"Are you saying this is more than coincidence?" Catalina asked.
"Maybe," Eric answered her. "I'll tell you this much. This large piece of granite has to be the portal Valverde alluded to in the derrotero."
"Impossible," Phillip said. "The slab is much too heavy to be a door."
Upon closer inspection, scored on the wall to the right of the slab, Eric saw a Chakana. He remembered Valverede making a reference to the ancient Inca symbol. As he recalled, the icon was also in some of the photographs of the aryballos Catalina had shown him. He began to think that whoever had carved the age-old symbol had done so for a reason-a very good reason. Bringing his flashlight closer, he examined its intricately carved circles and squares. Then he saw it! All the circles and squares were two-dimensional except for the innermost circle. It protruded from the rest of the geometric shapes, giving the Chakana a three-dimensional appearance. He hesitated, but only for a moment. Placing the palm of his hand firmly against the circle, he pressed against it as hard as he could.
"I hear something," Catalina said, moving closer to Eric.
Suddenly, a grinding sound emanated from the chamber's wall. At first, it was quite faint, but then it became louder. "Look." Catalina said. "The slab. It's moving!"
"What's all the commotion about," Chris asked as he and Phillip approached the slab.
"What you are hearing are gears," Eric responded.
"No way," Phillip exclaimed. "I don't believe this thing is actually moving. Indians wouldn't have the capability of building something like this."
"No, but the Star Walkers would have," Eric countered.
"And just who are the Star Walkers?"
Eric nudged Phillip out of the way. "Never mind. Now is not the time for me to give you a lesson in Brazilian folklore."
The sound of gears mashing together was now so loud that normal conversation was not possible. The four of them watched in fascination as a granite slab weighing hundreds of kilos slid effortlessly into the chamber's wall. Eric stood closer to the opening, which was now several meters wide. He took a step forward when Chris stopped him. "Don't go inside. At least not yet. Whoever built this could have rigged a trap. What if you crossed the threshold and the slab closed? There may not be a way for us to get you out."
"Chris is right," Catalina said. "It's best you don't go in."
Eric waited for the slab to slide completely into the wall and the grinding to stop. When it did, he again pressed the Chakana's innermost circle and waited. The grinding began once more and within a few minutes the slab closed.
"I don't think we have anything to worry about," Eric said. "The inner circle of the Chakana obviously opens and closes the slab. Valverde must have assumed that a smart person would have figured that out."
Catalina gave Eric a sideways glance. "Open it. I can't wait to see what's on the other side."
Eric reactivated the mechanism that slid the slab out of the way. He cautiously stepped across the threshold, a threshold he was certain would end up changing his life.
CHAPTER 35
It was like stepping into another world, a world no one had entered for centuries. The hollow space they walked into was a continuation of the grotto, but it was better lit. Not only could they see what was ahead of them, but they could also see what was on each side. They moved silently and watched their own grotesque-looking shadows, which were framed against one of the walls.
Eric whispered to Catalina, "I want you to stay close."
"Are you kidding?" she said. "I'm glued to you. Wherever you go, I go. What is this place?"
"I think it's the same grotto," Eric replied. "It looks bigger, but that's because it is so well lit." Looking up, he saw a series of apertures, hundreds upon hundreds of them, no larger than an American silver dollar. The grotto's ceiling was riddled with these holes, which permitted light from the sun to enter the room. There could only be one reason why someone had taken such great pains to engineer more light inside the grotto. This had to be the treasure chamber! To Eric's way of thinking, it would have been just as easy to hide the treasure in the grotto they had just come from; however, he certainly couldn't dispute its existence.
Beneath the domed ceiling, suspended to it by a material that resembled burlap, was a tarp. It was arranged much like a drain pipe; its purpose, Eric assumed, was to funnel rainwater. But for what purpose? He was inside a mountain. There was sunlight and plenty of fresh air. Was it conceivable that someone had once lived here?
Phillip attempted to pass by Eric so he could take a better look, but Eric stopped him. "I want it understood that all of you are to stick close to me. I don't want any arguments. No one is to go off on their own." Eric glanced in Phillip's direction. "Do I make myself clear?"
