William cringed from the pain in his arm as Kinich Ahau yanked him up the steps of the temple, his sharp cat-like nails digging into his skin. At the top of the pyramid, he saw a massive orb of light glowing as bright as the sun. While shielding his eyes from its glare, he tried to pull away, but he could not break free from the Sun god’s vice-like grip.
He knew he had been drugged and was hallucinating, but the vision seemed so real. William considered the possibility that he had died and was now passing through the light. But if that were the case, he wondered why he would have such a horrible escort to the afterlife? He had never heard of any near-death stories like that before.
After a blinding flash, William found himself on a boat in the middle of the ocean. The sound of a sputtering compressor drew his attention to a tanned Mexican wearing shorts and flip-flops, refilling scuba tanks. Scanning his surroundings, he could see that he was standing on the upper deck of a commercial dive boat. Several fair-skinned Americans mingled near him, enjoying the orange and red colors in the sky where the sun neared the horizon. William approached a heavy dude with sunburned skin. “Where am I?” he asked, but the man didn’t answer. William assumed he didn’t hear him over the noise of the compressor. He tried to tap his shoulder, but his hand passed right through him, as if he was a ghost.
Scuba divers emerged from the ocean in small groups, waving to the vessel. One by one, the divers made their way up the boat’s ladder in their shorty wetsuits and began stowing their gear.
A scream for help caught everyone’s attention from the group of divers that had just surfaced. When the boat neared, it became obvious that one of the divers was unconscious. Another diver in the group hollered to the dive master, “He passed out underwater!”
When they pulled the unconscious man onto the boat and began giving him CPR, William nearly fell over the railing, staring down at the diver with big eyes. “It’s my dad!” He rushed down the steps to the platform where his father lied. The dive master tried to revive him; he pounded on his chest, counting the strokes as he went, and gave him mouth-to-mouth resuscitation in between. “This is the trip where my dad died. Why am I seeing this?” William asked. “This isn’t real!”
“Oh, but it is, Balam,” Kinich Ahau said, now sitting cross-legged atop the upper deck of the boat like a monstrous version of Buddha in a peaceful yoga pose, with his clawed hands resting on his furry knees. His eyes had a bright orange glow as he gazed down at him with a mischievous smile.
William lurched back, startled to see the frightening creature there. “You’re making this up just to mess with me! I wasn’t even on this dive trip. How can you know about something that didn’t happen in your time?”
Kinich Ahau had a long and raspy laugh. He raised his hand, freezing the scene before them with the suddenness of pressing the pause button on a DVR. “As the sun shines upon all who inhabit this world, I have the power to see through the souls connected to me through the Ritual of Ascension. Time is irrelevant to me.”
“Why are you doing this?”
“I am the Sun god! Through the power of the sun I illuminate the darkness. There is darkness within you, Balam. It eats at your soul, and it has changed your life’s course forever. It began at this place… and in this time.”
“What are you talking about? Who are you?”
The Sun god growled and spoke with a hint of frustration in his voice. “Your people see us as gods. By your standards, perhaps we are. We once traveled the universe, but are now bound to this world on a higher vibration. Beings such as myself have the ability to harness the elements of this world-to effect change on your physical plane by uniting with the energy of the souls that inhabit your world. Our kind may promote growth, or create chaos.” He pointed a sharp claw at William, and the scene continued before him, with the dive master thrusting his weight against his father’s chest.
“Please stop it,” William said, as he fought back the tears that began to surface.
“Passing through the Serpent Passage and binding the bloodstone to the soil plague created an imbalance. It has drawn the attention of the feathered serpents to our place in time. They seek to end our influence on this world… they will send the chupacabras for you and the bloodstone. You are to blame for this disruption,” he said. The color of Kinich Ahau’s eyes darkened from orange to red, and he glanced at the sun’s position near the horizon.
“How can it help for me to see this?” William asked, pointing at his dad.
“I will give you a chance-a gift-to redeem yourself, and to alter these events.”
“What? Anything!”
He leaned toward William. “Remove the bloodstone and place it near your father’s chest. It will draw out the destructive energy that now attacks his heart.”
William did just what the Sun god advised and held the bloodstone over his dad. A red mist rose from his father’s chest and was absorbed by the stone like a range hood collecting smoke off a frying pan. William held the bloodstone up to the Sun god; it buzzed like an electric razor in his hand and glowed in a pulsating manner-like a beating heart. Yet his dad still didn’t move. “It’s not helping!” William said.
“To save this one, you must transfer the damaging energy to another. Touch the stone to any other person on this boat. Do it now, before the sun sets.”
