by Melissa Frey
Mandy closed her eyes again, remembering. “I saw—as if from someone else’s eyes—this room, this place. Someone did live here; I saw everything as it would have been when they were here. This room . . .” she opened her eyes to look around, “was lit up, just like it is now, and over here . . .” she jogged to one side of the room while the others stayed frozen in place, eyes wide, “was a desk, a table of sorts, with all kinds of documents on them.” She pointed across the room as she started back toward its center. “Over there was a crude bookshelf, with more manuscripts, and here, in the middle”—she had rejoined the rest of the group—“was a large book. And on its cover was a symbol, one of the ones we saw on the door.”
Kayla interjected, as if she couldn’t help herself. “Which one?”
Mandy smiled peacefully. “The symbol for ‘air.’”
Mandy watched as the jaws of her companions dropped simultaneously. She chuckled, just a little, feeling like a weight she didn’t even know she’d been carrying had been lifted off her shoulders.
Justin was the first to speak. “What does it mean?”
Mandy shrugged, though she suspected she knew the answer, at least part of it. “Not quite sure, but those symbols were important to the Mayans, as Kayla said. Clearly the word ‘air’ meant something to the person that lived here. Though I’m not exactly sure what . . .” Her voice trailed off as she tried to remember more of the vision.
Grady glanced over at the enormous door sitting near the room’s entrance against the circular wall. “So, Mandy, how did you get that door open? I still can’t figure out how that happened.”
“I can’t explain it.” Mandy frowned. “I just . . . I don’t know . . . felt something that drew me to that spot on the wall. I don’t know what, or why, but somehow I just knew what to do. And this is the weird part—doesn’t seem possible it could get any weirder, right?—I looked into that opening, and saw a symbol or something, but it was like . . .” she shivered, pulling her arms around her, “. . . like the door recognized me. Like me looking into that hole somehow opened the door. How is that even possible?”
Again, nothing from the group. Mandy was beginning to think she would always have that effect on them. It seemed to be happening so often lately.
When she didn’t get a verbal response, she continued. “The door opened, and when I took a step into the room, something inside me responded to it. I’m not really sure what it was, but it kept getting stronger and stronger as I moved inside. Then, when I got to the center of the room, I closed my eyes, and I could see it: I was alone in this room, many, many years ago, seeing this room like it was back then.”
She swallowed hard, trying to get rid of the lump that had just appeared in her throat. “But that book—the one with the symbol—was what we came here to find. I’m sure of it.” She looked at Kayla, willing her to understand.
Kayla nodded, patting Mandy’s arm. “I believe you.” Then she smiled. “Head rush, isn’t it?”
Mandy smiled. “Yeah.” She was glad that Kayla understood. It was hard being crazy by yourself.
Justin jumped in. “So, Mandy, where is this book?”
Mandy scanned the room, then pointed. “There.”
CHAPTER 14
Air
Kayla followed Mandy’s gaze down to the floor beneath their feet. All four backed away from the stone slab below them as one, like some oddly choreographed play. Kayla stared at the sand at her feet intently, curious as to why Mandy would think the book would be here, under the ground . . . Then she saw it.
Peeking through a thin layer of light sand was gray stone, similar to the stone that comprised the walls and ceiling of this room. Kayla knelt down to examine the stone more closely; she could feel the stone slab digging into her knees.
There was more. She furrowed her brow, and reached down to dust some of the sand away. Her eyes widened slightly as the tiniest smile pulled at her lips. She began furiously uncovering the rest of the stone. Once they realized what she was doing, the other three bent down to help.
Before long, the four of them had completely cleaned off the stone slab. The slab was average in size—it was only about five or six feet in diameter—but formed a perfect circle. The four of them backed up again, retreating to the sandy surface just beyond the stone’s outer edge. Kayla gasped as she fully absorbed the stone slab in its entirety for the first time.
