by Burt Candy
“It's a pleasure to meet you, Matilda,” said Ocelotl with a wicked grin. “I've been patiently waiting for this moment. By the way, how is my friend Maximilian?”
“He's no friend of yours,” replied Matilda defiantly. “And neither am I.”
“Bravely spoken,” said Ocelotl, “ but your bravery is sadly misplaced under the circumstances. Take her,” he ordered his warriors.
“At least you can wait till I've dressed,” said Matilda, picking up her shirt that lay beside the shoulder bag. The Zeus medallion was on the ground in full view.
“Now that looks interesting,” said Ocelotl, stepping forward to pick it up. “What a beautiful necklace. I'm sure my daughter would love it.”
“No!” protested Matilda. “It's only a trinket and has no value.”
“Nevertheless my daughter will appreciate it,” replied Ocelotl, looking at the medallion with admiration. He tucked it into his waist belt then signalled again to his warriors. “And take the monkey too.”
Two of the warriors rushed forward and grabbed Matilda while two more headed for Zinzabad. They didn't expect what happened next. Zinzabad quickly picked up the shoulder bag containing the map and ducked past the guards. He leapt up onto Ocelotl's head, jumped onto a branch of the nearest tree and raced towards the jungle canopy. By the time Ocelotl was over the shock Zinzabad was swinging through the treetops with the shoulder bag over his arm.
“Shoot it down!” screamed Ocelotl.
His archers quickly fitted arrows onto their bowstrings and fired up at the monkey. A volley of arrows tore through the trees, narrowly missing Zinzabad who was dodging and weaving his way through the branches. Before the archers could fire another set of arrows the monkey had disappeared.
“Fools!” Ocelotl shouted at the archers. “You shall all pay for this. Now see if you can get this girl back to camp without losing her.” His bowmen cowered before him as he turned and stomped off down the jungle track.
Itzli was nowhere to be seen.
Chapter 15
Prisoner
Matilda was escorted to a clearing where horses were waiting. She was lifted onto the back of a horse, behind Ocelotl, and the group began the four-hour journey back to camp. When they arrived, the first thing Ocelotl did as he strode towards his tent was shout fiercely to the guards, “Take all of these miserable archers and give them ten lashes for their incompetence.”
Matilda was taken to a large tent and tied to its centre pole. The ropes bit into her wrists and she felt alone and defeated, particularly since she had lost the Zeus medallion. How stupid she had been to allow Ocelotl to see it. Now she and Zinzabad were all but defenceless. She felt that she had failed Maximilian completely. And now, even if she summoned the Story Mat to take her home, she wouldn't be able to use it. She was in deep trouble.
Suddenly the entrance flap was pushed to one side and a young girl walked over to where Matilda was tied.
“Hello,” she said in a soft voice. “My name is Tiacotl. I am the eldest daughter of Ocelotl.”
The first thing that Matilda noticed was how pretty the girl was, and then she saw the Zeus medallion around her neck.
“Hi,” Matilda muttered, with a fixed stare on the medallion.
Tiacotl nervously touched the medallion, then said, “I believe this was yours. I think it is very beautiful and I will take good care of it.”
“Hm-m-m,” was the only reply Matilda could manage.
“I am sorry to see you tied up like that,” said Tiacotl, “ but my father has told me that you wish to do us harm.”
“That's not completely true . . .” began Matilda as the entrance flap flew to one side and Ocelotl entered the room.
“You shouldn't be here,” he said to Tiacotl. Matilda was surprised to hear how gentle his voice was when he spoke to his daughter. It wasn’t the same fearsome warrior that she had just heard order a whipping for his archers? “Please leave now,” he continued.
“Yes, father,” said Tiacotl, meekly bowing her head as she left the tent.
Ocelotl watched her leave then turned to Matilda. “I require some information from you. You can give it now of your own free will or face the consequences. It is your choice.”
“I have nothing to say to you,” replied Matilda, staring defiantly at Ocelotl.
