by David Meyer
"Tum got to it."
"He didn't have to go past Votan's little army," I replied. "We do. And even if we survived a gunfight, the radiation would kill us if we tried to remove the plates. And that's not the worst of it. If Beverly's georeactor theory is correct, this whole place could blow up at any second."
"The library will lead to cures. It'll help people."
"Or maybe it'll lead to nothing."
"He might be right," Dr. Wu said. "The information contained on those plates might not be as significant as we hope."
Emily glared at him.
"The Classic Maya civilization accomplished a lot of things, a complex writing system among them," I said. "And yet they never figured out how to make a true arch."
Emily shook her head. "I don't follow."
"In other words, they weren't infallible geniuses. And these cures you're so desperate to find might not even exist. It's not like the ancient Mayas were known for their life expectancy."
"That's true," Graham said. "I read once that studies of ancient bones and teeth show Maya peasants in this region were malnourished and in poor health. The average lifespan was quite low. And it didn't get better over time. It got worse, all the way up to the collapse."
"Those were just the peasants," Emily retorted. "The elites would've saved the best stuff for themselves."
"Maybe." Graham arched an eyebrow. "But what if you're wrong? Are you really going to risk your life on it?"
"The library is bigger than me. It's bigger than all of us. Someone has to save it." Emily nodded at the canoes. "Go. Tum and I don't need you. We can do this alone."
She walked to the edge of the cove and peered around the corner. I knew she'd made up her mind. As for Tum, I didn't like the idea of leaving him behind. At the same time, something about his behavior unnerved me. Why hadn't he followed the rest of us to the cove? Why was he sneaking out to the domes by himself?
I helped Dr. Wu place a canoe in the water. He and Graham climbed inside it. Beverly handed paddles to them. Then I bent down and pushed the boat away from the limestone. They paddled silently out into the river.
I ran to the other canoe. With Beverly's help, I hauled it into the river. Beverly scrambled inside it. I handed her the paddles.
"Maybe we should wait for Tum," I said as I clambered into the canoe.
Loud bursts sounded out. Bullets whooshed over Graham's head.
I grabbed a paddle and pushed away from the rocky ledge. Then I pulled out my pistol and fired a few times in rapid succession.
The gunfire paused. The current caught hold of Graham's canoe and within seconds, it was shooting through the tunnel.
Gunfire sounded out again. I felt soft breezes as bullets flew past me.
"We can't wait any longer." Beverly began paddling at the water.
I started paddling as well. We quickly got in sync and began propelling the canoe toward the waterway.
Footsteps pounded against limestone. More bursts filled the air.
We slipped into the river. The raging water splashed against our ancient watercraft. The force nearly sent us spinning. But somehow we managed to keep it steady.
Moments later, we shot into the tunnel at incredible speed. I snuck a quick peek over my shoulder as we approached a bend. Votan's army stood on the ledge, helpless to stop us.
My stomach twisted into knots. We'd escaped. Even better, we were starting to put some distance between the meteorites and us. But would it be enough if they actually did go supercritical?
Faster. We've got to go faster.
Chapter 113
Tum's adrenaline surged as gunshots rang out. He ducked down, making sure to keep the semtex above water.
He waited a few seconds. Then he resurfaced. His eyes flitted down the massive river, past the stunning rock formations. He caught sight of Votan's army. They aimed guns at the opposite end of the river.
Breathing a little easier, Tum studied the dome in front of him. It was smaller than the other one. Thousands of gold plates adorned its surface. Each one had been carefully inscribed with Maya hieroglyphics.
The Library was far more exquisite than he'd ever imagined. The craftsmanship was stunning. The hieroglyphics were among the most beautiful and legible examples in existence.
He'd spent his entire life learning about the Classic Maya civilization. He'd devoured every fact and memorized every ancient inscription. And yet, he'd never truly understood his ancestors and the society in which they'd lived. Their daily lives, their interests, their hopes and dreams … despite years of research, these things had completely eluded him.
