by Bill Craig
“We need to find the Temple of Kukulkan,” Klausen told her.
“I don’t know where it is,” Glory told her.
“Perhaps not. But this other young woman does,” Klausen smiled at her. Glory felt a chill race down her spine.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Jake Fortune whipped in the direction of the shot, running as fast as his booted feet would carry him. Glory was in trouble! He had to find her and save her!
His heart was pounding as he raced along the stone plaza, kicking up the thick coating of ash. He could hear the king and his guard charging along behind him. The sky was ablaze with the reflected orange light from the rumbling volcano.
Jake had a bad feeling about that volcano. He had no idea if their presence had anything to do with its sudden violence, but he had no desire to take unnecessary chances. He wanted to rescue Glory and get the hell gone from this valley!
Mona opened her eyes. She tried to move her arms and legs and discovered that she couldn’t. They had been bound together with tightly knotted cords. The room she was in was dark, but she could hear voices talking quietly in the room. One was her new friend, Glory, the woman with the hair of flame! How had Glory found her? Then she heard voices she didn’t recognize speaking in a strange language that she didn’t understand. Those must be the enemies that were chasing her friend. Did this mean that they had overrun the defenders?
The thought frightened her. It was clear from her friend’s voice that she was in distress. Mona wished that there was something she could do, but bound as she was, there was nothing she could do. Then, the man entered the room. He was bald with a thick mustache covering his upper lip. A scar bisected his left eye and the left side of his face. “Do you speak English?” he asked her. Mona glared at him defiantly.
“What do you want?” she asked, anger and rage audible in her voice.
“Where is the Temple of Kukulkan?” the man demanded.
“Why do you want to know?”
“Because I intend to take the Eyes of Kukulkan back to my leader!”
“Our God Kukulkan will not permit it!” Mona spat at him. The man hit her with a backhanded slap that sent her bound form sprawling on the stone floor. Mona tasted blood in her mouth. She cursed the man in her native tongue.
“Your so-called god cannot stop me!” the man laughed.
“You know nothing of our gods, or their powers!”
“Perhaps not, but I know the powers of those stones! I have spent years studying about them,” Klausen smiled, maniacally. The look in his eyes made Mona flinch. She knew at that moment that she was looking evil in the eyes! The man pulled out a sharp knife and he laid the blade against her cheek. “You will tell me what I wish to know. One way or another!”
Jake Fortune skidded to a halt, catching his balance before tumbling face first into the accumulating piles of volcanic ash. He could hear voices ahead, and they were speaking German! He smiled, but there was no humor in it. Anyone who saw heard the voice would have taken a step back at the ferocity that was evident.
Fortune drew his knife and slipped up to the side of the stone house where he could hear the voices. Men were talking, softly in German, but one voice was speaking English and it was talking about the Eyes of Kulkukan! That had to be Klausen, the leader of the Nazis that had been chasing them since New York!
Jake stepped through the door, his hand snaking around to cover the mouth of one of the Nazis, as he buried his knife in the man’s kidney and twisted it, causing instant renal failure. He lowered the body to the ground unnoticed, seeing that the remaining three men were listening to Klausen questioning some person in the other room. Jake searched the shadows looking for Glory. He spotted her on the other side of the room.
Jake withdrew his knife and prepared to use it again when the royal guard arrived. The noise they made alerted the Nazis in the stone house. They spun towards the door. Jake threw his knife, burying it in the chest of one of the Nazis, as he dove to the floor drawing the revolver from his hip. He fired as bullets ripped the air above him. One man flew back, blood and brains spraying from his head. Jake fired again and the remaining man dived into the next room for cover.
Jake fired again and dropped a second Nazi. He rushed to Glory and quickly untied the ropes that bound her. “Are you okay?” he asked.
“I am, but Klausen has the king’s daughter!” Glory told him.
“Then, we need to rescue her,” Jake replied.
