Deity

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Authors: Theresa Danley
Tags: Fiction, General, Suspense, Thrillers, Mystery & Detective
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become
part of the side show.”
    Lori
made sure to give the ring a wide berth.
    “This
is the Castillo,” Chac said, lifting his eyes along the severe profile of the
pyramid. “Also known as the Pyramid of Kukulkan. Look familiar?”
    It
did look strangely familiar. Unlike the hulking pyramids of Teotihuacan, the Castillo didn’t come to a
point at the top. In fact, if one could remove the blocky temple at its summit,
the stepped pyramid would appear unfinished, cropped, blunt —
    “Just
like Pyramid B in Tula,”
she said.
    “Right.”
    Tula —the
Toltec capitol just northeast of Teotihuacan,
the city from which Topiltzin Quetzalcoatl had been overthrown. Tula
lacked the grandeur and popularity of Chichen Itza
and Teotihuacan,
but Lori found it no less interesting. Its pyramids weren’t nearly as
appealing. In fact one was little more than a half-excavated mound. But the
blunt platform of Pyramid B was captivating in its own right. It had history
and history fascinated Lori.
    “It
looks to me like Topiltzin Quetzalcoatl rebuilt his old temple right here in Chichen Itza,” Chac
observed.
    “It
could be a coincidence,” Lori argued. “How do you know this was his pyramid?”
    “Topiltzin
Quetzalcoatl adopted his name from the God he worshiped—the feathered serpent,
Quetzalcoatl. I’m sure you are well aware of Quetzalcoatl’s popularity in Central Mexico. But here in Mayaland there isn’t such a strong
display of the feathered serpent religion as there is Chichen Itza. In fact, the word for feathered
serpent in the Mayan language is Kukulkan.”
    “In
other words, the Pyramid of Kukulkan is the Pyramid of Quetzalcoatl,” Lori
added.
    Chac
nodded and turned back to the steps steeply ascending the pyramid. “There are
ninety-one steps scaling each of the pyramid’s four sides,” he explained. “That
makes three hundred sixty-four steps in all. The topmost platform makes three
hundred sixty-five.”
    “A
step for each day of the year,” Lori observed.
    “That’s
right.”
    “So
this is also a calendar pyramid.”
    “Possibly,
but the Castillo is better known for its shadow-play. It was built in line with
the equinox sun which casts a shadow that slithers down all nine levels of the
north face, connecting with these serpent heads.” Chac patted the snout of one
of the balustrade serpents. “The visual effect is a snake descending the
pyramid, its head on the ground and its tail still in the air.”
    Lori
considered Chac’s illustration for a moment. The Castillo did resemble the
pyramid in Tula,
but the similarities seemed to have ended there. “Pyramid B doesn’t have any
sort of shadow-play like that. In fact, I don’t recall it having any cosmic
significance at all.”
    Chac
was unfazed by her observation. “If the Castillo doesn’t convince you of a
Toltec presence here, there is plenty more to look at. Follow me.”
    Lori
followed him across the clearing, a plaza it seemed given the spackling of
ruins fringing the tree line. They wove their way through gaping, awe-struck
crowds, aiming directly for the temple behind the Castillo. Lori didn’t need
any prompting this time. She immediately recognized a familiar feature from Tula.
    The colonnade.
    Rows
of perfectly aligned stone columns guarded the front of the temple, wrapped
around its side and disappeared into the trees beyond. The wooden roof they
once supported had long perished with time leaving a regiment collection of
skeletal stone pillars. Chac stopped at one of the blocky columns erected just
before the steps of the temple.
    “Columns
were not used in typical Mayan architecture,” Chac said. “But we see them
here.”
    “I
already know where you’re going with this,” Lori interrupted. “I’ve seen the
colonnade in Tula.”
    “Look
again,” Chac goaded.
    Lori
studied the column closer only to find its length elaborately etched with an
anthropomorphic figure.
    “They
call this the Temple
of the Warriors primarily due

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