Cortés sat high on his throne like a king. Next to him sat Marinche. Two guards march Mendoza into the great hall.

"I hope you've had a pleasant stay so far."

"Yes Sir, the dungeon was most comfortable, and the other prisoners were so hospitable!"

"Insolent fool!" Marinche hisses.

Cortés just laughs, "Calm now Marinche, Mendoza is our friend, now lets treat him as such." Marinche and Mendoza both look confused, Mendoza saw the sly gleam in Cortés' eye, which he didn't much trust.

"I'm honoured for you to consider me so, Excellency."

"Well, since we're all friends, maybe you can confirm to whom your loyalties lie."

"To yourself and the Spanish Government always."

"Is that so?"

"Why yes, Excellency, I led Pizarro's men to the City of Gold. It was a great shock to me, when they ran off with all the gold."

"Who were these men?"

"Why Commander Gomez, and Gaspard, Captain of the Guard, I must say it was a great shock that men of such integrity."

"So Mendoza," Cortés interrupts, "the children?"

"Why yes, Excellency. Of course, after the betrayal of Gomez and Gaspard, I felt it right to return the children to the Spanish Government."

"You have the trust of the children?"

"Of course, the naïve fools actually believe I want to help them." He laughs wickedly.

"Good. Then you have until sunset tomorrow to bring me the children."

"The children? But surely they couldn't have escaped?"

"Unfortunately I'm surrounded by idiots."

Mendoza laughs, "Well I hope that doesn't include myself, oh and Marinche of course."

Marinche scowls, "You cannot seriously be considering letting this man free!"

"Hush now Marinche, he's a good man."

"You cross us Mendoza, and you'll be sorry."

"I'm Spanish," Mendoza replies, keeping his cool, "I know where my priorities lie." He gives Marinche a sly smile, then turns to Cortés, "Of course I'll be needing Sancho and Pedro." Cortés gives Mendoza a suspicious look. "If the children get wind of my plan, how can I control them all at once on my own?"

"Very well Mendoza." He nods to one of the guards, who immediately leaves.

"Oh and my sword of course." Cortés reaches down beside him and throws Mendoza his sword. Through the door march two guards with Sancho and Perdro. They throw the two sailors to the floor, who jump up and run to Mendoza's side.

"You have all you need, two days and two days only. If you're not back by sunset tomorrow, every one of my guards will hunt you down and kill you. Understood?"

"I'll never let it come to that, Excellency." Mendoza smiles slyly turns and walks towards the door. Sancho and Pedro look at each other, look at Cortés, turn and hurry after Mendoza.

"I can't believe you let him go!" Hissed Marinche.

"Patience Marinche. Those children know how to find the Cities of Gold, they trust Mendoza. He will betray us, but he will lead us to the Gold!"

Mendoza steps out of the palace into the dim glow of sunrise, closely followed by Sancho and Pedro.

"What's going on Mendoza?" Pedro asks running to his side.

"We've got to find the children."

"M-m-m-m-mendoza! W-w-w-where?"

"To the Temple of the Sun, Sancho my friend, to the Temple of the Sun."

* * *

Esteban steps hesitantly into the tomb, Zia and Tao following close behind him. Nothing happens.

"Ha!" Tao exclaims, pushing past Esteban, "So much for the wrath of your god!" He walks up to the far wall and holds the torch up to the inscription. Esteban and Zia follow close up behind him. "There are some hieroglyphs, I think some of them are Hevan, but I'm not."

He is interrupted by Zema, "Someone's coming!" She calls softly, "It's a Spaniard!" Zema and Jubal-Cec rush away down the corridor; the children, unable to follow, hide behind the sarcophagus and extinguish their torches. They see a faint glow from down the corridor as the footsteps grow louder.

"I promise you, there is nothing of interest down here!" They hear a voice say desperately.

"I'll be the judge of that!" The Spaniard barks out.

"I know that voice!" Whispers Esteban, "It's Mendoza!"

"What's in here?" Mendoza asks gruffly, his face illuminated in the doorway by the torch.

"You can't go in there! It's forbidden!"

