Almost too perfect.
The children will never sense the danger lurking in the leaf litter. But how to attract their attention? How to make sure they move forward together? Huemac needs to capture all three at the same time.
I will use the feather. The one the girl left for the merchant. Huemac doesn’t like to part with it but he can reclaim it later, along with his other prizes. Once the children are trapped he will drop a rope over each child and haul them out, one by one.
Huemac admires his work. Now he has earned the right to sleep. There will be no opportunity for rest on the return journey. He will run without stopping. The children will whinge and complain. Maybe the boy will cry.
Huemac smiles. They deserve to be punished for what they have done.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
INSIDE THE EARTH
When I stir, night has sunk deep into the forest. I am wary and uneasy. My stomach cramps. My breathing catches.
I shake Lali and Zolan gently awake.
“Something is not right,” I say.
“What do you mean?” asks Lali.
“I don’t know. It’s as if the forest has turned against us. Can’t you feel it?”
“No.” Lali looks worried.
Zolan peers into the gloom. “I can’t see anything to be afraid of.”
“Perhaps we should keep moving.” Lali grabs her pack.
We walk on, careful not to strain Zolan’s injured leg.
The jaguar is not afraid but it feels a threat lurking. With each step, the danger creeps nearer. Dread tugs at my feet. I slow my steps and my companions do the same.
I stop.
“What is it?” Zolan asks.
I shake my head.
“It’s not safe to stop here,” Lali points out. “The tree cover is too thin. We need to move out of the open as quickly as possible. The path leads into denser bush up ahead.”
I force myself to take another step. It doesn’t feel safe to keep going either.
“What’s that?” Lali points to the trees where the path snakes round a great stone. “There’s something hanging from a branch.”
“I can’t see anything,” says Zolan.
“It’s moving,” Lali insists.
My stomach twists even tighter. “It looks like a feather,” I whisper.
Lali panics. “We need to run.”
“We’re not afraid of feathers.” Zolan’s laughter rings hollow in my ears. “It’s so small I can’t even see it.”
But I am afraid of feathers. Especially this one.
“Let’s get out of here,” I mutter.
I run along the path, the others racing close behind me.
“Whoa-oa.” The ground beneath me falls away. My feet flail. My arms flap.
Thump. Lali and Zolan land on top of me.
The night is even darker down where the moonlight barely glimmers. Walls of earth surround and entomb us. The soil is ripe with old worm casings, rotting leaves and bones with the flesh long stripped away.
“What happened?” Lali bumps against me.
My eyes adjust first. “We’ve fallen into a pit. Is everyone all right? How’s your leg?” I whisper to Zolan.
“No worse,” he assures me. “Why are we whispering?”
Zolan doesn’t realise it but things are much worse for all of us. This is a trap and just as Lali left a message for the merchant, the Captain has left one for us. While we slept he must have run by. My jaguar ears tell me he isn’t here. Yet.
If only I had stopped to think, instead of racing frightened along the path.
“What would anyone be hunting in this part of the forest? There is no prey that needs a hole this size,” says Zolan.
Yes, there is. Me.
“We have to get out of here quickly,” I say. “Lali and I haven’t told you everything, Zolan. There is a man tracking me. He will follow us all the way to Purépecha if necessary. A great warrior and a great hunter, the Captain of the Temple Guard believes I must be sacrificed or Mexica will never defeat the Spanish army.”
“The Captain made this pit,” adds Lali.
“What are we waiting for then?” Zolan struggles to find a hand or foothold in the soft walls.
The earth is too crumbly and he slides back down. Lali and I try but our efforts are equally useless.
Above us the leaves scatter. I freeze. My ears prick at the sound of scurrying mice. Nothing else. The Captain has not returned to his trap so we have a chance to escape. But how long before he returns?
The others are thinking the same thing as we frantically search for a way out.
“It’s hopeless,” admits Lali. “We can’t climb out and I’m sure the Captain knows that.”
“There must be a way.” I can’t give up now.
“We have knives in our packs. Perhaps we could use them to claw our way out,” Lali suggests.
“The soil is too soft. Knives won’t grip firmly enough. But lances would if they were sunk deep into the wall,” says Zolan. “Luckily, you have one each. We could use them to make steps and climb out.”
“I would be too heavy.” Lali shakes her head. “The lances would snap.”
And I’m much bigger than her.
“I could do it,” insists Zolan. “I’ll climb to the top and make a rope from vines to help pull you both out.”
Now we have to trust him. If he doesn’t stay to help us, we will die. My only chance of living hangs by a promised vine thread. What if Zolan values his own freedom more than helping us?
If he runs away, I will understand. That’s what I wanted to do at first.
I feel Lali touch my hand. We don’t have a choice. It seems I never do.
“I like your idea, Zolan. I think it will work,” I say. “Let’s do it now. The Captain might return at any moment.”
Zolan beams at the compliment as I hand him my lance.
With a great thrust, Zolan rams my lance deep into the walls. Lali gives him hers. He shoves it into the earth above. Like a forest monkey, he grabs the first rung, and hauls himself up on to it. Then reaches for the second. Perched on the top lance he leans down to drag the lower one clear and wedge it above his head. It’s not graceful to watch but it works as Zolan clutches and clambers his way up the wall.
