Andy had got himself into trouble before, but nothing like this. In the past few hours he’d managed to get kidnapped, beaten, and journey back in time. Now he was locked in a dark, stinking dungeon. He sat with his back against the wall and felt like crying in despair.
The trip back to whatever time he was in had taken a lot longer than the others, so he could only presume that they had travelled a lot further back than before.
They’d arrived in a fabulously decorated chamber guarded by two massively built men, who tried not to look shocked at their sudden appearance. They greeted the Ugly Man in a language Andy could not understand. The conversation only lasted a couple of minutes before one of the guards ran off.
After a while the guard returned and they were escorted to a huge room filled with people. There was excited chatter in the room and those at the back were straining to see. A silence fell over the crowd as they entered.
“Watch this,” the Ugly Man said to Andy.
He stepped forward and with a theatrical swoop pulled the Talisman over his head and lifted it as high as he could. The crowd went wild cheering.
Andy heard three thumps over the noise of the crowd, as something hard was hit against the floor. Across on the far side of the room he saw a tall dark man holding a wooden staff rise from a throne. He was thin, with sharp hawkish features and was wearing a cloak made from exotic bird feathers.
“It’s the High Priest,” the ugly man whispered hoarsely to Andy. “Kneel down or you’ll get both of us killed!”
The High Priest stepped from his throne and walked towards Andy and the Ugly Man. People tried desperately to get out of his way as he went. Those who weren’t quick enough were savagely kicked by the guards on either side of him. He stopped in front of Andy and the Ugly Man, and then uttered something to the guards, who grabbed the two of them by their hair and pushed them to their knees. Andy felt the cold blade of a knife on his throat.
Without a word the Ugly Man held his arm out and showed the Talisman to the High Priest. He began to speak. The Priest listened and spoke back. The Ugly Man said something else and pointed to Andy. The leader looked at Andy and then roared with laughter. After a few minutes of what seemed like cordial banter, both he and Andy were dragged to their feet.
“It looks like you’ve saved us,” Andy said.
“You are half right.”
“What do you mean half right?” Andy asked suspiciously.
The Ugly Man gave Andy a sinister smile.
“What I mean, is that I’m a hero and you’re going to be sacrificed tomorrow as thanks to the Gods for returning the Talisman.”
“No!” yelled Andy.
He tried vainly to break free, but slumped to the ground in agony as one of the guys dropped an elbow onto the back of his neck.
Several hours later, Andy woke in a darkened cell. He’d been sitting for several minutes, pondering his fate, when he heard a noise nearby.
“Hello?” he called out, hesitantly.
A small head poked out from the blackness at the other end of the room into the light shining from the door. It was a small boy, probably no older than about six or seven.
“It’s alright, I won’t hurt you,” said Andy. “Man, what are these creeps doing locking little kids up,” he thought to himself.
The boy took a few steps closer. Andy struggled to his feet, his tied hands made it difficult to do so.
“Come on, mate. It’s OK,” he said in a gentle tone trying to reassure the boy.
A voice yelled from the other side of the door and the boy disappeared into the darkness like a frightened rat. Andy took his cue from the boy and stopped talking.
Looking into the gloom from where the boy was quietly watching him, Andy noticed a number of other small shapes. He tried to count them as best he could and figured there were about six children sitting near to him in absolute silence. Andy could feel their fear.
“How bad is this?” he thought. “I’m twice their age and I’m filling my pants. These guys must be petrified. If I can get these ropes off my wrists perhaps I can do something.”
Andy turned to the little boy next to him and twisted his body so his bound wrists were obvious.
“Hey wee man,” he whispered. “Help me with these ropes will you?”
The boy shot a finger to his mouth.
“Shhh!”
Andy got the message. He sat back against the wall and the room fell into silence again. He tried to wriggle out of his ropes for a while, but gave up. His head and neck were pounding from where he’d been hit. Occasionally a guard would put his face up to the door, look in and then disappear.
The noise of the door opening gave him a fright. Squinting as the light from outside streamed in, he watched as a person walked in carrying a wooden tray with a large earthenware pot and a number of smaller bowls. Their features were hidden under a long flowing robe with a hood on it. He guessed this person was a servant.
Behind the servant came the guard carrying a flaming torch. In the flickering light Andy looked across the room and saw several small children cowering in the corner hiding their faces from the guard. The children were filthy, dressed in dirty rags and looked half starved. The little boy sitting next to Andy stayed put, eyeing the guard and the servant warily.
The servant stopped in front of Andy and bent down on one knee. He watched as the bowls were placed in front of him and then the lid was taken off the pot. Steam rose from the pot as the servant scooped a sickly green soup into the bowls. As the servant ladled the soup, he looked towards the little boy sitting next to Andy and made a noise.
“Psst.”
The boy looked up at the man and his face lit up. The servant shook his head gently. The boy looked away then picked up a bowl of soup and motioned to Andy to do the same. Andy couldn’t because his arms were still tied behind his back so he gestured to the guard, who came over and produced a huge knife from under his belt. He showed the evil looking blade to Andy and by action and signs made it abundantly clear that he would do great harm to him if he tried anything silly. Andy nodded to the guard and turned so the man could cut the cords binding his wrists together. The knife sliced through the cords and Andy brought his arms round in front of him rubbing his wrists to get the circulation going.
A second later the guard screamed in agony. Andy instinctively jumped back and flung himself against a wall. He turned to see what was happening and saw the guard half bent over with his face in his hands. The servant had flung the scalding hot soup in his eyes and was now standing over him with the empty pot hanging from his right hand. As the guard staggered back, the servant took a step forward and swung the pot in an arc. It curved round and smashed against the guard’s head. Bits flew in all directions as the guard staggered then fell to the floor with a hollow thump.
As soon as he hit the ground, the little boy rushed over to the hooded man and hugged him. The man knelt down and began speaking to the boy. Andy couldn’t understand what they were saying but he guessed that the man was giving the boy instructions. The boy turned and went over to the other children who were still cowering in the corner and began to speak to them.
“He’s here to rescue them,” Andy thought. “I hope they take me too.”
The man threw off the cloak. Andy was surprised to see that he was in his late teens, or, perhaps, his early twenties. Despite his age he was well built and muscular. All he was wearing was a loin cloth with an evil-looking dagger hanging from a belt next to it. This person was no servant; he looked every bit the warrior.
He turned and looked at Andy.
“Are you the one who come with Talisman?” he asked.
“Y-yes,” said Andy searching for the words. “You speak English?”
“Yes.”
“But you’re Mayan. Where did you learn it from?”
“No time for me to tell. Your life is in danger. Come with me and the children or stay here and die tomorrow.”