Ninth Lord of the Night

by Diana L. Driver

  “I’ll stay with him,” Maria blurted. “I’ll make sure he gets back okay.”

  Kyle chuckled, “Yeah, you can be his babysitter,”

  Zack stared at his brother and then at Maria. “Give me a break. I don’t need a babysitter.” But, he didn’t get up. And, neither did Maria.

  They watched in silence as Kyle and Linda climbed in and out of view and finally joined Josh, Samantha, and Bruce in the Great Plaza.

  “You don’t have to stay with me,” Zack said, hoping she’d get the message. “Really.”

  “I know,” she stated. “But, it’s either that or pal around with Sam and Bruce.”

  “Oh.” Sure. Of course.

  As soon as Kyle, Linda and the others walked out of view, Maria stood up and brushed the dirt off her legs. “Come on,” she said. “I want you to see the sunset from the top of the Temple of the Masks.”

  Obediently, Zack stood up and followed her across the temples and plazas of the Northern Acropolis and down the steps back to the Great Plaza. At least the girl was honest. She didn’t like him any more than he liked her, although why she didn’t split now that she had the opportunity, he couldn’t guess. Why should she care whether he saw the sunset from a stupid temple or not? Probably she just wanted to show off some more Maya stuff. She was full of it.

  He looked up the one hundred and twenty-five feet to the temple’s summit. Maria had already begun climbing the temple steps. She glanced back at him. “What’s with you?” she called. “Tired?”

  “Not hardly,” he lied, not about to let her get the best of him. He shifted his backpack to a more comfortable position and started climbing. The stone steps were too large to scale comfortably and the grade too steep to be safe without a handrail. As he ascended, he swayed and fought to keep his balance. He reached the top step, sank down beside Maria, and controlled his labored breathing.

  The sun was setting now, bathing the Great Plaza in rosy hues. Directly across from him, at the other side of the plaza, stood the Temple of the Giant Jaguar. They were way above the jungle canopy and the few tourists in the Great Plaza looked almost like ants. Off in the distance, rising about the treetops was the silhouette of another giant temple.

  The temples and landscape took on a surreal and imaginary appearance. The jungle noises grew muffled as if they were distant and far away. Suddenly, it was bright daylight and he envisioned himself standing at the top of the temple, his arms opened wide. Below him, Mayan men and women in colorful costumes filled the plaza. Behind him stood an old man wearing a jaguar skin and holding a carved knife.

  Smoky incense mingled with the jungle’s perfume. His bare chest was cooled by the wind, his back tickled by the greenish-gold feathers of his headpiece. Heavy jade earrings hung from his ear lobes and a jade necklace encircled his neck. In his right hand he grasped a spear and in his left he held a mat woven in the colors of the four directions.

  He was here to honor the gods. It was his duty. Even though he’d been drugged to lesson the pain, he still had enough presence of mind to dread the impending ceremony. He glanced back at his jaguar priest, and then at the people below. They quieted, their faces filled with adoration and fear. Zack opened his mouth, preparing to speak.

  “Zack?” Maria’s voice shattered the spell. “Zack?”

  He crashed back to reality. A few minutes ago he’d been sitting on the top step of the temple. Now, he stood on a large concrete platform in front of the chamber of rooms, his arms outstretched. Quickly he dropped them to his sides.

  “Are you all right?” Maria asked, concern showing in her deep brown eyes. Then, before he could answer she exclaimed, “Look!”

  At the base of the Temple of the Giant Jaguar stood a member of the largest cat family in all of the Americas.

  The jaguar stared up at them.

  The sun had set shrouding the outlying temples and jungle vegetation in darkness. Zack never saw the giant cat slip away. One minute the jaguar was there and the next minute he’d vanished, like a thief in the night. He wondered what would have happened if Maria hadn’t brought him out of his trance when she did. Would he have spoken in an ancient Mayan language? And, if so what would he have said?

