folded envelope and held it out. “He said you would be beautiful, tall, and have hair like mine,” the girl said in Spanish.
As soon as Sydney took the envelope, the girl turned and went back to her friends. Sydney turned the envelope over. It was battered and covered in a smear of dirt.
“Sydney?”
She looked at Logan and held up the envelope. She tore it open, hope filling her. It was filled with papers.
She pulled the first one out and recognized the untidy handwriting. She shot Logan a blinding smile. “It’s from Drew.”
***
Logan sipped his beer. He sat beside Sydney and the team, huddled around a table in a restaurant in Chachapoyas. Dec had picked a table right at the back where they could keep an eye on anyone entering the restaurant.
So far, there had been no sign that Silk Road had followed them into the Andes.
But the back of Logan’s neck was itching. They hadn’t seen the last of the bastards.
Sydney’s head was bent over the papers she had spread out on the table. He figured from the pinched look on her face, she wasn’t finding what she wanted.
She sat back in her chair with a huff. “There’s no message here.” She shook her head, little tendrils of blonde hair curling around her face. “These are just articles on the Cloud Warriors that Drew must have printed out. He’s made a few notations, but nothing that looks like a message.”
“Tell us about the articles,” Logan said.
Morgan rattled the ice in her glass. “Talking it out might help.”
Sydney nodded and tapped one of the pages. “This article is about two silver cups dating from the Chachapoya era, and found at a Chachapoya site not far from here.” She turned the page so they could all see the image. Two simple silver tumblers were engraved with images of people, and a geometric pattern.
Logan frowned. “I thought you said they had no metal.”
“That’s what the current belief is. Drew’s made a special note of this discovery.”
“Maybe they traded for these, or something,” Hale suggested.
“The design is characteristic of the Cloud Warriors.”
Dec set his beer bottle down on the wooden table. “So, let’s recap. We have a mysterious, powerful people, who held out against the Inca, and who had no metal, while their neighbors were drowning in gold. And now these two cups have been found.”
Logan lowered his beer and studied his friend. “You think they had metal.”
Dec nodded. “Yeah. I think they did.”
Sydney’s eyes widened. “They were battling the Inca, but they knew the Inca had greater numbers. They must have known they were fighting a losing battle.”
Morgan leaned forward. “And then the Spanish arrived, hungry for gold and treasure…”
“The Warriors of the Clouds hid their treasure,” Logan stated.
“Oh, my God.” Sydney gripped the edge of the table. “Drew put it together. And I bet he knows where this treasure is.”
“And Silk Road wants it,” Logan finished.
“What’s the other article about?” Hale asked, from the other side of the table.
Sydney lifted the page. “It talks about the Cloud Warriors’ unique burial practices. They created anthropomorphous sarcophagi out of clay for their dead. They were shaped like human bodies, with exaggerated jaws, painted white and decorated with other colors. The mummies were left inside and the most famous of these types of burials were lined up along a cliff face, facing out across the valley.” She tapped her nail against a picture.
Logan studied it. The statue-like sarcophagi reminded him of small versions of the Moai statues of Easter Island.
“But another fascinating burial area of theirs was discovered south of here,” Sydney continued. “Several mausoleums were found at a remote lake, high up on the cliffs. It’s called Laguna de los Condores.”
“Lake of the Condors,” Logan said.
“It’s also known as Laguna de las Momias.”
Hale took a sip of his drink. “I don’t speak Spanish, but
As soon as Sydney took the envelope, the girl turned and went back to her friends. Sydney turned the envelope over. It was battered and covered in a smear of dirt.
“Sydney?”
She looked at Logan and held up the envelope. She tore it open, hope filling her. It was filled with papers.
She pulled the first one out and recognized the untidy handwriting. She shot Logan a blinding smile. “It’s from Drew.”
***
Logan sipped his beer. He sat beside Sydney and the team, huddled around a table in a restaurant in Chachapoyas. Dec had picked a table right at the back where they could keep an eye on anyone entering the restaurant.
So far, there had been no sign that Silk Road had followed them into the Andes.
But the back of Logan’s neck was itching. They hadn’t seen the last of the bastards.
Sydney’s head was bent over the papers she had spread out on the table. He figured from the pinched look on her face, she wasn’t finding what she wanted.
She sat back in her chair with a huff. “There’s no message here.” She shook her head, little tendrils of blonde hair curling around her face. “These are just articles on the Cloud Warriors that Drew must have printed out. He’s made a few notations, but nothing that looks like a message.”
“Tell us about the articles,” Logan said.
Morgan rattled the ice in her glass. “Talking it out might help.”
Sydney nodded and tapped one of the pages. “This article is about two silver cups dating from the Chachapoya era, and found at a Chachapoya site not far from here.” She turned the page so they could all see the image. Two simple silver tumblers were engraved with images of people, and a geometric pattern.
Logan frowned. “I thought you said they had no metal.”
“That’s what the current belief is. Drew’s made a special note of this discovery.”
“Maybe they traded for these, or something,” Hale suggested.
“The design is characteristic of the Cloud Warriors.”
Dec set his beer bottle down on the wooden table. “So, let’s recap. We have a mysterious, powerful people, who held out against the Inca, and who had no metal, while their neighbors were drowning in gold. And now these two cups have been found.”
Logan lowered his beer and studied his friend. “You think they had metal.”
Dec nodded. “Yeah. I think they did.”
Sydney’s eyes widened. “They were battling the Inca, but they knew the Inca had greater numbers. They must have known they were fighting a losing battle.”
Morgan leaned forward. “And then the Spanish arrived, hungry for gold and treasure…”
“The Warriors of the Clouds hid their treasure,” Logan stated.
“Oh, my God.” Sydney gripped the edge of the table. “Drew put it together. And I bet he knows where this treasure is.”
“And Silk Road wants it,” Logan finished.
“What’s the other article about?” Hale asked, from the other side of the table.
Sydney lifted the page. “It talks about the Cloud Warriors’ unique burial practices. They created anthropomorphous sarcophagi out of clay for their dead. They were shaped like human bodies, with exaggerated jaws, painted white and decorated with other colors. The mummies were left inside and the most famous of these types of burials were lined up along a cliff face, facing out across the valley.” She tapped her nail against a picture.
Logan studied it. The statue-like sarcophagi reminded him of small versions of the Moai statues of Easter Island.
“But another fascinating burial area of theirs was discovered south of here,” Sydney continued. “Several mausoleums were found at a remote lake, high up on the cliffs. It’s called Laguna de los Condores.”
“Lake of the Condors,” Logan said.
“It’s also known as Laguna de las Momias.”
Hale took a sip of his drink. “I don’t speak Spanish, but
Similar Books
