by Vonna Harper
Besides, what was it he’d said, that they were looking for her roots?
“Do you want to talk about it?” Nacon asked as if reading her mind.
“Not now. First, I need to experience.”
He let out what she took as a sigh of relief. Looking back at the rest of the city from this vantage point, she reminded herself that human sacrifice was only part of what had made the Aztecs great. That done, a sense of ease stole over her. The jaguar was still a distance ahead of them with his attention squarely on the wilderness beyond. No wonder; he was coming home, or at least to where his roots, too, had begun.
Home?
What was it about this flat, dry land with its mix of manmade and natural smells that seemed so familiar to her? Yes, it was much hotter here than anywhere she’d lived, but it was as if she’d felt this heat before. Even the ground beneath her feet was comfortable instead of foreign.
Nacon squeezed her hand. When she looked at him, for a moment she believed he was responsible for her reaction. Because he belonged here, so did she. Then she stared up at a sky that seldom saw a cloud and knew it wasn’t that simple. She’d either been here before or it had somehow been imprinted into not just her brain, but her soul.
“Dad? I think if you could see this place, you’d stop looking for greener pastures.”
A faint sound coming from the wilderness beyond the city snagged her attention. When it was repeated, she realized it was a mix of cough and roar, a sound she’d heard Aztec make several times. The jaguar had stopped and lifted his head even higher. Opening his deadly mouth, he echoed the unearthly howl.
“Nacon?”
“Watch. Listen.”
He didn’t have to point for her to know where to look> All she had to do was follow the line of Aztec’s gaze. The big cat hadn’t taken his eyes off the vegetation, vegetation that was calling to her as well. Drawing closer to Nacon, she closed her mind to everything except accepting and absorbing whatever came next.
Aztec made a coughing sound again, the notes both plaintive and eager. From the trees and bushes came an identical sound.
And then she saw it: another jaguar, emerging from the hearty, albeit rain-starved, growth. She couldn’t be sure, but thought the newcomer was smaller than Aztec, the colors of its coat less intense.
“His mate?” she and Nacon asked at the same time. Even as she chided herself for jumping to conclusions, she let him hold her against his side while Aztec started toward what she hoped was a female. The newcomer waited at the edge of the vegetation as if knowing he or she would be returning to it, tail slowly lashing, ears forward and mouth open and panting. Aztec, too, was breathing rapidly, and the hair along his spine stood up.
Then the two were together, muzzles touching, ears moving, coughing-moaning sounds echoing. After the better part of a minute, Aztec stepped to the other jaguar’s side and rested his head on the smaller back. The newcomer crouched as if unable to bear his weight, then sprang upright, spun and bolted into the trees. Aztec followed
“It was so simple,” Dana said a few minutes later. “Does that mean they’ve chosen each other as mates?”
“We don’t even know the other jaguar’s sex. Even if it’s a female, she might not accept him.”
“And he might have been isolated too long.”
“But at least, maybe, he has a chance here.”
“One he didn’t have where we came from.”
They hadn’t moved since Aztec disappeared and were still holding hands although her fingers were getting numb. It occurred to her that she and Nacon might become what she wanted for Aztec and the other jaguar: a pair. Was that how the Aztec people had committed to each other back when Nacon lived here? They simply announced to their families that they intended to live together?
Knowing what little she did about ancient cultures, she doubted if that was true. More likely, parents and other family members arranged marriages based on social standing and other factors related to the society’s needs, and the young couple accepted their decision because that was the way things had always been done.
Not that it mattered since she wasn’t Nacon’s intended or wife or whatever she would have been called back then. Instead she was a twenty-first century woman who’d been jerked back in time—a time that already didn’t feel new or strange.
“You’re delighted to be here, aren’t you? And relieved,” she said, picking up on his emotions. “I can see it in your eyes. You couldn’t be sure it was going to happen, could you?”
“I prayed, for centuries I prayed that I’d be allowed back where I belong. The lack of control over what was happening to me was so hard. Sometimes I cursed. I even cried.”
“Of course you did.” She leaned her head against his shoulder. “To have some kind of existence, but not the one you wanted —why? Why did it happen like that?”
“Dana, I never questioned my gods’ wisdom in this. What I asked for was the patience to wait for that wisdom to be revealed.”
It had been that simple for him? His belief in his deities had been strong enough to sustain him for hundreds of years?
“I still don’t understand what happened or why you’re part of it, but I thank you for helping me return home,” he said.
He wasn’t going to leave if he could help it. With his land under his feet, he wanted nothing more than to cling to the life that had been taken from him. With every fiber of her being, she knew she couldn’t force him back to her world. Neither did she want to, not after everything he’d been through, his countless sacrifices. “Nacon, I—”
He held up a hand, stopping her. “I hope you can meet some of the people who were important to me and made me who I am. Before we say anything else.”
Why was he speaking in the past tense again, she wondered, but lacked the courage to ask. Watching boys gift Aztec with flowers and vendors sell their wares was incredible enough. Did Nacon really expect her to carry on a conversation with his parents and siblings if they lived here or, even more unnerving, his fellow warriors and Jaguar Society members? What would she do, ask them how they’d liked living in the distant past? What was she thinking? She didn't speak their language.
