Serpent and Storm (25 page)

“Let's go,” he said, and finished off the water Rabbit had brought him.

Talking Storm raised an eyebrow. “Perhaps you'd like to dress first.”

Sky Knife blushed, appalled he could have forgotten his current state of undress, especially in front of Rabbit. But neither Talking Storm nor Rabbit had behaved awkwardly toward him as the people of his own city would have. Still, it was hard to believe he had relaxed and forgotten all modesty.

“Now, there's no need for that,” said Talking Storm. “Forked-Tongue Serpent! You'd think no one in your city had ever seen another person naked before.”

“We don't…” began Sky Knife.

“We may not make a practice of it, either,” said Talking Storm, “but there's a time for modesty and today isn't it. Here.” Talking Storm threw a Teotihuacano-style tunic and robe over Sky Knife. “Put these on. I have some large sandals we can put on around the bandages on your feet.”

Gratefully, Sky Knife put on the clothes. Rabbit handed him a sash and he wrapped it tightly around his waist.

“Except for the hair and the nose, you could almost pass for one of us,” said Talking Storm.

Rabbit had changed into a dress that covered her from neck to ankles. It billowed loosely around her slender figure. If anything, it was even more provocative than the dress she had worn earlier, covering all but revealing the outline of her form. Her hair had been bound up again into a braid coiled over each ear.

“Let's go,” said Talking Storm. He handed Sky Knife the sandals. Sky Knife sat down on the bench and put them on.

“I'm ready,” said Sky Knife.

Talking Storm nodded. “Deer is being kept in an apartment complex near where Rabbit found you. He is well guarded.”

“How will we get close to him?” asked Sky Knife.

“We'll leave that in the hands of the gods,” said Talking Storm. “The Storm God is with us, and the Masked One. And your gods, too, I believe.”

“Itzamna guards us,” said Sky Knife, “but that won't do us any good if we merely walk in and announce our plans.”

“Then we won't do that,” said Rabbit. “But whatever we do, it better not mean entertaining any more warriors.”

“Too poor, my dear?” asked Talking Storm.

“Too rough,” she countered. “I didn't get where I am by letting men paw me and abuse me. I'm choosy about my clientele.”

“The sacrifices one makes for one's city,” said Talking Storm.

Rabbit grimaced. “Indeed,” she said.

Talking Storm laughed, but the sound was bitter and grated unpleasantly in Sky Knife's ears. Sky Knife got the idea that the other two had had versions of this conversation before.

Talking Storm walked confidently out of the compound, Rabbit and Sky Knife on his heels.

Sky Knife's feet pained him and throbbed incessantly but, cushioned by the bandages and the sandals, he found it fairly easy to ignore that pain. The ache in his heart was something else. Deer needed him and he had left him behind. That betrayal stung him to the quick.

Talking Storm walked quickly between the compounds. In some doorways, frightened people huddled. The braver ones looked out at Sky Knife and the others. No one seemed to recognize Talking Storm without his ceremonial regalia. Curiosity rather than awe was in their faces. The anonymity was a welcome relief to Sky Knife.

Warriors rounded a corner up ahead. Talking Storm stopped and turned around. Rabbit behaved as if she didn't know him and walked on by.

“Lord!” said a voice in Sky Knife's own tongue. He looked around. Tree Conch gestured from a wide doorway. “Over here.”

Sky Knife ducked into the doorway and into the courtyard beyond.

Corn Husk caught sight of him and sank to her knees.

“No, no,” said Sky Knife. “There is no time for that today.”

“I know,” said Tree Conch. He gestured for the oldest child, a boy of about ten years, to watch the street. “There is evil in the city today. They say the new king is dead, eaten by a monster. And that the city will be destroyed before nightfall by the gods.”

“I don't know about that,” said Sky Knife, “but the king is not dead. Not yet, anyway. But the holy twin has been taken. I and two others are on our way to free him.”

Tree Conch shook his head. “I have heard of this twin ceremony, but I don't understand it.”

Sky Knife glanced toward the door. The warriors passed by without looking inside the compound. “I'm not sure I do, either. But it is essential for the new king's twin to be at his ascension ceremony.”

