Table of Contents

Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
Nights of the Witch
Part I: 1819 February 1519
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Four
Chapter Thirty-Five
Chapter Thirty-Six
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Chapter Forty
Chapter Forty-One
Chapter Forty-Two
Chapter Forty-Three
Chapter Forty-Four
Part II: 19 February 1519 to 18 April
1519
Chapter Forty-Five
Chapter Forty-Six
Chapter Forty-Seven
Chapter Forty-Eight
Chapter Forty-Nine
Chapter Fifty
Chapter Fifty-One
Chapter Fifty-Two
Chapter Fifty-Three
Chapter Fifty-Four
Chapter Fifty-Five
Chapter Fifty-Six
Chapter Fifty-Seven
Chapter Fifty-Eight
Chapter Fifty-Nine
Chapter Sixty
Time Frame, Principal Settings and Cast
of Characters
War God and History
Acknowledgements
WAR GOD
Graham Hancock
www.hodder.co.uk
First published in Great Britain in 2013
by Coronet
An imprint of Hodder & Stoughton
An Hachette UK company
Copyright Graham Hancock 2013
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identified as the Author of the Work has
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the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act
1988.
All rights reserved.
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means without the prior written
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it is published and without a similar
condition being imposed on the
subsequent purchaser.
All characters in this publication are
fictitious and any resemblance to real
persons, living or dead is purely
coincidental.
A CIP catalogue record for this title is
available from the British Library
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Nights of the Witch
The Mexica never at any point
referred to themselves, or their city
states, let alone their empire as
Aztec At the time of the
Spanish conquest they were
[rightly] referred to by the Spanish
as Mexica hence the name for
modern Mexico.
Colin McEwan
and Leonardo
Lpez Lujn,
Moctezuma: Aztec
Ruler (2009)
The Mexica were the cruellest and
most devilish people that can be
imagined.
Father Diego
Duran, The
History of the
Indies of New
Spain (first
published 1581)
Take care that they do not escape
Feed them well; let them be fat
and desirable for sacrifice on the
day of the feast of our god. Let our
god rejoice in them since they
belong to him.
Priestly
regulations, c.
1519, for
securing and
preparing victims
for sacrifice in
the Mexica
capital city of
Tenochtitlan
Part I
1819 February 1519
Chapter One
Tenochtitlan (Mexico City),
Thursday 18 February 1519
Moctezuma loved eminences, for to
stand on any high place was to be
reminded that he was the greatest and
most magnificent of men, wielding the
power of life and death over all he
surveyed. Yet of the countless high
places in his kingdom, none offered him
a deeper and more abiding sense of
ownership, or clearer evidence of his
own importance, than the summit
platform of the colossal pyramid on
which he now perched, soaring three
hundred feet above his glorious capital
city Tenochtitlan, which in turn stood on
an island in the midst of a vast lake at
the centre of an immense valley
surrounded by lofty, snow-capped
mountains.
Moctezumas gaze ranged out to those
mountains and volcanoes there
Iztaccihuatl and there Popocatpetl
crowned with snow and wreathed with
smoke.
Lower down, old-growth forests of
tall trees carpeted the slopes, giving way
in the floor of the valley to a gigantic
patchwork of farmed fields shining green
with new maize. The fields marched in
to the edge of the great lake, its shores
embellished with his vassal states,
Tacuba, Texcoco, Iztapalapa, Coyoacan,
Atzcapotzalco, Tepeyac and many more,
its blue waters alive with fish, dotted
with the bright colours of floating
gardens planted with fruits and flowers,
woven by the wakes of canoes,
traversed by mighty causeways.
Moctezuma allowed his gaze to
follow the causeways from the south,
west and north where they led into
Tenochtitlan, passing thousands of
houses, whole districts, entire
neighbourhoods standing out above the
lake on stilts connected by a perfect
geometrical grid of intersecting canals
filled with busy water traffic. These
gave way to streets lined with noble
stone mansions, where flowers bloomed
from every rooftop, interspersed by
market squares and pyramids and
temples and imposing public buildings,
beneath which the contours of the
original island on which the Mexica
capital had been built could still just be
discerned.
Closer still, surrounded and protected
by the city as the nest of an eagle
safeguards its egg, lay the vast square of
the sacred precinct, defined by its
massive enclosure wall, oriented to the
cardinal directions, measuring seven
hundred paces along each side and
decorated with reliefs depicting huge
bronze, green and blue serpents, their
gaping jaws set with long fangs and their
heads plumed with crests of feathers.
The wall was penetrated by four giant
gates, one each in the midst of its north,
south, east and west sides, opening onto
the polished limestone paving of the
grand plaza and aligned with the north,
south, east and west stairways of the
great pyramid. Measuring three hundred
paces on each side at its base, the
pyramid rose up from the centre of the
plaza in four successive levels, painted
respectively green, red, turquoise and
yellow, narrowing to fifty paces on each
side at the summit where Moctezuma
stood in possession of the very heart of
the world. Come Cuitlhuac, he said.
See how inspiring the view is this
morning.
Obediently his younger brother strode
forward to join him at the top of the
northern stairway, the hem of his scarlet
cloak flapping around his large bare
feet. Moctezuma wore purple, a colour
reserved for the Great Speaker of the
Mexica empire alone, his feet were shod
with golden sandals and his head was
adorned with the elaborate diadem of the
monarch, studded with gold and jewels
and enriched with precious feathers.
They were both tall, gaunt men but,
looking at Cuitlhuac, Moctezuma
thought, was like looking at himself in a
poorly made obsidian mirror, for every
aspect of their appearance was almost
but not quite the same the same fine
bone structure, the same high, flat brow,
the same liquid brown eyes, larger and
rounder than was usual amongst the
Mexica, the same sculpted cheek bones,
the same long, prominent nose, the same
delicate chin and the same full lips
turned down disapprovingly at the
corners. In Moctezuma these features
were just as they should be and
combined to create an aura of severe
beauty and divine charisma fully
justifying his powerful name, which
meant Angry Lord. But in poor
Cuitlhuac they were all very slightly
awry distorted, twisted and roughened
in such a way that he could never hope
to appear regal or commanding or ever
live up to his name which meant Eagle
over Water but which could, with the
deliberate mispronunciation of a single
syllable, be made to mean Heap of
Excrement instead.
He looks so much older than me,
Moctezuma thought, which was
gratifying because at forty-eight,
Cuitlhuac was in fact five years his
junior. Better still, he was loyal, stolid,
unambitious, unimaginative, predictable
and dull; in this ill-omened year of One-
Reed, when dangers long prophesied
threatened to manifest, such qualities
made him invaluable. After Moctezuma
himself and his deputy Coaxoch, now
away on campaign in the mountains of
Tlascala, Cuitlhuac ranked third
amongst the lords of the nation and was
a potential rival since he was of royal
blood. There was, however, no danger
he would ever seek to seize power for
himself. On the contrary, Moctezuma
could be absolutely certain of his
brothers steadfast support through
whatever trials and turmoils lay ahead.
A shiver of apprehension ran down
his spine and he glanced superstitiously
over his shoulder at the tall, dark edifice
that towered behind them. Dominating
the summit platform of the pyramid, with
its fantastic roof comb and brutal reliefs
of serpents and dragons and scenes of
battle and sacrifice, this was the temple
of Huitzilopochtli, Hummingbird, the
much-feared war god of the Mexica and
Moctezumas patron deity.
War was a holy pursuit and by means
of it, under Hummingbirds guidance, the
Mexica had risen in just two centuries
from a wandering tribe of despised
nomads to become the absolute masters
of an enormous empire stretching from
the eastern to the western oceans and
from the lush jungle lowlands of the
south to the high deserts of the north.
After subjugating neighbouring states
such as Tacuba and Texcoco and
harnessing them to Tenochtitlan in a
ruling alliance, Mexica armies had gone
on to conquer ever more distant cities,
peoples and cultures Mixtecs,
Huaxtecs, Tolucans, Cholulans,
Chalcans, Totonacs and so many others.
One by one, they had all been forced to
become tribute-paying vassals offering
up huge annual treasures in gold, jewels,
maize, salt, chocolate, jaguar skins,
cotton, slaves and a thousand other
goods, including myriad victims for the
human sacrifices that Hummingbird
unrelentingly demanded.
There remained only a few pockets of
resistance to this otherwise unstoppable
advance. Of these, because of its central
position in the ruling alliance,
Moctezuma had to admit he was
somewhat vexed by the recent turn of
events in Texcoco, where he had ousted
Ishtlil, the eldest son of the late King
Neza, and placed Cacama, Nezas
youngest son, on the throne instead. This
had been necessary because Ishtlil had
proved to be a free thinker, showing
signs of rejecting his vassal status,
whereas Cacama was compliant and
could be relied upon to do as he was
told. The surprise was that the
impertinent Ishtlil had refused to accept
the coup and had staged a rebellion,
leaving the lakeside city of Texcoco and
its valley provinces in Cacamas hands
but taking the highland provinces out of
the alliance.
It was a declaration of war and there
had already been bloody clashes. To
punish the affront to his dignity and
authority, Moctezuma had laid careful
plans to have Ishtlil poisoned. His death
would have been spectacular and
agonising, with massive haemorrhaging
from all major organs. Disturbingly,
however since it meant a resourceful
spy must be at work in Tenochtitlan a
warning had reached the rebel prince
just in time. A military solution was now
being prepared, although not on so grand
a scale as the campaign currently
underway in the fiercely independent
mountain kingdom of Tlascala, the other
main sector of resistance to the spread of
Mexica power.
Unlike Texcoco, where normal
relations would have to be restored with
all provinces after Ishtlil was smashed,
it pleased Moctezuma for the stubborn
Tlascalans to remain free so he could
wage all-out war on them whenever he
wished in a manner that would have to
stop if they submitted to vassalage. His
goal, confided to no one except Coaxoch
when he had sent him into battle at the
head of a huge field army, was to bring a
hundred thousand Tlascalan victims to
Hummingbird this year. The mission had
been crowned with early success and
Coaxoch had already sent back hosts of
new captives to be fattened for sacrifice.
As the god of war, Hummingbird was
thought to favour male victims, which
was why four of the five fattening pens
distributed around the edges of the
sacred precinct and visible from the top
of the great pyramid were exclusively
reserved for men. Only one at present
held women prisoners. This latter was
positioned in the northwest corner of the
precinct, in the shadow of the enclosure
wall and adjacent to the palace of
Moctezumas late father Axayacatl.
Moctezumas own far larger royal
palace, with its extensive gardens and its
elaborate zoo featuring the House of
Panthers, the House of Serpents, the
House of Hunting Birds and the House of
Human Monsters, stood to the east of the
great pyramid.
Truly an uplifting sight, eh,
Cuitlhuac? Moctezuma said.
Indeed, lord, his brother replied.
Down below, at the foot of the
northern stairway, the fifty-two victims
for this mornings special ceremony
were being assembled under the
directions of Ahuizotl, the high priest.
They were all young Tlascalan men, the
finest specimens, the fittest, the
strongest, the most beautiful, the most
intact of the prisoners sent back by
Coaxoch.
Moctezuma licked his lips. I think,
he said, I will perform the sacrifices
myself today.
Chapter Two
Tenochtitlan, Thursday 18
February 1519
Tucked in a secret pocket inside her
filthy blouse, Tozi carried two atl-inan
leaves rolled into delicate little tubes,
crimped at each end and filled with the
sticky red paste of the chalalatli root.
The medicine, obtained by barter from
an unscrupulous guard in a dark corner
of the womens fattening pen, was for
her friend Coyotl, so Tozi kept her hand
protectively over the pocket as she
threaded her way through the crowds of
prisoners, acutely conscious of how
easily the tubes would be broken if
anyone bumped into her.
Consisting of two interconnected
wings, each a hundred paces long and
thirty paces deep, set at right-angles to
one another like an arm crooked around
the northwest corner of the sacred
precinct, the fattening pen had held just
four hundred women when Tozi first
arrived here seven months previously.
Now, thanks to Moctezumas recent wars
with the Tlascalans, it held more than
two thousand, and droves of new
captives were still arriving every day.
The rear of both wings was built of solid
stone, and formed part of the larger
enclosure wall of the sacred complex as
a whole. The flat roof, also of stone,
was supported by rows of giant stone
columns. On its inner side, facing the
great pyramid, the pen was open, except
for a final row of stone columns and the
stout bamboo prison bars that filled the
gaps from floor to ceiling between them.
Tozi was near the back of the northern
wing, making her way towards the
western wing where shed left Coyotl,
when she saw five young Tlascalan
women clustered in her path. Her heart
sank as she recognised Xoco amongst
them, a cruel, hulking, brute of a girl, a
couple of years older than herself. She
tried to dodge but the crowd was too
dense and Xoco lunged forward, shoving
her hard in the chest with both hands.
Tozi reeled and would have fallen, but
two of the others caught her and pushed
her back at Xoco again. Then Xocos fist
slammed into her belly and drove the air
out of her lungs with a great whoop. Tozi
stumbled and fell to her knees but, even
as she gasped for breath, an instinct she
could not suppress sent her hand
searching inside her blouse for the
medicine tubes.
Xoco spotted the movement. What
you got in there? she screamed, her face
writhing with greed.
Tozi felt the outline of the tubes. They
seemed bent. She thought one of them
might be broken. Nothing, she wheezed
as she brought out her hand. I I
just wanted to find out what youd
done to my ribs.
Liar! Xoco spat. Youre hiding
something! Show me!
The other four girls jeered as Tozi
arched her back and loosened the ties on
her blouse exposing her flat, boyish
chest. I dont have anything to hide, she
panted. See for yourself.
I see a witch, said Xoco. A crafty
little witch! Hiding something from me.
The rest of the gang hissed like a
basket of snakes. Witch! they agreed.
Witch! Shes a witch!
Tozi was still kneeling, but now a
heavy kick to her ribs knocked her
sideways. Someone stamped on her head
and she looked into her attackers minds
and saw they werent going to stop. They
would just go on beating and kicking and
stamping her until she was dead.
She felt calm as she decided she
would use the spell of invisibility. But
the spell itself could kill her, so she
needed a distraction first.
Curling her body into a ball, ignoring
the kicks and blows, she began to sing a
dreary song, deep down at the bottom of
her voice Hmm-a-hmm-hmm hmm-
hmm Hmm-a-hmm-hmm hmm-
hmm raising the pitch with each
repeated note, summoning forth a fog of
psychic confusion and madness.
It wasnt a fog anyone could see, but it
got into the girls eyes and minds,
making Xoco screech and turn furiously
on her own friends, grabbing a handful
of hair here, clawing a face there,
interrupting the attack long enough for
Tozi to surge to her feet.
She was already whispering the spell
of invisibility as she stumbled away,
turning her focus inward, slowing the
urgent beat of her heart, imagining she
was transparent and free as the air. The
more strongly and vividly she visualised
herself in this form, the more she felt
herself fade, the fewer the hostile
glances she received and the easier it
became to penetrate the crowd of
onlookers.
The spell had always hurt her.
Always.
But never really badly unless she held
it for longer than a count of ten.
One
Gaps opened up and she flowed
through them.
Two
No solid obstacle could now block
her path.
Three
It was as though she were Ehecatl,
god of the air
Four
The spell was very seductive. There
was something wonderful about its
embrace. But when Tozi reached five
she stopped the magic, found a patch of
shadow and slowly faded back into
visibility again just a grimy, snot-
nosed, lice-infested fourteen-year-old
girl, quietly minding her own business.
First she checked her pockets and was
relieved to find the two little tubes of
chalalatli still mercifully intact.
Then she felt her ribs and face and
satisfied herself that nothing was broken
despite the beating.
Better still, she realised, the price of
the fade was nowhere near as high as it
might have been indeed no more than a
punishing headache and flashing lights
and wavy lines exploding intermittently
before her eyes. She knew from past
experience the visual effects would soon
subside but the headache would
continue, gradually diminishing in
intensity, for several days.
Until then it would be dangerous to
use the spell again.
But she had no intention of doing so.
She gave a bitter laugh. Witch? she
thought. Im not much of a witch!
Tozi could send out the fog, she could
read minds and sometimes she could
command wild animals, but a real witch
would have been able to make herself
invisible for long enough to escape the
fattening pen, and she couldnt do that.
Ever since she could remember shed
been able to speak the spell of
invisibility, but if she faded for more
than a ten count, she paid a terrible
price.
The last time shed risked it was the
day her mother was taken by surprise
and beaten to death in front of her. It had
been one of those times when the priests
had whipped Tenochtitlans masses into
a frenzy of fear and hatred against
witches, and her mother was amongst
those whod been named. Tozi had been
seven years old then and shed faded just
long enough no more than a thirty count
to escape the rampaging mob and hide.
It had saved her life, but it had also
paralysed her arms and legs for a day
and a night, filled her body with raging
fire and burst something in her brain so
that her head felt hacked open, as though
by a blunt axe, and blood poured from
her ears and nose.
After that, fending for herself on the
streets of the great city, shed not had the
courage to try a fade for many years, not
even for a five count. But since being
seized along with other beggars by the
temple catchers and thrown in the pen to
be fattened for sacrifice, shed been
working on the problem again, working
on it every day. Shed even
experimented with a fade from time to
time, just for brief instants when it could
most help her, slowly feeling her way
through the deep tangled magic her
mother had begun to teach her in the
years before the mob. Sometimes she
thought she was close to a solution, but it
always vanished like a wisp just as it
came within her grasp.
Meanwhile there were some, like
Xoco and her gang, whod become
suspicious. They simply couldnt
understand why Tozi was never amongst
those selected for sacrifice when the
priests came for victims, why again and
again it was always others who were
taken and this unlikely ragged girl who
remained. That was why they suspected
witchcraft, and of course they were
right, but why did it make them want to
hurt her?
If it wasnt so tragic, their vicious
stupidity would almost have been funny,
Tozi thought. Had the girls forgotten that
just outside the sacred plaza, and
presently going about the daily business
of their capital city, the Mexica waited
to hurt them all, very, very badly in
fact to murder them? Had they forgotten
that they would all, sooner or later, be
marched up the great pyramid and bent
backwards over the execution stone
where their hearts would be cut out with
a black obsidian knife?
Simultaneous with the thought, Tozis
own heart quickened and she felt a wave
of apprehension. A big part of being
invisible wasnt magic at all, but
common sense. Dont stand out. Dont
offend anyone. Dont get yourself
noticed. But now she saw she had been
noticed! Despite the fade, which should
have thrown off all pursuit, a girl whod
lurked in the background during Xocos
attack had followed her. She might be
eighteen, this girl, or perhaps twenty, tall
and lithe with glowing skin, full, sensual
lips, big, dark eyes and straight black
hair that fell almost to her waist. She
didnt look like a Tlascalan, and she
was older than the rest of Xocos gang,
but Tozi wasnt taking any chances.
Without a backward glance she ducked
into the crowd and ran.
And ran.
And ran.
The other girl couldnt keep up with
her definitely not a Tlascalan then!
and Tozi very soon gave her the slip,
crossing the whole width of the pen from
the rear wall to the bamboo bars at the
corner of the north and west wings, and
burrowing in amongst hundreds of
women who had gathered there to stare
out through the bars across the smooth
paving of the plaza towards the steep
northern stairway of the great pyramid.
Even though the routine dawn
sacrifices had already been carried out,
Tozi sensed the familiar mood of
ominous anticipation in the air, her flesh
prickled and the pounding pain in her
head grew worse.
Just ten days previously the old year, 13-
Tochtli, Thirteen-Rabbit, had come to
an end and the new year, 1-Acatl, One-
Reed, had begun, taking its turn again
for the first time in fifty-two years, as
was the case for each one of the fifty-
two named years that danced the circle
of the great Calendar Round. There was
something special about One-Reed,
however something terrifying for all
devotees of the war god Hummingbird,
but most notably for the rulers of the
Mexica themselves. As everyone knew,
One-Reed years were linked
inextricably to Quetzalcoatl, god of
peace, Hummingbirds great antagonist.
Indeed it had long ago been prophesied
that when Quetzalcoatl returned he
would do so in a One-Reed year.
In Nahuatl, the language spoken by the
Mexica, the name Quetzalcoatl meant
Feathered Serpent. Ancient traditions
maintained that he had been the first god-
king of the lands now ruled by the
Mexica. Born in a One-Reed year, he
had been a god of goodness who was
said to have stopped up his ears with his
fingers when addressed on the subject of
war. The traditions described him as
tall, fair-skinned, ruddy complexioned
and richly bearded. The traditions also
told how Hummingbird and
Tezcatlipoca, that other god of violence
whose name meant Smoking Mirror,
had plotted against Quetzalcoatl and
succeeded in driving him out of Mexico
and how he had been forced to flee
across the eastern ocean on a raft of
serpents. This, too, had happened in a
One-Reed year. Before departing from
the Yucatn coast, Quetzalcoatl had
prophesied that he would return many
years in the future, once again in a One-
Reed year. When that time came, he said,
he would cross back over the eastern
ocean, in a boat that moved by itself
without paddles, and would appear in
great power to overthrow the cults of
Hummingbird and Tezcatlipoca. All
those who followed them would be cast
down into Mictlan, the shadowy realm
of the dead, a wicked king would be
overthrown and a new era would begin
when the gods would once again accept
sacrifices of fruits and flowers and
cease their clamour for human blood.
For the ten days since the inception of
the current One-Reed year, there had
been rumours that a new cycle of
sacrifices was planned, a spectacular
festival of blood to appease and
strengthen Hummingbird against the
possible return of Quetzalcoatl.
Guessing the commotion at the pyramid
must be connected with this, Tozi
decided Coyotl would have to wait a
few more moments while she found out.
Holding her hand over the pocket where
the medicine tubes lay, she wormed
forward through the crowd until her face
was jammed against the bars.
As usual the pyramid impressed itself
upon her as forcefully as a blow to the
face. Towering in the midst of the plaza,
glowing poisonously in the sun, its four
levels were painted respectively green,
red, turquoise and yellow. On the summit
platform, tall, narrow and dark and
seeming to eat up the light that shone
down on it, stood Hummingbirds
temple.
Tozi gasped when she saw that
Moctezuma himself, dressed in all his
finery, was amongst the black-robed
priests clustered round the altar in front
of the temple. Less surprising was the
presence of fifty, she counted them no,
fifty-two! lean and beautiful young
Tlascalan men, daubed with white paint,
dressed in paper garments, who were
trudging with heavy feet up the steep
steps of the northern stairway.
Tozi had seen many deaths in the past
seven months, inflicted in many
ingenious and horrible ways. Despite all
her efforts to stay alive she was
constantly afraid she might be snatched
aside by the priests and murdered at any
moment. Still she could not rid herself of
the pain she felt whenever she saw
others climbing the pyramid to die, and
she gasped as the first young man
reached the top of the steps.
At once a drum began to beat.
Four burly priests flung the victim on
his back over the killing stone and took
position at each of his arms and legs,
holding him down tight, stretching his
chest. Then, with the jerky, ungainly
movements of a puppet, Moctezuma
loomed over him, clutching a long
obsidian knife that glinted in the sun.
Tozi had seen it all before but still she
watched, rooted to the spot, as the Great
Speaker raised the knife and plunged it
to the hilt in the victims sternum. He cut
upward, urgent but precise. When he
found the heart he sliced it vigorously
from its moorings, snatched it out amidst
fountains of blood, and placed it, still
beating, on the brazier in front of
Hummingbirds temple. There was a
great hissing and sizzling and a burst of
steam and smoke rose up at the top of the
pyramid. Then the victims body was
rolled off the stone and Tozi heard
hacking and rending sounds as skilled
butcher priests fell on it and amputated
the arms and legs for later consumption.
She saw the head being carried into the
temple to be spitted on the skull rack.
Finally the torso was sent rolling and
bouncing down the pyramid steps,
leaving bloody smears all the way to the
plaza below where it would soon be
joined in a rising heap by the unwanted
remains of all the other docile young
men presently climbing the northern
stairway.
Tozi knew from seven months of
witnessing such scenes that the pile of
torsos would be gathered up in
wheelbarrows after nightfall and
trundled off to feed the wild beasts in
Moctezumas zoo.
The Mexica were monsters, she
thought. So cruel. She hated them! She
would never be their docile victim!
But evading them was becoming more
difficult.
Three searing beats of pain shook her
head, and a burst of flashing lights
exploded before her eyes. She clenched
her teeth to stop herself crying out.
It wasnt just that shed started to be
noticed by some of the other prisoners
though that was dangerous enough. The
real problem was caring for Coyotl, a
huge responsibility that she knew she
could not hope to sustain in these
conditions. The only solution was to find
a way to fade for longer than a ten count
without having a massive physical
collapse. Then she could get them out of
here.
Tozi edged back and took her eyes off
the pyramid, distracted for a moment by
the way the morning sun poured through
the bamboo prison bars creating stripes
of deep shadow and stripes of intense,
brilliant light, filled with swirling motes
of dust. Suddenly she thought she saw
the tall, beautiful woman again, gliding
through the haze like a ghost. She
blinked and the woman was gone.
Who are you? thought Tozi. Are you a
witch like me? She felt the cool, packed
earth of the floor under her feet and
sensed the warmth and odours of the
other prisoners all around her. Then, like
an evil spirit, a breeze smelling of blood
blew up out of the southeast and the
screams of Moctezumas next victim
filled the air.
Normally the high priest wielded the
obsidian knife, and Moctezuma would
not become involved except on the most
important State occasions. It followed
that only something very significant
could explain his presence here this
morning.
With a shudder Tozi turned her back
on the pyramid and moved swiftly
through the crowd, disturbing no one, to
the place where she had left Coyotl.
Chapter Three
Santiago, Cuba, Thursday 18
February 1519
Pepillo was halfway along the larger of
the two piers jutting out into Santiago
Harbour. He felt stunned and confused
by the bustle and the noise. Every berth
on both sides of the pier was filled with
carracks, caravels and brigantines, and
every ship was loading supplies at a
feverish, almost frantic, pace bags of
cassava, barrels of wine and water,
barrels of salt pork and dried fish, live
pigs squealing and protesting, horses,
guns, troops of grim-looking men
A drunken sailor with the face of an
ape made a sudden grab for one of the
two huge leather bags Pepillo was
carrying. He dodged back and the sailor
lost his balance and fell heavily to the
cobbles. You little whoreson, he
roared, Im going to kill you for that.
For what? Pepillo squeaked,
backing away, still clutching the bags.
With horrible grunts the sailor levered
himself onto one knee, struggled upright
and lurched forward with his hands
outstretched. Pepillo was already
running. He heard footsteps closing
rapidly behind him, then a sudden
change in rhythm, and as he turned to
look back over his shoulder he saw the
drunk stumble, lose his balance and
tumble to the cobbles again. There were
hoots of derision, jeers and roars of
laughter from the growing crowd of
onlookers and the sailor glared up in
fury at Pepillo.
Short, small-boned and delicately
built for his fourteen years, Pepillo kept
hoping for a growth spurt that would
make him tall, robust and formidable.
Now, he thought, as the sailor spat
curses at him, would be an excellent
moment to gain a span or two in height,
and an arroba or two of solid muscle in
weight. It would also be good if his
hands doubled in size and quadrupled in
strength in the process. He would not
object to facial hair, and felt that a beard
would endow him with an air of
authority.
His arms aching, his fingers stiff,
Pepillo hurried on, weaving through the
thick crowds thronging the pier until his
drunken attacker was lost from sight.
Only when he was sure he was not
pursued did he allow himself to set
down the two enormously heavy bags.
They clunked and clanged as though they
were filled with hammers, knives and
horseshoes.
How strange, Pepillo thought. It was
not his business to wonder why his new
master would travel with more metal
than a blacksmith, but for the twentieth
time that morning he had to suppress an
urge to open the bags and take a look.
It was just one of the mysteries that
had exploded into his life after Matins
when he had been informed he would be
leaving the monastery to serve a friar
who was not known to him, a certain
Father Gaspar Muoz who had arrived
that night from the Dominican mission in
Hispaniola. There had been some sort of
dispute with Customs officials, and after
it Father Muoz had gone directly to
another vessel waiting in the harbour, a
hundred-ton carrack named the Santa
Mara de la Concepcin. Although
Pepillo could not yet really believe his
good luck, it seemed he and the Father
were to sail in this vessel to bring the
Christian faith to certain New Lands
recently discovered lying to the west.
Pepillo was to present himself to Muoz
on board ship, after first passing the
Customs House and collecting four
leather bags, the good Fathers personal
belongings that had been detained there.
Pepillo flexed his fingers and looked
at the bags with hatred before he picked
them up again. He hadnt been able to
carry all four at once, so there were two
more exactly like them he would have to
return for when these were delivered.
As he walked he scanned the dockside
through the milling, noisy, crowd. There
was no breeze, and a cloying smell of
fish, decay and excrement clung thick in
the muggy morning air. Above, in the
cloudless blue sky, seabirds wheeled
and shrieked. There were sailors and
soldiers everywhere carrying sacks of
supplies, tools, weapons. Gruff Castilian
voices shouted abuse, instructions,
directions.
Pepillo came to a big three-masted
carrack that loomed to his left like the
wall of a fortress. Five massive cavalry
horses were being led up a rickety
gangplank onto the deck, where a noble
lord, dressed out in great finery, with a
mane of blond hair falling to his
shoulders, was directing operations.
Pepillo squinted to read the ships faded
nameplate: San Sebastin. Then, beyond
it on the right, almost at the end of the
pier, he spotted another even larger
carrack with jibs and derricks set up all
around it and teams of men loading
supplies. Pepillo walked closer. This
ship had a high aftcastle and the new
design of low-slung forecastle for better
manoeuvrability against the wind.
Another few steps and he made out the
name: Santa Mara de la Concepcin.
A gangplank sloped up to the deck
right in front of him. With trepidation,
holding his masters bags tight, Pepillo
stepped on to it.
Who are you? What do you think youre
doing here?
Im Im
Tell me your business here!
Im Im
Youre a puking dog breath.
Pepillo didnt know whether he
should laugh or take offence. The boy he
confronted was a year or two older than
him, at least a foot taller, much broader
across the chest and made all the more
formidable by a completely shaven,
gleaming head. He was also black as tar
from head to toe.
Pepillo had encountered Negroes
before, but theyd all been slaves. This
one didnt behave like a slave and was
much too big to fight, so he forced a
laugh. OK, yeah, great, he said. He
pretended to wipe tears of mirth from his
eyes. Very funny He held out his
hand: The names Pepillo He
laughed. Pepillo Dogbreath! Another
laugh. And you are?
Melchior, said the other boy. He
ignored the proffered hand.
Melchior, repeated Pepillo. Right.
Good to meet you. He awkwardly
withdrew his hand: Look You asked
me my business here and its very
simple. Im trying to find my masters
quarters. He indicated the two large
leather bags hed been lugging on board
the Santa Mara de la Concepcin when
Melchior had confronted him. Hed
dumped them on deck at the end of the
gangplank, right below the forecastle.
My masters belongings, Pepillo
explained. He came in from Hispaniola
this morning and they were held up in the
Customs House. Im supposed to bring
them to his cabin
An angry frown contorted Melchiors
face. There was something ferocious
about this frown. Something hateful.
Perhaps even something frightening.
This master of yours, he spat. He have
a name?
Father Gaspar Muoz.
Muoz! The frowned deepened,
became a grimace.
Yes, Muoz. You know him?
He got stick legs, this Muoz? Like a
crow? He got a little fat belly? How
about his front teeth? Look like he been
sucking too hard on something he
shouldnt?
Pepillo giggled at the crude image: I
dont know, he said. Ive never seen
my master before.
Huh?
I was assigned to him this morning
and
Assigned? Assigned you say?
Thats a pretty word
I was sent straight to the Customs
House for his bags. Theres two more I
still have to fetch
A shadow distracted Pepillo and he
glanced up to see a heavy brass cannon
soaring overhead in a cats cradle of
ropes. With raucous shouts, and much
squealing of pulleys, a gang of sailors
manoeuvred it into the deep shadows of
the hold.
Thats one of the lombards, said
Melchior. A note of pride crept into his
voice: Weve got three of them with the
fleet. You can settle a lot of arguments
with guns like that.
Are we expecting a lot of
arguments?
Are you kidding? Melchior sneered.
After what happened last year?
Pepillo decided not to bluff: What
happened last year?
The Crdoba expedition?
Pepillo shrugged. It meant nothing to
him.
Hernandez de Crdoba led a fleet of
three ships to explore the New Lands,
see what trade was to be had there and
bring the word of Christ to the Indians.
He had a hundred and ten men with him.
I was one of them. Melchior paused:
Seventy of us got killed. Another
pause: Seventy! Crdoba himself died
of his wounds and we barely had enough
hands on deck to sail back. Its been the
talk of Santiago ever since. How can you
not know anything about it?
Ive been living in a monastery
So?
We dont get much news there.
Melchior laughed. It was a big, easy
laugh, as though he was genuinely
amused. You a monk? he asked
eventually. Or some such?
Not a monk, said Pepillo. The
Dominicans took me in when I was
orphaned, taught me to read, taught me to
clerk, taught me to keep numbers.
Ah, that would be why they chose
you to serve Father Muoz.
I dont understand.
Hes our Inquisitor, said Melchior.
Hell need numbers and letters and
clerking to keep track of all those people
hes going to burn. He leaned down, put
his mouth close to Pepillos ear: Muoz
was with us on the Crdoba expedition
too, he whispered. People used to say
he was vigilant for God. Vigilant for
the devils closer to the truth! It was him
as caused all the trouble.
As Melchior told the story, Muoz
had been so vigilant for God during his
time as Inquisitor with the Crdoba
expedition that he had burned whole
Indian villages to the ground and
consigned their entire populations
men, women and children to horrible
deaths in the flames.
But why would he do that? asked
Pepillo. He felt outraged.
We brought them the word of Christ,
said Melchior, and they accepted
conversion, but when we moved on
some of them returned to the worship of
their old gods. He lowered his voice:
Cant blame them really. They didnt
think theyd see us again, but we came
back and Muoz rooted out the heretics
and burnt them
Didnt he give them a second
chance? People like that who were new
to the faith?
Never. Sometimes he tortured them
first to make them name other heretics so
he could burn them too. But I never saw
him give anyone a second chance.
Maybe thats why he brought the wrath
of God down on our heads
Wrath of God?
Thousands of angry Indians, driven
mad by his cruelties, hell-bent on
revenge. We had to fight our way out.
Those of us that lived we all hate
Muoz.
There was an earsplitting crash as a
massive ramp dropped into place and
half a dozen trembling, sweating cavalry
horses were led on board to makeshift
stalls further aft. They neighed and
snickered. One of them deposited an
enormous heap of dung. Their iron
hooves rang on the deck.
You been to sea before? Melchior
asked.
Pepillo said hed sailed with the
Dominican mission from Spain to
Hispaniola when he was six and again
on the much shorter journey from
Hispaniola to Cuba when he was nine.
And since then?
Pepillo told Melchior hed lived in
Cuba for the last five years, most of that
time spent here in Santiago, helping old
Rodriguez in the monastery library,
assisting Brother Pedro with the
accounts, running errands for Borges the
quartermaster, and doing odd jobs for
anyone who asked.
Sounds boring, prompted Melchior.
Pepillo remembered how hed
secretly yearned for freedom from the
drab routine of his life and dreamed of
stowing away on a ship and sailing to
distant lands. Now, unexpectedly, it
seemed his dreams were about to come
true and it was all thanks to his new and
as yet unknown master, the increasingly
mysterious Father Gaspar Muoz.
Melchior might be right that he was a
nasty piece of work, but for the moment
Pepillo simply felt overjoyed to be on
board this great vibrant ship, to feel its
timbers move beneath his feet, to hear
the shouts of the sailors in the rigging
and the creak of the towering masts and
to know that, very soon, he would be
going somewhere.
