Nick looked around the room, trying to buy time. Shoes. His mom certainly liked shoes, and there were dozens of pairs on the floor next to the bed. Slippers, boots, low moccasin-type things. There were too many valuable things to choose from.
“She’s my mom. You can’t have her.”
“We already do,” all the Seven Deaths said together.
The figure on the bed sat up and opened her glowing green eyes.
“Awilix,” the death gods said, bowing before her. “What is your wish?”
“Gather my servants,” the woman who still looked like Nick’s mother said. “It is time to leave our tomb behind—and feed.”
“As you command,” the Seven Deaths said. “And what shall we do with the boy?”
Awilix looked Nick in the eyes, and the power of her gaze sent ice from the top of his head to the soles of his feet. But wasn’t there a part of his mom inside? A part of her that might recognize him? Desperately he stared at her, trying to make contact with whatever part of his mom still existed.
Her gaze locked on his. For a moment he thought he saw a glimmer of recognition. Then he remembered all his doubts. He’d never done any of the things she liked. He’d never asked her about her life before him. He spent his entire life expecting her to do things for him. How could she possibly want to protect him now?
She smiled. “Kill him.”
“No!” Nick screamed. He looked for some place to run, but the death gods had him blocked off. Weapons raised, they closed in on him.
“Welcome to Xibalba,” one of them said, raising his ax.
Nick spun back toward Awilix. “Please, Mom,” he begged. “I know I’ve been a lousy son. Even if you can’t do anything to stop this, I want to say I’m sorry for all the trouble I’ve put you through. All the dumb stuff I’ve done. I love you.”
Awilix started to turn away from him and then stopped. Her head turned back. She raised a trembling hand, slapped it back down to her side, and tried to raise it again. It was like part of her was reaching out to him while the other fought against it.
Slowly, three words forced themselves out of her mouth. “Let. Him. Go.”
“Awilix?” All of the Seven Deaths turned toward the goddess.
Her eyes met Nick’s, and for just a brief moment, he saw his mom fighting against the power of the goddess with everything she had. Her gaze swept past Nick to the wall behind him, and then the goddess returned.
“Kill him!” she roared.
Nick’s mind raced. What was that look? Had his mom been trying to tell him something?
As the Seven Deaths leaped toward him, Nick spun around. He searched the wall, and there it was, right where it had been the whole time. He’d been searching for all the things a member of Mayan royalty might find important, without ever thinking about the fact that the king’s aunt was a woman, just like his mom.
In fact, in a way, he guessed she was kind of a mom too. Hadn’t she raised the young king?
Diving forward, he reached out and grabbed the painting of a man and a woman holding a child. All at once he knew he was the most important thing in his mom’s life. And to the aunt and uncle, the boy hadn’t been a king. He’d been their child.
As Nick’s fingers brushed across the child’s face, an explosion shook the chamber. Green light shot off the walls and ceiling. He held up the painting and all seven incarnations of the death lord fell back before him.
Rushing to his mom, he threw his arms around the glowing green goddess. “I love you, Mom. Come home.”
For a moment the body he pressed against was ice-cold. Then he felt warm arms wrap around him. “I love you too.”
“I’m still not sure I understand why we’re leaving three days early,” Mom said as the men from the camp piled their luggage onto the top of the four-wheel-drive.
It was the morning after Nick had freed his mom from the power of the Mayan goddess, and she didn’t seem to remember anything about it at all. He figured that was probably a good thing.
“You hit your head,” he said. “Don’t you remember?”
Mom reached up and felt the bandage on the front of her head with a look of mild surprise. “Oh, that’s right. I guess I forgot. Everything’s a little bit fuzzy.” She looked at Dad as the two of them climbed into the car. “Did you know I hit my head?”
Dad pushed his Indiana Jones hat back on his head, looking a little confused. “I . . . think so.”
“You got food poisoning,” Carter said. “You know, the runs? You’ve been kind of out of it too.”
