Naamah's Blessing

“Temilotzin is mistaken,” I said. “If Raphael succeeds, he means to overthrow the Nahuatl Empire, too.”
    I thought the revelation might draw some reaction from Cusi, but she was staring at Bao with morbid fascination, like a dove transfixed by a serpent. Her little bronze knife was clutched in trembling hands.
    Bao eyed her in turn. “Moirin, why does your spy look at me as though I mean to eat her?” he asked in the Shuntian scholar’s tongue.
    “I’ve no idea,” I replied in the same.
    “It doesn’t appear you’re winning her trust,” he observed. “Should I disarm her? I don’t like the way she’s clinging to that knife.”
    “Not unless necessary.” I shook my head. “And it’s not that she distrusts me. I don’t think that’s entirely true. There’s somewhat I don’t understand at work here. Give me time.”
    “I don’t know how much you have.” Bao kept a watchful eye on the girl. “According to Eyahue, there’s talk that the army will march soon.”
    My stomach sank. “I need to speak to Temilotzin. I need to tell him he’s making a mistake.”
    Bao nodded. “Good luck.”
    Once again, Cusi and I made the trek across the terraced fields back toward the palace, a stream of happy, well-fed ants chittering alongside us. Cusi’s brows were knit in thought, a narrow furrow etched between them. Trusting my instincts, I kept silent and waited for her to speak as we trudged beneath the hot sun.
    At length, she did.
    “The tongue you speak with
him
,” she asked in a tentative tone. “Is it the tongue of the dead?”
    “No,” I said. “It is a tongue from the land of his birth. Do you think Bao is a ghost, Cusi?”
    “I do not know this word.”
    “Not alive?” I hazarded. “Living dead?”
    She shook her head. “He died and lives. It is not the same.”
    I nodded at the bronze knife she yet held. “You do not need to fear him. Bao does not mean to harm you.”
    Cusi gave me a stricken look. “I know.”
    Stone and sea! I could no more make sense of what was going through the child’s mind than I could fly. And so I gave up trying for the time being, and concentrated on ascertaining Temilotzin’s whereabouts. I was not worried about Eyahue—like as not the wily old fellow could look out for his own interests—but Temilotzin was a formidable warrior, and I could not bear to see him work toward the downfall of his own nation.
    It was a blessing that Raphael feared me so little that I was given free access wherever I sought to go. Asking around with Cusi’s aid, I found Temilotzin overseeing men training in a vast courtyard.
    In a day’s time, our Jaguar Knight had risen high in Lord Pachacuti’s estimation. If nothing else, Raphael recognized skill and sought to put it to good use. Temilotzin had traded his spotted hides and his shattered
macahuitl
club for steel armor and a sharp sword, drilling almost thirty similarly outfitted Quechua in their usage. Clearly, he’d learned from watching our D’Angeline fighters along the way.
    He scowled at the sight of me, gesturing to the Quechua to stand down.
    “Temilotzin—” I began.
    “Listen well, my little warrior!” he shouted at me. “None of these men understand a word of Nahuatl! Does your maid?”
    I glanced at Cusi. “No, I don’t think so.”
    “Good!” Temilotzin planted his fists on his hips, glowering at me. “You will pretend we quarrel! Eyahue and I have told Lord Pachacuti that Emperor Achcuatli forced us to serve you against our will. That is the truth you will tell if asked!”
    I folded my arms and glared back at him. “I understand!”
    His mouth twitched in a near-smile, quickly recapturing its hard scowl. “You needed someone on the inside. Lord Pachacuti would never have trusted the others. Tell me how we may help.”
    I made my voice low and bitter. “I need to know the secret of the ancestors. And if there is aught else you deem worthy, I would know it.”
    Temilotzin laughed contemptuously. “I will ask, little warrior! Whatever I learn, the old man will find a way to get word to you.” He made a dismissive gesture. “Now go.”
    I spat at his feet.
    His mouth twitched again. “Do not make me laugh, little warrior!” the Jaguar Knight roared. “Go!”
    Turning on my heel, I went, Cusi trailing behind me.
    For two days, I heard nothing further from Temilotzin, no word from Eyahue. The old woman Ocllo paid me no further visits, and Cusi seemed to withdraw further into herself,