Anywhere
Which wasnt the library.
Hurrah!
Which wasnt counting beans in Don
Pedros windowless cell.
Hurrah again!
The Santa Mara was a hundred feet
in length, big enough, Pepillo thought, to
serve as flagship for what was
obviously a major expedition. Judging
from the other ships surely at least ten
of them! also loading supplies,
weapons and soldiers along the dock,
something much more than preaching the
faith was going on here.
All these preparations, Pepillo
asked. All these soldiers. What are they
for? Where are we going?
Melchior scratched his head. You
mean you really havent heard?
I told you. Ive been living in a
monastery. I dont hear anything.
Melchior drew himself up to his full
height and pointed theatrically due west:
If you sail in that direction for four
days, he said, you come to the
mainland we explored last year with
Crdoba. Its a beautiful land, and there
seems to be no end to it. There are
mountains, and navigable rivers, and
great cities and fertile fields there, and
gold and many precious things.
And thats where were going?
Yes, God willing Its a fine land.
We can all become rich there.
Melchior had been so hostile just
moments before, but he already seemed
much more likeable. In this alien world
of ships and warriors, Pepillo thought,
was it too much to hope he might have
found a friend?
Youre thinking I might become your
friend, said Melchior. Dont waste
your time. Its never going to happen.
Im not thinking any such thing, said
Pepillo. He was surprised at how
indignant he managed to sound, and how
disappointed he felt. I dont want to be
friends with you. It was you who started
talking to me. He picked up the bags:
Just tell me which way to go for my
masters cabin.
Ill show you, said Melchior, but
you must not vex me with friendship.
Look, I already told you I dont want
your friendship! Ive got my job to do.
Im sure youve got yours Pepillo
paused, realising he hadnt yet asked.
What is your job by the way?
Melchiors chest visibly swelled:
Im manservant to the caudillo, he said.
The caudillo?
Corts himself.
Corts Corts Another name
Pepillo was apparently supposed to
know.
He bought me after the Crdoba
expedition, Melchior continued, and
then he set me free.
And you stayed with him? Even after
he gave you freedom?
Why wouldnt I? Hes a great man.
Melchior had led Pepillo to the rear
of the ship and now pointed to the twin
doors at the back of the navigation deck
below the aftcastle. All the rest of us
bunk on the main deck, he said, but
those are the cabins for your master and
mine. It used to be one big stateroom
with two doors, but my master
partitioned it into two rooms to
accommodate your master. Melchior
looked furtively around: Muoz hasnt
come on board yet, he sniffed. I expect
hes up to no good in town.
Hasnt come on board? Hes
supposed to have been here since before
dawn
Not my problem. Like I say, hell be
up to no good in town.
That sounds sinister and a bit
mysterious.
Hes a sinister man, your master.
Melchior leaned closer, lowered his
voice to a whisper: Theres something
you have to know about him
But Pepillo had suddenly remembered
the second pair of bags. Tell me later,
he interrupted. I have to go back to the
Customs House right now! He put down
the bags he was carrying: Will you stow
these in my masters cabin? I beg you.
Ive got no one else to ask.
Melchior nodded. Ill stow the bags,
he said, and heres my advice.
Whatever you need to do at the Customs
House, make it snappy. Corts has itchy
feet. He lowered his voice still further:
A lot of supplies have been brought
aboard at night. I think hes about to pull
a trick on Velzquez.
Velzquez! Now there was a name
Pepillo did know. Diego de Velzquez,
the conqueror and governor of Cuba, the
most powerful man on the island whose
word was law. The governor? he
asked, realising how stupid he sounded
even as he said it. Hes involved in
this?
Of course hes involved! Hes the
one who gave Corts command of the
expedition. Hes paid for three of the
ships out of his own pocket.
So why would Corts want to pull a
trick on him?
Once more Melchior glanced shiftily
around. Rumour has it, he whispered,
that Velzquez grows jealous. He
imagines all the gold Corts will win in
the New Lands and wants it for himself.
There are those who say he will relieve
Corts of command and put someone
else hes better able to control in
charge.
He cant control Corts then?
Never! Corts has always been his
own man.
So why did he appoint him in the first
place?
There was bad blood between them
in the past. Something about Corts
getting the governors niece pregnant and
then refusing to marry her. It all
happened a couple of years ago and I
dont know the details, but maybe
Velzquez felt sorry about the way he
treated Corts then. He put him in jail
for eight months, threatened him with
death and only pardoned him when he
agreed to marry the girl. Maybe he gave
him the expedition to keep him sweet
after all that
Pepillo whistled: And now he wants
to take it away from him again?
Which Corts wont accept! Id say
hes a man who would sail with the fleet
even before its properly loaded. Hes
quite the lawyer, and if he never gets the
order relieving him of command then he
wont be breaking any rules.
Pepillo felt a knot of fear in his
stomach.
It was a new fear.
He feared the unfamiliar world of the
ship, but now he feared even more an
enforced return to the familiar prison of
the monastery.
He told himself he was being
ridiculous that this caudillo called
Corts was still in the midst of loading
his fleet and couldnt possibly be ready
to embark for at least another three days.
Muoz wasnt on board, after all, and
surely the fleet would not sail without its
Inquisitor? Even so, Pepillo couldnt
shake the feeling of lurking dread. With a
shout of thanks to Melchior, he charged
down the aft gangway onto the pier,
swerved to avoid a water-seller, dodged
around a butchers cart, stretched out his
legs and ran.
He was still daunted by the chaos and
confusion of the piers and the harbour,
but he didnt think it would be difficult
to find his way back to the Customs
House. All he had to do was retrace, in
reverse, the route he had taken this
morning.
The San Sebastin now lay on his
right and, as Pepillo approached the big
carrack, he saw a mounted herald on the
dockside, waiting at the foot of a
gangplank. The herald was dressed in
the scarlet and gold livery of the
governorate and his splendid black
horse wore a trapper of the same design.
Pepillo ran on, arms and legs
pumping, not wanting anything to slow
him down. But when he was twenty
paces past the herald he heard a sound
like a cannonade and turned to see
another rider on an even bigger horse
charging down the gangplank from the
deck of the San Sebastin. The horse
was white, like a vision from a legend,
and Pepillo recognised the flying blond
hair and the fine clothes of the noble
lord hed glimpsed earlier. Then the
heralds horse bolted and both men rode
past him at full gallop, one on either
side, shaking the earth under their iron-
shod hooves and filling his ears with
thunder.
Pepillos legs felt momentarily weak
the monstrous horses had seemed
certain to trample him but he kept on
running towards the Customs House,
intent on extracting his masters bags and
getting back to the Santa Mara in the
shortest possible time.
He sensed something in the air, like a
bowstring stretched to breaking point,
like a great storm about to burst.
Melchior was right.
This fleet was poised to sail.
Chapter Four
Tenochtitlan, Thursday 18
February 1519
Moctezuma set down the obsidian knife,
wiped blood from his eyes and took
stock of the remaining victims on the
northern stairway.
It was as he thought. He had killed
forty-one and eleven were left.
Just eleven!
And the war god showed no more sign
of appearing to him now than at any
other time in the past five years.
Clearly it had been a mistake to begin
with only fifty-two victims, even if they
were the pick of the crop from the war
with the Tlascalans. The priests had said
Hummingbird would be pleased with
such a number, symbolic of a complete
cycle of years in the Calendar Round.
But if that was true, then wouldnt he
have been even more pleased with five
hundred and twenty?
An idea was beginning to take shape.
Perhaps the god grew bored with male
victims? Perhaps females would entice
him to appear?
Five hundred and twenty ripe and
fertile young females.
Moctezuma shrugged off his blood-
drenched robes, let them drop with a
heavy slap to the floor, stepped away
naked but for a loincloth, and took up the
knife again.
The next victim had already been
forced down onto the sacrificial stone
where he lay gasping with fear, his
whole body trembling, his eyes rolling
wildly. Such behaviour was not seemly
for a warrior and Moctezuma took
pleasure in castrating the man before
slicing him open from groin to
breastbone, dragging forth some loops of
his intestines, puncturing his stomach,
rummaging around in the mess for his
spleen and, finally, amidst a crescendo
of screams, ripping out his heart. A
great, hot gush of blood spurted up and
came spattering down again like a
rainstorm as the corpse was rolled
away.
Some victims, Moctezuma had
noticed, just seemed to have more blood
than others. Why was that?
He killed another man. And another.
Sticky clots clung around his fingers
where he gripped the knife. There was
blood in his eyes, in his mouth, clogging
his nose.
He rested a moment while the
assistants prepared the next victim, and
beckoned Ahuizotl, his high priest,
whose bulging yellow eyes, blotchy
skin, gaping nostrils, crooked teeth and
lecherous monkey features greatly
resembled those of the manipulative and
vicious species of water monster after
which he was named. The high priest
was his man, bought and paid for, and he
strode forward now in his black, blood-
smeared robes.
You did not give me good advice,
Moctezuma told him. His voice was soft,
but there was a deliberate edge of
implied threat and Ahuizotl looked
worried.
As well you might, thought
Moctezuma. As well you might. I could
have you strangled in your sleep.
Ahuizotl kept his eyes downcast: I
humbly apologise to Your Magnificence
if I have failed you in any way. My life
is yours to dispose of.
Your life is always mine to dispose
of
Ahuizotl began to bare his breast but
Moctezuma reached out a bloody hand to
stop him: Spare me the theatricals. I
dont want your heart. Not yet anyway.
He looked up at the sun which was high
in the sky, standing close to noon. The
god does not appear to me, he said,
because we have not offered an
adequate basket of victims. I expect you
to remedy this situation, Ahuizotl. Be
back here in two hours with five hundred
and twenty young women for me to kill.
Five hundred and twenty! Ahuizotls
mournful face registered shock. In two
hours? Impossible.
Moctezumas voice grew softer: Why
is it always your instinct to say no,
Ahuizotl? he asked. Learn to say yes if
you wish the light of my presence to
shine upon you.
Yes, Magnificence.
Very good. So I shall expect five
hundred and twenty young women then?
Yes, Magnificence.
The younger the better. I do not insist
that they be virgins. I dont expect you to
perform miracles, you see. But I want
them here in two hours.
Dumb witness to this exchange, still
stretched across the sacrificial stone and
awaiting the first cut, the next victim
trembled. Nonetheless, Moctezuma
noted approvingly, he continued to hold
himself under some sort of control. That
took courage. He raised the obsidian
dagger and plunged it deep into the
mans bare chest, delighting in his
screams as he sawed the blade savagely
upwards, splitting the breastbone and
exposing the palpitating heart.
Watch and be thankful as the Great
Speaker of the Mexica takes your life,
whispered Moctezuma. He began to cut
again, busy now, with his nose in the
gaping chest cavity, working close-up
with the knife, soaked in streams of
blood, severing the thick vessels that
encircled the beating heart until the
whole quivering, dripping organ came
loose in his hands and he flung it on the
brazier where it hissed and smoked.
Priests rolled the body away; even as
they were butchering it, a new victim
was dragged into place over the
sacrificial stone.
Out of the corner of his eye
Moctezuma saw Ahuizotl leaving the
summit of the pyramid with three of his
black-robed entourage no doubt to
round up the women hed demanded for
sacrifice.
Wait, he called after them.
Ahuizotl turned to look back.
Before you bring me the women,
said Moctezuma, you will bring me the
Flesh of the Gods.
Sometimes, an hour or two before being
sacrificed, specially favoured victims
were fed the mushrooms called
teonancatl, the Flesh of the Gods,
which unleashed fearsome visions of
deities and demons.
More rarely, the sacrificer himself
would partake of the mushrooms.
After he had killed the last of the fifty-
two young men, Moctezuma received a
runner sent by Ahuizotl, who had
climbed the pyramid to bring him a linen
bag containing seven fat, finger-length
mushrooms. Their silver-grey fish-belly
skins gave way to shades of blue and
purple around the stems. They exuded a
faint, bitter, woody aroma.
Seven big teonancatl amounted,
Moctezuma knew, to a sizeable,
probably terrifying, dose, but he was
prepared to eat them to engineer an
encounter with Hummingbird, war god
of the Mexica, whose representative on
earth he was. In the early days of his
reign the god had come to him often as a
disembodied voice speaking inside his
head, present at every sacrifice, giving
him commands, guiding him in every
decision he took, but as the years passed
the voice became fainter and more
distant and, for the last five years, as the
ominous year One-Reed slowly
approached, he had not heard it at all.
Priests were still hovering round him
but Moctezuma ordered them away,
telling them he required two hours of
perfect peace before the next bout of
sacrifices began.
He watched as they filed down the
steps. When complete silence fell he
stripped off his sodden loincloth and
advanced naked into the shadows of
Hummingbirds temple, clutching the bag
of mushrooms.
The temple, which was built on the
broad summit of the pyramid, was a tall
stone building. Its two principal rooms
were luridly illuminated by the guttering
flames of burning torches.
Moctezuma put a mushroom in his
mouth and began to chew. It tasted of
death, of decay. He added two more and
walked into the first room.
Lined up on both sides of the wall,
skewered from ear to ear on long
horizontal poles, taking their place
amongst other, older trophies, were the
dripping heads of the fifty-two men hed
spent the morning killing. He
remembered some of their faces. Their
wide, staring eyes. Their mouths frozen
as they screamed their last.
He confronted one of the heads,
pushed right up to it, glared into the
vacant eyes, wiped blood from the high
cheekbones and thin lips.
It made him feel powerful to
encounter the so-recently living.
He moved on, into the second room.
Here, curiously patterned in the light
and shadow cast by the flickering
torches and the high, narrow windows,
with a huge serpent fashioned from
pearls and precious stones coiled about
its waist, was Hummingbirds squat and
massive idol. Carved from solid granite,
its eyes, tusks, teeth, claws, feathers and
scales glittered with jade, polished horn
and obsidian and the most precious gold
and jewels; a golden bow was clutched
in its right fist, a sheaf of golden arrows
in its left, and a necklace of human
hearts, hands and skulls was strung
around its neck. The idols snarling
mouth was smeared with gore and lumps
of meat where priests had forced the
half-cooked hearts of the victims through
it into the reeking receptacle beyond.
Moctezuma sat down cross-legged on
the floor in front of the great idol and
slowly and methodically ate the rest of
the mushrooms.
For a very long time nothing
happened. Then at last the disembodied
voice he thought had deserted him was
back inside his head:
Do you bring me hearts? the voice
asked.
Chapter Five
Tenochtitlan, Thursday 18
February 1519
This medicine is bitter, complained
Coyotl. Why must I finish it?
Because I say you must finish it, said
Tozi. I who obtained it for you at great
expense. It will take away your pain.
How great was the expense, Tozi?
The little boy, who should have been
born a merchant, was always inquisitive
about anything to do with barter and
exchange.
It was very great, Coyotl. Greater
than you can possibly know. Pay me
back by finishing it.
But I hate it, Tozi. It tastes of uggh
bird shit!
So youre some kind of expert on the
taste of bird shit?
Coyotl giggled: It tastes like this
medicine you are forcing me to eat.
Despite his protests, he had already
swallowed almost the whole first dose
of the noxious-smelling red paste. He
was stretched out quite comfortably on
the ground, with his head in Tozis lap,
and he now unwillingly ate the rest of
the drug.
Coyotl was six years old. He was in
the womens pen, rather than amongst the
males, because his genitals had been
hacked off in infancy by his parents,
leaving only a slit. This had been done
as an offering to Tezcatlipoca, Smoking
Mirror, Lord of the Near and the Nigh.
Four days ago those same loving parents
had dedicated the rest of their son to the
war god Hummingbird, whose temple
stood on the summit of the great
pyramid, and had delivered him to the
fattening pen to await sacrifice. The
other women in the pen had shunned him,
as they did all freaks and oddities, but
Tozi had taken him under her wing and
they had become friends.
You need to sleep now! she said.
Give the medicine a chance to do its
work.
Sleep! Coyotls response was high-
pitched and indignant. I dont think so.
But his eyes were already drooping
closed.
Tozi was seated cross-legged. She
blinked, rubbed her aching temples and
yawned. She felt dizzy, perhaps a little
sick. Though she had sustained it only
for a five count, her brief, intense fade
had exhausted her more than shed
realised. Her head nodded forward,
sleep overmastered her and she
dreamed, as she often did, of her mother
the witch. In the dream, her mother was
with her still, comforting her, teaching
her and then, strangely, whispering in her
ear, Wake up, wake up
Wake up!
It was not her mothers voice! The
moment of confusion between dream and
reality passed and Tozi, now fully alert,
found herself face to face with the
beautiful young woman whod haunted
her earlier. You she began.
Then she choked back her words.
Behind the woman, less than fifty
paces away, four of the black-robed
priests of Hummingbird had entered the
pen, followed by armed enforcers, and
were hauling fresh victims aside.
Although momentarily preoccupied
with other prisoners, the priests were
moving fast and making straight for them.
Are you going to let them kill us? the
woman said. She spoke in a throaty
whisper, her voice low and filled with
urgent power. Or are you going to make
us disappear?
Tozi winced as a burst of pain struck
her head. Us? she said as the spasm
passed. What us?
You, me and the little one, said the
woman. She glanced down at Coyotl,
who stirred and grumbled in his sleep.
Make us disappear the way you make
yourself disappear.
If I could make myself disappear, do
you think Id still be in this prison?
Thats your business, the woman
said. But I saw what happened this
morning. I saw you fade. Then you were
gone.
The woman was crouched next to her,
her sleek black hair shadowing her face,
her body emanating a warm, intense
musk, and for the second time that day,
Tozi felt the dangerous pull of a
connection, as though she had known her
all her life. Making no sudden
movements that might attract unwelcome
attention, she looked round, taking stock
of their predicament, automatically
tuning in to the feverish agitation of the
crowd, probing to see if there was
something she could use.
Whatever it was, it could not be
another fade. She cursed herself for
employing the spell of invisibility
earlier, when it had not been a matter as
desperate as this. But with her head
pounding so very badly, Tozi knew it
would be at least another day, perhaps
two, before she dared risk it again.
The pen was massively overcrowded
and the sudden arrival of the priests at
this unexpected hour had sparked off a
mindstorm of fear. Most prisoners knew
not to bolt that was the fastest way to
be selected for sacrifice but there was
a general cringing and drawing back, as
from the approach of a savage beast.
Tozi recognised the high priest
Ahuizotl in the lead, a vigorous, evil-
looking, mean-mouthed old man with
mottled skin. His black robes and thick,
shoulder-length grey hair glistened with
oozing curds of freshly clotted gore, and
his blunt, bestial face was set in an
expression of thunderous rage. Flanked
by his three assistants, also copiously
smeared and splashed with blood, he cut
a swathe across the crowded floor of the
pen, selecting women all young
whom he pointed out with furious jabs of
his spear. Armed enforcers at once
restrained the protesting, terrified,
screaming victims and led them off.
I can only hide two of us from them,
Tozi volunteered abruptly, but I cant
hide three. So its you, or the kid.
The woman pushed back her hair and
a ray of sunlight, lancing deep into the
prison through some crack in the roof,
caught flecks of jade and gold in her
irises and set her eyes ablaze. You must
save the child of course, she said.
It was the right answer.
I lied, Tozi whispered to the woman, I
think I can get all three of us out of this.
Anyway Im going to try.
But
Stay still. Whatever happens, you
have to stay still. You have to stay
quiet.
Tozi glanced up. Ahuizotl was pushing
towards them, just twenty paces away,
every angry lunge of his spear
nominating another victim. This was a
man whod taken countless lives for
Hummingbird and Tozi sensed his blood
power. He would not be easy to deflect
or confuse.
Neither were the younger priests to be
underestimated, with their cruel sneers
and long, lean fingers.
So she scanned groups of prisoners
milling nearby and her eyes fell, with a
feeling of real gratitude, on Xoco and
two of her gang. They were off to the
left, trying, like everyone else, not to
attract the attention of the priests.
Tozi started to sing. Hmm-a-hmm-
hmm hmm-hm Hmm-a-hmm-hmm
hmm-hmm. The sound was so low as
to be almost inaudible. But it didnt
matter how quiet or how loud you sang
it. What mattered was the sequence of
the notes, the tempo of their repetition
and the intent of the singer.
Tozis intent was to save herself, and
poor Coyotl and this strange, mysterious
woman. She cared nothing for Xoco.
Hmm-a-hmm-hmm hmm-hm, she
sang. Hmm-a-hmm-hmm hmm-
hmm. She kept winding up the tempo, as
her mother had taught her, and felt the
fog flowing out of her, invisible like
breath, unsettling the senses and
lightening the heads of everyone it
touched. People stumbled, collapsed,
barged into one another, became
aggressive and reckless, and the priests
of Hummingbird spun round seeking the
source of the commotion. Then the
mental fog slammed into Xoco who
started up from the floor where she was
crouching and charged straight at
Ahuizotl. He was too surprised to avoid
her and when she hit him with all her
weight he went down hard, smashing his
head into the ground.
Chaos erupted as priests fought to
subdue and shackle Xoco. She seemed
supernaturally strong and howled like a
demon. There were not enough enforcers
to stop the many other fights spreading
like wildfire through the crowd.
Now we get out of here, said Tozi.
She swept up Coyotl, still in a deep
sleep, and signalled to the woman to
follow her.
Chapter Six
The Kingdom of Tlascala,
Thursday 18 February 1519
The hill was steep, filled with hollows
and overgrown with tall, feathery grass.
That was why Shikotenka had been
drawn to it. Hed found a deep crevice
about halfway up the slope and snaked
his lean, hard-muscled body into it just
as dawn was breaking, hiding himself
completely from view to observe the
Mexica as they converged in the vast
natural amphitheatre below. There were
four regiments, each at their full strength
of eight thousand men, and he counted
them in as they approached one by one
through passes in the surrounding hills, a
huge and fearsome war machine the size
of a city, mustering here as the day wore
on to bring murder and mayhem to
Tlascala.
Dressed only in a loincloth and
sandals, his thick black hair drawn back
from his brow in long, matted braids,
Shikotenkas chest, abdomen, legs and
arms, now pressed tightly into the soil
and rock of his homeland, were criss-
crossed with the scars of battle wounds
received in hand-to-hand combat against
the Mexica. At thirty-three years of age
he had already been a warrior for
seventeen years. The experience showed
in the flat, impassive planes of his face
and the determined set of his wide,
sensual mouth, which masked equally the
cold cruelty and calculation of which he
was capable as well as the bravery,
resolve and inspired flights of rash
brilliance that had led to his election,
just a month before, as the battle king of
Tlascala. A man of direct action, he had
not thought of delegating a subordinate
for todays assignment. The very
survival of his people depended on what
happened in the next day and night and
he would trust this task to no one else.
Eyes narrowed, he watched as teams
from the first of the enemy regiments
used ropes and pegs to mark out the
perimeter of a great circle on the open
plain. The circle was then divided into
four segments. Thereafter as each
regiment arrived it was directed to its
own segment of the circle, and the men
at once set about pitching tents that
varied in size from compact two-man
units to enormous marquees and
pavilions, where the standards of
leading officers were raised. Meanwhile
scouts were sent out in small, fast-
moving squads to comb the nearby hills
for spies and ambushes. Five times
already, men beating the bush had passed
uncomfortably close to where
Shikotenka lay hidden.
Was it possible, he wondered, to hate
an entire people as intensely as he hated
the Mexica, and yet still admire them?
Their organisation, for example. Their
toughness. Their efficiency. Their
obsidian-hard will. Their absolute,
ruthless, uncompromising commitment to
power. Their limitless capacity for
violence.
Werent these all admirable qualities
in their own right?
Moreover, here in force, in their tens
of thousands, he had to admit they made
a stunning impact on the senses.
His vantage point was five clear
bowshots from the edge of their camp,
yet his nostrils were filled with the reek
of copal incense and putrid human
blood, the characteristic stink of the
Mexica that clung about them like a half-
articulated threat wherever they gathered
in large numbers.
Also rising off them was a tremendous
cacophony of sound drums, flutes and
songs, the buzz of fifty thousand
conversations, vendors shouting their
wares in four makeshift markets that had
sprung up across the plain like strange
exotic growths.
With thousands of porters, water-
carriers and personal slaves, and a
ragged host of camp followers including
butchers and tailors, astrologers and
doctors, cooks and odd-job men,
vendors of all manner of foodstuffs and
services, and a parallel army of gaudily
dressed pleasure girls, Shikotenka
calculated the total numbers in the
Mexica camp as somewhere close to
sixty thousand. Despite the rigid military
lines where the regiments were setting
out their tents, the overall impression on
the eye was therefore as much that of a
country carnival as of a great army
pausing on its march. Nor did the masses
of soldiers detract from this impression
of gaiety, for the Mexica rewarded
success in battle with uniforms of
feathers and gold and richly dyed fabrics
that sparkled and glimmered in the sun,
merging into waves and spirals of
startling greens, yellows, blues, reds and
deep purples, interspersed with
expanses of dazzling white.
More than any other factor, what
determined a mans worth amongst the
Mexica was the number of captives of
high quality taken alive in the heat of
battle and sacrificed to their ferocious
war god Huitzilopochtli, an entity of
surpassing depravity and ugliness,
whose name, somewhat incongruously,
meant Hummingbird.
All those of whatever age who had
not yet taken a captive were considered
novices. They signified their lack of
achievement by wearing nothing more
than a white loincloth and a plain white
sleeveless jacket of padded cotton
armour. There were a great many
novices in this army, Shikotenka noted
with interest, far more than normal in a
force of such size.
More experienced fighters also used
the armour but it was concealed beneath
uniforms appropriate to their status.
Those who had taken two prisoners
wore a tall conical headdress and a
matching bodysuit. The shimmering
colours of both cap and suit most often
crimson or yellow, but sometimes sky
blue or deep green came from
thousands of tiny feathers painstakingly
stitched to the underlying cotton
garments. Men entitled to wear this
uniform were usually the largest block in
any Mexica army, but in three of the four
regiments here today they were
outnumbered by novices.
Next came warriors who had taken
three captives. Shikotenka spotted
companies of them distributed across the
whole mass of the army, recognisable by
their long armour and butterfly-shaped
back ornaments made of purple and
green feathers stitched to a wicker
frame.
Still higher up the chain of honour,
and again distributed everywhere across
the army, were those who had been
admitted to the military orders of the
Jaguar and the Eagle. These might be the
sons of nobles, in some cases unblooded
but trained for war in one of the great
military academies, or commoners who
had taken four prisoners in battle. The
jaguar knights wore the skins of jaguars
and ferocious, garishly painted wooden
helmets in the form of snarling jaguar
heads. The eagle knights wore cotton
bodysuits embroidered with the feathers
of golden eagles, and wooden helmets in
the form of eagles heads.
A mass of warriors, their hair cut to a
distinctive crest dividing the scalp,
marked concentrations of men with more
than six captives to their credit, who
fought in pairs and had taken a vow
never to retreat once battle had begun.
Even more formidable were the
Cuahchics, their scalps shaved except
for a lock of hair braided with a red
ribbon above the left ear. Each
Cuahchics head was painted half blue
and half red, or in some cases half blue
and half yellow. They, too, had taken at
least six captives, but they had also
performed twenty acts of conspicuous
bravery in battle.
Shikotenka grimaced, recalling
previous occasions when hed faced the
Cuahchics. He would prefer not to face
them again tonight if he could possibly
avoid it.
But whatever would be would be. He
dismissed the painted warriors from his
mind and turned his gaze towards the
centre of the camp. Teams of porters and
labourers had been working there since
morning to fit together the huge
billowing pavilion of the Snake Woman,
commander-in-chief of this colossal
field army who was, of course, a man.
Indeed, as far back as anyone could
remember, it was an unexplained
mystery that the revered Snake Woman
of the Mexica, their highest-ranking
official after the Great Speaker, always
was and always had been a man.
The present incumbent, Coaxoch, now
in his early fifties and enormously fat,
had once been a renowned warrior.
Moctezuma had appointed him soon after
he became Speaker sixteen years ago
and Coaxoch had remained his closest
adviser and confidant ever since. A
blow against Coaxoch was therefore a
blow against Moctezuma himself and
thus against the pride of the Mexica
nation. It would evoke an immediate
and, Shikotenka hoped, rash response.
That was why he was here, on this
grassy hill, crammed into this rocky
crevice, watching and counting. If the
gods were with him and blessed his
plan, the result would be spectacular
harm to the enemy.
A surge of movement in the
southwestern quadrant of the camp
caught his attention. He squinted. Shaded
by splendid umbrellas of quetzal
feathers, a procession of nobles and
knights was advancing towards the
centre. Shikotenka narrowed his eyes
again and this time clearly made out the
corpulent form of Coaxoch amongst the
feathers, sprawled on a litter carried on
the shoulders of half a dozen brawny
slaves.
Conspicuous in the procession were
four high-ranking nobles attired with
spectacular radiance in elaborate
rainbow-plumed headdresses and
mosaic face masks of costly jade. On
their backs, jutting an arms-length
above their heads, they wore the green
triple-pennant standards of regiment
generals. Shikotenka bit back the roar of
loathing that rose automatically to his
lips as he recognised Coaxochs sons,
promoted far above their station on
account of their fathers influence with
Moctezuma, and already infamous for
their foolishness and cruelty. The year
before hed met and instantly detested
Mahuizoh, the eldest of them, when hed
led the Mexica delegation at so-called
peace talks with his people. How
could he forget the mans bombastic,
bullying manner and his loud-mouthed
threats of rapine and ruin if his
exorbitant demands for tribute were not
met? Shikotenka uttered a silent prayer
to the gods to put Mahuizoh under his
knife tonight.
More movement in the northeast
marked the location of a second
procession, also advancing on the
centre. It was made up of several
hundred warrior priests dressed in tall
headdresses and bodysuits embroidered
with a background of black feathers to
represent the night sky and patterns of
white feathers to represent the stars.
With them, bound together at the neck by
heavy wooden halters, they dragged a
hundred captives daubed with chalk
paint and dressed in ungainly clothes of
white paper.
The two processions converged in
front of Coaxochs pavilion. There, with
much burning of copal, blaring of
conches and beating of gongs and drums,
the priests set up their altar and a carved
wooden idol of Hummingbird. Propping
himself on one elbow, conversing with
his sons who had gathered close around
him, Coaxoch looked on from his litter.
Shikotenka didnt doubt that every one
of the prisoners who were about to be
sacrificed were Tlascalans like himself.
For, unlike the host of other free
kingdoms that had once flourished in the
region, Tlascala had always rejected the
offers of vassal status and the payment of
extortionate annual tributes to the
Mexica in return for peace; as a result, it
was the target of continuous raids by
Moctezumas armies. These attacks were
intended to punish Tlascalan defiance
and provide an object lesson to
neighbouring peoples of the costs of
independence. But their larger purpose
was to ensure a steady supply of
prisoners for sacrifice to the
bloodthirsty pantheon at the apex of
which sat Hummingbird, the divine
source of all Mexica violence, who was
reputed to have said in the long ago: My
mission and my task is war. I will watch
and join issue with all manner of
nations, and that without mercy.
In the past three months some terrible
sense of urgency, some looming
supernatural threat that called for a great
mass offering to Hummingbird, had
aroused the Mexica to new heights of
cruelty. Shikotenkas spies thought the
whole matter might be connected to the
appearance of a small band of
mysterious white-skinned beings,
possibly deities, who had arrived in the
lands of the Maya some months before,
in immense boats that moved by
themselves without paddles, fought and
won a great battle using devastating,
unknown weapons and then returned to
the ocean whence they had come. Much
about this strange encounter suggested
the legends of the Feathered Serpent,
Quetzalcoatl, and his oft-prophesied
return, something that Moctezuma as a
devotee of Hummingbird would
certainly have cause to fear and attempt
to delay or even prevent by offering
extravagant sacrifices to the war god.
This was only a theory at this stage, but
it seemed plausible to Shikotenka in the
light of Moctezumas famously
superstitious nature, and it would
certainly explain why Coaxochs thirty-
two thousand warriors had been
diverted from other duties and put in the
field with the exclusive task of gathering
in huge numbers of new victims. They
had already ravaged a dozen Tlascalan
cities, seized thousands of young men
and women and dragged them off to the
prison pens a hundred miles away in
Tenochtitlan, the Mexica capital, to be
fattened for the coming holocaust.
Typical of the Mexica, however, a few
of the captives like these poor
wretches now being dragged to the altar
had remained with the armies to be
sacrificed at important staging posts on
the march route.
The conches blared again and the
snakeskin drum began to beat.
Shikotenka clenched his fists as the first
screams of pain went up, but there was
nothing he could do for his brothers and
sisters now suffering under the Mexica
knife. The only satisfaction came from
the thought of his own elite corps of fifty
warriors waiting for his orders an hours
hard run to the south.
While the sacrifices were performed,
the frothing heart blood collected and
drunk by the most senior nobility, and the
bodies of the victims butchered for the
cooking pot, swarms of workers
continued to put the finishing touches to
the Snake Womans pavilion. Not until
mid-afternoon, however, when hed
witnessed the death of the last victim
and drunk his share of the blood, did
Coaxoch allow himself to be carried
into the huge structure. He was followed
by a dozen voluptuous slave girls,
dressed in body-hugging tunics woven
from yellow and green parrot feathers.
Moments later his litter-bearers emerged
but the women remained. From time to
time other slaves continued to come and
go carrying food and drink.
Suppressing his rage, Shikotenka
stayed where he was in the rocky
crevice, not moving a muscle, observing
everything that was going on down
below. For a while he became lost in
thought, calculating distances, comparing
a variety of possible entrance and exit
strategies, quietly figuring out how he
was going to get his warriors into
Coaxochs pavilion tonight and do the
maximum damage there.
It was obvious that each man must go
by a different route. In groups of even
two or three they would attract attention
but alone, dressed in a variety of
captured Mexica battle uniforms, theyd
have the best chance of blending in with
the enormous crowd of warriors and
camp followers. If all went well they
would reassemble in front of the
pavilion by the idol of Hummingbird and
go straight into a devastating attack that
the overconfident Mexica would not be
expecting and would not have guarded
against.
So much for the easy part of the plan.
Where things got difficult was the
escape from the midst of an alerted and
maddened foe.
But Shikotenka had supreme
confidence in the battle skills of his fifty.
They would have the advantage of
surprise and momentum, of superior
organisation, of their thirst for
retribution and of the love of the gods.
They would burst through the Mexica
ranks like a flood and be off and away
into the mountains before anyone could
stop them.
They would of course be followed.
But that, too, was part of the plan
Shikotenkas daydream of revenge
was cut short by a sound.
A little, scraping, scratching sound.
He stayed frozen, unmoving, every
sense alert.
Scratch scrape scratch
scratch
The source was just twenty paces
upslope and moving stealthily down
towards him.
Scrape, scrape, scratch
It was one man, Shikotenka thought, a
soldier wearing heavy-duty battle
sandals not an experienced tracker, or
he wouldnt have heard him at all, but
someone crafty and determined enough
to work his way round above him and
get this close without detection.
Were there others with him? Perhaps
further up the slope, out of earshot?
If yes, Shikotenka knew he was done
for.
If no, there was still a chance.
He drew his knife.
Chapter Seven
Tenochtitlan, Thursday 18
February 1519
Tozi led the woman away from the
priests and rapidly back through the
crowd to the massive rear wall of the
pen. There was a negotiable ribbon of
space here, where people did not want
to be crushed against the wall. Tozi
slipped into the gap, clutching Coyotl.
The woman was right behind them.
What do we do now? she asked. She
looked flushed and excited.
We go this way, said Tozi.
