The Lost Power: VanOps, Book 1

by Avanti Centrae

  “Oh, please,” Will cut in, still talking softly.

  Bear could still hear those bloody motorcycles roaring up and down the street. “Those were different times, Argones. Anyway, the history of mirrors reflects the history of man in a way. I can fill y’all in later.”

  “Give us the abbreviated version,” Will said.

  Bear handed the mirror to Will. “The short history lesson is that mirrors have been around since before the Romans, so Ramiro was familiar with them and their uses.”

  Scooting to the edge where there was better light, Will examined the object further. “Hey, look at this!” He held it out to them. “Speak of the devil, it’s got Ramiro’s sign on the side opposite the mirror.”

  It sure did. “No devil there. So, it’s a clue or somethin’ we’re supposed to use.”

  Will stood back up and looked out the brick hole where he’d found the mirror. For a minute, he looked around and then he said, excitedly, “What if it’s a signal mirror?”

  “Oh, could be.” Bear’s mind whirred. “That would be clever.”

  Maddy stood. Bear handed her the mirror and she handed it to Will. “Try it! But be careful. I still hear them down there.”

  Will took the mirror and peered through each of the open bricks. He turned to the south slot, the one that had held the mirror, and muttered, “I wonder...”

  He put the mirror to the open slot and adjusted it. “Wow,” he exclaimed and jumped back, hitting his head on the other side of the narrow space in the process. “Ouch.” He slouched down, one hand on the back of his head.

  Maddy reached her hand out to comfort Will. “Sit down and tell us what you saw.”

  Will put one knee on the floor and shook his head slightly. “That hurt.”

  “I’ll bet. But what did you see?” Maddy asked.

  “It surprised me. It is a signal mirror! When I used it, it caught light from another mirror at a temple down the way. It looked like it then beamed light to another.”

  “Wow! That is clever--low tech but extremely useful as long as you’re up here during the day. It’s likely they have relay mirrors at each of the other slots, too, to catch the sun as it moves through the sky,” Bear remarked.

  Will stood back up. “An old-time engineering marvel. I approve.”

  “But do you think you held it there long enough to signal whoever is looking for it?” Maddy asked.

  “Probably not. I’ll hold it there for a few minutes this time.” He moved back to the narrow apex of the bell and adjusted the mirror. “This is so awesome.”

  “You’re such a geek,” Maddy said fondly.

  Just then, the motorcycle engines shut off. Moments later, the sound of boots on a stone floor thundered throughout the building.

  CHAPTER 63

  9:57 a.m.:

  Maddy’s breath stopped with fresh fear when the boots began to thud two floors below.

  She looked at Bear and he looked at her. He reached out and took her hand. It was hot and stuffy in the hidden top floor of the temple, and Bear’s palms felt sweaty.

  “Will,” she whispered. “Grab that signal mirror and sit back down!”

  Will did as he was told, completing the circle of their bodies again. Maddy appreciated that Will could move softly for a big man when he had to.

  Had the Russians seen the signal light? A million thoughts raced through her mind. Do they know we’re up here, or are they looking into all the temples? Will they kill us if they find us?

  Looking from Bear’s tense shoulders to Will’s rapid breathing, she could tell they all were feeling the same fear. She reached out and held Will’s hand, too. Maddy’s muscles were tight as a bowstring and her heart slammed so hard in her chest, she swore the men downstairs could hear it.

  This fear wouldn’t do. She decided to close her eyes, breathe slowly, and try to calm herself.

  The deep breaths helped. By god, she’d be prepared if they came.

  Bear pantomimed his plan for a counterattack. “Let’s be ready if they open the pocket door. Marshall, you move here, Argones here, and I’ll attack from in front.”

  The twins nodded and silently moved into position. Holding bricks, Bear crept down the treads. Each sibling crouched on a side of the stairs. Maddy knew it would be a last, desperate stand with slim chance of survival.

