The Mayan Temple

by Preston William Child

  Sam shivered beside him, adjusting his hat and the fur-lined hood pulled over it. In a place this far north, it really didn't matter how many layers they were wearing. No matter what they did, they were going to be cold.

  The Moving Temple of Ah Puch loomed ahead of them, painted against the gray sky. Its dark stone walls stuck out against its white surroundings just as much as it had on the satellite images. It was just as Purdue remembered, but it looked so different in such a vastly different environment.

  “How the hell is that even possible?” It just started to dawn on Sam how odd the temple's location was. It was one thing to see it on a screen or talk about it but to see it in person was something else entirely. That Mayan temple really didn't belong. But really, Sam should have spent less time thinking about his girlfriend back home and more thought on the temple that they were about to get to. “You're telling me that place bounces all over the world?”

  “Aye...at least, that is what the old legends say. We've done this enough to know that most legends are at least partially true, haven't we?”

  “Yes,” Sam said. “That's very, very true. There's no one here.”

  Purdue had noticed that already and that had made his shivering body even tenser. It was strange considering all of the media attention that the temple had been getting. He was expecting to have to get by all kinds of reporters, camera operators, and police. Instead, there was nothing. On the one hand, he was glad to not have to deal with those kinds of obstacles, but on the other hand, it seemed very peculiar.

  It was just them and the Mayan temple...and most likely the Order of the Black Sun as well. They were the only ones who had the resources and reach to get rid of all of the other potential onlookers. It was probably a trap. Only traps were this quiet.

  Sure enough, there was a crunch behind them. Both Purdue and Sam turned around to find a dozen men clad in all white camouflage rising from the snowy ground. They'd been laying there in wait, ready for them to show up.

  “Must have been really cold just hanging around out here,” Purdue said casually, like he wasn't concerned at all by the newcomers. “Thankfully, it looks like you all dressed nice and warm.”

  The men didn't respond to his taunts. They all pointed their weapons at the two of them. The leader barked orders. “That's far enough, Purdue! Hands up! On your knees!”

  The voice of the leader sounded familiar, but it was scratchy and hoarse.

  “I said on your knees!” Despite the barking, the leader sounded a little unsure of his own authority, perhaps even somewhat afraid. “Now, Purdue! Now!”

  “I'm not going to do that,” Purdue said calmly. “But something's really bothering me...have we met before? I've got this weird feeling that we have.”

  The leader ripped off his mask and hood. The face wasn't immediately recognizable but Purdue knew he had seen it before. He knew he had spoken to this bald man before. Suddenly, it occurred to him. Being ambushed by this man was all too familiar. It's just that the last time, they were in a much warmer climate.

  “Aw, yes, now I remember! Haven't we done this before? You were that Black Sun guy from Honduras. The one with the redhead.” The mention of her sent a ripple of anger through the bald man. He sneered at Purdue, his eyes were wide with mania. He looked far less composed than Purdue remembered. “Yeah, that's you. That's definitely you. What was your name again? Lionel? Lucas? Lyle? It was definitely an 'L', aye? Or maybe not. I hate to tell you but you really didn't leave much of an impression at all. I should have recognized you right away...but instead...well...not so much.”

  “Lucius!” the man shrieked, gasping for breath like a rabid animal. “My name is Lucius! Where is Charlotte!? What did you do with her!?”

  “Aw the lovely red haired girl from outside of the temple, aye? Yes, she was lovely and obviously smarter than you lot. I convinced her that it might be in her best interest not to stick around the Black Sun after a colossal failure like the one you pulled. She agreed. By now, she's probably on a nice beach somewhere, far away from this whole cult that Julian Corvus has turned the Order of the Black Sun into. Really, you should have done the same thing. You could probably use a nice vacation. You're not looking so well.”

  “Shut up! She wouldn't have left! She wouldn't! She wouldn't! She wouldn't! She wouldn't! You're a liar, Purdue! A liar!”

