The Valhalla Prophecy by Andy McDermott, excerpt

8/11/2019 The Valhalla Prophecy by Andy McDermott, excerpt

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By Andy McDermott

Featuring Nina Wilde and Eddie ChaseThe Hunt for AtlantisThe Tomb of Hercules

The Secret of ExcaliburThe Covenant of Genesis

The Pyramid of DoomThe Sacred Vault

Empire of Gold Return to Atlantis

The Valhalla Prophecy

Stand-alone NovelThe Shadow Protocol

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THE

ValhallaProphecy A N OV E L

A n d y M c D e r m o t t

DELLNEW YORK


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Sale of this book without a front cover may be unauthorized. If this

book is coverless, it may have been reported to the publisher asunsold or destroyed and neither the author nor the publisher mayhave received payment for it.

The Valhalla Prophecy is a work of ction. Names, characters, places,and incidents either are the product of the authors imagination orare used ctitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living ordead, events, and locales is entirely coincidental.

A Dell Mass Market Original

Copyright 2014 by Andy McDermottExcerpt from Kingdom of Darkness 2015 by Andy McDermott

All rights reserved.

Published in the United States by Dell, an imprint of Random House,a division of Random House LLC, a Penguin Random House Com-pany, New York.

Dell and the House colophon are registered trademarks of Ran-dom House LLC.

Originally published in the United Kingdom by Headline PublishingGroup, a Hachette UK Company.

This book contains an excerpt from Kingdom of Darkness. This ex-cerpt has been set for this edition only and may not reect the nal

content of the forthcoming edition.

ISBN 978- 0-345- 53704- 1eBook ISBN 978- 0-345- 53705- 8

Cover design: Marc CohenCover icon: Chris Titze

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For Kat


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P R O L O G U E

Novaya Zemlya,

Northern Russia

October 30, 1961

The temperature was below freezing, but Dr. Seram

Volkov was sweating.Part of the reason was purely physical. The pit fromwhich he had just emerged was deep, and even thoughhe had not descended all the way to the bottom, leavingthe most dangerous part of his mission to his youngerconspirator, he had still felt compelled to observe. Anymistakes could have deadly consequences.

But Surnin had secured the sample without incident,and was now making his way back up the series of lad-ders to the surface. Volkov waited for him, unpleasantlyclammy inside his thick clothing even in the chill wind.

Not so much from the climb, but from fear.Merely by being here, he was violating the orders of

the most powerful man in the Soviet Union: NikitaKhrushchev himself. That alone would have led to lifein the gulag, but if anyone discovered the reason for hisunauthorized visit, it would mean a guaranteed deathsentence.

Echoing clanks reached him from below as Surnin as-


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2 A N D Y M C D E R M O T T

cended the last ladder. Volkov tugged at the top fastenerof his coat to let in a little cold air around his neck, thensurveyed his surroundings. The sky was a solid drearygray over the barren, snow- covered plain. A few hun-dred meters to the west stood the charred remains ofseveral buildings: Volkovs workplace for the past sev-eral years, now nothing but re- blackened hulks. Thethought made him scowl. The facility had been destroyedon Khrushchevs orders along with everything inside.All of Volkovs research, his experiments, his discover-ies . . . reduced to ash.

All that the government knew about, at least. His se-cret experiment could still bear fruit.

If he escaped the Soviet Union alive.He was sure that he could. The fact that he had made

it back to the pit undetected proved that the exclusionzone around the islands of Novaya Zemlya, high abovethe Arctic Circle in the Barents Sea, was not impregna-ble. Volkovs pilot was a Samoyad, a former native whohad been forcibly resettled when the long archipelagowas designated a nuclear test site. He was waiting with

his small shing boat in an inlet a few kilometers to thenorthwest; the wily old man was the scientists besthope for returning safely to the mainland with his pre-cious cargo.

After that, he was entirely in the hands of the CIA.But so far, they had done everything they promised. Hiswife, now seven months pregnant, was already in WestBerlin; once he joined her, they were only a jet ightaway from a new life in the United States.

And his work could continue. He would have a newpaymaster; a far, far more generous one. But the money,while certainly welcome, was not why he was transfer-ring his loyalties. It was the promise of what he would beable to achieve in America, freed of limits. The worldwould change forever . . . and it would be to his design.

He glanced into the pit. Surnin was nearing the top ofthe ladder, the thick steel cylinder of the sample con-tainer slung from his shoulder. Volkov backed away togive him room to climb out. The sled dogs waited pa-


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T H E V A L H A L L A P R O P H E C Y 3

tiently nearby, their leather reins looped around a rockstanding out of the ground like a gravestone.

