by Paul Knox
In those early afternoon hours it seemed everyone was lost in thought. The Airbnb was silent. Now that the storm had passed, leaving damaged trees and flooded streets in its wake, even the weather felt contemplative.
Reece jumped when her phone began ringing. She didn’t recognize the number.
“Hello?”
“Hey Reece, it’s Duke. I’m at the airport.” He rushed his words. “Coming here was a bad idea. But I’m sorry I left like that. I took a taxi here. I bought a phone to let you know I’m safe.”
Reece breathed a sigh of relief. “Duke, you’re such a jerk. Er, that’s not what I meant. I’m glad you called. But…you’re doing the right thing by going home. I’ll call you as soon as I’m back in the states.”
“About that…” Duke said with sadness.
“What?” Reece stammered. “I’ll call you. Okay? And I’ll call you more often. I mean, while I’m down here. So that you don’t have to worry—”
Duke interrupted. “I am worried. I’m very worried. I’m not sure our…worlds…are compatible. I need some time to think.”
“You probably think you rushed into this—and you did,” Reece countered. “But that’s why I like you, Duke. I need that in my life. The blind-trust thing.”
“It’s…” Duke exhaled—twice. “You’ve changed. I don’t know if I recognize you anymore. Or maybe it’s just me; I’ve been through a lot. It’s a long flight home. Please be safe. Go ahead and call me when you get back. And we can, uh, talk.”
It sounded like someone else answered for Reece, miles away down an empty tunnel. “Okay,” she breathed.
Duke hung up, and she sat there staring at the cream-colored kitchen tiles. Mario seemed to notice her despondent look and moved closer.
“Señora Reece,” he said with a big smile, “how did you like my moves last night?”
Reece shook her head, snapping herself out of the slump. She looked into the boy’s optimistic eyes. “Hm?” she asked. “I’m not sure I know what you’re talking about.”
“When the power went out at Jaguar Morado?”
Reece looked over at Chang, who had been staring out a window to the front. “What happened?” she asked.
Mario beamed as Chang’s expression turned sheepish. Chang shrugged. “Mario took off. I couldn’t stop him.”
“And it took me a few minutes to round him up,” Sandy added, walking into the kitchen. “He did a brave thing. But it almost got us in trouble with Konstantin.”
Mario stood proudly. “I shut the power off, Señora Reece.”
“That wasn’t the storm?”
“It was the storm inside my heart!” Mario pounded on his chest. “I told you I would help. I will never go back on my word. Not for my entire life.”
“Oh.” Reece felt her spirits lift. “Well then, Sandy and I owe you a huge thanks.” She reached out and tousled his hair. “How did you know we needed help?”
“In the movies there’s always a distraction that helps the good guys. So I turned the lights off.” He smiled and shrugged.
“You’re a natural, Mario.”
“A natural hero,” Sandy added with a smile and nod.
“Ah, it was nothing,” Mario said proudly. “So what next?”
And then, once again, Reece’s phone rang.
“So you found Duke, did you?” came the voice on the other end.
“Kai!” Reece announced.
“Did you approve of the luxurious quarters I provided him?”
Reece signaled to Xie and Sandy, pointing at her phone. “Why don’t we meet face to face. Let’s work something out.”
“I was thinking the same thing, Reece. You see, I want the gold. And I realize now I aimed too small before—one little nobody hostage. I decided on bigger and better. I have Mario’s entire village at my mercy. You remember them, don’t you?—the stinking, backwater Pipils? Tell Mario that Chief Tekulut will be the first to die.”
“What do you want? Me? Sandy? Let the innocent—”
“Bring the boy and your lovely necklace. The tablets are around here—” Kai’s voice grew loud and frustrated— “and I know he knows!” He calmed slightly and continued. “His parents knew where they were but refused to ever say anything. Even until their last, tortured, dying whimper.”
“You want me to come to the village?”
“Yes. Come and find me. I insist. But if you don’t bring the boy and that gold pendant, no one lives.” Kai growled, “I don’t care if it stays buried forever!”
