The Mayan Priest (16 page)

Dale sighed audibly. Reynata was a smart and strong woman. It was what he loved about her.

‘Okay, but I think it’s time you told me why they want you so badly. I know that you remember Reynata and I have been patient. For twenty years, I have waited for you to come to me, to confide in me as I have in you.’

‘I know, but it is painful and we all have our secrets. You have not told me that one enigma that rules your life,’ accused Reynata as Dale hung his head. What she said was true. Dale’s own life had been ruled by the ghost of his past that he had never revealed to anyone, not even to his own daughter who it affected most.

‘I need time, Dale. For so long, I have pushed the memories to the back of my mind that I fear unlocking them. It’s like being afraid of the dark and knowing that you have to open the door to step out into it. The thought fills me with dread.’

Dale lowered his eyes in empathy until he came up with an idea – hypnosis. It could be the answer they needed. Yes, it could work.

Dale grabbed Reynata’s clothes from the end of the bed and helped her to dress. He was keen to get her out before a nurse arrived and starting asking questions.

As the hospital was understaffed, no one had the time of day to stop and question two able-bodied people strolling down the hall. Their exit was unimpeded, but Dale took care to ensure they did not remain in the open for long. He had no idea who was watching them, his fears confirmed when he discovered the tyres of his vehicle had been slashed.

They had found him.

In the moment between knowledge and action, Dale heard a shot ring out. His years of military training came to the fore and he grabbed Reynata, shoving her onto the concrete more harshly than he had intended. The bullet rammed at full velocity into the post behind them, missing their heads by a few inches. Whipping his gun from its holster, Dale fired back while gesturing Reynata to move backwards. When he had first entered the underground car park he had noted that a Ford sedan had an open driver’s side window. It was parked two spaces from his vehicle and could possibly provide them with an opportunity to escape.

Two more shots rang out to the right of their position and Dale stood up to return fire. He was ineffective with the shots being returned almost instantaneously. They were closing in and much to his chagrin, Dale had not been able to determine their position.

Reynata continued to edge along the ground until she had reached the front tyres of the sedan and knelt up on Dale‘s prompting to open the door. She quickly crawled into the front seat, followed immediately by Dale who fired a couple of shots in succession to deter their pursuers.

Although he was not an expert in the field of vehicle theft, Dale had seen a few of his mates hot-wire cars in his youth. He sincerely hoped his memory held true, but much to his delight, the car still had keys in the ignition. He sighed in relief and started it immediately.

Amongst rapid fire, Dale managed to accelerate out of the car park and towards the exit ramp. He noted two men trying to leap towards the back of the vehicle in an attempt to shoot them, their misfire shattering the rear window and right tail-light of the car. Glass sprayed throughout the interior, but the headrests acted as a shield from the flying shards. Dale kept driving.

Desperation overcame him and he drove at breakneck speed toward the local church. It might seem like an odd choice, but he knew the pastor well and he could ensure their protection. He had his suspicions that the sect had infiltrated all areas of the community and in light of the events over the last couple of hours, he felt that his beliefs were confirmed. He no longer knew who he could trust, particularly in an alien city.

‘I know this is to do with my knowledge of Ahaw, but I don’t understand why they are chasing me,’ asked Reynata.

‘That’s what I want to find out. I understand your distress, but it has become a life and death situation for both of us and a group of archaeologists in Tikal.’

‘Archaeologists in Tikal?’

‘Yes … it’s a long story, but the dig in Tikal has uncovered a mystery involving the symbol tattooed on your neck. We have a group of very important archaeologists trapped underground in a shaft and it seems that the emblem is the key to freeing them. Unfortunately time is fast running out and we have no more than forty-eight hours.’

‘Why don’t you get the government involved? Surely they could get them out.’

‘It’s not as simple as that, Reynata. We have our suspicions that the group you lived with is widespread and have infiltrated various areas of the community. We strongly believe that they are making and selling high-grade cocaine and netting themselves a fortune. If this is correct then you may be the only one who can testify against them.’

Reynata looked at Dale with a horrified expression.

‘So, I need to recall the trauma I suffered to help you uncover the identity of these men and save the archaeologists.’

‘It would assist but it’s not necessary,’ said Dale, trying to ease the pressure on her but knowing full well that any information she could provide may prove to be vital. ‘My daughter is helping to uncover the secret of the symbol and is making good progress. We are hopeful she will make a breakthrough in time to save the archaeologists and I have my best men trying to expose the ring of criminals.’

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Gillian watched as the dense Guatemalan jungle came into view. From above it looked like a glorious green carpet that would be gentle underfoot and soft to touch, but Gillian knew that looks could be deceiving. The jungle was home to numerous snakes, scorpions, tarantulas, bats, jaguars, crocodiles, monkeys and small cats. It was a beautiful place but deadly to those who entered unprepared.

She cringed involuntarily as she tried to imagine what Fred must be going through in the damp darkness of the death trap. He would be terrified, although Gillian knew his pride would not allow him to admit his fears to any of his fellow occupants. She had no doubt he would be brave to the very end, but her concern was with her feelings about him – or lack of. The frantic pace of the last day and a half had been all consuming, but it had crossed her mind that she should have been petrified for Fred’s safety. She was not and this worried her.

Adam placed his hand gently on her shoulder.

‘We’ll save them,’ offered Adam, misinterpreting her deliberation for angst.

‘Yes … I have every confidence that we’ll succeed, but Georgio has just confirmed that the rope holding the lift is continuing to stretch.

‘I know, but they are safe for the moment and we can’t spend our time contemplating forthcoming events. We need to focus all of our efforts on helping them escape,’ said Adam.

Gillian smiled. Adam was attempting to provide comfort and she appreciated his endeavours.

