I recalled the mural from the summit shrine as I checked the scorch marks. Like many artifact hunters, I tended to romanticize the past. Dr. Wu's revelation served as a reminder that while modern societies were far from perfect, ancient societies had been just as bad, if not worse.
I handed the skull back to him. "Anything else you can tell us about it?"
"Ancient bones aren't exactly my field of expertise," the doc said. "But this skull is low, flat, and squat with a projecting forehead and protruding chin. Fairly big brain case although that doesn't necessarily mean anything. Other than that …"
I cocked my head and waited for him to continue. But instead, he lowered his face. The tip of his nose nearly brushed against the skull. "It might just be an aberration," he said. "But this thing is on the small side."
"Maybe it belonged to a child," Graham said.
"I don't think so. See this bulge?" Dr. Wu pointed at the back of the skull. "It looks like an occipital bun."
"What does that mean?" Beverly asked.
"Well, I don't want to go too far out on a limb. It might just indicate the owner of this skull suffered from a deformity."
"And if not?"
"Then it belongs to something else altogether. An archaic human species." Dr. Wu swallowed. "One I've never seen in my entire life."
Chapter 58
"Hey guys." Emily waved her hand. "Can you come here for a moment?"
Beverly, Graham, and I turned away from the pyramid and instead, walked to the dome tent. The others were already gathered beneath it. As we passed under the fabric, I heard the Maneros arguing.
"I'd rather talk to your computer program than you," Dora said. "It's smarter. Better looking too."
"I am the program," Renau insisted. "I built the thing, woman."
"That figures. Neither of you can think for yourselves."
When I'd first met the Maneros, I'd thought they hated each other. Now, I realized I'd been wrong. They loved each other deeply. They just didn't show it in the traditional fashion. Instead, they were like two kids, flirting via constant needling.
"We're moving a little slower than normal right now." Renau cleared his throat as he turned toward us. "Unfortunately, my computer hasn't worked since the crash. But Dora and I finally finished translating the gold plate we found inside the sarcophagus."
"It contains a general history of this canyon and the library," Dora said. "Much of it focuses on an ancient battle between the forces of good and evil. It appears the Mayas at Palenque, Tikal, Lubaantun, Cahal Pech, and other places hated and feared the people who lived here. Legends sprouted up around them."
Renau exhaled. "The tablet refers to the original residents of this canyon as Xibalbans and their mysterious home — this place — as Xibalba."
"Wait a second." My stomach clenched. Explosions went off in my brain. "Did you say Xibalba?"
"Yes."
"You okay, Cy?" Beverly touched my shoulder. Her voice barely broke through my mental cloud. "You look like you've seen a ghost."
"Is it possible?" I muttered. "Could this really be Xibalba?"
Beverly cocked her head. "What's Xibalba?"
"It's an underground city, described in an ancient Maya codex known as the Popol Vuh. It's one of only three or four such books known to exist. Outside of the lost library, of course." Miranda looked shocked. "Loosely translated, Xibalba means Place of Fright or perhaps, Place of Fear. It plays an important part in the story of the hero twins, Xbalanque and Hunahpu."
Xbalanque. Hunahpu.
"But this can't be Xibalba," My mind reeled. "It wasn't a real place. It was a myth."
"Aren't you the one who's always saying most myths have a basis in reality?" Beverly asked.
"Xibalba was no ordinary mythological place. To the Mayas, it was sacred. It was their underworld." I took a deep breath. "It was their hell."
Chapter 59
"Are you serious?" Beverly's eyes widened. "The Mayas thought this place was hell?"
"Not at first," Renau replied quickly. "Remember, Hunahpu was hired to build a fabulous retreat here."
"I see." She was quiet for a moment. "Was Xibalba like the Christian version of hell?
Renau looked at Miranda. "This is your area of expertise."
"I can't believe it." Miranda stood rooted to the ground. "The Hero Twins were real. They came here. They …"
As her voice drifted away, Tum cleared his throat. "Not really," he said to Beverly. "According to mythology, it consisted of nine levels. The lowest level was named Metnal. Twelve separate gods, known as the Lords of Xibalba, ruled over the levels. The death gods, Hun-Came and Vucub-Came, were the most powerful of the twelve deities. The other ten deities worked in pairs and caused all types of human suffering."
"Sounds like a fun bunch."
"They weren't alone. Others, not exactly human, occupied Xibalba. Their sole purpose was to venture out into the world in order to carry out the wishes of the Lords of Xibalba."
"I only know the basics of Xibalba," I said. "What does the Popol Vuh say about Hunahpu and Xbalanque?"
"Prior to their birth, their father and uncle — Hun Hunahpu and Vucub Hunahpu — were playing ball on a ballcourt. Bothered by the noise, the Lords of Xibalba challenged the two men to a match and proceeded to kill them with a bladed ball. Hun Hunahpu's skull sought out a woman named Xquic and spat on her hand, thus impregnating her with Hunahpu and Xbalanque."
Beverly arched an eyebrow. "How romantic."
"Later in life, Hunahpu and Xbalanque returned to the same ballcourt where their father and uncle had once played," Tum continued. "The Lords, annoyed by the commotion, summoned them to Xibalba. To make a long story short, they were forced to face trials and venture through six trap-filled houses. Afterward, they defeated the Lords and ended their reign."
"If they were so important to Maya mythology, why didn't you recognize their names earlier?" Graham asked.
"I didn't think of it," Tum replied. "Hunahpu and Xbalanque aren't exactly rare names among our people. It's akin to the name Peter. You wouldn't think twice about it unless it was used in context with Jesus Christ."
"So, that's the Popol Vuh version." I glanced at the Maneros. "What does the plate say about Xibalba?"
Dora leafed through a notebook. "According to my translation, the Mayas learned the location of this place by following the Xibalbans through a winding cave system. In 830 AD, they launched their attack. They killed the Xibalbans and conquered the city."
"After the warriors had secured the canyon, Hunahpu and Xbalanque sensed evil in the air," Renau added. "They resolved to contain it and spent the next eighteen years working to that effect."
"If this place was so evil, why'd Xbalanque agree to store the Library of the Mayas here?" I asked. "Why didn't he take it somewhere else?"
"Good question. The text indicates the library was part of the containment system. We think it might've been used as a slander on the Xibalban form of worship."
Beverly leaned forward. "How so?"
"We figure the library was a symbolic gesture. The idea was probably to trap the Xibalban gods with Maya knowledge until the end of the fourth world."
"What's the fourth world?"
"The Classic Mayas believed in 'world ages,'" Tum said. "Each world was equivalent to thirteen b'ak'tuns, which translates to 5,126 years. The fourth world, according to the Maya Long Count Calendar, ended on December 21, 2012."
"The 2012 phenomenon," I said softly.
Beverly gave me an inquisitive look.
"Don't you remember all that talk in late 2012? Some people thought doomsday was imminent. Others claimed mankind was about to reach an elevated plane of spirituality." I shrugged. "Of course, nothing actually happened."