The River of No Return

by Jon Voelkel

Max winced. He had once cowed the Maya king and his mother into submission by threatening them with tales of the terrible deeds of Thunderclaw, the Chicken of Death, the Fowl of Fear, who terrorized all of Xibalba.

  All nonsense, of course.

  “He’s on our side now,” said Max.

  “The Chee-Ken is thy familiar, venerable lord?” Lord 6-Dog asked Chan Kan.

  “He is my only friend.”

  Lord 6-Dog stared at the old man. “I feel that we have met before.”

  “I know that my memory has failed of late, but I think I would remember a talking monkey.”

  “I am Ahaw Wak Ok, a great Maya king, but this body belongs to the howler known as Chulo.”

  Chan Kan looked around nervously. “Is this a dream? Or have the torments of the afterlife begun?”

  “Fear not,” Lord 6-Dog assured him, “we are well met. Surely the mighty Chee-Ken can quell Ah Pukuh’s hordes. What sayest thou, venerable lord? Will the Fowl of Fear fight for us and be our champion?”

  “He is unbeaten,” said Chan Kan proudly.

  The old man was, of course, referring to the bird’s former career as a fighting cock. But Lord 6-Dog heard it as a testament to the creature’s supremacy in the halls of Xibalba. “With the Chee-Ken on our side,” he said, “we cannot lose.”

  “Should I tell him the truth?” Max whispered to Lola.

  She didn’t answer. She was leaning against a tree. Her eyes were closed. Her arm had swollen up horribly.

  “Lord 6-Dog! We need to hurry! Lola’s worse!” Max cried.

  “The poison is taking hold! Help her to the top, young lord.”

  Max shaded his eyes and looked up at the pyramid. The steps were steep and high. “You need to walk,” he said to Lola. “I’ll help you. Lean on me and put one foot in front of the other.”

  Lola groaned and slid farther down the tree.

  Max realized that he would have to carry her. He’d never carried a girl before.

  He took a deep breath and picked her up.

  She was heavier than she looked.

  By the time he’d staggered across the plaza, his arms were aching, his knees were shaking, and they hadn’t climbed a single step yet.

  “Help!” Max called to Lord 6-Dog. “I need you!”

  But the monkey-king didn’t hear him. He’d taken Chan Kan’s bag of tricks and raced ahead with it. Secure in his new strength as a howler monkey who could swing through the trees all day and support his own weight with his prehensile tail, Lord 6-Dog had overestimated the muscle power of a teenage human.

  And it was no use asking Chan Kan to help. He could barely lift his own feet.

  Max sank down on the stones. He couldn’t do this. She was too heavy. Even if he could carry Lola’s weight, he was scared of overbalancing on those steep, narrow steps.

  “Come back!” he called again to Lord 6-Dog. “I can’t do this on my own.”

  He felt so helpless. After everything they’d been through together, Lola was going to die in his arms because he wasn’t strong enough to save her. He closed his eyes to fight back the tears.

  A rough tongue licked his face.

  He opened his eyes and met the gaze of a green-eyed jaguar.

  “Lola! Lola! It’s Bahlam! He’s here, he’s come back!” He took her hand and ran it over the jaguar’s head.

  Lola struggled to open her eyes, but from her contented smile, he knew she understood.

  Bahlam stood meekly while Max loaded Lola onto his back. Instinctively, she buried her head in his fur and wrapped her arms around his neck.

  “Take care of her,” Max told him. “She’s all yours now.”

  As if he understood their plan, Bahlam set off up the pyramid. Max noticed he was limping and realized that, to have survived the fall into the gorge, the creature must be badly wounded. But Bahlam gave no sign of pain. He seemed to think only of the precious cargo on his back, trying not to jolt her as he negotiated the daunting tower of steps.

  “The girl rides a jaguar?” marveled Chan Kan. “It is a day of portents.”

  Max breathed out, relieved.

  All he cared about was that Lola would make it to the top.

  He wasn’t so sure about Chan Kan.

  “Can you make it?” he asked him. “Do you need help?”

  “I must make the ascent alone. It is part of my penance.”

  Watching his tired old legs heave his tired old body from step to step was torture.

  “It’s just that we’re in a hurry,” said Max. “Lola has been poisoned. We need to get things started. We can’t wait for you.”

