Page 40 of Serving my Dragon
Kayleigh huffed and puffed and sweated. Matias kept slapping at bugs. Only Juan appeared unbothered.
When he stopped and said, “There it is,” it took me a moment to grasp what he meant.
A look around from the rocky ledge we stood on showed the stone rimmed a decent-sized lake fed by a waterfall.
Kayleigh exclaimed. “How pretty.”
And it was. Bright blooms. Green foliage. The hum of living things all around and more swimming beneath the liquid surface, but it was when I looked more closely at the water tumbling over the cliff that I saw it.
Home.
Chapter Thirteen
As I stood on the rocky cliff encircling a lake fed by a waterfall, I admired the beauty and noted the amenities: an abundance of fruit trees, fresh water, coverage from the trees from drones that might fly overhead. A place this lush would have animals to snare. Most likely fish, too.
“What a beautiful spot,” Kayleigh exclaimed, clapping her hands.
“It’s more than pretty,” Juan grunted. “Take a look.” He pointed and it took me a moment to make out the chiseled stairs carpeted in foliage that led downwards from where we stood before flattening into a ledge that disappeared through the waterfall. The little boy in me that used to love to explore wondered what I’d discover if I followed them. Apparently, I’d soon find out as my uncle began descending with Pollita perched on his shoulder craning eagerly ahead.
“What is this place?” Kayleigh asked, hugging the wall as she carefully followed. I kept close to it as well, given I didn’t trust the eroding steps with their missing chunks.
“Some kind of ancient temple,” Juan replied, tromping without a care, seemingly unbothered by his heavy pack, unlike me who couldn’t wait to drop it.
“How did you find it?” I queried next.
“By accident,” my uncle admitted. “When I was a young man, I used to hunt these parts when Papa used his paycheck to drink. I literally fell into the lake when being chased by a jaguar. While swimming to find a place to climb out, I discovered the steps.” He cast me a grin over his shoulder. “Of course I followed them.”
“A temple, you say? Built by who?” Kayleigh’s hand scrabbled for the wall as her foot slid on a slick spot. The spray from the falling water misted the area.
“No idea.” Juan shrugged. “By the time I came across it, it had been emptied of everything. All that’s left is a series of hallways and chambers, most of them huge. There is a chasm as well that looks to have once had a bridge. Pity it fell because there appears to be a heated pool on the other side. You can see the steam rising from it.”
“I’m surprised the government hasn’t made this place a protected site.” The usual for ancient structures.
“They would if they knew about it.” Juan chuckled. “But they don’t and never will. I sought out the owner when I was in my twenties, asking if he would sever this section so I could buy it. He refused, but being an avid gambler, he offered it up as ante in a card game. He lost.”
“You own it?” I exclaimed. “How come this is the first I’ve heard of it?”
Juan rolled his shoulders. “Didn’t seem important since I never ended up doing anything with it. I’d always planned to build myself a place to retire but the money for that never happened.”
Spraying droplets soaked us as we neared the waterfall, the falling sheet of it dense. Passing through would soak us for sure and I grimaced at the thought of being in a dank cave with wet clothes.
Without hesitation, Juan—who still carried Pollita—stepped past the curtain of water. Kayleigh stayed close on his heels.
I took in a breath before passing through. The water drenched me as expected, but to my surprise, the air on the other side proved warm. “It’s not cold.”
“Yeah, kind of nice, eh? Hold on, I’ve got a lantern here.” Juan’s voice echoed and a moment later a soft light bathed the space.
The very large space. Despite my uncle holding up the lantern, I couldn’t see the ceiling or the walls, just the dusty stone floor.
“There’s brackets for torches on the walls,” Juan stated. “A few tree limbs are all it takes to illuminate the space.”
“Burning wood means smoke. Wouldn’t we choke?” Kayleigh asked.
“It manages to seep out somehow. Never had an issue the times I used to camp here, and even better, wherever it goes can’t be seen from outside,” my uncle informed us. “I’ve got a fire pit with a trivet for cooking set up over by the wall. For sleeping, you can either stay in this chamber or choose one of the smaller ones.”
“What about wild animals?” I’d hate to wake to my flesh being gnawed because we’d invaded some creature’s den.
“Nothing of concern the times I stayed here. A lack of food means no rats. Mostly spiders and bugs.”
