Skyfire Read online

  The Twelve Stones:

  SkyFire

  By:

  R.J. Johnson

  Published by Rick Johnson at Amazon.com

  Copyright 2013

  R.J. Johnson

  First Edition

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  This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Amazon.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  R.J. Johnson

  P.S. If you liked the book, why not leave a review on Amazon.com??? Indie authors like myself live and die by the amount of five star reviews we get, so I’d love it if you stopped by and told me what you thought!

  R.J. Johnson

  Other Books by this Author

  The Twelve Stones

  The Twelve Stones: SkyFire

  The Twelve Stones: Petrichor

  The Jim Meade: Martian P.I. Series

  Change in Management (A Jim Meade, Martian PI Novel)

  Rosetta (A Jim Meade, Martian PI Novel)

  Table of Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  Chapter Forty

  Chapter Forty-One

  Chapter Forty-Two

  Chapter Forty-Three

  Chapter Forty-Four

  Chapter Forty-Five

  Chapter Forty-Six

  Chapter Forty-Seven

  Chapter Forty-Eight

  Chapter Forty-Nine

  Chapter Fifty

  Chapter Fifty-One

  Chapter Fifty-Two

  Chapter Fifty-Three

  Chapter Fifty-Four

  Thank you

  Change in Management: A Jim Meade Martian PI Novel

  Chapter One

  The last thing he wanted to do was wake up in this stupid jungle a thousand miles from home, but if this was to be his chosen profession, then he needed experience in the field. Forgoing creature comforts for a few months was a small price to pay in order to build the kind of career he wanted. Besides, he learned at a young age that if you didn’t occasionally sacrifice a little luxury in life, you wouldn’t appreciate the good when it finally came along.

  Kevin Breynard wiped the sweat off his brow and tried to think about anything other than the heat. Sleep, which of course was all he really wanted, was impossible, but he was a hot sticky mess and had gone far too long without a shower. Not for the first time, he wistfully thought of his climate-controlled lab back home.

  Resigning himself to lack of sleep, he opened his laptop to record a video blog. He didn’t have a huge following or anything, but it was a good way to let his mom know he was still alive.

  “Day 144, time is…” Kevin checked his watch, “just before 12 noon local. I’ve been trying to get some sleep…again…but you know,” he waved his arms around the stuffy tent, “it’s a bit balmy down here at the moment.” He was hoping a little dry humor would help combat the humidity. It didn’t work.

  He reached behind the camera and took out the woolen UCSD flag his mother had knitted, waving it to his audience.

  “I got the care package, Mom, thank you!” he said. “My Mom made this for me so I can show my pride…I guess…in the middle of the jungle?” He grinned, hoping to embarrass his mother a bit more on the “internets,” as she called his blog.

  “I mean, it would’ve been nicer to get cookies, but it’s all right. I’m betting that something creepy would’ve just eaten ‘em before me anyway…”

  “The project’s going well. Professor Collier’s putting together plans for another extension for our stay. We’re just waiting to hear back if we’ve got the funding. As you all know, it’s been a bit slow going out here…” He paused, thinking of the many times the professor had promised results, only to see their hard work produce nothing but an aching back.

  “However, we’re confident that our results from this latest dig will blow everyone away, so stay tuned!” He waved his arms like a magician finishing a trick. Kevin liked to throw in a bit of showmanship every so often. It wasn’t much, but hey, neither was his audience.

  “In further news— Ya!”

  Kevin’s tent flap flew open, startling him. He accidentally bumped the laptop, nudging the camera towards the other graduate student who had signed up for this madness. Rachel Murphy poked her head in, her freckled face and red hair a welcome sight. Much more welcome than the tiger he’d-half expected to see nosing its way in. That same irrational fear presented itself every time the flap opened, even though he knew there wasn’t a tiger within a thousand miles. No matter what, he still couldn’t shake the feeling that something out there was staring him down, wondering what he’d taste like for lunch.

  Kevin leaned forward and turned off the recording.

  “Did I catch you jerking off again?” his crush asked with a knowing grin on her face.

  Kevin felt his face grow hot.

  “No! Jesus Christ, Rachel! No…” Kevin said, scrambling to his feet and showing her that he was fully dressed. “I was recording a video for the blog about our extended stay and how we’re…”

  Rachel laughed as she punched him softly in the right arm. “Relax, I’m messing with you.”

  She plopped down on her sleeping bag on the opposite side of the tent, laying out and stretching. “It’s your shift. Professor Collier’s got us drilling again.”

  Kevin groaned. Professor Maxwell Collier was the reason they were in the middle of this godforsaken jungle. He believed that he had found the legendary golden city of Paititi in the foothills of southern Peru. Somehow, using technology way above Kevin’s head, he had discovered evidence of ruins hidden beneath the jungle. He has used his evidence to put together a presentation, convincing the university to fund an expedition. Unfortunately, their efforts had proven fruitless so far.