Right in front of her, carved into the stone’s light gray surface, was another set of Mayan symbols, identical to the ones on the door with one exception: the symbol for air was featured prominently in the middle of the stone. Surrounding the familiar signs was a carved ring of other Mayan symbols—a quick inspection revealed that they were the four symbols on the door plus the lightning symbol, repeated in a circular pattern—that marked the edge of the stone slab, where the stone ended and the sand floor began.
With a confidence that Kayla didn’t understand, Mandy immediately stepped back onto the stone, kneeling near its center, just beyond the ‘air’ symbol. Without hesitation, Mandy deliberately stretched out her hand, palm down, and placed it directly in the center of the symbol. As she pressed, a perfectly circular section in the middle of the stone—the one embossed with the air symbol—started to give way. The sound of stone grinding stone reached Kayla’s ears as the smaller slab began to sink into the floor. Before long, the grinding sound turned painful.
Mandy kept pushing for several more seconds until the hole engulfed her entire right arm and she was up to her shoulder in the opening. Then Kayla heard a sharp click coming from inside the hole and Mandy stopped. The stone had been pushed as far as it was going to go.
But the sharp click from below triggered something in Kayla. There was no logical reason for her to sense danger, but something inexplicable from deep inside her told her a very real danger was coming—and soon.
Right now.
“Mandy! Get out of the way! NOW!” Her shout echoed off the stone walls, hurting her ears, but she didn’t care. She had to save her friend. She didn’t need a repeat of the Jeep explosion. She couldn’t live with herself if anything happened to this young woman.
Just as Mandy’s hand cleared the hole, Kayla heard another awful grinding sound, but this time it seemed louder, more urgent. Her stomach dropped as she watched Mandy struggle to get off the stone slab. Without so much as a thought to her own safety, Kayla lurched toward Mandy, straining to reach her just as the stone slab beneath them started tilting. The stone was spinning on its axis, flipping itself over. Kayla didn’t even have time to think about what was happening, or how. She just kept going.
In the blinding dust kicked up by the rotating stone, Kayla’s hands miraculously found her friend. She yanked Mandy’s arm as hard as she could, pulling her free of the stone just as it was reaching a vertical position, then stared in amazement as the stone continued turning until it fell back into place, completely upside down.
Kayla was speechless. Mandy’s mouth fell open. Grady and Justin didn’t make a sound.
Precisely in the middle of the slab, slightly larger than the hole Mandy had created on the reverse side, was a small, perfectly circular pillar. Atop the pillar was a book. And on the cover . . .
Kayla couldn’t help but blink hard, check to make sure she wasn’t seeing things. She opened her eyes after a few seconds and the book was still there. It was amazing enough that this book had somehow materialized out of that hole. But the thing that was stealing her breath was what was on the cover.
The Mayan symbol for air.
Before she could ask if the others saw it too, Mandy spoke. “Just like my vision . . .” she breathed.
The book itself was small—considerably thicker than a ruled notebook but about the same shape—but appeared to be light, with a brown leather cover. The symbol was pressed into the leather from behind, creating a sunken background in the negative space around it. It was astoundingly simple, yet majestically beautiful. Mandy ventured back onto the stone slab a
nd reached for it.
As she touched the book, a faint light—so subtle that Kayla could barely see it in the settling dust—glowed unobtrusively around her fingertips. She began trembling, a slight shaking that rippled throughout her entire body, originating at the point where Mandy’s hand was still touching the book’s cover. The faint light traveled up her arm and encompassed her entire body until she was glimmering, shining. Her eyes rolled back in her head before they closed, and the tremors stopped. Then she slowly opened her eyes, her skin glowing only faintly.
“Wow, that was amazing,” she whispered. Her words matched her tone exactly.
“Mandy, what happened?” Justin was behind her with both arms wrapped around her torso.
“I just felt . . . something . . . take me over. It was really intense.”
“You were . . . glowing.”
Mandy smiled serenely and leaned back against Justin’s chest. “Yeah, I felt it.”
