Lost City of Gold (An Ancient Quest Mystery) Read online

  ALSO BY RAI AREN

  Secret of the Sands (with Tavius E.)

  Destiny of the Sands (with Tavius E.)

  Lost City of Gold

  An Ancient Quest Mystery

  By Rai Aren

  This book is a work of fiction. Name, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination (excluding references to actual historical figures and events) or are used fictitiously and should not be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  LOST CITY OF GOLD. Copyright © 2013 by Rai Aren. All rights reserved. Published in the United States of America. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. For information address: [email protected]

  FIRST EDITION - Published by RFS Publications, May 2013

  Aren, R.,

  Lost City of Gold: a short novel/Rai Aren

  Visit Rai Aren on the World Wide Web at: www.secretofthesands.com

  Cover design by Gary Val Tenuta, GVTgrafix: www.bookcoversandvideos.webs.com

  Editing by Dragonfly Editing: http://dragonflyediting.blogspot.ca

  Lost City of Gold

  For Jason, you always inspire me…

  PRAISE FOR DESTINY OF THE SANDS

  "High adventure, past and present, merge into a multi-leveled tale of epic proportions in this triumphant sequel to the best-selling novel, Secret Of The Sands!"

  - Gary Val Tenuta, author of Ash: Return Of The Beast and The Ezekiel Code

  PRAISE FOR SECRET OF THE SANDS

  2009 READERS FAVORITE SILVER MEDALIST FOR FICTION-MYSTERY

  “This is my kind of book. Please, please make a continuing series and a movie! The authors are extremely talented. I cannot praise this book enough. Fast paced, page turner, character development, fascinating plot…what more could I ask for.”

  – ReadersFavorite.com

  “Their detailed storytelling paints a picture of ancient Egypt in all its glory. The reader feels they are a part of the book, living amongst the Kierani people. The end of the novel leaves the reader curious and wanting more. This reader can hardly wait for the sequel, Destiny of the Sands.”

  – Authors on the Rise Book Reviews

  “This is a WOW of a book!!...For those of us who are lovers of the ancient worlds, Egypt, present and past, archaeology, the metaphysical, and mystical happenings, this is a great choice for you.”

  – Ellen in Atlanta, Amazon Vine Voice, Top 1000 Reviewer

  “This is a beautifully written book and I enjoyed reading it very much, and I would readily recommend it to anyone looking for a good story to read.”

  – Jym Cherry, reviewer, Sonar4 Science Fiction & Horror eZine

  "This novel is innovative, concise and enthralling. Fluctuating between present day and ancient Egypt, the pace never decelerates. The reader is treated to plausible theories regarding many riddles of this mysterious civilization. This time-honored culture is so clearly portrayed with characters which are so skillfully brought to life that one can easily imagine they are actually present as events are unfolding. The story comes to a clear conclusion yet leaves the reader desperately hoping there will be a sequel…. or a trilogy…. or even better yet, a whole series of these phenomenal books!”

  – www.allthesebooks.com

  “The authors have successfully woven a story based on archeological events mixed with their own ideas of what happened to the Sphinx and the mysteries surrounding it.”

  – www.sabrinareviews.com

  “Rai Aren & Tavius E. write a spellbinding mix of mystery, history, fantasy, and adventure in this tale of two histories - one told in the present, the other told from the past - telling a story of misused power, learning how to trust, and the fate of civilization.”

  – www.TeensReadToo.com

  "A deep probing mystery riddled with prophecy and danger, Secret of the Sands uses Egypt and her mythology as a backdrop to delve into the meanings of life and religion."

  – McNally Robinson

  "Rai Aren and Tavius E. have crafted a fast-paced, exciting novel overflowing with mystery and intrigue. The tension is constant. The characters fully developed. And the plot gripping. Ancient history and present day relevance are so expertly intertwined, that you might forget you are reading a work of fiction."

  – Thomas Phillips, author of The Molech Prophecy

  “Secret of the Sands has BLOCKBUSTER written all over it! …Fans of what might be called the "Indiana Jones" genre of fiction will be thrilled with Secret of the Sands. Like a race horse on steroids it blasts out of the gate in the opening prologue and doesn't stop running until it reaches the finish line. This remarkably well conceived and well executed first-time novel by Rai Aren and her co-author, Tavius E. is loaded with adventure, prophecy, mystery, secrets, deception, epic-scale battles, romance, good guys, bad guys, liars, cheaters, scoundrels, and, of course, heroes…Secret of the Sands is a thrill-ride…”

  – Gary Val Tenuta, author of The Ezekiel Code

  “Secrets, deceit and lies can make almost any novel exciting. But, add to that, two stories simultaneously told then throw in some romance, science fiction and a power struggle and what do you get? A true page turner that takes you on one heck of a journey.”

  – Michael Balkind, author of Sudden Death & Dead Ball

  “The pacing is flawless, the characters well-defined, the history thoroughly researched. The authors have done their homework, and I can't wait for the sequel. I would enthusiastically recommend this novel to anyone who wants a real page-turner!”

