“He told me to open my eyes. To look for the moon.”
“What the heck is that supposed to mean?”
“I don’t know, but I’m wondering if maybe…maybe he’s a protector.”
Rafa eyed her curiously. “Do you think?”
“Heisa guide for Vautour’s men,” she said with a shrug. “Who knows how they found him? What if he’s trying to help us?”
She walked the perimeter of the space, running her hand along the cool stone blocks, feeling for something—anything—that would give them a clue, when something glinted in her eye.
There. Something looked different on the wall across from the window, where the light hit. She followed the light with her eyes. A shimmer in the stone. There it was. A small moon shape.
“What is it?” Rafa asked.
“Look. A moon,” she said, pointing toward the spot. Just like the rock outside, it glimmered in the moonlight. This was what Sérgio wanted her to see.
She traced her finger along the crescent shape and pushed, but nothing happened. As she felt along the curvature, however, she felt a notch in the wall. She put her hand inside, finding a lever. She pulled it with all her strength and it clicked, opening a passageway through the wall.
“Jackpot!”
Rafa hopped up and joined her. Stairs led through to a tunnel with a soft glow coming from the bottom. It could be a way out. Or it could lead to more trouble.
They slowly crept down the stairs in single file. As they neared the bottom and heard voices, they stopped.
“It’s my dad,” Rafael whispered.
Miri nodded. She whispered back, “Let’s go slow.”
They hugged the wall and continued down the stairs, inching closer and closer toward the voices. A soft radiance lit the steps, the glow of fire. At the bottom there was a short hallway that led to an open doorway. Their only option.
They crept toward the opening and peered into a room the size of an Olympic swimming pool with a twenty-foot ceiling, lit by torches along the large stone block walls. And in the center of the room sat a trove full of gems and gold. The blaze from the fire reflected on the cache, illuminating the room with an almost blinding light. No wonder people had been searching for this place. There had to have been hundreds of thousands of dollars’, possibly millions’, worth of treasure in this room in today’s dollars.
“Pack up as much as you can,” Vautour commanded from the center of the room, directing his men to load duffels full of valuables. “And remember the deal. You fill my bags first. Whatever’s left, you can take.”
The men laughed and cackled as they jammed their packs with riches. Holding up various pieces to the light. Cramming their bags with everything they could. Talking about what they were going to do with their money once they got home. There was so much that it wasn’t possible they’d be able to take everything. But still, to see them taking things, stealing things…They weren’t taking it for research. They weren’t taking it to preserve the memory of the city. Greed compelled them. They were pillaging the Moon City for their own gain.
Rafa tapped her on the shoulder and pointed to a doorway at the far end of the room. There was no way they’d be able to get over there without being seen. Miri shook her head.
“I’m invisible, but I’m not that invisible,” she whispered.
“No, silly. I’m going to create a distraction and you run that way. Toward the exit.”
“No, you’ll never get away.”
“I’m not asking,” he said with a warm smile. “You’ve saved me. Now let me save you. And like you said. Heprobablywon’t kill me. On the count of three. One…two…three!”
Without hesitation, Rafa ran into the room, startling Vautour and his crew. The men dropped their bags and came running after him.
“Get him,” Vautour screamed. The commotion was intense. Sounds of priceless artifacts crashing to the ground echoed as they scrambled through the room. That was her chance. They were distracted. Miri ran to the other end of the room, toward the opening.
“There she is!” someone screamed.
She didn’t bother turning around to see who it was. She just kept running, running until she couldn’t run anymore. The temple’s passageways were winding and narrow. Its was like a maze, and she couldn’t find her way out, but she just kept going. Her heart thumped so strongly she thought it was going to explode from her chest. Scared not only for herself but for what was happening down below with Rafa. She hoped he was safe. But it would all be for nothing if she didn’t get out of there.
Finally, there was daylight. The sun was coming up. And there was an opening to outside. She ran through the exit and down the stairs of the temple. She ran so fast, she missed a step and tumbled down the final ten steps, hitting the ground with a thud. Her whole body ached. Slowly, she pulled herself back up, but when she tried to stand, she collapsed, and she screamed out in pain.
“Fuck!” she yelled, holding her ankle. She may not have been that kind of doctor, but she knew a sprain when she felt it. But sprained or not, she needed to keep going. Using every ounce of strength she could muster, she carefully stood, holding her leg, and limped toward the city gate.