“We do,” Glory smiled at him. Jake hugged her tightly, glad that she was safe. He had fallen hard for the flame-haired professor. And he suspected that she shared the feelings about him.
New York City.
Hiram King frowned as he considered the information that he had received. The Nazis in Mexico had dropped out of sight. He had heard nothing from them since they had headed into the swamp. Were they starting to double cross him? If so, they would pay a price that they were not expecting to pay. He had managed to infiltrate the crew of the Zeppelin that had been sent to aid them. Currently the airship was tied down due to severe storm winds. Klausen and his men were on the craft waiting on further instructions. That is, unless Klausen and his men had decided to move on their own. King moved to the wireless radio and dialed in the frequency of the airship. It didn’t take long for him to reach Rupert Meijer. He was less than pleased by the news he received. He instructed Meijer to remain where he was and radio him once Klausen and Schmidt had returned.
Klausen had double-crossed him. That meant he couldn’t trust any of the Nazi regime. He picked up his phone and had the operator place a call to Mexico City for him. King had a long reach when he needed one.
He Jacobs kept an eye on the door of the popular restaurant known as The 21Club. Jacobs wanted to show a nice time and this was what they had picked for their dinner. They had checked in earlier into the luxury accommodations of the Plaza Hotel in Midtown Manhattan, known to cater to the rich and famous elite. Right now, Jacobs didn’t desire to be famous. He had a nagging feeling since they had left the hotel that they were being followed. He was glad that he had chosen to carry his Browning Hi-Power 9mm holstered under his jacket. He had an itch on his back that he couldn’t scratch. The only time he got that kind of itch was when there was danger about.
Saleem had special knowledge of one of the things that Hitler was looking for in his own country of Egypt. So, Jacobs had made him write down every detail about it in a small notebook that he kept in a hidden safe in their room. That had been a precaution that he had felt was prudent just in case something was to happen to Saleem.
Jacobs had been in the spy game long enough to know when something wasn’t right. And tonight, something wasn’t right. He didn’t say anything to Saleem because he didn’t want to alarm the man. Saleem was nervous enough about his mission to the United States as it was. A man entered the restaurant and looked around before being ushered to a table near Jacobs and Saleem.
Jacobs knew he was right. He had seen the man several times on their way to the restaurant from the Plaza. His coming in was no coincidence. Jacobs was suddenly glad he had brought his gun with him.
The Yucatán.
“Do you know where they were headed?” Jake Fortune asked.
“The guy that had kidnapped her was asking about the Temple of Kukulkan,” Glory provided. Fortune passed that news to King Tikal. Chac had shown up and acted as translator. The king stepped out into the falling ash and pointed the way. Jake and Glory took off at a run with the palace guard following closely behind them.
Klausen dragged Princess Mona along behind him. Schmidt was keeping an eye out for pursuit. Klausen no longer trusted Schmidt after the events on the Zeppelin. However, fate had thrown them together on this mission. As much as he didn’t trust the man, he had no choice but to put his life in Schmidt’s hands until this mission could be completed. The mountain behind them rumbled and the stones beneath their feet tossed the trio into the air.
Klausen crashed to the gr
ound and lost his hold on the young woman. She tried to scramble away but Schmidt was on her quickly and subdued her once more. She had fire, this young woman. Klausen actually admired that about her. Schmidt dragged her to her feet and shoved her forward, keeping the muzzle of his gun pressed against her spine.
“Jake, thank you for doing this for me,” Glory said, as they charged towards the temple.
“I’m not doing it just for you, Kid. I offered to find the king’s daughter, so I’m doing it for him as well,” Fortune replied.
“You’re a good man, Jake Fortune.”
“I try,” Jake flashed her a grin.
The three of them reached the temple. In the end, Mona had no choice but to let them know that this was the proper place. The younger man clubbed her with his gun and sent her to her knees. By the torchlight, the strange looking god statue of Kukulkan looked dark and formidable, even by torchlight.
