'The little councilman?' She laughed again, the strange, careless laughter of a girl. 'Of course not. Who did not know him?'
Who indeed.
'I heard he was quite in demand,' I said, keeping my face expressionless. Nearby, a quetzal bird took flight, its call harsh and unforgiving, as raw as a burnt man's scream.
'A voice that can be swayed. A voice that can be bought. Of course he'd be quite in demand, as my brother would say.' She looked up, straight at me. 'But of course you've never met my brother, Acatl-tzin.'
'I can't say I have,' I said, cautiously. I was starting to feel I was losing the control of the conversation, assuming that I'd ever had it.
'Nezahual has always been the canniest among us. They say he was blessed by The Feathered Serpent, too, able to foresee the future. He's more than fit to rule Texcoco.'
As far as I could remember, Nezahual-tzin had been but a child when his father had died, leaving him legitimate ruler of Texcoco. Three of his elder brothers had conspired to depose and kill him, and Nezahual-tzin owed his Turquoise-and-Gold Crown only to Axayacatl-tzin's intervention . The young prince had been sheltered for a while in Tenochtitlan, before coming back to Texcoco under the hungry gaze of his many brothers and cousins. That he was still Revered Speaker said something, indeed, about his political acumen. 'And you're his sister,' I said. Fine. I had had my reminder of who she was, of whose support she could enjoy. But the Storm Lord blind me if I was going to let that stop me. More than Tenochtitlan or Texcoco were at stake.
'Let's go back to Ocome,' I said.
The women came back. One of them cleared away the
Xahuia reached for a tomato, and nibbled at it for a while. 'Not hungry?'
'Not right now.'
Again that laugh. 'I'm not going to poison you, poor man.'
'You'll forgive me if I don't feel reckless.'
She nodded, a hint of amusement across her features. 'What do you want to know about Ocome?'
'Who killed him.'
'That's usually a good start. I'm afraid I can't help you.'
'I think you can.'
'Do tell me.'
'You were the one who sent the guards away that night, weren't you?' And, when I saw that I had shocked her into silence, 'The last one to see him alive.'
'I should think not.' Her voice was clipped, precise, with a hint of a foreign accent. 'That honour would be reserved for his murderer.'
'Which you deny being.'
'Of course.' She picked up another tomato slice. 'I won't deny the part about the guards, though.'
'Then perhaps you can explain to me what you hoped to achieve.'
'Oh, Acatl-tzin.' Xahuia shook her head, a trifle sadly. 'Are you such a naive fool? When you're a woman in a world where men are empowered to make the decisions, you learn to use what weapons you have.' She bent forward slightly, and all of a sudden I became aware of the curve of her shirt above her breasts, of the luscious hair falling down her bare neck, of her hands, long and soft and capable…
I closed my eyes, but it was too late to banish the images she conjured.
She went on, as if this was nothing out of the ordinary. 'Of course, you have to make sure it happens late enough at night that your husband won't ever hear of it.'
'So you sent away the guards.' My voice was shaking. Did the woman have no shame? Her husband was dying, and all she could think of was how to best sell herself?
'Yes, I did. I'm sorry for Axayacatl, but I have to think of myself and of my son, and of what happens when he's no longer there to protect us.' Xahuia shifted to an upright position again, and now I saw only a queen in her palace, receiving a supplicant. 'You disapprove. I'm not surprised. Most priests are too uptight for their own good.'
Uptight, perhaps, but at least I knew where the dividing line lay between right and wrong. 'Tell me what happened,' I said through gritted teeth. 'Did Ocome reject you? Did he laugh at you, and tell you that he had already made his decision? How much did you hate him?' Was that why he had died?
I don't know why I expected her to leap up at me with her nails extended like a jaguar's claws, perhaps too much familiarity with goddesses who seldom could stand being mocked, but I found myself braced for an attack.
Instead, she reached for a newt, carefully picking it out of the tray and bringing it to her mouth, swallowing it in two bites. 'As you said, he had made his decision. But with men like Ocome, decisions are seldom final.'
I had to close my eyes again. 'You–'
'Don't be a fool. I offered both; pressure, and pleasure. I could make life very unpleasant for him, and he knew it.'
'More unpleasant than Tizoc-tzin or the She-Snake?'
Xahuia smiled again. 'As much. But I could promise him one thing they could not. Once my son had risen to power, I could make sure his rivals both died.'
And, of course, neither Tizoc-tzin nor the She-Snake could make that promise for she was a princess of Texcoco, and unless either one of them was willing to break the Triple Alliance, they could not kill her – not when young Nezahual-tzin was so desperately in need for something he could turn into a show of strength. 'I see. And he accepted your offer.' I still could not quite believe it, she lied as easily as she breathed, told me exactly what she wanted me to hear. Her father had indeed trained her well.
She inclined her head, gracefully. 'Of course he did. He made me a promise.'
