stones, then they got to work clearing away enough of the plants to give them room to scout out any other signs of ancient civilization.
Even though the leaves on the taller trees provided a canopy of shade, the overhead sun beat down on them, causing Kate to sweat uncomfortably.
“That overhead sun really is hot.” Carlotta echoed her thoughts.
“Yeah, it must be high noon or thereabouts,” Benny said.
Kate’s eyes flew to the watch on her wrist. “It’s actually half past. The satellite is almost overhead. It’s time to contact Gideon.”
She moved to a more densely forested spot, sat down on a boulder and fiddled with the watch. After a few minutes, it crackled with static. Gideon’s face appeared through a snowy, dotted haze.
“Kate, you look a little pale. Is everything okay?” Gideon asked.
“Well, it’s hot as Hades here and I’m in the middle of the jungle getting eaten by mosquitoes,” she snapped, then added, “and I may have stayed up a little late last night with your friend, Jersey.”
Gideon frowned. “Jersey? You mean you ran into her?”
“Yes. You could say we stumbled into her.” Kate glanced over at Carlotta and Sal who laughed at her joke. “It turns out she’s excavating a Mayan village not too far from here.”
“Is that so? How is she?”
“Fine. She seems very nice, though I’m not sure about her assistant. He didn’t seem to be very pleased that we were in the area.”
Gideon pursed his lips. “I guess that makes sense. You know how archaeologists are. They don’t want anyone jumping claim on their find.”
“Don’t I know it,” Kate said. “But I might have good news. She angled the watch toward the marker. “We just found this and we’re searching the area to see if there’s anything else. This is definitely Aztec, right?”
“Yes, it is.”
“And Gertie found a carving yesterday with some sort of bird serpent on it.”
“Quetzalcoatl? That was an Aztec deity or god. You guys could be onto something.”
“Great. What about you? Have you made any progress with the painting?”
“As a matter of fact, I have. There does seem to be something under the top layer of paint but it’s not a map or anything. It almost looks like some sort of a cipher for a code. It could be hieroglyphs, though. I can’t make out a lot of it, but it looks like frogs.”
“A code? What kind of code and how would that help us find the tomb?”
“I’m not sure. It might be a way to help you find the tomb or a way to help you with what’s inside the tomb.”
Kate’s brows pinched together. “What do you mean help us with what’s inside the tomb?”
Gideon shook his head. ”I’m not sure but I get a funny feeling that Itizuma may have been more than just a ruler. He might have had some sort of valuable secret and it could be in his tomb.”
Kate scoffed. “I highly doubt some secret from six hundred years ago would be of interest to anyone now.”
“I wouldn’t be too sure. This could be something pretty big from the rumblings I’m hearing. And even worse than that, I think Markovic might know more than we do. We don’t know what was revealed in his half of the painting.”
“Do you think this could have something to do with the curse?”
“It’s possible. Or it’s possible the curse was invented to keep people away from the tomb. Whatever is in there may be more valuable than gold or riches and a curse would be just the thing to keep superstitious locals at bay.”
Kate remembered what the hookah man had told her. She thought it was just some legend that he was warning her about, a legend probably instilled long ago to keep people from raiding the tomb. But the way he had said it did seem a little strange, especially the part about how some things should stay buried.
A seed of the doubt rooted in Kate's stomach. From the very start, she’d thought Markovic’s interest in the painting was a little odd. Sure, an Aztec tomb loaded with gold and
Even though the leaves on the taller trees provided a canopy of shade, the overhead sun beat down on them, causing Kate to sweat uncomfortably.
“That overhead sun really is hot.” Carlotta echoed her thoughts.
“Yeah, it must be high noon or thereabouts,” Benny said.
Kate’s eyes flew to the watch on her wrist. “It’s actually half past. The satellite is almost overhead. It’s time to contact Gideon.”
She moved to a more densely forested spot, sat down on a boulder and fiddled with the watch. After a few minutes, it crackled with static. Gideon’s face appeared through a snowy, dotted haze.
“Kate, you look a little pale. Is everything okay?” Gideon asked.
“Well, it’s hot as Hades here and I’m in the middle of the jungle getting eaten by mosquitoes,” she snapped, then added, “and I may have stayed up a little late last night with your friend, Jersey.”
Gideon frowned. “Jersey? You mean you ran into her?”
“Yes. You could say we stumbled into her.” Kate glanced over at Carlotta and Sal who laughed at her joke. “It turns out she’s excavating a Mayan village not too far from here.”
“Is that so? How is she?”
“Fine. She seems very nice, though I’m not sure about her assistant. He didn’t seem to be very pleased that we were in the area.”
Gideon pursed his lips. “I guess that makes sense. You know how archaeologists are. They don’t want anyone jumping claim on their find.”
“Don’t I know it,” Kate said. “But I might have good news. She angled the watch toward the marker. “We just found this and we’re searching the area to see if there’s anything else. This is definitely Aztec, right?”
“Yes, it is.”
“And Gertie found a carving yesterday with some sort of bird serpent on it.”
“Quetzalcoatl? That was an Aztec deity or god. You guys could be onto something.”
“Great. What about you? Have you made any progress with the painting?”
“As a matter of fact, I have. There does seem to be something under the top layer of paint but it’s not a map or anything. It almost looks like some sort of a cipher for a code. It could be hieroglyphs, though. I can’t make out a lot of it, but it looks like frogs.”
“A code? What kind of code and how would that help us find the tomb?”
“I’m not sure. It might be a way to help you find the tomb or a way to help you with what’s inside the tomb.”
Kate’s brows pinched together. “What do you mean help us with what’s inside the tomb?”
Gideon shook his head. ”I’m not sure but I get a funny feeling that Itizuma may have been more than just a ruler. He might have had some sort of valuable secret and it could be in his tomb.”
Kate scoffed. “I highly doubt some secret from six hundred years ago would be of interest to anyone now.”
“I wouldn’t be too sure. This could be something pretty big from the rumblings I’m hearing. And even worse than that, I think Markovic might know more than we do. We don’t know what was revealed in his half of the painting.”
“Do you think this could have something to do with the curse?”
“It’s possible. Or it’s possible the curse was invented to keep people away from the tomb. Whatever is in there may be more valuable than gold or riches and a curse would be just the thing to keep superstitious locals at bay.”
Kate remembered what the hookah man had told her. She thought it was just some legend that he was warning her about, a legend probably instilled long ago to keep people from raiding the tomb. But the way he had said it did seem a little strange, especially the part about how some things should stay buried.
A seed of the doubt rooted in Kate's stomach. From the very start, she’d thought Markovic’s interest in the painting was a little odd. Sure, an Aztec tomb loaded with gold and
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