“Can I try?” she asked.
“Sure.” He handed the box back, and she studied the design that repeated on all the sides before placing it in the middle of the hatch and sliding it to mimic the whorls.
Crunch.Grind.Click.
Phoenix hauled her backwards as the stones she’d been kneeling on suddenly dropped, the whole section swung open as if on a hinge, and the box that had opened it disappeared, rattling as it rolled down the staircase they’d found.
“You did it!” he exclaimed.
She couldn’t help but grin. “I wonder what’s down there.”
“Let’s go find out.” He shone his penlight on the stone steps leading below ground.
Gulp. Kind of scary, but with Phoenix leading the way, she didn’t fear too much. After all, a tiger could handle almost any predator. Living ones, that was. She tried to ignore all the ghost stories Nenek told her growing up. Ghosts weren’t real. But then again, neither were the harimau a week ago, a reminder that didn’t help her trepidation.
The narrow staircase descended longer than expected, a tomblike tunnel going into the Earth. The only noise that of her huffing breath and the scuff of their feet, loud and yet muffled at the same time.
“I found the box,” Phoenix stated, scooping it from a step. He handed it to Nadirah, and she clutched it tight, hoping its luck would keep her safe. After all, what were the chances she’d have the key to getting inside? Probably about the same as the odds she’d meet a handsome man who happened to also be her favorite animal. Nenek would probably claim it was no coincidence but fate and the gods guiding her. For once, Nadirah wondered if that might actually be true.
“There’s a door,” Phoenix stated suddenly, startling Nadirah.
Her gaze focused on the spot where he shone his light. At the bottom of the steps, further passage appeared blocked by a door made of petrified wood, seemingly solid and without a knob or a lock to allow entry.
He glanced at her. “Do the box trick again.” He shuffled sideways so she could squeeze forward.
A deep breath in, and she once more traced the pattern, the grinding noise of the ancient mechanism letting her know it worked.
Click. The door creaked as it swung open.
“Ladies first,” he offered.
“I’d rather not.” She chose to tuck behind Phoenix instead.
“There’s nothing inside. By the smells of it, this place hasn’t seen anything alive in a long time.”
“What about booby traps?” She was too tired to outrun a rolling stone ball like Indy or duck and dodge flying arrows.
He chuckled. “I don’t think we have to worry about that, but I’ll go in first to make sure it’s safe.”
Nadirah hovered by the door as he entered and shone the penlight around, which refracted, making her blink.
“I don’t detect anything of concern,” he said. “And in good news, doesn’t look like this place got pilfered. Guess we’re lucky they didn’t smash that hatch open.”
With that exciting claim, Nadirah went inside the chamber, wondering if they’d find piles of treasure or ancient bones.
“Here, take the light so you can see.” He handed it to Nadirah, and she wandered to her left, aiming the penlight at the wall and then gaping at the drawings she found etched in the stone. “There’s a picture of a tiger.” And inset within its eyes, jewels, the reason why the light bounced before. Amber for the first feline she found, and as she moved sideways, the colors of them changed. Green. Blue. Black. Before she’d made it to the corner, she heard a rasp and the room illuminated.
A glance over her shoulder showed Phoenix standing by a stone brazier, which he’d lit on fire. It smoked, but the fumes rose toward the peaked ceiling.
“Hold on,” he said. “Let me light the others.” He went around the room, lighting four of the five censers. The fifth one had cracked and leaked all the oil in its basin.
Even with only four, the room brightened and revealed its splendor.
Phoenix came to stand by her as they craned and quietly marvelled at the artwork on the walls. All tigers with different-sized heads, the eyes all jeweled in various shades.
“What is this place?” she murmured aloud.
“Judging by the altar in the middle, some kind of religious temple I’d imagine.” He drew her attention to the huge hunk of rock smoothed into a rectangle. Behind it, a rounded dais with a stone bench perched atop.
