My bruises begin to throb. I lean against the wall for a second, wincing.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. I just got beaten up by that woman, in case you missed that.”
“You didn’t get totally beaten. You were doing okay there. For a minute or so.”
I try to massage out the ache. “Yeah, right.”
“Are you okay?”
I stand up slowly, flex muscles in my back and neck. “I will be. Let’s keep going.”
Ixchel is quiet for a several minutes. Then she pipes up. “I’ve been meaning to ask you … Back in Veracruz, you said that the Ix Codex is written in English. You pretended you were joking, but … I don’t think you really were.”
I’m silent for a while. “Guess you’ve been doing some thinking.”
“Yes, I have. I’ve figured out that you know a lot, lot more than you’re letting on. I bet you even know what that room is for, the one with the sarcophagi. It’s the Revival Chamber, isn’t it—the Professor mentioned it … and you said something about it to that Ollie girl.”
Truthfully, I say, “I don’t know what the Revival Chamber does.”
Because having a theory isn’t the same as knowing the answer …
“But, Josh, how do you even know about it?”
I breathe a heavy sigh. “If I told you …”
“What? Don’t you trust me?”
I stop, and so does she. For a second, we look straight into each other’s eyes.
“I do trust you,” I admit. “But there are things I’m not allowed to talk about.”
“Like the codex?”
“That’s one of them.”
Ixchel rolls her eyes. “I think you like being all mysterious.”
“I don’t.”
She picks up her pace. “Sooner or later, you’re gonna tell me.”
28
We walk in silence for another ten minutes, then another ten, and another, and another. We come to an opening. As we step through, Ixchel’s flashlight picks out the most incredible sight.
For as far as we can see in the low cave, rock drips from the ceiling, frozen in time—hundreds upon hundreds of delicate stalactites, some no thicker than a pencil, coiled like corkscrews, twisted and torn, some vertical, beaded, glistening in the light beam, pearl white, like coral. It’s like a fairy kingdom: an upside-down, fantasy vision of a miniature New York.
“What the heck is this … ?”
Ixchel touches what looks like a giant hydra with her finger. “Amazing … helictites. I’ve read about them. I didn’t know there were any so near to Ek Naab.”
“You still think we’re near Ek Naab?”
She turns to me. “Isn’t it obvious?”
“What?”
“We’re in the Depths. Under Ek Naab.”
“You’re sure?”
Ixchel nods. “Those giant moths, they came flying right past me. Just like bats out of hell. Did you see their color? Pink!”
“So … ?”
“The stories about the Depths always mention pools of pink water. It has some kind of red algae.”
“You think the moths drink that water?”
Ixchel shrugs. “What else? That stuff must turn their wings pink. Like with flamingos.”
I stare at the ceiling of the cave. It’s astonishing. As well as helictites, there are also stalagmites, rising from the ground like miniature Leaning Towers of Pisa. There’s something almost organic about their texture. They glisten with moisture, like the rippling muscles of a bodybuilder.
They take some navigating; we make slow progress through the cave. There’s only one way out. A dark hole gapes ahead of us. Among the stalagmites and helictites, the flashlight doesn’t reveal much of what’s ahead. We don’t see the blockage in the tunnel until I almost trip over it. I glance down just as my foot thuds against it.
A body. A human skeleton—wrapped in the ragged remnants of clothes.
Instinctively, we both leap backward. I don’t know what’s stronger—the shock or the revulsion.
The instant I recover, I’m fascinated. It’s the first real skeleton I’ve seen. The tattered clothes look like a shirt tied loosely at the waist, and pants.
They look horribly familiar.
Ixchel crouches down, touches the hem of the shirt. She lifts it, examines the torso.
“This person was from Ek Naab. Look at the fabric—linen. We still use this weave too.”
I look closely at Ixchel’s face. She’s thoughtful, not disgusted. “There’s no sign of injury,” she says. “This person might have died of hunger, for all we know.”
I ask, “Has anyone gone missing recently?”