Chapter 11 chapter Ten

"Wake up, Ana Maya." Sleepy-eyed, she wanted to lie down on the straw mat for a while, so she pulled the blanket covering her body.Vera Omar looked at her sternly. He entered the room quietly, his straw sandals gliding noiselessly across the stone floor.Like most of the time, just looking at his tall body and his big mouth dyed light green, it makes people feel that his sudden appearance has a strong sense of threat. "Get up, hurry up!" "What happened?" "Don't ask any more questions. Get up and follow me immediately!" Ana Maya tried to regain her sanity.The boys' initiation had only been two days old.Manco and Gujapa fought and abused each other only the night before.After two days of peaceful days, it seemed that a new dispute was about to start again.

She climbed out of bed and cast a sad look at the warmth and safety of her sleeping bed.The daylight had just passed through the curtain facing the inner courtyard. "Did I do something wrong?" "I'm not sure what you did. But it's not a good thing that you went to Dumen Bamba!" "I don't want to see Guapa and Manco quarreling..." "Who told you about their childhood?" This time Vera Omar's tone woke Anna Maya up completely, and she trembled with fright. In the shrine by the window, the silver earrings of the moon god Mama Qila are worshiped, and because they glow in the dim light, they look like it is raining.Vera Omar clutched the door curtain tightly with his withered fingers, and shouted in a hoarse voice:

"The mummy of the only king is not in the temple." As if being punched hard from the abdomen, Anamaya opened her mouth and couldn't breathe.After that, she breathed out and asked in a slight voice: "What did you say?!" "You heard me. Vanya Capac's mummy is missing." "How? How is it possible?" Vera Omar opened her eyes wide to express her ignorance.In the darkness, he looked taller and thinner, with distinct wrinkles drawn on his face by anger and anxiety. "At dawn, some priests and I went to the great hall of the Temple of Andi," he said. "There was nothing in the coffin. The mummies on the cathedral were long gone."

"But who...who would dare to do that?" "Who is it? You still ask? . . . Now there is only one thing that is absolutely certain: it is you, little girl, and people will blame you for this crime!" "Me? Me! Why? You can't blame me for such a heinous crime, Vera Omar, you know..." "I won't blame you, Ana Maya!" the wise man sighed in despair, "but the others, alas, would love to be able to do this! You are Kamaken Keya, and your mission is to save the twin brothers Protect the mummy of the king with the help of God? Isn’t this the mission entrusted to you by King Vanya Kapac on the night before his death? Do you want you to stay in this world and support him when he is going to the underworld? ?”

Anna Maya was teary-eyed.But such a false accusation was so bullying that she wiped away her tears with the back of her hand.Now she is no longer the timid girl who was brought to the Incas. She said angrily: "Why would I do that?" Vera Omar waved her hand, ignoring her rhetorical question: "There is no reason at all! Atahualpa is your guardian, and they will invent a lie if necessary!" "I do not understand……" "Really? Don't you understand that those Cusco people hate us to the bone and only want to destroy us..." Vera Omar suddenly fell silent.There were several screams and yells of pain from the inner courtyard, and the name of Anna Maya lingered in the air like a curse word.

"Look, they can't wait," Vera Omar said quietly. "Be prepared, my good girl. They're the ones you're supposed to explain and convince them of your innocence." "It's her!" "She lost our king, Vanya Kapac!" "Great disrespect, great disrespect! The world will suffer! Andi will punish the world!" "This blue-eyed girl is evil! Andi will turn her into ashes, and Qila will throw her into Hanoi!" The inner courtyard of Vanya Kapac Palace is vast.But now it was full of newcomers. Everyone looked nervous, gesticulating, and clustered in front of the threshold of the inner courtyard guarded by two snakes.They were all nobles from Cuzco, and all belonged to Huascar's camp.Some of them held weapons, shouted curses, and brandished deadly maces made of black stone and polished to a bright shine.Others held their javelins aloft, others were busy spinning slings or showing off their obsidian axes...