The golden sculpture gleamed in the torchlight, the emerald eyes in the face of the snake-like statue were mesmerizing. With the statue in sight, both men seemed to forget about her. Mona scrambled back away from them towards the door. She knew what they were after, and there was nothing that she could do to stop them from achieving their goal.
Not unless she could escape and call for help. Something strange was starting to happen though. In the light from the torches, the golden statue of Kukulkan appeared to start to move. Mona knew it had to be a trick of the light, but it appeared that the statues was coming to life. She looked at the two white men, neither of them seemed to notice, their gazes drawn to the almost hypnotic glow the emerald eyes.
Mona climbed to her feet and ran outside! Once she was away from the open door of the temple, she began to scream for help. She heard the sound of running feet and voices charging towards her. She ran towards them to meet them.
Inside the temple, both Klausen and Schmidt were mesmerized by the now undulating golden statue. It moved as if it was alive but neither of them could move. It was as if they had been hypnotized by the movement, just like a bird before a snake. Torchlight gleamed in the facetted cut of the emeralds that made up the eyes. They seemed to almost hold a malevolent intelligence. Outside the ground trembled harder and the roaring of the volcano was louder. Then the statue opened its mouth to reveal long gleaming fangs dripping with some sort of unknown venom. The statue left the pedestal that it had been wrapped around and seemed to float towards the men. Flame glinted off the golden scales as it circled them like a shark. Schmidt struggled to lift his gun. The Feathered Serpent struck like lightning, sinking the venomous fangs into his arm. Schmidt screamed in terror and the snake released him from its jaws. Schmidt fell to the ground, his arm turning gray and hard as the venom spread through it.
The scream seemed to break the spell that Klausen was under and he reached for a knife sheathed on his belt. He tore it free of its sheath and raised it defensively before him. The snake floated towards him, the glint of emerald eyes gleaming and seeming to grow to fill all of his vision. Klausen slashed at the serpent, but he wasn’t fast enough. It struck his leg, injecting it with venom. Klausen screamed in agony, as his body began to turn to stone. The last thing he saw was the eyes of the statue, now back in place, glaring at him.
The erupting volcano was becoming more violent, the bricks of the plaza buckling, as the ground below them heaved up and down. Baseball-sized blobs of molten lava began to fall from the sky. Jake yanked Glory out of the path of one of the deadly liquid missiles dropping around them. He shoved her in a stone doorway and ran to the building that he had spotted Mona racing out of. One of the king’s guards grabbed her and ushered her inside to relative safety, as Jake charged towards the temple door!
Jake reached the doorway unscathed and with his revolver in his fist, he charged inside. The ground was still bucking though the floor inside the temple somehow remained stable. What met his eyes was nothing that he was prepared for!
There was no living person inside. Instead, he saw a statue that appeared to be holding a knife, dressed in a Nazi uniform. On the floor was another stone statue that he recognized as Wolfgang Schmidt. Fortune had no idea what had happened to the two men. He wasn’t sure that he wanted to know.
Then he saw the statue. It gleamed in the torchlight, a golden-scaled serpent circling a stone pedestal, emerald eyes almost glowing in the darkness. Jake unwittingly took a step forward, drawn in by those gleaming emerald eyes . . .
Chapter Twenty-Five
Sweat was pouring down Jake Fortune’s face. The air inside the temple was inexplicably hotter than it was outside. He blinked away the sweat from his eyes, as he watched the flames reflecting off both the golden idol and the emeralds that formed its eyes. Then he saw it, the first muscular contraction of the idol. Slowly, it began to climb the stone pedestal as it had done a few moments earlier. Fortune tried to turn away, tried to run back outside, but it was as if he was under a spell. His body was frozen in place and could not move . . .
“Jake!” Glory yelled, as he disappeared into the Temple of Kukulkan. He hadn’t reappeared, but she hadn’t heard any shots either. Glory looked at Mona.
“What’s happening in there?” she demanded.
“The Fire God has summoned Kukulkan! Everyone in the temple will die!” Mona gasped.