Again and again he reworks the lances until he is standing at the top of the pit. He waves, then disappears.
“Once we’re out of here, we’re going to have to run fast to make up for wasted time,” Lali says.
If Zolan comes back, I think. But I keep my doubts to myself.
“Zolan’s leg doesn’t seem to be bothering him as much now. I’m sure we can cover a lot of ground tomorrow.” I try to sound hopeful.
Time dawdles when you are waiting to be rescued and every breath might be your last. When I close my eyes, it feels like I am back in Ichtaca’s box. Walled in darkness and surrounded by the threat of death.
Ssss-soon, the spiders whisper.
Soon to be rescued or soon to be dead? But I can’t ask questions. The jaguar nahual has no voice. Only very good ears.
“Do you think Zolan will come back?” Lali finally puts my doubt into words.
The thwack of a vine rope against my skull answers her question before I can.
“I’ve tied the other end to a tree,” Zolan calls. “The rope will hold you both.”
“You go first.” I help Lali secure her pack.
“No,” she says. “It doesn’t matter whether I make it. You’re the runner. You have to go first.”
The jaguar growls deep and throaty.
Lali doesn’t argue this time. She grabs the rope and climbs quickly with me hurrying after.
“It took me longer than I expected to find the right vines,” Zolan apologises.
“Thanks. We’d still be down there if it wasn’t for your help,” says Lali.
I punch Zolan lightly on the shoulder. He knows what I mean.
“Let’s go.” I search the forest for movement.
&
nbsp; “Did you see any sign of the Captain?” Lali asks.
Zolan shakes his head. We walk briskly but Zolan struggles to keep up. His limp is worse than before.
“The fall has reopened the cut on Zolan’s leg. I need to dress it with herbs again and he needs more rest,” Lali advises. “Just till morning.”
“I can walk faster,” he protests. “I’ll run.”
But I trust Lali and I care about Zolan. In the morning I’ll decide whether I have to continue on without him.
“Lali is right. We’ll find a cave to shelter and hide in and tomorrow we will race. My feet need a rest too,” I say.
“I can cover our tracks and leave a false trail,” offers Zolan. “A merchant often needs to hide any trace of where he has been and I have had a lot of practice playing such tricks. It might distract the Captain for a while.”
“Excellent. You are much more useful than Atl.” Lali pokes me in the ribs.
She ducks as I reach to pull her hair. I don’t mind her teasing me any more.
“We should keep the rope,” she says.
“It’s too heavy. We won’t need it again,” I insist.
“How do you know?” she demands.
She’s still as irritating and pushy as ever.
I shrug. “If you want it, you carry it.”
“I will.” She loops it onto her arm.
Zolan laughs. “I hope you two are not going to argue all the way to Purépecha. I’ll help carry the rope, Lali.”
“I suppose I could too,” I say.
“I’m going to make it look like we went this way. Help me roll this rock.” Zolan struggles to move a small, round boulder. “The ground slopes into the forest here.” He points. “If we can get the rock rolling, it will flatten a path through the undergrowth as if three children crawled through.”
“Won’t the Captain hear it?” I ask.
Zolan shakes his head. “It will roll very slowly at first.”
It’s easier said than done. We struggle together until the boulder moves a little. Then a little more until eventually it gathers its own momentum. The swish of the forest in the night wind hides the sound of its passing. We return to the path, careful to leave signs for the Captain to find. Disturbed leaf litter. Broken twigs and crushed undergrowth.
“Now we’ll each need one of these.” Zolan snaps a bushy branch from the nearest tree. “Copy me.”
He walks backwards, using his forest broom to sweep the ground behind him. The leaves swirl and settle as if they were never disturbed at all. No one will know we travelled this way. I want to run but Zolan is right. By sending the Captain in the wrong direction, his trick will gain us valuable time to find somewhere to hide. We need to rest.
As the darkness thins, the moon almost reaches its home in the western sky. The trees are thicker and the ground uneven. With each step, we grow slower. Lali shakes her head when I stop at the mouth of the first cave we find. It won’t be long until we reach the next, so I shrug and follow. At the second cave she shakes her head again. When we reach the third, I’m ready to argue again, but I don’t get a word in.
“This will do,” Lali announces.
“How do you know? What was wrong with the first two caves?”
In the pale light, a familiar look creeps across her face to hide in her eyes. It’s the same look Tenoch had when I caught him pulling the tails of the monkeys in the Royal Zoo. What does Lali have to feel guilty about?
“Well?” I demand.
“We’re safe here. This cave is much deeper than the other two. See how black the tunnel is?”
Zolan peers into the cave mouth and nods in agreement.
But I like watching Lali wriggle on the end of the hook for a change. Usually, I’m the one squirming.
“Why is the deeper cave safest? It might be the lair of a mountain lion. Then we’ll have further to run out to escape.”
“The Captain doesn’t like small, dark spaces. He won’t come into a cave like this,” explains Lali.
“How do you know?” I sneer. “The Captain of the Temple Guard is strong and brave. He’s not afraid to go into a cave full of kids.”
