Page 75 of The Lost Guardian

“What the fuck!” Santi yelled. “Did he have a sword this whole time?”

Ali had stars in her eyes.

The second ghostly warrior advanced.

“No!” Santiago yelled, and before he could think about what he was doing, he threw himself forward, darting between the professor and the apparition.

The soldier passed right through him, not even sparing him a glance. Santi gasped as an icy cold rushed through his body, dissipating as quickly as it had come. The soldier kept moving.

“Stop!” he cried, trying to pull the soldier away from José. Again, his hand passed through, as if the man was made of mist.

“I can’t touch them?” he whispered, terrified and confused. Mostly terrified.

Both specters continued advancing toward José. Ali grabbed a large branch off the floor and swung hard.

Like with Santiago, Ali’s attempt went straight through the warrior, and her momentum swung her around. She stumbled before righting herself again.

When José met the spear with his blade, however, the two weapons connected with a resounding clang. The second soldier reached him, and José threw a punch to the jaw that knocked him back several steps.

Santiago was desperate to help, but as hard as he tried, he couldn’t touch the apparitions. When a lance meant for the professor dissolved against his chest, he realized something.

They can’t touch me, either.

“They won’t stop!” José cried out, backing up as the soldiers continued to advance on him.

“Then we keep fighting!” Ali yelled, desperately trying to grab one of the warriors. Again, her hands passed right through them. Any second now, Santi was afraid she might pull a gun.

“Aha!” José whooped, kicking a soldier in the chest and sending him flying. The form collapsed into smoke as he struck a tree, then quickly reappeared. “They aren’t trying to kill you; they’re trying to stop me.”

“Then we all stay,” Santiago insisted. What else could he do? “Stop!” he yelled at the soldiers. “He’s with me! He’s my friend!”

But they did not stop.

José backed away, drawing the warriors toward him.

“Go!” he yelled. And—gods above—was he still smiling?

“No.” They had left him once. Santiago wasn’t about to do it again.

“The Guardian must continue,” José insisted. He backed up even farther, and the soldiers followed.

“No!” Santiago repeated.

José had fished out another knife by then, performing a quick series of moves that Santi was unfamiliar with but looked very impressive. He kept the ghostly warriors at bay.

“What, you don’t think I can handle two measly spirits by myself?” José threw his head back and laughed, spinning as gracefully as Ali on a dance floor.

He’s laughing. He’s being attacked by the spirits of ancient Inca warriors and he’s laughing. Who the hell is this man?

Indiana Juanes, indeed.

He felt Ali grab his arm, pulling him toward the mountains.

“We can’t leave him,” Santiago said, tripping over his feet as she pulled him away. “He could die!”

“Rios, look at me,” Ali said, clutching at his shoulders. “If we don’t leave now, many more will die.”

“Go!” José repeated, farther now. He was leading the soldiers away from the pillars. “I’ll be fine! You need to find the tomb before it’s too late!”