36 The Silversmith and the Golden Fish
I didn’t sleep well. I know Taylor didn’t either. We had two twin beds in our room, and Taylor cried out several times in the night, the second time followed by a long bout of sobbing. I finally got up and squeezed into her bed with her and held her.
The longer I held her, the more certain I was that she needed to go home. Lying in the quiet darkness, I realized it was possible that I was going to get all my friends killed.
The next morning, Taylor was as tired and broken as I’d ever seen her. She cuddled into me, her hair splayed over the pillow we shared. I kissed her forehead, and she nuzzled deeper into my neck but said nothing. We lay this way for nearly an hour before I finally checked the clock. It was already nine.
I climbed out of bed. “Are you coming down?”
“In a little bit,” she said.
I kissed her, then went down to the hotel lobby. I asked the front counter for the use of a conference room, then went over to their restaurant. Nichelle, Quentin, Zeus, and Tara were there.
“How are you feeling?” I asked Nichelle.
“Better. I think I was mostly carsick. Those roads are as curvy as a—”
“Plus-sized model,” Quentin said.
“I was going to say ‘pretzel,’ ” Nichelle said. “But, whatever.”
“Where’s my sister?” Tara asked.
“She’s coming down. She had a rough night.”
“We all did,” Quentin said. “It’s like old times. And I don’t mean that in the happy nostalgic way.”
“I’m going to get something to eat,” I said.
“The sweet rolls are pretty good,” Quentin said. “And the omelet bar. The chef’s name is Rolex. Like the watch.”
“Good to know.”
As I was standing in line, Ian came down with McKenna and Ostin. None of them looked like they had slept either.
“How did you all sleep?” I asked.
“Wonderful,” Ian said, his words dripping with sarcasm. “Best day ever. Morituri te salutant.”
“I hope not,” Ostin said.
Taylor was the last to come down. She was wearing the same clothes she had on yesterday. The despair on her face hadn’t changed either.
“I wish these Danish were warm,” Tara said.
Without saying anything McKenna reached over and cupped her hands around the Danish and heated it. She set the Danish back down on Tara’s plate. “It’s probably a little too hot,” McKenna said.
“Thank you.”
Taylor got a cup of coffee.
“That’s all you’re having?” Tara asked as Taylor sat down.
“I’d rather die on an empty stomach,” she said.
“Aren’t we a club of optimists,” Nichelle said.
“Have we heard anything from them?” Quentin asked.
“No,” I replied.
“Your dad?”
“No. He texted to see if we’d heard anything.”
Quentin groaned. “We haven’t even started, and we’re already losing.”
“You’re right,” I said. “We came down here to save one person. Now we’re missing five” I looked around. “This was a mistake.”
Everyone looked at me with surprise.
“It’s true, our plan has already failed.”
Zeus looked the most surprised. “Where is this coming from? You always said we leave no one behind. You changed your mind on that?”
“No. I’ve just changed my mind on our plan.”
“You have another plan?” Quentin asked.
“Yes. I think I need to do this alone.”
For a moment everyone was quiet. Then Quentin said, “This is a joke, right?”
“No, it’s logical. A mouse can slip in where a lion can’t.”
“Definitely a joke,” Nichelle said.
“I believe I can do this.”
“Stop it!” Taylor shouted. The room froze. “I can’t take this anymore. Michael, are you trying to kill yourself? Are you trying to kill me? Because you are.” She began crying again, laying her head on her arms. Tara went over to her and put her arms around her.
“I’m trying to save everyone,” I said. “I’m trying to save you.”
“Why don’t you get this, Michael? I’m not afraid of dying. I’m afraid of losing you.”
Everyone just sat around the table silently watching us. Then Zeus said, “I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’m more afraid to live than to die. But I’ll tell you this, I’m not going back a coward. And I’m not going back without Abi.”
“I’m not going back a coward either,” Tara said. “And if my sister’s going, I’m going. We’re a set.”
“Look,” Ian said to me. “I’ve got more at stake than you do. You guys are the only family I have. The only family I’ve ever known. I’d do anything for you. But Abi was in Purgatory with me and McKenna. Being together in a place like that changes you in a way you don’t ever come back from. That girl is my flesh.
“I’m not trying to sound overly dramatic, but if I can’t die for her, there’s nothing worth dying for. And if there’s nothing worth dying for, then, brother, there’s nothing worth living for either.”
“Amen,” Nichelle said.
“Ian’s right,” McKenna said. “In Purgatory, we became one. There’s no way I could spend the rest of my life haunted by the thought that Abigail might be in a cage somewhere. In another purgatory. I can’t live that way.”
“And there’s no way I’m leaving McKenna,” Ostin said. “Where she goes, I go.”
McKenna turned to Ostin, took his hand, and smiled.
