The unusual bald Mayan bowed before the King, revealing two swirling tattoos on the back of his head that merged to form an image of a serpent’s face over his forehead. His necklace-a large jade pendant of the sun with rays of snakes-rested against his bare chest, partially covering a scar from an obvious battle wound. “My Lord, I understand the significance of Balam’s arrival here, and I request your permission to be his mentor.”
Yax leaned back, considering the request with a concerned look on his face. A hiss resonated through the courtyard as the nobles whispered the announcement amongst themselves.
“How is it that I understand you so well?” William asked the bald man in Yucatec-Maya.
His silver eyes rolled beneath his eyelids. “My words-in this plane-are in the voice of my people. You hear me through your ears and also through your mind,” he said, pointing his index fingers to his temples.
William believed him because when he spoke, he understood Mayan words that he had never heard before.
“William,” Betty whispered with a confused look. “When he talks, I’m seeing… pictures in my head!”
Most the guests in the chamber returned to eating and conversing with those beside them. The musicians chimed in as well, increasing the background noise around them.
The woman seated beside Yax leaned forward, looking upset. “With all due respect, Priest Quisac, after our father died, you were not here to help our cause-of my brother’s rightful accession to the throne. How can we trust you now?”
“Teshna!” Yax slammed his hand against the floor, silencing the room as quickly as a waiter dropping a stack of plates in a busy restaurant. He gave his sister a scolding stare for a moment, seeming angry that she had spoken in such a way. Yax turned to Priest Quisac with a hopeful look in his eyes. “Well, Serpent Priest? Do you still have it?”
“Yes, King Stone Frog,” Priest Quisac said. He turned to Teshna. “It is not as you presumed, my dear. Your father sent me away to protect it before his final battle with Calakmul.”
Amidst the crowd of nobles, a man stood abruptly. He was a muscular and handsome Mayan, somewhere in his forties, with a diamond-shaped tattoo on his forehead. “The bloodstone is with you?” he asked with urgency in his voice. “It must be turned over to me at once!”
“Patience, Honac-Fey!” Yax said to the noble. “It is true that you were our father’s Royal Protector. I understand that the bloodstone must be kept with the Royal Protector prior to the full accession of a new king.”
“What’s all the fuss about?” Betty asked William.
William shrugged, not certain either. “Something about a stone.”
The Serpent Priest retrieved a small jade container from a pouch on his side, and he removed a silver necklace with an oval red gem-about the size of a small potato-dangling at the end. He handed the necklace to the King.
Yax stood and retrieved the necklace, being careful not to touch the bulky gem. He displayed the bloodstone for all to see. It began to glow, casting a red haze over his face. “It is not proper for me to wear the bloodstone until I am of age. For now, it must be kept by the Royal Protector.”
“Agreed,” Honac-Fey said, coming closer.
Yax held his hand out, halting Honac-Fey. “Balam and Bati were sent by the gods for our protection. For if not, you and many in this room would be dead… or awaiting death. Therefore, I name the one who saved my life… Balam… as my Royal Protector,” the King said. Honac-Fey became livid; his face turned red, almost competing with the glow from the bloodstone. Yax held the necklace out to William.
William didn’t understand everything the boy had said, but he gathered that he wanted him to have the necklace as a gift for saving his life. So he nodded to accept it. A servant behind him removed his feathered headdress, while Yax placed the necklace over his head; it felt much lighter than William had expected. When Yax stepped back, a cheer erupted from the crowd, followed by everyone chanting, “Balam… Balam… Balam.”
Yax raised his hands to silence the room and looked back to William. “It is true that Priest Quisac has not been with us for much time, and so I need only ask Balam, to whom we all owe our lives… do you wish the assistance of the Serpent Priest?”
Understanding the general idea of what Yax had just asked, William answered without hesitation. “Yes,” he agreed.
“Then it is so!” Yax cheered, clasping his hands together. “Our kingdom is whole again! Let us celebrate our gifts, and play the games we once played.”
The room erupted in a festive mood of music, feasting, and lively conversation-all except the man with the diamond-shaped tattoo on his forehead. Honac-Fey glared at Priest Quisac like a hungry wolf that just had his meal snatched away. He stormed off, carrying his rage with him.
