The Aztec Code by Stephen Cole Page A

Tye?’ He picked up the amulet from his bedside table and tossed it over. ‘They took a piece of me. But at least I got something in return.’
    â€˜Saw this on Coldhardt’s computer,’ said Motti, studying the amulet. ‘Looks old. Real antique. Guess Coldhardt attracts a better class of housebreaker.’
    â€˜Crazy thing was, one of them seemed more like a professor or something than a burglar. Short little guy.’
    Motti looked at the design on the front. ‘Birdwatcher maybe?’
    â€˜Apparently that’s a hummingbird.’ Jonah rubbed the back of his neck, felt the muscles all bunched up there. ‘It features on a lot of Aztec pottery and jewellery and stuff. Aztec warriors believed that when they died in battle or got sacrificed, they would transform into hummingbirds and flutter off to join the Sun God.’
    â€˜Sounds fun,’ said Motti. ‘What kind of outfit’s gonna want that as their emblem?’
    â€˜I’ve been reading up on it – Aztecs were big on blood sacrifice. They killed thousands of people each year, even their best warriors. The priests chopped out their hearts while the victims were still alive.’
    â€˜Nice.’
    â€˜Creepiest thing is, the victims were cool with it. They believed that by giving their life force to the gods, they would go to heaven and live with them.
    Motti snorted. ‘Eternity as a hummingbird? You can keep it.’ He looked down at the amulet. ‘Coldhardt said priests would have worn these. So is that what these guys think they are – priests or something?’
    â€˜Priests or warriors,’ Jonah agreed. ‘Or maybe both …’
    â€˜Anyways.’ Motti chucked the amulet on to the bed. ‘You find out anything a little more current that could help us?’
    â€˜Not really,’ Jonah admitted. ‘But get this.’ He crossed woozily to the computer and called up a page in Explorer. ‘Apparently, the Aztecs had this weird calendar going on. Believed that the history of the world could be divided into cycles of hundreds of years, that they called Suns. And at the end of each Sun, the Earth was pretty much wiped out by a different disaster – flamed up one time, flooded by water another … and humanity only just survived.’
    Motti fidgeted impatiently. ‘Just how bad
was
your knock on the head, geek?’
    â€˜Right now, we’re meant to be living in the fifth cycle of creation – and the last. The age of the Fifth Sun. The Aztecs reckoned this age would come to an end in the twenty-first century with a load of mega-earthquakes. No get-out for the human race this time. The end.’
    â€˜So, what,’ said Motti, ‘these guys call themselves Sixth Sun ’cause they think they’re going to cheat the predictions and see in a new age?’
    â€˜Could be. But what kind of new age would it be?’ Jonah frowned, staggered back over to his bed. ‘Suppose it depends if they’re priests or warriors …’
    â€˜Whatever the hell they think they are,’ said Motti, getting up. ‘How come they need Tye? As a hostage to use against Coldhardt?’
    â€˜Then why not take me along too?’ said Jonah. ‘Two hostages are better than one. They just beat me up and dumped me.’
    â€˜They got taste,’ Motti joked. ‘Or else not enough room in their transport. Their best chance of getting past the defences was if they took a chopper, and thatwould mean limited space …’
    â€˜Oh God,’ said Jonah. ‘I did see a helicopter a bit before – but it was miles away.’
    â€˜Nah. You’d have heard it touch down.’
    â€˜But we … we were down in the cellar.’
    Now Motti’s eyes widened. ‘You and
Tye
were down in the cellar?’
    Jonah blushed. ‘We just … fancied some wine to drink.’
    â€˜Uh-huh.’ Motti’s voice had