  He remembered Lucius as a calm and collected kind of guy, but he really only had known him for a few minutes, and much of that time was spent trying to prevent Lucius from killing him in the dark. They had gotten to know each other very well. But he certainly would have remembered if he was acting this wildly. He seemed off-balance and more than a little crazed. Even the other sentries around him seemed concerned.

  Then again, the answer for his clear distress might be not far away. Purdue pointed at the Mayan temple. “You were there when it transported here. That must have been something, aye? Tell me, what did that feel like? Did it feel like flying real fast or was it just...” Purdue snapped his fingers. “Was it just like that? Instantly in the Arctic.”

  “More of the second...” Lucius seethed. “We were chasing you out the door when it moved. One second I was looking at you and Charlotte...green trees behind you...the next moment, all I could see was white...white everywhere. It was so cold. So, so cold. There was nothing. Nothing out here at all.”

  “Besides a musty old temple, aye? Must have been hard.”

  “Enough! Where is Charlotte!?”

  “I told you,” Purdue said with a sigh. “She's long gone. Took the high road and is probably better off for it.”

  “Purdue...” Sam muttered beside him, wanting to get this over with. He didn't know Lucius or the situation so obviously wasn't nearly as interested by this conversation as Purdue was.

  Purdue didn't exactly agree. He wanted some answers, especially from a man who had spent so long in that temple. “How did you survive out here on your own? There were others with you inside the temple when it transported away. Are these gentlemen them?”

  “No,” Lucius said firmly. “No, they are not.”

  “And they didn't survive the jump from Honduras to here like you did?”

  “They made it here...” That loud mania grew much quieter and Lucius seemed like he wasn't really there anymore. He was back to a time that only existed in his memory, that the rest of the world didn't see. “But someone had to survive somehow. There was no food. None. No, no food. Someone had to survive. I made sure it was me.”

  “You killed them. Your own team.” Purdue didn't doubt it.

  From what parts of the other guards' faces they could see, it was clear that they were rather troubled by the news. They were waiting on orders from Lucius to open fire but they must have been doubting that those orders would ever come. They were at the mercy of his craziness.

  One suddenly yelled, raising his weapon. “Enough talk! Let's waste them!”

  “NO!” Lucius hissed. “No, not until he tells me where to find Charlotte.”

  “That again? Really?” Purdue was almost finding Lucius comical now. His insanity might have actually been funny if his unpredictability didn't make him so dangerous. “I think we best be moving along, aye? I know you probably came out here to settle that score, but get in line. There are plenty of people in the Order of the Black Sun that want my head. And admittedly, I've done far worse to them than I ever did to you.”

  “Shut up!”

  As much as Purdue wanted to learn more about the Mayan temple, he was realizing that he wasn't going to learn anything of real value from Lucius. He may have spent a lot of time stuck in there, but it was most likely in the dark, where he did nothing but slowly slip into lunacy. If Purdue really wanted to learn more about the temple, then he would have to do it firsthand, with his own eyes. He could believe those much more than he could believe anything this deranged man said to him.

  “You're not going to be seeing Charlotte again, sorry to say. We both know she'll be better for it.
If it means anything, I really didn't mean for you to get trapped in this place. How was I supposed to know that the temple could hopscotch across the planet? And how was I supposed to know that it was going to happen while you were inside?”

  Lucius' whole body was quaking, like it was at war with itself. His thoughts were probably bouncing off of the inside of his skull in confusion. All of that trauma, everything that happened to him had formed a twister inside of him. There would be no reasoning with him and this conversation was already hostile, and it was only going to get more so.

  It was time to end it.

  “I'm sorry for what happened. You shouldn't have been mixed up in all of this.”

  Unknown to the ambushers, Purdue had the pearl grasped tightly in his palm and the terrain they were walking on was just cold water—making it susceptible to the pearl's power. Purdue tightened his grip on the pearl and thought about the ice cracking under the armed guards. With that one thought, the ice gave way beneath them and they all dropped into the cold water. They never had a chance to even fire their weapons.