The Serpent Priest bowed to Yax. “I am weary from travel, my Lord. With your permission, I will withdraw.”
“Of course,” he said. He signaled the servants to his side and ordered them to assist the Serpent Priest.
Before leaving, Priest Quisac leaned close to William and whispered, “Balam, I will try to help you with your… circumstance. But you must promise me something first.”
William nodded.
“You must give your word to help my people, to whom my life has been dedicated. Do I have your pledge?”
William had no idea what kind of help he was referring to, but figured he had no other option. “Sure… yes,” he said with an enthusiastic nod.
Priest Quisac clasped William’s forearm in a binding gesture. He locked a curious stare deep into William’s eyes for a time, as if peering into his mind; he lurched back, as if startled by something he saw. He turned abruptly and exited.
Teshna watched Priest Quisac leave, and she stood. “I am going to the temple for prayer, brother,” she said.
“Fine,” Yax said, “but come to the ballcourt later, as planned.”
She nodded and passed by William on her way out, running her fingers along his back. William snapped his attention to Teshna, catching eye contact with her before she left the room. He realized that she was the Mayan hottie who had been at his bedside rubbing oil on his body the other night.
“So what the heck is going on?” Betty asked, interrupting William’s blank stare.
As if coming out of a day dream, he refocused back to Betty and explained things as best he could-how the Serpent Priest had promised to help them with their unusual problem.
“How does he even know what our problem is?” Betty asked, looking doubtful. “Anyhow, haven’t you already helped these people enough? What more could you possibly do?”
“What choice do we have?” William asked.
Betty’s annoyed look softened, until the heavy man seated beside her began touching her hair. She turned and glowered at him. William assumed he was a high ranking noble, to be seated so near to the King. The chubby Mayan had decorated his face with, among other things, a bone pierced clean through his nose. He continued to play with her hair, seeming to find its texture fascinating.
“Stop it!” Betty scolded, slapping his hand away. The chubby man put his hands to his heart, as though he had just found his true love.
William laughed as Betty fought off the affections of her new friend. In that moment, he decided to do as Yax had advised… to enjoy the day.
Teshna did not go to the temple to pray as she had told her brother, but instead followed Priest Quisac to his room. However, when she entered she did not see the Serpent Priest anywhere. Strange, she thought, for she saw him go in just moments before, and had only waited in the hallway just long enough for the servants to leave.
“Teshna,” a voice drew her attention from the ceiling above. “I must regain my strength. Please leave me to rest.”
She looked up, startled to see the Serpent Priest lying flat on his back, along one of the wood beams at the top of the vaulted ceiling. “Priest Quisac, how did you get up there?”
“Is that important, for I am here, am I not?” “Well, yes you are. Why aren’t you resting in your bed?” she asked.
“Is it not obvious, Teshna, for I am here.”
Teshna stomped her foot and moved to a table along the wall, taking a moment to light an incense burner. “You’re impossible, you know that? You never give me a straight answer.”
“Teshna, have I not known you since birth?” he asked, rolling onto his side along the narrow beam, and resting his head on his hand.
“Yes,” she said, worried that he might fall off any moment.
“Do you remember nothing of my abilities?”
“Oh,” she said, understanding, and spun around to find Priest Quisac in the corner of the room, hiding in the shadows. “Yes, I remember our games as a child. They are fond memories.”
“Why are you here?” he asked.
Teshna heard several nobles chatting down the hall, nearing Priest Quisac’s room. She moved to the side of the doorway where she could not be seen. She watched them pass, sighed, and spun back to the Serpent Priest. “I must know…. who is this young man? Is it true that he is the Balam… from the prophecies… sent by the gods? He is indeed powerful and…” She blushed. “Well, is it true?”
“We are all sent by the gods to serve a purpose in this life. Have I not told you this before?”
“More riddles!” she said, and turned away.
Priest Quisac moved to the side of the room, where a large Mayan calendar was hanging on the wall. He studied it for a moment. “Life is indeed a riddle. That is why we have our sacred calendar-to give us guidance for each day.”
“Priest Quisac!” she blurted, becoming impatient.
