Effigy (24 page)

In that moment he transformed from a noble savior to a loathing and unappreciated god.

Mateo was offended by their ungrateful disregard. There’d been no acknowledgment of his sacrifices, but then, how were the people to know the goodness he’d done? How could they realize the salvation he’d bestowed upon the world if they didn’t know the consequences of failure?

He considered the jaguar box sitting on the lamp table beside him. He’d found it circulating the underground market—the same place he’d found the obsidian knife—and promptly traded one hundred grams of marijuana for it. One might consider it a hefty price for a vessel that couldn’t contain the effigy, but that wasn’t the reason for the purchase. The jaguar box was just large enough to hold a human heart, and that in itself made it well worth the trade.

It occurred to him that maybe public recognition would come when the jaguar box fulfilled its final purpose; when Mateo finished the job. After all, the first three sacrifices had merely proven his loyalty to the Mirrored One, and in return, the Mirrored One delivered the ultimate sacrifice into his hands. But Mateo had yet to complete the offering of the old man’s heart. He couldn’t just jump into it this time. He’d been bestowed a tremendous responsibility and he was in the middle of an extended fast, waiting for further instruction just to ensure he performed the offering properly.

Then it came.

Even as he stood there watching the Zócalo, he heard the Mirrored One whisper in his ear. It was going to take more than the old man’s heart to save the world. Something had to be offered with it. Something grand.

Something priceless.

Mateo was suddenly emboldened by the new plan. He sensed his own spirit lifting. He still had time to prepare. And this time, his efforts wouldn’t go unnoticed by the sleeping hordes of humanity.

This time, the whole world would know of his sacrifice.

Among The Reeds

The hum of the airplane was perfectly quiet, or at least quiet enough to let Lori think things through. It was like studying in the confined light and silence of a lab lamp but without the room to sprawl. Instead, she found herself containing the stack of John’s Calendar Round upon the slippery surface of the seatback tray before her.

The steady drone of the long flight had dulled Dr. Peet to a green-gilled sleep in the seat against the window. Lori never took him for a weak-stomached flyer until the first time he’d rushed for the lavatory with his hand over his mouth. He returned looking slightly less peaked and convinced he’d fully emptied his stomach. “I guess you’re not a frequent flyer,” Lori joked, which only sent him back for good measure.

Dr. Friedman, on the other hand, appeared right at home in the air, browsing through the expensive airline shopping magazine, and taking advantage of Dr. Peet’s window seat evacuations to stretch his arthritic knee in the aisle.

Lori sat contentedly silent between them, not even allowing the fussy baby three rows back to interrupt her concentration. With Dr. Peet settled in, she could focus on the Reed day symbol—a funny little square glyph that didn’t look like any recognizable figure she’d ever seen. It repeated itself every twenty days and each time Lori spotted it she felt her mind rolling over the word, “Acatzalan.”

Nahuatl. Meaning “among the reeds.”

Among the reeds.

She repeated those words each time her finger passed over the Reed symbol. Nine Reed.
Among the reeds.
Ten Reed.
Among the reeds
. They cycled through her head like a child’s limerick.

“See anything that interests you?” Dr. Friedman asked. He’d set his magazine aside and was watching her with a knee cradled within his folded hands. A rather gymnastic move for an old man, Lori thought, considering the cramped confines of their seats.

She felt conscious of him glancing over her notes, though there weren’t many. In the margin beside May 16th, Six Water, she’d written: EFFIGY STOLEN. She’d circled May 20th, Ten Coatl, but there were only question marks scribbled beside that.

“I guess I was hoping to find something that would tie all of this to the effigy,” she said.

“Oh.” There was a doubtful tone to Dr. Friedman’s voice. Inside, Lori understood the sentiment. She felt uncertain herself, but…

“I can’t help but wonder about the significance placed on reeds.”

“I don’t know that there is one.”

“There’s the word, ‘Acatzalan,’ which refers to reeds. Then there’s Quetzalcoatl’s relationship with the One Reed year, and the effigy is a representation of Quetzalcoatl—”

“I think you’re grasping at straws,” Dr. Friedman said.

“Maybe so,” Lori admitted.

She paused as her thoughts returned to the calendar. Could it be no coincidence that the reeds referred to in the translation of Acatzalan were also symbolized in the names of Toltec days
and
years?

Acatzalan. Among the…years?

“Dr. Friedman, might the word Acatzalan refer to being one with time?”

He shrugged. “That sounds like a stretch.”

Lori wasn’t dissuaded. In fact, her thoughts were surging now. “Or maybe Acatzalan is a title for someone or something regarded as being one with One Reed, Quetzalcoatl. They are
among the reeds
.”

Dr. Friedman reached for his magazine and snapped it open again. “That sounds even less likely,” he said.

