CHAPTER 21

 

 

THE WATER'S REFLECTION danced around us, myriad faceted lights bouncing off what appeared to be a huge cavern filled with rushing water. Elated, I let out a sigh. Finally, something had gone right.

As we skirted the water's edge, I bent down and cupped the cold liquid to my mouth. It had the tang of heavy minerals, but otherwise tasted like heaven. Gabe and Marcela did the same. When we finished drinking, he clicked off the flashlight, plunging us into darkness.

“We should rest a moment before returning.”

“I agree. I wish we had something to carry water back with us, though. This is a long way to come for a drink.”

The walk had kept me relatively warm. Now that I was inactive, the cold began to creep into my bones. I needed to keep moving. I got up and flicked on the flashlight, aiming it ahead of me. Its light dropped off into shadow a few yards distant, but I was able to get a sense of where the rock ended and the water began. Further along, the beam picked up the source of the splashing. Upon closer inspection, I realized a small stream emptied into a pond-sized reservoir.

The flashlight's beam picked up another reflection that didn't look like water. Curious, I crossed the stream, picking my way carefully across the large, flat rocks. I miscalculated and my foot plunged into icy cold water. When I pulled my leg out of the numbing pool, I lost my balance and fell sideways onto the rocky ground. The flashlight clattered across the cave floor.

“Are you all right?” Gabe's concerned voice echoed through the cave.

“Yeah, I'm fine. Just clumsy.”

The flashlight had come to rest a few feet away from where I'd fallen, pointing directly at the area I'd been heading toward. I blinked several times to focus. The hulking object the flashlight illuminated didn't look like something naturally occurring in a cave.

Not taking my eyes off the area in question, I walked over to where the flashlight had fallen. I picked it up and directed the beam at a refrigerator-sized pile of dirty junk.

“Think I found something, guys.” I tucked the light under my chin and reached for a crusty-looking object that stuck out of the top of the pile. Grabbing it with both hands I pulled until it came free. I blew on it and then used my fingernail to dislodge some of the crusty dirt. Shaped like a cross, it was ornately decorated, about a foot and a half in length. I spit on a corner of my shirt and rubbed off some of the grime on one section to reveal a gleaming red stone the size of a quarter. I did the same with the rest of the embedded stones. There were four of the larger size, and all were different colors: red, deep blue, green and clear yellow. Cleaning the rest revealed three smaller stones along each section of the cross, similar in color.

Whoa. This certainly wasn't your average religious relic.

By that time, Gabe and Marcela had crossed the small stream and joined me. Gabe's sharp intake of breath told me I was correct in my assumption. All thought of being cold disappeared and my imagination took off. I was back in the movies with my favorite cinematic pirate, searching for gold.

“¡Mi dios!” Gabe's voice was a whisper. Marcela dropped to her knees and started pulling pieces from the pile. “Stop.” He grabbed her hand before she picked up more. “We must handle this with care, Marcela.”

The three of us carefully dug through more of the pile, wiping off the grunge as we went. Gabe was in artifact heaven. There were gold masks with grimacing faces, a couple of large metal pots, a two-handled ceramic jug with a large-breasted woman and several birds painted on it, and a large, flat piece covered in round metal discs that shimmied when I shook it.

“By the look of this, the treasure was left here centuries ago,” Gabe said.

We unearthed a few more masks and discovered a wooden box about the size of a printer. It was covered in grime, but the fine dovetailing in the corners was still discernible, along with ornate metal hinges across the top and a metal clasp on the front. I leaned in closer. It was my lucky day—no lock.

“Hold this.” I gave Marcela the flashlight, having her angle it to illuminate the box, and proceeded to work the clasp back and forth, wiggling it loose.

Gabe took a sharp breath in. “Be careful, Kate.”

After a few minutes it slid free.

I grabbed the sides and tugged on the lid. I had to wiggle it a bit, but tried to be gentle. It paid off. I peered into the interior of the box, expecting to find it full of gold or silver coins, or at the very least, jewelry. What I found instead was a kind of statue, about six inches high, made of clay and shaped in the form of a large-breasted woman. Small gold hoop earrings dangled from little holes on the side of her head, and it was nestled in some sort of material.

