out. And then you will see.”
“What are you talking about? Find who?”
“The glorious ones. They are trapped.” Graves started back toward the opening.
“There’s nothing here but ruins, Graves.” Blake reached for the man. “Come back to New Hope. Help us build something new, not dig up something old.”
Graves swung around and stared at the colonel as if he’d asked him to strip naked and dance a jig. “I want nothing to do with your New Hope. Now, leave me be.”
James almost felt sorry for him. But hadn’t they all thought his behavior on the journey to Brazil a bit strange? On board the ship, the politician had always kept to himself, more like an observer than a part of their group. He’d even seemed happy when misfortune after misfortune had befallen them. Now James worried how long he could stay at this ghastly temple without food and water. The colonel seemed to be of the same mind when they emerged onto the front courtyard, unable to convince Graves to return. “What are we to do with him? He’s obviously lost his mind.”
“It’s so quiet.” Removing his hat, the old carpenter wiped sweat from his brow and glanced up. Tufts of cotton-like clouds drifted across a cerulean sky they normally didn’t see much of through the canopy. But it was quiet. Unusually quiet.
Eerily quiet.
James lowered his gaze to the haunting images on a nearby obelisk. Despite the sweat moistening his skin, a shiver coursed through him.
Mr. Dodd charged through the broken gate. “I found something you should see, Colonel.”
Wondering what, besides gold, could have put the ex-lawman into such a dither, James and the rest of the men followed him back through the front entrance and then around the broken wall until they stopped behind the enclosed structure. A vast, open field stretched out from the temple. Huge black circles of what once must have been charred grass or shrubbery were scattered haphazardly across the brown—no, gray, deathly gray—terrain. Whatever had seared the ovals into the ground must have happened long ago, yet nothing grew at all in the wide space. No moss; no seedlings; no grass, trees, or bushes. Not a single speck of green. Heat waves spiraled from a ground that appeared as dry as bones—as dry as a grave.
“What happened here?”The colonel shifted weight off his bad leg.
“It looks like a battlefield.” Dodd scratched his head. “Don’t it?”
“Not like any I’ve ever seen,” Lewis offered.
James swallowed down a burst of dread. He didn’t know how he knew. But he knew. He could feel it in his gut. Sense it in his spirit. “Something horrible happened here. Something far worse than we could ever imagine.”
C HAPTER 10
M agnolia folded the coverlet she’d slept on—or rather had lain awake on—and put it back into her valise. After they had forged their bargain last night, Hayden had begun to act strange, getting that look in his eye she’d seen among so many suitors back in Roswell—as if he were starving and she was a sweetmeat. She couldn’t blame him, really. Even in her disheveled state, she was rather alluring. But really, the rogue! So, announcing her intention to retire for the evening, she waited for him to erect some sort of shelter or prepare a soft place for her to lay her head. Instead, he had shrugged, lain down on the ground by the fire, and promptly fallen asleep.
Of all the nerve! Did he actually expect her to sleep in the dirt with all the bugs and snakes and other mucus-oozing critters? And shouldn’t he be keeping watch over her? Protecting her from beasts and intruders? But from the snores that soon filtered her way, she’d surmised that was the last thing on his mind. She’d been so furious, she considered sticking a hot coal inside his shirt or—she grinned at the thought—down his trousers, but thought better of it. No need to rouse his temper—or worse. And since she depended on him to get to Rio De Janeiro, she needed to stay in
“What are you talking about? Find who?”
“The glorious ones. They are trapped.” Graves started back toward the opening.
“There’s nothing here but ruins, Graves.” Blake reached for the man. “Come back to New Hope. Help us build something new, not dig up something old.”
Graves swung around and stared at the colonel as if he’d asked him to strip naked and dance a jig. “I want nothing to do with your New Hope. Now, leave me be.”
James almost felt sorry for him. But hadn’t they all thought his behavior on the journey to Brazil a bit strange? On board the ship, the politician had always kept to himself, more like an observer than a part of their group. He’d even seemed happy when misfortune after misfortune had befallen them. Now James worried how long he could stay at this ghastly temple without food and water. The colonel seemed to be of the same mind when they emerged onto the front courtyard, unable to convince Graves to return. “What are we to do with him? He’s obviously lost his mind.”
“It’s so quiet.” Removing his hat, the old carpenter wiped sweat from his brow and glanced up. Tufts of cotton-like clouds drifted across a cerulean sky they normally didn’t see much of through the canopy. But it was quiet. Unusually quiet.
Eerily quiet.
James lowered his gaze to the haunting images on a nearby obelisk. Despite the sweat moistening his skin, a shiver coursed through him.
Mr. Dodd charged through the broken gate. “I found something you should see, Colonel.”
Wondering what, besides gold, could have put the ex-lawman into such a dither, James and the rest of the men followed him back through the front entrance and then around the broken wall until they stopped behind the enclosed structure. A vast, open field stretched out from the temple. Huge black circles of what once must have been charred grass or shrubbery were scattered haphazardly across the brown—no, gray, deathly gray—terrain. Whatever had seared the ovals into the ground must have happened long ago, yet nothing grew at all in the wide space. No moss; no seedlings; no grass, trees, or bushes. Not a single speck of green. Heat waves spiraled from a ground that appeared as dry as bones—as dry as a grave.
“What happened here?”The colonel shifted weight off his bad leg.
“It looks like a battlefield.” Dodd scratched his head. “Don’t it?”
“Not like any I’ve ever seen,” Lewis offered.
James swallowed down a burst of dread. He didn’t know how he knew. But he knew. He could feel it in his gut. Sense it in his spirit. “Something horrible happened here. Something far worse than we could ever imagine.”
C HAPTER 10
M agnolia folded the coverlet she’d slept on—or rather had lain awake on—and put it back into her valise. After they had forged their bargain last night, Hayden had begun to act strange, getting that look in his eye she’d seen among so many suitors back in Roswell—as if he were starving and she was a sweetmeat. She couldn’t blame him, really. Even in her disheveled state, she was rather alluring. But really, the rogue! So, announcing her intention to retire for the evening, she waited for him to erect some sort of shelter or prepare a soft place for her to lay her head. Instead, he had shrugged, lain down on the ground by the fire, and promptly fallen asleep.
Of all the nerve! Did he actually expect her to sleep in the dirt with all the bugs and snakes and other mucus-oozing critters? And shouldn’t he be keeping watch over her? Protecting her from beasts and intruders? But from the snores that soon filtered her way, she’d surmised that was the last thing on his mind. She’d been so furious, she considered sticking a hot coal inside his shirt or—she grinned at the thought—down his trousers, but thought better of it. No need to rouse his temper—or worse. And since she depended on him to get to Rio De Janeiro, she needed to stay in
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