Mendoza holds the torch up and peers into the room. The inscription is illuminated, the gold glittering in the torchlight. Mendoza gasps in astonishment as he recognises the inscriptions.

"Sancho, Pedro, take the priest back up to the temple."

"What no. it's forbidden!"

As the cries of the priest fade, Mendoza steps gingerly into the room. "To think, Cortés believed those stories." Mendoza says to himself, "What he would have done for all this gold." From the corner of his eye, Mendoza sees something move behind the sarcophagus. He smiles cunningly.

"I have to find the children, if Cortés were ever to find this place, the City of Gold would be doomed."

"See, we CAN trust him!" Esteban whisperes.

"Who's there?!" Mendoza shouts, almost unconvincingly. He walked round the sarcophagus. "Esteban! Zia! Tao!" The reunion is interrupted when Sancho and Pedro crash through the door."

"M-M-Mendoza, w-w-w-where are you?" Sancho and Pedro stood up and rushed towards Mendoza. "I-It-I-It's Esteban! Ca-ca-can we g-go back to Cortés now?"

"What???" Zia exclaims, backing off towards the door.

"Wait!" Mendoza shouts, "I can explain!" Zia stops. "I was allowed free, only if I promised to return you to Cortés. I have only two days, by sunset tomorrow, we have to be gone!"

"We can't!" Tao argues, "The hieroglyphs said, we have to be here for the Solstice! It's only the next day."

"Next day maybe, but I don't really want to take my chances with all of Cortés' guards after me!"

"But. if the secret of the city of gold."

"Why yes!" Mendoza interrupts, "The city of gold, it may be worth sticking around after all!" He turns to the inscriptions.

"What do you make of these?"

"It is the image of Viracocha." Zia replies.

"Are you sure?" Mendoza asks, sounding confused, "Wasn't Viracocha an Incan god?"

"Yes he IS! But somehow, his image has come here."

"Extraordinary!" Mendoza looks into the eyes on the design and gasps. "The symbol of the sun!" He stares in astonishment. "Just like your medallions!" Mendoza grabs the medallion around Esteban's neck and yanks it towards himself. Esteban lets out a yelp of surprise. "It's true - identical!" He releases the medallion and Esteban steps back rubbing his neck. "Esteban, Zia, if I'm not very much mistaken. place your medallions in the eyes of Viracocha!"

Esteban and Zia look at each other and nod. Mendoza stands back, and in silence the two children approach the inscription. Simultaneously they remove the "sun" from their medallions. Stepping up to the eyes, they give each other a reassuring look. Then together they place them into the eye sockets.

There is a faint hum, the children stand back as the eyes of the design begin to glow. Then, just as the mountain of Pacha Mamma and the Mayan City of Gold itself, the wall parts in a blinding ray of light. As their eyes adjust, the party stare in disbelief at the giant room revealed.

Decorated in an array of Hevan, Incan and Mayan design, the room would have been completely bare but for two things. The first, which was only noticed as the party entered the room, were two huge indentations in the ground. They could have only been a few inches deep, but were at least thirty-five feet in length and ten feet wide. The second everyone recognised instantly. Only Tao could find a voice.

"They look almost exactly like the controls from the Condor!"

"My great golden bird!" Esteban was in a daze.

"No wait!" Mendoza says, finding a voice, "There are differences."

Esteban sits down in front of the controls. "These button, they weren't on the Condor!" He notices symbols on the buttons. "What do these pictures mean?"

"I've seen that one before," Tao points to a button below the glass screen, "its Hevan, it means 'to see'!"

Without thinking Esteban presses the button. The onlookers gasp in astonishment as a picture appears on the 'view-screen'. They see the tree tops of an expansive forest.

"Remarkable!" Mendoza stares at the screen, "What do the other buttons do?"

"I'm not sure what the best translation is," Tao gestures towards another button, "I think it means 'to recover' or 'return'."

"Press it." Mendoza insists. Esteban looks at Tao questioningly.

"I don't know what its going to do, Esteban," Tao replies, "but there's nothing to indicate danger."

