"What an Artifact Wants"
By A. Rhea King

Chapter 1

Rainforest of the Amazonas
Belize

Doctor Ernesto Garbutt hated the rainforest. In his mind, if it all went away, he would not care (he was a dentist, not a scientist – and the impact that thought would have was lost on him). But the thugs had robbed his office and home of everything he had. All he had left were his tools and a couple bottles of nitrous oxide, and that was hardly enough to continue practicing. So here he was, in the middle of the damned rainforest, hoping for a miracle.

His guides had stopped being polite two days ago when they had told him they were entering forbidden territory, where things happened that no Godly man could explain or survive, and he yelled that he didn't care where they were, they were moving on. Ernesto didn't care, he only cared about his livelihood and his wife and children in the United States who depended on his income to keep them there.

The lead man hacked away at the growth blocking their way. He cut away at a huge leafed plant, froze and then screamed. The group of four stopped, staring. Ahead of them twelve men blocked their way. They wore Maya ceremonial clothes and were painted as if they were headed into a a war raid. They all had a machete hanging on one hip or the other, but they also carried ceremonial spears.

A man at the front spoke but Ernesto could only understand one or two words from the Maya language. One of the guides understood and jumped into the conversation. He made several motions to Ernesto, likely throwing him under the bus for their trespassing. The native man held up his hand and the talking stopped. He made a single nod, pointed at Ernesto and motioned him forward.

Ernesto's feet didn't want to move. One of the guides gave him a solid shove toward the man. Ernesto shuffled to the front. The man spoke again and the guide translated it into Spanish.

"He asked if you are the doctor who fixes teeth."

Ernesto nodded. "Si."

The man spoke again. The guide looked between the two and Ernesto couldn't tell if he was afraid or surprised.

"What?" Ernesto said.

"He said he knows where the gold is and he will take us there. We can have all we can carry, but only on one condition that you must carry out. If you fail, he can find us and kill all of us, not just you."

"What condition?" Ernesto asked.

The guide asked.

The man reached into a pouch hanging around his neck and pulled out a gold bracelet. The air around them hummed and had they noticed, the sounds of the rainforest animals stopped. It was tarnished, dented, and had several deep scratches on across it. It was not the prettiest piece Ernesto had ever seen. He suddenly noticed the silence.

One by one a bird began to sing and the song was exactly the same as the humming he heard. He looked overhead, feeling anxious suddenly. He looked at the man and back down at the bracelet.

"What is this? What does he want me to do with it?"

The guide asked and the man answered.

"He said a man will come to you before the next harvest and he will need you to fix his tooth. You will use the gold from this bracelet on him and no one else. Once he has left, you are to melt the rest down and scatter the pieces in the ocean. It must never be found whole again."

"Who is this man? How will I know him?"

The guide asked and the man answered. The guide stared at him until Ernesto smacked his arm. The guide turned his wide-eyes to Ernesto.

"He said the artifact will tell you when he has come. It will be the first and last time you will ever hear it speak. This is what the artifact wants and to disobey it will destroy you. He says you are to wear the bracelet until the day comes."

The man held the bracelet out with both hands, waiting for Ernesto's wrist. He looked at everyone around him, at the bracelet, as his wrist, several times as he decided what to do. But then he thought of his children and wife and he lifted his right arm. The man put the bracelet on. Electricity jolted through Ernesto's body and his heart skipped several beats. He fell to the ground, clutching his chest, and passed out. The guides started to back away as the man spoke. The one guide stopped.

"He said if we run, we die," the guide told the others. "It is now our job to wait for this man to wake, get our gold, and make sure nothing happens to him until this bracelet has told him the right man has come to him."

"We have to guard him now?" one of the men asked.

The translator watched the tribesmen head into the jungle. "Yes. It is what the artifact wants."

The group followed them in silence…

Hotel Residencia La Mariposa
Tulum, Mexico

Pete trotted down the stairs of the hotel, finding Myka waiting in the lobby for him. He stopped behind her, leaning over her shoulder. She didn't even act surprised and continued reading the file Artie had shoved at them twelve hours ago.

"You're late," she told him

"Late night."

"Was she pretty?"

"Yes. Very much so."

"Good. Can we go find this artifact now?" Myka asked.

"Yeah. Okay."

She closed the file and headed for the front door of the hotel. Pete spotted a candy dish and made a dash for it before following her. He hit the door at the same time a man outside was reaching for it. The door flew open and smacked the man in the face, knocking him down on the sidewalk.

"Oh!" Pete hurried out and grabbed for the man's arm. "Oh man! I am so sorry. I didn't see you. I am so sorry."

The man got to his hands and knees and then held the side of his head with one hand.

"I am so sorry, man. I didn't see you."

"You thed that alwedy," the man told the ground.

"Let me help you up and inside. I am really, really sorry."

The man let Pete help him up and inside to a chair. Pete waited until he was sitting to step back. He grimaced, seeing a bruise darkening along the side of the man's face.

"Man, I… Can I get you anything? An icepack or something?"

"No. I…" The man sighed, sinking back in the chair. The moment of silence gave Pete a chance to really look at the guy. He was well tanned and bald, but there was some dark hair starting to show. He was clean shaven, but like his head, there was some fuzz starting to show. He wasn't a muscular man, but when he flexed his arms he was well toned. His face could be called charming, but plain. In fact, there wasn't anything really extraordinary about the man Pete had tried to knock out.

"I fink I bwoke a toof," the man quietly said.

"Ah no. No."

Myka came back in and gave him her 'hurry up' look.

