Sky Knife (19 page)

“You do not know what the gods want,” said Stone Jaguar. “You are not a priest here.”

“Yet I am a magician and a warrior,” said Red Spider. “And I want this woman. I will stop you if I can. The Feathered Serpent will stand with me.”

Once again, Stone Jaguar raised the blade above Jade Flute. She tensed and trembled, her eyes following the movement of the blade. A tear slid down her cheek and trickled into her ear.

Sky Knife's heart went out to her. Like all the other sacrifices, she was afraid. He wanted to rush forward, to offer himself in her place, to do anything to make her trial easier.

“No!” shouted Red Spider.

Something slammed into Sky Knife from the side and knocked him down. He lay on his back a long moment, staring at the brightening sky, while a great weight pressed him against the stones of the temple. He couldn't move. Panic crept into his thoughts.

Then it was gone. Sky Knife sat up quickly. The four attendants ran down the steps screaming and batting at something Sky Knife couldn't see.

Stone Jaguar stood in the center of the temple platform, arms upraised. His cloak fluttered about him, blown by a strong wind that rushed up the temple steps and swirled around the summit. The wind moaned like the dead in Xibalba. The sound cut through Sky Knife's nerves. He trembled uncontrollably at the shrieking of the gale.

A blue haze surrounded Stone Jaguar. He thrust the Hand of God out before him and sketched an outline in the air. Water slapped Sky Knife in the face.

Sky Knife wiped the water away and turned his back to Stone Jaguar. Water rained outwards from Stone Jaguar toward Red Spider, who stood in the center of a circle of green light. Sky Knife inched his way forward on hands and knees toward Jade Flute, who lay still on the altar.

Sky Knife got to the altar and reached a shaky hand up to touch Jade Flute's arm. She jerked and screamed.

“It's me!” Sky Knife shouted over the gale. “Sky Knife!”

Jade Flute must have heard him. She didn't hesitate, but rolled toward him and off the altar. Sky Knife caught her around the waist and held her tightly against the wind and the driving rain. Jade Flute shook and sobbed into Sky Knife's shoulder. He trembled, too, but held her close and prayed the battle would be over soon.

Sky Knife prayed, but didn't know what outcome to pray for. If Stone Jaguar won, Jade Flute died. If Red Spider won, Jade Flute would be lost to him. But at least then she would be alive.

Sky Knife hated to pray for victory for Red Spider, but he couldn't pray for Stone Jaguar.

The wind died down suddenly. Sky Knife raised his head above the altar. Red Spider knelt in the plaza, hands clutched to his abdomen. The green circle was gone.

“Die, bringer of bad luck,” said Stone Jaguar. “And take your Feathered Serpent with you. He has no power here.”

Red Spider crawled a few feet away from the pyramid. Sky Knife swallowed hard at the effort it cost the man. Blood ran from Red Spider's nose and ears and from under his fingernails. Each time he moved, his face contorted in agony.

Stone Jaguar laughed. His laugh, coming from behind the mask, roared forth in deep, thunderous peals that made Sky Knife shiver anew.

“Crawl away,
magician,
” said Stone Jaguar. “Your evil days are finished.”

One of Red Spider's attendants came forward and would have helped him, but Red Spider waved him away. The Teotihuacano merchant continued to inch his way off the plaza by dragging himself with hands and elbows.

Sky Knife turned to Stone Jaguar. Without attendants, he couldn't complete the sacrifice. At least, Sky Knife hoped he couldn't.

Stone Jaguar stared down at Sky Knife and Jade Flute. “It's too late for this morning,” he said. “The sun has touched the horizon without being fed her heart.”

Stone Jaguar stepped down off the temple and strode down the steps, across the plaza. The few people who remained scattered before him.

Sky Knife sank back on his haunches and held Jade Flute tightly. If he had any say in it, he knew he'd never let her go.

20

Sky Knife watched as the last few people in the plaza hurried away. Only Bone Splinter remained.

Sky Knife sighed and stood. Jade Flute stayed hunched down at his feet. Sky Knife untwisted the knot in his skirt and let it drop to his ankles, leaving him clad only in his blue loincloth. He stepped out of the skirt, bent down, and picked it up.

The skirt was wet from the rain and heavy. Sky Knife held it out to Jade Flute. “Here,” he said. “You can wear this until you get back to the temple.”