“A fertility goddess. They're quite common.” Gabe turned back to the pile of artifacts. Marcela handed me the flashlight and returned to digging out more substantial fare.

With the utmost care, I lifted the small statue out of the box and brushed her off. As I inverted the statue it rattled, as though there were beads inside. I directed the beam of the flashlight directly at the piece, fascinated by the meticulously carved details, including symbols I wasn't familiar with. The serene expression on her face gave me the feeling that things were going to work out.

The cold made its presence known once again and I stood, tucking Barbie into the pocket of my running shorts. She'd be a great souvenir if I ever made it back home. I wouldn't have felt right taking anything more valuable. I handed the light to Gabe and rubbed both my arms to warm up. Shifting from one cold foot to the other I blew on my hands and looked sideways at Marcela. “So, you think this is something important?”

Apparently, smartass wasn't the appropriate tone for this event, because both of them ignored my comments.

“Is it?” Marcela looked at Gabe.

Gabe nodded as he gazed at the gold mask in his hands. “Yes, I believe it is.”

“I wonder which pirates' stash this is? And is there more?” I strafed the cave with my flashlight, searching for another pile.

Gabe answered without looking up. “If this is the treasure from the Espiritu Santo and it was attacked by pirates, either she would have sunk where she floated or, if the attackers had kept the ship, they would have left the treasure onboard and sailed here. Either could be true. There are many instances of pirates taking treasure from a sinking ship and hiding it elsewhere. It isn't unusual for the location to be forgotten by the crew unless they wrote it down, and most were illiterate. Just think…” Gabe paused for a moment. “We're the first people in centuries to gaze upon this incredible fortune.” He held up the heavily decorated mask. “This is an ancient ceremonial mask of my ancestors, the Inca. It should be in a museum.” He spread his arms. “All this must be available to the people of Peru.”

I hated to break it to him, but I wasn't sure how we were going to get off the island before we died, much less move an enormous pile of artifacts to the surface and transport them to Peru.

“We should probably figure out how we're going to survive first. Then maybe we can think about moving this priceless treasure off island.”

“Yes, yes. Of course. But we must be able to come back to this exact spot.”

A pang of guilt hit my stomach when I thought about my boneheaded move of running the battery on the sat phone down. I had to remind myself Anaya confiscated it. It wouldn't have done us any good, anyway.

“I'm going back. I need to warm up.” I lifted a ceramic jug from the pile and wiped it clean with the tail of my shirt. “If we bring water back in whatever receptacles we can find, then we'll be set for a little while and can concentrate on finding food.”

Marcela grabbed a large earthenware bowl, tipped it upside down and shook it. She then walked over to the stream and filled it with water. I looked back at Gabe, still sifting through the mound of artifacts.

“You coming?”

“Yes. Soon.”

Dynamite wouldn't budge him out of there. He'd found the Holy Grail of South American antiquities. I couldn't blame him for staying.

“Would you like me to stay?” Marcela asked.

“That isn't necessary,” Gabe replied. She looked relieved.

“Just remember, we don't know how long the batteries will last,” I warned.

Gabe nodded and mumbled something affirmative. Marcela and I felt our way back to the tunnel and headed for the entrance.

 

***

 

I WAS WARM by the time we'd made it back to the front of the cave, and the light from the entrance appeared much brighter compared to the total black of the tunnel. I chose a place to sit and placed the jug of water on the floor.

Marcela leaned down and picked it up. She turned it in her hands, examining the workmanship.

“The decoration is fantastic. It's very rare.” She took a small sip of the water, and then drank deeply. She handed it back to me and leaned against the cave wall. The light from outside the entrance had changed. I got to my feet, brushing the dirt off my shorts. Not that it did any good.

“I want to go back to the beach and see if I can locate Anaya's men. We're sitting ducks in this cave. I'd be able to sleep much better knowing where the hell they were. I also need to see if Cole and Harv made it to the island.” I doubted they'd come into the bay, not with Anaya's boat nearby.

“They'll kill you if they catch you. You said it yourself.”

“Yes, but I've got to do something. Besides, we need food.”

“We can go a little longer. It's too dangerous. What if they find you? Eventually, they would make you tell them where we were, either through torture or other means.”

