Daisy dabbed at her neck. “Did you take a peek inside yesterday when you were there?”
“There was no time for that. Fernel was attacked by the local buzz crowd almost instantly.”
She stopped mid-dab. “Does that seem weird to you? The bugs attacking only him?”
“About as weird as the huge wall built around this site.”
“Right. And the stack of skulls piled neatly next to it.”
Quint shuddered. “Watching Fernel swell up by the minute yesterday as Pedro and I rushed him back to camp had me slathering on Teodoro’s anti-bug goop extra thick this morning.” He sniffed in her direction, picking up the scent of lemons and eucalyptus oil. “I smell your patented bug repellent, too.”
“Juan warned me to lay it on thick. I think he was traumatized after paying Dr. Fernel a visit.” She tucked her handkerchief away. “I’m excited to see the carvings around the entryway. It sounds like we’re on to something new here—well, new to us, but old for the Maya.” She glanced over at Pedro and Fernando. “Where is Esteban?”
She’d come along about twenty minutes later than the rest of them, missing the group conversation about what to do while waiting for Angélica and her father to join them.
“He’s inside the wall with Raul and Bronko. The three of them are waiting for us there.”
“What about KuTu?”
“I don’t know. He wasn’t with us on the walk here. Maybe he’s coming with Angélica and her dad.”
Daisy shielded her eyes and stared up at the sky. “More king vultures today. They’re gliding lower than usual. I wonder if it’s because of the clouds.”
“I counted twenty a few minutes before you arrived.”
She whistled. “You have to wonder if it’s this site or theaguadadrawing them in. They usually don’t hang out in such large groups.”
Or maybe it was just a charming good demon from the Underworld and his magnetic personality. Or that he was supposedly smeared with death. He cringed. Yeah, it was probably the rotting bit.
Although, Raul had told him, the king vulture’s sense of smell wasn’t as strong as other eaters of the dead. They relied on finding other vultures that had sniffed out a rotting carcass, and then they swooped in and shoved their way up to the dinner table.
A little way down the old Maya road, Juan and Angélica came into view, one limping and the other waving. “Here they come.”
Daisy followed his gaze and waved back. “I hope he’s taking it easy on that ankle.”
KuTu wasn’t with them. Quint scanned the forest, wondering where the other guard had gone. Maybe Angélica had sent him off to do a special task earlier, before Quint and the others headed out. Or he could be helping Teodoro collect more water for drinking and showering.
Daisy straightened her sunhat and then pulled it lower onto her head. “Today is going to be a good day.”
“In spite of the rain?” Quint asked, watching Angélica pause andwait for her father to catch up.
“I don’t think it’s actually going to rain today.”
“Are you giving me one of your Daisy 8-ball predictions?”
“No.” She stood. “I just have a feeling that those clouds are putting on a show. Plus, they’re too high up.”
A fluttering commotion at the wall caught Quint’s attention. One of the king vultures had landed on the top and was now settling in, reminding him of a stone gargoyle perched high up on a building. It stared down at them with its red-and-white-ringed black eyes, the yellow jiggly caruncle on its beak clearly visible from this distance along with its colorful head.
“Oh, my.” Daisy slowly sank back down onto the rock. “Would you look at that? We are truly lucky today to be gifted with that big boy’s presence. Did I tell you that according to some Maya legends, that bird was thought to once be a king who after death was given the job of being a messenger?”
“A messenger for what?” Something to do with death, undoubtedly. Or sacrifice. Or both.
“He had to convey important information between humans andthe gods, both good and bad.”
Quint wasn’t sure if the huge bird was a lucky gift or an omen today. One could never tell in the world of Maya mythology, where red flags were waved more often than not.
As he and Daisy stared up at the vulture, another came cruising in, landing several hops farther down the wall from the first.
