The rest of her words were lost in the general commotion. My little slave Cozcatl was retching, and had to be taken outside the hall for a while. I knew how he felt, and my own stomach wobbled slightly. Our meals had come from that same kitchen.
As Jadestone Doll's chief accomplice, I was called next. I gave a complete account of my activities on her behalf, omitting nothing. When I came to the part about Something Delicate, I was interrupted by another uproar in the hall. The deranged widower of that woman had to be restrained by guards from rushing forward to throttle me, and he was carried out, shrieking and flailing and spraying spittle. When I came to the end of my account, the Lord Strong Bone eyed me with open contempt and said:
'A frank confession, at least. Have you anything to say in mitigation or defense?'
I said, 'Nothing, my lord.'
At which another voice was heard. 'If the scribe Dark Cloud declines to defend himself,' said Nezahualpili, 'may I, my lord justices, speak some extenuating words?' The two examiners gave reluctant permission, obviously not wanting to hear me exculpated, but not able to refuse their Uey-Tlatoani.
Nezahualpili said, 'Throughout his attendance on the Lady Jadestone Doll, this young man was acting, however injudiciously, upon my express orders that he serve the lady without question and obey her every command. I submit that my own orders were badly expressed. It has also been shown that Dark Cloud finally seized upon the only means possible to divulge the truth about the adulterous and murderous lady. If he had not, my lord justices, we might have been trying her for the slaying of many more victims.'
The judge Tepitzic grumbled, 'Our Lord Nezahualpili's words will be taken into account in our deliberations.' He leveled his stern gaze on me again. 'I have just one further question to ask the defendant. Did you, Tlilectic- Mixtli, ever lie with the Lady Jadestone Doll?'
I said, 'No, my lord.'
Evidently hoping they had caught me in a damning lie, the examiners called my slave Cozcatl and asked him, 'Did your master ever have sexual relations with the Lady Jadestone Doll?'
He said, in a piping voice, 'No, my lords.'
Tepitzic persisted, 'But he had every opportunity.'
Cozcatl said stubbornly, 'No, my lords. Whenever my master was in the lady's company for any length of time, I was always in attendance. Not my master and not any other man of the court ever lay with the lady, except one. That was during my master's absence on holiday, and one night the lady was unable to secure a partner from outside.'
The judges leaned forward. 'Some man of the palace? Who?'
Cozcatl said, 'Me,' and the judges rocked back again.
'You?' said Strong Bone. 'How old are you, slave?'
'I have just turned eleven years, my lord.'
'Speak more loudly, boy. Do you mean to tell us that you served the accused adulteress as a sexual partner? That you actually coupled with her? That you have a tepuli capable of—?'
'My tepuli?' squeaked Cozcatl, shocked to the impertinence of interrupting the judge. 'My lords, that member is for making water with! I served my lady, as she bade me, with my mouth. I would never touch a noblewoman with something as nasty as a tepuli....'
If he said anything else, it was drowned out by the roar of laughter from the spectators. Even the two judges had to struggle to keep their faces impassive. It was the only mirthful moment of relief in that grim day.
Tlatli was one of the last accomplices called. I have forgotten to mention that, on the night Nezahualpili's guards raided the studio, Chimali was absent on some errand. There had then been no cause for Nezahualpili or his aides to suspect the existence of another artist. Apparently no other of those accused had subsequently thought to mention Chimali, and apparently Tlatli had since been able to pretend that he had worked alone.
Strong Bone said, 'Chicuace-Cali Ixtac-Tlatli, you admit that certain of the statues introduced in evidence were of your making.'
'Yes, my lords,' he said firmly. 'I could hardly deny it. You see upon them my signature mark: the incised symbol of a falcon's head and beneath it the slap of my bloodied hand.' His eyes sought mine and beseeched silence, as if saying, 'Spare my woman,' and I kept silent.