“I’m on my way.”
“Very good.” Kai disconnected.
“There’s no way I’m taking Mario up there,” Reece insisted to the group. “It’s way too risky. I refuse to let a child be some sort of bait or cover story. And hell will freeze over before I make any kind of trade with the white dragon.”
Sandy nodded, his expression focused. “My thoughts as well.”
“It’s obvious you want to come,” Reece said to him, “but I need someone I can trust here with Chang and Mario.”
“Then I need more weapons and ammunition,” Sandy stated, looking at Xie expectantly. “In case of uninvited guests.”
“I thought you’d never ask,” Xie said, smiling. “I brought gifts. They’re out in my car waiting to be unwrapped.”
“I’d like a gun too,” Chang added. “I don’t want to end up like Duke.”
Reece cringed at Chang’s mention of Duke. She wanted to tell him he had no right to ever say that name around her again. But she held her tongue.
“Señora Reece, I want to come with you and fight.” Mario stood tall.
“Mario,” Sandy quickly interjected, “I need you here to keep a lookout. I need someone fearless. Only the bravest of the brave. Can you help me?”
Reece eyed Sandy skeptically at first, but her expression softened when she realized how genuine he sounded. In all the while she had known Sandy since he’d reappeared from the depths of The Association, his speech had sounded glossy, too smooth, and endlessly wordy.
But when he spoke to Mario, and lately, also to her, some of that cool smoothness had seemed to morph into warmth.
He had tried to talk to Reece but she hadn’t been ready to hear. But the way he spoke to the kid with no parents… She heard it.
48
REECE AND XIE headed to the Guazapa Mountain Range, about an hour and a half drive from the Airbnb in San Salvador. They took Xie’s Mustang. Reece directed him to where the road came closest to the tribe, prepared for the two-mile trek through the rainforest. The farther northeast they drove, the less storm damage had occurred, and the dryer everything appeared.
The highway turned narrow and Xie turned off onto a small road that led the rest of the way. The ground on this road still appeared wet, but there were no flooded spots. The trees didn’t appear whipped, but rather, happy to see the sun again.
“That move in the kitchen earlier—the backflip over the chair—wasn’t bad,” Reece commented, breaking up the silence of the drive.
Xie responded thoughtfully. “I’ve studied martial arts my entire life.”
“I can relate,” Reece divulged. “I fought a lot as a kid, too.”
“I’ve heard.” Xie chuckled softly. “But that’s not exactly what I meant. I don’t study to fight. I study the energy inside, the Qi, and its meridians. It is this energy that motivates all living things to act. Harness the Qi, and backflips over chairs become child’s play.”
Reece thought about her own experiences for a moment before asking, “Does this ‘Qi’ make time slow down during a fight?”
“Technically that’s adrenaline. But the short answer is yes, your Qi harnesses your adrenaline. Focus your Qi consciously, and your experiences don’t have to feel spontaneous, or as happening to you.” Xie looked at Reece with the utmost seriousness. “You can command that energy any time if you do. Then you will be in control.”
Reece smiled. “That sounds all well and good in theory. I’m listening, X
ie. So tell me how to do it.”
“It is not something that can be told, exactly. Only something you can feel. But the first step, Reece, would be to stop pushing everything away. Instead of a closed fist, be an open palm. Bring the energy to you.”
“How do you know I push everything…” Reece stopped mid-sentence.
Xie smiled and said one word. “Qi.”
“Does my… Does Sandy know about Qi?”
“How do you think he does what he does at his age?” Xie glanced over with a screwed-up expression, and they both started laughing.
While they were laughing, Reece noticed a black Escalade stopped on the side of the road as they passed. It seemed odd that such a nice, clean vehicle was parked in the middle of nowhere.
“Did you see that?” she asked Xie while watching the rearview mirror.
“I did. And it looks like they saw us, too.”
Reece watched as the Escalade pulled out onto the road and began speeding toward them. “Do you think that’s Kai?” she asked, already pulling out a gun and racking the slide.
