The Seven Swords of Diya: An Indiana Jones Fan Fiction - Part 2

Chapter 342: Half Underwater Cave, Diya,1960

Half Underwater Cave

Diya

Kamchatka Wilderness

Soviet Union

1960

Emily rose out of the water, tossing her head, gasping for air, still gripping the swords in her hands. She was in an underground cave - the swords glowing, giving her just enough light to see the ancient artifacts at the bottom of the pool.

There was a rumbling as the earth shook. A wave slapped her across the face. She rose above it, spitting out the water. "Salt water? In a cave? Must be mineral deposits."

The ground trembled again. A wave slammed her, the salt burning her open wounds. She winced, trying to protect her sides.

Rising above the water, she gasped for air and swam for edge of a small sandbar.

Crawling onto gritty and icy land she gripped the swords, searching for a way to escape the underground chamber.

Her breath froze in the air. The cave's damp chill air frosted her clothes.

Nothing.

Nothing but darkness.

And the sense she was being hunted.

"CHIBA!" She yelled into the darkness.

"You called upon me, little wife? That time is passed."

Emily grinned like her father, as she balanced a sword of Diya on each of her shoulders. "Good. Because I don't need rescued."

"You seem in dire situation," Chiba mused. "Deep and lost underground... your clothing freezing slowly. Hypothermia will set in... and without your father to rescue you."

"See that's the problem, Chiba. Dad's gone. Dad meant a lot to me. I loved him like you'll never understand. And he loved me back. As father should to his daughter. He was a protector. And he taught me things. Wonderful things. Courage. Adventure. Fearlessness. Confidence. Authority. Self-defense. Adoration. We share a history. Not just a profession. And I love him. And love goes beyond death - or it wouldn't hurt so damned much to lose someone."

"I'm loosing my patience. Surrender!"

Emily was staring into the darkness. She was aware the swords made her a target. She suspected the room was much larger than she could measure - but Chiba was aware of the echoing trick and would not let her use it again. If she couldn't use the echoing trick to measure the room - she could bring the predator to her.

"When you hurt Dad.... When you threatened to hurt Lizavet.... When you sliced open half my body with your claws - you showed your true intent!" She walked the sandbar, swords at her sides, counting steps, measuring it, memorizing its shape and size, where the debris were.

"That covenant you spoke of?" Emily grimaced, searching the darkness, knowing Chiba was present and hunting her.

The sandbar was solid as she walked, her boots crunching slightly on the permafrost. She adjusted her gait, learning how to move to keep herself from sliding off her feet. She learned there was a large stone naturally formed column. It twisted up like an ancient tree, stretching into whatever was above and whatever was below.

"Chiba!" Emily ordered. "Those plans for me? Plans to prosper - not to harm - a hope and a future - they don't belong to you. You can't offer me life - if the core of your being is death!"

Chiba materialized before her.

Emily half screeched at the monster and swung her swords.

Chiba laughed, disappearing into darkness. "You didn't believe it would be that simple to escape me, did you little wife?"

She grinned. "I told you - I wasn't your little wife - I'm my father's little rival. That's what my name means. Latin for little rival."

There was a sudden noise. A small cry. It wailed up through the darkness, echoing through the cave.

Emily tilted her head. "Chiba-apkallu? Do you have a child here?"

"Yes, little wife. It's you, stuck in the tomb. And I'm going to rescue you..., because, well... your father can't. You'll love me when I rescue you from the brink of insanity. And you'll treasure that memory forever... it will be imprinted on your soul as a child - and as a woman - you heart will turn to me as your only salvation and rescuer."

"You sick bastard," Emily growled. "That's not love - that's a trauma bond. And, I'm gonna find her!"