CHAPTER 64

“Are you crazy?” I hollered. “Let go of the stone.”

“Get off the altar, Storm,” added Beck. “Hurry!”

“No! I need to stay here.”

“No,” said Beck, “you need to come with us.”

“You don’t understand,” said Storm.

“Yes, we do,” I said. “You’re stubborn. Like a mule in molasses!”

While we argued, ATVs were revving all around us. People were shouting and running around wildly. Dad was calling Tommy’s name. It was basically bedlam.

“Storm,” I said, “we don’t have time for this! Beck?”

She nodded. “On three!”

“One… two… three!”

We both shoved with all our might and rolled Storm off the slab.

When we did, we realized why she had been so eager to stay on the altar.

There was a map carved into the stone tabletop.

A map that showed a direct route from the ancient temple to a symbol that—uh-oh—probably represented the hidden location of the Lost City of Gold.

Oops.

I heard the roar of an approaching trail bike. A blinding light seared our eyes. Several times.

It was Nathan Collier. On an ATV. Grinning like crazy. He had just used his phone to take several flash photos of the slab map.

“Aha!” cried Collier. “Another ancient symbol for Inkarri! The final route to Paititi has been revealed. No wonder your secret map sent you here first, Stephanie.”

“Don’t call me—”

Collier cut her off with a pistol point.

“Thank you once again, Kidd Family Treasure Hunters! You have shown me the way. Good-bye, Stephanie and other assorted Kidd children. You are all free to go. We won’t be needing any of you anymore! The gold is mine! All mine!”

He roared off on his ATV. Chet and the hired heavies followed after him. So did the high priest and Supay, the sacred-knife guy. They both hitched rides on the backs of the security goons’ bikes.

Far off, I heard a rifle shot. Then another.

A few seconds later, Dad came charging back to the altar, smelling like gunpowder.

He was the one who had fired the shots.

“I missed,” he said. “I was aiming for their tires. They got away. All of them.”

“It doesn’t matter,” I said. “We have Storm!”

Dad shook his head. “But they have Tommy.”