“Why come back for these people,” William asked, feeling concerned about their motives.
Jensik and Seblinov exchanged subtle nods to each other; they seemed to be sharing a private conversation. They both looked back at the same moment, their heads spinning in unison. “We have devoted our lives to restore our world,” Jensik said, “to make it livable again. Yet we have evolved to a point that prevents our ability to adapt to the climate. We are unable to reproduce in the normal manner, and we survive through molecular extrapolation.”
“Does he mean cloning?” Betty whispered to William.
William shrugged and nodded. “I guess so.”
Another grey alien wandered over to Seblinov, appearing out of the fog with a blue disk held in his long fingers. Seblinov tapped at the disk, while they had a hidden conversation. The alien left, disappearing back into the mist.
The leader turned back to William. “The people of this land carry the seeds of our race. The chosen ones shall be taken from this land, and they will be… adapted… to the new world.”
“It is true, Balam,” Yax said. “Our people have been saved today. Had we fought Calakmul, perhaps we would have all perished. You saved our people, Balam. You saved us so that we could live to see this wonderful day-when our brothers from the stars returned.”
“That is what the legends say, Balam,” Teshna said, trying to reassure him.
“We have been studying the people in these lands for some time,” Seblinov said. “Over the years we have witnessed a great disintegration in their culture. The collection had to take place before the required bloodlines dissolved.”
“Yet it is also important for the future of this world that the people of this land endure,” Jensik said. “The bloodstone promotes growth, and it must be cleansed. We have agreed to assist you in this endeavor. King Aztuk shall be delivered to you on the evening of the lunar eclipse so that you may reverse the infection.”
“Seblinov, there are others below who you did not collect,” Priest Quisac said. “Hundreds of children and elderly, who could not take part in the battle, are still in the city center.”
“We will send you back to make arrangements for their collection,” Seblinov said.
William didn’t like the cold way the grey men discussed the Mayan people, like they were animals being rounded up for a new zoo. But all things considered, their arrival had occurred at a calculated moment in time to prevent a battle that would have cost the lives of a lot of people on both sides. He only hoped that their intensions were sincere, and that the people would be given the option to stay behind if they chose to.
Chapter Seventeen
Upon returning to Dzibanche, William helped Teshna and Priest Quisac to round up the remaining residents hiding in the city center. After gathering them in the courtyard of the King’s palace, they explained how their brothers from the stars had arrived to avert the battle, and that they would be taken to a new world where they could live in peace.
Many of the older Mayans refused to go. They had lived in that area all their lives and insisted that they stay behind. William didn’t blame them, for he also had reservations about the plan. However, the King had made up his mind about the relocation, and William agreed that it would be safer for them to go with the others than to stay behind.
He wished that Yax had been there. His presence would have helped to persuade the stubborn elderly Mayans. Yax had remained on the vessel to iron out some resettling details. Housing had been provided for everyone in the artificial environment on the craft-huts similar to what they were accustomed to on the surface. But their grey benefactors left it up to them to assign their own accommodations. Food also arrived at intervals from the triangular pillar that rose from the plaza center, and a distribution method had to be worked out.
Betty stayed on the craft too. She told Yax that she wanted to help with the transition. But in truth, William had asked her to keep an eye on things over the days leading up to the eclipse. There was something awkward about the whole situation. Salmac, Etznab, and most of the warriors were missing. When William had pressed the leader of the greys for an explanation, Seblinov said that the warrior-class was taken to another area for closer screening. He wondered if they were still alive.
The strange grey men seemed to lack emotion, which made it difficult for William to assess their sincerity. Even Priest Quisac was blocked from their thoughts and deeper motives. If something unusual was going on there, William hoped that Betty might notice. If she uncovered anything disconcerting, William planned to tell Yax about it, and suggest that they all be placed at Chichen Itza instead of venturing to the other world. William had already decided that he wasn’t going to leave. Being cooped up in that chamber on the vessel, for God knows how long, wasn’t something he planned to sign up for. Besides, the greys were only after the Mayans of a pure lineage, and he figured they wouldn’t want him. He wondered if Teshna would stay with him when the time came for her to make a decision… if she was allowed to make a decision.
“This is the last of them,” William said to Teshna, after leading the final batch of kids and elderly to the edge of the clearing.
“I wish you would come, Balam,” Teshna said.
William held her in his arms, feeling the warmth of her skin pressed against him, not wanting her to leave. “Priest Quisac needs me to stay-to prepare for the ritual to reverse the soil plague, and… for some other tasks. Besides, the eclipse is in just seven days. We’ll be back together then.”
“What will we do after the ritual is over?” she asked.
William looked deep into Teshna’s eyes and sighed. “All I know is that I want us to stay together, Teshna.” He kissed her and held her tight before letting her go.
In a brilliant burst of light, Teshna and the last of the citizens were gone. William stood alone at the edge of the jungle, watching the shadow of the dark cloud drift across the field. He would not see Teshna again until the day of the lunar eclipse, and he already missed her. He remained in the clearing until the cloud disappeared from view. With a heavy sigh, he headed up the path to meet with Priest Quisac at the King’s palace.
Priest Quisac’s first order of business was to dismantle all the dangerous traps that had been set for the battle. They started with the traps in the ceremonial center and worked their way out over the days ahead. The pits with spikes weren’t too complicated, just exhausting with the repetition of digging up each spike. The spring-loaded snares were more challenging to take apart. William had to set them off by throwing rocks until he hit the trigger. It only took one detonation for him to figure out how far away he needed to be to avoid the razor-sharp obsidian shrapnel; the cuts on his arms and legs reminded him of that detail. The process gave William plenty of practice with the bloodstone’s empowered throw ability-to focus his aim over a long distance, watching through the perspective of the rock as he guided it to the target.
One afternoon, they spent a few hours going over the details of the ritual. Priest Quisac set a heavy stone axe beside a chopping block at the ballcourt, readying it for the night of the sacrifice. William was relieved to learn that Priest Quisac would take care of the more gruesome task of cutting off King Aztuk’s head. William’s job was to drain his blood with the bloodstone-like he accidentally did to the warrior in Bacalar. They went over the specific steps of the ritual several times. It seemed like a rehearsal for some crazy religious event-finishing with the prayer of resurrection, casting the bloodstone inside a ceramic jar, and onto the ballcourt.