Sam stepped toward the Russian. “I’ll trade with you, Leonid. Your light seems to still have some juice left.”
Leonid nodded and handed his flashlight over. Sam probed the shaft with its beam and a bright reflection returned—a flickering glimmer.
“There’s the answer to your mysterious light,” said Leonid.
“It doesn’t tell us how it manifests itself,” Remi said. “But there’s one way to find out.” She snatched the flashlight from Sam and darted farther into the tunnel.
“Remi,” Sam called, but she was already around a bend in the passage and out of sight. He exhaled in frustration and gave Leonid a dark look and then followed Remi deeper into the unknown.
The tunnel stretched downward in a gradual slope. Sam and Leonid followed Remi down the passage until the floor leveled and the walls’ texture changed.
“She’s right. It does look as if this part was worked by human hands,” Sam said.
Leonid ran his hand over the surface as Lazlo’s hurried footsteps sounded behind them. “It’s almost like it was polished,” the Russian whispered.
Lazlo joined them and squinted at the wall. “Quite remarkable,” he murmured. “Never seen anything like it.”
Remi’s flashlight beam had faded into the darkness and they could no longer see its glow. Sam was about to go after her when she suddenly returned at a run, out of breath, the color drained from her face.
“What is it, Remi? What did you find?”
“Oh, Sam,” she said, her voice tight. “The whole chamber is filled with dead people.”
CHAPTER 55
Rob and Greg arranged the floodlights and set up the generator at the chamber entrance so they would have sufficient light to explore the interior. Lazlo and Sam helped with the connecting cables while Remi and Leonid held the dimming flashlights for them, the glow now barely sufficient to illuminate more than a few feet. When they’d gotten all the equipment into position, Sam stepped away from
the generator and glanced around.
“Ready, boys?” asked Sam.
“Ready,” Rob answered. “We’ve also set up a video camera to record whatever’s in here.”
“If anything,” grunted Leonid.
Sam held up his hand. “Throw the switch.”
The floodlights blinked to life, revealing a massive chamber with mirror-polished walls and ceiling, every surface as smooth as glass. The powerful beams refracted from the walls with startling intensity, blinding everyone as they magnified the glare tenfold. Sam shielded his eyes with his arm and the others did the same.
After several long moments, their vision began to adjust and they could make out that the entire chamber was a vast vein of white quartz. They stood in silent awe of the reflective effect, the cavern’s faceted walls a natural house of mirrors.
Remi took a few cautious steps toward the nearest surface and gazed at it, her nose only inches away. “Gold,” she said softly. “Gold specks and small nuggets within the quartz.”
“She’s right,” acknowledged Leonid. “Gold-bearing quartz is perhaps the most unusual source of natural gold. It’s mined in very few locations around the world. It’s extremely rare and sought after for making jewelry.”
Sam and Remi took a few cautious steps farther into the chamber. A large quartz bench ringed the center of the space, with nearly a hundred mummified bodies seated on it in a large circle. Each body leaned against an ornately carved backrest, the skin the color and consistency of leather.
The mummies’ torsos were wrapped in what Remi and Leonid recognized as linen. The skulls were bare and tilted slightly forward, with eye sockets staring sightlessly into a central vault set into the floor. It looked to Sam as though they had all died together. There was no sign of violence.
One by one, the group approached the open vault, recessed three feet below the floor, and silently peered down at the mummified couple inside.
Sam, in a whisper, was the first to react. “Good Lord, he’s seventeen feet if he’s an inch.”
“The woman next to him is almost as tall,” Remi responded.
Leonid muttered, “Giants—real giants. The legends are true.”
“They were worshipped as gods,” Remi murmured softly.