Robyn rushed to his side, her hand covering her mouth. “It’s beautiful. Can you imagine how bright it would have been in the cavern with the precipice of the mountain fully cleared away of overgrowth? Just the thought takes my breath away.”
“I can hardly wait to see it in the morning light,” Matthew added.
“God help us. You’re all losing sight of why you’re here in the first place.” Ian’s hand grazed his gun, but he didn’t raise it.
“We are well aware of why we’re here,” Cal snapped.
“Shut up.” Ian leveled the gun on Cal.
“Go ahead.”
“Don’t tempt me.”
Matthew had to step in before something horrible and irreversible happened. Ian was getting impatient, and he was way too comfortable behind a gun.
“The treasure is hidden somewhere else,” Matthew blurted out.
“Somewhere else?” Ian took his eyes off Cal to look at Matthew.
“In all the legends, it’s said that there’s also a gold chain that is six hundred and fifty feet long. Its links are said to be made of gold and the thickness of a man’s thumb. It weighed so much that it took two hundred men to carry it. I’m not giving up hope unless we find the chain and nothing else.”
“So where is it, then?” Ian asked.
“That’s a good question, but I’m guessing once we’ve found it, we’ll have found the rest of the treasure.”
-
Chapter 65
THEY FOUND SMALL CARVINGS ON the temple’s interior walls, and while they looked like buttons, nothing happened when they were pushed. It was time for Matthew and the others to get some rest. They considered sleeping in the temple but it was too unsettling. Sleep wouldn’t come with them lying in the belly of a sacred building. They didn’t belong here in the first place.
“How are we supposed to sleep when we just found the City of Gold?” Cal asked.
“I know we’re all excited. I am, too, but it’s not logical to think we’ll be able to explore all this and leave tonight.” Sometimes Matthew hated being the voice of reason. He wanted nothing more than to search every inch right away, but they needed rest. Otherwise, they’d risk missing important clues while operating on as little sleep as they were.
Robyn crossed her arms. “We shouldn’t build a fire down here, though, Matt.”
He understood her standpoint. This was revered ground and likely a sanctuary for untold wildlife, including species that might not even exist elsewhere if those large butterflies were any indication. Besides, they hadn’t had time to scout out the cavern in the daylight, and Matthew was certain there would be a direct opening somewhere that permitted jungle life to wander in freely. The rich vegetation of the atrium would surely draw some in, and in turn, the prey would draw in their hunters. And Matthew worried about those carnivores. It made staying inside the temple appealing, but it wasn’t a true option.
“We have to build a fire. I’m sorry, Rob—”
She shook her head. “You’re making a mistake.”
The sound of wings slapped above them as a colony of bats descended through the mountain crevice.
Poisonous insects, spiders, snakes—all those Matthew could handle. But these wretched creatures with their beady eyes, pointed ears, and noses? Give him anything else. They were rats with wings.
These specific bats were the size of dachshunds. Everything seemed to be larger here. He tried to steady his breath while his heart thumped in his chest. A deep inhale. A staggered exhale. He recited a silent prayer that they be vegetarian. He wasn’t willing to offer up his blood. Yet, he’d be powerless against them if they tried anything. He was rendered paralyzed, even from this distance. If they came closer the condition might become permanent.
“Build a fire. Now.” The words scraped from his throat. He identified it as his voice but he wasn’t sure where he’d found the ability to speak.
Bats were nocturnal and preferred the darkness. The light of a fire might send them on their way. He realized it was a distant dream given the height of the cavern, but the others did as he said. Juan and Lewis cut down a couple of branches from a nearby tree and put them to the side of a cleared section on the ground. Then they found some dead, dry leaves and put them down. Juan struck a match. As the leaves were consumed in flame, the Bolivians added small twigs and built up to the larger pieces of wood.
Matthew’s gaze kept going from the growing fire back to the bats that were darting around overhead. If only he could keep his mind off their forms.
He tried to relax as the group surrounded the fire. They shared food from Cal’s backpack, and each found a spot around the fire to lie down.
He rolled up one of Cal’s shirts and positioned it under the nape of his neck. Above him were the dark silhouettes. There was much nicer scenery he’d prefer to see before he closed his eyes. But as the darkness washed over him, his mind was no longer on them but on the treasure.
There was no doubt this was Paititi, the city of legends. The gold disc was in the temple. But where was all the treasure? He didn’t want to accept that the Incas had handed all of it over to the Spanish conquistador in exchange for Atahualpa’s life. And even so, the conquistador executed Atahualpa before the ransom amount was fulfilled. That right there dictated that gold and treasure remained, didn’t it?
He fell asleep thinking about the lagoon and its golden glow. Was it just the sun refracting off the large koi or was there gold down there? He’d have to wait until morning to find out.
-
Chapter 66
“LOOK, MATTHEW.” Robyn nudged his shoulder with her foot, and he struggled to open his eyes.
He adjusted to the light slowly, wondering how long he had slept. He sat up. Then he remembered. The bats. He jerked his gaze upward and was temporarily blinded by the morning sun. But once he stopped seeing spots, he sighed with relief. The flying rodents had evacuated. “Is everything okay?”