Phillip stepped back to where Chris was standing. "You've made yourself perfectly clear, but let's not stand here gawking at the ceiling. I'd like to find out if there's something here other than bats."
* * *
The first thing to catch their eye was four gargantuan pillars. Circular in shape, each was apparently carved from a single block of granite. They appeared to be anchored to the ceiling, possibly to insure the stability of the cave-like room. What looked like algebraic equations were carved on the massive circular columns. Eric placed his hand on the base of one of the pillars. "I've never seen writing like this before. In fact, I'm not even certain it is writing. There are just a bunch of numbers interspersed with what resembles hieroglyphs, but I don't believe them to be Egyptian. Catalina, what do you think?"
Before she could answer, Phillip yelled, "Hey, look what's over here!"
Along the walls of the chamber, placed in arched crevices, were numerous sarcophagi. A few were made of wood, embellished with semi-precious stones such as Lapis and Zulu. Some of the caskets had silver inlays while others were adorned with gold filigree.
"What in the world have we stumbled into?" Chris asked.
Catalina examined each of the coffins, one at a time. "I see Topuku pictographs on some of the sarcophagi, while others have Quechua writing. Give me a few minutes, and I'll see if I can figure this out."
All of them hovered around Catalina. She took her time, moving from one sarcophagus to the next. Finally, she came full circle and faced them. "This is an incredulous find. What we have here is a burial ground. But it's not an ordinary one, you can be sure of that. A person had to be a capac to be entombed here."
"I'm sorry, but you lost me," Chris said. "What exactly is a capac?"
"That's an Inca word for ruler. You see, Inca kings were chosen by heredity and marriage lines. All the capacs were said to be descendents from the legendary Ayar siblings, four boys and four girls that emerged from a cave." Catalina walked to the first sarcophagus. "The body of the first Inca capac, the Ayar sibling Manco Capac, who allegedly founded the city of Cusco, lies here."
Phillip looked at Catalina in astonishment. "You mean to tell me all the Inca kings are buried here?"
"Not all of them, but most of them," she replied. "There are a total of fifteen sarcophagi, and I know for a fact there were seventeen capacs."
"She's right," Eric said. "The ruler at the height of the empire was Inca Yupanqui, who renamed himself Pachacuti and then ruled, I think, from 1438 to 1471 A.D. Most scholars date the Inca empire with the beginning of his rule."
"And you just had those dates on the tip of your tongue," Chris joked.
"No," Eric answered. "I brushed up a little on my history before we started the trip."
Chris walked from one sarcophagus to another. "My God. Even Atahualpa is buried here!"
"I don't believe the two kings after Atahualpa's rule are here," Eric said. "Most people don't know this, but two royal monarchs followed Atahualpa?.?.?. but they didn't last long because by that time Pizarro had all but decimated the Inca Empire. It's not just a coincidence those two kings are missing."
"Why are there no dates?" Phillip asked.
"Calendar dates for the reigns of these kings were establishe
d by Spanish chroniclers," Eric said. "But they are inaccurate, and that's why they probably weren't included."
Catalina turned to face Eric. "When I first read Valverde's derrotero, I had a difficult time believing that the Incas would have traveled hundreds of kilometers through a maze of tunnels all the way from Peru just to bring the Golden Disk of the Sun to Brazil. But to bury all but two of their Inca kings inside this mountain so far from Cusco doesn't make much sense."
"Unless?.?.?." Eric started to say.
"Unless what?" Catalina asked.
"Unless the legendary Ayar siblings were descendents of the Star Walkers."
CHAPTER 36
The splendor before them defied description. There was so much of it, the objects so wide ranging, that for a moment Eric felt as if he had been transported back in time when the Incan Empire flourished in all of its glory. There were so many riches that they dwarfed all the stories he'd ever heard about Inca treasure.
Phillip hefted a solid gold urn. "Just this one vase alone must weigh over a pound, and it looks like it's made of pure gold!"
Chris picked up a cage. "Even their bird houses were made of gold." He pointed to a group of artifacts that lined the east wall. "Look at all of these fabulous pieces. I'm surprised there are so many. I would have thought most of them would've been smelted."
