Imorean glanced at Baxter, then back to Roxy. “Yes? I – I think so. Well, what do you mean?”
“I mean, I’m not going to wake up with organs missing or something, am I?”
Imorean couldn’t hold back a laugh. “No. You’ll be fine, Roxy. You’ll wake up fully-intact, I’m sure.”
“Why do you ask?” asked Baxter, pulling one of Imorean’s pillows onto his side of the bed.
“Really?” asked Imorean, turning to Baxter.
“I like three pillows,” shrugged Baxter. “But, Roxy, what’s got you so worried?”
“Crime rates in Mexico City are higher than what we’re used to.”
Kadia laughed quietly. “Roxy, I’m pretty sure anywhere has a higher crime rate than Pangnirtung.”
“Yeah,” nodded Baxter. “Besides, I think we’re safe. I mean, we’ve got an Archangel with us.”
Imorean rolled his eyes. “I’m not fully Archangel. I think you guys could pack a good punch without me.”
“Damn right we could,” said Ryan, emerging from the bathroom.
Imorean sighed. “You say it like an insult.”
Ryan shrugged, his dark, eagle wings moving with his shoulders. “How early do we have to be up tomorrow?”
“Not super early. We just need to be up and checked out before sunrise. It’s a late start by Michael’s standards. We’re taking a research trip tomorrow to some of the nearby temples. The day after, I’m hoping we’ll have some sort of heading.”
“What are you going to do?” asked Ryan. “Radar for the supernatural energy?”
Imorean saw a hint of a smile on Ryan’s face and returned one. “I’m more like a metal detector, but, yeah.”
Ryan sobered. “Do you know what you’re looking for?”
Imorean resisted the urge to swallow as his whole squad turned to look at him. A sharp dash of pain tore up from his weak knee. It was cramping. He stood up and looked out past the curtains.
“Vaguely,” he said. “I know that’s not really reassuring.”
“Is there anything we can do to help?” asked Roxy.
Imorean looked back at her and shook himself. “I’m not sure. We’re all tired. Let’s get some showers and get to bed. Everything will be easier when we’ve had a rest.”
Chapter 33
Soreness gripped Imorean’s wings like a vise as he landed. He wondered if he would be able to fly tomorrow. He watched as the rest of his squad landed behind him. A sheen of sweat lingered on their faces. Their landing had been sheltered by a few large, very green trees. Just beyond the tree line were the temples they had come to look at.
“This is hot,” sighed Roxy, taking a deep drink of water from her canteen. “Why couldn’t we have stayed at the hotel?”
“You just like the air conditioning,” said Ryan, nudging her with an elbow.
“I don’t like feeling like I’m going to melt,” replied Roxy, running an arm across her forehead. She made to get another drink. “This is worse than North Carolina.”
“Don’t drink too much. You’ll throw up,” said Ryan. “Small drinks, but often. That goes for everyone. You too, Imorean. Even Archangels can get heatstroke.”
Imorean nodded and turned around to fix his eyes on the stone formations beyond the tree line. He gathered his thoughts, shielding his and the squad’s wings, then stepped into the sun. He could sense his squad’s fascination. The stone structures, though ruins, still clung on to an ancient kind of prestige. Imorean walked slowly, soaking in the sights. The ground underfoot was hard now, gravel and stone covering most of the sandy soil. Under his sneakers, the ground hardened further, and he looked down. Stone. Stones ringed with small, decorative pebbles. An elegance no longer created.
“Colton would love this,” said Roxy in a hushed whisper.
“Yeah,” replied Imorean, almost too overawed to answer. The centuries-old ruins of temples still stood, testaments to their builders. His eyes roved further. Even in the ruins, he could see the clear outlines of rooms, exposed now to the sun.
“Come on,” said Imorean at last. They couldn’t afford to linger.
“Where to?” asked Ryan.
“Pyramid of the Sun,” said Imorean. “It’s the most intact and should hold strong energy. Let me just get my bearings. This place doesn’t look like it does in books.”
Kadia chuckled. “Do these places ever?”
Imorean looked up and down the dead straight roadway. The Temple of the Sun was supposed to be the biggest on the site. He just didn’t know exactly what he was looking for. His sense of direction was confused.