  “He couldn’t have me on computer duty?” he asked, rubbing his neck to wipe the sweat off.

  The computer tent wasn’t much more comfortable. A server inside ran 24/7, receiving quarter-hourly photo updates from the satellite in geosynchronous orbit above. Still, at least the generators ran an air conditioner to keep the server cool, dropping the temperature down from 110 degrees, with 70% humidity, to 15 degrees less on a good day.

  “The generator’s finally out of gas, so the computer’s down.” She p
ulled out her knapsack and took out a wallet from the front pocket. “I’m heading back to town and getting supplies. I’ll be back in a couple of days.”

  “Lucky…” Kevin grumbled.

  Rachel snorted. “I earned this break.” Then, with a shudder: “My girls were on full display.”

  She sat back up and leaned back, the thin white material of her t-shirt stretched tight against her chest. “The pervert couldn’t keep his eyes off of me all morning, so when the generator died I took my chance and asked for a favor while he was drooling all over me.”

  “Wish I had a nice pair too…”

  “They’re a lot more trouble than they’re worth,” Rachel said, the trill of her southern accent thick with sarcasm. “Besides, I wanna Skype with my boyfriend and the satellite internet here isn’t exactly wired for speed.”

  “First world problems…” Kevin snorted, rolling his eyes. He sat up and yawned, hoping to shake off the cobwebs from his missing sleep. “Don’t kill yourself hiking back up here with everything. Take an extra day. I’ll keep the professor off your back.”

  She smiled and touched his arm. Her skin tone had been almost pearl-white when they’d started this trip, but with all the sun they’d gotten, she was halfway to matching his chocolate brown tone now. “Thanks,” she said. “I could really use a break away from this place.”

  “Bring me back all the beer you can hold and we’ll call it even,” Kevin replied.

  Rachel’s face went slack in relief. She crouched up and leaned forward, wiggling through the cramped tent to give Kevin an awkward hug. “You bet, hun! Anything in particular?”

  “So long as it has bubbles and alcohol, I guarantee it’ll taste like ambrosia compared to treated river water.”

  “True enough.” The perky 22-year-old redhead put her knapsack on, checking the pockets to make sure she hadn’t missed anything. “You’d better get out there. Professor Collier hates when you’re late.”

  Kevin grumbled and again questioned his decision to major in archeology. Indiana Jones had made it all look like so much fun, but the actual experience of searching for lost treasure was failing to measure up. He grabbed his Yankees ball cap and followed Rachel out of their tent, moving into the oppressive heat.

  Rachel adjusted her knapsack. “See you in a few days,” she said with a wave. Kevin returned her salute and watched her move down the trail. The well-worn jungle path back to the village stretched for ten long miles, but without any cliffs, pits or predators to speak of. Besides, Kevin reminded himself, she carried a gun and knew how to use it. He was more concerned for whatever might get in her way.

  She disappeared behind a tree, leaving Kevin to stare at the scenery. As much as he liked to gripe, the jungle never ceased to amaze him. There was something primal about being surrounded by the warm hug of the rainforest and the blanket of the canopy above.

  Plant and animal life surrounded them, ensconced safely in the remote land, touched only by evolution. The complete lack of anything resembling civilization was a strange experience for a kid who grew up with the busy nonstop action of a New York City borough. There had been primitive humans here once, or so the professor said, but the valley must have been hostile to them, enough so that no trace of them remained. Despite four months of digging, they’d still found no sign of the lost civilization upon which Professor Collier had staked his reputation and his contract.

  At 39 years old, Professor Collier had the energy and lust for discovery normally reserved for freshman students attending their first lectures. However, with that level of enthusiasm came a distinctly difficult type of personality. Kevin didn’t know if the man was wandering around with an undiagnosed mental disorder, or if the professor was just an asshole. Either way, the time he’d so far spent with the man hadn’t been easy. The professor had exacting standards, and that had led to more than one student quitting in frustration after a project wasn’t done “just so.”

  Kevin, however, saw the expedition as a chance to be a part of history, and for that he was willing to put up with the Professor’s eccentricities. That said, as the expedition dragged on, it was becoming harder and harder to rationalize the man’s behavior. Especially with the lack of results.

  But if he blew up now and told the professor to stuff it, he’d just be fired and lose whatever credit he’d been working towards the whole time, and all of it would have been for nothing.

  What he needed to do was find a way to deal with the professor’s temper. The man had always had a short fuse, but it’d been getting worse the longer they’d gone without a discovery.

