CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT JAGUAR TEMPLE CALAKMUL BIOSPHERE RESERVE

JAGUAR TEMPLE

CALAKMUL BIOSPHERE RESERVE

January 10

Uacmitun’s betrayal at such a pivotal moment cast a shadow on Jacob’s mood. If someone so loyal had been tempted to turn against him, what did that mean for the rest of the warrior clan? Had the man simply seized on an opportunistic moment? Or were there more seeds of discontent spreading roots beneath the surface?

He could not let such insidious thoughts distract him tonight. He stood before the obsidian mirror, watching as Angélica helped arrange his ceremonial attire. A large crowd had already gathered at the arena, waiting for him to arrive.

Angélica took a leather bracer with several poison darts and added it to his belt. The darts were to paralyze the sacrificial victims for the ceremony. At such close range, he wouldn’t need a blowgun to shoot them. Just a little prick. Then Angélica brought out the sacrificial blade, a dagger made of sharpened obsidian. The serrations would make it easy to cut through flesh and bone. She sheathed the weapon and wrapped its belt around his waist before cinching it tight.

“Are you ready for the ceremony?” she asked. Her own face and arms were decorated in Maya ink. “You don’t want to delay it?”

“This moment has been underway for centuries,” he said. “Why would I hesitate now?”

“The Americans,” she said. “I’ve heard their jets passing overhead.”

Jacob reached out and stroked her cheek. “There is nothing to fear. The protections surrounding the Jaguar Temple will not fail. Their drones have dropped like cicadas from the trees. The jungle will continue to protect us. And if they somehow come close enough to the stelae guarding the grounds, the kem ?m will repel them. Even if they know about the underground rivers, I have put shields there as well. Soon the war will be at their gates. Not ours.”

She smiled, but he saw the worry in her eyes.

The bead strands rattled, and a servant came rushing in, falling to his knees and pressing his forehead against the ground.

“Great One!” he gasped.

Jacob lowered his hand and looked at the servant who’d intruded. Another problem? Another distraction?

“Yes?” Jacob asked tonelessly.

“Mataré is coming! He carries a man. Your foe!”

“Who?”

“The father of the family who won the death game last year!”

“Jonathon Roth?” Jacob said incredulously. He turned to Angélica in surprise. Her face showed the same reaction.

“They come to the throne room now!” the servant said urgently.

Jacob gripped Angélica’s hand, and they marched out of the private room. The throne room of the palace was very close, and when they got there, they found Mataré standing proudly, arms folded. Jonathon Roth was on his hands and knees. Other servants had gathered, and they whispered among themselves, commenting on the sudden arrival.

Jacob was impressed. No, he was delighted. It was Mr. Roth at last.

“Attend to our guests!” Jacob commanded the servant, who instantly dispersed to fetch the jugs of xocolatl and trays of meats and fruits. Mataré was breathing heavily, sweat dripping down his face. Mr. Roth was a heavy man. Even with the strength of a jaguar priest, he’d undergone a test of endurance.

“You found him,” Jacob said in the old tongue, knowing Mr. Roth was passable in Spanish.

“And I killed in order to claim him,” Mataré said proudly. “They could not stop me.”

“You will be rewarded,” Jacob said. “A kingdom to rule. A grand one.”

“Thank you, Master of Secrets,” Mataré said. “I must prepare for the ceremony.”

“Go. You are highly favored.”

Mataré smiled, bowed to Jacob, and then departed, leaving Jacob and Angélica alone with Mr. Roth in the now empty throne room.

Jacob switched to English.

“Once again you return to the Jaguar Temple, Mr. Roth. A fitting night, of course, to return. We are reenacting La Noche Triste. I’m glad you will be here to participate in it.”

Roth lifted his head, looking defeated and frightened. He glanced around the chamber, taking in the elaborate stonework.

“So you’re going to kill me?” he said with a sigh.

“You knew that was the only acceptable outcome when you chose to defy me. Surely it cannot be a surprise to you. Did you honestly believe I would not enforce my threats?”

Roth scratched his neck but still remained in a subservient posture. “When you didn’t let Sarina go, I thought she was already dead. I didn’t know you’d spared Jane Louise.”

“I was using them both as security for your good faith. Now we both see that it was prudent for me to do so.”

“Indeed. You won.”

“Do not try to flatter me, Mr. Roth. You survived longer than most who have roused my displeasure. Your cooperation with the government has unleashed mighty enemies against me too soon. Confronting the military was always part of my plan. They are a powerful crocodile. But even a jaguar can seize a crocodile by the neck and drag it out of the river. There are many of us. We are enough.”

Roth sighed and shook his head. “I know that I cannot plead for my life. But I ask that you spare my family.”

Jacob took a step forward. “If they were here, I would make them watch you die,” he said coldly. “There was a time of war among the ancient Maya when the captives were fed on the flesh and blood of their own fathers and husbands. And then they were starved to death. That is what I would do to your family, Mr. Roth. In a dungeon at the gates of Xibalba where no one could hear them scream. Consider it a mercy from Ix Chel that they’re not here. After I’ve cut out your heart, your flesh will be fed to the jungle. Prepare for midnight, Mr. Roth. It comes swiftly.”

Roth lifted his head and glared at him defiantly.

“I wasn’t expecting to survive as long as I did. I’ve had another year with my kids. I outsmarted you in Germany and Bozeman. I’m the one who tricked you in DC too. The Situation Room trap. That was my idea.”

Jacob’s blood began to boil with rage. Was Roth trying to provoke a harsh reaction? Did he wish to be killed quickly, mauled by a jaguar, instead of facing the ceremonial dagger?

“Am I supposed to be impressed?” Jacob countered.

“No. You’re supposed to be worried,” Roth said, rising to his feet. Jacob didn’t like his look of defiance. It was intolerable.

“I’m not,” Jacob answered simply.

“We both know what’s on the blank pages of the Dresden Codex. The prophecy isn’t about you. That’s why I know you’re going to lose. Whether or not I die is inconsequential in the end. As long as you ... lose.”

Mr. Roth was trying to play mind games. But Jacob found himself thinking of that look on his father’s face, all those years ago, when he’d brought him to Aztlán. He’d seen something in a vision. Something that had prompted him to try to kill Jacob. No one else knew about that. No one else would know about it.

“Kukulkán is coming,” Roth said. “The prophecy is about him. Not you.”

“Your posturing is insufferable,” Jacob said angrily.

“I have nothing to lose,” Roth said, holding up his hands. “I already know I’m a dead man. And so are you. You’ve persuaded everyone you’re the ‘chosen one.’ But you’re just like Cortés, making decisions based on a myth you don’t even understand.”

Jacob was furious now, but he didn’t want Roth to know how much he’d unsettled him. If it was a ploy to win an early death, it was close to working.

“Take him to the dungeon with the others,” Jacob said tightly to Angélica. He pointed his finger at Roth. “I am the master of the Great Secret. Not you.”

“Said Nero before his own centurions killed him. I’m the only one who can help you survive this. Think about it.”

“If you speak another word, I’ll cut out your tongue,” Jacob threatened.

And he meant it.