Whoever seeks the gold of the sun must cross the valley of shadows where the water lies still but life blooms. There the entrance to the second trail will be found. Seiya frowned. The valley of shadows, water that does not move, life that blooms. It's a riddle, I said.
But what does it mean? I thought about the riddle for a few moments. The valley of shadows could be a canyon, I said. Someplace so deep the sun barely reaches the bottom, and water that doesn't move could mean a lake or a still spring. Where would we find a place like that?
I reached into my saddle bag and pulled out my own map. Nothing mysterious, just an ordinary map of the surrounding country. I spread it open in front of us and studied the nearby landmarks until something caught my eye. here," I said, tapping one spot with my finger. "Dark Canyon is about 2 days west of us. I've heard travelers say there's a small lake hidden inside it." Seiya nodded slowly.
"Then that's where we go next. We were just getting ready to leave when a distant sound froze us both in place. Hoof beatats. A lot of them. Hide, I whispered.
Seiya pulled her blouse back on as fast as she could. We ducked behind one of the massive rock formations, and only moments later, the riders came into view. There were five men. Every one of them was armed, and they carried the hard look of men who wouldn't lose a minute of sleep after pulling a trigger. Riding at the front was a tall man dressed entirely in black.
A long scar cut across his face. "Boon Voss," Seiya whispered, terror tightening her voice. My blood ran cold. "So this was the man who had been hunting her for years." Boon Voss swung down from his horse. The Voss 5 dismounted behind him.
"Search everything," Boon ordered in a low, hard voice. "The woman was here. I know it. His men spread out. They began checking the rocks, peering into cracks, and studying every track pressed into the dirt.
Beside me, Seiya trembled. "They're going to find us," she whispered. "Not if we move now." "Where?" I studied the ground around us. Between two giant stones, there was a narrow passage barely wide enough for a person to slip through. If we moved carefully, we might make it without being seen.
Stay close. Move slow. We began easing through the gap, one careful step at a time. For a few seconds, I thought we were going to make it. We came close.
Damn close. Then Seiya stepped on a loose stone. It rolled across the ground. The sound cracked through the rocks like a gunshot. There," one of the Voss five shouted.
"Run!" I yelled. We broke from cover and sprinted toward the horses as Boon Voss and his men came after us. We threw ourselves into the saddles and kicked the horses hard. The first gunshots exploded behind us. "Faster," I shouted.
We rode like the devil himself was on our heels. The desert blurred into dust, stone, and thorny brush. Boonvos and the Voss 5 stayed after us, firing their guns and shouting threats as they rode. Fortunately, our horses had more speed. After nearly an hour, we finally managed to lose them.
We pulled up behind a cluster of huge rocks. Both of us soaked in sweat and fighting for breath. "You all right?" I asked. "Yes," Seiya said, struggling to steady herself. But they found us.