Evil Star

fast, merciless, and unstoppable. Now their descendants were at war again and they were here because he and Pedro had called them. Pedro was right in the mid-dle of them, next to Atoc. He didn't look afraid. Anyone watching might have thought he was in command. Matt hardly recognized him as the beggar boy he had met in the streets of Lima.
    With every minute that passed, he was becoming more like the Horowitz, Anthony - [Gatekeepers 02] - Evil Star figure he had seen on the gold disc. Manco Capac, the first lord of the Incas.
    The razor-tipped wire of the perimeter fence loomed in front of them. Atoc gave a signal, lowering his palm toward the sand. At once everyone dropped to his knees. It was ten o'clock at night but the compound was still active with lights burning in many of the buildings and the occa-sional vehicle crossing from one side to the other, its engine whining like an oversize mosquito.
    Atoc pointed at the radio mast and spoke quietly in his own language. Matt understood what he was saying. This was the primary target. Once the transmitter had fallen, Salamanda would be unable to control his satellite -— his silver swan. Matt glanced upward. Already the stars were appearing in the night sky. He could see them twinkling over the mountains, falling into positions that had been dictated for them twenty-six thousand years ago. But one of them was a fake, a ton of aluminum and steel, sneaking in to complete a deadly combination. Which one of them was it? Matt thought he could see a pinprick of light moving faster than the others
    — but he couldn't be sure. All he knew was that the swan was up there, just as it had been in his dreams, and that unless they stopped it, it would soon be in place.
    Two of the Incas shuffled forward and took up positions closer to the wire, crouching on one knee. They were each holding a spear, a three-meter length of wood whose point had been hardened in flames. Silently, they waited. Atoc took one last look around, then nodded. The two Incas ran a few paces and threw the spears, aiming upward. Matt was astonished by their strength and precision. The spears flew into the night, rising above the compound. There were two soft thuds and, high up in the watchtowers, two guards turned Horowitz, Anthony - [Gatekeepers 02] - Evil Star and crumpled. One disappeared from sight. The other slumped forward and lay still, with his head and arms hanging toward the ground. The spear had gone straight through him.
    The attack had begun — but they still had to get inside the compound and that meant passing through the electronic gates. Atoc signaled a second time and a low, open-backed truck covered in a tarpaulin rolled up to the security barrier. The driver — bored and unshaven — leaned out of the window and hooted as if he didn't want to be in here and was in a hurry to get home. Three guards, all of them armed, came out to meet him. They were mov-ing warily.
    Matt guessed that they would have been told to allow nobody in.
    Not tonight. The entire compound would be on a state of alert.
    "Quienes usted ?i Que quiere ?"
    The words sounded faint and distant. The driver mut-tered something, but so quietly that the first of the guards had to lean into the cabin to hear what he said. It was a mistake. Matt saw a hand lash out, clutching the guard around the neck. At the same time, the tarpaulin was thrown back and two figures leaped out, each swinging a club with a star-shaped head. A second later, all three guards were unconscious. The driver raised a hand toward Atoc.
    "Here we go," Richard whispered.
    Matt nodded. It was incredible to think of these age-old weapons being used to storm a twenty-first-century research center. But so far the Incas had proved themselves to be deadly effective.
    The entire line of men rose up from the desert floor and began to move forward. At the same time, the men from the truck had slipped into the guard house and the elec-tronic gates slid open to let them in. Matt's mouth was dry. It seemed almost too easy. Was there Horowitz, Anthony - [Gatekeepers 02] - Evil Star nobody in the com-pound watching out? But the guards in the watchtowers were already dealt with and — he reminded himself —
    the Incas were all wearing dark clothes. Even if anyone did happen to be looking, they would blend into the gray emptiness of the desert. They were silent and just about invisible.
    Pedro was the first in. Then came Atoc and the others, spreading out across the