It was a woman. Her hair was pulled up into the hat, but a single blonde strand had broken free and dangled by her ear. Sean’s eyes narrowed. I wonder where they found her, he thought. She had to be tough to be a part of this unit.
The woman fell into line close to Pike and lowered her head once more as if she was consciously trying to keep her identity a secret.
When the line was formed, the entire group covered a huge amount of space. From one end to the other, it was over a hundred feet wide. Each person had ten or so feet between them to stay close in case the ghosts returned.
“I assume you know which way to go,” Lilian said to Tommy.
He didn’t, but Sean had a suggestion. “Move along the creek bed,” he said. “We know the temple is in the basin.” He didn’t know that as a 100 percent certainty, but he was pretty sure.
“Very well,” she said and turned to Kirk, who signaled to his men.
The group started moving again, now more methodically than before. Each person was on full alert, watching for any sign that the painted tribesmen might return. Every set of eyes scanned the trees above and the earth beneath. They could be anywhere.
Five minutes crawled by as they pressed ahead. Eerie silence filled the jungle. Not even the sounds of animals outside the basin could be heard, as if they were inside a glass wall surrounding the entire ravine.
A gunshot from the left flank of the line startled everyone. Sean and Tommy were close to the center and immediately broke rank to look over and see what happened.
The female member of the security team was standing ahead of the rest, holding her pistol in two hands, pointing it at the ground. A thin stream of grayish smoke trickled out of the barrel.
Sean and the others rushed over to where she was standing.
Pablo was the first to speak as he looked down at what had caused the woman to fire.
“Hognose viper,” he said, staring at a brown snake with a bloody, mangled head. “It’s against Mexican law to kill one of those.” He looked at the blonde woman with irritation.
“It’s also extremely venomous,” the woman said.
“You know snakes of the Yucatan?”
“I make it my business to know any dangers I might encounter wherever I go.”
Sean detected a Scandinavian hint to her accent. Swedish if he guessed correctly. Maybe Norwegian or Danish. He couldn’t tell for certain.
“I think we can let this one go, Pabs,” Sean said. He looked up and made eye contact with the woman. “Wouldn’t want anyone accidentally stepping on one of those things if we come back through the area.”
“It’s an endangered species,” Pablo insisted.
“Look on the bright side. That one isn’t in any danger anymore. Come on. Let’s keep moving.”
“Hold on,” Tommy said.
Everyone turned their heads toward him. He was standing just out in front of the rest of the group, on the other side of the dead serpent. His eyes, however, were turned slightly to the right. They followed his gaze to a large boulder sticking out of the ground. On the side of the rock, almost invisible to the naked eye, was a figure carved into the stone.
Tommy took a cautious step toward the boulder, carefully watching for more snakes. He stopped at the base of the big rock and bent down. He touched the carving with his index finger and ran it along the outline. It was a bird.
“We’re close,” he said. “This is one of the constellations.”
“Constellations?” Lilian asked, confused.
“Yes,” Tommy said, suddenly frantic. “Look for two more rocks like this one. We’re searching for another bird and a harp.”
“Bird and a harp?” Lilian sounded skeptical.
“Yes. I know it sounds weird. Trust me. That’s what we’re looking for.”
Kirk got a nod from his boss and then issued the order to the men. “Be on the lookout for anything that looks like a bird or a harp,” he said, sounding foolish as the words escaped his lips. He shook his head and started moving ahead.
The rest of the group pushed forward, albeit with closer ranks than before. Perhaps they were afraid of stumbling across more snakes.
They trudged through the jungle, cutting their way through the overgrowth with machetes in one hand while still holding their rifles steady with the other. All manner of giant leaves, branches, and vines blocked their movement and made progress slow and methodical. Visibility into the forest was less than seventy feet at any given time.
The creek bent to the right and meandered off through the jungle. Sean traced the stream through the valley and noticed something jutting out of the bank next to it.
“Over there,” he said to Tommy. “Another boulder. Could be a marker.”
Sean picked up his pace, slashing his way back over to the creek where the second boulder stood out from the dirt.
The rest of the group followed him and gathered around the big stone. Sean pointed at the side. “There it is,” he said. “Harp.”
“Now we just have to find the last marker,” Tommy said. He looked down at the diary again and then remembered the map of the Summer Triangle. He turned toward the center of the basin and pointed. “That means the last marker should be somewhere in that direction.”
“Why do you say that?” asked Lilian.
“Because all of these clues from the diary point to the Summer Triangle.” He could tell from the look on her face that she had no idea what he was talking about. In fact, most of the group didn’t, except Pablo and Sean.
“The Summer Triangle is a formation in the night sky that connects three prominent stars from three separate constellations. I’m not going to get into the details about which constellations right now, but the last one we’re looking for has to be out there because it’s the final point.” He thought for a moment and gazed out across the basin. “If I had to guess, I’d say it’s that way.” He pointed his finger off to the right.
