The Crystal's Curse Read Online Free PDF

said.
    Sam hesitated. Finally, he said, “Yes, it’s really upsetting his mother. He’s a teenager. I’m sure he is just hiding nearby because he’s mad at us. He’ll show up soon, when he gets hungry enough.” Sam wasn’t sure why he said that. Something about the way the man’s eyes narrowed when he asked about Joshua alerted some inner sense of unease. Trusting his instincts, Sam decided not to enlist his help, nor give him any reason to stay.
    At that moment, Sam saw Maria, Ricardo and Rob drive up. Jumping up he said, “Excuse me, that’s my wife. I’m afraid we’ll have to postpone your tour. I need to take care of her. Perhaps another time,” he said walking away.
    Erik rose as well. “I understand. But since I’m already here, perhaps your man could show me around,” he called to Sam’s back.
    “I’m sorry, not today,” Sam threw out over his shoulder. As Sam helped Maria out of the Jeep, he spoke quietly to Ricardo. “Make sure he leaves, and post guards so he can’t get anywhere near us.”
    Ricardo nodded. He went to escort Mr. Johansen to his Jeep. Erik was still protesting, but Ricardo was firm that he must come back another time.
    “What’s he doing here?” Maria whispered.
    “He heard about our discovery in town and wanted a tour,” answered Sam.
    “Did he see anything?”
    “No he just got here. I was stalling, trying to decide what to do when you drove up.”
    Maria sat down at the table.
    Sam could see from her expression that the news wasn’t good. “What did you find out?”
    She told him about the old man and the Quiche legends. “He made it sound like the Quiche took Joshua as punishment for opening the room.”
    When Ricardo came back from posting the guards, he joined them.
    Maria went on, “If the Quiche did take Josh, the only way we’re going to get him back, is by making sure that the Quiche know we’ve hidden the room again. But how do we do that? I mean we can cover it up, but how do we get the word out to them and will they trust us enough to give Joshua back?”
    Ricardo added, “I am also worried about the rest of the crew. What if they decide the gods won’t be satisfied until they eliminate all the witnesses?”
    Sam shook his head. “I am still not sure that’s what happened to Joshua. How did the Quiche get him out? No one saw anyone around. We haven’t been able to find any doors or other openings. What did the elder say about the glyphs?”
    Maria spoke up, “He confirmed that the inner-ring glyphs are part of a calendar. He said these outer glyphs helped them predict disasters, but he also said that only the gods were able to operate the chamber to travel between worlds. That would suggest that if it is a door, they don’t know how to open it.”
    Ricardo shifted in his seat. “Perhaps, if we close up the site, then we can invite the Quiche to come help us search for Joshua. That way if they have him, they can give him back without admitting they took him. And if they don’t have him, maybe they’ll be willing to help us search the area for him once they know the site is sealed.”
    Sam thought for a minute and then said, “That’s a good idea. Maria, can you fix up something to cover the entrance to the room that makes it look like we’ve sealed it up again?”
    “Sure. If you can rig up a piece of plywood that fits the opening and secure it to the cave walls, I can faux finish it so it looks like we bricked it up,” she replied.
    “If the Quiche don’t have Josh, I don’t want to permanently seal that room yet, but we have to make it look as though we did, if we want the Quiche to help us. Ricardo, can you get the exact measurements for the plywood tonight?”
    Ricardo nodded. “It should be easy to cut the plywood without anyone getting suspicious tomorrow while we’re making crates for shipping the artifacts.”
    Sam said, “While you keep the crew busy packing the artifacts and backfilling the village, I’ll make a production