“Siblings of yours?” I asked Valerius under my breath.
“Yes,” he said darkly.
Finally we made it to a wide expanse on the other side of the canyon, that lifted up into steep, thorny mountains. Dark, shaggy trees adorned the cliffs, along with cliffside domiciles; rectangular buildings cut into the rocks. One massive building was flanked by two waterfalls.
Escalating rooftops rose with the landscape like jagged scales on a massive creature. The light source above, whatever it was, fell like a spotlight, casting dark shadows that were dispersed with glowing lanterns and batches of thick, studded candles. Brittle moss clung to the stones, hanging in shaggy bunches.
The air was slightly saline, despite the heat, and not as unpleasant as I’d imagined. The Catholic hell stunk like sulfur, but maybe it was just that the Aztecs had figured out basic sanitation and irrigated water systems centuries before the Europeans. A deep glow came from behind the mountains, like the rising sun, but wasn’t sure what it was. Oversized jasmine buds, as big as a rose, puffed out clouds of fragrant pollen as if they were taking deep breaths.
With the coming of night, torches had been lit and placed in brackets in front of almost every home that lined the main thoroughfare. It was hard to get the full scope of the place with only torchlight to guide us, but what I could glean was enough to steal my breath. I’d never really appreciated architecture the way that Dom or even Cat had. But even I had to admit this place was beautiful.
The path that wound through several concentric circles of homes and temples was made of pure turquoise stone, set in a stubbly mosaic pattern. Statues of the gods were interspersed at odd intervals, towering over the rest of the place like Titans. The people going about their business froze in place, staring at the intruders with wide, frightened eyes.
Then a woman screamed.
***
The cry went up from almost every direction. I hadn’t anticipated this reaction, but upon reflection, I had to admit that we were probably not a welcome sight. Ewan and I very clearly bore the marks of our demonic possession, Dom and our ghost companions were all foreigners, though I think it was our fleshly bodies that probably made us stand out the most. Several men in eagle or jaguar masks similar to mine went for their weapons and I made an executive decision not to hurt these people. We weren’t going to make their afterlife any more unpleasant than it had been. If they’d made it past the mountains, the deserts, and the river, they deserved the rest they were enjoying.
“Run,” I barked at my companions, and then took off at top speed.
The mosaic was rough and uneven beneath our feet and only Valerius’ help saved me from falling flat on my face in the middle of the street. Ewan and Dom followed hot on my heels. A quick glance over my shoulder showed that there were at least thirty jaguar and eagle warriors gathering behind us.
“It can never be easy, can it?” I huffed. “No, we always have to be chased by a mob or labeled as fugitives.”
“Stop complaining, Nat. We got in, didn’t we?” Dom countered. “We’re almost through. We’ve definitely had worse days.”
I hated that he was right. We were closer to our goal than we had been. I was still converting oxygen unnecessarily into carbon dioxide and I’d gotten a chance to kneecap the man who’d made my life a misery for two years. I’d definitely had worse days.
Heads poked out of houses as we passed and more cries were heard. The words weren’t making much sense to me, but from Valerius’ translation it roughly meant “parasite.”
We sped along the street, barely avoiding carts of fruits and vegetables as we passed. Startled faces flashed past in my periphery but I didn’t have time to speak to a single soul. I just kept running, keeping my head low as spears began to fly. An arrow shattered a lantern near my head, spilling fire that lit up a bundle of dry grass, filling the streets with smoke.
Ewan let out a small yelp and then a vicious curse word. I turned to see that at least one of the warriors following us had managed to skewer his calf with an spear. I wanted to congratulate the nameless warrior but didn’t dare turn around to face them.
“I’m going to kill every single one of these worthless maggots,” he snarled.
“Yes, I’m sure that sentiment will make them stop shooting you,” I panted.
We turned a corner and came face to face with a dead end. The wall was more of the flat obsidian that seemed to make up most things here. There were no handholds and the wall stretched at least twenty feet high. We’d have to stand on each other’s shoulders to make it over.
