A light rain began to fall as William hustled down the path for several minutes, trailing behind Salmac and the guard like he was trying to catch up at a track event. He saw them slow to a stop, with frozen stares to the side of the road. By the time he reached them, the drizzle had become a heavy rain, drenching them as they gawked at the ugly scene below. A dozen slaughtered corpses had been picked apart by vultures. The other guard waved his spear at the birds, trying to scare them off.
“What happened here,” William asked, taken aback.
Salmac shrugged. “What do you care?”
“What do you want from me, Salmac?” William asked.
“I want you out of my way!” the Captain said and shoved William hard in the chest, knocking him back.
William slipped from the plaster road and tumbled down the embankment, rolling to a stop near the half-eaten bodies; vultures swarmed over his head. William gathered himself, struggled up to his feet, and wiped the mud off his shoulders. He exchanged a look of disbelief with the other guard.
Salmac marched down the embankment after him. “Not so tough without the bloodstone, are you?”
On Salmac’s next step, William heard a snap and noticed something move in his periphery. He shot his attention to his left and saw a spike-filled log swinging on a rope toward Salmac. “Watch out!” William yelled.
Salmac only had time to glance in the direction of the trap before William lunged forward and tackled him to the ground. The log swung over them both; the spikes whisked past, just inches over them. They stayed low for the log’s backswing and then crawled fast to get out of its way.
William shook his head with the relief one feels after the near miss of a car crash. Salmac got up and studied the deadly snare swinging back and forth. He approached William, gazing down at him with the usual scowl across his tattoo-covered face. But then he smiled and held out his hand. “I misjudged you,” he said, lifting William up.
While clasping their hands in a firm grip, William saw Teshna arrive along the trail, out of breath. She stared off the road with a flabbergasted expression-seeming more surprised by the bond between Salmac and himself than all the dead corpses around them.
“Go on,” Salmac said, motioning for William to go to her.
He nodded and went back up to the road, while Salmac stayed with the other guard to stop the momentum of the log. Teshna gave William a curious look as he approached. “I’ll tell you later,” he said.
By the time the rest of the group arrived, Salmac had deduced that the dead people were part of the group that had accompanied the ambassadors from Kohunlich. He found a white feather and showed it to the others.
“It’s from Honac-Fey’s white owl,” elder Subiac said with certainty. “He was here.”
“The other ambassadors are not among the dead,” Lamat said. “They have been captured.”
As the group prepared to leave, Priest Ik-Tanil announced that he would remain behind to tend to the bodies, and to provide proper prayers. He planned to join them later at their evening camp. Before they continued, Salmac ordered one of the guards, Axel, to stay and help the priest.
They continued on for several hours in a heavy downpour. When the sun finally broke through the clouds, mist arose from the plaster floor, giving the area a surreal atmosphere.
Salmac stopped, his hand raised in a halting gesture. Out of the mist ahead, a group of thirteen warriors appeared; their bodies were painted with orange and black spots, like jaguars. They stopped in their tracks upon spotting them.
“Kohunlich warriors,” Subiac whispered.
“Lamat and I will approach,” Teshna said.
“I must accompany you,” Salmac said. “It is not safe.”
William leaned forward with concern. “I agree, Teshna.”
“We must demonstrate our peaceful intentions. Come, Lamat,” Teshna said, walking toward the Kohunlich warriors. She raised her arms over her head and held her index fingers and thumbs together, forming a triangle. William assumed it was a symbol of good will, for the warriors relaxed in their stance as she approached.
When they had covered half the distance to the warriors, she stopped and spoke with a strong voice. “I am Princess Teshna of Dzibanche, daughter of the Great Jade Owl, sister to King Stone Frog.” She lowered her hands and bowed. Lamat did the same.
Two Kohunlich warriors stepped forward from the group, their spears still in hand as they came near. The taller of the two men spoke with a deep voice that carried down the trail. “I am Muluk, leader of this dispatch-sent by King Snarl Tooth. We seek our ambassadors.”
William couldn’t hear what they were saying from that point on, but figured she was explaining the situation to them. She pointed to the servants holding the litter, and signaled them to come forward. Muluk ordered his men to approach as well.
As the servants set the litter down before Muluk, a semi-circle of Kohunlich warriors formed behind him. He bent over and pulled the red tapestry down. “It is indeed Ambassador Chen-Uk,” he said, and then gave William a double-take when he and the others moved in closer. All the Kohunlich warriors gawked at him. “I see the stories of the white warrior are true.”
Teshna motioned to William. “This is Balam… sent by the gods. He makes the journey to help in our task of requesting assistance from your kingdom.”
William took a step forward, the bloodstone glowing on his chest. “Greetings,” William said with a nod to Muluk. He scanned the faces of the Kohunlich warriors; they each took a step back when he looked their way, like they thought he was casting a spell on them.
After a short conversation, Muluk agreed to take Teshna and the others to Kohunlich. But due to the circumstances, he said they would have to surrender their weapons and travel as captives, until King Snarl Tooth could determine their fate.
Teshna believed it would benefit their cause to have a formal escort to Kohunlich. Being the highest ranking noble on the trip, her decision was final. “We will do as you say, captain Muluk.”
Just before departing, William overheard Muluk order three of his warriors back down the trail to confirm the details of the ambush near Kinichna. He wondered what would happen when they encountered Ik-Tanil and Axel by the dead bodies. Yet Teshna and the others kept quiet about it, and so he did the same, focusing his attention on the trail ahead.
When darkness settled, they made camp in a clearing. Soon, the delicious aroma of roasted venison wafted through the area as the Kohunlich warriors prepared a meal. William could tell that Lamat enjoyed their new company-or at least the food they had with them. The chubby noble devoured his chunk of meat and licked his fingers clean before settling back to sleep with a content look on his face.
Teshna reassured William that they weren’t in a typical captive situation. She explained how warriors captured in battle are stripped, bound, and taken for sacrifice. In contrast, they were being treated like political prisoners, as a formality to avoid potential conflicts on the journey to their homeland.
Later that night, William relaxed beside the fire enjoying how Teshna rested against him, using his side as a pillow, her eyelashes tickling his chest. He noticed her staring at Subiac with a troubled look. “What’s the matter?” he asked her.
She sat up and told him what Subiac had said atop the temple in Kinichna. “In a dream, the Sun god warned Subiac to stay away-said that if he were to look into his eyes, it would be his end.”
William shrugged. “Well, it was just a dream,” he said, trying to comfort her. But he recalled his own bizarre nightmare with his dad’s head on a platter, and he knew that the demon, Yum Cimil, had found a way to communicate with him through his sleep. However, he kept that memory to himself, not wanting to worry her.
The three warriors that had been sent back to investigate the crime scene in Kinichna returned. They approached Muluk; he was eating his meal by the campfire.