Antonio pointed to the series of carvings next to it. “And here . . . It’ll require further study, but it seems like this chronicles the move of the Toltec capital, or perhaps it’s the seat of power, to the Mayan city. And look! This symbolizes Quetzalcoatl’s exile from the Toltec capital . . . and . . . his death.”
“Lazlo, if I haven’t told you yet today, you’re absolutely brilliant,” Remi said.
“I never get tired of hearing it, although it’s a bit of an overstatement,” Lazlo said, pinpoints of color blossoming on his cheeks.
Sam turned to her. “It would have never occurred to us that the other tomb was a decoy.”
Antonio shook his head in awe. “This is really incredible. The more I study these pictographs, the less I feel like I know about the Toltecs. Their trading sphere was apparently much more extensive than we believed.”
Remi tapped the side of the coffin. “Remember that the legend says that Quetzalcoatl wandered in the wilderness for years after leaving Tollan.”
“Figuring all this out will be a life’s ambition. A dream, really, for both me and my sister,” Antonio said.
Lazlo smiled. “Well, I’d say you more than have your work cut out for you.”
They admired the carvings for several more minutes and then Sam glanced at his watch. “I suggest that we wind this up for the evening and return tomorrow morning to do a more thorough inventory and catalog all of the carvings. I don’t see anything else, do you?”
Antonio shook his head. “No. Still, this is a historical treasure without precedent. It will change the history of my people. Whether or not there’s an Eye of Heaven, today is a miraculous day by any measure.”
Lazlo nodded. “Yes. Well, quite.” His stomach rumbled audibly. “Sorry about that. Nature calling for sustenance—nothing to be done about it.”
“Let’s get you boys fed and we’ll take this up tomorrow,” Remi said, and Sam grinned.
“All this tomb raiding does make me a little peckish.”
“We don’t want either of you to waste away to nothing.”
“Come on, then, I’ll buy the first celebratory Coke,” Lazlo agreed.
Once they were back at ground level, Antonio gave the contingent of soldiers exacting instructions, forbidding anyone from entering the tomb while Remi transferred the photographs she’d taken first to her flash drive. When she finished, Antonio offered to give her and Sam a lift to their motel, which they gratefully accepted. A harvest moon glowed orange f
rom between the scattered clouds as they rolled down the broad avenue of the dead metropolis, the find of a lifetime behind them. At the motel they waved as Antonio pulled away and, after cleaning up, rendezvoused at the nearby restaurant.
“I don’t suppose you’d let the shots of the coffin lid out of your sight this evening, would you?” Lazlo asked as their plates were being cleared away.
“You’re reading my mind again, Lazlo. You have to stop doing that,” Remi said.
“What’s the hurry? I’d say after a day like today, you can take the rest of the night off,” Sam said.
Lazlo shrugged. “Oh, no particular hurry, I suppose. I just thought you might like to know where the treasure’s hidden, that’s all.”
“What are you talking about?”
“The inscription. My Old Norse orthography isn’t as rusty as I pretended.”
Remi’s eyes narrowed as she passed the flash drive to him. “What did you see, Lazlo?”
Lazlo paused dramatically. “If it’s all the same to you, I’d just as soon translate it before the madding crowds descend on the tomb tomorrow. Not to get everyone’s hopes up, but the last line said something about the Eye of Heaven. Which, given the inscription’s location, would seem about as good as a treasure map to this dusty old academic.”
Lazlo was subdued the following day at breakfast. Dark circles ringed his eyes, lending him the look of a haggard raccoon, and it was obvious to Sam and Remi that he hadn’t spent much of the night sleeping. After his third cup of coffee, he sat back and fixed them with a fatigued stare.
“The answer to your question is yes. Yes, I translated the inscription. And, yes, it tells an incredible tale. Unfortunately, the one thing it doesn’t describe is where to find the Eye of Heaven,” he said.
“What does it say?” Remi asked. Lazlo pulled a piece of worn notepaper from his pocket and unfolded it. He slipped it across to Sam and Remi, who read it carefully.
You see the body of Knut Eldgrim, son of father Bjorn and mother Sigrid. I came from Gotalander with 200 men and 4 ships. I was their leader and navigator. After 30 days’ sail across a calm sea we came onto a strange sandy shore by a rock cliff beneath a mountain that jutted straight into the sky. The land around was covered by lush forest.
We met strange people unlike any we had ever seen. They were friendly and led us a long way inland to their village, Tollan. I helped heal a large gash on their ruler’s right leg from a jaguar. I used the medicine we had brought with us should we find ourselves in battle. In gratitude the King made me his chief adviser.