Cassandra Palmer World Wikia
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Ancient Inca Kings — appear in "The Day of the Dead".

About[]

Alejandro had acquired the mummified bodies of Ancient Inca Kings. Alejandro had acquired them as trophies shortly after following Pizarro to the New World, and had brought them along when he finally decided on a permanent residence. Once they were settled in, however, they’d largely been forgotten, left to mildew in dank, underground cells.

Tomas had been one of the few to ever visit them. They had been venerated by his people even after death, remaining in their palaces, supported by their lands, just as they had when alive. Each new Inca monarch had to wage his own wars of conquest to fund his rule, because what had been his ancestors’ remained theirs and beyond his control.

Legions of servants had daily draped their withered corpses in the finest garments and prepared lavish meals for them. On important occasions, they had been brought out to sit again in court, giving council to the living and presiding over the festivities. There had always been something uncanny about them.[1]

Physical Description[]

  • Brown, almost translucent skin stretched over old bones, empty eyes and hollow mouths, with shadows inside like parodies of human organs.[2]
  • "a withered arm encased in a few rotting rags appeared, a tracery of thin blue veins pulsing under the long dead skin. A head followed, cadaverous and brown, but with two enormous, glittering eyes rolling in the too-large sockets. They stared at Tomas for an instant, full of terrible ancient fury, before the arm caught Alejandro around the neck and a mouth full of cracked and yellowed teeth clamped onto his neck."[3]
  • a crowd of dry, old bones and tanned leather skins that glowed slightly from the inside, like someone shining a flashlight through parchment.[4]

Other Details[]

Per Jason:

  • “The Inca kings were believed to watch over their people even after death, and to demand good behaviour of the living. Any who defiled them soon learned that they also had within their power to reward or to punish.”
  • The ancient priests prepared the royal dead well, Jason only had to give them a nudge
  • The told Jason that they had been watching Alejandro for a long time. And they were hungry.[5]

Associated Characters, Places, etc.[]

Events in the Series[]

This section may have spoilers. Think of the book title as a "Spoiler Warning" if you haven’t read it yet.

3.1. "The Day of the Dead"[]

Tomas had taken a little used path through Alejandro's underground residence knowing it was usually avoided by the court. That still seemed to be the case, but it worried him that the kings weren’t there. Tomas found the Ancient Inca Kings in Alejandro's huge audience chamber behind his throne. Tomas made a valiant effort to get to Alejandro. Just as Alejandro is about to kill Tomas, the Mummy Inca kings came alive through Jason's suggestion, and killed Alejando.[6]

Quotes[]

Spoiler Alert...

“You brought them back,” Tomas managed to croakafter a moment. Jason didn’t look away from the creatures and their meal. “They brought themselves.” — Tomas and Jason [7]


“How did you do it?” he finally asked Jason.
“I didn’t. I only woke them up.”
“I don’t understand.”
“The Inca kings were believed to watch over their people even after death, and to demand good behaviour of the living. Any who defiled them soon learned that they also had within their power to reward or to punish.”
“That’s a myth.”
Jason smiled, an odd, lopsided effort. “Really. It seems strange, not to mention expensive, to tie up most of the revenues of the state in the care of creatures who have no ability to hurt you.” He shook his head. “The ancient priests prepared the royal dead well. I only had to give them a nudge.”
“You mean –”
His eyes went soft and dreamy. “They said that they had been watching Alejandro for a long time. And they were hungry.
“Well they’ll have the whole court to snack on now, once they finish with him,” Sara commented, stopping by after locating enough local people to serve as guides for everyone else.
Tomas had a sudden image of vengeful Inca monarchs pursuing Alejandro’s vampires through the halls where they had once done the same to humans. He smiled. — Jason Lee, Tomas, Sarah Lee ~ "The Day of the Dead"

Book References[]

External Links[]

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