Jade Flute snatched the skirt and slipped it over her head. She gathered it under her arms and twisted it into a knot similar to the one Sky Knife had used. She stood. The skirt covered her from her chest almost to her knees. On impulse, Sky Knife removed his jade necklace and looped it over Jade Flute's head.

Jade Flute smiled, but tears flooded her eyes again. “Thank you,” she said. “But I suppose I can only wear it until tomorrow.”

Sky Knife put an arm around her shoulders and Jade Flute leaned against him. “Perhaps,” he said. “But maybe I can talk Stone Jaguar out of another sacrifice. There is just too much going on—I don't believe a simple sacrifice is going to help Tikal.”

“I don't want to die,” said Jade Flute. “I thought I could do my duty to my family and my city, but…” Jade Flute's voice dropped to a whisper and she trembled. “But when I saw the blade, I didn't want it to happen. The gods won't find me acceptable—I'm afraid.”

“They all are,” said Sky Knife. He led her around the altar and down the steps. Bone Splinter stood, arms folded across his chest, at the base of the pyramid.

“I'll take her back to the temple,” said Sky Knife.

Bone Splinter nodded.

Jade Flute pulled away. “No,” she said. “I don't want to go back there.”

“Why not?” asked Sky Knife.

Jade Flute spat. “They wanted me to be the sacrifice because they would rather see me dead than alive and unmarried.”

“Then become a nun,” said Bone Splinter, “and you will never have to marry.”

“I don't want to be a nun,” said Jade Flute. “I've lived with them. I know what their lives are like. Pray, pray, pray. That's all they do. They stay shut up in their temple and talk to Ix Chel.”

“Then what do you want?” asked Sky Knife.

Jade Flute pulled away slightly and looked up at him. “I want a husband who wants me because I'm Jade Flute, and not because my aunt's husband is the king.”

“It may be difficult to find a man like that,” said Bone Splinter. “Many men will want to marry into the family of the king.”

“I know,” said Jade Flute.

Sky Knife hated himself for asking, but he did. “What about Red Spider?”

Jade Flute sneered. “He wanted me to be a prize to take back home to Teotihuacan. He petitioned Storm Cloud for me. But I don't want to marry a foreigner. I said so to Storm Cloud. I will marry a man of Tikal.”

Bone Splinter laughed. “Then who will you marry?”

Jade Flute glanced at Sky Knife and dropped her gaze. “I don't know,” she said. She sounded thoughtful.

“Well,” said Sky Knife. His voice cracked with nervousness and his heart beat wildly against his ribs. Did Jade Flute consider him an eligible suitor? When dozens of others, more wise, more learned, more wealthy than he had failed? “If you won't go to the temple, where will you go?”

“Oh, I suppose I'll go back,” said Jade Flute softly. She gazed west toward the temple in the distance. “I really have nowhere else to go. And it will only be until tomorrow anyway.”

Sky Knife didn't know what to say to that. He couldn't promise Jade Flute she wouldn't die tomorrow as a sacrifice. He could only try to convince Stone Jaguar to choose another.

Jade Flute stepped away from Sky Knife and took several steps toward the temple. She hesitated slightly, and her shoulders shook. Sky Knife went to her and put an arm around her shoulders. Jade Flute buried her face in his shoulder and sobbed.

“Come,” said Sky Knife softly. He led her away toward the temple of Ix Chel. Bone Splinter followed them.

Sky Knife didn't hurry to cross the city. He didn't want to leave Jade Flute, but he'd have to as soon as he'd delivered her back to Turtle Nest.

They reached the temple far too quickly. Jade Flute stepped away from Sky Knife as soon as they reached the patio of the temple. She walked ahead of him, back straight, without looking back.

Sky Knife followed her into the common room. Turtle Nest was there, along with several other nuns and Jade Flute's servant, Mouse-in-the-Corn.

Mouse-in-the-Corn rushed to Jade Flute but Jade Flute brushed her away. Turtle Nest stood.

“So, our sister did not please the gods?” she asked.

“She did,” said Sky Knife, almost choking on the words. “But Red Spider attacked Stone Jaguar with sorcery, and the duel was not finished until after dawn. Too late for the sacrifice.”

“Stone Jaguar won, of course,” said Turtle Nest. “So the sacrifice will happen tomorrow morning?”

“Perhaps,” said Sky Knife. He did not add,
not if I can help it,
but Turtle Nest seemed to hear the words anyway.