  “Then … start … without … me,” wheezed Chan Kan. “I … have … my own … ritual … to … perform.”

  “What’s this all about? I saw you get off the boat at Limón yesterday. Why didn’t you tell Lola you were coming here today?”

  “It … is … my … last … journey.”

  “Do you know Antonio de Landa?”

  But Chan Kan was wheezing so much, he was starting to sound like Darth Vader. Max wondered if he would even make it up the pyramid.

  “I’ll take Thunderclaw,” he said.

  When Chan Kan passed over the birdcage, his hand was so cold and dry and bony, it felt more dead than alive. Max shuddered and climbed up the pyramid steps faster than he ever had before.

  By the time he reached the top, incense was billowing in pungent clouds. The White Jaguar sat ready at the base of the altar, and Lord 6-Dog was using melted wax to stick down dozens of tiny colored candles in an honor guard around it.

  Through the smoke, Max saw Lola and her animal guide lying side by side like dead bodies on a battlefield.

  “How is she?” he asked Lord 6-Dog.

  “Only Ixchel can help her now. I pray we are in time.”

  “Can you believe that Bahlam came back? Does Ixchel heal animals, too?”

  “I am sure the gods will recognize his bravery. Here, set the Chee-Ken down and finish these for me.” He handed Max a bag of candles.

  Max studied Lord 6-Dog’s handiwork. “What’s the pattern?”

  “Set them in rows,” instructed Lord 6-Dog as he looked in Chan Kan’s bag for more supplies. “Blue for Heart of Sky, brown for Heart of Earth, green for the mountains, tallow for the ancestors, red for an answer, black for the darkness, yellow to protect adults, white to protect children.”

  “Fourteen counts as a child, right?” asked Max, setting out more white candles.

  “Not in my world. I was crowned king at thine age.”

  Max heard his own voice in his ears. We’re not children, Uncle Ted, he’d said at Utsal. We can look after ourselves. Feeling very much in need of looking after, Max set out more yellow candles, too.

  As Lord 6-Dog spread Chan Kan’s fake-blood mixture around the niche in the altar, its creator arrived on the top platform. Speechless with effort, the old man sat down by the birdcage and mopped his face with his scarf.

  Next to him, Thunderclaw was also in distress. The little fowl was emitting hoarse coughing noises, and his pink eyes looked watery and even pinker than usual.

  “I think the smoke is getting to him,” said Max.

  He looked around for Chan Kan’s now-empty bag and gently placed the birdcage back inside. “You might want to take a nap,” he whispered to Thunderclaw. “It’s you versus the zombies later.”

  Lord 6-Dog bowed to the altar. “Let us begin!”

  Max’s stomach flipped—whether out of fear or excitement, he wasn’t sure.

  A noise far away caught Lord 6-Dog’s attention. He stood stock-still, listening.

  Lola flinched in her sleep.

  Bahlam growled.

  Only Chan Kan ignored it and continued to fuss over the candles.

  Max looked out across the forest to see if he could see where the noise was coming from.

  And what he saw froze the blood in his veins.

  Because that was the exact moment that Max Murphy of Boston, Massachusetts, dis
covered that five hundred skeletons on the march make a dry crunching sound like a battalion of tanks rolling over a field of cornflakes.

  As rapacious as leaf-cutter ants, the zombies were slicing through the rainforest, felling any trees that stood in their way. Max could clearly hear roots being ripped out, and the sickening thuds as tree after tree crashed to the ground.

  “Pass me the Jaguar Stone!” Lord 6-Dog commanded.

  Max obeyed, then took a step backward and watched as the monkey-king, standing on his monkey toes, reached up to push the White Jaguar into its niche in the altar. As soon as the stone came into contact with the blood mix, it seemed to leap out of his hairy hands and click easily into place.

  Lord 6-Dog began chanting in Mayan.

  There was a rumble from deep inside the pyramid.

  The alabaster Jaguar Stone glowed white-hot as the wispy curls of incense smoke that danced around it began to thicken and solidify.

  Max couldn’t help but think about the day his parents had stood on this very spot and witnessed this same thing. No good had come of activating the White Jaguar that day, only terror and disaster.

  “Beware!” Lord 6-Dog whispered. “Here come the snakes!”

