The Mayan Temple

by Preston William Child

  Sam didn't look pleased with that response but after spending the last hour enduring that torturous talk, he really didn't care how Sam felt about it. He was lucky that Purdue hadn't shut him up forever ago.

  It was nice that Purdue could afford a private jet again. He may not have been able to buy his own, but he could still rent one out with the money he did have. It was just still depressing that his previous private plane had been destroyed by the Order of the Black Sun when they took everything else too. Renting one was a downgrade, but it would work well enough. It made traveling much more efficient than it had been as of late. He had to be creative after his money was ripped away from him but ever since he found the treasure of the legendary pirate, Admiral Walton Ogden, things had been progressively improving again.

  Hopefully, the Moving Temple of Ah Puch could help finish putting everything else back into place. That would be convenient and would save a whole lot of time, money, and most of all, effort. One successful venture now could save them from having to push their way through a dozen tougher ones in the future.

  At least with this one, they weren't desperately searching for some hidden place. They knew exactly where the Moving Temple was. The only difficulty was that there was no way of knowing just how long that the temple was going to stay there.

  “So what are we going to be wishing for in this temple exactly?” Sam asked awkwardly.

  Neither of them could be sure that those legends were even true, but in the event that they were, they should have a plan. Purdue had given the question some thought. If everything he learned about the place was true – and, based on the fact that the legends about the temple transporting around were true - there was a decent chance that the other half of the story was true too. He had hopes that the altar really was going to be able to give them a wish in exchange for a sacrifice.

  “I don't know how it exactly works obviously but if it does, then we need to wish for the Order of the Black Sun to be over and done with and to free Nina, Charles, and Jean.”

  “Really?” Sam asked, looking confused. “I was thinking I could wish for something nice for Kendra.” Sam seemed even happier just from mentioning her name. Purdue made sure that he saw how annoyed he was by even proposing the idea. Sam just smiled. “I'm only joking. Relax.”

  “You better be.”

  “I think that's a good plan. It removes all of our problems at once. Wouldn't that be a wonderful thing? But the wish is exchanged for a sacrifice...what kind of sacrifice do you think we're looking at here potentially?”

  “I don't imagine a lamb or a rabbit is going to do. It's probably going to have to be a human.”

  “And we're going to do that?”

  “We may have some Black Sun volunteers, and some of them I'd hardly even consider human anymore, those crazy bastards. And, when you think about it, it might be worth it if it's all for a good cause.”

  “You sound like a sociopath,” Sam said with a snort.

  Purdue just chuckled and shrugged. “Maybe I am. Forgive me for not having any sympathy for the bastards that took everything from me. They could all fall off a cliff and I wouldn't bat an eye. Death is honestly too easy for any of them.”

  “So you really think the Order of the Black Sun is going to be at the temple?”

  “With this much media coverage, absolutely.” Purdue was more certain of that than he was of anything else. He knew Julian Corvus and he knew that this was too good of an opportunity for him to pass up. “They already tried to use the temple to ambush me in Honduras. They'll see that it's moved and they'll set up another trap again. That's the kind of man Julian is.”

  “So why are we going in with just the two of us? Without any kind of back up?”

  “You want to bring an army with us?”

  “Not an army exactly but there are people who would probably help us. What about Aya and her crew? They were great when we had to get that pearl. Without them, the Wharf Man might have skinned us both.”

  “I'm aware,” Purdue said. “But I didn't want to risk that. This isn't their fight. The Wharf Man was. They wanted to help bring him down and they owed me for helping them get away from his crime ring. They have nothing to do with the Order of the Black Sun. Why let them all potentially get killed doing something that they have no stake in. No. This is our fight, Sam. We have to put an end to it.”

  “Sure,” Sam said. “I understand that. But...we couldn't have at least brought along some mercenaries or something for some extra muscle? Give them a few dollars and it would be their fight too.”

  “Sam.”

  “You at least brought some artifacts to use, right? That pearl, for instance?”

  “Aye,” Purdue said and pointed at his bag. “Of course I did.”

  The two of them sat in uncomfortable silence for a bit. They soared toward their destination as the air outside naturally grew colder. They both knew the gravity of this particular quest. It was different than their usual searches for relics and lost civilizations. This was a personal journey that could change their lives forever. It could be the moment that turned their lives back around for good or it could be a final stand against an enemy that they couldn't beat.

  Finally, Sam broke the silence, but not in the way that Purdue hoped for.

  “You're going to love her.”

  Purdue groaned. “Will you shut yer yap already?”

  7

  CHAPTER SEVEN – THE ROGUE FLAME IN THE SUN

  Elijah Dane walked toward Julian's quarters with some trepidation. Ever since he gave Nina the key to her cell, he was waiting for his world to crash down on him. It was a necessary risk but it put him in a vulnerable position. If anyone found out that he was conspiring against Julian, he would end up like Sasha—dead. And if Elijah was dead, all of those priceless relics in the deep vault probably wouldn't last long.