The leaders of each sect form a circle in the center of the inner courtyard.They discussed in meetings, whispered, and stared at each other; even though everyone was reserved when they spoke, their thoughts could be seen through their eyes.All eyes blamed Ana Maya, who was under the protection of Atahualpa and Vera Omar, and outsiders could not get close or talk to her. "Since this girl came to us, all the oracles have been against us!" one of the elders said loudly, "She is a broom star!" "You protected her, but you killed us, Atahualpa!" A fully armed warrior pointed at Anna Maya with a six-colored feathered javelin and shouted.

After he finished speaking, there was a burst of agreement from his side.This person wears a general-level turban on his forehead, and wears a long gown made of lambswool, covered with square and triangle patterns representing the highest rank.He smiled, and the corners of his mouth showed a proud arc. "We have already guessed your plot! You don't want to send the mummy of Vanya Capac to the Supreme Temple in Cusco! You are afraid that it will have a place next to the ancestors of the original world, because then, I Huaskar, the only king of the family, will gain the power of your father and win the right to rule! That's why you asked this little girl to take away the king's mummy..."

"Let's burn her feet and make her tell where the mummy is hidden!" Hiding in the corner of the inner courtyard, Anna Maya guessed the mood of Manco, whose profile was like an eagle, and Paul, who had a noble face.Their eyes were downcast and their expressions were awkward.They are also members of the Huascar tribe.So even if they want to help her, they will not be able to do what they want... On the side that defended her, gathered relatives of Atahualpa and nobles from Quito, she saw Guapa.His face was conspicuous because of a gauze bandage of ointment on his left cheek and an unnatural smile on his swollen lips.

Suddenly, over the din of voices, Atahualpa said in a sonorous, forceful voice: "Do you have a lot of nonsense to say?" His face didn't change, only his fingertips trembled with anger.The shouting stopped abruptly.He relaxed his arms, spread his fingers, palms down, and said to all the Cuscos: "None of you must believe that Kamakenkoya, the one my father personally appointed to accompany his twin brother's soul, was the mastermind of this heinous kidnapping. No one would think that I Dare to oppose Andi's will, and oppose the return of my father's soul to Cuzco."