The prison was big enough to vanish
in; indeed Tozi had spent the last seven
months doing precisely that. So she was
drawing on deep experience when she
led the woman on the rat run along the
rear wall, away from the priests, and
back eventually into a far-off sector of
the crowd.
She found a clear area of floor and
sank down with Coyotl, his feverish,
damp forehead resting on her shoulder.
The woman sank down beside them.
You did really well, she told Tozi. In
fact Id say youre amazing.
I didnt make us disappear like you
thought I would.
But what you did was just as clever.
Another kind of magic. Whats your
name?
Im Tozi
Im Malinal, the woman said. Then
unexpectedly she leant forward and
wrapped Tozi and Coyotl in a warm
embrace that went on for an
embarrassingly long time. When it was
over she said: Are we safe now?
Tozi shook her head. Theyre not
going to go away quietly after such a
riot. Theyre going to be all over us
looking for ringleaders, taking more of
us for sacrifice. As she spoke she set
Coyotl down on his side, arranging his
hand for a pillow. He mumbled but did
not awake.
He sleeps a lot, the little one?
queried Malinal.
I gave him chalalatli root, said Tozi,
for head pains and fever.
Ah, then hell sleep through anything
Though only the gods know where
you obtained such a medicine.
Tozi ignored the comment. She
reached out and touched Malinals face
those wide oval eyes, that full mouth,
that perfect skin. Your beauty is your
strength, she said, but it works against
you in here
I dont
Tozi frowned at the interruption: No,
its true. Being beautiful makes you stand
out and thats dangerous. The first rule of
staying alive is not to get noticed.
Malinal spread her hands: So what
should I do?
Well start by cutting your hair. From
one of her hidden pockets Tozi produced
a flint, about the length of a mans
middle finger. The flint had razor-sharp
serrated edges and narrowed to a needle
point.
Where did you get that? Malinal
gasped.
Tozi grinned. Im a finder, she said,
and a keeper. She signalled Malinal to
sit in front of her.
The older woman hesitated.
Theres no TIME, Tozi yelled.
With a shrug Malinal sat and
presented her head to Tozi, who at once
began to shear off her long thick hair in
great clumps. A woman passing by
stopped a few paces away to stare at the
growing pile of fallen tresses. Her eyes
were dull and her flesh had the pudgy,
tortilla consistency of those who ate
their fill of the rich diet of the fattening
pen. Can I take some hair? she asked.
She had a stupefied look, as though her
brain were already dead, anticipating the
sacrifice of her body.
Take as much as you want, said Tozi.
Human hair was a valuable
commodity in the pen: threads and fibres
were made from it, clothes were
repaired with it; it could be used to
improvise pillows. To cheat the
sacrificial knife one prisoner had
recently hung herself with a rope of
woven human hair. Under less
threatening circumstances, therefore,
Tozi would have guarded such a treasure
fiercely for use or barter, but there was
no time for that today. As other women
approached she invited them all to help
themselves and they gathered it up in
their aprons and dresses.
Youre generous with my hair, said
Malinal.
We dont want the priests to find a
single strand. Might make them think
someone was trying to change her looks.
Do you know a better way to get rid of
it?
Malinal laughed: Youre very smart,
Tozi. Tell me about yourself.
What about myself?
Like your home town. Lets start with
that. Where do you come from?
Oh, here and there.
Here and there? What does that
mean? Are you Mexica? Are you
Tlascalan?
Not Mexica. Not Tlascalan.
Hmm, a puzzle. I like puzzles. You
speak Nahuatl like a native. But with a
certain accent. Are you perhaps
Tepanec? Acolhua? Xochimilca?
I belong to none of those peoples.
Quite the girl of mystery then
A bolt of pain shot through Tozis
head. Look, she said. Ive lived in
Tenochtitlan since I was five, OK? My
mother brought me here. I never knew
my father. My mother died when I was
seven. She said we came from Aztln.
Thats all I know.
The enchanted realm of Aztln needed
no further explanation. There lay the
Seven Caves of Chicomoztoc, where
masters of divine wisdom and workers
of the highest magic were said to have
concealed themselves from common
sight. It was the home of the gods and the
mystic place of origin of the Mexica, the
Tlascalans and all other Nahuatl-
speaking peoples.
But no one came from Aztln any
more. No one had come from Aztln for
hundreds, perhaps even thousands, of
years. Indeed no one today even had the
faintest idea where it was.
The people who came from Aztln
called themselves the Aztecs,
remembered Malinal.
So I suppose that makes me an
Aztec, said Tozi. Wanting to divert
attention from herself she asked, And
you? Where do you come from? You
speak Nahuatl like a native too.
Malinal laughed: I have a gift for
languages but my mother tongue is
Maya.
Tozi had finished the haircut. So how
come you ended up here? she asked as
she stood back to admire her handiwork.
Before Malinal could answer they
both became aware of a commotion in
the crowd, a ripple, a wave of
disturbance, screams. We need to run
again, Tozi said. She stooped to lift
Coyotl but Malinal was ahead of her:
Ill carry him awhile. You lead the
way.
As Malinal supported the little boys
bony bottom with her right forearm,
manoeuvring his floppy head to rest on
her right shoulder, he woke up, looked
her in the eye and asked drowsily, Who
are you?
Im a friend, said Malinal.
Excuse me, but how do I know that?
Tozi appeared at Coyotls side,
mopped his damp hair back from his
brow. Her name is Malinal, she told
him. She is truly our friend.
Well If Tozi says youre a friend
then I know youre a friend, said
Coyotl. He closed his eyes, dropped his
head back on Malinals shoulder and
was instantly asleep again.
Tozi walked fast but she hadnt gone
two hundred paces when movement
ahead stopped her. She heard more
screams and a hoarse, muffled shout. A
line of priests was approaching from that
direction as well! She shot off at a
tangent, looking back to see that Malinal
was still following with Coyotl, but
within a hundred paces she was brought
to a halt again by more priests and
enforcers. Clearly a massive cull was in
progress and victims were being
rounded up in every part of the prison.
She tried twice more in different
directions but always with the same
result. A ring of priests and enforcers
was closing in and there would be no
escaping it.
Very well then, said Tozi. There was
no point in even trying the fog with so
many priests coming at her. Well just
have to stay here and not be seen
You mean disappear? Malinal said
hopefully.
I mean not be seen. Tozi looked
around. We need mud, she said. Now.
Malinal rubbed at the dry earth with
her toe. There is no mud, she said.
Tozi lifted her skirt, squatted and let
loose a stream of urine. When she was
finished she plunged her fingers into the
damp puddle and began to knead the
earth, churning a few handfuls of it into
mud. She looked up at Malinal: Brace
yourself, she said, this is for you.
Me! Malinal choked. Why me?
Because Im dirty enough already. So
is Coyotl. But your clean skins going to
get you noticed. We need to filthy you
up. Its a matter of life or death. Are you
OK with that?
I guess Im OK with that.
Then squat right there and make us
some more mud.
After she had thoroughly smeared
Malinal with the wet earth, got it all
over what was left of her hair, rubbed it
into her forehead, left long streaks of it
down her face, and daubed it on the
exposed parts of her legs and arms, Tozi
looked the older woman up and down.
Much better, she said. Youre a real
mess
Thank you
Youre still beautiful, of course, but
youre filthy and you smell bad. Lets
hope thats enough.
There were more screams. A wild-
eyed, frantic woman charged by, another
blundered past, bleeding from the scalp.
All around prisoners were murmuring
fearfully and trying to sidle away.
Whats happening? asked Malinal.
What do we do?
Tozi sat down cross-legged. We do
nothing, she said. She lifted Coyotls
head into her lap and beckoned Malinal
to sit beside her.
The priests had approached to within
fifty paces and were cutting through the
crowd directly towards them. They were
followed by their teams of enforcers,
armed with heavy wooden clubs, who
seized the victims they nominated and
marched them off presumably for
immediate sacrifice.
Tozi didnt intend to find out. Think
of yourself as ugly, she whispered to
Malinal. You are hunched and wrinkled,
your breasts are flat, your stomach sags,
your teeth are rotten, your body is
covered in boils
What good can that possibly?
Just do it.
As the line of priests came on, Tozis
heart sank to see Ahuizotl again in the
lead. There must be scores of priests
inside the pen now, so was it just bad
luck, or was it some malign intelligence
that kept sending the sharp-eyed old
killer straight to her? She noticed with
some small satisfaction that the left side
of his face was badly swollen after
Xocos attack and he walked with a
limp, using his spear as a crutch. Four
big bodyguards were clustered round
him. They werent armed with clubs but
with macuahuitls, the wooden battle
swords, edged with obsidian blades,
favoured by Mexica knights. Obviously
no repetition of the Xoco incident would
be permitted.
The priests were forty paces away
now, then thirty, then twenty. Under her
breath, Tozi began to whisper the spell
of invisibility, but for a few moments
longer she held to the hope that the
disguise would work; that, smeared and
dirty as they were, Ahuizotl would
simply pass by without seeing them, that
inconspicuousness would indeed prove
to be the better part of concealment and
that there would be no need for her to
risk her life in a rash adventure into
magic.
Yet as the high priest continued to
advance, some magnetism, some
connection, seemed to be drawing him
remorselessly towards them, and Tozi
saw that he was gazing fixedly at
Malinal. Suddenly it dawned on her that
he recognised this beautiful, shorn, mud-
streaked woman that he knew her very
well and that he had already singled her
out from the crowd long before.
He wasnt fooled. He wasnt misled.
He was here for her!
Realising there was no alternative,
Tozi turned her mind inward, slowed the
urgent beat of her heart, and imagined
she was transparent and free as the air.
She found she was holding Malinals
hand, and that it was firm and warm.
You can make us disappear, Malinal
whispered. I know you can
Ignoring a further savage burst of pain
across her temples, speaking so quietly
the words could not be heard, Tozi
brought her focus to the spell and willed
it into life.
Chapter Eight
Tlascala, Thursday 18
February 1519
The rocky crevice sank almost
horizontally into the side of the hill.
Shikotenka had shoved himself into it
feet first until it swallowed him, leaving
only his eyes visible in the narrow
opening as he spied on the Mexica army.
Scratch scratch scrape
He was baffled that anyone had found
him in such a well-chosen hiding place,
but the man on the slope above, stealthy
and careful, could be there for no other
reason. All that mattered now was
whether he was alone or whether he was
part of a squad.
I say, came a voice, you there,
skulking in that hole Care to crawl
out and fight me for your life?
The man spoke Nahuatl, the shared
mother tongue of the Mexica and the
Tlascalans, but with the distinctive
sneering drawl only affected by the top
rank of Tenochtitlans nobility. This was
some primped-up prince, Shikotenka
realised with a flash of annoyance,
maybe even a member of Moctezumas
close family. It didnt make him any
easier to kill Mexica aristocrats were
superbly trained from childhood in all
the warrior arts but it should mean that
a long-established knightly code would
govern what happened next.
Shikotenkas hopes began to rise that
he faced only one enemy. He clenched
the long flint blade of his battle knife
between his teeth, leaving his hands free
to propel himself from the crevice. He
felt no fear and a surge of energy
coursed through his body.
The Mexica was speaking again.
Why not just surrender to me? he said.
Id think about it seriously if I were
you. Itll make your life much simpler
and youll avoid the terrible beating Ill
have to give you if you put up any kind
of fight.
Much simpler! thought Shikotenka.
Much shorter was the truth.
Because if he once even breathed the
words I surrender, he would
absolutely be obliged to become this
Mexicas prisoner, would be bound by
the code of honour to attempt no escape,
and would be sacrificed to
Hummingbird on the appointed day, his
heart sliced out and his thigh-meat eaten
by his captor in a stew with chillies and
beans.
We will fight, said Shikotenka from
the crevice.
Ah-ha, the ground speaks, said the
Mexica.
But I have two questions for you
A man in a hole facing a man with a
spear is in no position to ask questions.
Unless the man with the spear is a
noble and honourable lord of the Mexica
But perhaps I am mistaken
I am Guatemoc, nephew of the Great
Speaker himself. Is that noble and
honourable enough for you?
Guatemoc!
Shikotenka had heard much about this
young man. He was rumoured to be a
hothead but brave and skilful. According
to some accounts, he had captured
eleven high-ranking warriors in battle
for sacrifice to Hummingbird an
impressive total. No doubt he was here
to increase his score to twelve.
I was going to ask if you are alone,
said Shikotenka, but now I know the
answer. The warrior pride of the great
Guatemoc would never allow him to
seek help to capture a solitary enemy.
And who is this solitary enemy who
speaks to me from beneath the ground?
I am Shikotenka, son of Shikotenka.
There was a long silence.
Shikotenka! Guatemoc said finally,
Prince of Tlascala. He gave a low
whistle: Well, I must say Im
impressed. When I spotted you here
amongst the rocks I thought you no more
than a humble spy, good for a few hours
entertainment at most. Instead you turn
out to be the highest-ranking captive Ive
ever taken. Youll make a noble
sacrifice when I bring you to the
temple.
You think youre going to bring me to
the temple just like that, said
Shikotenka. You think youre going to
defeat me. But heres my second
question what if we fight and I win?
You? Win? Frankly, thats most
unlikely.
When I come out of this hole Im
going to be in full view of your army. If
we fight and I kill you or take you
prisoner, thirty thousand of your
warriors are going to see it. Ill have no
chance at all of getting away.
Should I care?
Of course! Its meaningless to invite
me to fight for my life if Im going to be
killed whether I win or not.
Hmm I suppose I see your point.
A moments silence followed before
Guatemoc spoke again. Theres a
hollow thirty paces above us, he said. I
came through it on my way down. Its
deep enough to hide us from view. Ill
saunter up there now and you can follow
you know, crawling in the grass. You
wont be seen and I wont give you
away.
Shikotenka heard the shuffle and
scrape of footsteps retreating up the hill.
He forced himself to count slowly to ten,
then thrust himself out of the crevice and
into the light.
Chapter Nine
Tenochtitlan, Thursday 18
February 1519
At one level Moctezuma knew he was
sitting cross-legged on the floor of
Hummingbirds temple, his hands folded
in his lap. He still held the empty linen
bag in which Ahuizotl had sent him the
seven teonancatl mushrooms. Rearing
above him, as though about to stoop
down and devour him, casting monstrous
shadows in the flickering flames of the
torches, the idol of the god gleamed with
gold and jewels.
But in his mind Moctezuma was quite
somewhere else, transported to some
far-off battlefield strewn with corpses.
Strangely, he noted, all the dead were
Mayan warriors. Some bore upon their
ruined bodies the marks of the fangs of
beasts, some were utterly crushed and
destroyed, some decapitated, some torn
limb from limb, some trampled, some
burst apart into unrecognisable
fragments of flesh and bone. Through
this shambles, his feet bathed in blood,
Moctezuma walked side by side with
Hummingbird himself.
The god had chosen to manifest in the
appearance of a strong, tall man of
middle years, very handsome and
commanding with golden hair and
dazzling bright skin. He wore a robe of
hummingbird feathers and a garland of
human hearts, hands and skulls. Its
been long since we last talked, he said
to Moctezuma, but Ive been watching
you.
The Great Speaker of Tenochtitlan
trembled: Thank you, lord. You are
gracious
I am disappointed. I had high hopes
when I raised you to the throne sixteen
years ago that you would find new and
ingenious ways to serve me
My lord, I have done everything in
my power
NO! thundered Hummingbird, you
have not, by any means done everything
in your power! I wanted sixteen years of
innovation. Youve given me sixteen
years of more of the same.
But have I not served you faithfully,
lord? Have I not continued to bring you
hearts?
Hearts? said Hummingbird. I
suppose you have. He yawned, showing
his large, even teeth. And today? Weve
had such a dismal start. Let me guess
whats in store The gods red tongue,
strangely pointed, flicked out between
his lips, and his eyes rolled up until only
the whites were visible. Ah How
completely predictable Virgins. His
nostrils flared and he sniffed the air.
The hearts of five hundred and twenty
sweet young virgins.
Moctezuma suffered a moment of
acute anxiety. I cannot promise virgins,
lord, though I hope some will be intact

So, not even virgins then The

gods irises, black as obsidian beads,
rolled back into view: Whats this
splendid offering in honour of?
Moctezuma was transfixed by the
glittering eyes. They seemed to swallow
his soul. Finally he summoned the
courage to speak. Most vengeful lord,
he said, two years ago dark omens
began to be witnessed, unexplained
visitations, terrible signs And now
the year One-Reed has returned.
Another cavernous yawn from
Hummingbird. Tell me of these omens
and signs.
A great column of flame, lord, that
seemed to bleed fire, drop by drop, like
a wound in the sky. It was wide at the
base and narrow at the peak, and it
shone for a year in the very heart of the
heavens
Ah, said Hummingbird. My fiery
messenger I suppose youre going to
tell me about the temple struck by
lightning next?
The temple of Tezcatlipoca was
indeed struck, lord, and there came a
violent agitation of our lake until it
washed against half the houses of the
city. A man with two heads appeared.
We captured him and imprisoned him,
but he vanished from the prison without
a trace. A woman was heard lamenting,
passing nightly through our streets, but
she was never seen. A fisherman found a
strange bird. The bird was brought to
me. It was somewhat like a crane, with
feathers the colour of ashes. A mirror,
pierced in the centre like a spindle
whorl, was set into its head and in the
face of this mirror the night sky could be
seen. The hour was noon, lord! Noon!
Yet I saw clearly, as in the deepest night,
the mamalhuaztli and other stars. Of
course I had the fisherman strangled
Of course
Then I looked in the mirror again.
The stars were gone, the night was gone
and I saw a distant plain. A host of
beings moved across it in ranks,
warriors armed with metal weapons,
dressed in metal armour. Some seemed
like humans but bearded and with light
skin, as the companions of Quetzalcoatl
are described in our ancient scriptures.
Some also had golden hair like yours,
lord. Others seemed part-human, part-
deer and ran ahead very swiftly
I sent you that mirror, said
Hummingbird. Return it to me now.
I cannot, lord, Moctezuma sobbed. I
tore it from the birds head and
destroyed it.
Like the violent, petulant child you
are.
I could not bear the visions it showed
me
Yet the visions were true, were they
not? Isnt that really why youre here
today?
Moctezuma lowered his eyes: For a
year after I destroyed the mirror, there
were no more signs. I began to believe
that all was well in the one world, that
my kingship would again flourish under
your blessing
Hummingbird uttered a harsh laugh,
like the bark of a coyote.
But four months ago, Moctezuma
continued, with the birth of year One-
Reed looming close, I received tidings
from the land of the Chontal Maya.
Strange beings had emerged from the
eastern ocean. They resembled humans
but they were bearded and light-skinned
like the beings I saw in the mirror, lord
like the companions of Quetzalcoatl!
They wore metal armour and used
powerful metal weapons that belched
fire. They worshipped a god who they
said had been killed and returned to life,
and they forced some tribes of the Maya
to worship this god. Others refused and
there was a great battle. The beings
numbered little more than a hundred,
lord, but they defeated a Mayan army of
ten thousand! Then they returned to the
sea, climbed onto three floating
mountains and were carried away
eastward by the wind.
So naturally you were puzzled, said
Hummingbird, and wanted my advice.
Your thoughts turned to victims and to
sacrifices to appease me
I made war on the Tlascalans, on the
Huexotzincos, on the Purupechas. I
levied extra tribute on the Totonacs. My
armies brought many prisoners to
Tenochtitlan. We have fattened them
here, prepared them for you. Truly, lord,
I have a great feast of victims ready for
the knife
What do you ask of me in return?
Knowledge of the beings who
emerged from the eastern ocean
These are not tidings you will wish
to hear, said Hummingbird.
Still I beg you to tell me, lord.
Very well, said the god. These
beings were the first scouts of a great
army that gathers across the eastern
ocean to sweep you away. Soon you will
hear they have returned in their floating
mountains. Before the year is out they
will be at the gates of Tenochtitlan.
The whole concept was so
impossible, intolerable and
extraordinary, yet also somehow so
inevitable and so long foretold, that it
made Moctezumas head spin. I fear
them, lord, he confessed. Are they gods
or men? Is this perhaps the One-Reed
year when the ancient prophecy is to be
fulfilled and the god Quetzalcoatl will
appear in his power to walk amongst us
again?
Hummingbird didnt answer directly.
Instead he said: You have nothing to
fear, for I fight at your side I will
bring you victory.
Moctezumas mood soared and he felt
suddenly inflated with joy and
confidence: Tell me what I must do
First finish your work here, said the
god and vanished like a dream at dawn.
Moctezuma looked up.
Ahuizotl had entered the temple. He
held a terrified young girl pinned under
each of his arms. The women are ready,
Magnificence, he said with a horrible
leer. The sacrifices can begin.
Chapter Ten
Santiago, Cuba, Thursday 18
February 1519
Despite his fifty-five years and his tough
reputation, Diego de Velzquez, the
conqueror and governor of Cuba,
seemed on the verge of tears. A blush
suffused his pale pasty skin and his
jowls, grown fat and heavy of late,
wobbled with every movement of his
oversized head.
Ah, Pedro, he said, my friend. He
put a menacing edge on the last word
and thrust out his double chin with its
neatly trimmed spade beard streaked
with yellow tobacco stains.
Somethings going on. He set his lips in
a line so mean and thin that they became
almost invisible. I have to know where
you stand on it.
Velzquezs notoriously bad temper
was popularly attributed to
haemorrhoids the size of grapes. He sat
in obvious discomfort on a mahogany
throne behind a massive square
mahogany writing table in the midst of
an echoing, high-ceilinged marble
audience chamber. Pedro de Alvarado
had met the governor frequently, but
never here and never before in the
ceremonial robes he wore today. He
guessed with annoyance that the events
of the last two hours the herald, the
summons, the gallop from the docks to
the palace, the insultingly long wait in a
sweltering, heavily-guarded corridor,
this huge formal room with its imposing
furniture and even Velzquezs robes of
office were all part of an elaborate
set-up designed to intimidate him.
Alvarado stood opposite the governor
on the other side of the table, with his
right hand open, long fingers resting
lightly on his sword belt. He was thirty-
three years old, broad-shouldered and
strong but light on his feet with the easy
grace of a practised fencer. His thick
blond hair hung to his shoulders and an
extravagant blond moustache,
elaborately curled and waxed, decorated
his upper lip. Fine featured, with a firm
chin, a long straight nose, bright blue
eyes and a duelling scar that he found
rather fetching running from his right
temple to the corner of his right eye, he
was a man who had broken many
womens hearts. He was also rich in a
small way, having prospered in Cuba
these past five years thanks to lands,
mines and Indian slaves granted him by
Velzquez.
My herald told me you were loading
heavy hunters on board that carrack of
yours, the governor said suddenly. The
San Jorge? His right eye twitched, as
though in sympathy with Alvarados
scar.
The San Sebastin, Alvarado
corrected. What game was Velzquez
playing here? Did he really not
remember?
Oh yes. Of course. The San
Sebastin. A fine ship, which my
generosity helped you buy. So my
question is A long, silent pause. That
weird twitch again. Since our
expedition to the New Lands is purely
for trade and reconnaissance, what
possible use do you have for cavalry
horses?
The last words came out in a rush, as
though Velzquez were embarrassed to
raise the matter, and Alvarado launched
smoothly into the lie hed rehearsed with
Corts just that morning the lie that
half the fleet already knew by heart. For
self-defence, he said. Crdobas men
took such a beating last year because
they didnt have the advantage of
cavalry. Were not going to be caught out
the same way.
Velzquez sat back in his throne and
drummed on its arms with thick, ring-
encrusted fingers. I want to believe you,
Pedro, he said. You came with me from
Hispaniola and youve been a loyal ally
to me all these years in Cuba. But I still
dont understand why you were loading
the horses today or why another six were
seen going on board the Santa Mara at
the same time. Why load the horses now
when youre not sailing for another
week?
Alvarado spoke in his most honeyed
tones, as though reassuring a lover:
What your informants saw was a
routine training exercise, Don Diego!
Nothing more sinister than that. If the
horses are to serve us we must be able
to get them on and off our ships quickly
without broken legs. Its an exercise
well practise daily until we sail next
week.
There was another long silence during
which Velzquez visibly relaxed. Finally
he made a horrible attempt at a smile. I
knew you wouldnt be involved in
anything dishonourable, Pedro, he said.
Thats why I called you here. I need a
man I can trust. He rang a little bell and
from a curtained doorway a native Taino
Indian, clad in a white tunic, appeared
carrying a wooden chair. He crossed the
audience chamber with a peculiar
bobbing motion and the slap of bare feet,
placed the chair behind Alvarado and
retreated. Alvarado sat down but his
flesh crawled at the proximity of the
indigene. These creatures were, in his
opinion, barely human.
Velzquez reached beneath the table
and with a grunt pulled out a bulging silk
moneybag, opened its drawstrings and
poured the gleaming, jingling contents in
a flood onto the table. The river of gold
was heavy and bright. Involuntarily
Alvarado leaned forward in his chair,
his eyes widening as he tried to estimate
its value.
Five thousand pesos de oro, said
Velzquez, as though reading his
thoughts. Its yours if you will assist me
in a certain matter.
Five thousand pesos! A small fortune!
Alvarados love of gold was legendary.
He licked his lips: What do you want
me to do?
Youre a close friend of Don
Hernando Corts?
Yes, hes my friend. Since we were
boys.
Thats what I hear. But is your
friendship with Corts more important to
you than your loyalty to me? Velzquez
began to sweep the golden pesos back
into the bag.
Alvarados eyes followed the money.
I dont understand.
Hes planning to betray me, stormed
the governor, though God knows Ive
loved him as if he were my own son.
Once again his face had taken on the
congested look of a man about to burst
into tears. Believe me, Pedro, what I
have learnt this past day has been like a
thousand daggers through my heart.
Alvarado feigned shock: Corts?
Betray you? I dont believe it Hes
told me many times he loves you like a
father.
Words, mere words. When the fleet
reaches the New Lands I have sure
intelligence he will no longer act as my
viceroy but will declare the expedition
his own. Too late by far for anyone to
stop him! So I need your help now.
Velzquez drew the strings of the
moneybag closed and rested his hands
proprietorially on top of it. But first I
must know Can I trust you? Do I have
your loyalty? Will you deliver your
friend to me if I ask you to do so?
Friends come and go, said Alvarado
smoothly, but gold is a constant
companion. If you dont trust me, trust
gold
If you do exactly what I ask, said
Velzquez, then all this is yours.
Alvarado sat back in the chair, his
eyes fixed on the bag. Ask me, he said.
Invite Corts to join you for dinner
on the San Sebastin late this evening.
Shall we say around ten p.m.? Make
some pretext, something private you
want to discuss. Get him intrigued
Why so late?
Fewer people around, less chance
for things to go wrong.
What if hes otherwise engaged?
Then you must move the invitation to
tomorrow instead. But do all you can to
persuade him to join you tonight. Dine in
your stateroom. Serve him wine.
Velzquez searched in his robes and
brought out a little glass phial containing
a clear, colourless liquid. Pour this first
into the wine you will give him. Within
an hour he will be indisposed.
Dead?
No! I want the blackguard alive! The
draft will make him puke his guts out,
run a high fever, sweat like a lathered
horse. Youll send a man to fetch a
doctor Dr La Pea. You know him,
yes?
Alvarado nodded. La Pea was a
turd. He wondered how much Velzquez
was paying him for his part in the plot.
Hell come at once, the governor
continued. Whatever time of night it is.
But when he examines Corts hell say
he cant treat him on board ship and he
must be brought to his hospital in town
The doctors own carriage will take
him there.
Cortss people arent going to like
that.
Theyll have no choice. Their master
will be ill, close to death
Some of them are going to want to
ride with him.
No matter. When the carriage is clear
of the harbour, a squad of my palace
guard will be waiting for it at the
roadside. Anyone with Corts will be
killed; hell be brought to me here for
questioning; and you, my dear Pedro
Velzquez patted the bag will be an
even richer man than you are already.
You have thought of everything, Don
Diego.
Perhaps detecting a little of the scorn
buried deep in Alvarados tone,
Velzquez frowned: Its underhand but
necessary, he explained. Corts has
become powerful since I gave him
command of the fleet. If I arrest him
openly theres going to be a fight
Alvarado hastened to agree. Hes
recruited more than five hundred men,
signed them up with bribes and promises
and dreams. Their loyalty is to him
before anyone else
Thats exactly why hes so
dangerous! Thats why this poison has to
be rooted out now!
But I see one great weakness in your
plan.
Velzquez bristled: Weakness? What
weakness?
It only works if Im the sort of man
who would betray Corts for five
thousand pieces of gold.
Velzquez was hunched forward now,
an ugly scowl making him look suddenly
monstrous. And are you not such a
man? he said.
It seemed a good moment for some
drama, so Alvarado sprang to his feet,
sent his chair crashing back and towered
over the table, his right hand resting on
his sword belt. Five thousand pesos is a
paltry price to betray a friend.
Ten thousand then.
Twenty thousand, not a peso less.
Velzquez made a strangled sound:
Its a lot of money.
Youll lose a thousand times more if
Corts does what you fear.
Alvarado could see the idea of paying
out such a huge sum was almost too
horrible for the old man to contemplate.
For a moment he wondered if he had
gone too far, asked too much. But then
Velzquez reached under the table again
and with great effort pulled out three
more large moneybags, setting them
down beside the first. Very well, he
coughed. He seemed to have something
caught in his throat, twenty thousand it
is. Do we have a deal?
We have a deal, said Alvarado. As
he spoke he sensed danger and spun
round to find the governors personal
champion, bodyguard and bullyboy, a
gigantic warrior named Zemudio,
looming silently over him. The man was
as big as a barn door, bald as the full
moon and stealthy as a cat. Hed been in
Cuba for less than a month, joining the
governors service direct from the
Italian wars where hed won a fearsome
reputation. As yet hed fought no bouts in
the islands.
My, my, said Alvarado, annoyed that
he had to crane his neck like a child to
see Zemudios stubborn, oafish face.
Where did you come from? Another of
those creepy curtained doors, he
thought. He looked the champion up and
down. The brute wore light body-armour
knee-length breeches and a sleeveless
vest, both made of padded cotton with
hundreds of small steel plates riveted
into the lining. He was armed with an
old-fashioned falchion that was
exceptionally long and heavy in the
blade. Though crude, and unsuited to a
gentleman, this cutlass-like weapon
wielded by a strong, experienced hand
could do terrible damage.
For a moment Alvarado locked stares
with the champion, testing his will.
Small, brown, patient eyes glared back
at him, unblinking, flat as buttons, filled
with stupid self-confidence.
As the aura of threat between the two
men became palpable, Velzquez spoke:
Its all right, Zemudio. Don Pedro and I
have reached an accommodation.
At once the huge bodyguard stepped
back.
Alvarado retrieved his chair and sat
down. Why was any of that necessary?
he asked. His neck and shoulders
prickled under Zemudios violent stare,
but he refused to acknowledge him.
I couldnt be sure youd deal, said
the governor. If you didnt He drew
his hand meaningfully across his throat.
Youd have had me killed?
Of course. But all that is behind us
now. You give me Corts, I give you
these twenty thousand gold pesos
Who leads the expedition when
Corts is gone?
Your question is to the point, said
the governor. He pulled a sheet of
vellum from a thick heap on the table in
front of him, dipped a quill in an inkwell
and began to write in a small, spidery
hand. As the quill grated across the
calfskin, Alvarado tried to read the
words upside down but couldnt make
them out. Velzquez frowned with
concen- tration, pushing the tip of his
tongue out between his lips like a
schoolboy in an examination.
When the governor was done, he read
through what he had written, blotted the
page and placed it in a document wallet.
A motion of his finger was sufficient to
bring Zemudio surging to his side. Go at
once to Narvez. Give the wallet to him.
Hell know what to do.
As the bodyguard placed the wallet in
a leather satchel and strode from the
room, Velzquez turned back to
Alvarado. Ive chosen a man I can trust
to lead the expedition, he said. My
cousin Pnfilo de Narvez. Zemudio
takes my orders to him now.
Narvez! A complete ass!
Incompetent, vainglorious and foolish! In
every way the antipodes of Corts! But
Alvarado kept these thoughts to himself
and instead asked slyly, Who will be
second in command?
I thought perhaps you, Don Pedro, if
you agree.
Alvarado didnt hesitate: Of course I
agree. It will be an honour and my
privilege to serve under a great captain
like Narvez.
Velzquez grasped one of the fat
moneybags, rose from his throne and
walked round the mahogany table.
Alvarado also stood and the governor
passed the bag to him. A quarter of your
payment in advance, he said. Youll get
the rest when youve delivered Corts.
He awkwardly embraced Alvarado and
told him to return at once to his ship.
Send your invitation to Corts. Make
ready for tonight. He clapped his hands
and the great formal doors of the
audience chamber were swung open by
two iron-masked guardsmen armed with
double-headed battle-axes.
Alvarado didnt return to his ship.
When hed passed the last of the
governors guards and made certain no
one followed him, he led his white
stallion Bucephalus out from the palace
stables, secured his gold in a saddlebag
and rode at full gallop after Zemudio.
The only way to get to Narvezs
estate lay across dry, hilly country,
partially overgrown with groves of
acacia trees and intercut by a series of
shallow ravines. The champion had left
a trail a three-year-old could follow, so
quite soon Alvarado started to get
glimpses of him that broad back, that
bald head, that air, obvious even from
afar, of unshakable self-confidence.
Lets see how confident you really
are, thought Alvarado. He touched his
spurs gently to Bucephaluss flanks; the
great war horse thundered forward as
fast as a bolt from a crossbow, and the
distance began to close rapidly.
Chapter Eleven
Santiago, Cuba, Thursday 18
February 1519
A glance at the sun told Pepillo it was
well past two in the afternoon, perhaps
nearer three. He felt bone weary, his
arms already protesting at the weight of
the two big leather bags hed finally
retrieved from the Customs House after
hours of frustration and confusion
involving five different officers, three
different batches of paperwork and a
lengthy temporary misplacement of the
bags themselves.
Which he still had to carry to the pier!
He groaned. The distance was close
to a mile! Worse still, this second pair of
bags was even heavier than the first, but
they clunked and clanged in the same
way, as though filled with metal objects.
The road thronged with people
coming and going between the town and
the harbour. For the most part they were
Spaniards but there were Taino Indians
amongst them and Pepillo passed a file
of Negro slaves, naked but for
loincloths, marching up from the docks
with huge bundles balanced on their
heads. An open coach drawn by a pair of
horses sped by carrying a young
noblewoman and her retinue of giggling
favourites. Then an ox slowly plodded
past, pulling a cart. It had ample space
for a passenger and his baggage, but
when Pepillo tried to steal a ride, a
ferocious dog jumped back from the
drivers platform and threatened him
with bared teeth.
Pepillo resigned himself to walking.
He had walked this morning and he
would walk again this afternoon, but he
did hate the way the bag in his right hand
kept banging against his shin. The
assortment of loose metal objects that
Muoz had packed it with seemed
maliciously placed to bruise him and
make him miss his step. Aargh! he
grunted as the bag smacked into him
again. In a fit of temper he dropped it
and threw its companion down after it.
The clasps of the second bag burst
open as it hit the ground.
Inside the bag were steel knives tiny
knives so sharp that their blades cut at
the slightest touch, hooked and barbed
knives, butchers knives the size of small
swords, knives like saws, daggers with
jagged edges, stilettos, cleavers, spikes,
skewers
Pepillo realised immediately he was
in a dangerous situation. Santiago was a
tough town, filled with fighting men, and
there were weapons here that any
fighting man would want to possess. As
he crouched by the bag, struggling to
close it, hastily rearranging its contents,
fumbling with its catches, he noticed
some strips of dried skin, with hair
attached, lying inside. How extremely
strange!