The rock was the reason he was here the reasonanyone had taken an interest in this desolate patch ofland. The entire archipelago had been photographedfrom the air as part of the preparations for nuclear test-ing, so the effects of the detonations on the landscapecould be seen. Someone with sharp eyes had spottedboth the unusual standing stone and the black hole inthe ground nearby, and a survey team was sent to inves-tigate.

What they found was almost beyond imagination.Seven years of work had followed; seven years of

Volkovs life poured into his research. At rst he hadbeen following orders. Stalin might have been dead, but

his legacy lived on: The Soviet Union needed weapons,so powerful and terrible that no enemy dared attack forfear of utter obliteration in reprisal. Atomic and hydro-gen bombs were the most destructive, but there wereothers, in their own way even more frightening. Volkovstask had been to turn what lay at the bottom of the pit

into one of these nightmares.He had succeeded. But in the process, hed realizedthat his research had the potential to produce some-thing more fearsome than death itself. Quite the oppo-site, in fact. Whoever controlled it would have a powerpreviously only in the hands of God.

Or gods, he mused, walking to the stone. He couldntread the ancient runes carved into its face, but he didntneed to; they had been translated from Old Norse yearsbefore, and he now knew them by heart.

You great warriors, who have traveled far fromValhalla

Across the rainbow bridge and through the lake oflightning . . .

A crooked smile. The Vikings whod visited this landmore than a thousand years earlier were barbarians,unable to comprehend what they found in the pit. So


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they had tted it into their primitive mythology or,more accurately, had shaped their mythology around it.

It was almost a shame that no archaeologists wouldever be allowed to visit the site; gods and monstersawaited them below.

Monsters. Another scowl. That one word had endedeverything.

A curse under his breath at the thought of Eisenhov.He knew the younger scientist had no proof of hissecret experiments if that were the case, Eisenhov wouldsurely have reported it, and arrest and execution wouldhave followed but had probably suspected after Volkovhad subtly, but still foolishly, tried to sound him out asa potential ally. Eisenhovs reaction had made it veryclear that he was opposed to appalled by the mereidea of Volkovs covert work. So he had continued alone,making discoveries he dared tell no one about whilegetting ever closer to his goal . . .

Then came the accident. The deaths. The monsters. An entire town wiped from the map as if it had neverexisted. After that, Eisenhov had poisoned Khrushchevagainst the whole project, emotion and spurious moral-ity being placed above scientic discovery and reason.Everyone at the Novaya Zemlya facility was taken backto the mainland. And the buildings and their contentswere burned.

All that remained of Volkovs work was his nal,greatest experiment, and the knowledge in his head.The Soviet Union had turned its back upon him butAmerica was more than keen to continue his research.And the contents of the steel cylinder would allow himto do that.

Breathing heavily, Surnin reached the top of the lad-der. Volkov strode to him. Turn around, the scientistordered. I need to check the sample container.

I didnt hit it on anything, Comrade Doctor, Surninobjected, but he still meekly turned to present the cylin-der. Obedience was one reason why Volkov trusted thebig man to help him, along with his staggering lack of


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initiative. He would do what he was told by a superiorand not even think to question.

The scientist examined the container, paying particu-lar attention to the seal around its lid. There was nosign of any leakage. All right. Load it onto the sled.Carefully.

Yes, Comrade Doctor. Surnin tramped through thesnow to the runestone, petting one of the dogs beforehesitantly lowering the cylinder into a padded metalcase.

Volkov watched closely, nally satised that it wassecure. Lets get back to the boat. He was about toboard the sled when he noticed that Surnin was staringat the dogs. What is it?

They hear something. The animals had pricked up

their ears, looking to the southwest.Volkov strained to listen. All he could hear at rst

was the wind, but then he picked up a faint, distantrumble. Its a plane, he said dismissively. One ofour bombers. The buzzing drone of eight mighty pro-pellers was a familiar sound on the military- controlled

islands. Dont worry, its a long way off. It wont see usthrough these clouds. Now lets go. He took his seatand gestured impatiently for Surnin to do the same.

The other man unlooped the reins from the runestoneand climbed aboard. At a tug on the leather straps, thedogs set off across the snowy ground, towing Volkovand his prize behind them.

The scientists assessment of the sound had been cor-rect. Its source was indeed a bomber, a Tupolev Tu- 95ying high above the clouds as it approached NovayaZemlya from its base on the Kola Peninsula six hundredmiles to the southwest.