“Michael,” Ian said. “You’ve always felt it’s your responsibility to watch out for us, but it’s really all our responsibilities. It’s all or nothing, like it always has been. I mean, we love you, dude, but this isn’t on you. We’re risking our lives because Abigail is one of us and she’d do the same for us. So, let’s go get Abi—and Jack and Alpha Team if they’re there—and get out of this hellhole. Besides, this humidity is totally frizzing my hair.”
“In for a penny, in for a pound,” Quentin said.
“Me too,” Nichelle said. “Whatever that means.”
I took a deep breath. “All right. I get it.”
The moment settled into silence. Then Nichelle asked, “So now what?”
“We take a day to let things settle,” Ostin said. “Maybe we’ll get lucky and hear from team A. There’s always that chance that it’s something we haven’t thought of. But, after tonight, if we still haven’t heard from them, we leave in the morning to take on the colony and take back whatever they have of ours.”
“I second that,” Zeus said. “Especially waiting a day. I mean, what if we charge in there and find out that Alpha Team’s not even there?”
“I agree,” Quentin said. “Sometimes the best course of action is to just wait and see. Let’s let things settle a bit. In the meantime, I’m getting a massage.”
“I’ll go with you,” Zeus said.
“I’m getting chocolate,” Nichelle said. “A lot of it.” She looked around. “Do they even have decent chocolate here?”
“This is where chocolate was invented,” Ostin said.
“Good, ’cause I’m eating enough to make myself sick.”
“I’ll come with you,” Ian said.
“I didn’t know you liked chocolate.”
“I don’t. I just want to watch you eat that much.”
It wasn’t lost on me that everyone was living like there was no tomorrow.
“Then we’re all on our own,” I said. “Just don’t forget to get some rest. We don’t know what’s coming tomorrow.”
“We never do, dude,” Quentin said. “We never do.”
As we were getting up, Tara walked up to me. “Michael, I’m taking Taylor with me. I think she needs some sister time.”
“All right,” I said.
A moment later, Taylor came up to me. “I’m sorry I started all that.”
“No. I’m glad you did. It clarified a lot.”
“Are you okay with me going off with Tara?”
“Sure.”
“What are you going to do?”
“I don’t know.”
“Why don’t you go with Zeus and Q?”
“I might.” I kissed her. “Do something fun. Something crazy.”
“Like what?”
I grinned. “I don’t know. Go to a disco. Eat guinea pig.”
“A disco?” She smiled, then kissed me on the cheek. “See you tonight.”
Everyone left except for Ostin. “Hey, bro. Want to go do something?”
“You’re not with McKenna?”
“She can go with Tara and Taylor.”
“No. That’s okay. I’m okay. I’m just going to hang out.”
He looked concerned. “I’m your wingman, bro. I don’t just let you hang out alone. I mean, what if you need protection?”
I smiled. “Thanks, brother. The truth is, I could use some alone time. I’ve got a lot on my mind. And I don’t process as fast as you.”
“All right. I’ll see you when I see you.”
After everyone had left, I went outside the hotel and started to walk around town.
Huancayo is much larger than Ayacucho, about three times larger. It’s known for a rich history and beautiful crafts. The Huancayo cathedral dome reminded me of a smaller version of the Duomo in Florence, Italy. The town was originally inhabited by a group called the Huancas. They fought the Incas and eventually lost and were brought into the Incan Empire.
From the hotel I walked about six blocks to the Parque Turístico Artesanal de Los Mates Burilados, which is likely the longest name for a park ever. I took a cab to Liberty Hill, which someone had told me had a good view of the city. It was a recreational site with a pool, a mini zoo, an acoustic bandshell, and restaurants.
Around noon I began to feel hungry. There was a brick-pizza-oven restaurant with a line of customers, so I figured it must be good. I ordered a large margherita pizza with an Inca Kola, then sat down alone on a stone bench to eat. There were not a lot of foreigners, and I didn’t see a single white or Asian person.
The pizza was good, and as I ate, I suddenly had a memory of home and my long-ago favorite Pizza Max. I felt like I was a million miles away from the restaurant but even farther from that kid. Even as young as I was, I had lived more life than most other people on the planet.
I finished my pizza, then walked back out to tour the local businesses that lined the park. There were all sorts of small stores selling trinkets and souvenirs and a few nicer ones selling fine artisan jewelry. After some walking, I stopped outside the shop of an artisan silversmith. Something drew me inside. A little bell rang as I opened the door. An old man was sitting at a thick wooden table carving a piece of art, looking through a large magnifying glass mounted to his workstation. He slowly looked up at me. He had silver hair and wore thick-lensed glasses.
“Hola,” I said. “Buenas días.”
“Buenos,” he said with a clear Spanish accent “Not Buen-as. Buenos días.”
“Sorry, I don’t speak Spanish.”
“You don’t say…” He looked back down at the piece he was working on.
“But you speak English,” I said.
“May I help you?” he said without looking up.