A door to our right opened and a short, stooped woman with a cap of dark gray hair stepped out into the street. Her eyes swept over us, taking in the unorthodox pair that flanked me, and then finally my outfit.
“Welcome, warrior,” she said with a smile. Valerius translated her warm greeting for me seconds after she’d given it. “It is good to see you. Why don’t you come in? You can share my dinner with me.”
I exchanged glances with Dom and Ewan. Perhaps this woman hadn’t gotten the memo. Everyone else seemed terrified of us. But if she was offering us shelter, how could we refuse? The pounding boots of the other warriors were drawing nearer.
“How do I greet her?” I prodded Valerius. He groaned.
“Allow me.”
It was the oddest thing yet to have Valerius seize control of only my mouth. My teeth and tongue worked without my permission, forming a polite greeting.
“We would appreciate that greatly. Thank you.”
I was left flexing my jaw as the woman ushered us inside. No sooner had the door snapped closed behind us, the crowd of warriors flashed past in a blur of speed and murderous intent.
The place smelled like fresh bread and lavender, and she appeared to be in the middle of setting the table. She motioned broadly at the cozy home, decorated sparsely with rugs and various cooking implements.
“Come, warriors,” she said with a smile. “Sit at my table. Let us talk.”
chapter
19
“COME, SIT AT MY TABLE,” the woman repeated. with a genial smile that reminded me so much of Phyllis it hurt. I missed my neighbor. I missed Halcyon. I even missed my incredibly grumpy house spirit, Horst.
She’d just saved our lives from a slavering mob. How could we say no to the dinner spread she was offering? I nodded, keeping my face concealed beneath my mask. Ewan’s face was still hidden beneath his fanged hood and Dom kept his gaze firmly fixed on the ground. Ewan had a white knuckled grip on the sack that contained his ill-gotten gains and balked when the older woman tried to remove it from his hand.
“No weapons at my table,” the elderly woman chided, the gray cap of hair falling this way and that when she shook her head. I had to hide a smile at Ewan’s’ discomfort. I pulled my shield and spear from my back with a grin and set them aside, along with the Beretta.
“You heard the lady,” I said. “Off with the weapons.”
Ewan looked like he’d rather have torched her alive than part with his precious weaponry. But in the end, he set it on the ground very near his feet, in a sullen compromise. He didn’t remove the pelt of the Nemean lion or the other trappings of the outfit, like the vambraces or grieves.
“Now sit and eat,” the woman said.
Up to this point the shades had been unable to interact with the real world and thus, couldn’t harm us directly. But this woman was able to stop us dead in our tracks, touch us, and even ate food. If this was the afterlife, maybe it wasn’t that bad.
“Who are you?” I asked warily.
“I am Amoxtli, the guardian near the west gate. You must forgive our warriors. They are not used to seeing the living and have been nervous since we were told that the parasites escaped their prison. But I see that you cannot be who they claim. Huitzilopochtli has granted you the use of his sword.”
She gestured at my arm and for a second I was bemused.
Then the snake wr
iggled vigorously beneath my skin. My stomach pitched in protest. I would be glad when I could return it to its rightful owner. Did she count that as a weapon? I eyed the enormous spear mounted above the mantle. Perhaps she wasn’t worried because she thought she could skewer me before I made a move toward her, though watching her shaking hands as she stirred her pot, I doubted it.
My stomach continued to roil as Amoxtli set out our dinner spread. A hunk of rough brown bread, a slab of what appeared to be goat cheese. Or maybe it had come from an alpaca? I really had no idea what sort of animals existed in this strange place. There was a haunch of meat and then finally a pitcher of dark beer. I reached for the latter while Amoxtli filled Dom’s plate. It wasn’t like I was going to be able to taste anything else properly.
When she disappeared into her small kitchen to retrieve more food I spoke.
“We have to tell her the truth. We’re putting her in danger.”
It was impossible to read Ewan’s expression beneath his hood, but I could guess well enough from the sound of his voice. He was irate and more than a little frustrated.
