Quinn Chapman and the Altar of Evil IV

Our long languid journey did not continue as we neared the hidden city. The tranquil peace of the river was shattered by a roaring explosion and cascade of rock and dust as the mountain side ahead of us collapsed. The sharp staccato crack of gunfire pierced the dulling thunder of falling rock. We both knew that it was the ferocious Germans, and that the slimy villain, Captain Braune, had caught up to us. 

Amala expertly steered the boat towards the stony riverbank, dodging newly added rocks and debris and riding the turbulent froth into the shore. We sprang out, taking cover behind a cluster of boulders under a hail of gunfire.

From our hiding spot, we could see the Germans creeping down the hillside above us, their guns blazing gouts of fire. I knew there was little I could do with the six shots in my revolver, but I attempted to slow their advance. ducked out of cover and fired two shots at where I believed one of the troopers to be. I was rewarded with a howl of pain and another lead fusillade.

"That will make them think twice," I said pushing back up into the cover of the rock.

"We know you travel with the lost Queen of the Shangshung!" The slithering voice of Captain Braune echoed from somewhere above us. "Surrender her to us and we will let you go, Chapman!"

I knew this to be something I could not do, for I had sworn to defend the beautiful Amala and to win her back her kingdom. "Like hell I will!"

I whipped up from our redoubt like a striking tiger and let fly in the direction of Braune's voice. My rounds peppered the rocks above and again struck some target or another with a screech of pain.

"Kill zem! Kill zem both!" Braune screamed from above.

German bullets tore through the air, spraying the rocks and raining shards of debris upon us. I grabbed Amala, pulling her away, but she resisted.

"We've gotta go," I said, wincing as a leaden bees buzzed past my ear.

Amala nodded and quickly pulled out a small glass vial from her satchel and threw it towards the Germans. As it hit the ground and shattered, a cloud of vaporous black smoke erupted, enveloping them in a thick fog of night.

Again, I was surprised by Amala and her resourcefulness. Was there nothing we could not accomplish together?

We took advantage of the confusion and cover, running to the boat I grabbed our packs and pushed the faithful craft into the surging flow. I hoped it would serve us one more time and trick the Germans into thinking we took to the river.

We dove into the forest of pine lining the river, on the other side of the avalanche, dodging towering conifers and leaping over rocks. I could hear the Germans' shouts behind us and the angry reports of their guns as they fired at our craft, but we had outsmarted them for now.

* * * * *

Back the river's edge, Captain Braune roared threats at his troops for their failure and bandaged the bloody tear that rent his face. The errant fire of Quinn Chapman had but missed killing him by a thread and left his right cheek torn and gaping. Captain Wolfgang Braune swore an oath to find the rustic American cur and to remove his head from his shoulders.

Thoughts of torturous vengeance were interrupted by one of the pale wraiths, which accompanied and guided Braune and his men to the Silver City, as they approached him with their arms held wide in supplication. He disliked these foul creatures almost as much as he detested the barbarous American. It was only a matter of convenience that he worked with them, and he fully intended to slaughter their entire coven upon finding the city and its treasures. 

"Oh mighty Lord of the Westernmen, you seek vengeance upon the one which they call Chapman? I, Mahakala, priest of the Gongpos, can gain you this vengeance."

Braune shuddered inwardly for the pale, worm-like countenance of the priests disturbed him. These people were not of the master race. "Speak, priest. Let me know my vengeance."

"You need not pursue these rabble, for we know they go to my city. There they shall find my coven and worse. We have but to catch up to them and see my priests sacrifice them, so that we may do battle with the demons which have overrun the lands."

"Yes, they will be trapped between us with no chance of escape" Braune clapped his hands, forgetting his agony.

A grim and oily smile crept across the face of the priest and like a ghost he slipped from sight. Little did Captain Braune know of the treachery and low cunning of the Gongpo high priest Mahakala, so ensconced in thoughts of vengeance was he. 

* * * * *

Exhaustion began to win the battle as our headlong flight slowed to a panting crawl. I deemed enough distance now lay between us and the larger, and slower, party of Captain Braune and ordered a halt. We both collapsed beneath the lee of a gray escarpment, taking deep calming breaths of the rapidly thinning air. 

I took in our surroundings and noted that we were indeed going uphill and had perhaps gained several hundred feet in elevation, for I could see the glittering course of the river far below us. 

Amala gazed in the opposite direction; her glimmering eyes were locked on the high peaks jutting into the horizon. "There lies my home. In the valley between those peaks."

I was moved by her wistful voice, by the wantonness of home, to take her hand in mine and give what silent comfort I could. Amala's lips parted in a smile of reassured hope, and I could do nothing else but pull her in close and meet them with my own.

For some time, we lost ourselves in love's embrace.

When the sun began its westerly descent, we parted and continued the march up the rocky crags. We scrambled and slid, clung and clawed our way until we no longer thought it possible to go anymore. Yet at each interval of despair one or the other of us drew forth upon fortitude that few can conjure. Our going was slow and arduous, but by the last fiery rays of the sun we came to the base of the high peaks that marked the entrance to the Silver City. 

The failing light illuminated the dun walls of the great valley as if a thousand fires were burning and flickering amongst the fallen rocks and stunted bushes. Shadows cast by the debris danced in the light and the wind whispered down from the heights giving voice to the spirits of the land.

A shiver coursed down my spine and despite the beauty of the hour I felt a dark foreboding about entering the lost world ahead. No longer was my lust for gold and jewels burning through me like a fever, it was but a glowing ember of a once towering inferno. 

If not for Amala, I would have turned away and fled.

Amala took my hand and squeezed. I nodded to her, and she pulled me onwards. Her instinct and teachings of generations guided her feet to the base of a stair cut directly into the rock of the cliffs. I craned my neck up and away, following the course of the sheer pathway into the sky.

"This is the way in?" I asked. "It looks more like a ladder than a stair."

"It is but one of man entrances, but perhaps the least used and most unexpected. It was once part of a pilgrimage path, now forgotten by all but the descendant of the Queen. The way is steep and treacherous for the uninitiated and perhaps the years have not been kind to it."

"The we wait for daylight and hope the Germans cannot find it."

If you forgot what the hell happened in the other chapters of The Altar of Evil, check them out Part 1, Part 2, Part 3. Stay tuned for the exciting conclusion of 

Quinn Chapman and the Altar of Evil