Obsidian & Blood

  'You can't–' I started, but this time, one of the guards slammed the butt of his macuahitl sword into my back, sending me sprawling to the ground. Now that the She- Snake had joined them, they felt safe to silence me.

  'By the flower garland,' Quenami said. I wished I could have smashed the smug smile from his face. 'Tomorrow at dawn?'

  'Better make it quick.' The corners of the She-Snake's mouth had curled up in a disgusted smile. 'Put an end to the whole sordid business as soon as possible.'

  I was hauled up again, all but carried out of the room, to the central platform overlooking the courtyard. The Fifth Sun shone clear and bright on what looked to be my last day in the Fifth World.

  The warriors that carried me were halfway across the platform when something leapt up from the stairs, seemingly coming out of nowhere, as black and as sleek as a fish, lifting its wrinkled head towards me, the clawed hand at the end of its tail unclenching, coming straight towards me.

  An ahuizotl.

SEVENTEEN

Ahuizotl

'What in the Fifth World is that?' one of the warriors asked, but the ahuizotl was moving again with supernatural speed. Its tail swept down and sent us all crashing down onto the stone floor.

  Another one appeared, leapt over us. I lost it from sight, struggling to pull myself upright on shaking muscles. One of the warriors reached out for his macuahitl sword to stop me, but the ahuizotl was on him before he could react, its full weight resting on his chest. The tail uncoiled again, plunging towards the eyes.

  I turned my gaze away, even as he started to scream.

  The second warrior had his macuahitl sword, was pointing it in my direction. Given my painfully slow speed, I had no hope of avoiding it. I threw myself to the ground nevertheless.

  Nothing happened. I felt the wind of something else's passage and heard the warrior tumble to the ground.

  'What is the meaning of this?' Tizoc-tzin asked, from inside.

  I crawled away from the scene of the carnage. The ahuizotls watched me – and so did the last thing – the huge, ghostly serpent rearing in the air, drops of water and blood shining on its feathered collar – for a moment only, and then it lunged towards me. I couldn't avoid it. I remained where I was, fully expecting something unpleasant, but it twisted at the last moment, knocking me off the ground, and before I could understand what had happened, it was under me, its body supporting me as it rose again.

  The ahuizotls joined it, framing it like an escort. With a single powerful leap, they leapt up and hung onto the serpent's tail; and the whole assemblage started to glide upwards at a greater speed than a boat in rapids.

  Hanging on to the serpent as well as I could, I cast a glance backward. Tizoc-tzin, the She-Snake, and Quenami stood on the platform. Quenami was frantically whispering a spell, dabbing blood on the ground. But the She-Snake… He just stood, watching the serpent glide away through the courtyard. He could have done something, too. Unlike Quenami, he had come fully prepared, but he didn't.

  I could have sworn he was smiling.

The serpent flew to a deserted spot outside of the city, in the midst of the Floating Gardens, the series of island-fields that grew our crops. It landed in the middle of a patch of newly-planted tomatoes – the green leaves just opening – and, with a great sigh, it sank back down into the earth.

  The ahuizotls remained. They watched me with unblinking yellow eyes, as if daring me to put a step wrong. I pulled myself into an upright position, the most I could do. It wasn't only the weakness induced by the heartland – less than an hour ago, I had been convinced this day was my last – to find a sudden reprieve was heartening, but it was the sort of unwelcome episode I'd have been glad to avoid altogether.

  Four silhouettes walked towards me from the single hut on the edge of the floating garden, wading through the maize stalks. I wasn't surprised when they turned out to be Teomitl, Nezahual-tzin, and the two Texcocan warriors I had seen earlier.

  Wordlessly, Teomitl handed me a couple of obsidian knives which I put back into their sheathes.

  'Impressive,' I said, slowly.

  'Just a trick.' Nezahual-tzin smiled.

  Teomitl looked more preoccupied. 'Acatl-tzin? You don't look–'

  'I'll be all right,' I said, raising a shaking hand. 'I just need a moment to recover.'

  'See?' Teomitl said, with a scornful glance at Nezahual-tzin. 'I told you it would work.'

  Nezahual-tzin grimaced. 'I've heard better plans. But yes, it worked. Only because they got sloppy.'

  'I thought you were confined to your rooms,' I said to Teomitl, the only thought that occurred to me.

  'I broke out.' He smiled again – pure Teomitl, carelessly proud.

  'Right. Right. So did I, it seems.' I stared at the ground under my feet, took a deep breath. The air was clean and crisp, nothing like that of my cell. 'What now?'

  They both looked at me as if it were obvious that I held the answer. The gods help me, I didn't need another adolescent struggling with nascent responsibility, Teomitl on his own was enough trouble for a lifetime, and I had a suspicion Nezahual-tzin would be even worse.

  'We need to move,' I said. 'We can sort out the rest later. Tizoctzin isn't going to let you get away with it for long, and neither is Quenami.' I looked at Nezahual-tzin, who was currently focusing on the water lapping at the floating garden's edge. Ah well. Lost for lost, I might as well get a chance to commit the crime they'd accused me of. 'How soon can we be in Texcoco?'