“I have to go, Teshna,” William said, touching the stone. “Something is out there. The bloodstone wants me to find it.”
Yax’s eyes grew wide when he saw the intense look on William’s face. “If the bloodstone is speaking to you, there has to be a reason. The bloodstone is a channel to the gods, and we must follow their calling.”
“I’m also going,” Betty said in her limited native vocabulary. She turned to William, speaking in English again. “After stressing out all this time while waiting for this stupid battle, I want to know what the hell is happening here!”
Teshna moved close to William. “I will also go.”
“No, Teshna,” Yax said. “You need to stay… to lead the women.”
Teshna glared at her brother, but he held firm. She gave William a quick hug before storming off with a disgruntled face, muttering to herself as she returned to the eastern side of the clearing.
Yax sighed, looking discouraged. “How could the gods misdirect me? I was made to believe that a battle would start at this very moment. Have I angered the gods in some manner to be fooled?”
“No, King Stone Frog. It is my error,” the Serpent Priest said, looking ashamed, his head hanging down. “I also believed an attack would commence. I thought this day represented an end to a nation-either ours or theirs. It made sense. However, it seems that the stars have been speaking of an end to all our people in these lands… while also speaking of a new beginning.”
Yax stared blankly at Priest Quisac, looking unsure of what to think. “Go now! We have to know where King Aztuk and his army are,” he said, and went with Lamat back to the camp.
William hiked at a fast pace beside Betty, a few steps behind Priest Quisac, Etznab, and Salmac. A contingent of ten royal guards blanketed the team, keeping a careful watch for the enemy. They continued on for several hours in a westerly direction through the dense jungle trail until a massive field came into view. The smell of smoke lingered in the afternoon air.
As they crept ahead William was certain they would find the Calakmul army there, just beyond the trees, ready to charge at them. But when he looked down into the valley, his blue eyes grew wide with curiosity-a reflection of the mood shared by all those who gazed below.
“Where is everyone?” William asked as he stared into the deserted camp.
Chapter Sixteen
After surveying the area from a distance and discussing their options, they decided to investigate the empty camp. William found it odd to be walking right into the heart of the enemy base, while following the group down the hill. He worried that it might be a trap-that the Calakmul warriors could be hiding in the surrounding jungles, waiting to ambush them. Yet Priest Quisac had assured everyone that the vicinity was clear, and so William pushed his trepidation aside.
The once massive Calakmul army had occupied an area spanning the length of a couple football fields. Hundreds of recently erected huts were filled with the personal belongings of the temporary residents. A thick stench of burning food permeated the air, drawing William’s attention to the remnants of a large campfire, where blackened clay pots had cracked from cooking too long, spilling their contents; the food had burned to a crisp on the hot coals.
“I’ve seen some ghost towns in my day, but this one sure takes the cake,” Betty said to William, scratching her head.
“What do you make of this, Priest Quisac?” William asked.
The Serpent Priest scanned the area and picked up a spear from the ground. Weapons and armor were scattered everywhere, as if dropped right where their owners had once stood. “They would not leave their weapons behind if they intended to attack from another direction,” Priest Quisac said.
“It is the same as the farming village that disappeared after the lights,” Etznab said, studying the area with suspicious eyes.
“Take your men and search the perimeter,” Priest Quisac said. “Look for any signs of their departure.”
Etznab motioned to Salmac and the other guards, and they ventured further into the camp, scouting the edge of the clearing.
William followed Priest Quisac as he rummaged around the camp, observing how he searched for clues. The Serpent Priest deduced that a degree of panic had existed at the scene: he pointed out footprints that had stirred up the ground in an erratic manner. Yet nothing could explain how such a large army could vanish.
After investigating for nearly an hour, Priest Quisac plopped down beneath the shade of a tall zapote tree; he looked worn out, as though he had just survived the battle that everyone had been expecting to come. William sat beside him with a relaxed smile spreading across his face; it was a huge relief to discover that there wouldn’t be a battle. He began to fantasize about the idea of settling down with Teshna. “I know this isn’t what we planned, Priest Quisac, but if King Aztuk is no longer a threat, then maybe we can rebuild somewhere else. We can leave this dead land behind us.”
Betty came over, holding a big piece of overcooked meat that she found on the coals of a smoldering fire pit. She ripped off a chunk and tossed it to William.
Priest Quisac shook his head with unease. “Something larger is at hand. It approaches like a great wave.”
“What do you mean?” William asked.
The Serpent Priest stood with a bewildered look. “Do you hear that?”
“What?” William asked. He could only hear the crispy meat crunching in his mouth as he chewed.
“Do you not hear the humming noise-like a bee hive?”
William swallowed his bite and listened closer. “Oh yeah, I hear it. It’s getting louder.” He bolted up.
They looked in all directions, but couldn’t tell which way the noise was coming from. Suddenly, a flash of light drew their attention to the south. When they turned, William spotted the royal guards sprinting toward them, about a hundred yards away. A shadow enveloped the land around them as a dark cloud moved in. The humming intensified as the cloud drifted closer; it seemed to be following them. The dark cloud shimmered for a moment, and then blasted out bright orange bursts of light, vaporizing the guards on contact. Salmac ran as fast as he could, but the dark cloud moved faster. Another flash of orange light lit up the ground, and Salmac vanished.
“Holy smokes!” Betty screeched.
“It’s coming for us,” the Serpent Priest said. “Balam, the sun shield-focus the shield above us. Do it now!” He grabbed Betty’s wrist and pulled her closer to him.
As they huddled together, William tossed his helmet off and removed the bloodstone. He angled the broad side of the oval stone toward the sun. “K’in Chimal, Hanab Pakal,” William chanted. While rotating the bloodstone over his head, he redirected a focused wall of light above them, just as the dark shadow of the cloud enveloped them.
While a grating noise buzzed like a chainsaw, orange bursts of light bounced off the sun shield. Through the foggy filter of the sun shield, William could see a large object inside the cloud above them.
The bloodstone became heavier the longer he channeled the sun shield. He flexed his muscles to push through the pain, twirling his arm in counter-clockwise circles. His arm trembled; he couldn’t hold the sun shield much longer.
Abruptly, the buzzing and flashing ceased like a switch had been flipped. The cloud moved on; it passed over them and continued out of sight. William lowered his arm, deactivating the sun shield. He rubbed his sore muscles while contemplating the crazy event. “I’ve seen a lot of strange things since I’ve been here, Priest Quisac, but what the hell was that?”
The Serpent Priest returned a blank stare in response.
“How can you be so calm? That cloud just killed twelve people!”
“I did not sense their deaths. They were… taken.”