“Yeah.”
He turned to her. “Maybe this language is Mayan, but the reason you don’t recognize these glyphs is because they are describing something found only here at this site. Something that has never needed to be recorded before or since. Something unnatural to the Maya world as we know it—as they knew it.”
That was an interesting twist. “Like what?”
“Like a Maya prison. Now, I know you said they didn’t have jails, let alone prisons, but every year archaeologists are learning new things about the Maya people. Hell, decades ago, it was thought that the Maya were peaceful and focused mostly on farming. Look at what has come out since then regarding the decades of fighting between Calakmul and Tikal alone.”
“Okay, so another mark goes in the column for the possibility of a first find-of-its-kind Maya prison.”
Half of his face squinched. “Or it could be something worse.”
“What’s worse than a prison?”
He reached around behind the laptop and held up one of Dr. Fernel’s LIDAR map printouts of the site. “A site created to not only keep prisoners for lengths of time, but also to sacrifice them to thegods. Basically, the Maya equivalent of a Nazi concentration camp where they experimented in even more horrifying ways.”
She winced at the images his idea put into her head. “Or maybe a concentration-like camp from a pre-Maya civilization.”
He dropped the LIDAR printout on the table. “Or maybe it was just a fun summer camp where the Maya kids made up their own secret code language to keep their parents in the dark.”
“But then there’s the dagger KuTu found today,” she said in a lower voice, knowing the Maya guard was on duty at the moment and could be wandering around within hearing distance outside of the tent.
“What about it?” Quint whispered back.
“He said it was used in a reincarnation ritual.”
Quint raised his hands, palms up. “And you’re whispering about this because?”
“I have limited exposure to shamanic glyphs about rituals outside of the basic sacrificial ones that typically show things like stingray spines being used or drops of blood dripping into a bowl or on a cloth.”
“And don’t forget hearts being cut out while the victim is still alive,” he said, grimacing.
“Right. Maybe you’re on to something with this code language idea. If this were a secret religious site steeped in ritual and sacrifice, the scribes could have been shaman who had their own unique glyphs for various rites and ceremonies.”
“Like the Shaolin monks in China with a secret Maya club twist.”
“Exactly.”
“So, you’re still thinking Site 5 was religious based rather thansome kind of prison?”
“More of a blending of the two.”
“And the wall with the guard shacks?” he prodded.
“If this site wasn’t open to the public, that might explain the lack ofstelae. You wouldn’t need to tell everyone the purpose of a building or temple if it’s meant to be a secret.”
He swatted at a mosquito that had made it past the zippered flap. “You think the Calakmul population knew about this place?”
“Some of them must have. They were too close physically not to.” She stared down at the LIDAR map. “But it appears they kept it from the historical record for some reason.”
“Again, like a top-secret club.”
She shrugged. “Until we find more evidence leading us in a more solid direction, we can add it to our running theories.”
He turned her way and caught her hand, lacing his fingers through hers. “Are dig sites always this mysterious initially down here in the Maya world?”
“No, usually there are just temples, plazas, ballcourts, and other buildings with clearer indications of who resided there and what gods they liked to worship the most.” She scooted closer, splitting his knees with hers. “Although the last site got weird, too.”
“You think it’s me andKimi, my death buddy, stirring up problems?”
