A Slave's Fortune

[Honey_B]

Aya

The spell of the sacred moment was broken as I laughed, unable to remain silent. The sound echoed the rush of the river. "It would not be the same, " I said as I kissed instead of bit. "I will wait until you are more vulneralbe, Zac Ocelotl. Only then will we be even." Ramsey looked at me strangely. Did he not know that I spoke in jest. I had to wonder whether the man trusted me.

Ignoring my thoughts, I said instead, "We must sleep. Tomorrow will be an ordeal."

I laid down facing the dark river. Why had Chalchiuhtlicue, the goddess of running water, brought me here. The answers to my question were not forthcoming from the gods.

My eyes grew heavy as I felt Ramsey lay down next to me, pressing his body into my own. Warmed and comforted, I slept.

 

[kitsuke]

Jonathon Ramsey

Ramsey enfolded Aya in his gentle arms as they drifted off to sleep, the noises of the jungle a gentle lullaby to the sweet exhaustion their lovemaking had left. Soon the stars blurred from memory and the kisses of soulsearing wildfire dimmed into the oblivion of dreams...

Jonathon walked along a garden path on his estate, holding the hand of his beloved Emmeline. They had been on an outing that day and were returning home as the sun sank into late afternoon.

Yet all of this was past, his thoughts turned to the events of his life as they walked and he looked again at Emmeline. She was still as breathtaking to him as always. Her hair shining in the sun, her eyes laughing at him gently, even her lips were parted in a secret smile as though he might be the butt of some conspiracy on her part.

"This is a dream isn't it Emmeline?" he asked, dreading the answer.

"You already know the answer to that or you would not have asked Jon. I'm glad you're finally ready to let me go." replied in a soft but happy voice.

"Let you go? How could I ever do so... I will always love you!" he protested quickly.

"Jon... look at yourslef. Look at who and what you have become. You know it is time for that to be put aside. I know you will always love me Jon, and I will always love you, too. You have a second chance, my love. Make right the things you have done. Find happiness and live again. You know where to look for that, she lies in your arms even now."

Jonathon started guiltily at that, "I-"

"You need make no excuses, love. I know your heart better than any other. Soon another shall come to know it as well. Waste your opportunity and you shall not find it again. Wake now, my Lord Ramsey, it is dawn and you have much to do."

Tears welled up in his eyes as she began to fade from view, "I love you, Em!" he shouted to the uncaring aether.

"And I, you, love." a faint response came back....

Morning. Sunshine. Birds calling in the trees. The sounds of life all around. Aya still curled in his arms and he kissed her gently on the cheek, the words of hios dream echoing in his mind.

All at once, the import of all those words came to him. He realized he held in his arms like a lover someone who's life he just a day before had been about to subjugate to his will for nothing more than fleeting pleasure and a mad dream on his part.

Great tears welled up in his eyes and began to course down his cheek. His body was wracked by silent sobs, chest heaving to contain the cries.

"I'm sorry, Aya. So sorry...please forgive me..." he choked out as he cried.

He took his arms from aound her and curled into a miserable ball of suffering, his tears lost in his hands.

 

[Honey_B]

Blood

More blood then I had ever seen in my entire life poured from the man's chest, the sight sickened but empowered me. My hand became a claw and I plunged it into the bleeding man's gaping wound. As if guided by Coatlicue herself, I found the heart, twisted, and yanked the lifegiver out of the sacrificial victim. The organ pulsated in my palm like a tiny bird; the blood ran down my arm.

The choc mul awaited its precious morsel, a grotesque expression on its face. The ritual would only be complete when I had given the heart to this monstrous beast.

Blinding pain shot through my body. A blow landed in the center of my back. The heart tumbled from my grasp, falling to the ground. I cried out but not from the pain. The sacrifice had been in vain, the offering profaned. My first sacrificial ritual and my last ended in failure as I was seized by the invaders. I had knowingly broken their laws against practicing our religion.

I was to be executed. The irony was not lost on me. I had killed a man who had willingly given up his life to save his people. He had come to the daughter of Tlaloc, high priest of Huitzilopochtli, begging to be sacrificed. A selfless prayer to the mighty warrior god, hoping to save the Aztec from the invaders. Now, I was the one to be sacrificed.

