Evil Star

you.
    There are friends waiting, but it is far and there is still much danger.
    Police are looking everywhere. We can-not talk now."
    Atoc turned to Pedro and spoke briefly in Spanish. Once again, to Matt's ears, his accent sounded strange. Presumably, he was repeating what he had just said. Pedro nodded. A decision had been made.

    Horowitz, Anthony - [Gatekeepers 02] - Evil Star
    "This way," Atoc said. He swung the light at the stairs. "We go down. It will be easier soon."
    They began to climb down. Matt tried to count the steps, but after twenty-five he gave up. The walls were very narrow, pressing in on them from both sides, and he could feel the weight of the earth pushing down from above. There was a heaviness in his ears, and the air was getting cold. He could see only a few steps at a time. The flashlight wasn't powerful enough to light much more. But as they
    reached the bottom, with a second passageway bending round ahead of them, he became aware of a strange, yellow glow coming from somewhere just out of sight. They began to walk forward and after a few steps, Atoc turned off the flashlight. The way ahead was lit, but not by an electric light. Matt turned the corner and gasped.
    The passage ran on for as far as he could see, with flames burning in small silver cups, set into the walls about twenty meters apart. They must have been fed by a hidden oil supply. But it was the walls themselves that caught the light, magnified it, and reflected it back.
    The walls, miles of them, were lined with sheets of what looked like brass but — Matt somehow knew — were actually solid gold.
    How much gold was there in the world? Matt had always thought it was precious because it was rare. He remem-bered what he had heard outside the temple of Coricancha: The Spanish conquistadors had looted the city. They had been mad with greed. They had taken all the gold they could lay their hands on. Or that was what they had thought. But now he could see that they had found only a fraction of what was there. Tons and tons of it had been used to make this incredible roadway far below the city. It was stretching ever farther into the distance, picking up the light from the lamps, turning night into day.

    Horowitz, Anthony - [Gatekeepers 02] - Evil Star They were not intended to make the journey on foot. Another Indian, dressed like Atoc, was waiting for them with four mules.
    Matt wondered how the animals could bear to stand here, so far underground, but he supposed they must be used to it. The Indian bowed low as he approached. Matt smiled, feeling increasingly uneasy.
    "Please. We must hurry," Atoc said.
    Matt and Pedro climbed onto the first two mules. Atoc and the Indian took the next two. There were no saddles, just brightly colored blankets tied underneath. Matt had never ridden an animal in his life and wondered how he was meant to make this one go. But the mule knew what it was doing. The moment all four of them had mounted, it set off at a fast pace, its hooves thudding rhythmically on the soft, earth-covered floor.
    One after another, the flickering oil lamps lit their progress. Nobody spoke. Matt noticed that some of the gold panels had designs beaten into them: faces and warrior fig-ures bristling with weapons. After a while, the passage widened and they passed countless treasures lined up against the walls: jars and pitchers, cups and trays, idols and funeral masks — many of them made out of silver and gold. He wondered how long it would take them to reach wher-ever they were going. The fact that he had no idea where that was only made the journey feel longer. And it was almost impossible to measure the passing of time. All he knew was that they were climbing. The path had been slop-ing upward almost from the start, although the ceiling felt as heavy as ever and he was sure they were getting no closer to the surface. So they were heading out of Cuzco, into the mountains.
    That was the only possible explanation.
    After at least an hour and possibly as much as two, they suddenly Horowitz, Anthony - [Gatekeepers 02] - Evil Star stopped. Despite everything, Matt had been drift-ing into sleep and he was nearly thrown right over the animal's head. His legs were sore from constantly rubbing against the coarse hair. He added the smell of mule to the many other odors he had picked up since Lima.
    "We walk from here," Atoc said.
    They all dismounted, leaving the animals with the other Indian, who had never spoken, not even to