She stormed toward Drake and his team. Juan filmed her the entire way.
CHAPTER 19
Kueka was the last high-borne priest remaining. A few others had managed to flee, but he and his warrior escort had waited too long, and now he would pay.
The others of his group had scattered, but the chance of their survival could be counted in the breaths of a bird, rather than in days or even hours.
The priest bounded up the steps of the temple, past the majestic stone idols, and also past the bowls of large, fragrant blooms, fresh fruits, and other offerings to their gods.
He paused, confused—where were the guards? They knew not to leave until he had returned. They would pay with their lives.
Kueka cursed; he had always known his gods were angry and demanding ones, and the sacrifices were becoming costly. Too many lower-caste men, women, and children had been offered and accepted, greatly thinning out their tribe. Now it seemed the eyes of the great gods had turned upon the high borne.
It was said to be an honor to be sacrificed to the great snake god. But it was an honor that Kueka wanted to ensure never fell upon him. As head priest, he was said to be able to talk to these monstrous creatures. But today, no god was listening, as were any of his people. It seemed no one was left to listen.
The small man bounded down the steps and leaped through the hole in the wall, accelerating to the pathway that would lead back down to the base of the plateau. The wettest season would be over soon, and everything would vanish back to the underworld. He must escape before that happened. Or he’d be trapped. But first, he must survive.
He sprinted down the cave passageway, closing in on his escape route, when he skidded to a stop. The burning torches along the way threw distorted shadows on the rough-hewn walls, but in the dancing light, there was one shadow looming ahead that he wished was just a trick of the light. The snake god, one of them, was waiting for him, and blocking his way.
Kueka half-turned. From behind, he heard the heavy sliding of another huge body — he was trapped between two of the great beasts. He couldn’t really talk to them; that was just to fool the tribe. There would be no entreaties, no mercy, and no hesitation. He’d end up food, just like the rest.
He had one chance, and he darted to the side where there was an alcove for storing building materials. He clambered in and quickly used the cut stones that were stored for construction, lifting them quickly into place, one on top of the other, sealing the entrance to the small hole, and also sealing himself in.
He had no choice; he’d wait until the creatures left. Surely that would be soon.
CHAPTER 20
Drake stood, finished his coffee, and then flicked the dregs into the jungle. After breakfast, two coffees, ablutions, and all jobs done, it was still only 8am. He was satisfied with progress.
“All right people, we’re gonna start inflating the bag. It’ll take two hours, need everyone involved, and once done, we will immediately board and set off — morning breeze is a good breeze, so we’ll use it.” He turned to Emma. “Once we’re up, it’ll be over to you for navigation.”
Emma also stood and wiped her hands on her pants. “That’s right; we can use GPS and compass for only a while. Then once we arrive over what I’ll call the fern forest and are closing in on the plateau, I expect everything to go haywire again. Also, by then, I’m expecting low cloud and fog. That’s where we’ll be relying on skill, precision, and some luck.”
Luck, thought Drake with disquiet. If there was one thing a soldier hated to rely on, it was that. He kept quiet and watched the woman. He couldn’t help admiring her. She was single-focused in what she wanted to achieve, and there was a steely resolve and toughness about her that he wouldn’t dare bet against. She was confident, and she made him feel confident.
Helen raised her hand. “Remind me again how we are going to find it, if we’ve got no compass, GPS, and if there is fog, no line of sight?” She stared at Drake from under her brows. “I mean, I’ve been doing some reading on recreational balloons, like this one, and though they’re pretty tough, you don’t want to bang into the side of a building or a mountain when you’re a thousand feet in the air. The canopy punctures and deflates, and we’re all going to drop like a rock.”
The soldier grunted. “Modern balloons are tougher than that, and a lot more navigable. But the plan is we rise above the cloud layer. Emma believes we can drop in through a permanent eye effect that is over the center of the plateau.” He turned. “That right?”
“It’ll be there,” Emma said with conviction.
“How high can we go up?” Camilla asked, and raised her chin.
“Well, some hot air balloons can go to one-hundred-thousand feet, and that’s well into the stratosphere.” Drake stuck his thumbs into his belt and tried not to laugh as their faces went a few shades paler. “But this recreational model isn’t designed for that. We can certainly get some good height, and if we needed to, we can climb to five thousand feet. Though I expect we’ll only need to climb to around two and a half, or maybe three, depending on the cloud mass.”
“Will we need breathing equipment?” Andy asked, still looking excited.
“No, not at that height,” Drake replied.
“Still no parachutes?” Andy pressed.
“Oh shit, parachutes.” Drake slapped his forehead, and Andy’s mouth dropped open, but stayed curved up at the corners. Helen looked like she was going to pass out.
Drake couldn’t help himself and guffawed. “No, no, like I said before, we won’t need them. These modern balloons are pretty tough and can be lowered and raised quickly. We should be fine.”
“Should be,” Helen repeated.
Drake ignored her. “Anything else?”
Andy’s hand shot up again.
“Jesus,” Drake said with a groan. “Yes, Andy?”
“One more thing; what happens if we don’t find the plateau?”
Okay, good question, Drake thought. “Well, it’s like this; with all our propane cylinders, we have about twenty-four hours flying time — a lot of that is getting there and back. The plan is we find the plateau, rise above it, and then descend down to the top of it, where we will either tie off the balloon or deflate and store it. We find our man, then reinflate and leave. All up, well within our burn boundary.”
Drake bared his teeth for a moment as he thought it through. “Unfortunately, we do not have a lot of time for sailing around looking for something. We either find it, or we don’t.” He turned to Emma. “If we don’t find it within the first twelve hours, well, we’ll need to head back.”
Emma’s jaw clenched and she didn’t say a word.
Drake stared into her eyes for a few more moments, and bet that as far as she was concerned, there was no way she was returning until she was good and ready. He’d have to cross that bridge when they came to it.
He clapped his big hands together. “Okay, people. We got work to do. In two hours, we are airborne.”
And they were.
CHAPTER 21
Comet P/2018-YG874, designate name, Primordia, was on its approach to the third planet from the sun. The magnetic bow wave that preceded it caused collisions between electrically charged particles in the Earth’s upper atmosphere, creating an aurora borealis effect over the jungles of South America.