“What?” William asked with a worried laugh, hoping he had misunderstood. But the creepy smile on the Sun god’s face confirmed his fears. He couldn’t believe what he was being asked to do.
Teshna glared at the sky, watching with dread as the bottom edge of the sun made contact with the horizon. She studied Balam and Subiac, sprawled out on the hard stone floor, their arms and legs twitching like dogs running in their sleep. She tried to detect any change in their health, but couldn’t notice anything different. Teshna covered her face to conceal her sadness.
Lamat came near, placing his hand on Teshna’s shoulder. “Princess, I would stay and care for them until the very end. You should leave now. Go with Salmac and the others… while it is safe.”
When Teshna hesitated, Salmac threw his hand up. “Balam will be sacrificed either way-whether he awakes or not,” the Captain said, looking anxious to leave.
“Yes, I also heard King Snarl Tooth’s declaration,” she snapped. Teshna froze when the Jaguar Priest approached, making another ascension in his jaguar mask and robe, chanting and waving his incense burner on his way up the steps. The Jaguar Priest bowed to Teshna, entered the chamber at the top of the temple, and then returned back down the steps.
While watching the Jaguar Priest exit around the side of the pyramid, it occurred to her that his next ascension would be at sunset. She would have to ready herself for that painful moment when the light of the sun faded from Balam’s face. Teshna returned to Balam’s side and noticed a glow flickering from the bloodstone, renewing her determination. “As long as they live, there is still hope,” she said to the others. “We will wait until the sun sets.”
“You now hold a powerful weapon, Balam, that only you can wield,” the Sun god said. “The bloodstone may transfer death from one life to another. Use it now!”
“If I do this, my dad will live?” William asked, wanting to understand the implications.
“Yes,” Kinich Ahau said.
“The person I touch will actually die… right here?” he asked, a little confused. “It will be like my dad never died?”
“Yes, but you must do it before the darkness comes,” Kinich Ahau said, as the sun began to dip beneath the blue horizon of the ocean.
While holding the buzzing red stone in his hand, William found himself considering the idea, scanning the faces around him. In a simple touch he could erase all the pain that he and his family had suffered from the loss of his father. He could remove the guilt that he carried for not being there on that dive. Had he been there that day, his dad would not have gone so deep, and he would not have had a heart attack. Most agonizing to William was living with the knowledge that he could have been there, but he had turned down his dad’s invite to hang out with his stupid friends at the beach.
“Yet now you are here, Balam,” the Sun god said, as if hearing his thoughts. “The chance you seek is here before you.” To help William with his decision, the Sun god pointed out possible candidates to transfer ‘death’ to. “That man cheated others from their wealth. That woman hit her children in rage. That man is a murderer! He struck another while his mind was clouded, and he left his victim to die on the street.”
William moved toward the most obvious choice; an image of the man driving drunk and causing an accident flashed in front of him. He held out the bloodstone as he approached the stranger.
“No!” a voice called out from behind William. “Balam, do not do this!”
William spun around to see a familiar scar-faced man on the boat. “Subiac?” he asked, surprised to see him.
“How dare you come here and not heed my warning, old man,” Kinich Ahau said. “I shall deal with you when my business with Balam is complete.” He shifted his focus back to William. “The task… do it now!”
Subiac moved between William and the man he intended to touch with the stone. “Should you do this, Balam, it will alter events. Your life’s course will change.”
“But my dad will live!” William said, begging for Subiac to understand.
“You are being challenged to take the right action, Balam. You must ask yourself if you are putting your personal wants before the needs of others.”
“It must be done at once! The darkness is at hand,” the Sun god said, pointing to the setting sun.
William pushed Subiac aside and took another step toward the murderer.
Subiac grabbed his shoulder from behind. “Do this, and all those you have saved in our land will be lost. Teshna and Bati will have lost their lives too, because you would not have been there to save them. Surely your father would not want this, Balam. He would want you to let him go.”
William’s memory of the horrible nightmare of his dad’s head on a platter came flooding back, recalling his dad’s odd words in the dream, when his dad had said, “You must let me go.”
“If you do not do this, Balam, your father will die,” Kinich Ahau said, urging him on. “You will also die on my temple, for you will not find your way back.”
“You will find your way back, Balam… through me,” Subiac said. “Use the bloodstone on me instead.”
“That will not save his father!” Kinich Ahau said.