But it was no ordinary aircraft.Designated Tu- 95V, it was a one- of-a-kind variant,

modied for a very special purpose. Its unique cargowas so huge that the bomb bay doors had been removedto accommodate it. Even stripped of all unnecessary


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him, and then his own journey to the West to join hiswife would begin.

The possibility that he might never make it had ofcourse occurred to him. To that end, he had written aletter to Galina, with the express instructions that itonly be opened if the CIA conrmed his death. Therewere secrets he had kept even from her. He hoped shewould understand why he had done what he had . . . buteven if she did not, the die was already cast. She wouldlearn what he had done. The letter was his explanation,his justication.

His excuse, some part of his conscience sneered, buthe forced the thought away. He had done what was nec-essary for his work.

He noticed that Surnin was again staring to the

southwest no, more to the west now. That meant thebomber was coming in from the ocean.

A bombing run? He dismissed the idea. The nucleartests had been a recurring interruption of his work atthe facility, all personnel evacuated the day before onetook place and not permitted to return until at least a

week after, once the local radiation levels had been de-clared safe. The senior staff were informed of upcomingtests well in advance; if one was planned, he would haveknown.

Volkov leaned to look over Surnins shoulder. Theclouds ahead continued far out to sea, an impenetra-ble gray shield that would hide the shing boat fromwatchers above. The aircraft was nothing to worryabout.

A voice crackled in the pilots earphones. One minuteto drop. Conrm readiness.

I conrm readiness, Major Andrei Durnovtsev re-plied, the calm professionalism of his voice masking hisnervousness. All of the Tu- 95s crew, and that of theTu-16 jet acting as an observation aircraft off to star-board, were volunteers and it had been made veryclear that there was a chance they might not make it


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home. In theory, at the Tupolevs maximum speed itwould reach the minimum safe distance with a smallmargin to spare . . . but theory and practice were twodifferent things.

Message received, came the reply. Fifty seconds todrop. Wind speed and direction on your escape vectorremain constant. A pause, then: Good luck.

Durnovtsev did not reply, instead checking his instru-ments, preparing himself. The actual release of the bombwas controlled from the ground; his job was to y thebomber on an exact heading, taking the prevailingwinds into account so the Tsar Bomba would parachutedown as close to its target as possible. Even though itcould destroy an entire city the size of New York, forwhatever reason his masters at the Kremlin wanted their

superweapon to hit the right spot. A demonstration tothe West of precision as well as power, he supposed.

All musings vanished at another radio message.Thirty seconds to drop. Prepare for device release.

Conrm thirty seconds to release, Durnovtsev re-plied before switching to the aircrafts internal inter-

com. Thirty seconds! All crew, secure stations andconrm readiness!One by one his men reported ready, all systems green.

Fifteen seconds, said the ground controller. Durnov-tsevs stomach knotted, but he held his hands rmly onthe controls, ready to act. One last check of the instru-ments. Everything was as it should be.

Ten seconds! A glance at the compass. The Tu- 95was now heading almost due east, curving in toward itstarget; to survive, he had to turn the lumbering bomberto the southwest as quickly and sharply as possible.Drop in ve seconds! Four! Three! Two! One drop !

The release mechanisms opened and the Tupolevshot upward as twenty- seven tons of death fell from itsgaping bomb bay.

A massive parachute snapped open in the slipstreamthe moment the bomb was clear of the fuselage. Baro-metric sensors would trigger the detonators at an alti-tude of thirteen thousand feet above sea level. But even


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with the huge chute slowing it, the Tsar Bomba wasstill plunging earthward at a frightening speed, givingthe bomber and its chase plane less than three minutesto reach safety.

If they could.Durnovtsev had already slammed the ight controls

hard over, throwing the Tu- 95 into a sharp banking turn.The smaller Tu- 16 held its course for a few more seconds,its cameras and observers tracking the bomb to makesure the parachute had deployed, before it too swungsouthwest. Its pilot immediately switched to full power,the jet rapidly outpacing the wallowing turboprop.

The payload has been dropped and the parachutesuccessfully deployed, said the voice in Durnovtsevsheadphones, relaying the news from the second aircraft.

Estimated detonation in two minutes and forty sec-onds. Go to maximum speed and initiate blast proce-dure. Then, barely audible: God be with you.

As a loyal communist Durnovtsev was not a believer,but he certainly appreciated the sentiment. The Tupolevcame about to its escape heading; he leveled out, one

hand pushing on the throttle levers to the detent. TheTu-16 was already shrinking into the distance.The airspeed indicator showed that the Tu- 95 was

now traveling at just over 510 knots, its four mighty en-gines straining. Begin blast procedure! he ordered.Across the cockpit, his copilot pulled a pair of thick, al-most opaque dark goggles down over his eyes. Durnov-tsev waited until the insectile lenses were secure beforedonning his own. Day turned to night, the instrumentsbarely visible through the tinted glass.