For nothing.

Deep sleep was ruptured for me.

"I'm sorry, Aya. So sorry...please forgive me..."

Ramsey sobbed, again.

I slapped the man hard with the flat of my hand.

"We are in danger and we will very likely die. I know that you are filled with sadness, Zac Ocelotl, but I need you."

The man's sobs quieted.

"I suspect we are in lands held by people who hate the Aztec, people conquered two centuries ago. We are without weapons, food, or sufficient clothing. Now, I must climb the tallest tree we can find. Will you help me?"

 

[kitsuke]

Jonathon Ramsey

She was right of course, the wallowing in guilt would have to wait until later. For now, they needed a plan and needed to make progress.

"Of course, Aya. Self-recrimination can be done when I have the time for it. Very well, I shall boost into that palm right there," he said pointing at a tall thin tree, "survey the land and pick which direction you think is best. We are in your area of expertise after all."

Looking at her again with admiration at her resolve Ramsey stretched in the morning sun, allowing his eyes to dry completely, and stood by the tree ready to assist her. He took off his belt and handed it to her.

"You can use that to grip around the trunk if you think it's getting too smooth to trust with just your hands."

 

[Honey_B]

The palm was easily handled with the help of Ramsey's belt. Soon I clung to its upper fronds and I scanned the surrounding terrain.

There! About two hundred yards away. An unnatural appearance of squared away rock, breaking through the canopy of trees.

I climbed down, feeling hope for our survival.

"We," I said to Ramsey with a great smile, "Are going to rob the dead!"

The Englishman couldn't have looked more perplexed.

"There is a pyramid, about three hundred yards in that directions."

"You mean, treasure!" Ramsey's eyes lit up.

"No, grave robbers would have stolen the treasure long ago. We may, however, find something more valuable. The ancient Maya buried their dead with the implements they used in daily life. We may still find weapons and supplies; obsidian daggers, clubs, axes, water vessels. We may also find information about where we are exactly if I can read the inscriptions."

Ramsey nodded his understanding.

"Our difficulty lies in traversing the distance. You would not happen to have one of those gadgets that points direction, would you?"

"A compass? Unfortunately, no."

I sighed. "Then I will have to climb up every few dozen yards, so we do not walk in circles. The dense growth will necessitate it."

It took almost no time to pack up and start walking in the direction of the pyramid. The dense green of the jungle closed in around us. In almost no time, I had to climb up to check our position. We had to be careful. The jungle had been leading us in the wrong direction. I climbed down.

We fell into a routine. Ramsey walked ahead in the direction I indicated. He did his best to clear away the vegetation until I called for him to stop while I scrambled up another tree. It was very slow going.

 

[kitsuke]

Jonathon Ramsey

The vegetation seemed to resist clearing with a malicious intelligence. The slender stalks whipping back to catch him in the head or side as he tried to make a way through, the ground plants seemed to be prickly every other time he stepped, so he never knew exactly when something was going to jab him. Still, they made progress and he bore it without complaint. She was having to endure just as much as he was after all.

It took three or four hours of hard work, but finally they could see the great Mayan pyramid through the trees ahead of them.

"Alright Aya, now where do we get in?" he asked, not knowing or being able to discern where an entrance was.

 

[Honey_B]

"I must read the stellae if there are any to be found." Aya noticed Ramsey's perplexed look. "Stellae are stone pillars in which information about the pyramid and its people are recorded for future generations. You invaders are fond of destroying them."

As they walked closer, they could see that the pyramid had indeed been surrounded by several large stellae, but all that remained standing were a few crumbling ruins. Aya walked over to the most intact, her hands running over the still beautiful carved surface.

Ramsey waited in almost breathless anticipation. "Can you make anything out?"

Aya straightened and dusted off her hands. "This ruler's tome was the serpent. We must find the head of the feathered serpent god, Kukumotz. It will most likely guard the secret entrance into the pyramid. See here, Zac Ocelotl," Aya said pointing to a hideous face carved near the bottom of the pillar. "We must find him."