The Serpent Priest turned with a confident enthusiasm; a slight smile crossed his lips. “Yes, he is the Balam… sent by the gods… not only to help our people, but his kind as well. He does not yet understand all this.”
“His kind? Where is he from? How can such a man-so different-be in our land? He has hair over his face and body-and the color of his skin!”
Priest Quisac turned the wheel on the calendar, as the interlocking outer and inner wheels moved together. He set it to the correct date and studied the calendar, lost in thought. “I see… broken images in his mind, of places and things that I have never seen before,” he said in a misty voice, and spun around with an intense look. “Clearly he is not of our world.”
Teshna perked up with a coy smile, somehow delighted by his words. “When you learn more, will you share it with me?”
“Perhaps,” he said with a questioning glance.
“I can show you something of his, in exchange for your confidence,” she said in a tempting manner. “I took it before it was seen by the others.”
The Serpent Priest thought for moment. “I suggest you return it to Balam. When he desires, he will tell us about his life, and his… possessions.”
She stared at the Serpent Priest the way teenagers glare at their parents when they don’t like the answer they were just given. “Good day, Priest Quisac,” she said.
He nodded.
Teshna stormed from the Serpent Priest’s room, angry as she always felt after having been outwitted by the old man. But when she considered the idea of returning the item to Balam, a delicious smile spread across her face.
After the festivities in the courtyard concluded, Yax insisted on giving William and Betty a tour of the city. Children gathered along the way, following William as though he were Chuck E. Cheese parading through the restaurant at a kid’s birthday party. Young women also joined the procession to get a look at him. They giggled when he glanced their way. Some of the girls even carried children of their own. It bothered William to see infants with braces attached to their heads. He assumed it was why most the adults had angled foreheads.
The kids dispersed just before they reached the ceremonial center, leaving them alone with Yax and a contingent of the royal guard. Many nobles were there too, scattered throughout the plaza and temples; they bowed when they passed by them.
William recalled his last visit there with his grandfather, and he recited the same tour script to Betty that he had been told before. “The pyramid we’re heading toward is the Temple of the Owl. They found the corpse of a lady in a tomb there. A ceramic plate with a painting of an owl was beside her.” He glanced to his left. “That building is the North Palace.” He pointed to a long stairway leading up to a structure at the top. “I think that’s the Temple of the Captives.” He noticed artists sculpting images along the steps, and he turned to the King, speaking in Yucatec-Maya again. “Yax, what are they doing there?”
Yax glanced over with a stern look. “I was imprisoned there by my uncle, along with other nobles who had been supporting me. My uncle began that project to record the moment in our kingdom’s history of the important captives he had held.” He gave William a proud grin. “I now complete this task for a similar reason… so that we will never forget how the god’s sent you here to free us.”
They reached the Temple of the Owl, and Yax motioned for them to follow him up the steps. When they reached the top, rather than going inside the ceremonial chamber-as William had assumed they would-they followed him around the platform along the edge of the pyramid to the back side. He motioned with his hand across the view of the vast jungles, extending into the horizon miles away. William recalled having stood in about the same position just a week before with his grandfather, admiring the same view. But what a difference now, he noticed, with massive sections of the jungle cut down, where plantations were being worked by hundreds of men.
“I reckon’ those are corn fields,” Betty said with an intentional hick accent.
It occurred to William that Yax had shared the source of his true power with them-the farming efforts that he governed.
As they returned down the temple steps, Yax paused behind them, kneeled for a moment of prayer, and then sprinted down the rest of the way. William and Betty, on the other hand, continued down the steep stairway with a bit more caution.
After the tour, they went back to the King’s palace-a massive stone building on a raised platform, covered by a thatched roof. William didn’t recall seeing any ruins of the grand structure during his previous visit, but he remembered reading how most of the residential buildings outside the ceremonial center of Dzibanche had been disassembled over time; the limestone bricks were hauled off by those who could make use of the building materials for their own purposes.
As they approached the palace, Yax spoke to the servants who had been waiting for his return, giving them instructions. He told William and Betty to get some rest and went in through the arched entrance.
