“And I think I’m One Hunahpu!”

Michael …

Mick’s flesh crawls.

She stares at him in absolute fear, the windblown tears streaking across her face. “What are you going to do? You’re not going to sacrifice yourself, are you?”

“Dom—”

“No!” She grabs his arm.

I’m coming, Michael. I can feel your fear …

“I won’t let you do it! Mick, please … I love you—”

Mick feels his will weakening. “Dom, I love you, and I’m really scared. But please, if you ever want to see me again, you have to go, please go, right now!” Mick turns to Chaney. “Get her away from here! Now!”

General Fecondo and the two commandos drag her, kicking and screaming, back to the chopper.

Chaney moves next to Mick, his eyes never leaving the alien. “What are you going to do?”

“I’m not sure, but whatever happens, keep Dominique away from here.”

“You have my word. Now do us all a favor and kill this thing.” Chaney backs away, then climbs into the chopper.

The airship lifts off.

A wave of dizziness forces Mick to one knee, causing him to lose his concentration.

The light emanating from the jade stone diminishes.

The alien serpent shakes its mammoth head. Its amber pupils reappear, the vertical slits widening. Two additional eyes embedded in the alien’s cheek pits regain focus on Mick’s thermal signature and on the waning brilliance of his weapon.

Not good … Stay focused—

Tezcatilpoca rears back on its lower torso, roaring a hideous alien syllable, as if declaring itself no longer under Mick’s spell.

All four viper eyes burn into Mick, focusing on him as if seeing him for the first time. The jaws open. A sizzling black bile drips from the retracted upper fangs, splattering like acidic venom upon the limestone steps below.

Adrenaline courses through Mick’s body. He closes his eyes to die—then, with it a sudden spasm of primal cognizance, he feels the array in his mind.

Tezcatilpoca hyperextends its jaws, baring its hideous fangs—launching its upper torso at the Hunahpu with terrifying speed.

Like a bolt of lightning, the electric blue burst of energy ignites from the pyramid’s antenna, catching the serpent in midstrike. Impaled within the array, the creature writhes in agony, its girth disappearing then reappearing within waves of sizzling emerald energy, its scalelike plumage and spines standing on end in rhythmic spasms.

Mick remains motionless before the alien monstrosity, his eyes remaining closed as he directs his newfound Hunahpu instincts, focusing the enormous power of the Guardian’s array upon his shrieking enemy.

Shuddering in rage, Tezcatilpoca unleashes a deafening resonance, the verbal assault echoing across the esplanade, causing the columns of the Warriors’ Complex to topple.

Opening his eyes, Mick holds the center stone overhead and wills the obsidian dagger from its glowing sheath.

The jade object pulsates furiously, radiating a white-hot energy, the heat singeing his hand.