Page 150 of The Lost Guardian

Santiago lifted his head in time to see her fighting against Mario’s hold.

“Stop it,” Torres barked at her, but she kept screaming and struggling.

He watched as Mario raised a hand to strike her.

“No!” he cried out, as loud as he could. His voice carried and bounced off the stone walls.

They all stopped. Ali stared at him with wild panic in her eyes.

“I’m all right,” he managed to rasp, willing his body to stop shaking. “I’m okay.”

His platform continued to swing and twist, bringing him in orbit behind one of the metal planets. He lost sight of them for a moment, and when he emerged again, he saw tears spilling from Ali’s eyes.

That, more than anything, made him straighten, determined to continue.

“I’m almost there,” he called back, mostly to Ali. “Just one more.”

The last image was easy. It was the symbol for Pachamama—Mother Earth.

Most people might expect the earth goddess to be associated with Kay Pacha, the land of the living. That’s where the earth resides, after all. So why would the mother goddess of harvest and fertility dwell in Ukhu Pacha, the land of the dead?

Because it was also the realm of new life.

Santiago jumped to the stone, using the rope’s momentum to propel his body forward. He landed on solid ground at the far side of the chasm.

As before, his weight sank the stone slab that he’d landed on and the mechanism clicked loudly. Santiago froze, holding his breath.

What now?

After a tense moment, the spheres and platforms began raising to the ceiling, and the floor closed, leaving an empty chamber behind. His muscles relaxed.

“I think it’s safe for you to cross now,” Santiago called out a little breathlessly. Now that he was finished, the near futility of his task hit him and he felt more than a little off-balance. Had he really just survived that?

Torres jerked his head toward Mario. “Let her walk it first.”

Mario shoved Ali forward, and she stumbled to her knees. She braced for her fall, crying out as it jarred her injured shoulder. Santiago burned with anger.

Ali stood shakily and moved forward.

Santiago wanted to yell at her to stop, to wait, to stay where it was safe. He thought that by his completing the task, the rest would be free to cross, but what if he was wrong? What if the entire infernal thing started up again?

But they needed to move. The magic in his blood was practically burning now. They had to continue.

He watched as Ali stepped down the last stair, then paused. When the stone beneath her feet did not sink and the ground before her did not split open in two, she ran. Santiago met her in the middle.

“Santi,” she breathed, collapsing into his arms. She was burning hot. He held her to his chest, a hand cupped around the back of her head, feeling whole again.

“When you fell, I thought…” Her voice was muffled by his neck.

“I’m fine; I’m okay,” he assured her. “We’re going to get through this.”

Before Santiago could say more, Ali was wrenched from his arms. He started forward with a cry, only to meet the barrel of a gun. Leo tsked at him as Mario pulled Ali away. Torres ignored them, striding confidently across the room.

“Come now,” he called back to them all. “I have a treasure to find.”

52

The next room was more somber.