"Tell me you can speak to them," she ordered in a voice higher than usual.

He shook his head. "Not fluently, I might be able to roughly get our point across, provided they let us speak. Aztec warriors weren't too keen on strangers, you know."

The warriors approached, staring at the pair in curiosity. A long moment passed, sweat dripped down Karl's back. To his amazement, the warriors stopped and gazed at them, making no threatening moves. One warrior stepped forward.

"Who are you?" he asked gruffly.

Pamela turned to Karl in shock. "He spoke English!"

"What is eenglish?" the warrior asked in confusion.

Karl shot a warning glare at Pamela and then nodded in respect at the warrior. If she could keep her mouth shut, they just might make it out of this.

"I am Karl Braden, this is Pamela Jones. Somehow we ended up in your lands because of this," he said, holding out the amulet.

The warriors bowed before it, looks of wonderment on their faces. They seemed to be familiar with the artifact. Karl hoped like hell they wouldn't think he'd stolen it from one of their temples. The Aztecs had been known to put thieves to death.

Head bowed low, the warrior explained, "We know this, it is a likeness of Tezcatlipoca. It contains very strong magics. If it brought you to our lands, then this is where you need to be. We will take you to meet with Tezcatlipoca's priests. You will be our guests, as such; no harm will come to you while you are in our lands."

Karl smiled. "Well then, lead the way, we look forward to meeting with your priests," he said, deciding diplomacy was the way to go.

Pamela leaned in closer. "Do you mind telling me how the hell they are speaking English, a language they can't possibly know?" she asked in irritation.

"They aren't speaking English, Pamela. They are speaking Aztec; the same magics that brought us here are somehow enabling us to understand each other. Who knows what else is going to happen to us before all is said and done." Karl answered softly.

She glared at him before responding, "Well, don't think this means I have completely forgiven you. As soon as we get back to our own time, I plan to hand your sorry ass over to the police. I will offer a truce at the moment though, since we are going to have to work together."

"Agreed. We'll work together now and deal with everything else if and when we get back home. Which at this point, I have no clue how the hell we're getting back to our own time," he drawled sarcastically.

Deep inside he was wounded by her words. In spite of everything, Karl wanted to get to know her better. She wasn't just beautiful, she was smart and brave too. The kind of woman he could see himself settling down with. Too bad, she hated his guts. Of course, if they did end up stuck in this time for the rest of their lives; surely, she'd have to eventually forgive him.

He turned his thoughts from Pamela and began to take in his surroundings. The place was beautiful, he'd give it that. Flora that you couldn't find in the modern world flourished, giving off colors and scents. There was serenity to the land, a sense of newness.

They were moving through a marshy area toward a temple rising high in the distance. Its surface winked in the sunlight. Tension rolled off his shoulders, lightening his step. At last, he would be able to know Aztec culture, not just guess at what it must have been, from leftover, forgotten relics.