Breath of the Feathered Serpent (21 page)

He’d telegraphed Elijah when he’d reached home to let his lover know he was safe. He’d promised to keep in touch and telegraph him again once things had settled, but he kept finding reasons to put that moment off. Most centered on the fact that Elijah was now a very rich young man. He deserved far more in his life than a worn-out, jaded Federal Marshal, whose next assignment may be his last.

Adam walked slowly down the hallway. His heart ached for Elijah, to see and hold him, to love him again, but it was better to let Elijah find someone more suitable.

Lost in increasingly morose thoughts, Adam headed out of the building. He had to go home and pack.

Chapter Thirty-Three

Adam took a train for most of his journey to Xipil’s province. Then he picked up a coach that was waiting for him. This time when he came to the palace, he was able to see it in all its magnificence.

The palace was situated at the apex of a set of stairs inlaid with turquoise, and the building was long and low with a many-pillared balustrade. Nearby was the temple, which was on top of a pyramid-shaped edifice with steps cut into the stone. Adam looked around slowly, he was impressed by all he saw, and particularly liked the immaculate waterways in-between the many other buildings around him. Some people walked while others traveled in boats.
Beautiful. Idyllic. No wonder Xipil is loved and popular.
Adam was greeted at the gates of the square that held the palace and led along the immaculately paved streets.

When Adam arrived at the palace, one of the king’s courtiers greeted him and took him through to a guest room. Adam wasn’t surprised to see that the palace was every bit as magnificent inside as it was outside, and his room was spotless, large and airy. A big bed dominated the space, adorned with brightly decorated bedding. A table and chairs were the only other pieces of furniture.

A bathroom was just off the main room. Adam whistled as he looked at the enormous sunken bath. The entrance to his
temazcal
was at the back of the room. Adam wasn’t sure he’d take a steam bath, but he liked the idea of soaking in the big sunken tub.

He’d traveled in a sturdy pair of blue pants, his boots, and a plain red shirt and needed to clean up. He turned on the taps and ambled into his bedroom to strip. Once the bath was filled to his satisfaction, he sank into the heated water and groaned softly. The travel had taken a toll on him, and he was glad to be able to let the heat permeate his body and relax his muscles.

Finally, Adam got out and dried off. He emptied his travel bag. He pulled on a pair of nice dark blue trousers, since his normal type weren’t considered dressy enough, and then put on his favorite black shirt.

A tap on his door made him pause and look up from fastening his boots. “It’s open,” he called out.

Madison sauntered in, an easy grin on his face. “Good to finally catch up with you, partner. You’ve done one hell of a job avoiding me.”

“I just needed some time to think,” Adam said.

“Yup. Figured that’d be the case. You sure look like you need the holiday the Chief’s offered.” Madison came over and sat on the opposite side of the bed. “I got the call saying we’re due in the banqueting hall. Said I’d pick you up on the way. You ready?”

Adam nodded and stood up. “As I’ll ever be.”

They walked out of the room together, but as they headed along the hallway, Adam recognized Xipil coming towards them. Xipil stopped in front of them. Adam and Madison bowed.

“Ah good,” Xipil said. “I’m glad I caught you both. Madison, please continue to the banquet hall and advise the other guests that Adam and I will be a little late.”

“Yes, your highness.” Madison bowed, winked at Adam, and sauntered away.

Adam looked at Xipil. Although the man’s face remained impassive, he exuded disappointment that Adam knew was directed at him. Self-conscious, like a schoolboy about to be lectured by his schoolmaster, Adam tugged at his collar and adjusted his gun belt.

“Walk with me, Adam.”

Xipil headed in the opposite direction, and Adam turned to follow him. What else could he do?

“Yes, your highness,” he mumbled.

He followed the king into a courtyard. Adam glanced around, but apart from the brightly colored flora, they seemed to be alone.

“Do you know where we are?” Xipil asked.

Adam looked around again. “A private garden, your highness?” He wondered if he’d been asked a trick question, but Xipil simply smiled and nodded.

“It is indeed. Come here.” Xipil led him to where a small shrine stood, its top inlaid with a mosaic of the feathered serpent. “This is where the Breath of Quetzalcoatl came to Tupac on a star.”

Xipil indicated the stone bench opposite, and Adam sat down. Xipil sat next to him.

“I have heard the legend,” Adam said.