“There. This is where my unmarried brothers lived.” He pointed at a collection of buildings that bore a passing resemblance to a modern apartment complex. She remembered reading that many of the Aztec apartments shared common walls, but had separate, private patios. Life had been different for the tenant farmers who’d lived in individual houses on the land—not that she could think about that right now.
“Nacon do—did you have a wife and children?”
“I was a warrior; marriage was for later.”
“What about sex?”
“There were concubines and slaves.”
Although she needed to learn more about his relationship with those women who were apparently considered as integral to a soldier’s life as his weapons, now wasn’t the time, not with everything else he expected her to comprehend. And yet even with him waiting for her to take the first step toward the buildings he’d pointed out, she needed time to wrap her mind around certain things.
Number one, they’d gone back in time to when his life had been full and real. Two, trying to understand how the time traveling had happened would have to wait until later. Three, the jaguar Aztec had not only made the journey with them, perhaps he’d found what she most wanted for the big cat: a mate. And if not a mate, maybe another male to hunt with. Four, this land that should have no meaning to her was already under her skin and in her heart and she knew its pulse. Five, she’d follow Nacon anywhere. At least she would today.
He must have sensed what was going through her because he wrapped his arm around her and kept her close to his side as they slowly walked toward the apartment complex. He was changing, relaxing as he accepted that his prayers had come true, finding peace. Even with everything he knew about his people’s fate, she guessed he was living in the moment, a man coming home to those he love
d and who loved him. But he wasn’t just returning home, he was bringing his woman with him.
That’s what she was, wasn’t it? Nacon’s woman. His whore when the rush poured over them and more recently his lover, capable of giving and receiving tenderness. The ramifications of what had happened between them was enough to strip some of the strength from her legs and quiet her questions, but maybe it was better that way. She’d exist in the moment. With her man at her side. And his come still housed deep inside her.
As they neared the low stone buildings, a number of people, mostly men, either stopped what they were doing outside or left their homes and stepped into the sunlight. As one, the Aztecs smiled and lifted their hands in welcome, but only the young men started toward them.
“My brothers,” Nacon said.
He couldn’t possibly mean brothers in the literal sense because at least twenty men were now approaching them. However, looking from one to another, she easily found the common denominator. They were all strong and healthy. One had his left arm in a sling while another’s middle was wrapped with some kind of bandage, and a third limped, but there was no doubting what they were: warriors.
“They’re members of the Jaguar Society, aren’t they?”
“Yes. When they aren’t in the Great Hall within the temple or at the quiet place, they live here. It is the same in each city, warriors united.”
The phrase “off-duty soldiers” came to mind, although she doubted that the Great Hall he’d mentioned bore any resemblance to a military barrack. Knowing she was about to be surrounded by the Aztec nation’s finest example of testosterone gave her pause, and yet there was no denying the primal energy emanating from these proud men. Even those who were recovering from battle carried themselves with confidence and pride.
Of course they did. After all, the rest of the Aztecs looked up to those who had proven themselves on the battlefield. These men lived with the knowledge that their lives might be short and violent. They might privately fear the consequences of being the Aztecs’ best fighters, but to the only world they knew, and probably around each other as well, they gave out fearless auras.
As had happened with those he’d spoken to in the marketplace, Nacon’s words made no sense to her. Neither did she understand a word of what anyone said to each other. All she could do was smile and nod when they addressed her, hoping her reaction wasn’t out of line.
“They’re welcoming you as a sister,” Nacon said.
That surprised her. “Is that what you told them, that I’m your sister?”
“No. Look at them, Dana. What do you see?”
Almost naked deeply tanned men, she nearly said. Instead, she focused on the three who were standing the closest to Nacon. One was considerably taller than the rest, one some ten or fifteen years older than the other two, and the third had several markings, maybe tattoos, on his cheeks and nose. The pictures she’d found on-line had been of ceremonies as witness by the wearers’ elaborate headgear and clothing. But this must be an ordinary day because the trio wore only what she’d call loincloths.
Taking courage in hand, she allowed her gaze to slide lower than their waists. At first her mind simply didn’t register what she saw. Next she deliberately lied to herself. But finally she had no choice but to acknowledge the truth.
“You’re shaking,” Nacon said, his arm still around her. “What is it, Dana?”
Her lips were numb; she felt lightheaded. “That’s what you wanted me to see, isn’t it? You didn’t warn me. Damn it, you did nothing to prepare me.”
“Prepare you for what?”
“Their tattoos, damn it! Jaguar tattoos.” Identical to mine.
“Don’t tremble. It’s all right.”
But it wasn’t, damn it. This couldn’t possibly be, it couldn’t!
Wrenching free of Nacon’s protective and confining arm, she stumbled away. The intricately decorated loincloths covered their cocks and buttocks, but left the men’s hips and flanks exposed. Although there wasn’t a total uniformity of size when it came to the tattoos, despite her denial, there was no doubt, absolutely no doubt.