  Oh yes, the snakes. How could Max have forgotten about the snakes?

  “They are not real,” Lord 6-Dog reminded him. “Do not be afraid.”

  Snakes of all sorts and sizes were appearing in the smoke.

  They looked real.

  Horribly real.

  “Remain motionless,” called Lord 6-Dog. “Let the snakes flow around thee.”

  Max braced. It’s just a trick of the light, he told himself, like that rattlesnake that appears for tourists at Chichen Itza.

  But these snakes were not mere shadows.

  Their scales glinted in the sunlight. Their tongues darted out to taste the air.

  Fat and thin, big and small, striped and plain, they slithered down to the floor, until the platform was a writhing, scaly mass.

  Max couldn’t even see Lola and Bahlam underneath them.

  He tried to go to them, but Lord 6-Dog held him back. “She will not be harmed, young lord. Stand firm!”

  And then the serpentine intruders were gone, over the edge of the pyramid, gone to who knew where, and in their place was just one snake, the biggest snake Max had ever seen, a snake the size of a townhouse, looming out of the smoke.

  It towered over the little people on the platform.

  “Behold the vision serpent!” announced Lord 6-Dog. “Let us bow down.”

  Max obediently bowed his head, but Chan Kan just stood there, mesmerized. “Am I alive or dead?” he mumbled. “I only came to light some candles.”

  Lord 6-Dog stepped forward. “Greetings to thee, Great Serpent. I am Ahaw Wak Ok, Lord 6-Dog, son of the mighty king Punak Ha and his queen, Ix Kan Kakaw.”

  The snake lowered its head until it was level with the monkey’s face. Slowly it opened its mouth again, dislocating its jaw to create a massive aperture. As the monkey and the humans watched in awe, a man—a Maya man—appeared. He looked out between the snake’s fangs, as if he were looking out of a window.

  It was the most bizarre thing Max had ever seen.

  It would have been comical if it hadn’t been so knee-shakingly terrifying.

  “Father!” cried Lord 6-Dog with joy. He bowed his head respectfully.

  “Stand up straight, Son, let me see thee.” Punak Ha had a magnificently high Maya forehead and a large, sloping nose, but Max was most fascinated by his eyes. He’d expected the great king to be cold and haughty, but these eyes were kind and gentle.

  Lord 6-Dog remained bowed low. “I come before thee in the guise of a brutish howler monkey. I am ashamed for thee to see me.”

  “I see no howler monkey. I see a boy who lost his father all too young; a brave warrior, tall and strong in his jaguar-pelt armor; a mighty king who ruled with wisdom. I see my son who has made me proud every day of his life.”

  Lord 6-Dog’s brown monkey eyes were watery. “I have missed thee, Father. My heart swells to talk to thee again.”

  “And mine to talk to thee. Hast thou come to Ixchel, like kings of old, to seek advice from thine ancestors?”

  “Thine advice is worth more than jade or cocoa beans, and I am moved beyond words to see thee. But, in truth, Father, I have come to seek the healing powers of Ixchel for a fallen comrade.”

  “Then I will summon her for thee. But know that I love thee, Son.”

  “Wait! Father! The day thou died, I was out hunting. If only I had been by thy side …”

  “My death was not thy fault. It was written in the stars, just as it is written that thou wilt take revenge against my killer, Tzelek. Win my final battle for me, Little Dog.”

  “The forces of evil approach, Father. Is Tzelek with them?”

  “This is not the battle, Son. This is not the day.”

  “I will not rest until I have avenged thy death, Father.”

  “May it go well with thee. And please tell thy mother that I miss her tortillas.”

  Lord 6-Dog smiled. “They are still the best.”

  Chan Kan, who’d been watching this exchange with great interest, stepped in front of Lord 6-Dog. “Ixchel! Ixchel!” he called, “I am Chan Kan … shaman of Utsal. I beg thee as the patron of motherhood to hear my request for forgiveness.”

  Lord 6-Dog turned on him angrily. “What is the meaning of this? Dost thou seek to usurp the ritual?”

  “I seek only forgiveness. Ixchel knows why.”

  The snake roared.

  Then it looped its neck up and placed its head flat on the platform. When it opened its mouth, an old woman stepped out.

  A very angry old woman.