“Indeed,” Xipil said. “I’m sure you have. The Breath came to us four hundred years ago and has remained in my family. Even during the war, when the Spanish tried and failed to conquer us, the Breath remained our strength. In all that time, only Tupac and Yolotli, and now you and Elijah, have ever seen the Breath itself.”

Adam nodded. He was sure Xipil would have gotten the story from Mecatl, Yaotl, and the rest of the Jaguar Warriors. “It was...a unique experience,” he said.

“And yet you do not have the look of a man blessed by a god,” Xipil said. “You look worse today than the day you brought the statue back to me.”

A flush of embarrassment heated Adam’s cheeks. “It was a tough mission,” he said.

“Indeed.” Xipil nodded. “I spoke at length to your partner.”

Adam gaped at him. Xipil sounded as if he routinely chatted with Federal Marshals about their assignments. He wasn’t sure William would be too happy to know Madison had been talking about it, even with a king. He’d speak to Madison when they were alone. “I see,” he said.

“Do you?” Xipil asked. “You know, the only other man who looks worse than you is Elijah.”

That instantly claimed Adam’s attention. “Elijah? Is he all right? What’s wrong with him?”

Xipil quirked an eyebrow at him. “Do you really care so much?”

“Of course I do. I lo...” Adam stopped dead. He met Xipil’s cool gaze. “He has a special place in my heart, but he’s a rich and successful ranch owner now. He deserves the best of everything. I’m just a marshal who doesn’t know where he’ll go to next.”

“You telegraphed Elijah to say you were safely home and that you would be in touch after your...is the word, debriefing? But you never contacted him again. I checked with your superior, William. He said you have no current assignments. That is why I knew you had nothing to prevent you coming here when I made my request. I wanted to meet Adam the man, not the Federal Marshal.” Xipil gazed at him. “It has been most illuminating.”

“You seem to have spoken to a lot of people,” Adam said. Just how many? And why?

“Did you know Yolotli was a concubine? Despite which Tupac fell deeply in love with him and was loved equally in return. Tupac looked beyond Yolotli’s status to the man he was. Then with Quetzalcoatl’s blessing, Yolotli became a royal consort. They died together in their sleep at a great old age. I hope my consort and I will be similarly blessed.”

“Yes, your highness.” Adam murmured the words, but his mind replayed what Xipil had said. A king and a concubine. He shook his head.
That’s just a dream.

“I believe Madison once told you not to get in the way of your own happiness, Adam. I offer you the same advice. Come, we must go. The others are waiting, and I’m hoping for a special celebration.” Xipil stood and walked towards the door back into the palace.

Adam followed, his mind in a whirl. Perhaps he should try to see Elijah before going home? Maybe there was still a chance.

As he entered the banquet hall, he froze. There were two tables forming a T. The head table had a single, darkly handsome man sitting there. His rich dress suggested that he was Xipil’s consort. But it wasn’t the sight of that table which stopped him in his tracks.

He stared at the guests sitting at the other table. Smiling over at him were Ellen and Mecatl, Yaotl with a woman Adam didn’t know, Mitch and Abe, and Madison. The only person not there was Elijah, and Adam’s shoulders drooped.
Maybe he refused. Maybe he doesn’t want to see me.

“Do come in, Adam. Thank you. Ah, I see we still have one more guest not yet here. Itotia, my love, will you sound the gong?”

Adam took another couple of faltering steps, then glanced over at Xipil, who smiled serenely as he took his place at the head table. A thrill of anticipation thrummed through Adam’s veins as he stared at the doors. His breath caught in his throat as Elijah came through. His lover looked more pale and thin since they’d parted.

Elijah bowed to Xipil and then came to stand in front of Adam. His expressive eyes held a wealth of sadness, and Adam’s hands trembled at his sides as he fought the instinct to hold tight to Elijah and never let him go.

“Did King Xipil tell you the story of Tupac and Yolotli?” Elijah asked. At Adam’s nod, he continued. “A king and a commoner overcame huge obstacles and prejudices to find their happiness. To live and love as a couple.” Elijah smiled shyly at Adam. “Does it sound a little familiar?”

“Yes.” Adam’s voice was suddenly hoarse. Hope flared in his heart.

“So, Adam. Before these witnesses here present, will you marry me?”

For Adam, it was as if time stood still. He stared at Elijah, unable to speak. His heart beat wildly as if he’d run for miles. Finally, his wits returned. “Yes! By all that’s holy, yes, Lij.”