He felt a twinge of doubt. How could Chaac and the other Maya gods want him to destroy such a treasure trove of information?
He took a moment to steel himself. The library was a sacrifice. It needed to be destroyed in order to defeat the death gods. And anyway the fourth world was nearing its end. It would soon be forgotten, just as knowledge of the previous three worlds had been erased from existence.
He made some final adjustments to the blasting caps. Then he sank under the cool water, exhaled a quick breath, and started to swim.
His lungs ached for air. But he kept his head down. In a few short minutes, the georeactors would explode. At long last, the cursed fourth world and all its problems would come to an end. What would come next? Could he survive the explosion? Could he live long enough to see the fifth world?
He swam faster.
Chapter 114
Votan watched his men gather around a body. As they dragged it to the ledge, he turned back to the river. He could no longer see Reed or the mysterious watercraft.
He twisted toward the domes. The cavern was a place of beauty, an underground paradise that had survived many centuries without the interference of mankind. And the domes were even more magnificent.
He looked back at the river, at the darkness. A large part of him wanted to let Reed go. After all, he had the library in his possession. And the odds of Reed escaping the massive cave system seemed small at best.
"Votan?"
He turned toward the voice. "What is it?"
"It's Dora. She's been shot."
His heart leapt to his throat. He raced across the ledge and helped his men pull Dora out of the water. She was still. Her skin felt cold to the touch.
Frantically, he tried to revive her. But she failed to respond to his efforts and after several minutes, he crumpled to the ledge.
"No." He took a few deep breaths. "This can't be happening."
A short, bulky man cleared his throat. "What do you want us to do?"
Votan's brain churned as he recalled the last few minutes. Only one person had taken shots at them.
He snapped his fingers and pointed at the rafts. The rest of his men quickly waded to shore. Then they grabbed their gear and climbed into the boats. Votan joined them.
As they pushed away from the ledge, strength flowed through his body. His resolve intensified.
Cy Reed had to die.
No matter what.
Chapter 115
"Do you hear that?" Beverly cocked her head. "It sounds like …"
"Rushing water." My gaze hardened. "And we're heading toward it."
"A waterfall?"
I nodded. "A big one too, from the sound of it."
"Maybe we should slow down."
"No can do." I jabbed my paddle into the water. "We need to get as far away from those meteorites as possible."
After escaping the cavern, we'd raced downstream until we'd caught up with the other canoe. Then we'd pushed even harder, willing ourselves to navigate the river at the fastest speed possible. I had no idea how far we'd traveled but with each stroke, my chest loosened just a bit.
The water sped up. Foam swirled in the river. The front of our canoe dipped down. Then it burst upward before crashing back to the water. The jolting impact nearly knocked me out of the hull.
I heard a strange clicking noise from somewhere overhead. My gaze sho
t to the limestone ceiling. It was twenty feet above us but the large stalactites made it feel a hell of a lot closer.
I narrowed my gaze. For the first time, I noticed a small ridge. It was positioned on the left side of the tunnel, not far from the ceiling. Abruptly, a giant creature burst out from behind one of the stalactites. Sweat poured from my hands as I watched it race across the ridge and vanish from sight.
How had it gotten into the cave system? Had it entered through one of the niches in the pyramid? Or had it followed Votan down the river?
Beverly cleared her throat. "Was that the nagual?"
I nodded.
A puttering noise caught my attention. A beam of light illuminated our canoe. Looking backward, I saw a raft slide around a bend in the river.
"It's Votan," I shouted.
Gunfire pierced the air. I ducked down and paddled faster. Moments later, I directed our canoe around a U-shaped bend in the river.
I turned toward Beverly. "Are you okay?"
She gave me a nod.
I felt a sense of relief. But it quickly morphed into something else. Votan had murdered Miranda in cold blood. Now, he was trying to kill the rest of us. I had to stop him.