“Have you lost your damn mind? We’re safe for the time being. One of those jaguar warriors skewered me in the thigh. I’m not taking my chances that our host isn’t going to get slash happy when she knows.”
“She’s a guardian and probably stationed beneath the Lord of Mictlan. If we lie to her, we’re lying to him. Do you really want that to be the first impression we make?”
“We ain’t lying,” Ewan protested. “She made an assumption because of your sword. You know what they say about assuming. It’s not our fault if she’s an ass.”
“Maybe we better learn more before we reveal ourselves,” Dom said quietly.
I opened my mouth to argue further but Amoxtli bustled into the room, carrying an enormous platter of steamed vegetables, spiced with white pepper and turmeric. I pushed away from the table, steadying the tray when it threatened to spill onto the floor. I studied Amoxtli’s wizened features. If she was an immortal guardian of the realm, this could all be a guise. But she appeared to have the speed, strength, and reflexes of a ninety-year-old woman.
She gave me a beatific smile when I took the tray from her and set it onto the table without incident.
“You are a kind one, aren’t you?” she said. “That won’t serve you here. Mictlan is a harsh place.”
The niggling doubt that had plagued me all trip reared its ugly head again. I had to channel the cold killer that had attacked Ewan on that riverbank. But for the life of me, I couldn’t seem to find her any time I needed her.
“Tell us more about the parasites,” Dom interjected. He’d slathered the cheese onto a slice of bread and took a bite as he waited patiently for Amoxtli’s answer.
Amoxtli plucked a roasted pepper from the platter and crunched it thoughtfully.
“You don’t know the tales?”
“Sorry, we’re new,” I muttered. I supposed sitting down for a few minutes wasn’t the worst idea, after our harrowing journey. Dom, for one, could use the sustenance.
Amoxtli folded her hands on the table, took a deep breath, and began her story.
“Long ago, the world was an endless ocean, teeming with life. The gods were arrayed in the heavens, staring down upon it with frustration. They had tried many times to create land, trees, animals, and humans. But every time they attempted to do so, Cipactli, would rise from the deep and eat whatever the gods had created. She had many, many legs and upon each joint was a mouth. Her hunger was insatiable, and she threatened to be the end of all things. The gods had to find a way to stop her.”
Valerius stirred with anger as the woman spoke. Though he’d agreed to halt his end of the world plans in order to preserve the few humans he’d come to care for, he still didn’t like this tale. In his mind, they’d murdered his mother. I couldn’t blame him for wanting vengeance.
“Tezcatlipoca and Quetzalcoatl hatched a plan to put down Cipactli once and for all. Tezcatlipoca lured her to the surface of the water, dangling his own leg into the primordial ooze as an offering to her. When she came to the surface, he was not fast enough to draw it back. Cipactli consumed his leg and he has never regrown it. Tezcatlipoca and Quetzalcoatl transformed into giant snakes, pulling the great crocodile apart. They fashioned the earth from her body. But the undying Cipactli was not gone, only sleeping. She required constant sacrifice in order to be appeased. She created two parasites that nestled deep in the earth, where the fire burns hot, waiting for the time that she’d be able to reawaken.”
I leaned forward, engrossed in her tale and the mental visions that accompanied it. Valerius’ conception was like watching the earth form. Cipactli had built him within the bowels of the earth, formed of hot, felsic magma and the hate she still bore the Gods. He took form over the course of millennia until he finally burst forth from the earth, a fully formed monster.
Almost as if Amoxtli could sense the vision playing out in my head, she continued the story, right from the point Valerius had left off.
“When the invaders wiped out our people in 1521, there was no longer enough blood sacrifice to appease Cipactli. She and her children burst forth and did battle with the gods. Many, many humans died as Cipactli shook off the earth and destroyed their homes. She could only free her head, but it was enough. She began to devour once more.”
“The conquistadors never knew exactly what killed off everyone,” Dom said. “The mysterious decline of the Incas, Mayans and Aztec; historians assumed it was from disease.”