Grady shook his head. Kayla could tell he was trying to clear away all the unsettling emotions of the past few minutes. She loved that she knew him that well.
Then he took charge. “Well, let’s see what’s in this book.” He reached for it hesitantly, stepping in front of the stone pillar. Kayla watched his chest heave before he placed his hand on the book’s cover. She found herself holding her breath, too.
When he touched the book, nothing happened. Kayla noticed his shoulders relax as she exhaled. She looked over his shoulder as he began to examine the book. Mandy and Justin leaned in for a better look.
The book itself looked easy enough to open, and, as the top cover fell to the side, Kayla noticed that the pages were filled with some of the same hieroglyphs from the cave. Grady took a step to the side, as if to give her room, and immediately she felt everyone’s eyes on her. She ignored their speculative gazes and concentrated on the symbols in the book.
Kayla glanced pointedly at Grady, who seemed to know exactly what she wanted. He reached in a pocket and produced a small notebook and pencil, handing it to her as she turned her attention back to the book. She began translating the figures on the page as soon as the pencil was in her hand.
She ripped the first page from the small notepad when it was finished, not even bothering to look at her translation, handing it to Grady. She continued scribbling furiously on the next page of the pad, trying to get everything down.
Grady’s brow furrowed as he read the hurriedly scrawled words on the page. Still staring at the page, he nudged Kayla’s arm. “Uh, Kayla . . .”
She didn’t even stop her feverish writing to look over at him. “Yeah?”
“This doesn’t make any sense.”
At this she stopped, leaning over to examine the words on the paper for the first time. Then she read them again. “Huh.” She blinked. “I’m confused.”
“What?” Grady handed her back the paper.
“Well . . .” she thought carefully, trying unsuccessfully to form a logical hypothesis in her mind before speaking it aloud. “These words seem to be in random order; it’s just nonsense. Why would someone make a book like this? Where nothing makes sense?” She closed the book, frowning. Then she had a thought. There might be a scenario where that makes sense . . . But she couldn’t share her idea with the rest of the group, not yet. It was too early to be making those kinds of assumptions. Besides, it was just crazy—though it seemed like crazy was becoming their specialty.
Justin rolled his shoulders, straightening his back. He reached over to pick up the book, pulling with a little force to dislodge it from the rock, but it wasn’t budging.
Mandy smacked his arm. “Hey!”
“What?” Justin shrugged. “How else are we gonna get it out of here?”
Mandy reached over, placing both hands on either side of the book. As soon as she touched it, she started glowing again. Kayla just stared at her, trying to understand. Why did only Mandy glow when she touched the book? Why only her, and no one else? All of them had touched it, but nothing had happened to the rest of them.
Mandy clasped the book between her hands and lifted. As if the subtle glow of Mandy’s skin wasn’t enough to make Kayla think they were all going crazy, the book offered no resistance as Mandy picked it up. It simply lifted off the stone pillar as if it had only been resting there all along.
Justin snorted. “It can’t be that easy.”
Mandy flashed him a smug smile. “For you, maybe.” Her soft chuckle echoed in the room as she gave it a final fleeting glance and headed for the exit. “Now who’s up for some dinner? All this glowing is making me hungry.”
Southern Belize Rainforest, Mercenaries’ Camp
“Holun, can I talk to you?” Na-um strode to the door of his protégé’s tent, calling out as he approached.
Holun appeared immediately in the doorway. “Of course, sir.”
Na-um turned abruptly and headed off toward the nearby trees. He could hear Holun just behind him, scrambling to keep up. Na-um was glad again—as he often was—that Holun was so acquiescent. Helped keep the other troops in line.
Na-um and Holun strode through the town largely unacknowledged. Na-um knew the others noticed them—he could see the furtive glances of the townspeople as they went by—but they knew not to question them, wouldn’t even dare say hello. What Na-um and his young second-in-command did was none of the townspeople’s business. Though he’d never admit it, some days it made Na-um a little lonely. Today he was exceedingly grateful. What he had to say was not for prying ears.
