'Surely, you would need magical training to find such a spot.'
I shook my head. 'It's going to be large, and bloody, and definitely not discreet.' Not given the amount of power that had been expanded to call so many star-demons down into the world in such a short time.
'I see.' The She-Snake pressed both hands together, thoughtfully. 'I see.' At length, he looked up, and fixed me again with his gaze. 'I'll send the men I can spare. Was there anything else?'
'Do you know where the other high priests are?'
That same mirthless smile quirked up the corner of his mouth. 'Quenami is with Tizoc-tzin. Acamapichtli… I fancy we won't see much of Acamapichtli in the days to come.'
'I don't understand.'
'Oh, come, Acatl.' His gaze was pitying. 'He threw his weight behind the Texcocan princess. Gambled it all, and lost it all.' 'He's…' I started, and stopped. Nothing short of death or treason could remove a High Priest from his post.
'He's in disgrace, if that's what you mean. Not that he wasn't before, mind you.'
The whole business with the Storm Lord trying to take over the Fifth World. Acamapichtli seemed to have a singular gift for backing the wrong person or god.
I'd have pitied him, if he hadn't been the man who'd tried to condemn my brother to death. 'If we were to arrest all the men who backed the wrong person in this struggle, the palace would empty itself fast,' the She-Snake said. He still sounded amused, as if he secretly relished the chaos.
I didn't trust him. I couldn't.
'Arresting the waverers might give people a reason to stop playing,' I said darkly, and took my leave from him.
• • • •
I made my way back to Teomitl's room, where I found Mihmatini still sleeping. Thank the Duality; if she'd woken up and found me gone, I might not have survived her sarcastic remarks.
I looked up at the sun. It was almost noon, and I'd eaten nothing all day. I managed to find a servant in one of the adjoining courtyards, and sent him to the kitchens for a meal.
While I waited for his return, I mulled on what Palli had told me.
A death – a powerful one – and star-demons. Perhaps a last entreaty against chaos, made by a desperate man? But why tar, and why the Revered Speaker's rooms? There was a place for rituals like this, in the Great Temple, the religious heart of the city. Why there, unless it was something specifically connected to the Imperial family?
The bells on the entrance-curtain tinkled. 'Come in,' I said, keeping my voice as steady as I could.
It was Yaotl, still garbed in his warrior's costume. He looked worse than before. The blue paint did not mask the dark circles under his eyes, or the paleness of his face. He cast a distant glance in Mihmatini's direction, but made no comment. 'I heard you got into more trouble,' he said.
I said nothing. There was nothing I could say. In the light, his eyes were huge, a reservoir of grief that spilled over into the Fifth World.
'She died just after dawn.' Yaotl did not bother to sit. I thought he didn't want to remember that he was my social inferior; not now, not when his whole world seemed to come undone around him.
'I felt it,' I said. I hesitated. I knew all the words, all the empty things one could say when Lord Death has taken his due. They meant nothing save comfort to the living. But Yaotl served the Duality, and he would know that death was part of the eternal balance, that destruction and creation were entwined like lovers, making and annihilating the world in an endless dance. 'I can't believe she's gone,' I said, settling for the truth.
Yaotl's lips thinned to a line. 'Me neither. I keep expecting her to rise from her funeral mat and take charge.' His gaze wandered again. 'I hear you arrested the poisoner?'
'I think so,' I said, cautiously.
'It's all over the palace.' Yaotl's voice was grim.
'And Xahuia?' He didn't look as though he had caught her, but one never knew.
'Gone to ground, too well hidden.'
I nodded. 'Even if she wasn't guilty, I don't think her activities were entirely lawful.'
Yaotl barked a short, unamused laugh. 'Resisting arrest alone would have been enough. We found the paraphernalia of sorcery in her private rooms: mummified animals, dried women's hands, arms preserved in salt baths…'
'The Smoking Mirror?' I asked, thinking again of Nettoni's touch on my skin.
'Yes,' Yaotl said. 'But nothing tied to the summoning of stardemons.'
'I think that was Manatzpa,' I said, feeling less and less convinced the more I thought about it. 'You need to find her.'
'I'm looking for her.' Yaotl could barely hide his exasperation. 'It's a big city, as you no doubt know.'
I suddenly realised how we looked – two men meant to be allies, tearing at each other, no better or no worse than the rest of the Court. 'Forgive me,' I said. 'It's been a long couple of days.'
'For both of us.' Yaotl smiled, a pale shadow of the terrible, mocking expressions he'd throw at me. There was no joy in it whatsoever.
Then again, I guessed I didn't look much better.
The heavy silence was broken by the jarring sound of bells struck together. Teomitl had lifted the entrance- curtain with his usual forcefulness, and was striding back into the room. He was followed by the servant I'd sent for a meal, who appeared much less eager.
'Acatl-tzin,' Teomitl said.
I rose, gingerly, leaning on the wall for support. 'I take it you were able to speak to him.'
Behind him, the servant moved, to lay his tray of food on one of the reed mats. He bowed, and was gone.
Teomitl barely noticed any of this. 'I spoke to Manatzpa, yes.' He looked a fraction less assured, a fraction less angry. The arrogance I'd seen over the past few days had almost faded away, leaving only the impatient adolescent, as if whatever Manatzpa had told him had shattered Tizoc-tzin's influence.
