Read Online Seven Wonders Journals by Peter Lerangis - Free Book Online

as if it had never been alive. Never been that enthusiastic, foolish man, leaping for joy at the news of some distant treasure, rubbing his hands as he crafted another misguided plan, smiling all the while.
    â€œFather!” Osman moaned, tears cascading down his cheeks.
    I tried to scream, to cry, but my body seemed like it was no longer mine, frozen by the sight of my father lying on the ground like a pile of old clothes.
    Artemisia, however, was a changed woman. Her wrinkled skin was no longer cracked, her shoulders no longer stooped. Through the fog I noticed that her hair had more black than gray in it now. Her voice was clearer, healthier.
    â€œThaaank youuu,” she said.
    She grinned widely, and her head tipped back as she began to rise off the tunnel floor.
    Osman looked up from Father’s side, face streaked with tears. His lips bunched together, his hands shook. “You’re not a queen!” he screamed, “You’re a killer! You’re a witch!” But Artemisia was oblivious to his cries. She floated there, blissfully ignoring us.
    This was our chance. I shook free of my trance, blinking back tears, and tucked the ball under my arm. “Let’s go!” I cried, starting toward the end of the tunnel.
    â€œI’m coming.” Osman knelt at Father’s side, trying to lift the body into his arms.
    Osman might have grown up that day, but he was still no match for the dead weight of a grown man. “Leave him, Osman! We have to go. Now!” I screamed.
    Sobbing, Osman let go and we began scrambling up the steep tunnel.
    I found the severed rope and gathered it in my hands,yanking as hard as I could. I shouted wordlessly up the tunnel, hoping desperately that Father’s team had enough loyalty to wait for him to return.
    I felt a tug on the rope and relief washed over me. We were going to make it. I could see pale light at the end of the tunnel. Daylight. I held on to the rope as Ali and Ahmet hauled me up.
    As I reached for Osman’s hand, I heard a rushing noise, like a waterfall. A billow of hot air hit us from below.
    â€œMINE!” Artemisia’s voice erupted from the tunnel. At the same moment, Osman’s hand jerked out of my grasp.
    â€œAliyah!” Osman screamed.
    Then he was gone, snatched backward into the dark. Loose soil and stones rattled after him, a small avalanche, blocking the mouth of the tunnel.
    And then . . . silence.
    The queen of the underworld was gone.
    Osman was gone.
    Father was gone.
    All I had left was the blue bauble from the legend.
    I stared at it as tears welled up and blinded me. “No,” I screamed, but my throat was too dry to make a sound.
    My eyes are closing, Diary. I need a few minutes of rest before I—
    Friday evening
    I’ M AWAKE AGAIN.
    I wish I were dreaming, Diary, but there’s more to tell.
    Hands reached down into the tunnel and pulled me up after a minute or two of climbing. I crawled onto solid ground. Gencer gasped and snatched the blue bauble out of my hands. The men cheered and crowded around him.
    I burst into tears.
    â€œWhat’s wrong with you?” Gencer asked. “Where’s Khalid and your brother? What happened?”
    â€œSh-she took them,” I sobbed. “Artemisia!”
    â€œArte-who?” Ahmet said.
    â€œYou were right here! We weren’t more than twenty meters away! You didn’t hear anything?” I screamed, falling to my hands and knees. Sobs racked my body.
    â€œAll we heard was you shouting Osman’s name.” Gencer shook his head.
    â€œShe took them both—Father and Osman,” I said.
    â€œWhat do you mean? Who is she? Are they alive?” Gencer said.
    I shook with anger. “The Queen of the Underworld. Artemisia. She’s down there—and she took my brother!” Suddenly a thought struck me. How could I have been sostupid! “Maybe it’s not too late! She said Osman had some sort of . . . mark . . .