The Highlander Read online

  “Jaguar.”

  “Jaguar, eh?” He watched the boy wiping his face with the back of his palm, smearing more dust. “You are not from around here, are you?”

  “No. But I’ve been here before.”

  “Where are you from?”

  “The Highlands. Where else?”

  “How did you get so far down here?”

  The boy shrugged, raising his eyebrows. “Too many questions, Revered Emperor,” he said, grinning. “I don’t need your father’s warriors combing the area in an attempt to lay their hands on me and my brothers. Although, by the time you reach the Palace, we’d be well away, of course.”

  Coyotl’s heart missed a beat. “Are there more of you around here?”

  “Yes, of course. Why would I make my way here all alone?” The boy frowned. “It’s more than two dawns of walking and most of the way the roads are not as well kept as this one.” He pointed toward the trail, eyes twinkling. “I’m telling you, your people are soft.”

  “Not as soft as you thought we would be!” exclaimed Coyotl, but the amusement in the boy’s eyes did not make him angry this time. “So, where are your people? The ones who came here with you.”

  The boy’s grin widened. “I won’t tell you, so just leave it alone. They are yet to teach you to ask the right questions, those calmecac teachers of yours.” He busied himself with tying the dagger to his loincloth. “They are nowhere around though, so you don’t have to worry. I came that near to your altepetl on my own.” He shrugged. “I like to watch it. It looks pretty from up here.”

  For a while they said nothing, watching the city sprawling at their feet. Letting the breeze cool off his burning, scratched face, Coyotl narrowed his eyes, seeking the sight of the Palace, finding it easy to make out, with its walls clinging to the Great Pyramid. He wondered if the displaced Tepanec Chief Wife was still screaming. Or had she calmed down enough to think of the way to inform her father, the Tepanec Emperor?

  His eyes brushed down the broad strip of the road, sliding over the cluster of temples.

  “If I were going to be emperor one day, I would build the best palace here that they could ever imagine. With beautiful gardens, and terraces, and pools. I’d cut the stairs in those rocks, and I’d bring all sorts of rare animals and plants. We’d hold magnificent festivals up here, and not only to honor the mighty Tlaloc. No! I’d build here all sorts of temples.” Sinking into his vision, he forgot all about his foreign audience.

  “You can’t do all this with no water. The stupid hill is so dry. No spring, no brook, nothing. And I did look for some, trust me on that.”

  “So what? We can bring the water here.”

  “By hand?” Kuini’s broad face crinkled with laughter. “It’ll take you an army of people to water your plants every day.”

  “No, no.” Still immersed in his vision, Coyotl forgot to get angry. “The water can be channeled, don’t you know that? I studied the way they divert water. I saw the drawings. They do that in some altepetls, I’m telling you! My grandfather wanted to bring water to Tenochtitlan. The Tepanecs didn’t let him, but he planned to do this. I saw his drawings, I swear!”

  The boy’s eyes widened. “Your grandfather was an Aztec?”

  “Yes. He was the First Emperor of Tenochtitlan. He was amazing and so smart! You would never believe there were such people in the whole World of the Fifth Sun.”

  “Acamapichtli was your grandfather?”

  This time Coyotl turned to watch the boy, startled. “You Highlanders know the names of the Mexica emperors?”

  Kuini wrinkled his nose. “No, we do not, and we could not care less about your rulers.” He shrugged. “But my father has some interest for Tenochtitlan. He sometimes talks about this altepetl, and he always wants to know what’s happening there.” The boy’s face twisted derisively. “When Acamapichtli died my brothers say he was so upset that he almost ventured into the city. Disguised, of course. They say Mother talked him out of it with great difficulty.”

  “Why would he want to go there? What has he with the First Emperor of Tenochtitlan?”

  “I don’t know. I think it’s strange too.”

  “Did you ask him?”

  The boy’s laughter was even louder this time. “No, of course not. He is busy. He is the War Leader of the United Clans. You don’t bother such a man with questions on history.”

  “Then it’s good he didn’t venture to Tenochtitlan. They would be only too happy to sacrifice such a leader to Huitzilopochtli, that strange god of theirs.”

