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Chapters (86)
  1. Cover
  2. Praise
  3. Booklist
  4. Dedication
  5. 1
  6. 2
  7. 3
  8. 4
  9. 5
  10. 6
  11. 7
  12. 8
  13. 9
  14. 10
  15. 11
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  38. 34
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  41. 37
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  44. 40
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  55. 51
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  77. 73
  78. 74
  79. 75
  80. 76
  81. 77
  82. 78
  83. 79
  84. 80
  85. 81
  86. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

But what focused his attention was Elle, the way she stared at the prow, the way she breathed as if desperate for air, the defensive hunch of her shoulder...the change from a carefree woman to someone with a burden too heavy to carry alone.

“Elle.” He hurried to her side and touched her arm.

She looked up at him. “My name is Elladora Varela.”

60

“I’M AN ARCHAEOLOGIST.” Elle wrung out the damp hem of her T-shirt and hurried up the beach to their blanket. “As is my mother and my stepfather, and as were my grandparents and great-grandparents.” Without grace or care, she shook the sand out of her shorts and pulled them on. “My great-grandparents...” She sighed as she tried to gather their stories. “In the sixties, the greats, under the direction of the brilliant Peruvian archaeologist, Renzo Rojas, discovered a Moche site in the Andes, untouched since the Moche walked away in the eighth century.”

“In light of your other memories, this makes perfect sense.” He offered her half a cheese and pickle sandwich.

She shook her head.

He hardly knew what to think. Elle, refusing food? With the return of her memory, had she changed personalities? Because he liked the hungry Elle.

“The team tried to keep their discovery secret. The Moche were expert metalworkers. To find an untouched ruin meant...not merely objects of archaeological interest—” her voice grew strong with excitement “—it meant gold, copper and silver art that, if the local warlords confiscated it, would be sold to the wealthy. That’s how the evil of the world finance their wars.”

“That’s one of the ways.” Adam looked at the sandwich, shrugged and took a bite.

“Sadly, inevitably, word of the find leaked out, and Rojas got word that the warlords were on their way.”

“So your great-grandparents and Rojas had to hide the artifacts?”

“Hiding everything wasn’t possible. The find was too big. Rojas begged my great-grandparents to take the best pieces, the silver masks, the statues of solid gold, to the US to be stored in an American museum.” She watched him chew, plucked the sandwich out of his hand, took a bite, then passed it back. “Rojas led my great-grandparents out of the mountains. Every step was treacherous. When they reached the coast, they hired a boat and a crew. Not the most seaworthy of vessels, but they had no choice.”

“They were desperate. In a hurry.” They polished off the half sandwich, then Adam handed her the container of kale chips.