Patrick Carman - The Black Circle - 39 Clues 05

Nataliya panned her cameras around the lot and saw the dark figure of Irina emerge from a stand of trees.

She walked with a stiff confidence, hands in her coat pockets, a woman in charge of her surroundings. A moment later, Irina was standing at the cockpit door, staring into the dark interior of the Shark."You couldn't land somewhere a little less conspicuous?" asked Irina.

"This kind of event makes problems for us."Anyone else would have thought Irina was talking to herself, but Nataliya heard the message loud and clear."I apologize, Irina. But I thought it was necessary to get here as quickly as possible. I've never pushed the Shark quite so hard.""She is a lovely beast, no? I look forward to flying her again.

"Nataliya watched as Irina peered into the Shark, then back at the church."Why so focused on two American brats?" asked Nataliya. "They seem hardly a threat. I've been tracking them from the start, just like all the other teams, and I don't see anything special.

They're hopelessly behind.""Don't underestimate them," said Irina. "They've outsmarted me before."Irina turned back toward the Shark."Let me have a look inside. I haven't taken her for a ride in months."Nataliya knew all too well how keen Irina's senses were. The slightest mistake on the children's part might lead to disaster.

She pressed a white button and the cockpit door unlocked. Then she watched as Irina pulled open the door."Keep an eye out with all those cameras of yours, won't you?" said Irina.

"Absolutely."Nataliya switched to the inside camera and watched as Irina studied the inside of the Shark for anything suspicious. Everything appeared to be in order, so she moved to the back and examined the seats.

Still nothing."I hope I didn't break something," said Nataliya. "I pushed the Shark getting here so fast.

"Without warning, Irina disappeared from view. Nataliya swung the inside camera from side to side, then down to the floor, where she saw Irina lifting the trapdoor. Nataliya's heart thrummed like a hummingbird.

It's over! We're caught!

But nothing happened. Irina dropped the trapdoor and stepped out of the Shark without a word.

'I’m going inside. You keep a watch out here."Nataliya breathed a short-lived sigh of relief. At least Dan and Amy hadn't been discovered. She could only assume they'd used what little time they'd had to escape into the church unseen. But they were anything but safe.

Irina Spasky was about to join them in the Church on the Blood.

CHAPTER 15

Dan was rubbing a sore shoulder as they stumbled through the interior of the church."Still hurts, huh?" whispered Amy."Falling out of a helicopter and being crushed by your big sister will do that to a guy. I'm just glad I didn't land on my head.""That makes two of us.

Next time, think twice before pressing the red button.""It got us out of there!" Dan protested.

Two seconds after the trapdoor in the Shark had shut, Dan had pressed a glowing red button that dropped the floor out, sending them both tumbling out onto the pavement before Irina got close enough to see them."Let's just find the Amber Room and get out of here as fast as we can," said Amy.

"We don't want to come face-to-face with Irina again.""Do you see anything that looks like amber?" asked Dan.

There were small lights here and there, and all the colors inside the church seemed to melt into the white marble floor."Let's try up there," said Amy.

She started walking down the middle aisle that separated the pews. It was eerie being in a church at night, especially one with a tomb underneath it, and Amy shuddered at the thought of what might jump out from the shadows.

Dan thought the pews looked like rows of black teeth.

The floor was worn and grooved at the front of the church. Looking down, Dan was the first to see what they'd been looking for."Amber squares."Burnt-orange tiles were beginning to appear every few feet between the marble."It looks like a trail of blood," said Dan.

They followed the amber tiles around the altar and down a flight of stone steps. A cold wisp of air brushed Dan's cheek as he opened the door at the bottom of the stairs and peered down a darkened passageway.

The underground hallway led twenty feet in one direction and then turned into the shadows. They walked, careful not to make any noise, until they stood at the cross of a T.

The walls turned to concrete slab, and Dan had the distinct feeling they were about to enter the restricted area."I think we should go that way," said Amy, pointing to the left.

At the end of a long hallway, a murky bulb shed light on an orange door bolted to the concrete wall with thick iron hinges.

It looked like it belonged in a bank, not a church."Why am I so n-n-nervous?" said Amy. The orange key was shaking in her hand."I don't know, maybe because we're about to enter a tomb at night in a place called the Church on the Blood?"

"You're n-n-not helping," said Amy."Give me the key. I'll open it."Dan inserted it into a keyhole to the left of the vault door and turned his hand.

A panel slid open and revealed a set of dials. The four symbols from a deck of cards appeared randomly, and Dan quickly turned the dials to diamonds and hearts. The door clicked open.

"Here we go," said Amy, taking a deep breath as Dan pulled the heavy door forward just enough for them to sneak through. The air was cool and dank, as if they were walking on packed earth.It was dark down there and Dan couldn't feel a light switch on the wall.

He flicked on their one flashlight."Should we close the door behind us?" asked Amy."Better not. What if we get locked in? I don't want them discovering our bones in ten years." Dan's thoughts flashed back to the cave in Korea.

Cobwebs hung from a low-slung ceiling as they made their way down wide steps. When they reached the bottom, Amy lost it."Dan, I d-d-don't think I'm-I'm-I'm ..."

Dan grabbed his sister's hand and pointed the light into the tomb, shooting the beam into every dark corner. It was a big space, and it was filled with dusty old coffins. On the far wall, in the deepest corner of the tomb, sat one final door.

"This place is awful," said Amy. "People were gunned down in here, killed in cold blood."She instinctively leaned toward the door they had entered, but Dan wouldn't budge."Amy, we're right here.

What if it leads to something about Mom and Dad? Just hold my hand and close your eyes if you have to. I'll get us there. Trust me."Dan cracked a crooked smile, but his eyes were as nervous as Amy's."C'mon, Amy.

A history paper is scary, but this?"For once, Amy let her brother lead and followed his instructions without argument. She closed her eyes, shuffling past six coffins filled with brittle bones.

Dan kept the flashlight beam focused on the door until he'd managed to crisscross his way around a maze of the dead.

"Hold the light," said Dan. He didn't want to let go of her hand, but he needed to turn the knob on the door. Amy reached out her hand and felt for the flashlight, keeping her eyes sealed tight."Don't open your eyes yet," said Dan.

But Amy didn't listen. She peeked and saw that Dan had opened the lid to one of the coffins."Are you crazy! Close that thing right now!"

"Calm down. Nothing but bones in there." Dan set the coffin lid down and reached for the final door."You can turn that off now," said Dan. "We won't be needing a flashlight in here."Dan slowly stepped inside and found himself surrounded by soft golden light. He closed the door behind him and Amy clicked off the flashlight.

It was impossible to say where the light inside the room came from, but it seemed as if its source was everywhere, like a thousand candles were hidden in the walls."The Amber Room," Amy marveled. "We made it, Dan. We're in!"

The ceiling had opened up above them and rose twenty feet in the air. Every part of the room was the deep color of burnt honey shot through with dazzling light."Where's the light coming from?" asked Dan. "I can't figure it out."Amy had moved to one of the walls, touching its intricate designs.