Treasure Hunters--Quest for the City of Gold Read online

Storm handed Mom her golden rectangle. The tumi’s chest and tummy.

  “You carry the heart,” Chaupi told Storm. “For you are brave and have a courageous heart.”

  “Maybe,” said Storm, blushing a little. “I mean, I didn’t totally freak out when they hauled me away and threatened to cut out my heart. I just tried to hide the treasure map carved into the altar.”

  Dad draped his arm around Storm. “You are very brave indeed.”

  The torso snapped into place on the tumi plate.

  “We got the feet,” I said, and Beck and I handed our necklaces to Mom.

  “For you two,” said Chaupi, “ran bravely into danger when others would have flown in the opposite direction.”

  “True,” said Beck. “Guess that’s our superpower—doing crazy stuff we probably shouldn’t.”

  Mom placed the feet on the plate. They fit perfectly.

  “And Milagros’s dad gave me these,” said Tommy. “They sort of look like wings.”

  “Because you flew with wings of courage to rescue my youngest daughter,” said Milagros’s grateful father. “With no regard for your own safety.”

  “Well,” said Tommy, “I did have that Snake Attack 101 course that Dad taught…”

  Mom added the two wings to the sides of the torso.

  The tumi was complete.

  Inkarri had been put back together.

  “So,” I said, looking around, “he’s all back together. Where’s the gold?”

  “The tumi is the key, Bick,” said Mom. “Now we need to find the keyhole.”

  “Um, how about that guy?” said Beck, pointing at the grinning golden idol.

  “Of course!” said Dad.

  Mom slid the tumi deep into the idol’s smile slot. The only thing still sticking out was the crown, just like on a door key!

  “You turn it, Tommy,” said Mom. “I’m too nervous.”

  Tommy gave the thing a good strong twist.

  All of a sudden, I heard stone sliding against stone again—just like when the walls opened back at the necropolis!

  CHAPTER 76

  The grinding noises grew louder.

  The earth beneath our feet started to rumble.

  I thought that part of Peru might be having an earthquake.

  “There!” shouted Beck, pointing to the far edge of the lake. “The stones are falling away.”

  “Actually,” said Storm, “they are sliding down, much like the floodgates opening on a dam.”

  Water started gushing out of the lake. White, choppy rapids furiously sluiced over the stone wall on the distant shore.

  “It’s a man-made lake,” I shouted. “Just like the lagoon at Disney World!”

  “Inkarri’s followers built a dam,” said Dad excitedly. “The monsoons of the rain forest must have filled the lake, and they’ve kept the Lost City of Gold hidden underwater for centuries.”

  “Look!” shouted Mom. “The peak of a pyramid! It’s just like Father Toledo said. ‘The City of Gold will not rise, but it shall be found.’”

  “When the waters of the lake recede!” added Dad. “The rains of the rain forest have protected the Incas’ treasure for centuries! How ingenious the Incas were!”

  “Now,” said Mom, “it’s time for all that gold to return the favor and help save the rain forest for their descendants.”

  And then all of us just stood there in awe as the water drained out of the lake and the hidden city was slowly revealed, its golden peaks and spires gleaming in the sun.

  By noon, the baking heat of the sun had dried out the streets and golden pyramids of the lost city.

  Mom called the president of Peru on our satellite phone.

  “That trust for rain-forest protection that we discussed has been fully funded, Your Excellency. Can you send an extraction team to these coordinates to evaluate your newfound gold? And, sir? It should be a big team. A very big team.”

  While we waited for the Peruvian officials to arrive, we threw a little fiesta on the bluffs overlooking the City of Gold. There was drum, guitar, and flute music. We had corn cakes and popcorn and corn fritters. Tommy danced with every girl he could. Storm pointed out interesting architectural details sculpted into the golden city’s turrets and towers.

  Mom and Dad were happy that we had taken one more step toward saving the most precious treasure on the planet—Earth itself.

  Beck and me?

  Well, we thought about launching into another Twin Tirade.

  But then we realized we were just too darn happy to do it.

  So what’s next for the Kidd Family Treasure Hunters?

  I’m not sure.

  Maybe Forrest Fenn’s million-dollar buried treasure, rumored to be hidden somewhere in the Rocky Mountains. Then there are stories about a lost Spanish galleon loaded with black pearls buried beneath the sands of the Mojave Desert. Or how about the Lost Dutchman’s Gold Mine in Arizona?

  Well, whatever treasure we hunt for next, one thing’s for sure: We’ll find it a lot faster if we all work together!

  JAMES PATTERSON holds the Guinness World Record for the most #1 New York Times bestsellers, including Middle School, I Funny, and Jacky Ha-Ha, and his books have sold more than 375 million copies worldwide. A tireless champion of the power of books and reading, Patterson created a children’s book imprint, JIMMY Patterson, whose mission is simple: “We want every kid who finishes a JIMMY Book to say, ‘PLEASE GIVE ME ANOTHER BOOK.’” He has donated more than one million books to students and soldiers and funds over four hundred Teacher Education Scholarships at twenty-four colleges and universities. He has also donated millions of dollars to independent bookstores and school libraries. Patterson invests proceeds from the sales of JIMMY Patterson Books in pro-reading initiatives.

  CHRIS GRABENSTEIN is a New York Times bestselling author who has collaborated with James Patterson on the I Funny, Treasure Hunters, and House of Robots series, as well as Jacky Ha-Ha, Word of Mouse, Pottymouth and Stupid, Laugh Out Loud, and Daniel X: Armageddon. He lives in New York City.

  JULIANA NEUFELD is an award-winning illustrator who has also worked with James Patterson on the Treasure Hunters and the House of Robots series. Her drawings can be found in books, on album covers, and in nooks and crannies throughout the internet. She lives in Toronto.

