On The Trail We Blaze

Chapter 13 - Stone Jaguar

The soldier whistled happily as he mixed the potion that Tzekel-Kan had prepared. The lanky priest walked over, a sly grin upon his face as he asked, "Well, is it ready yet?"

The soldier smiled as he dipped a bowl into the sickly green mixture before holding it up to his master. Tzekel-Kan gave him a displeased look and, upon realizing his mistake, quickly placed a small paper umbrella in the bowl.

Satisfied, the dark-haired man grabbed the bowl, sniffing the fumes from the concoction with an evil smile. But, even then, he wasn't completely pleased by it.

"It seems to be missing something." He took out his book, flipping through the pages before staring down at his minion. "It needs more...body."

With no remorse, he kicked the soldier into the boiling potion, and an instant reaction was created. Light shot towards the ceiling as raw power seeped into Tzekel-Kan's body. It was strong enough to push him back with every blast, eventually pushing him up against a wall.

He laughed in victory as he felt the overwhelming power flow through him. It made his eyes glow bright green while more of the potion seeped out, over the floor, and crawled up the giant jaguar statue.

It gave the beast a similar green glow in its eyes like the horrid priest and, as Tzekel-Kan moved his head off the wall, the jaguar moved with him. It copied his actions and blasted off the wall, just as he did.

"Do...as I command!"

...

"The Gods deserve a proper tribute." One kid quoted, pretending to be Tzekel-Kan, using Bibo as a stand in for a sacrifice.

Another kid walked up, dressed similarly to how the Gods were represented in the stone tablet. He grabbed the little creature and yelled out, "Stop! There will be no sacrifices!"

Tulio chuckled at the scene, as did (Y/N), watching from their thrones at the scene. Miguel, however, did not chuckle or even smile. He was slumped in his seat, still trying to figure out if he truly wanted to stay or leave with his friends.

"That kid does you better than you do." Tulio joked, nudging his deflated friend before relaxing back in his seat. "Some send-off, huh? We're finally at the 'go back to Spain and live like kings and queen' part."

"Yeah..." (Y/N) sighed, her attention only on Chel.

He was busy letting a few kids pet Altivo before he noticed (Y/N) gazing at him. He was surprised for a moment before he teasingly smiled and waved at her. And she gladly waved back, feeling giddy as she did.

Miguel noticed their little exchange while Tulio was focused on the children's play. Once again, it seemed that they were all ready to go back home and live their own lives. Tulio with his gold. And (Y/N) with Chel.

With their minds on other things, it seemed his own thoughts didn't fit in with theirs. And, once again, he was reminded on how he didn't want to leave.

Trying to be subtle, as well as test the waters of his idea, he nonchalantly questioned, "Well, isn't king kind of a step down from God?"

Tulio spat out his drink, not expecting to hear those words, while (Y/N) whipped her head around to face him as well.

"What?" He gasped.

"Miguel, we can't stay here." (Y/N) gently reminded.

"We have a plan, remember?"

Miguel wanted to defend his words. He wanted to speak about how things had changed. About his thoughts on the city. About how it felt like their little trio was drifting apart.