Angélica lowered her beam to the weapon he held in his hand. “We might have a problem,” she said to Quint as he came up beside her. “He’s covered his face with green paint to represent a funerary death mask.”
“No shit. Okay. But what’s he’s holding?”
“Amacuahuitl.”
Where had KuTu picked that up? He certainly hadn’t been carrying it when they’d climbed over the wall. He must have had it stashed somewhere on this side of the wall. In the beam of her light, the polished triangular-shaped obsidian blades lining the outside of the flat wooden shaft practically sparkled.
“Seriously?” Quint caught her arm, pulling her back a step. “Should we be concerned about him having that?”
She scoffed. “We’re walking through an eerily silent jungle in the black of night heading for an ancient edifice where this reincarnated king wearing a death mask claimsCamazotzwill be popping out looking for a warm body with a nice, plump, beating heart.”
“Well.” Quint blew out a breath. “When you put it that way, we’re fucked.”
“Maybe.” She glanced up at Quint. “Or it could be that KuTu is suffering from a brain-eating parasite that’s causing hallucinatory bouts, and he’s about to go old-school Maya warrior on us with a deadly razor-lined bat.”
Quint wheezed. “Jesus, now who’s trying to scare my underwear off?”
“What are you doing with that weapon?” she asked KuTu in Mayan.
He pointed it at Quint. “I made it forKimi.”
She wondered if he’d used the obsidian blades they’d found in one of the caches. “He isn’tKimi.”
KuTu’s head tipped. “Are you certain?”
Most of the time, yes. But on a night when the moon was almost full and the dark jungle was way too quiet—no, not really.
“Is he calling meKimi?” Quint asked. “Same as Daisy’s invisible visitor did?”
“Yes. He says he made the weapon for you.”
“Dang. I didn’t know we’d be exchanging gifts tonight. I hope he doesn’t want my heart in return.”
Angélica patted his arm. “Don’t worry, Parker. I won’t let him or anyone else take what’s mine.”
KuTu stepped closer, offering the Maya weapon to Quint like it was King Arthur’s mythical sword. “Kimiwill need this whenCamazotzarrives to collect a sacrifice.”
KuTu didn’t really believe that, did he? The better question was, did she?
Angélica shined her light up at KuTu’s face, checking for a glint of madness in his eyes. She had some experience with bouts of temporary insanity. Her ex-husband had suffered from it far too often.
He squinted in the light, but outside of the green painted-on death mask, he wasn’t wide-eyed or twitching.
“Nice face paint,” Pedro said, stopping next to Quint. “It reminds me of the jade death mask they found on King Pakal in Palenque.”
“Exactly,” Angélica said. “I’m guessing KuTu improvised since we’re a bit short on jade stones at this site.”
Bronko caught up to them. “What’s going on with the green face?” He leaned forward to take a closer look at themacuahuitl, letting out a low whistle. “That will tear a big hole in someone.”
“Let’s just hope it’s not one of us,” Pedro said.
“He made it for Parker,” she told them. “To fightCamazotz.”
“That’s not fair,” Pedro said, swatting at something flying around his head. “What are we supposed to use to fight the death-bat god?”
“Harsh words and mean faces,” Quint said. “Don’t forget to hit him with your incredible wit.”
Bronko chuckled.