  JIMMY PATTERSON BOOKS FOR YOUNG READERS

  JAMES PATTERSON PRESENTS

  Sci-Fi Junior High by John Martin and Scott Seegert

  Sci-Fi Junior High: Crash Landing by John Martin and Scott Seegert

  How to Be a Supervillain by Michael Fry

  How to Be a Supervillain: Born to Be Good by Michael Fry

  The Unflushables by Ron Bates

  THE MIDDLE SCHOOL SERIES BY JAMES PATTERSON

  Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life

  Middle School: Get Me Out of Here!

  Middle School: Big Fat Liar

  Middle School: How I Survived Bullies, Broccoli, and Snake Hill

  Middle School: Ultimate Showdown

  Middle School: Save Rafe!

  Middle School: Just My Rotten Luck

  Middle School: Dog’s Best Friend

  Middle School: Escape to Australia

  Middle School: From Hero to Zero

  THE I FUNNY SERIES BY JAMES PATTERSON

  I Funny

  I Even Funnier

  I Totally Funniest

  I Funny TV

  I Funny: School of Laughs

  THE TREASURE HUNTERS SERIES BY JAMES PATTERSON

  Treasure Hunters

  Treasure Hunters: Danger Down the Nile

  Treasure Hunters: Secret of the Forbidden City

  Treasure Hunters: Peril at the Top of the World

  Treasure Hunters: Quest for the City of Gold

  THE HOUSE OF ROBOTS SERIES BY JAMES PATTERSON

  House of Robots

  House of Robots: Robots Go Wild!

  House of Robots: Robot Revolution

  THE DANIEL X SERIES BY JAMES PATTERSON />
  The Dangerous Days of Daniel X

  Daniel X: Watch the Skies

  Daniel X: Demons and Druids

  Daniel X: Game Over

  Daniel X: Armageddon

  Daniel X: Lights Out

  OTHER ILLUSTRATED NOVELS AND STORIES

  Laugh Out Loud

  Pottymouth and Stoopid

  Jacky Ha-Ha

  Jacky Ha-Ha: My Life Is a Joke

  Word of Mouse

  Public School Superhero

  Give Please a Chance

  Give Thank You a Try

  Big Words for Little Geniuses

  The Candies Save Christmas

  For exclusives, trailers, and other information, visit jamespatterson.com.

  Grrrrg-bloop.

  What’s that? A weird, gurgling noise is coming from the shower. I walk over to the clear-glass door and open it. Everything looks okay. I don’t smell anything, either.

  I bend all the way over until my face is next to the drain, and that’s when I pick up just a trace of something—

  CLAAAANG!

  The drain cover flies off. Before I know what’s happening, long, spaghetti-like tentacles explode through the hole and wrap themselves around my head! Instinctively, I lunge backward, but they tighten and force my face to the floor. I feel them squeezing me, cutting off the circulation to my brain. In a desperate move, I put my hands on the floor and do the longest, most painful push-up of my life. The tentacles stretch, and an instant later, my head is free. I rocket backward, collapsing against the shower wall.

  But just when I think it’s over, four small, smelly creatures crawl out of the drain.

  They’re disgusting. I mean really disgusting. They look like squishy bowling balls with party streamers for legs. I jump to my feet and try to run, but a web of spidery tentacles clutches my kneecaps. There’s a sudden yank, and I go crashing against the side of a tall wooden cabinet, toppling it to the floor. The creatures swarm me like bees.

  Quickly, I reach behind me and feel something cool and dangerous—Big Joe’s hammer. I swing wild, but get lucky. The hammer head connects with one of the jelly-beasts, sending it flying against a laundry hamper.

  “Sully! Sully!”

  It’s Big Joe. He’s pounding on the bathroom door, but the overturned cabinet is wedged against it. Before I can say anything, a squish-monster attaches itself to my face. Ewwwwwww! It smells like the inside of a bait bucket. I pry it loose and fling the thing into the sink. Then I bring the hammer down.

  Unfortunately, the sucker is as quick as it is ugly. It moves, and I whack the shiny, chrome faucet instead. A tall stream of water gushes into the air. Swatting like an insane carpenter, I chase the three remaining creatures back into the shower.

  The silver hammer is nothing but a blur as I take out two showerheads, some Italian tiles, and an innocent soap dish. I must have broken a couple of pipes because water is flooding the bathroom floor. Everywhere I look, there are bouncing blobs and tentacles striking at me like snakes. I lose my balance and fall through the shower door, shattering it into a million pieces.

  “Sully!”

  That’s weird… I hear Big Joe’s voice, but it seems strange and far away. Everything does. It’s almost as if the world outside this room has disappeared, and nothing is left but me and the squishees. I don’t know, maybe it’s the fear, or the anger, or my possible concussion, but all of a sudden I feel different—like someone just connected a loose wire in my brain. Without thinking, I snatch a floating screwdriver out of the water and hurl it through the air. It spins a dozen times before nailing one of the blobs to the wall. I snag a second creature in a bath towel, and slingshot it against the ceiling.

  That means there’s just one monster left—and it’s streaking right toward me. Moving on instinct, I roll out of the way, grab the toilet plunger, and bat the thing like Babe Ruth hitting a homer. The blast splatters it against the back of the toilet, and it ricochets into the bowl.

  Quickly, I slam the lid down, and leap on top of it.

  A few seconds later, the overturned cabinet scoots across the wet tiles, and Big Joe and Izzy come bursting through the door. I don’t know what they’re thinking, but I know what they see: spewing water pipes, broken fixtures, shattered glass, and a crazed thirteen-year-old standing on a toilet seat with a bath towel cape and a mighty plunger raised in triumph.

  “Smile,” Izzy says.

  Then she points her phone, and clicks.

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