  He entered the room, trying to ready himself for any and all reasons for Julian summoning him. He braced himself for the worst. He wished he was in the deep vault, behind those enormous reinforced doors and far away from danger.

  As he walked in, he pushed his glasses up his nose and kept his composure. He couldn't let his stress be seen. Julian was sitting at his desk, looking pleased—which could be either good or bad for Elijah.

  “I have news for you, Mr. Dane.” Julian may have looked calm but his emotions were impossible to predict. He could go from elated to murderous in seconds. Elijah knew better than to feel comfortable around an erratic man like Julian Corvus. “Exciting news for you.”

  “Oh?” Elijah didn't even want to risk falling into some verbal trap that would confirm his treachery. He kept his responses short, letting Julian lead the conversation. If Julian knew the truth, he would have to drag Elijah into any sort of confession, because Elijah wasn't just going to admit to it easily.

  “Yes,” Julian said with some giddiness. “We know where Purdue is going next. We will descend on him in full force this time. They would completely overwhelm him. Then bury him.”

  Most people would have relaxed now that Julian wasn't coming even close to talking about betrayal or loyalty but Elijah knew better than that. He knew that Julian was the type of man who could say all of this, just to end up slitting a throat or two.

  “Interesting...” Elijah said simply. He had to keep things neutral. “Perhaps we will be successful this time.”

  “We will,” Julian said confidently. “He can't beat all of us.”

  “So why is this particularly exciting news for me?”

  “Because when I say that we will go in full force, all of us, I mean all of us. You included. Are you ready for a field mission?”

  Elijah wanted to shout in protest but kept his voice calm, but firm.

  “When I joined, I was told that I wouldn't have to participate out there. My job was solely the care of the relics. I don't have much training in field work so I wouldn't be much use out there. That was the agreement, and the conditions of my recruitment after I had been t
his order's prisoner. I wouldn't have to take part in any of the things the rest of you do--”

  Julian's lips formed a thin smile and his gray eyes narrowed like a snake's. “Things change.”

  Elijah wanted to argue but there was no point fighting the decision. Julian Corvus was the leader of the order. His word was law within the society. Resisting his commands too much would only arouse suspicion. If Elijah wanted to survive, he had to retain his loyal image at all costs.

  “And where are we going on this field mission?” Elijah tried his best not to sound bitter but it was difficult. He was more than a little annoyed by being forced into doing the grunt work. He was never supposed to be a soldier on the front lines. He didn't have the stomach for it. He decided to tack on another question that would at least partially put him back on Julian's good side. “Where will David Purdue's burial site be?”

  “You have seen the news of the Mayan temple in the Arctic, yes?”

  “I have not,” Elijah said honestly but it did sound curious. “I tend not to pay too much attention to current events. So many of them turn out to be insignificant or pointless. Very few have any real bearing on the future.”

  “This one will. The temple spontaneously appeared up there just days ago.” Julian rummaged through a folder and put two large pictures on the table top. “Satellite imaging captured these pictures milliseconds apart.”

  The image on the left showed a bird's eye view of a vast icy terrain, nothing more than a sheet of white like a blank canvas waiting to be bathed in paint. The picture on the right would have been identical if not for a large dark shape that was in the center of the image, a blemish on the once clear canvas of snow.

  Elijah looked at the time stamps just to be certain. Sure enough, the pictures were taken a millisecond apart. That whole structure popped into existence instantaneously. It shouldn't have been possible, yet there it was. As impossible as the immortal man standing across from him. Since becoming part of the Order of the Black Sun, Elijah had learned that anything once thought to be impossible could very easily be entirely possible.

  “Strange, isn't it?” Julian asked, staring at Elijah as he looked at the pictures.

  Julian used that tactic to keep his people in line. He would do nothing but watch them react to something, to figure out exactly what buttons to push when he needed to.

  “Quite strange, yes.” Elijah was once again short with his answers.

  “Purdue is going there and so shall we. As our most knowledgeable historian, I want you to find out what you can about that place. And who knows...we might find all kinds of interesting relics there to dust off.”

  Even that potential wasn't enough to excite Elijah.

  He couldn't help but feel a field mission meant death for an introvert like him.

  SOON AFTER, Julian gathered most of the operatives that were present in the facility into one room to be briefed about their next mission. Usually, the operatives broke into small teams—usually duos or teams of three—to spread their influence throughout the world, but this was going to be different. This was the first time he had assembled so many at once since they had invaded David Purdue's home and burned it down. He loved seeing so many of his underlings in one place. It made him feel powerful, like he was the general at the head of an army.

  Julian explained the situation to them and everyone stared at him in disbelief once he got to the parts about the teleporting temple and the altar inside that could grant someone any wish. It was a hard pill for some to swallow but he made sure that he shoved that idea right down their throats until they accepted it. By the end of his presentation, many still looked bewildered but there were a few that at least looked intrigued. Especially once he brought up his endgame.

  “My hope is that the stories about this altar are true. With it, we could take this world by force.”

