Fifteen months of research brought Professor Ferney to the Eastern Andes of Ecuador and a long descent into the Cueva de Los Tayos (Cave of the Oilbirds). Matt’s feet hit the bottom of the rope ladder and the light from his head torch lit the cavern immediately in front of him. It was eerily silent; the only noise was from the constant tap-tapping of water falling onto the rocky surface. It had been a surreal experience. All of his so-called helping hands had deserted him when he told them of the final destination. To them, the place was cursed.
Alone and somewhat unsure of himself in the darkened chamber, he took a few steps forward and around the bend of the cavern. In the distance was his prize, an elliptical egg measuring six feet long by three feet high. It was uninspiring. A dark grey and black mottled egg with a smooth surface.
But to Matt, it was awe-inspiring. A dream come true. The photograph was first, then he reached for the hammer in his rucksack with the intent of breaking it to retrieve the gem of the oilbird inside. A gem, that mythology informed its reader would provide unbridled sexual prowess. A gem that controls all of the holder’s sexual desires, wants and needs.
Matt sat on the floor and studied the egg, aware that something was affecting it, something he had brought with him or maybe just his presence. It started to glow in tune to a humming sound that for some reason pulsed through the cavern with unnerving periodicity.
Thinking on his feet, he switched his light off. Sitting in the extreme blackness, the throbbing sound faded, and the egg slowly diminished in brightness.
He had to activate it, he knew that; ever since he found those notes of his dead father. He switched the light back on and placed it on a nearby rock so that it shone directly at the egg.
The glowing started once more. The throbbing sound returned and slowly but surely the egg started pulsing. The relative silence was punctuated by a loud crack that was quickly followed by a second and a third. Matt stared in disbelief when the whole egg cracked open and in its wake sat a female human being clad only in a blue floral crown. Her features, grey and bland. Her hair was as white as the growling surf on the most arrogant of waves. Her head turned towards the light and Matt’s eyes rested on beauty personified. The inside of the egg shimmered with the colours of an oil film on water.
With every second, the light warmed her features. Her grey and boring skin tones started to turn lighter eventually turning a light pink. Her eyebrows darkened, and her eye sockets blushed and provided a hypnotic frame to her bright blue eyes. But her most prominent feature was her bright red lips which glistened like vibrant gloss paint. Life breathed through her.
Her eyes were fixed on Matt. The giver of her freedom. Her smile slowly but surely gave way to a vamp-like sneer. Matt sensed an immediate change in her persona. He started to rise, and scrambled backwards, the rope ladder hung only fifty metres to his right – but he couldn’t stand upright.