She smiled. “I see. Well, many things can happen between now and tomorrow's dawn.” She turned to her nuns. “Take Jade Flute to her room. She will spend the day praying and preparing herself for tomorrow.” The nuns led Jade Flute away. Sky Knife watched her go, but she didn't look back.

Sky Knife turned to go. “Wait,” said Turtle Nest. Sky Knife turned to her. “An aborted sacrifice is the worst news you could bring,” she said. “Bad luck piles on bad luck.”

“We could hardly have any more,” said Sky Knife.

Turtle Nest sighed. “You must discover who is behind this soon,” she said. “Or there will be no one left in Tikal for Storm Cloud to rule. Merchants and craftspeople are leaving—in small numbers for the moment—and even some of my nuns have left the temple.”

That caught Sky Knife's attention. For a nun to leave the temple was the same as death. Her family would not take her back, nor would the temple. She might find a place in another city, but a faithless nun was not a person other people wanted around. A nun who left the temple asked for a short, brutal life among strangers. That several nuns had left the temple meant they preferred taking such a terrible chance rather than trust to Ix Chel to protect them.

“The city will survive,” said Bone Splinter. “And the king. Sky Knife will perform his duty.”

Sky Knife wished Bone Splinter hadn't said that—the warrior had more faith in Sky Knife than Sky Knife had in himself. Turtle Nest nodded and left the room.

Sky Knife turned back to the doorway. A feather-light touch on his arm stopped him. He looked over. Mouse-in-the-Corn stood beside him, eyes downcast. She appeared nervous.

“Yes?” asked Sky Knife gently.

“You said … you said you wanted to know if I knew anything,” said Mouse-in-the-Corn. Her accent was thick and it was difficult for Sky Knife to understand her.

“What do you know?” he asked.

“Nothing,” she said. “But I heard from the cook that something is happening in the fields. Something strange. She said she hadn't been able to get the food she needs to feed the nuns.”

Mouse-in-the-Corn fell silent and stepped back. Sky Knife nodded to her. “Thank you,” he said.

Sky Knife and Bone Splinter left the temple.

“What do you think?” asked Sky Knife. “Shall we go to the fields?”

Bone Splinter frowned. “Priests and warriors do not go to the fields,” he said. “The fields are for peasants.”

“If that's where our answer lies, then we go,” said Sky Knife.

“She's just a servant,” said Bone Splinter. “She doesn't know anything about what's going on.”

“That's what priests and warriors like to think,” said Sky Knife. “But if the cook here has noticed something strange, perhaps the cooks at the acropolis have noticed as well. It won't hurt to ask.”

Bone Splinter said nothing, but his frown spoke for him.

21

Sky Knife hurried back to his quarters at the acropolis. Now that he was no longer a representative of the gods, he could return to being just a man. He knelt down by the bench that served him as a bed and reached underneath it for his pot of blue paint.

The
chic-chac
squeezed his throat tightly. Sky Knife coughed and put his hands to his throat in alarm. Why would the serpent harm him now?

As soon as Sky Knife touched it, the serpent relaxed. Sky Knife waited a few tense seconds before he reached under the bench again. The
chic-chac
squeezed his throat.

Sky Knife stood and backed away from the bench. The serpent had to be warning him about some danger.

“Bone Splinter!” he called.

The tall man was behind him in a moment. “Yes?”

“For some reason, the
chic-chac
doesn't want me to put my hand under the bench for the paint pot,” said Sky Knife, his voice high and nervous. “What do you think it means?”

“I don't know,” said Bone Splinter. He knelt by the bench and looked underneath. “Itzamna!” Bone Splinter stood and backed away from the bench quickly.

“What?” asked Sky Knife. He got no further. From under the bench came a long brown and black serpent with the diamond pattern on its back. Yellow Chin.

Sky Knife backed out of his quarters and Bone Splinter followed. Yellow Chin slithered toward them.

“The fire,” said Bone Splinter. “Get behind the fire.”

Sky Knife hurried around the firepit in the center of the room. Bone Splinter grabbed a half-consumed stick from the fire and jabbed it toward the approaching serpent.

Yellow Chin raised its head and dodged the flaming stick. Sky Knife expected it to retreat from the fire, but the serpent tried to approach again. Bone Splinter thrust the stick toward the serpent a second time. The serpent rolled away. Sky Knife blinked, unbelieving—serpents did not
roll!
But this one did. It stopped rolling once it was out of the way of Bone Splinter's stick.