  “They would never lay their filthy hands on my father, you can be sure of that,” called Kuini hotly. “But of course, it would not have been wise to take an unnecessary risk.” He shrugged. “Still, I would love to find out what interest he has in Tenochtitlan.”

  Their shadows stretched across the trail, long and unnaturally slender.

  “I have to go back,” said Coyotl. “Before they start looking for me.” He glanced at his companion. “Will you still be here tomorrow?”

  The boy flashed a suddenly unguarded, charming smile. “I don’t think so. My brothers would be in a hurry to go back.” He shrugged. “But I’ll come here again, and next time you’ll take me to see this altepetl of yours. I really have to see it. And the drawings of the channels to carry the water too. I won’t believe it until I see it.”

  “Do this. Find a way to let me know. I really would love to take you around the city. I promise not to tell anyone who you are.” Coyotl looked around, frowning. “You know what? We can leave notes, right behind this rock, see?” He peeked into the niche where the boy had previously hidden the knife. “It’s perfect!”

  “Notes?”

  “Yes. When you are around, you leave me a note. On a paper, or a bark sheet. I guess you won’t have any paper.” He smiled broadly, watching Kuini’s puzzled look. “I’ll come here often from now on. Or I’ll send a slave. You leave your bark and come here again in a day or two. When I find the bark I will know to come the next day.” He warmed to this idea. “It’d work!”

  “Just a piece of bark?”

  “Carve something on it. Or draw. Whatever you like.”

  The boy grinned, oddly unsure of himself now. “That would be a strange sort of letting you know.”

  “They didn’t teach you to read the drawings, did they?”

  Kuini’s eyes flashed. “A warrior spending his time drawing? He might go and start cooking food next. A waste of time!”

  “Maybe for a warrior. But not for a leader.” Coyotl smiled. “When your drawings improve, I promise to bring you one of those bark-sheets with channels I told you about. But only when I know you’ll take it seriously. When you’ll be able to read and understand them.” He began walking down the path. “I swear, I’ll be checking this rock often.”

  “Don’t you dare to patronize me,” called the boy after him, but his smile was wide. “Maybe I’ll come, maybe I won’t. I’ll have to decide whether your company is worth the trouble.”

  Chapter 1

  The Highlands,

  1415

  Kuini stretched, enjoying the meager shade of the wide tree. It was well into the afternoon, and the breeze strengthened, bringing along the much-longed-for coolness.

  He fought off the sleepiness, forcing his mind to concentrate on the thin, wrinkled sheet of paper, the drawings carved upon it faded and unclear, difficult to follow. Smoothing the rolling edges of the precious scroll, he studied it once again.

  Those were no channels like Coyotl had promised, but Kuini didn’t mind. He was not as obsessed with the water supplies as his friend was. He loved anything related to buildings and great things, and this particular drawing depicted slabs of stone and a plentitude of poles and sticks, referring to the construction of Tenochtitlan’s Great Pyramid. Or so Coyotl had maintained, and the Lowlander would know.

  The piece of paper was old, thirty and more summers or so, coming straight from the Palace of Tenochtitlan, where its most revere
d Emperor, Acamapichtli, had drawn it, allegedly, all by himself.

  Kuini inhaled loudly. Just to think of it! When the mighty Emperor had held onto this same bark-paper, the Great Pyramid had not existed.

  “Oh, there is the studious warrior!”

  A group of girls swept by, shouting and laughing. He tried to pay them no attention, but it was difficult to tear his eyes off their shins glimmering with water, their long skirts tucked high, their hips swaying as they carried their heavy baskets.

  “He’ll be fighting with his bark sheets if attacked,” said one of the girls to the loud merriment of the others.

  He eyed the girl’s shiny, sparkling, wet face. “Come up here and attack me. I don’t mind.”

  Her friends burst into another fit of laughing, but the girl blushed, and her eyes lingered upon him, making his stomach twist.

  “Careful with your drawings.” He winced as the drops of water reached him, sprinkling around, wetting the bark sheet. Another girl eyed him challengingly.