  Sadly, Kevin knew, there probably wasn’t anything of archeological significance within a hundred miles. Collier was stuck like Ahab, forever chasing his white whale of a city. Even if it had ever stood on the face of the earth, time and nature had a way of taking the earth back.

  Kevin slapped his neck, hoping that the enormous bug feeding off his blood wasn’t poisonous. Hopefully, with the way their supplies were looking (even after Rachel’s supply run, there’d be barely enough for them to last another week), they’d be done sooner rather than later. Kevin was looking forward to going home and enjoying the first fast food joint and largest cup of gas station coffee he could find. You missed the strangest things when you were cut off from human civilization, he thought.

  “Professor!” Kevin called ahead, so as not to alarm the professor and get himself shot. Professor Collier liked to keep a gun handy in case something decided he was easy prey.

  “You don’t have to shout, Kevin,” the man said mildly, without turning around.

  Kevin tripped over the uneven ground as he approached the professor, who was attempting to clear away the thick jungle brush from the side of a steep incline.

  “I’m sorry, professor,” Kevin said, panting. “Just didn’t want to startle you, that’s all.”

  Professor Collier grunted in response, then resumed pulling the weeds away from the rock face. This area was some distance away from what had become their usual stomping grounds, and was one of the last potential payoff sites.

  Ever since he had first heard about the lost city of gold as a child, Professor Maxwell Collier had dreamed of doing what other explorers before him could not: find El Dorado. Contemporary research suggested that the city of Paititi, upon which the legend of El Dorado was most likely based, was not actually made from gold, but that didn’t matter. Collier was a lifelong archaeologist, and the city was his personal holy grail. Uncovering the city was his pathway into the history books – and more than that, it was his destiny.

  But he soon learned that enthusiasm could only take his career so far. Without any major discoveries to his name and little to no academic interest in his theories, his professional progress had stagnated. From this dig, he needed solid, publishable results. If he came back empty handed, the university would never renew his contract, he’d end up teaching history to bored community college students, and his potential to change the world would be wasted.

  On the other hand, with a major discovery, he could build a very lucrative career. From book deals and speaking tours, to tenure and maybe even a chair at a prestigious university, everything rested on his theory.

  His gut told him he was on the right track. No matter how much frustration boiled up inside him, he felt a visceral connection to his destiny within this valley. He’d felt it the second they arrived, and the feeling had only grown stronger with each leaf and vine he cleared away.

  “Rachel said she was heading back to town,” Kevin said cautiously, hoping he wouldn’t trigger one of the professor’s famous temper tantrums. “She’ll be back day after tomorrow, I think.”

  “She mentioned something about that, yes,” Professor Collier replied absentmindedly. “More importantly, have you heard anything from San Diego?”

  Kevin blushed. He hadn’t expected the professor to ask for the day’s e-mails when there was no gas to run the generator. “I’m sorry, Professor, there’s nothing. Like
Rachel said, there’s no gas for the generator, so…”

  The professor whirled, his eye critical as he looked down on the student. “We’re out of communication with the University…?”

  Kevin looked confused. “She said you knew…”

  “I know everything that happens in this camp!” Professor Collier thundered. “Keeping track of three people isn’t exactly difficult for a mind like my own.”

  “Then why are you yelling at me?” Kevin asked, quivering on the inside.

  “Why weren’t we properly prepared for this?” Professor Collier demanded. “Where are the backups? And the reserves? What of those?”

  Kevin averted his eyes. “You told us to stay close to camp and keep the dig going rather than resupply last week when the grant money didn’t come through, remember? We’ve been using our reserves all week…”

  The temper faded from Collier’s eyes. He looked somewhat confused for a moment, then shook his head. “Ah goddammit, I forgot.” His eyes crinkled in an apology, “I’m sorry, Kevin, we’re…”

  “I know, Professor…” Kevin said, sighing. “I feel the same way. It’s all this damn humidity. Fries the brain.”

  “It’s no excuse,” Collier said firmly. “I’ve got to stop losing my shit over stuff like that. My fiancée says I ought to start meditating.”

  “Hey, it’s not just for hippies anymore,” Kevin said hopefully. Anything to help the professor become less of a prick. He wasn’t normally inclined to many outbursts, but with brilliance there were allowances others sometimes had to make. The last few weeks had been taxing on them all, but the professor had been the worst of them. Kevin secretly blamed the professor’s outbursts on the fact Collier wasn’t getting any. Either way, he couldn’t really be mad at Collier for losing his temper.

  The professor turned around and resumed pulling vines. Kevin paused for a moment, then cleared his throat. “We examined this grid last week. Don’t you remember?”

  “I remember,” Collier said as he pulled a vine down and tossed it aside. “My gut says we missed something, though.”