Esteban breathes deeply and presses the button. The group stare at the view-screen as the picture changes. A line of gold slowly appears at the bottom of the screen, and the trees begin to disappear downwards as the sky fills the picture. The picture levels out at some height. The landscape stretches out for miles and they see forests, swamps and mountains come speeding towards them, then departing behind them at a great speed.

* * *

Sometime later, Gomez and Gaspard approach the city.

"You're an idiot Gaspard! You were supposed to be watching them!"

"I fell asleep. It's an honest mistake Commander."

"You're just lucky I'm so sure they'll come here. If Cortés is anything like I remember him, he should have Mendoza locked up by now."

"Let's just hope he hasn't found out about the Cities of Gold!"

"Mendoza's cunning enough, he wouldn't let Cortés know, unless he had to."

"True, but. huh?" Gaspard looks up to see the giant golden belly of the Condor. "Did you see that Commander?"

"I did indeed Gaspard."

"But surely it should be miles south of here."

"Well they must have gone back for it, anyway that's not important. What is important is they're going to Tenochtitlan. They won't be able to hide something that large and we'll soon find them." Gomez and Gaspard approach the bridge. A guard stops them.

"Let us pass!" Gomez orders.

"No men may pass, Governor's orders."

"But we're Spaniards ourselves, I'm Commander Gomez and my esteemed friend is Gaspard, Captain of Pizarro's army."

"That's different then." The guard changes his tone, "By the Governor's order, you Gomez and Gaspard are under arrest!"

"What???" They reply simultaneously.

* * *

"Look how dark it's become!" Tao comments.

"Of course, our only source of light is from the east. As the sun moves round we get less and less light." Mendoza explains. "Sancho, Pedro, find some torches, it's going to get very dark pretty soon."

Meanwhile Esteban is still sitting staring at the view-screen. "Look! There! Isn't that...? Yes!"

"What is it Esteban?" Mendoza rushes over to the screen, as picture lowers and approaches a city. "Tenochtitlan! It's coming here!"

From high above them, they hear a rumbling. They stare at the ceiling as dust and fragments of stone fall to the floor. They shield their eyes from the glare of the midday sun as the ceiling begins to part. Then a shadow appears, blocking out the sun, the party return their gaze to see the giant golden belly of the Condor slowly descend. The feet extend and come to rest exactly in the specially designed sockets on the temple floor. The group stand in silent awe as the ceiling recedes and the room is once again plunged into darkness.

"My great golden bird!"

Much later Tao paces up and down reading his encyclopaedia.

"He-he-he's been pacing up and down for an hour now!"

"Yeah, he's giving me a headache." Pedro replies.

"Ah-ha!" Tao shouts suddenly.

"What? Have you found something, Tao?" Mendoza rushes towards Tao, closely followed by Esteban and Zia.

"I think I'm beginning to understand!" He points to the far wall, "That lens, the way its shaped, when the light from outside hits the outside of the lens, it is dispersed throughout the room. However when the light hits the exact centre the light will be magnified to a concentrated beam."

"Directed onto the Condor!" Mendoza finishes. "Now at each different time in the year the sun is at a different height as it travels round the sky. Therefore there will only be one time in a year where the light from the sun hits the lens straight in the centre."

"That day must be the solstice!" Esteban suggests.

"Yes, it is very possible." Tao confirms.

"That's settled!" Concludes Mendoza. "When the sun rises on the day of the Solstice, at all costs, we must be in the Condor."

"You're right!" Tao confirms. "Remember the markings on the sphere. The Path of the Temple will be opened by the messenger of Quetzcoatl. On the day of greatest Sun, Light's Child will lead the way into the dark where the Golden City lies hidden in the depths. Day of greatest sun is the Solstice, we said Light's Child must be Esteban, and I'm not certain but."

"What is it Tao?" Zia asks.

"The Condor must be the messenger! Like before, the ceiling will open and the Condor must take us towards the next City of Gold!"

"Can it really be true that." Mendoza stops. "Footsteps! Someone's coming! Quick, get your Medallions. we must close the door!" They all run towards the door.

Zia gasps, "Too late!"

In the dim torchlight, Mendoza makes out a face, "Cortés!"