Beneath the Darkness

The bruised and tattered edge of darkness slid with ever increasing speed downward, pressing heavily on a small sliver of luminous blue-gray resting on the horizon. The forest seemed to hold its collective breath. And then...in a slow, sputtering blink, the sun's last bit of dominion was gone. Night had come. It was time to feed. On silent clawed feet, malevolence slow danced through the brush. So begins the contact between the first humans to enter Mesoamerica and a singular alien presence who eventually gives them a great gift of life. This is the account of fresh beginnings that becomes heinous in a fight for dominance. Treachery, love, murder, and horror all fuse into a series of lethal transgressions. The old and new sects battle with dire consequences that could spell annihilation for both. Underlying everything is a psychotic priest named Pochotl, whose ambition and perverted appetites complicate any chances for compromise or resolution. Three young people from the village are forced to be his adversaries and still struggle against the bitter hostility of a demon creature named Bela. It is primarily their story that is told as it is often seen through their eyes.