But he knew that the sky would become much brightervery soon.

Volkov stared up at the clouds again. Even over thesound of the dogs, he could now hear the bomber. Therumbling drone was subtly different, though. A Dop-pler shift; the aircraft was moving away from him.

He shook off a vague sense of unease. Whatever the


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1 0 A N D Y M C D E R M O T T

plane was doing, it could have nothing to do with him orthe reason he was here. He touched the steel cylinderscase, making sure it was secured in place. It was. Reas-sured, he looked back as the sled crested a rise. Theblackened remains of the facility stood out against thesnow, the entrance to the pit an ominous yawning mouth.The runestone was a single broken tooth at its edge.

There was no sentiment as Volkov regarded his for-mer workplace for the last time. What mattered aboveall else was the work itself; what he had discovered, andwhere it could lead.

He turned his back on the scene, a small smile rising.With the sample in his possession and a new life await-ing in the United States, that work would continue.

Thirty seconds to detonation! Durnovtsev barkedinto the intercom. All crew, brace for blast!

He pulled his seat belt straps as tight as they would gobefore clenching his hands back around the controls.The compass was an indiscernible shadow through the

goggles, but holding the Tupolev on course was aboutto be the least of his concerns.The ground controller continued the countdown.

Twenty seconds. Ten. A last look around at the othercrew in the cockpit. Dark shapes regarded him withimpenetrable black eyes. One of the men in the seatsbehind him was holding a small cine camera, its lenspointed over Durnovtsevs shoulder at the front win-dows. The pilot gave him a brief nod, trying to dismissthe thought that it might be the last time anyone eversaw his face, then looked ahead once more.

Five seconds. Four. ThreeEven through the heavily tinted goggles, the sky sud-

denly became as bright as the sun.

Volkov checked his watch: eleven thirty- two. The dogswere making better time on the return trip to the boat,perhaps as eager as he was to get off the bleak island


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T H E V A L H A L L A P R O P H E C Y 1 1

The leaden gray clouds turned pure white.A ash lit the landscape from high above, its reec-

tion from the snow blinding. Steam rose around thesled, the bitter cold dispelled by a searing heat . . .Volkovs last thought was one of horried

realization the bomber had been on a mission beforehe and everything for miles around vanished in an un-imaginable re.

The Tsar Bomba detonated two and a half miles abovethe ground. Durnovtsev had done his job with greatskill; even with the inherent inaccuracy of a parachute-dropped weapon, it was within half a mile of its target.

But a fty- megaton hydrogen bomb did not need tobe precise.

The nuclear reball, more than two miles across, wasas hot as the suns core. It never reached the ground,its own rapidly expanding shock wave bouncing backup off the surface to deect it. But its ash alone, racingoutward at the speed of light, was enough to melt rockand vaporize anything lesser in a fraction of a second.Behind it came the blast, a wall of superheated air com-pressed so hard that it was practically solid. What littlesurvived the ash was obliterated moments later.

The Tu- 95 was almost thirty miles from Ground Zerowhen the bomb exploded. Even inside the plane, itscrew felt a sudden heat as high- energy radiation, X- raysand gamma rays, passed through the aircraft and theirbodies. Sparks ashed around the cabin, the nuclearbursts electromagnetic pulse surging through thebombers wiring. Durnovtsev heard an unearthly squealin his headphones as their little loudspeaker convertedthe electrical overload into sound.

The brightness outside faded, but Durnovtsev knewthe danger was far from over. The shock wave was onits way. Even with the Tupolev going at out, it wouldcatch up in seconds. He braced himself, hands on thecontrols ready to react . . .


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It was as if the bomber had been rammed from be-hind by a speeding train.

For a moment Durnovtsev was stunned by the forceof the impact, his restraints cutting tightly into his chestand crushing the breath from him. He struggled back tofull awareness, gasping inside his oxygen mask as hepulled up the goggles. The sky was an angry orange, thereball illuminating it like a miniature star. A colossalbooming roar lled his ears: the sound of the atmo-sphere itself burning.

The articial horizon was tumbling, the altimeterneedle spinning rapidly down. A sickening feeling in hisstomach told him he was in free fall. The Tupolev wasdropping out of the sky, swatted like a wasp. It had al-ready fallen a kilometer, and was still plunging . . .