I had to kill him.
Chapter 116
Beverly pulled her paddle out of the water. She stabbed it against the rock wall a couple of times, barely keeping us from colliding with it. "They're moving faster than us."
"Then we've got to speed up."
She stabbed her paddle against the wall again. As the river straightened out, we shot back into the middle of it. "Got any ideas on how to do that?"
"Not really."
"Do you have a plan?" Graham shifted his paddle in the water and drew alongside our canoe.
I shook my head.
"What about that ridge?" The doc pointed his paddle at the ceiling. "Maybe we can climb to it."
I glanced at the ridge where I'd seen the nagual. "That's not a good idea."
"Well, we'd better think of something. We're almost out of river."
The sloping river continued for another fifty yards. After that, there was blackness. A loud, roaring noise filled my ears. "That must be the waterfall. Anyone care to guess at its height?"
"Fifteen feet? Maybe twenty feet." Beverly shrugged. "There's no way to be sure."
"We can't stop," I said slowly. "And even if we wanted to take the ridge, we'd never reach it. Votan would just pick us off while we scaled the wall. That leaves us with just one option."
The doc's eyes studied mine. "You're crazy."
"Crazy like a fish." I grinned slyly. "Because we're about to go right over that waterfall."
Chapter 117
"Get ready," I shouted.
Our canoes hurtled toward the churning waterfall. I quickly stowed my paddle. Using both hands, I gripped the ancient hull.
The water roiled. The canoes jolted into a swift, shallow current.
"All systems are a go," Graham yelled at the top of his lungs. "We're good for launch."
Abruptly, I felt myself burst straight out into space. I chanced a quick look below. The river flowed beneath me, bubbling and frothing in the dimmest of light.
The canoe jerked in the air as its forward momentum stalled. It hung for a moment, as if stopped in time. Then gravity took over.
My stomach flew to my throat. Bending down, I stuck my head between my knees.
With an enormous splash, our canoe slammed into the river, spraying water in all directions. My body bounced off the hull and fell again with a jarring smack.
Cold water crested into the boat. It careened against my legs. Vaguely, I realized we were tipping backward toward the waterfall.
I reached for a paddle. But before I could grasp it, the waterfall released its grip on us and we spat out into the middle of the river alongside the other canoe.
I shook my head, clearing the cobwebs. High above, I caught a glimpse of two rubber rafts pulling to the edge of the waterfall. Metal glinted. Loud pops pierced the air.
Beverly slid into the hull and balled herself up. I flung myself on top of her.
The ancient boat vibrated as bullets barreled into it. The old trunk somehow managed to stop them, but I knew our luck couldn't last forever.
The gunfire ceased as the two rafts swept over the waterfall. They spun around for a bit, caught in the churning water.
Beverly pulled out her revolver. But the water was too choppy to aim it. Gritting her teeth, she holstered the gun and stuck her paddle into the river.
Abruptly, the canoe jerked forward as a fierce current caught hold of it. A relieved breath left my lungs as we swept away from the rafts.
The waterway sloped downward. The river flowed faster. Glancing to the side, I watched a strange landscape slip by me. Despite their relative distance, the dark, rocky walls felt close and tight. Long stalactites hung from the ceiling, shooting down like spikes. Rocky ledges sat on either side of me, twisting in tune with the waterway.
A dull roar rose in volume, drowning out the sounds of my paddling. A fine mist sprayed into the air. Looking to my right, I saw a majestic waterfall. Its contents tumbled over a twenty-foot high cliff and smashed repeatedly against a couple of giant rocks.
Beverly shifted in the hull. "Oh my God."
Following her gaze, I noticed some extremely choppy waters ahead of us. "Whitewater rapids." I exhaled. "Class Five from the looks of it."
"I'd put them at Class Six."