Lori reconsidered this a moment. Although the taunting spirit of the mysterious note certainly felt cocky enough to have been left by Derek, the message didn’t sound like him at all.

“If you ask me,” Dr. Friedman said, scanning leisurely over the pages in the magazine, “that note was nothing more than a distraction meant to keep us busy solving puzzles while Derek got away with the effigy.”

“I suppose,” Lori said glumly.

“I wouldn’t put much more concern into that silly note, Lori. In a few hours I’m sure Derek will explain everything.”

* * * *

Peet couldn’t have been happier to feel his feet on solid ground again. He’d never enjoyed flying. In fact, he made a point of it to drive everywhere he went. But this time it was unavoidable, and suffering over six hours in the air was almost intolerable.

“I guess we better find a hotel and drop off our luggage,” John thought out loud as they stepped out of the beautiful glass terminal.

Peet spotted a green Volkswagen with a taxi light but when he stepped forward to flag it down, John pulled him back.

“Not the bugs,” he warned and they let the taxi pass.

“How are we going to find Derek in all this mess?” Lori asked, scanning the steady flow of traffic maneuvering the pickup lanes.

“I suppose our first stop will be the police station,” Peet said.

John glanced over Peet’s shoulder as he discreetly pointed through the milling travelers. “Or, he’ll find us first.”

When Peet turned he immediately spotted the young man making his way through the crowd, dressed like a tourist fresh from
Hawaii
in his loose shirt and shorts. When Derek’s wandering gaze landed on them he froze in his tracks, his face dropping as though he hadn’t expected to see them standing there. He immediately backpedaled into the crowd and a few steps later he was running away.

“Now what do you suppose got into him?”

Before the words had fully escaped John’s mouth, Peet was on the chase. He bolted into the crowd. He didn’t know why Derek was running—he only knew that he’d stolen the effigy, put his teaching career on the line and was well on his way in ruining Lori’s professional reputation. Peet was badly in need of some explanation.

Derek darted into the traffic, dodging honking cars and making an impressive Bo Duke slide across the hood of a parked Geo. Regrettably, Peet didn’t have that kind of athletic ability. What he did have was the capacity to anticipate Derek’s change of course when he veered into the short-term parking garage.

Peet had already begun sweating through his shirt when he ran into the warm Mexican air trapped within the garage. He was gaining little ground when Derek made an abrupt turn three rows in and ran parallel to, and against the flow of the pick up lanes.

“Derek!” Peet yelled.

Derek took a quick glance over his shoulder. Just as he did, a briefcase flew around a concrete pillar, stopping him cold in his tracks and laying him out flat on the ground. Peet was stunned and smiled gratefully when John stepped out from behind the pillar.

“Guess he didn’t see that one coming,” John said, brushing a hand across his briefcase.

Peet grabbed the front of Derek’s shirt and pulled him to his feet. The young man cupped his rosy cheek in one hand. His nose began to bleed.

“You about broke my face!” Derek protested.

“What were you running for?” Peet demanded. “You call us down to
Mexico
and then you run away?”

“I called Friedman,” Derek spat. “I didn’t know he’d bring
you
along.”

“Why’d you steal the effigy?” Peet growled. “Are you trying to throw me out of a job?”

By this time Lori had joined them, burdened by her duffel slung over her shoulder and all but dragging Peet’s luggage behind. Derek spotted her. “Looks like you’re doing that all on your own, Quickie Peet,” he sneered.

Peet tightened his grip. How he’d love to choke the little bastard. “What is it you have against me?” he demanded. “Why’d you steal the effigy?”

“What makes you think the effigy had anything to do with you?” Derek asked, wincing as he dabbed at the blood dripping from his nose.

“Do you realize how many artifacts you destroyed in the storage room?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Peet didn’t have the patience for Derek’s games. Now that they’d found the person responsible for the mess he was in, he was ready to tear him apart. He pushed Derek against a car, but hesitated when the car’s security alarm blared in protest. He felt the eyes of nearby travelers turning their way. Frustrated, he pulled Derek away and as they walked back down the parking garage, Derek finally shrugged him off.

“Don’t lie to me,” Peet growled under his breath. “I can end your college career just as easily as you’re ending mine.”

“I swear. I only took the effigy and left. Didn’t you see the note?”

Peet reached into the breast pocket of his blue, cotton shirt, now damp with sweat. He pulled out the scrap of stationary. “You mean
this
note?”

“That’s part of it. Where’s the other half?”

“There was no other half,” he growled.

“There was more to it than that.”

Peet clenched his fists. He grabbed Derek’s collar again. “You better start talking straight, damn it!”

John and Lori approached, their footsteps echoing behind them. “Let the boy go, Anthony.”

Peet hesitated, his eyes locked on Derek.

“You’re not going to get anything by beating him to a bloody pulp,” John added.

“Can’t you see he’s playing games with us?” Peet snarled.