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Joe gently placed her on the bed With her face against the cool cotton sheets, Julia felt the world stop spinning and sleep overtake her

Two hours and several cups of coca leaf tea later, Julia felt ht, exactly, just less likely to vomit on the people around her She still felt weak and exhausted, but she didn’t feel dizzy She wasn’t sure if that was due to the tea, which tasted better than she thought it would—and according to Google, wasn’t at all addictive—or the medication Joe shovelled into her Either way, she was ready to go find Juan Pablo de Santos and, hopefully, the mummy

The taxi dropped the areas, Plaza San Francisco, a concrete intersection with a grassy area above a busy underpass The area was nothing special—lots of traffic and people waiting to catch buses, generic office buildings and large billboards In the distance, behind the s, were the suburbs that went up into the hills They looked like sheer walls made up of houses built on top of one another And above it all were the snowy peaks of the e, so close you could almost touch them

And in the middle of this industrial area was San Francisco Church

Thebell tower and ornately carved stonework, was complete

ly out of place

“Eighteenth century,” Joe told her leaning in “I kno ures”

Julia cringed at the renored hi around like the tourist she wished she was instead of a wo the church, selling flowers and candles for worshippers who sat on the steps leading up to the colossal wooden doors

“This isn’t how I iined South America would be,” Julia said to no one in particular

“South A just how closely he paid attention to her “It’s as modern as anywhere on the planet, but at the same time it’s steeped in the past like nowhere else” He pointed at a traditionally dressed Quechua woht at her waist, a multi-coloured woven shawl around her shoulders and a black bowler hat on top of her head Plaited black hair ran down her back, and her face eathered by the sun “See? You get the traditional with the new” He pointed at a woner heels and a phone at her ear

“It feelsenough to judge

“More concentrated, maybe”

They rounded the corner of the church into a narrow street with ss These ones looked more traditionally Spanish, their exteriors a co stucco and wood Julia tried to avoid the mass of people and tripped on the cobblestone road Before she’d ed to steady herself, Joe snatched her hand and held it tight

When she tried to pry it free, he gave her a look of repriets crowded” He looked back at Patricia and Ed “Keep a hold of her,” he ordered

“My pleasure,” Ed said before taking Patricia’s hand