Don't fall in."

As he rejoined West and the others, Wizard recited: "In the highest room of the highest tower, In the lowest part of the lowest cave, There you will find me.

"From Confucius," he said. "Third book of eternal maxims. I never really understood it till now."

Near their position, a redandblack castiron archway spanned the first steppingstone.

Carved into it was a message in ancient Chinese script: A journey of a thousand miles Begins with a single step.

So too this final challenge Begins, and ends, with a single step.

Wizard nodded. "Appropriate. 'Every journey begins with a single step' is a quote attributed to both Laoziand Confucius. Historians are unsure which of them came up with it. So here, where their two paths join to become one, there is just one quote."

"So what's the catch?" Scimitar asked.

West eyed the steppingstones, the tower, and the great cavern, the intent of it all becoming clear.

"It's a timeandspeed trap," he said softly.

"Oh, G.o.d, you're right," Wizard said.

Astro frowned. "A what? What's a timeandspeed trap?"

"A big one," Wizard said.

"That usually begins with a single step," West added. "Your first step sets off the trap.

Then you have to get in and out before the trap completes its sequence. You need accuracyand speed to get through it. I imagine that as soon as one of us steps on the first steppingstone, the sequence is set off." He turned to Wizard. "Max?"

Wizard thought for a moment. "'In the highest room of the highest tower in the lowest part of the lowest cave.' I imagine it's up there, in the highest room of that tower. I think we need your skill and speed from here, Jack."

"That's what I figured," West said wryly.

He removed his heavy garments, until all he wore was his Tshirt, cargo pants, boots, and the lower half of his gas mask, leaving his eyes clear. His metal left arm glinted in the dull light. He put his fireman's helmet back on his head and gripped a climbing rope in one hand. He also kept his gun belt with its twin holsters on.

"He's going alone?" Scimitar asked, surprised, and perhaps a little suspiciously.

"For this test, the most important thing is speed," Wizard said, "and in places like this, there's no man in the world faster than Jack. From here, he must go alone. He's the only one who can."

"Yeah, right," West said. "Stretch, if it looks like I'm in trouble, backup would be appreciated."

"You got it, Huntsman."

Then Jack turned to face the long line of steppingstones stretching out toward the colossal tower.

He took a deep breath.

Then he ran, out onto the first steppingstone.

THE RUN.

NO SOONER had his foot hit the first steppingstone than things began moving all around the immense cavern.

First, a line of stalact.i.tes in the ceiling of the cavern-each the size of a man-began dropping from their places, raining down on the steppingstones, inches behind the running figure of Jack West.

Jack bolted, arms and legs pumping, moving rapidly across the high stones, seven feet above the mercury lake asboom!boom!boom! the pointed missiles rained down behind him, some hitting the raised steppingstones, others splashing into the lake around him.

But he outran the rain of sharpened stones.

The flurry of stalact.i.tes was also highly distracting, designed to force an error from the intruder, but Jack kept concentrating as he ran, holding his nerve for the two hundred yard dash.

He hit the stairs at the base of the tower at a sprint, clambered up them two at a time, came to a high arched doorway...just as a miniwaterfall of ambercolored acid came splashing down across its threshold.

Jack dived under it, somersaulting into the tower a split second ahead of the skinsearing acid.

He turned to look behind him-and saw the long line of high stepping stones all slowly begin to lower into the lake!

"Oh that's just nasty..."

At their rate of descent, he reckoned he had about four minutes till they were completely submerged under the mercury lake, cutting off his only means of escape.

"Jack...!" Wizard called urgently.

"I see them!"

He looked upward and, by the light of his helmet flashlight, saw that the tower was completely hollow: a soaring cylindrical well shaft rising ominously into darkness above him, with ladderlike hand-and footholds cut into one side.

Breathing hard, he climbed the ladderholds, noticing some small mansized recesses along the way. Curiously, carved above each recess was the Chinese symbol for "sanctuary."

A groaning noise made him look up.

The distinctive grinding sound of rolling rock, then a faintwhistling...

Jack swung into the nearest recess just as-whoosh-a twoton boulder came plummeting down the hollow shaft, filling it completely from wall to wall, whipping by Jack in his tiny recess, missing his nose by inches.

Once it was past him, Jack resumed climbing, and on two more occasions he dived into other "sanctuary" recesses just before more boulders rained past him, preceded only by the telltale groaning.

"Why do these guys have to be so protective of their treasures..." he muttered.

But then, after a minute of climbing, he came to the top of the tower, to the point where it merged with the ceiling of the supercavern, and found himself entering a s.p.a.ce just above the cavern's roof.

He rose up into a beautiful square chamber, not unlike the entry chamber back near the surface.

Intricately carved reliefs lined the walls: carvings of the Mystery of the Circles and the symbol that represented the Machine, and against one wall, above a low darkened alcove: an image of the Philosopher's Stone.

There were other carvings, including one of four throned kings sitting shoulder to shoulder and flanked by five standing warriors, but Jack ignored them.

He crossed to the alcove and beheld within it a small stone altar on which stood one of the most beautiful, most exquisite, most magnificent artifacts he had ever seen in his life.

The Philosopher's Stone.

It wasn't very big, but the simple purity of its design commanded respect.

Its sides were perfectly lacquered in the ancient Chinese way-the shiny black flanks were of a deep, deep black and were lined with red. Flecks of gold peppered the red lining.

Made of two pieces, the Stone's body section was trapezoidal in shape, with a rectangular void cut into the top surface. Its second piece, the lid, was smaller, a perfectly smooth square block, and-Jack noticed-exactly the same size as the base of the Firestone.