As the approached to walls of the pyramid itself, Ramsey could see that not a surface was left uncarved. Literally thousands of faces looked out at them, the pantheon of the Mayan gods.

"This is going to take awhile," Ramsey said.

 

[lusty00]

Keep up the good work

 

[Honey_B]

The pyramid loomed large before the pair.

 

[kitsuke]

Jonathon Ramsey

The pillars were truly monolithic and the air of the place was.... unsettling for some reason. The air was stale as he neared the pyramid and the weight of years hung over it like a shroud. The day was hot and the searching was exhausting as they tunmbled over the rocks and scaled the steps. Tripping several times over broken rocks and.. human remains?... the search continued as the day wore on.

Finally he heard a shout from Aya from the other side of the temple, she sounded fairly alarmed. Rushing over he finds he staring at a section of low pyramid he had completely overlooked when he had gone over it. A snake's head, feathered at the back graced the stone, carved in loving detail. Aya was pale and was holding her hand as though it hurt.

"What is the matter, Aya?" he asked worriedly.

"As I reached for the head of the serpent to find the passage, something struck at me. A dark paw of some sort..." she says in a shaken voice.

Concerned Jonathon looks at her hand, there are no marks but he presses his lips to her hand anyway hoping to soothe her. Turning he brushes away the vines and moss concealing the carving, searching the area. Finding nothing he returns to Aya.

"I could find nothing, where was the animal?" he asks.

"No animal, Zac Ocelotl. The dark paw was not attached to anything natural." her voice is regaining strength already.

Ramsey puts his hand against her forehead, seeing her flush. "You are fevered, Aya! Why did you not ask to stop for a time? Come and sit, I will find water for us." he starts to walk off and turns, "What does Zac Ocelotl mean Aya? I hope your not calling me names I cannot understand." he says, trying to lighten the mood a bit.

 

[Honey_B]

Aya

Despite her fatigue, Aya smiled.

"Apparently I have been calling you a name that you do not understand. I am sorry."

She got up from where she sat and picked up the large outer pod of a coconut.

"The eyes of the jaguar looked into you as we mated. Did you not notice it?"

Aya walked over to a broad-leaved plant.

"The jaguar is my totem. The great cat represents all that is courage and strength."

She turned over one of the big, curled leaves and caught the tiny trickle of water in the coconut husk.

"That jaguar did not look at me, however. No, it looked at you, held your eyes and looked into your soul."

Aya poured trickle after trickle into her improvised container.

"Ocelotl is the Aztec word for jaguar, and zac means white."

She walked over to Ramsey and held out the water-filled husk. "Would you like a drink, White Jaguar?" Her smile was impish, tired, but impish.

 

[kitsuke]

Jonathon Ramsey

"Well Aya, " Ramsey said as he took the husk and drank, "whatever you want to call me, I won't protest."

Still slightly concerned about her fevered moment he sat next to her and wrapped her in his arm. "Now how do we go about finding this door?"

Looking at the pyramid brought a creeping sensation up his spine. Half-forgotten and never remembered memories flitted at the back of his conciousness. A pit loomed before his vision and the smell of burnt offerings filled his nostrils. An obsidian dagger lay in his hand and an altar sat before him. Laid across the altar was a naked woman, bound to the corners. Her face was shrouded by the smoke of the fire, yet hauntingly familiar. She was struggling and calling out some foreign words.

The filthy bitch must die for collaborating with the invaders.

Hopefully her heart would appease the gods. Raising the knife high he plunged it into her breast-

With a start Ramsey dropped the husk and realized he had spilled most of it all over himself.

"I'm fine, Aya." he lied blandly as his voice regained composure, "I just thought I saw something is all."

Her look told him she obviously didn't believe he was being forthcoming.

 

[Honey_B]

Kukumotz - The Feathered Serpant

 

[Honey_B]

Aya

A puzzle -

Aya carefully examined the surface of the hideously carved serpent. The snake had great gaping jaws and Aya knelt to peer into them. She could make out a dark passage stretching far into the pyramid. Aya reached into the serpent's mouth, but didn't feel anything except empty space. She stretched and reached deeper. Still nothing.