“Imorean, is that it?” asked Baxter.
Imorean followed Baxter’s pointing finger. Partially obscured from his sight by a few trees, but easily the largest ruin at the site, was the Temple of the Sun. His wings flared and he took to the air again. He flew along the roadway for a few meters, stone ruins on either side of him. His wings twitched. There was a sadness here. A fear. Something dark and powerful. Imorean breathed in and wrinkled his nose. The smell in the air seemed to burn his nostrils. He didn’t like it. He balanced himself as he turned and swooped toward the Pyramid of the Sun, landing hard on a smaller, four-tiered pyramid built just at the base of the main pyramid. Exterior steps ran up the entire front of the Pyramid of the Sun. Imorean couldn’t help his mouth from falling open. He remembered a fact Colton had told him while they had studied the temples. The Pyramid of the Sun was nearly two hundred and fifty feet high.
“She’s big,” whispered Baxter.
“Who said the pyramid’s a she?” asked Roxy.
“I gotta hand it to them,” said Kadia. “Those Aztecs must have had some killer leg muscles.”
Imorean barely heard them. There was an odd thrumming in the air. He shook his head and walked onward, up the steps leading the way up the front of the temple and stopped on a flat portion which marked the first tier. His breath was quiet and his heartbeat quieter. Even in the summer heat, he felt cold. Something bad had happened here. Something very bad. An alien sense of desperation flooded him, and he lifted his eyes to the very top of the temple. He stopped and held still. Three distant figures flickered in the sunlight. He watched them. He felt rooted to the spot. An animal trapped beneath a bright light. One by one, each figure crumpled to their knees. One fell with a hacking cough, the second as though cut down by a sword. The third, though, collapsed in a twitching, spasmodic heap, blood washing the distant stones. Echoes ricocheted around Imorean’s head. Rhythmic. Pounding. Three heartbeats. He pressed a hand to his chest, covering his own heart. Fear gripped him hard now. What if his heart stopped, overpowered by these three? Silence fell. Crushing inward.
From hundreds of feet above, ruby drops of blood spattered Imorean’s face. He coughed, gagging. There was no way it should have reached him. He was too far away from the figures at the top. In spite of that, from underfoot, from within the very stones, something oozed. Ancient, angry and bitter, gleaming under the sunlight. More blood.
The spell was broken as Ryan boxed him hard on the shoulder. “Hey. What can you see?”
Imorean shook his head, a few white hairs brushing his forehead. “Nothing pleasant. Kadia, what did Colton say this place was used for?”
“No one really knows for sure. A lot of conflicting information. Probably a lot of sacrifices,” shrugged Kadia, approaching with the rest of the squad in tow.
Imorean swallowed, wiping the side of his face. He glanced at his fingers, expecting them to be covered in blood. They came away clean. He looked at the rest of the squad, their expectant eyes already on him.
“Okay, guys. Team up. Roxy, Kadia, Baxter, you three are a group. Ryan, you and me.” He ignored Ryan’s disgusted expression. “We’re going to skim the area. Hang around any tour groups you see. Feel for any cold or abnormally warm spots. Send someone to get me the minute you find something.”
“Where will you be?” asked Roxy.
“Hanging around this pyramid. Go take a look at
the Pyramid of the Moon first, then scout the other sites.”
“Roger that, Cap,” said Baxter, giving a mock salute.
“See you later,” said Roxy with a smile.
“Get going,” grinned Imorean. One by one, the three squad members lifted into the air, heading across the site. He shouted after them. “No flying after tour groups get here!”
Roxy tilted her wings to show that she had heard. Imorean breathed relief.
“So, what did you see?” asked Ryan, folding his arms.
Imorean turned back, his eyes lingering on Ryan before he looked up at the top of the pyramid again. “Three people. All of them dying.”
“Makes sense,” shrugged Ryan. “The Aztecs were some of the most recent ancient inhabitants of this place. They were wiped out primarily by the Spanish and plague, but they also sacrificed their own people. Pretty ironic that this whole site is connected by a road called The Avenue of the Dead.”
Imorean stared at Ryan, brain grappling for a response. He sounded much more like Colton than himself at the moment.