“Very well,” said The Jaguar, “I thought that might be your answer. Now you will be forced to tell us what we need to know.” He turned his back and walked out of the tent.
A few moments later two warriors came in and released Matilda from the centre pole but kept her hands tied. They took her out of the tent, through the camp and into a clearing nearby. Ocelotl stood beside a pit that had a triangular frame of poles constructed above it.
Ocelotl signalled to the guards to bring Matilda to the edge of the pit. When she looked down she saw that the bottom of the pit was covered in writhing snakes. There must have been over fifty of them, tumbling over each other and hissing horribly. The guards took a rope from the centre of the triangular frame and tied it Matilda's wrists.
“This is your last chance,” bellowed Ocelotl. “You either tell us what we wish to know or we send you down with the snakes. What is your answer now?”
Matilda looked down at the squirming mass below. She was terrified of snakes but she couldn't bring herself to betray Maximilian.
“I don't understand what you want to know,” she said, playing for time.
“What Maximilian's plans are to save the City of Diamonds?” shouted Ocelotl.
“I don't know anything,” insisted Matilda. “I was only sent here to find out what was going on and to report back to Maximilian.”
“You lie!” screamed Ocelotl and then shouted to his guards, “Lower her down.”
The guards pushed Matilda over the pit so that she was hanging in the middle of the triangular poles. They eased the rope they were holding and Matilda dropped slowly down into the pit. She felt the strain on her shoulders as she was lowered and gripped the rope with her hands to ease the pain.
When she was several feet from the bottom the rope stopped descending.
“Now, for the last time,” Ocelotl called down to her, “will you tell us what you know of Maximilian's plans?”
“I've told you,” replied Matilda, beginning to sob, “I don't know anything.”
The rope was lowered again until Matilda was swinging just above the snakes. The ugly reptiles reached up towards her, lunging, hissing and showing their awful fangs.
“I don't know anything,” Matilda pleaded again. “I'd tell you if I knew. Please . . . lift me out of here.”
She continued to swing dangerously near the deadly vipers for several minutes. At last the rope was lifted and she came back to the surface. The guards moved her over to the edge and lifted her onto safe ground. She collapsed and began to sob uncontrollably. Ocelotl stood over her.
“It seems that you speak the truth,” he said. “Nobody could withstand the snake pit and not break their silence. Take her back to the tent. We will keep her as a hostage in case Maximilian chooses to interfere in person.”
The guards lifted her up and carried her to the camp. She was once again tied to the centre pole in the tent. What nobody was aware of was that Zinzabad had watched the whole thing from the cover of the trees outside the camp. He had followed the warrior party all the way through the treetops and had been shaken by what he had witnessed. He was determined to save Matilda.
Someone else had seen the result of Matilda's torture. Tiacotl was near the tent when the guards carried Matilda back and had been horrified to see the state she was in. She hurried back to her own tent with tears in her eyes.
Chapter 16
Itzli Reports
After he left Matilda and Zinzabad at the Sapphire Waterfall, Itzli had hurried back to the City of Diamonds, passing Ocelotl and his warriors on the way. They had exchanged brief words but Itzli did not want to remain in Ocelotl's company for very long. In truth The Jag
uar terrified him.
When he arrived back at the City of Diamonds he went directly to the palace to find Acalan. The leader was in the throne room listening to a report from his Treasurer. Itzli rushed into the room pretending panic.
“What's the meaning of this?” Acalan exploded. “You must stop barging in like this Itzli!”
“It's Matilda,” he gasped. “She's gone missing.”
“What? Missing?” said Acalan. “Where did she go?”
Itzli told the story of their trip to the Sapphire Waterfall.
“She asked me to take her there,” he lied. “She said that she had heard about it from one of the guards. So I took her and that monkey there this morning. I left them at the waterfall and went looking for herbs, and when I returned they were gone. I looked everywhere but they had completely disappeared.”