“Look.” She bobbed her head toward the temple.
Golden light spilled out of the temple’s entrance and reached over the water. The disc looked like the sun itself, and it wouldn’t even have been as bright as it would be if the aperture were cleared of all growth.
“Beautiful, isn’t it?”
He was certain his mouth gaped open. Words were incapable of describing how amazing the scene in front of him was. The last civilization to witness this magnificence was now extinct. Yet here he was, bathing in its splendor. Here the five of them were.
With this observation, he was fired up to find the treasure, to place his hands on what hadn’t been touched since the Incas had left this world. He looked around the cavern, suddenly remembering his thoughts from before he’d fallen asleep.
The water in the lagoon…
He let his gaze travel there. Was it possible his imagination was getting away from him? It was likely a combination of the temple’s glow and the fish giving the water that color. Surely, he was succumbing to the whims of a child who in earnest wished Santa Claus or the Easter Bunny were real. Still, the water’s hue was too intense to ignore.
“Matthew?” Robyn nudged him with her elbow this time.
He glanced over at her, and without saying a word to anyone, pulled his goggles from his pocket and put them on. He ran to the lagoon and dove in. The cold water shocked his system, despite his mental preparation for it. He was already well beneath the surface before he considered the possibilities of what else might lurk beneath.
Fish brushed against his legs, slamming into him with more force than he expected. One knocked him to the left and another bopped him right. They were volleying him back and forth, but he never sensed evil intent. They were just playing with him.
He started to participate, moving his body to the right to meet the first fish, then moving left to meet another. Seemingly no longer amused now that their toy wa
s joining in, the fish scattered, leaving him alone.
An iota of fear slipped in. Were they simply bored of him or was danger coming that made them leave?
His heart rate increased as he descended, considering various theories. But now a golden glow was definitely coming from the bottom of the lagoon.
-
Chapter 67
“WHAT THE HELL IS HE DOING?”
This came from one of the Bolivians. If Ian remembered correctly, his name was Juan.
Juan moved over to Robyn and stared up at her. His height made that the only option as he came in at easily three to five inches shorter than the woman.
“Your guess is as good as mine.” She looked to Cal, but Ian didn’t follow along with her line of sight.
There was a tingling feeling in Ian’s spine, distracting him. He was experienced when it came to killing, and the air carried that veil of death. And it wasn’t coming from him.
A scream escaped the woman’s throat.
Juan was holding the tip of a machete to her neck while his other little friend had one against Cal. It was unexpected, but Ian liked seeing him in that position. Maybe he’d learn to shut up now.
Now Juan was staring straight at Ian. “Give me your gun.”
Was this really how the midget was going to play things? He thought he could control the situation by threatening to harm someone Ian didn’t even care about? He’d pay to see Cal bleed out, and he’d be lying if he said he hadn’t dreamed about cutting out the guy’s tongue. Then they’d see what smart-assed remarks he made.
“Did you hear me? Give me your gun.” Juan poked the tip of the machete into the woman’s throat enough that a small stream of blood trickled down her neck.
“And why should I care if you kill them both? I’m the one with the gun.” He had faith in his Glock’s working order, despite its submersions underwater. The gun was loaded and fire ready. He thought about shooting both Bolivians. It was a shot he could pull off, and it would happen so quickly that neither of them would even see the bullet coming. But would they kill Robyn and Cal before going down? If so, Matthew would leave Ian to die in this jungle. He just knew it.
“I see you’re scheming,” Juan said. “You’re thinking about shooting us both. I caution you not to.”
“And why shouldn’t I?”
Juan laughed and showcased that ridiculous grin of his.
Ian splayed his palms. “Go ahead. Kill them.”
“Go to hell, Ian,” Cal yelled.
“I believe that’s where you’re going, actually.” Ian tossed him a smug smile. The situation was, after all, good from where he stood. But he considered Matthew again. Shouldn’t he be resurfacing soon? He’d been under the water for a while already.
“If you let me kill them, you’ll have to kill us,” Juan said. “You kill us, and you’ll be left with Matthew. He’s going to believe that you killed all of us. He will find a way to exact retribution. He may kill you or simply leave you here to die. Maybe you are coming to like the jungle?”
“Ian, please, do something,” Robyn pleaded.
He let his eyes go to the woman. She was beautiful when she was begging for help. He felt the heat growing in his pants.
“Give me the gun,” Juan demanded again. He readjusted his hold on the machete, and the action seemed to emphasize his small stature, as if the weapon were bigger than he was.
Ian ruminated over what Juan had said. He wasn’t afraid to take on Matthew, in theory, but where would that leave him in reality? Neither scenario would end well for him.
Then he dwelled on the order of the Bolivian’s words. If you let me kill them, you’ll have to kill us.
If he killed the Bolivians first, though, it was a win-win. But his confidence was starting to waver. The doubt was fostered by the envisioned possibility of being left in the jungle by himself.
“I will give you my gun…slowly.” He pulled the Glock from his waistband.