“Not if I can help it!” Glory snapped, charging out from under the shelter and dodging falling clumps of molten lava. Mona watched her go, and inspired by her new friend’s courage, charged after her.
Glory reached the temple doorway and darted inside. She heard feet running after her and was surprised to see Mona charging inside. “You didn’t have to follow me,” Glory told her.
“You are my friend. Yes, I did,” Mona replied.
“Show me where they all went,” Glory told her.
“This way,” Mona told her, as she took the lead down a long hallway. Ahead of them, they could see torches burning in the main temple. Together they ran to the chamber.
Skidding to a halt, Glory looked on in horror as a gold-scaled snake began to lift off the stone pedestal that it was wrapped around. Emerald eyes glittered in the firelight. Jake Fortune stood paralyzed several yards away from it. “Jake!” she screamed at the top of her lungs.
Jake Fortune heard Glory scream his name. It broke the spell and he found he could move. He whipped around and ran towards her voice, fear spurring him onward. Mona began to shout out words in the tongue of the ancient Maya. Suddenly the air cooled and the three of them were stumbling along the passage to the outdoors.
“You saved my life,” Jake told Glory, as he wrapped her into his strong arms and hugged her tightly to his chest. Glory hugged him back, just as tightly.
“We must get to safety,” Mona told them, leading them back to where the king’s guard waited.
“Where is King Tikal?” Fortune asked Chac.
“He has gone to warn his people to flee the valley. The Fire God is angry!” Chac replied.
“Who?”
“Xiuhtecuhtli. He is the lord of fire and lives in the mountain above,” Chac explained.
“What should we do?” Jake asked, once again amazed at the Mayan gods.
“We need to flee as well,” Chac explained.
“Then, what the hell are we waiting on?” Jake asked. They all ran for the edge of the valley. It was an intense climb on to a ledge and a path that would lead them up the neighboring mountain.
It was hard to run on the shifting ground, bucking and jumping under their feet as they tried to flee the valley. A glowing orange tendril of molten lava began edging its way down the mounting towards the city behind them. Fortune looked over his shoulder. He could see King Tikal herding his people towards the main entrance into the city, even as rivers of lava started pouring onto the stone buildings and into the Palace’s Grand Plaza.
Jake turned to where he could see the Temple of Kukulkan. His heart pounded in his chest as he remembered the sight of the statue coming to life and the two men that had
been turned into stone statues. Glory had saved him from that fate. Lava poured over the temple roof and then started running inside the open doorway. He breathed a sigh of relief and offered up a quick prayer that the temple would be buried once and for all!
“Jake! Come on!” Glory called. Jake blinked his eyes and then turned and followed her over the quaking ground to higher ground.
Jake scrambled after her, pushing her up and over a ledge. The volcanic eruption was growing stronger. Flaming rivers of lave were now running down the mountainside, filling the valley, turning it into a molten lake. Jake had one positive thought. The heat of the lava should melt that damned statue away to nothing. That thought gave him comfort. Spewing balls of lava blasted through the air, striking like meteors in the jungle, their tremendous heat instantly starting fires. Chac and the king’s guard led the way away from the many large dwellings, The Lost City was now gone forever. They reached a suspension bridge that stretched across a deep gorge, a river running through it far below them.
Chac had the king’s guard and the Mona go across first. Then he motioned for Fortune and Glory to follow him as he started out along the wooden slat and vine bridge. The bridge was swaying with the rumblings of the volcano. “Hold on tight,” Fortune yelled in her ear, as they started out onto the planks.
Rupert Meijer watched the volcano erupt through the binoculars. It provided quite the light show in the distance. Fortunately, they were far enough away that the Zeppelin was in no real danger. Storm clouds had gathered over head and jagged bolts of lightning flashed across the sky.
Leaving was not an option, as long as the high winds and lightning were in the area. Trying to leave could lead to the hydrogen in the gas bags being ignited by a flash of lightning. So, for the moment at least, they were trapped in this stinking jungle!