What she’d always believed was a unique design conjured up in a girl’s creative mind wasn’t. Instead, it symbolized something she would have never guessed existed if she hadn’t met Nacon—membership in the Jaguar Society of fighters and killers.
“Dana? Talk to me. What are you thinking?”
Thank god he wasn’t closing the distance between them. If he’d tried to reach her with more than his words, she would have run away. And if she couldn’t run, she’d have attacked him.
“Is that why you brought me back in time? So I could see—this?”
“I had no control over our journey, but yes, I wanted you to see the truth.”
Don’t look at the men. Keep your eyes off that part of their bodies. “You—you could have described this to me.”
“Would you have believed me?”
He’d lied to her, well not lied so much as omitted. And now he expected, really expected her to comprehend the incomprehensible.
No! She wasn’t and had never been an Aztec warrior! Not only wasn’t she capable of killing, she’d never once in her life so much as fantasized about taking a life. She’d never believe that jaguars had mystical powers, and she certainly didn’t believe in the Aztec gods.
When she started backing away, the warriors’ eyes followed her, but they remained where they were. Even Nacon didn’t move. It didn’t matter whether the others understood what had just taken place between her and Nacon. Neither was she in any condition to try to explain to him what she was feeling.
“Don’t be afraid,” he said. “You’re accepted here.”
“Accepted? I’ve never—don’t say a word about past lives because I don’t believe in that crap! Not only that, I’m a woman; I’ve never been anything except a woman.”
“I know.”
Of course he did. Hadn’t her body given his undeniable lessons in her femininity? And yet the identical tattoos. What about them?
“My fellow-warriors don’t just accept you as their sister,” he continued. “They are ready to welcome you into our world.”
Not just their world, but Nacon’s as well. He’d come into the future for her, but now he was back home? With her as his prisoner? “I want to go back. Take me home.”
“Where do you belong, Dana? Look into your heart and speak the truth. Is it in your time where you’ve spent your life looking for something to call your own or here, with me?”
“You’re doomed. Your entire race is.”
“Not if we stop time, live the same day over and over again.”
Too much. Too fucking much. “I don’t want this, got it? I don’t belong here.”
“Don’t you?” His tone gentled. “Dana, I’m not going to force you to do something you don’t want. All I’m asking is that you give this—” He spread his arms as if taking in everything. “—time.”
Fighting panic, she struggled to concentrate on what he was telling her, but he and the other men were members of the Jaguar Society because they’d taken at least four captives who’d then been sacrificed. How could she possibly want to be accepted by those who embraced that kind of brutality?
She couldn’t.
She needed to run.
Chapter Fifteen
The land beyond the city was hillier than she’d expected. The climate was arid, which meant there wasn’t as much vegetation as she was accustomed to, but the vibrant blue sky standing in sharp contrast to the gray land lifted her spirits. A few clouds hovered in what she thought was the west, but they were light and fluffy, hardly capable of bringing rain.
She loved the smell of heated rocks and dirt and kept turning her face into the breeze to cool her cheeks and throat. She couldn’t say how long she’d been walking after her impulsive flight, not long enough that her legs were tired, thanks in a large part to her physical lifestyle, but she was getting thirsty.
Darn, she sho
uld have thought about water if nothing else before she’d taken off like a scared rabbit, but panic had played havoc with her common sense. Only, she acknowledged as she continued placing one aimless foot after another, she hadn’t panicked so much as been overwhelmed by everything that had been thrown at her.
It was beautiful here, peaceful in a way she’d never known was possible while living in the world she’d always known. Modern people would probably call this silence, but it was far from that. Not only was the breeze sliding softly through the short, dry weeds, but a multitude of birds and insects were adding their accompaniment. Wonderful, she kept thinking now that she was no longer fighting Nacon’s words. This quiet, vast and unspoiled land was nothing short of perfect.
She felt comfortable here, all right. True, she wasn’t ready to add the words at home, but she came close.
No wonder Nacon had wanted to return to a world where smog didn’t scar the sky and Nature’s sounds weren’t drowned out by man’s inventions. A person could find peace out here alone, not just peace, but his or her soul.
Was that why Nacon had let her take off on her own, because he’d known or hoped or sensed that she’d come to where she was emotionally right now? He’d trusted the land of his birth to spin its magic over her, to seduce her?
Did she want to be seduced, she pondered as she headed toward a distant clump of green that she hoped indicated the presence of water. Ever since moving out of the house she’d shared with her mother and stepfather at the tender age of seventeen, she’d been trying to put down roots. At least that’s what she told her parents and herself as she moved from one rental to another, from one city or town to another, one job to the next. Looking for where she belonged.
“You understand, don’t you, Dad? You’re as much of a gypsy as I am, more so, even. That’s what Mom always said, that just thinking about staying in one place gave you hives.”
She considered checking herself for hives, but opted for continuing her conversation with her father. “Am I crazy? Anyone else on the planet would be doing everything she could to get back to where she belongs, but I’m not. Instead I’m, what, taking in the beauty inherent in this place of violence and blood.” This place that’s speaking to my soul. “Nacon’s part of it. This is where he wants to be. All those centuries of being pushed from one place or time to another had to have been hell on him, like drowning within sight of land.”