Book excerpt: The New World, 1545... Vanquished by the Spanish Empire, little remains of the Aztec and Mayan civilizations. From the ashes of their cities, a unified legend emerges: the Christians who conquered them possessed a mysterious object, an artifact so powerful-so deadly-that it was known throughout the Americas as "the death relic." Yucatan Peninsula, present day... When Maria Pelati's research team disappears in Mexico, Jonathon Payne and David Jones embark on a perilous mission to find the missing archaeologists. The duo quickly finds a link between the group's work and its recent disappearance. Following the clues left behind, the duo tries to solve one of the darkest mysteries of the new world, but their quest for the relic might cost them their lives.