Xibalba

CHAPTER 31

Alex Scano screamed again as a glowing red spider-web pattern of fractures appeared in the blistering hot floor of the room Carina had called Hot House. He was going to die, just like the two men from his security team who had broken through the white crust and plummeted into the superheated magma below, and there wasn’t anything he could do about it.

Now he regretted having Carina and her men take the lead. The red-haired priestess and her barefoot warriors had practically floated across the fragile floor, but he knew now that they had simply been lulling Alex and his men into a false sense of safety while further weakening the thin limestone crust.

The bitch had betrayed him, just as he feared she would.

There was a loud crackling sound behind him and a short cry of terror as one of his two remaining men broke through and joined his comrades in the inferno below.

Am I next?

He gritted his teeth against the heat rising up through the floor on which he lay. Even if he didn’t fall through, he wasn’t going to last long. Maybe a quick death in the magma pit was the better option….

And then, as if things weren’t bad enough already, the air in the super-heated room was suddenly full of bats.

Great. As if I didn’t have enough to worry about.

“Alex,” Carina called out. “Don’t move.”

“Right,” he spat back at her. “You’d like that.”

But to his astonishment, she was moving toward him, crawling on her belly to distribute her weight across the crumbling floor.

“Your guns,” she shouted. “They’re too heavy. You have to get rid of them.”

He realized that she wasn’t calling out to him, but to the remaining man from Alex’s security detail a few steps behind him. The soldier-for-hire was still on his feet, but trapped on an isolated section of the floor that, seemingly in defiance of gravity, was still intact. There was a two-foot wide gap separating him from the part of the floor where Alex was slowly being cooked alive. The man stared back at her uncertainly, unwilling to part with his guns and tactical gear, even though he probably knew she was right.

“Drop your gear,” she repeated. “You’re going to have to jump when I tell you to.”

“No!” Alex shouted. “If he tries to jump, this whole place will collapse. We’ll both die.”

“I know,” she hissed, scooting closer to him, close enough to extend a hand. “Take it.”

He glared at her, wondering what sort of trick this was.

No trick. Maybe I was wrong about her.

He caught her hand, felt her firm grip.

“Now, crawl toward me.” She began scooting backward, pulling him along as she went.

Alex didn’t need convincing, but with every push forward, he heard and felt the floor giving way. More cracks appeared, shooting out ahead of him. Some of the cracks came together, opening into wider gaps as jagged chunks of limestone crumbled and fell into oblivion.

But the floor was holding together and the closer they got to the exit, the more solid it felt. After an initial flurry of activity, the bats had vanished. Evidently they didn’t like the heat any more than he did.

Ten more feet. Five. Almost there.

Two of the tattooed warriors reached out, pulling Carina up, and then another one of them reached for Alex.

He regarded the hand warily for a moment, then took it, allowing himself to be pulled to safety.

There was another scream behind him. Alex didn’t look back. He didn’t need to. The last of his hired security team was gone. Maybe the man had tried to make a desperate leap — forward or back, it was impossible to say — or maybe the floor beneath had finally given out. Either way, he was on his own and at the mercy of the Serpent Brotherhood.

“How the hell did you get here?” Bones said, addressing Kasey. “And who’s your friend?”

He grinned and thrust out a blistered hand. “These guys call me Bones, but you can just call me anytime.”

“Nice,” Kasey said, rolling her eyes.

“Seriously,” Maddock said, descending to join them. “Those are two valid questions. If you knew about a shortcut—”

“I didn’t.” Kasey glanced at her companion. “But she did. This is Isabella Beltran.”

“Isabella.” Bones said it slowly, as if savoring every syllable.

Maddock didn’t recognize the name, but Miranda evidently did. “Queen of the Yucatan Cartel?”

Isabella, who was staring intently at Charles Bell, nodded absently. “Among other things.”

“Isabella also happens to be the new High Priestess of the Serpent Brotherhood,” Kasey said.

“We ran into some of your friends earlier,” Maddock said.

Isabella now turned to look at him. “Those men are not my friends. They are rebels. They have betrayed our faith.”

