The Secret of the Codex

by Melissa Frey

  But another part of him—the part that was winning out, though for what reason he didn’t know—was telling him to wait. Something was coming, something that would rescue them from this seemingly impossible situation. He just needed to wait, to trust.

  So he did; he and Kayla stood for what seemed like an eternity just staring at the water flowing from the wall. Neither of them moved, nor felt the need to move. He knew—and could sense that Kayla knew, too—that everything would be okay. This thing they were waiting for—whatever it was—would come soon, and it would save them.

  Mandy didn’t know what to think. She glanced at Justin, who was staring at Kayla and Grady with a scowl on his face, then looked over at Kayla and Grady. They were standing side by side, staring at the growing rush of water with an inexplicable look of complete peace on their faces, even as the water rose. What were they doing?

  Shouldn’t we all be looking for the exit? she thought, even as she found herself unable to move.

  Mandy felt horrible. She had caused the rift in the wall, the crack that had split the wall in two and caused the water to overflow and begin to flood this room. She glanced toward the ground, heart beating harder in her chest, at the water rising beneath her. She extended her hand out to her side; it touched the surface of the water.

  The water was now up to her waist.

  She panicked. “Grady! Kayla! We need to move!”

  She forced her legs to trudge through the water and started toward them, taking Justin’s hand and pulling him along with her.

  She kept yelling the entire way. “We have to go! We need to find a way out!” She could barely hear herself above the sound of the rushing water, but she had to try.

  “Kayla!” She came up behind her friend, placing a hand on her back. Kayla didn’t move, didn’t even flinch.

  Mandy was officially worried. She let go of Justin’s hand to put both of her own on Kayla’s shoulders. She shook her, trying to force her out of this odd trance.

  But, again, Kayla didn’t seem to hear her, or feel her touch. Mandy got angry and forcibly turned Kayla to face her, splashing in the waist-high water as they went. “Kayla! Talk to me! What are you doing?”

  Kayla’s mouth turned up ever so slightly. The effect was eerie.

  “What are you doing?” Mandy demanded again, but the question came out nearly a whisper as her voice caught at the sight of the expression on Kayla’s face.

  Kayla’s lips parted slightly as she turned back to the torrent, grabbing Grady’s hand once again. Mandy came up beside her friend, pulling Justin along with her while trying to keep herself in Kayla’s line of sight. She didn’t hear the words that came out of Kayla’s mouth, but Mandy could easily read her friend’s lips. “We’re waiting.”

  Mandy’s mouthed response was desperate. “For what?”

  Before Kayla could answer, a thunderous clap broke throughout the room, shaking it violently as though they were in an earthquake. Mandy looked over at Grady, whose vague smile was turning into a grin. He and Kayla seemed to snap out of their trance in the same instant.

  “This is it!” Grady yelled as the thunderous earthquake subsided slightly. “Get ready!”

  Mandy wanted to ask “for what?” again, but in that moment she couldn’t get any words out. She couldn’t even breathe.

  Something had knocked the wind out of her.

  They were falling—Grady was sure of that. He felt the water start to pull him under as the rocky surface beneath his feet crumbled and shattered into the space below.

  Grady, Kayla, Mandy, and Justin plummeted beneath the surface, free-falling through the water as if being funneled down a massive drain. They landed in a heap on a hard surface below as an enormous waterfall poured down over them. Grady couldn’t catch his breath.

  Blindly he reached out his hand, trying to find Kayla. Somehow he had let go of her during the fall, and not knowing where she was now terrified him. Grady blinked as he strained to see through the falling water, coughing as he did, looking for some sign that Kayla was alive. He strained to hear her thoughts, but they seemed scrambled, incoherent. Please be okay, he thought, willing her to hear.

  The water was now trickling over the side of the floor above them, and Grady was finally able to hear something other than rushing water. He could hear Justin and Mandy gasping for air behind him, and he thought he could hear a third person . . .