The cloud layer below had been evaporated by theshock wave. The cold sea glinted through the windowsthe Tu- 95 was nose down. Durnovtsev pulled back hardon the controls to level out. The engines were still at fullpower; he eased them off to reduce the stress on thewings. The horizon slowly dropped back down through

his view.Nausea faded, the pressure on his chest easing. Iseveryone all right? he shouted over the crackling rum-ble. To his relief, all his crew replied in the positive.Next came a systems check. There had been some dam-age, but the aircraft was still in the sky with all fourengines running. As far as Durnovtsev was concerned,that was a successful outcome.

He tried the radio. As hed expected, nothing camethrough but a strange static screech. The explosion hadionized the atmosphere, making transmissions all butimpossible. He had no idea how long it would take theeffect to fade all he could do was follow his ordersand return to base.

The navigator provided him with the correct head-ing, but as he made the course change, Durnovtsev wasstruck by a compulsion to see what he had wrought. Heturned the bomber farther so he could look back towardNovaya Zemlya through the cockpits side windows.


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What he saw chilled his blood. The Tu- 95 had climbedback to its original altitude, over six miles above sealevel . . . but the mushroom cloud had already risen farhigher, demonic re still burning within as it roiled sky-ward. A ring of smoke and ash was expanding aroundits base.

Nothing on the ground could possibly have survived.Durnovtsev stared at the fearsome sight for one last

moment, then turned his plane for home.

The landscape around Ground Zero was now unrecog-nizable from what it had been just minutes before. Snowhad ashed to steam, the frozen soil beneath turned in-stantly to cinders before being blown away by the im-

mense force of the blast. The very rocks had melted intoa glaze covering the bowl of the newly formed crater.

Nothing remained of the facility. It had been atom-ized, along with the two men. Even the runestone,which had withstood the harsh climate for more than athousand years, was gone.

As was the pit.The blast had sealed it forever, countless tons of mol-ten and shattered rock lling it in. The dark secrets itcontained would now remain hidden for eternity.

The runestone, and the words inscribed upon it, wereno more. But they had been recorded, translated, andanalyzed. The men who had ordered Durnovtsevs mis-sion knew what the stone had said.

And knew the danger it still represented. A dangerthey could not allow to be released.

The guide- stone has brought you hereTo ght the nal battle of RagnarkOne pit of the serpent lies before youThe other awaits across the Western sea . . .


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1

New York Cit y

Fif ty- Three Years Later

N ina, Eddie! cried Lola Adams ne Gianettiacross the coffee shop. Long time no see!Nina Wilde hopped to her feet to greet her friend.

Lola had, until a few months earlier, been Ninas per-

sonal assistant at the International Heritage Agency.The reason for her departure was peering curiously atthe world around him from a papoose on the chest ofLolas husband. Lola, Don, hi! Wow, its so great to seeyou both again! And to meet this little guy in person forthe rst time. Oh, hes beautiful!

Ninas own husband also stood. Yeah, thats not abad- looking sprog youve got, said Eddie Chase witha grin. Shame about the name, though.

Lola pouted. Whats wrong with Gino? It was mygrandpas name.

Theres nothing wrong with it, its just not as goodas my suggestion. Now, Eddie thats a name for ababy. He frowned. Wait, that didnt come out like Imeant it to.

Nina laughed. Accurate, though. The balding En-glishman pulled a face, to which Gino responded with agurgling laugh of his own. Aw, look at that! Hes sosweet.


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He is, said Lola, embracing the pair, when hesnot occupying every moment of my time. And I thought

you were demanding, Nina!Now it was Ninas turn to look affronted, while Eddiechuckled. Come on, sit down, he said, pulling a chairout for the young mother. So being a parents a bitstressful, is it?

You have no idea, man, said Don as he unfastenedthe papoose. I thought being a reghter was tough,but pulling people out of burning buildings is a cake-walk compared with watching out for a baby.

Dons worse than I am, Lola said as she sat.Theres danger everywhere, isnt there, hon? To him,every room looks like a death trap out of a Final Desti-nation movie. It drives me nuts, cause now I cant evenplug in my hair dryer without unlocking the gadgetshes put on all the outlets.

Safetys a serious business, babe, Don replied, in away that suggested it was far from the rst time he hadbeen teased.

The big- haired blonde took Gino from the papoose,settling the baby on her lap. Anyway, were just aboutgetting a handle on things, so we can nally catch upwith everybody. What have I missed? What have youguys been up to? Have you found any more ancientwonders or saved the world again?

What, since the last time? asked Eddie with amocking snort. Come on, its only been a few months.Give us a chance.