  Lucius slipped into the water, splashing about but Purdue used the pearl's power to instantly freeze the water back into place. The Black Sun operatives were trapped under a sheer sheet of ice. There was no escaping for them. Purdue saw Lucius' face pressed against the ice, screaming, drowning in the water. He was thrashing his hands against it but it wasn't going to shatter. Purdue felt a tinge of guilt as it wasn't a great way to go but they were all threatening their lives, and had harmed so many others. Still, he finally had to look away.

  It was just Purdue and Sam again, alone in the frozen wastes.

  “I'm glad you brought that along,” Sam said with a long sigh of relief. “That could have been messy without it.”

  “Well, we weren't just going to storm the temple unarmed, aye? Suicide missions aren't something that I have any interest in partaking in. Far too wasteful, wouldn't you agree?”

  Purdue could feel Mona Greer's book of shadows on him. It was so tempting to pull it out of his bag and just try to solve all of their problems with its dark magics. But for now, there was no need. The pearl's sway over water was enough to help them get by.

  They continued trudging through the ice and snow toward the waiting temple ahead. Those guards could just be the first line of defense. The Order of the Black Sun was inside with potentially their entire forces with them. They may even have other ancient artifacts that could overpower the ones that Purdue carried. There was only one way to find out. They would have to get into the temple and see for themselves.

  A silhouette was standing ahead of them, standing out against the white terrain. Purdue and Sam approached cautiously, their footsteps crunching in the snow, but braced themselves for whatever threat this would be. Purdue held the pearl firmly in his hand again, knowing it would be just as effective on this newcomer as it was against the group of scouts.

  They drew closer and closer to the figure but when they reached it, they found a hooded silhouette facing the other direction and standing perfectly still. The sentry hadn't noticed their approach. That was a relief.

  Purdue crept up on the guard and swung for a hard knock on the back of the head. The guard crumbled into a heap in the snow far more easily than expected. In fact, the way the body fell didn't even seem human. When Purdue examined the person on the ground, he found nothing but a long parka and a pole.

  It was nothing but a decoy—but for what?

  Suddenly, someone tackled Purdue from behind.

  “Purdue!” Sam shouted as Purdue and his attacker rolled through the snow together. He kicked the assailant off of him and his attacker got to his feet, facing him and Sam.

  It was a face that Purdue recognized—the slim and slender figure of Oniel the once top enforcer of the crime boss, the Wharf Man. Purdue made the mistake of working with that crime ring during his most desperate time. When he fought back against the Wharf Man for trying to back stab him, he made an enemy of him and all of his followers. The ensuing fights ended with Purdue killing both the Wharf Man and Oniel's brother, Alton. Based on the glower that Oniel was staring at him with, he wasn't quite over either of their deaths.

  Just like with Lucius, they had come across someone who had an ax to grind and who wanted Purdue dead for past acts. But Oniel was far more dangerous than Lucius ever was.

  Oniel was shivering, due to having used his parka for the decoy. All he had was a turtleneck shirt to keep him warm. He glared at Purdue with that same silent hatred that he always emanated with. His silence was due to his tongue being ripped out years ago. He had only ever spoken verbally to Purdue once and only to tell him that he would kill him, in a very broken, hard to understand series of sounds.

  “Oniel...”

  Oniel immediately drew a small dagger from his sleeve. He wasn't the chatty type, and he probably wouldn't be even if he had a tongue. His brother used to do all of the talking for him, but Purdue had silenced him forever.

  “It's been awhile,” Purdue said, clutching the pearl tightly in his hand. “Last time I saw you, you were treading water. I should have made sure you drowned, just like I did your boss. I was hoping you would smarten up and leave me alone after I got rid of the Wharf Man. Obviously, you didn't smarten up.”

  Oniel took a murderous step forward but then stopped again, like he was waiting for the perfect chance to pounce.

