The Mayan Priest

by Guillou, Sue

  Gillian erupted into laughter as did Adam when they caught sight of each other.

  ‘Look at you,’ said Gillian.

  ‘And aren’t you gorgeous,’ teased Adam, taking the opportunity to wipe her face.

  Gillian smiled at him before turning and stepping through the gaping hole into a furnace.

  ‘This place is bloody hot,’ complained Adam.

  Gillian looked about.

  The room was reasonably small and the walls were coated in mica, the use of which was not immediately evident until Gillian and Adam stepped forward and gazed into the gaping chasm that extended from one side of the room to the other.

  ‘Lava … it’s lava,’ said Adam.

  ‘Well, the last of the six rooms was supposed to be the Hot House, so it makes sense that the builder utilised nature to its full extent. His only problem was keeping the heat in, so he used the only insulator known to them at the time … mica.

  ‘That’s why the last room was cold,’ said Adam.

  ‘Yes, its insulation properties are excellent. Even today, it’s still used in ovens for the same reason.’

  ‘So, what’s the purpose of this room?’ asked Adam.

  ‘Traditionally it was supposed to represent fire and heat, but in this instance, I’d take my guess at a deterrent or protection device.’

  ‘Protect what?’

  ‘That.’ Gillian pointed to the camouflage indentation in the far wall. It was painted to match the mica and was almost indistinguishable with the exception of the lack of shine.

  Adam gasped. ‘I’d recognise that hexagonal shaped symbol anywhere. I lived with it for long enough.’

  ‘Exactly, and for some reason, I’m not surprised to see it here. It was clearly connected, but to date we were unable to determine how.’

  Gillian grinned as Adam patted his shoulder bag. ‘Just checking that the disk is still there.’

  She rolled her eyes and sighed in mock sarcasm. ‘You and that bag. I don’t think you’d even give it up for sex.’

  ‘You haven’t asked.’ His comments were laced with seriousness which would have normally left her feeling uncomfortable, but not this time. Gillian gave him a quick peck on the cheek in response.

  ‘Let’s get over there and find out what it means,’ she said.

  ‘Unless I’m missing something, I can’t see any bridge to cross.’

  ‘Ahhh, but Kinix has thought of everything,’ and with that Gillian pointed to the wall behind them.’

  ‘Fifteen holes in the wall?’

  ‘In the third manuscript, Kinix mentioned crossing over a lake of water to an island. He was required to place his fingers in five holes and press the internal levers. This in turn activated a series of stepping stones which gave access to the island.

  ‘And you think this is the same thing?’

  Gillian nodded, ’I do.’

  ‘Well … which holes?’

  ‘That’s the million dollar question. The only clue the manuscript gave was: “I used the secret code passed from priest to priest since the beginning of our time”.’

  ‘Why can’t we just try them all?’ said Adam.

  ‘Apparently, placing your fingers in the wrong holes spelt instant death.’

  ‘Mate!’ Adam rubbed his forehead in deliberation. ‘There’s got to be something in it. What secret code would be passed from priest to priest since the beginning of time?’

  Gillian shook her head and ran her fingers over the various symbols that were etched into the wall below the holes.

  ‘They’re the Mayan long count system’ said Adam, looking at the carvings.

  ‘Yes, and in no particular order.’

  ‘Okay … standing around is not assisting our cause, so let’s think about this. The beginning of time in Mayan long count is represented in our time by “00000”. This is consistent with the mention of five fingers in the manuscript,’ said Gillian.

  ‘So, what would it be in Mayan?’

  ‘A zero in Mayan is a symbol that looks like an eye,’ replied Gillian.

  ‘And I can see five of those.’

  ‘So, let’s say we are right, then we need to place five fingers in the holes simultaneously.’

  ‘And if we are wrong?’ asked Sean.

  ‘We will most likely be poisoned,’ concluded Gillian.