Pepillo looked back and saw a figure
approaching, a shimmering black ribbon
silhouetted by the sun. He felt
threatened. The knives mustnt be seen!
With a flurry of effort he succeeded at
last in closing and relocking the bag just
as a man materialised at his side and
stood over him.
Is there a problem here? the man
asked. He was Castilian. His voice was
subtle, pleasant, educated, but pitched
high and with perhaps the slightest hint
of a lisp.
Pepillo looked up and was reassured
to see the stranger wore a friars habit.
No knife-stealing ruffian this! I had an
accident, Father. I dropped my masters
bags, one of them came open, but
everything seems to be in order now.
The friar still had the sun behind him
and his face was hidden in deep shadow.
Do you know what your master keeps in
this bag? he asked.
Some instinct made Pepillo lie: I
dont know, Father, I just fumbled it
closed again as quickly as I could.
Youd better thank Providence you
did! the friar suddenly shouted. He
punched Pepillo hard in the face,
knocking him on his back, then ran
forward and kicked him in the ribs.
Thats for dropping my bags, he
yelled.
As a bolt of pain exploded in his side,
Pepillo understood what he should have
realised at once. This was Father Muoz
hed run into! And at the worst possible
moment! Father Muoz returning from
his mysterious, day-long absence
where hed been up to no good if
Melchior was any judge.
Pepillo lay curled on the road in a
defensive ball, wincing at the thought of
another kick as he looked at the Fathers
large, dirty feet and cracked, broken
toenails strapped into heavy-duty
hobnailed sandals. Muoz wore the
black habit of the Dominicans, which
hed hitched up to his knobbly knees for
walking, exposing scrawny ankles and
calves overgrown with short black hairs
and crosshatched with small blue veins.
Stick legs like a crow, Pepillo
thought.
The little fat belly that Melchior had
described was also there. It bulged
through the Fathers woollen habit and
overhung the length of rope tied round
his waist as a belt.
Muoz was thirty-five or forty years
old, sallow-skinned and clean-shaven,
with a broad forehead and a thick crown
of greasy black hair encircling the dome
of his tonsure. His two upper front teeth
protruded, much as Melchior had
described, and his upper lip, which was
red and moist, was drawn back around
them in a fixed snarl. He had a receding
chin and rather chubby cheeks that made
his face look weak, but his large nose
with its prominent bridge and wide
nostrils sent the opposite message. There
was the same ambiguity about his eyes.
At first glance they were warm, kindly,
wrinkled at the edges by smile lines, but
when he turned to meet Pepillos furtive
stare, they emptied of emotion in an
instant and became hooded and cold.
Muoz drew his foot back. What are
you gawping at? he barked.
You, Father, said Pepillo. Youre
my master then?
So it seems. Though I must confess I
dont see the point of a runt like you.
I can read, Father, I can clerk, I can
keep numbers
Splendid splendid But can you
carry bags? Muoz had moved round
behind Pepillo and now kicked him low
in the back. Well, can you? It doesnt
look like you can. And if you cant even
carry bags, then what use are you to
me?
Although his tongue bled where hed
bitten down on it, Pepillo felt stubbornly
proud that he hadnt cried out. He rolled
onto his stomach, slowly, laboriously,
got to his feet and picked up both bags.
He could do this.
He shuffled his left foot forward, then
his right, felt the bag bang into his shin.
Left, right, bang, he did it again. He
picked up the pace, blinked his eyes and
focussed on the distant pier. He thought
he could see the booms and derricks
around the Santa Mara and the high
sides of the San Sebastin. The ships
were still far away, but not impossibly
far. If he could just keep putting one foot
in front of the other, he would get there
in the end.
Without warning, Muoz unleashed
another kick. This time the foot in its
heavy sandal connected with Pepillos
buttocks like a blow from a
sledgehammer, lifted him bodily off the
ground and sent him sprawling on his
face, losing his grip on both bags. He
struggled to stand but Muoz toyed with
him, kicking his arms and legs from
under him, making him collapse
repeatedly.
Why are you torturing me? Pepillo
asked.
Muoz was all over him, straddling
him, whispering in his ear. You think
this is torture? Ill show you what torture
is.
But why? For an instant Pepillos
resolve broke and he let out a strangled
sob. What have I done to you?
You searched my bag, said Muoz.
I didnt! I swear!
I saw you with your filthy hands in
it.
Youre mistaken, Father
A pause. Heavy breathing. Swear it
on the Holy Book!
Pepillo must have hesitated because
quick as a flash Muoz rolled him on his
back, reached down a long bony hand
and seized him by the nostrils, applying
painful, grinding pressure with his thumb
and forefinger. Pepillo refused to cry
out, but his eyes watered profusely and
the pain got worse. He felt something
twist, then break, high up near the bridge
of his nose, and blood gushed down his
face and filled his mouth. He spluttered,
felt the blood enter his windpipe and
began to cough and choke. How silly!
He was drowning in his own blood! He
struggled to turn his head to the side,
wanting the stream to flow out of his
body and into the ground, but Muoz still
held him fast by the nose and glared
down at him with the light of madness
dancing in his eyes.
Pepillo gagged and spluttered, but it
hurt to struggle and anyway there was no
strength left in his body. His sight grew
blurred, a tremendous weariness stole
over him and a great ringing filled his
ears.
Chapter Twelve
Tlascala, Thursday 18
February 1519
When Shikotenka propelled himself out
of the crevice he was ready for anything,
his knife back in his hand and a snarl on
his lips. To be sure, it had been agreed
this was to be a matter of honour
between knights, but he still half
expected to be bludgeoned into
unconsciousness. Hed long since
learned the bitter lesson that any
treachery was possible when dealing
with the Mexica.
But Guatemoc hadnt betrayed him.
Draped in a shimmering cloak of
turquoise cotinga feathers, the prince
was strolling up the hill and singing,
passably enough if somewhat out of tune,
the lyrics of I Say This.
The song was well chosen. As famous
amongst the Mexica as it was amongst
the Tlascalans, it had been composed by
Shikotenkas ancient father Shikotenka
the Elder and it contained an
embarrassing reference to Shikotenka
himself, which Guatemoc now recited:
My young son, you leader of men, a
precious creature.
Guatemoc looked back over his
shoulder and gave Shikotenka a mocking
smile. Behold, he said, the precious
creature has emerged from its burrow.
Creep in my tracks if you wish, oh
leader of men, the long grass will hide
you.
Guatemoc was a head taller than
Shikotenka, broader in the shoulder,
heavier through the body and about five
years younger, perhaps twenty-seven to
Shikotenkas thirty-three. He wore a
mahogany helmet, painted gold, in the
form of an eagles head. The jutting beak
framed his handsome face, which was
also eagle-like with a hooked nose and
cruel mouth and bright, predatory eyes.
His black hair tumbled down over his
shoulders from beneath his helmet. In his
right hand, held loosely, almost
carelessly, was a long spear with a leaf-
shaped obsidian blade. Strapped to his
back, lodged inside a leather scabbard
with only its handle protruding above the
collar of his cloak, was his macuahuitl,
the obsidian-edged broadsword used
both by Mexica and Tlascalan knights as
their primary battle weapon. Shikotenka
had come here to spy, not to fight, and
for that reason was without his sword,
but he didnt worry unduly about the
imbalance. The macuahuitl was an
instrument for killing and dismembering
opponents. If Guatemoc opted to use it
he would be unlikely to end the fight
with a live prisoner to offer to
Hummingbird.
Shikotenka put his knife back between
his teeth again and snaked silently on his
belly through the tall, feathery grass that
covered much of the hillside. It was a
manoeuvre he had practised in a
thousand training sessions, so it was an
easy matter to circle past the Mexica
prince and get ahead of him.
When Guatemoc reached the hollow,
Shikotenka was already there.
Im not going to ask you how you did
that, said Guatemoc. He stood at the
edge of the grassy circle in the bottom of
the hollow, ten paces from Shikotenka.
Put it down to my superior military
training.
If Tlascalan military training is in
any way superior, then why do we
Mexica so often defeat you in battle?
Id say its because you breed like
rabbits and outnumber us ten to one,
said Shikotenka. On the rare occasions
when its a fair fight with equal numbers,
we Tlascalans always win.
Guatemoc smiled but there was no
humour in it. I see one Mexica and one
Tlascalan here, he said, so lets put
your theory to the test. He removed his
helmet and placed it on the ground, set
down his spear and cast off his
shimmering turquoise cloak. As well as
his great advantage of height, Guatemoc
had the broad, muscular chest, narrow
waist and powerful sculpted legs of an
athlete. He wore no armour, only a
simple white loincloth and battle
sandals. Were even dressed the same,
he observed. What could be fairer than
that?
You still have your macuahuitl,
Shikotenka pointed out.
Ah yes. Of course. Guatemoc shook
off the leather shoulder straps that held
the scabbard to his back and laid the
weapon down on the grass. In the same
smooth movement he snatched a long,
double-edged flint dagger from its sheath
at his waist. Knife to knife then, he
said.
Knife to knife, said Shikotenka. He
raised his own double-edged blade in a
mock salute. But will you tell me
something first? he asked. Something
Im curious about
By all means.
How did you find me? I chose that
crevice carefully. I was well hidden
inside it. You shouldnt have been able
to see me there
Do you have a sweetheart?
Guatemoc asked.
What? said Shikotenka. He couldnt
understand the sudden change of subject.
A sweetheart. Do you have one?
Youre talking about a woman?
Yes. Or a man if youre that way
inclined. A sweetheart. Someone who
loves you.
Well yes. I do
Girl? Boy?
Shikotenka laughed. Girl.
And her name?
Zilonen.
Beautiful name. Shes the one that
gave you to me
Shikotenka perceived an insult and his
blood instantly boiled, but Guatemoc
held up an appeasing hand: Dont
worry, thats not what I mean!
What do you mean?
Im picturing a tender moment. After
a night of passion Shikotenka and
Zilonen are saying their goodbyes.
Shikotenka is a daring sort of fellow and
hes off on a dangerous mission to spy
on the Mexica. Zilonen says, Wear this
charm for me, my love, and gives him a
silver amulet she has worn since
childhood. She weaves it into
Shikotenkas hair. It will keep you
safe she says.
Shikotenkas hand went to his long
braided hair. Hed forgotten about the
little amulet, but it was still there, still
intact, still shiny, exactly where his wife
Zilonen had placed it. Hed been a fool
not to remove it immediately, but hed
felt sentimental about it. Now he saw
how it had put his life in danger. It was
reflecting the sunlight, he said.
Like a signal.
Really elementary mistake on my
part, admitted Shikotenka.
Thats how I found you, said
Guatemoc. And while he was still
speaking, giving no hint or warning of
his intent, without even a change of
facial expression, he launched himself at
Shikotenka across the ten paces that
separated them, his dagger gripped
point-down in his right fist, its long
blade hissing through the air in a blur of
criss-crossing diagonal slashes.
Shikotenka was unimpressed. Hed
survived enough knife fights to know that
speed, strength and technique were all
very well, but what really counted was
having the sheer malicious will to do as
much harm as possible to your enemy.
By all accounts Guatemoc was brave
and cruel in battle, but Shikotenka knew
there were limits to the damage he
would want to do today when his
overriding concern must be to win
honour by bringing in a high-ranking
living captive for sacrifice.
Shikotenka had no such distractions.
He would not take Guatemoc prisoner.
His only interest, the entire focus of his
will, was to kill him now, quickly and
silently, and continue with his mission.
So he weaved and ducked before the
furious assault, keeping his own knife
hand back, not yet committing himself to
a counterattack, waiting for the right
moment.
It must be difficult for you, he said
conversationally as they circled.
Guatemoc blinked: Difficult? What?
To be the most accomplished warrior
in Coaxochs army and yet see his
windbag sons raised above you as
regiment generals.
Theyre welcome to the job, laughed
Guatemoc. I fight for honour not
position, and I take my orders only from
our Speaker.
Oh yes, of course, your uncle! But
tell me as a brave Mexica, how can
you possibly endure the leadership of
that stuffed tunic? Why even Coaxoch is
a better man than him!
Moctezuma is the greatest Speaker
ever to lead the Mexica nation.
Come off it, Guatemoc! You dont
really believe that, do you? The mans
an arse. I know hes an arse. You know
hes an arse. Why not just admit it?
Hes a great man.
Hes an arse. Hes going to put you
all in the shit if you dont get rid of him
soon. Thats what arses do.
Ill not hear your filthy insults against
my Speaker! Guatemoc feinted as
though about to strike upward and
predictably stabbed down, aiming to
disable Shikotenka with a wound to the
thigh.
Shikotenka danced away from the
blade. Perhaps the rumour about the
Lady Achautli is true? he suggested. He
made the face of a man who has tasted
something sour. It would explain your
insane loyalty.
You dare speak of my mother!
Not I, Guatemoc, not I, but every
gossip on every street corner, every
merchant, every fruit-seller, every
masturbating schoolboy speaks of your
mother and of your mothers loins
A thunderous look had settled over
Guatemocs brow. You go too far! he
warned.
Apparently those loins of hers were
famously loose
Too far! Guatemoc roared, and
lashed out with his knife a curling right
hook that whistled past Shikotenkas
neck, missing him by the breadth of a
finger.
Shikotenka danced away another few
paces. He could feel the joy of battle
rising in him. Apparently, he said, the
Lady Achautli wasnt just bedding your
father Cuitlhuac that poor cuckold!
when you were conceived. The hot little
hussy was also bedding his brother
Moctezuma. Five times a day Im told,
when she could get it. So no wonder
youre loyal to him! Hes not just your
uncle, hes your father as well!
As Guatemoc charged, making
strangled, choking sounds, drawing his
dagger up into a brutal overhead strike,
time seemed to slow for Shikotenka, and
muscle memory from many battles took
over. He slid his left foot forward,
punched his blade into his opponents
exposed flank, scraped it across his ribs
and swung it up to parry his strike.
The knives clashed and locked a span
above Shikotenkas head, and the two
men strained against each other, muscles
knotted, grunting like animals.
Shikotenka found himself close enough
to Guatemoc to see the mad cruel
Mexica arrogance in his eyes and smell
the distinctive metallic reek of human
blood on his breath. Which of my
brothers? he thought. Which of my
sisters?
Knife fighting was all about
deception, so Shikotenka allowed
Guatemoc to use his superior height and
weight to bear down on the fulcrum of
the two blades, wanting him to focus his
mind there. He waited waited
until he felt the point of balance shift,
then abruptly swept his own blade clear,
letting the big mans momentum carry
him forward and down. Guatemoc rolled
as he hit the ground, bounded back to his
feet and came circling in again, but he
was slower than before, blood was
streaming from the wound in his side and
he seemed to notice the injury for the
first time.
Did he still seriously imagine he was
going to take a captive here?
Guatemoc lunged and Shikotenka
blocked, slid his left leg forward,
trapped Guatemocs right knee behind
his left knee, sliced the blade of his knife
thrice through the soft flesh of
Guatemocs right forearm to disable his
knife hand and in a flurry of activity
stabbed him in the chest and throat five
times in rapid succession Tac! Tac!
Tac! Tac! Tac!
In an instant the bottom of the hollow
had become a butchers shambles and
Guatemoc was on his back on the grass.
A bright bubble of blood at the corner
of his mouth, the faint rise and fall of his
chest and the pulse of the big artery in
his neck miraculously still intact
were evidence that life still clung to his
body.
Shikotenka stooped, knife in hand,
whispering a brief prayer of gratitude
that his enemys heart still beat.
Ilamatecuhtli, aged goddess of the earth
and death, required no temple or idol
and would surely be pleased to receive
such an exalted offering.
True the victim was no longer in
perfect physical condition
But while he lived he could be
sacrificed.
Like the helpless Tlascalans
sacrificed this morning. The smell of
their blood still lingered on Guatemocs
failing breath.
Cold, implacable rage seized
Shikotenka as he remembered the
slaughter and his impotence as he
witnessed it. He positioned himself to
split the princes breastbone, raised his
knife and was about to make the first
deep incision when a wet, choking rattle
rose in Guatemocs throat, a great
convulsion shook his body and his heels
drummed out a furious tattoo on the
ground. Blood spewed from his mouth
and, with a final hideous groan, his
breathing ceased, the pulse of the artery
in his neck slowed and stopped and the
spirit left him.
Unbelievable! Even in defeat the
strutting Mexica had found a way to
escape the rightful vengeance of
Tlascala! It would have been justice to
tear his palpitating heart from his chest,
but now it was too late.
One could not meaningfully sacrifice
the dead.
Keeping his knife in his fist,
Shikotenka dropped to his haunches
while he decided what to do. The
thought occurred to him that he might cut
out Guatemocs heart anyway and leave
it on the grass beside his corpse. It
would send a potent message to
Moctezuma of Tlascalan contempt.
There was a risk the body would be
found in the coming hours, putting the
Mexica army on high alert with
potentially disastrous consequences for
tonights raid, but that risk would be
there whatever Shikotenka did. With so
much blood about already it would be
pointless to try to hide the body, so he
might as well have the pleasure of
inflicting this final humiliation upon it.
Again he raised his knife, and again
lowered it.
The problem was he found no
pleasure at all in the prospect of further
humiliating Guatemoc.
Quite the opposite.
As he looked down at the still, broken
corpse of the prince, his handsome face
peaceful and almost boyish in death,
Shikotenka realised that what he felt was

This could be my brother.

This could be my friend.
To be sure, Guatemoc was Mexica,
and belonged to the family of the hated
Speaker. That was his birth. That was
his fate. But he had also shown courage,
chivalry, intelligence and ingenuity and
had been, in his own way, amusing.
Hed not been as good a knife fighter
as hed imagined, though.
With a grunt of displeasure,
Shikotenka stood, cast around and
snatched up Guatemocs macuahuitl
from where it lay nearby. He strapped it
to his back, strode to the rim of the
hollow, dropped on his belly and began
to crawl furiously through the long grass
towards the top of the hill a few
bowshots above.
Dust filled his nostrils as he snaked
upward. He passed through further
hollows and gullies that hid him
completely from view, but there were
other stretches where the cover was thin
and he felt dangerously exposed.
Shikotenka risked a glance back as he
reached the summit and saw nothing to
suggest hed been detected by the
Mexica army below. He crawled a few
body-lengths down the other side of the
hill to be sure he was out of sight, then
stood and broke into a run. Soon he
settled into the loping, long-distance
stride that would carry him effortlessly
over the ten miles of rough country to the
forest where his squad lay hidden.
His spirits soared.
If things had gone according to plan he
would have waited until nightfall to do
this run, hidden by darkness from
Mexica scouting parties.
But war was the art of improvisation.
Chapter Thirteen
Tenochtitlan, Thursday 18
February 1519
After the priests had gone, Malinal was
dazed and silent, not wanting to speak as
she tried to make sense of what had just
happened, reliving the events scene by
scene:
Shes seated on the ground beside
strange, powerful little Tozi. She
holds Tozis hand. Shes aware that
Tozi is whispering under her breath,
but the words are so quiet and so fast
she cant make them out. On the
other side of Tozi, with his head
nestled in her lap, Coyotl sleeps the
sleep of the innocent so he cannot
see Ahuizotl approaching or the
murderous intent that oozes from
every pore of the high priests face.
What Malinal hasnt told Tozi yet
is that Ahuizotl knows her knows
her very well and if he sees her he
will certainly select her and anyone
with her for sacrifice. She feels bad
for putting Tozi and Coyotl at
additional risk this way, but theres
no alternative. Her only realistic
hope of staying alive is to continue
to harness the girls astonishing
skills and learn from her extensive
and ingenious knowledge of the
prison.
All that, however, has become
irrelevant now that Ahuizotl is here,
limping towards her. Since hes using
his spear as a crutch he points the
index finger of his left hand at the
victims he chooses for the knife. He
singles them out with grim intensity,
sometimes stopping to peer into a
womans eyes as his finger consigns
her to death, sometimes making her
stand and perform some repetitive
physical task before selecting or
rejecting her as a victim.
Hes less than twenty paces away
now, ripples of fear spreading out
ahead of him through the terrorised
crowd. Malinal has her eyes
downcast, praying hell somehow
pass her by, trying to think of herself
as ugly, imagining herself flat-
chested, hunched, wrinkled, covered
in pustules and boils, as Tozi
suggested. Its difficult because she
has lived all her life with the
knowledge that she is beautiful, but
she works hard at it, is even
beginning to believe it, when she
starts to notice a burning sensation
at the centre of her brow. A reflex
movement that she cant control
makes her look up and she sees
Ahuizotl staring intently at her, his
jaundiced water-monster eyes
glittering with malice.
He limps closer until just five
paces separate them and its clear
hes not fooled. There was never any
point trying to hide from a man as
evil as this. A sly, triumphant smirk
comes and goes on his wicked face.
He raises his left arm, his long bony
finger snakes out and he inscribes a
circle in the air encompassing
Malinal, Tozi and Coyotl, consigning
all three of them to death.
As the enforcers stride forward to
grab them, Tozis whisper changes
pitch and her voice seems to deepen
and roughen, becoming almost a
snarl or a growl. Malinal suddenly
feels her hair stand on end, feels it
crackling and sparking with an inner
fire. Tozi and Coyotl are struck the
same way. At the same instant a
transparent, filmy screen seems to
form itself around them, as though
theyre on the inside of a bubble.
Ahuizotls jaw drops. He blinks
stupidly. He rubs his eyes with the
back of his hands. He has the look of
a man in the path of a whirlwind. His
four bodyguards wear the same
amazed, bemused, disbelieving
expression. And theyve all stopped
in their tracks.
What are they seeing?
Or not seeing?
Malinal can only guess until
Ahuizotl utters a single, high-pitched
shout of pure frustration and limps
forward, leaning on his spear. To her
astonishment he passes right
through her and through Tozi without
any impact or collision. One of the
bodyguards tramples Coyotl and
again theres no damage. All
Malinals senses tell her the three of
them are still on the prison floor. Yet
some strange transformation seems
to have taken place and theyve
become no more substantial than the
mist of a summer morning.
Ahuizotl looks back and its
obvious he still cant see them. He
slashes the broad blade of his spear
through the air, by chance passing it
twice through Malinals body, but she
feels nothing, suffers no injury, and
he does not detect her presence.
A crowd of priests and enforcers
have gathered round now. Theyre all
staring at the place where Malinal,
Tozi and Coyotl still are but they too
do not see them.
Ahuizotl glares at his underlings.
Tell me what you observed here, he
snaps at a junior priest.
Venerable one. I saw you select
three victims. Then they disappeared!
They vanished before our eyes. It is
surely an omen.
Wrong! roars Ahuizotl. I selected
no victims. No victims disappeared.
There is no omen
The young priest looks uncertain:
But venerable one, I saw it with my
own eyes We all did.
Suddenly Ahuizotl makes a lunge
with the spear. Despite his injured
leg its a forceful, vicious thrust at
close range. The heavy flint blade
plunges into the priests throat and
smashes out through the vertebrae at
the base of his skull, almost
decapitating him. You saw nothing,
says Ahuizotl to the corpse. He
wrestles his spear free. No victims
disappeared.
Twenty other priests and enforcers
stand watching and Ahuizotl turns
slowly on the spot, holding the
dripping spear, looking from man to
man. What did you see? he asks.
One by one they reply that they
have seen nothing.
Very well, says Ahuizotl. He claps
his hands. Weve not yet filled our
quota for this afternoons sacrifice.
He smiles, exposing his gums. I
suggest we continue.
Despite his bravado, Malinal can
see hes a worried man.
As well he might be, since shes
miraculously vanished into thin air
just when she seemed most
completely in his power! Hell be
wondering if some god is aiding her,
where she might turn up next and
whom she might talk to. She knows
too much for him ever to feel safe
while she lives.
He begins to work his way through
the prisoners again, casually
assigning death to them with every
jab of his finger. Screams and wails
go up from the women in his path as
they are dragged off by the
enforcers. Ahuizotl doesnt deviate
left or right but ploughs straight
ahead. Hes moving fast and soon
hes a hundred paces away, then two
hundred. The screams become more
distant. After some time they stop
completely. Ahuizotl and his
entourage can no longer be seen and
silence falls.
Once every part of the floor was
busy with captives, but so many have
been taken that there are now large
gaps and empty spaces. Its fortunate
that such a gap has opened up where
Malinal sits with Tozi and Coyotl,
because suddenly the magic is over.
The tempo of Tozis whispers
changes, the static goes out of their
hair, the filmy screen that has
surrounded and concealed them
withdraws, and they are back.
With so much to think about, Malinal
stayed silent for a long while after the
priests were gone.
Finally she turned to Tozi. Ive got
something to tell you, she said.
That was when she realised how pale
and beaten Tozi looked and noticed for
the first time that blood had streamed
from her left ear and run in a line down
her neck.
Chapter Fourteen
Santiago, Cuba, Thursday 18
February 1519
As Pepillo regained consciousness he
heard a mans voice: Come, come,
Father. The voice was deep, faintly
reproving and filled with calm,
confident authority. This is no way for a
religious to behave on the public
highway. Has the heat overmastered
you? Have you lost your reason?
With tremendous gratitude and relief,
Pepillo discovered that he had been
released from the crushing grip on his
nose. He rolled over and pushed himself
onto his knees, head down, coughing and
gurgling, clearing a torrent of blood and
phlegm from his windpipe. Over the
sounds he was making, he heard Muoz
speaking through clenched teeth: Where
I choose to discipline my page is not
your business, sir.
Hmmm. Perhaps youre right. But
youre a man of God, Father a man
and this boy is little more than a child,
and does not the Good Book say that the
Kingdom of Heaven belongs to ones
such as these?
Pepillo was breathing freely again.
Some blood was still running from his
nose, but not enough to choke on. He
scrambled to his feet and saw his
rescuer mounted on a big chestnut
stallion, towering over Muoz and
himself.
Withhold not correction from the
child, Muoz suddenly thundered.
Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and
shalt deliver his soul from hell.
The man on the horse nodded his
head. Proverbs 23, he said, verses 13
and 14 But I still prefer the words of
Christ our Saviour: Whoso shall offend
one of these little ones which believe in
me, it were better for him that a
millstone were hanged about his neck,
and that he were drowned in the depth of
the sea Matthew 18:6, if I remember
correctly.
You dare to tell me my scriptures!
Muoz snapped.
The word of God is for all, Father.
By now Pepillo very much liked the
man on the horse, not only for saving him
from a painful beating, or because he
had the nerve to quote the Bible at
Muoz, but also because he looked
splendid and warlike and must surely be
a great lord. He wore long leather boots,
a fine Toledo broadsword strapped over
his rich purple doublet, a black velvet
cloak with knots and buttons of gold, and
a large gold medallion suspended from a
thick gold chain around his neck. On his
head, tilted at a jaunty angle, was a
broad-brimmed leather hat with a plume
of feathers. Perhaps thirty-five years old,
but radiating an air of worldly
experience that made him seem far older,
he was deeply tanned with a long oval
face, a generous forehead and black hair
cropped short, military style. A beard
followed the firm edge of his jaw and
covered his chin; a long moustache
decorated his upper lip. Disconcertingly,
his eyes were different sizes, shapes and
colours the left being large, round and
grey, the right being smaller, oval, and
so dark it was almost black.
The word of God is indeed for all,
said Muoz gruffly, but most do not
merit it and fewer truly understand it.
He signalled Pepillo. Pick up the bags,
boy. We still have a long way to go.
Pepillo jumped to obey but the
horseman said, Hold! and raised his
gauntleted right hand. He turned to
Muoz. I see you wear the habit of the
Dominicans, Father. But the monastery is
that way he pointed to the town
back the way you came. Theres nothing
but ships up ahead.
Muoz sighed. I am here to take
passage on one of those ships. I am
appointed Inquisitor of the expedition of
Diego Velzquez, which is soon to set
sail to the New Lands.
By which you must mean the
expedition of Hernando Corts.
No. It is the expedition of Diego de
Velzquez, governor of this island He
it was who conceived of it, financed it,
supplied the ships. Corts is merely its
captain. A hired hand.
The man on the horse gave Muoz a
cold smile. You will find, he said, that
I am much more than a hired hand. He
took off his hat, swept it down in a
salute: Hernando Corts at your
service. Velzquez sent me word to
expect you. Ive set aside a cabin for you
on my flagship.
Then you must have known all along
who I am! An angry grimace crossed
Muozs face as the implications
dawned. Youve been playing me for a
fool, sir.
Ive been learning about you, Father

And what have you learned?

That you are Velzquezs man. Its
something I will think on.
Arent we all Velzquezs men?
Were all the kings men and his
loyal subjects, Father. Corts looked
down at Pepillo and winked, his
mismatched eyes giving him an oddly
quirky and cheerful look. Pass me those
bags, he said. He indicated hooks
hanging from both sides of his saddle.
Pepillo swung towards Muoz,
seeking permission, but the Dominican
said loudly, No! There was an edge of
something like panic in his voice.
Nonsense! said Corts as he spurred
his horse round Muoz, kicking up a
cloud of dust and stooping down low to
snatch the two bags and secure them to
his saddle. My manservant Melchior
will have these waiting for your page to
collect when you come on board, he
told the friar. He touched the spurs to his
horses sides again and galloped
towards the pier where, in the distance,
the Santa Mara de la Concepcin was
still loading.
But but but Pepillo opened
and closed his mouth, feeling shocked,
not sure what to expect next.
Muoz turned towards him with a
terrible blank stare.
Chapter Fifteen
Cuba, Thursday 18 February
1519
Zemudio was riding a piebald heavy
hunter a full eighteen hands high. Its huge
hooves threw up curtains of dust and the
low hills, shallow ravines and stands of
acacia trees provided excellent cover so
Alvarado was able to gain ground
rapidly without being seen.
His hand went to his rapier and he felt
a flush of excitement as he caressed the
guard of interlaced steel rings that
surrounded the hilt. The weapon had
been made for him by Andrs Nuez of
Toledo, reckoned by many to be the
greatest swordsmith in the world. Over
the years Alvarado had purchased
eleven blades by Nuez including two
double-handed longswords and three
broadswords. The rapier brought his
collection to twelve and had been
delivered only yesterday. It was very
long, light and flexible, and culminated
in a deadly needle tip claimed by Nuez
to be able to punch through the toughest
chain mail and even penetrate plate
armour. But unlike most other such
weapons, designed primarily or
exclusively for lunging and stabbing, this
sword also had a strong double-edged
cutting blade. The combination of these
virtues was made possible by new
techniques for tempering steel that were
known only to a few, of whom Nuez
was one.
Bucephalus was much faster than the
heavy hunter; the distance had closed to
less than a bowshot and still Zemudio
did not look back. Alvarado drew the
rapier, liking the heft of it in his hand,
raised it above his head and rose up in
his stirrups to add force to the blow. He
hoped to decapitate the man with a
single stroke. If he could get the
positioning right he was confident this
curious new blade could do it, but if he
failed it would quickly come to steel on
steel his long thin blade against the
champions massive falchion.
Hed not yet been able to test the
rapier in such a match.
Or against such a dangerous opponent.
But what was life without risks?
Alvarado drew within three lengths of
Zemudio, then two, then one, and began
to overhaul him. Surely he must hear the
thunder of Bucephaluss hooves and the
bellows of his breath as he galloped?
But even now the man seemed not to
notice he was being followed!
As he drew parallel, Alvarados arm
came lashing down to deliver a
powerful scooping, scything strike, but
annoyingly, at the last moment, Zemudio
wasnt there. With unexpected speed and
dexterity he ducked low across the
heavy hunters neck, letting the blade
hiss over his head, and immediately
lashed out a counter-blow with the
wicked-looking falchion that had
somehow miraculously sprung into his
hand.
Alvarado swerved Bucephalus to
avoid being hacked in half and lost
momentum for an instant before resuming
the pursuit at full gallop. Obviously
Zemudio wasnt as stupid as he looked.
He must have known all along he was
being followed and hed been ready for
the attack.
There was a real danger that the
champion might yet prove formidable.
With a sigh because he hated to waste
good horseflesh, Alvarado spurred
Bucephalus to a burst of speed that the
other animal could not match, came
within striking distance of its rump,
thrust the tip of his rapier with
tremendous force a cubit deep into its
anus and twisted the blade as he jerked
it out.
The effect was breathtaking.
The heavy hunter was, in an instant,
mad and out of control, leaping and
bucking, whinnying wildly, blood
gushing as though some major artery had
been severed. Alvarado didnt think that
even he could have stayed in the saddle
of such a huge, crazed animal for very
long and, sure enough, within a few
seconds, Zemudio was thrown. He came
crashing down on his muscular buttocks,
roaring with rage, still clutching his
falchion and, Alvarado noted with
satisfaction, still holding tight to the
leather satchel containing Velzquezs
orders for Narvez.
Alvarado wheeled Bucephalus, threw
his reins over a low-hanging branch of a
nearby tree and dismounted.
A few paces away, Zemudios horse
lay on its side, snuffling and kicking in a
widening pool of blood.
A little further off, Zemudio himself
was on his feet. He seemed undamaged
by the fall and held the falchion out
before him ready to do mischief. Thats
a good horse dying there, he said. His
voice was curiously soft and high. A
fine horse. He was with me in Italy.
Rode him in many a battle.
You can ride him again in Hell, said
Alvarado. He flicked his wrist, sending
a bead of blood flying from the tip of the
rapier towards Zemudios eyes.
Chapter Sixteen
Tenochtitlan, Thursday 18
February 1519
Malinal had been so deep in her own
thoughts shed missed the alarming
change that had come over Tozi. Looking
closer she saw that blood, now clotting,
had run from both the teenagers ears
and also from her nose where shed
made a half-hearted attempt to wipe it
away. Her eyes were open but
unresponsive, as though focussed on
events in some distant place, and her
face was almost unrecognisably slack
and blank.
You did it! Malinal whispered. You
actually did it! She reached out and
embraced Tozi: You made us invisible!
You saved us again! But the girl sat
hunched, impervious to praise, silent and
closed off. Her body trembled, filled
with a fierce, feverish heat. After a
moment a groan started somewhere deep
down in her chest, forced its way to her
throat and burst from her mouth as a
stifled scream.
Coyotl had slumbered peacefully
through everything else but now he lifted
his head from Tozis lap and sat up. His
eyes opened wide as he saw the blood
around her ears and nose. Tozi! he
shouted. What happened? Why is there
blood?
Be quiet! hissed Malinal, suddenly
alert to a new danger, fear making her
voice harsh. The population of the pen
had been much reduced, leaving wide
patches of the once-crowded floor
empty, but many prisoners still remained
and, by great bad fortune, Tozis scream
had drawn the attention of two of the
girls whod attacked her this morning.
They had been sitting quietly, facing in
the opposite direction just forty paces
away on the edge of a large group of
Tlascalans, but now they were working
themselves into a frenzy of pointing and
glaring and general ill will. They sidled
over to an older woman whose lower lip
and earlobes were extended by the blue
ceramic plugs that signified married
status in Tlascala, and began talking to
her urgently.
Uh-oh, whispered Coyotl. Those
girls dont like Tozi.
You know them?
They bully us. The little boy looked
proud, then anxious. Tozi always finds a
way out.
They beat her up this morning when
she was bringing medicine to you,
Malinal said softly. But she was really
clever and she escaped
She always escapes, said Coyotl
wistfully. Always.
They both glanced at Tozi but she
remained absolutely unresponsive, and
Malinals spirits plunged as the dire
implications for their survival came
home to her. Gone was the tough,
decisive, fierce, enchanted, quick-
thinking teenager whod saved her life
and who always knew what to do. In her
place was a helpless, crumpled,
clenched-up, withdrawn shell of a girl
from whose throat, very faintly, could be
heard a low, continuous moan, as though
of pain or misery.