Elijah’s eyes filled with tears, and Adam pulled him into a tight hug. He buried his face in his beloved’s curls, scrunching his eyes closed against the burn of unshed tears.

“Excellent!” Xipil’s voice boomed out. “Itotia, my beloved, please send a message to the High Priest. He has a pleasant duty to perform for me. The banquet will be enjoyed after the ceremony is performed.”

Adam looked up at the king in surprise.

“I talked with Adam the man and believe he will make an excellent husband for my soon-to-be nephew,” Xipil said.

“Nephew?” Adam stared at Elijah.

“Ellen is marrying Mecatl, who is Xipil’s nephew.” Elijah grinned. “I love you,” he whispered.

“I love you,” Adam said. He picked Elijah up and swung him around. “I love you. I love you.”

Elijah’s laughter rang out, and Adam’s heart soared. He let the younger man slide down through the circle of his arms and kissed him. The familiar taste flooded his mouth, and he felt like a man who’d been dying of thirst finally drinking the water that would save him. He couldn’t imagine how he’d ever thought he could live without Elijah.

“Thank you, your highness,” Adam said.

“Thank Quetzalcoatl,” Xipil said. “Your love found favor in his eyes. Now to the marriage.”

Chapter Thirty-Four

The group filed quickly into the palace temple of Quetzalcoatl where the High Priest stood waiting before the shrine. Adam and Elijah stood before the priest with Xipil next to Elijah and Itotia alongside Adam.

Mecatl came in last, and Adam cocked an eyebrow at the turquoise silk
tilmatlis
, lavishly adorned with feathers. The cloaks were laid in front of him and Elijah, and at a word of command from the priest, Mecatl tied them together, corner to corner, so they could still be worn. Xipil and Itotia lifted the joined
tilmatlis
and draped them carefully over Adam and Elijah’s shoulders.

Adam felt as if he was in a dream. He pinched his hand hard to make sure he wasn’t dreaming. He barely heard the priest as he spoke, until the older man took his hand and laid it on top of Elijah’s. Then he handed them each a beautifully scripted card.

“You must face one another and read from the card together,” Xipil said.

Adam began to speak and Elijah joined in.

“I know not whether thou has been absent. I lie down with thee, I rise up with thee. In my dreams thou art with me. When sweet sounds tremble in my ears, I know it is thou moving within my heart.”

Out of the corner of his eye, Adam was sure he saw the stone in the golden statue shimmer as they read. They finished, and a smile of joy lit up Elijah’s face. Adam glanced at the shrine, but the statue looked as it always did. He shook his head. Itotia leaned close to whisper in his ear.

“I believe the Breath soaks up love. That is why we have Quetzalcoatl’s blessing. Since the reign of Tupac, there have been no blood sacrifices made.”

Adam nodded. “Maybe it does.” He still found it hard to reconcile how something so beautiful, so innocuous, could be so potentially lethal. He pushed the thoughts aside and focused on Elijah. “I surely love you, beautiful,” he whispered.

“I love you, Adam,” Elijah said.

Adam pulled Elijah in for a kiss that was infused with every ounce of the overwhelming adoration he felt. For a moment he felt as if the very air around him hummed with love, and as they parted, Elijah’s eyes were wide.

“Did you feel it, too?” he asked. “It was like I could feel your love surround me.” Elijah looked as excited and delighted as he sounded, and Adam laughed aloud.

He picked Elijah up, their
tilmatlis
sliding to the floor, and spun him around. “I love you.” Then Adam let Elijah slide through the circle of his arms and kissed him again. Joy coursed through his veins.

Whistles, cheers, and applause came from the people around him. Adam kept an arm around Elijah’s waist and turned to face them all. So different in so many ways, and yet he counted each and every one of them as his family.

“I’m not one for pretty speeches,” he said. “But I thank you, all of you, for making this possible.”

Madison stepped forward and hugged Adam hard. “Just don’t fall asleep during the banquet, old man.”

Adam threw back his head and laughed. “I’ll out-do you, whippersnapper, you can count on that.”

“And speaking of banquets, ours awaits,” Xipil said.

Chapter Thirty-Five

As enjoyable was the banquet proved to be, Adam itched to be alone with Elijah. His beloved, however, looked so happy as they celebrated that Adam was willing to wait. Finally, he decided that a little prompting was in order. According to Xipil, a wedding celebration could go on for several days. Adam wanted Elijah in his room and in his bed, now.