by Peter Glenn
I got the distinct impression that nothing was further from the truth but ignored it.
Rick got up and took the offered hand. “Glad I could point you in the right direction.”
Pushing off the armrests, I stood up as well. My eyes trailed over to Rick, then back to Isaiah. Neither of them looked happy with one another at that moment. I felt like I could cut the tension in the room with a knife.
“Well, we’ll just be going,” I said to Rick, smiling. “Thanks again for everything, I’ll be sure to stop by if we need anything else.”
“Just make an appointment next time, will you?” Rick begged.
“Come on, Rick. You know me. I can’t be bothered to do that.”
Rick shrugged. “I had to ask.”
With that, I grabbed Isaiah by the shoulder and led him back out of Rick’s office. He pushed me off but came with me easily enough.
When we were back out at his car, Isaiah leaned back against his seat and let out a long sigh. “Can you believe that guy? Ancient astronaut theory? Really?”
I let out a nervous laugh. I liked Rick well enough, but even I agreed that was a little crazy. “Well, what can you do? But he knows his stuff. I’d trust his information with my life.” I thought back to the Celtic queen incident for a moment. “Have trusted him with my life, in fact.”
“Yeah?” Isaiah looked hopeful.
I nodded. “Yeah. So if he says the artifact might be in an Olmec ruin, then it’s probably in an Olmec ruin. I know it’s not much, but it’s the best lead we’ve got right now.”
Isaiah did nothing for several moments, then finally nodded. “Very well. I guess we’re heading to Mexico.”
4
The plane ride had been a long one. About seven hours or so. But I’d gotten to ride in First Class again, thanks to Isaiah, so it had been plenty comfortable. We’d spent the time chatting about our pasts, particularly things we both loved about the 80s. It was bliss.
I tell you, I could get used to flying places in First Class. Normally, I went with the cheapest tickets possible because I don’t have a lot of money. But when someone else was footing the bill, well, I didn’t mind letting them pay for the upgrade.
Of course, if that Jade Jaguar and its endless font of money came through for us, I’d be able to fly First Class everywhere I went. I could barely contain my excitement over it as we walked through the airport parking lot.
Isaiah had already called ahead and gotten a car reserved for us. Apparently, we didn’t even need to go in and sign any paperwork or anything, which I appreciated.
The last time I’d been left alone while someone had gone to sign rental car paperwork, I’d been attacked. Of course, it was extremely unlikely that would happen again. I was just being overly cautious by even thinking about it.
Who would even know us all the way out here, let alone try to target us?
Nah, I was just letting my nerves get to me.
“This is the one,” Isaiah said a moment later, interrupting my thoughts. “She’s purdy, ain’t she?”
I looked the car over. It was a purple Corvette convertible that looked to have all the upgrades. Oh yeah. I could for sure get used to traveling with Isaiah.
“Ooh,” I said, my mouth hanging slightly open. “Really?”
Isaiah nodded. “I mean sure, it’s not my usual car or anything. A tad homey, perhaps. But it’s the best I could get on a moment’s notice.”
Heh. If this was “the best he could get,” I was going to enjoy this trip very much. It made me wonder what kind of hotel he had planned for us to stay in.
“You ready?” he asked me.
I nodded, and he clicked a button on his key fob. Both the driver’s side door and the passenger door opened automatically.
“Wow.” I’d never seen anything like it before.
“Supposedly, it’s self-driving, too, but I never trust those things,” Isaiah told me while I continued to ogle it.
“Understandable.” I’d never really trusted self-driving cars, either.
There was only so far I was willing to trust modern technology, and that was my line. Of course, I didn’t even have a driver’s license to begin with—not that that had stopped me from driving. They were just hard to come by when you were an illegal Chinese immigrant. So on the rare occasions I did drive, I tried to keep my head down and follow the law to the letter.
But Isaiah would be doing all the driving on this trip, so all I had to do was ease back against the all-leather interior and relax. Which I did. My butt practically glided into the seat, settling into the grooves in the middle like the seat had been molded just to fit me.
Which was unlikely, but I was of particularly average height and build, so it had probably been built for someone like me.
At any rate, it was heaven. Somehow, the seat wasn’t even that hot, considering the car had been sitting out in the Mexican sun all day. I wondered how they’d engineered that one. Maybe the car had cooling seats. I could only hope.
Isaiah got into his seat and turned on the car. A blast of air conditioning hit me right away, cooling off my skin and evaporating the little bit of sweat that had broken out on my face from the walk to the car.
“Let’s see if they have any 80s stations down here to listen to,” Isaiah said.
He played with the car’s radio dial for a minute. I heard glimpses from several Spanish stations—no real shock there—and then finally it settled into something more recognizable. Dead or Alive. Nice. I mean, they were no Duran Duran or anything, but then who was?
I glanced down at my Duran Duran shirt and smiled just a little. If this was how the trip was going to start, I could already tell the whole thing was going to be just amazing.
We reached the hotel about an hour later. It was quite the drive, but Isaiah had managed to snag a place that was kind of close to the first Olmec ruin on our list, so we wouldn’t have to go very far in the morning. I could appreciate that. The drive had started out with us in a largely desert area, but that had soon given way to the jungles of Southern Mexico and their vast lushness.