Eventually the two examiners retired to a private chamber for their deliberations. Everyone else in the hall of justice thankfully debouched from the big but now stuffy room to enjoy a breath of fresh air or to smoke a poquietl in the gardens outside. We defendants remained, each with an armed guard standing alert at our side, and we carefully avoided meeting each other's eyes.
It was not long before the judges returned and the hall refilled. The Snake Woman, Lord Strong Bone, made the routine prefatory announcement: 'We, the examiners, have deliberated solely upon the evidence and testimony presented here, and have come to our decisions without malice or favor, without the intervention of any other persons, with the assistance only of Tonantzin, the gentle goddess of law and mercy and justice.'
He produced a sheet of the finest paper and, referring to it, pronounced first, 'We find that the accused scribe, Chicome-Xochitl Tlilectic-Mixtli, merits acquittal in that his actions, however culpable, were not ill intentioned, and furthermore were expiated by his bringing others to account. However...' Strong Bone threw a glance at the Revered Speaker, then glared at me. 'We recommend that the acquitted one be banished from this realm as an alien who has abused its hospitality.'
Well, I will not say I was pleased at that. But Nezahualpili could easily have let the judges deal with me as severely as they dealt with the others. The Snake Woman again referred to the paper and pronounced, 'The following persons we find guilty of the several crimes with which they stand charged; actions heinous, perfidious, and detestable in the sight of the gods.' He read the list of names: the Lord Joy, the Lady Jadestone Doll, the sculptors Pixquitl and Tlatli, my slave Cozcatl, two guards who had alternated night duty on the palace's eastern gate, Jadestone Doll's maid Pitza and numerous other servants, all the cooks and workers of her kitchen. The judge concluded his drone, 'Regarding these persons found guilty, we make no recommendations, either of severity or lenity, and their sentences will be pronounced by the Revered Speaker.'
Nezahualpili got slowly to his feet. He stood in deep study for a moment, then said, 'As my lords recommend, the scribe Dark Cloud will be banished from Texcoco and all the domains of Acolhua. The convicted slave, Cozcatl, I here pardon in consideration of his tender years, but he will likewise be exiled from these lands. The nobles Pactlitzin and Chilchiunenetzin will be executed in private, and I shall leave their mode of execution to be determined by the noble ladies of the Texcoco court. All others found guilty by the lord justices are sentenced to be publicly executed by means of the icpacxochitl, with no recourse to Tlazolteotl beforehand. Their dead bodies, together with the remains of their victims, will be burned in a common pyre.'
I rejoiced that little Cozcatl had been spared, but I felt sympathy for the other slaves and commoners. The icpacxochitl was the flower-enlaced garroting cord, which was bad enough.
But Nezahualpili had also denied them the solace of confessing to a priest of Tlazolteotl. It meant that their sins would not be swallowed by the goddess Filth Eater—and, since they would then be cremated together with their victims, they would bear their guilt all the way to whichever afterworld they went to, and they would continue to suffer unbearable remorse throughout eternity.
Cozcatl and I were escorted by our guards back to my chambers, and there one of the guards growled, 'What is this?' On the outside of my apartment door, at the height of my head, was a sign—the slapped print of a bloody hand—silent reminder that I was not the only culprit who had escaped alive that day, a stark warning that Chimali did not intend to let his own bereavement go unavenged.
'Some tasteless prankster,' I said, shrugging it off. 'I will have my slave wash it clean.'
Cozcatl took a sponge and a jar of water into the corridor while I waited, listening, just inside the door. It was not long before I heard Jadestone Doll being also returned to custody. I could not distinguish the sound of her tiny feet among the heavier tread of her escort, but when Cozcatl reentered with his jar of reddened water, he said:
'The lady came weeping, master. And with her guards came a priest of Tlazolteotl.'
I mused, 'If she is already confessing her sins to be swallowed, that means she has not much time.' Indeed, she had very little. It was only shortly afterward that I heard her door open again, when she was taken to the last tryst of her life.
'Master,' Cozcatl said timidly, 'you and I are both outcasts now.'
'Yes,' I sighed.
