“Taken? What does that mean?”
“There is no time to discuss this now,” Priest Quisac said, with an intense look in his silver eyes. “The cloud is moving to Dzibanche.”
William threw his arms up. “Teshna… Yax… It’s going to take them!”
“But why?” Betty asked.
“That is what we must determine,” Priest Quisac said. “We need to return.”
Without further deliberation, they grabbed their packs and charged through the enemy camp, scurrying up the embankment and onto the trail that would lead them back to Dzibanche.
After marching for a few minutes down the path, seven Calakmul warriors jumped out of the brush ahead of them, armed with spears; they moved in, surrounding them.
“Oh, crap,” Betty muttered.
“Well, is this not a fortunate reunion,” a familiar voice spoke from behind them. Betty and William turned to see the man with the diamond tattoo on his forehead.
Priest Quisac stared at the traitor with a hateful glare. “Honac-Fey,” he muttered with contempt.
Honac-Fey chuckled. “This is simply too good. Not only have I captured the great Serpent Priest, but also Balam, Bati, and the bloodstone,” he said with exaggerated gestures. “This will bring me great respect in the new world order.”
“King Aztuk has been using you, Honac-Fey. When he has what he wants, he will discard you,” Priest Quisac said. “Perhaps he has already done so, for why is it that you are not with him now?”
“He… he sent me to scout for…” Honac-Fey appeared a little off balance as he thought about Priest Quisac’s comments. “King Aztuk has ascended to take his place with the gods. I was left behind to capture you. When we join them, my success here will secure a position of high status for me.”
“It is not too late to reverse what you have done,” Priest Quisac said.
Honac-Fey laughed. “You are in no position to demand anything of me. I will possess the bloodstone. When I do, King Aztuk will be begging for my services.”
“If it’s the bloodstone you want,” William said in a daring manner, “why don’t you come over here and try to take it from me.”
Honac-Fey moved in a few steps, glaring at William. “You don’t deserve the bloodstone. I killed its former master, the Great Jade Owl.” Honac-Fey became livid. “It took years of planning. The bloodstone is rightfully mine.” He glowered at Priest Quisac. “If our helpful Serpent Priest had not run off with the bloodstone just before…” He growled and shifted his attention back to William. A cocky smile spread across his face when he lifted an obsidian dagger from his side, waving it in little circles as he spoke, “I regret to inform you, Balam, that in order for me to possess the bloodstone… you must be dead. However, I can see that you are in no rush to die of old age. Allow me to help you with that minor detail, to free you of the bloodstone’s heavy burden.” With his dagger, he waved his men forward.
The Calakmul warriors closed in with their spears. Honac-Fey gritted his teeth as he approached. On his next step, a fluttering sound ended in a crunching thud, with an arrow pierced clean through Honac-Fey’s back; its bloody tip jutted out through his right shoulder blade. He shrieked from the pain, dropped his dagger, and spun around to see his attacker; a shocked expression spread across his face.
William could not believe it when he saw Teshna there, crouched beside a tree; she held a focused rage that he had never seen in her before. “Our father, the Great Jade Owl, sends his greetings, Honac-Fey!” she said. She launched a second arrow, impaling another warrior in the chest. Teshna readied and released again, catching a third warrior in his neck.
In the moment the arrows began to fly, Priest Quisac jerked a dagger from his belt and-with the reflexes of a cat-slit the throat of the nearest warrior. He sprang toward the next warrior, jamming his blade into the man’s back.
William ducked under the swing of a club, while simultaneously snatching a spear from the ground. Thrusting up, he gouged the weapon through his attacker’s chest. He tried to pull the spear free, but it was stuck in the man’s ribs. As Priest Quisac finished off a warrior near them, William glanced over to Teshna and spotted the last of the Calakmul warriors rushing at her, about to strike her down.
Teshna hurried to set another arrow, but her fingers slipped, and the arrow dropped to the ground. She held her bow out, preparing to block the warrior’s attack. Before William could even call out, Teshna’s attacker caught an arrow dead center in his forehead. He turned with an empty stare before falling by Teshna’s feet.
William glanced to his left and saw Betty with her bow held out. A startled look spread across her face; she seemed stunned by her accomplishment. “Great shot, Betty!” William said as he rushed over to Teshna.
Betty shook off the jitters of what she had just done and said, “I was actually aiming for his gut.”
William lifted Teshna from the ground with a big hug, relieved to have her safely in his arms.
Teshna pulled away from him, scanning the dead bodies. “Where is he?” she asked.
William spun around, searching for Honac-Fey with wild eyes. Somehow the man with the diamond tattoo had snuck off in the heat of the melee. “He’s not getting away this time!” he said. William grabbed his pack from the ground and yanked out the sacred weapon. He ran down the path, following Honac-Fey’s trail of blood. William stopped and scanned the area, but he could not see him anywhere.
A scream broke the silence as Honac-Fey came storming out of the jungle, swinging his arms wildly over his head. His white owl had drawn him out; it appeared to be attacking him. The owl fluttered above Honac-Fey, slashing its sharp claws at his face. When the owl spotted William, it flew off.
Honac-Fey broke free from the jungle and staggered back onto the trail. Wounded and half-blinded from the owl’s attack, he stumbled along the trail, about fifty yards away. William aimed the sacred weapon at Honac-Fey, just as Teshna and the others caught up.
“Balam, no!” Priest Quisac yelled from behind him.
Feeling the intensity of the bloodstone’s fury, its demand for revenge against the man who had cast the soil plague on it, William couldn’t resist pressing the button. A tremendous thunderclap rocked the ground as a bolt of lightning burst forth from the sacred weapon, chasing Honac-Fey down the trail, ripping through his body, and exploding him into a million little pieces-splattering fragments of his skin, bone, and blood across the jungle.
William felt a deep anger burning in his heart as the bloodstone glowed vibrantly on his chest. “That’s it!” he said. He gripped the bloodstone in his left hand, with a glazed look on his face. “King Aztuk started this, and he must also die. We will find him and kill him!” William glared at the sky. “We’re coming for you! Do you hear me, you bastard? We’re coming for you!”
The white owl caught William’s attention; it appeared above the trail, soaring right at him. He thought the crazy bird was going to attack him-like it had with Honac-Fey-and he reached for his dagger. But instead, the owl flew within a few feet and paused, hovering just before him. The bird locked eye contact with William, and for a moment he found that he was staring back at himself through the owl’s perspective. He could feel the strain of its flapping wings and noticed its rapid breathing. William had inadvertently activated the bloodstone’s possession skill. Strangely, he also perceived the owl’s thoughts; it felt rage for Honac-Fey, just as he did. Like William, the owl’s urge for vengeance was also coming from the bloodstone.
“Balam,” the Serpent Priest grabbed his arms, shaking him. He immediately lost his link with the white owl, and it flew off, soaring high above the trees. “Release your anger at once. The bloodstone is feeding on your negativity and intensifying it.”
Teshna held William’s hand, and her soft touch helped to subdue his rage. He released his grip on the bloodstone and its radiance diminished.