Zolin disappeared through the doorway and Tizoc turned to his mother, also sitting at the table. “The time has come. Nantli, when Tahtli comes home, go to the chamber.”
Citlali’s smile faded, and with that one gesture, she appeared tired and frail. “Be careful. All of you.” She hugged each one of us, charging us with her love.
“Come,” Tizoc said to Daniel and me.
And with that one command, I feared the peaceful days in our Sunal paradise were over.
****
In the armory, as both male and female warriors streamed in, we dressed for battle. Vests of thin gold and silver. Feathered coats. Wooden helmets. Daniel and I wore the garb of Sunal warriors as well so we would blend in amongst them. I stood ready with my bow and arrows, Daniel with his spear. Our plan for today was to make our presence known to the outsiders. To show them the Sunal had a hearty army willing to defend Ezenoch if need be. We wouldn’t start a fight, but we’d be prepared for one.
Dimazuno had taken Yaoti’s suggestion of quartering the outsiders close to the palace so the warriors could keep an eye on them. The emperor stood firm in his belief that the visitors were gods and had arranged to give them lavish gifts in an attempt to appease the leader, Salazar. Dimazuno hoped the Spaniards would see Ezenoch and deem his leadership of the empire acceptable. Perhaps they would stay for a short time—blessing us with their presence—then be on their way.
Tizoc and I predicted differently. Our dreams had shown us differently.
As the light of a new day spilled onto the stone streets, Tizoc, Daniel, and I led the warriors into position. We formed loose lines along the main avenue to Dimazuno’s palace where the emperor awaited his mistaken gods. All the regular citizens of Ezenoch had been ordered to stay in their homes until otherwise instructed by one of the warriors. The streets were strange without small children playing, mothers keeping a watchful eye on them. No songs sailed on the mild breeze as there had been every other morning since I had come to this beautiful place. No women making ornate pottery. No men tending the farms. No priests atop the temples.
Only warriors, ready to pounce.
From my vantage point in front of the emperor’s palace, I had a clear view of the approaching Spaniards when they arrived. At the head of their group, perched on a grand black stallion, was a man clothed in richly colored fabrics. The morning sun glinted off the sword blade hanging from his horse’s neck. My gaze connected with the pistol at his waist.
I see it, came Tizoc’s voice in my mind.
The Spaniards rode in closer to the center of the city. As they passed, the warriors lining the streets bowed as they had been instructed to do. We had decided to let the Spaniards continue to think we believed them to be gods. We would treat them as such and hope for mercy.
Behind us, robes rustled and feet shuffled. The emperor waited in the shadows to meet the Spaniards, to welcome them. A hard knot formed in the pit of my belly, bile stung my throat. My life had been so simple, so boring just a few months ago. Now, I stood amongst warriors on the fringe of battle, thousands of miles from England. If I had not been living it, I would not have believed the turn of events.
The black steed came to a halt in front of Tizoc, Daniel, and me, and the man atop the horse slid off. Holding our line in front of the palace, we kneeled before the Spanish leader.
“Alonso Salazar,” he announced royally.
We rose to our feet.
“Where is your king?” he demanded.
When we did not respond, he clapped his hands together and a dark-skinned woman emerged from the party behind him.
“Malina, translate for these savages.” Salazar yanked on the woman’s arm until she stood in front of him.
I was reminded of my father for a single moment and his stories of natives that were brutal barbarians incapable of intelligent thought. How untrue that was of the Sunal. Cripes. They were far more advanced than many of the people I’d known in Southampton. Far more cultivated than this Spaniard.
“Ask them where their king is. Now.”
Malina flinched then rattled off Salazar’s question in Tizoc’s native tongue. Before Tizoc could answer, Dimazuno stepped out of the palace alcove into the sun.
“Are you the king?” Salazar asked.
Malina asked the question, and Dimazuno nodded once. Walking regally toward Salazar, the emperor waved over several stewards bearing flower garlands and gold necklaces, which he had them drape around the Spaniards’ necks. Dimazuno himself hung flowers and gold around Salazar’s neck, bowing deeply and reverently. Taking in a deep breath, the emperor began his welcome speech which Malina translated after he had finished.