  Maddy, Will, and Bear listened. They hardly breathed. The dog pack that she heard earlier sounded as if it were drawing nearer. The sound of boots moved from the first floor to the second. They were all ready to spring into action.

  Unintelligible Russian voices lofted up between the rafters like smoke from a fire.

  Bear glanced at her reassuringly. She did feel comforted by his presence and tried to tell herself it was because he was good in a fight.

  The Russians’ movements echoed around the second floor. Maddy held her breath and willed the three of them to make no sound. Mentally, she rehearsed the counterattack should they open the pocket door.

  The yipping and howling of the dog pack sounded close, perhaps outside in the street, and over the din of the dogs, the tone of the Russian voices sounded frustrated.

  Boots clanged back down the stairs and the voices faded.

  Maddy, Bear, and Will all heaved a muffled sigh of relief. Maddy’s shoulders slumped a little and the three of them exchanged a thank-god glance.

  Maddy moved to a crack in the wall and risked looking out. A block away, a group of monks headed toward them, ever-present oxen-drawn cart behind them.

  In the street below, the pack of growling dogs surrounded the two Russian men. Buddy was in the front of the pack, looking vicious by showing his teeth and lunging forward and back. The Russians tried to shoo the dogs away as they looked around at the other temples. One of the men pointed to the other square-bottomed temple nearby, but the other shook his head and pointed to the dogs.

  They got on their motorcycles and roared up and down the street to try to break up the dogs, but the dogs stood their ground. As the monks drew near, the motorcycles sped off into the distance and the dogs quieted.

  Her shoulders relaxed. “I think they’re leaving.”

  Bear walked back up the stairs and stood next to Maddy, placing a hand on her waist.

  “Hope they don’t come back,” Will said.

  “Looks like Buddy down there with his pals.”

  Will stood beside Maddy and hunched over to look out between the bricks. “I love that dog. Think the pack scared them off?”

  “Either that or the large group of monks that is descending on the street had some effect.”

  “He gets some extra leftovers. Or maybe I can find him a home,” Will said.

  “Wow, there must be fifty monks down there. They’re splitting up. Some are coming here, some going to the square temple next door, some circling that odd little stupa.”

  Soft sounds rustled below. Maddy could almost hear the distinct swishing of red robes.

  A minute later the pocket door slid to the side and a voice came from below in accented English, “It is safe to come down now.”

  The three of them looked at each other, and Maddy spoke for the group, “Okay, coming down.”

  Maddy led the way down the steep staircase. Just outside the hidden door was a young, Asian monk. He was bald, thin, and short, with ears that pointed up from his head in a way that was elfin-endearing rather than odd. His smile was warm and his eyes full of intelligence. “Which of you has the sign?”

  “The sign?” Maddy repeated.

  He looked from Will to Bear. “On your shoulder. One of you must have the sign, or else you do not come with us.” His tone was matter-of-fact.

  “Ah, that.”

  Maddy turned her back to him, wrapped her arms around herself, reached with her right hand and, bra or no, lifted the back corner of her shirt over her shoulder to expose the brand she’d won in Jerusalem. Rejecting embarrassment, she figured the young man would be more uncomfortable than she. Besides, she was irritat
ed that he assumed one of the men had the sign and not her. When she turned back around, his face was a gratifying cherry color and he had turned away.

  He pushed the sign of Ramiro on the mural and the pocket door slid closed.

  “Sorry, had to ask. My name is Nanda. Welcome to the Order of the Invisible Flame. Follow me.”

  Gracefully, Nanda and his robes swished toward the staircase that led to the first floor.

  Maddy made a mental note of the name of the order. She didn’t recognize it.

  Will put his hand on Nanda’s shoulder. “Thank you. Are the men on motorbikes gone?”

  Nanda nodded. “Yes, for now.”

  They walked down to the first floor and stood in the doorway for a moment with a handful of other bald monks. Maddy looked up and down the street. There was no sign of the motorcycles, nor did she hear them. The oxen and their cart stood still as a stone statue in the center of the hot, dusty street. All was quiet.