Dad nodded slowly. “The curse of Montezuma’s revenge, huh?”
Angelo shuddered. “Let’s not talk about curses.”
“The good news is, we get three days all expenses paid at the hotel,” Nick said as he, Carter, and Angelo climbed into the car.
Mom leaned forward, looking at the man driving their car. “What happened to that nice Mr. Jiménez who brought us here?”
Nick glanced back at the Mexican police who were just finishing up their interviews. “He’s telling some people all about how he ended up with certain artifacts. I wouldn’t be surprised if he ends up being on TV.”
Dr. Lopez and Dr. Canul had gone to great lengths explaining that Mr. Jiménez and a small group of his associates had planned an elaborate attempt to steal valuable artifacts that belonged in the country’s museums. Dr. Canul still wasn’t entirely certain on what had happened the night before. But Dr. Lopez had made it clear that it would be best for his career if he didn’t mention the glowing green goddess. Considering that his father’s career had been destroyed by odd beliefs, it wasn’t a hard sell.
“That’s nice,” Mom said. “He seemed like a prince of a guy.”
“The problem is he thought he was a king,” Carter whispered.
As the driver pulled out of the camp, Nick took one last look at the pyramid where they had nearly ended up spending the rest of their lives—and afterlives.
“I wish I could have spent more time talking to the lords of death,” Angelo said.
“Are you kidding?” Nick asked. “Those were, like, the freakiest guys I’ve ever met.”
“Not to mention that they tried to kill us,” Carter added.
Nick shook his head. Sometimes Angelo was just plain nuts. “Do you still think your parents are going to make you give up monster hunting?”
“I think we can come to some kind of agreement,” Angelo said. He reached into his notebook and pulled out a slip of paper.
“What’s that?” Nick asked. “It looks like one of those DNA reports out of your tester.”
“Not just any report,” Angelo said. “This is the DNA result for One Death.”
Nick and Carter stared at him. “How?” Nick asked. “You said you used all your swabs.”
Angelo gave a sly smile. “I did. But remember when I grabbed his hand in the underworld? Just before we had to name the demons?”
Nick nodded.
“I scraped some skin from his palm with my fingernail. I ran the tests as soon as we got back.”
“And?” Nick asked.
“Definitely not human.”
“You are a crazy man,” Carter said before going back to his knitting.
Nick noticed Carter had given up the hat he’d been working on. “Something new?” he asked.
Carter held up his project. “It’s next year’s Halloween costume. I’m going to be the Flying Scab.”
Nick’s dad turned around. “What are you boys going to do when we get back to the hotel?”
“I’m eating till I pop,” Carter said.
Angelo pulled out his monster notebook. “I think I’ll try to find the library. I’ve always wanted to learn more about chupacabras.”
“What about you?” Nick’s mom asked him. “Finally going to get that swim?”
Nick shook his head. “Actually, I was hoping you might teach me some Spanish.”
How was your trip? Nick, Carter, and Angelo seem to have survived
. Of course, they always do. I’m thinking about taking a little trip myself. Perhaps to visit my mother. It’s been a while since I’ve seen her, and for some reason I feel the need just now.
Will I be back? Perhaps. Although the boys seem to be growing up. Maybe it’s time they got on without me. And what about you? Are there adventures you’ve been meaning to take? Dark and shadowy haunts calling out to you?
Go now, at once. Before it’s too late. Perhaps your story will be in my next case file.
Or perhaps you’ll start a case file of your own.
Sincerely,
B. B.
One of the best things about writing a series like Case File 13 is that I get to find lots of fun facts about interesting topics like pyramids, Mayan temples, and ancient writings. I combine those with legends, myths, and rumors, and stir it all together with things I make up from my own imagination.
The first thing I discovered when I began researching Curse of the Mummy’s Uncle is that the Mayans were and are an amazing people. The ancient Mayans are known for their art, architecture, math, and astronomy, among other things. Because Mayan script has been mostly deciphered, we can read about 90 percent of their ancient writings. That helps us understand a lot about their lives and beliefs.