  “What do you mean? What would we wish for?” Someone called out.

  Julian's gray eyes scanned the crowd of faces, almost like he was looking for the culprit who heckled him. After a moment of intimidation, he answered the question.

  “We would wish for complete control, of course. That this world would have no choice but to bow before us. Just like they should. Perhaps someday they will if we keep playing things smart, but this would accelerate the process. We could make the changes we want far sooner than we ever would have been able to.”

  A lot of the spectators nodded in approval to this plan. They wanted to be recognized for their greatness; they wanted the Order of the Black Sun to stop being some shadow organization that had to maneuver stealthily around the world. Things operating that way didn't give them the chance for much glory. They were trying to make a better world but would never, ever be recognized for this efforts. Perhaps with a wish and the power that came from it, they would be able to finally shine the Black Sun's light on the rest of the world.

  “Not to mention...” Julian said carefully. “When this temple was in Honduras, David Purdue went there.”

  There was quiet chatter among the Black Sun and some of them didn't look pleased by the direction the conversation was going. Julian's feud with the order's greatest enemy had initially been something they admired about him. His first act as leader was proclaiming that he was going to eliminate Purdue from ever being a problem for them ever again. And he had initially seemed to honor that pledge, but it turned out Purdue had survived the attack. Since then, they were all a bit more skeptical about how effective he could be against the explorer.

  Purdue could sense the negativity brewing in the crowd and was quick to start speaking again, hoping to recover their support. “Mr. Purdue will come back to the temple, no matter where it is. It has already been broadcast all over the news. By now he must know where the temple ended up. He will come and we will be waiting for him. We will confront him and settle the fighting between us once and for all. We could even use him as the sacrifice to initiate the wish. I can't be the only one that wants to bleed him out on the sacrificial altar.”

  There were nervous glances among the Black Sun members. They were all well aware of Julian's sadism by this point. They had all just hoped that this new plan of his had nothing to do with his vendetta against David Purdue. Enemy or not, they knew that the plan shouldn't rely on him showing up to face them. So many of Julian's decisions since becoming leader were dictated by that feud.

  “This is our chance to finish him. For good this time. We've already set traps for him all over the world. Think of this as just another one of those...but on a much larger scale. We can end this war that he wants with us before it even begins.”

  Galen Fitzgerald shakily rose to his feet, putting his weight on his walking stick. The Irishman didn't look pleased by what he was hearing. He was shaking his head, like he was trying to shake bad ideas out of his brain.

  “So this isn't just about making a wish that could give us everything? It should be, shouldn't it? No, instead you are talking about a war that we don't need to fight, eh? This war we're getting into...it's all just to kill Davy...he's one man. He's a bastard of a man but still...just a man.”

  There were murmurs of agreement among the spectators.

  Julian didn't mind. Galen was a fool and if he needed to put him in his place, then he would.

  “Get to the point, Galen. I'm not in the mood to listen to you tiptoe around whatever it is that you're actually trying to say.”

  Galen hated how Julian spoke down to him but he carried on anyway. “All I am saying...is why make this much trouble for one guy? I will go kill him myself. I know Oniel would too--”

  Oniel, the mute assassin that was only recently recruited after years of working for the Wharf Man's crime ring, gave a firm nod of his head beside them. He was a scary figure even among the Black Sun members, but he had been a close ally of Julian's ever since his recruitment. They were both relatively new to the Order of the Black Sun and stuck together most of the time.

  Julian cut him off. “What a novel idea
, Mr. Fitzgerald. Send a few men to handle him quietly. Truly a genius strategy. Unheard of. Perhaps you haven't noticed but we tried taking that path. Our top enforcers gave it their shot, and it didn't work. Victor and Vincent Moore, Torsten, Clive...they all tried their hands and they all failed—even after we armed them with some of history's most dangerous weapons. David Purdue still survived. Then I tried to kill himself but even then...he endured and he is still out there.”

  Julian realized he was opening himself up for criticism. Galen could jump on the fact that Julian couldn't finish Purdue himself, but the Irishman didn't try and utilize that opening. He probably didn't have the stones to call him out like that.

  “But he only survived because of that Templar sword, right? And Sasha helping him. He won't have either of those things anymore. So we can--”

  “We're trying something else,” Julian snapped, not wanting to hear anymore. “I have already decided. You want your shot at him. I understand that but tell me...what chance against him does a cripple with little combat experience have compared to the highly trained kill squad that we already threw at him?”

  “I know Davy. I know his--”

  “No. That's not good enough. The time for handling this quietly is over. If we went to the Order of the Black Sun to be free of the blight that is David Purdue, then we need to descend on him in force. Erase him for good. This is our chance to do it right. To rectify the mistakes that were made. There won't be any more mishaps. We won't even risk them this time.”

  “But--”

  “That is my final decision. Perhaps you can take a shot at him when we sweep over him. I can't promise that there will be much of him but you're welcome to take a swing, or pick at whatever scraps are left when we're done.”