"Look, I'm here in the hotel. Room 412. Go get a dentist to look at that tooth and send me the bill. I'll get you the money. I'm good for it, okay?"

The man nodded, quietly telling him. "Thanks."

"I know I said it already, but I am really, really sorry. I wish I'd seen you before I threw that door open."

"Maybe exif a wittle sower nex' 'ime?"

Pete smiled. "Good idea. Oh. Pete Lattimer."

The man shook the hand he offered. "Emory Garett."

Pete turned and hurried after Myka. They got in their rental and he drove them away.

"What happened back there?"

"Oh, I pushed the door hard and hit that guy in the face. He thinks he has a broken tooth."

"What a great way to start a vacation."

"How do you know he's on vacation?"

"Dressed like he was? Who'd dress like that for business?"

Pete wobbled his head. "Okay, so where are we going first to look for this artifacty?"

"A priest reported seeing it a few weeks ago. We'll start there."

"Point the way, pseudo-GPS lady."

Myka laughed.

CostaDental
Mexico

The side of Emory's face was swollen and purple, and he was very self-conscious of it as he walked into the dentist office. The office was small, but it was the closest one he found to Tulum. A large woman sat at the front desk.

"Hola," she said.

"Oh thit. I don't speaf Spanif," Emory said.

"Don't speak very good English, either," she told him.

He sighed. "I fink I bwoke a toof."

"Yeah? That hurts. Have a seat and I'll see if he can see you today."

Emory did as he was told. He watched her haul herself out of the chair and head toward the back of the building.

#

Focused on the patient's chart he was updating, Ernesto didn't notice the bracelet begin to glow. Not until it became brighter than the lamp on the edge of his desk. He looked down at it, watching the glowing get brighter. It did that every so often, so he looked away. Suddenly a jolt of electricity raced down his arm, making him drop the pen. And then a second and third.

His office door opened and he dropped his wrist under his desk. His receptionist stuck her head in.

"Do you have time to fix a broken tooth?"

"Yes."

She stared at him. "Let me ask that again. Do you have time to—"

"It's a man, isn't it?"

"Yeah."

"Get him prepped for a cap."

She stared at him a moment, and then shut the door. He lifted his wrist as the bracelet shocked him again.

"Alright. I hear you. He's here now stop shocking me."

He felt stupid talking to the bracelet, but the glowing lowered and the shocking became a tingling sensation. So it was time, before the next harvest – he would finally be free of this burden which had made him wealthy and a slave.

#

Pete and Myka pulled up to the dentist office as a nurse with a man came out to a cab. Pete got out, recognizing them.

"Emory?" he called.

Emory stopped, staring at him. He looked drugged.

"Are you okay?" Pete asked.

"Toof owf an' caffed if."

Pete smiled. "He took the tooth out and capped it?"

Emory offered a lazy smile.

"Let me pay for the cab, okay?"

"Than' 'oo."

Pete reached through the passenger window and handed the driver some money. "Get him back to the hotel safe, okay?"

The driver nodded. He stood up and helped the nurse get Emory into the backseat of the cab. He slowly slid over in the seat and fell asleep. Pete was torn between artifact hunting and helping this man he hurt – but his job took priority. He stepped back with the nurse and Myka, watching the driver pull away.

"Poor guy. I feel bad for him. And he's taking it all so calm. How does someone get that calm, do you think? Drugs? LSD?" Pete turned to Myka.

She had already struck up a conversation in Spanish. She showed a picture of the bracelet to her and the nurse nodded, pointing inside.

"She says the doctor wears this bracelet."

The two headed inside, passing the receptionist.

"He's not back there," the receptionist said without looking up from her magazine.

They walked back to her. "Where is he?" Pete asked.

"Lunch. He finished his surgery and said he was going home for lunch."

"When will he be back?"

"I dunno. Two hours probably. He usually takes a siesta after lunch. Then again, we have no one this afternoon, so maybe not until tomorrow."

"We need to see Doctor Garbutt right now," Pete told her.

"You can make an appointment for tomorrow morning."

"We need his address."

"You do?" she asked sarcastically.

"Please."

"You know what I need? A new car. Get me one and I've got an address. Otherwise, come back tomorrow. With an appointment."

Pete and Myka exchanged looks. They could feel this artifact slipping away faster than they could chase it. It had been a feeling both had as soon as they'd been sent on this goose hunt…

Hotel Residencia La Mariposa
Tulum, Mexico

Emory stumbled out of the cab and into the hotel. He felt on fire and freezing at the same time – and was fairly certain this wasn't the way getting a gold cap put on was supposed to feel. He staggered past the front desk and down the hall to his room. He had to fumble with the key until it finally slid in and he was able to stagger inside. Emory climbed onto his bed and curled into a fetal position. He closed his eyes and things went from strange to weird.

Like scenes from movies, he saw flashes of objects in so many situations he couldn't keep track of them all. Some were horrific, some were fantastical. There were people he recognized from history books and the news. He saw historical events he'd only heard about, but many played out much differently than the books told about them.

He heard whispering voices, as if the entire world's population had come into his room and surrounded him. They told stories of bygone days, of times long forgotten or recently passed. But the pain prevented him from being able to focus on the whispering. Extreme hot and cold coursed through his body, making him groan.

Short jolts of electricity jarred through his bones and muscles, leaving him breathless each time. He writhed as pain slowly intensified, creeping up until he was unconscious. His body relaxed and his jaw slid open. The new golden cap Doctor Garbutt had implanted in Emory's mouth pulsed with a soft light to the beat of his heart.