“They’re working with Alex Scano,” Kasey added.

“Scano?” Maddock snapped his fingers. “That Chinook. That was him, wasn’t it?”

“Isabella showed up at the airport a little while after you guys took off. I overheard her talking about going to a cave. It seemed suspicious, so I decided to tail her. Scano got here first though, with a bunch of these renegade Serpent Brothers and a squad of mercs. The mercs stayed behind to guard the helo and when Isabella’s guys got there… Well, it was ugly. The surviving mercs grabbed her and took her into the cave. I decided to follow. Fortunately, I had an advantage over them.”

She held up a black object that looked sort of like a pair of compact binoculars “PSQ-20 enhanced night vision goggles.”

“Sweet,” Bones said. “Don’t suppose you brought enough for everyone to have one.”

“Sorry. And before you ask, no you can’t borrow them. Maddock doesn’t pay you enough to replace them if they get broken.”

“Tam won’t care.”

“Tam works for the federal government, just like me. And believe me, the bean counters will care.” She let go of the PSQ-20, allowing it to hang by a lanyard around her neck. “Anyway, I caught up to them all in… what did you call it, Bella? Dark House?”

“Yes.”

“When they turned out the lights, I took out the guys holding Bella and snuck out.” The casual way Kasey said the words “took out” reminded Maddock that despite her petite size and seeming youthfulness, she was a skilled intelligence officer and a trained killer. “Once I explained what was going on, she showed me a shortcut. We figured you’d end up here eventually. If Xibalba didn’t kill you first.”

“She’s a drug lord,” Miranda said, making no attempt at tact. “Why on earth would you help her?”

“Because I am also the High Priestess of the Serpent Brothers,” Isabella said. “After Scano and Carina killed my uncle Hector. We want the same thing.”

“Revenge?” Maddock said.

“No. Yes, I want to make Carina pay, but there is something much more important going on.”

“You’re talking about the Shadow.”

She nodded. “For more than a thousand years, the Serpent Brothers have guarded the secret of the Shadow as the gods commanded. But keeping the secret is only part of our sacred duty. You see, the Shadow is not just a disease.

“Long ago, my ancestors discovered it; a black mold growing in the jungle. Anyone who touched this mold or inhaled its spores became sick with a terrible fever in the blood, but something else happened too. In their fever, the gods spoke to them, revealing secrets hidden from mortals including, it is said, the secret of how to defeat death.”

“How do you know that isn’t just feverish delirium?” Maddock asked.

“The first sign of infection comes before the fever. You know that the Shadow has touched someone when they begin the journey.”

“Journey? To where?”

Isabella fixed him with a patient stare. “Here. To Xibalba.”

“That doesn’t make any sense,” Bones said. “Nobody even knows how to get here. We had to figure it out the hard way.”

“The priests of the Serpent know. But it is said that the Lords of Xibalba reveal the way to the City of Shadow where they may begin the test of the Black Road and the Houses of Xibalba. The Serpent Brothers existed only to protect them on the journey. And to keep others from being touched.”

“Xic and Patan!” Bell exclaimed. “Wing and Packstrap — the first two Lords of Xibalba. They bring death as a fever to those walking on the road.”

Isabella inclined her head to him. “It is said that, when the fever sets in, the Lords reveal other secrets. Ancient wisdom. Prophecy. But at a terrible cost. A sickness in the blood. Sores that ooze blood. The organs and even the bones dissolve inside the body.” She shuddered, then composed herself and continued speaking.

“The Serpent Brothers contained the Shadow in vessels shaped like the Lightning Dog — in Spanish, we call them el Guia, the Guide — and guarded these vessels in secret rooms in the temples to the Great Serpent God. When a priest or someone else desired the knowledge of the Lords of Death, or a sacrifice was demanded, the chosen one would open the vessel and let the Shadow touch him. If a person survived the tests of the City of Shadow, and passed through the Houses of Xibalba, it was said that he would not die, but would become as the gods.”

“Then there is a cure here.”