“This is a disaster,” said Acalan. “What will Maximilian say when he hears about it? And what will happen with Ocelotl now? Our only hope of avoiding a one-sided war has gone. Oh dear, it couldn't be any worse.” He waved the Treasurer away.
Itzli was secretly enjoying Acalan's discomfort but he kept up the charade. “I would have risked my own life to protect her,” he moaned, “ but I didn't have a chance. Do you think she might have been taken by a wild animal?”
“I have no idea,” mumbled Acalan, the worry showing on his face. “Gather the guards and send them out into the jungle to search for her. They are to stay out there until they find some clue to her whereabouts.”
“Yes, that's a good idea,” agreed Itzli. “I'll do it right away.”
He rushed out of the room but when he reached the entry chamber he slowed down, rested against a wall and began to giggle. At last something was going his way. After Ocelotl took over the city he had promised that Itzli would be installed as leader. And then he would give Acalan what he deserved. When he had settled down he ambled towards the guards' quarters.
Meanwhile Acalan hurried to the twins' chamber. Tayanna was sitting by a window reading a book and looked up, surprised, when Acalan came in. She could see from his face that something was seriously wrong.
“What's the matter, brother?” she said. “You look terrible.”
Acalan ignored her question. “Where is your sister?”
“Out in the palace gardens,” said Tayanna. “Why?”
“I have some terrible news for both of you,” Acalan stated. “You can relate it to her when she returns.”
Acalan proceeded to tell her what had occurred. Tayanna was shocked.
“But how could this happen?” she said. “They should never have left the city.”
“It's that cousin of ours again. The fool was talked into taking them to the waterfall. Oh, I don't suppose we can blame him completely. It was apparently Matilda's idea.”
“Hm-m-m,” muttered Tayanna. “I suppose so. What are you going to do?”
“Itzli is calling out the guards at this very moment. I've ordered that they remain searching until they find something. In the meantime we just have to wait. Oh dear,” he wailed again, “why did this have to happen now?”
Tayanna stood up and walked over to hug him. “Try not to worry too much. I'll let Erendira know about this immediately.”
Chapter 17
Zinzabad To The Rescue
Matilda was exhausted. She didn't even have the energy to eat the food that a guard had brought into the tent. It didn't take long before her head dropped and she fell into a deep sleep. She was awoken by somebody tapping her on the shoulder. Through bleary eyes she saw Tiacotl standing over her.
“Wh - what are you doing here?” Matilda mumbled.
“I saw them bring you back after the torture with the snake pit,” replied Tiacotl. “I was ashamed of what my father had done to you and I was worried about you. Are you all right?”
“Yes, I think so,” said Matilda, “although I would never want to go through that again. But what about you? Didn't your father ban you from seeing me?”
“Yes,” answered Tiacotl, “but that was before this terrible thing happened. I have always obeyed my father but, here, I believe he is wrong. He has behaved strangely ever since my mother died when I was a little girl. His anger has no bounds. I cannot support him any more so I wish to return your necklace as a sign of my sorrow for what has happened.” She took the Zeus medallion from around her neck.
“Thank you,” she said gently. “You have no idea what this means to me. It was given to me by a very special person and I treasure it dearly.”
“Then I am pleased,” said Tiacotl. “Perhaps, in some small measure, it will make up for what you have been through. Please make sure it is hidden from my father as he would be extremely angry if he knew what I had done.”
“Put it in my pocket and I promise I will keep it hidden from him. I can't thank you enough,” said Matilda. Tiacotl reached down and placed the medallion in the pocket of Matilda's shorts.
“Now I must go before I am seen,” said Tiacotl. She quickly moved to the entrance, lifted the flap and disappeared.
Matilda was ecstatic. Even though she was still imprisoned she now had a weapon with which to fight back. She remembered Maximilian's warning about not using the medallion's power too often but this was a situation of life and death. She was about to call on Zeus for help when she received another surprise. The bottom of the tent towards the back was raised and Zinzabad crept inside.
“Zinzabad!” she cried. “How did you get here?”
