Maya Silver:
Sacrifice
Isabelle writes...
It seemed to take all that was within us to catch up to
Natomi's captors, although in truth we would never have done so had
they not stopped upon the way. Their reason for stopping was
apparent as we neared it. There, high upon the hillside, was a
small temple, really just large rocks carved in the likeness of
some heathen gods. The temples of the lowlands were always huge
elaborate affairs, raised up like artificial mountains above the
common huts. This small temple had no need of such extravagance,
the mountain supplied that quite well with it's commanding view and
natural amphitheatre. It was easy to understand why these people
thought their gods might live here, for if you were a god, wouldn't
you insist upon such as your due?
We ignored our surroundings and approached with
determination, even though the Mayans swung their pikes out towards
us. Something we saw as we drew closer caused us to stop short. It
was Natomi, bound at the hands and feet and laid out upon what
could only be an altar. An older man wearing a huge jaguar head
upon his own stood behind the altar holding odd stones in his hands
and wailing such that the men stood and stared.
Up until now I had wished I could hold the men back, keep
them from following and killing these natives just for a few
tablets of silver. Seeing little Natomi spread out by these
uncaring beasts drove such thoughts from my mind, for I knew what
was in store here.
"Men!" I cried. "I know these rituals. The Incans did the
same. She is to be a sacrifice to their Gods. When noon comes they
will slice her open, pull out her beating heart and offer it to the
Sun. Then they will cut off her head and offer her blood to the
Earth. Look now! Already the sun is high in the sky!"
My words met their mark and the men attacked in a rage. More
than a few fell from both sides, and I could briefly see the jaguar
head go down, but the rest of the struggle was confused. When the
fighting was over and the Mayans were gone, those of us who
remained were distressed to see that Natomi was still somewhere in
the hands of her captors. The jaguar headed Mayan revealed a
particularly heavy plate of silver whose pattern I copied at once.
The design was special and for once I did not need Natomi to
translate, as it was almost exactly like one the Incans used and I
knew it well.
I copied my notes as the men stripped the dead, looked up
into the hills and made themselves ready. They were focused
single-mindedly now on Natomi and on something that had become even
more important than treasure...
Escape