The streets of Xibalba glowed blue beneath their feet as they ran through the ankle deep accumulation of the strange phosphorescent lichen. The stuff was everywhere. On the streets, on the tiers of the pyramids and other structures, even lining the edges of the canals that flowed from the pool at the base of the waterfall. With the exception of the ball court, every horizontal surface in the cavern seemed to be covered in the stuff.
That, too, was something Maddock tried not to think about.
They headed straight for the pool, a distance of only a couple hundred yards. He had no idea what would happen once they plunged into it. The fact that the cavern was not completely submerged suggested that the pool drained into an underground river, and both Isabella and Bell had confirmed that the only escape from Xibalba was by water. He still had the backpack with the SCUBA gear in it — hopefully none of it had been damaged when he had used the pack as a makeshift bat on the ball court — and that would give them a fighting chance, but relying on a centuries-old myth, which had already proven to be a somewhat unreliable guide, was a big gamble.
Still, it was better than the alternative.
He glanced over his shoulder, looking past the still glowering Miranda, and spotted several figures descending from the pyramid. The blue light cast an eerie glow on their tattooed bodies, making them look like phantoms as they sprinted toward the city.
He slowed, waving for the others to keep going, and shoved the backpack into Bones’ hands. “Company’s coming. I’ll hold them off. You get everyone out of here.”
He knew Bones would understand what had to be done, but Angel stopped beside him, and so did Kasey, with her own pistol drawn, ready to make a stand with Maddock. Before either woman could speak, he stopped them. “Don’t worry. I’ll be right behind you.”
“Better listen to him, ladies,” Bones shouted back. “Unless you’re half-fish like him, you need to stick with me.”
As they headed out, Maddock squeezed off a couple shots in the direction of the advancing Serpent Brothers. They were barely within the effective range of the pistol and moving, which meant scoring a hit was unlikely, but hopefully the shots would slow them down long enough for Bones to organize the underwater exit.
Sure enough, the garishly decorated warriors veered off, seeking cover behind the temples and houses that lined the street.
Then a voice echoed out across the city. “Maddock!”
It was Alex Scano.
The psychopathic pharma-bro had just come down the steps of the pyramid, and was moving slowly down the street with Carina beside him. They were in the open, but well out of pistol range. Scano had his arms extended out away from his body, but it seemed more like a quasi-Messianic pose than a gesture of surrender.
“Maddock,” he said again, his voice echoing weirdly in the confines of the cavern. “Be reasonable. I’ve got what I came for. I don’t care about you. But you’re going to run out of bullets eventually and then what? Let’s work together.”
Maddock recognized the stalling tactic for what it was. The Serpent Brothers were probably sneaking through the maze of side streets, trying to come up on his flanks.
Two could play that game.
“Sorry, Scano,” he shouted. “But you’re not going to be working with anyone. You’re infected.”
Scano laughed. “You’re wrong. I was infected, but I’ve been cured, just like the legend says.”
“There is no cure. Look around you.”
Seventy-five yards away, Scano did exactly that. Maddock could see his head moving from side to side. “What exactly is it you think I should be looking at? The Light? It’s the cure.”
“It’s not a cure,” Maddock retorted. “It’s what’s left of everyone who made it this far.”
Scano stopped in his tracks. Despite the distance separating them, Maddock could see the confusion in the other man’s expression.
“This blue growth,” Maddock continued. “The Light — it kills the Shadow fungus all right, but it doesn’t do anything to help the infected. Sorry to break it to you, but you’re a dead man walking.”
“No.” Scano shook his head, angrily. “No, you can’t know that.”
“Think about it. If the Maya had a cure, they wouldn’t have been wiped out.”
“You don’t know that’s what happened.”
“I do. The proof is all around you. This place… Xibalba… was their version of an isolation ward. When the Shadow plague burned through their civilization, they did what they knew they had to do. They came here. All of them. Most probably didn’t make it this far, maybe only a very small percentage — a few thousand out of hundreds of thousands. They came here, laid down and died. Just like you’re going to.”
“No. You’re wrong.”
“The Light isn’t a cure. It’s just another organic fungus. One that feeds off the Shadow, but it’s only here, deep underground. When those Maya died, it consumed their remains.” He made a sweeping gesture. “This is all that’s left of them. Ask your friend. I’ll bet she’s already figured it out. Isabella did. She took one look and figured out the truth.”
“It is true,” Carina said. She spoke so softly that Maddock could barely hear her. She turned to face Scano. “I did not understand, but now I do. This is the fate of all who are touched by the Shadow.”
“That’s insane. Of course there’s a—”
Scano was cut off, literally, as Carina slashed her obsidian dagger across his throat. He fell back, hands clutching his throat.
Carina turned to Maddock and started toward him, her knife eager to draw blood again. “I should thank you,” she called out in a tone that sounded anything but grateful. “I was led astray, but now I have returned to the true path.”
Maddock kept the pistol trained on her, but he could see movement from of the corner of his eye. The serpent warriors were emerging all around him. He didn’t think he was in range of their blowguns, but he would be soon if he didn’t move.
Carina kept advancing, unfazed by the threat of the gun. “The Serpent Brotherhood guards the world of mankind from the Shadow, until the gods decide it is time to cleanse the world.”
“Works for me,” Maddock said slowly, taking a step back.
“I cannot let you leave,” Carina went on. “None of you can be allowed to return to the surface world.”
“That… doesn’t work for me.”
Carina made a slashing gesture, and suddenly Maddock was surrounded by movement as the Serpent Brothers rushed him en masse. He pivoted, squeezing off a shot that dropped one, then another, but they were coming too fast.
He turned to run, but an invisible hand knocked him off his feet, and suddenly the world was full of fire.
CHAPTER 36
The explosion rocked Xibalba to its core. Jagged cracks shot through the floor. Pyramids crumbled like Jenga blocks, and stalactites began falling down like missiles to spear the broken floor. But that was only the first taste of the destruction. Far across the cavern, the wall separating Bat House from the ball court had disintegrated, unleashing a cloud of dust and a wall of flame that was now rolling across the city faster than a freight train.
Maddock scrambled to his feet, slipping on the lichen-covered floor, almost stumbling again. The pool was close, but the fire behind him felt even closer.
There was no sign of the others. He hoped that meant Bones had gotten them out in time.
A cry tore from his lips as the heat flashed to searing intensity. The blue lichen — the Light, though its glow was now wholly overwhelmed by the brilliance of the flames rushing through Xibalba — darkened and withered to ash all around him. The fire scorched his back; he thought he could feel his skin blistering and bubbling under his shirt. But even as it burned him, the fire was also his deliverance. The superheated air pushed him from behind, a hot wind driving him forward toward the pool and salvation.