Isabella spread her hands. “These are stories that I learned from my uncle as a little girl. For more than a thousand years, no one has undertaken the journey. After the Shadow devoured the old Maya, the Serpent Brothers hid the Guides away. The City of Shadow was abandoned, and none were permitted to speak of it. Only the stories of Xibalba remained.”

“But Alex Scano found one of those vessels.”

“Not Scano. A relic hunter in Honduras. There was an outbreak in a rural village. My uncle went to contain it, but Scano got there first.”

“He had help,” Kasey added. “A traitor in the Brotherhood told Scano all about the Shadow. And where to find a cure.”

“Carina is only an acolyte. She was never told where to find the City or Xibalba.” Isabella narrowed her gaze at Maddock. “You led him here.”

Maddock let the accusation slide. “Is there a cure?”

“Until just a few days ago, I did not believe any of this was true. But the stories say that it is possible to defeat the Lords of Death, just as the Hero Twins did.”

“Sounds like a cure to me,” Bones remarked.

“Scano doesn’t just want a bioweapon he can sell,” Kasey said. “He actually wants to turn it loose. Full apocalypse mode. He has the fungus, but no way to control it. That’s why he’s here. And that’s why we have to blow this place.”

This was evidently news to Isabella. She rounded on Kasey. “This is a holy place.”

“I’m afraid I have to agree with Miss Beltran,” Bell said. “Not only is the destruction of such an archaeological wonder unconscionable, but you would also be wiping out the only source of a cure to the Shadow plague.”

Miranda spoke up just as quickly. “And I’m afraid I have to agree with Kasey, Dad. We can’t let Scano turn the Shadow into a bioweapon. This thing wiped out the entire Maya civilization, and they had the cure. What chance do you think we’d have today? Scano is on his way here. He’s probably got that vessel with him. If we destroy Xibalba, we destroy both the plague and any chance that some madman will try to weaponize it.”

Maddock raised his hands, playing referee. He was a little surprised at Miranda’s declaration, but wondered if it concealed an altogether different agenda. “Kasey, what’s your plan, exactly? Unless you’ve got a pocket nuke, I don’t think you’re going to be able to do the kind of damage that will need to be done.”

“The guano,” Miranda said. “You’re going to make it into a bomb.”

“Even I know you need more than just bat crap to make ammonium nitrate explosives,” Bones said, dismissively.

“I’ve got this.” Kasey reached into her backpack and brought out a red cylinder, about the size of a can of shaving cream. “Incendiary grenade. Burns at 4,000 degrees Fahrenheit. That’s hot enough to ignite the ammonia vapors and start a flash fire chain reaction. It should sweep through the entire cavern, sanitize the whole place. If that doesn’t do the trick, I’ll toss in a couple pounds of C4 as a trigger charge.”

“Just for the sake of argument,” Maddock said, “Let’s say we do that. How do we make it out?”

Kasey nodded her head at Isabella. “Ask her.”

Isabella folded her arms across her chest. “Why should I help you destroy Xibalba?”

“For what it’s worth,” Maddock said. “I agree with you. Destroying the Shadow is one thing, but blowing up the whole cave is overkill.”

“This isn’t a democracy, Maddock,” Kasey snapped. “I’ve got orders.”

“Illegal orders,” Bell said. “You don’t have the authority to go around blowing up historical monuments in foreign countries.”

Kasey rolled her eyes again.

“Look,” Maddock said with a note of finality. “Right now, all that matters is getting out of here alive. Once we’re back on the surface, someone else will have to make that decision, but I guarantee that we’re not going to let ScanoGen start a plague.”

Kasey scowled but nodded her assent. Maddock turned back to Isabella. “So, will you help us?”

“I have never been here before. All I have are the stories my uncle told me.”

“He obviously told you about the shortcut.”

Isabella frowned, then sighed resignedly. “It is said that the only way to leave Xibalba is through water.”

“The pool,” Bell said. “It must feed an underground river. In the Popol Vuh, the Twins transformed themselves into fish-people to avoid destruction at the hands of the Lords of Xibalba.”

Isabella nodded affirmatively. “But to reach the water, you will first have to win the ball game.”