“I’m just looking around.”
He didn’t say anything. Against one wall there were beautiful silver-and-turquoise sculptures of Incan warriors. The craftsmanship was exquisite, with tiny feathers and Incan designs in the warrior’s shield, the silver folded as cloth.
“Did you make all these?”
“Yes,” he said. “Warriors.”
I walked over to see what he was working on. He was carving a small but beautifully ornate cross.
“That’s beautiful,” I said.
Again, he said nothing.
“I’ve seen a lot of silver in Peru.”
“Silver is sacred to us. Gold was considered by the Incas as the sweat of the sun, but silver came from the tears of Mama Quilla, the Mother Moon, sister-bride to the sun.
“Most of Peru’s ancient silver is hidden and has never been found. But I see it. I know where it is. And where it will hide from the greed of this world. This is a piece of it. The gods gave this to me.” He held out a small fish carved from silver. He put it into my hands. The intricacy of the carvings was remarkable. Every scale, the bones of the fins, everything was perfectly done. It was as if the fish might just swim away.
“You found that?”
“It was given to me. It was in a cave with other artifacts. There was a life-sized apple tree made of pure silver, its apples of tumbaga.”
“What is tumbaga?”
“It’s a copper-and-gold alloy. Similar to what Americans call rose gold.”
“Why didn’t you take the tree? It would be worth millions. You could retire.”
“Why retire from doing something I enjoy? Besides, the tree was not mine,” he said. “You do not take what is not yours. That is why the Spanish suffered so greatly. After decades of plundering and melting down our beautiful work, the Spanish tried to leave with their galleons filled with the gold and silver. But they never made it home. A great storm arose and sank those ships.”
I remembered reading something about that in history class.
“An enlightened man does not take what does not belong to him,” he repeated. “But you know this. This is why you came to Peru this time. And the first time. And second.”
I looked at him. “What?”
He looked back down at the piece he was working on. “The Inca’s temple walls were covered with sheets of precious metals, and molten silver was poured between the perfectly cut stones of the temple walls.”
“Do they still exist?”
“No. The Spaniards suffered from gold lust. They melted down everything they could get their hands on.”
“I would have liked to see those walls.”
“Yes, you would. I have seen them. They were beautiful.”
“But you said they were all destroyed.”
“I saw them before they were destroyed.”
“That was hundreds of years ago.”
He didn’t reply. I wasn’t sure what to say to that. Then he said, “I see things.”
“What kind of things?”
“Things that have been hidden. Things that need to be seen.”
He continued working on the object in his vise. I looked closer at the cross. “Are you making that for someone?”
“Yes, I’m making it for you. I came into my shop early this morning to finish it before you came.”
I smiled at his clever sales pitch. “And you knew I was coming?”
“I did… Miguel Vey.”
“How do you know my name?”
He took a cloth and polished the cross for a minute; then he held it up. It was about two inches high and an inch wide. He put it against a square patch of black velvet cloth. “This is to be worn behind your pendant.”
I looked down, thinking he had seen the pendant Torstyn had given me, but it was still hidden under my shirt. I lifted it out.
“Here,” he said. “I will attach it for you.”
I slipped the chain over my head and handed it to him. He attached the cross to it, then ran his cloth over the medallion and cross.
“Your medallion came from a man who orchestrates evil. It is peculiar that it came to you through him, but it’s a sign. The silver in the cross will set the medallion right. And you will set your friend right.” Then he lifted the silver fish artifact. “You are to carry this amulet with you until it is time to return.” He put the fish into my hands.
“How much do I owe you for all this?”
“You owe me nothing. They are not from me. They are a gift from the gods,” he said. “They are with you.”
“How do you know all these things about me?”
“I see things.” He hesitated for a moment, then said, “You need something else.” He walked over to a case and brought back a beautiful, delicate woman’s ring. It had a green stone set in beautiful rose gold. “You will need this tonight.”
“Tonight?” I looked down at the ring. “Is that an emerald?”
“It is a green diamond. It signifies hope. It is what she needs most right now.”
“She?”
“You know of whom I speak. Now put your medallion back on. I will find a jewelry box for this.”
As he stepped away, I slipped the medallion back over my head, then examined the fish. I was suddenly filled with emotion. He returned with the ring in the box, snapping it shut in front of me, then handed it to me. I looked up into the old man’s eyes. “Do you have any advice?”
“Nothing is as it seems. Nothing will go as you think it will. And do not drink the silver.”
“Drink?”
He sighed lightly. “But you will. You cannot help it. Most important, Miguel, remember this: You will find what you are looking for. But it will come with much pain. But do not lose hope, and do not despair. When all is lost, what is lost will return.”
“I don’t understand.”
“You will soon enough. Go and rest. Your friend will be back soon. She will want to talk. You will have a big decision to make. Now, tell no one of our visit. Just tell them you are not alone. Tell them there is hope.”