Ordinarily, Neutemoc would have reacted. He would have made some wry comment about Mihmatini. But he didn't. He just crouched there, one hand resting on the hilt of his macuahitl sword. His eyes had narrowed to slits.
'What do they want?' he asked, though he had to know.
'You,' I said. 'Your household, very possibly.'
'My children?' His voice was flat, deadly.
For once, I was glad the anger wasn't directed at me. I didn't actually think the creatures were clever enough to draw Neutemoc out by attacking his children. They'd just kill anyone who might protect him. But I had to get him out of Tenochtitlan, and to Chalco, to know why his house was under siege.
I said – not quite a lie, but not quite the truth either: 'Anyone close to you. There's a powerful sorcerer behind them. And trust me, they won't give up.'
He was silent for a while. 'And this has to do with Eleuia?'
'Yes,' I said. The chance that it didn't was minuscule. 'You know something,' I went on. 'Something that's dangerous to someone. And Eleuia did, too.'
Neutemoc didn't turn. 'I told you already. I don't know anything relevant.'
'You may not think you do. Why not come with me to Chalco? It's one day's journey at most.'
Neutemoc shook his head. 'To Chalco, yes. But that's not the place you want to see, Acatl. Most of the battles of the Chalca Wars took place near Amecameca, at the foot of Popocatepetl's volcano. That's two days. And I really think there are better times to leave the city.'
'When you're under siege by creatures you can't fight?'
'I never asked for that.' His voice implied, quite effectively, that he held me responsible for this state of affairs.
It wasn't the moment to start another fight. I held my silence, though I chafed inside.
Finally Neutemoc said, 'Two days to go, two days there, and two days to return. Not more, Acatl.'
Six days away was both not enough and too much. Not enough, for we had no idea what we were looking for. Too much, because of the unknown sorcerer who was currently besieging Neutemoc's house – for all I knew, he might turn his attention away from my brother, and to some other part of the city, and that wasn't a pleasant thought. All I could do was pray that the Seven Serpent would grant us Her fickle luck, for the journey to be fruitful, and the city to remain safe.
'Very well,' I said. 'Six days.'
Some things couldn't be put off forever. I went to my temple to collect some of the things I'd need for the journey – and found Ichtaca, waiting for me in the courtyard with his arms crossed over his bare torso.
'Acatl-tzin.' His voice had the edge of broken obsidian.
I'd been putting our discussion off ever since the Imperial Audience, but I couldn't in all decency continue to ignore him. 'Let's find a quiet place,' I said.
The quiet place turned out to be the same room where I'd prepared for the hunt of the beast of shadows. Dried blood still stained the ground: the faded remnants of my quincunx, not completely subsumed into the earth.
Ichtaca sat cross-legged on the ground, looking up at me, but say ing nothing.
'You wanted to speak to me?' I said.
Ichtaca didn't move. I sat cross-legged in front of him; and we watched each other like a pair of jaguars after the same prey. Finally Ichtaca sighed. 'Things have to change, Acatl-tzin.'
'You've been angry at me,' I said. 'For not attending the Imperial Court?'
Ichtaca didn't speak for a while. He lowered his eyes to the ground, traced a line in the earth with his index fingers. 'No,' he said. 'At least, not in the way that you would understand it.'
That was more words than we'd ever exchanged. 'You wanted the temple,' I said, groping for reasons for his iniquity. 'To be High Priest yourself?'
Ichtaca smiled. 'You should know, Acatl-tzin. A Fire Priest for the main temple, no matter how competent, doesn't rise to that level – not so quickly, not without favour.'
'I still don't understand–' I said, feeling more and more ill at ease.
'I'm Fire Priest of this temple. I see to its daily business,' Ichtaca said. 'I know my place. But you do not.'
Whatever I'd expected, it wasn't such a reproach. 'You–'
'You're High Priest,' Ichtaca said. He raised his eyes, to look directly at me. 'Head of the whole order. But you pass through this temple like a shadow.'
What was he talking about? 'I'm not sure…'
Ichtaca put both hands on the ground. 'Listen to me,' he said. 'Then you can expel me from here, if that's what you want.'
He and I both knew I couldn't really demote him. Ichtaca was only half-lying when he said his appointment hadn't been political: one did not become Fire Priest of a temple in the Sacred Precinct randomly, or even through talent. 'Go on,' I said, although I liked this conversation less and less.
'You have priests,' Ichtaca said. 'They serve, and do the vigils and the proper sacrifices. In return, they expect something from you.'
I still didn't see what he wanted.
'You're High Priest,' Ichtaca said. 'Responsible for all of them. I run this temple, but you keep it together.'
'I can't–'
'If you don't know the proper ways, I or someone else will show you, or replace you. If you don't want to