‘Five minutes!’ yelled Georgio as he motioned to the ground below. They had begun their descent into Uaxactún.

Adam slid open the door of the helicopter, inundating the cabin with humid jungle air that replicated the condition of a sauna. She had to blink momentarily to gain perspective and gratefully took hold of Adam’s hand to steady her loss of balance.

Adam winked at her for showing her first sign of weakness.

Gillian scowled in jest but followed him past the slowing rotor blades to the adjacent jungle.

Georgio had landed in the middle of the Plaza of Ceremonial Buildings which boasted the only expanse of open space. Built in the early classic period, it consisted of the main pyramid, Structure E-V11-B – or better known as the Pyramid of the Masks – and three further pyramids to the east. Used for astronomical studies, the pyramids were perfectly aligned to measure the solstice and equinox between the eastern stairway of the Pyramid of the Masks and the other three pyramids.

‘Grouse, Mate. What a place!’ exclaimed Adam as he viewed the overgrown city, his mouth agape in awe.

‘I almost forgot that you hadn’t been outside of your home town before,’ laughed Gillian as she placed her hand under Adam’s chin and shut his mouth for him.

Adam laughed. ‘I’m an adventure virgin. Anything remotely interesting is exciting for me, but seriously, this place is amazing. To imagine that this city was once home to hundreds of people is kind of eerie. It’s a little like a treasure hunt, discovering the lifestyle of a forgotten society.’

‘A man after my own heart,’ joked Gillian, the lightness of her comment overriding a serious undertone. Adam gazed at her. Did her comments mean more than she had intended? He hoped so.

With the howler monkeys screeching in the background, Adam followed Gillian to the Pyramid of the Masks. It was a short structure with a stairway and a number of masks on each of the four faces. It was in remarkably good condition for its age due to the protection of the outer pyramid built by a later ruler in the late classic period. This had preserved the original building which had been discovered by chance when the crumbling outer walls had posed a safety risk for tourists.

Gillian watched Dale run his hands over the brickwork in deliberation.

‘It’s hard to imagine that the ancient Mayans fashioned these with such precision. It reminds me of the Egyptian Pyramids, leading me to wonder if they were somehow related,’ said Dale.

‘That’s a common misconception. In reality the Great Pyramid of Giza was built in the 13th century BC long before the Mayans even existed. The Egyptians were masters of their time and their buildings far more advanced. The difference though lies in the use of the pyramids. The Egyptians built theirs as tombs whilst the Mayans used theirs for religious, ceremonial and astronomical purposes. The Mayans were also the first to design the corbelled arch and had the original working calendar predicting the earth’s rotation with surprising accuracy. Unlike the 365 days spread throughout our twelve months, the Mayans had eighteen months made up of twenty days each. The remaining five were called the ‘Wayeb’ and were considered the dead or dangerous days. It was considered extremely unlucky to be born on any of those five days,’ said Gillian as they approached the base of the pyramid depicted in Adam’s painting.

‘I didn’t realise they were so advanced,’ whistled Adam in disbelief as he gazed admiringly at the stones of the pyramid. ‘In my painting, this pyramid is adorned with amazingly bright murals and shimmering stones.’

‘Yes. The Mayans were also experts in plaster. They plastered and painted the interior and exterior of all of their buildings with the most important receiving extensive decoration. This pyramid would have been no exception,’ responded Gillian.

‘I’m unsure which side of the pyramid the priest was sitting at, but it was heavily treed behind the building and quite open at the fore. I would think that he was standing in the plaza as we are now,’ concluded Adam.

‘Then the mask you referred to must be this one,’ said Gillian as she touched the rough facial features of the raised deity that sat proud amid the crumbling remains of the surrounding stairs.

‘Hmmm,’ considered Adam thoughtfully, ‘yes … that’s probably it. But now what? I don’t see any hidden treasure.’

‘Did you think you would find an “X marks the spot”?’ laughed Gillian as she produced the first part of the Kinix manuscript.

‘Let’s start from the beginning. We know from the painting that he was pointing to this mask and we suspect that the next part of the book or clue is in or near this mask,’ said Gillian.

‘Tell me something else I don’t know,’ mumbled Adam, his lips pursed with deliberation. He continued, ‘The priest left a clue in the room at Tikal that allowed you to open the box in Teotihuacán, so it stands to reason that there would be a clue in the box to uncover the secret of this mask. Did you find anything unusual or out of place in the box?’ he asked.

‘No, not at all. The box was empty and the manuscript contained nothing out of the ordinary,’ replied Gillian as she mentally ran through the script. Nothing stood out, nothing at all. She quickly scanned the script as Adam looked over her shoulder.

‘What’s that?’ he asked, pointing to the number thirteen on the first page.

‘Not sure,’ mused Gillian. ‘I would not think it was “out of the ordinary”, but it certainly does not marry with anything in the script.’

‘True. In Mayan, the number thirteen comes in a few different forms. The Mayan calendar, better known as the Calendar Round, was made up of three smaller circles entwined with cogs like intermeshing gears. These calendars combined allowed them to accurately name 1 872 000 days starting from the year 3113 BC. The first calendar of the circle is called the “tzolk’in” and is a sacred calendar cycling 260 days. The second is the 365 day “haab”, based on the cycles of the earth and the third is called the “tun-uc”. This one is the moon calendar and mirrors a woman’s ‘moon’ or monthly cycle. The number thirteen can mean thirteen days or years after 3113 BC. It could be the number system which is two lines each with the value of five and three dots on the top of that to make thirteen. It could be the thirteenth month of the haab which is called the ‘Ben’. The possibilities are endless.’

‘Okay, so let’s take this number thirteen on face value. It has a circle around it, leading to the conclusion that this in a significant part of his plan. Perhaps the circle represents the earth or the moon.’