Page 98 of The Eagle's Vault

Isaac stood so close to Declan, there was barely room to put me down. “Hurry up, Leigh! Open the vault.”

Declan intervened. “I’ll do it. Everyone else, get back. It’s safer in the corridor.”

Isaac shook his head. “I’m not leaving all the glory to you. I want to see what’s inside.”

Declan held his ground. “This isn’t about glory, Isaac. It’s about safety.”

Isaac’s stubbornness was ridiculous. His need to prove he was as clever or talented as anyone else in the room. How had I never seen it before? Except I had seen it. I’d just chosen to ignore it most of my life. Once we were out of the catacombs, he and I were having a serious discussion about the plans Declan found inside the Barton vault. “Declan’s right. But we need to pull Enzo back with us.”

“He gets what he deserves if something happens,” hissed Daniel.

“Leigh, please. Get around the corner,” Declan pleaded. “We don’t have time for this.”

Time was precious, and we couldn’t afford to argue. Scarlett couldn’t have been happy about us delaying for so long. I reached for Isaac, hoping my request would change his mind. “Come with me, Isaac.”

He didn’t budge. “No, I want to see what’s inside.”

“Then protect Enzo. Get a chair over him or something.” I helped Daniel into the corridor. Why did I care about the guy who’d kidnapped us and threatened to kill us? Because I was a good person? Or because I was still trying to keep everyone—even my kidnapper—happy.Get a grip, Leigh.Once we were around the corner, I called out, “We’re safe.”

“Last chance, Isaac,” Declan said.

“Just open it.”

“I’m inserting the key.” Declan sighed, followed by the sound of metal scraping against stone carrying around the corner. “Turning it now.”

Isaac gasped, a sound of pure awe and wonder.

Declan called, “Something’s happening…”

Chapter 38

Declan

Whenthekeyturnedinside the scorpion carving, the door shifted. Not enough to peer inside, but enough to force her open. I shoved the crowbar into the gap so Isaac and I could work together. After a good couple of minute’s effort, she budged again, and a rush of chilly air escaped, followed by a loud crash like a landslide.

“Shit,” Isaac coughed, as dust billowed into the room.

My own cough echoed his, wracking pain through my injured ribs, where Enzo had kneed me. We kept pushing on the crowbar, forcing the stubborn vault door. Stone scraped against stone, the vault cracking open by inches, then a foot.

Rubble and small rocks clattered down from the top of the door, narrowly missing Isaac and me as we darted back. We shielded our faces with our arms, struggling to remain steady under the onslaught.

“What is it? Did it open?” Brie’s voice buzzed in my earpiece and from somewhere in the room—she was still on speaker on the phone Leigh was carrying.

When I uncovered my head, Leigh was already in the room, moving to Enzo’s unconscious body.

She grimaced as she squinted through the dust, her mouth and nose covered with her arm. “They’re dusty and a bit scraped up, but don’t look injured.”

“Good,” came Rav’s reply, his tone softer but still filled with urgency. “Police have taken Pavel away. He was ranting about thieves in the catacombs, so I guarantee they’ll be down soon.”

“You need to hurry and get out,” Scarlett said, impatience clear in her tone.

Leigh assessed Enzo’s condition while Isaac continued to work on the door, coughing violently as he tried to clear his lungs.

“The carvings… they moved… when you turned the key,” Isaac rasped, his hand braced against the ancient door. “Did you see that?”

A wave of energy coursed through me. We were doing it—breaching a vault built by Leonardo da Vinci. It was a mad thrill and an unsettling nightmare at the same time.

“I’m thinking we should wait, come back with gear,” Leigh said, leaving Enzo’s side.

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