I sat rooted to the spot in horror as the mental picture played out. Cipactli’s giant, reptilian head rising from the earth, giant teeth scything through homes and devouring humans. One giant tooth speared a child through the middle and hoisted him into the giant maw of the primordial reptile.
“The Gods knew that we must do something. So in a last effort to save the cosmos, we banded together to put down Cipactli, Valerius, and Bryne. The battle was bloody, but eventually, Mictlantecuhtli reburied Cipactli, and bound the parasites into human hosts before walling them in prisons of stone.”
“But they’re back,” Ewan said with a note of satisfaction. “You didn’t defeat them for good. Because you can’t. Once a worthy vessel came along, you were pretty much fucked. It begs the question why you didn’t just kill the whole line that could host them. It’s what I would have done.”
“Because you’re a morally bankrupt son of a bitch,” I muttered.
Ewan chuckled but didn’t deny it.
Dom reached for a steamed tamale, with spicy chicken wrapped in mashed corn. A wave of nostalgia washed through me. The food reminded me of my childhood, before things got so fucked up, back when I was a low level witch inscribing good luck charms for tourists. It was surreal, after the epic landscape and scenery, the harshness we’d passed through just to get here, to end up somewhere so familiar. I’d never really believed in heaven or hell, but I knew now—an afterlife awaited everyone. Who would I spend mine with, and where?
I took a deep draft of my beer to fortify my nerves and then blurted it out.
“We can’t let you do this, Amoxtli. I don’t know what sort of trouble you’d be in with your lord if he finds out we’re here, but I’m not going to put you through that. You need to know something.”
Ewan kicked me so hard beneath the table my shin cracked. I bit my cheek, tasting blood, but continued on stubbornly.
“Your companions are right, Amoxtli. We’re the parasites. But I assure you we mean no harm. The violence we intend to do is aimed only at each other.
Ewan threw back his hood with a scowl and glowered at me. “Speak for yourself, Valdez. If I win the match, I’m fully supportive of Bryne’s plan to raze civilization. I’m tearing heads off and designing my own world.”
I reached an imploring hand toward Amoxtli.
“I mean the subjects of this kingdom no harm. I just need to have an audience with the Lord of Mictlan. We
aim to hold a combat of honor. If I win the match, I will leave the earth alone. I’ll keep Valerius appeased with blood and violence, but I won’t kill the innocent humans above, I swear it.”
I expected Amoxtli’s face to contort in horror or to reach for the spear above the mantle. Instead, she smiled a tiny, sly smile.
“I know what you are,” she said, her voice deepening.
I blinked. “You do?”
“I have known from the moment that you stepped into Mictlan.”
I found myself growing angrier with every word out of her mouth. She’d known who we were and she’d just let them chase us? Skewer us with spears and then offer this fake hospitality? It felt like a trap.
Amoxtli considered me with a shake of her head. “Kind and honest. It doesn’t bode well for the battle ahead, dear. It takes a monster to defeat a monster.”
“Please. We just need to see Mictlantecuhtli. If he grants our request we’ll never darken your doorstep again.”
Amoxtli’s smile didn’t waver. She sat herself down regally on a rickety wooden chair in the corner.
“It’s already been granted.”
“What?” I asked. Dom pushed away from the table carefully, sensing the change in mood.
“I have already granted your request girl. I will see to it you have your chance to do battle.”
The world around us wavered like a heat haze and then everything changed. The humble abode became a wide room with a vaulted ceiling. The table was made of rich wood, and stretched out until it could hold a hundred guests. Silver plates and candles appeared like magic. The dirt floor was transformed into polished tiles, and a great fire roared in a grate nearby.
Amoxtli changed as well, seeming to waste away before my eyes until she was nothing but a skeletal figure with dry, clinging skin. The dress transformed into armor and the smile into a grinning skull. Light danced in his eye sockets and the god leaned heavily on his staff.
“Welcome to my realm, Natalia Valdez. Sit and eat at my table. There is much to be decided.”
Agent of Magic Box Set Page 58
