eyebrows twitched at being given orders by her, but he nodded.
It didn’t take long for Nina to reach Eddie’s position on top of the wall. By now, the rain had stopped, drips from the overhanging trees gradually slowing to nothing. He was on his stomach, looking out across what lay beyond the fortifications; she dropped and slithered alongside him, taking in the view.
It rendered her speechless. Inside the walls was a town, abandoned and in ruins, but still stunning to behold. The shells of stone buildings were packed tightly together, tall gables marking where roofs of wood and thatch had once been. Trees had taken root amongst them, breaking down walls and concealing the structures beneath the jungle canopy. Narrow streets meandered through the outermost parts of the settlement, becoming straighter and wider as they neared the centre, where the buildings increased in size and grandeur.
Temples, and palaces. The heart of the last outpost of the Inca empire.
Paititi. The legend was real.
But they were not the first to find it. ‘Have you seen the guards?’ she asked.
‘Not yet,’ Eddie replied, ‘but I heard something over there.’ He pointed at one of the larger buildings.
There was a rattle and clunk of loose stones, and they looked back to see Osterhagen, breathing heavily, pull himself on to the uppermost tier. Becker, Kit and Macy appeared behind him. ‘Oh, for Christ’s sake!’ Eddie grumbled. ‘What is this, a fucking conga line? I didn’t mean everyone to come up here. It’s not safe yet.’
Osterhagen didn’t hear, spellbound by the vision before him. ‘Phantastisch . . . ’ he whispered, gazing at the ruins, then fumbled to take a camera from his pack, as if afraid the marvel could vanish at any moment.
Eddie grabbed his wrist. ‘If that flashes, it won’t just be the Incas who practise human sacrifice – I’ll have a bloody go!’
Osterhagen pulled free, but checked that the flash was switched off before taking his first picture. ‘Mr Chase, I know you are trying to keep us safe, but I do not like your attitude.’
‘You’ll like getting shot even less, Doc. Trust me, I know.’
‘So do I,’ added Nina. Osterhagen looked shocked. ‘What do you make of it?’
The German surveyed the ruins. The outer walls, as much as could be seen through the interloping trees, enclosed an area roughly two hundred metres square. ‘It is smaller than Machu Picchu, but there may be other ruins outside the fortifications. The architecture is definitely late-period Inca, though.’
‘The black market artefacts – where would they have been kept?’
He indicated one of the larger structures, a thick-walled block with numerous small trapezoidal windows high along its sides. ‘The royal palace, most likely. Or’ – a smaller one, unlike its neighbours in that its walls were curved – ‘the Temple of the Sun.’
‘If that’s where the gold is,’ Eddie pointed out, ‘it’s probably where the guards are too.’
The remaining expedition members had by now scaled the wall, and were reacting with amazement. Loretta put a hand to her mouth, on the verge of weeping with joy. ‘Look at it, look! I never dreamed we’d find anywhere so intact!’
Even Cuff’s seen-it-all-before smugness had temporarily deserted him. ‘Jesus. This is incredible. There’s so much of it - where do we start?’
‘You start by staying put until I find those guards,’ said Eddie, moving cautiously along the wall. Not far away was a stairway down to ground level; it had partially collapsed, but he was able to half climb, half slide down it, jumping the last six feet. ‘Oscar, down here. Watch the last bit, it’s slippery.’
Valero negotiated the ruined stairs rather more clumsily. Eddie was about to investigate a nearby building when he saw Nina also scrambling down. ‘No, I meant all of you to stay up— Oh, never bloody mind.’
‘I’m not going to blunder into the guards, Eddie,’ Nina said as she dropped to the ground. ‘I just want a look around. If there’s any trouble, I’ll go straight back up the wall.’
‘I’m already halfway there,’ he muttered.
‘What?’
‘Didn’t say a word.’ Running between the high wall and a terrace of what he guessed were small houses was a pathway leading to the outer gate, but a narrower alley nearby would, he thought, give a better chance of reaching the settlement’s centre unseen. ‘Okay, Nina, we’re going to check out that noise. Back soon. And don’t wander off!’ he added firmly over his shoulder.
‘Love you too,’ Nina replied with a mocking smile as she entered the building. To her