  There. He finally saw Kayla lying a few feet away from him, quietly gasping for air. He rushed to her side, not caring about the trouble he was having breathing at the moment. He needed to touch her, to know she was real, to know she was okay.

  But something was wrong, and he couldn’t figure out what. Her thoughts were still jumbled and weren’t making any sense. “Kayla,” he breathed, brow furrowed.

  “Grady,” she whispered, reaching up to touch his face with what Grady could tell was a forced smile. Then she coughed, and the smile faded.

  “Kayla, what’s wrong? Are you hurt?”

  Kayla looked confused for a moment. “What?”

  “Are you hurt? Are you okay?” His questions came out so rapidly that he hoped she understood.

  “I . . . I think so . . .” she tried to move, then winced.

  Grady cringed. “Where are you hurt?”

  “I . . . don’t know . . .” she tried to move again, this time with more success. She lifted herself up on her elbow, testing her range of motion carefully. When that seemed to be okay, she rose to a seated position. Grady stayed with her, gauging her movements carefully. She started to stand.

  She staggered, then fell over. Grady caught her before she hit the ground, hearing in her thoughts exactly what hurt.

  “My ankle . . .”

  Grady cringed again, then released the breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. If only her ankle was broken—or, perhaps even better, sprained—there was no serious danger. Well, not really better, but she should be fine. He could easily carry her out of here if he needed to.

  But how did they get out?

  The room was an inky black, the light above absorbed by the darkness in this pit. Grady’s eyes strained to take in his surroundings as something occurred to him. Where had all the water gone? The floor was barely wet, save a few small puddles here and there. All that water had to have gone somewhere.

  He helped Kayla to her feet, letting her balance on her good leg and lean into his side. He welcomed the contact; he felt as though he had been too long without her.

  Life after falling in love with her would never be the same—he knew that. It had altered him so completely that nothing else seemed to matter anymore. Nothing but her.

  He knew Kayla could hear his thoughts—hers were clear now and he could almost hear her smiling in the darkness—but he didn’t care; he was beyond that now. They were beyond that. If—when—they ended this journey still intact, he wouldn’t hesitate to make her his own.

  So the only thing that brought him back to reality, the only thing that could, was the reluctant change in her thoughts, followed immediately by the sound of her voice. “So how do we get out of here?”

  Justin spoke up. “Well, while you two were fooling around I figured out where all the water went.” His flashlight illuminated the tiny room surrounding them.

  The room was small; it could barely even be called a room. It was really just a deep, circular pit in the ground, a dark and dank place where, apparently, excess water was expended. The four of them now stood on a circular piece of rock in the center of the pit. Around its edges, a small crack separated the floor from the wall. Apparently this was where all the water had gone.

  The crack was only about six inches wide, but it was still disconcerting. The room left Grady with the feeling that they were stuck in the middle of a well with no way out.

  He had to ask the question. “So . . . did you find an exit?”

  Justin grinned, puffing up his chest. “Of course. I never disappoint.”

  Mandy rolled her e
yes.

  Grady looked over at the spot now illuminated by Justin’s light. He stared wide-eyed at what shouldn’t—what couldn’t—possibly be real.

  But there, in the most miraculous of places, was a hole in the side of the well, a small opening that led away from this damply saturated place. Grady stood frozen for half a second, then abruptly snapped into action. He handed his book to Kayla, knowing she would guard it with her life, then helped her stagger slowly toward what was sure to be their way out of this place.

  Justin was the first to duck through the opening, hunched over. He came out on the other side just as Mandy ducked into the cramped passageway. Kayla, then Grady, followed quickly, their backs only inches from the ceiling.

  As soon as Grady could stand up straight again, he looked up to see what the others were already gaping at: there, in the most unexpected and glorious place, was a staircase. The group gladly climbed it, letting it lead them up and away from the cave that had nearly been their tomb. At the top of the stairs, another tunnel stretched before them, but Grady could see daylight ahead. He couldn’t wait to see the sun, to breathe fresh air again. He led the group toward the light, their beacon showing them the way out.

