Chapter 17 Chapter Sixteen

Although it was very late, the lights in several courtyards were still bright.In the quiet atmosphere of the night, the sound of unpacking luggage came and went.Tomorrow, the funeral procession for the mummy of Vanya Capac leaves Domenbamba for Cusco, so everything should be ready tonight. Anna Maya sneaked out of the courtyard without anyone noticing. As long as she wants, she can swim in the night like a snake, hide in the dust like a gray gravel, come and go like water. It was as if someone was calling her in the dark.A silent call, unseen and without any signal.Finally, it dawned on her: she should go to the temple.Tonight, she should stay with her twin brother.

From this moment on, she knew that she should always be vigilant, because the only thing that could separate her from the one and only King, Wanya Capac, was her own fear.Fear can threaten her in any form, such as a moving shadow or the sound of a bird singing.She shouldn't have been afraid of the puma's eyes, or its sharp fangs... The great staircase leading to the temple stands on the hills to the east, clearly visible in the moonlight. She walked steadily across the square in front of the temple.Under the light of the torch, after the guards of the temple recognized her, they turned sideways and let her enter the temple first: they bowed and retreated in a regular manner.

Isn't she Kamaken Keya?Didn't all the princes in the empire, the rightful heirs to the throne, the great Atahualpa and the wise Vera Omar long to hear her speak those secrets? Vanya Kapac's mummy rests in this hall of nine shrines.A silver-white light from the moon god illuminates his golden mask, making him look very peaceful.In a brazier next to it, some strange leaves that were as wet as the mud in the river were burning, and the smell was pungent. Ana Maya squatted before the body of the deceased king.She bowed her head, filled with fear and respect, just as she had been brought before him that day when she was a little girl.

After a long time, nothing happened. After that, something squirmed.A gust of cold wind blew through the king's golden mask, trembling slightly on Anna Maya's forehead.The feather necklace hanging on the mummy's shoulders fluttered gently.Ana Maya silently followed this silent instruction.She raised her head slowly, and placed her hands on the heavy gown that covered the resting body of the only king. She felt that the corpse, which was covered under the shroud and was more delicate than a baby's skin, was still warm. This time she held her head higher.The moonlight illuminated her hair, whitened her hands, and dimmed the light in her eyes.

She closes her eyes.Everything is neither dream nor waking, neither still nor moving.Not now, not in the past, and not in the future. She smelled the rainforest, an ancient bliss.She ran and laughed wildly under the low sky full of dark clouds. Suddenly, there was a voice and a face, so beautiful and tender, so full of love.But far away, out of reach! Her heart stopped beating, and she heard her mother calling: "Anna Maya!" A murmur echoed in my ears: "Anna Maya!" It was her mother's singing voice, and the background was no longer a forest, but a blue flowing lake.Her mother was there, the size of the world, omnipresent, welcoming her with graciousness.The whole space is her abdomen and ribcage.Her vibrating laughter sent the birds away like a breeze, her shoulders were as round as mountains, her lips whispered love and welcome, and her hands and arms were tender happiness, embracing Anna Maya.Her invisible fingertips caressed her forehead tenderly, encircling her neck.

Unknowingly, Anna Maya's cheeks were already covered with tears. "Don't cry," said the voice, "I'm right here with you..." Her mood gradually calmed down, and she still felt her mother's gentleness and the hand on her hair, reveling in this passing caress with love, which drove away the fear and those terrible things in her heart. memories. After that, it seemed that a gust of wind blew up and took away this gentle goddess, and everything disappeared. She opened her eyes and saw that her hands were still on the Inca shroud. In recent nights, the halo surrounding the moon god Mama Qila suddenly disappeared, and the light of the moon once again illuminated the entire night sky. Because it was too dazzling, people could not help but mistakenly believe that it was integrated with the sun.

So she turned to look at her husband-in-law, the idol of the twin brother.The latter's body became so bright that she almost couldn't open her eyes.She couldn't help raising her hands to cover her eyes, however, while she was making this ordinary movement, something strange happened. The ground crumbled beneath her feet.She was eager to grab up, but she couldn't catch anything.She yelled and yelled, but she couldn't hear her cry for help. She floats in the midnight sky. She saw the temple shining brightly under her feet, and she even saw herself kneeling beside the Inca king.

She saw that the whole city had long gone to sleep, and all the inhabitants were sleeping peacefully.She also saw Prince Atahualpa lying alone on a straw mat, covered with a feather quilt.But suddenly, he jumped out of bed and paced the room like a warrior or a caged puma. The sky full of stars is right in front of you, almost within reach.The vortex of Korga passed her by, and Yamaro snaked at her feet.Her hair flutters in the Southern Cross, her arms dive into a replicated celestial river, the eternal Milky Way! She finally understood. Turns out he needed her. On the other side of the world, the eleventh and only king needs her.

After that, a cluster of sparks that looked like newborn stars suddenly rose in the southeastern sky.It was huge, and in the dark night sky, it drew a sea of ​​fire that was more continuous and magnificent than the mountains, divided the night into two, and then rushed straight towards her. But when the sparks gradually approached Anna Maya, the light converged inward to form an incredible fireball.The smaller the fireball shrinks, the more overwhelming its light becomes!Then, suddenly, as if caught in a strong wind, it changed direction and plummeted toward land. Fierce as a stone from a catapult, the fireball struck Atahualpa's forehead.

And then disappeared. The almighty prince was struck down. I fell down. Ana Maya screamed— A hand tapped her shoulder, shaking her awake. "What's going on, little girl?" Wise One Vera Omar asked worriedly. She was fighting all over. She looked around, unable to believe everything around her, the hall of nine shrines, the mummy of Vanya Kapac, the statue of the Twin Brothers. The wise man, with his mouth full of green juice, looked her in the eyes and asked her a few questions. "Don't ask now," she repeated simply, "don't ask now..." She couldn't describe it.I really don't know how to describe in words what happened just now.No one will understand, including wise men.

He took her arm and helped her get up from the ground.Slowly, they left the temple together. On the way back to the square courtyard, Anna Maya was still in agitated mood.The falling image of the only king was reflected in her eyes like a ghost. Afterwards, the image disappeared, and in exchange for layers of dark clouds enveloped her heart.Although the fear was far away, she felt extremely lonely.