Im enjoying the fact that we havent been runningaround the world being chased and shot at and havingeverything blow up around us, Nina said, with consid-erable relief. It means I get to do the things I joined theIHA for in the rst place. Like being an actual archae-ologist, you know? Overseeing digs, research, writingpapers . . .

Eddie yawned theatrically. Yeah, its thrilling.Oh, shut up, said the redhead. But its amazing

how much more productive you can be when you arent


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being attacked by helicopter gunships and hunted byassassins.

And ninjas. Dont forget the ninjas.Dons eyebrows rose. Babe? You are so not going

back to the IHA.Lola kissed Ginos head. This little guys going to be

my boss for the next few years, dont worry. She lookedback at Nina. If things are nice and easy at work, isthat giving you more time to plan things at home?

What things? Nina asked.You know. Lola held up Gino, who let out a little

squeak of delight, and kissed him again. Family mat-ters.

Yeah, added Don. Youve been married for, what,two or three years now? Im surprised you dont have

kids already.Nina found herself feeling surprisingly defensive.

My work hasnt been exactly conducive to it, what withall the . . . ninjas and world saving.

The burly reghter nodded. But now everythingsquieted down, youre thinking about it, yeah? I mean,

you dont want to leave it too late.Eddie huffed. Were not that old. He put on acrotchety old mans voice. Im hip to all the populartunes of todays young people, you know. Lola laughed.

Youre past forty, though, right? Me, Ive just gonethirty and Lolas coming up on it, and we were worriedthat might be pushing it

Donnyyyyy, said Lola, singsong, through her teeth.Her husband got the message and clammed up. So,whats new at the IHA? Hows my replacement workingout?

Melinda? Nina said. Shes ne, shes doing a goodjob. Seeing Lolas face fall ever so slightly, she contin-ued, Nearly as good as you. The younger womanbrightened. Okay, what else? Al Little got a job withApple in California, Lucy DeMille got engaged, BillSchoeld got promoted oh, and we got a new UN liai-son after Sebastian Penrose, uh, retired. The UnitedNations ofcials departure had been under a cloud, to


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say the least, but to avoid a media scandal the detailswere covered up. Nina had been dismayed at that, butthe decision was made at far higher political levels thanshe had inuence over. A guy called Oswald Seretse.

Lola searched her memory, then nodded. Oh hisdads a diplomat too, isnt he? I met them at the UNonce, before I transferred to the IHA.

Yeah, I think so. Anyway, thats all the big stuff.You should come round to the ofce sometime,

Eddie suggested. Theres a lot of people whod love tosee you and your nipper.

Maybe I will, said Lola. She looked down at herson. Would you like to see where Mommy worked be-fore she had you? Would you, little snooky- wooky?Gino did not appear enthused by the prospect.

Just make sure there arent any frickin ninjas therethat day, Don said.

There wont be, Eddie assured him. I shot em all.The reghters expression wavered between amuse-ment and a suspicion that the Englishman was not jok-ing.

Everyone would love to see you. And Gino, saidNina.Lola smiled. Then well come.Good! In the meantime, I think its time for some

caffeine. What do you want?Lola and Don named their choices, then Nina turned

to Eddie, only to nd him looking at Gino, lost inthought. Eddie?

He snapped back. Hmm?You okay?Yeah, yeah. Just thinking about something, thats

all. What?Coffee?Ill get em. Whats everyone having?Nina stood. Its okay, Ill go. You want your usual?Yeah, thanks.She headed for the counter, looking back to nd him

again seeming preoccupied before returning to the con-versation.


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The same look was on his face that evening.Nina was curled up in an armchair reading a book,

ignoring the television. She raised her eyes to see herhusband, stretched out on the sofa, paying just as littleattention to the events on screen. Earth to Eddie.

He blinked and lifted his head. What?You were miles away. Penny for your thoughts?Sounds like a good deal, he said. If Id had a penny

every time Id had a thought, Id probably have about . . .oh, three pounds seventeen by now.

That much? They both smiled. So whats on yourmind? You had that same look this afternoon when wewere with Lola and Don.

Eddie hesitated before replying. I was thinkingabout . . . well, what Don said. About having kids. Hesat up. Im wondering if he had a point. Do we want tohave kids, and if we do, are we leaving it too late?

Weve still got plenty of time to decide, she assuredhim. Like you told him, were not that old.

He didnt seem convinced. I dunno. Im past fortynow, youre coming up on thirty- ve . . . I mean, Christ,my mum and dad were only twenty- one when theyhad me.

Times change, though. People had kids when theywere younger back then. My parents were in their mid-twenties when I was born.