“We will soon find out,” Xie muttered, slowing down. “We might as well get this over with.”
The Escalade didn’t slow at all.
“They’re coming right for us,” Reece said. “You might want to pick up the pace.”
No sooner had she spoken than the Escalade slammed into the back of their car. Reece could distinguish the men’s faces inside; Kai wasn’t one of them.
“Yunru,” Xie said fiercely, regaining control of the car. “He’s in the back. The man sitting passenger is Aiguo. And the driver’s name is Pengfei.”
Just as the Escalade was about to slam into them again, Xie cut it and fishtailed onto an adjacent road, leading deeper into the forest. Reece leaned out the side window and unloaded her clip at the Escalade.
Unfazed, the Escalade continued after them. Reece loaded a second clip and then emptied that, too.
But they were bumping down the uneven road, and none of the rounds seemed to make a difference. The Escalade would soon catch up to them again.
She looked over at Xie who seemed calm and unhurried. “I need more bullets. Especially if you’re planning on driving so slow.”
“There’s a box under the front seat.”
Reece leaned down and found the box, pulling it forward. She also found something else. “Is this a sword?”
“It’s called a Jian.”
* * *
Aiguo readied his handgun when Reece disappeared in the Mustang, finished with her second round of shooting. Then he hung his arm out the passenger-side window and returned fire.
“Are they slowing down?” Yunru asked.
“Yes,” Pengfei called. “What should I do?”
“Keep going, of course,” Yunru demanded. “Faster!”
As soon as Aiguo’s gun clicked, signaling it was empty, before he even pulled his arm back inside the Escalade, the Mustang skid clockwise, now sideways, stopping and blocking the road ahead.
The Escalade was traveling quickly down the dirt road and closing the distance way too quick. Pengfei slammed on the brakes, but the dirt and mud wouldn’t allow them to immediately halt.
As they slid towards the Mustang, Yunru watched as Reece Cannon opened her passenger-side door and jumped out, carrying something. The sun glistened off the object she held while she sprinted toward the skidding Escalade.
The only thought that ran through Yunru’s mind at that moment was: she’s insane!
Reece leaped through the air and landed on the hood with her weapon aimed at the driver. The resulting momentum of the two opposing forces helped propel the Jian sword straight through the front windshield and clean through the shoulder of Pengfei.
* * *
The Escalade’s windshield had spiderweb cracks all through it, and Reece could no longer see inside clearly. She leaped off the hood and ran for the man in the backseat: Yunru. But Aiguo began firing at her through the side window, shattering it. She dropped to the ground to avoid being shot.
The sound of Pengfei screaming in pain added to the chaos.
Not a second later, Xie returned fire from behind the Mustang. He was now out of the car and also fighting back. Xie’s bullets penetrated the Escalade’s windshield, further damaging it, and Aiguo’s firing ceased.
Reece grabbed ahold of the backdoor and swung it open. She sprang up and jabbed her gun into Yunru’s neck. “Everybody freez—” she began.
But Yunru immediately fought back, kicking Reece away and pulling his own gun out. Something fell from his lap and onto the ground, but he didn’t seem to notice.
Aiguo turned to fire at Reece, but Xie’s bullets continued to distract him. He ducked again and returned fire at Xie.
“Go, Pengfei!” Yunru roared while shooting at Reece.
Reece threw herself down and rolled out of the line of sight from Yunru’s gun.
Suddenly the Escalade lurched backwards and sped off in reverse. About to get up and run back to the Mustang, Reece caught sight of the object Yunru had dropped on accident. His phone.
49
REECE AND XIE sped after the Escalade, but by the time they reached the turnoff back to the main road it had disappeared. Xie braked, stopping for a moment.
“Should we try to find Yunru, or head to the village for Kai?” he asked.
“The village,” Reece said without hesitation. “Mario’s people don’t have a chance.” She noticed Xie examining the gold necklace she wore, which had emerged from her shirt during the scuffle.
