“So, not dead?” Quint asked nobody in particular.
“Ouch!” Fernel said, stretching his neck, turning his head one way and then the other. “Damn, I forgot how much living hurts.”
Come again? Quint gaped at the guy as he stood and brushed off his clothes.
“We … uh.” Angélica let out a sharp laugh of disbelief. “We thought you were dead.”
“Oh, I was,” Fernel said, opening and closing his mouth, as if stretching his jaw muscles.
“You were reincarnated?” Quint asked. “You mean this was all part of the ritual? It actually worked?”
KuTu said something to Fernel in what sounded like Mayan. Fernel shrugged in return, replying to the old king in what must havebeen the same language.
Angélica made a keening sound in her throat, sounding a bit like a sick cat.
Quint stared at the geoarchaeologist. He didn’t remember Fernel knowing how to speak Mayan. Had the guy been hiding that skill along with the whistle of death?
“Oh my god,” Angélica whispered, her face noticeably pale as she stared at Fernel.
“What?” Quint asked. “What did they say?”
KuTu nudged Quint, pointing at the man in question. “No es Fernel,” he said in Spanish.
Quint stared at the guy standing there with the partially swollen face and glasses. “He certainly looks like him.”
“This is going to take some getting used to,” Fernel said, touching his own cheeks, then chin, then chest. He rolled his shoulders a couple of times, squinting in the light.
“Oh my God,” Angélica repeated, louder. She fell back against the wall. “This is impossible. I must be having a nightmare.” She pinched her arm, wincing at the pain, and then pinched it again.
“What the hell is going on?” Quint asked.
“Nothing is impossible,Pik,” Fernel said, and then smiled at Quint. “It appears that something went awry with the reincarnation ritual. KuTu believes it’s due to the moon not being full yet. He said Dr. Fernel was too impatient to wait.”
Dr. Fernel was …huh?
“How can this be so?” Angélica asked, wiping away tears now running down her cheeks.
“Get a grip on it,Pik. Your father will be able to read you like an open book. He’s always been attuned to body language, believe you me.” Fernel chuckled. “Oh, dear, I forgot how hot it is down here in the jungle.” He fanned his shirt. “It’s nice to see you again, Quint. Or should I call you ‘Mr. Big-time Photojournalist’?”
“Again?” Quint shook his head, trying to clear the fog bank clouding his ability to think.
“Yes, again. We met once before, but you thought you were dreaming.” Fernel took off his glasses, blinking in the light. “There, that’s better. These things are way too strong to be readers.”
“Mom,” Angélica said softly, clutching the locket at her throat.
Mom?Quint pointed at Fernel, gaping at Angélica. “You’re telling me that this is now Marianne standing here? As in Marianne, your mother?”
Angélica nodded slowly.
“You can bet your lucky ring that it’s me standing here,” Fernel said, reaching down to pick up the whistle of death. “At least for the time being anyway. Now, where can a gal get a drink around here? My throat is killing me.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
Several days later …
… and while the archaeology work at Site 5 is far from finished, INAH has given it an “off-limits” status at this time, labeling it as a wildlife conservation zone due in part to the nearbyaguada. There will be forest rangers actively policing the area, keeping it safe from looters, loggers, poachers, drug runners, or any other trespassers.
If it is deemed necessary, the lead archaeologist and her fieldwork crew will return at a future time to carry out more investigations and excavations. Until then, INAH will be focusing its efforts on exploring other sites that the Mexican government views as not only beneficial for broadening knowledge about the ancient Maya civilization, but also lucrative on the archaeo-tourism front.