  “You saw what I did to those other scouts, right? That's why you set up that coat trap...but did you see how I beat your friends?” Purdue opened his hand and displayed the pearl. “You remember this, don't you? What it did to the Wharf Man's submarine? What it did to him? You can't win this fight, Oniel. Walk away.”

  Oniel took another step forward, clearly not convinced by Purdue's argument.

  “Fine then. Your choice, aye? I know you're not a conversationalist but I'm glad we have a chance to talk. Imagine my surprise when I found out the Order of the Black Sun knew I was alive...and then imagine my surprise when Julian tells me that you were the one who told them about my survival. You were pissed, I get that. But did you really have to go running to them?”

  “Who is this guy?” Sam asked nervously beside him.

  “Someone I met during my time when I was homeless. He ran with some really bad bastards...who I have since gotten rid of. I imagine that he's holding something of a grudge against me. Isn't that right, Oniel? You want me dead?”

  Oniel gave a firm single nod of his head.

  “The knife already made that kind of obvious, don't you think?” Sam said cautiously. “You have a terrible habit of making enemies, you know that?”

  “It's one of my many gifts,” Purdue said.

  Oniel stared at them, his beady eyes flickering from one to the other, like he was deciding who he was going to disembowel first. Purdue would imagine that he would want to kill him first, since he wanted his vengeance for his brother but he also knew that Oniel was violent enough to completely mutilate a stranger like Sam just for sport. He and his late brother were feared for just how brutal they were to anyone that they were targeting. They were the perfect instruments of death for a dangerous criminal like the Wharf Man. Now, without his original crew to help him channel his affinity for violence, Oniel seemed to have given his talents over to the Order of the Black Sun instead.

  “You're not going to win this fight,” Purdue said, again showing the pearl. “There is frozen water all around it. One thought from me, and I could have you drowning just like the Wharf Man. Walk away, Oniel. I know you have your grudge but my fight with the Black Sun doesn't involve you. I'll even forgive you telling them that I was alive...and that caused a whole lot of problems for me.”

  Oniel took two steps forward this time, rejecting his offer to leave.

  “Aye,” Purdue said, cupping the pearl in his palm. “Let's get this over with then. I have better vendettas to deal with than yours.”

  Oniel charged at the two of them but Purdue was ready. He thought about
ice rising up to shield them and just as he did, the pearl's power pulled a sheet of ice in front of them, intercepting Oniel's blade.

  “Thank god for that pearl!” Sam shouted, taking a few steps backward. He didn't have any sort of weapon to fight Oniel off with, especially not a magical pearl that could control water.

  Purdue lowered the wall of ice and Oniel tried another strike but Purdue had a surge of water spray up from the ice and knock the knife out of Oniel's grasp.

  “I know you said you would kill me...” Purdue said calmly. “But that's not going to be today. Why not leave and try again another time. Right now, I've got bigger concerns. And to be honest, I think your anger is misplaced. Your boss and your brother were both terrible people that hurt far more people than they helped. The world is a better place with them gone.” It was cold but he had very little desire to be gentle with an assassin hell-bent on murdering him.

  Oniel pulled another knife from his other sleeve.

  “You're a persistent bastard, aye?” Purdue rubbed his face in annoyance.

  Purdue caused more water to burst out from under them and manipulated it to pour over Oniel like a hose. The force of the water knocked Oniel off his feet and sliding across the ice. He rolled on the ground, soaked from head to toe by the water. He got back up but was shivering more violently now. If he didn't get somewhere warm quick, he would probably die from hypothermia.

  “Enough of this.”

  Oniel, silent as ever, didn't seem to mind that his body was freezing. All he cared about was his vengeance, and making it as painful as possible for Purdue. He was focused on the one objective and he wasn't going to stop until the deed was done or he was physically incapable continuing. If he kept this up, he would die out here in the cold.

  “I'll give you one last chance. Stop this now.”

  Oniel shook his head and opened his mouth. He spoke with the same hoarse sounds that he had the last time he delivered a message to Purdue—and it was the same message.