King Snarl Tooth leaned back, appearing to consider her story. He shifted his attention to William again, watching his movements as though he was a rare animal at a zoo. William began to feel dizzy.
“There is no evidence that our ambassadors were killed by Calakmul warriors,” the King said. “I also do not believe that Dzibanche is to blame. Our kingdom will remain neutral. We will not aid you against Calakmul, or turn against you either.”
The King stood, his arms raised. “It is my judgment,” he said, with his voice carrying into the hills, “that the citizens of Dzibanche are not responsible for the deaths of our people. They are free to return to their kingdom.”
The hiss of a thousand rattles sounded for a time and then faded out.
“Thank you, King Snarl Tooth,” Teshna said with a gracious bow, shielding her disappointment that he would not agree to help them against Calakmul.
The King looked angry all of the sudden. “However, our ambassadors were killed on your land. Therefore, an exchange must be made. Balam is not a citizen of Dzibanche. He will remain here with us… until his fate is determined.”
The crowd cheered, making a ruckus with their drums and rattles.
Salmac and his men jumped to their feet, but a number of Kohunlich warriors swept in with long spears corralling the Dzibanche warriors.
Teshna looked dumbfounded by the turn of events. “Please, King Snarl Tooth, I beg you…”
William lost focus on what was being said, and he started to hallucinate. The mask behind the King blinked and rolled its eyes, gazing down at him. In fact, all six masks seemed to come alive. They broke free; their long arms reached out of the stones, wriggling their way up from the pyramid that held them. A cascade of rocks tumbled down the steps. The six giant beings moved to the stairway and merged together, morphing one into the other. A furry creature took shape before his eyes. Its tall muscular body twisted and turned, and then it stretched out its long claws with sharp nails.
“This is messed up,” William said.
The hairy beast sprang from the second level of the pyramid, landing just before him. William looked to the others for help, but they weren’t there anymore-he could only see the pyramid and the horrible growling monster.
The strange creature was at least twice William’s size. It crawled closer, moving like a cat, and then stood on its hind legs, glaring at him with squarish eyes that appeared cross-eyed. Its wide nose and protruding jaw with sharp incisors made its face seem like a cross between a jaguar and a man.
“Balam,” the creature said, “I have been expecting you.”
“Who are you?”
“I am the Sun god, Kinich Ahau,” he said, as his name echoed throughout the valley. “Come. There are important decisions to be made before the day’s end.” The Sun god grabbed William’s arm and dragged him up the steps.
Teshna held William as his body convulsed. Subiac snatched the cup he had been drinking from, sniffed at it and grimaced. He gave Teshna a knowing look.
“What have you done?” Teshna asked the King, struggling to hold back her tears.
“Dreadful events have occurred since Balam’s arrival in these lands. As he was sent by the gods, he must now be judged by the Sun god, Kinich Ahau, in our Ritual of Ascension.”
Teshna wiped the tears from her eyes, watching William slip into a comatose state. “How could you do this?” Teshna asked the King.
King Snarl Tooth spit his gum out and stared into the sky. The sun sat halfway between midday and dusk. “If Balam does not find his way back before the sun leaves his face, then he will remain with the gods-a worthy sacrifice to restore order.”
“What if he does find his way back?” Teshna asked.
“Then he will remain here with us, as our captive for future trade… or sacrifice, if the Sun god demands it.”
“How could he find his way back?” Subiac asked. “This is not his land, and the ways of the Sun god are unknown to him.”
The King let loose another hiss of a laugh. “He will not return.”
“We’ll see about that,” Subiac said, and then he guzzled the remainder of Balam’s tainted drink.
“Subiac, no!” Teshna said. She shifted Balam into Lamat’s arms and moved beside the old warrior, as he fell to his knees. “How can it help to lose you as well?”
“Come close,” he whispered. Teshna put her ear to his lips. “I will find Balam… I will help him get back.” He passed out, and his body began convulsing.
After Teshna set Subiac down, she bolted up and glared at King Snarl Tooth.
“Careful, Teshna,” Salmac said, gesturing to the heightened readiness of the Kohunlich warriors all around them.
Teshna let out a heavy sigh. “May we at least carry them up the temple so that their souls enter the heavens with dignity?” she asked, while secretly considering that the sun would remain on their faces longer there, at the highest point in Kohunlich. It would give Subiac more time to complete his quest.
The King nodded. “Allow them to ascend,” he said, and departed with several guards.
Teshna and Lamat led the way, with Salmac and his three guards carrying Balam behind them. The four servants lifted Subiac and followed the group up the steps of the pyramid. When they reached the top, they situated Balam and Subiac in alignment with the sun.
Captain Muluk met them a moment later. “The crowd disperses now,” he said, motioning across the valley. He stared at Balam and Subiac with a sense of pity. “You can be assured that your friends are lost from this world. If you wish to remain, I suggest you leave by sunset. You will not want to be here when their heads are removed at the conclusion of this ritual, when the full darkness of night is upon us.”
The priest in the jaguar mask made another trip up the steps, distracting them with his chanting. “Only the Jaguar Priest will be allowed to approach, to continue with his ceremonial tasks,” Muluk said. “Otherwise, you will be left alone here until you go.”
Teshna was so angry that she felt like pushing Muluk down the steps to demonstrate her opinion of their ceremony. But she remained under control and simply nodded in response.
After Muluk left, Lamat turned to Teshna and asked, “What must we do?”
Teshna sat beside Balam, cradling his head against her. “We wait,” she said, and focused on the sun’s descent, trying to will it to move slower.
Chapter Thirteen
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.