Maddock looked past her, and shone his light out across the courtyard. Below them was a balcony overlooking the ball court. More stairs at either end of the balcony led down to the floor which appeared to slope gently up toward the pyramid at the far end. Arranged throughout were several more carved stelae similar to those they had seen in the Council Chamber and Jaguar House.

“The ball court of Xibalba,” Bell said, breathlessly.

“I thought it looked familiar,” Bones said. “I take it that’s the home team out there on the field?”

“Another test,” Maddock groaned. “Well, obviously we’re not playing against a real opponent. How do we win?”

“According to the legend, the Lords of Xibalba demanded the use of a special ball — a skull with a dagger blade that would spring out and kill anyone it touched.”

“Cheating bastards,” Bones muttered.

“The Twins saw through the trick and refused to play unless the Lords agreed to use a regular rubber ball. Even so, the Twins either lost or tied all their subsequent games, which eventually led to their sacrifice.”

“I thought they defeated the Lords of Xibalba.”

“They did ultimately, but only after coming back from the dead several times.”

“I don’t think that’s going to be an option for us.”

“The closest they came to actually beating the Lords was in the final game. They didn’t exactly win, but they pulled a trick of their own. It’s a long story involving a headless man, a rabbit, and a gourd.”

“Sounds promising.”

“Didn’t Professor and Jade have to deal with something like this at Teotihuacan?” Bones said. “Too bad they aren’t here.”

Maddock saw Angel frown at the mention of his ex-girlfriend. Got to love the Bonebrake family. No matter how dire the circumstances, there’s nothing so small that it will escape their notice. “I didn’t hear about that,” he said quickly, and started down the steps to the ball court. “But it looks like we can’t win if we don’t play.”

“I’m pretty sure you’ve got that backward,” Bones replied, sagely. “The quote is, ‘the only way to win is not to play.’”

Maddock ignored him. “Just like before. Look for serpent and dog glyphs, and keep an eye out for anything that looks like a trap or a trigger.”

He stepped down onto the floor of the court and immediately heard a crack like the sound of a Louisville slugger hitting rawhide.

“You mean like that?” Bones shouted to him.

In the eerie blue light, the object sailing down the length of the court looked black, but as he tracked it with his light, Maddock saw that it was actually as white as bone. A skull bone, in fact, though judging by its momentum as it shot toward him, rotating slowly, it was probably made of something heavier, carved and painted to resemble a skull. The ball was heading right toward him, about as fast as a thrown football, giving him just enough time to ponder the appropriate response.

Dodge, catch or block?

From what little he knew about the game, the point was not to catch the ball or dodge, but to deflect it with hips or torso, but he also recalled Bell’s warning about the Lords’ trick ball. He didn’t see a dagger blade protruding from the ball, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t there, waiting to spring out on contact.

He quickly shrugged the pack containing the SCUBA bottle off his shoulder, gripping its straps in both hands. When the ball got within range, he swung for the bleachers.

There was a resounding clank as the skull-shaped projectile made contact with the nylon fabric and the aluminum tank inside, and then the ball was winging away toward the side of the court.

From the balcony, Angel couldn’t resist cheering. “Woo-hoo! Way to go, slugger.”

The ball bounced once, twice, and then hit the wall.

Or more precisely, the wall hit it.

A fraction of a second before the skull would have made contact, a ten-foot long section of the wall swung out on concealed hinges to bat it away. The bounce, combined with the boost from the wall, supplied just enough energy to send it shooting right back at Maddock.

“Oooh, no joy in Mudville,” Bones chortled.

Maddock considered shooting his friend a one-fingered salute, but since he still wasn’t sure what would happen if he let the ball stop rolling, he readied himself for another swing.

There was another distant thump at the far end of the court as a second ball was launched.

“Oh, you’ve got to be kidding,” he muttered, then raised his voice to a shout. “Guys, you’d better get down here. We need to get through this fast, before it gets any worse.”

And then it got worse.

From behind and above, Miranda cried out. “We’ve got company! The Serpent Brothers. They’re here.”