I'd navigated a couple of Class Five rapids in the past. They'd featured whitewater, huge waves, and other hazards. It had taken pinpoint accuracy and precise movements to pass through them without serious injury. Class Six, on the other hand, were plain impassable. The hazards they presented were so extreme no person could successfully navigate them.
"What do you want to do?" I asked.
"We've traveled at least a mile from the georeactors." She glanced at the ledge on our left. It sat just above the water, far below the ridge the nagual had used earlier. "I say we regroup on land. We can send the canoes downstream to throw Votan off our trail. He'll never survive those rapids."
I studied the ledge. Several tunnels led away from it.
It was a good idea, but risky as well. If Votan saw us, he'd just follow suit. And even if he didn't, he still might notice our canoes were empty.
I stuck my paddle into the water, slowing it down a bit. Turning sideways, I looked at the second boat. "We're going to shore. Feel like leading the way?"
Graham glanced into the water. "Do piranhas live in cave rivers?"
"I don't know. That's why I want you to go first."
Chuckling, he rose awkwardly on his good leg. Then he dove into the water. Using powerful strokes, he made his way to the ledge. Dr. Wu was next to stand. His face looked hollow, devoid of emotion. With an awkward leap, he jumped into the water and swam away.
Beverly pulled her paddle from the water. She rose to one knee and cast an eye at the ledge. "Okay. Let's—"
Dim lights flashed across the river. Twisting my neck, I saw the two rafts cut around a corner and turn toward us. They were far away, but it wouldn't take long for them to reach our position.
I rose to my knees. "Sorry about this."
Beverly's jaw dropped as I shoved her. Legs flailing, she toppled backward, disappearing into the choppy surf.
The canoe shifted slightly as it whipped over a small whirlpool. I fought to keep my balance.
"Jump." Graham cupped his hands around his mouth. "Jump, damn it."
I didn't think twice about my next move. If the others were going to escape, they needed a diversion. I rose to my full height and cupped my hands around my mouth. "Get out of here," I shouted.
Graham yelled again, but I couldn't hear his words. The angry water boiled furiously as the current raced forward. The canoe rocked from side to side, threatening to spill me into the mighty river. But somehow I stayed upright, my face defiant as I stared at the pursuing rafts.
&n
bsp; Come get me, you bastards.
Chapter 118
"What's that idiot doing?" Beverly thrust herself out of the water and crawled onto the ledge. "He's going to get himself killed."
Graham watched the two rafts race forward. Their occupants held bright lights, which illuminated the two canoes as they floated downstream.
Reed's distinctive silhouette suddenly appeared, perched on top of a canoe. He stood straight and tall, as if daring nature itself to destroy him.
Graham shifted his gaze further downstream. He saw what appeared to be a massive underground canyon, filled with spitting white waters and horrid jagged rocks. A feeling of utter helplessness swept over him.
Even the best boaters in the world wouldn't have been able to manage those ferocious waters. And now Reed was seconds away from steering a thousand-year old canoe into them.
Reed raised his arms as his canoe spun into the canyon. His fingers lifted into the air, flashing the universal sign of defiance.
"He made a deal with the death gods." Graham bit his lip so hard that blood began to flow. "His life for ours."
Chapter 119
Tum's ears pricked. He heard distant splashing noises. But he heard something else too. It sounded like a long shallow breath. He listened for a few seconds. The sound faded away and he decided it had merely been a trick of the ears. After all, everyone else had long since gone downstream.
A slight wind picked up as he scaled the steep wall. Pain gripped him every inch of the way until he reached the overhanging ridge. Then he flopped onto the stone surface and sucked in a few breaths. He was pretty sure he'd wrenched his right shoulder out of its socket. But he was alive.
He stood up and hobbled forward, putting distance between himself and the death gods. He knew he'd never escape the caves. But he hoped to survive long enough to see the fifth world.
Abruptly, something heavy slammed into him. He fell backward, nearly plunging off the ridge in the process. Before he could get up, sharp claws pressed down on him. He smelled blood. Heard heavy breathing.