  ‘Excellent, and considering I am the chivalrous gentleman, I’ll do it.’

  Gillian went to argue, to discuss their deductions before continuing, but Adam didn’t wait, plunging his fingers into the holes with the eye symbol before she could stop him.’

  Gillian screamed and went to yank his fingers away, but it was too late. He was firmly imbedded in the wall and the look on his face was of total fear and extreme doubt.

  For the second time in a matter of weeks, she was going to lose someone she cared about and her heart had gone into overdrive. Gillian began to panic until she noted the expression of terror slowly vanishing from Adam‘s face, replaced by the familiar lopsided grin and teasing twinkle in his eyes.

  ‘Had you worried,’ he said.

  Gillian sighed in relief and allowed herself to relax. Nothing had happened and he was fine.

  ‘Did you pull the levers?’

  ‘Yes, and they moved as easily as if they were new which means that it must have worked.’

  Adam removed his fingers and hurried to the edge of the chasm.

  ‘Its working!’ he yelled in absolute excitement as a fist slammed into the side of his face, dropping him violently to the ground.

  Gillian gasped in shock and turned to see a dark-haired man swing for her with a gun in his hand. She was defenseless, unprepared and exhausted. Her body had lost any will to fight even though her brain screamed in defiance. She saw Adam unmoving on the ground and realised that there was no way she could save herself, let alone assist him. It was as good as over! She simply did not have the strength to form any type of rebellion and waited in disgust for the final knock to end it all.

  It did not arrive.

  Just as the large man moved to grab her, a familiar shape appeared from behind and fired a bullet directly into his temple. The resultant blood splattered across her front as he fell to the ground, landing only inches from Adam’s crumpled body.

  Gillian could not move as Samuel hurried to Adam’s side.

  Barely comprehending what had just happened, Gillian was not sure what shocked her the most. The sudden appearance of a murderer, facing her own mortality or that Samuel had saved her.

  ‘How?’ was all she managed to ask as Samuel rushed to Adam’s side.

  ‘I’ve been trailing Tomas for some time. He was my father’s sharpshooter and even though my father is behind bars, his influence is still far reaching.’

  ‘But … Georgio and …’ Gillian did not finish her sentence before Samuel interrupted.

  ‘They’re fine. They had merely congregated away from the hole in order to formulate a plan to save you, allowing a small window of time for Michael to pass by unnoticed and abseil down the tunnel. I quickly followed.’

  ‘Thankyou,’ Gillian offered as Samuel simply nodded in reply.

  Adam sat up a few moments later, rubbing his head and frowning when he caught sight of Samuel.

  ‘Was this you?’ Adam accused Samuel and pointed to the large lump on his head.

  ‘No,’ replied Gillian. ‘Samuel saved us.’ She gestured to the body of Tomas.

  Adam glanced at the body, grimaced in pain and climbed to his feet. ‘Thanks,’ he muttered under his breath in Samuel’s general direction before hurrying to the edge of the crevice.

  During the altercation, a small but stable slab of rock had slid out from below their position and completely crossed the abyss. It had imbedded itself into a small slot on the opposite side.

  No one wanted to go first, so Gillian looked at them in disgust, muttered the word ‘wimps’ and leapt onto the path. Within a few well-balanced and steady steps, she had made it to the other
side assisted by a sudden rush of adrenaline. It had only just occurred to her that this adventure was almost over. That the secret they had been searching for was less than a few feet away. They were on the verge of a momentous discovery and she was excited.

  ‘Come on,’ she gestured and was soon joined by two equally enthusiastic men.

  CHAPTER FORTY FIVE

  Adam gazed at the pattern in the wall in absolute trepidation. It was an identical imprint to the disk that he carried with him from his home in Australia, the one handed down to him by his grandparents and possibly his grandparents before that. He had no idea what this meant for him or even how his family had gained access to the treasure in the first place, but he had a distinct feeling he was going to find out.

