Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

Huarona Ruins

Near San Isidro, Puerto Jardin

Present Day

THE DARKNESS REMAINED absolute when Zo reached the top of the hill near the ruins. She stopped, unwilling to head down a trail that steep without more light. She turned off the penlight and tucked it into her pocket.

Without light, the sounds around her seemed louder—the constant twinkling-trill of insects, the deep bass of frogs, and a distant laugh from some unknown animal.

It had been ten years since she'd last gone to the Huarona ruins. That had been the final summer before the civil war had begun, although no one had known it at the time. Her parents and Doctor Castillo had been working the site as they had every year for as long as Zo could remember, and she and Mari had been allowed to help.

Maybe fifteen percent of the city had been uncovered at that last visit—the rainforest cut back to expose the stone buildings and statues in the areas that had been excavated. The main plaza had been cleared more completely than any other part of the city, and the step pyramid had held the most prominent position at the end.

She'd played in the temple as a child, examining every nook, every crevice, and searching for the Lost Disk of the Gods. Zo would bet she was more knowledgeable about the pyramid than any of the archaeologists or students who'd been part of the excavation team. But Al was familiar with the temple, too.

For three years, until he'd left for university, he'd helped her search. She'd wanted to find the artifact to prove her parents wrong. Al had wanted to find it for his grandfather.

Zo looked up at the sky but didn't see any hint of dawn. What she did see was a million stars through the treetops, more than she could ever remember seeing filling the sky.

The disk seemed to vibrate lightly against her side—she could feel it through the lining of her jacket, and Zo put her hand atop it, her fingers stroking it over the leather. Concealing it in the temple was the safest course of action—Al would send his men to search, not come himself—but she was punchy from lack of sleep, so she ran through the alternatives again. She needed to be sure. She had to be sure.

Hiding it in San Isidro was completely out of the question. Tucking it away there would endanger the people who called the town home. If the disk was located anywhere near the city, Al would assume her friends were helping her and that they'd lied to his men. His retribution would be frightening.

Hiding it in the rainforest also presented problems.

She didn't have a phone, so she wouldn't be able to record the GPS location. That meant relying on landmarks. Her frown deepened as she recalled the overwhelming foliage and how she'd needed the trail, overgrown as it was, and a compass to find the ruins.

There was another factor to consider, too. If she were killed, the disk would be lost again until the weather or an animal exposed it. Given the poverty of the country, whoever found it would sell it, and a priceless artifact would disappear, possibly forever. The idea made her stomach turn inside out, and Zo shook her head.

She could keep the disk with her, but if Al's men captured her, they'd have it. If she were caught by the authorities, she'd go to prison, and the Puerto Jardinese government might sell the relic on the shadow market.

Her original plan was probably the best. The spot she'd picked was in a room with an opening so small that very few men would be able to enter, and there was a ledge around the chamber that would keep the disk unseen. Al knew her well enough to order the city searched, and that included the step pyramid, but would an employee bother with a room he couldn't enter himself? And if they did send someone who could slip inside, would they take the time to explore every inch or look around and write it off?

Closing her eyes, she visualized the Huarona city. Even after a decade, she could see it clearly in her mind's eye. To reach the entrance to the temple, she'd need to climb the steps of the pyramid to the top. She'd have to get in and out before Al's men arrived.

How much time would she have?

They wouldn't move until first light, but she needed daylight, too. Zo tried to guess how long it would take Ramos' men to make it from his estate to the ruins. She didn't have a good answer. If they used the main road, the one she was familiar with, she'd probably have until mid-morning, but what if there were faster routes?

Her eyes had adjusted to the darkness, and Zo looked around. She spotted a fallen tree, the trunk covered with moss. It looked empty, but she flipped her penlight on and did a closer look. Clear. She sat down, sighing as the wetness of the moss seeped into her jeans .

This sucked. She wasn't a "camp out in the back of beyond" person. Even the time she'd spent at the ruins as a kid didn't count. At night, they'd return to town. As an adult, she'd strictly been a creature of urban environments.

Zo shook her head. She'd do whatever she needed to in order to protect the disk.

Huarona Ruins

Near San Isidro, Puerto Jardin

21 Years Earlier

Zofia was torn. Her mom and dad always told her not to venture into the rainforest without an adult, but they'd also made it clear that she needed to listen to Alfonso Ramos, the teenager who was babysitting her at the ruins. He was old, maybe fourteen or fifteen, but she didn't think her parents would call him an adult.

"Why are we in the rainforest?"

He gave her an impatient look. "I want to see something."

"What?"

"None of your business."

"Al, I think we should go back."

Pushing his curly brown hair out of his eyes, he sneered at her. "You're such a baby."

She straightened to her full height. "I'm not a baby. I'm seven."

