Isabella fixed him with a patient stare. “Here. To Xibalba.”
“That doesn’t make any sense,” Bones said. “Nobody even knows how to get here. We had to figure it out the hard way.”
“The priests of the Serpent know. But it is said that the Lords of Xibalba reveal the way to the City of Shadow where they may begin the test of the Black Road and the Houses of Xibalba. The Serpent Brothers existed only to protect them on the journey. And to keep others from being touched.”
“Xic and Patan!” Bell exclaimed. “Wing and Packstrap — the first two Lords of Xibalba. They bring death as a fever to those walking on the road.”
Isabella inclined her head to him. “It is said that, when the fever sets in, the Lords reveal other secrets. Ancient wisdom. Prophecy. But at a terrible cost. A sickness in the blood. Sores that ooze blood. The organs and even the bones dissolve inside the body.” She shuddered, then composed herself and continued speaking.
“The Serpent Brothers contained the Shadow in vessels shaped like the Lightning Dog — in Spanish, we call them el Guia, the Guide — and guarded these vessels in secret rooms in the temples to the Great Serpent God. When a priest or someone else desired the knowledge of the Lords of Death, or a sacrifice was demanded, the chosen one would open the vessel and let the Shadow touch him. If a person survived the tests of the City of Shadow, and passed through the Houses of Xibalba, it was said that he would not die, but would become as the gods.”
“Then there is a cure here.”
Isabella spread her hands. “These are stories that I learned from my uncle as a little girl. For more than a thousand years, no one has undertaken the journey. After the Shadow devoured the old Maya, the Serpent Brothers hid the Guides away. The City of Shadow was abandoned, and none were permitted to speak of it. Only the stories of Xibalba remained.”
“But Alex Scano found one of those vessels.”
“Not Scano. A relic hunter in Honduras. There was an outbreak in a rural village. My uncle went to contain it, but Scano got there first.”
“He had help,” Kasey added. “A traitor in the Brotherhood told Scano all about the Shadow. And where to find a cure.”
“Carina is only an acolyte. She was never told where to find the City or Xibalba.” Isabella narrowed her gaze at Maddock. “You led him here.”
Maddock let the accusation slide. “Is there a cure?”
“Until just a few days ago, I did not believe any of this was true. But the stories say that it is possible to defeat the Lords of Death, just as the Hero Twins did.”
“Sounds like a cure to me,” Bones remarked.
“Scano doesn’t just want a bioweapon he can sell,” Kasey said. “He actually wants to turn it loose. Full apocalypse mode. He has the fungus, but no way to control it. That’s why he’s here. And that’s why we have to blow this place.”
This was evidently news to Isabella. She rounded on Kasey. “This is a holy place.”
“I’m afraid I have to agree with Miss Beltran,” Bell said. “Not only is the destruction of such an archaeological wonder unconscionable, but you would also be wiping out the only source of a cure to the Shadow plague.”
Miranda spoke up just as quickly. “And I’m afraid I have to agree with Kasey, Dad. We can’t let Scano turn the Shadow into a bioweapon. This thing wiped out the entire Maya civilization, and they had the cure. What chance do you think we’d have today? Scano is on his way here. He’s probably got that vessel with him. If we destroy Xibalba, we destroy both the plague and any chance that some madman will try to weaponize it.”
Maddock raised his hands, playing referee. He was a little surprised at Miranda’s declaration, but wondered if it concealed an altogether different agenda. “Kasey, what’s your plan, exactly? Unless you’ve got a pocket nuke, I don’t think you’re going to be able to do the kind of damage that will need to be done.”
“The guano,” Miranda said. “You’re going to make it into a bomb.”
“Even I know you need more than just bat crap to make ammonium nitrate explosives,” Bones said, dismissively.
“I’ve got this.” Kasey reached into her backpack and brought out a red cylinder, about the size of a can of shaving cream. “Incendiary grenade. Burns at 4,000 degrees Fahrenheit. That’s hot enough to ignite the ammonia vapors and start a flash fire chain reaction. It should sweep through the entire cavern, sanitize the whole place. If that doesn’t do the trick, I’ll toss in a couple pounds of C4 as a trigger charge.”
“Just for the sake of argument,” Maddock said, “Let’s say we do that. How do we make it out?”
Kasey nodded her head at Isabella. “Ask her.”
Isabella folded her arms across her chest. “Why should I help you destroy Xibalba?”
“For what it’s worth,” Maddock said. “I agree with you. Destroying the Shadow is one thing, but blowing up the whole cave is overkill.”
“This isn’t a democracy, Maddock,” Kasey snapped. “I’ve got orders.”
“Illegal orders,” Bell said. “You don’t have the authority to go around blowing up historical monuments in foreign countries.”
Kasey rolled her eyes again.
“Look,” Maddock said with a note of finality. “Right now, all that matters is getting out of here alive. Once we’re back on the surface, someone else will have to make that decision, but I guarantee that we’re not going to let ScanoGen start a plague.”
Kasey scowled but nodded her assent. Maddock turned back to Isabella. “So, will you help us?”
“I have never been here before. All I have are the stories my uncle told me.”
“He obviously told you about the shortcut.”
Isabella frowned, then sighed resignedly. “It is said that the only way to leave Xibalba is through water.”
“The pool,” Bell said. “It must feed an underground river. In the Popol Vuh, the Twins transformed themselves into fish-people to avoid destruction at the hands of the Lords of Xibalba.”
Isabella nodded affirmatively. “But to reach the water, you will first have to win the ball game.”
Maddock looked past her, and shone his light out across the courtyard. Below them was a balcony overlooking the ball court. More stairs at either end of the balcony led down to the floor which appeared to slope gently up toward the pyramid at the far end. Arranged throughout were several more carved stelae similar to those they had seen in the Council Chamber and Jaguar House.
“The ball court of Xibalba,” Bell said, breathlessly.
“I thought it looked familiar,” Bones said. “I take it that’s the home team out there on the field?”
“Another test,” Maddock groaned. “Well, obviously we’re not playing against a real opponent. How do we win?”
“According to the legend, the Lords of Xibalba demanded the use of a special ball — a skull with a dagger blade that would spring out and kill anyone it touched.”
“Cheating bastards,” Bones muttered.
“The Twins saw through the trick and refused to play unless the Lords agreed to use a regular rubber ball. Even so, the Twins either lost or tied all their subsequent games, which eventually led to their sacrifice.”
“I thought they defeated the Lords of Xibalba.”
“They did ultimately, but only after coming back from the dead several times.”
“I don’t think that’s going to be an option for us.”
“The closest they came to actually beating the Lords was in the final game. They didn’t exactly win, but they pulled a trick of their own. It’s a long story involving a headless man, a rabbit, and a gourd.”
“Sounds promising.”
“Didn’t Professor and Jade have to deal with something like this at Teotihuacan?” Bones said. “Too bad they aren’t here.”