  ‘Come on, Adam,’ Gillian urged as he reached in and pulled the disk from its box.

  Samuel also looked on and in normal circumstances, he would have feared his inclusion, but his demeanour had changed considerably since he had declared himself Gillian‘s brother. Adam knew by his expression that it had been the truth and even though he still grappled with the dramatic turnaround from murderer to family relation, he had been convinced that Samuel meant no harm. If anything, he had proved himself by saving their lives on more than one occasion.

  Adam turned to the task at hand and raised the glittering disk up to the wall. He aligned it with the imprint and pressed it firmly until it was securely imbedded in the plaster.

  Nothing happened, so Adam looked to Gillian for advice.

  ‘I can’t see how this would have activated anything anyway. After all, its only plaster,’ mused Gillian as Samuel interceded.

  ‘I think we need to press harder!’ and before they could protest, Samuel forced the disk inward with such power that the plaster began to crack.

  ‘Not only have we ruined the wall, but you have also damaged the disk,’ grumbled Adam, stopping midsentence as a reverberating click could be heard from behind the plaster.

  This was followed by the sudden appearance of a centre block which projected out from the middle of the disk. It then rotated to the right before ejecting a further five posts which fastened to the fascia of the disk and drew it backwards into the damaged plaster. Within moments delicate, spider-like fissures developed into large fractures and the entire wall appeared in imminent danger of collapse.

  It all happened so quickly that Gillian barely had time to scream ‘run’ as they jumped backwards, restricted by the gaping chasm behind them, leaving no choice but to bear the full weight of the plaster that rained down upon them.

  ‘That’s the second bloody time today,’ cursed Adam as he wiped the powder from his face and clothes, stopping only when dust cloud cleared and they were able to see what stood between them and the promised treasure.

  Adam gasped as did Gillian and Samuel.

  The outer edges of the wall had remained untouched, providing a stark contrast to the elaborately carved centrepiece. In the tradition of the great Egyptian statues, two glorious life-size sculptures stood tall and proud! They were meticulously carved from stone and positioned inside two custom-designed, gold-coated niches. Each niche was arched and the entire fascia of the external wall was covered from top to bottom in Mayan hieroglyphics.

  Adam moved toward the statues, noting that one to the left was female and the one to right was male. They were facing each other with their arms outstretched and within their grasp was Adam’s disk.

  ‘Wow! This is absolutely amazing. I haven’t seen anything quite like this since my last trip to Egypt. It’s quite evident that Kinix drew on his experience with Mshai to create this masterpiece!’ said Gillian.

  ‘Who do you think they are?’ queried Adam.

  Gillian laughed. ‘Adam … come on … you should know. After spending so much time with me, it should have been immediately evident.’

  Adam studied the figures. The male had an arrogance that was mixed with pride and authority. The woman was a gentle, delicate beauty dressed in an elaborate costume. They were clearly royalty, but it was the adoring expressions on their faces that gave away their identities.

  He was Kinix and she was his Butterfly, Lady Tikal.

  ‘Kinix and Lady Tikal,’ said Adam as Gillian nodded.

  ‘It is my guess that the two statues are guarding a joint treasure, something that was important to both of them, and these hieroglyphs seem to confirm my thoughts,’ said Gillian as she ran her hand over the precise carvings.

  ‘What do they say?’ asked Samuel.

  ‘There are three sentences,’ replied Gillian as she translated them in the order in which they were illustrated:

  “The real treasure depicted in this box belongs to my true heir. The one I cannot claim as my own although he is of my blood.

  If the gods allow it, it is my hope to hold the one who looks so much like me.

  My heart aches for those I do not have, but I can leave this for the ones born from my own”

  ‘They are familiar,’ concluded Adam.

  ‘Yes. Each obsidian box we discovered had one of these phrases engraved on the inner lid.’

  ‘It sounds as if this person had an illegal child,’ laughed Samuel.