Malinal stayed seated, but out of the
corner of her eye she saw the big
Tlascalan woman scramble to her feet
and march the short distance across the
open earth floor of the prison. She
looked around thirty, tall with very
heavy thighs, massive hips and
shoulders, a small, out-of-proportion
head and the sort of lean, nervous
hatchet face that would have been just as
ugly on someone half her weight.
Something about her said she was one of
those women who loved to fight. She
loomed over Malinal, glowered down at
her and pointed a fat aggressive finger at
Tozi. Friend of yours? she asked.
Sure shes my friend, said Malinal.
You got a problem with that?
I have a problem with witches, said
the Tlascalan. She jerked her finger at
Tozi again. And shes a witch.
Malinal showed her scorn. A witch?
What a stupid idea! Shed already
prepared the next move in her mind and
now jumped to her feet, stepped in to
crowd the other woman and thrust her
face forward until their eyes were
separated by less than a span. Shes just
a child, Malinal yelled. She put great
emphasis on the last word. A poor, sick
child!
Some people say differently. The
Tlascalan seemed unmoved. Her
absurdly stretched lower lip hung down
over her chin, exposing teeth blackened
in the latest fashion and giving her a
macabre, permanently astonished look.
Some people say youre a witch too,
she added, spite putting an edge on her
voice.
Malinal laughed it off. So theres two
of us now! Praying Tozi would stay
calm and silent until she could get her to
some corner of the prison where she
wouldnt be noticed, she turned to
indicate Coyotl. I suppose next youll
be saying this little one is a witch as
well.
They were still standing nose to nose,
but now the Tlascalan backed off a
couple of paces. She seemed to consider
the question. Im told its neither male
nor female, she said, sucking her teeth,
so most likely its a witch.
Silently the two girls from this
mornings attack had come forward and
placed themselves on either side of the
older woman. The girl on the left, lean
as a rattlesnake, was glaring at Tozi with
undisguised hatred and fear. Thats the
dangerous one, she warned. She gets
inside peoples heads. She drives them
mad.
Better kill her now, said the second
girl, while we have the chance.
Other Tlascalans, maybe fifteen,
maybe twenty, had detached themselves
from the large group and were pressing
closer to watch the unfolding drama. It
would take very little to make them join
in; Malinal knew she had to act fast
before murder was done.
She stooped, flung Tozis arm round
her shoulder and tried to lift her, but her
small body seemed rooted to the floor.
Help me, Coyotl, Malinal grunted, and
he darted forward to support Tozis
elbow. It still wasnt enough to budge
her; it was as though she were actively
resisting.
Now three things happened very fast.
First, the big Tlascalan barged
Malinal aside, stooped over Tozi,
placed her arms under her shoulders and
tried to drag her to her feet.
Second, Tozi screamed again. It was
an unearthly, truly witchlike sound,
Malinal had to admit, a sound loud
enough to wake all the dead in Mictlan.
The Tlascalan released her as though she
were in flames and stumbled back
making the sign of the evil eye.
Third, Tozi toppled over sideways
where shed been sitting cross-legged
and began to thrash and kick the floor.
Spit foamed at the corners of her mouth,
her teeth snapped, drawing blood as she
bit her own lips and tongue, and she
shook her head from side to side,
smashing her skull violently against the
ground, her mouth spraying flecks of
pink foam.
Coyotl was fast. He grabbed hold of
Tozi and clung to her, wrapping his
hands and arms around her head, his legs
around her body, using his small frame
in every way he could to stop her hurting
herself.
Malinal whirled to confront the
Tlascalans.
Chapter Seventeen
Cuba, Thursday 18 February
1519
Zemudio inclined his head and the glob
of horse blood from the tip of the rapier
missed his eyes and spattered across his
cheek and ear.
Didnt think youd fall for that old
trick, Alvarado said. But Id still prefer
to fight you with blood in your eyes. He
was slowly circling; the rapier was
angled slightly up. Now suddenly, with a
huge explosion of breath, he threw
himself into a lunge, right knee bent, left
leg fully extended, surging forward with
tremendous power, his whole weight
behind the blade, driving its tip like an
awl through Zemudios light upper body-
armour to finish the fight right here, right
now
Except
Zemudio rolled his wrist and the
heavy falchion battered the flimsy rapier
aside a surprisingly fast and agile
parry. It looked as though he would
follow through at once with a thrust to
the belly, and Alvarado was already
moving to block and counterstrike when
Zemudio surprised him again. Instead of
the obvious thrust, he swept the falchion
down, trapped the rapier against his own
right thigh where the steel plates in the
lining of his breeches protected him
from its edge, took a huge stride forward
with his left foot and clamped his
massive left hand Gods death, how
could this be happening? into the
thick hair at the back of Alvarados
head. It was all done so fast, with such
enormous strength and flowing
momentum, and was so unlooked-for a
piece of artistry from this ox of a man,
that Alvarado found himself spread-
eagled, bent over Zemudios left knee,
his head jerked hard back by the hair
like a lamb to the slaughter and the big
blade of the falchion searing through the
air towards him, chopping down on his
exposed throat.
The blow came in spectacularly fast,
but Alvarado caught hold of Zemudios
massive, strangely hairless arm with his
left hand, stopping the blade a fingers-
width from his windpipe. The champion
was so sure of himself that he was no
longer blocking the rapier, perhaps
because it was too long to be a threat at
such close range. But Alvarado wasnt
thinking about the blade. The heavy hilt
embedded in its guard of interlaced steel
rings was also a weapon and he smashed
it viciously backwards into Zemudios
groin.
Clunk! It felt as though hed hit a fork
in a tree, not a man, but Ooof! it
forced a human enough grunt out of
Zemudio, making him double over and
release his grip on Alvarados hair. Any
normal man would then have obliged by
staying doubled over, mewling with
pain, gasping for breath and easy to kill.
Not so this monster, who straightened at
once, his face expressionless, and came
right back swirling the falchion.
Alvarado scrambled for balance and
stumbled. It was an undignified moment,
but somehow, more by accident than
design, he succeeded in hacking his
blade across Zemudios right shin and
deep into his calf between his breeches
and the top of his boots.
The counterstrike came too fast to
parry with the rapier, or block with his
left, but Alvarado was an accomplished
gymnast and threw himself into a
desperate backflip. He landed on his
feet, heart soaring as he thought hed
made it, then felt an explosion of savage
pain as the big blade of the falchion
connected with his left forearm like an
axe biting into a tree. Only after hed
skipped sharply back five paces,
keeping Zemudio at a safe distance with
the tip of the rapier, could Alvarado
confirm that his left hand was still
attached to the end of his arm. A livid
welt had appeared a span above the
wrist and his fingers were numb from the
shock of the blow, which must have
come from the thick heavy back of the
falchion. As he circled Zemudio again
he tried to make a fist and found he
could not. Annoyingly, it seemed his left
arm was broken.
The champion bared his big yellow
teeth and nodded at the injured limb.
Does that hurt, pretty boy? Fetched you
a fair knock, didnt I?
Hmm. Yes. Cant deny it. Alvarado
cast a glance at Zemudios leg, rivulets
of blood welling from the wound and
spattering over his heavy boots, leaving
thick wet drops in the dust. But first
blood to me, I think.
Zemudio made a gesture of
acknowledgement in a way that said it
meant nothing to him. Ive killed
seventeen men in single combat.
Sometimes they blood me first,
sometimes I blood them first. Makes no
difference in the end. They always die.
Alvarado took care not to let the
agony he felt in his arm show on his
face. Thats quite a pile of bones
youve left behind you, he said. But
what he was thinking was: Seventeen!
Shit! He was genuinely impressed. Other
than the Taino Indians of Hispaniola and
Cuba, whom hed slaughtered in
quantities so huge hed long since lost
count of the total, hed fought nine real
duels with white men six Spaniards, a
Genoese, a German and a very tricky
Russian and killed them all.
Of course Zemudios boast of near
twice that total might not be true; he was
a bit of an unknown quantity having
never before fought a bout in the islands.
But hed brought a big reputation with
him from Italy, and Alvarado had seen
enough to believe hed earned it.
Zemudio was a clever, experienced,
skilful warrior, and not by any means the
stupid, overconfident thug he appeared
to be.
As he and Zemudio circled, neither
yet ready to commit to a renewed attack,
the agonising pain in Alvarados left
arm, and its floppy, useless weakness,
kept nagging at his attention like an
anxious wife.
He felt no fear. He had heard this
emotion described and he had often
observed its effects on others, but he had
never known it himself and he did not
know it now.
Still, he was a practical man, and the
odds in the fight had turned against him
the moment his arm was broken. It was
even possible though unlikely that he
would be defeated, in which case
Zemudio would carve him up with the
falchion like a butcher dressing a pig.
As he grappled with this repellent
image, a strategy that he knew Corts
would approve of began to take shape in
Alvarados mind. Hey, Zemudio, he
said, looking along the blade of the
rapier, whats Velzquez paying you?
The champion frowned: None of your
concern.
Two hundred pesos a year plus bed
and board? guessed Alvarado. Three
hundred at the most?
He could see immediately from the
other mans eyes that it was less. Much
less. Oh dear A hundred? Is it just a
hundred? A fighter of your skills and
talents and the richest man in Cuba pays
you just a hundred a year? A pause as
though it were a sudden insight or
intuition, a completely new idea, then:
Come and work for me instead! Ill pay
you five hundred a year plus bed and
board and youll share in the booty we
take in the New Lands. Youll be a rich
man if the expedition goes well. What do
you say?
I say youre all piss and farts, pretty
boy. Zemudio lashed out with the
falchion, forcing Alvarado to jump back.
I say youre a coward trying to buy me
off because you know youre beaten
Of course you say that. What else
would a swine say when pearls are
strewn at its feet? As he spoke
Alvarado stepped in, making a series of
exploratory lunges, trying to feel his way
past the whirling falchion, failing to
make a hit but adjusting his own style
more closely to the other mans
technique. There were certain repeated
patterns and sequences that seemed
strangely familiar and just as he thought,
Maybe I can turn those to my
advantage, he remembered exactly
where and when hed seen this weird
swirling, rotating-blade style before.
Zurich in the year of 02 at the school
of Feichtsmeister Hans Talhoffer.
Alvarado had spent three months there
as a visiting student at the age of
seventeen the time when his own
abiding interest in swords and
swordsmanship was beginning to take
form. One of the classes hed been
obliged to attend had been in falchion
combat except the Swiss called the
falchion a messer and it was in this
class that hed seen defence sequences
in the style Zemudio was now deploying
against him.
A class in which every fight was a
weird sort of dance.
Alvarado recalled despising the
messer as a peasants weapon, more
suited to felling trees than combat, and
had scorned the flowing, paradoxically
dainty moves it was put to in the
Talhoffer style.
But that had been in training sessions.
It was quite a different matter to be at
the receiving end in a real fight when a
giant has one hand in your hair, a long
blade as heavy as an axe in the other,
and is about to take your head.
Still they circled, flexible rapier and
rigid falchion clashing with a song of
steel, the rapier sinuously bending,
seeming almost to caress and wrap itself
around the bigger weapon. Alvarados
attention stayed locked on Zemudio,
trying to second-guess his next move, but
part of him noticed this new, unexpected,
in some way feminine and seductive
quality of the Nuez blade and he
thought, Hmmm Interesting.
The blood had not stopped guttering
from Zemudios leg and lay in damp
trails and widening puddles all around
them. Was he slowing down, just a little?
Was he close to bleeding out? Alvarado
was just beginning to think, Maybe yes,
when he saw the faintest hint of a glitter
in those shuttered-off brown eyes, and in
complete silence the champion attacked
him again, all momentum and mass like a
charging bull, the falchion slicing
blurred figures of eight out of the air in
front of him.
Alvarado didnt hesitate. Shutting his
attention off completely from the new
burst of agony in his broken arm, he
threw himself headlong against the raw
force of the other mans onslaught,
meeting him blade for blade, advancing
on him in a series of mighty lunges,
aggressively crowding him, forcing him
to retreat until Zemudio abruptly broke
off the engagement and they were
circling at swordpoint once again, each
more wary and focussed than before,
each seeking out the gaps, testing the
weaknesses in the others defences.
Youre good with that little pricker of
yours, said Zemudio with a grudging
nod at the rapier.
If I cant talk sense into you, Im
going to have to kill you with it, said
Alvarado. Youll leave me no choice.
Because of whats in here? Zemudio
tapped the leather satchel hanging at his
side.
Because youre an ugly piece of shit,
Alvarado thought. Do I need any other
reason? But he said: Youre carrying
orders from Velzquez for Narvez. I
dont want Narvez to get those orders.
Why dont you just hand them over to me
now? Join me? Ill make you a rich
man.
Zemudio laughed, and it was a
peculiar, squeaky, high-pitched giggle.
Seor Alvarado, he said, you must
think me a fool.
I do think youre a fool. Who else but
a fool would die for Velzquez for a
hundred pesos a year?
Zemudio had lost so much blood from
his leg that his swarthy complexion was
turning pale and his skin had a waxy
sheen. All I need do is keep walking
round him a little longer and hell drop
where he stands, Alvarado thought, and
simultaneously the champion staggered.
It was an almost imperceptible misstep,
and well hidden, but Alvarado saw it.
It was obvious Zemudio would want
to end the fight fast, with some killer
blow, before he bled out. That was why
he was talking again now, some
nonsense about being a man of honour,
about his master entrusting him with this
and that, blah, blah, blah, spinning
distractions. But Alvarado wasnt
listening. Hit them before they hit you
was his simple motto, so he slammed in
his own attack first, felt the falchion
block the rapier as hed expected, felt
the rapier come alive in his hand as it
whipped partially round the big heavy
blade, sensed the moment hed planned
arrive.
He dipped his wrist.
Now!
Chapter Eighteen
Santiago, Cuba, Thursday 18
February 1519
Hernn Corts stretched and yawned in
the hammock hed slung across a corner
of the long, narrow cabin that was
laughably still referred to by the crew as
his stateroom.
His boots lay on the bare boards of
the floor where theyd fallen as hed
thrown them off. Beside them was a
heavy, triple-locked sea chest. His
selection of richly embroidered jerkins
and capes, some decorated with gold
and silver thread, the best embellished
with pearls, hung suspended in a
makeshift cupboard alongside hose,
codpieces and brocade shirts. His
purple doublet was folded over the back
of a chair together with his thick gold
chain and its medallion of Saint Peter
holding the keys of heaven.
The cabins single porthole was open
to admit the stink of the harbour as well
as a splash of sunlight and a cooling late
afternoon breeze.
To the right of the porthole, fixed to
the wall and somewhat in shadow, was a
large wooden crucifix on which a pale-
skinned Christ, one-third life size,
writhed in pain, the crown of thorns
lacerating his bloody brow, iron nails
transfixing his bloody palms and feet.
Positioned directly beneath the
porthole, where the light was best, stood
a heavy oak table. Those parts of its
surface that were visible were scuffed
and deeply scored with knife cuts, burnt
in places and smeared with dried
candlewax, but mostly it was covered
with maps and nautical charts pinned
down under navigational instruments a
compass, a mariners astrolabe, a
quadrant, a nocturnal and a glittering
armillary sphere.
The sphere was Cortss pride and
joy, a gift from his father Martin who
had won it during the conquest of
Granada in 92. Save the ring defining
the equinoctial colure, which was
broken, the costly device was in perfect
working order.
Slap!
For the third time in as many minutes
Corts heard the sound of flesh striking
flesh followed by the suppressed
whimper of a child in pain.
The sounds were coming from the far
side of the partition that divided the
flagships original capacious stateroom
into two equal halves, one half of which
Corts now found himself uncomfortably
crammed into. The other half, on urgent
orders received from Velzquez only
yesterday, had been assigned to the
abominable Father Muoz. Through the
thin pine partition, the best the ships
carpenter had been able to rig at such
short notice, it was impossible not to
hear Muoz trampling about, or the harsh
words he barked at his young page, or
the intensifying sounds of blows and
cries.
Corts sighed. Hed intervened on the
harbour road because the Inquisitors
bizarre and bullying behaviour was
unseemly in public and unhelpful for the
good name of the expedition. But if
Muoz wanted to beat his page in the
privacy of his own cabin, there was
really nothing to be done about it.
Even if he beat the boy to death?
Even so, Corts admitted. Even so.
Because it was a sad fact of life in
todays Cuba that a Dominican Inquisitor
with the favour and support of the
governor could get away with literally
anything, even murder, if it pleased him
to do so.
Indeed, there were rumours about the
page whod accompanied Muoz on the
ill-fated Crdoba expedition. His
relationship with his master had been
strange everyone had noticed and,
one night, the boy had disappeared at
sea, presumed lost overboard. Perhaps
his death had been an accident? Perhaps
suicide? Or perhaps, as some of the
survivors whispered, Muoz was a
violent sodomite with a taste for
adolescent boys whod killed the page to
silence him?
Corts had scorned the whispers,
refusing to believe a man of God could
ever commit such crimes; but what hed
witnessed this afternoon had changed his
mind. Rarely had he taken so instant or
so extreme a dislike to anyone as he had
to Muoz! It was bad enough that the
Dominican had been foisted on him at
the last moment by Velzquez
undoubtedly as much to spy on him and
confound him as to attend to the spiritual
wellbeing of the expedition. But what
added insult to injury was the foul
unnatural air of this Inquisitor! Recalling
the scene on the harbour road, it was the
perverted pleasure Muoz had taken
from inflicting pain on his little page that
stood out.
Corts swung down off the hammock,
padded barefoot over to the table below
the porthole, and retrieved his well-
thumbed Bible from beneath a heap of
maps and charts. It was one of the new
mass-produced editions, printed on
paper by the Gutenberg press, and as he
opened its leather covers he felt again,
as he always did, the magic and the
mystery of the word of God.
He turned to the New Testament, the
Book of Matthew, and after some
searching found the passage he was
looking for in Chapter Seven. Beware
of false prophets, he read, which come
to you in sheeps clothing, but inwardly
they are ravening wolves.
A false prophet! It was amazing how
often you could find the exact thought
you wanted in the Good Book and this
was a thought that seemed to fit Muoz
very well. Outwardly the respectable
sheeps clothing of the Dominican habit,
inwardly a ravening wolf
There came another slap from beyond
the partition, another cry, a tremendous,
incoherent yell from Muoz, a loud
crash as of a body thrown against a wall,
and then silence.
Corts started upright in his hammock
Jesu in Heaven, surely the boy was not
already dead? Then he heard that thin
pitiful whimper again and a surge of
fierce anger and revulsion shook him.
His powerful impulse was to find any
excuse to have Muoz removed from the
expedition. But if he did that it would
draw unwelcome attention from
Velzquez at just the time when he most
wanted the governor to stay away.
So instead Corts closed his eyes and
forced his tensed muscles to relax. The
key to health in these climes, he had
discovered, was to take a siesta of at
least one hours duration in the
afternoon. It wasnt always possible; he
completely understood that. But when it
was possible he gave it as much priority
as prayers or alms.
Sleep embraced him.
Chapter Nineteen
Tenochtitlan, Thursday 18
February 1519
The two girls whod attacked Tozi this
morning were mischief-makers, not
leaders, and the other Tlascalans
snooping around also seemed to be
waiting for someone to tell them what to
do. So it was the big woman with the
black teeth and the rubber lip who was
the main danger. Deal with her and the
others would fall into line.
Maybe
Malinal had been sheltered from
violence by noble birth. When she was
sixteen her fortunes fell but, even in the
five strange and terrible years shed
spent as a slave since then, shed been
protected by the high value placed on
her beauty by powerful men. The result,
in her twenty-one years, was that shed
never once had to fight for her life. Her
strengths were sensuality, flattery,
dissimulation and subtle influence; she
was not well equipped to use force.
Black Teeth had been stopped in her
tracks by Tozis nightmarish scream, and
stood gazing at her with fear, but also
with something unexpectedly like pity as
she thrashed and snapped her teeth on
the floor, while Coyotl fought
desperately to keep her from harm. With
a flash of intuition, Malinal stepped to
the big Tlascalan womans side, laid a
long slim hand gently on her shoulder
and said in a hushed tone: Shes no
witch. Shes just a poor sick child.
Arent you a mother yourself? Cant you
see that?
Black Teeths massive body twitched.
I am a mother.
And your children? Where are they
now?
The gods only know. The Mexica
raided my village. I was captured, my
two children were snatched away from
me, I havent seen them since.
Would you tell me their names?
The Tlascalan womans brutal manner
suddenly dissolved and to Malinals
surprise she sobbed. Huemac, she said,
hes five. And then theres Zeltzin.
Shell be fourteen this summer.
Zeltzin Beautiful. The name
meant delicate in the Nahuatl tongue.
She and Tozi are almost the same age

Tozi?
This child Malinal looked down at
Tozi, still thrashing on the ground
whom you believe is a witch but who
really is just sick and in need of help and
love.
Black Teeth grunted and wiped away
a tear. Why should I care what she
needs?
Because in this world of pain the
gods see to it that what we give out is
what we get back. Wherever they may be
today, perhaps in another fattening pen,
perhaps slaved by some merchant, dont
you hope someone will care for your
own childrens needs if theyre sick, if
they need help like poor little Tozi?
Black Teeth looked round at the girls
whose provocations had sparked this
trouble. Its them as told me shes a
witch, she said.
And they attacked her this morning,
and got the worst of it, and now theyre
trying to use you to get revenge.
On the floor Tozi was quieter, her
struggles less desperate, her features
calmer. The two Tlascalan girls began to
edge towards her but Black Teeth called
out Wait! and they hesitated, scowling
at Malinal.
You have children yourself? Black
Teeth asked.
No. Ive not been blessed. The
Mexica slaved me, used me for sex. I
fell pregnant twice but they forced me to
drink epazote and I miscarried.
The woman spat. Brutes. How they
use us!
Malinal pressed home her advantage.
Were all their victims. Why do we
fight and kill each other when the
Mexica persecute us all? Theyre the
real witches and sorcerers not
innocent children like poor Tozi.
Black Teeth looked doubtful. If shes
not a witch, then what is she? How is it
that shes never selected for sacrifice?
Malinal had her answer ready.
Yollomimiquiliztli, she said gravely,
invoking the Nahuatl word for epilepsy.
Perhaps she who cursed her also
protects her.
Everyone knew that the terrible
affliction of epilepsy, which caused fits
exactly like the one that Tozi had just
suffered, was the work of the fickle
goddess Cihuapipiltin. And everyone
also knew that in return for the suffering
she caused Cihuapipiltin sometimes
gave magical gifts to her victims.
Black Teeth thought about it for what
seemed like a long time as Tozis
shaking and foaming at the mouth
gradually ceased and she lay still.
Finally the big Tlascalan woman nodded
to Malinal. What youve told me makes
sense, she said. She turned to the other
Tlascalans and spoke up: This child is
not a witch. Poor one! She has been
touched by Cihuapipiltin. We should
leave her alone.
One of the troublemakers clenched her
fists and gave a little scream of
frustration, but Black Teeth silenced her
with a glare.
Within a few moments all the
Tlascalans withdrew, leaving Malinal
alone with Tozi and Coyotl.
Perhaps an hour later Tozi opened her
eyes. Linking arms with Coyotl, Malinal
helped her sit up. You OK? she asked.
It seemed such an ordinary question after
all the extraordinary things that had
happened, but it was what she wanted to
know.
Im OK, said Tozi.
Me too, said Coyotl. Malinal saved
us from the bad girls.
Tozi was looking at the nearby group
of Tlascalans. We had trouble?
Yes, but its over. Everythings going
to be fine.
Good, said Tozi, because Im all
used up. Her eyes were bright but the
whites were jaundiced, her skin was
grey with fatigue and there was a sheen
of sweat on her brow.
What happened to you? Malinal
asked.
Im trying to remember For how
long did I fade us when Ahuizotl came?
Malinal thought about it. I dont
know, she said. Maybe a two hundred
count, maybe a three hundred count?
Tozi gave a low whistle. I didnt
even know I could do that.
I dont understand.
When I fade for more than a ten count
I get sick. Really sick. Something breaks
inside my head. If I faded us for a two
hundred count, Im lucky to be alive.
You were in a bad way.
Im still in a bad way.
Malinal reached out and brushed her
fingers down Tozis pale, exhausted
face. Youll get better, she said, but it
was more a hope than a statement of fact.
Ill get better, Tozi echoed dully,
but I wont be able to fade us again. Not
today. Not tomorrow. It always takes me
a long time to get my strength back.
Dont worry about that, said
Malinal. Dont worry about anything.
Ill take care of you. She ruffled
Coyotls hair. And you too, little one.
She knew it was a hollow promise,
even as she made it.
Thanks to Black Teeth they were, for
the moment, probably safe from further
accusations of witchcraft, but the threat
of sacrifice had not receded and, beyond
the bars of the prison, Ahuizotl still
lurked. He would not forget or forgive
how badly hed been embarrassed by
Tozis magic.
Realising anew the endless horror of
their predicament, Malinal felt all her
strength and resolve ebb away.
Then Coyotl tugged at her hand,
gazing up at her with his big serious
eyes.
Do you know how to fade us? he
said.
Chapter Twenty
Cuba, Thursday 18 February
1519
When Alvarado dipped his wrist,
Zemudio predictably followed the flow
of force, and thrust down hard, sliding
the falchion along the blade of the rapier,
grinding out the keening song of steel,
sending sparks of hot metal flying.
Alvarado had invited this savage cut
with the heavier weapon. It was a
standard move in the Talhoffer system of
messer combat engage, slide the blade,
pivot to misdirect your opponents force,
hack off his arm at the elbow. But the
blow was ill matched against the Nuez
rapier with its guard of steel rings spun
round the hilt. The falchion skidded over
the guard and, as Zemudio whirled into
the pivot, Alvarado trapped the thick
blade between two of the rings, deftly
twisted the weapon from his grip and
cast it to the ground.
It all happened so fast like
disarming a child! that Zemudio was
taken completely by surprise. He made a
clumsy grab for the fallen weapon but
Alvarado got his boot under it and
kicked it out of reach. Zemudio put his
head down and charged, hands
outstretched, and Alvarado reacted
instinctively with a clean, straight,
powerful lunge, rapier and right arm
extended, right leg sliding ahead, left leg
and left arm stretched out behind,
propelling his body forward. The needle
point of the rapier pierced the padded
outer fabric of Zemudios vest where it
covered his belly, glanced off the
overlapping steel tiles sewn into the
lining, slid a span, found a tiny gap and
ooof! punched deep into the
champions body. Alvarado was
unstoppable, all his power and weight
behind the lunge, and as he went to full
extension he felt the point ripple through
Zemudios guts and burst out of his
lower back. There was slight resistance
as it hit the armour at the rear of the vest
but again, like a worm, the flexible
blade found a way through, and the
champion was spitted.
Alvarado was close to him, very
close, close as lovers. Wrapped in the
rapiers guard, his fist was right against
the dying mans belly and the tip of the
blade stood out a cubit from his back.
Ecstasy! A kind of ecstasy! Zemudios
little pig eyes gazed into his own with
more puzzlement than anger, his stupid
oafish mouth gaped, and he groaned like
a woman being pleasured.
Still think Im all piss and farts, do
you? yelled Alvarado. He sawed the
blade of the rapier back and forth.
Zemudio gasped.
Still think Im a pretty boy?
Aaaah
The mist of death was clouding
Zemudios eyes. Alvarado could always
recognise it. With a yell of triumph and a
vicious twist of his wrist, he hauled out
the rapier, drenched with gore, and
stepped back.
He expected Zemudio to fall, but the
great ox of a man just stood there
blinking, blood oozing through the front
of his vest, guttering out of the gaping
wound in his leg and dropping pitter-
patter, pitter-patter into the dust at his
feet.
Very well, said Alvarado, if thats
how you want it. The rapier still needed
more trials with armour and now was as
good a time as any. Throwing his right
foot forward he slid into another lunge,
easily found another weak point and ran
the man through. He withdrew, lunged
again, slight resistance from the armour,
quick workaround, found a gap and
ooof! another healthy dose of steel
administered direct to Zemudios vitals.
As Alvarado stood back to inspect his
handiwork, Zemudio shouted something
indistinct and collapsed to his knees.
What was that? said Alvarado,
taking a step closer.
Another incoherent yell.
Alvarado frowned. What?
Zemudio looked up at him in mute
appeal, mouth gaping.
What? Alvarado took another step,
put his ear to Zemudios lips.
Bastard, whispered Zemudio.
Biggest bastard this side of the
Ocean Sea, agreed Alvarado. He
straightened, swept the rapier up over
his right shoulder, swung it almost lazily
down and hacked the razor edge of its
clever Nuez blade into the side of
Zemudios thick, muscular neck. There
was a smacking sound, almost like a
slap, a spray of blood as the jugular was
severed, some resistance and a grinding
sensation as the blade cleaved
vertebrae, then much more blood and a
tremendous acceleration as the sword
flashed out on the other side of his neck,
taking his head clean off.
It bounced when it hit the ground,
rolled twice and came to rest upside
down against a rotten tree stump, the
surprised, reproachful eyes still glaring.
Yes! Alvarado shouted, because
somebody had to praise that perfect
coup de grce.
Such precision. Such elegance. Such
economy of effort.
He doubted if there were three other
swordsmen in the world, maybe not even
two, who could have matched the blow.
Though headless, Zemudio was still
on his knees and the satchel containing
the Velzquez documents still hung by its
strap around what was left of his neck.
Blood was bubbling up, getting
everywhere, already completely
drenching the satchel, but Alvarado was
a one-armed man now. He first wiped
the blade of the rapier clean on
Zemudios body, and sheathed it, before
he stooped over the corpse and pulled
the dripping satchel away.
The buckles were slippery and
proved near impossible to open with
only one functioning hand, until
Alvarado had a brilliant idea. He turned
back to Zemudios kneeling corpse,
kicked it over in the dust and used the
cloth on the ample seat of the
champions breeches to clean the satchel
and his own fingers. When he was
satisfied hed done enough, he turned
back to the buckles, opened them easily
and peered inside.
The document wallet was there, safe
and dry, no blood yet staining its
contents. Alvarado fished it out and
opened it.
Inside was the single page of vellum
on which Velzquez had scrawled his
orders for his loathsome favourite
Pnfilo de Narvez Captain-General
Narvez, no less! the despicable fool
who was supposed to take Cortss
place. As he read, Alvarados face
darkened, but when hed finished he put
his head back and laughed for a long
time. Sweat of the Virgin, he said as he
slid the page back into the wallet. All
that trouble to kill a man and at the end
of it hed learned nothing more than
Velzquez had already told him. Still,
Corts was going to be impressed to see
the proof in writing.
Alvarado pushed the wallet into
Bucephaluss saddlebag alongside his
gold, and was about to mount up and
ride for Santiago when he remembered
Zemudios falchion.
It had turned out to be a damn fine
weapon.
Indeed Alvarado could imagine
situations a crowded battlefield, a
press of combatants where it would be
the best weapon a man could possibly
have and where a rapier might be
useless. He looked around the blood-
smeared scene and a ray of late-
afternoon sunlight glanced off the big
blade where it lay in the dust. He
walked over and picked it up. It felt
heavy and unwieldy, yet Zemudio had
handled it as though it were a tin toy! It
would take some getting used to,
Alvarado supposed, but he had yet to
encounter an edged weapon he couldnt
master.
He glared down at Zemudios
headless body so much for the hero of
the Italian wars! and paused to give
the corpse one more kick. Whos the
bastard now? he yelled. Then he stuffed
the falchion into his sword belt, marched
to Bucephalus and climbed into the
saddle.
The sun was sinking into the west and
it was an hours ride back to Santiago,
with visibility falling and evening
coming on. Alvarado spurred the great
war horse into a reckless gallop.
Chapter Twenty-One
Santiago, Cuba, Thursday 18
February 1519
Corts was dreaming.
Strangely he was both within the
dream and an external observer of it.
Stranger still, it seemed he could
change aspects of the dream simply by
thinking about them!
For example, he was at this moment
walking through a green meadow
covered in lush grass laid over firm turf.
He thought, Perfect riding country, and
at once found himself on the back of the
grey mare, Altivo, which hed ridden
when he was a boy in Extremadura. All
the sensations were completely realistic
the smell and the feel of the horse, the
sun on the grass, the wind in his hair.
Then, inexplicably, Altivo vanished,
the scene changed, and he found himself
inside a giant Gothic vault, all delicate
ribs and soaring arches like the great
vault of the Cathedral of Plasencia, but
made entirely of dazzling white crystal
and enclosing a vast space that seemed
filled, flooded, engorged with the purest
and most perfect light. Corts was at the
centre of the nave. Rows of empty pews,
likewise of crystal, surrounded him,
their ranks marching two hundred paces
forward to the edge of the transept.
Straight ahead, on the left side of the
crossing, where the nave, transept and
choir all met, was a pulpit, full five
fathoms high, approached by a slender
spiral stairway, sculpted, it seemed,
from a single mass of transparent ruby.
At the pulpit, but almost too blinding
for the eye to tolerate, stood a figure,
human yet not human, from whose body
rays of intense white light burst forth in
splendour.
Do I gaze on God Himself in his
Heavenly Church? Corts thought. And
he remembered Moses on the Mount,
who had also seen God face to face, and
he felt fear.
It wasnt like battlefield fear, which
hed learned to master better than most.
It was something else, something he
could not name, something arising from
the tremendous radiant power emanating
from this being of light who seemed to
reach out and entrap him as though in an
invisible net and then draw him forward.
Corts watched the crystal floor of the
nave slipping by beneath his feet, hints
of buried rainbows swirling in its
depths, but felt no physical contact,
seemed to be floating as much as
walking which was strange until he
remembered this was a dream. He tried
to change the setting again but the trick
wouldnt work this time and he was
pulled irresistibly towards the base of
the pulpit.
As though the wick of a lamp had
been lowered, the radiance surrounding
the figure dimmed as Corts drew
closer, becoming more bearable to the
eye, finally revealing a tall and robust
man standing in the pulpit. He had a
rugged demeanour, more like a soldier
or a labourer than a cleric. He was
clean-shaven and fair-haired, perhaps
forty years old and dressed in a simple
hemp tunic, yet he projected an
unassailable aura of charisma and
authority that quality of exceptional
personal presence and spiritual power
that the Moors call Baraka.
Ive been watching over you all your
life, said the man. Ive seen that youve
done well His voice was quiet and
his tone intimate as a father speaking
to a son, or a friend to a friend yet it
seemed effortlessly to fill the entire
vault, and there was something about it
that was arresting, unsettling, almost
physically probing.
Corts came to a halt at the edge of
the crossing and gazed up at the
extraordinary ruby pulpit poised in
space thirty feet above him, and at the
awesome and terrifying man who stood
in it. Who are you? he asked. He fought
down his fear. Are you God? Are you
an archangel?
You already know who I am
I do not know you, sir, I swear it. But
give me some hint, some clue, and I will
place you
The man laughed and it was a deep,
rich sound. You had an episode of
sickness as a child, Corts, do you
remember?
I remember.
A fever of the lungs brought you
close to death, a priest was called, the
last rites were spoken?
Yes.
But your nurse called down heavenly
help.
It was true. Shed been called Maria
de Esteban and she had called on Saint
Peter to save the dying child who
miraculously recovered.
Even as Corts gasped, suddenly
getting it, he had to remind himself again
that this was a dream. Only a dream.
You are the blessed Saint Peter? he
asked.
I am the rock on whom Christ built
his Church and the powers of Hell
cannot prevail against me Your own
patron saint, Corts yet only now you
know me!
But why? How ?
Never mind all that. What I need you
to remember, is that all of this his
voice suddenly boomed is by no
means only a dream. On the contrary,
Don Hernando, all of this is very real.
All of this is very serious. You are to do
Gods work.
