The Virgin Vampire by Melanie Thompson

Author:Melanie Thompson
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781681464893
Publisher: Torrid Books
Published: 2016-09-27T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter 17

Enrique woke up when Balam leaped off a tall building and jostled him. He struggled to escape but Balam’s strength was too much for him. He was helpless to stop Balam from dragging him into his house and down a steep set of stairs.

At the bottom of the stairs they were met by a small dark man wearing as little as Balam. His body was covered with more tattoos of fanciful Mayan gods. On his back, a ritual sacrifice was graphically depicted in red and black.

“Ik’ Achin,” Balam said to his acolyte. “I have found the jaguar.”

“I’m not a jaguar, I’m a panther, a big, black panther,” Enrique growled and tried to shift. If he could just assume his panther form, he could escape.

Balam held his hand over Enrique’s head. “You will not be able to shift here, panther man. I placed a spell on you that prevents it.”

Enrique groaned as they dragged him down a concrete corridor and through a door made of dark wood. There was a primitive altar built into the small room complete with a stone sacrificial altar. Dark stains dripped down the sides of the stone. Braziers burned copal, an incense made from tree sap found only in the Central American jungle. The scent of it tickled Enrique’s nose and reminded him of time spent with his brother on archeological digs in Guatemala. Copal was an offering to the gods. It purified the sacrifice.

Balam shoved Enrique, who was trussed with a strange cord made from golden threads as thin as spider silk, against the stone altar. “You are lucky, my friend. I will not sacrifice you here. You, I will save for Naj Tunich. You will buy me a trip through Xibalba and into the afterlife.”

Balam pointed to a painting on the wall depicting the entrance to a cave. “Naj Tunich.”

The cave entrance was squared off in a wall of rock that seemed to be melting. Thick jungle surrounded the wall. Enrique recognized Naj Tunich, a huge network of recently discovered caverns that had barely been explored. They contained many Mayan artifacts and altars so the owner had closed the cave system to the public. Only authorized archeologists were allowed inside. It was rumored that at the end of the tunnels there was a deep hole that went so far into the heart of the earth, no one had been able to plumb its depths.

“You’ll never get into heaven, Balam. You’re a demon. God will deny you. Both the gods of the Mayans and my God, the God of Christians, will see to it you never find peace in the afterlife.”

Balam exploded. Grabbing Enrique’s throat in one hand, he squeezed. “You are nothing. I feed off humans and shifters. You exist only to be sacrificed and to feed my kind. What do you know about Xibalba? Nothing. I will pass through and exit in the place Christians call heaven.” He squeezed harder and Enrique felt himself passing out. But he refused to make a noise or show fear.

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