They made their way along the route Tlaqui had prescribed. The streets were deserted and the houses empty. As the Perfect Victim and Tlaqui mounted the stairs to the temple, the crowd moved to the square in front of the pyramid. Beyond an occasional "Turn here" or "That way," the three of them did not speak, each of them absorbed in their own thoughts.339Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡojIn8vDITr
Don knew that a final reckoning with Yaotl was inevitable, and, remembering all the warriors in the temple for the sacrifice to Tlaloc, realized he would be hopelessly outnumbered. But he also knew that Yaotl would insist on single-handed combat, having made sure it would be a one-sided affair. Somehow, psychologically, he had to defeat Yaotl.339Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHiMZYKXveB
Penny mentally had her fingers crossed and all her hopes were pinned upon the possibility that her grandfather had dreamed up yet another near-miracle to see them safely out of trouble.339Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ89AMwsXjQi
Zuma thought only of her beloved Dr. Smith, whom she knew she would lose when she delivered Penny and Don to the temple.339Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkkFPcVBKCT
They came to the side of the pyramid and went towards the entrance where Yaotl stood.339Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSwRd8da8Mx
"I shall see us past," Zuma said and when they reached Yaotl she congratulated him on his appointment and added that she had been charged with delivering Penny to the temple. Yoatl put his hand on Don's sholder.339Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgLnfhwibCm
"Where is Don?" he asked.339Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTbAw5pNuZC
"He follows with two other warriors," Don replied, disguising his voice as heavily as he could and pointing vaguely behind him.339Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrgZOievfhT
"Escort them to the temple," Yaotl said.339Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBJ602Zj9D1
The first victory, though a minor one, Don thought as he followed Penny and Zuma up the stairs----nonetheless a victory.339Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC7rLccqKWE
The Perfect Victim and Tlaqui came into the temple. Ollin, ignoring Ann on the throne, led them ceremoniouslyl out onto the terrace so that all the people in the square below could see them. The Perfect Victim spread out his arms as though to embrace them all. Ollin drew Tlaqui to one side.339Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRkGkI2vb5y
"First, as the sun is overshadowed, the handmaiden will be tortured and rendered blind," he hissed, "then Yaotl will dispatch Don with his club and cast him off. And as total darkness comes I shall honor Huitzilopochtli with the perfect sacrifice. After which I shall deal with her..." Ollin jerked his head back towards Ann, then took Tlaqui by the arm. "Tetzal has gone," he whispered. "So you are now the High Priest of Knowledge."339Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0IDv3oe7aV
"I shall stand forever at your side," Tlaqui replied with a bow.339Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcLeNwcebWd
Yaotl waited for the two warriors to bring Don, but they didn't appear and already the moon was edging its way in front of the sun. Suddenly, the truth dawned on him. The masked warrior who had taken Zuma and Penny to the temple was Don! With a shout of rage, Yaotl raced up the stairs.339Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq0GsNTvMwY
Zuma and Penny entered the temple with Don, who silently mouthed the words "Dr. Smith," to Ann. She glanced at the second brocade curtain. At least the four of them were in the temple, Don thought, but so were the Perfect Victim, Tlaqui, Ollin and twenty warriors with javelins. He turned to Zuma.339Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz6nYAneVWz
"For your own safety, go now, Zuma," he said gently, "and thank you."339Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLPmEgJz4Ks
Zuma smiled bravely. "Say goodbye to Zachary for me," she said and he stepped from behind the curtain to take her hand in his.339Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCnMLaO1cJu
"Fair thee well, Zuma," he said.339Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmmbz9A46qD
She touched his face with her hand and left the temple.339Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpeqBB7nuok
Ollin stood on the terrace, gazing up at the sun. A quarter was covered by the moon. 339Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuTQ1IowVxs
Thorns lay on the altar.339Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeerf1lZ4Lq
"Seize the handmaiden so that she may be punished," he ordered.339Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc7WHIc79Ez
Two warriors grabbed Penny by the arms.339Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBCjvjqRALe
"Uncle Zachary!" she called out.339Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt1nTHTmf9B
Dr. Smith took a step towards her, but Don stopped him with his hand as Ann stood up.339Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2FeZ2z2vsm
"I, the Great Spirit of Nenetl, forbid this punishment," she commanded.339Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSy2VD0tUp4
Ollin limped into the temple from the terrace. "You forbid it?" he snarled. "Must I then order warriors to restrain you as you witness the thorns being thrust in and her eyes being gouged out?"339Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlHFDqi9x2G
"I shall bring the thorns to you," Don said.339Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxWbIqluBAj
"Do so," Ollin replied, staring at Ann.339Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ5Map7MGGn
Don went to the altar and picked up the thorns one by one. Then he glanced up at the sun, which was now one-third covered. Both Ann and Dr. Smith wondered what Don was up to.339Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKpDIlZLL43
"Make haste, for the darkness is descending," Ollin hissed.339Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfSSjna2Ez7
"I obey, High Priest," Don replied calmly, and threw the thorns over the parapet.339Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK361m6GpAl
For an instant Ollin gaped at the masked face. "You!" he snarled. As Don took off his mask, he turned to the warriors. "Strike him down!" he ordered.339Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaaIlG9fSie
"No!" Yaotl roared as he entered the temple. "He is mine!" and he advanced menacingly towards Don.339Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGpXizY9AB1
