“I’m no specialist in ancient Mayan glyphs,” he said, squinting. “But I agree. This does not look good.”
Riley sighed. “Would one of the eggheads in this room…”
“Hidden chamber,” Selena corrected him. “We’re in a hidden chamber, not a room.”
“Fine. Would one of the eggheads in this hidden chamber please tell the rest of us just what the hell is going on? Even I’m starting to get worried and I’m as hard as a six-inch tungsten nail!”
“And so modest,” Selena purred.
He shrugged. “You know me, Lena.”
“Yes,” she said, sighing. “Unfortunately, I do. Anyway, the good news is, we know why Montesino’s divine power is not here.”
“Why?” Decker asked.
“It was moved.”
“Whoa,” Charlie said. “This logic is getting too complex for me. It’s not here because it was moved? I can’t follow this.”
“All right, Charles,” Atticus said. “There’s no need for your particular brand of impertinence. What my daughter is trying to say is that the Stormbringer is real, it exists, and that it was moved by a Maya priest after one of the snake kings tried to seize it for use in battle.”
“It says that?” Diana asked.
He nodded. “Clearly. It says here that the power of Huracan was removed to stop an insane snake king from trying to find it and abuse it.”
“Fair enough,” Riley said.
“And see here,” Selena said. “These glyphs are not only upside down and back to front, presumably to stop casual thieves, looters and ignorant, barbaric snake kings from finding the new location. They are also presented in obscure riddle form. However, I believe between my father and I, we have formed a good translation and should be able to discern the new location of the power. Starting here – this glyph here is a ceiba tree.”
Charlie frowned. “Doesn’t look like a tree.”
“Upside down, remember?” Selena said. “The ceiba tree is very special in ancient Maya culture. They believed the world was split into three basic levels – the heavens, the earth and the underworld. According to their religion, the ceiba tree grew through all three realms, with the roots starting in the underworld, the trunk coming up through the earth – this plane we are now standing on – and the canopy opening up in the heavens.”
“Fascinating,” Riley said. “Where’s the gold?”
Atticus gave him a look and took over. “The ancient Maya also believed that the world was constituted of what they called the four cardinal directions – east, west, north and south. The heart of all these, or the center, was where the ceiba tree grew. East was the most important because of the rising sun.”
Selena crouched down and ran her fingers over the carved ridges. “This glyph here appears to be Huracan, the god of storms. I’m guessing these lines represent his power. As you can all see, the image of Huracan is located in the roots of the ceiba tree.”
“In the underworld?” Diana said.
Selena nodded. “Exactly.”
“Great,” Decker said. “We’re going to hell. Anyone have a handbasket we can travel in?”
“Funny.” Charlie chuckled, turning to leave. “I hope you guys find what you’re looking for in hell. Send me a postcard if… I mean when you make it!”
“You’re going nowhere, Valentine,” Selena said. “Get your backside back here!”
“But I just want to drink banana daiquiris on Kantiang Beach! I don’t want to go to hell in a handbasket and find the power of the gods!”
“Then you signed up to the wrong crew,” Decker said. “Because that’s exactly what we’re going to do!”
“And not just anywhere in hell,” Atticus said grimly. “We’re going to the ninth level of hell!”
“Huh?” Decker said, suddenly less confident.
Selena got to her feet and brushed her clothes down. “The ancient Maya believed the underworld was made up of nine levels of hell. You can see this represented in their temples which very often have nine levels, Chichen Itza being the most famous example.”
“So we really are going to burn in hell!” Charlie said. “Imagine the endless, horrendous baking misery of all that heat and fire.”
“Sounds like February back on the station,” Riley said wistfully. “Damn, I really miss that place.”
“Sorry to disappoint you,” Atticus said. “But what you have just described is a Western or Christian conception of hell. To the ancient Maya, hell is not about fire at all, but a cold, dark and dank realm.”
“What, like England?” Riley said.
Selena scowled at him. “I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that, Corporal Carr.”
“Probably just as well,” said the Australian.
“Anyway,” Selena said. “Getting back to business, the Maya saw hell as a cold and dark place because it was down in the roots of the ceiba tree. And Maya mythology is all about people struggling with the gods of the underworld and creation and destruction. It’s a busy realm.”
“And now we’re going there to find the source of Huracan’s power…” Diana’s words trailed away into the gloom.
“But where is there? Decker asked.
“That’s easy enough,” Atticus said. “This part of the seal over here is a map and it seems to indicate where we can find the specific entrance to Xibalba.”
“And what is Xibalba?” Riley asked.
“The place of fright,” Atticus said. “It’s just the Mayan word for their underworld.”
“There’s that word hell again!” said Charlie.
“You might say that, but it’s not an exact translation.”
“So no demons then…” Diana said. “Thank God.”
“Well, there’s always the Camazotz…” Atticus mumbled.
Selena looked at him sharply. “Don’t tell them that!”
“Don’t tell them what?” said Decker.
Selena sighed. “The Camazotz were monsters found in Xibalba. The word means death bat.”
Riley slapped his hands together. “Excellent news! I’ve always wanted to fight death bats. Throw in some lizard kings and I’ve nearly got
