Curse of the Ancients by Matt de la Pena Read Free Book Online Page B

translated for her verbally.
    “This is why you asked about snakes in my jewelry,” Kisa said.
    Riq nodded. “Do any of the lines make sense to you?”
    “I don’t know what the clown could be. Or the treasure. But I know Itzamna, of course. He is the god who gave us our calendar. And the numbers you read, those are calendar dates. One of them is today. The other is far into the future. Knowing one, it is a simple matter to deduce the second.”
    The hair stood up on Riq’s arms. “One of them is today?”
    Kisa nodded.
    Riq powered down the SQuare and stuck it back in his satchel, looking all around the battered hut, trying to think. He saw old cooking tools and fallen boards and cloth. He saw a half-covered piece of wood that had been carved into a snake head. Riq knew he needed to tell Sera about the significance of today as soon as he possibly could. The Hystorians really had led them here intentionally. It was now just a matter of figuring out why. Dozens of images flashed through his mind: Itchik leading them into his hut; the scribes coming up out of the rubble; the storm as seen from the mouth of the cave; Jasaw burning incense over Dak’s lifeless body.
    “Is everything okay?” Kisa asked.
    “I’m not sure,” Riq said. “I just know I need to get to Sera. You’ve helped us tremendously, Kisa. And please —”
    “Don’t worry,” Kisa said, cutting him off. “I will not mention the riddle to a soul.”
    Riq nodded. “Thank you.”
    “Be careful, Riq. I don’t want anything to happen to you.”
    Riq squeezed her hand and turned to leave, but he only made it as far as the open door before spinning back around. “I need to tell you something, Kisa. Something I’ve been thinking about all day.”
    “What?”
    “The three of us. Me, Dak, and Sera. We’ve been traveling from place to place, trying to make the world better. It’s a quest I prepared for my whole life. But I’ve realized something since we arrived at your village.”
    Kisa held the ceiling board, waiting for Riq to finish.
    “Maybe helping the entire world is less important than helping a specific community. Because with a community you can see faces. You can know them, and they can know you back.” Riq returned to Kisa, took the board out of her hands, and studied it for a few seconds. “Who lived in this hut before the storm hit?” he asked.
    Kisa lowered her eyes. “Me and my family.”
    Riq nodded. “You know, all my life I’ve cared more about a quest than I have about people. I believed having a friend would take my focus away from what was important. But I was wrong about that, Kisa. Having a friend is the most important thing in the world.”
    “It’s the most important thing for you, too?” Kisa asked.
    “From this day forward.”
    “And are we friends?”
    Riq nodded. “I’d like to think we are. Even though we haven’t known each other very long.” He handed the board back to Kisa. “Do you think it’d be okay if I stayed here and helped your village rebuild? It would be a great honor if your people would allow me to help.”
    “We’d like that very much,” Kisa said, dropping the board and taking his hands in hers. “I only wish I could do something for you in return. Something just as important.”
    “You already have,” Riq told her.
    His heart was racing. But at least the matter was settled. He would stay here and help Kisa and her family. Dak and Sera would be fine without him. They were the important time travelers. And when their mission was successful, Riq’s life back home wouldn’t be the same. If he even
had
a life there. Here, at least, he would serve a purpose. He would help rebuild a village. And he would be Kisa’s friend. And maybe he could even assist the scribes when they started their next project.
    “I have to go,” Riq said. “Sera needs to know what you’ve told me.”
    “And I have to help Mother with the children,” Kisa said.
    Riq let go of Kisa’s hands and