Turning to the right, Atahualpa said to an old man wearing a gold ring and official hat next to him: "When the one and only King, Wanya Kapac, chose his Kamakenkoya before his death, Kola Tobak was present along with the other ministers. My father appointed her, after my brother Huaskar was granted Before the emperor's turban, she was in charge of carrying out his last wishes according to tradition. So it was she who should have sent my father back to Cusco. It should have been her who should have enshrined my father's mummy in the temple of Coricancha." "Indeed," said the old man, "I am a witness to the king's last words, and I dare say that all those present, our greatest wish is to see the mummy of the only king return to his most beloved city! So I don't believe Kamakenkeya will commit the crimes you allege: the Son of the Sun has great trust in her." "Those of you who yell the most, are the most suspect..." continued Atahualpa, "God knows if they are the blasphemers?" The atmosphere in the courtyard seemed to be frozen by everyone's silence.Then suddenly a high-pitched voice said: "You want to blame us? You want to threaten us, Atahualpa? We, those who belong to your brother Huascar's camp! He is your father's favorite son! How dare you be so bold?" This time, Atahualpa was furious: "I'm not as bold as you, how dare you insult and defile the girl my father chose!" Unable to take it any longer, Ana Maya walked forward to the very center of the crowd.She raised a hand and said aloud: "Stop arguing about me!" All eyes were on her. "Take me to the temple, to my husband's twin. He will tell me where to find the mummy of the king." Vera Omar and Atahualpa showed surprise eyes at the same time. "Do you know what you're talking about?" the wise man murmured, moving his green lips. Anna Maya said she knew.In fact, she was as frightened by what she just said as a wise man!Because these words came out of her mouth involuntarily, and each word slipped out of her lips with confidence.Now, her heart was about to jump out, and her palms were filled with nervous sweat.However, there was a lot of discussion in the crowd, and the tone of doubt was more than trust.In the distance, Manco and Paul also looked up at her, their eyes sparkling.As for Gujapa, he put away the smile that was originally on his face.The next roar broke the silence again: "Atahuallpa! If this girl doesn't find the mummy of the one and only King, Vanya Kapac, we'll throw her entrails in the trash!" The surrounding crowd echoed loudly. Atahualpa looked tense, while Vera Omar tightly clenched Anna Maya's thin arm.When the former turned to speak to the crowd again, she felt the pride in his voice: "Threats! Threats! See for yourself: she's not afraid of you at all!" The distance between the palace and the temple is not far.The temperature remains high.Ana Maya felt the heat press down on her neck, making it hard for her to breathe.A strange atmosphere shrouded the whole city.Crowds of men, with anger and fear written all over their faces, swarmed the alley, even swearing at Anna Maya as she walked past them.The women leaned against the gate of the square courtyard, pointing and watching her pass by the gate. She held her head high and her eyes rested on the cloak that fluttered over Atahualpa's broad arms.Knowing that she was accompanied by Vera Omar and the escort, who were moving at the same rapid pace, relieved her a lot. They walked into the empty temple, with nine altars and shrines in the hall, without a roof, and looked up at the endless sky. Ana Maya heard the murmur of water in the irrigation channels and ponds; she saw the setting sun cast delicate shadows on the walls carefully inlaid with small stones, like images of animals and gods.The nine shrines are lined up against the wall, and the bases are decorated with rhombus, trapezoid and oval patterns made of gold. The golden statue of the twin brothers is enshrined in the central shrine.But the mummy coffin, which was originally parked next to it to listen to the prayers of the spirit world and the world, was empty.Anna Maya only dared to glance there quietly. Vera Omar looked around, as if hoping to find some clues.Finally, he said to Atahualpa: "I'm sure your brother Huascal's men were behind this hideous deed!" "It's possible. It's a pity that they are all too crazy, because no one has ever dared to insult my father like this." "This is the result of the fright that Huascar and his men suffered." "Scared? Why? They know that I will obey my father's last words! They also know that I don't bother to wear the imperial turban on my head, and that I don't want to inherit the only king. You know all this, Vivian La Omar! And they all know: all the signs are against me..." "Not all of them. You've given yourself too many reasons to say no! Vascal knows that. He's like a beast, he just feels, he doesn't want to think. But in his style, he sees more than You are far: he is afraid of the power around you. He is afraid of her..." Vera Omar pointed to Anna Maya, and continued: "They suspect that she really can't remember what the only king said to her on the eve of his death. They also suspect that the twin brother gods have confided to her your father's true wish!" Atahualpa stared for a moment at the golden face of the twin gods, calm but elusive.He reached out his hand as if to touch it, but then realized, he turned to Annamaya and asked: "What about you, little girl, do you think like the wise man that I have not understood my father's true wish?" "I don't think you know who you are, Prince!" After she finished speaking, Anna Maya screamed and quickly covered her mouth with her hand. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry... I'm talking nonsense!" "Listen, Atahualpa!" Vera Omar whispered in his ear. "She spoke Vanya Kapac's wish, I can feel it!" Atahualpa's red eyes glanced first at the wise man, then at the little girl.But Anna Maya had already shifted her eyes to the altar of the twin brother gods.On that carefully sculpted face, there is just a touch of rosy clouds resting on it, leaving behind the shadow of a javelin head... "Get the mummy back, Anamaya," murmured Atahualpa, "get the mummy back!" As he turned, the sunlight hit his armor and round earrings.Anna Maya felt these golden reflections shoot into her body, and even her chest trembled involuntarily. The light seemed to leave some words on her body, some words she had never heard before, and she didn't know how to express them.