She eyed Xie cautiously. “We were found again. And I don’t doubt you were fighting for me. But I know you aren’t telling me something.”
Suddenly Reece held her gun up, aiming at Xie’s head. “Tell me now, or get out and I go alone.”
Xie stared at her without moving. Everything seemed to stand still for a moment.
Then Reece sighed. She tossed the gun on the dash. “Think of this as my ‘open palm.’ Xie, tell me the truth.”
Xie closed his eyes. He seemed to remember something. A few moments passed before he opened his eyes and spoke. “Yunru is an old friend.”
“That Yunru? The one who just tried to kill us?”
Xie nodded. “I met Ju-Long once, too, just before he moved to Los Angeles. I was a young boy at the time. And so was Yunru. We were all born into the underground of China. But like Sandy, I had a change of heart long ago. And ever since, I’ve been fighting the evils in this world.”
“But why are you here in El Salvador? Why don’t I believe you came here only as backup for Sandy on that cargo ship?”
“Because you’re correct. I found out about Kai Castro terrorizing and murdering the Pipil people—and about the necklace you’re wearing. Kai initially stole it from Mario’s parents, but Yunru’s people secretly stole it from Kai. They were planning on delivering the necklace to Yunru with you and Chang.”
“Why didn’t you warn us?”
“I didn’t know until after your plane crash. I only put the pieces together after intercepting a conversation between Rolando Castro and an associate of his. My tech is advanced, but I don’t know everything. Sometimes I have to roll with the punches.”
Reece sat back in the seat. She felt the gold pendant between her fingers.
Xie put the car in drive and sped off, back toward the village. While driving, he asked, “Has Mario told you anything about the tablets?”
“He’s been telling me a story about the Cihuatán pyramid.”
“Yes,” Xie confirmed, nodding. “According to the Dresden Codex, the tablets are right here.” Xie motioned outside the car at the landscape. “Have you heard the end of the story?”
“Mario left off at the part when Tonaltzintli found out something happened to the queen.” Reece looked at him. “I’m guessing you know the end?”
“I do. And in light of the necklace you’re wearing, I think you’ll find the ending very interesting.”
Tonaltzintli r
an to the queen’s nah and found her lying in bed. He immediately wept at the sight. His queen, his wife, his beloved—had been slain.
“A poison-tipped arrow pierced her heart. She died instantly,” a guard said solemnly. “The murderer stole the tablet from her possession.”
“Who did this?” Tonaltzintli cried. He raged with the fervor of the heavens. “Search the city!”
A few hours later, the queen’s murderer had been apprehended. He had stolen the tablet for an underground cult that sought to overthrow the Halach Uinic. Before night fell that day, the murderer had been punished by death.
While Tonaltzintli mourned the passing of his wife, he realized something. The sanctity of the tablets was no longer infallible. In fact, it never had been. The jealous and ignorant had always sought to steal them and destroy their sacredness.
“I want you to make a copy of what these tablets say,” Tonaltzintli commanded to an esteemed scribe. “And it must be done quickly.”
The scribe never slept, working with a small team for an entire week. When he finished, he ended up with a seventy-four page book that covered their people’s calendar, mathematics, the stars, and their religion.
“Shall I write where the tablets are now?” The scribe asked.
“No. From here on out, they will be unknown to the world. They will be buried with my queen in her perfect grave, in a secret location. And scribe, I have one more request.”
“Of course, Halach Uinic.”
“Here.” Tonaltzintli gave the scribe a small cube of gold. “This is a corner from one of the tablets. On it, I want you to engrave this.” Then Tonaltzintli handed the scribe a design that appeared to be a maze.
Later that night, after the queen’s funeral, Tonaltzintli took out an ink pen and held it over a flame. The golden pendant the scribe had finished engraving glistened in the candle’s light around his neck.
He watched the light dance with the gold for a while before tattooing a symbol onto his chest. This symbol complemented the maze design on the pendant. They were two parts of a whole. Two parts of the directions for finding his queen’s grave, which had been sealed forever to the outside world.