Thank you, Father, said Corts. I
have tried to do Gods work in these
islands.
And with great success! The Taino
were too deeply sunk in idolatry and
superstition for their souls ever to be
saved Peter hesitated. I see, though,
that some still live?
Only those who willingly accepted
the faith and were ready to serve us
Oh well, good then. Very good.
Besides a far greater task lies ahead
of you
In the New Lands, Father?
A faraway look had come into Peters
eye. You will be the sword of God
there, Don Hernando. Overthrow the
heathens and the devil-worshippers,
bring them the word of Christ and you
will be rewarded in this world and the
next. The saint turned, descended the
ruby stairway, his simple tunic hitched
up over bare feet, and he came to stand
opposite Corts in the midst of the
crossing. His eyes were utterly black,
calm, steady, like deep pools of
midnight, but his skin was pale and
somehow bright, even dazzling, as
though lit from within by the heat of
some immense banked-down fire.
He placed his huge, calloused hands
soldiers hands, labourers hands on
Cortss shoulders. I have great plans
for you, he said.
I am honoured, Father, and ready to
serve.
But there is a condition. Peters eyes
held Corts prisoner. The friar Muoz
has a part to play in this. You must set
aside your dislike for him. He is rough
and crude in his ways but a tireless
worker for God. Heaven will not bless
your expedition without him.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Tlascala, Thursday 18
February 1519
His name was Shikotenka, he was a king
and the son of a king, and a ten-mile run
was nothing to him, so much part of his
usual routine that he didnt even break a
sweat. The sun was low in the sky now,
edging down towards setting, and though
the day was still warm there was a
breeze in the mountains, blowing off the
snowbound shoulder of Popocatpetl,
which kept a man cool. The early
evening air caressed his skin, and the
rugged green peaks of Tlascala spoke to
him of freedom, filling his heart with
joy.
Shikotenka could keep this pace up
for two days if he had to, but he
wouldnt have to. Already he could see
the great forest where his fifty lay
waiting, and his mind began to move
ahead to the bloody work they must do
together tonight
If Guatemocs body had not been
found
If no special alarm had been raised
If they were blessed with the luck of
the gods.
His hand went to his hair and he
tugged out the little silver amulet that
had betrayed his position this afternoon.
It was a sensual, naked figure of
Xochiquetzal, goddess of love, female
sexual power, pleasure and excess.
Zilonens favourite deity, of course.
Shikotenka pressed the amulet into a
fold of his loincloth, where it should
have been all along, and looked ahead.
Now less than a mile away down an
open grassy slope, the forest was a huge
imposing presence on the landscape,
abundant with hidden life, a place of
refuge and a place of mystery. Above,
the leafy canopy was still lit a brilliant
green by the dying sun, but down
amongst the trees there was already a
mass of shadow as though night was
not something that fell but something that
rose from the ground like a black mist.
Shikotenka allowed himself to focus
on the image was there a song in it?
until a short, thin spear whistled past his
ear, followed a heartbeat later by
another that sliced a shallow groove into
the flesh of his left thigh. Both weapons
buried themselves in the ground with
tremendous force and he saw as he ran
by that they were atlatl darts launched
from spear throwers.
He risked a quick glance over his
shoulder, ducked as a third dart
whooshed past, threw himself into a
somersault to avoid a fourth and came up
running, zigzagging left and right, losing
much of his forward momentum.
Shikotenka was being hunted by three
Mexica scouts. Quite how theyd crept
up on him, he couldnt understand,
because hed been constantly on the
lookout for precisely such a threat. But
their shaved heads painted half yellow
and half blue announced their rank as
Cuahchics, the best of the best.
Two of them were armed with atlatls
and had hung back to aim and throw their
darts to maximum effect. The third was a
runner
A very fast runner.
Over longer distances he probably
wouldnt amount to much, but he looked
to be absolutely lethal as a mid-distance
sprinter. Having to evade the darts was
slowing Shikotenka down. Less than half
a mile remained to the cover of the
forest, but it was obvious the Cuahchics
would catch him before he made it.
He was still zigzagging. Two more
darts came in, both near-misses, slowing
him further. He sensed without wasting
time looking back that hed lost most of
his lead and thought might as well get
up close and personal. At least that
would stop those cursed darts, since
presumably the other Cuahchics
wouldnt want to spear their brother-in-
arms?
Would they?
Shikotenka heard footsteps behind
him, closing fast, skidded to a halt and in
one fluid movement whirled, drew
Guatemocs beautifully balanced
macuahuitl from its scabbard at his
back, and brought it crashing down on
his pursuers head.
The only problem was that the mans
macuahuitl got in the way first.
As the obsidian teeth in the wooden
blades of the two weapons clashed,
there was an explosive spatter of broken
pieces and it was luck that one of the
larger fragments pierced the Mexicas
right eye He had a hard will, no
doubt, this fearsomely painted Cuahchic,
but the splinter of obsidian distracted
him long enough for Shikotenka to catch
him with a swooping blow that took off
both his legs just above the ankles.
The Cuahchic went down hard, as one
does with no feet, but continued to crawl
around on his knees on the ground,
spurting blood, roaring curses and
lashing out with his macuahuitl.
Pointless stubborn pride, thought
Shikotenka, as he hacked off the mans
ugly blue and yellow head. Utterly
pointless.
Out of the corner of his eye hed been
watching the other two Mexica. Theyd
abandoned the spear-throwers, as hed
expected, and were closing in fast.
The forest was invitingly near but
Shikotenka knew he wouldnt make it.
He took a strong two-handed grip on the
hilt of the damaged macuahuitl and
stood ready for battle.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Tenochtitlan, Thursday 18
February 1519
For routine purposes, with a hundred
sacrifices or fewer, victims approached
their deaths only up the north stairway of
the great pyramid of Tenochtitlan.
When greater numbers were required,
as was the case today, the south, east and
west stairs were also opened and a team
of trained sacrificers a knifeman and
his four helpers who held the victims
down waited at the top of each
staircase.
But on certain very special occasions,
as when eighty thousand victims had
been harvested to inaugurate the great
pyramid in the time of Moctezumas
grandfather, up to forty additional killing
teams would be deployed working back
to back all around the summit platform.
Regardless of whether one, or four, or
forty teams were at work, it had been
discovered through repeated trials that
each team was capable of processing
approximately one victim every two
minutes. There were uncertainties and
imponderables that could make
extraction of the heart and the elements
of butchery a few seconds shorter or
longer in some cases, but on average it
was a two-minute operation, with each
team killing thirty victims per hour.
Sacrificers typically became exhausted
after two hours of relentless effort and
began to lose efficiency, but fresh teams
stood by to take over smoothly without
causing any interruption in the flow.
All afternoon, at the rate of thirty per
stairway per hour, the five hundred and
twenty women Moctezuma had called
for, some sobbing, some silent, some
hysterical, had climbed in four
miserable columns to meet their deaths.
Moctezuma was outraged to hear their
complaints. They should feel honoured
to offer their hearts, their lives,
everything they had, to so great a god as
Hummingbird! They should be rushing to
the sacrificial stone with excitement and
joy, not inviting bad luck on all
concerned by voiding their bowels and
dragging their feet.
Moctezuma led the team at the top of
the northern stairway but, unlike the
knifemen of the other teams, hed refused
to take a break. The sorcery of the
teonancatl mushrooms still coursed
through his veins and he felt tireless,
ferocious, superhuman his energy
seeming to swell with every life he took.
After this mornings ceremony with
fifty-two male victims, all of whom he
had despatched personally to
Hummingbird, hed been killing women
nonstop since the mid-afternoon. Hed
been enjoying the work so much it was
hard to believe nearly four hours had
passed, but the sun had been high in the
sky then and now lay just a few degrees
above the horizon. In the great plaza at
the foot of the pyramid the shadows of
evening were growing long and deep,
and priests were busy lighting hundreds
of lanterns. But as he plunged the
obsidian knife into yet another
breastbone, and plucked out yet another
pulsing heart, enough daylight remained
to show Moctezuma that the entire
northern stairway where hed been at
work was drenched in a slick and
dripping tide of dark blood, through
which his last victims, goaded by their
guards, were being forced to wade
wretchedly upward.
He giggled. The steps would be
slippery. Someone might get killed!
Moctezumas assistants spread out the
next victim in front of him, a pretty
screaming young thing with barely a
wisp of pubic hair.
As he fell on her and tore out her
heart, the power of the mushrooms,
which had been coming and going in
waves all afternoon, surged through him
again, this time with enormous force,
like the current of some great river or the
career of a whirlwind. He had the
feeling that hed left his body or rather,
as he had felt earlier in Hummingbirds
temple, that he was both in his body and
out of it at the same time. So at one level
he could see exactly where he was and
what he was doing. He was on top of the
great pyramid of Tenochtitlan, cutting
womens hearts out. But at another level
he again experienced himself to be
elsewhere, transported high and far
away into a rarefied empyrean zone, and
once more in the presence of bright-
skinned Hummingbird himself
The god licked his lips. That last was
a virgin, he said. Quite tasty He
made a sad face: But unfortunately most
of the victims youve sent me this
afternoon have not been of this quality.
One or two have even been
grandmothers. There were three
prostitutes. Once again Im disappointed
in you
Moctezuma had already opened the
chest of his next victim. He stopped
abruptly, slipped out the sacrificial knife
and smashed its heavy pommel into his
own forehead, splitting the skin and
drawing a burst of blood. I beg your
forgiveness, master, he said. He was
aware that to his assistants, to Ahuizotl
and to the other priests in attendance, he
must appear to be addressing an
invisible figure. We will find virgins
for you, lord, he promised. A thousand
virgins ten thousand if you require. He
eyed Ahuizotl, who was looking
alarmed. It may take a little time, lord,
that is all
Time ? I see You speak to me of
time?
Yes, master.
So you have time to wait, while
enemies more powerful than you can
possibly imagine raise forces against
you? You dont care that wild beasts
fight beside them in battle, some
carrying them faster than the wind,
others with monstrous teeth and jaws
that tear men apart? You have no urgent
need of knowledge of these enemies? Of
their mastery of unknown metals? Of
their terrible Fire Serpents that vomit
lightning?
Moctezuma trembled. Exactly as he
had feared, these were not men
Hummingbird was describing but an
army of tueles of gods. The fabled
Xiuhcoatl, the Fire Serpent, was the
magical weapon of the gods, able to
strike men dead and dismember their
bodies at a distance. Likewise who but
gods could enchant wild beasts and turn
them to their purpose?
It is my desire and my responsibility,
lord, to know all you have to teach about
these enemies. Are they the companions
of Quetzalcoatl, come to overthrow my
rule? Tell me, I beseech you, what can I
do to satisfy you? Moctezuma bent to
his victim again. Hed ripped her chest
wide open with the first incision but she
was still alive, eyes fluttering in pain
and terror. Oblivious to her pleas he
extracted her heart, placed it sizzling on
the brazier, and turned to the next
woman. The process had become
automatic and he was able to carry out
his duties while keeping his attention
focussed almost exclusively on
Hummingbird, whose body had
somehow vanished but whose face had
grown to enormous size.
Its very simple, the god said, a
straightforward transaction. Raid the
Tlascalans, for their young girls, raid the
Huejotzingos, raid the Otomis, bring me
virgins, and Ill give you the help you
seek
Moctezuma feared to repeat himself
but it seemed there was no choice. It
will take time, lord, he said, My army
is already in the field harvesting more
victims, but I cannot give you a large
basket of virgins tonight Even so, I
beg you to help me now on this matter of
the strangers.
Hummingbird seemed to think about
it. I help you now, he said, as though
clarifying some point of argument, and
you give me virgins later? Thats the
proposition?
Yes, lord, that is what I ask.
There was a long silence before the
god said finally: I believe thats
acceptable. He paused again as though
for thought. But Ill need a down-
payment
Anything within my power
The womens fattening pen isnt
empty yet
You are right, lord.
So empty it. Empty it tonight! Before
I help you I want all those womens
hearts. Every one of them.
The visionary realm and the here and
now were both equally present to
Moctezuma and, in some strange juncture
between the two, Hummingbirds
immense face began to fade and melt
downward, seeming gradually to
dissolve into the mass of flickering
orange lanterns that filled the great plaza
below. The lanterns were in motion,
dancing, swirling, coalescing into
clumps and blots of light, spiralling
apart again, leaving ghostly trails to
mark their paths. The face of the god
continued slowly to fade until soon there
was nothing left of him but his two
gigantic eyes, the whites stark as bone,
the obsidian irises black as night and
they called Moctezuma down into their
depths with a terrible seductive power.
He felt a compulsion to jump from the
top of the pyramid, dive into those cool,
black pools in the midst of that
glimmering orange sea and merge
himself forever with Hummingbird, but
then a hand took his elbow and his
whole body jerked like a man wakened
suddenly from sleep.
Are you all right, sire, asked a
familiar voice. He looked round to see
that it was his own good and virtuous
brother Cuitlhuac who had taken his
arm. Glancing down, Moctezuma
discovered, to his horror, that he had
walked away from the sacrificial stone
and now stood tottering right on the edge
of the precipitous northern stairway. The
twenty victims he had yet to process
from this afternoons sacrifices were
lined up on the steps below, staring at
him with what?
Horror?
Hope?
Because for a moment there,
Moctezuma realised, he must have come
very close to leaping to his death.
Thank you, Cuitlhuac, he said,
allowing the other man to draw him back
to safety. I grow weary.
You must rest, brother. Let me or
Ahuizotl take over from you here. Only a
few victims remain.
No. I cannot rest. None of us can rest.
I have been in the presence of the god!
Cuitlhuac gasped, suitably
impressed.
I have been in the presence of the
god, Moctezuma repeated, and he has
ordered more sacrifices tonight.
Ahuizotl had been skulking in the
background he would have been
pleased to see me fall, thought
Moctezuma but now came scuttling
forward. More sacrifices tonight? the
high priest yelped. Surely we must rest,
lord? All the teams are tired. Tomorrow
we can begin again
We will not rest! roared Moctezuma.
The sacrifices must continue through the
night! The god himself has ordered this.
He lowered his voice: Do not thwart
me, Ahuizotl, he hissed, or you will be
the first to die.
The high priest gulped, nodded his
understanding.
Take two hundred of my palace
guard, said Moctezuma, and round up
all the women still in the fattening pen.
None must remain. Youre to bring them
all to the pyramid.
Ahuizotl blinked. All, Your Majesty?
Yes. All.
Do you realise their numbers,
Majesty?
Does it matter?
After this afternoons sacrifices,
themselves not even complete
Ahuizotl glared at the line of terrified
victims still waiting on the steps more
than one thousand seven hundred women
remain in the pen. Many are disorderly
and belligerent I myself was attacked
this afternoon and we faced severe
problems martialling even five hundred
and twenty of them. At least give me
until tomorrow if I must bring seventeen
hundred to the knife. I dont have
sufficient enforcers to do this in a single
night.
You will do this, Ahuizotl, and you
will do it tonight.
The high priest subsided into a
glowering silence.
You have two hundred of my palace
guard to help you marshal troublesome
prisoners, Moctezuma reminded him.
He lowered his voice again. In his
opinion it was this troublesome priest
who needed to be marshalled. Give me
one more excuse, he said, and Ill have
you flayed alive.
Ahuizotl stiffened. Please accept my
abject apologies, lord. I will go
immediately to the pen. I will bring all
the women
Of course you will, said Moctezuma.
He turned his back and looked at the
patterns of orange lights swirling down
below in the great plaza. He couldnt see
Hummingbirds whirlpool eyes any
more, not even a hint of them, but then
right in his ear he heard the god whisper.
Eat more teonancatl and I will come
to you again in the night.
Oh Ahuizotl, Moctezuma called after
the high priest who was lifting the hem
of his robes and about to attempt a
descent of the slippery northern stair,
those teonancatl you sent me earlier

Yes, Majesty
I require more. I have great work
ahead of me.
My servant will bring you the
mushrooms, lord.
Good, said Moctezuma. Very good.
He remembered he still held the
obsidian knife. Dismissing Ahuizotl
from his mind, he looked to the
sacrificial stone where the next victim
lay splayed, awaiting his attention.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Tenochtitlan, Thursday 18
February 1519
Tozi sat with her face pressed against the
bars of the fattening pen, looking out into
the great plaza. Priests had lit hundreds
of flickering orange lanterns and were
carrying them through the steps of a
complicated, flowing dance, long lines
and interwoven processions coming
together and pulling apart, fantastic
shapes and patterns briefly forming and
dissolving.
At the centre of this swirling,
undulating sea of light, sending up a
cacophony of drumbeats and conch
blasts, squatting in a dark, malignant
mass like some monstrous suppurating
tumour, reared the great pyramid.
From her vantage point Tozi could see
the summit and both the north and west
faces clearly, and what was striking was
how all these areas were not just blood-
smeared as usual when sacrifices were
underway, but seemed to be thickly
covered everywhere with a wet, oozing
crust of blood.
It was as though the pyramid itself
were bleeding.
And down at its base, amongst the
spiralling lanterns, swept by attendants
into great heaps to either side of the
stairways, were huge numbers of
butchered torsos.
Tozis head reeled.
Armies of shadows and darkness
were on the march, encroaching
everywhere, light fast leaching from the
heavens, true night beginning to fall, but
it was easy enough to count the twenty
bedraggled women lined up on the north
stairway waiting to climb the last few
steps to their deaths. A similar number
were in sight on the west stairway. Tozi
couldnt see the east and south
stairways, but she was sure they too
were in use in the vast engine of human
sacrifice that had been set in motion
today. Out of the hundreds of victims
seized this afternoon, only around eighty
twenty on each of the four stairways
remained alive.
The moon was already in the sky, but
the last rays of the setting sun still
lingered on the summit platform of the
pyramid, illuminating a tall, naked man,
covered from head to toe in blood, who
balanced unsteadily at the top of the
northern stairway, brandishing an
obsidian knife.
Hed looked different this morning in
his robes, but there was no doubt in
Tozis mind who this was. She nudged
Malinal. Thats Moctezuma, she
whispered, pointing at the naked figure,
the Great Speaker himself.
Malinal and Coyotl sat on either side
of her, no more able than she was to tear
their eyes away from the nightmarish
spectacle of the great pyramid. Attracted
by a growing commotion from the plaza,
theyd left their place near the back of
the prison and walked past Black Teeth
and her group. Theyd not been molested
but were acutely conscious of the hateful
stares of the two troublemakers from
Xocos gang as they made their way here
to join other morbid spectators already
gathered by the bars to watch the
sacrifices.
Coyotls usually happy features were
set in a deep frown. If the Great
Speaker is not careful, he said, he will
fall down the stairs.
Then let us hope, said Malinal, that
for once in his evil, useless life hes not
careful.
A woman sitting nearby, who seemed
unaware that accusations of witchcraft
had been made against Tozi, giggled
raucously: Lets hope! she agreed.
Maybe if we all hope together we can
make it happen?
Maybe we can, Tozi thought. The idea
seemed perfectly reasonable to her
worth trying, anyway and as though on
cue two more women joined in, then a
third, chanting low and urgent: Fall!
Fall! Fall! Fall! Others round about
began to take up the chorus, but were
quickly silenced when the imposing
figure of Cuitlhuac, younger brother of
the Great Speaker, thrust himself
forward beside Moctezuma, took his arm
and guided him away from the top of the
stairs.
The two men paused and spoke
animatedly. They were still in sight on
the summit platform, close to the
sacrificial stone where the next victim
lay spreadeagled, arms and legs braced
by the assistant priests, waiting for
death. Then a third figure came into
view beside them, and Tozis heart
lurched. Theres Ahuizotl, she told
Malinal. The high priest.
I know who he is, said Malinal. An
uncomfortable silence followed while
she seemed to think things over. In fact,
I know him personally. Her eyes were
downcast. Theres stuff I have to tell
you about myself.
Tozi shrugged. She had seen the look
of recognition Ahuizotl had fixed on her
friend, but shed not yet attempted to
read Malinals mind and she felt no
desire to pry. I know youre a good
person. I know youre brave. I know
youve stuck by me and Coyotl. Nothing
else matters
But
Save it for when we get out of here.
I might be putting you in danger
Save it! Its not going to change
anything. Were friends now. We stick
together. Thats what friends do, isnt it,
Coyotl?
We stick together, confirmed the
little boy, and we help each other.
Good, said Tozi. Im glad were all
agreed. She felt a fresh trickle of blood
dripping over her upper lip, raised her
cupped hand, blew her nose loudly into
it and threw the blood and snot to the
ground.
Better not to blow, Malinal
suggested. Just makes nosebleeds
worse. She leaned forward, holding out
her thumb and forefinger. May I? she
asked.
Tozi nodded and tilted back her head.
A lot more blood was running from her
nose, and now it started to pour down
the back of her throat as well.
No, said Malinal. Dont lean back,
lean forward. She reached out and
gripped Tozis nostrils, pinching them
closed with a firm, gentle pressure.
Breathe through your mouth, she said.
Tozi breathed, Malinal held her nose
and, over Malinals fingers, Tozi saw
Coyotls big bright eyes looking up at
her, filled with concern.
My friends, she thought.
It was the best feeling she could
remember having for a very long time.
When Tozis nosebleed stopped, full
night had fallen, but outside in the plaza
hundreds of black-robed priests
continued their slow processional dance
of lights. Swinging loosely from their
hands, their orange lanterns sent an
unearthly glow flickering up the sides of
the pyramid, and this seemed to be
collected and reflected back by the lurid
flames of the sacrificial braziers on the
summit platform and the rows of
guttering torches set up in front of the
temple of Hummingbird. The great
snakeskin drum, which had fallen silent,
was beating again a mournful, hollow,
gut-wrenching sound. A conch blew,
somewhere a flute trilled, and Tozi saw
Moctezuma back at work at the
sacrificial stone, wielding the knife,
cutting out hearts. Lined up on the stair
beneath him fewer than ten victims
remained, and amongst them was one
she seemed no more than a child who
was screaming in terror again and again
the words: Mama, Mama, Mama
Poor kid, whispered Malinal. All
afternoon being beaten and shoved by
Mexica guards, climbing the pyramid,
seeing all that blood, hearing all those
cries, guessing whats coming to her in
the end
Thats how they want us, said Tozi.
They want us mad with fear when they
feed us to their gods. They think we taste
better that way.
Coyotl had been very quiet but now he
began sobbing and sniffling. I dont
want to be fed to their gods, he said.
Tozi wrapped her arms round him,
held him tight, told him, You will not
be. No matter what happens, Ill protect
you. Ill never let them hurt you.
Besides, said Malinal she pointed
to the priests with their lanterns, to the
pyramid, to the few remaining victims
surely its over for tonight?
Sometimes, even when she didnt
want to, Tozi couldnt help seeing inside
other peoples minds. That was how it
was now when the sight came on her
unbidden, and in an instant she knew
things about Malinal. Knew that she had
been a slave but prized for her beauty,
highly trained in the arts of love and
privileged despite her captivity. Knew
that noble and powerful men had paid
her owner fortunes to enjoy her. As
though she were viewing swimmers at
the bottom of a murky pool, Tozi saw
that many of the leaders of Tenochtitlan
had crossed Malinals path here was
Itzcoatl, here was Coaxoch, here Zolton,
here Cuitlhuac, here Maxtla. And here?
Whose was this mean face, this mottled
face hidden in the deeps of the seeing-
pool, if not Ahuizotl himself, high priest
of the Mexica, a man sworn on pain of
death to lifelong celibacy?
That was when the seeing ended with
a flicker, as abruptly as it had begun, and
Tozi found Malinal shaking her by the
shoulders, peering into her eyes, saying:
Are you all right?
Ahuizotl! Tozi thought. So thats what
you were trying to tell me. But instead
she said: Ive survived in here for
seven months and Ive not been through a
day like this before. Ive seen them
sacrifice thirty, fifty, sometimes even a
hundred often enough. But never so many
victims as went under the knife today,
and the Great Speaker leading the killing
from morning to night? There has to be a
special reason for that.
Malinals beautiful face had become
sombre and thoughtful. There is a
reason, she said.
Tozi gave her a long, level look. And
you know it?
Something happened late last year.
Something thats never happened before.
I think its made Moctezuma crazy
From the top of the pyramid they
could both hear the screams of a woman
in terrible fear, abruptly silenced by the
thud of the obsidian knife.
Four months ago, said Malinal,
strangers appeared in the Yucatn, in
the lands of the Chontal Maya. They
were bearded and white-skinned, they
came from across the eastern sea in
boats as big as mountains and they made
their way to the town of Potonchan near
the mouth of the Tabasco river. They had
great powers, these strangers. They were
few in number about a hundred but
they possessed fearsome weapons and
they defeated an army of ten thousand
before they returned to the sea. Some
thought they were human beings, some
thought they were gods, maybe even the
retinue of the god Quetzalcoatl himself,
come to herald his return its still not
settled. She lowered her eyes. I am of
the Chontal Maya, she confided, and I
was born in Potonchan. My people fear
Moctezuma. Theyre not his vassals,
they dont pay him tribute, but they like
to please him. They sent word to him,
paintings on bark, and an eyewitness to
describe the strangers with a full account
of the battle Thats how I came to
know about this
From the witness?
He spoke only Maya, and when the
Great Speaker wanted to question him I
was summoned to interpret. Ive been a
slave in Tenochtitlan for five years but I
have a gift for languages and Ive learnt
fluent Nahuatl. Malinal paused, looked
at Tozi, then at Coyotl: Does it seem
odd to you that a slave such as I was
chosen for so important a task rather than
some diplomat?
Coyotl was indignant. No! You were
chosen because youre beautiful I bet
the diplomats are all ugly!
Malinal tousled his hair. Thank you!
she said. Thats very sweet! Her
manner changed. But I think the real
reason I was chosen was because I was
expendable. Anyway, this is what
happened. The witness and I were bound
hand and foot and forced to kneel in the
audience chamber of the palace, in front
of an empty throne, until Moctezuma
came in and was seated. We saw just his
feet, his clean brown feet in gold
sandals, and the hem of his robe. We
were told we must not look at his face,
must keep our eyes downcast at all
times, or we would die. Then the guards
left the room. The voice of the Great
Speaker is soft but very cold. He told me
that the witness should describe the
strangers their appearance, their
manner of speech, their manner of dress
and their weapons. The witness gave his
report, described their beards and their
white skins and the deadly weapons they
used. I interpreted and all the time I felt
the atmosphere changing, becoming very
dark, very heavy, like a funeral. Twice,
just for a heartbeat, I risked a glance and
I saw that fear had come upon the Great
Speaker as he received the news.
Believe me! I saw it! His jaw hanging
loose! His hands shaking! His eyes
sliding from side to side. You dont
expect the Speaker of the Mexica to be a
coward, Tozi, but thats what Moctezuma
is, a coward even though the witness
did tell a terrifying story! I put it
faithfully into Nahuatl and when Id
given it all, Moctezuma groaned. He
clutched his belly! His bowels turned to
water! She let go a peal of laughter: He
just shat right there, Tozi, in front of us!
There were terrible farts and you
know other sounds. The most awful
smell
Tozi was laughing too; some of the
other women around joined in. Coyotl
giggled, but Malinals voice had become
serious again. After he was done, she
said, he moved about, I think he was
cleaning himself but we didnt dare
look. Then we heard him talking at the
door. Soon afterwards a group of guards
and priests entered. The poor witness
never knew what hit him; he was
strangled on the spot. The executioner
turned to me, put his hands round my
throat. I thought I was done for until
Ahuizotl came storming in and stopped
him. No! he said. I want this woman
for sacrifice! There was no one to
overrule him Moctezuma had left the
room and in this way I was set aside.
But, said Tozi, obviously not for
sacrifice
Not at first. Ahuizotl used me for sex
these past four months Uggh! His
breath smells of carrion. Malinal made
a face and blushed. This is what you
told me you didnt need to know, she
said apologetically, but here we are
back at it in a roundabout way. She
shrugged. So he used me for four
months then, last night, guards took me
from the house where he kept me
prisoner and threw me in here. Hed had
what he wanted from me, I suppose, so
he sent me for sacrifice.
Youre a knife at his throat, said
Tozi, as long as youre still alive.
Malinal nodded. Because of his
vows I know. Hed be afraid Id bear
witness against him. But really
celibate priests! Believe me, its a joke!
Its easier to find a virgin in a
whorehouse than a celibate in the
Temple.
Tozi made a habit of being aware of
people in her surroundings at all times,
so she noticed immediately that the two
hellions from Xocos gang had followed
her here. They would never give up, it
seemed! They were whispering to other
Tlascalans around them, and some
whod been friendly enough moments
before were now giving them ugly
glances. Tozi heard the word witch.
Coyotl heard it too and huddled closer.
Malinal looked scared but calm
somehow.
Witch! Witch! Witch!
Its all starting again, Tozi thought
wearily. She tried to marshal her
strength and found she had nothing left to
give. If these Tlascalans decided to tear
them to pieces now, she knew she would
be helpless.
But then there came a commotion, the
swaying, undulating dance in the plaza
abruptly ceased, some of the lanterns fell
to the ground, the gates of Moctezumas
palace swung open and a phalanx of
heavily armed soldiers marched out.
A lot of soldiers!
They cut across the plaza, straight
towards the fattening pen.
At their head, flanked by his two
acolytes, was Ahuizotl.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Tlascala, Thursday 18
February 1519
From the direction of the forest a storm
of arrows whirred around Shikotenka in
the dusk, passed him on both sides and
smashed the Cuahchics down before they
could close with him.
He turned with a broad grin. All fifty
of his men were out of the trees and
coming on at a run, a second volley of
arrows already nocked to the string. But
they lowered their bows and slowed to
an easy walk when they saw the
Cuahchics were no longer a threat. Two
were dead and the third writhed on the
ground, bristling with arrows and filling
the air with screams and curses.
A nice surprise, called out
Shikotenka. I thought I was on my own.
The plan had been to meet three hours
later by a sweet-water spring in the
depths of the forest. There was no
reason for his men to be here.
Panitzin was out in front. He was
nicknamed Tree for his massive size,
stolid features, dark skin the colour of
ahuehuete bark and long, wild hair.
Too many mosquitos at the spring, he
growled as they embraced.
No reasonable man could be
expected to stand it, agreed dagger-thin
Acolmiztli, whod jogged up right
behind Panitzin. At forty-two he was the
grandfather of the squad, but had proved
his worth in countless battles and could
outrun warriors fifteen years his junior.
So you just decided to wait here
instead?
Tree spoke again, which was unusual
for such a taciturn man. Yes, he said.
More comfortable.
And close to the path, added
Shikotenkas cousin Tochtli, so we
would spot you as you entered the
forest.
Tochtli, whose name meant Rabbit,
was the newest and by far the youngest
member of the squad. His smooth
complexion, slight stature and soft
brown eyes contributed to a gentle,
almost womanly manner that exposed
him to constant ridicule. Perhaps to
compensate for this, and to win the
approval of the more experienced
fighters, hed taken what Shikotenka
considered to be unnecessary risks
during both the prior skirmishes with the
Mexica in which hed so far been
engaged.
Shikotenka frowned. Spot me as I
entered the forest, eh? He snorted and
spat. That sort of plan usually goes
wrong
Tochtlis face immediately fell and he
looked round uncertainly at Tree and
Acolmiztli.
But today it went right! Shikotenka
laughed, taking the pressure off his
cousin. If youd stayed where you were
supposed to, I might have had my work
cut out here.
As the rest of the squad milled
around, laughing and joking, Tree
unslung his great mahogany war club,
strolled over to the surviving Cuahchic
and dealt him a single massive blow to
the head. His screams stopped abruptly
as his shaved skull shattered, spattering
warriors standing nearby with fragments
of brain and bone, provoking roars of
complaint.
All that yelling was giving me a
headache, Tree explained with an
apologetic shrug.
Shikotenka clapped him on the
shoulder: Looks like you gave him a
worse one, he said.
The squad was formed of five platoons
of ten, with Tree, Chipahua, Etzli,
Acolmiztli and jade-nosed Ilhuicamina
as the platoon leaders. They were battle-
hardened, clever, calculating men, but
they were also independent and
argumentative and the death of Guatemoc
had provoked controversy.
I dont see the problem, said Tree,
who liked nothing better than a good
battle. You fought Guatemoc and you
killed him. Dead men dont tell tales.
Shikotenka was repairing the broken
obsidian teeth of Guatemocs
macuahuitl from the squads stock of
spares. Sometimes they do, he said as
he slotted another of the razor-sharp
blades into place. If the Mexica find his
body itll put them on high alert. Theyll
have search parties out combing the
area. Our task tonight was hard enough
anyway. I fear this will make it much
harder.
Do you want to call it off? asked
Chipahua. His bald head was as big as a
chilacayohtli gourd, smooth and domed
on top, narrowing somewhat at the
temples but widening again to
accommodate his prominent cheekbones
and full fleshy face.
No, said Shikotenka. We cant call
it off.
Then all this is empty talk. A brace
of white-tailed deer roasted on spits
over the banked-down fire and Chipahua
reached out, worked loose a steaming
chunk of bloody meat and transferred it
to his mouth. He chewed slowly, almost
lecherously, smacking his sensual,
sneering lips and making a great show of
sucking his fingers. Reckon thats ready
to eat, he said.
The entire squad was gathered round
the fire and now everyone dived into the
feast. There had been an element of risk
in cooking it, but the men needed their
strength for the trial that lay ahead.
Theyd found a place a mile into the
forest, boxed in tightly by great stands of
trees and undergrowth, where there was
almost no chance a fire would be seen.
The roasted meat would more likely be
smelled, but there was nothing to be
done except bolt it down quickly.
Acolmiztlis eyes glittered and the
planes of his narrow face caught the
glow of the fire, emphasising his usual
hollow-cheeked and ghoulish
appearance. If theyve found Guatemoc
the whole camps going to be buzzing
like a hornets nest, he complained.
Well not get anywhere near Coaxochs
pavilion, let alone inside it to kill him.
Etzli was with him. We should think
again. Were fifty but theyve got four
regiments. With surprise on our side we
might have pulled it off; without, we
dont stand a chance.
Perhaps the death of Guatemoc will
make things easier for us? Tochtli dared
to offer. Hed been watching the older
warriors, his eyes shifting eagerly from
man to man, obviously summoning up the
courage to make his voice heard. The
Mexica wont know exactly what
happened, or who knifed their prince.
Could be just the distraction we need.
Quiet, little Rabbit, snarled Etzli,
showing teeth filed to sharp points.
What do you know, whos fought in only
two battles? Etzlis name meant Blood
and, despite his caution this evening, he
was a seasoned, brutal killer. It must
have taken some nerve, Shikotenka
realised, for Tochtli to contradict him.
But support came from Ilhuicamina
who looked scornfully at Acolmiztli and
Etzli. Youre both turning into old
women, he snapped. A livid scar where
a macuahuitl had struck him traced a
thick, puckered, horizontal track from
left to right across the middle of his face.
His prosthetic nose, fashioned from
small jade tiles to cover the most
hideous part of the injury, glittered eerily
in the firelight. The boys right. We can
still do this.
Im certain we can do it, agreed
Shikotenka. But the risk will be great.
For a chance to kill a piece of shit
like Coaxoch, said Ilhuicamina, Ill
take that risk.
Shikotenkas men were sworn to
follow him even into death, and in return
he gave them the right to speak their
minds. The time had come to tell them
the truth about this mission. The stakes
were higher than any of them knew. To
be honest, he said, his face deadpan, if
this was just about Coaxoch, Id call the
attack off.
Ilhuicamina blinked. Even Tree sat up
and paid attention.
But Coaxoch is only the bait.