The sun was still beating down on us, heating everything to a crisp. Except the car seats. Those were still nice and cool.
Still, the heat was starting to get to me. It wasn’t normally all that hot in May in Seattle, so my body had yet to adjust to the higher temperatures down here in Mexico. Being closer to the equator seemed to have that effect. That, and it wasn’t raining every other day. So my skin was starting to feel the heat, and in spite of the air conditioning, my forehead was covered in sweat.
Isaiah pulled the car around into a spot a ways from the door and parked. The hotel itself wasn’t much to look at from the outside. Five Palms, its sign read. The sign was in Spanish, but I understood enough Spanish to make it out. I hoped it would be nicer in the interior. Everything else had been great so far. I was holding out hope the hotel would follow suit.
Of course, out here in the middle of nowhere, I really shouldn’t expect too much. But then, who was I kidding? I slept on the worst mattress on the planet in my own apartment. Truth be told, any room with a bed that didn’t have several holes in it would be better than mine…
“I just need to go and check us in. I’ll be in and out as quick as I can,” Isaiah told me.
“Sounds great,” I replied, shooting him a big grin.
“You can just hang out in the car and listen to music if you want.”
My smile grew wider. “You know what, I think I’ll do just that.”
Isaiah left the car a moment later, and I turned the radio up a notch. It was one of those cars where you could run the radio when the engine was off, which I appreciated. I let the 80s music wash over me while I leaned back in the seat and closed my eyes for a moment. Poison was playing now. They were probably in my top twenty favorite bands.
I sat there, doing nothing, for what must have been ten minutes before I started to get worried about Isaiah. Granted, there could have been a big li
ne at the checkout desk, but there were only two other cars in the parking lot, so I didn’t think that was the case.
Opening my eyes, I looked around the lot. It was empty and mostly quiet, save for my radio blaring. A little too quiet. I realized then that I couldn’t hear any birds or insects in the background, which seemed odd to me. We were in the middle of a jungle, after all.
I turned my radio dial down several notches and really listened. A strange scraping noise assaulted my ears, coming from somewhere behind the car.
The hairs on the back of my neck stood on edge, and I froze, trying to be as still and quiet as I could. Someone else was out there, and they didn’t sound friendly.
My eyes trailed down to where my sword Grax’thor hung at my side. She was my good luck sword, and we were bonded together. Everywhere I went, the sword came with me. Likewise, if she was far enough away, I could be pulled to her location as well.
She was also a snarky little bitch that loved to throw digs at me whenever possible. But I was kind of responsible for that, too, so I couldn’t really blame her. Still, she was a serviceable enough weapon when I needed her.
That strange scraping noise came again, sounding a little closer. It was maybe ten feet or so away.
I wrapped my fingers around the hilt of Grax’thor and got ready to strike. Whoever was out there wasn’t going to catch me unawares.
The noise kept coming, inching closer and closer. I could sense the person’s presence. They were just behind the car now. If I had a good angle, I probably could have seen their head peeking out in the rearview mirror.
Just a little closer, you bastard, and I’ll have you right where I want you.
I threw my head back again and closed my eyes most of the way, trying for all the world to look like I’d heard nothing and didn’t care. That way I could lure them into my own little trap. Turn the tables on them so to speak. I just had to hope my would-be assassin would fall for it.
Mystery Man took the bait. I heard him creep closer and closer, coming around the side of the car until they were crouching right outside my door.
I gripped Grax’thor even tighter. My hand was a little slick from sweat, but I had her firmly in my grasp. I was going to get one shot at this.
The tiniest hint of a black hood peeked out over the edge of the car door. I could only barely make it out from my angle.
Mystery Man rose slowly, a knife in his outstretched hand reaching for my throat.
It was now or never. I sprang into action, shoving the car door open with one hand while I brought my weapon up to guard against the knife with the other.
The car door slammed into Mystery Man’s body, and I heard him howl as he was knocked away. His knife clattered and fell into my seat. I left it there as I got out of the car and went over to where Mystery Man was half-laying on the ground, holding one of his legs in both hands.
“Game over, little guy.” I held out my weapon, letting it rest in the air above him. “Now fess up, who sent you to get me?”
And why, but we’d get to that later. Seriously, how did they know I was all the way out here, and why did they care? I had so many questions.
Mystery Man huffed. I could see him more clearly now. He was dressed head to toe in black—a rarity in this weather—with a black hood that partially obscured his face. A little bit of his hair, which was also black, stuck out of the corner of his hood.
He looked up at me with his dark, brooding brown eyes and hissed at me.
“Fine then, keep your secrets,” I said. I pushed my weapon down a bit, aiming closer to him. It was only a few inches from his throat now. “You can die here, for all I care.”
Seriously, I’d dealt with enough crazies to last a lifetime in the past year. I didn’t need to suffer any more of them. I brought Grax’thor even closer to the man’s neck.
“Wait!” Mystery Man urged.
Finally, we were getting somewhere. “What is, then? Out with it!”