  Nanda removed a bag from beneath his robes and pulled out a battery-operated hair trimmer, scissors, and shaving cream. “We need to camouflage you as monks. Who is first to lose the hair?”

  “No!” Maddy looked in horror at the trimmer.

  In the same matter-of-fact voice, Nanda said, “Okay, you get caught, maybe die.” Then he looked to Bear and Will. “What about you?”

  Will sat down and gave her a pointed look. “You can cut mine. I don’t want to die.”

  He could be such an ass sometimes.

  The monk set to work with practiced ease, reducing Will’s dark, curly locks to dusty memories in no time. The beard went next and in less than three minutes, Will looked a new man.

  Will rubbed his naked cheek experimentally. “This might feel good in the heat. That beard was getting pretty scratchy. Bear, your turn.”

  Without expression, Bear sat. His marine cut didn’t have much hair to begin with, but his beard had gotten shaggy during their travels. It, too, fell to the floor. This monk was obviously the hair trimmer at the monastery, as he wielded the weapon efficiently.

  Bear stood, and he, Will, and the monk all looked at Maddy expectantly. She realized she liked the couple disguise better than this monk disguise.

  Bear rubbed his hand over his bald pate. “Ah, feels like boot camp.”

  Will had an evil, mischievous look in his eye. “It’ll be a good look for you, Maddy.”

  Bear smiled at her as if to say he would still find her stunningly attractive. “It’ll grow back in no time, Marshall. Better bald than dead.”

  Maddy groaned and relented, plopping on the floor in disgust. It had taken years to grow her hair to that length. She appreciated her hair and knew it wouldn’t “grow back in no time.” It would take at least three years. But he was right. If she were dead, it wouldn’t grow at all. Perhaps she’d grow fond of hats for a while.

  The raping and pillaging of her locks didn’t take long, and she did feel cooler when it was done. Lighter somehow also, but she felt more exposed. Vulnerable.

  “Here are your robes.” Nanda handed them dyed robes from a bag and helped them put them on over their other clothes. “They will only help you not be noticed at a distance, so no need for the under-robe clothes we wear.” Nanda scooped up the errant hair from the floor and put it in the sack.

  Once disguised, they moved with the group of monks from the relative safety of the temple and to the oxen cart. The other monks who had broken away from the main group coalesced back into the whole.

  They all continued walking up the street, Maddy, Bear, and Will in the center of the group. Buddy and his dog friends had dispersed around town.

  Maddy looked around to make sure she looked like the other monks. Bear walked next to her. She touched her scalp. “I miss my hair.”

  His eyes shone. “You look fine.”

  She hoped he was telling the truth but doubted it. To change the subject she said, “Where do you think we’re headed?”

  “No clue, but they’ve either done this before or were expecting us.”

  “That mirror did the trick. Or maybe the Guardians called.”

  “Or sent a carrier pigeon.”

  She laughed. “They are rather low tech.”

  “Seems to work for them,” Bear said.

  “They’ve been at this a long time.”

  Their conversation faded in the heat.

  Before long, they left the dusty roads of Old Bagan and walked to an alley behind one of the local monasteries. An old, blue truck was being loaded with bags of rice and other supplies.

  Nanda pointed to the truck. “We will take this truck to another monastery. You will meet the master.”

  True to his word, they finished loading supplies, ate some lunch, and the four of them got into the truck. Maddy folded herself into the small back seat next to Bear. The truck fired up with a cough and a rumble but managed to pull out of the alley in spite of its age.

  As the blue truck headed out of town, twin motorcycles barreled toward them. One rider wore a blue polo shirt and the other a solid black T-shirt. Her heart caught in her throat for a moment. They all froze, but their disguise held, and the bikes continued deeper into New Bagan.

  She couldn’t help but wonder, How long until they find us again?

  CHAPTER 64

  2:10 p.m.:

  For about an hour, the old, blue truck rumbled along the dusty road that ran to the east of Bagan. Will was grateful to leave the town and the two Russian motorcyclists behind. Eventually, a single mountain peak became visible in the distance.