  He tucked the precious paper behind his back. “Piss off, you lot,” he said, now angry. “This paper is worth more than all of you put together.”

  “You piss off!” The girl, who had splashed him, frowned, put a hand on her hip, and advanced forward, ready to fight. She was pretty, but not as pretty as the first one.

  He sprang to his feet, retreating hastily, deeper into the grove. Some of the girls looked familiar, coming from the same town as him. A silly lot. But a beddable one. He thought about the first girl, remembering the way her skirts were tucked high, exposing the golden smoothness of her thighs, as if inviting one to explore further up. And she had nice eyes too. He checked the scroll. Stupid cihuas. This thing could not be damaged for any reason. He had promised Coyotl to guard it with his life, and he would do just that.

  He grinned, remembering their first meeting, more than five summers ago. Just two hotheaded boys, eager to beat the hell out of each other. Yet, somehow, they had stopped fighting and started to talk, and then began to meet occasionally, against all odds. Texcoco was a long way from the Highlands and the province of Huexotzinco. Too long of a way. Yet, he kept going there, drawn toward the Great Capital of the Acolhua people - his enemies! - almost against his will. He had gone there before meeting Coyotl, but this palace boy's company had made the mighty altepetl more attractive.

  They would meet once every few moons, sitting on the hill, talking, laughing, planning what could be done to improve this place, what they would build there and how. Coyotl had taught Kuini to read the drawings upon the bark-sheets or the expensive, rare paper. It was a thrill to pour over those ancient, or not-so-ancient, scrolls, deciphering their meaning. It made him feel powerful, like a person who could see beyond the obvious. His mother must be feeling like that, with her being the main priestess of the Obsidian Butterfly Goddess, having the ability to summon visions, to connect to the mighty goddess.

  The rustling of the bushes startled him. His right arm sneaked toward his dagger, and he tensed and listened. The footsteps were careful, but unconcealed, their owner light and surefooted. His heart leaped.

  “So, still reading?” asked the girl. She towered above him, eyes challenging, back straight, hands free of any burden now.

  “No, not really.” Disappointed, he eyed her long skirt that now covered her legs, leaving no glimpse of the golden smoothness of her thighs.

  “No? Then what do you do?”

  “Nothing.” He searched for something to say.

  The girl hesitated. “I want to see this bark-sheet of yours,” she said finally.

  He was taken aback. “What for?”

  “I don’t know. What are you looking for there, peering into this thing all the time?”

  “I’m not peering into it all the time.” He wanted to curse his clumsiness, seeing the disdainful glimmer in her large sparkling eyes. “You won’t understand any of it, anyway.”

  “Oh, so I’m too silly to show this bark to. All right!” She whirled around.

  “Wait. I’ll show you.”

  There was a victorious look in her eyes as she turned back, pondering, poised on one leg. “Well, I don’t know.” She wrinkled her nose. “Maybe you aren’t worth the trouble.”

  His stomach twisted again as he watched her, his palms sweaty upon the scroll. When she knelt beside him, he moved a little, making a place for her.

  “So, what are those things?”

  He took a deep breath, his thoughts - a jumble. “That’s how they were planning to build their Great Pyramid.”

  “What pyramid? Where?”

  “In Tenochtitlan.”

  “Tenoch-what?”

  He laughed, but his tension kept welling. It was difficult to concentrate.

  “Tenochtitlan. The Capital of the Aztecs.”

  “Oh, the Aztecs,” she called bitterly. “Those dirty pieces of rotten meat!”

  “Yes, them,” he agreed, sharing her sentiment. “They have this large city upon an island. And they built many things, pyramids and causeways.”

  “They are heartless bastards!”

  “Yes, they are that too.”

  She peered at him. “Why would you try to read their bark-sheets?”

  “Because I’m curious. We can build those things too.”

  “We have beautiful things of our own. The temple in the Sacred Grove.”

  “The temple is not really large. We can do better things. We can build pyramids like in Texcoco?”

  “What’s Texcoco?”