Lali hesitates. I’ve caught her out. I’m right and she’s wrong. She doesn’t want to admit that.
“I know what I’m talking about.” She takes a deep breath and stares directly into my eyes. As if she’s standing in front of the jaguar again. “He’s my father.”
It’s hard to believe what I just heard. The Captain hasn’t been chasing me at all. He was looking for his daughter and Lali led him to me!
Rage surges through my body. It reaches my fingertips, forcing them into clenched fists.
“How could you be so selfish? How dare you treat my life like it doesn’t even matter,” I spit. “I told you the Captain swore to kill me. Why didn’t you go when I asked you to, instead of waiting until he found us both?”
“I wanted to help,” Lali whispers. “Your message is important.”
Angrily, I kick at the leaf litter. It lands with a wet slap against her legs. “I don’t need your help to get to Purépecha. Your help almost cost my life.”
Lali looks like she’s about to cry but I don’t care. Tears won’t keep me alive. Only my feet can do that. I have to run. I pick up my pack and turn to Zolan. “Are you coming?”
He shakes his head.
“You’ll be a slave again if you stay here. You can’t trust her. I did and look what happened to me.”
But still he stands his ground. I’ve no time to waste arguing with his misplaced loyalty. Every time I let my defences down and trust someone, they betray me like this. First Ichtaca. Now Lali.
“Wait,” she calls.
I don’t even slow down.
Soon she is racing behind me.
I stop suddenly and turn to snarl into her face. “Go away, traitor.”
“At least listen. You owe me that much.” Lali’s voice is shaking. I can’t tell if she’s angry or upset. Who cares anyway?
“I don’t owe you anything,” I growl.
Soft against my skin, the jaguar pelt on my back reminds me I do. “All right,” I concede. “Make it quick.”
But she surprises me. She crumples to the ground and starts to cry. Zolan catches up with us to glare at me as if it’s my fault. His wolf-grey eyes blaze in anger.
“I wish he was chasing me but he doesn’t care about a daughter,” Lali sobs. “I bet he doesn’t even know I left Tenochtitlan. He would only care about doing his duty and returning you for sacrifice.”
I’m tired, exhausted and afraid. We all are. It’s easy to lose sight of what is real and what is imagined. It’s easy to forget to trust. Poor Lali. How could I have been so blind and stupid? You fool, the trees sigh loudly. I slump beside her and place my arm around her shoulders, wiping the soggy strands of hair from her face.
“He doesn’t love you and he hates me,” I say. “But we’re in this together, just like you told Zolan. That’s not so bad, is it?”
She sniffs. It’s better than the crying.
“Let’s go back to the cave,” Zolan interrupts. “If someone is following us, then we should make sure we are safely hidden before sunrise.”
No longer the victim, he reaches out to help us.
Inside the cave is blacker than burnt wood. But since the jaguar’s death, I can see and hear through the darkness. Some people say an Eagle Warrior can see a beetle from the air and a Jaguar Warrior can hear its wings rustle. The night around me is full of little beetles.
Safe. Secure.
Even Zolan can feel it. Finally, he finds the strength to share his story.
“I have been travelling with Nuxal, the merchant, ever since I could walk. He was not a kind master,” Zolan murmurs into the shadows. “But in the beginning I went with him gladly. At least he wanted me.”
“What do you mean?” Lali asks.
“My parents didn’t care very much. They traded me for a feather picture.”
Feath
er work is rare and beautiful. Worth a trade of great value – but not the life of a child. What sort of parent would do a thing like that? I hate feathers. Especially eagle feathers.
Lali reaches out to touch Zolan’s arm. “I understand,” she says.
Of course she would. He father didn’t want her either.
And Ichtaca abandoned me to the sacrificial stone. Some things stop you in your tracks, no matter how much you want to keep hurrying on.
“Sometimes my life was almost bearable,” Zolan whispers. “Nuxal fed and clothed me. I was never hungry or cold. But I was always afraid …” His voice wavers. We wait until he is ready to begin again. “On the road there were many flasks of pulque between towns. When my master was drunk no job was ever done well enough. He hit me often.” Zolan struggles to still the tremor in his words. “Once he cut me with his knife.”
He holds out his hands, palms upwards. The moonlight illuminates the ridged slash across his wrist. “I heard you can bleed to death from such a wound. I hoped it was true, but in the morning I woke up, cold and still alive.”
Our lives have not been easy. I escaped the servitude of the temple and the judgement of the sacrificial stone. Zolan survived slavery with a cruel master and Lali ran away from a life without love. More than sharing names binds us together now. We’ve been heading in the same direction all our lives, running towards the place where we can finally be free.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
STONE MAN
Children scream. Blood runs everywhere. It drips from the Spanish soldier’s lance. It pools in the chest hole made by a firestick. A stream of red floods from the sacrificial stone. The screaming grows louder.
My screaming.
I wake with a jolt. It’s hot. Too hot for morning. The sun is already riding high.
“Wake up.” I shake Lali.
“Wake up.” I yell into Zolan’s ear.
They are on their feet immediately. Lali’s lance is already in her hand.
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