Moving toward an exquisitely hand-forged effigy of Quetzalcoatl, the Mesoamerican deity often referred to as the feathered serpent, Phillip examined the intricately handcrafted carving. "This figure alone would bring more money on the open market than twenty of the best idols in my collection."
It was then that Eric saw it. Three figures about the size of his forearm. Joined at the hip, all three displayed Greek facial characteristics. They were dressed in long, flowing robes and the man in the middle was holding a staff. Eric hefted the gold artifact and handed it to Catalina. "Recognize these?"
Catalina carefully examined the exquisite piece. "Didn't you say you saw something similar at Ingregil?"
"Not similar, Catalina. Not only is this statue identical to the one I found at Ingregil, but it also looks the same as the one pictured on the aryballos."
"So what do you think? Are we talking coincidence here?"
"No way." He took a long time in formulating his thoughts. "I'm convinced this statue and the one I found at Ingregil are representations of the Star Walkers. You opened the door when you asked me what I thought so I'm going to tell you: I believe the Star Walkers, whether they were mortals, gods or alien beings, had a strong influence on the pre-Incan civilization, not only on the Incas who lived in Peru, but also on the Indians who lived here in Mato Grosso. I think this cavern, chamber, call it what you like, was a sacred place of worship at one time. I'd say the Incas used the tunnel system on a regular basis to make pilgrimages to Muela Del Diablo, more specifically to this place. The grotto had obviously been sacred to them. As I said before, if the lineage of Inca kings did in fact stem from the Star Walkers, it would've made perfect sense to have royalty buried here."
"I tend to agree." Catalina realized she had been holding her breath. Exhaling, she walked farther into the chamber. She saw ears of corn made of solid gold. The stalks were cleverly sown with maize, and even the leaves were made from the precious metal. There were clay-hardened bowls filled with Lapis; emeralds the size of grapes and rubies so large that one couldn't help but think they were pieces of colored glass. Skirting the far side of the chamber, she followed Eric as he stepped carefully to avoid harming any of the artifacts. The religious figurines were made with such precision for detail that the craftsmanship far surpassed the work of modern day goldsmiths. She picked one up that boasted large emeralds for its eyes. "Never in my wildest dreams would I have ever thought there would be so much treasure."
"I wouldn't have either," Eric said. "This place must have more gold than Fort Knox. But it makes sense. Remember there are fourteen rulers buried here besides Atahualpa. Like the Egyptian Pharaohs, Inca royalty would have insisted their priceless possessions be brought here to help them on their journey to the afterworld."
* * *
Just when they thought they had seen everything, they came upon a miniature golden throne encrusted with rubies and emeralds as well as semi-precious stones. The intricate workmanship of the throne drew Phillip's interest. "This I have to have. It must have belonged to one of the dead kings."
Just as Phillip was about to pick it up, Catalina stopped him. "Are you crazy? You can't take the throne. I consider it a national treasure. It belongs to the people of Brazil."
"Who are you to tell me what I can and cannot take," Phillip said brazenly.
"Put it down," Eric said in a calm, but firm voice. "Catalina has a point. We can't just indiscriminately take whatever we want. The throne belongs in a museum, and not in your private collection."
Phillip reluctantly placed the throne where he had found it. He glared at Eric. "I want to know who determines what each of us can take."
Chris picked up the throne, took a look at it, and then replaced it. "I think we should all agree not to take any significant pieces; gold ingots and precious gems excluded."
"I'm in favor of that," Catalina said.
Eric's reply was immediate. "So am I. What do you say, Phillip? Are you going to go along with the majority?"
Phillip avoided making eye contact with Eric and Catalina. "What difference does it make whether the decision is unanimous or not? As it stands, it's three against one."
"Your greed disgusts me!" Catalina said. "You have the money to possess almost anything, yet you're obviously willing to deprive a nation from owning a part of its history, a history that's sketchy at best."
Reluctantly, Phillip backed off. Instead, he satisfied his craving for artifacts by stuffing his pockets with a few small gold idols and some jewelry.