Feelings of hopelessness marched through my brain like little fire ants. She was right. I was only looking for something to keep my mind off our situation. Typical Kate: if nothing is happening, then do something, anything. Acting out is good. Doesn't matter if I think it through or not. Moving keeps me alive. Always has.

I didn't know how long I'd be able to hold out if I did get caught. The only torture I'd experienced was in Mexico at the hands of my ex-bodyguard, Eduardo, and he'd kept things light.

What I needed to do was relax and think this through a little more. There was a real possibility of giving away our position if one of us left. Besides, I needed to sleep. My critical thinking abilities weren't what they should be.

“When Gabe gets back, we need to take turns being on lookout every few hours.” After pacing the floor a few times, I gave up and sat next to Marcela.

“Why'd you betray Gabe?” I asked. I'd never been much for diplomacy. Marcela visibly stiffened. I waited for the denials, the justifications, but they didn't come.

“I fell in love with him,” she answered quietly. “He did not return my feelings. My pride was wounded. When Anaya showed interest in me, and then Frank, I told them what Gabriel and I were working on to impress them. They seemed genuinely fascinated. I was flattered and thought they would be good contacts when the time came to recover the treasure. I knew Gabriel wouldn't think of taking anything for himself if we found the treasure.

“When I told Frank that Gabriel wanted me to accompany him on the cruise, Frank suggested he come along, but to keep our relationship a secret while onboard. He wanted to approach Gabriel through Stefano since Gabriel didn't know him well. I agreed, thinking that eventually it would come out that Frank and I were together and it would make Gabriel jealous.” She wiped at the tears on her face.

“Frank made it easy to justify what I did, telling me Gabriel would be consulted on the discovery and that we would all share equally in any profits. They lied to Stefano, too. I was such a fool.” Marcela's eyes welled again. She pressed her lips together. “They told me they would kill me if I didn’t pretend to go along with your escape plans.”

I leaned my head back, remembering the life-changing mistake I'd made many years ago in Mexico. Living with the fallout was punishment enough. Maybe I'd been too hard on her. I reached out and took her hand.

“We all make mistakes, Marcela.”

She smiled through her tears.

A short time later, Gabe came back and excitedly described more artifacts he'd discovered.

“I am certain this is the treasure from the Espiritu Santo.” He'd dragged several pieces back with him. We'd never be able to carry everything, especially if we had to run, but I decided to let it go for the time being.

Once Gabe ran out of steam, we made a lookout schedule. I volunteered for the last shift. It wasn’t like I’d be able to sleep, but I wanted to try.

I lay down and closed my eyes, three dilemmas fighting for airtime in my brain. One, how was I going to find Cole? Two, how the hell were we going to get off this island? And three, could I really trust Marcela? I thought so, but wounded pride made people do stupid things. Keeping my guard up seemed the best option.

 

***

 

“KATE. KATE, WAKE up dear.” The old woman smiles at me. One of her front teeth is missing and her face is deeply lined. She exudes warmth and love. I sit up, disoriented, and touch her arm.

“Where are we? It feels familiar but I don't know this place.”

The old woman grins and leans over me, her obsidian eyes sparkling in the firelight.

“Oh, but you do. You've been here many times, it's just your memory that's asleep, that's all. Here—” She reaches into her pocket and pulls out a piece of breadfruit. It looks delicious.

“Eat this and you will remember.” She hands it to me and I put it in my mouth.

Immediately, I am transported high on a ledge in a cave, a deep canyon below me. The sun is rising and I turn to see the old woman sitting cross-legged on the floor of the cave, a fire crackling before her. She motions for me to sit.

When I am settled across from her on the other side, she begins to rock back and forth, chanting as she fans the flames higher and higher, until we are separated by a wall of fire. I stare at the orange-red flames and an image of Cole appears. He is standing somewhere in Anaya's biosphere, his face marked by black soot. Turning toward me, his blue eyes bore into mine, startling in their intensity. I reach out to touch him, but he's gone, replaced by a scene with Cole, Harv and Grace running through the camp. The wall of flames burns higher and then explodes. I cover my face with my arms. The heat is intense.

The fire in front of me burns down and the old woman speaks:

“You must return the goddess. Go now. There is evil following you and will find you if you don't leave at once. It is your path. Spirit is with you.”

In an instant, we are back where we started. She starts to sing in a language I don't understand, and everything fades to black.