Chapter Eighteen #2
“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 the aguada drawing 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 and wait 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 and the 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.
“Holy smokes!” Daisy whispered, squeezing Quint’s arm in her excitement. “What are the chances of having two dead kings stop by to give us news?”
“I don’t know, but their messages must be urgent.”
Quint glanced down the road toward Angélica. Was she seeing this? She had her back turned to them, saying something to her father from the looks of it, so maybe not.
More fluttering and flapping came from up on the wall.
Daisy gasped.
Quint turned back. Four king vultures were now perched up high. They stared down at them with heads lowered, their white breasts puffed out, black feathers tucked.
“Did you know they have a king vulture in a zoo up in Tucson that’s over sixty years old?” Daisy said. “That’s almost twice as long as they normally live.”
Quint glanced her way. “Your knowledge of vulture trivia is downright surprising, Daisy.”
She shrugged. “I love all things Maya, and vultures played a large role in their beliefs and lore.”
“Are you two seeing this?” Pedro asked, coming up beside them. “Or am I dead and those pájaros are here to pluck my eyes out?”
Quint grimaced. “Daisy says they might be old, dead kings who’ve come to deliver messages to us from the gods.”
Two more vultures landed, bracketing the first four.
“And then there were six.” Daisy’s tone was a mixture of awe and glee.
His focus on the birds, Quint asked Pedro, “Where’s Fernando?”
“He’s watching from behind a tree. He said that vultures creep him up.”
“And out.” Daisy fixed Pedro’s expression without missing a beat.
“He prefers javelinas,” Pedro added.
“Rover would be happy to hear that,” Quint said, watching as three more vultures joined the other six.
“Nine.” Daisy sucked air through her teeth. “Can you believe this?” She shook Quint’s arm. “You need to take a picture of this, Junior Mint.”
She was right, dammit. What was he thinking?
He opened his backpack, fishing blindly for his camera while keeping his eyes on the show up on the wall. Whether he was the bait for this death-eater congregation or not, he could be gawking at a once in a lifetime photo opportunity.
By the time he had his camera out and ready to shoot, four more king vultures had joined the party. “Thirteen!” he whispered in amazement, snapping several shots from his rock perch.
“Same as the number of heavens,” Pedro said.
Daisy trembled in excitement beside him, bumping him as he took another photo.
He stood slowly, stepping onto the old road to take a few more shots, some vertical, some horizontal.
A fourteenth vulture flapped down, claws first, and landed on the top of the pile of skulls. Its weight made the stack shift, but it held steady.
“?Dios mio!” Pedro joined Quint on the sacbe. “I’ve only ever seen them gliding above. They are muy grande up close.”
Daisy came up next to Quint, her palm cool on his forearm. “They are watching over you, Kimi,” she said in a guttural voice.
Kimi?
Quint glanced down to find her looking at him with her eyes half-closed, lids fluttering rapidly. Christ, not now. Not with Pedro here.
“Kimi?” Pedro said, his gaze still on the birds. “Is that a new nickname?”
Not quite. Quint lowered his camera. Screw it. He was too concerned about Daisy at the moment to worry about trying to hide this ghost-channeling shit from Pedro. “Daisy, are you okay?”
Pedro turned her way, doing a double-take. “Hey, what’s wrong with her eyes?” He leaned over and waved his hand in front of her face.
“I think she’s having some kind of a spell.” Her hand was still on his arm. Cool to the touch—same as Angélica had described. “Daisy?” he said her name louder, trying to snap her out of it. Or snap somebody else out of her.
Pedro came around the other side of Daisy, taking her by the arm to hold her steady. “Maybe we should try to sit her down?”
“When the time comes, Kimi,” Daisy rasped, freezing them both in place, “you will need their help.”
Was she talking about the vultures?
“Help with what?” Quint asked.
“Who is Kimi?” Pedro stared at him over Daisy’s head, his forehead lined. “What is she talking about, Parker?”
“I’ll explain later,” he said to Pedro. Back to Daisy—or whoever—he pressed, “Help me with what?”
“That which awaits in the great darkness,” she answered.
Pedro’s eyes widened. “Is this the message the kings up on the wall are delivering from the gods?”
“I don’t know.” Quint turned to the vultures. They stared back at him, hunched, watching, waiting.
What the fuck?
