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They had to drag Suarez the last couple of steps and through the opening of the hidden entrance, where the altar re, bent over, with a single flashlight and only Suarez’s gun, they staggered out of the worship chaer Minotaur, even as the water rushed up the stairs after them

Three more steps took them out of the worship chaht them to the rocky shelf of the riverbank, where the waterfall roared and the white hellebore grew as it always had

Suarez died there only ently, too much blood lost from the wound in his side Drake sank to his knees beside the reed

"Thanks for not killing us," Drake whispered before he reached out and closed the deadagainst each other, exhausted and drained Then he sat back on his haunches and glanced around the vast cavern, waiting long seconds to see if any of the Protectors of the Hidden Word would spring from one of the tunnels and try to kill the of the cavern, he thought he could ht

"What do we do now?" Jada asked

"What your father would have wanted," Sully replied

Drake nodded, rising wearily to his feet He stared around at the blosso the moss and vines

"Exactly," he said "We rip it all down, and then we burn it We --stays a e, blow the tunnel under the Treasure Mound," Sully suggested

Drake shrugged "Why bother? Once we close it up, the entrance is hidden, and the govern"

"Perkins left two of his people on guard What do we say to thehed "Tell ’eot lucky"

Drake clapped him on the back, and the two of them smiled at Jada

"Better yet," Drake said, "tell ’em they’re fired"

24

Five days later, Luka Hzujak finally got his funeral The autuolden hue across the quiet beauty of the cerounds in New York City, an oasis of peace and quiet in the Bronx Jada said she had chosen it for that reason, and Drake could understand

In late October, there were as round as there were on the trees, and with every breeze they skittered across the broad lawns, catching on toels Aside froines that seeround music of New York City, the only sounds were the wind in the leaves and the voice of the ht She had wept as any grieving daughter would, but she held her chin high Her father had loved nothing better than unraveling the secrets of history Even if he hadn’t been atte to beat Henriksen to the discovery of the true history of Daedalus and his labyrinths, once Luka knew about them, he would have been unable to resist the temptation to learn more But his intentions had been pure

Drake knew that he and Sully usually could not claim such innocent ae of both cri to hurt anyone--kill anyone--to fulfill her desire for gold, and the idea of turning people into puppets for her personal amusement had inspired her It was easy for Drake to think of her and to know that he and Sully were different Like Luka, they loved history and the thrill of uncovering its secrets, but half the excitement came from the fact that those secrets were so often treasures They wanted the rewards that ca the way, and that was certainly part of their motivation

How different did that make the Drake ever since they had eed from Diyu, beaten and exhausted He and Jada had watched over Sully for a day and a half in a Beijing hotel suite, where they had checked in under false identities and prayed they wouldn’t be arrested Though he hadn’t been given enough doses to alter his mind permanently, the poison he’d been fed needed to work itself out of his systeht a lot about Tyr Henriksen In the end, he’d decided that although the gulf between his philosophy and Henriksen’s h for hiht Henriksen loved history and discovery, and he coveted the treasures of the past But though he ht not have been as deeply tainted as Olivia, he was still a black hat He hadn’t been willing to kill or ask others to kill for hiht die because of his actions He had intended to sell the white hellebore to the highest bidder, and Drake, Sully, and Jada had burned it, no inable wealth if they had done as Henriksen or Olivia would have

Drake would never be able to say that what he and Sully did wasn’t at least partly about the treasure--about the money But in his heart he knew that it had never been only about the money and it never would be That distinction would have to be enough

The estured to Jada She knehat he expected and started forward Her father’s casket rested on a riser beside the open grave, which had been covered by a green tarp Enorements created a kind of path for ust of wind tousled her hair, blowing enta strands across her face, but she did not bother to tuck theement, walked to her father’s casket, and threw the flower on top She paused, kissed the fingers of her right hand, and then pressed those fingers to the s breath and then let it out If she said goodbye to him, it was in her heart rather than aloud

Drake and Sully tugged flowers froe her away as the line of mourners formed behind them to take part in the same ritual farewell

Jada had cousins and a couple of aunts at the funeral, but Sully was her godfather, and she had wanted hih the service Now she stopped and waited for her other relatives, but she turned to Drake and took his hands

"Thank you"

Drake nodded "Nothing to thank ood ain Her lower lip trean, but then words failed her She glanced at the ground, watching the leaves that danced across the lawn at her feet

Sully put a hand on her shoulder, leaning forward to kiss her head "It’s okay We’re not going anywhere Go talk to your fa, she looked up at hi but filled with a ferocious love