Tommy took the lead, walking out in front of the others, cutting his way through leaves and limbs, moving faster now that he could sense how close they were to their goal. The others followed, falling into a wide line as they cut a swath through the jungle.
Ten minutes into it, Tommy stopped and wiped his forehead. Sweat poured off everyone in the group, even the two women. Their damp clothes stuck to their skin, making things even more uncomfortable.
“You okay, Schultzie?” Sean said as he chopped down another broad leaf with his machete.
“Yeah. I’m so great.”
“Reminds me of my days in college when I worked for that family as their lawn care guy.”
“They didn’t have a jungle like this.”
“No,” Sean said as he cut through another green branch. “But that guy had me out in the woods all the time, making paths for his grandkids to walk on. There were a few places that were pretty dense. It was hard work and humid, although not quite this bad.”
“I’d kill for Tennessee humidity right now.”
Sean huffed and wiped the buckets of sweat from his forehead.
He whipped his blade through the air and sliced through another cluster of huge leaves. Suddenly, the forest opened. The space before them was devoid of most vegetation save for a stand of trees growing sporadically here and there. While it seemed unnatural, the clearing wasn’t what struck every member of the group.
It was the two stones jutting out of the ground about thirty feet directly in front of them. One was broken at the base and lying on its side. The other still stood upright. Tommy cocked his head to the left, analyzing the anomaly.
Tommy stared with wide eyes at the two stones. When he spoke, his voice was hushed with reverence.
“This is it. This is the gateway to the temple.”
Chapter 36
Chiapas
Tommy absently stepped forward toward the two big rocks, still eyeing them with an intense, analytical stare. Sean followed his friend, noting the way Pike’s men were staying close, almost like they were th
ere to prevent them from getting away instead of being there for protection. Maybe he was overthinking. Then again, Sean knew his instincts. They’d saved his hide more times than he could count. If something didn’t feel right, that usually meant it wasn’t.
“These stones,” Tommy said. “There was a part of the diary that mentioned stones that acted as sort of an external gate to the temple.”
“What’s this?” Lilian asked, stepping around the cluster of people to get closer.
“It’s a good bet the entrance is around here somewhere.” Sean pointed at the stone on the left. “There’s the second bird.”
“So this isn’t it?” Lilian asked, sounding perturbed. “Shouldn’t there be some old ruins lying around? A pyramid? Something?”
“We’re close,” Tommy said. “But if there was anything like that lying around, we’d probably see it by now. It’s been several centuries since this place was last documented. I’d say it’s likely buried by dirt and other debris.”
“Not to mention the fact that Alvarado’s right-hand guy had the thing closed off,” Sean added.
“Exactly.”
“So, how do we know what we’re looking for?” Lilian asked.
Tommy stood silent for a moment, staring beyond the two stone gates and into the jungle. Not far away was a mound covered in trees, leaves, bushes, and rocks. It looked like any other mound in the middle of a forest. At first glance, no one would think anything of it. Tommy, however, thought otherwise.
“Don’t worry about spreading out your men, Congresswoman,” he said. “I think we found it.”
The rest of the group huddled together behind him, following his gaze.
Lilian stepped forward to stand next to him. “Are you sure? That doesn’t look like a temple. Just looks like a natural mound.”
Tommy unconsciously stepped toward the little hill. “That’s why it’s been so difficult to find. I bet people have walked right by it multiple times through the centuries and never even realized it.”
“Assuming they got past the ghosts,” Sean chimed in.
His friend didn’t even hear the attempt at humor. “So long ago,” Tommy said. “It was closed off so long ago.”
“Okay,” Lilian said. “So, if that’s it, how do we get inside? There’s got to be some kind of entrance, right?”
“Have your men scour the base of that mound,” Tommy said. “Look for something unusual.”
“Unusual?” she asked.
“Yeah.” Tommy’s hands were making different spinning motions as he tried to describe what he meant. “A pile of rocks, maybe a smaller mound of dirt that seems out of place. Any kind of thing that looks out of the ordinary.”
“We’re in a jungle in Mexico. Everything is out of the ordinary.” She turned and issued the order to the rest of the group.
They moved forward, leaving the gate behind and spread out into three columns along an old path leading toward the mound. Something strange stuck out of the ground ahead. Sean and Tommy slowed until they were close. Sean bent down and picked up the object, wary there could be a snake or something else hiding underneath.
“Spanish helmet,” he said, showing it to Tommy. “They must have dropped it when they left.”
“Which means they left in a hurry,” Tommy said.
“Definitely.” Something else caught Sean’s eye. “Over there,” he said, pointing at a breastplate lying on the ground twenty feet away. The armor was partially covered by a couple small bushes. Vines ran around the edges and over the center.
They made their way over to the armor and examined it closely.
“No body,” Sean said. “Where’s the skeleton?”
“Maybe an animal took it,” Kirk offered.
“Possibly,” Tommy said. “And if not, they must have been pretty spooked to take off without their gear.”