Wait! Angélica’s mom. Of course! To Daisy, he said, “Marianne, is that you?”
Pedro made a choked, gargled sound, then, “Marianne?”
Daisy’s head tipped sideways, as if her neck was too weak for the load. “He must not be left alone,” she warned.
Hadn’t she said something like that to him the other day?
“You mean Juan?”
“Her knees are going,” Pedro said, grabbing Daisy around the waist to keep her from falling.
“Stay, Kimi.” She clamped harder onto Quint’s forearm, her fingernails digging into his flesh. “Stay until the ritual is complete or more will be sacrificed.”
He looked at Pedro, whose face was lined from forehead to chin.
Sacrificed? Pedro mouthed.
“Quint!” Angélica yelled, running their way.
Daisy’s grip tightened on his arm even more. Damn, she was strong! Surprisingly so for a petite woman. “Heed my words, Kimi.”
Quint turned to the king vulture standing on the pile of skulls. Messenger from the gods? “Who are you?” he whispered.
When Quint turned back to Daisy, her eyelids fluttered even faster. Her jaw was trembling now, too. “Do not descend,” she rasped. “Not until you see Ixchel in her full glory.”
Angélica slid to a stop in front of them, her focus on the vultures. “Holy shit! They really came!”
That was an odd choice of words, Quint thought. She didn’t seem happy about their visit, either. What in the hell was going …
Daisy’s knees gave out.
Quint helped Pedro catch her before she hit the ground. The two of them carried her to the stone they’d shared earlier.
“What’s wrong with her?” Angélica kneeled in front of Daisy, whose eyes were now closed. “Is she okay?”
“She was having one of her … uh …” he paused.
Pedro was watching him with a narrowed gaze. Shit. Might as well tell it like it was. Pedro had already witnessed it all.
“Someone was using Daisy as a channel again,” he said.
Angélica leaned back, her hand going to her chest. “Was it Mom?”
He shook his head. “She kept calling me ‘Kimi.’ I think it was the same visitor as before.”
“What is going on?” Pedro asked, watching both of them now. “No fairy tales, Angélica,” he warned.
“I’ll explain later, Pedro. In private.” Angélica turned to Quint. “Call her back.”
“How?”
“I don’t know, but if she was channeling a message for you, then your voice might bring her back.”
“Daisy,” he whispered.
“Louder,” Angélica ordered.
“Daisy!”
Her eyes flicked open, her expression confused for a couple of beats before recognition settled into place. “Quint? What happened?”
“You zoned out,” Angélica said, taking Daisy’s hand in hers. “Are you okay?”
Daisy nodded, and then her focus moved behind Angélica. “Wow! Look at them all. They’re so beautiful.”
“What’s going on?” Juan asked as he limped up to them. “Is Daisy okay?”
“I’m fine, Juan. I just got a little chill there for a moment and must have stumbled into poor Quint.” Daisy pointed at the birds, smiling with wonder. “Look! What an honor to be among so many kings. You think they’re admiring us the same as we are them?”
“Maybe,” Angélica said, aiming a raised brow at Quint.
“I need a drink,” Pedro said, stepping back and fanning his shirt.
“The one perched on the skull pile is the largest,” Juan said. “He must be king of the kings.”
And the deliverer of the message?
Quint rubbed the back of his neck. This was so fucked up. Maybe the heat was melting his brain.
As they watched, the “king” flexed his wings wide. They must have spanned over six feet! The vulture wheezed out a scratchy call of sorts, snapping its beak several times.
A great flapping racket followed as the thirteen vultures on the wall all lifted off at once. The king followed last, shoving off the pile so hard that several of the skulls rolled to the ground.
“Cristo,” Pedro said. “Look at them go.”
Daisy clapped, seemingly unaware that she’d knocked the wind out of the rest of them with her show-and-tell act. “What a wonderful way to start our day!”
Quint met Angélica’s worried gaze, rubbing the half-moon indentations Daisy’s fingernails had left on his forearm. What had it all meant? Who was sending the messengers to him?
Movement behind her drew his gaze.
KuTu stood by the skulls, watching Quint with a wary frown. He made a gesture toward him with his hand, almost salute-like, and then bowed slightly.
“Well, then,” Daisy said, smiling all around. “Are we going to climb over that wall and get this party started, or stand around all day watching the birds?”