
them with a series of quick punches and kicks. He and James ran to the
ventilation pipe. Lao jumped in the opening and James followed.

“Lao, move fast. We don’t have much time. Irina and Sonam
should already have placed the charges,” James shouted.

He stuck out his head, leaned over, and lifted the
protection grating. It was solid and could hold those chasing them for some
time. He put it in its frame and drove in one of the holding screws.

“I’m coming to give you a hand,” he heard Lao’s voice behind
him.

James responded without turning around, he didn’t want to
lose precious seconds. “Go. There is no space for two here. I’ll catch up.”

He took out the screwdriver from the maintenance bag and
screwed in the first screw. He was trying to do the same with the second when a
group of seers clung to the grating and started pulling. The grating came off
the frame and hung on with only one screw. The arms of the seers reached out to
James’ legs. He kicked some of them but could not repulse all of them. The
seers drew him to them by his ankles and trousers. He attempted to hold himself
inside but the pipe’s walls were too smooth. The ferocious seers got the upper
hand and dragged him out. He fell back down on the ground. The crowd jumped
over him hitting and tearing at his clothes. Fortunately, he did not lose his
presence of mind. He hit back and crawled to the wall beneath the pipe’s
opening. There, he managed to stand up and push the attackers aside. Throwing
swift, short punches and kicks, he knocked several of them down. This effective
resistance stopped the seers. James realized that his machine gun and the tool
bag had been lost during the fight but his handgun was still in the holster
attached to his leg. He drew it and aimed at the people in front of him. In the
same instant, he heard a metallic clicking coming from behind. James turned
round sharply to see the grill-door opening.  Several men stood there,
their guns pointing at him. One man pulled the trigger. The bang and thwack on
his head blended and then there was total darkness.

“Our honored guest is waking up,” spoke a mocking, haughty
voice. “We almost wasted you. It would have been a great loss.”

James opened his eyes. The man who had spoken these words –
tall, blond, wearing glasses – stood a few steps away. He was dressed in jeans
and a brown shirt. Under his belt was a Russian army pistol, a ‘Strizh’. James
looked around.  He was sitting in a massive wooden chair. The top of his
head was wrapped in a tight dressing and he felt pain above his right ear. His
last memory was a barrel pointed at him throwing out flames. James realized
that the bullet had scratched his skull without causing serious damage.
Instinctively, he tried to stand up but he couldn’t. It was just then that he
discovered his limbs were shackled to the chair by metal chains.

He found himself in the middle of an enormous chamber. From
his position he could see a multi-storey complex constructed of metal and glass
attached to the chamber’s walls. Not far in front of him there were two long
electric carts. Behind them he could see four bundles of high-tensile cables
indicating an elevator-platform, and the doors of a lift.  At the end of
the chamber, on his right, there were some long tables with electronic
equipment on them. Four men holding Kalashnikovs came close to him, two on each
side of the chair, watching him with undisguised hatred. James could see no one
else around. He turned his head to the left as much as he could and he saw a
strange sculpture. A long horned serpent with wings coiled round a pyramid with
a severed top. The serpent’s mouth was half-open and James could see three rows
of needle-like teeth. The whole sculpture was made of yellow stone. The
scientific mind in James took over for a brief moment, deciphering the
symbolism of it all. The pyramid represented the universe; the coiled serpent
was the symbol of the Demiurge ruling over the entirety of existence.