Chapter Nineteen #3
“I wish.” She sat on the log next to him, keeping her voice low as she explained, “Camazotz is one of the Maya gods from the Underworld who acts as a gatekeeper of sorts, overseeing those who try to pass through in their attempt to make it to the thirteen levels of Maya heaven. It is believed he and his army would terrorize the dead travelers.”
“Camazotz?” he repeated, his expression grim.
“The name means ‘death bat.’ He’s the Maya god of all bats, which were thought to live near portals to the Underworld.”
“Seriously?”
“He’s also the god of night, death, and sacrifice.”
“Wow. Sounds like a real nice fella. You think he barbecues on his back porch on Sundays?”
“He’s an ancient god who rules the domain of twilight and sleeps during the day.”
“He’s in charge of the third-shift crew. Got it.”
“He’s also said to be one of the four animal demons who acted as enforcers for Xibalba, responsible for wiping out humans during the first age, back when people were ungrateful to the gods and broke the laws laid out for them.
Camazotz and his army of bats defeated the humans at that time so the Maya gods could try their hand at humanity again for the second age. ”
“What age are we in now?”
“The fifth.”
“So, he’s really, really old and probably a bit of a curmudgeon with achy knees and bad teeth.”
She smiled. “Undoubtedly.”
“And you think the carving at the entrance represents this Camazotz dude.”
“There’s a strong possibility, yes.”
“As in that structure could be his temple?”
She shrugged. “Or maybe a gateway to it, if it leads underground.”
He shook his head. “You’re not making me want to go inside that place.”
“Remember, this is Maya mythology. Only those who are long dead know how much truth is woven into the stories.”
“I like the happy stories of lore better.”
“I could be wrong, too. Maybe that carving represents something else. Lord knows the few glyphs we’ve found at this site are not familiar, so why would this mark be what I think it is?”
He swatted at a mosquito hovering between them. “Tell me more about this bat god.”
“Let’s see, his nose is supposedly shaped like a knife.”
“Hmm. And he probably has huge claws and teeth?”
She nodded. “It’s said that he’s impossible to defeat in hand-to-hand combat.”
“So, I should run if he comes out of there and not try to play the hero. Duly noted.”
“Definitely run.” She brushed another tick off her pant leg. “Because when he attacks his victims, he goes for their neck and tugs the head clean off.”
“Damn. I’d rather have Count Dracula here wanting to suck a little blood and be on his merry way.”
“Count Dracula would at least give us a chance.” She debated on whether or not to tell him more. Screw it, she might as well lay it all out. No more lying by omission. “Camazotz is thought to be human-like in stature, but his head resembles a bat, along with his wings and claws.”
He sighed. “Those Maya had quite the imagination.”
“There’s a story from the Popol Vuh about Camazotz.”
“Is it a good story or bad?”
“That depends on your take. It’s about the hero twins and their trip through the nine levels of the Underworld.”
“Do we like these twins?”
“Well, they are heroes.”
“Right, it’s in the name.”
“To make a long, long—very long—story short,” she continued, “the twins’ travels take them down to where Camazotz resides in his House of Bats, which is one of the challenging levels the dead have to pass through.
This place is filled with huge bats that are out for blood.
The hero twins have to spend the night at this level and end up hiding in the ends of their blowguns from the menacing bats flying around, searching for them.
When things quiet down, the heroes think they are in the clear, and one of them pokes his head out to check.
Unfortunately, the bats were playing the waiting game.
Camazotz flies by and yanks off the guy’s head. ”
“Yikes.”
“Yeah, that’s not the worst of it, though. His head is taken to the ballcourt down in Xibalba, where the death gods plan to knock it around in place of a rubber ball during the next ballgame.”
“I thought you hinted that this had a good ending.”
“Stick with me here.” She wiped away a drip of sweat running down from her temple.
“With a little help, the other twin and his decapitated brother eventually figure out a way to trick the Xibalba gods, and they steal the twin’s head and stick it back on.
Eventually, after a lot of other shit happens and Xibalba as a whole takes a humiliating hit, the twins go on to not only escape that hell hole, but keep going up and up through the heavens.
One twin eventually becomes the sun and the other the moon.
After their superhuman feats, both end up as bigtime heroes for the Maya people. ”
“As in the hero twins,” Quint said.
“Yep.”
Quint scowled. “That’s your happy ending?”
“It’s pretty happy, I mean they made it away from Camazotz and his dastardly crew.”
“We need to work on finding you more uplifting stories.”
“If it’s any consolation, Parker, later in the book, Camazotz works with the humans to broker a deal between them and the god of the K’iche’ people.”
“Is it a friendly deal?”
She cringed.
“Figures.”
“In the deal,” she explained, “men promised to offer their armpits and waists in exchange for fire.”
“How does one give an armpit?”
“Well, it’s believed by some that this is how the ritual of slicing open a human’s breast down through the torso during a sacrifice was started.”
“That’s it.” Quint stood. “I’m revoking your right to tell stories.”
“Dr. García!” Esteban shouted, racing down the steps toward her, his face pale.
“What?” she asked, standing next to Quint.
“I hear something,” he said in Spanish.
Had he been listening to her story?
“Did he say he heard something?” Quint asked.
“Sí, I did!” Esteban answered breathlessly. “Un silbido.”
“A whistle,” Angélica translated in case Quint didn’t know that word.
“From where?” Quint pressed.
Esteban turned and pointed toward the dark entrance. “Inside.”