"Zac Ocelotl, if you please. Get me a long branch from a tree."

Ramsey complied and returned with a five foot long piece of wood. They inserted it into the dark hole and pushed it almost all the way in. They hit something hard. Without warning, the pair felt a rumble beneath their feet. Protectively, Ramsey pulled Aya away.

A four foot square opened beneath the snake's head and an ancient smell emanated from the narrow opening.

"The pyramid reveals its secrets easily. We should be careful that it does not have something more deadly in store. Only with caution should we proceed." Aya said with great solemnity.

They crouched low to move through the pyramid's entrance. Aya straightened. The corridor in which they stood was dotted with spots of light that illuminated the shadowy passage.

"Where is that coming from? The light?" Ramsey asked.

Aya pointed towards the ceiling. The sunlight was being directed downward through tiny slots into the interior of the pyramid. The effect was eerie and Aya felt a shiver run down her spine.

The corridor they walked down was long and featureless, giving no indication of where it lead. When Aya and Ramsey finally reached a junction in the passage, the pair stopped.

"We must separate. Look for anything that might prove useful and please remember your way back here," Aya said with a voice, heavy with solemnity. Something about this place did not feel right. A presence seemed to hang in the air. If they did not need the supplies so desperately, Aya would have turned back. She did not want to let Ramsey know how the apparition had shaken her. Was it the Witz, the protector of tombs? She shook her head to free herself of the troubling thought.

"Good luck, Ramsey," Aya said as she stood on tiptoe and kissed him.

 

[kitsuke]

Jonathon Ramsey

The twisting corridors of the inner pyramid would have been hopeless had it been any larger. The only thing that kept the place from being a death trap was the limited sized this particular tomb had been built on. Still, the passages left a daunting maze and as he neared a dusty room he thought he heard a noise inside. Stepping in quickly his vision flashed dark and then returned.

"Must have been a bat. There's nothing else in here." he mused to himself walking over to an open cask on the floor. Laying inside a rotted husk clutched a finely chipped obsidian dagger, it's hilt bound in some sort of strange animal hide. Laying nearby more of the same animal lay somewhat unwrapped, obviously a carrying case for the razor sharp blade. Picking them both up a connection in his mind somewhere clicked, and the rightness of carrying the blade established itself in him. Strapping the case to his belt he brandished the dark dagger and made his way onward.

 

[Honey_B]

Death is complete. Vultures picking over the bones for a hundred years does not matter to me. Then she came. Sister to my soul, priestess of the dark gods, mistress of the outsider. I will live through you.

Aya walked into a wide chamber. She must surely be near the center of the pyramid. The walls were covered with descriptive murals, their painted surfaces as vivid as the day they were created. Aya slowly walked around the perimeter of the room, trying to decipher the meaning of the inscriptions.

This room had been the burial chamber. Aya felt unease seep through her skin, even though the room had long since been emptied by looters. She walked around and around the room entranced.

Suddenly, she returned to a particularly odd panel that had caught her eye. It read:

"Herein lies the chief, impress him in
your memories. Forget not your king.
Go now and live for him. Keep the feathered
serpent alive in you."

Certain places in the inscription looked slightly raised. Aya peered at them closely...

'here press you go'

She pressed each raised area. Something creaked and a seam became apparent. With a rush of dust, a section of the wall pulled away, revealing the entrance to a small chamber. Excited, Aya entered.

 

[kitsuke]

Jonathon Ramsey

The journey thus far had been a profitable one. Ramsey had found a weapon, a leather pouch that looked to be quite airtught once sealed that could be used for water, a few old spears had yielded sharp tips that could be affixed to new shafts with tough vine or even his bootlaces, and a small golden disk about half the size of his palm that had a few glyphs he could not recognize scribed on it.

Only one problem remained, when he had come out of the last chamber and turned down the corridor to retrace his steps, the layout before him was one he did not recognize at all. A faint grinding in the distance perked him up and he began to make his way towards it.

 

[Honey_B]

Aya

The chamber was actually a dzonot, a passageway that led the dead Maya into their Underworld. At the opposite end of the long, narrow chamber, Aya could just make out a dark hole in the floor. No doubt it dropped into the bowels of the earth. Although these were not the beliefs of the Aztec, Aya looked away from the shadowy abyss.