  Chapter Nine

  The Great Plaza emptied of tourists as the fading light changed from deepest purple to black. Overhead, the stars appeared so close that Zack felt he could reach out and touch them. The moon rose, large and round, bathing the plaza in light. Here and there scattered patches of limestone glowed eerily, reflecting the moonlight. As the temperature fell, the humidity rose even higher and it seemed incredible that the air could hold so much moisture and not rain. The singing of songbirds and the squawking of parrots gave way to the drone of insects and a deep demonic roaring.

  Zack shuddered, his spine tingling and his arms covered with chill bumps. “What in God’s name is that?” he asked. “Is that a jaguar?”

  “Howler monkeys,” Maria answered.

  “Monkeys?” The tingling in his arms faded. No one could be afraid of monkeys. “They sound like monsters from hell.”

  “Well, they’re not,” Maria answered. “They’re just monkeys. You’ll hear them again in the morning.”

  Below them, in the Great Plaza, the fireflies blinked on and off. Suddenly, Maria slipped her hand into his. “Zack?” she whispered, “Can I ask you something?”

  Her hand was as soft as flower petals. A different type of tingling ran up his spine, his breathing deepened, and he was thankful for the darkness. “Sure,” he answered. “What about?”

  “About what happened to you just before we saw the jaguar.” Her voice was barely a whisper.

  He stiffened. “What happened?” In a flash, the warmth he’d been feeling dissipated. He didn’t know what had happened. How could he explain a waking nightmare? “I don’t know. Maybe it was heatstroke or something.”

  “Were you having a vision?”

  “A vision?” he repeated. “Of course not. I don’t have visions.”

  “Then what do you call it?” she asked.

  “I call it nothing.”

  “Zack,” she begged. “Please tell me about it. The Maya are a people of myths and legends. Visions are usually given only to a chimán.”

  “Chimán?” he asked.

  “You know, shaman. A Mayan medicine man.” Maria was still speaking very softly. “Zack, I would really like to hear about it.”

  The incident both frightened and embarrassed him. But, he was still holding Maria’s hand and for the first time in ages he felt valued. He didn’t want to spoil the moment. “I’m not sure I can really describe it,” he began. “The Great Plaza was filled with people, Mayan I guess, and they were all looking up at me, waiting for me to start speaking. I was going to say something to them when you called my name and I came out of it.”

  For a moment Maria was silent, then she asked, “Was there anyone with you at the top of the temple?”

  “Yeah,” he acknowledged. “There was. A man stood behind me.”

  “Who was he?”

  “I don’t know.” This was frustrating, like trying to grasp a faded dream when all that was left were residual feelings. “He was just a familiar figure. He was someone who was supposed to be there with me.”

  “How was he dressed?”

  “In a jaguar skin. The head of the jaguar was over his head, like a cap, and the skin draped around shoulders. He was bare-chested and wearing some kind of skirt.”

  “How about you? What were you wearing?”

  “I wasn’t wearing a shirt either and I had something on my head and back, some kind of heavy head-dress with feathers.”

  “A back-rack,” Maria interrupted.

  “Well, anyway it was heavy and the feathers were a sort of weird color. A greenish gold like from birds I’ve never seen before. I had on a skirt and I was holding a knife. At least I think it was a knife, it had a funny tip. I was also holding some kind of woven material.”

  “Zack, vision
s such as the one you had aren’t very common, even among the chimán, but they happen,” Maria’s voice was bolder now and filled with excitement. “Anyway, the woven mat and the greenish gold feathers of the quetzal bird show you were a Mayan noble, a member of royalty. The man behind you was also a member of your royal family, and a chimán.”

  “I wasn’t even Mayan,” he said. “Give me a break.”

  “You weren’t? You didn’t have long black hair and brown skin?”

  “Nope. I still had my red hair. I was myself, only older.”

  “That’s strange,” she said.

  “That’s the word, all right,” he said. “Strange.”

  “Maybe not. You just don’t understand. The Maya honor dreams. You’ve seen the woven blouses the women wear?” Zack nodded, but in the darkness he knew she couldn’t see him. “They get those colors and designs from their dreams, but not earthly dreams. Dreams come to them from the place where the gods reside. Dreams like the one you just had.”

  “Maria,” Zack protested. This was something straight out of a M. Night Shamalya movie.

