The Jaguar Trials Page 16

  Ben smiled back, nodding.

  Dad sat up as Yara guided Rafael over. “Raffie! You’re all right! Your dad will be so relieved!” He pulled him into a hug and Raffie beamed, tears running down his cheeks.

  “This is Yara,” said Ben.

  Dad shook her hand and she flung her arms around his neck, making him laugh out loud.

  “Got your ring.” Ben slipped it off his thumb and handed it over, and Dad gripped it in his fist, lips tight.

  “Thanks, son,” he managed at last.

  They all sat huddled on the bank for a while in silence, gathering their strength, then telling each other their stories…

  Sunbursts sparkled on the river. Ben remembered the faces he’d looked into. Their joy at their finally finding peace; at their finding a home.

  Ben’s mind still bubbled with questions. “So now it’s your turn to tell us, Dad – what happened to you?”

  Dad ran his fingers through his wet hair. “Well … I remember jumping from the boat; getting swept down the rapids.”

  “Yes, how on earth did you survive that?” exclaimed Rafael with bewilderment. “It was bad enough by canoe!”

  Dad rubbed his forehead. “ Funny thing is, I don’t think I did! I mean, I think I must have drowned, but – now this is going to sound totally nutty – but, I was somehow also still alive.”

  “But what did that feel like?” Ben asked. “And where were you all this time?”

  “I really don’t know where I was,” Dad said. “How can I describe it? It was kind of like being asleep under water, but never being able to wake up.”

  “That makes sense,” said Yara. “My grandfather always taught me that the Drowned Ghosts rapids are a doorway to the spirit world.”

  “I dreamt of you, Ben,” Dad said, squeezing his arm. “I saw snatches of what was happening to you, I think.”

  “I was wondering,” Rafael said, “about when Professor Erskine wore the wrong mask. According to me, it was his own greed for gold that killed him in the end – remember the warning on the chamber door? The king will protect his city from he who chooses false. That’s why he was turned to gold.”

  “And why the earthquakes started,” added Yara. “To trigger the flood and hide El Dorado under a protective lake.” She grinned. “How awesome was that!”

  Dad ruffled Ben’s hair. “Well, El Dorado might be lost again, but you three found it,” he said quietly. “Didn’t you?” He gave a long, slow whistle; a hoarse little laugh.

  Ben gripped his arm. “But we can never tell anyone, Dad! It’s the only safe place the spirits have left, and if people find out…”

  “’Course we won’t tell,” reassured Dad. “Who would believe us anyway?”

  “You can’t even tell your dad, Raffie,” warned Yara. “We all have to promise!”

  “Especially my father!” said Rafael. “But I tell you something – Pa won’t be telling me to toughen up after this adventure, that’s for sure!”

  “Good one, Raffie!” Ben punched him playfully on the arm.

  “Ow!”

  The indignant look on Rafael’s face made them all burst out laughing, even Raffie himself, and then the four of them grasped hands and made the promise.

  Ben let go of his dad’s hand and gazed out towards the mountains. “Will El Dorado ever be found again, do you think?”

  Dad smiled, a thoughtful smile. “Maybe. People will always be searching for their El Dorados, won’t they?”

  “But what I still want to know,” said Yara, “is where do you think my grandfather got the golden king’s amber and jade spheres from in the first place?”

  Ben shrugged. “Passed down from the Ancients through generations of shamans, maybe? Hey – look!” He pointed a finger in amazement. “You can go and ask him yourself!”

  “Grandfather!” Yara let out a delighted shout and scrambled to her feet.

  There, above them on the ridge, Ben saw a line of figures. The shaman and a group of people Ben recognized from Yara’s village, making their way towards them.

  “He found us!” Yara cried. “He must have spoken to the Ancestors!”

  Looking at the line of villagers, Ben was reminded of the spirit faces he’d seen moving through the water, and for a moment it was like he was seeing a bridge, linking past and present.

  As they got closer Ben saw the shaman hold his arms out to his granddaughter, his eyes alight. He was smiling so that his whole wise face broke into deep creases. Yelping with delight, Yara splashed across the river and into his arms.

  And it was while everyone was talking and laughing and hugging that Ben saw it. Up high on the ridge where the shaman had just been standing.

  One eye a burning amber, the other a deep jade green.

  Their gazes locked, one last time.

  Then the black jaguar was gone.

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  Virginia Bianchini

  Matt Dickinson

  Colonel Percy Fawcett

  Caterina Galatá

  Jamie Gregory

  Isabella Gustincich

  Gen Herr

  Caroline Johnson

  Captain David Maybury

  Sarah Mussi

  Polly Phillips

  Flight Commander Marco Zadnik

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  First published in the UK by Scholastic Ltd, 2015

  This electronic edition published in the UK by Scholastic Ltd, 2015

  Copyright © Ruth Eastham, 2015

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