Instead she concentrated on what was just inside the doorway. She knew the Maya believed that the trek to the underworld was fraught with obstacles. For this reason, the body needed to be buried with everything the spirit would need on this journey. If the spirit failed to reach its destination, it would be condemned to walk the earthly plain for all eternity.

Aya assumed the supplies she was looking at were hidden here for that purpose. As a member of a warrior race, she felt admiration as she picked up a finely-made blow gun with a tiny pot of venom as well as an obsidian dagger, a small axe, and an ornate war club. She found a large pack basket that was still sturdy after nearly a hundred years. Aya packed the weapons into the basket and placed two jaguar hides on top of them. She also added flints and torches from the stockpile. The pack was heavy but manageable. Aya hefted it onto her back and returned to the burial chamber.

A sparkle near the opposite corner of the room caught her eye.

"How very odd," Aya murmured under her breath as she approached. Laying on the ground was a beautiful necklace, glinting softly in the low light. Surely she would have noticed such a thing when she had first circled the room.

Aya could only think the oversight had been due to her hunger and fatigue as she leaned down to pick it up. It was beautiful made of onyx and turquoise. The blue-green stone formed strange symbols on a flat medallion of onyx. Aya slid the strange necklace over her head.

 

[kitsuke]

Jonathon Ramsey

Wandering through corridors toward what he thought was the noise he heard gave Ramsey time to gain his bearing. Suddenly the layout of the pyramid became clear to him as he passed through the tunnels. The patterns that repeated made sense and he began to make turns more on hunches and reasoning rather than guesses. Soon he found himself near the center of the pyramid, an entryway into a room visible. Aya stood off to the side, placing a strange necklace around her neck. There was a dark passage that was obviously recently opened and the source of the noise he had heard.

"There you are Aya, I have found a few things, and obviously you have as well. That is quite a fetching necklace. What is down this.... thing?" he asked pointing to the dzonot into the blackness beyond.

 

[Honey_B]

'Here you are Aya, I have found a few things, and obviously you have as well. That is quite a fetching necklace. What is down this thing?'

He was delicious. I dropped the pack basket and slinked over to him, my hips moving to an ancient rhythm. I had caught his attention and as he turned to face me, I devoured every each of his body with my eyes. He was so alive!

He came to me then, concern clouding his face. "Aya, are you all right?"

I laughed, the low, throaty sound echoing through the shadowy room. "I have never been more right. You have no idea. But you will."

I snaked my arms around his neck at the same moment I took possession of his mouth. The kiss brought a thousand memories back to me; lips crushing mine, the sharing of breath, the feel of tongues intertwining. I ground myself into him, feeling his need rise.

I pulled away. "I want nothing more than to have you here. Now." My voice was quiet and commanding. I pulled the odd cloth garment off my body and let it fall to the floor. The necklace hung heavily between my breasts. I cupped them in my hands as a primal offering them to this man.

"Take these. Suck my nipples into your mouth and use your teeth. Cause me to cry out in pleasure and pain." I was rewarded by him falling upon my breasts in a frenzy. I met his mad ecstasy with equal fervor and ripped his shirt to shreds, my nails biting into his skin.

Writhing together we fell upon the ground, him on top of me.

 

[kitsuke]

Jonathon Ramsey

"Gods Aya.. what's come over you?" Sinking happily to the floor Ramsey began to return Aya's pets and kisses, his arousal at this unexpected turn great. The look of glazed lust in her eyes was...


Wrong. It was wrong. He looked around himself at their situation and wondered what could have happened to her that she should be like this. Perhaps there was some sort of drug on a surface she had touched, or maybe the air from the dark hole was polluted with some agent. Whatever it was they had to get out.

"I'm sorry Aya, we must leave. Now." Straightening his clothes he picked her up over his shoulder like a sack since she seemed unwilling to get up from her blatantly erotic offering of herself to him.

The tunnels seemd to lay themselves out in front of him and soon he found himself rounding the corner to the exit.

Which was closed.

