Empire of Gold

‘Oh, that’s fucking magic! I’m coming back down.’

‘No, stay up there,’ Nina said quickly. ‘Leonard, I’m going to get Eddie to describe what he’s seeing, okay?’ She held the radio high so it could pick up his voice.

Unnerved, Eddie shouted a description of the three stone heads. ‘They’re about a foot apart, and . . . ’ He looked more closely, shining his torch beneath them. ‘And it looks like they move. There’s a vertical slot underneath each of ’em, like they’re on the ends of levers.’

‘How far can they move?’ Nina asked.

‘Not far. Six inches, maybe.’

She thought for a moment, trying to compare what Eddie was seeing with her memory of the picture. ‘Leonard, what was on the other side of the three jaguars?’

‘A man climbing some very steep steps.’

‘And are the spikes on that part of the picture too?’

‘Yes.’

‘Two sets of stairs?’ Eddie wondered.

Nina shook her head. ‘There’s only one entrance. No, it’s something to do with the cats.’ She asked Osterhagen to describe the three animals.

‘The two on the left are sitting upright,’ he told her. ‘The one on the right is crouching down.’

‘Two up, one down,’ she said. ‘It’s part of the Incas’ journey, a clue. But it’s like the huaca markings and the khipu - they thought it was one only they would understand.’

‘Well, if you understand it, I wish you’d tell me,’ Eddie said.

‘I think it’s a key – the way to get into El Dorado safely. The two cats on the left are sitting up, so their heads are held high - at the top of the slots. But the one on the right is looking down at the man climbing up the steps —’

‘At the bottom of the slot,’ he concluded. ‘Like a combination lock. Two up, one down, and that stops you having terminal acupuncture.’

‘Exactly. Well, er, I think. I hope.’

‘Yeah, I hope too, seeing as I’m the one who’s going to have to bloody test it!’

‘Are you sure?’ she asked. ‘We can always go back and try to figure out some other way to get up there.’

‘No, I think you’re right,’ he said. ‘They wouldn’t have put it on the map if it didn’t mean something. All the other stuff on it’s worked out so far, so . . .’ He straightened. ‘Let’s give it a shot, then. Here, kitty, kitty . . . ’

He put his hand on the rightmost of the three carved heads, hesitated – then firmly pushed it down.

There was a muffled grinding sound from behind the slot, then silence. He looked up. No water erupted into the shaft. ‘Is it all the way down?’ Nina asked.

‘Far as it’ll go.’

‘So now what?’

‘See if it worked, I guess. Okay, let’s see . . .’ He swept his light along the edge of the third step above him. Nothing out of the ordinary presented itself. He climbed up, finding that this ledge was devoid of any features, only plain walls of intricately arranged blocks.

The top of the shaft was now visible above, the ceiling of a high cave picked out in the half-light coming through the waterfall. Whatever secrets the Incas had left behind were only a matter of feet above.

The thought made him more wary than ever.

He performed another round of checks for potential traps on the fourth ledge. This time, he noticed something different, and unsettling: a gap beneath the slab forming the step. It was only a matter of millimetres high, but compared to the precision of everything else it stood out like a gaping chasm. He took out his knife and probed the narrow opening. It was deeper than his blade could reach. ‘Nina?’

‘Yes?’

‘Go back outside. I think I’ve found the trigger.’

‘No, I’ll stay with you.’

‘No you won’t, ’cause if we’ve cocked this up, I’ll end up stuck on some spikes and you’ll get chucked on to those rocks outside! Go back on to the ledge – stand a few feet from the doorway be safe. Go on!’

Nina reluctantly headed down the tunnel. Eddie waited until he was sure she was clear, then turned his attention back to the next step. Could he wedge something into the gap? Maybe, but that seemed a little too obvious.

Besides, he had confidence in his wife. All the puzzle pieces fitted together – it was time to see the full picture.

He jumped up and grabbed the edge of the slab.

A faint creak, just the tiniest hint of give as his full weight hung from the stone . . .

And nothing.

He climbed up to stand on the ledge and a jolt of fear surged through him as the stone tipped very slightly