Steve Alten - The Mayan Resurrection

‘Sounds like fun. Think maybe we can get a room at the hotel? I’m hot, and I want to get out of these sweaty clothes. If you’re good, I’ll let you handcuff me to the bed.’

Magierski smiles. ‘Tell you what, how about if I-’

Whomp! Dominique’s right foot snaps off the ground like a cobra, the tip of her shoe driving high into the man’s groin. As the soldier drops to his knees, the ball of her left foot smashes into Magierski’s face, snapping his head back.

The soldier collapses in a heap.

Elias searches Magierski’s belt for the handcuff keys. He tosses them at Dominique as three Mayan vendors drag the unconscious soldier’s body into the high grass.

A dozen more push the jeep off the side of the road and into a ditch.

Salt Lake City, Utah

Peter Mabus lies back in the dressing room chair, allowing his makeup man to finish dabbing at the dark circles beneath his eyes.

A knock and the dressing room door opens. Joseph Randolph enters, followed by a slight, gray-haired Caucasian in his late sixties. The nerdy-looking man wears wire-rimmed glasses and is dressed in a wool suit and black bow tie.

‘He’s had enough primping.’ Randolph ushers the makeup artist out and shuts the door. ‘Pete, this is Solomon Adashek, the man I was telling you about.’

Mabus sits up, his piggy eyes taking in the visitor. ‘No offense, Joe, but he looks more like my goddam CPA than a hired assassin.’

Solomon Adashek remains expressionless. ‘It only takes the strength of a child to pull a trigger, Mr. Mabus. The key to eradicating one’s target is to get close without arousing suspicion. If you’d prefer to hire a goon, I’ll take my services elsewhere.’

‘No, you’ll do. The girl’s in the Yucatan, I’m sure Joe’s briefed you. I want her and the soldier who found her eliminated without a trace.’

Solomon nods, then leaves the dressing room, quietly closing the door behind him.

‘Creepy little shit, ain’t he?’

‘What’s important is that he’ll get the job done without complications,’ Randolph says. ‘Guy’s former CIA, as cold and unfeeling as a reptile. Spent a lot of time in the Soviet Union as a mole. Returned home after the Cold War ended and wigged out. Torched his mother’s home, killing her and her live-in nurse. Served six years and was released on parole. Bit of a pedophile, but he’s calmed down over the years.’

‘Maybe we ought to send him after Chaney?’

‘One step at a time, my friend. One step at a time.’

Chichen Itza, Yucatan Peninsula 10:17 p.m.

The nocturnal jungle is alive with humidity, and chirps, and the ghosts of the dead. Dense brush cuts Dominique’s ankles and lashes out at her neck. Mosquitoes buzz her ears. A flutter of wings takes the air overhead beneath the canopy of trees.

The heaviness of the woods presses in on her, whispering into her ear. She grips Elias Forma’s hand tighter, afraid she will lose him in the darkness. And yet she feels safer here than she does in the real world, knowing that someone out there wants her dead.

Like it or not, you’re Alice in Wonderland, chasing a rabbit down its hole, and there’s no turning back now.

In time they come to a clearing. Dark-skinned Mayan elders squat around a campfire. Dominique recognizes the H’Menes, the same men who helped her and Mick climb down into the sacred well in Chichen Itza six weeks earlier.

A lifetime ago…

The wise men are descendants of the Sh’Tol brethren, a sacred Mayan society that escaped the wrath of the Spaniards back in the fifteenth century.

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.