William felt so confused. As much as he wanted to save his dad and have his comfortable life back, he knew he couldn’t turn his back on those he had come to care for in the time of the ancient Maya. Also, his dad’s request in his dream-to let him go-had to be honored, he decided. He took one last look over at his dying father, and then regarded Subiac, shaking his head. “But it will kill you, Subiac. I can’t do that either,” he said, about to chuck the bloodstone off the side of the boat.
“You must! My sacrifice is the only solution,” Subiac said, grabbing William’s hand and pulling the bloodstone against his chest.
The Sun god let out a painful groan. “You fools!” His eyes turned black. The darkness expanded across his face, and his entire body faded out, along with the images around them.
Blackness enveloped them, and William could only feel the vibration from the bloodstone in his hand. “How do I get back?” William asked.
“The bloodstone will carry you through my heart,” he said, his last words fading to a faint whisper.
When the last rays of sunlight dropped below the western horizon, Subiac let out a painful moan and did not take another breath. His convulsions ceased, and his body relaxed with a peaceful expression spreading over his face. Teshna kneeled beside the old man for a moment, until she was certain that he was gone. She then focused her full attention on Balam, praying for him to come back. “Don’t leave me,” she murmured, jostling his shoulders.
Balam had the same reaction as Subiac, and his body went limp. Teshna buried her face into his chest, unable to hold back the flood of sorrow that poured out, and she wept there for a painfully long moment. Lamat came near and attempted to draw her away.
Sensing heat from the bloodstone, Teshna glanced down; it was sparkling. A burst of violet-red light flashed from the gem. Balam gasped for air, and his eyes snapped open. “Balam, you’re back!” she said, embracing him and planting kisses all over his face.
Balam responded with a dazed smile. He spotted Subiac and sighed; he didn’t appear overly surprised to find the old noble lying dead beside him. Teshna assumed he already knew what had killed Subiac.
Salmac came near with a mixture of relief and worry, his busy eyes darting between Balam and the stairway. “Teshna, we have another problem,” he said, pointing at the Jaguar Priest who was making his next ascension up the steps.
“Balam, you must pretend to be asleep,” she said. He complied, closing his eyes again.
When the Jaguar Priest arrived at the top of the pyramid, Teshna explained that Balam and Subiac did not return from their journey with the Sun god.
“Come with me,” the Jaguar Priest said to Teshna.
As they followed the ceremonial priest inside the chamber at the top of the temple, Teshna exchanged a worried look with Salmac and Lamat. The priest removed his jaguar mask, revealing a familiar face. “Ik-Tanil?” Teshna whispered with a surprised smile, almost not recognizing the priest without the usual streaks of black and white paint on his face.
“How did you get here?” Lamat asked.
“We followed close behind and out of detection,” Ik-Tanil spoke in a rush, stringing together more words in a single moment than Teshna had ever recalled him speaking before. “We blended in with the townspeople to observe. I was certain that Subiac would find a way to bring Balam back.”
“Yes, Balam has returned. How did you know?”
Ik-Tanil gave her a look as though it was obvious to him. “I sedated the Jaguar Priest in his chamber. He is unconscious for now, but we must move quickly. Bring Balam and Subiac inside.”
Teshna nodded to Salmac; he rushed out to get them. Ik-Tanil pulled off the dark huipil cloak that covered his body. “I have given this much thought,” Ik-Tanil said as the four servants carried in Balam-who was still pretending to be asleep-and set him down. “It is the only way for him to escape. To wear this ceremonial attire and descend the temple undetected. The guards will think he is the Jaguar Priest-they will not stop him.”
“It is brilliant, Ik-Tanil!” Lamat said, slapping the priest on the shoulder.
Balam sat up after hearing the conversation. “But how will you get back down the pyramid, Priest Ik-Tanil? They will know you weren’t with us before.”
“I will take your clothing and remain in your place. Here in the dark, they will not notice the difference until the Jaguar Priest makes his final ascent, when the moon is at its peak. By then you will be outside the city.”
“They will kill you,” Balam said.
“Perhaps. I will look for an opportunity to escape. But if not, it is of no consequence, for you are more important than I am, Balam.”
Teshna’s head dropped, feeling the pain of his decision, yet knowing that the priest was correct. “Yes, Balam, it must be this way.” Teshna ordered Lamat to go below with the guards and servants to delay the Kohunlich warriors from approaching, while she helped Balam with the wardrobe change.
Ik-Tanil showed Balam the proper method for waving the incense burner, and said, “Our guard Axel-who accompanied me here-is waiting for you around the side of the temple. He will lead you out of the city through another route.” Ik-Tanil regarded Teshna. “They will meet you at the clearing from another trail. Wait for them there.”