“Great One, you are tired. The journey has been long, but now you are here, back to see your city and your people. All the emperors that have ruled Ezenoch since your leave have guarded it for your coming.
“This is no dream. You have returned to us. You have come down from the sky and must rest in the accommodations I have set aside for you and your court. Welcome home, Great One!”
When Dimazuno was finished, Salazar replied, and Malina again translated.
“We are friends.” He held his hands out beside him peaceably. I narrowed my eyes. Evil seeped off this Spaniard. I could smell it. Friends did not need pistols at their waists.
“There is nothing to fear. We have wanted to see Dimazuno for a long time and now our hearts are contented.”
Salazar cast a glance around at all the warriors and grinned smugly. I tightened my grip on the bow I carried as the Spaniards walked forward and embraced Dimazuno, patting him on the back. Smiles abounded on their European faces, yet I couldn’t ignore the visions of slithering serpents that crowded my mind.
Dimazuno turned back toward the royal palace, motioning for Salazar and some of his men to follow. The Spaniards followed Salazar, their sneers mimicking his, as they entered the emperor’s palace. Tizoc and I each led our own small party of warriors into the palace as well while Daniel kept the troops outside in formation.
“Be careful,” Daniel whispered to me before I left. He tapped his knuckles on my helmet.
“You too.” The dreadful vision of Daniel dying in my dream flashed into my mind, but I had to believe he’d be all right. Otherwise I’d grab him and run for safety. Otherwise I’d be a coward.
My group of female warriors, all dressed to look like men, followed in a tight knot. They had been trained to look in all directions all the time. Tizoc’s male warriors comprised the bulk of our escort of the Spaniards into the palace.
Once inside, a strange moment of quiet fell upon everyone.
“Seize him!” Salazar roared to his men that bolted into action. Spanish hands gripped onto the emperor while the rest of Salazar’s party aimed their pistols at us.
One of the warriors lunged forward. Spear raised, he charged Salazar. With an ear-splitting bang, the warrior fell before his spear tip got anywhere near its intended target. Blood pooled beneath the warrior’s body as he lay motionless at our feet.
“Drop your weapons,” Salazar ordered, Malina translating for him. We did as we were instructed, not wanting any more Sunal blood to spill in the palace.
Salazar turned to Tizoc. “Call off the warriors outside as well.”
Narrowing his golden eyes, Tizoc took a step forward, and Salazar backed up several paces. He had to crane his head up to meet Tizoc’s glare. Two of Salazar’s men came to their leader’s defense, pointing pistols into Tizoc’s gut. A scream worked its way up my throat.
Don’t, Charlie, Tizoc said in my mind before I could yell. We must play their game if we are to turn the tides to our favor later. Getting killed now will do us no good.
Such was my fear that I could not form a thought to respond to Tizoc. Everything was progressing too quickly, and the Spaniards somehow had the upper hand. All our training had been a waste. Arrows and spears were simply no match for pistols.
Tizoc nodded to Zolin who stepped back outside. I could
not hear what he said to the warriors surrounding the emperor’s palace, but when he came back in, his face was grim. Zolin said a few sparse words to Tizoc who then turned to me.
Salazar’s men have turned their guns on the warriors outside as well. They had no intention of easing their way in. Force is all they know.
I suppose Salazar didn’t plunder through all the other cities on his way here with success without solid planning… and guns, I said.
We may need to do something drastic here, Tizoc said.
Drastic? What do you—
“What are you two doing?” Salazar barked in my face. He was close enough that his hot breath shot through the openings in my helmet. He stayed a moment longer, his lips a hard line below his dark mustache. Studying me, he glanced suspiciously at Tizoc then shifted his eyes back to me. In a movement I wasn’t expecting, Salazar shoved me to the ground.
I fell back in what seemed like slow motion. When I hit the ground, an immense pain shot up my back and the stone floor dug into my palms. My helmet flew off my head and bounced to the paved floor beneath my body. Murmurs of surprise and interest sifted among the Spaniards as my hair tumbled out around me. Shafts of sunshine that spilled into the palace illuminated my face.