“Sh!” whispered the monkey. “I'll explain everything later. Right now we have to get you out of here.”
He moved over to Matilda and untied her bonds. He saw the food that the guard had given her and piled the bread, cheese and water flask into Matilda's bag that he had over his shoulder.
Signalling her to follow him, he went over to where he had come in, lifted the bottom of the tent and watched as Matilda slid out to freedom. Zinzabad followed behind.
Once they were outside they hurried to the cover of the surrounding jungle. Zinzabad took off the shoulder bag and handed it to Matilda.
“Here, you had better take this now,” he said. “It’s a bit awkward for me to carry and the map and food will be important to us if Ocelotl does what I think he will.”
“So that's why you grabbed the bag before you escaped at the waterfall,” said Matilda. “You are amazing.”
“That's yet to be seen,” Zinzabad replied modestly.
“And I have my Zeus medallion,” she said excitedly as she reached into her shorts' pocket and brought it out to show him.
“Don't you think it might be time to take Maximilian's advice and summon the Story Mat to get us out of here?” suggested Zinzabad.
“I thought of that, and I even thought of using the medallion after I got it back,” said Matilda, “ but I couldn't possibly leave the Chuquan people to this monster and, on second thoughts, I decided to save the medallion until it's really needed. I keep thinking of Maximilian's warning about using up its power.”
“Well, you're going to have to call on Zeus soon the way things are going. Did you notice the size of his army? The poor Chuquans won't stand a chance,” said Zinzabad and then proceeded to tell her how he had arrived at Ocelotl's camp.
His story was interrupted by the shout of a warrior from the camp. Obviously someone had gone into the tent and discovered that Matilda was missing. Trouble was on its way.
Chapter 18
Dodging Ocelotl
Matilda and Zinzabad moved farther into the jungle and hid amongst a cluster of large ferns. Zinzabad brushed away their tracks as they went. They could hear Ocelotl screaming out orders to his warriors. He sounded extremely angry. Zinzabad climbed a vine to the top of a tree to observe the activity. He saw warriors gathering in the centre of the camp. Ocelotl stood in front of them, venting his anger and issuing orders.
“This should never have happened and somebody will pay for it,” he shouted. “We look like fools. How could a small gir
l escape while being guarded? She must be recaptured. A bag of diamonds to the warrior who finds her. Now GO! Find her tracks and follow them. Do not fail me.”
Ocelotl's final words sent a chill through his warriors. They knew what awaited them if they didn't find the little girl. They trotted over to the trail leading to the City of Diamonds and formed a long line moving forward. Some used their spears to poke at every bush that might provide a hiding place while others looked up into the treetops. The line moved steadily along the track.
Zinzabad dropped down from his perch. “It's just as I thought.” he said. “Ocelotl thinks that we will head straight for the City of Diamonds and will follow the trail we know. What he doesn't realise is that we have Maximilian's map. We can use it to find an alternative way back . . . I hope.”
The sun was beginning to disappear and the canopy was becoming dark.
“We won't be able to read the map without light so we should get ourselves as far away as we can before it becomes too dark to move safely,” Zinzabad suggested. “We'll head in the opposite direction to the warriors and reassess our position tomorrow morning. Okay?”
“You're the boss,” replied Matilda, looking very tired.
“Come on then, we better get started.” Zinzabad helped her to her feet.
“Before we go I think I'll need to give my courage a bit of a boost,” stated Matilda, taking the Zeus medallion out of her pocket and putting it around her neck. “Zeus told me to give it a rub if I needed extra courage, so here goes.”
She gently rubbed the medallion and felt a surge throughout her body. She was still very tired
but was more determined than ever to defeat Ocelotl.
They moved through the underbrush as quickly as they could until they were well away from Ocelotl's camp and the jungle began to disappear in the dark. They stopped in a small clearing.
“We'd better have something to eat,” stated Zinzabad. “We need to keep up our strength for tomorrow. Then I'll see about finding a place to sleep.”