Free Zally's Book by Jan Bozarth

animal constellations outlined in the stars. Whoever had lived here clearly loved animals.
    Imishi pointed to the wall nearest her. “Did you know there is writing here? And something else I believe will interest you. I think you should see it for yourself.”
    I went over to see the writing Imishi was talking about. Beneath the text was a separate carving of a creature with feathers—a dragon? I wondered. Each culture seems to have different legends and variousimages of such creatures. Chinese dragons tend to be long and snaky, whereas European paintings of dragons remind me of small dinosaurs with batlike wings. This creature was more like drawings of feathered serpents of Maya and Aztec lore, and it had been singled out as special from the host of animals in the other carvings.

    I looked at the writing above the carved serpent.
    Kir nosed between us and looked at the wall.
    â€œThe feathered snake is called Kukulkan,” Imishi said, reading along with me. “According to the carved legend, it was wise beyond all other creatures, fearsome when angered, and could fly with the speed of an arrow.”
    The golden horse gave an uneasy snort.
    Below the image of the snake was an even more intricate carving that took my breath away: a map! I studied it, reaching out a hand to trace the lines.
This
was what the city had looked like long ago, before it was ruined.
    â€œÂ¡Ay, mira!
Thank you, Imishi. It’s—”
    â€œOf course!” Imishi interrupted, her face filled with wonder. “I should have realized it before. This is Ool-Kib. It was a Kib fairy city, abandoned in ancient times when a volcano destroyed much of it. Since then, the spirits of innocent creatures have been drawn here after they die.”
    The parrot took that opportunity to stretch its wings and fly through the hole in the ceiling. It then circled the observatory, squawking, “We’re here, we’re here!”
    â€œStupid bird!” I muttered in exasperation. I peeked through one of the wall slits but saw neither the bird nor the jaguar. Outside, though, I heard a menacing growl and a snarl, followed by several frantic shrieks from the parrot, some loud snapping sounds like branches breaking, a split second of silence, and then—
    A terrible roar echoed through the room where we stood.

7

The Innocent
    The jaguar’s hungry roar echoed in the stone chamber. I quickly scanned the small room for any sign of the jungle cat, but our little band of travelers was still alone. It was obvious that none of the holes in the walls or ceiling could possibly be large enough to admit the cat. The door was still closed. Yet the rumble of the cat breathing in and out sounded so close.
    Imishi jumped onto Kir’s back. She leaned forward with her arms around his neck, her wings spread flat, to protect him. It probably wouldn’t have helped, had the jaguar actually been in the room with us, but it showed her courage.
    From Kir, I felt the same worry as before: concern for his sire and the rest of Kib Valley. He knew the jaguar was not in the room with us. So why did the roaring suddenly seem so loud? I peeked throughthe slits one after another but could not catch a glimpse of the jaguar.
    From outside I heard, “We’re here, we’re here, we’re here!” The parrot was not dead, then. I smiled as the fleeting thought reminded me of a Monty Python DVD my oldest brother, Ed, sometimes watched—something silly about a dead parrot. It seemed
our
parrot was safe, though, and hadn’t been eaten by the jaguar.
    I saw no sign of the jaguar outside, but I could hear her and feel her. (I could tell it was female now.) Strangely, I no longer felt
hunger
in the thoughts of the wild creature; instead came a feeling of fear and being trapped. The parrot called, “Safe now, safe now!” I wondered if the bird had any idea what it was saying. It was possible. I wondered if I could try thinking