Being a born skeptic, he was guessing they’d find a gold-plated tin can at best and at worst, nothing. Until he saw the idol, scanned it and verified it, he wasn’t getting excited.
The thing that excited him the most was that a certain rival treasure hunter of theirs was reportedly after the idol as well. He smiled. Yes, he’d very much like to get his hands on it before her.
Nik stepped into the clearing, and froze.
Amongst the tangled vegetation, he saw a worn stone statue. It was as tall as Nik’s six feet, two inches, and the rain had eroded it down over time. But it was clearly a man, with dark holes carved out for eyes and one arm held outstretched. Pointing.
Nik turned his head to follow the direction of the carving’s hand.
And saw the cave entrance.
He touched his ear. “Dath? Z? I’ve found the cave.”
“Nice work.” Dathan sounded excited. “Hang on, we’re coming your way.”
“I’m going in to investigate.” Niklas studied the rounded mouth of the cave. It appeared a little too regular to be natural, and there were carvings along the arch, too worn to be able to decipher.
He stepped inside. It was dark and dank, vines hanging down in the enclosed space. He grabbed his ion light out of his vest, flicked it on, and pointed it into the darkness. Nearby, a vine moved, and Nik controlled a start. Not a vine—a Mazonian viper. It hissed at him, and he gave the highly venomous creature a wide berth.
As he moved deeper into the cave, he pondered how his life had turned out. Here he was, one third of the galaxy’s best-known treasure-hunter trio. It wasn’t at all how he’d planned his career. He’d always loved knowledge, had been starved for it by a childhood that had lacked…just about everything. Their motherhad left when they were young, and their father… Well, Brocken Phoenix had been a washed-up, drunken treasure hunter who survived on a diet of bitterness, high-octane kila, and smacking his boys around.
Nik shook his head. As soon as he was eligible, he’d won a scholarship and left their homeworld of Zerzura. Its ancient ruins had sparked his love of history, and he’d happily entered the Galactic Institute of Historic Preservation’s academy and never looked back. He’d dreamed of well-funded digs, of running the Institute’s grand, old museums, and maybe one day sitting on the Institute’s board. It had been a haven for him, a place dedicated to knowledge, learning, and history. It had fed his soul.
Up until the day that he’d discovered it was all a lie.
His jaw tightened and he headed deeper into the cave. Screw the Institute. He’d left it behind and he enjoyed working with his brothers. They were damn good treasure hunters. He still spent time learning and collecting history. He might miss the long excavation digs on occasion. Treasure hunting meant their jobs were quick, in-and-out incursions, where they tried not to get themselves killed…or worse, lose their treasures to someone else.
And now they were doing good work. Especially since Dathan had married Eos. The astro-archeologist had worked hard to convince Dathan to sell a number of their discoveries to reputable dealers and clients, and even to donate some of their finds.
The Phoenix brothers made a good team. Zayn was fast. Dathan was cunning. And Nik…well, he was smart. Put that together, and you had all the essential ingredients for successful treasure hunting.
Nik took another step and felt a stone depress under his boot. A click echoed around him.
Oh, shit.
He knew the jungle-dwellers had been renowned for their booby traps.
He followed instinct and dropped to the floor. His cheek pressed to cool stone just as he heard atwangof release. Then, there was awhooshas something whizzed over him.
When everything went still, he turned his head and saw a sharpened spear buried in the wall behind him. Damn thing would have passed right through his gut. He also knew the natives had been experts at creating poisons. There was a faint, neon-green glow on the end of the spear tip, which Nik was sure would have left him writhing in pain and puking his guts up.
Yep, great gig this treasure-hunting thing.
“Nik?” Zayn’s voice. “You okay?”
Nik pushed to his feet. “Yeah. Triggered a booby trap.”
Dathan cursed. “I told you to wait.”
The words didn’t just come through the earpiece. They echoed through the cavern. A second later, Nik’s brothers stepped into view.
Nik dusted his hands off on his khaki cargo pants and studied his brothers for a second. It was clear the three of them were related. They all had similar, muscular builds, although Nik had always been a few inches taller and broader than the other two. Dathan always forgot to cut his hair, and the dark strands were getting really long, giving him a rakish look. Zayn kept his hair shorter—a trait left over from years in the military—and it was a few shades lighter and often turned tawny if he spent any time in the sun. Nik swallowed. Jesus, he was glad he had them. Not that he’d ever tell them that.
“Come on. Let’s find this alleged idol.” He headed deeper into the cave. “And keep your eyes open for more booby traps. Check the walls, floors, and ceiling.”
“Hell, look at the size of that snake.” Zayn edged away from the viper. “Can’t stand snakes.”
“Come on, flyboy.” Dathan clapped Zayn on the back. “We’ll have you back in your cockpit before you know it.”
