Elias greets the frail, white-haired leader of the group with a hug. ‘Dominique, this is my grandfather, Ocela, the man you seek.’
Dominique extends her hand. ‘Hope you remember me, I’m a friend of Michael Gabriel. I need to speak to you about the Creation Myth.’
Ocela takes her hand in both of his, then speaks to Elias in a language she cannot comprehend.
‘My grandfather says he will do all he can to assist First-Mother.’
‘Now see, that’s why I’m here. Who’s First-Mother, and why is he calling me that?’
Ocela smiles a toothless grin, then touches her stomach. Yaya ba’l.
Oh, God, he knows I’m pregnant, too? Did somebody send out notices? Dominique feels light-headed. The sounds of the night dissipate into the snapping and popping of the campfire as she swoons in the humidity.
Elias and the old man lead her to a log poised at the edge of the clearing. She sits, the other men gathering around. One offers her a flask of water, another a wooden bowl filled with fruits and berries. She drinks and eats, feeling a little better.
Still holding her hand, Ocela looks into her eyes and speaks, Elias translating.
‘The Creation Story is the most important lesson recorded in the Popol Vuh. The hero of the story is One Hunahpu, a brave warrior later revered as First-Father. One Hunahpu’s great passion in life was to play the ancient ball game known as Tlachtli. One day, the Lords of the Underworld, Xibalba, challenged One Hunahpu to a game, at stake-the future of his people. One Hunahpu accepted and entered Xibalba Be, the dark road that leads to Xibalba, said to have been the mouth of a great serpent.’
Dominique shudders, recalling the image of Mick entering the orifice of the alien being.
‘But the Lords of Xibalba had no intention of actually playing the game. Using trickery and deceit, they defeated One Hunahpu and decapitated him, hanging his head in the crook of a calabash tree as a warning to others who might challenge them.
‘After a great many years, a brave woman named Blood Moon ventured down the Dark Road. Approaching the tree to pick fruit, she was startled to find One Hunahpu’s head. The warrior’s eyes opened and he spit into her palm, magically impregnating her. The woman fled, the Death God and his minions unable to destroy her before she could escape.
‘Blood Moon, who is later revered as First-Mother, gave birth to twin sons. As the years passed, her boys grew into strong, capable warriors. Upon reaching adulthood, their genetic calling demanded they follow in their father’s footsteps and make the journey to Xibalba to challenge the Death God and avenge One Hunahpu’s death.
‘Once more, the Lords of the Underworld used cunning and deceit. But the Hero Twins, having prepared for this treachery, triumphed, banishing evil while resurrecting their long-lost father.’
Ocela smiles at her, again palming her stomach.
‘No, stop it, none of this makes any sense. The Popol Vuh is just mythology, it tells of things in the past. How can I possibly be First-Mother?’
Elias translates for his grandfather.
The old man rattles off a response.
‘The knowledge found in the Popol Vuh comes to us from our great teacher, Kukulcan. The Popol Vuh was recorded five hundred years after his passing. Time distorts the Creation Story, but not its ultimate meaning. What came to pass shall come again as the cycle of humanity repeats itself. One Hunahpu has come. He has delivered us from evil, sacrificing himself in the process. Now he awaits his sons in Xibalba .’
Dominique’s hand trembles within Ocela’s. He pats it with his other hand, gripping it tightly as he speaks again.
‘My grandfather says to have faith. You were chosen by One Hunahpu for your strength.’
‘If Mick really is this One Hunahpu character, then where is he now? How can I find Xibalba?’
‘The dark road to Xibalba shall appear before the Hero Twins in their twentieth year. Until then, it is your destiny as First-Mother to prepare them. Great challenges lie ahead. Allies of the Dark Lord will do everything in their power to stop you.’
Ocela stands, leading her to the edge of the clearing and a massive cypress tree. Bound and gagged to the trunk is Luke Magierski. The soldier is wearing only his boxer shorts and a tee shirt.
Dominique removes his gag.
‘Uh, thank God. Would you tell these Zulus that I’m American!’
‘Why were you after me?’
‘You’re Dominique Vazquez, Michael Gabriel’s woman. Everyone wants to speak with you.’
‘He’s lying,’ says Elias. ‘Who hired you to find Dominique?’
Magierski stares into the jungle. ‘Name, rank, and serial number, that’s all you’ll get from me. The United States doesn’t like it when you kidnap their soldiers. There’s fifteen thousand heavily armed men and women less than a dozen klicks from here who’ll napalm this entire jungle into a prairie dust if any harm comes to me.’
Ocela signals to his elders. Two of the men force Magierski’s jaw open, while a third jams a small piece of bamboo between the soldier’s upper and lower molars, preventing him from closing his mouth.
The fourth man appears with a wooden container. From within, he retracts an eighteen-inch centipede, its thick jet-black body sporting a yellow head and legs.
Dominique steps back. ‘Gross. What is that thing?’
Elias takes the animal from the elder. ‘It’s long name is Scolopendromorpha, a tropical species that flourishes in our jungles. Some of the larger ones feed on mice and lizards.’
‘They get bigger than that?’
‘Hmm. See these front legs? They’re called prehensors. They’re used to inject venom into their victims. Let’s see if our little friend here can persuade our brave American soldier to tell us what we want to know.’
Elias holds the wiggling centipede in front of Luke Magierski’s face. ‘This afternoon at the marketplace, you were acting on someone’s orders. Whose?’
The soldier looks away.
Two of the elders hold Magierski’s face steady while Elias positions the centipede’s yellow head in the soldier’s open mouth.
Magierski thrashes in his bonds, moaning and hissing and gagging as the repulsive creature wiggles its way into his mouth, blocking his airway as it moves down his esophagus.
Dominique turns away in disgust.
Elias leans in closer. ‘Six more inches and its tail disappears. When that happens, I can’t save you. It will crawl into your small intestines and lay its eggs. Three more inches… two more. If you have anything to say, say it now.’
Magierski nods vigorously, his eyes as wide as saucers, his face turning purple.
Elias carefully extracts the centipede, then removes the chunk of bamboo.
Magierski leans over and pukes.
‘Give us a name, or it goes back in, and this time, we’ll let it keep going until it crawls out your ass.’
‘Mabus. Peter Mabus. He placed a 2-million-dollar bounty on the girl’s head.’
Dominique turns to face him. ‘Why? What does that screwball want with me?’
‘I don’t know. He… he blames a lot of the doomsday stuff on Gabriel; guess you’re sort of lumped into his political campaign. He’s sending one of his men down from the States to collect you.’
‘More likely to kill you,’ Elias states. ‘Where were you and this man supposed to meet?’
‘I don’t know.’
Elias nods to the Mayan elders, who grab Magierski’s head.
‘No… wait, he’s meeting me tomorrow morning, at the commuter airport outside of Piste.’
A Mayan elder returns the centipede to its wooden container. Elias shoves the gags back inside Magierski’s mouth as Ocela leads Dominique back to the campfire.
She watches as the elder carrying the wooden container skewers the centipede with a pointed stick, then roasts it over the open fire.
Elias winks at her. ‘Old Mayan delicacy. I prefer mine with butter.’
Dominique feels queasy.
‘Grandfather’s right. Enemies are everywhere.’
