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
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.
William was prepared for the Resurrection Ritual. They had a few days to spare before the coming eclipse, and only one trap to go. After pulling the spikes out of the last pit, they came across a withered body.
“What the hell is this?” William asked, staring at the decaying body near the trail that led to the city. A foul stench hung in the breeze. Following the smell, they discovered even more bodies; it was the elders who had refused to go with the others up to the vessel. They were all dead; they appeared bloodless, like dried-out sponges.
“This one is the same,” Priest Quisac said, holding the stiff arm of the dead woman beside him.
“So
The Serpent Priest regarded William with a grim expression. “This is not the work of Man. See this bite?” He lifted the dead lady’s hair, exposing a narrow slit at the base of her neck.
“What kind of animal kills like that?” William asked.
“I would not describe this as an animal.”
“Wonderful! So what is it?”
Priest Quisac stood and scanned the area. “It is the bite of the chupacabra.” He leaned over to touch an odd footprint in the dirt, left by something with long claws. “From the tracks, there appears to be three of them.”
“A chupacabra?” William asked, with a wave of fear washing over him. He recalled the warning from the Sun god, Kinich Ahau-that the chupacabras would come for him. “You mean they’re real?”
“They are creatures of the underworld… sent to the surface for… specific tasks.”
A branch snapped in the distance. William jumped and instinctively pulled his obsidian dagger from his belt. “What is their task?” He already knew the answer.
“We are safe for the moment. Chupacabras hunt at night,” Priest Quisac said.
William looked at the sun, which would be setting in a few hours. He shifted his attention back to the Serpent Priest. “The chupacabras have come for me… to take the bloodstone, right?”
Priest Quisac glanced back to the trail as though he heard something coming. “Yes, these creatures would not venture into our dead lands unless they had a purpose here. It is possible that they have been… assigned to us.” Images of horrible beasts flashed through William’s mind as he tried to imagine what the creature might look like.
“Assigned to us?” William asked with a nervous laugh. “By the feathered serpents?”
“Yes. This recent feeding has empowered them toward that goal.”
William remembered another connection with the chupacabras. “In the ‘Legend of the Serpent Passage,’ you said the feathered serpents sent the chupacabras to kill the last of the Olmec. But they weren’t after the bloodstone then. So why do they want it now?”
A familiar voice answered William’s question, startling them both. “To end the connection of the gods in our lands.”
“Priest Hexel?” William asked. “Is that you?” “It is,” he said in a weary voice.
William was surprised to see the old priest-the one who had been tied to a tree in Bacalar for target practice, before they rescued him.
“Where are the feathered serpents then?” William asked.
“They live in the caverns beneath the surface of this world,” Priest Quisac said. “They have not been seen for a long time.”
Priest Hexel sighed. “There is much to explain. But I must rest, for I have not slept since the creatures began tracking us two days ago.”
Priest Quisac glanced around as if looking for someone else. “Are there others?”
Priest Hexel shook his head. “I could not protect those who accompanied me on this journey.”
“Come, we are close to the palace,” Priest Quisac said. “We will speak more on this in the evening.”
Without another word, they marched back to Dzibanche.
While Priest Hexel slept, William and Priest Quisac had dinner beside the great ceiba tree. They spent time with the tree every day, as one would visit a sick relative at the hospital. A single withered leaf clung to a branch like a faint heartbeat.
Priest Hexel stormed into the courtyard. “What are you doing out here?” he asked with a paranoid face. “We must find a safe place for the night.”
“You didn’t travel all the way from Chichen Itza merely to warn us of the chupacabras?” Priest Quisac asked while chewing on a piece of dried venison. He set his atlatl on his lap and readied it with a dart.
“That is true. King Kukulcan requests that you bring the bloodstone and a seed from the great ceiba tree. We must begin a new Tree of Life in Chichen Itza.”
“Why?” William asked, glancing at the ceiba tree beside him, stroking its buttress roots like it was his pet.
Priest Hexel rushed to the entrance of the palace, staring out for a moment. He spun around and said, “The north must be protected, just as we have been protected here in the south-since the time of Pakal the Great. The feathered serpents are influencing the Toltecs. They seek to conquer Chichen Itza. But King Kukulcan believes that with a new Tree of Life in the north, the feathered serpents can be pushed back, and an alliance can be formed with the Toltecs.”
“I don’t understand,” William said, shaking his head with a perplexed look. “What does this have to do with the chupacabras wanting to kill us?”
“The chupacabras were sent by the feathered serpents to stop you. They do not want a Tree of Life created in the north.” He paused, glancing over his shoulder as if he heard something coming. “King Kukulcan needs your help, Balam. He is planning a building project that is meant for the people of your time… at the end of the Great Cycle. Chichen Itza must succeed in this mission. The feathered serpents will try to prevent it.”
“What project?” William asked.
“King Kukulcan intends to…” Priest Hexel froze in his stance, looking like a statue beneath the arched entrance of the palace. His eyes opened wide, like he was having a revelation of sorts.
William waited for Priest Hexel to continue; he was anxious to hear the profound thought that had him so captivated. Instead, a shrill screech bellowed from his lungs. His face turned pale and he fell over like a tree, face first onto the ground.
Behind Priest Hexel stood a green fuzzy creature with long black spines on its back. It was a chupacabra, standing upright on its clawed feet. Its snake-like tongue stretched the distance to the back of Priest Hexel’s neck, making a sick gargling sound as it sucked out his blood-hunched over as its belly filled up like a water balloon. Its huge black eyes-half the size of its head-rolled over to look at them, while it continued to vacuum the fluids out from its prey.
The Serpent Priest readied his atlatl and launched an obsidian dart at the beast. The chupacabra’s tongue