  The four of them, injuries and all, broke out from the suffocating oppression of the mountain and stepped into the bright light of the afternoon sun.

  CHAPTER 34

  Informant

  Lamanai Archaeological Dig, Northern Belize

  Jackie trudged slowly down the two steps in front of the work trailer, awkwardly reaching behind her to close the door. She absentmindedly began to head back to her own tent, where she was stowing the globe, as she contemplated the meeting she’d just had with Jack. Nothing really important was said—he’d only wanted an update on what she’d found out about the globe, which wasn’t much—but something was up with Jack. Most of the time he’d just stared off into space, and didn’t answer her questions right away . . . What could possibly have been bothering him? She knew him well enough to know that something was on his mind, but also knew that it wasn’t her place to pry. As much as she wanted to. Needed to, really. Did he know her secret?

  She forcibly shrugged for the mass of people surrounding her, in case they were watching, to try to mask the frown on her face. She couldn’t let them see that she was concerned, even if they wouldn’t read anything into it. A secret like hers could get her in trouble around here, and she’d gone this long without anyone suspecting a thing. Or so she thought. Did Jack suspect? Was that what was bothering him?

  She was going to drive herself crazy with such thoughts. She decided right then, as her tent came into view, that she couldn’t let what Jack might have been worrying about bother her. If she needed to know, Jack would tell her . . . right? She hoped so.

  As her tent got closer, she made a conscious effort to think about something else, but it was proving difficult. With all the excitement of the past few weeks, she hadn’t had time for thinking—or for much of anything, really. A novel she had fully intended to read lay unopened in her tent, and a few letters lay in a small stack under her cot, letters she hadn’t had time to respond to, or even read thoroughly.

  Remembering the letters brought a small smile to her face. Just thinking of who wrote those letters, what she remembered them saying of what little she’d had time to read . . .

  She stopped abruptly as a thought occurred to her. She glanced around quickly, and checked her watch. No one should be in there now . . .

  She turned a sharp left and headed for the communications trailer, by way of the mess hall and the main part of the dig—again, just in case people were watching and wondering where she was going. She needed to be seen going somewhere obvious, somewhere no one would question. Then she would steal away to her destination when she was sure prying eyes were elsewhere. She was probably being overly cautious, but she couldn’t take any chances.

  After a few frustrating minutes of being stopped by who she was certain was every single person at the dig to ask every inane question known to man, Jackie crept up to the door of the communications trailer and stole a few furtive glances to make sure she wouldn’t be seen before ducking inside. She pulled the door shut behind her with a feather-light touch; despite her caution, she was fairly certain the sound of her entry would be masked by everything going on at the dig. No one would realize she was here. No one was even nearby.

  She wasn’t supposed to be in here; she knew that. The satellite phone was strictly for emergencies. But she couldn’t help herself. She hadn’t heard his voice in forever.

  Downtown Leticia, Colombia

  “So where are we headed next?”

  Justin’s offhand question at their late dinner elicited more of a response in Kayla than she would’ve liked. She was certain he didn’t mean anything by asking, but lately she’d been taking personal offense to questions like that—which bothered her. Why did her mind keep bringing this up? She couldn’t do anything about it, and her friends knew that. And they didn’t care. She told herself to shut up and reached for her sparkling water.

  Grady’s voice broke into her thoughts. “Not sure. We could be going anywhere.” The sound of Grady’s voice made her jump, and she realized for the first time since they’d left the mountain that she couldn’t hear his thoughts anymore. She frowned.

  Grady set his fork down to reach over and squeeze her hand. “It’s fine,” he mouthed to her, offering a sweet smile.

  Kayla thought her answering smile fell a little short.

  Mandy spoke up. “That’s fine with me.” She drew a large swig of water from her straw. “It’s so pretty here.”