  She was Maya, obviously, but hideously ugly, with an enormous hooked nose and broken teeth. Her choice of outfit did nothing to soften her appearance: there was a writhing green snake in her hair, while human bones dangled from her woven dress.

  Chan Kan got down on creaking bones and prostrated himself on the platform.

  The old woman put her hands on her hips. “How darest thou come to my temple, Chan Kan of Utsal? None here will speak to thee. Thine own ancestors have disowned thee. Even the lowliest creature in the jungle is worthier than thee.”

  The air went cold, and black storm clouds covered the sun. It was as dark as evening.

  “Forgive me, I beg thee,” groveled Chan Kan. “My intentions were noble.”

  “I judge thine actions, not thine intentions. And as the goddess of motherhood, I condemn thee to eternal torment.”

  Thunder crashed, lightning flashed, and the rain pelted down. The burning incense spluttered and sizzled.

  “Please, dear lady,” said Lord 6-Dog, “whatever the old man has done to incur thy wrath, do not punish his granddaughter. She has been struck by a poison arrow and will surely die if thou dost not deign to save her.”

  Ixchel, moon goddess, patron of motherhood, weaving, and medicine, turned to look at the howler monkey that had just addressed her. The snake on her head turned, too.

  “Hello, handsome,” she said.

  And just like that, she changed from an ugly old crone into a shimmeringly beautiful young woman. Gone was the creaking voice and archaic diction, and in its place was a girlish lilt. “You’re Lord 6-Dog, aren’t you? I’ve heard a lot about you. I always hoped I’d meet you one day.”

  The sun came out and the sky went from black to cloudless blue.

  “Charmed,” responded Lord 6-Dog, bowing to her. “And thou, I take it, art the new moon?”

  “That’s right,” she said, with a tinkling laugh. “People sometimes think that we’re mother and daughter, but it’s all me. I can be old and grumpy, or new and lovely. It’s just my phases. All women have moods, don’t they?” She looked over at Lola. “Is that the girl who needs my help?”

  “Aye, dear lady. And next to her is her animal companion.”

  Ixchel winked at him and put a finger to her
lips.

  In the jungle sky, the daytime moon shone brighter than the sun.

  And then …

  “What’s happening?” asked Lola, sitting up and stretching. “I fell asleep! What did I miss?” The jaguar woke up and rolled onto his back for her to tickle him. “Bahlam! It wasn’t a dream! You’re here!”

  Forgetting that he was in the presence of an ancient and terrifying goddess, Max high-fived Lord 6-Dog and ran to sit with Lola.

  “How do you feel?” he asked. “I was worried about you.”

  “I feel …” As she groped around for words, she looked down at the rainforest spread out below them. “I feel … on top of the world!”

  Ixchel smiled indulgently to watch the two teenagers laughing together. “They make quite a pair,” she said. Then, batting her eyelashes at Lord 6-Dog, she added, “Is there anything else I can do for you?”

  Lord 6-Dog thought for a moment. His eye came to rest on Chan Kan, who was now slumped, weeping, in a corner. “Perhaps thou couldst show mercy to the old man?”

  Chan Kan lifted his eyes hopefully to the goddess.

  Ixchel looked at him with scorn.

  For a split second, her face darkened and her nose seemed to grow and a ringlet in her hair formed into a little snake. Then the thundercloud passed, and she laughed her tinkling laugh again. “He has one chance to redeem himself, and one chance only.”

  Chan Kan sobbed his thanks.

  “Don’t thank me,” said Ixchel. “Thank your handsome friend.”

  Lord 6-Dog smiled at her. “Thou art as merciful as thou art beautiful.”

  She smiled back. “We should get to know each other better. You should come up and meet my friend, the moon rabbit, some time.”

  “I would like that,” replied Lord 6-Dog.

  Ixchel winked at him and turned to Lola. “Hello, Ix Sak Lol. At last we meet in person.”

  Lola gasped in surprise and scrambled to her feet. “You know me?”

  “I know you well. I am Mother Moon. Many nights I have shone down on you, and tried to send you comfort.”

  “I have felt that,” said Lola in a small voice.

  “Do not be sad, child. There is someone here who wants to speak to you.”

  Lola’s face lit up like a shaft of sunlight. “Mother?”

  She was trembling with excitement as the serpent opened its mouth.