  “And, that’s not all. Have you ever heard of animal transformation?”

  “What do you mean? People who can turn themselves into animals? Sure. Why? What are you getting at?” This conversation was going too far.

  “Sort of the same idea. The Maya believe that every person has an animal counterpart, a nahual. If the nahual gets injured then the person feels its pain. It works the other way too. If the person hurts, then the animal hurts, also.” She paused and gave out a soft sigh. “That part of the belief is not a secret. What is kept underground is the belief that chimán can actually become their nahual. They can become an animal and still not cease to be a person. Human to animal transformation. I think the nahual of the chimán in your vision is the jaguar we saw at the foot of the temple.”

  He was dumbfounded. “So, what you’re saying is that the imaginary medicine man in my dream turned himself into a very real flesh and blood jaguar?” He pulled his hand free from Maria’s. “Do you know how stupid that sounds?” This girl was getting very dumb, very fast.

  “I didn’t mean to make you angry,” Maria said. “But, this is a very busy tourist area and jaguars are shy creatures. They just don’t come around here.”

  “What you’re saying is crazy,” he said. “Even for the Maya it’s crazy. And I’m not Mayan.”

  “Zack, if you would just try to understand.”

  She tried to take his hand again, but he shook her off. “Look, Maria,” he said, getting to his feet. “This past week has been friggin’ hell for me. My parents are getting a divorce and I’m stuck here in Guatemala. Last night I had a very traumatic experience in Guatemala City. At the airport this morning a group of stupid soldiers tried to arrest me for buying cocaine. Instead of surfing in Malibu, here I sit talking VooDoo with you. I’m telling you I don’t have visions! My nerves are shot, and that’s all there is to it.”

  “It isn’t Voo Doo! Visions happen and they happen for a reason. You are being influenced by a Maya chimán. A Maya chimán whose nahual is the jaguar we saw.”

  “You are absolutely nuts,” he said. He didn’t want to hear anymore. “And, if this is what your Maya believe, then they’re nuts too.” He descended the steps and left her sitting alone at the top of the temple.

  He started across the Great Plaza, towards the Temple of the Giant Jaguar and her voice rang out behind him, “Zack! Wait for me! You’ll get lost if you try to go that way.”

  He didn’t want to wait for her. He hated feeling dependent on this girl who was so full of superstitious nonsense, but he dreaded being alone in this weird and sinister place. The dead were gone. They’d been gone for centuries. Still he felt surrounded by them, even though he knew that wasn’t true. Irritated, he stopped, waited for her to catch up, and then followed her back across the plaza, past the side of Temple of the Masks.

  “Why aren’t we going back the way we came?” Zack asked.

  “That path has too many twists and turns. It’s too easy to get lost. This path is a bit longer, but it’s easier to follow in the dark.”

  If she hadn’t been with him, he would have been scared half to death. As it was, he jumped at every sound. The only visible light came from the beams of their flashlights, and even then the jagged pieces of broken limestone and jutting tree roots were difficult to see. His flashlight beam veered off the path and he heard rustling noises in the undergrowth as startled creatures scurried away to avoid the light. Quickly he turned his beam back onto the path and kept it there.

  Fireflies blinked in the jungle shrub like phantom yellow eyes, and the ominous and bizarre screams of the howler monkeys sent chills up and down his spine. He tried to ignore the large golden eyes that seemed to follow them, as well as the erratic breezes accompanied by the muffled flapping of wings. His anger towards Maria turned inward at himself as he realized how frightened he really was, and how glad and comforted he felt by her presence.

  He breathed a sigh of relief when they left the jungle scrub and entered a moonlit clearing dominated by the giant luminous form of a temple.

  “What’s this place?” he asked, breaking their self-imposed silence.

  “The Plaza of the Seven Temples,” Maria answered. “These three structures with the sloping sides are ball courts. The Maya took their games very seriously.”

  Ask me if I frigging care, he thought, wishing he hadn’t brought the subject of the Maya back up.

  They passed in between the slanted walls of one of the ball courts and entered a plaza surrounded by temples and long low buildings covered by jungle vines and creepers.

