The House of the Scorpion by Farmer Nancy

Author:Farmer, Nancy [Farmer, Nancy]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi, azw3
Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Published: 2010-05-08T07:00:00+00:00

22

BETRAYAL

What should I do? What should I do?” whispered Matt, hugging himself and rocking back and forth in the dark passageway. He loved El Patrón. He wanted to be with him at the hospital, to watch over him and urge him back to health. But at the same time Matt remembered María saying that she did know the source of El Patrón’s transplants: And it’s evil!

Celia would be looking for him. Unbidden, another memory surfaced. Celia was fussing with the suit Matt had worn to the birthday party long ago. If anything bad happens, she had said, I want you to come straight to me. Come to the pantry behind the kitchen.

What do you mean, bad? Matt had asked.

I can’t say. Just promise me you’ll remember.

And even longer ago Matt remembered Tam Lin speaking to him soon after his rescue from Rosa: I’ll tell you this: El Patrón has his good side and his bad side. Very dark indeed is his majesty when he wants to be. When he was young, he made a choice, like a tree does when it decides to grow one way or the other. He grew large and green until he shadowed over the whole forest, but most of his branches are twisted.

So many hints! So many clues! Like a pebble that starts an avalanche, Matt’s fear shook loose more and more memories. Why had Tam Lin given him a chest full of supplies and maps? Why had María run from him when they found MacGregor’s clone in the hospital? Because she knew! They all knew! Matt’s education and accomplishments were a sham. It didn’t matter how intelligent he was. In the end the only thing that mattered was how strong his heart was.

And yet Matt wasn’t—quite—sure.

What if he was wrong? What if El Patrón really loved him? Matt thought about the old man lying on a hospital bed, waiting for the one person who could bring him a glimpse of his youth. It was too cruel! Matt curled up on the floor of the passage. He lay in a welter of fine dust that had drifted into this dark, secret space over the years. He felt like the inhabitant of an ancient tomb, an Egyptian pharaoh or Chaldean king. El Patrón loved to talk about such things.

The old man enthusiastically described the wealth that filled the pyramids, for the use of the old kings in their afterlife. He liked the tombs of the ancient Chaldeans even more. Not only did they have clothes and food, but their horses were slaughtered to provide transport in the shadowy world of the dead. In one tomb archaeologists had discovered soldiers, servants, and even dancing girls laid out as though they were sleeping. One girl had been in such a hurry, the blue ribbon she was meant to wear in her hair was still rolled up in her pocket.

What a fine thing that was, El Patrón had told Matt: that a king got to rule in this life but also had his entire court to serve him in the next.

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