 

[Honey_B]

Blood red fury clouded my eyes. I would kill this man who denied the notice of a queen! I waited, humiliated but patient, as the insect held me in his clutches. Stifling a triumphant laugh when we came to the sealed entrance, I instead calmly asked to be set down.

Fingering the powerful symbols on my necklace with one hand, I pretended to study the interior structure of the door.

"Let me get into the basket, please" I asked.

He complied and I rummaged in the container, feeling great strength flow into me as my hand closed around a dagger. I intoned the prayer of the dead, the great calling up of all spirits to give me their strength so that I might be avenged.

The amulet grew hot against my skin. Fast as a cat, I lunged at the man, swinging the deadly blade with menace. I caught him on the left arm, slicing through the thin cloth he wore and sliced into his skin.

I bared my teeth and screeched, "u chok ch'ah!" - I have scattered sacred drops, a Mayan's taunt for the first cut.

 

[kitsuke]

Jonathon Ramsey

stinging hot pain sears through the flesh

"Ah!" Jonathon cried as Aya's dagger cut him, "Aya what are you...?" he stopped as he saw the look in her eyes. The same glaze filtered through hate now instead of lust. Something had gone terribly wrong back in that central chamber and he wasn't quite sure what it was.

Flinging himself against her he bore her to the wall and pinned the dagger hand against it with both of his. SHe raked at him with sharp nails with the other hand but he bore it stoically. The necklace on her neck flashed and burned him, causing him to jump a bit. He narrowed his eyes and grasped it with his right, readied himself to yank it off her.

"Aya! Listen to me! This is not you. I don't know what's happened but whatever it is I won't let it claim you!" he said heatedly as his muscles bunched.

A shock of energy blew them both to the floor. They landed, her on top of him. His hand still clasped around the now burning amulet, but her dagger inches away from his vulnerable throat.

He no longer held her wrist. In alarm he pulled as hard and as quick as he could on the necklace.

 

[Honey_B]

The sound of a scream echoed through the passageway as the beads separated and broke. The noise had not come from either of the two people; it seemed to come from the shattering necklace itself. Pieces of onyx and turquoise rained down on the cold stone and burst into little flames upon contact. The woman slumped against the man and he caught her before she fell.

From somewhere, deep within the recesses of the pyramid, came a deep rumble. The stone walls seemed to shake and creak. The vibration triggered some inner mechanism within the pyramid's entrance. Daylight streaked into the lowlight of the passage. The man grabbed the pack, and half-dragged the dazed woman out with him, into the brilliant.



Aya was in a state of confusion and didn't know what was happening. She felt herself being dragged out of the pyramid by Ramsey. She pulled on him to stop.

"Wait! No! We have not found anything yet, Zac Ocelotl. We can not leave so quickly upon entering."

Ramsey swept her up in his arms, dropped the supplies and got them a safe distance from the pyramid. He set her down and roughly turned Aya around.

"Look!" he demanded.

The pyramid was caving in upon itself. A structure built to endure the test of time was destroying itself. The structure collapsed into a pile of meaningless rubble.

Aya's chest throbbed. She looked down and screamed.

At the base of her breastbone, she had been branded. The thin white lines of the image were about two inches square.

 

[kitsuke]

Jonathon Ramsey

"Oh my god, Aya!" Jonathon cried as she screamed out in pain. Her branded skin shone painfully clear to him in the harsh light of day and he picked her up in his arms. "There's water over here a bit, just hold me Aya."

Half-running to the small, still pool he lay her by it and began to lave the water onto the burn on her collar. His eyes shone with unshed tears as she whimpered and he tore both the sleeves off his shirt. Soaking one he folded it and covered her burn, the cool dampness constant now on it. The other he soaked as well and wrung it out over the covering bit of cloth to keep it moist and cool.

Stroking her brow with his free hand he looked at her in concern. Her cries had subsided although she still winced now and again from the burn and even occasionally from his ministrations to it. Kissing her forehead he asked her in slightly tremorous voice, "Are you all right, Aya? You look a sight worse for wear, I must admit." He didn't add that her beauty still shone from her like a ship's beacon on a cloud-filled night.