The Celestial Gate by Avital Dicker (red white royal blue txt) 📗

rocks. Rae opened her eyes and sat up, looking around in despair, a fat tear rolling down her cheek.

“Never again will I fly past these cliffs,” she whispered.

On top of the cliffs, Yam could make out armed Orphil sentries patrolling the perimeter and guarding the site.

“I think we’re in some sort of way station,” he said.

Rae nodded in agreement. “Nobody ever leaves here,” she said. “From here, you get sent right back.”

“Back where?” Anise asked, but Rae shrugged.

“Wherever they decide,” she finally mumbled, saying no more.

“I still don’t understand who they are,” Mor sighed.

Rae swallowed her saliva. “From the little I know, God gave the Orphils the right to stay here because He believes in free choice. So He gave them a last opportunity to prove they can change. Only, I think that instead of taking advantage of that chance, they’ve been overcome by evil. It wasn’t supposed to be like that,” she said quietly. Many things aren’t supposed to be the way they are, Mor thought.

No one spoke. Anise scanned the black cliffs over and over again. We were so close to meeting Him, she thought with despair. There must be a way out, some exit. But it seemed as if the enormous basalt blocks formed a perfect seal above the lake.

“I don’t see a way out of here,” said Yam reading her thoughts. “Look – they stay up there and don’t even bother coming down because there’s just no way out.” The four leaned against the black cliff without uttering another word.

Anise tilted her head back. There was nowhere to go. Tired, she closed her eyes but immediately opened them again in surprise. The old man was standing on a cliff across from her, signaling her to come closer. Anise rubbed her eyes in disbelief, but unlike earlier times, this time, when she looked again, he was still standing there.

“Look,” she said, pointing at the old man.

“I don’t see anything,” an indifferent Yam replied.

“Neither do I,” said Mor, lying down on the rock.

It wasn’t the time to argue with the boys, because the old man started walking away. Anise hesitated. The only way to cross the space lay through the lake. She got up and started to walk down to the water.

“Anise,” Mor called, but she ignored him, and walked into the water.

“Her mind is gone. She’s forgotten she can’t swim,” Mor muttered.

The water had already reached Anise’s waist, but she kept going, her eyes tracking the strange old man.

Mor became annoyed but got up and followed her. Yam, too, decided to join, thinking, What the hell is she doing? Then again, it wasn’t as if they had anything better to do, and he had no intention of staying back with the mercurial Rae. For her part, Rae hurried to fly behind them, taking care not to get too close to the water. She was so repulsed by this place that she couldn’t stop shaking. In the last two days, she’d come close to drowning not once but twice. That was enough to last her several lifetimes.

Anise was careful to stay close to the edge of the lake, walking beneath the cliffs where the water was shallow. The old man led her along the cliff to the other side of the lake, until she could climb out of the water. But once she had and looked back up at the cliff, the old man was gone.

Mor was worried about Anise who, looking frantic, was now rushing up the rocks, shouting something indistinct. Suddenly, he lost sight of her.

“Anise!” he yelled, getting out of the water and hurrying where he last saw her.

“There’s a passage here,” he heard her voice coming from behind the black boulders.

The old man reappeared in front of her. He was kneeling over one of the rocks in the cave where she’d followed him. He was holding his hand out to her.

Mor arrived breathless with Yam on his heels. “How did you find the cave?” Yam asked, looking surprised.

Quickly, Anise whipped her head around looking for her guide, but the old man had once again disappeared. Something glittered on the rock where he’d last stood. Anise approached and picked up the object: a leather medallion inscribed with symbols. She put it around her neck and smiled at Yam. “I had the feeling it was worth coming here,” she said mysteriously.

“Look, there’s something on the wall,” Mor said, aiming his flashlight at the cave walls. In the light, they could clearly see the unfamiliar symbols. Anise grasped the medallion and looked at the symbols on it: they were identical to the ones on the wall. I wonder what they mean, she thought.

“Where did you get that, Anise? It looks like a calendar,” said Mor, examining her new-found medallion, but Anise was too preoccupied with the rays of sunlight making their way into the far end of the cave.

Rae, too, must have noticed the light at the end of the cave, because she suddenly leaped up and started to run to the exit, all three behind her.

At the opening of the cave, they stopped to take in the view. At their feet lay a broad valley, its center occupied by an exquisite-looking city whose gilded temples glittered in the sun. Enormous pyramids stood near the temples. The city’s broad avenues teemed with activity. Women and children dressed in colorful clothing scurried gaily about. Between two buildings, Anise could see a group dancing to the beat of a drum. Mor looked at the huge murals decorating the structures. “It’s the lost city,” he whispered. “It’s the Maya. They found the eighth gate.”

The four climbed down the narrow steps carved out of the rock winding down the steep mountainside to the city and entered the main street crowded its entire length with stalls. Some older children were playing with bows and arrows just beyond. Anise stared at a young woman gracefully carrying two infants bound to her body. An impressive-looking woman with long, white hair, wrapped in colorful cloth