A long moment of silence followed beneath the great ceiba tree, with all those gathered reflecting on the difficult challenges ahead. Servants carried the body out while others wiped up the blood. They couldn’t get all the stain up, leaving a mark of the incident on the plaster floor.
After a lengthy discussion, Yax and Priest Quisac agreed that it would be beneficial for William to go on the trip, hoping that his presence might also help to persuade King Snarl Tooth.
At sunrise, they began their mission to return the dead ambassador, heading south toward Kohunlich. William would have felt more comfortable with additional guards on the trip, but Teshna explained that a larger group could be misinterpreted. Given the delicate nature of their assignment, they had to be careful to not appear as a hostile force. He had hoped that Priest Quisac would join them; he had become accustomed to his guidance. But the Serpent Priest remained in Dzibanche to assist Yax and the others with the battle plans. Betty also stayed behind; she had to help the weapon-making teams, and she also wanted to learn to use the bow. “I’m not going anywhere until I can protect myself,” she said, before they left.
In the end, it was a rather small team. Salmac and a couple guards were at the front, followed by Teshna and himself. Subiac and Lamat walked a few paces behind them. Further back, Priest Ik-Tanil escorted the four servants who carried the ambassador’s body on a litter covered with a red embroidered tapestry. Two more guards trailed at the very back.
William noticed Captain Salmac glancing back; his blue macaw-feathered crocodile jaw headdress cast a shadow over his face, making it hard to see who he was looking at. Salmac turned away the moment William caught his stare. He wondered what Salmac’s problem was… why did the Captain always seem angry with him?
Around noon, the team veered off the main road and took another path that led to Kinichna-the town that had sent players for the recent ball game. William later learned that Betty had found the real Kinichna ball players in a ditch-murdered on the day of the game. The imposters had taken their uniforms. Had she not snuck off for a swim that day, she would not have found the bodies, or stopped William from drinking the poison at the game.
While scanning the empty huts and buildings along the way to the ceremonial center, he wondered why the town was so deserted. Teshna explained how the entire population had migrated to Dzibanche for protection.
They stopped to rest at the base of a tall orange-painted pyramid. William sat beside Teshna, and they munched on some dried fruit, becoming lost in each other’s eyes for a time. William noticed Salmac staring at them again. He hated how awkward he felt around Teshna when the Captain was near. Yet William knew he would need the warrior’s support in the days ahead. He decided he would talk to Salmac, to figure out what was bothering him.
Priest Ik-Tanil approached, leaving the company of the servants; they remained with the dead ambassador beneath the shade of a zapote tree. With his black and white painted body, the priest looked more like a zebra wearing a funny hat, William thought.
“The gift that I mentioned for King Snarl Tooth,” Teshna said to the priest, pointing to the side of the pyramid. “It is in the chamber. Please retrieve it.”
Ik-Tanil nodded and went to look for it.
Teshna spotted Subiac climbing the long stairway up the pyramid, using his spear as a walking stick. She called out to him, but he didn’t hear her. She huffed and turned to William, looking annoyed. “I’ll be right back.”
“Sure, okay,” William said, watching Teshna run after Subiac. When he turned back, he saw Salmac leaning against a tree and sipping from his water jug. William figured it was a good time to speak with the Captain.
“Elder Subiac,” Teshna hollered, getting his attention on the platform along the second level. “Do I have to command you to rest?”
“Greetings, Princess,” he said. “I believe a storm is approaching.” He pointed his spear at the grey clouds rolling in.
“Yes, it would appear so. Elder Subiac, you should be resting below. Our time here will not be long. It is important that you make it to Kohunlich. King Snarl Tooth will be pleased to see you.”
“Yes, I will see my old friend from the kingdom of the Sun god once more,” Subiac said with a serious gaze into the sky. He sighed and regarded Teshna with a melancholy face. “Allow an old man one last view from this magnificent pyramid.” He continued up the steps to the last platform at the top.
Teshna followed after him, worried that he might fall. “We can come here again… on the way back,” she said, as they reached the top platform.
Subiac sat on a short stone bench at the top of the temple. He gazed across the horizon, breathing with a raspy breath. “I regret that I will not be making the trip back,” he said matter-of-factly.
“What do you mean? Of course you will. We will return in a few days.”
“My time in this world is nearly complete.”
“If you are not well to travel, then you should have remained behind,” she said, scolding him.
Subiac shook his head and smiled. “My health is not the issue,” he said. He leaned closer, his war-torn face further exaggerating his intensity. “Last night I had a vivid dream… the masks of Kohunlich awoke and became the Sun god, Kinich Ahau. He warned me to stay away-threatened that if I were to look into his stony eyes once more, it would be my end.”
Teshna threw her hands up. “Yet you still came?”
Subiac laughed. “I have faced many challenges in my life. This will merely be my last.”
Teshna sighed. Without the Serpent Priest available to analyze his dream, she didn’t know what to think. “Your dream could mean many things, Subiac. I wouldn’t worry.”
Subiac stood abruptly, staring to the south. “Vultures!” he said, and shot a knowing look back to Teshna. “They have found a large feast… many bodies… not far from here.”
William took a deep breath, slung his pack over his shoulder, and made his way over to Salmac. “Is there something you want to say to me, Captain Salmac?”
Salmac glared back at him. The other guards took notice of the brooding looks between them, and they moved in closer for a better view. Salmac capped his jug and tossed it to the ground. “I have nothing to say to you.”
“We need to get along, Salmac, so we can work together.”
“You know what I think?” Salmac said, staring at William with contempt. “You’ve got everyone fooled… especially the Princess. You look different, and you sound different… but you’re no better than any of us!”
“I never said I was,” William said, getting angry. The bloodstone started glowing on his chest.
Salmac pointed at the stone. “If it wasn’t for that bloodstone around your neck you would be as helpless as that dead ambassador over there.”
William couldn’t believe what a jerk Salmac was. “Hey, I don’t need this bloodstone to prove myself.”
He heard Teshna hollering something from the pyramid and they both shot their attention her way.
“Vultures!” Teshna called out, descending the steps with the urgency of a park ranger reporting a forest fire. “Not far from here… just off the trail to the south. Salmac, scout ahead, and we’ll meet you there.”
Captain Salmac nodded to Teshna and then leaned over to William with a smug grin. “I don’t need a bloodstone either,” he said. “I prove myself every day without one. Can you?” He rushed down the trail, taking one of his men with him.
“What was that all about?” Teshna asked, noticing William’s annoyed face.
William threw his headdress to the ground, pulled off the bloodstone necklace, and stuffed it into his pack. “I’m going too,” he said, and handed his pack to Teshna. He took off in a sprint after Salmac.
Teshna called out to him as he ran down the trail, “Balam, what’s wrong?”