  Gillian did not laugh and neither did Adam. What Samuel said made sense. It tied in perfectly with the last portion of Kinix’s diary where he referred to his affair with Lady Tikal.

  Kinix had a secret and this room held the truth.

  Adam moved towards the disk that was now firmly embedded in the grasp of the two statues. ‘Now what?’ he asked more to himself than to receive an answer from Gillian.

  ‘Twist it clockwise, Adam,’ ordered Gillian.

  ‘Are you sure?’

  Gillian sighed. ‘The disk is the key. Its insertion activated the projection of the centre bar and if you look closely, it is held by a rotating base. The hands of the statues are only supporting the outer shell and have nothing to do with the workings of the disk.’

  Adam required no further prompting. He grabbed the disk and twisted it as far as he could. At first nothing happened, so Adam used his remaining strength and tried again. It moved gradually, almost an inch at a time until it seemingly locked into position and remained motionless for a moment whilst everyone drew their breath in anticipation.

  They did not have to wait long as the disk quickly developed a life of its own. It began to spin, slowly at first but then quite quickly until it reached the required rotations and stopped. This action seemed to set off another mechanism behind the disk which made a series of clicks and loud scraping sounds.

  Adam gasped, looking hurriedly for the reason behind the scraping noises until Samuel shouted.

  ‘The statues! They’re moving!’

  Sure enough, both statues were sliding away from each other until they left a gap of a foot between themselves and the centrepiece containing Adam’s disk.

  Adam grasped Gillian’s hand, neither of them able to move in anticipation. This was the pinnacle of their journey and they longed to savour every moment.

  The centre wall slid slowly to its immediate left until it had reconnected with the female statue, leaving a gap of three feet on its right, a space just wide enough to walk through.

  Adam looked at Gillian and Samuel, trying to determine who should go first.

  ‘Gillian should be the one,’ offered Samuel as Adam patted her gently on the shoulder in agreement. ‘We will follow.’

  With absolute trepidation, Adam took up the middle position and followed Gillian to the gap. With their torches blazing, they stepped inside.

  Adam inhaled deeply. He was not sure what he was expecting, but this was certainly not it. His mind had been filled with imaginings of great treasure, of gold, jewels, statues and rare pottery, of a discovery equal in size to that of the Tomb of Tutankhamen. He had been anticipating this moment for a long time that he was extremely disappointed by the outcome.

  Not so for Gillian, though.

  The room was approximately fifteen fee
t square with every available space covered in elaborate paintings. The floor was made of intricate coloured tiles to represent all facets of the Mayan world, but it was not this that drew Gillian’s attention.

  She was standing over a small table that was positioned in the centre of the room. Adam hurried over to take a look.

  ‘This room may not contain mounds of gold or jewels, but what we have here is far more important,’ she said.

  Adam gazed at the items on the table. There were six various sized obsidian boxes which Gillian had already opened. One contained a giant red ruby which he recognised as the jewel given to Kinix by Bahlum Paw Skull on his deathbed. Four of the smallest boxes held a tiny obsidian container sealed by tree sap in a bed of jaguar fur and the largest box revealed another diary.

  Adam looked to Gillian for answers and it took a moment before she spoke.

  ‘The four obsidian containers hold the life flow of the people whose names are inscribed on the lid. That would be Bahlum Paw Skull, Lady Tikal, Kinix and Bird Claw. As we know the Mayan ch’ulel or life flow is actually human blood. To the Mayans, this was the most important substance of them all and to Kinix it was his connection to his family. My only question relates to the last one which I presume was his child, but I would imagine that his diary will clarify that. However, what fascinates me the most is this diary. If you look at the cover, it is quite significantly different to the previous three with the most distinguishable feature being the perfect rendition of your Mayan disk,’ said Gillian, referring to the disk Adam had used to open the small room. ‘There is an unusual sentence below the picture in Medieval Latin that has taken me by surprise.’