  – Norma Beishir, author of Chasing the Wind & the bestselling novels Angels at Midnight & A Time for Legends

  Table of Contents

  CHAPTER 1

  CHAPTER 2

  CHAPTER 3

  CHAPTER 4

  CHAPTER 5

  CHAPTER 6

  CHAPTER 7

  CHAPTER 8

  CHAPTER 9

  CHAPTER 10

  CHAPTER 11

  CHAPTER 12

  CHAPTER 13

  CHAPTER 14

  CHAPTER 15

  AUTHOR’S NOTES:

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  OTHER WORKS

  “The forest did not tolerate frailty of body or mind. Show your weakness, and it would consume you without hesitation.”

  - TahirShah, House of the Tiger King

  Chapter 1

  I know I'm not the first, and I won't be the last. But dammit if I'm not going to take my shot at the brass ring. This will be my legacy. I can feel it in my bones. Or maybe that's the jungle fever. Either way, I'm not stopping. Not after having come this far.

  Rick Braeden. Adventurer. At your service. I've been scouring the Amazon jungles for weeks now. And I have the scorpion and snakebites to prove it. Out here, if the malaria doesn't get you, the jaguars will. But so far, I'm still walking and still sane, and still determined to find what others have tried and died doing.

  Where’s here you ask? The Mato Grosso region of the Amazon jungle. It’s lush, it’s dense, it’s deadly. But it’s where I need to be. I must find the Lost City of Gold. I will find it. It won’t stay lost forever and I won’t let anyone beat me to it.

  *******

  Rick glanced up at the thick canopy. The jungle was alive with a cacophony of shrieks, whistles, and brightly varied songs. It was warning others that someone was here who didn’t belong. Someone who could easily be killed a dozen ways before breakfast.

  “Sergio!” Rick called ou
t. “Does the map show where we should cross?” He placed his hands on his hips as he surveyed the murky greenish-brown water. Ripples showed themselves every dozen or so feet. Crocodiles. Hungry crocodiles, just waiting for them to slip up. His throat went dry. He reached for his canteen, taking a sip of water. He lifted his hat and wiped his brow with his shirtsleeve. His wavy, dark brown hair was drenched. The day was hot, the air thick, the humidity off the charts. At least the jungle provided plenty of shelter from the sun if you stayed under its seemingly endless awning.

  “No, Señor Rick,” Sergio called back in his thick Brazilian accent. Though many of the inhabitants of this region spoke Portuguese, he was Spanish. His thick, black, shoulder-length, curly hair was pulled into a loose ponytail, and unlike his lighter-skinned, light-eyed travelling companion, he never bothered with sunglasses, though he carried a pair with him. His dark eyes had no problem dealing with the blazing sun in these regions. It was his home.

  “Crap,” Rick said. “This is going to be a problem.”

  “Si señor,” Sergio answered, looking around for a solution to their problem. He glanced back down at their well-worn map, frowning. It showed the river, and their destination on the other side. He looked back up, just as set of black, beady eyes lazily floated by, watching them. He took a step back.

  They were at the Upper Xingu, a tributary on the southeast edge of the Amazon River. The water was moving fast, carrying branches, leaves and other debris with it, along with a variety of the local wildlife, some more deadly than others.

  Rick checked his compass for the tenth time. They had to get over this river one way or another. He made a mental note of the supplies they had in their large rucksacks, enough survival gear to last two months out here. He hoped they wouldn’t need near that long. He ran through the items that might help right now. They had some plastic sheeting and some strong twine. ‘That could be useful,’ he thought. He took off his sunglasses, his green eyes squinting in the light, and looked around for logs. They’d have to make a raft and cross over the river that way. It was their only choice.

  “Sergio, I think we need to build ourselves a raft,” he said, putting his shades back on.

  Sergio sighed, evidently hoping they could turn back. “Balsa, si.” Sergio’s mood had been deteriorating over the course of their trek into the heart of the jungle. He was looking dark and gloomy more often than not in recent days and had seemed more withdrawn. Rick didn’t know him well enough to know what to make of it, so he just ignored it and pressed on.

  ‘Once we build this raft and cross the river, things will change,’ Rick thought to himself. ‘Maybe Sergio is just getting tired or homesick.’ Rick was glad that his own survival training was coming in handy. Make useful things from what you find around you.

  He was grateful for Sergio, in spite of his moods. His Brazilian guide knew the jungle and was knowledgeable about the region they’d be heading into. At least that’s what he’d been told. Sergio did have a deep respect for, and healthy fear of it. That much was clear. He had been Rick’s traveling partner for the last two weeks as they made their way inland. Rick initially had trouble convincing anyone to guide him to this region on his quest. Over one hundred treasure hunters and curious souls had lost their lives seeking ‘Z’ – the mythological City of Gold, ever since Percy Fawcett and his expedition disappeared in 1925 searching for it. Rumors abounded as to what became of them. Like them, Rick was convinced the lost city was not just myth and he was determined to prove it.

  Back in 1743, a manuscript was penned detailing a Portuguese expedition into the interior of the Amazon and describing the ancient city they had found. As many before him did, Rick believed this lost city existed and he was obsessed with finding it. Where there was smoke, there was fire, he always believed. And this quest felt hot, he could feel the city was out there, waiting for him. And when he found it, his life would change, he’d have everything he had always dreamed of. He’d be respected, renowned, rich, and redeemed. Or so he hoped anyway.