“Female warriors?” Salazar guffawed, amused at the notion. He reached down and jerked me to my feet.
“Don’t touch me.” I struggled in Salazar’s grip.
Caressing my cheek with his dirt-stained fingers, Salazar sneered at me. “And English females at that?”
Tizoc rushed forward and three of Salazar’s men restrained him by grabbing his arms.
“Steady there, brute,” Salazar hissed. “We make the moves. You follow our wishes.” After Malina translated unnecessarily, he gestured to his men holding Tizoc, and they pushed him to his knees. “That’s better. I am a god after all. Your emperor has recognized me as such.” Laughter, boastful and malicious, erupted from the Spaniards.
“Now you… ” he continued, looking closely at me. “You I may have a use for.”
More laughter. He pushed me into the arms of one of his men that gripped my biceps tightly. I glanced to my bow and arrows still on the ground where I had fallen. I was without weapons, without Daniel.
After all the planning and preparations, Salazar was winning.
Chapter Twenty-nine
With an explosive sound that ripped through the palace, one of the Spanish cannons thundered outside. My thoughts went to Daniel. If only I could link my mind with his as I could to Tizoc’s. Sounds of pandemonium erupted in the courtyard before Dimazuno’s palace, and those of us inside could only imagine the scene. Pounding footsteps, screams of shock—or pain—echoed from outside.
“That scared them off.” Salazar grinned again with the lips of a snake. Turning to Dimazuno still under guard, he said, “Thank you for your generous welcome, but where I come from, a true king would never find himself in this predicament. Your services will no longer be needed.”
Salazar nodded to his men and they dragged the Sunal emperor down the shadowy corridor leading to the catacombs below the palace proper. Before they disappeared out of sight, a shot vibrated through the hall and Dimazuno fell to the ground.
He did not get back up.
The Sunal warriors around me all dropped to a knee in reverence to their fallen leader. Tears stained the cheeks of many of them. I tried to shrug free of the Spaniard restraining me, but his grip was like iron shackles. My movements caught the attention of Salazar.
“Let her free,” he said. “You’ve got some spirit in you, don’t you?”
I was tossed forward, this time falling on my hands and knees before Salazar’s booted feet. Tizoc struggled at his restrainers only to get a swift kick in the spine. He didn’t cry out or flinch, but his golden eyes were on me, as they had been when we first met.
He killed the emperor, and he’s hurt you. Salazar must die. His thoughts cut into my head, hot and fast.
He hasn’t hurt me.
He will. I will not allow it, Cihuapilli. He will not touch you.
No, he won’t but as you said, let’s not make trouble until it is time to. It’s not only our lives on the line here. It is all of Ezenoch that we fight for, Tizoc. We must remember that.
I raised my head, and when my eyes met Tizoc’s, I was mesmerized by the color of them. Their unusual amber hue had been replaced by an almost glowing yellow, reminiscent of the sun itself. I shook my head, unsure if the sunlight in the palace was playing tricks or…
“His eyes, sir!” one of Salazar’s men sputtered, pointing a gun in Tizoc’s direction.
“He’s cursed,” another one added, stepping back.
“Bewitched,” a third said.
“Nonsense!” Salazar rested his own fingers on his pistol as he spoke. “We’ve got to focus men. This city is ripe with gold, and we’re destined to have it in the name of Spain!”
This declaration took the focus off Tizoc for a moment as a cheer rose up from the men. When I looked back to Tizoc, his eyes had returned to their regular color, but he was different somehow. Wilder. Fiercer.
“Post a complement of armed guards around the perimeter of the palace,” Salazar ordered. “Clear these warriors—if that’s what we can call them—out of here. Take their weapons first.” Stopping in front of Tizoc, he motioned with his hands, and the Spaniards around Tizoc hoisted him to his feet.
“Get this one out of my sight.” Flipping his pistol so he held the barrel in his hand, Salazar slammed it into Tizoc’s temple. The crack that sounded made me sick as did the limp loll of Tizoc’s head.