Shikotenka lowered his voice so
everyone had to lean a little closer, and
in the fires glow he told them the plan.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Santiago, Cuba, Thursday 18
February 1519
Shielded from view by three large coils
of rope and piles of canvas sheeting hed
arranged around himself, Pepillo lay on
his back in the aftcastle of the Santa
Mara de la Concepcin, trying to
decide what to do. Here he was well
away from the whirl of activity on the
main deck, where bales and barrels
were still being loaded. He heard men
shouting, seemingly arguing. Others sang
a vulgar song in unison as they hoisted
some great burden. He heard roars of
laughter. The horses brought on board
earlier stamped and snuffled in their
stalls. Far below he heard the slap, slap,
slap of wavelets lapping against the hull
of the great ship.
He could run, he thought bleakly, if his
legs would carry him after the beating
hed taken. But then what? If he returned
to the monastery, the brothers would
bring him straight back here and hand
him over to Muoz again. And if he tried
to hide, where would he shelter, how
would he find food? He didnt have a
centavo to his name.
Pepillo groaned. His body was a mass
of pain. His buttocks ached from the
repeated kicks Muoz had delivered to
them. His nose, where Muoz had
broken it, was swollen and inflamed and
still hurt more than he could believe. His
scalp stung as though scalded where
Muoz had wrenched a clump of hair out
by the roots. His head pounded because
Muoz had repeatedly punched him, and
a tooth at the front of his lower jaw had
been knocked loose. His side, chest and
arms were horribly bruised from being
thrown against the cabin walls by
Muoz. There was a red stripe across
his shin, another diagonally across his
belly and three more on his thighs where
Muoz had struck him with a bamboo
cane. Finally, in a crescendo of rage,
Muoz had seized Pepillo by the
shoulders, savagely bitten his left ear,
hurled him across the cabin again and
told him to get out.
Hed been hiding on the deck of the
aftcastle since then, watching early
evening dusk edge into night. Now the
first stars were showing amongst
scudding clouds and he hoped Muoz
was sleeping deeply.
In fact Pepillo hoped Muoz was
sleeping so deeply he would never wake
up.
But then he thought how wrong it was
to wish death on any human being,
particularly a religious, so he
whispered, Dear God forgive me, and
returned to his gloomy concerns about
the future.
He could not run; there was nowhere
to run to. Besides he felt the great
carrack bob beneath him, heard the creak
of its rigging in the freshening breeze
he very much wanted to stay. Truth was,
he wanted this adventure more than
anything else in the world. To sail into
unknown waters with brave men, to
explore fabled New Lands, to bring the
faith to benighted heathens, even perhaps
to earn some gold he could not imagine
anything he would rather be doing. All
his dreams seemed poised on the verge
of coming true.
Except for Muoz.
No position in which Pepillo put his
body was comfortable and now, with a
grunt of pain, he rolled onto his stomach
to ease the distress in his back. As he
turned, brushing against the canvas
sheeting, he heard the sound of a stealthy
footstep on the navigation deck below,
where the whipstaff that steered the great
ship was mounted. There was a beat of
silence, then another step this time
plainly on the stair up to the aftcastle.
Fear gripped Pepillo by the throat,
and then at once relief as he heard
Melchiors voice. So there you are!
Come down to the main deck, Pepillo
Dogbreath. Foods acooking fish stew
and beans.
Thank you, said Pepillo. But I cant
come just now
Otherwise engaged are you, your
lordship? Lanterns burned bright on the
main deck so the loading could continue,
but little light reached the aftcastle and
Pepillo lay behind the coiled ropes in a
pool of deep shadow. Too important to
eat with the common herd? Melchior
asked, looming over him. His tone
suddenly changed. What are you doing
down there anyway?
With some difficulty and pain because
his injuries were stiffening, Pepillo
rolled on his side and forced himself to
sit. Muoz beat me up, he said.
A backwash of lantern light from the
main deck fell across his face, his
bloody nose, his torn ear, and Melchior
dropped into a crouch beside him. That
devil! he said. I expected something
like this. Just not so soon.
Pepillo was startled. You knew? Why
didnt you warn me?
I did try to warn you but you ran off
to the Customs House Look, theres
no good way to tell you but Id say
youre lucky this stopped at a beating.
Most of us who sailed on the Crdoba
expedition think Muoz murdered his
last page
Murdered? Pepillos voice was a
squeak
Thats what I said.
But why?
The peccatum Sodomiticum,
Melchior whispered.
Pepillo had learned Latin in the
monastery. The sin of Sodom he
translated. He felt himself blushing:
You cant mean ?
That Muoz is a sodomite? That he
likes his pages arses? That he kills them
to keep them silent. I certainly can mean
that! And I do!
But But With this horrible new
thought, Pepillo had completely
forgotten about his aches and pains.
Did he grope you? asked Melchior.
Did his fingers get in private places?
No No! Of course not. Nothing
like that.
Are you sure? said Melchior.
Im sure.
But Pepillos hand went
unconsciously to his ear. Hed not been
groped, but hed been bitten! It was so
unexpected and so astonishing a thing
that he might almost have convinced
himself it had never happened if it
wasnt for the torn flesh of his earlobe
and his vivid memory of the wet, soft,
heat of Muozs lips
The prospect of being confined on
board ship with such a monster,
constantly at his beck and call, exposed
to his every cruel or perverse whim,
was almost more than Pepillo could
bear. But the prospect of not sailing in
the Santa Mara and of missing his
chance for the adventure of a lifetime
seemed even worse.
A pulse of pure hatred shook him and
he clenched his fists. This time he
wouldnt ask Gods forgiveness. I wish
Muoz would die, he whispered.
Melchior was just a shadow,
crouching in the darkness. Now he
stretched his back, looked up at the stars.
People die all the time, he said. Even
big, important people like Muoz. They
go overboard or they get killed and eaten
by savage tribes, or they mysteriously
fall from the rigging and break their
necks. Accidents happen. Theyre
expected. Usually no one digs too deep.
What are you suggesting?
Im not suggesting anything, you silly
mammet. Im stating facts. Fact One
accidents happen. Fact Two most
people dont like Muoz. Melchior
sauntered to the railing surrounding the
aftcastle and rested his elbows on it,
leaning out over the pier.
In the distance, but coming closer at
speed, Pepillo heard an urgent drum roll
of galloping hooves on the cobbles. He
stood and limped to the railing. It
sounded like an entire squadron of
cavalry was thundering towards them
but, moments later, scattering the crowds
still thronging the pier, a single rider,
blond hair flying about his shoulders,
exploded out of the night. He brought his
huge white horse to a rearing halt beside
the Santa Mara, leapt down gracefully,
handed the reins to a dumbfounded guard
and stormed up the gangplank onto the
ship.
Thats Don Pedro de Alvarado,
Melchior said. He does like to make a
dramatic entrance.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Santiago, Cuba, Thursday 18
February 1519
Smash! Thud! Crash! Bang! Corts
awoke in hot darkness, sweat lathering
his body, his mind sluggish, a stunning
headache addling his brains. Trapped!
He was trapped in some thundering
Hell! Smash! Crash! Thud! His arms
and legs were tangled, every movement
seemed to constrict and bind him further
and for a few terrifying, vertiginous
seconds he had no idea where or even
who he was. Then he heard Bang! Bang!
Bang! Crash! Thud! hammer blows
following one another in quick
succession and suddenly it all came
back to him. He was tangled in his
hammock in his stateroom on the Santa
Mara. He had overslept his siesta.
Night had fallen. And a few paces away,
on the other side of the partition, Muoz
was still beating his page. Thud! Smash!
Bang! Bang!
Enough! thought Corts. With a
mighty effort he wrestled himself free of
the hammock and dropped barefoot to
the floor. He was about to pound on the
partition and yell some insult when he
remembered his dream. He hesitated,
heard further loud banging and a gruff
voice shouting Corts, wake up!, and
realised with relief the noise wasnt
coming from Muozs quarters at all.
Cursing as he stubbed his toe in the
darkness on the corner of his sea chest,
he strode to the door, slid back its heavy
bolts and flung it open.
Ah, said Alvarado, at last! Its like
trying to wake the dead. He was holding
a lantern and brushed past Corts into
the much-reduced stateroom. Dear
God! he said, waving the lantern at the
partition. What happened here?
Corts held up a warning finger. Next
door is my guest, Father Gaspar Muoz.
Hell sail with us as the expedition
Inquisitor.
Alvarado made the face of a man
sucking a lemon and mouthed,
Velzquez?
Corts nodded yes.
Alvarado grinned. Theres trouble at
the Customs House, he boomed.
Theyve impounded our whole
consignment of falconets. You need to
come now.
Corts knew that all the expeditions
small cannon, including the falconets,
had already been safely loaded, but
made appropriately disbelieving and
infuriated noises as he dressed in haste,
tugged on his boots and sword and
marched out onto the navigation deck
with Alvarado, calling for his horse to
be saddled and brought down to the pier.
The two men talked of nothing but
falconets and Customs duties until they
rode off, but when they reached
Alvarados ship they reined in,
dismounted and went quietly on board.
The moon was up now, and the sky
bright, making them visible from the
Santa Mara, but no one seemed to be
watching.
The San Sebastin was built to the
same design as the Santa Mara, with
the stateroom abaft the navigation deck
occupying the whole of the stern beneath
the aftcastle. On the San Sebastin,
however, there had been no need to
partition the captains quarters to make
space for a black-robed friar and
Alvarado had the full, generous, well-lit
area to himself. We can talk safely
here, he said. He reached into his jerkin
and pulled out a single sheet of vellum.
First you need to read this.
Corts took the sheet but deliberately
ignored it as he moved to one of the two
stuffed chairs with which Alvarado had
furnished the stateroom. He sat down,
noticing for the first time that there was
something odd about the manner of his
oldest and closest friend. He was
holding his left arm in an awkward,
delicate way, his hair was wildly
dishevelled, and there were streaks of
what looked like dried blood
apparently not his own on his jerkin
and hose. He wore one of the new
Toledo rapiers in a scabbard on his hip,
but also carried a huge single-edged
falchion, thrust into the front of his
sword belt.
Isnt that Zemudios blade? Corts
asked. Hed been in and out of the
governors office more times than hed
care to count in the past month and the
bodyguard was always there.
Alvarado grinned like a puppy
waiting to be praised. I just killed
Zemudio, he said.
Corts frowned. Knowing his friend
as he did, he had no difficulty in
believing him. Still he had to ask: Why
would you do such an insane thing?
To get that sheet of vellum youre
holding in your hand. Alvarado was
bouncing up and down with impatience:
Read it now! It proves everything.
Proves what?
Just read it!
From the Hand of His Excellency
Don Diego de Velzquez, Governor
of Cuba
To Don Pnfilo de Narvez
This 18th day of February, Year of
our Lord 1519
Don Pnfilo,
The matter of our previous
discussions has now reached its
crisis and all is to proceed as we
have planned. Tonight I will relieve
Don Hernando Corts of command of
our expedition to the New Lands and
appoint you as captain-general in
his place. Corts will be arrested
discreetly, late at night, so as not to
excite resistance from his supporters.
So, prepare yourself my friend! When
we have him in chains I will send for
you.
May God bless this nights
operations, and our expedition,
which I am certain will be lucrative
and crowned with success for us
both.
Yours in Christ,
Diego de Velzquez
After Corts had read the letter, turning
over in his mind all the layers of bad
faith and betrayal between him and
Velzquez, Alvarado flopped down in
the armchair opposite him. The discreet
arrest he talks about, he said with a
knowing wink, that involves me.
Corts sighed: Whats he paying
you?
Twenty thousand gold pesos. I was
actually able to get five thousand up
front Mine to keep, I reckon. Spoils
of battle and all that Anyway, Im to
invite you to dinner at ten oclock tonight
here on the San Sebastin and pour this
in your wine, Alvarado fished in his
pocket and produced a little glass vial
containing a colourless liquid. An hour
later you start puking your guts out and
running a deathly fever. Im to send for
Dr La Pea another one of Velzquezs
stooges. Hell ship you off to his
hospital in a horse-drawn carriage, but
you wont ever get there. Velzquezs
guards will detain you on the road,
youll be flung in jail in his palace and,
when the drug wears off, youll be
questioned under I think the term is
extreme duress?
I take it, said Corts, since youre
telling me all about it, that none of this is
going to happen.
Alvarado grinned again: Of course
its not going to happen! Youre a
winner! I want to sail with you, not that
ass Narvez. Besides, youre my friend.
Youre giving up a lot of money for
friendship.
Fifteen thousand gold pesos to be
exact. But Im a businessman. I expect to
make that back many times over with my
friend Hernn Corts in command of the
expedition.
And you fought Zemudio To the
death.
Well We needed to see Narvezs
orders, didnt we? Had to know what
was in them.
Thank you, Don Pedro, said Corts.
He felt touched and deeply grateful for
his friends loyalty, and wanted to
reward him. Ill not forget this.
Another big grin from Alvarado: Ill
not let you forget it.
You realise well have to sail? said
Corts. Tonight.
Are we ready?
Ready? Corts thought. Ready
enough. Hed been preparing for such a
sudden, unscheduled escape since the
moment hed first talked Velzquez, with
honeyed words and grand promises, into
giving him command of the expedition
three months earlier. It was to be his
ultimate revenge on the old monster for
forcing him to wed Catalina. And
revenge, as everyone knew, was a dish
best served cold. The months hed spent
rotting in jail on trumped-up charges
until hed finally given in to Velzquez
and married his hell-bitch niece rankled
constantly in his memory. But if this
colossal gamble paid off, if he could
steal the expedition and get away with it,
and most of all if the rumours of the
fabulous wealth of the New Lands turned
out to be true, then he would be rich
beyond all imagining and the name of
Corts would be honoured by history,
while Velzquez would be cut to the
quick in his pride and his pocket and
remembered by no one within a
generation. The only danger the one
that had now come to pass was that the
governor would guess the plan before
they were ready to sail. This was why
Corts had done everything fast and lied
about progress, making it seem that much
more time would be needed before the
ships were fully loaded when, in truth,
apart from a few items, they were
stocked and ready to sail tonight. All
crews, horses, dog teams, and almost all
the enlisted men were boarded and
ready to go at a moments notice, and
those who were not were in the taverns
of Santiago where they could be easily
found.
Are we ready? Alvarado repeated.
Sorry, said Corts. A lot on my
mind. Yes were ready. Almost. But
theres one pressing need we cant
neglect. With soldiers and ships crews
added together, weve more than six
hundred mouths to feed, and Crdobas
experience proves we cant count on
friendly natives to supply us. Were well
stocked with staples but we must have
meat for our men fresh meat for the
voyage, preserved meats and more
livestock on the hoof to sustain us until
were self-sufficient in the New Lands.
Alvarado raised an eyebrow:
Tonight? Where?
The slaughterhouse. They have
enough to feed the city. Lets send a
squad over there on the double to bring
us everything theyve got. Corts
paused, lowered his voice: The other
captains must know nothing of this until
its done. I raised five good private
soldiers to ensign rank yesterday.
Theyre grateful to me and theyll do
what we ask without question. One of
them sails with you Bernal Daz, do
you know him?
I know him, said Alvarado with a
sneer. Hes a peasant. Not officer
material.
Hes literate. He keeps a daily
journal.
Alvarado shrugged. So?
It speaks of a certain seriousness of
mind, dont you think, a certain
dedication when one of his class reads
and writes? You judge by surface
appearances, Pedro. Ive looked deeper
and I see great potential, high
intelligence, unusual abilities, all
gathered together in this young man.
Send for him, please.
Moments later heavy footsteps sounded
on the navigation deck. There came a
loud knock at the door and Bernal Daz
del Castillo clumped into the stateroom.
He was twenty-seven years old, tall,
heavy-built, with solid labourers
muscles like a ploughboy and a big,
sallow-skinned face that was all bony
planes and angles. How very unsure of
himself he was, how out of place he
obviously felt, how overwhelmed at his
elevation to ensign, and how desperately
he wanted to please.
Corts beckoned him closer:
Welcome lad, he said. He rubbed his
hands vigorously together. Ive got a
job for you to do and its got to be done
fast
After Daz had repeated his orders and
lumbered off to carry them out, Corts
turned to Alvarado: How long have we
got until Velzquez realises youve
played him false? Four more hours?
Five? Lets think this through.
An Amsterdam clock stood in the
corner of the stateroom. No use looking
at that, said Alvarado. Its been
stopped for a year. But its around eight
of the evening now. Suns been down for
a couple of hours.
Corts nodded. Velzquez told you to
organise the dinner for ten oclock. Hell
be expecting, what? That youll poison
my wine within the first hour?
Alvarado nodded in agreement:
Seems reasonable.
In which case Ill be expected to be
showing symptoms by midnight.
Agreed?
Agreed.
So around midnight we raise the hue
and cry on the San Sebastin, and send a
messenger to fetch Dr La Pea. It will
take at least an hour for the messenger to
reach him and bring him to the harbour.
That would mean its one oclock,
maybe half past, when La Pea comes on
board around the time of tonights high
tide. Velzquez wont be surprised if the
doctor stays on the ship for an hour
before bringing his patient out, so Id
guess that makes us safe from
interference until, well lets say two
oclock. We must sail no later than that;
the ebb tide will aid our departure.
What about the other captains?
Alvarado asked. Theyre going to want
to know why were embarking so
suddenly. Some of them definitely wont
be ready, or will say they arent, and
some of them are loyal to Velzquez
Juan Velzquez de Len is his cousin for
Gods sake; hell not stand by and let us
steal away with the fleet.
Cristbal de Olid is also Velzquezs
man, said Corts, naming another of the
captains of the expedition, and Diego
de Ordaz used to be his major-domo.
Velzquez put him here to keep an eye on
me and stop me doing precisely what
were about to do tonight. It just means
were going to have to tell a careful
story when we call the captains
together.
Do you have something in mind?
Corts leaned forward in his chair
and rubbed his aching back. Someone,
he said. Specifically Pedrarias. This
afternoon my shipping agent returned
from Jamaica. He brought word
Pedrarias has assembled a fleet there
twice the size of our own and hurries to
stake his claim to the New Lands before
we do.
Damn the man! shouted Alvarado
theatrically. We have to beat him to it!
He lowered his voice: Its not true, is
it? he asked.
Pedro de Arias Dvila, Pedrarias for
short, had earned a fearsome reputation
in the Granada campaigns and during the
Italian wars. He had arrived in
Hispaniola in 1513 and sailed on with a
small force to establish the colony of
Castilla del Oro in Darin in 1514.
There he had spread such ruin, rapine
and mayhem that the colony had had to
be abandoned in 1517, but he was still
in the region and known to be looking
for new ways to get rich by force of
arms.
Fortunately its not true, Corts
laughed, but it could be true, and thats
what matters. Olid, Ordaz and Velzquez
de Len all have as much at stake in the
expedition as we do and none of them
will want Pedrarias to snatch the prize.
If they believe me theyll all see why we
have to set sail at once or risk losing
precedence. We cant wait another
week, or even another day, to finish
equipping and loading the fleet.
Everyone will understand the haste, the
urgent departure by night, even emptying
the city slaughterhouse itll all make
perfect sense to them by the time Im
finished
Alvarados mind seemed to be
elsewhere. Damn, he exclaimed. Ive
just remembered something
What? Corts felt the slightest stir of
anxiety.
Velzquezs palace guard! Hes going
to have a squad stationed on the harbour
road to grab you from La Peas
carriage. Those boys are pretty stupid,
but even theyll get suspicious if they see
our men herding swine and cattle to the
docks at one in the morning
Corts was relieved. Thats the least
of our worries, he said. Ill send my
scouts out to watch the road. Theyll tell
us where the guardsmen have stationed
themselves and in what numbers. Well
deal with them. He grinned. But first
weve got to sell all this to the captains.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Tenochtitlan, Thursday 18
February 1519
Though she had nothing left to give, Tozi
tried to fade the three of them when the
soldiers entered the fattening pen, but the
power had deserted her. Something had
broken in her head. She could no longer
even send the fog.
So they ran, and kept on running,
dodging through the thinning crowds,
hiding sometimes in pools of deeper
darkness where the soldiers torches did
not penetrate, then running again, always
running, Malinal carrying Coyotl on her
hip, as the prisoners were gathered in
and herded remorselessly towards the
gate. Tozi had no sense of the passage of
time but at a certain point, quite
suddenly, like water poured from a pot,
the last of her strength flowed out of her.
I cant go on, she said, halting near the
bars where their flight had started. The
pain in her head was unbearable. Im
done in.
Malinal, still with Coyotl on her hip,
reached out and wrapped her in a warm
embrace. Coyotl also flung his arms
round her neck. My friends, thought Tozi
again.
Lets just stay here, said Malinal.
Its as good a place to be as any. She
gestured at the lines of soldiers with
their guttering torches, working their
way through the prison, tightening the
net, efficiently rooting out fugitives from
every corner and shadow. Theyre not
going to stop until theyve taken all of
us, so running makes no difference,
hiding makes no difference. Whatever
we do theyre going to catch us. Maybe
its time we accepted that.
I never accept Im going to get
caught, flared Tozi. She felt threatened
by the very idea. Not today! Not ever!
Well, lets hope youre right.
Malinal set Coyotl on his feet. But,
honestly, were out of options.
Through her own sickness and
exhaustion, Tozi saw that Malinal too
was close to breaking point. The strain
of the last hours had taken a terrible toll
on them both and on poor Coyotl.
Youre the one whos right, Tozi said
after a moments thought. Theres no
point in running any more. Whatever the
gods have in store for us, well discover
it soon enough.
She sank down on her haunches and
sat cross-legged. Malinal and Coyotl sat
on either side of her and the three of
them gazed out through the bars at the
extraordinary spectacle evolving in the
great plaza, their ears numbed by the
shrieks and cries that echoed there and
the loud, discordant music of the ritual.
Tozi looked up at the bright moon,
close to full, approaching the heart of
heaven and shedding an eerie
luminescence over the two faces of the
pyramid the north, and the west that
were visible from the fattening pen. With
this, and with the dance of the lanterns
that had now resumed in the plaza, and
the blaze of the torches and braziers at
the summit of the pyramid, the whole
scene was lit almost as bright as day.
Tozi saw that hundreds of wailing and
lamenting women, kept in line by guards
armed with short spears, occupied every
step of the north and west stairways and
queued in the plaza below. It would be
the same, she was sure, on the east and
south sides of the pyramid. Those
Moctezuma had killed earlier had only
been a taster for the much bigger
sacrifice now under way.
She wrapped her arms round Malinal
and Coyotl, and realised with a flood of
emotion how deeply connected to them
she felt. It was as though theyd been
together all their lives, or in lives before
this life, but certainly not for just a few
hours or days.
Even in the midst of evil, Tozi
thought, good still flourishes.
When at last the soldiers came for them
theyd already decided not to resist
might as well resist a mountain or the
ocean and silently obeyed the harsh
barks of the Mexica officers. In this way
they soon found themselves herded
together with the last five hundred
women remaining in the pen. The whole
group was then marched out of the gates
and into the plaza, where they were
greeted by a horrible, disorienting
clamour of cries and screams, conches,
tambourines, horns, whistles and the
mournful, gut-churning beat of the
snakeskin drum.
Tozi had witnessed countless
sacrifices and knew what to expect next.
Jeering guards surrounded the women
and made them strip naked, leering at
their bodies, roughly shoving and
goading them into compliance. Poor
Coyotl clutched his little hands to his
mutilated genitals as if any of that
mattered now, thought Tozi as she
shrugged off her own filthy rags. Malinal
stood tall and proud, firm-breasted, her
head held upright.
Im afraid, said Coyotl in a small
voice.
Me too, said Tozi.
This is so hideous, said Malinal.
What are they going to do to us now?
Theyre going to paint us, Tozi said.
It was already happening. Up ahead
the women were being harried into a
line where slaves armed with brushes
daubed their bodies with a thick chalk
plaster, turning them ghostly white. Some
cried out, hunched over, but it only
delayed the inevitable they were
forced upright and the plaster was
applied. Other functionaries were at
work hurriedly painting their eyelids
black and their lips red, anointing the
crowns of their heads with molten
rubber and pluming them with turkey
feathers. Finally they were dressed in
crude paper garments and herded
onwards towards the looming pyramid.
Tozi, Malinal and Coyotl stuck close
together as their turn came, submitting
passively to the painting and feathering.
Although Tozi had never admitted to
herself that she would ever become a
victim, there was a strange, dreamlike
way, as she donned the paper loincloth
and the paper blouse, in which she found
she was ready to admit it now. Perhaps
it was because she was so tired, her
body so punished, her head hurting so
much, her spirit so beaten down, but
after months of relentless struggle to stay
alive, always alert, always suspicious,
always afraid, she began at this moment
to see death as a welcome release from
the hell-world the Mexica had created.
A fat priest in black robes, blood-
matted hair down to his waist, stepped
onto a low platform and addressed the
women, most of whom were from
Tlascala and other more distant lands, as
they trudged past him towards the
pyramid:
We welcome you to this city of
Tenochtitlan
Where reigns the god Hummingbird.
Do not think that you have come here to
live;
You have come here to die,
To offer your chests to the knife.
Only in this way, through your deaths,
has it been your fortune
To know this great city.
Such arrogance! whispered Malinal. A
wind had come up while the priest
spoke, a warm, damp wind swirling
round the plaza, plucking at their flimsy
garments. Tozi looked to the sky. Thick
clouds had begun to build there, though
the moon still shone clear, casting its
cold glamour over the whole hellish
scene the swirling orange patterns
painted by the lanterns in the plaza, the
torsos and heaps of human offal piled up
at the base of the pyramid, the hideous
glistening cascades of blood through
which the victims must climb, the
diabolical flare and flicker of the
torches and braziers on the sacrificial
platform before the temple of
Hummingbird, and Moctezuma himself
still wielding the obsidian knife at the
top of the northern stairway.
Coyotl was clinging tight to Tozis
hand as the panicked crowd jostled
round them, great shivers and tremors
shaking his body. She stooped, uncertain
if she had the strength to lift him, but
Malinal got there first. Let me carry
him, she said, hoisting Coyotl up onto
her hip again. Hes not heavy.
The little boy looked her straight in
the eye. Im still afraid, he said.
Were all afraid, said Malinal. She
smiled wearily at Coyotl: Rest a bit,
little one, she told him, and he
obediently put his head on her shoulder.
Again Tozi felt a wash of gratitude for
her new family. If the struggle was truly
over and the end came for all of them
under the sacrificial knife, it was a
comfort to know they would pass to the
next world together.
With loud whistles and shouts and
repeated kicks and punches, the guards
kept the women moving forward in a
mass towards the pyramid through
swirling, grimacing lantern dancers
whose faces were painted red as boiled
lobsters. Somewhere ahead, but close,
Tozi heard loud shouts and high-pitched
screams. Standing on tiptoe she saw a
squad of brute-faced soldiers armed
with macuahuitls dividing the prisoners
into two lines.
The line that forked left led to death at
the top of the northern stairway.
The line that forked right led to death
at the top of the western stairway.
As she approached the fork, Tozi saw
Ahuizotl pushing his way towards them
through the dancers, his face busy with
malign intent. He seemed to have
recovered from whatever hurt Xoco had
done to his leg and was no longer using
his spear as a crutch.
His eyes were fixed on Malinal. He
marched right up to her, leaned in and
whispered, loud enough for Tozi to hear,
I dont know how you and your friends
did that vanishing act today but now
youre going to disappear for ever.
Recoiling from the venom in his tone, or
perhaps the stink of blood that rose from
him, Coyotl whimpered on Malinals
shoulder and the high priests hand shot
out, snatched the child by the hair and
jerked his head violently back, half
pulling him from Malinals arms.
NO! Coyotl screamed a single
word, filled with terror. An instant later
Tozi sank her teeth into Ahuizotls wrist
and Malinal went for his face. He shook
them off as the soldiers piled in, there
was a flurry of movement and, at the end
of it, the high priest held Coyotl
triumphantly clamped under his arm.
Tozi! Coyotl wailed.
Ahuizotl barked orders to the guards
to bypass the line and take Malinal and
Tozi forward at once to the foot of the
northern stairway. His face set in a
horrible, mocking leer; he then hurried
off, still clutching the struggling child.
Tozi found a burst of strength and tried
to follow, but a soldier smashed his fist
into the side of her jaw, sending her
sprawling on her face on the hard paving
of the plaza. A vast new pain exploded
in her head, confounding her senses. She
dimly heard the sounds of shouting and
struggle, shrill screams from Coyotl,
blows, then Malinal landed on top of
her, knocking the breath from her body.
Tozi Help me! Coyotls voice
was filled with terror, abandonment,
loss, violation and pain everything that
a child should never know or feel. No
No No Owwwwwww! No, no To-
ziiii!
Then soldiers were hauling Malinal to
her feet, half stunned, eyes rolling
drunkenly, lips split and bleeding from a
blow to the face. Tozi drew in a great
whooping breath as her friends weight
came off her, and felt rough hands
gripping her arms, forcing her to stand.
Tozi Help me! Coyotl screamed
again. His voice was fainter, moving
away. You said you wouldnt let them
hurt me. You promised! Toziiii!
But it was a promise she could not
keep. As Ahuizotl carried the little boy
all the way to the foot of the western
stairway and tossed him down, Tozi was
swarmed over by guards prodding her
with the obsidian points of their spears,
beating her thighs, whooping and
whistling at her, dragging her forward to
the foot of the northern stairway. Right in
front of her in the line, still reeling from
the blow shed taken, and forced to
mount the first step, was Malinal.
Coyotls screams were faint now,
barely audible. Tozi heard, You
promised one more time, fluttering on
the breeze like a butterfly, then the little
boy was swallowed up amongst the
other victims and his voice fell silent.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Santiago, Cuba, Thursday 18
February 1519
As the great ship gently rocked beneath
him, and the lanterns on the wall flared
and flickered, Corts sat alone at the
map table in Alvarados spacious
stateroom, looking round the ten empty
seats soon to be filled by his captains,
considering how best to get what he
wanted from these men. Some of them
were his already, some he was in the
process of making his, and some would
never be his. He could only hope he had
done enough to tip the balance in his
favour.
Since Corts had taken command of
the expedition three months previously,
and begun to make all necessary
preparations, Diego de Velzquez had
constantly interfered, insisting on
appointing many of the captains himself.
Of these, Corts was most offended by
the glowering Juan Escudero the very
man whom Velzquez had sent to arrest
him two years before over the matter of
Catalina. Escudero had looked down his
long nose at Corts as though he was a
criminal then and nothing had changed
today.
There would be no accommodation
with him, but other Velazquistas had
proved easier to subvert with gold, or
flattery, or friendship.
Juan Velzquez de Len, for example,
appeared on the surface to be completely
loyal to his cousin Diego. Of a naturally
loud, harsh and vulgar temperament, this
ox of a man with his angry green eyes,
bushy black beard and aggressive chin
was quiet and unusually servile in the
governors presence. But Corts had
discovered that his outward deference
concealed simmering bad blood. De
Len felt bitter that his powerful
kinsman had not given him sufficient
land, or Indians to work it, when he
came to Cuba. Corts had poured subtle
poison in his ear almost daily during the
past three months, stoking his already
fierce resentment of Velzquez and
filling his mind with new suspicions and
rancour. He had also extended a
generous personal loan of two thousand
gold pesos to De Len to refit his
ancient, leaking caravel, telling him that
if the expedition was a success, as he
expected it to be, he would not ask him
to pay the money back.
Still, it was by no means clear which
way Velzquez de Len would jump if
he was forced to choose sides, and the
same was true of many of the others.
Indeed out of the ten captains, there were
only three whom Corts counted as firm
and reliable friends the well-placed
aristocrat Alonso Hernndez
Puertocarrero, Juan de Escalante and, of
course, Pedro Alvarado.
Corts stepped out onto the navigation
deck and looked up at the moon, close to
full and riding high, its pale glare casting
baleful shadows through the masts and
rigging of the San Sebastin, reflecting
off the black water of the harbour, filling
the sky with light. It would be about nine
oclock and down below on the pier,
right on schedule, he heard voices and
saw a large group of men approaching
Alvarado with, it seemed, all the
captains. Most of them were in their
mid-thirties around Cortss own age
and all were veterans whod fought their
way through the Italian wars and the
conquest of Hispaniola and Cuba. Juan
de Escalante was the youngest of them at
thirty-one, Diego de Ordaz the oldest at
forty-three. Corts had also sent orders
with Alvarado for one of his newly
appointed junior officers to attend,
twenty-two-year-old Gonzalo de
Sandoval.
When all the captains were seated,
with Sandoval left standing for want of a
chair, Corts launched right into things,
bluntly, with no preamble. Gentlemen,
he said, we must leave Santiago tonight.
We sail on the ebb tide five hours from
now.
He did not immediately elaborate and
there was a beat of stunned silence. Juan
Escuderos lantern jaw gaped comically
for a moment before he snapped it shut.
Sail to where? he asked.
To the New Lands, of course, but a
week early.
This is highly irregular, objected
Ordaz. He had the strong, stubborn face
of a miller or a mason. Does the
governor know what you intend?
He does not, said Corts, meeting
the mans thoughtful, grey-eyed stare.
And if he did he would not permit our
departure this night.
But then surely we must not leave?
proposed Velzquez de Len. He flashed
Corts an apologetic glance as though to
say: You and I know how I really feel,
but I have to be seen to defend my
kinsmans interests.
We will not leave! thundered
Escudero, slapping his hand on the table.
Corts is nothing more than a thief. He
would steal the expedition from the
governor.
Corts pushed back his chair and
stood, half drawing his sword. Escudero
looked startled, as though he really
wasnt expecting this, and scrambled to
his feet, knocking his own chair over
with a loud crash. Ill not be called a
thief, Corts said. Apologise now or
we step outside and settle this man to
man.
Gentlemen, gentlemen, said
Puertocarrero, his red beard twitching.
How can we hope for victory in the
New Lands if were already fighting
among ourselves? He turned his moist
brown eyes on Corts: Please, Hernn,
put away your sword. If Juan is too pig-
headed to apologise to you, I will
apologise on his behalf, but we must not
fall to killing each other, dont you
agree?
Corts thought about it, but only for an
instant. Everything that was impulsive,
violent and vengeful in his nature
yearned to run Escudero through. That
was what had got him out of his chair.
But his more rational side saw no gain in
killing the man while they were still in
the port of Santiago and subject to the
governors jurisdiction. A better
opportunity was sure to present itself.
Very well, he said, we will not fight.
He sheathed his sword and sat down
again. Now make a virtue of necessity.
He smiled. Instead, I have a suggestion.
Let us agree that all of us around this
table may trade insults tonight as we
wish, without any mans honour being
impugned. That way he looked at
Escudero we may speak our minds
freely and be satisfied as to the truth.
There was a rumble of assent from the
captains.
Which of course does not mean,
added Corts, that were obliged to
insult each other. A ripple of laughter
ran round the table. I for one intend to
remain civil even if some do not
Now, Don Juan, you suspect me of
stealing the expedition from our patron
Diego de Velzquez, but the truth is I
wish to save it for him. Will you hear me
out?
Be my guest, sneered Escudero with
a wave of his hand. Given enough rope,
youre bound to hang yourself.
Corts smiled again. When we reach
the New Lands, he thought, well see
which one of us hangs. But instead he
said: Somethings come up a great
danger to us that we must deal with at
once. Under such circumstances our
official Instructions, written by Don
Diego himself, vest full emergency
powers in me to take whatever actions I
decide are in the best interests of the
expedition. He brought out a scroll from
his pocket, pushed it into the middle of
the table. Clause twenty-three, he said.