  Due to the body count of the, at least, thirteen previous expeditions, he had to pay Sergio triple what most guides went for. Rick had wanted a couple more men to accompany them, but he could find no other takers, even at that premium. Sergio was it and he felt lucky to have him. Besides, Sergio insisted Rick only needed a single guide, that he could handle all of his expedition needs. Rick didn’t have a choice. It was either that or go it alone. And in the jungle, that just wasn’t an option.

  Rick learned that Sergio was a family man. He had three young kids and a wife who stayed at home to look after them. Near as Rick could tell, Sergio was in his early to mid-thirties, a bit younger than Rick, who was only a couple of years away from forty, but Sergio carried a bit of a paunch, which aged him. Like Rick, he suspected he liked the brews. They had met in a bar after all. Sergio was only a couple of inches taller than Rick, who was 5’11”, but outweighed him by a good twenty pounds. Rick patted his own small paunch. He’d have to watch that it didn’t keep expanding. Things like that had a way of sneaking up on you. Just like things in the jungle.

  *******

  After nearly two hours of gathering wood and fashioning a craft, they were ready to head out across the river. They still had enough daylight to make it relatively safe to travel. They could make camp somewhere on the other side.

  Sergio wiped his brow, and stretched his back. He let out a big sigh, and then looked at Rick with a strange expression on his face.

  Rick took a gulp of water, and noticed Sergio looking at him. “What is it?” he asked, his brow furrowed. “Don’t you think the raft will hold? I mean, it looks OK to me and…”

  Sergio waved a finger at him. “I have a bad feeling about this Señor Rick,” he said, taking a step closer. “I know this jungle, and my instintos are telling me we should turn back. Now.”

  Rick laughed at first, but stopped when he saw Sergio was serious. “But you knew what we were getting into. This is all part of the plan,” he said as he placed his hands on his hips. He had noticed Sergio’s frequent furtive glances across the river. He thought he was just sizing up the area. “Sergio, seriously,” he said, shrugging his shoulders and holding his hands out, “we’ve been trekking here for two weeks. There’s no way I’m turning back now.”

  Sergio shook his head. “Something bad is out there,” he said, gazing off across the river into the shadowy, dense jungle beyond. “I can feel it. Something evil waits for us…”

  Chapter 2

  After much back and forth bartering of positions, Rick had managed to convince Sergio to keep going. The Brazilian seemed even testier now, but he had eventually relented. Rick had to offer him a bonus upon their safe return, another ten percent of what he was already paying him.

  Finally, they had managed to cross the river, but it was no pleasure cruise. Rick had counted at least six large crocodiles passing by at close range as he and Sergio made their way across the muddy, rippled water. Rick knew enough to realize the crocs were on the hunt and were sizing them up as possible prey. One wrong move and they’d strike. It had been a nerve-wracking experience. Sergio had been as silent as possible, warily watching their deadly escorts, but kept his cool. Rick, on the other hand, sweated bullets all the way across and was relieved to be back on terra firma.

  Stepping carefully onto shore, and watching for any sudden lunges from the river, they were pulling their raft up away from the water’s edge, when suddenly it felt as if the temperature dropped ten degrees.

  Rick shuddered.

  Sergio looked at him, indicating he felt it, too.

  Rick looked up. The jungle canopy was thicker on this side. ‘That must be it,’ he thought, trying to shake the chill. ‘It’s just blocking out the sunlight.’

  They finished hauling the raft up and secured it under some heavy brush for their return trip. They drank some water, then secured their rucksacks, and made their way forward. Sergio studied the map some more, then took the lead, while Rick check
ed his compass. They were heading the right way, Rick was sure of it.

  The jungle was every shade of green imaginable. Patches of deep, mossy green were interspersed with emerald and pale green. The air was thick with the scent of vegetation, a musky smell, untamed.

  Sergio took out his machete and began chopping a path through the dense brush. The deeper they trekked, the thicker it grew. Less than ten minutes in, the jungle was becoming nearly impassable.

  “Let’s rest for a minute,” Rick said. The chill was now replaced with a sensation of being suffocated by thick, muggy air. The temperature variations were sudden and disorienting.

  Sergio nodded, drenched with sweat. His machete hung limply at his side, his arm trembled slightly from the effort of forcing a path through the unforgiving terrain. He let it drop to the ground with a thud.

  Rick again checked his compass. “What the hell?” he said, rubbing the back of his hand across his brow.

  Sergio’s eyebrows rose. “¿Qué es eso?”

  He showed it to Sergio, but his guide shrugged his shoulders and shook his head.

  Rick shook the compass again, then rechecked it. The needle was spinning wildly. “Man, it’s acting weird.” The oppressive heat was getting to him. He felt dizzy and started seeing large black spots. He shook his head, huffing. He felt himself swaying. “I don’t feel so…”

  Sergio grabbed Rick’s shoulder to steady him. “Señor Rick, quiet,” he said in a hushed voice, placing a finger to his lips.