Hans was dragged to the centre of the square and lashed to the post under the expectant gaze of the townspeople. The same was done to Magdalena, who was also tied to a post.
"You're going to pay for this, you fat bastard," Magdalena hissed, fixing Brian with a spiteful glare.
Brian sneered and spat.
"Keep talking, little bitch," he said. "You're the one tied to the post."
Once they were placed on the scaffold, the men stepped back. Hans breathed with difficulty; everything felt unreal — he was honest with himself: he had not been prepared for martyrdom.
"Forgive me, Magdalena…" he said, closing his eyes. "I failed you… and your people."
"Forgive me too…" Magdalena said.
"You have nothing to forgive me for…" Hans said, anguished.
"I do not say it for you," Magdalena replied, her brow drawn. "I say it for my people… because I chose the foolish one to give us hope."
Hearing that, Hans narrowed his eyes.
After a moment, Derek and the other men emerged, muskets slung across their backs and clubs in hand. A chair stood beneath a canopy before the assembly and the prisoners; Derek took his position beside the empty chair and began to read the proclamation aloud, while Rafael watched the proceedings from the rectory window. Several men murmured among themselves at the scene.
"That coward won't show his face," Eddy said.
"Shut up, man… unless you want to join that pair on the stake," Kirk shot back.
"No time for pleasantries, ye dogs," another pirate observed.
After a tense pause, Derek, paper in hand, prepared to read.
"Hear me, all of you," he called. "I will read Rafael's proclamation. Let those who must listen, listen." He paused and clasped the sheet with both hands; a breeze began to stir the paper as the assembly fell into a grave silence.
"To my chosen people: I, the apostle and faithful follower of our Lord and of his word, announce with sorrow the following. These two, who today stand before you, have profaned this blessed land, sinning against the will of the Lord; and therefore, as it is written in Holy Scripture:
'He that blasphemeth the name of Jehovah shall be put to death; the whole congregation shall stone him; as well the stranger as the native: if he blaspheme the Name, he shall die.'"
Derek paused; all remained silent and expectant. Hans looked at his judges; it was a crude, sacrilegious scene, unreal. He glanced at Magdalena: her eyes were bloodless, her lips pressed tight, and she stared at Derek with a steady resolve.
"As it is written," Derek said, "it is the will and command of our Lord that anyone who defies his will be cut off from the face of the earth. Therefore I condemn you to be beaten; then your bellies shall be opened to pull out your entrails; you shall be hanged and your bodies burned, in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen."
At those words Hans realised there was no doubt: they were applying the English punishment for traitors. Magdalena's family screamed and wept, while the cacique continued to watch with a severe gaze. Derek raised his voice to silence them, lifting his right hand and pointing his accusing finger at everyone.
"And this I say to you all: anyone who rebels shall be punished, and the community shall be decimated — one in every ten will be executed."
Shouts rose and fists were raised, while Magdalena looked at her father in anguish, trying not to appear weak; she could not stop the tears — more of fury than of terror. The pirates began to lash the crowd to quiet them and keep them in place.
"Listen," Hans began loudly, as the crowd settled, "these are pirates — Rafael does not represent God… he is an impostor."
Magdalena repeated the words in Maya. Derek crossed his arms and signalled to one of the men, who went to shove a rag into their mouths to silence them; the voices rose once more.
"O sindarë morlûn, ená lu aulen (Oh, spirits of the mountains, I beg you for aid)," Hans murmured through the gag; he closed his eyes, trying to wake from that nightmare. The shouts continued until a volley from the watchtower cracked the air, followed by other musket shots from the men. The crowd fell silent. The quiet was absolute; even the distant murmur of the jungle could be heard. Derek looked toward the rectory; in the window he could just make out Rafael, presiding over the execution.
"Brothers in Jesus," Derek called, "carry out the execution."
The men smiled and advanced with clubs in hand, while Vicente waited his turn with a cutlass. Kwame made a face of disgust. Then the cacique stepped forward, raising his staff of office; the men braced themselves, ready to confront the pirates.
"As leader of this people," the cacique said, "I ask that neither of the two be executed."
The whole village roared its approval of the cacique's words.
"Are you defying the will of God?" Derek demanded.
"I am Balam Nah, the cacique of the village," the leader replied. "Therefore I demand that this stop: free my daughter Ixzel, also known as Magdalena, and that man," he pointed to Hans, "the black robe."
Derek planted himself before the man, arms folded.
"Are you raising your hand against the Lord — and against Rafael's will?"
"I raise it against an impostor. If he will not show mercy when asked, we demand that Rafael present himself in person."
Derek went pale, looked toward the rectory and took a step back.
"Balam Nah… do not dare to defy Rafael's authority," he warned.
The cacique held his ground, as did the whole village. Derek gave an order and all the pirates shouldered the muskets on their backs. From the watchtower they trained their weapons on the crowd.
"We have God on our side," Rafael shouted from the rectory.
"And guns… you idiots," Brian added.
"We also have had enough… ¡Bolon ti' k'uh! (Nine are the gods!)" the cacique cried.
In an instant the square erupted. Stones flew; arrows hissed. Pistols cracked and muskets bellowed. The falconet roared and fired. Derek fell back toward the rectory with a dozen pirates at his heels. In the confusion, some villagers released Hans and Magdalena. Smoke and dust stung the air; the acrid taste of gunpowder filled Hans's mouth.
"What are you waiting for? Run!" Magdalena screamed, hauling him.
Hans reeled, dizzy, and tried to move — then saw Magdalena seized by a group of pirates. He lunged, but a musket butt slammed into his temple. He slumped; his vision tunneled. From the ground he barely managed to glimpse the watchtower: chaos, people running, volleys, the smell of smoke, another blast from the falconet and Rafael's cry from the rectory doors:
"Insurrection… KILL THEM!"
The bell began to toll.
"A party!" the lookout shouted.
"Ku taloʼob le áantaj!... Tiʼ letiʼob! (The reinforcements have arrived!... To them!)" the cacique cried.
The falconet swung toward a point Hans could not see — then it fired. Darkness closed over him like a heavy curtain.