Obsidian & Blood

  'Star-demons are to be expected,' I said. But it was much too soon for them.

  'Yes, yes,' Ceyaxochitl said. 'However, strictly speaking, the heart of the Great Temple is the province of Southern Hummingbird's High Priest, Acatl. Not yours.'

  'It doesn't seem like Quenami is over-preoccupied with stardemons,' I said, with a touch of anger.

  Ceyaxochitl sighed. 'These are difficult times, Acatl. Fraught with intrigue.'

  'I know. That doesn't mean I have to like it,' I said. Especially not when it risked supernatural creatures in the palace, or in the streets of the city.

  'You never did,' Teomitl said, with some amusement.

  I threw him a warning glance. He might be making progress with the magic of living blood, but we were going to have to work on the respect side of things. 'Apart from the impressive costume, you don't look very involved in the succession either.'

  Teomitl didn't react to the jibe. 'I'm not in a position to influence that, so I just keep my head down.'

  'You're Tizoc-tzin's brother,' I said. 'Master of the House of Darts, if all goes his way.' Though I still couldn't quite reconcile myself to the idea of Tizoc-tzin's ascension.

  'Perhaps.' Teomitl fingered the jade beads around his wrist – an unusual evasion for him, who always spoke his mind without worrying about the consequences.

  Ceyaxochitl banged her cane on the ground. 'Let's keep to the original subject, please.'

  I winced. Our relationship had always been rocky and had not improved much in the past year. When Ceyaxochitl set about to helping you, she would do what she judged best for you, whether you agreed or not. Needless to say, I seldom shared her point of view.

  'What more do you want?' I asked. 'Someone summoned a star-demon and tore a councillor to death in a heavily warded place. I had to make sure that it didn't come from She of the Silver Bells.'

  Ceyaxochitl nodded, but it took her some time. 'A good idea. But still–'

  'Look,' I said, determined to put an end to that particular matter. 'I know it's the province of the other two high priests. Right now, they're too busy trying to influence who will become Revered Speaker, or over-confident. I'd rather do it on my own than have the star-demons loose around us. You know that we're wide open now, vulnerable to pretty much anything. People will want to take advantage of that.'

  'I suppose,' Ceyaxochitl said. She did not look overly happy. 'Still, I have other things to do.'

  As Guardian of the Mexica Empire, she was the agent of the Duality, the source and the arbiter of the gods. Her work was to protect the life of the Revered Speaker and, when that life was ended, to set wards around the Empire in order to keep the star-demons and the monsters of the underworld at bay.

  'Then, if you're busy, just leave me in peace,' I said.

  'Not so fast, Acatl.' She banged her cane on the ground again. 'You must know where this is going.'

  I raised an eyebrow. 'If it's not She of the Silver Bells, then it's a sorcerer, determined to sow chaos among us. The first of many. It's not the grievances that lack.' The Mexica Empire was made of subjugated populations from whom we demanded regular, sometimes exorbitant, tribute; and foreigners were many in Tenochtitlan, though most would be slaves or under some form of indenture.

  It could also be someone trying to influence the succession by other means. But still, you'd have to be mad to do it by decimating the council, not when there were so many other means of influencing it.

  'And how do you plan to find such a sorcerer?' Ceyaxochitl asked, shaking her head.

  As usual, she called my competences into question. 'I am not without resources. Magic, especially magic that powerful, will leave a trail.'

  'Yes, yes,' Ceyaxochitl said, shaking her head as if I were still a wayward child. 'You need help, Acatl.'

  'I have my order.'

  The corner of her lips curled up in a smile. 'You do. But I was thinking of more massive resources.'

  Over the course of the night, I had faced two high priests and a vice-emperor, our most powerful god, and His imprisoned sister – not to mention that my last hour of sleep had been in the evening. I didn't have the patience to play along with her games of dominance any more. 'Are you offering your help?'

  'Of course. In recognition for past wrongs.' She turned, and glanced through the entrance-curtain. The grey light was subtly changing colour, sunrise was not far away.

  'Past wrongs?' A year ago, Ceyaxochitl had embroiled me in yet another set of intrigues, involving one of my brothers. She had not seen fit, though, to provide me with all the information at her disposal, or with more than a token assistance. The resulting conflagration had almost levelled Tenochtitlan; it had cost the life of my sister-in- law, and had tarred my family's reputation so thoroughly we were going to require years to even start our rehabilitation. 'You'll excuse me if I'm not entirely ready to believe you're offering only out of remorse.'

  Her lips curled up again. 'As I said before, you may not think it, but I always do things for your own good, Acatl.'

  And that was the problem. 'Of course,' I said. But I could ill afford to refuse her. 'What did you have in mind?'

  Ceyaxochitl had the grace not to look triumphant. 'We'll keep a watch on the situation at the Imperial Court.'

  'You have information?'

  'A little,' Ceyaxochitl said. 'I can tell you of the factions I know at court. Tizoc-tzin, the She-Snake, several of the princes, and the other rulers of the Triple Alliance, of course.'

  'Of course.' Our brothers, our co-rulers in the Mexica Empire, dreaming, no doubt, of the day when they headed the Triple Alliance instead of being subservient to it. 'They'll have sent runners to them.'