"How'd they get through it?" Emily asked.
"All I remember is no light could penetrate Dark House. Maybe they had to feel their way through it."
Graham snorted and took a few steps forward. "That's real helpful."
"He's right," I said. "We should be careful. You never know when—"
Graham shouted as his mechanical leg vanished into the ground. He stumbled. His arms flew at his sides like windmills.
Then he toppled forward.
My heart raced. I swung my arm out. Clutched for his hand.
But all I felt was air.
Chapter 95
I threw myself to the ground. "Dutch?"
Several beams flashed. I saw Graham. He'd fallen into a deep pit. Fortunately, his instincts had kicked in and he'd managed to grab a rock outcropping on the way down.
I grasped his wrist.
"Don't let go." Graham's fingers began to uncurl. "Or I swear to God, I'll haunt you until you die."
I wrapped my other hand around his forearm and rose to a crouching position.
His fingers came loose.
He plunged downward and my arms jolted. Stinging sensations shot through my shoulders as I struggled to maintain my grip.
Then I started to slide.
I dug my heels into the ground. But they just slid across the painted rock. Moments later, the tips of my boots passed over the pit. A few small pebbles slid with them and fell into the darkness. I waited for the inevitable sound of rock striking rock.
But all I heard was silence.
The doc grabbed my waist. Tum grasped my shoulders. My momentum slowed.
Beverly darted to the hole. She grabbed Graham's other wrist. She heaved and together, we pulled him to the surface.
Seconds later, we collapsed, breathing heavily. "Don't," I gulped at the air, "do that again."
He nodded.
Emily leaned over the pit and pointed her beam into the darkness. "It's deep," she said. "I can't even see the bottom."
I gave her a wary look. Many hours had passed since her last hallucinatory episode. Now, we were under an enormous amount of stress. Another episode in the near future seemed quite possible.
"I think I saw another one just like it." Beverly picked up her flashlight and pointed it across the cave. "See? It throws off a slightly different shadow than the rest of the floor."
I dusted myself off and picked up my flashlight. "Join your beams to mine. Move them left to right."
The others adjusted their flashlights. Slowly, we shifted the combined beam across the dark cave, illuminating over a dozen pits in the process. "Toward the walls," I said. "Again, left to right."
The combined beam struck the left wall. Slowly, it shifted to the right until it lit up a tunnel in the far right corner. "Beams on the ground," I said. "And follow me."
Walking carefully, I stepped around the pits and led the others toward the tunnel. To my relief, it was unpainted and my beam easily illuminated the walls and ceiling.
I walked into the tunnel. It was long and sloped gently into the ground. After a few footsteps, I heard a rumbling noise. It grew louder and louder until it was almost deafening.
The tunnel twisted around, ending in a small cavern. A wave of cold mist touched my skin. With the help of my beam, I saw a large waterfall. It crashed through a slot in the ceiling and passed through a gap in the floor, striking countless rocks upon the way.
"Cy." Graham cleared his throat. "We've got a problem."
"What is it?" I asked.
"Look around."
I tore my gaze from the frothing waterfall and looked over the rest of the cavern. It was empty. There were no passages or connecting tunnels. There was nothing.
Nothing but a dead end.
Chapter 96
"Rattling House."
I looked at Tum. "Come again?"
"This must be Rattling House," he said. "Listen to the water."
I perked my ears. Indeed, the waterfall made a distinct rattling noise as it pounded against the rocks.
A cold chill came over the cave. I twisted back to the waterfall, eager to keep moving. "What do you remember about it?"
"Rattling House was supposed to be very cold and full of rattling hail."
It wasn't much help. So, I turned to the walls. "Let's look around. Maybe there's a hidden entrance."
Along with the others, I began studying the limestone. But I didn't see any chisel marks or other signs of activity.
"I've got nothing," Graham called out after a few minutes.
"Same here," Dr. Wu added.
"There's one option we haven't considered." Beverly walked to the rushing water. Using her beam, she illuminated the waterfall as it passed through the gap in the floor. "Maybe we're supposed to go down."
"That's crazy," Graham said. "It's too powerful. It would dash us against the rocks below."
"As far as I can tell, it's the only way out of here."
Exhaling loudly, I stuffed my flashlight into my satchel. Then I stepped past Beverly and grabbed one of the rocks jutting out into the cave. Water crashed against my hand. Mist shot into my face.
I steeled my grip. Then I pulled myself toward the waterfall.
Water slammed into me, pounding on my head like a giant hammer. I tried to twist my face away from it, but it was everywhere.
I lowered my left boot to another rock. It slipped easily into a foothold. Bracing myself, I took my left hand off the jutting rock and felt around for another handhold. A moment later, my fingers slid into a smooth gap.
Adrenaline surged through me. I lowered my right boot, felt around, and then maneuvered it onto a solid ledge. I shifted my right hand and found another smooth gap.
"The rocks." The rushing water nearly drowned me out. "They've been carved. You just have to feel around for the right spaces."
A giant burst of water struck my head. I choked but managed to maintain my grip.
My muscles grew fatigued as I worked my way down the rocks. My brain felt like jelly thanks to the skull-crushing water.
After a short climb, my boots plunged into a pool. Water swirled around them, moving rapidly.
I lowered my leg deeper into the icy liquid. My boot touched rock. I felt around with my toe. It was firm ground.
I pulled away from the waterfall and retrieved my flashlight. The beam illuminated a large cavern. Water covered about a quarter of it.
As Beverly jumped into the pool, I moved forward, curious about the water. I knew it came from the waterfall, but its drainage remained a mystery.
After a brief search, I discovered a series of tiny gaps in a nearby wall. The area was more like a sieve than a pool. Instead of a single drain, it contained hundreds of tiny outlets. Unfortunately, they were too small to use as passageways.
I heard a splash. Whirling around, I saw Emily land lightly in the water. Dr. Wu was next. Then Tum appeared.
Graham was the last to climb down the rocks. The rest of us gathered beneath him, ready to catch him if he fell. But he kept his balance the whole way down.
As he stepped away from the waterfall, I cleared my throat. "How many of these houses are there?" I asked Tum.
"Six," he replied. "We've seen Dark House and Rattling House. That leaves Jaguar House, Razor House, Hot House, and … oh yes, Bat House."
Air flowed from the opposite side of the cavern. I blinked as it pushed gently against my face.
No one had gotten close to the Library of the Mayas in centuries. Not Wallace Hope. Not anyone. And now, we were on the verge of discovering it. I could feel it, sense it.
I felt a rising desire inside me. Thoughts of retirement started to feel like distant memories. I wanted to see the library. I wanted to touch it, to hold it in my hands. The desire consumed me, occupying a part of my very soul.