Chapter 14
CHAPTER 14
Starbeaming didn’t affect Leo, unless exhilaration counted. Then again, his body had been adapted for such a feat. Not so for Buttercup.
He arrived sitting in the shallows of a stream with his clothes on and pack still on his back. While Ruth also retained her garments, she hung limp in his arms.
Normal, he reminded himself, squashing his panic. It happened all the time to the fully human. Still, his concern had him quickly rising with her in his arms and slogging to the shoreline. A small canoe lay beached, inside it, fishing line and a net. Luckily no one appeared to be around to question their sudden appearance.
Given the beaten path from the beach leading into the woods, the village had to be nearby. He headed in that direction and had almost reached the tree line when a woman, her skin lightly tanned and her hair long and flowing, stepped out of the forest, startling him.
“Hello, stranger. You seem lost,” she stated with only a hint of an accent.
“Um, yeah. My car broke down.”
“And you fell in the stream?” she asked with a quirked brow.
“Slipped getting us some water,” his quick lie.
Her gaze went to the limp Ruth in his arms. “Your companion appears unwell.”
“She fainted at the sight of a spider.” A lame excuse but the woman smiled wider.
“They can be quite large in these parts.”
“I’m looking for Astriaco. Is it nearby?”
“Lucky for you, it’s not far. Follow me, I will take you there.”
Leo, hesitated, though, remembering the warning from Olivia. “No need. I’m sure we’ll find it on our own. I don’t want to take you out of your way.”
“I was going there anyhow, since that’s where I’m staying.”
The still-unconscious Ruth made him decide to ignore the warning in his dream. “If it’s no trouble.”
“Not at all.” The woman set off, and he trailed her, asking, “Is everyone in these parts so friendly with strangers?”
“Why wouldn’t we be? We don’t often get visitors. Are you here on business or pleasure?”
“A bit of both. My wife”—it slipped out and yet didn’t feel wrong—“had her father go missing in these parts many years ago. I offered to bring her so she could gain some closure.”
“How sad, and yet all too common. The jungle can be a dangerous place.”
“I’ve heard rumors claiming there’s some haunted spots.” He didn’t mention the door in the hopes of drawing the woman out.
“This is a place steeped in history, and some of that echoes even today.” The woman offered him a sly glance. “Her father wouldn’t be the first to disappear seeking out those mysteries of the past.”
“I’m Leo, by the way.”
“Maria.”
“Do you know of any guides that might be familiar with some of these old spots?”
“You’re speaking to one. No one knows this jungle better than me.” She flashed him a smile.
Her offer reminded him of the warning in his dream. “Good to know, although I’d hoped to find the one my wife’s father used. Name of Santos.” Ruth had pulled that name from the journal in case the original guide still lived.
“Ah yes, Santos. He doesn’t offer guidance since his accident. He lost an eye,” she confided.
Leo didn’t react to the news, even as Maria confirmed another part of his dream. “Do you think he’d speak with us? I know Ruth will have questions about her father’s last days.”
“You must be speaking of Dr. Warmstone.”
“You knew him?”
“Of him. My mother spoke of an explorer and uses him as a cautionary story for those who think they can wander with impunity.”
“No one ever found his body.” Stated, not asked.
“Which isn’t surprising. The jungle has a way of keeping its secrets.”
“Your English is excellent,” he remarked. Surprising given the map showed this village not just off the beaten path but hours away from the next closest town.
“I attended an English-speaking boarding school,” she admitted. “My mother wished for me to do great things, and so she sent me away to learn.”
“Yet you returned.”
“Only to visit. I work as a bio technician in the city.”
“Congratulations.” He wondered if that lab happened to be managed or owned by Cetus.
“Thank you. Mother is quite proud.”
As they exited the jungle, a small village appeared comprised of mishmash housing. Some homes were made of corrugated metal panels. Some used logs lashed together. There were a few stone huts and even a two-story house made of red brick. The road between the abodes remained packed dirt, on which children ran, kicking a ball while dogs chased and barked.
“I don’t suppose you know of a place renting rooms? We have camping equipment, but I think my wife would appreciate a bed.”
“There is an empty house at the far end of the village.” She pointed. “It belonged to Carlos, but he died two months ago and had no sons or daughters to inherit. It might be a touch dusty, but there is an outdoor shower. For a meal”—she pointed to a metal-walled shack painted yellow—“see Consuela. She provides excellent meals for a fair price.”
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. Let me know when you want to go on your tour. I’m staying with my mother in the brick house.”
Maria sauntered off with swinging hips, but he didn’t watch for more than a second before heading to the hut she’d indicated. The people outdoors—hanging laundry, whittling wood, or just standing around chatting—gave him curious looks, but no one said anything.
Carlo’s abandoned home did indeed have dust and a nest of mice, which he cleared while Ruth lay in the bed. He’d lain down a sleeping bag first as a layer against filth.
Seeing as how she slept deeply, her body recovering from the transit, he debated staying or finding Santos. The village didn’t set off his danger vibe but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t be keeping an eye out.
Once she did wake, he’d do a quick circuit to see if any other outsiders were currently hanging around. Cetus could have made it here first, although he doubted it. The difficulty in reaching Astriaco would hamper their effort.
Rather than stare at the sleeping Ruth, he exited just in time to see a man wearing a patch limping down the street.
Leo took a few steps and called out, “Excuse me, are you Santos?”
The fellow halted in his tracks and squinted with his good eye. “Who you?” The English query emerged heavily accented.
“Name is Leo.” He held out his hand, but the guy ignored it.
“How my name you know?” The broken-phrased statement had Leo scrambling to explain without scaring him off. Telling Santos that Leo’s dead daughter mentioned hiring him as a guide might not go over well.
“I was told you worked with Dr. Warmstone many years ago.”
The old fellow’s lips clamped tight. “No Inglés.” Santos began stomping away.
Leo jogged to plant himself in his path. “I know you met Dr. Warmstone, and I’m not here to cause trouble.” Not entirely false. He planned to get the relic and leave. If Cetus showed and started shit, that technically wouldn’t be his fault.
“Doctor gone. Forest take.” The man gestured to the jungle.
“I know. We don’t expect to find him, but his daughter would like to hear more about her father’s final days.”
“Ruth,” Santos whispered.
Leo almost showed his surprise that the man remembered her name. “Yes, Ruth. Dr. Warmstone spoke of her?”
“Man love hija.” Spanish for daughter.
“He did. And she loved him too, which is why she’s here. She wants to see the place her father disappeared.”
“No.” Santos shook his head. “Bad place. No go. Warn doctor. He go. He no come back.”
“Why did he go alone? Weren’t you his guide?” Leo asked.
“He pagó dinero. Spirits angry I bring extrano . Me maldijo.” He said the word for cursed as he indicated his eye.
“So Dr. Warmstone went back by himself but never returned.”
“Spirits angry. Spirits take.”
Despite knowing the answer, Leo still had to ask. “Would you guide me and his daughter to where Dr. Warmstone went?”
“No!” Santos exclaimed.
“I can pay. A lot. I was told only you could take me to the door.”
The man’s eyes widened. “No door in jungle.”
“I know there is. I saw the picture the doctor drew.”
“Door gone. Y yo también.” Without a goodbye, Santos fled, and Leo debated following. Surely something would convince the man to guide them.
Before he could decide if Santos was worth pursuing, a shrill scream from inside the hut, where he’d left Ruth, had him whirling.
So much for his promise he’d keep her safe.