Kathlyn Trent, Marcus Burton 01 - Valley of the Shadow Read Online Free Page A

him.
    There was a cluster of large tents off to her right, dimly lit. She could only assume that Burton was in one of them, but she was wrong. She came across Dr. Davis, who was cordial enough to offer to help her find Burton. He was obviously busy and she graciously declined, not wanting to be a bother. Lynn gave her directions to where he thought Burton might be and she thanked him for his assistance.
    In the dark, she walked the half-mile distance to the Valley of the Kings. The mouth to the entrance of the valley was dark but for the silver shadows cast by the three quarter moon. It sliced across the hills like the brilliant blade of a knife.  Kathlyn walked the sloping path into the valley, surrounded by the sheer dark cliffs on either side. It was rather creepy and she came to a halt more than once, trying to make out shapes and shadows in the moonlight, but so far she had yet to see anything remotely human.  Wandering near an area she would later learn to be KV (for King's Valley) 25, she suddenly smelled the strong odor of cigar smoke.
    "Dr. Burton?" she called softly.
    She was met with silence. The cliffs were steep in the part of the valley, limiting the illumination from the moon glow. Phantoms were lurking in the shadows here. Taking as step forward, she again smelled the cigar smoke and a sense of uneasiness swept her. What if Burton wasn't back here at all? What if it was some cigar-smoking hooligan waiting for the opportunity to jump her?
    Kathlyn thought it better not to take the chance. Turning around, she hadn't taken two steps when a hulking figure emerged from the darkness and she caught a glimpse of flaring tobacco embers.
    "You're pretty brave to come back here by yourself," Burton said casually.
    She was annoyed that he had stood back and watched her wander around like an idiot, but she kept her cool. She didn’t want to anger the man more than he evidently already was.
    "No, it was stupid of me to come back here by myself, but I wanted to talk to you,” she said. “Dr. Davis said you were back here somewhere. I figured I had a fifty-fifty chance of either running into you or being mugged."
    A big waft of tobacco smoke blew her direction.  She couldn't see him fighting off a smile in the dark. "So what do you want?" he asked coolly.
    What did she want?  Scratching her head, she thought of a good answer. "I wanted to apologize for upsetting you, I suppose. I wanted to apologize for any illusions of sticking my nose into your dig.  I did not elect to come here; I was asked to. It was an arrangement between your university and mine and I had no say in it. Like you, I'm doing as I am told."
    "I know that."
    "I'm sure you do. But I wanted to clarify my position. I'm not here to overthrow you."
    "I know."
    "So why are you annoyed?"
    "Who says I'm annoyed?"
    He was a stubborn man; abrasive, too.  She shrugged her shoulders, her irritation growing. "It's obvious you're not happy with my presence. I assumed it was because...."
    "Don't assume anything. You don't know me."
    His hostility went overboard and she found herself on the defensive. "Whatever,” she snapped. “I just wanted to tell you that I'm here to do a job, and that's all. I'm not promising any results, though. I could just as easily walk away from here and you'd be just where you were when I arrived. I'm sorry if my presence upsets you, but I can't do anything about it and I'll do my best to be as little trouble as possible."
    She started to walk away.  Burton took a big puff on his cigar. "You didn't tell me. How do you intend to find my tomb?"
    She paused, watching him stroll toward her with a cigar hanging out of his mouth. "By looking at your data. And other things."
    "What other things?"
    She smiled thinly. "If I told you, then you wouldn't need me, would you?"
    "I don't need you anyway."
    Her smile vanished.  It was a cold thing to say and she couldn’t help her nasty retort because he deserved it.
    .  "Somebody thinks you do,”