Canyon of the Sphinx (20 page)

"We're about fifteen minutes
out, just down that slope to the south," he said. "Then it gets
really dense."

"Worse than this?"
Marcus ducked a tree limb; with his height, he was having trouble maneuvering
in the bramble.

Murphy snorted. "Yep. It
doesn't bother me, being short, but you'd better watch out; you and Dr. Reams
might get clothes-lined."

Marcus merely cocked an eyebrow,
mostly because he knew Christopher was right. "I'll keep that in
mind." He looked back at Dennis, somewhere back in the pack. “Did you hear
that? Close quarters up ahead. Watch yourself.”

Dennis gave him an off-handed
salute as Murphy plowed through the bush. They had walked this trail a couple
of months ago and it was amazing how the growth had taken over again with all
of the rain they had had.  Marcus finally took one of the machetes from the
workers and jumped in himself, his powerful arms able to tear away twice what a
normal man could. Dennis jumped in when the second worker grew exhausted.
Kathlyn stood back and watched Dennis, her husband and Murphy, admiring the
workings of the male physique. It was quite a sight to see the three of them in
action.

“Impressive,” Debra Jo muttered
beside her.

Kathlyn merely nodded. “When are
you going to make your move with Murphy?”

“If you’d get the hell away from
him, I’d have a chance.”

Kathlyn cast her a nasty glance.
“Hell, Debra Jo, I’m doing a job for the man and his university. I have to talk
to him once in a while.”

“Fine, talk. But no smiling.”

“I swear I won’t. Want me to put
a good word in for you?”

“That might help.”

“Consider it done.”

The landscape ahead did indeed
grow denser, and there was quite a bit of mud. Under the canopy, the water from
the heavy rains hadn't evaporated and the pools of stagnant water stank.
Kathlyn found herself up to her ankles in pungent mud, slogging through it.
Mark, Otis, Larry and Andy were right behind her; it sounded like a herd of
cattle trapped in sludge.

   Marcus, Dennis and Christopher
were well up in front of the rest of the group and Kathlyn could see that
Christopher was pointing out things, carrying on a serious conversation. She
drew closer and picked up bits of the conversation as they discussed the state
of the area when Murphy originally discovered the sphinx, and other related
topics that ended with Christopher indicating a long, deep slope that
disappeared into a nest of foliage. Marcus peered cautiously down the wet
ledge.

"Well," he said
finally," how did you get down there?"

Christopher cocked an eyebrow.
"I slipped and made an ass of myself. Rolled all the way down."

Kathlyn came up and stood between
them, looking down into the wet undergrowth. "It's down there?"

"Yeah," Christopher
replied. "Hell of a ride to the bottom."

"Is that the only way
down?"

"No," he gestured to
his right. "You can skirt the edge of this gully and work your way down.
But this slope is the quickest way.  I just happened to fall into it."

That was good enough for Kathlyn.
She pushed through and plopped herself down on the wet edge before they could
stop her. "Let's not waste any time," she gave herself a shove.
“Debra Jo, let’s go!”

Debra Jo dove, almost head first,
after her. Marcus heard them howling all the way down.

 "Dammit," he growled. 
He started to go after them, but Christopher grabbed him.

"Wait a minute," he
said. "For someone their size, the route isn't that bad. But it chewed me
up pretty good and with your size, it would tear you to shreds. Better go down
the long way."

Marcus was hesitant. But he heard
his wife down at the bottom, laughing, and he knew she was fine. He shook his
head.

"Crazy women," he
growled.

"Are they both always like
that?"

"You have no idea."

Christopher took him and Dennis
around the long way. It was thick and wet. Marcus was sopping with perspiration
and dampness and he kept sniffing the air, knowing that slightly rotted smell
was coming from him.  It didn't seem to bother Christopher; but then again, he
was used to it.  They worked their way down a mucky slope and Marcus could see,
though the vines, Kathlyn standing at the bottom of the gully. Otis was down
there, too; he had followed her down the mud slide and was nursing a cut on his
arm. Larry and Andy had followed, too, being skinny kids, and had enjoyed the
ride. Mark, Adam and Kimberly, however, were behind Burton and Murphy.

It was slow going. Marcus could
hear Kathlyn and Debra Jo at the bottom, chattering like those gloriously-colored
parrots that roamed the trees. Their conversation had fallen silent by the time
Marcus and the others reached the bottom, and he made a point of seeking out
his wife before moving on to anything else.

"Hey," he grabbed her
by the arm. "What are you doing jumping down that slope like that?"

She smiled up at him, mud on her
cheek. She looked so happy he could feel his anger waning. "Oh, lighten up."
She stood on tip-toes and kissed him. "I figured it was safe enough.
Besides, it was the shortest way to get here."

Murphy didn't miss the kiss. He
ignored the envy it provoked, however, and moved down the gully.

"It's down here, Dr.
Burton," he said. "Hopefully the rains and mud haven't buried
it."

The party moved onward, up to
their ankles in the mud at the bottom of the gully. Marcus didn't let go of
Kathlyn's arm, however. He had a point to make.

"No more loose cannon
tactics," he said sternly, glancing at Debra Jo. "And I mean either
one of you. This is a jungle. You don't know what's around here. I'm not going
to bust my butt racing you back ten miles to camp because you've broken a leg,
or worse."

Kathlyn nodded patiently.
"Yes, dear."

"Do you want to get bit
again?"

"No, dear."

"I swear I'll leave you here
if you do."

"Yes, dear. By the way, did
you know that you stink?"

Leave it to Kathlyn to put him in
his place. He turned her around and spanked her lightly, keeping his head
lowered so she couldn't see him grin. She rubbed her muddy bum, smiled saucily,
and moved after the rest of the group. Marcus just shook his head and followed.