“Thank you, Priest Ik-Tanil. This action will never be forgotten,” Teshna said.
Ik-Tanil nodded and let loose a heavy sigh, appearing to resign himself to his fate in the chamber, lying beside Subiac’s body.
The sound of someone rushing up the steps caught their attention. Teshna gave Balam a quick hug and shoved the incense burner into his hands, sending him on his way with a nudge. “Go now,” she whispered, just as Captain Muluk arrived at the top of the stairway.
William held his breath when he passed by Muluk, waving the incense burner as he headed toward the steps. The warrior began to ask him something about the coming ceremony, and William had a momentary panic about what to say. But the sound of Teshna’s exaggerated crying near the chamber captured Muluk’s attention, and he moved on.
William felt a little awkward with the heavy mask on his head, staring out through the opened mouth of the jaguar like that. He still felt woozy, the after-effect of being drugged, and it demanded his complete attention to take each step down the stairway, while also waving the incense burner around in the half-assed manner that Ik-Tanil had shown him-like a fairy casting pixie dust, he thought. He worried that others watching from below would notice his odd performance, and he hoped that the advancing darkness shielded that view to some extent.
Upon reaching the last step and planting his feet upon the plaster floor at the base of the pyramid, William scanned the area ahead of him, trying to remember which side of the temple Ik-Tanil had said to go to. He noticed some guards looking his way, and William felt tempted to launch the mask off his head and take off in an all out sprint. Up ahead, he caught sight of Salmac and the others, and he detected a worried look on Lamat’s face, his teeth clenched as though he was about to witness a car crash. While pretending to stretch, Lamat subtly pointed to his left.
William understood Lamat’s gesture and followed the temple wall around the corner, where a man grabbed his arm and pulled him into a room at the base of the temple. He yanked off the stinky jaguar mask, and William recognized him. It was Axel, the guard who had stayed behind with the priest in Kinichna.
Axel shoved a pile of clothes into William’s hands and gestured for him to change. He rushed to the doorway to keep watch, fidgeting where he stood, looking anxious to get moving.
William felt something wiggling beneath his sandals, and he jumped back. He had been stepping on the fingers of an old man sleeping on the floor, beside ceramic vases filled with brown powder. A feathery dart protruded out the side of his neck, and William realized that it was the Jaguar Priest that Ik-Tanil said he had sedated from the dart of a blow gun.
While changing his clothes and situating the droopy feathered headdress that Axel had selected to shield his face, William became aware of odd things in the room; there were blades of varying sizes, stone axes, ceremonial masks, and strange costumes. Dead rodents, dogs, and bats hung from ropes tied to the ceiling rafters. It dawned on him that he was in the priest’s gruesome ready room.
“Hurry!” Axel said, urging him on.
Not requiring any further prodding to leave that horrible place, William bolted out the door, following Axel with his head down, rushing away from the pyramid.
Teshna felt a sense of desperation while being ushered out of Kohunlich, praying that Axel would succeed in his task of getting Balam outside the city without being discovered.
The Kohunlich warriors returned the weapons they had confiscated from the group the day before. “There is a good place to make camp up ahead,” Muluk said. “Follow the trail to the west, just over this hill.”
Teshna thanked Muluk for his assistance and agreed to his offer, while knowing they were planning to travel through the night-for fear of being recaptured once they realized that Balam had escaped. They hiked up the hill and picked up their pace toward the grassy clearing, where they planned to wait for Balam and Axel to arrive.
As William followed the guard, he noticed that Axel was also wearing different clothes to blend in with the local townsfolk. Although the darkness of night helped to conceal their identities even further, a half moon had made its way into the starry sky, reflecting off the plaster roads. Torches burned at various points along the way, providing even more illumination than they desired. They passed by residents of Kohunlich who were heading to the ceremonial center for the coming ritual, attracting strange looks from the townspeople who noticed their opposite bearing.
“This way,” Axel said, directing him away from the flow of the crowd, behind a market district around the outskirts of the plaza. Delicious aromas filled the air, and William’s stomach growled.
A cocoa bean trader was counting his inventory on a mat at the corner they rounded. “Greetings,” he said as they passed.
Startled by the sudden appearance of the old merchant at his feet, William couldn’t help but to look his way. The trader’s eyes bolted open and he lurched back, his mouth agape. When they ran off, William heard the cocoa beans spilling from the man’s sack and scattering on the floor as he called for the guards.