He was hauled off in the direction of where Dimazuno had been taken, and I thought they were going to kill him too. I scrambled after Tizoc, but Salazar stepped in my path.
“No, no,” he hummed. “You’re coming with me.”
My throat tightened as Tizoc faded into the darkness of the palace corridor. The other warriors had been led out, sandwiched between two groups of Spaniards. I was alone with Salazar and a handful of his men.
Tizoc was still present in my mind, but he was weak. I focused on him but was interrupted by Salazar again trailing a hand down my cheek. My skin crawled under his touch.
“How does a female of such high breeding end up living amongst animals?” Salazar asked.
“The same way an animal ends up invading a culture of such high breeding,” I said, unable to contain my fury and disgust any longer.
“You think me an animal when you’ve chosen to fight with savages?” Salazar laughed in my face. “They’ve put a spell on you, my dear. It shall be my honor to save you.”
“You’re the one who will need saving,” I said with more confidence than I felt.
“We shall see.” Laughing, he spun away from me on his heel, gesturing to one of his men. I was pulled by an iron grip and maneuvered forward behind Salazar. I tried to catch a glimpse outside the palace as I passed. Tried to see where Daniel was, but the courtyard was virtually empty aside from the Spaniards posted out there.
My heart sank.
I hoped Citlali and Yaoti had hidden in the chamber. I hoped Tizoc’s sisters and their mates were safe. I hoped Tizoc would not be harmed further wherever they had taken him. I hoped Daniel was not hurt. I hoped.
Hope was all I had.
****
The Spaniards proceeded to inspect every corner of the emperor’s palace. They left nothing unturned, searching high and low for anything of value, then carting it away.
“We’ll bleed this city dry.” Salazar fingered a golden bowl full of water in one of the rooms. He dumped the contents to the floor and tossed the bowl to one of his men. The rest of the Spaniards mumbled in greed as they filled sacks with Sunal baubles.
I was led behind Salazar as he walked into the largest chamber in the palace, Dimazuno’s private quarters. Squirm as I may, the Spaniard who held me did not relent in his powerful command of my arms.
“A room fit for a king. Former king, that i
s.” Salazar ran his palm over the lush fabric covering an ornately designed bed in the center of the room. He shot me a sideways glance, causing a wave of nausea to roll over me. Sitting on the end of the bed, he studied me. With a nod from Salazar, the grip around my biceps fell away. A simple wave of his hand had his men clearing out of the room.
It felt as if all the air in the chamber had been sucked out somehow. I fought to keep my eyes on Salazar for I did not want to give him the satisfaction of thinking he intimidated me. His eyes were rodent-like, a perfect match to his serpent’s smile.
As he slid off the bed, I stood my ground. Every instinct in my body told me to run. He smelled of sweat and horse, not at all like the citrusy smell of the Sunal men or the sea-air fragrance of the crew aboard the Rose. I swallowed, my throat straining as he studied me further.
“You are a beautiful one, aren’t you?” Salazar coiled a finger around some of my hair. “What are you doing here, my lovely girl?”
“Enjoying paradise until the unwelcome arrival of you and your men.”
“Unwelcome?” Salazar said, his voice rising up. “Their emperor extended his welcome to me. Invited me here. Has given me lush gifts.” He fingered the gold chains and flowers still slung around his neck. “I hardly feel unwelcome. They consider me a god, but you… you know better, don’t you. You know I am but a man. A man who has needs.”
He stepped closer upon saying that and ran his thumb over my lips. My stomach did a sickly flip-flop at the contact, and Tizoc’s voice roared in my head.
Charlie! Don’t let him touch you. Don’t let him…
He will get nothing from me, I said.
He lusts not only for gold. He will take anything he wants.
Not from me he won’t, I thought back calmly. Are you all right?
I was impressed with my ability to simultaneously keep a wary eye on Salazar as he traced a finger along my jaw and maintain the mental link with Tizoc. The link showed me the dank cell Tizoc had been thrown into below the palace.
My head is foggy, he thought weakly.
Sail With Me (A Discovery Series Book) Page 24