Chapter 16. Eyes that pierce the night

Where the Lord of the Jungle gets a little curious and Max gets a big scare

Note: Author commentary at the end of the chapter. This commentary is exclusive to the Cacao Muse; you won’t see it on Amazon, my author site, or printed inside the wrappers of my favorite chocolate bars.

When they arrived at the clearing, Max barely recognized it: the light of the imminent full moon poured its shimmering milk onto the ground, lining the boundaries of the rainforest with a metallic sheen and scoring the mound with crisp silvery edges. The shape of the mound struck Max as a buried Maya pyramid, like those he’d seen on travel sites about Central America.

Instinctively, he and Itzel exchanged glances. He took her hand, and together, they headed for the mound, Luna flying alongside Max.

At the bottom they paused a moment and looked up toward the Sacred Cacao Tree. The mound seemed taller somehow, the Cacao Tree larger and more imposing. But there was no time to waste; the Elders would arrive soon and they could not risk getting caught. Climbing as swiftly as they could, Max and Itzel made their way to the top of the mound. Luna of course got there in record time. She settled onto a low branch of the Cacao Tree and preened her feathers, waiting for her slowpoke friends.

Wings faster than legs, she teased Max when he reached the top. He stuck his tongue out at her.

“What do we do now?” he whispered to Itzel.

“We need to climb into the Cacao Tree and hide before the Elders come,” said Itzel, turning to scan the edge of the rainforest. No sign of anyone. They still had time.

“Follow me.”

With a few well-practiced moves, Itzel lifted herself into the higher branches. Max was right behind her; tree climbing was a skill he’d long had on his childhood resume. Luna fluttered in, settling close to Max on a nearby branch.

Legs stronger than wings, Max thought-lined to Luna, unable to resist a good comeback. To his surprise, she stuck her tiny tongue out at him.

“Okay, this is high enough, they won’t see us here. They only open one pod for each ceremony,” said Itzel.

They sat in silence, waiting. Brilliant rays of moonlight filtered through the thick, serpentine branches of the Cacao Tree, glancing off the great broad glistening leaves, sliding over the thick skins of the cacao pods, dripping all the way down to the tiny clusters of blossoms that peppered the ancient tree.

But time grew long, a little longer than usual. Itzel’s face deepened into a frown. The Elders should have long since arrived. Never, in all of the time she had been following them, were they this late—Maya time or Western time. This was a sacred tree, and the moon was only in the right position for the ceremony for so long. She looked up at the moon through the branches. Something wasn’t quite right. Then it hit her.

“Oh no.” Itzel slid down from her branch and made her way down the trunk as quickly as she could, taking care to avoid the fragile blossoms. Max leaned over to see where she was going.

“What’s wrong, Itzel?”