  “That is Mount Popa, an old volcano,” Nanda offered.

  Will was curious. “What does Popa translate to?”

  “Popa means ‘flower’ in English.”

  Conversation lagged for another ten minutes, and then a set of golden spires appeared atop a massive rock outcropping that jutted into low-lying clouds. It looked like a Buddhist version of Camelot.

  Maddy pointed. “What’s that?”

  “That is where we are going.”

  Out of the balloon and into the clouds. Just my luck. “Does it have a name? What kind of place is it?” Will was glad that he’d done some work on the whole fear of heights thing.

  “It is called Popa Taungkalat Monastery.”

  Will was afraid to ask his next question but couldn’t help himself. “How do we get to the top? I don’t see a road.”

  Nanda laughed. “Good question. There are seven hundred and seventy-seven stairs. The supplies can go up by a rope but we climb the stairs.”

  All three of them groaned at the same time. Nanda laughed again. “I see you’ve been enjoying the stairs on all our temples in Bagan. Don’t worry, most people make it. And the view is wonderful from above.”

  “It’s the ‘most people’ part that I’m worried about.” Maddy laughed and they all joined her.

  Seeing the motorcycles with the Russians going the other way shortly after they had departed toward the monastery had done wonders for their moods. It felt good to laugh after so much tension.

  A dog ran alongside the truck and barked briefly. Before they left the monastery in New Bagan, Will had given some money to the head monk and asked that he keep an eye out for Buddy. The man had promised that he would, so Will was happy about leaving his canine hero in good hands.

  They dropped the truck off in the tiny but colorful town at the base of the rock outcropping, walked through the tourist zone--the entrance to which was flanked by statues of massive white and gold elephants--and headed up the stairs. Before long, their good humor faded in the warmth of the afternoon and the reality of the 777 steps.

  Will moved slowly from getting up so early, from the excitement of the day, and from the heat. His legs ached and he had to pull himself up the stairs with the railing. His sister and Bear seemed cranky, too. It was also Will’s turn to carry the backpack that contained their resources and, in the heat, it weighed on him.

  He expected to hate the stairs. What he didn’t expect were the d
iminutive monkeys that littered the broad, covered staircase. Also, he’d not anticipated his fear of heights to have lessened as much as it had. Oddly, he caught himself looking at the view without trepidation. It was a nice change. He wondered if it would last.

  “This must be quite the tourist destination,” Bear noted.

  Proving Bear’s point, Will observed the care that had been taken with the staircase construction. The stairs were broad and divided by a metal railing. They had been built wide enough for five people to walk abreast on each side of the divider. As they climbed, Maddy picked up trash until her arms were full then dumped it in a waste can. Blue-painted four-by-fours held up the metal awning, which did a good job of keeping the sun off their heads.

  Awning or no, Will wondered if they’d all end up with a sunburned scalp anyway, just from having such pink, newly-shaven heads. Bear looked decent as a bald man, but Will wasn’t at all used to Maddy without hair. Her mane was such a part of her. She was forever playing with it, tugging on it. He sensed that she felt out of sorts without it, like he felt without Maria.

  Nanda turned to Bear. “Yes,” he replied. “The monastery sees many tourists every day, but especially during holy festivals like the full moon in December. Then many pilgrims make the effort. This site has much that is blessed. Many nat spirits live here and there are several relics, too.”

  Maddy nodded. “What’s up with all the charming monkeys?”

  Will had to agree they were cute, but they were everywhere. At least ten crawled on the railings. More were on the stairs, eating treats, and hanging overhead just under the awning.

  Nanda replied, “Do not feed them. Do not hold any food in your hand. Don’t let them come near you, and you’ll be okay.”

  “I wasn’t worried about them. Should I be? They’re pretty adorable.”

  “No, they won’t hurt you. Some tourists buy food for them is all. I wish they could go back to the jungle, where they could be at peace in their natural homes.”