Evil Star

any of the others, at the very heart of the city. All around them, there were Indians preparing the feast to come, setting up wooden tables, building fires, and carry-ing out trays of food and drink. The sun had turned red and was already below them, sinking fast behind the moun-tains. It was a new experience for Matt to see the sun this way. Normally he would look up at it. Now he seemed to be above it and he could actually see it slipping over the edge of the world.
    The building they were entering was a palace. Matt knew it without being told. There were two guards, bare-legged, ceremoniously dressed in tunics and carrying golden spears — one on each side of the door. More guards lined the passageway inside. And there, in front of them, was a throne, mounted on a platform, and on it a man wearing a long robe with a headdress and golden discs attached to his ears. He wasn't much older than Richard, but there was a sense of confidence and seriousness about him that made him look somehow ageless. Matt stopped and bowed. The Incas, it seemed, had a prince. And this was surely him.
    “You are welcome, Matteo," the man said, speaking in perfect English. He had the same accent as Atoc: foreign, but not Spanish.
    In fact, his first language was Quechua. It was what his people had spoken before the Spanish arrived. "My name is Huascar and I am very glad to meet you at last. I have been waiting for you a long Horowitz, Anthony - [Gatekeepers 02] - Evil Star time. My people have been waiting even longer. Please, sit down."
    There were four low stools set out in front of the throne. Richard and Matt sat down. A moment later, Pedro and Atoc entered through a side door. Pedro had also been given fresh clothes. His poncho was a soft blue. He bowed to the Inca prince and took his place beside Matt. Atoc sat on the fourth stool.
    “You are also welcome, Pedro," Huascar continued. He was still speaking in English for the benefit of Richard and Matt, but Atoc whispered quietly in Pedro's ear, translat-ing. "We have very little time remaining to us and there is a great deal to discuss."
    He raised a hand, and servants stepped forward carry-ing four golden goblets of red wine that they set down on the floor in front of the guests. The Inca drank nothing himself.
    "Five hundred years ago," the prince resumed, "one of the mightiest empires ever built fell and died. With the coming of Francisco Pizarro and the conquistadors from Spain, everything my people had created was destroyed. Our cities were burned down, our gold looted, our temples desecrated, my ancestors ruthlessly killed. So began for us the time of the great darkness.
    "Today the glory of the Inca world is almost forgotten. Our cities are ruins, the broken pieces laid bare for tour-ists. Our art is locked away in museums. Only this place, Vilcabamba, remains undiscovered. Only here can we live as we once did. We are the last of the Incas."
    He fell silent. Atoc whispered for a few seconds more, then stopped.
    Pedro nodded.
    "But we haven't lost our strength." The Inca looked Matt in the eyes.
    “You have seen only a small part of our secret world, a fraction of Horowitz, Anthony - [Gatekeepers 02] - Evil Star the gold we hid from the Spaniards. We do not live here all the time.
    We cannot hide from modern life. But we have come here from all over Peru and South America to show ourselves to you. Because, when the final struggle comes, you must know that you can call on us.
    "This is more than a new millennium. We are on the threshold of a new world and we believe that one day we will be able to regain our rightful place. The Incas will live again with our own laws, our own justice, our own peace. But we will have to fight for it — and our enemies today are more deadly than the conquistadors ever were.
    We know about the Old Ones. We've always known about them.
    They mean to destroy the new world before it is even born. And they are here in Peru."
    Again, the Inca raised his hand. At once, another man entered the throne room, walking with the help of a stick. He was wearing a poncho that was as gray as he was. His entire body was hunched over. His arms and legs were all bone. Richard nudged Matt. This was the amauta he'd been talking about.
    "Tell them," Huascar commanded.
    "Before the sun has risen and set three times, the Old Ones will break through the gate that was created in Peru before the world began," the amauta said in English. His voice was surprisingly strong.