Free ORDER OF SEVEN by Beth Teliho

tribe suffered and their population decreased. Around the sixteen hundreds, small groups managed to stay together and one in particular eventually migrated into Central America. They ended up in present day Honduras, where they still are today.
    “Their name, which means White Spirit People, originated because they were known for a genetic hiccup in their tribe: each generation, an albino child was born and thought to have mystical powers. He was their shaman, their guide, their preacher, their...everything. The tribe would raise the child like a king, readying him to take the place of the one before him. When the child was fourteen years old, he would take the helm.”
    “Wild,” Ben says.
    “It gets wilder. Hahn said one of his archaeologist friends has been working with a team in the mountains of Peru for a few years, and they’ve uncovered new evidence. Because of the artifacts found, they’re pretty sure this is the original Tabari land, before they split and moved north.”
    “So? What’s the big deal with that?” I ask.
    “They discovered carvings of human figures on pottery, cave walls and tablets in the area. The figures have stars and moons over their heads and squiggly lines thought to be snakes—both symbols of mystics. Star maps and calendars were uncovered too. The maps point to astronomical locations, and when coordinated with certain dates also point to large formations. Famous formations. ” He eyes Nodin. “Ones that take on recognizable shapes when seen from high above.”
    Nodin’s eyes are huge. “Wait a minute, are you saying what I think you’re saying?”
    Baron nods. “They think the Tabari were originally a clan of the Nazca and may be partly responsible for the Nazca lines.”
    “That’s unreal,” Nodin says.
    “Do they have any idea why they made them?” Ben asks.
    “At this point, it’s believed the Nazca lines are maps.”
    “Maps for what?” Nodin says.
    Baron shrugs. “For water. The Nazca clans left because of severe drought.”
    “Could someone refresh my memory as to what the Nazca lines are?” I say. I know the name. I’ve heard my dad use it a hundred times, but can’t remember what it is.
    “Remember in Dad’s office, on the right wall by the light switch, the aerial photo of lines that look like a giant bird-like figure?” asks Nodin. “And next to it the one of the giant spiral?”
    I nod. “Okay, yeah, I’ve seen those. That’s in Peru?”
    “Yes, and hundreds are in the sand making animal figures and other shapes, all in this one location. It wasn’t discovered until planes flew over the area in the mid twentieth century. Scientists have figured out they were made around five hundred to eight hundred AD, and they never really knew how they were made with such accuracy. It’s one of those archaeological mysteries.”
    “Why didn’t the lines get covered up over time? How deep are they?” I ask.
    “Not deep at all, but you have to realize, it’s a dry desert with hardly any wind. They dug down past the red, iodine rich sand to the white sand, which is why the lines are so visible,” Nodin says. He turns to Baron. “You said some of the tribe still exists in Central America?”
    “Here’s the deal. Tabari are still in Honduras. Not a lot, but they are there. Hahn’s colleague tracked them down several years ago, but was met with hostility. The Tabari are unwilling to speak to anyone. What’s known about them and their history was learned from other tribes.”
    “Do they still have an albino leader?” I ask.
    “That’s what I asked, too. Hahn said no one knows. If an albino is living among them, they are hiding him. However, they’ve been linked to another tribe called the Maz, an entirely albino people.”
    “The whole tribe?” Ben says.
    “Aside from a few exceptions, all of them. The Maz have a long Mayan history in Mexico and Guatemala. They go back as early as two thousand AD. Local Hondurans claim the Maz have been meeting