“It’s the curse,” Pablo said with a tremor in his voice. “I tried to warn you not to come here. This place must not be disturbed. We should leave at once.”
Lilian turned to face him. There was a raging fire in her eyes. She raised her pistol and pointed it at Pablo’s face. “What are you talking about?”
“The curse,” he said. “This place is cursed. That’s why no one has found this temple since the time Alvarado and his men accidentally discovered it. We must turn back while there’s still a chance.”
“No one is going anywhere,” Lilian said. “The rest of you, spread out and search for the entrance. If this hill is covering the temple, there must be a way in somewhere.”
Everyone in the group did as told and spread out once more and surrounded the mound, scouring the earth for any clues as to the whereabouts of the entrance. Sean and Tommy stood still for a moment, both taken back by Pike’s sudden and somewhat disturbing threat against Pablo.
“Congresswoman,” Sean said, “put the gun down.”
“What?” she sneered with a glance over her shoulder. “I don’t know if you realize this, Mr. Wyatt, but I’m running this show. You and your friend work for me. But if anyone is thinking about bailing out of the mission, then we’re going to have issues.”
Sean took a cautious step toward the woman. He’d not seen this side of her before, although he’d only met her one time prior. Still, it was something he hadn’t expected.
“Pablo is helping us,” Sean said. “He’s not going to go anywhere. Just put the gun down before someone gets hurt.”
She held it for another two seconds before dropping her hand down to her side. “See to it that he doesn’t. For all we know, he could have an army of his own hiding out in the jungle somewhere, just waiting for us to find the temple for them.”
And Sean thought he was paranoid. He didn’t say anything to Tommy. He didn’t need to. The same thought occurred to both of them at once.
She walked away, staying close to Kirk as he approached the base of the mound. Tommy and Sean exchanged a knowing glance and then motioned to Pablo.
“Come on, Pabs,” Sean said. “And knock off all that curse business while you’re at it,” he whispered.
“You don’t understand. I can feel it, Sean. Something is here. Something terrible. We shouldn’t be in this place.”
Sean saw the fear in Pablo’s eyes.
“We’ll be careful. But if you try to run now, these guys will cut you down before you get back to the creek. So stay close to me and Tommy.”
Pablo’s eyes flashed around, assessing his chances of getting away. He knew Sean was right.
“Come on,” Tommy said. “Let’s see if we can find the entrance to this place.”
The three made their way along the path until they were at the base of the hill. The group encircled the earthen structure and looked painstakingly around the area for any sign of something that could be an entrance. Some of the men climbed to the top, scouring the surface. They kicked rocks, leaves, sticks and other debris out of the way. A few of them turned a log over and rolled it down the side.
After nearly thirty minutes of intense searching, though, they had found nothing.
“Are you sure this is the spot?” Lilian asked from the side of the mound. “We’ve been here for a half hour and haven’t found a thing. It’s not like it’s a huge area to search.”
Sean and Tommy knew she was right. It wasn’t a big search zone. If there was an entrance to an underground temple, they should have found it by now, or at least some trace of it.
Sean ran the sleeve of his shirt across his brow to remove the sweat for what had to be the tenth time since they began looking for the entrance.
“This is the spot,” Tommy said. He knew it was. Call it a gut feeling. Call it a hunch. Or just call it his stubbornness coming through. They could wander through the jungle for days and never find anything. They were in the right place. He knew it. That didn’t mean it wasn’t time to consider bringing in some equipment to aid in the search. Ground-penetrating radar was the first idea that came to mind, but getting it to the remote location would
take time and a good deal of planning. It might be another week before they could get back. That didn’t take into account all the dangers they’d already navigated. Leaving to bring in new gear could mean trying to get through that gauntlet all over again.
Lilian shook her head. “If we don’t find anything in the next hour, we’re going to need to head back and set up camp. Or we set up camp here.”
Sean sensed Pablo was about to protest and quickly cut him off. “Probably better to set up on the other side of the ridge,” he said. “Last thing we need is those tribesmen coming back in the night to take us out one by one.”
“We’ll post guards,” Kirk said.
“Yeah, I know. Even so. These guys live here in the jungle. This is their domain.” Sean looked around the forest. “I have a feeling that if there are many of them left, they’ll find a way to take us out without anyone ever knowing what happened. I agree with the congresswoman. Let’s keep searching for another hour, and if we don’t find anything we head back to the other side of the ridge and make camp for the night, maybe reassess things.”
His idea seemed to satisfy the others, and they resumed their efforts.
“Do you really think we might be in the wrong place?” Tommy asked under his breath so only Sean could hear.
Sean glanced at Pablo, who was nervously looking at the ground, sweeping debris out of the way with his boot. “Not based on the way he’s acting. But I do think it would be a good idea to not be here when it gets dark. There’s something off about this place, and it isn’t just the weird jungle men that attacked us earlier. It’s bigger than that.”
The Fourth Prophecy Page 27
