by Peter Glenn
But he was too fast for me and got his hand out of the way in time. Damn. I backed up another step or two until I ended up smacking right into a giant stone column.
Crap. This was it, kids. My last breath. I had nowhere to run anymore, and even injured, Mystery Man had the upper hand on me somehow.
Well, it had been a good run. Shame that Grace would have to grow up without a dad. That, I really regretted.
Mystery Man’s sword came for me again, slicing through the air with insane speed and aiming for my head. I ducked once more, and the blade smacked right into the stone column instead of me.
My opponent grunted and gave the sword a hard tug, but it didn’t come free. The weapon was stuck in the granite.
“Not so bad now, are you?” I taunted.
I took the opportunity to strike while he was still distracted. I swung low and hard. Mystery Man danced mostly out of the way, but I managed to sink my weapon into his sword arm anyway.
“Ahh!” Mystery Man howled. He gripped his injured arm with the other one, leaving his sword hanging in the stone column, momentarily forgotten.
“I’ve got you now!”
Grax’thor flew through the air as I came at him with another blow aimed right for his chest. But the strike never connected. Mystery Man shimmered and disappeared right before my eyes.
“Oh, come on!” It was bad enough facing a swordsman. But a swordsman with magic? That was a little much.
I spun around, trying to find where my opponent had gone off to this time, but he was nowhere to be seen.
A moment later, I felt the familiar coldness of metal scraping against the right side of my neck. I tried to crane my head to see where it was coming from, but the answer was obvious. The sword that had been in the granite column was no longer there. In my confusion, he must have grabbed it and teleported behind me.
“Check mate,” Mystery Man hissed in my ear.
“Heh. Don’t suppose you’d be willing to call this one a draw?” It was worth a shot.
I felt the metal of his sword leave my neck as he readied to strike me down. In the same instant, I dropped low to the ground, spinning around with a blow aimed for his legs. My weapon sank into his left leg, and I heard Mystery Man howl again as he staggered backward.
“Tsk tsk. Don’t you know not to count your chickens before they hatch?”
Mystery Man cocked his head to the side for a second, then he shimmered and disappeared again. Guess he didn’t get the reference.
“Damn it! Stay in one place!” I screamed.
But it was no use. He was gone. For real, this time. I heard the faint sound of someone laughing off in the distance, then even that faded into nothing, and I was alone in the parking lot once more.
With the immediate threat over, I inspected my wound a little closer. It was indeed superficial, and I figured my advanced healing would seal it up within a few hours. Nothing to write home about.
And I’d given Mystery Man several wounds that would be harder to heal from. Of course, as a mage, he probably had access to healing magic. Or at least healing bourbon. Out here in the jungle, I had neither.
I could only hope he’d stay gone for a while.
“There you are,” Isaiah said behind me a moment later.
I spun around to face him. My weapon was still out, and I almost smacked him with it by accident.
“Easy now,” Isaiah said. He gingerly fingered the tip of the weapon as he pushed it away from him. I saw his eyes grow wide for a half second as he took in the fresh blood along the edge, but he didn’t say anything about it.
“Sorry,” I offered. I cleaned off Grax’thor and put her away. “Guess I’m a bit jumpy at the moment.”
“I can see that.” Isaiah eyed me up and down. His eyes widened as he took in the new wound. “Anything I need to worry about?”
“Hmm?” I frowned and scanned my surroundings. Still no sign of Mystery Man. I figured he was long gone by now. “No, I don’t think so.”
Isaiah rubbed his chin for a moment, then finally nodded. “If you say so, friend.”
What was I supposed to tell him? I’d been ambushed in the parking lot by a madman that wanted me dead for no discernable reason? That seemed more like a second adventure together conversation. Besides, the guy was gone, right? Surely, he wouldn’t be stupid enough to come back.
I nodded slowly. “Yeah, it’s all good.”
“Good.” Isaiah twirled a small metal object in his hands. “Well, it wasn’t easy, but I scored us two adjacent rooms in the hotel.” He grinned a little at that.
