‘Good,’ said Eddie. ‘Anybody out there won’t see much of us.’ He paused at the top of another muddy bank, then gestured off to one side. ‘I think there’s something over there.’
Nina squinted through the rain. There was indeed a vague shape visible beyond the trees. ‘A wall?’
She started towards it, but Eddie waved her back. ‘Wait here until I’ve checked it out. Oscar, with me.’ Hunching down, the Englishman slowly advanced towards the indistinct shape, Valero behind him. Nina watched anxiously as they disappeared behind the trees. She strained to listen over the constant drum of raindrops for an unexpected shout, a gunshot . . .
Eddie reappeared, waving for her to join him. She breathed out in relief and picked her way forward, Osterhagen and Becker behind her. As she got closer she realised that it
Becker had seen something above it, however. ‘Look,’ he said, gesticulating excitedly. Set several feet back on its top was a second wall, rising another eight feet higher – and a third above that. ‘It’s tiered! Just like the walls at Sacsayhuaman.’
Osterhagen was nearly as enthused. ‘And look! The shape, the zigzag – these are Inca, I’m sure!’
‘Shh, shh,
Becker looked sheepish, hiding from Eddie’s glare beneath his hat brim. Osterhagen, meanwhile, turned his attention back to the wall. ‘If we climb it, we can try to spot these men from the top.’
‘There’s a collapsed bit over there,’ said Eddie. ‘I’ll go up and have a gander. If it’s safe, I’ll wave.’ By now, Valero had returned, and the other members of the group were approaching through the trees. ‘Oscar, keep an eye on the gate. Any trouble at all, everyone run like buggery back to the Jeeps. Okay?’
He went to the damaged section and scrambled up it, then searched for a suitable point to climb to the next tier. Finding a section where several large stones had been dislodged, he used the gaps as footholds and ascended again, disappearing from Nina’s view. The downpour was easing off, the water torture of the large drops giving way to a clammy drizzle.
After a minute, he leaned over the edge and waved. ‘Okay,’ she said. ‘I’ll go up first. Oscar, watch the gate until everyone’s clear.’ Valero’s eyebrows twitched at being given orders by her, but he nodded.
It didn’t take long for Nina to reach Eddie’s position on top of the wall. By now, the rain had stopped, drips from the overhanging trees gradually slowing to nothing. He was on his stomach, looking out across what lay beyond the fortifications; she dropped and slithered alongside him, taking in the view.
It rendered her speechless. Inside the walls was a town, abandoned and in ruins, but still stunning to behold. The shells of stone buildings were packed tightly together, tall gables marking where roofs of wood and thatch had once been. Trees had taken root amongst them, breaking down walls and concealing the structures beneath the jungle canopy. Narrow streets meandered through the outermost parts of the settlement, becoming straighter and wider as they neared the centre, where the buildings increased in size and grandeur.
Temples, and palaces. The heart of the last outpost of the Inca empire.
Paititi. The legend was real.
But they were not the first to find it. ‘Have you seen the guards?’ she asked.
‘Not yet,’ Eddie replied, ‘but I heard something over there.’ He pointed at one of the larger buildings.
There was a rattle and clunk of loose stones, and they looked back to see Osterhagen, breathing heavily, pull himself on to the uppermost tier. Becker, Kit and Macy appeared behind him. ‘Oh, for Christ’s sake!’ Eddie grumbled. ‘What is this, a fucking conga line? I didn’t mean everyone to come up here. It’s not safe yet.’
Osterhagen didn’t hear, spellbound by the vision before him.
Eddie grabbed his wrist. ‘If that flashes, it won’t just be the Incas who practise human sacrifice – I’ll have a bloody go!’
Osterhagen pulled free, but checked that the flash was switched off before taking his first picture. ‘Mr Chase, I know you are trying to keep us safe, but I do not like your attitude.’
‘You’ll like getting shot even less, Doc. Trust me, I know.’
‘So do I,’ added Nina. Osterhagen looked shocked. ‘What do you make of it?’
The German surveyed the ruins. The outer walls, as much as could be seen through the interloping trees, enclosed an area roughly two hundred metres square. ‘It is smaller than Machu Picchu, but there may be other ruins outside the fortifications. The architecture is definitely late-period Inca, though.’
‘The black market artefacts – where would they have been kept?’
He indicated one of the larger structures, a thick-walled block with numerous small trapezoidal windows high along its sides. ‘The royal palace, most likely. Or’ – a smaller one, unlike its neighbours in that its walls were curved – ‘the Temple of the Sun.’
‘If that’s where the gold is,’ Eddie pointed out, ‘it’s probably where the guards are too.’
The remaining expedition members had by now scaled the wall, and were reacting with amazement. Loretta put a hand to her mouth, on the verge of weeping with joy. ‘Look at it, look! I never dreamed we’d find anywhere so intact!’
Even Cuff’s seen-it-all-before smugness had temporarily deserted him. ‘Jesus. This is incredible. There’s so much of it - where do we start?’
‘You start by staying put until I find those guards,’ said Eddie, moving cautiously along the wall. Not far away was a stairway down to ground level; it had partially collapsed, but he was able to half climb, half slide down it,
