I had to admit he had a point – the Duality curse me if I could see what the bribe had to do with anything, either.
A tinkle of bells: the entrance-curtain was lifted by a pale hand, and, to my utter surprise, Coatl entered, leaning on a cane and looking none too steady. He was followed by two of my priests, Palli, and a younger offering priest, Matlaelel.
Ichtaca, who had been looking at the frescoes and muttering to himself – a sure sign that he had found something wrong – nodded to me when Coatl entered.
'My Lord,' Coatl said, bowing to Tizoc-tzin – and then to everyone else in turn. 'I was informed of what happened.'
'You were sick,' the She-Snake said.
Coatl nodded. 'Until I was cured.' He was thinner than I remembered, his rich cotton cloak hanging loose on his shoulders, his hands shaking on the cane, showing the translucent shape of bones. In fact…
I looked from Tizoc-tzin to him – pale faces, with the cast of the skull barely hidden under the stretched skin; the eyes shadowed, almost subsumed; the fingers almost too thin and sharp to be normal; leeched of colour like bleached bones.
In fact…
He looked as though he'd risen from the dead – which ought to be impossible. 'What do you remember?' I asked.
'Nothing.'
I continued to stare at him, until he finally gave in. 'There was a dog, howling in the wilderness – if he caught me, I would be gone forever…' Every word seemed to come with difficulty, dragged from weak lungs, or a crushed throat. 'And canals in sunlight, but I couldn't reach them, there was no time…' He stopped, then. 'Why are you asking me this?'
I shook my head. 'I need to know–'
'What we need to know is the truth.' The She-Snake's voice was as cutting as broken obsidian. 'Did you take a bribe, Coatl?'
'A bribe?' he sounded sincerely surprised. Either he was a better actor than I suspected, or he was telling the truth. 'No. I've never taken a bribe in my life.' Again, the ring of truth – an answer coming neither too quickly nor too slowly, without perceptible hesitation, or the lifeless tone of things learned by rote.
His gaze was on Pochtic – not on Tizoc-tzin or any of the other officials. 'He's dead.' He sounded utterly surprised. Had the healing – whatever it was – affected his memory?
'It might have something to do with Eptli's death.'
'Eptli.' His face darkened – in anger, in hatred? Whatever it was, it seemed to be directed at something beyond the dead warrior. 'I remember Eptli. What a waste. And Pochtic–' His eyes narrowed and glimmered – one shaking hand went up to his face, wiped them clean. 'This shouldn't have happened.'
'We're wasting our time,' the She-Snake said. He looked from Pochtic to Coatl, and then back to Tizoc-tzin. 'My Lord… if there is a conspiracy against you, I very much doubt it's here.'
For a moment, I thought Tizoc-tzin was going to argue, but then he shook his head. 'You're right. Whatever he did, it wasn't against me. Let us go. We need to focus on more pressing matters.'
He swept out of the room, followed by Quenami and the other officials.
I caught the She-Snake before he left. 'Acatl,' he said, His voice was courteous, suggesting, nevertheless, that I'd better have a good reason for disturbing him.
'You'll want to keep a watch on the prisoners' quarters.'
'Will I?'
For a moment, I thought of warning him about Teomitl – about what might be brewing in the palace at this very moment. But my stomach heaved at the thought of betraying my student on so little evidence. There had to be a reasonable explanation for his disappearance and odd behaviour. 'There is a spell in the courtyard,' I said. 'Written in blood over the adobe – by someone with no love for the current Mexica Empire.'
'I see.' He didn't argue with me, thank the Duality. 'Who is casting the spell?'
'I don't know. I'm working on it.'
The She-Snake grimaced. 'I have far too few men as it is, with this whole business. But I'll put those I can spare on this.'
I bowed. 'Thank you.'
He shrugged. 'We both serve the same cause, Acatl. Now, was there anything else?'
I hesitated, but still the words were out of my mouth before I could call them back. 'What about – Acamapichtli and the clergy of Tlaloc?'
This time, he wouldn't meet my gaze. 'I don't know. Tizoc still thinks they might be guilty of something.'
Of many things, probably, knowing Acamapichtli, but that was missing the point. 'We need them here – serving the same cause. You know that – a priest for the war-god, a priest for the weather and the peasants…'
'And one for those who have moved on. Yes,' the She-Snake said. 'I know that.'
The implications of the sentence were clear. 'Do what you can.'
'I will.' He left with a nod of his head, not looking back.
The room felt much less crowded once they'd gone, leaving me free to talk to Palli. 'I'm impressed you managed to heal him,' I said, with a jerk of my chin towards Coatl, who still stood, looking at Pochtic's body as if he couldn't quite believe what was happening. 'But what did you do, exactly?'
Palli looked nervous. 'Is anything wrong?'
I was about to say he hadn't taken a good look at Coatl – until I realised that only the higher orders of the clergy knew that Tizoctzin wasn't quite a man anymore, but something else, a soul held in the body only through the favour of the gods. 'Never mind,' I said. 'I need to know what you did.'
Palli shifted uncomfortably. 'Nothing wild, Acatl-tzin. Just calling on Toci's favour.'