“Awesome,” I replied, smiling back at him. “About that. Do you think we could stay somewhere else? This place is feeling a bit… crowded.”
Isaiah chuckled. “Somehow, I thought you were going to say that.”
5
To his credit, Isaiah didn’t even blink when he saw the dent in the corvette’s passenger side door. Just mumbled something about how he was glad he’d bought the rental insurance, and then we were on our way.
I was beginning to learn that he was a really good guy—or at least one that knew when not to ask questions—so I ended up telling him all about my little chance encounter. He seemed appropriately shocked and worried at the right times about that, which made me feel even better about my agreeing to help him. Of course, he was a long-time patron of Mei’s, so I never really should have doubted his authenticity to begin with.
My story told, he’d readily agreed to switching hotels. It took a while to find one that had open rooms in the area, but we finally ended up finding a place called The Gilded Butterfly that looked promising and stayed the night there.
It was now mid-morning of the next day, and we were driving to the location of the first Olmec ruin on our list.
“So what do you know about this place?” Isaiah asked me.
I shrugged. “Not much.”
He’d tasked me with finding out about the various ruins we’d be visiting. Mostly because Rick was the real expert, and he didn’t want to talk to Rick any more than necessary. Me, on the other hand, I didn’t mind that at all.
“Rick couldn’t tell me much about it that wasn’t already in the guidebooks. There’s a temple there, of course. A decent sized one. And a couple of their giant head statues, too, but that’s really all I know.” I let out a sigh. “Not that helpful, I guess.”
Isaiah bobbed his head. “Well let’s just hope something jumps out at us, then.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
The trees faded away a moment later as the main part of the ruin finally came into view. In a word, it was magnificent. Vaguely reminiscent of the pyramids in Egypt, but still completely different at the same time. It was hard to explain.
A large step pyramid rose high into the air, looming in front of us. In spite of the fact that it had been built centuries ago and had spent all its time in the middle of the humid jungle, it still looked very well maintained for the most part. No signs of overgrowth or really anything sticking out on the massive stone steps.
Giant staircases snaked up each of the four sides, leading toward a small chamber on the top of the structure. The stairs were broken and cracked in a few places but were in remarkably good shape for how old they were.
This was my second time seeing a pyramid of any kind up close. I’d only been to see the ones in Egypt once. Seeing this pyramid in all its glory made me want to visit again. I’d have to book a trip with LaLuna and Grace one of these days. After I got a hold of the Jade Jaguar and its infinite money, of course.
I glanced over at Isaiah, whose mouth hung open just like mine. Maybe this was his first pyramid. “It’s really something, isn’t it?”
“Uh huh.” He didn’t tear his eyes away from the giant pyramid as he spoke.
Both of us kept staring at the giant structure as Isaiah found an open parking spot and pulled into it, then turned off the car. We both got out and started heading over to the pyramid proper. Somehow, it was even more amaz
ing the closer we got to it.
There was already a small group of people hanging out near the base of the structure once we got up to it. A guide person stood at the head of the group. Looked like a girl. They were saying something about when the pyramid had supposedly been built, but I didn’t really listen to the particulars.
We didn’t need to know when it was built, we just needed to know if there was a hidden artifact chamber somewhere inside of it. Although, I’ll admit I was a little curious...
“Race you to the top?” Isaiah said a moment later.
I grinned up at him. “You’re on.”
The two of us bolted up the staircase well ahead of the tour group behind us. Isaiah’s legs were longer than mine, and he started to pull forward right away, so I redoubled my efforts, going as fast as my poor legs would take me.
My legs and chest burned as I sailed up the steps, passing Isaiah about a third of the way up. For the hundredth time, I swore I would go to a gym when I got back from this and actually train my stamina.
But we all knew that was a lie. I would never go to the gym. It just wasn’t my style.
Still, it wouldn’t hurt to finally drop the extra ten to fifteen pounds I carried around all the time. Maybe it wouldn’t hurt to go a little bit.
