“You seriously aren’t going to go through with this, are you?” Fire Cat cried as soon as he and Night Shadow Star passed beyond hearing and into the palace courtyard. Overhead the night sky had a dull and oppressive look, the smell of rain mixing with the city odors of smoke, stagnant water, and too many humans. Lightning flashed in the clouds to the southeast.
Night Shadow Star slowed and tilted her head back to gaze up at the darkness. Yellow flickers from the courtyard’s central fire illuminated her tortured face. “It is required of me.”
“Blood and dung! Tell them no! You’re a noble woman. It’s your right to refuse.”
She chuckled humorlessly. “The Morning Star? The tonka’tzi? My family? Them, I could refuse.”
“Piasa?” he guessed warily.
She nodded, starting for the gate, her fists knotted around the handle of her war club.
“Tell him no.”
“One doesn’t tell one’s master no. As you are to me, I am to him: bound.” She shot him a weary smile as she stepped through the gate. “Nor do I know who has the more capricious and heartless master, you or me?”
“Though it amazes me to hear such words pass my lips, Lady, I believe you do.”
She started down the dark stairs, head bowed.
“Here, take my hand.” He reached out. “It’s treacherous in the dark. Your master might hold it against me if you fell because of a simple misstep.”
“Gallantry, Red Wing?”
“Self-preservation, Lady.”
To his surprise, she shifted the war club to place her right hand on his arm. “Thank you.”
Her touch sent a jolt through him, his heart skipping.
A curious dread and dismay simmered in his breast, vying with the need to strike out, to charge back up the stairs and beat the over-dressed Itza in his shimmering green feathers. Beat him to a bloody pulp.
He gave voice to his growing disquiet. “There’s got to be a way out of this. Even if I have to knock a couple of heads.”
“As I must, you, too, will obey. You have continually told me that your oath is your bond. I hold you to that.” Her tone lightened slightly. “Though the notion of you knocking a few heads does have its appeal.”
“When it comes to head-bashing, I am at your command, Lady.”
“Be patient, Red Wing. First we must endure, learn. Then, perhaps, we shall be given our chance to act.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Neither do I.” She pursed her lips. “The Itza has Old-Woman-Who-Never-Dies’ protection, so I am ordered not to kill him.”
“Piasa told you this?” he asked somewhat incredulously.
“No, Red Wing. She did.”
He shot her a suspicious sidelong glance, but the woman appeared dead serious.
“You saw Old-Woman-Who-Never-Dies? When? I haven’t seen you touch the datura for—”
“A Spirit Dream. During the Busk. I was exhausted after a solid day of stickball games. Piasa summoned me in the middle of the night.”
What was he supposed to make of that? Old-Woman-Who-Never-Dies? Ruler of the Underworld? The second-most Powerful deity in the cosmos after Hunga Ahuito, the Creator? She talked to Night Shadow Star? Summoned her in a dream to the Underworld?
They crossed the Council Terrace, and Night Shadow Star acknowledged the guards at the gate before descending to the foot of the stairs.
“Make way for Lady Night Shadow Star,” Fire Cat ordered, alerting her escort in the process. Her warriors separated themselves from the knot of retainers, guards, and household staff waiting on the avenue. Beyond them, a huge crowd swelled, all hoping to catch sight of the near-mythical Itza.
“So, we have four days? Are you sure I can’t sneak in and assassinate him in the middle of the night?”
The fleeting smile had returned to her lips. “Just follow my orders, Red Wing. No matter how preposterous they may sound at the moment.”
“Yes, Lady.”