The Serpent Passage

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.”

“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