The second thing I learned is that pyramids are awesome. Although we tend to think of Egypt when we think of pyramids, there are actually hundreds of them spread all over the world. Many Mayan cities, including Tikal, Yaxha, and Ixlu, have what are called twin-pyramid groups where two pyramids were built on the east and west side of a plaza.
Mayan pyramids often had temples on top. The pyramids represented mountains and the temples represented caves to the underworld. Passages were sometimes dug down from the temple into the pyramid, where royalty was buried. Many times the doors to these passages are carved to look like the mouths of monsters.
The names of the demons I used in this book all come from Mayan mythology. (Even the Flying Scab!) The Popol Vuh is a real document that includes the story of the Hero Twins, Xbalanque and Hunahpu. Almost all the tests the boys have to get through are the same ones the Hero Twins have to pass. (Except for the Whac-A-Mole skeletons. I made that up because it seemed so funny.) Xibalba is actually what the Mayans called the underworld, and it does translate to “place of fear.”
While I used lots of facts, I also made a lot up. None of the characters are real. The archaeological site is not a real location. There is no pyramid called Xma’ Su’tal Hats’utsil. The ceremonies where Mayans of royal blood could pass through the underworld to become gods is made up from a little bit of fact and a little bit of legend, but mostly from my imagination. I totally invented the items of power.
Hopefully this adventure made you want to find out more about pyramids, Mayans, and Mesoamerican history. If so, there are lots of great books on the subjects from the real experts.
Here are just a few.
Baquedano, Elizabeth. Aztec, Inca & Maya: Discover the World of the Aztecs, Incas, and Mayas—Their Beliefs, Rituals, and Civilizations, rev. ed. DK Eyewitness Books. New York: DK Publishing, 2011.
Maloy, Jackie. The Ancient Maya. New York: Children’s Press, 2010.
Matthews, Rupert. You Wouldn’t Want to Be a Mayan Soothsayer!: Fortunes You’d Rather Not Tell. You Wouldn’t Want To . . . New York: Franklin Watts, 2008.
You can also find plenty of information (along with some awesome pictures and videos) on the internet, too. Who knows, maybe you’ll want to make up your own story of Mayan pyramids and what happens inside.
It’s not every day an author gets to share many of his childhood experiences with his readers. Especially not in a series that’s as much fun to write as Case File 13. Special thanks to Michael Bourret, who helped make this dream come true; Andrew Harwell, who saw the stories I was trying to tell and made them so much better; Douglas Holgate, who brought my words to life with his amazing pictures; all the staff at Harper Children’s who turned a story into what you now hold in your hands; to my family, who support me in too many ways to count; and most of all, to you, my readers, without whom none of the words would matter. It’s been a great journey, and I hope you’ve enjoyed the series. Feel free to contact me at [email protected] and let me know how you liked it.
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About the Author
Photo by Erica Thurman
J. SCOTT SAVAGE has returned after being lost in a Mexican rainforest. His office is now filled with Mayan scrolls, hieroglyphics, artifacts, and star charts. His children and children-in-law, Big Nick, Erica, Scott, Natalie, Jake, and Little Nick, look pale and claim to be cursed. His grandchildren, Gray, Lizzie, and Jack, are heavily wrapped in mummy-like bandages. And his wife, Jennifer, has reportedly been seen glowing green and hexing the neighbors.
You can visit him online at www.jscottsavage.com.
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Credits
Cover art © 2015 by Doug Holgate
Copyright
CASE FILE 13 #4: CURSE OF THE MUMMY’S UNCLE. Text copyright © 2015 by J. Scott Savage. Illustrations copyright © 2015 by Douglas Holgate. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
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ISBN 978-0-06-232406-1
EPub Edition © June 2015 ISBN 9780062324085
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