I do not know who left this relic here but they went through much trouble to hide it. Standing before it, I realized that I could not remove it from this sacred resting place.
Perhaps the medicine man believed I could not remove it or perhaps would not. He told me only the worthy could take the leaf to re-unite it with the others. And the person who did so would have the power of the gods. I deserve no such power. The person who accomplishes this must be of a purer heart than mine. Still, I wonder where the other pieces are.
Sean finished reading the passage and turned the page. There were no other entries. He looked back at Adriana and handed her the book. “Others?” he asked, curious.
“The others Coronado refer to are known as the Sumar Plates. They are supposed to point the way to the second chamber.”
Emily spoke up suddenly. “Second chamber? What if no one found the first one? Couldn’t we just skip a few steps and get to the end?”
Their host turned to her as she spoke. “The path from one chamber to the next cannot be completed without the stone from the previous. Each stone, like the one discovered in Georgia, have unique qualities. The original stone does not point the way to the second chamber, only the first.”
“The stone we found at the chamber looked exactly like the first one except for the message on one side and the picture on the other,” Sean stated.
Adriana looked uncertain. “The message from each stone points the way to the next. It would be impossible to find the chambers out of order.”
She took the diary back to the safe and laid it inside carefully. “Did you happen to notice anything usual about the stone’s shape?”
Sean took a minute to think but nothing came to mind. A beeping noise suddenly sounded from her front jeans pocket. Adriana reached in and looked at her cell phone.
“What is it?” Emily asked.
“Looks like we need to be leaving,” Adriana replied with a concerned look in her eyes. “I believe they found us.”
Chapter 25
The two black Ford Explorers were parked behind a few abandoned campers on the plain at the foot of the mountain. The rotting remains of the trailers provided the only cover in the desert plains leading up to the mountains.
“How long are we going to sit here,” Angela said into her microphone as she wiped a bead of sweat off of her forehead.
James responded from the other SUV. “As long as it takes.”
“As long as it takes for what? Our engines to blow up?” He ignored her snide comment. “What if they decided to just hang out for a few days?” Frustration was evident in her voice.
“We were ordered to hold back and observe. I’m certain they will be on the move soon.”
“What’s the problem?” Emily asked as the three left the stone corridor and closed the heavy door behind them.
“I have a perimeter warning system here,” Villa answered. “Someone is on the premises.”
She led them back up into the house to a small room that was probably meant to be an office but instead looked like a small security center. Six computer screens displayed camera views of different places surrounding the property. She typed a few keys and the screen with a blinking red border zoomed in. Two black SUVs sat waiting by a couple of old RV campers down near the base of the mountain.
“Our friends from last night?” Sean asked.
“Probably,” their host answered as she zoomed in on one of the trucks with a toggle.
“Looks like they’re waiting to ambush us.” Emily theorized.
“Maybe,” he said. “More than likely they’re waiting to see what we’re going to do next. If they were going to keep trying to kill us they’d have already come up the mountain.”
“What are we going to do next?”
Both women looked at him expectantly.
“Well, we can’t just sit here all day. I say we make a run for it.” He looked at Adriana. “You up for a little car chase?”
She smiled and twirled the keys on her index finger.
Villa guided the SUV carefully along the mountain road until they came to the last hidden turn near the bottom. She looked back at Sean who was strapped in and ready. Then she punched it, kicking up dirt and gravel behind them.
The black Audi roared across the desert plain back towards the city. Up ahead they could see the campers and just behind them, the two trucks of their pursuers.
Suddenly, Sean’s phone started ringing in his left pocket. It was Joe. “Hey Mac. I’m not sure I got a lot of time to talk right now. What’s up?”
“In more trouble?”
“You know me.” Sean said as the Q7 sailed off of the dirt road and onto asphalt again. He turned and looked behind them, switching his cell phone to the other ear. In the dust cloud behind he could make out the two black vehicles pulling out and heading in their direction.
Joe chuckled. “Yeah. I do. Listen, Sean. I just got off the phone with Tommy a few minutes ago and then tried calling him back but he didn’t answer so I thought I’d give you a shout. You still in Vegas?”
“Yeah, sorta.”
Adriana veered the car into the outskirts of town. Their vehicle was much faster than the two chasing them. He just hoped they didn’t see any police. With the crazy scene that was surely still going on over at the Venetian, he doubted many would be out giving speeding tickets.
“Good,” Joe’s deep southern accent brought his mind back to the phone call. “You need to go to the Grand Canyon.”
“I’ve been there before. Not sure if I’m going to have time to do it again today, buddy.”
“Not for sight seein’,” McElroy corrected. “Tommy gave me the interpretation for the second stone. I believe that the first part of the clue leads to Bandelier National Monument in New Mexico. It talks about two lions guarding the way.”
“So, why The Grand Canyon if the first place is Bandelier?”
“Tommy is already headed to Bandelier. The next part of the riddle talks about eagles wings guiding the way. I didn’t really think about it while I was on the phone with him, but I did a little looking around after we hung up.
“There is a place called, ‘Eagle Point’ at the Grand Canyon. That’s where I think another piece of the puzzle is.”
“Are you sure? I mean, there could be a few dozen places named after eagles or other birds in this country. Why that spot?” Sean speculated.
“It’s the only one that makes sense. If we go on what we know based on the first chamber, the people that left the clues did so in a general area. All the ones we found before were within a few hundred miles of each other. Stands to reason they wouldn’t change that method now.”