In the next instant, everything changed. Mystery Man shimmered for a half-second, then he was gone.
“Damn it!”
I spun around, looking for where the guy had run off to, but I didn’t see him anywhere. A split second later, my sword arm spasmed, causing me to lift my blade up at an awkward angle. Before I could even react, something clanged into my sword from behind me, jarring my arm further. I lowered the arm and spun once more to see Mystery Man standing there, holding a sword that looked similar to my own in his hands.
Where he’d gotten it was anyone’s guess. Heck, how he’d gotten off the ground was anyone’s guess, who was I kidding? All I knew was that if it hadn’t been for that freak arm spasm, the guy would have had my head for sure. Thank goodness for blind luck.
“You a mage, then?” I spat at Mystery Man.
He just tsked at me and struck again, this time with a blow aimed at my midsection.
Magic, I wasn’t any good at. All I had was a bit of blind, stupid luck that seemed to keep me going. But swordplay? Now that’s where my real talents lay.
I brought my own sword around in plenty of time to parry the blow, following it up with a swipe of my own. Our swords clashed again as Mystery Man blocked my own advance.
Humph. So he was halfway decent at it, too. Figures.
Mystery Man came at me with a low swipe aimed at my legs. The blow came so fast it was all I could do to dance backward in time to dodge the strike, almost smacking up against the car in the process.
Damn. So he was good and fast. Not a great combo for me.
I needed to get some distance in between me and the car so I’d have room to maneuver. Plus, I really didn’t want to damage her more than necessary. She was a really nice number. Even if she was a rental, I didn’t want to see her suffer.
I swung my blade around in a wide arc in an effort to force my opponent backward. It worked. I used that opportunity to move laterally off to the right side, away from the car. I jabbed at him with my sword as I went so he couldn’t get too close to me.
Finally, I was in a spot where I could move freely. Now we could have a real melee with each other.
Mystery Man lunged for me, tip aimed high. I blocked the strike with my own weapon, and they clanged together so loud I swore it would wake the dead. My own weapon shook from the force of the encounter, and I almost dropped it.
Almost. Thankfully, this wasn’t my first rodeo.
He followed that move up with a quick series of strikes, each one a little harder than the last. In spite of my efforts, I was forced backward once more. At least there wasn’t anything behind me this time.
Still, he was a powerful swordsman. Maybe even better than I was. And that didn’t bode well for my long-term health.
I could curse my newfound desire for living. Why did I have to care about the battle’s outcome all of a sudden? It was just another stumbling block that kept me from coming out on top.
Trying to force those thoughts to the side, I focused on Mystery Man’s sword, watching it intently to see if there were any holes in his offense. It took a few moments, but I thought I saw a weak point on the left side. His blows there weren’t as strong.
If I could jam my sword in at the right time, maybe I could score a hit.
Our swords clanged time and again as I retreated even more. The main entrance to the hotel was starting to come into view behind me. We weren’t far from it now. Would anyone come out of the building screaming if we went in there? I hoped not. I really didn’t need bystanders in the way.
Just then, Mystery Man made one of his weak left side strikes again. I dipped low, thrusting forward with Grax’thor at the same time and whipping the tip up at the last moment to get under his guard.
The scrape of metal against skin rewarded me as I scored a glancing blow across his chest. It wasn’t deep, but blood flowed freely from the wound.
Mystery Man howled and backed up a half step, putting his free hand over the wound.
With a wicked grin, I redoubled my o
ffensive, coming at him with a series of quick strikes aimed at his midsection. I scored another couple small scrapes for my trouble. For once I was winning.
But Mystery Man wasn’t done with me yet. He swung his blade hard, jabbing at my neck with such speed I almost didn’t see the blow coming. I was forced backward yet again, stumbling and flailing backward to avoid the blade.
This was followed up with another swipe at my midsection. This one connected, and a fresh line maybe two inches wide opened up along my abdomen. Pain seared through my core, radiating out from the wound.
Thankfully, it hadn’t hit anything vital, and the tear in my Duran Duran shirt was low enough that I figured I could still salvage it. I really didn’t need to go buy another one of these babies. They were already hard enough to find.
I hissed as the wound wept blood and fought to keep Mystery Man’s weapon at bay. Sparing a glance behind me, I could see that we were almost in the hotel by now. We were already underneath the overhang.
At least no one had come rushing out of it yet, dashing in between us and accidentally getting caught in the crossfire. But with my luck, it wouldn’t be much longer until they did. Just what I needed. Innocent blood on the line.
Not to mention we would probably get kicked out for spilling blood on their carpets. I’d been kicked out of nicer hotels for less. Granted, I hadn’t seen the rooms yet, but it was already late in the afternoon, and I didn’t want to make Isaiah have to find something else last minute. I really didn’t need that hanging over my head, too.
Mystery Man came at me again, swinging high and hard. I ducked under the blade at the last second as it sailed over my head. Good gods, this guy was fast. I needed to kill him or find a way out of this, and soon, or it wouldn’t just be carpets and bystanders that I’d have to worry about.
I brought Grax’thor up to block another blow that would have decapitated me, sliding my blade down the length of his at the last second to try and slice into his hand.