“Your knife!” said Corn Husk. “Lord—where is the Hand of God?”

“Taken,” said Sky Knife. “I go to retrieve that as well.”

Sky Knife went to the doorway and looked down the street. Talking Storm waited at the corner. Rabbit was nowhere in sight.

“I have to go,” said Sky Knife. “Thank you for your help.”

“We can never repay the kindness you have given us,” said Tree Conch. “Whatever you need, we will always be happy to provide.”

Sky Knife nodded to the couple and left. He walked down the street as quickly as he dared. As he passed Talking Storm, the priest nodded to the left. Sky Knife turned left to go behind another compound.

Rabbit waited at the next corner.

“Are we close yet?” asked Sky Knife.

“Yes,” said Talking Storm. “Only six or seven blocks to go. It's straight ahead now.”

Sky Knife nodded. As he passed Rabbit, she linked her arm with his. “You're limping,” she said. “Lean on me. No one will suspect anything of a man walking somewhere with a prostitute.”

Although Sky Knife was reluctant to remain so close to Rabbit, he was grateful for the support. The wound in his leg, which had been quiet when they had started out, screamed now with each step he took and he was slowing down.

Several blocks later, Rabbit stopped. “There,” she said.

In front of them was the fallen-in compound where Sky Knife had been kept. On the far side stood a high-walled apartment identical to the others around it. Two warriors stood at the entrance.

“Now what?” asked Sky Knife.

“I don't know,” said Rabbit. “But we can't go in the same way I did last night. You're not their type.”

“Forked-Tongue Serpent,” whispered Talking Storm from behind Sky Knife. “Look.” The priest pointed up toward the top of the wall.

Sky Knife glanced up. “Itzamna,” he said.

The top of the wall was stained with blood. Tied to the top of the wall were two severed hands. Small hands, like a child's.

Sky Knife's heart sank to the pit of his stomach. These were no child's hands.

Deer.

25

“They can't kill him or they leave the Corn Priest free to choose another twin,” said Talking Storm bitterly. “So they maim him instead. Serpent and storm!”

“He can be the sacrifice even if maimed?” asked Sky Knife.

Talking Storm nodded. “As long as he lives, there will only be one twin. He and Black Coyote share a soul.”

Sky Knife nodded. “How shall we get in?”

Talking Storm touched him on the shoulder. “You're not the only one that can do sorcery,” he said. “I think it's time for an all-out assault. Do you agree?”

“Of course,” said Sky Knife. “Anything to help Deer.”

“And to get my jewelry back,” said Rabbit.

Sky Knife rounded on her, appalled she would place her wealth before Deer's well-being, but a mischievous twinkle was in Rabbit's eyes. Sky Knife realized she was teasing him. He nodded to her. “Of course, your jewelry,” he said. “I had forgotten.”

Rabbit stuck out her tongue at him, then turned to Talking Storm. “All right. What shall I do?”

“Do you think the warriors will recognize you as the woman who was here earlier?” asked Sky Knife. “I'm sure they realized you were the one who cut me free.”

Rabbit shrugged. “I don't know,” she said. “But I'm sure they're willing to let me get close. Few men will suspect a woman like me. Besides, they've been standing around all day without a woman in sight, it seems. How can they be happy with that?”

Sky Knife frowned. “Surely they can stay away from women for a day!”

“I'm sure they could, and do,” said Rabbit. “But do they
want
to?”

“Enough talk,” said Talking Storm. “Rabbit—you distract the warriors in the street. I don't care what you do. Sky Knife—when she does, you get inside to find Deer. Do you think you can do any sorcery if you need to?”

Sky Knife nodded. “A bit,” he said. “Probably nothing much.”

“It will have to do,” said Talking Storm. “I'll go across the street with you, but once you're inside, you're on your own. I'll take care of the warriors out here and within. So just remember, if you see or hear something strange, it's my magic. Don't bolt with the rest of them. All right?”

Sky Knife nodded. Rabbit winked at Talking Storm and strolled out onto the street. She ambled over the ruins of the compound where Sky Knife had been tied down, as if curious.

“You there!” called one of the warriors at the door of Dark Lightning's headquarters. “Get away. We're under orders to kill anyone who gets close to this building. I'm only warning you once.”