Christopher's sphinx wasn't where
he thought it was. The rains had pushed sludge down the slopes of the gully and
everything was covered in dirt and jungle. Adam and the two guides were
sticking their hands into the side of the hill, looking for the familiar
shape.  Kathlyn hung back, her gaze scanning her surroundings. The longer she
stood there, the more she began to feel something weird. Her intuition was
feeling creepy.

"What's wrong?" Otis
was standing next to her.

"Why do you ask?"

"Because you have a strange
expression on your face."

Her gaze was in the jungle.
"I'm sensing something odd."

"Like what?"

"I don't know. But I'm
getting a very close feeling, like these slopes are closing in on us." She
moved forward, pacing around as she tried to find the right words. "I
almost feel like we're being embraced. Or watched."

Marcus was standing over with
Christopher, but he heard her. Whenever his wife's intuition kicked in, he was
all ears. He'd seen her do some amazing things.

"Who's watching us,
Kathlyn?" he asked.

She shook her head. "I don't
know. But whatever it is, I don't feel like we're being threatened."

Marcus glanced up at the trees.
Christopher, unsure how to take her statement, did the same thing. It was kind
of a group reflex reaction. They were all scanning the gully when Kathlyn
suddenly went down.

She grunted as her knees plowed
into the mud. Marcus was the first one to her, pulling her up so she wouldn't
roll into the sludge.  Her entire body was taut, like stone, and her rigidity
concerned him. He'd been with her when she had experienced visions or
sensations, but he'd never seen her so coiled. The others stood around her,
Christopher kneeling down on her other side and watching her tremble.

"What's the matter?" he
was hesitant to ask.

Marcus just shook his head. He
didn't know what to say. "She'll be all right," he said quietly.
"Sometimes this happens."

Murphy already knew the answer.
"She told me. She's psychic."

"Something like that."
Marcus looked at him. "She's not putting on an act, I promise you. I've
seen her go through this kind of thing before and it's real. Trust me."

It sounded like Marcus was very
much defending her so Murphy wouldn't think she was a quack. Four years ago he
had been in Christopher’s position, wondering if this woman was for real. But
Murphy seemed very much relaxed with the idea.

"There are things on this
earth we don't fully understand," he said quietly. "I've seen enough
weird stuff in these jungles to know that."

Kathlyn suddenly tossed her head
back, staring up at the bright blue sky. There was no color to her eyes; her
pupils were so large that the green had been swallowed up. Marcus didn't like
the look at all; normally, he let her go through whatever she needed to
uninterrupted, but this was scaring him.

"Kathlyn," he hissed at
her. "Sweetheart, what's wrong?"

Some strange sound bubbled up
from her throat. It didn't sound like his wife at all. When she spoke, it was
in a voice that wasn't her own. Marcus would swear that until the day he died.

"Walk the path of
Homestone," she growled. "Enter ye, the Chosen Ones. In your death
shall be life.”

If Marcus had taken a moment to
look at the others, he would have seen their fear. But he was focused on his
wife. "Kathlyn?" he whispered. "Can you hear me?"

She continued to stare at the
sky. "Dj-ni-xian."

"Kathlyn, who's that? What
are you saying?"

"I, Dj-ni-xian."

"What?"

Christopher looked at Marcus.
"Does she channel?"

The thought had never occurred to
him.  He was about to declare that Channeling was a load of crap, but he kept
silent. He'd been around his wife long enough to realize he should not discount
anything.

"Not that I've ever seen.
But that's not what's happening. It's got to be something else."

"I know something of cults.
It looks to me like that's what's going on."

Marcus knew that Christopher was
an expert in Mesoamerican cults and customs. His published papers on the
subject were required reading at some universities, and even now he was at ease
with what was happening to Kathlyn. He could quite possibly be correct. Kathlyn
had a gift even she didn't fully understand. Maybe there was more to it than
what she had yet experienced.

"I've never known her to
channel," he finally said. "I guess it's possible."

"Ask her."

Marcus thought carefully.
Something was happening, that was evident. The angle of his wife's neck as she
stared at the sky made his head hurt. She was pale and strange looking.

 "Dj-ni-xian?" he asked
softly.

"I, Dj-ni-xian."

"Who are you?"

Kathlyn didn't reply. She kept
staring up at the sky and Marcus let out a hiss. "This is crazy." His
logical side was speaking. "She's not channeling. Something else is happening.

"Ask her again,"
Christopher encouraged him.

 "It's stupid."

"You don't know that
she...."

"Walk the path of
Homestone," she said again. "We sleep at your feet."

Marcus and Christopher looked at
her again, each debating how to deal with this. Christopher finally spoke in
his soft, gentle voice.

"Are you Dj-ni-xian?"

"Am."

"Why are you here? Who are
you?"

"Niguiiu naguchi."

It was a strange language.
Christopher was about to ask another question when Kathlyn's head suddenly
snapped forward. She would have fallen face-first into the mud had Marcus not
held her. She was suddenly very limp, boneless, and she leaned against his
chest for several long moments before her head began to stir.

"Kathlyn?" Marcus
ventured quietly.

"Mmm," she grunted.

"Are you with us?"

She lolled her head back and
blinked as if the sunlight was too bright. Her pupils weren't huge any longer
and the brilliant green was evident. Like someone waking from a deep sleep, she
looked at her husband groggily.

"What happened?" she
muttered.

Marcus smiled faintly. "You
tell me."

Kathlyn looked around, realizing
she was on her knees. "Did I fall?"

"All I know is that you said
that you felt as if we were being watched, and the next thing I know you're on
the ground," Marcus said.  "How are you feeling?"