“What?” asked Ryan. “Contrary to what you might think, I can read. I was a history major before all this angel stuff.”
“I never took you for a history major,” said Imorean, finding his voice again.
Ryan snorted. “Just breaking the stereotype. Not all jocks like me take easy majors, Imorean. So, what’s our next step?”
“The foundation of this pyramid. I feel like we need to check that out.”
Ryan nodded and spread his wings, but Imorean grabbed his shoulder before he could take off. Ryan turned with a venomous look, but Imorean looked down the long, straight avenue.
“We’ve got early morning tour groups coming in. I wouldn’t fly if I were you. I can cover our wings. I’m not sure if I can disguise a whole body.”
Ryan scoffed in the back of his throat. “What kind of an Archangel are you?”
Imorean felt his face settle into annoyance. “One that doesn’t want to get caught by a bunch of people and be faced with a problem we don’t know how to resolve. Now, let’s go down. Normally.”
With a sulky look on his face, Ryan nodded and Imorean led the way down to the Pyramid of the Sun’s foundations.
Chapter 34
“This is stupid,” huffed Ryan. Imorean looked up from his position near the ground. There was a strange feeling down here. In spite of the warm sun, this spot was oddly cold. Then again, it had been the same all around the bottom of the pyramid. Cold spots had come in and out like breezes.
“Would you shut up?” snapped Imorean.
“You haven’t found anything except cold spots. They don’t mean anything.”
“They could.”
Ryan grunted. Imorean shook his head and straightened. Maybe Ryan was right. Maybe there was nothing in this particular spot.
“Come on,” said Imorean. He couldn’t feeling disappointed at how little they’d found. “Let’s go and meet up with the others. Maybe they’ve had better luck.”
“About time,” snarled Ryan.
“What’s up with you?” asked Imorean, annoyed. “I know you hate me, but this is worse than usual.”
“I don’t hate you. I just don’t like you. I’ve got a headache, if you need to know.”
“Don’t you and Roxy have headache pills with you?”
“We do, but I’m saving them for an emergency.”
“An emergency like having a headache?” asked Imorean, the words coming before he could stop them.
Ryan whipped around to glare at him, but dug into his pockets all the same. Imorean restrained a smile. Knock. Knock. Knock. The smile fell from his face and he turned. For all the world, it sounded as though someone was knocking on a watermelon.
“Oh, what now?” sighed Ryan.
“I heard something,” said Imorean, his attention fully focused on the Pyramid of the Sun once more. Again, the invisible hand fell against the invisible watermelon. Knock. It sounded further away this time, moving down the avenue. Imorean broke into a jog. Another knock. It was as though the knocks were counting. Counting down. But to what? Knock. A cold spot. He stepped into a sprint. His sneakers scattered gravel underfoot as he thundered down the Avenue of the Dead.
A tour group stood on the side of the avenue, clustered around a sign and a tour guide. Nausea and a wave of cold swept over Imorean as he drew close. He skidded to a halt. Fragments of gravel landed in his sneakers just seconds before Ryan crashed into his back, knocking him to the ground.
Imorean flailed on the gravel, disoriented. He glared up at Ryan. “You came installed with brakes. Use them!”
“I didn’t get much warning,” snapped Ryan.
Brushing himself off, Imorean got to his feet. The knocking had stopped, but there was still an odd, wavering cold spot in the air. He looked around and wiped his hands on his trousers. A vague tint of blood was left behind. His palms were skinned. Gooseflesh erupted on his skin as the air pulsed. Energy lanced through it. Something wild and angry. Envious. Resentful. Marginalized. Imorean shivered. Dizzy. He swayed on his feet, bending double. Oxygen felt as though it had been sucked from the air.
“Hey, you two,” said Baxter, splitting off from the back of the tour group.
The feeling of dizziness evaporated at the sound of Baxter’s voice and Imorean looked up. Roxy and Kadia, still clinging to the tour group, stared at him in concern. Sunlight flashed in his eyes and he thought he saw a head of short, blonde hair disappearing amongst the group. The tourists were moving forward now, stopping and examining the signs. The tour guide had fallen silent and stood away to one side.