“Now place it on the ground between us and then stand back up again.”
Ian complied with Juan’s stipulations and held his hands over his head when he returned to his place. His heart thumped in his chest as a new but distinct possibility came to him. What was to stop the Bolivians from shooting him?
The jungle was really messing with his head.
-
Chapter 68
MATTHEW’S CHEST BURNED, BEGGING FOR OXYGEN. But he couldn’t go back up yet. He was certain the treasure was on the bottom of the lagoon. He was still a good five feet away, and despite yearning to reach it, he would have to attempt doing so on the next dive. He had to surface. It was then that he caught movement out the corner of his eye.
His body froze as he made sense of what he’d seen. It wasn’t a fish, and instead of swimming forward, it swayed side to side like a snake. Its shadow had been large, too…
Oh shit!
He kicked his legs as hard as he could and spotted it again. It was circling him.
Focus. Focus.
The lungs that yearned for breath were now competing with the screaming alarms sounding in his head from his overexerted muscles.
The shadow lurked off to the side again. This time Matthew got a better look. It was definitely a snake. Its body was easily ten inches around, but its length was indeterminable by the way it maneuvered through the water. He’d guess at least twenty or thirty feet.
Matthew burst out of the water, sputtering, and made wide arcs with his arms to reach the edge. He hoisted himself up and straightened to a stand. “I know where—” He stopped abruptly. The rush of adrenaline ebbed enough to restore clear focus, though his eyes hadn’t fully adjusted, and he could hardly believe what he was seeing. He stuffed his goggles into his pants pocket.
“Please, by all means, continue.” Juan held a gun on Robyn, Cal, and Ian. Lewis was at Juan’s side.
“What are you doing?”
“What am I doing? What does it look like I’m doing? This is our country.” He tilted his head left to indicate Lewis without taking his eyes off Matthew. “And technically, we found this place. It was our plane and our photographs.”
“Funded by my money.”
Juan’s toothy grin twisted Matthew’s stomach. “Your father’s money, actually. But it doesn’t matter. Though I’m sure he’d disagree.”
His father… Matthew had a promise to fulfill, he realized. He’d said that they’d talk when he returned. That meant he had to survive. His eyes went from the machete in Lewis’s hand to the gun in Juan’s.
“I still don’t understand what you think you’re going to accomplish,” Robyn said, a pleading tone in her voice.
“Be quiet. I’m talking to Matthew.” Juan paced a few feet while keeping the weapon aimed at Robyn, Cal, and Ian. “You are going to find that treasure or all your bodies will be left down here.”
If Matthew came clean about what he was certain he had seen, the situation would lean further in Juan’s favor. If he held it back, he risked making a fatal mistake. “Even if we find the treasure, how do you suppose you’re going to get away with it?”
Juan flashed another grin. “See, that’s the beautiful part. When you find it, we’ll still kill you.”
Not very intelligent for the Bolivian to reveal his hand. How was death to serve as motivation?
“I don’t understand why I should help, then.” Matthew said. He had an idea, but it was a risk. The shadow in the lagoon had to be an anaconda. It was possible he could use it to even things out. While it was true that there were only two Bolivians and four of them, Juan was holding a gun. One pull of the trigger and… Well, Matthew didn’t want think about it.
Then it struck him. Kevin had admitted to emptying everyone’s guns of ammunition except for his and Ian’s. He glanced at Ian, who subtly shook his head. The gun Juan held was Ian’s.
Sh
it! Could it get any worse?
He had to stall. “We don’t even have a way out of here. If we find the treasure here—”
“Don’t you worry about that. We’ll scour every inch of this cavern until the answer presents itself. Or should I say, the exit.”
Matthew glanced at Robyn. Her expression was pained, as if she were siding with surrender, but he knew her better. She was a fighter. Cal’s eyes indicated he was ready to fight, too, given the word. Ian looked angrier than a raging bull.
“I found the treasure,” Matthew blurted out.
Robyn and Cal let out gasps, and Ian stared at him. Juan gave another grin and Lewis appeared to be in shock.
“You found it?” Lewis asked.
“Mm-hmm.”
“Where?”
“At the bottom of lagoon.”
“You’re just saying that to stay alive a little longer,” Juan said.
“No, honestly. If you don’t trust me, let me go down with Lewis. He’ll confirm.” Matthew had no real intention of going back in the water.
Juan passed a glance to Lewis, who shrugged. “All right. But any funny business and I’ll shoot the woman first. I see you have a soft spot for her.”
It was hard to ignore Robyn’s gaze, but Matthew settled his on Juan. “I am being serious. The treasure is down there.”
“Oh, did you hear that, Lewis? We’re rich.”
Lewis was chuckling as he sheathed his machete, his eyes taking on the look of a deranged man.
Juan nudged the gun toward Matthew. “You go in with Lewis and— Wait, no. Ah, I see. You’re going to drown him down there.”
Lewis looked like he had swallowed his saliva the wrong way. His eyes bulged, and he coughed.
“No, I’m not—”
“See, I am smarter than you,” Juan interrupted, pointing a finger at Matthew.
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