He rolled his eyes and resumed walking. Zofia shifted from foot to foot, uncertain which of her parents' rules to follow. Standing here by herself was scary, so she hurried to catch up with Al. After a couple of minutes, she tried again .

"Let's go back. It's midmorning, and your grandpa is going to tell stories."

"Your parents think his tales are foolish."

Zofia bit her bottom lip. "I like Se?or Ramos' stories about the sky gods and the fire turtle. I want to hear more of them, but we have to be at the ruins for that. Okay?"

For a moment, Zofia thought he'd ignore the request, but then Al's frown disappeared, and he took her hand. "I like my grandfather's stories, too."

He moved quickly enough that Zofia had to add some skip steps to keep up with him, but she was happy. They were headed back to the site, and she wouldn't get in trouble. "Do you think he'll talk about the magic disk again?"

"I don't know. Ask him."

"Sí," Zofia said, "I'll ask."

They reached the ruins as Se?or Ramos was taking a seat on a foldable camp chair. The handful of children of other workers already sat on the ground near his feet. He smiled as she hurried over to join them. "There you are, mariposa . I thought you wouldn't show up."

She didn't explain, too aware that her parents were nearby. "I'm here, Se?or Ramos. Al made sure we were on time." Zofia looked around, found Al standing behind her, and settled in for the story. "Please, will you tell the one about the key to the world of the gods?"

The old man nodded, his face serious, and leaned back in his chair. "After many years spent teaching the people how to farm, build pyramids, and fashion gold into jewelry and sacred statues, the sky gods said they needed to return to the heavens. The people begged them not to leave, but the sky gods said they had no choice. So they journeyed to the mountains, the Huarona following them."

Zofia scooted forward. Se?or Ramos was getting to the part that she liked best.

"Seeing the despair of the people, the sky gods carved a shallow rectangle into the side of a mountain, and within that, they cut a keyhole big enough for a man to stand inside, and within that, a circle. Above the doorway, they carved images of the fire turtle."

"And it happened in one night," Zofia said, unable to stay quiet.

"Sí, and in the morning, the leader of the sky gods called the leader of the Huarona people and their shaman to him. He gave them a gold disk with his face etched into the center, and he said if they had need of him, they should perform the rituals they'd been taught and place the disk in the circle. That a door would open, and they would travel to him."

"But they should use it only when needed."

Se?or Ramos nodded. "Dire emergency only. And then the sky gods took the fire turtle into the heavens and disappeared. Most of the people went back to their village, but a group remained, certain the sky gods would return to the mountain, and they created another village. They waited for many years, but the sky gods didn't reappear."

"And the disk?"

"No one knows what happened to the Lost Disk of the Gods. There are those who believe it is hidden somewhere within this city. Others say that when word of the conquistadors reached the Huarona people, the shaman at that time led most of his people to the gateway, and they crossed to the world of the gods, bringing the disk with them. Which story do you think is true?"

The other kids called out their answers, but Zofia remained quiet. The disk was still in this world. It had to be, and someday, she was going to find it and give it to Se?or Ramos so he could open the door to the gods.

Zofia sat with her legs crossed on the cot she slept on in her parents' room at the inn, the sketchbook they'd given her open on her lap. She was supposed to use it to record the different buildings and images inside the ruins, but tonight, she was drawing a mountain with the carvings Se?or Ramos had described.

Her father was using the communal bathroom, and her mom was writing in her journal, so Zofia went back to her sketch. The keyhole would have to be big enough to hold a man. She erased the top line and made a new one higher up. Next, she shaded in the circle in the middle of the keyhole, but she didn't know how large she should make it.

And the fire turtles. She sighed. What did a fire turtle look like?

Zofia sketched out a pair of regular turtles instead—one swimming left and the other swimming to the right. "Mom, can we go to the mountains and look at the doorway to the world of the gods?"

Her mother put down her pen. "You mean, may we travel to the mountains to look at the other Huarona village."

She nodded. "And look at the doorway."

That got her a frown. "Zofia, there is no doorway. There is a city with some cutouts in the mountain that might be for ceremonial purposes, but that's all they are. You're too educated to believe in ridiculous myths."

"But Se?or Ramos says—"

"Se?or Ramos doesn't believe the legends he tells. He shares them to entertain you and any other children on the site."

Zofia felt her stomach sink. "But—"

That was as far as she got before her father walked in.

"Owen, Zofia believes Se?or Ramos' stories about the sky gods and the doorway to their world."

"Zofia," the disappointment came through clearly. "You know better than that. "

"But the Lost Disk of the Gods—"

"There's no evidence there ever was such a thing."

"We could find it in the city," she said, but her voice wobbled.

"If a disk existed, it would not have been a key to another dimension." Her father sighed, shared a glance with her mother, and shook his head. "What kind of archaeologist are you going to be if you believe myths over fact?"