Once they were a safe distance away from the camp, miles into the forest, Na-um spoke. “I just met with the Elders.”
“Yes?” Holun was learning not to mince words.
“They’ve just received word—one of the books has been found.”
Holun gasped. “No!”
Na-um nodded, his expression blank. “They are furious, understandably. They want to know what we are going to do about it.”
“This is serious . . .” Holun stared off into the forest, but it was clear to Na-um that he wasn’t fully understanding the severity of the situation. Na-um needed him to be more aware, and now.
“Holun!”
Holun blinked a few times, then his eyes shot to Na-um’s. “Sorry. What can I do?”
Na-um hesitated. “Well, I have a few ideas, but . . .” his voice trailed off.
“What?”
Na-um sighed. “I’ve only ever seen them this . . . concerned . . . once before. Concerned enough that all five of them are attending the meetings. It worries me.”
“When was that?”
Na-um cringed. He had never told this story to anyone, least of all his idolizing second-in-command, but Holun needed to know. He needed to understand exactly how much trouble they were actually in.
So Na-um drew in a deep breath, as if the extra air would give him some extra courage. He didn’t think it helped.
For the first time since it happened, so many years ago, Na-um allowed himself to think about that day. Immediately, as if it had happened yesterday, the memories crashed down on him with an all-too-vivid intensity. As much as he wanted to run away from the pain, he knew he had to tell this story.
He felt himself reliving the ill-fated day as he began to tell Holun the whole story. “I once had a younger sister, one I loved very much. I did my best to protect her from everyone and everything—no one was allowed to touch a hair on her head without answering to me. Her name was Shani.” Na-um took a shaky breath. He hadn’t spoken that name in years, even when he was alone. He hadn’t even allowed himself to think that name. “I swore that I would give my life to protect her. Then, one night, that all changed.”
Na-um could see Holun’s eyes widen just a little. “I was coming back from my training, much similar to what we’re doing now, but with less intensity—the threat wasn’t as near back then. I entered our large hut—I was regarded as the Clan’s most capable warrior even then, so my hut was one of the largest in the village, just as it is now—an
d I called out for her. I heard some shuffling, but couldn’t tell where it was coming from. I didn’t know if she was even supposed to be home.”
Na-um’s eyes drooped just a little. “I hurried through the hut, checking each room as I passed. The room she slept in was at the end of the long hall, the last room I had to check. I stopped for a second before I went in. The curtain was down, completely covering the entry. I knew something was wrong right away—we never let our curtains down. I got very angry—I didn’t know why she wasn’t answering me. So I tore the flap down. And there, standing next to the blankets laid out on her floor, was my young sister, the one I loved so much, pulling on and fixing her dress. Her long hair was down, nothing holding it up. But the worst thing, the thing that made me so angry, was the man in the room with her, straightening his clothes and standing just a few feet away from my sister. In a closed room! I couldn’t see straight.
“She yelled at me to get out—back then our hut was away from all the others, so no one could hear her screams—but I couldn’t move. I was shocked not only by the situation, but by the fact that she’d never yelled at me like that before. She spoke again, this time more quietly, almost sternly, telling me to leave. I was still in shock, but I somehow managed to ask who the man in the room with her was. I glared at him, somehow hoping I could just will him away. For a second I didn’t recognize the man, but then the realization hit. He wasn’t one of our Clan! And I told her that.” Na-um had to fight back tears. Not in front of Holun.
“As soon as I said the words, Shani looked like she was about to cry. I wished that everything was okay, that I could go to her and wipe her tears away like I always did, but nothing was okay anymore.” Na-um drew a breath. “Then she spoke only three small words: ‘I love him.’” Those three words had haunted him ever since.
And this was a lot harder to talk about than he’d thought it would be.