Peering into the alcove, Jack saw that its roof was hollow, like a chimney above a fireplace, so with a quick lunge, he reached in and s.n.a.t.c.hed Laozi's Stone and dived out of the alcove- -a bare second before the alcove-but not the Stone's altar-was drenched in a waterfall of pouring sulfuric acid that drained away through a grate in its floor.

Jack hurried away from the alcove, stuffing the venerable Stone into his rucksack, and began his breakneck return journey.

Down the hollow core of the tower, ducking into its recesses as more boulders rained down-more now than before it was as if the trap system knew the Stone had been taken and was doing everything it could to stop the fleeing thief.

Jack clambered down the handholds in the wall, came to the bottom just as another boulder came shooting down the shaft.

He jumped into the main doorway, whose acid curtain had stopped by now, where he briefly glimpsed the lowering steppingstones leading back across the lake, when suddenly the boulder came whistling past, clipping his shoulder, causing him to lose his balance and to his horror, he fell, s.n.a.t.c.hing desperately for a handhold but finding none, and so Jack dropped, into the darkness of the well shaft at the base of the tower- ONLY FOR a hand to s.n.a.t.c.h his wrist and clamp tightly around it.

Hanging from the hand, West looked up to see Stretch's sweatstreaked face.

"Your backup has arrived, Captain West," Stretch said grimly. "Come on. One more sprint to go."

They emerged from the tower to see the steppingstones now only one foot above the surface of the mercury lake and lowering fast.

"Go!" Stretch yelled.

They raced out across the mercury lake, moving step for step, almost perfectly in time, springing from stone to stone, all while the stones kept lowering.

With ten yards to go, the stones. .h.i.t the waterline and Stretch called, "Keep going! Suck it in, Jack! Suck it in!"

Jack was almost out on his feet, exhausted, his heart pounding loudly inside his head, lactic bile rising in his throat, breathing through his half mask in deep rasping heaves.

Then his feet splashed in mercury and, with a terrible sense of helplessness, he felt himself begin to stumble and knew there was nothing he could do about it-he was going to fall facefirst into this mercury lake, three steps short of safety!

Staggering and breathless, he toppled forward-only to feel Stretch spring up alongside him, loop an arm under his armpit and drag him over the last three steps until they both went sprawling onto solid ground, sliding to a halt on their bellies right at Wizard's feet.

"Goodness gracious me!" Wizard blurted, helping Jack to his feet.

Sweating and gasping and held up only by Wizard and Stretch, Jack sucked in air by the gulpful.

When at last he could speak again, he uttered two glorious words: "Got it."

JACK AND HIS team would be out of China by the end of the day, having left the trap system via the lower route-thus avoiding Mao's men-and rendezvousing with theHalicarna.s.sus at the Burmese border.

Once they were safely back on board theHali, Wizard and Tank were sent straight to the infirmary to be treated by Stretch.

Sky Monster said to Jack: "Huntsman. I just got a call from Zoe. She said the mission at Stonehenge wasvery successful. Says she has a ton of data that Wizard will want to see."

"Excellent," Jack said, his clothes still covered in blood, grime, and splashes of mercury.

"Set a course for England and call Zoe back. Tell her to send through any images she thinks we need to see beforehand."

"a.s.sembly point?"

"Tell her we're coming to her, time and location to be advised. We're going to have to take the long route."

"Roger that."

"Astro, call your American bosses and get them to send the Killing Stone of the Maya to England. And if they know the location of any of the Pillars-which I'm pretty sure they do-tell them to bring those, too."

"Got it."

"Oh, and tell our CIA friend, Robertson, that we need him to pull some strings with America's old friends, the House of SaxeCoburgGotha, and get them to bring their Pillar."

"The House of Saxewhat?" Astro was confused.

"He'll understand."

"OK..." Astro said, heading for a comms console.

Jack turned to Vulture, sitting nearby. "I'm also gonna need the House of Saud's Pillar, Vulture."

Vulture stood. "I knew you had a reputation for daring, Captain, but this, this borders on rank impudence. You reallyare a bold one."

"Yeah, real bold." West headed aft in the direction of his quarters. "Now, if n.o.body minds, I'm going to boldly take a shower and then I'm going to boldly hit the sack. Wake me when we hit eastern Europe."

A few minutes later, Jack was all cleaned up and lying in his bunk, eyes open in the darkness, when something occurred to him.

He keyed the intercom b.u.t.ton above his bunk.

"Yes, Huntsman?"Sky Monster's voice said from the c.o.c.kpit.

"Have you spoken to Zoe yet?"

"Just finished talking to her a second ago."

"Can you call her back for me and tell her to pa.s.s on this message to Lily: 'Daddy says, I love you and I miss you. Good night.'"

"Sure, bro."

Jack clicked off the intercom and within seconds he was lost in a deep, deep sleep.

He dreamed of many things-memories mostly, some of them happy, others horrific-but most of all, he dreamed of Lily, of her bright smiling face and the home they'd made together in the remote northwest corner of Australia...

GREAT SANDY DESERT.

NORTHWESTERN AUSTRALIA.

MARCH 2006DECEMBER 2007 IN THE MONTHS after the Tartarus Rotation of March 2006, Jack West's team returned to their countries of origin-with the exception of Stretch, since his home nation, Israel, had declared himpersona non grata after his actions during that mission. He variously stayed with Jack, Wizard, and Pooh Bear.