Knowing they had been spotted, they quickened their pace to an all out run, zigzagging through the residential areas until they made it to the outer reaches of the city. They skirted off the main road onto a dirt trail through the thick jungle, heading in a westerly direction. William began to feel lightheaded and called to Axel to wait. They stopped to rest for a moment; William was totally out of breath, gasping with his hands on his knees. Axel handed him his water jug, and William guzzled down most of its contents.
In the distance, seashell trumpets blasted; they exchanged a knowing look. William capped the jug, tossed it back to Axel, and they took off down the trail with haste, certain that they were now being pursued.
Teshna kept a steady eye on the moonlit horizon of the grassy field swaying before them, pacing along the border zone between their two kingdoms. She was nervous that so much time had passed since they arrived at the clearing.
A rustling noise became audible, followed by one of their guards returning from his lookout spot along the trail to the east.
“Why have you left your position?” Salmac asked.
“I heard voices echoing through the valley. Many voices!” the guard said.
A moment later, the other two guards came rushing in from their posts and reported a large number of Kohunlich warriors heading their way.
“Look,” Lamat whispered, pointing down the trail to the southeast where pin pricks of light danced like fireflies in the jungle, from the burning torches of the approaching men.
Teshna spotted William and Axel sprinting up the trail from the east. She hollered and waved her hands to get their attention. At the southeast end of the field, Kohunlich warriors emerged from the wall of the jungle and began launching arrows at the two runaways.
William heard Teshna call out to him, and he spotted her on the trail. Arrows fluttered by, and Axel took one right through the side of his head. He staggered several steps sideways and fell over. William glanced down at the poor guard as he rushed by. Axel was dead; he probably died before hitting the ground, William figured.
When William reached the path, Teshna jumped into his arms and held him tight. Lamat tugged at their shoulders, urging them on. They ran toward the edge of the jungle with native battle cries resonating behind them.
William shot a quick look down the trail and skidded to a stop, surprised to see Salmac and the other three guards charge off in the opposite direction to confront a number of Kohunlich warriors who had caught up with them. They engaged the warriors in a blur of activity. Salmac took down three enemy warriors; he sliced one man’s chest open with his sword, smashed another over the head, and stuck a dagger into the ribs of a third warrior. One of the royal guards fell, and Salmac rushed over, striking down the two warriors who had just killed him.
Another wave of Kohunlich warriors appeared at the top of the hill-at least thirty men flooding their way. William couldn’t believe it when he witnessed Salmac and the two guards refusing to back down, readying themselves to take on the onslaught of the advancing warriors. It was hopeless, William thought. Even if Salmac could stop half of the warriors before getting mowed over, the remainder would get by and catch up with them.
“Balam, come with me!” Teshna shouted, her hands flapping so hard that it seemed she might take off like a hummingbird.
However, William couldn’t move. He felt planted like he did during the Binding Ritual, when he became the ceiba tree. He couldn’t budge his legs; they were rooted in place from the anger that burned inside him. They had gone to Kohunlich in peace, with noble intentions, and it cost them the lives of good men; they had sacrificed themselves just to save him. He even had to witness his own father die!
The bloodstone burned on his chest, fueling his rage. His anger further energized the stone, creating a combined hostile energy that exploded like throwing gas on a fire. William burst out with a deafening roar from the path. “Enough!”
The grassy fields that separated Salmac and his men from the advancing Kohunlich warriors burst into flames; a plume of smoke rose high above the tree line-like a mini-mushroom cloud. William fell to his knees, drained from the intense climax of power that he had somehow channeled through the bloodstone.
Salmac and the other two guards raced toward him, away from the raging wall of fire. From his position, William saw the Kohunlich warriors retreating back the way they had come, with the exception of a few men who had been caught in the middle of the blaze; they ran around like human torches, screaming until they fell over in the flames.
“Oh my God!” William muttered, beginning to grasp the severity of what he had just done. Although he felt terrible for those he had just harmed in such a painful way, he knew that the fire had ended their assault, and it prevented more potential casualties.
Teshna helped William to his feet as Salmac and the other guards arrived. They supported him as they hurried up the trail, out of the clearing, and into the cover of the jungle. As they rested there for a moment, contemplating what they had just witnessed, William noticed that the brush fire had already begun to smolder out, due to the damp conditions from recent rains. The road could now be traveled by the Kohunlich warriors, but none approached. William assumed that he had given them enough of a fright to scare them off for good.
“I have never seen the bloodstone used like that, Balam,” Teshna said, breaking the silence at last.
William shrugged, returning a confused look to Teshna. He also didn’t know how he did it, or if he could even do it again if he tried.
Without further delay the group began the long journey back to Dzibanche.