I suppose.Realizing that the matter was still bothering him, she

put down her book and joined him on the sofa. Hey,she said, putting her arms around him, do you want tohave kids?

Another pause. I dont know. I really dont, he said,closing a hand around hers. I mean, its not like wehavent talked about it before, and its one of thosethings you just sort of assumell happen after you getmarried. But . . . thereve been things that got in theway. Like mad cults and lost cities and psychos trying tostart World War Three.


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She grinned. Minor distractions, then.Yeah. Most people just worry about how its going

to affect their careers. We keep having the weight of thebloody world dumped on us.

Its not really something you want to make a childdeal with, is it? Probably a good thing we havent hadone after all.

Nina had meant the comment lightheartedly, but asudden downcast twinge to his expression which hehurriedly tried to hide warned her that Eddie hadtaken it more seriously. Hey, hey, she said apologeti-cally, I was joking. Im not ruling it out, not at all. Butour lives have been, well . . . complicated.

Yeah, I know. He intertwined his ngers with hersand squeezed her hand, then kissed her cheek. Al-

though . . .What?Well, things are a bit less complicated at the mo-

ment, arent they? All the IHAs operations are tickingalong without any trouble

Dont jinx it!

He laughed. Im right, though, arent I? The Atlantisdigs back up to speed after what happened last year;the Egyptians asked us to help with the tomb of Alexan-der the Great

If thats what it really is, Nina cut in. Even the topexperts in the eld were not entirely certain whether thenew excavations in Alexandria would bear fruit.

Whatever, weve still got our hand in. And the In-dian governments working with us on the Vault ofShiva, and even the Peruvians are letting the IHA getinvolved with whats happening at El Dorado.

Grudgingly, she said, with a ash of professionalannoyance.

The point is, theyve still asked for our help. Soweve got all these digs going on at once, and you knowwhat? Theyre all going smoothly.

You are so jinxing it!Eddie grinned. Theyre going smoothly, he insisted,

and you know why? Because you put people in charge


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of each of em who know what theyre doing. So thatmeans you dont have to micromanage everything any-more.

She treated him to a particularly sulky scowl. Whatdo you mean, anymore?

No, you never once looked over anyones shoulderand told them to dig six inches to the left, did you? hesaid, kissing her again. But the IHAs in a quiet patchat the moment. Weve been talking about taking a breakfor a while maybe nows the time. And theres thebook thing too.

Right, the book thing, Nina echoed. It was herturn to become thoughtful. I still dont know what Iwant to do about that.

Whats to think about? For fucks sake, love, theyre

offering you six gures to write about all the stuffyouve discovered! I know its not like we desperatelyneed the money or anything he waved a hand to en-compass their Upper East Side apartment but youvegot to admit itd be a hell of a bonus. Christ, if you wantIll write everything up for you. Although I cant type,

so Ill have to scribble it all down in biro.Just make sure you leave out all the things that aretop secret, she reminded him, amused. Oh, and thepart where you were wanted for murder by Interpol.

And the part where you got a faceful of crap whileyou were crawling through a sewer pipe.

She grimaced at the memory. Its all glamour beinga famous archaeologist, isnt it?

Eddie sniffed her cheek. You got most of it off. Thisbook, though it might be the perfect time to take a bitof a break and write it, while things are quiet at work.And we could also do some a lascivious smirk creptacross his square face other stuff.

Nina feigned innocence. What kind of stuff, Mr.Chase?

Oh, you know. Shagging like rabbits.She laughed, swatting his hand off hers. Theres that

subtle charm I fell in love with.Yeah, its irresistible, innit? Im serious, though, and


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not just about a nonstop fuck- fest. Nina giggled. Imean about the book, and having a break from work.We could take a really long holiday, somewhere wehavent been before and with absolutely nothing to dowith archaeology.

Now she feigned horror. Oh, lets not do anythingcrazy . . .

Grant invited us out to Hollywood, remember? Wecould do that as part of a West Coast tour, maybestart off in Seattle, then go down through San Franciscoto LA to watch him lming his next movie. Even thoughitll probably be as big a piece of crap as his last one.

I thought you liked action movies.I like good action movies. Nitrous 2 was absolute

bollocks, though.

I think you mean Ni- two- rous, Nina correctedwith a smile. Their movie- star friend Grant Thornsmost recent lm had gone by the rather awkward mon-iker of Ni2rous on its posters, providing a source ofendless amusement to the couple as well as late- nighttalk show hosts.

