An enraged Decker lunged at the Snake King. He made no more than a few yards before Miguel Mercado piled into him and sent him tumbling over. His face hit the cave floor and skidded to a grazed, bruised stop a few feet along the newly cleared path. Inches above his head, a bullet split the damp air, blew his hat off and ripped a chunk of stone from the alcove. When he looked up he saw Novarro standing over him with a smoking gun in his hand.
“Please, give me another chance to blow your head off.”
“Maybe later.” He flipped over onto his back, spat a wad of dust and debris out of his mouth and leaned up on his elbows.
“Anyone see my hat?”
“Here.”
He looked to his right and saw his battered Akubra spinning like a frisbee. Selena had thrown it to him. “Thanks.”
“Welcome!”
“Get up!” the Snake King snarled. “Any more tricks like that and I’ll…”
“Kill me?” Decker’s face broke into a dark smile. “That little threat runs out of currency when you’re already marching a man to his death, asshole.”
“Not necessarily,” the Snake King hissed. “My loyal Tarántula here is an extraordinarily deranged serial killer. He can find ways to make your death last days, weeks even. Eventually you will beg him to kill you fast. If you prefer, I can order your days to end in a much more brutal way than a simple bullet to the head.”
“You’re a bastard, Nate,” Atticus said firmly. “A total bastard who is going to regret doing this to us very much.”
“I am the Snake King, and you are a snivelling nobody. Now, march!”
22
Diana spoke very little as they approached the boneyard. Nothing in her life had ever prepared for something like this and she was at a loss for words. She was an educated woman. She knew what this world was all about. Her knowledge of history was good, including a reasonable understanding of the Maya and Aztec cultures. But this was something else. The sight of the gnawed, broken human bones piled up all over the place dragged her from her comfort zone and made her feel sick to her stomach.
Surrounded by the heaps of bones, Selena looked around the grisly subterranean cemetery and saw an enormous stone altar. Carved in the traditional Maya style, with stone snakes twirling around the faces of various gods, its intricate altarpiece stretched halfway to the cave ceiling. Beneath it was a beautifully predella, in front of which was a smooth stone mensa. This was the flat table on top of the main altar stone and now the Snake King’s men walked the object they were carrying over to it and set it down.
“Are we to be treated to a show?” Atticus said.
The Snake King laughed. “I don’t want to miss seeing your daughter and her friends die, Atticus, but if you think I would let this out of my sight for one second, you are insane.”
Riley laughed. “And when a man in a jade mask who thinks he’s a lizard king says you’re crazy, you really are crazy.”
Atticus lunged at the Snake King, but Novarro pulled him away. “Bastard!”
“Remove the tarp!” the Snake King ordered. “Let them see the greatness before they die!”
Selena watched Carlos Mercado pad over and pull it off, revealing something resembling a copper pyramid. But that wasn’t quite right, was it? She looked closer again and saw its surface shifting and rolling, as if there were smoke or water under its metallic surface.
“What the hell is that thing?” Decker asked.
“That’s our capstone,” she said, her voice almost a whisper.
“But why does it look like it’s moving?” Diana asked. “What is that, moving around like oil on top of the metal?”
“It’s not on top of it,” Selena said, mesmerized. “It seems to be under the surface.”
“Impossible,” Charlie said. “Unless it’s some sort of glass and we’re seeing something moving underneath the surface.”
“It’s not glass,” said Decker. “You can see it’s metal. That’s obvious, even from back here.”
Riley frowned. “Then how do you explain the movement?”
The American shrugged. “Don’t ask me. I’m just the flyboy.”
“Seriously guys,” Charlie said. “What the hell is going on with that thing?”
Selena thought about the question for a moment then looked at her father. “Can it be?”
Atticus furrowed his brow. “It could be.”
The Snake King followed their conversation with amusement. “Go on…”
“You really think so, Dad?” Selena asked.
“I do. What about you?”
“Maybe, yes.”
Decker sighed. “Do either of you two care to tell the rest of us just what the hell you’re talking about?”
“Please, Mitch,” Selena said. “No profanity.”
He narrowed his eyes. “I know what you’re doing.”
“What am I doing?”
“You’re trying to annoy me. You’re doing it on purpose.”
She folded her arms over her chest and squared up to him. “And just why would I do such a childish thing as that?”
“Because of what I said earlier about me being the team leader.”
“Stop being so ridiculous.”
“Then tell me what the hell you’re taking about!”
Selena and Atticus relented, answering together: “Mirrors!”
Decker said, “Mirrors?”
“Ha!” the Snake King smacked his hands together. “Mirrors!”
“Yes, mirrors,” Selena said. “Mirrors played an important part in all Mesoamerican culture, including Maya culture.”
“Is that why they had such cool face-painting?”
“Riley?”
“Yeah?”
“Be gone.”
“Sorry.”
Decker sighed. “You were saying…”
“I was talking about the important role mirrors played in ancient Mesoamerican culture, and it wasn’t about make-up or haircuts.” She looked at Riley and scowled. “Mirrors were