  Maria shined her flashlight beam on the structures to their right.

  “Those temples are part of the Lost World Complex,” she explained. “It’s right next to this one. These temples over here,” she moved her flashlight beam to the temples on their left, “are the seven temples which give this plaza its name. And,” she ran her light over the long low buildings immediately in front of them, “these are called palaces.” She illuminated one of the upper corners. “Look at this.”

  “What is it?”

  “A carving of a human skull. Can you make it out?”

  “Barely.”

  “There’s one in each of the corners. They’re easier to see in the daylight.”

  Zack moved closer. After careful examination he could make out a carving of human skull along with a pair of crossed bones.

  He followed her across the threshold and into one of the rooms. It was just an empty space with limestone walls. There was nothing really to see. No paintings or benches. He turned to leave and collided into Maria, knocking her to the ground. He heard the contents of her backpack spilling over the floor.

  He held out his hand. “Hey,” he said. “I’m sorry.”

  She slapped his hand away. “I don’t need your help. I can get up by myself!”

  “What’s your problem?” he asked, but she didn’t answer. “Okay, suit yourself.”

  She gathered up her belongings, straightened up and pulled her backpack over her shoulder.

  “Look, I don’t get you,” Zack said. “One minute you’re a regular person, although a little weird, and the next minute you’re jumping all over me for trying to be nice to you. What gives?”

  “I’m not some stupid helpless girl and I don’t appreciate being treated like one.”

  “I wasn’t treating you like a stupid helpless girl. I knocked you down and I was just trying to help you back up.”

  “Don’t try, okay? You wouldn’t have helped Kyle.”

  “Of course not”

  “See?”

  “Maria, get real. Kyle’s my brother, it’s an unwritten law that brothers don’t have to be nice to each other.”

  Clouds crept across the face of the moon, darkening the plaza. The howls of the monkeys became more menacing and sinister. Zack stepped closer to the palace doorway as a low moaning swept through th
e small courtyard. It increased in intensity as it reverberated off the limestone walls and echoed throughout the plaza.

  “Turn off your flashlight,” Maria hissed. But, before he had time she had taken it out of his hand and turned it off herself. She grabbed his arm and pulled him back into the darkness.

  “What the…?” Zack muttered under his breath as Maria dug her fingers into his arm and shielded herself behind him. He could feel her nails cutting into his skin. “More monkeys?”

  “No,” she breathed. “Keep quiet.”

  The moaning came again, louder this time. Maria let out a soft whimper.

  “Maria?” Zack whispered, he could feel her shaking. He turned to face her. “Maria, it’s okay. It’s only someone playing a trick.”

  Her blank eyes told him that she didn’t understand. “Maria,” he repeated. “It’s just the guys. C’mon and I’ll show you.”

  He started to leave and she pulled him back. “You can’t be sure. We can’t go out there.”

  “Maria,” Zack stated. “I’m sure.”

  He forced her out into the plaza with him. “Okay, guys,” he said. “We know it’s you.”

  Once more the moaning surrounded them, and this time it was more apparent than ever that the sounds were of human origin.

  “Give it up,” he demanded.

  The moon reappeared and he heard a giggle.

  Actually, it was Bruce,” Sam said, stepping out from the shadows. Behind her were Kyle, Bruce, Josh and Linda. Zack felt Maria relax, but he still held her in his arms.

  “Did the surfer dude get a little scared?” Bruce mocked.

  Samantha waved her hands in the air and wiggled her fingers. “What’s the matter, Maria?” she sniggered. “Think the Mayan demons were after you?” She laughed so hard she lost her balance and fell against Kyle. He put his arm around Sam’s shoulders to steady her. She didn’t seem to mind.

  “Wooo,” Bruce laughed. “Wooo.”

  Samantha doubled over in laughter. Maria dropped her grip on Zack’s arm and moved away.

  Zack clenched his teeth and walked up to Bruce, standing almost nose-to-nose. “You’re going to be dead meat,” he muttered. He grabbed the front of Bruce’s collar and twisted it tightly around Bruce’s thick neck. “You asshole!”