Servants ushered them into the palace, taking them down a hallway that opened into a large plaza; an enormous ceiba tree grew from the very center of the courtyard. A sense of awe overcame William as he gazed up at the tree towering above him. It reminded him of the giant redwoods in California. The unusual ceiba tree rose straight up, without any branches along the body of its trunk, and then stretched out like a huge leafy umbrella at the top. William felt mesmerized by the tree. He reached over and touched its bark, running his hands across the big thorns; they looked like oversized chocolate kisses. William smiled, as a peaceful feeling swept over his mood.
“You two need some time alone?” Betty asked with a smirk. Her eyes grew when she saw the red gem glowing on his chest. “William, what’s with your necklace?”
“Oh, wow!” he said, snapping his hand away from the tree. The glow faded as he returned to Betty’s side.
“Okay, that was weird,” Betty said, and then noticed the servants waving at her to follow. “I guess they’re taking us to our rooms now.”
“Don’t get too comfortable,” William said. “Yax mentioned something about a ball game later today. That should be cool to see.”
“Whatever,” she said, rolling her eyes up. “I’m down this way if you need me,” she pointed to the hallway on her right that led deep into the palace. “Your room is straight ahead… same as the King, you big-shot.”
William shrugged. “Try to rest, okay?”
Betty came near with a secretive look. “Actually, I could really use a swim,” she whispered. “I thought I’d sneak off to that cenote down the road… where I bandaged your feet, remember? You want to come?”
“Are you kidding? I don’t think that would be a good idea, Betty. We should stay here where it’s safe.”
Betty groaned. “I haven’t gone swimming for days. It helps me to relax.”
William grabbed her forearm. “It’s dangerous. Promise you won’t go.”
She sighed, nodded, and left with her head down, sulking like a kid who had just been ordered to bed. When William returned to his room, an elderly lady was there waiting for him. She showed him various articles of clothing that he could wear and pointed at the jug by his bed, gesturing that he could drink from it.
William told her that he understood, and the servant shuffled off, leaving him alone, at last. He sat on his bed and let out a heavy sigh, worrying about how to get home. Thoughts of his mother surfaced again, bringing on a wave of desperation. If only he could tell her that he was okay.
He took a drink from the jug, trying to clear his thoughts, focusing on the pleasant lime-flavored water in his mouth.
The sound of a spark-like a match being lit-made him jump. He snapped his head to the left and saw Teshna standing in the corner of the room. She had just ignited the end of a stick from one of the burning torches.
William’s jaw dropped upon noticing Teshna’s figure; she had a sash around her waist that accentuated her curves. Her headdress was missing, allowing her long black hair to flow across her shoulders and back.
“How long have you been there?” he asked in Yucatec-Maya.
Teshna smiled. “Not long,” she said. She moved to the figurine of a Maize god on the stone table in the corner of the room and held the burning stick behind it. The smell of incense filled the room. She raised the burning stick near her mouth and blew it out with a single breath.
Teshna retrieved a small wooden box near the incense burner and brought it to William. She sat beside him as she handed him the box, studying his expression as he opened it.
“Oh, it’s my watch,” he said, but paid no attention to it. He preferred to undress the Princess with his eyes.
Teshna frowned, appearing frustrated that he wasn’t more interested in his watch. She reached into the box, pulled out the watch, and pushed it into his hands.
William latched the watch onto his left wrist, while gazing into her intense brown eyes. She was exotic and beautiful. He felt the urge to kiss her and began to lean her way.
Teshna stood and said, “Uts k’in, Balam.” She made her way to the door.
“Uts k’in, Teshna.”
She turned with a smile and winked as she left the room.
William collapsed on his bed, wondering what that was all about. He felt a little guilty for wanting to make a move on her when he still had a girlfriend. However, it occurred to him that from his current position Jennifer had not even been born yet. So technically, William decided with a grin, he was a free agent in that time period.
While lying there, he detected heat coming from the red gem resting on his chest. He snatched it up, studying it more carefully. The red stone was attached to the necklace by a jade setting that looked like an eagle’s claw grasping it. While gazing into its reddish glow, the morning’s events flashed through William’s head like a slide show. He heard Mayan dialogue churning over in his mind, and he repeated the new words he had learned that day until he drifted off to sleep.