  Kayla nodded absently at the observation, then glanced around the hotel’s restaurant and lobby to fully appreciate their surroundings. All around them, the sandy-colored stone floors and walls were adorned with delicate, multi-colored tile inlays; gauzy white swatches of fabric hung from the high ceiling, waving ever-so-slightly in the breeze coming in the wall of open-air windows that afforded a panoramic view of the surrounding rainforest. A myriad of plants stood unobtrusively around the room in brightly colored, massive urns, giving such a cheerful place even more life. It was definitely beautiful.

  “So what should we do while we wait?” Justin posed the question to the group.

  Kayla raised her arms above her head and stretched. “I don’t know about all of you, but I could use some rest.” She pushed her chair back and stood.

  Grady smiled. “Sounds good to me.” He tossed some cash on the table as he rose to follow her out of the lobby.

  “Grady?” Kayla stopped just before she reached her room and turned to the man she loved.

  Grady reached for her hands and held them in his. “What is it?”

  “I just . . .” Kayla began, unsure of where she was going with this. “I just wanted to give you a proper goodnight.” Her lips turned up as she gazed into Grady’s eyes. She stretched up to kiss him deeply, lingering for a few moments before pulling away.

  Grady grinned. “You sure know how to say goodnight. Although I may not be able to sleep after that.”

  Kayla shrugged, her brows furrowing. “After what?”

  Grady suddenly wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her to him, pressing his lips on hers passionately but somehow gently. She loved when he took her by surprise. Kayla’s head started spinning as she let him press her up against the door to her room.

  When he pulled away—only slightly—minutes later, Kayla was still reeling. She didn’t think she’d be able to sleep after that, either. She opened her mouth to invite him in when all of a sudden she couldn’t move.

  What was that? A highly unwelcome interruption scattered her thoughts, and she was intensely distracted. She frowned; something was messing with her thoughts. Was that Grady?

  She placed her hands on Grady’s chest, pushing him away and hating it every second, but unable to sort out her thoughts with Grady being so close. Grady’s countenance changed as his eyes found hers and
held them, and Kayla’s heart broke at the confusion she saw in them. “Grady . . . I . . . I’m sorry.”

  “Is everything okay?”

  Kayla tried to nod but she couldn’t. Instead, she spoke the truth. “No.”

  Grady’s hand flew to her arm. “What’s wrong? What is it?”

  Kayla shook her head, but it didn’t help to clear it. It only seemed to make the confusion in her head worse.

  Grady had both hands on her upper arms now. “Kayla. Talk to me.” He was nearly growling now.

  Kayla blinked hard, then stared directly into his eyes. And then, though she could still see him, she couldn’t feel him anymore. She felt an immediate and pervading isolation—though she was staring right at him—right before it hit her.

  It wasn’t like her other visions; it was simply a feeling, but one so strong and overwhelming that she reached for Grady’s forearm and gripped it tight. She couldn’t feel his arm under her hand.

  Then, as quickly as it had come, it was gone, replaced by a deep pit in her stomach. Something was very wrong.

  She blinked at Grady then spoke, wincing at the sound of terror she didn’t want to hear there. “We have to get back to Lamanai. Now.”

  Northern Belize Rainforest

  Hours after everyone had eaten dinner and dispersed to their evening activities, a darkly clad figure reached the edge of Lamanai without a sound, barely visible in the thick undergrowth. Taking a few steps forward, the figure stepped out from under the concealing cover of the rainforest, constantly peering through the holes in its highly-impractical-for-this-weather ski mask.

  The shadowy outline headed directly for the mess tent, which backed up to the surrounding rainforest not far from where it had just appeared. As the figure entered the wall-less room, it reached into a cargo pocket and extracted three small vials. Immediately locating three large coolers of water, the figure crossed the short distance to stand in front of them. Silently the first top came off, followed by the other two. The contents of one vial trickled soundlessly into each cooler, then the lids were carefully replaced as if they’d never been removed.