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“Take him to the dungeon with the others,” Jacob said tightly to Angélica. He pointed his finger at Roth. “I am the master of the Great Secret. Not you.”
“Said Nero before his own centurions killed him. I’m the only one who can help you survive this. Think about it.”
“If you speak another word, I’ll cut out your tongue,” Jacob threatened.
And he meant it.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
JAGUAR TEMPLE
CALAKMUL BIOSPHERE RESERVE
January 10
There was a pit in Roth’s stomach. He had a feeling he wasn’t going to survive the Jaguar Temple a second time. Ever since he’d been captured by that enormously strong man whose name literally meant killing people, he’d shoved his worry and sense of dread as deep inside himself as he could. He needed his mind more than anything. Still, he could feel it lurking there. It didn’t help that he was faced with the visual evidence of the powerful magic Calakmul had on his side—it was there in his unlined face and his physique, which was even more like that of a jaguar now that he’d been de-aged in Aztlán.
“So . . . are you considering my offer?” Roth asked Angélica in a low voice after she’d led him away from a seething Jacob Calakmul.
“What?” Angélica said with a false laugh. They passed a servant who bowed meekly to her and continued on his way. Angélica was wearing the ceremonial garb he’d seen her in during the death game. Like she was a Maya princess. Gold jewelry decorated her throat, arms, and ankles.
“Everything I told Jacob was intended for you,” Roth said. “I didn’t know if we’d get the chance to speak privately.”
“You’re serious?”
“I don’t have time to joke around. The prophecy isn’t about Jacob.”
“And how do you know that?” She sounded incredulous. Of course she would be.
“I texted the pictures from the Dresden Codex to Suki’s phone, as demanded, so I presume you’ve seen them. But I didn’t text the translation.”
“We already know it,” she said dismissively.
“Are you sure you’ve interpreted it correctly? I have a grad student from UC San Diego who’s been helping me. She works with the Qualcomm Institute. Heard of it?”
“Yes,” she said, giving him a sidelong look.
“A professor there has pinpointed the location of this compound. Satellites have been repositioned to watch this place twenty-four seven. We know about the other temples lighting up.”
Angélica stopped midstride and looked at him in confusion. “Other temples?”
That surprised him. She didn’t know about them? Roth had assumed it meant that Jacob had more than one stronghold in the Yucatán. Was that not so?
Roth stopped and turned to look at her. “Chichén Itzá started glowing this morning. So did Uxmal and a few others I can’t pronounce. You didn’t know?”
There was something in her eyes now. Fear? Worry? This was new information to her. Did that mean Calakmul hadn’t told her? Or was it possible he didn’t know himself?
“Help get me out of here,” Roth said in a low, urgent voice. “It’s not too late to switch sides. You helped Lucas when that warrior wanted to murder him. I just don’t think you’re the kind of person who’d want to be responsible for so much carnage.”
“It doesn’t matter what I want,” she whispered. “It’s too late. The end times have already started. If I’m by his side, I might at least be able to influence him.”
“The end times aren’t what you believe they are. I saw the room with the obsidian mirrors. That’s how they got into the White House. To DC and other places. Help me get the other leaders out of here the same way.”
She shook her head firmly. “I’ve never been in that chamber. I don’t know how the magic works.”
“But they are the ‘smoking mirrors’ from the legends of Huracán, Kukulkán’s brother. The one who tricked him.”
“Yes,” she said tightly. “Mr. Roth, I’m risking my life by even speaking to you in this way. Jacob is not . . . he’s not a man who forgives.” She directed him toward another corridor.