“You find anything?” Imorean asked, forcing himself to stand upright.
“Nothing except a really interesting tour guide. Super knowledgeable about this place,” replied Baxter. “You guys?”
“Cold spots and a headache,” sighed Ryan. “We’ve had a riveting morning.”
Imorean barely heard him. His eyes were on the tour guide. A cloud covered the sun. Under the shaded light, he could have sworn the guide’s skin turned blue-gray. It was nearly dappled under the cloud cover. It was the tour guide’s eyes, though. They pinned him, holding him fast in place. They were bright orange, glowing with the same light as a living soul. Imorean stumbled back a step.
“Hey, you’re zoning out,” said Kadia, shaking his shoulder hard.
Imorean wrenched his eyes away from the tour guide. “Yeah. Sorry about that.”
The clouds overhead passed and the sun-darkened tone returned to the guide’s skin, as did his bright smile. He turned back to his group.
Imorean forced a deep breath as Roxy patted him. “Are you feeling okay?”
“I think so,” he nodded.
“It’s the heat,” said Roxy. “Let’s go find somewhere to sit down. Take a break.”
Roxy led the way away from the guide, back toward the Temple of the Sun. Ryan and Baxter fell into step next to each other. Kadia followed a few steps behind them. Imorean trailed the pack. He couldn’t help but feel there was something wrong. Something they had missed. A brochure jutting out of a trash can caught his eye. Before he thought about his actions, he reached out and grabbed it.
“Imorean, that’s disgusting,” said Kadia.
“Something’s wrong,” he muttered as he read the title. Historic Three-Day Tour. He opened the pamphlet and read on. A three-day tour around ancient Olmec, Aztec and Mayan sites. Totally normal. Nothing nefarious. Brown eyes skimmed over the marketing material and pricing, advertising experienced tour guides, as well as fun and adventure for the whole family. The last line stopped him.
‘The tour’s final evening highlight guarantees a grand finale of historic proportions.’
Imorean stopped dead. There was something horribly sinister about those words. Thirsty. Desperate. Ruthless. Cold. He looked up again at the top of the Pyramid of the Sun. Ryan’s words raced through his mind. ‘… sacrificed their own people …’.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
~
“Will you please tell us why you dragged us off into the woods?” asked Roxy, pulling a strip of grass to pieces.
“I found something,” replied Imorean. “I just wish I knew what it meant.”
“What what meant?” asked Ryan, passing Roxy his canteen of water.
“This,” sighed Imorean, flapping the pamphlet in Ryan’s face.
“Stop being cryptic,” snapped Kadia, snatching the pamphlet away.
Imorean stared at her, narrowing his eyes. “There was something not right about that group. They had all had pamphlets like this for the Historic Three-Day Tour. One person threw this away, but that’s not the weird part. This morning I saw something –”
Ryan cut him off. “He saw people dying at the top of the Pyramid of the Sun.”
“Ryan,” snapped Imorean. He had hoped to keep that morbid vision away from the rest of his squad. He sighed as he felt their eyes on him. “He’s right. There’s a lot of death around here. So much its … oppressing. I’ve been feeling cold and warm spots. Ryan’s had a headache. I’ve been feeling dizzy on and off. Has anyone else felt odd?”
Baxter and Kadia looked at each other. Kadia spoke up. “Baxter puked this morning and I’ve been feeling unsteady. Like I’m motion sick.”
Imorean looked at the dark-winged teenager. “You don’t normally have a weak stomach, do you, Baxter?”
Baxter shrugged. “On and off, but not like this.”
“How about you, Roxy?” asked Imorean. The sense of foreboding rose up his throat, hot and impatient.
“I’ve been feeling odd. I don’t know how to put my finger on it, but I’ve felt off, for sure. Think we might want to call Gabriel?”
“That’s exactly what I’m thinking,” nodded Imorean. He pulled his satellite phone from the backpack and looked on the panel where Gabriel had stuck the laminated numbers.
“Can someone remember parts of this number for me? It’s massive.”
“Sure,” nodded Baxter.
One by one, his squad remembered sections of the number and rattled them off. Imorean pressed the speaker button on the phone and waited as the device rang. And rang. And rang.
Angels Falling Page 20