"I was worried it would be dark before you got here," Don said, backing round the sacrificial altar, making sure he kept it between himself and Yaotl.339Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtT0Guc6s0y
"Dispatch him!" the High Priest of Sacrifice barked. "The darkness comes."339Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEBRzF0Ve5v
Penny, Ann and Dr. Smith held their breath.339Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsdOPdOxrU6
"Does it?" Don asked as he took the biggest gamble of his life. He unclipped the pencil torch from the inside of his loin-cloth and shone it in Yaotl's face. "Then let there be light!"339Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaKkLfb9KrQ
The Chosen Warrior's advance faltered. Don flicked off the torch then put it back on again. Yaotl's eyes dilated with fear as Don aimed the beam of light at the cudgel and reflected rays bounced off of the gold studes. With a horrified gasp, Yaotl dropped it and Don walked towards him flicking the torch on and off. Yaotl backed away.339Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHKVo7Y1tpu
"The darkness comes, perfect sacrifice must be made," Ollin screamed so Don shone the torch on the High Priest's face who cowered back against the wall. With the beam of light off him, Yaotl made a dash along the parapet edge towards Don.339Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCcwoOP6iVu
"West!" Dr. Smith shouted his warning, and Don swept the light back into Yaotl's face.339Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJqJdBwsmRL
The Chosen Warrior checked himself, tried to turn away, over-balanced and hurtled screaming to his death two hundred and fifty feet below.339Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPa36ooj21D
"Now, Ann," Dr. Smith murmured. She pulled off the bracelet while Dr. Smith took his pulley-wheel and the silk strip from behind the curtain. Don came in from the terrace shining the torch on the Aztec faces. When Tlaqui's was lit up, he sank babbling to his knees. Ollin shielded his eyes but didn't move. Ann threaded the bracelet through the hole in the middle of the pulley-wheel. Dr. Smith passed the silk over the groove and Ann stood on the throne, holding the bracelet at arm's length above her head. Penny ducked behind the brocaded curtain, gathered up the two bundles of clothes and dashed to the wall.339Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7e4xgHw5CH
"Get your fingers under the wall as soon as you can, Penny," Dr. Smith said as he tugged gently on the silk. The wall started to move.339Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0IhcRhhpLt
"It's working, Uncle Zachary," Penny said as she dug her fingers under the base of the wall and helped to lift it up.339Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxOfis5IfBE
"Had to," Dr.Smith replied, "motion, dynamics, thrust. Everybody ready?" He didn't wait for an answer. "Then let us be off."339Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGRYTliw6XF
Ann clambered down from the throne, Penny grabbed their clothes, and with Don last, still keeping the light shining on frightened faces, they went into Nenetl's tomb pulling the silk strip with them. The wall closed behind them as Ollin scrambled to his feet.339Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpi9sOKrmE4
"Sacrifice! Sacrifice!" he screamed and two warriors went with him out onto the terrace to lay out the Perfect Victim on the altar. Ollin looked up at the dark sky, the sun now totally eclipsed, and raised the obsidian knife above his head.339Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3hIM3AzUVw
"Huitzilopochtli, great God of the Sun," he chanted, "give us back your light as we, in your honor, make your perfect sacrifice." He plunged the knife into the Perfect Victim's chest....339Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlPMW1s2lOi
Inside the tomb everyone took a moment to catch their breath. Don switched off the torch as the light from inside the TARDIS seemed sufficient. Dr. Smith took Nenetl's bracelet from Ann and began unthreading his pulley-wheel.339Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzNICMTUAzz
"We mustn't leave behind something they haven't got," he observed. "It would confuse Cortez and his conquistadores no end." He snagged the snake's head on the edge of the central hole. "West, some light, please." Don pressed the button but nothing happened. "Light, dear chap," Dr. Smith insisted.339Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbAchjFiVbv
"Sorry, Dr. Smith," Don replied, shaking the pencil-torch a couple of times. "I think the battery's dead."339Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ85iNhq1bM8
Ann ran her fingers around Ollin's mask. "I failed, Dr. Smith," she said.339Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrlgX6mBiBD
"It was inevitable, my dear," he replied, overcoming the problem with the pulley-wheel.339Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkdaucZGzZz
"Then what's the point of us wandering through time and space?" she asked. "We can't change anything. We're observers. Nothing more. Ollin had already won the moment he first set eyes upon us."339Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBAYDLjmYCy
"Yes, my dear," Dr. Smith replied philosophically as he laid the bracelet on the slab beside the skeleton.339Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7Pe2jEuTsZ
"And the one man I had respect for, I decieved," Ann said in self-accusation. "I lied to Tetzal, I gave him false hope and in the end he lost his faith."339Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBOYFfT7F4A
"The last time I spoke to him, he said he would pray to Quetzalcoatl for us. Not Huitzilopochtli, my dear," Dr. Smith replied. "No, through you he found another faith, a better one. You couldn't save a civilization, Ann, but you did help one man."339Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhYqizc4Hx6
"I hope so," she said and went into the TARDIS.339Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNS24juBUrz
Dr. Smith put the pulley-wheel into his pocket and felt something else. He took it out and even in the dim light of the tomb he knew it was the brooch Zuma had given to him in the garden. It came from the tomb therfore it should be left in the tomb, he thought, but then again Zuma had given it to him as a present, so he slipped it back into his pocket, went into the TARDIS and closed the door.339Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoXdQ7nJwTw
339Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo932Fcx0ND
THE END339Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBhQqzJx4FS