Yeah, when nobody even knows how to pronouncethe title, thats probably a bad start. It really was com-plete arse, though. That bit where he dived out of thecar that went over the cliff and red a grappling hook tograb hold of his mates car that was jumping the otherway? That was so fucking unrealistic they might as wellhave had him grow wings.

It wasnt any more unbelievable than his othermovies, and you liked those.

I used to like em. Maybe Im growing old.Her smile returned, wider. Maybe youre growing up.Eddie snorted. No danger of that, love. But Ive got

to admit, these days Im happy just to watch MattDamon moving purposefully for two hours. Still, actu-ally getting to see Grant lming should be fun. Some-thing to tell the grandkids.

That kinda presupposes kids, said Nina. I guessthis conversations come around full circle.

He shifted position to face her. So . . . whats your


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view on that? Youre . . . He paused, choosing hiswords. Youre not dead set against it, are you?

She also gave careful consideration to her reply. No,she said at last. No, Im not against it. Its just that,like I said, our lives have been complicated. But if thingsdid get more straightforward, then . . . Another mo-ment of thought. I wouldnt say no.

From the look of delight Eddie was trying hard tocontain, it was clear he was happy with her answer.Nor would I.

They kissed, then held each other tight. Its a bigdecision, though, Nina said at last.

Yeah, taking a sabbatical to get paid half a milliondollars and have loads of sex. Big decision.

Nina prodded him in the stomach, making him inch

and laugh. I dont mean like that. Its more about . . .well, what Don blurted out. She became more serious.We are getting on, in a purely biological sense. Therisks start to increase almost geometrically every yearonce a woman passes thirty, and the older the man is,the greater the likelihood of complications too.

What kind of complications?Just getting pregnant in the rst place becomesharder, for a start. Then there are things like an in-creased risk of pre- eclampsia, high blood pressure, ges-tational diabetes

I thought you were a doctor of archaeology, notpregnancy!

Ah, well, she admitted sheepishly, when Lola wasstill at work, I got worried about her and the babyshealth, so I did some reading about any potential prob-lems she might have. What? she went on, seeing hismocking expression. Shes the rst close friend Ivehad whos been pregnant. I wanted to be prepared ifanything happened to her!

He chuckled. See? This is that whole micromanage-ment thing again. Pretty sure the UN has a couple ofactual medical doctors on staff somewhere.

Oh, shut up, she said, jabbing him again. Thepoint is, it made me realize that the odds of anything


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going wrong with Lolas pregnancy were pretty lowbut the risks start rising once a woman gets to my age.

But they should still be pretty low, Eddie said. Imean, youre in good nick you exercise, youre not alard- arse, you dont eat junk, you dont even drink allthat much anymore. And Im still in exactly the sameshape I was in when I left the SAS.

Nina eyed his midsection skeptically. Uh- huh.He made a rude sound. Okay, so maybe Ive put on

a little weight in nine years. But Im not spending everyday running twenty miles with a full pack of gear any-more, so what do you expect? Anyway, were both indecent nick, so that should put us in a better positionthan most people our age right from the start.

Its not just about health, though. There are some

things that are still a danger even if both people are inperfect condition. I dont want to be morbid and de-pressing, but the chances of a miscarriage go up enor-mously after thirty. And then there are higher risks ofdelivery complications, birth defects

Birth defects? Eddie said sharply, straightening.

Yeah, Im afraid so. Autisms more common in kidswith older parents, as well as Down syndrome andother genetic disorders. She took in his oddly strickenexpression. Whats wrong? Sorry, I didnt mean tobring you down so much.

He shook his head. No, its okay.Is that something youre worried about? But there

was something deeper to his reaction, she realized.Something youve seen?

His reply took a moment in coming. Yeah.Where?On a job, he said, tone becoming brusquer. Cant

talk about it.After six years together, she was attuned enough to

her husband to pick up the nuances of those rare occa-sions when he discussed his professional past rst asa British special forces soldier, then a hired trouble-shooter. A job, not a mission? The difference wassmall, but crucial. The latter were covered by the laws


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of state security; any secrets from the second stage ofhis career, however, would be kept for more personalreasons.

Doesnt matter. Lets just say Ive seen that kind ofstuff. And that I dont really want to talk about it.

Nina decided not to push him. Okay, no problem.You and your secrets, though, she continued, deliber-ately teasing in the hope of changing the subject. Ithink I know you fairly well by now. And after every-thing weve been through together, I cant believe theresanything in your past that could shock me.

Eddie smiled. Nah, probably not.But she couldnt help noticing that he hesitated before

replying.

Documents

The Valhalla Prophecy by Andy McDermott, excerpt