Rabbit sat on a pile of rubble and pulled the hem of her dress over her knee. “I don't suppose I have to come any closer. I was just wondering what was going on—there are so many rumors in the city. Some people say the city is going to be destroyed tonight. If so, don't you think we ought to be leaving?”

The warrior laughed. Neither he nor his companion stopped staring at Rabbit as she inched her dress ever higher. “No, the city's not going to be destroyed,” he said. “It's going to be reborn. The Masked One will resume her rightful place as the preeminent god of Teotihuacan—without that Storm God to rival her.”

Rabbit drooped some of her voluminous skirt between her legs. She spread her legs nonchalantly and rubbed the inside of her thighs with a hand. “Well,” she said. “I'm glad to know I don't have to worry about packing everything. It's so hard to find honest people to transport one's wealth, eh?”

The mention of wealth brought a renewed gleam to the warriors' eyes, an even brighter gleam than Rabbit's immodest performance had generated. One of the warriors stepped forward. “I'm sure we could find someone honest,” he said.

“Like you?” asked Rabbit. “And your friend?”

The warriors looked at each other and grinned. “Oh, yes,” said the first one. “We're honest.”

“Good,” said Rabbit. “But, uh, if the city's not going to be destroyed, I don't need to transport anything, do I?”

“Oh, well, there might be some unrest,” said one of the warriors. “I'm sure we could find somewhere safe to take your wealth.”

Rabbit sighed. “You might be right. It might be wise to move everything. But you're on duty. When can you come?”

The warriors scanned the area. “If we're not gone long, who will know?” asked one.

“It shouldn't take long,” said the other. “Even if we should, ah, rest long enough to accept your gratitude. I'm sure we could return quickly enough.”

Rabbit stood and brushed dust off her dress. “Then let's go,” she said. She winked at the men and let her dress slip off one shoulder. “I know I'd be grateful if you could help me save my belongings from any … unrest.”

The two warriors took a last look around the square and followed Rabbit behind another compound.

“Go!” urged Talking Storm. Sky Knife and the other priest ran across to the other building. Sky Knife tried to keep up, but his injured feet slowed him down on the uneven terrain. Talking Storm reached the building far ahead of him.

The other priest closed his eyes and pressed his hands to his forehead. Talking Storm chanted in a language Sky Knife didn't understand.

Soon screams came from inside the building. Warriors and ballplayers ran out without looking left or right and disappeared into the alleys around the building.

Sky Knife ran into the compound when the last of the screaming men passed by him, leaving the chanting Talking Storm at the door.

Inside, all was still. The courtyard seemed peaceful despite the hundreds of flint- and obsidian-tipped spears leaning against the walls. Rolled-up leather shields lay in piles and several feather cloaks rested draped over benches. Three small temples lined the east wall. Stone sculptures of the Fire God sat in between the temples.

Sky Knife ran into the first room on his right. Inside, more supplies lay stacked on the floor or leaned against walls. At Sky Knife's feet was a black ceramic bowl full of eccentric flints. Sky Knife picked one up. The stone had been carefully chipped to form a human figure.

Sky Knife put the flint down gently. At home, this would have been a treasure worthy of the king or even Itzamna himself. It must be part of the wealth Dark Lightning had accumulated or his warriors had stolen last night—wealth intended to finance his first days on the mat of rulership.

A rattle startled him. Sky Knife turned, expecting to see that Dark Lightning's men had returned. But it was not a man that faced him. It was a snake.

Sky Knife looked at the courtyard again. Snakes, all of them dusty brown with rattles at the ends of their tails, squirmed and moved in every corner, on every pile of supplies. Sky Knife froze in terror as the snake in front of him stared at him.

The snake slithered past him into the room. It made no sound other than its rattle. Sky Knife relaxed. This must be the result of Talking Storm's magic. The snake was not truly here—but it was still frightening. No wonder the others had run out of the building so quickly.

Sky Knife ignored the snake and scanned the room for the objects of his search. Neither Rabbit's jewelry nor Sky Knife's blade were there. Sky Knife listened carefully, but he heard nothing from Deer, either. He searched several more rooms, and in each found baskets and bowls full of supplies.