  “The Capital of the Lowlands, down by the Great Lake. You know, Acolhua people.”

  “Oh, more of the dirty bastards!” She shook her head. “Why are you fascinated with all of them?”

  “I don’t know.” He could feel the warmth of her body, and it made him dizzy. He tried to remember what he had wanted to say.

  “You should concentrate on being a great warrior. You should kill or capture and sacrifice as many of those heartless lowlifes as you can.” She still peered into the scroll, so close he could feel her breath brushing against his bare shoulder.

  “I know. I’ll do it, anyway.” He leaned closer, the temptation unbearable.

  As she turned to face him, he saw her large eyes twinkling. Still tense and on guard, he reached for her shoulders, pulling her closer. She did not resist, and it gave him courage.

  Her body was soft and pliant against his limbs. He brushed his lips over her shoulder. It smelled of river. The scent of her skin intoxicated him, made his hands tremble as his palms sought their way under her blouse.

  “Better than your bark-sheets, eh?” she whispered.

  He was too busy to answer, fighting his loincloth, his fingers clumsy. The forest, the river, the afternoon breeze, they all disappeared, taken away by the warm wave of elation, of carelessness, the vital surge of life gushing inside them.

  As they lay upon the soft grass, their limbs still entwined, their breath coming in gasps, he felt his elation welling. The glimpses of the cloudless sky came and went as the branches above their heads moved.

  “What’s your name?” he asked.

  “Iso.” She moved away, placing her head comfortably upon his shoulder.

  “Iso…what?”

  “Just Iso. I don’t like my full name.”

  “This one doesn’t suit you either. You should be called after a deer or some other graceful creature. You are beautiful.” He could feel her smiling, snug in his embrace. “I’m Kuini.”

  “I know that.”

  “How?”

  “You are the War Leader’s son, everyone knows it.”

  “Oh.” He fought off his irritation.

  Why should he feel irritated? he asked himself. Even if she laid with him because of that, why should he care?

  “Will you make me your woman?”

  He shrugged. “Maybe.”

  “You should,” she said, an urgency creeping into her voice. “We laid together. I may have a child.”

  He fr
owned, not having thought of that. “If you have a child then we’ll talk about it again.”

  Damn it, he thought. That would be an unnecessary mess.

  She sat up abruptly. “You were very eager to lay with me, but now you are all cagey and indifferent. It’s not fair!”

  He got up and busied himself tying his loincloth. “Let’s not ruin it,” he muttered.

  Pulling down her skirt, she jumped to her feet. “Will you come and take me to the river tomorrow?” She looked at him searchingly.

  Oh gods! He forced a smile. “Yes, why not?”

  “Then meet me on the plaza, when the sun is at its highest.”

  “All right.”

  He made his way cheerfully along the town’s alleys, his elation welling. He had lain with a girl, at long last, and he had seemingly not disappointed her. Even her demand of an escort on the next day did not irritate him anymore. He was sure to get more of this pleasant pastime if he did this.

  He smiled to himself. Now he was really a man, a warrior and a man. He contemplated going to his father’s house, then changed his direction. Neither Mother, nor Father would be there now. Father had left on the previous morning, heading for the city of Tlaxcala, because of the reported group of Acolhua messengers that had arrived there. He wouldn’t be back for dawns upon dawns. Mother, on the other hand, would still be busy with the upcoming festival, preparing her goddess for the festivities. She wouldn’t be home either, and, anyway, she seldom cooked and did not excel in that.

  Having many brothers scattered around the town, Kuini just drifted along the dust-covered alleys and one-story wooden or stone houses until spotting the wide-shouldered frame of Nihi, his eldest brother, crouching above the half-severed carcass of a deer.

  “I see the great hunter has been busy again,” called Kuini, crossing the muddy patio.

  His brother did not bother to glance up. “Unlike this lazy piece of meat that calls himself my youngest brother,” he said, cutting the dripping meat, separating it from the covering hide carefully.

  “When I have as many wives as you have, I’ll get busy.” Crouching beside the sweating man, Kuini took out his knife.