My whole world became pain as I raced up the steps, determined to beat Isaiah at this little race of ours. Not that I was completely sure why. It was a stupid display of testosterone. I was so past all that. Or was I? I sure as heck didn’t want to lose.
“On your left,” Isaiah taunted as he sped past me once again, flashing me a toothy grin.
“Grr!” I huffed, my legs protesting every word. “Oh... no you... don’t!”
We were a little over halfway now. I could see the top clearly. I pushed myself as hard as I could, closing the distance between us just a little with every additional step upward. My chest heaved as I dashed upward, straining to keep up with the rest of my body. For a moment. I thought it would explode as a massive cough escaped my lips.
My legs were no better. They burned so much I swore they were threatening to mutiny and fall off my body. But I kept going anyway. I had almost caught up. Just a couple more steps.
“On… your… right,” I managed between labored breaths as I made up the final bit of distance between us.
I flashed Isaiah the best grin I could muster—which wasn’t much—through another hacking cough, then I was past him. There were maybe twenty steps left. I had this in the bag. There was no way I was going to lose now.
A droplet of sweat slid down my forehead and into my eye, threatening to blind me as I tried to wipe it away. The move set me slightly off balance. All of a sudden, I knew it was over. I was done. I tripped on the second to last step, and the ground came up to meet me, hardened concrete slamming into my cheek as it grazed across the surface.
Pain seared through my face, and I thought I would lose consciousness for a second, but I managed to hold on. I’d still won. I had to rub it in Isaiah’s face.
My hand reached out, scraping against the top of the staircase as I groaned and turned over to stare up at Isaiah, who was shaking his head and smiling down at me. “I win,” I muttered, each word a strain as I sucked in a halting breath that my lungs forcefully expelled against my will.
Isaiah folded his arms over his chest. “You could have just said no, you know.”
Darn it all. The guy didn’t even look winded. What kind of supernatural being was he, anyway? Was his magic really that good?
“But where’s... the fun in... that?” I said at last.
Isaiah laughed, then stuck a hand out to me to help me up. “Here. Let me at least save you a little dignity.”
I accepted the hand gratefully. My own palm was so slick with sweat that it almost slipped out of his grasp, but he held firm onto me, and soon enough, I was back on my own two shaky feet at the top of the pyramid.
My shirt practically clung to my skin, so I peeled it off my chest and used it to fan myself off for a moment. There was surprisingly little wind up here, so the slight breeze from my shirt was all I had to cool myself off with, and the sun was out in full force already.
“So, shall we head inside?” Isaiah asked.
I nodded. “Indeed. It should be cooler in there, at least.” Mexico in May was a far cry hotter than Seattle in May for sure.
We stepped into the small chamber at the top of the structure. The light inside was minimal, but there was enough to make out our surroundings. Unfortunately, there didn’t appear to be much to see inside the chamber. Perhaps once upon a time, the interior had been filled with tools and implements of all sorts for the Olmec rituals they’d no doubt performed here. At the moment, there was nothing at all of note. Not even a chair to sit on or a table or anything.
Ugh. I’d have to stand on these shaky legs for a while yet. Stupid bet with Isaiah. I really should be smarter than this by now.
I ran my fingers along the inner wall as I leaned slightly against it to keep from falling over. My poor jelly legs thanked me for giving them a little extra support, and the pain died down a little. It was more of an intense ache and less excruciating throbbing. It was something, at least.
With one of my fingers, I traced some markings that ran along the wall. Undoubtedly words in the ancient Olmec dialect. Of course, they meant nothing to me. I wasn’t an ancient culture expert.
“I don’t suppose you know how to translate the Olmec language?” I asked Isaiah.
He was off on the other side of the chamber, squinting at similar markings. “Not really, no. It’s not one of the twenty-seven languages I’ve mastered.”
Twenty-seven? Geeze, was there anything he wasn’t good at? I barely spoke Chinese and English.
