Jungle Crossing by Sydney Salter Page A

letting a few drops of blood drip onto the stones.
    "I have returned," he prayed. "My Lords, I have brought many offerings for your gods and many goods for your people."
    People crowded the central plaza—rushing about, chattering like birds. Nearby, Muluc saw a large wall with a small temple connected to a steep stairway. Painted murals covered the wall, and Muluc realized that it formed a ball court. She gasped. Such a gigantic ball court!Cobáhad several ball courts, but all of them would have fit inside this one. Muluc felt as small as a mouse in a cornfield. Cobá had grand temples and beautiful murals—most more elaborate—but the size of the plaza gave these temples a look of power and dominance. Did the gods favor Chichén over Cob´?
    In the distance, Muluc heard the familiar sound of men dragging large stone blocks up the sides of a new temple. The echoing thuds of temple building used to sound routine to her, almost comforting; she felt pride in the beauty of the temples, comfort in knowing the gods would be pleased with her people. Now the sound echoed deep inside her body in heavy thuds of fear. She stopped walking and took a long breath; the man behind her stepped on her heel, muttering a curse.
    "On to the market," Snake said.
    Even late in the day, people crowded the market. Women in plain dresses bought small quantities of food, paying with cocoa beans or short lengths of cloth. So many items to trade! A woman wearing shimmering green feathers on her dress argued about the price of vanilla. Muluc inhaled the sweet, rich scent and tried not to think about her mother. The elegant woman briefly glanced down at Muluc: her dusty, tattered dress; crusty vomit clinging to her skin; hair matted like a ragged child's; her bitter scent souring the air. Muluc flushed with shame as the woman averted her eyes. How many times had
she
treated a dirty-looking common girl the same way? Too many.
    Some of the men in the group stopped to trade with people in the market, but Snake kept walking. Muluc marveled at the piles of tomatoes, beans, corn, squash, melons, coconuts, and fruits she'd never seen before. The jungle had been so dry, yet these people still had food. Not like the drought in Cobá, when the markets were filled with coconuts, fish, small withered ears of corn, and little else. Muluc did not see much fish here in Chichén—only dry salted fish and turtle. Instead, monkeys, kinkajous, peccaries, rabbits, opossums, deer, turkeys, and pheasants lay piled on reed mats for trade. One woman sat behind a large black-and-white tapir. The aroma of roasting meat from another vendor filled Muluc's dry mouth with saliva while her stomach twisted into a knot of hunger.
    At the end of the market, men with long obsidian spears guarded a large building.
    "I have captives from the kingdom of Cobá and trade items for the Lords," Snake said.
    The inside of the building looked like the gods' market: crammed with more exotic goods than Muluc ever imagined.
    A man with long hair braided with a strand of colorful cloth greeted Snake. "You did well," he said, directing the men with salt to a far corner of the building while examining a large pouch of turquoise and jade stones from Snake.
    "The Lords will be pleased." The merchant walked among the traders, examining the contents of their baskets, bags, and jars. Each man kept a small portion or traded for something else he wanted. As they finished their business, the traders began to leave. Muluc saw the elite captives—including Parrot Nose's brother—at the far side of the building. They stood with their hands bound, looking strong and fierce in spite of the black and white paint marking them as prisoners. Muluc stood on tiptoe so that they could see her. The merchant prodded them as if they were pigs at the market! Muluc stamped her foot on the stone floor. Parrot Nose's brother looked up. His eyes grew wide as they met hers, but he remained silent