As they moved to the far side of the chamber, Catalina tried to imagine what it would have been like to live during Atahualpa's reign. The riches those ancient kings possessed must have surpassed all the collective wealth of the western world. She entered an alcove, which was full of gold ingots and precious gems. She watched Eric pick up a necklace with large emeralds mounted on gold petals resembling lotus flowers. Moving closer, he placed the exquisite piece of jewelry around her neck. As he attached the clasp, his fingers brushed against her back, sending sensuous waves throughout her body. Murmuring huskily, he said, "This necklace is meant to be worn by a woman of great beauty."
Genuinely moved by Eric's gesture, Catalina covered his hands with hers, wanting to prolong the moment of intimacy. How could she have doubted her feelings for him? She said softly, "Remind me to thank you properly when we're alone."
Eric smiled. Looking around to make sure he couldn't be overheard, he whispered, "You can count on it."
Their moment of tenderness was broken by Phillip's shrill voice. "There are steps that lead to an alcove. Come on. Let's see what's there."
They all moved eagerly in the direction Phillip indicated, anticipating more wonderful things. The alcove did not disappoint them. The items in the niche dwarfed everything else by comparison. Sheets of gold lined the walls, giving the recessed area the appearance of a sacred shrine. Propped between two large vessels was an artifact the Incas considered to be sacred. It wasn't adorned with jewels like the miniature golden throne. Its circular shape reminded Eric of a drum cymbal. As thick as his thumb, he estimated it to be slightly larger than a seventy-eight rpm record. "This must be the Golden Disk of the Sun!"
Catalina placed a hand on the artifact. "No telling how long the mirror has been here, yet its golden surface is so shiny I can clearly see my own reflection."
Eric approached the magnificent artifact being careful not to upset the statues of long-dead kings that surrounded it. They appeared as sentinels, staring at him as he looked at his own image in its shimmering surface. Resembling a disk more than a mirror, it was as real as the jewels it rested upon. To Eric, the Golden Disk of the
Sun not only symbolized the wealth and power of the once-mighty Inca Empire, but it also proved that an ancient myth once thought to be little more than a fairy tale really did exist. When he stood next to it, he was greeted with a kaleidoscope of colors; rubies, emeralds and sapphires, which were in the alcove the mirror reflected. Strewn capriciously next to the ancient artifact lay hundreds of gold ingots, some as large as eggs.
For a fleeting moment when Eric glanced at the Golden Disk, he saw a man with white hair and a wrinkled face staring back at him with a pair of wise old eyes. He thought he was looking at his father, but then he noticed the scar beneath the right cheek. Can this be me thirty years from now? But then when he blinked his eyes, the image was replaced with his own reflection. He touched the mirror reverently just to make sure the image was of him. Could it have been the poor light? Or did the mirror foretell that I would live to an old age? For a brief moment, he contemplated telling Catalina about the bizarre incident, but then decided not to. How could he possibly expect her to believe him? It wasn't a hallucination. He had seen what he had seen. The Golden Disk of the Sun was obviously more than just a mirror.
Catalina, who was by his side, asked, "Why are you being so pensive?"
"I never thought it really existed. Legend has it that Atahualpa's queen consulted the mirror whenever she needed guidance or advice. It was said the Golden Disk of the Sun contains magical qualities, which only she knew how to use."
"I recall the yarn," Catalina said. "The tale is similar to Snow White's story. In it, the queen saw the fate of her king. It told her that whether the ransom was paid or not, Atahualpa would perish. Realizing her husband and the empire were doomed, she must have decided never to reveal where the mirror was hidden for fear the gold-crazed conquistadors would steal it."
* * *
Phillip approached the highly polished Golden Disk of the Sun. To hell with how the rest of them feel. I never agreed not to take artifacts out of this room. This I must have. If I can get it out of this godforsaken country and into California, it will become the crown jewel of my entire collection. This is owed to me. After all, I did finance the expedition. He was not interested in taking any of the gold, but the mirror was another matter. He fondled it as he would have a lover. The mirror would make up for all the misery this trip had caused him; Eric's macho attitude, Chris's disdain, even Catalina's betrayal would be a small price to pay to have what he considered to be the Eighth Wonder of the World. Whether it contained magical qualities or not, just to own such an exquisite piece of history would be magic in itself.