Okay, that wasn’t fair. I knew a little bit of Spanish and could be conversational in French if you really pressed me. So I guess you could say I spoke four languages. But twenty-seven? Now that was just showing off.
“Can I help you gentlemen?” A voice said from near one of the entrances. It was foreign and decidedly feminine.
We both spun to face the owner of the new voice. The tourist group was still near the base of the pyramid, so it wasn’t any of them.
A tall woman came into view a second later. She was probably six feet tall, with tanned skin and long, blonde hair that she kept in a neat little ponytail. There was nary a strand out of place. The attention to detail worked. She was decidedly attractive—if not really my type. The only odd thing was that she had a slightly crooked smile like the muscles on the left side of her mouth weren’t as strong as the ones on the right. Which was possible, if unusual.
It would make her all the more memorable, though.
She was wearing a tan button up shirt with plenty of pockets on it and a pair of khaki shorts that went down past her knees. Tall, brown hiking boots completed the package.
“And you are?” I asked her.
The woman’s lips parted, revealing a row of shiny, white teeth. “Margarita Stevens,” she said with a slight bow. “I’m the one in charge of these ruins.”
A woman named after an alcoholic drink? Now there was my type of woman. Maybe I could get used to the blonde hair…
I shook my head to clear it. I was with LaLuna, and I loved her. No sense getting distracted. “So, like the head tour guide or something like that?”
Margarita giggled. “Something like that, yes. So, can I help you two gentlemen find anything?”
Isaiah spoke first, stepping forward with his hand outstretched. “The name’s Isaiah, ma’am. My companion, Damian, and I are very interested in these ruins.” He nudged his head toward me as he said my name.
Margarita took his outstretched hand. “I could see that.” Her eyes darted back toward the entrance of the room. “Seeing as you two weren’t keen on waiting with the rest of the tour group.”
I gave her a sheepish look. “That was my fault, miss. I wanted a chance to scope out the place on our own, without prying eyes
looking on.”
She gave me a slight nod. “Very well. So what can I tell you two about this place? I know pretty much everything.”
Isaiah frowned. “This is going to sound odd, but… do you know of any hidden passageways in this ruin?”
“Hidden passageways?” Margarita scrunched her nose. “Not really, no. The Olmec pyramids might look similar to the ones in Egypt, but there are far fewer mysteries about these ones.”
“That’s too bad,” I told her.
“Are you sure there’s not like some sort of trap door or something?” Isaiah pressed. “Any sort of unusual portal, or an archway where it looks like there should be a door, but there isn’t one? Anything?”
Margarita shot him a bemused expression. “I wish I could be of more help, Mr. Isaiah, but like I said, there’s nothing much mysterious about these ruins. They were used for sacrifices and holy rituals. They’re pretty straightforward, as far as ruins go.”
“Thanks anyway, I guess,” Isaiah said, sounding a little deflated.
Couldn’t blame the guy. I was a little deflated, too.
“Why do you ask, anyway?”
Isaiah bit his lip and glanced over his shoulder, then back at her. “I’m not sure if it’s okay to be too open about our purpose or not, but let’s just say we’re looking for a magical artifact that’s supposed to be buried here.”
“Oh, so you’re treasure hunters,” Margarita replied. “You could have just told me that, you know.”
“No no,” Isaiah stammered. “Not treasure hunters exactly, but I suppose that’s a close enough description.”
Margarita put one of her hands on her hips. “Well, can you tell me what the artifact is? Maybe I know someone who’s heard of it before.”
“It’s known as the Jade Jaguar,” I said before Isaiah could give another of his half answers. I liked the guy, but he seemed to have trouble just saying a straight sentence sometimes.
Isaiah glared at me, but I ignored it.
“So, have you heard of it?”
Margarita rubbed her chin with her free hand. “Jade Jaguar, huh?” I nodded. “Maybe. The Olmecs were well known for their jewelry work and made several things out of jade. I suppose a jaguar could be one of them. They believed in a race of werejaguars, you know.”