Its on this basis, though I hold him in
the highest personal regard, that Ive
decided not to consult Don Diego
tonight. Neither the interests of the
expedition, nor his personal interests,
will be served by involving him. Whats
needed now is swift action, but hes the
governor of Cuba, busy with a thousand
things, and if we put this to him hell bog
us down for days. We all know hes a
man who doesnt make decisions quickly

Ill second that, said Cristbal de

Olid. He was short, squat and gnome-
like, with a wild black beard and
twinkling blue eyes. Takes him three
months to sign a simple requisition
sometimes.
Ive waited three years for a proper
grant of Indians, complained De Len.
Puertocarrero agreed: What
Velzquez promises and what gets done
are two different things.
Corts moved swiftly to capitalise on
his gains. You touch upon my exact
point, Alonso. This emergency is such
we cant waste a single minute waiting
for His Excellency to make up his mind.
We have to sail tonight! He leaned
forward over the map table, his voice
low and urgent. My shipping agent,
whom I trust with my life, has returned
this afternoon from Santiago de La Vega
on the island of Jamaica. He reports that
Pedro de Arias has installed himself
there, recruited close to fifteen hundred
men the scum of the earth, so it seems
and gathered together a mixed fleet of
twenty good carracks and caravels.
Theyre bound for the New Lands. He
paused for effect. Nigh on ready to sail.
If we dont beat them to it, therell be no
prize left for us to win.
Oh very good, Corts, very good,
said Escudero, performing a slow
handclap, but you dont seriously
expect us to believe any of this, do you?
I see nothing to disbelieve, snapped
Juan de Escalante. A lean, rangy, blue-
eyed man, he wore his black hair straight
and long to his shoulders, framing a
wolfish, heavily bearded face and
concealing the sword wound from the
Italian wars that had deprived him of the
top two-thirds of his right ear. We all
know what Pedrarias did in Darin. We
all know hes been gathering men. We all
know hes looking for fresh pickings.
Why not the New Lands?
Theres a way to settle this well all
believe, said Ordaz. His cold grey eyes
rested on Corts again. Simply produce
your shipping agent and have him repeat
his story to us
It was Cortss experience that some
truth in a lie makes the lie stronger, and
he would have told a different lie if his
shipping agent, Luis Garrido, had not in
fact returned from Jamaica that very
afternoon. It helped that Garrido was
himself an accomplished liar, having
sworn falsely on Cortss behalf in many
business disputes. He had also recently
fallen into debt a problem that Corts
could help him solve. Best of all,
Garrido had met Pedrarias the previous
year and was able to describe him.
Ill be happy to oblige, Corts
answered Ordaz. Hell be down on the
main deck taking his dinner. He
signalled to Sandoval. Would you go
and fetch him please? Ask for Luis
Garrido. Any of the crew will know
him.
Sandoval was short with a broad,
deep chest. His curly chestnut hair had
receded almost to his crown, making him
look peculiarly high-browed, but as
though to compensate he had grown a
curly chestnut beard, quite well
maintained, that covered most of the
lower half of his face. Although he
presently owned no horse, lacked the
means to purchase one and had enlisted
as a private soldier, Corts noted that his
legs were as bandy as his own the legs
of a man whod spent most of his life in
the saddle.
When fat, perspiring, moustachioed
Garrido entered the stateroom, he was in
the midst of heaping complaints on
Sandoval, wringing his hands and
lamenting that hed already told his story
to Corts and only wanted to finish
eating his dinner and have a good nights
sleep.
Several of the captains had met
Pedrarias, and others were familiar with
the anchorage where he was supposedly
mustering ships and men, but Garrido
didnt wilt under their close questioning,
even naming and describing most of the
vessels in his fleet. There was a danger
of being caught out here Garrido need
only mention a single carrack or caravel
that one of the captains knew for sure
was not in Jamaica and his credibility
would fall into doubt. Get two wrong
and the whole exercise would become a
fiasco. But so complete was the agents
knowledge of shipping movements in the
region, so accurate the details he
reported and so fresh his recollections,
that his imaginary fleet proved
unsinkable.
Bravo, Corts thought as Garrido left
the stateroom to return to his dinner. A
masterful performance. And, looking
round the table, where an excited buzz of
conversation immediately ensued, he
could see that most of the captains were
swaying his way that escaping tonight
on the ebb tide, to get a foothold in the
New Lands and be the first to stake a
claim there, was suddenly beginning to
make sense to them.
In the end Escudero was the only
Velazquista who still felt the matter
should be reported to Velzquez. But he
accepted the decision of the majority,
and the authority of Corts under clause
twenty-three of the Instructions, to sail at
once without informing the governor.
Under duress I accompany you, he
said, and under duress I stay silent. But
what we are doing is not right. I fear we
will all pay a price for it. He turned on
Corts. You, sir, he said, have no
more conscience than a dog. You are
greedy. You love worldly pomp. And
you are addicted to women in excess
At this last remark, which seemed so
irrelevant to the matter in hand,
Alvarado burst out laughing. Addicted
to women in excess! Whats wrong with
that, pray tell? If its a sin then Id guess
a few around this table are guilty of it!
But what would you know or care of
such things, Juan, when Im told your
own preferences run to little boys?
Crash! Over went Escuderos chair
again and he was on his feet, lurching
round the table towards Alvarado, his
sword drawn, his knuckles white on its
hilt. He didnt get far before
Puertocarrero, Escalante and Ordaz
piled on top of him and disarmed him.
Alvarado stayed where he was, one
eyebrow sardonically raised.
Don Juan, Corts said. It seems you
have forgotten.
Forgotten what? Escudero was still
struggling with his captors.
The agreement we all made an hour
ago. Tonight we may trade insults with
no mans honour at stake. You have just
insulted my conscience, for example, but
do you see me at your throat with my
sword?
Escudero must have known he was
trapped. My apologies, he choked
finally. In my anger I forgot myself. He
looked up at Alvarado: But if you say
such a thing tomorrow, I will kill you.
Tomorrow is another day, said
Corts. He motioned to Sandoval. Go
and bring two of the men from the main
deck, then take Don Juan below and lock
him in the brig.
The brig? Escudero spluttered. His
face was suddenly purple. You cant do
that to me!
I think youll find I can, said Corts.
He unrolled the Instructions scroll, made
a show of reading it. Ah yes, he said,
here it is. Clause seventeen: Captain-
General may, on his sole discretion,
restrain and if necessary incarcerate any
member whose conduct becomes
disruptive or threatens the success of the
expedition To my mind, attacking
Don Pedro with a sword in his own
stateroom is disruptive and threatens our
success.
De Len tried to intervene. Please,
Captain-General. Your point is made.
Surely its not necessary to
It is, said Corts, absolutely
necessary.
Ordaz also seemed about to object but
Corts waved him down: Ill risk no
distractions! Don Juan will be released
in the morning. He can resume command
of his ship then.
Corts had been expecting at least
token opposition from the other captains,
but Escudero was not well liked. Now
that the decision had been made to
embark immediately, it seemed no one
wanted to speak up for him.
With an inner sigh of relief, Corts
realised his gamble had paid off. His
authority over this unruly group had
prevailed at least for tonight.
Gentlemen, he said, thank you for
your support. Im heartened by it. Were
embarking upon a great and beautiful
enterprise, which will be famous in
times to come. Were going to seize vast
and wealthy lands, peoples such as have
never before been seen, and kingdoms
greater than those of monarchs. Great
deeds lie ahead of us; great dangers, too,
but if youve got the stomach for it, and
if you dont abandon me, I shall make
you in a very short time the richest of all
men who have crossed the seas and of
all the armies that have here made war.
Everyone liked the idea of getting
rich, so the speech went down well.
As the last of the captains hurried from
the stateroom to make their ships ready
to sail, Sandoval returned from locking
up Escudero.
Ah, said Corts. Is the prisoner
settled?
Settled is not the word Id use, said
Sandoval. Hes shouting and pounding
on the walls of the brig.
Corts shrugged. He can pound until
dawn if he wants to; nobodys going to
take a blind bit of notice. He grinned:
Now listen, Sandoval, Im glad youre
here. Ive got soldiers work for you to
do tonight.
Chapter Thirty
Santiago, Cuba, Thursday 18
February 1519
Gonzalo de Sandoval was from a
respected hidalgo family, albeit one
impoverished in recent years by a
property dispute. He was born and bred
a cavalier and university educated
natural officer material on every count.
He was also from Medelln, Cortss
home town in the north of Extremadura,
and the Extremenos were famous for
sticking together.
All these things, thought Bernal Daz,
made it easy to understand why Corts
had singled Sandoval out for
responsibility yesterday, despite his
obvious youth.
What made less sense indeed, so
much less sense he feared an elaborate
practical joke was that at the same
ceremony, Corts had also singled out
Daz himself, a man of poor family and
almost no education, and elevated him
from common soldado to alferez
ensign the same rank he had bestowed
on Sandoval.
Now, tonight, hard on the heels of his
unexpected promotion, Daz had been
given his first command not a very
glamorous or prestigious command, to
be sure, but one that was important and
worthwhile.
Respectable work that made sense to
him.
Corts and Alvarado had entrusted
him with the fabulous sum of three
hundred gold pesos with which he was
to purchase the entire contents of
Santiagos slaughterhouse all the
butchered meat and all the animals
awaiting slaughter. In the unlikely event
that three hundred pesos did not prove
sufficient to buy everything, then Daz
was to commandeer whatever remained,
carrying it away by force if necessary,
but leaving a promissory note to cover
payment.
Any problems with that? Corts had
asked.
I dont want to get arrested, sir!
You have my word that wont
happen. We are Gods soldiers, Daz,
doing Gods work and Gods work
wont wait
But if theres trouble, sir?
No need to call me sir. Don
Hernando will do. Hernn when you get
to know me better. I like to keep things
informal if I can. As to trouble, there
wont be any and if there is, Ill
protect you. You have my promise.
It seemed Corts was a man who
made promises easily. But he was also
the caudillo, captain-general of this great
expedition to the New Lands, and Dazs
best hope for finding wealth. So hed
shrugged and said, Thats good enough
for me Don Hernando.
He was having second thoughts now,
though, as he stood in the middle of the
slaughterhouse floor, his boots soiled
with blood and straw, carcasses of pigs,
cattle and sheep suspended from hooks
all around him, night insects throwing
themselves suicidally into the torches
that lit up the whole room. In front of
him, Fernando Alonso, the director of
the slaughterhouse, was so angry that
spit sprayed from his mouth and a vein
in his right temple began to throb
conspicuously. No, I will not sell you
any meat! he yelled. Not for three
hundred pesos or for three thousand
pesos. I have a contract to feed the city.
But with respect, sir, Daz persisted,
we must have this meat. And all your
livestock on the hoof as well.
Livestock on the hoof! So youll have
the whole of Santiago go hungry not only
tomorrow but for the rest of the month!
What kind of men are you?
Daz sought around for an answer and
remembered what Corts had told him.
We are soldiers of God, he said, doing
Gods work. Would you have us go
hungry as we do it?
I would have you honest, shouted
Alonso, unleashing another geyser of
spit. He had one of those personalities
that made him seem physically bigger
than he was, but in reality he was a
small, bristling, bald man with rather
long hairy arms, hefting a big cleaver in
his right hand and wearing a bloody
apron. Daz had been surprised to find
him already at work, slaughtering beasts
and butchering them for Santiagos
breakfast; he had hoped at this time of
night he could deal with some junior
who wouldnt know what he was doing.
Now, whether he liked it or not, he
was into a full-fledged confrontation.
Alonso put two fingers to his mouth,
gave a piercing whistle, and five more
men in bloody aprons made their way
forward through the curtains of hanging
carcasses.
Seeing they all carried cleavers and
carving knives, Daz glanced back over
his shoulder to the door. Hed been
given twenty men to move the meat and
livestock. But he preferred persuasion to
force so hed left them outside and come
in alone with the money.
Foolish hope!
La Serna, he yelled at the top of his
voice, Mibiercas! At the double,
please!
Look, for goodness sake please accept
the money. Although it was Alonso and
his five assistants whod been trussed
up, bruised and dishevelled on the floor,
by Dazs soldiers, it was somehow
Daz who was pleading.
Its not enough, said Alonso with
conviction. Even if this were a legal
purchase, three hundred pesos is a joke.
Ill need at least fifteen hundred pesos to
cover my costs and lost business.
Then take the three hundred and Ill
write you a promissory note for the other
twelve hundred. Don Hernando Corts
himself will cash it.
Tonight?
Yes. This very night. Come to the
harbour within the hour and youll be
paid.
The men were released, quill, ink and
paper were found, and Daz wrote a note
for one thousand two hundred pesos,
payable by Corts.
Come soon, Daz told Alonso.
Well not wait for morning to sail.
He left the slaughterhouse with his
men, and began a forced march back to
the harbour with two wagonloads of
fresh and preserved meats and close to
two hundred sheep, pigs and cattle on
the hoof.
He didnt know whether hed done
well or not and could only hope Corts
would be pleased.
Chapter Thirty-One
Santiago, Cuba, Thursday 18
February 1519
I must take you into my confidence,
Corts had told Gonzalo de Sandoval. I
trust I shall not regret doing so.
The mans charisma and charm were
infectious and Sandoval was looking for
adventure. Youll not regret it, hed
said.
The upshot was that he now knew
much more about how things stood
between Corts and the governor than he
wanted to, understood very clearly that
what was happening tonight was indeed
a coup against Velzquez, and had still
allowed himself to be soft-talked by
Corts into participating.
Dear God! What was he thinking? He
was taking the first step in what hed
always imagined would be an illustrious
and honourable career, and he was quite
likely to end up being hanged, drawn and
quartered for it! For a moment Sandoval
considered resigning his commission but
immediately dismissed the idea from his
mind. Whether or not he now regretted
it, the fact was hed given his word to
Corts, and a gentleman does not take
his word back.
A scout had found the place, closer to
the harbour than the city, where a squad
of Velzquezs palace guards lay in
waiting. Corts had not told Sandoval
who they intended to ambush, only that
there were twelve of them and that they
were a threat to his plan entrusted to
Bernal Daz to supply the fleet with
meat and live animals from the
slaughterhouse. So much traffic on the
road late at night was bound to arouse
suspicion, and the guards couldnt be
permitted to disrupt the operation in any
way, so Corts had asked Sandoval to
deal with them.
Deal with them, Don Hernando?
Were going to the New Lands to do
Gods work, Corts had said with a
fierce light in his eyes, so I want those
guardsmen off the road fast and no
longer threatening our meat supply or
our departure. Try to persuade them to
join us. Id prefer that. Bribe them a
few gold pesos can make all the
difference. But if none of that works,
then disarm them and tie them up Ill
leave the details to you. They may put up
a fight. Kill the lot of them if you have
to. I wont shed any tears.
Will you be giving me men wholl be
prepared to kill fellow Spaniards if
we have to? Sandoval had asked, the
question sticking in his gullet. Hed been
through military academy in his youth,
when his family still had money and
position. Hed trained with the
broadsword, the longsword and the
cavalry sabre, he was judged a skilful
horseman and had won top honours in
the joust, but hed never killed anyone
before let alone a Spaniard.
Im giving you twenty-five of my best
men, Corts had replied. Theyll kill
anyone you tell them to kill.
What if were caught? Taken
prisoner? Arrested?
Then Ill protect you, said Corts,
looking him straight in the eye. You
have my promise.
Wondering again what fatal
enchantment had led him to agree to such
a risky venture, Sandoval looked back at
his twenty-five men. They marched
silently, in good order, keeping a square
of five ranks of five.
Their sergeant, the only one hed
talked to so far, was Garca Brabo, a
lean grey-haired Extremeno with a
hooked nose and a permanently sour
expression, but the man youd want
beside you in a fight, Corts had said.
All the others looked like hardened
killers too. Ferocious, stinking, hungry
predators in filthy clothes, they wore
strange combinations of scratched and
battered plate and chain mail, and
equally scratched and battered helmets,
but were armed with Toledo
broadswords and daggers of higher
quality than their dress and general
deportment would suggest. Many had
shields mostly bucklers, but also some
of the larger, heart-shaped Moorish
shields called adarga. Many carried
additional weapons halberds, lances,
battle-axes, hatchets, war-hammers,
maces, clubs. Five had crossbows and
five were armed with arquebuses, the
slow and cumbersome muskets that
everyone was now raving about.
All in all, Sandoval thought, they
were a formidable squad, his twenty-
five, and he was stunned, amazed and
perplexed not only that Corts had given
him command of them in the first place,
but also that they had so far obeyed him
without question. The fact that he had no
experience unlike them of killing
men made him feel like a fraud. Worse
still, hed never even been in a skirmish
before, let alone a proper battle against
trained troops like the governors palace
guard.
He prayed silently it would not come
to that, but if it did he prayed he would
not prove himself a coward.
Esteban, the wiry little scout, held up
a warning hand, and Sandoval felt fear
grip his belly like a fist. Reasons not to
continue with this mad venture began to
parade through his mind.
The plain truth was the moon was
against them, two days away from full,
shining brilliantly in a cloudless,
tropical sky, flooding the winding road
and the surrounding slopes with light. In
an ideal world they would wait until
after moonset to make the attack, but
tonight that wasnt an option. The guards
had to be dealt with before the meat and
livestock could be brought from the
slaughterhouse and the fleet must sail at
two oclock in the morning. These were
the facts, this was the emergency, and he
was going to have to handle it
frighteningly soon.
Loping along thirty paces ahead of the
rest of the squad, Esteban reached a
sharp bend where the road wound about
a tall outcrop of rock. He stopped,
crouched, peered round the corner and
waved his hand urgently behind him,
signalling to Sandoval to bring the men
to a halt.
If I may suggest, sir, whispered Garca
Brabo, his breath reeking of garlic, you
might think of going forward and striking
up a conversation with the officer in
charge of those guards. Likely hell be
the same class of gentleman as yourself.
A conversation
Thats right, sir. Bright young ensign
newly out from Spain, making his way to
Santiago, would naturally stop to pass
the time of night. All very innocent and
above board. Just keep him talking as
long as you can. While you do that, me
and half the men will have a go at
climbing this lot. He pointed to the
rocky outcrop rearing above them. The
scout says he knows a way over the top
of it so we can get round behind them.
Ill leave Domingo he gestured to
another bearded ruffian in charge of
the rest and well come at them from
both sides.
It should put the fear of God in them
when they see our numbers, said
Sandoval, sounding, he thought, more
enthusiastic than he felt. His palms were
damp, his bowels were in a knot and his
heart was thudding irregularly. Funny
that how you never really knew you
had a heart until a time like this.
With a bit of luck we wont have to
fight at all, Brabo said. He cupped his
hands to his mouth and emitted a sound
remarkably like the call of one of the
local night birds. Ill do that three times
when were in place behind them, he
said, loudly enough for Domingo to
hear as well, then well move in at the
double all subject to your agreement,
of course, sir.
Sandoval felt uneasy, but Brabos plan
sounded more likely to succeed than
simply charging round the corner en
masse, which was the only other strategy
that came to mind. Dear God! This was
actually happening. He was in it up to
his neck and there was no way out now.
Very well, he said, lets get on with
it.
Halt! Who goes there?
Ensign Gonzalo de Sandoval, off
duty from the fleet and on his way to
Santiago for some entertainment.
Come forward then.
Clearly visible in the moonlight, the
guards had taken up position about two
hundred paces ahead twelve big men,
all decked out in their ostentatious
formal uniforms despite the nights heat.
Theyd made no attempt to hide but sat
in plain view, occupying a little clearing
on sloping, lightly forested ground
overlooking the road. If this was an
ambush, Sandoval thought, it was a very
strange one.
He didnt hurry to cover the two
hundred paces. Every second he could
delay here gave more time for Brabo to
climb the outcrop and get round behind
them. But the guardsmen were instantly
suspicious. Dont dawdle! yelled their
officer, leaping to his feet. There was a
rattle of swords and armour as all the
others stood too, and quite suddenly the
atmosphere of the encounter turned
sinister.
Overcoming an overwhelming urge to
turn tail and run, Sandoval stepped
forward briskly. My apologies, he
said. The sight of so many armed men
unnerved me.
If your business is legitimate you
have nothing to fear
My business is at the Moors Head,
Sandoval said, naming a famous tavern
in Santiagos red light district. He was
close enough now to see the three gold
roundels blazoned on the cuirass of the
clean-shaven middle-aged officer doing
the talking. A colonel. Surprisingly high
rank to be leading such a small squad.
There was something familiar about him
and, as he entered the clearing, Sandoval
recognised the tall, upright, square-
shouldered, self-important stance, and
the malicious, mean-spirited features of
Francisco Motrico, commander of the
palace guard, yet another of the
governors many cousins to have found
high office.
A Velzquez loyalist to the core.
Sandoval had been in Cuba less than
three weeks, and in that time he had
visited the governors palace only twice,
but he already knew enough about the
way things worked here to realise it was
pointless to try to bribe or recruit this
man. Judging from the stony expressions
of the rest of his squad, all mature, hard-
eyed soldiers, thered be no compromise
with them either.
Quite possibly they were all related to
Velzquez!
So youre with the governors fleet,
said Motrico gruffly. Which vessel?
Which commander?
Santa Mara de la Concepcin,
Sandoval replied without thinking, the
captain-generals vessel.
There was a peculiar shuffling and
exchange of glances amongst the guards,
one of them sniggered and Motrico said
detain him in a tone so soft and
conversational that Sandoval didnt fully
understand it referred to him until two
guardsmen twisted his arms behind his
back, forced his head and neck down,
removed his sword and frogmarched him
over to the colonel.
Whats this about? Sandoval
protested. His heart was now jumping so
fast it threatened to burst forth from his
chest. His mouth felt dry, his bladder
was painfully full and his whole body
was suddenly drenched with sweat. By
what authority do you detain me?
By the authority of the governor of
Cuba and the Crown of Spain. Orders
have been given for the arrest of Don
Hernando Corts. Were here to carry
them out.
Well, dont let me delay you, please.
Sandovals mind raced: I want no part
of this. Im on my way to Santiago for a
few drinks and a girl.
Youre a filthy spy for Corts,
snarled Motrico.
Im no such thing, protested
Sandoval. If I was, why would I tell
you Im sailing with him?
You are what I say you are, and I say
youre Cortss spy. The colonel bit his
lower lip and the moonlight revealed an
uncompromising glint in his eye. Under
normal circumstances Id just detain you,
take you back to the palace and find out
more about you, but unfortunately for you
these arent normal circumstances. All
my men are required for tonights
purpose, I dont have the people to guard
you or even a rope to bind you, so Im
afraid Im going to have to execute you.
The statement was so out of
proportion, so shocking and so sudden
that once again Sandoval only grasped
its significance after the two guardsmen
at his shoulders shoved and kicked him
down to his knees. While one stayed
behind him, trapping his arms, the other
stepped round in front of him, took a
tight grip on his hair, pulled his head
violently forward and exposed his neck.
Sandovals bowels, already in uproar,
seemed to turn a somersault. Execute
me? he yelled. God in heaven, man,
thats preposterous!
Nothing preposterous about it, said
the colonel. His tone was measured, as
though all that was at stake was a point
of argument. Just cant risk you running
back to Corts and telling him were
here.
Struggling mightily, Sandoval forced
his head up to look Motrico in the eye.
You wont get away with this, he
shouted. He felt another terrifying lurch
of his bowels. Im a brother Spaniard
and an innocent man.
Youre a spy and as guilty as sin.
With a loud swish and a blur of reflected
moonlight, the colonel drew his sword
and raised it ceremoniously above his
head as the guard tightened his grip on
Sandovals hair, forcing his head down
again.
Almost simultaneously and never
more welcome came the call of a night
bird repeated three times, the sharp
clunk as a crossbow was fired and the
thump of the bolt striking home. There
was a beat of absolute silence followed
by the wild roars of battle cries, the
sound of a mass of men charging through
the trees and into the clearing, the sounds
of weapons being drawn and blows
struck. Sandoval felt the grip on his arms
suddenly loosen and found himself free.
So this was war, he thought, strangely
rational now. He struggled to his feet in
the midst of a maelstrom of fighting and
saw that Motrico was down on his
knees, a crossbow bolt transfixing his
neck. The colonels hands were
fluttering around the projectile, one at
the barbed head, the other at the base,
seeming to caress its leather vanes.
Sandoval spotted the glint of his sword
where it lay on the ground and snatched
it up as a panicking, wild-eyed
guardsman came at him. He parried the
blow and whirled, letting the man
stumble past, stabbing him in his
unarmoured flank just as hed been
taught in fencing school. He knew the
strike was perfectly executed as he
drove it home, but what he wasnt
prepared for, what no amount of teaching
could ever have prepared him for, was
the bony, muscular resistance of a living
human body to the blade, the squelching
suction of the guts as he withdrew it, and
the screams and rolling eyes of a fellow
man in unendurable pain. As much to end
those terrible screams as anything else,
and since no one seemed about to attack
him, Sandoval stabbed the point of the
sword down repeatedly into the fallen
mans face, smashing his teeth, caving in
his nose, reaming out his eyes, splitting
his skull until there was nothing human
left of him at all.
Make you feel better, sir? asked
Brabo, appearing silently at his side, his
face grim and smeared with gore, a
dripping sword in his hand.
Sandoval thought about it, looked
down at the ruin at his feet. I dont
know what I feel. Ive never killed a
man before
Youve certainly killed this one, sir.
Was it your first battle?
It was. I felt afraid.
Everyone feels fear. Its what we do
with it that matters. You did well, sir!
You should be proud of yourself.
Sandoval took a deep breath and
looked round the clearing where
moments before he had faced execution.
Brabos men had made the first assault,
saving his life; Domingo and the other
half of the squad had arrived a few
moments later and finished things off. As
fast as it had begun, the fighting was
over and all the guardsmen were dead.
Thank you, Brabo, he said.
For what, sir?
For saving my life!
The caudillo told me to keep an eye
on you, sir. Through thick and thin,
was how he put it. Would have been
more than my jobs worth if Id let that
ape Motrico take your head.
Sandoval looked up, trying to judge
the time. From the position of the moon
he guessed midnight had already passed.
Come on, men, yelled Brabo. Lets
get these bodies dragged back into the
trees. I dont want any of this visible.
But even as he gave the order, the
sergeant paused, cupped his hand to his
ear and peered down the road where it
vanished amongst shadows in the
direction of Santiago.
Sandoval did the same.
Faint but clear on the night air, he
heard men approaching.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Santiago, Cuba, Thursday 18
February 1519 to small hours
of Friday 19 February 1519
Swords that had been cleaned and
sheathed only moments before hissed
from their scabbards again, but then
came nervous laughter, smiles, a few
curses, and Sandoval felt Brabos big
calloused hand clapping him on the
shoulder. At the point where the road
from Santiago emerged from the
shadows into the full glare of the
moonlight, a large drove of pigs had
appeared and numbers of sheep, goats
and cattle followed behind them.
Herding the whole menagerie forward
with curses, kicks and blows from the
butts of their spears were fifteen or
twenty men. At the rear were two
heavily loaded waggons drawn by
bullocks. Right at the front, unmistakable
in his size and solidity, Sandoval
recognised Bernal Daz, the young
soldier whod received his commission
as ensign yesterday in the same
ceremony as himself.
He stepped out from the clearing as
the bleating, oinking, snuffling mass of
animals approached. Well met, Daz,
he called.
Well met, Sandoval. What are you
doing here?
With pigs and goats swirling round
them, the two men embraced and
Sandoval briefly explained.
I see, said Daz, so the caudillo told
you the whole story but me only part of
it. He sounded offended.
Believe me, my friend, said
Sandoval. He didnt tell me the whole
story! I knew these men were here he
gestured to the guardsmens corpses
being dragged into concealment amongst
the trees but not why they were here.
They were a threat to your mission,
thats all he said, and we were sent to
clear the road of them
Sirs, said Brabo, get used to it. Its
the habit of the caudillo to tell you only
what you need to know.
So how much, Daz asked, did he
tell you?
Everything, said Brabo. But then
Ive been with him a long time He
grinned. Anyway, he only wanted this
kept quiet until wed dealt with things
here, so I suppose I can let you in on it
now. He shouted directions to the clean-
up squad in the trees and continued:
This afternoon Corts got word of a
plot to kidnap him and take him in chains
to Velzquez. These guards were part of
it He paused as the sound of a rider
was heard approaching at a gallop from
the direction of the port and waved
cheerfully at the man as he thundered
past. I was expecting him, he
explained, but it wont be long before a
hospital carriage comes by in the other
direction. He sniffed. Might raise all
kinds of suspicions if that carriage were
to pass us on the road, so what the
caudillo wants us to do now, gentlemen,
is get our arses and these animals back
to the ships at the double All subject
to your agreement, of course.
Of course, said Sandoval.
Of course, said Daz.
The last of the bodies were dumped
out of sight amongst the trees, a flock of
goats was driven through the clearing to
erase all signs of the fight, and the
column of men and animals surged
forward again towards the harbour.
Sandoval felt a shadow pass overhead
and looked up to see a wisp of cloud
blowing across the face of the moon. A
wind stirred and, despite the nights
heat, he shivered. Something cold in that
unexpected wind, he thought; something
dark in that unpresaged cloud blowing in
out of a clear sky.
Without consciously choosing to do
so, he found he was thinking about the
man he had killed back in the clearing.
He might have had a family, children, a
beloved wife to hold close each night,
and he must surely have had ambitions
and dreams. But now everything he ever
was or would be had ceased. All his
thoughts and all his hopes had come at
last to nothing. His story was over and it
was Sandoval who had ended it.
A terrible regret clenched his heart as
he walked and he was haunted by images
of what hed done to the guard, a
memory of the way the sword had
lodged in his vitals, echoes of his
screams, the nightmare of his face
Have you ever killed a man? he
asked Daz.
Some emotion was it wariness, was
it sorrow? seemed to shake the big
ensign. I was with Pedrarias in Darin,
he said softly, I sailed with Crdoba.
Of course Ive killed men.
But have you killed Spaniards?
Sandoval persisted.
Daz didnt answer.
Soon afterwards a second man on
horseback appeared, this time riding
from the direction of Santiago. Daz
recognised Fernando Alonso, and when
Sandoval ordered him to be stopped to
discover his business on the road, Daz
said, No. I can vouch for him. Hes the
director of the slaughterhouse on his way
to claim payment from Corts.
You didnt pay for these animals?
Not nearly enough. The caudillo gave
me three hundred pesos. The price was
one thousand five hundred. I was made
to feel a fool, then a thief so I ended up
writing a promissory note.
Think Corts will honour it?
Sandovals tone suggested he didnt
believe there was the remotest chance he
would.
Hed better, said Daz. Ill lose all
faith in him if he doesnt. He laughed
bitterly. Not that anyone cares for the
opinion of an uneducated idiot like me!
A powerful gust of wind ran its
fingers through his hair, tugged at his
clothes, whispered amongst the trees.
Hed been conscious for some while of
a change in the weather, of a restlessness
in the air, but looking up he was
surprised to see a turbulent mass of
clouds already swarming over the sky.
He still couldnt get Corts off his
mind and, soon afterwards, as they
reached the Customs House, he turned to
Sandoval: There must be a reason why
the caudillo chose us to do his dirty
work, he said. I mean you and me
rather than anyone else.
In the next moments they were
occupied herding the animals into the
port through the archway that straddled
the road. The few Customs officers on
duty so late at night had been arrested,
and the building was held by a squad of
expeditionaries, known to most of them,
who waved them through with many
ribald comments about the differences
between soldiers and farm boys.
Daz thought Sandoval had forgotten
his question, but it seemed hed been
considering it. I think its clear, he now
said. There was nobody else Corts
could trust or spare to do it, but he could
be sure two rookies like us would leap
at the chance to please him.
I know hes a great man, said Daz,
but I think he uses people and he
makes promises too easily. He told me
hed protect me if I got arrested for
raiding the slaughterhouse. I hope he
would have kept that promise, yet part of
me doubts him.
He told me the same thing when he
sent me to kill fellow Spaniards. I dont
know maybe its all just words Im
filled with doubts too, Bernal but
theres something inspiring about the
man that sweeps all that away. If anyone
can bring us victory in the New Lands,
its Corts.
Thats why I signed on, said Daz.
But I still dont trust him.
They spilled out onto the harbour road
to confront a scene of intense activity
where the fleet was still loading.
Lanterns blazed in the rigging and men
scurried around the ships like swarms of
insects. Reflecting off the water, the
intense, almost white light of the moon
made everything seem as bright as day
until a bank of thick dark cloud scudded
over it, plunging the world into instant
night. The gusts of wind continued to
grow stronger and ever more frequent,
blowing always from the east, and Daz
sensed the electric excitement and
dread of a coming storm.
Not good weather for sailing, he
said, thinking aloud. The moon had come
out from behind the clouds again and if
even the sheltered water of the harbour
had grown so choppy, then what would
the open sea be like?
Weve no choice now, Sandoval
said. His voice was grim. Weve killed
twelve of the governors guardsmen,
weve raided the city slaughterhouse.
Its you and me who did that, Bernal
not Corts, not his friend Alvarado, but
you and me and if we get stuck here
itll be you and me dancing a jig at the
end of the gallows
But Corts ? said Daz. He
realised too late that a tone almost of
pleading had crept into his voice.
Will protect us? Sandoval
completed his question and looked
worried as another ferocious gust of
wind hit them. I hope we havent bet
our lives on that.
Up above, the cloud masses
thickened, covering ever more of the sky.
They marched deep in their own
thoughts for a while, and had drawn
close to the clamour and frenetic
movement of the pier when they heard a
loud clatter of hooves behind them and a
rumble of iron-clad wheels.
Out of the night loomed four black
horses, drawing a tall black coach that
swept by so fast and so close they had to
jump to the side of the road.

The messenger had been sent shortly
after midnight and, right on schedule, at
one oclock in the morning, amidst the
freshening storm, Dr La Pea came
thundering down the pier in a big
medical carriage drawn by four horses.
Very nice, said Corts, meaning the
horses, well have those.
And the good doctor himself,
Alvarado reminded him.
They retreated into the stateroom. La
Pea knocked, Alvarado invited him to
enter and Corts confronted him just
inside the door. Good evening, doctor,
he said, or rather, good morning. Thank
you so much for coming.
La Pea stood, apparently
dumbfounded.
Youll have been expecting to find
me on my sickbed, of course, said
Corts, but as you can see I am
perfectly well. He paused for effect.
Naturally I know everything about
Velzquezs plan
At this the doctors eyes darted
rapidly several times from side to side,
as though he were seeking a way out.
And I know about your part in it,
Corts added.
My part in what? spluttered La Pea.
You know, pretend Im sick, spirit me
away from here in your carriage
supposedly to take me off to your
hospital but in reality to hand me over to
the governors palace guard
La Pea squealed and turned to run,
but Corts caught him before he reached
the door and backhanded him twice,
knocking him to his knees.
Dont kill him! protested Alvarado
in mock horror. He looked down at his
left arm, bound in a makeshift sling. I
need someone to fix this.
After La Pea had joined Escudero in
Alvarados brig, Corts returned to take
charge of his own ship. Hours before,
hed sent orders to prepare for an urgent
departure. Everything seemed ready as
he came on board.
With sailors rushing here and there
around him, he felt the fresh blast of the
wind on his face, listened to its keening
as it whipped through the rigging, and
looked up with growing disquiet to see
armies of cloud now occupying much of
the sky and frequently shrouding the
moon. At first when the wind had risen
hed felt nothing but joy for it was a
fair wind that would drive them out of
the trap of Santiagos anchorage and
west across the ocean to the New Lands.
But dear God in Heaven, Corts
thought, is nothing ever simple? Not
only did he have to contend with so
treacherous and dangerous an adversary
as Velzquez, but now it seemed the very
elements were turning against him as
well.
His mood darkening he climbed the
steps to the navigation deck and found
not one, not two, but three men waiting
for him outside his half of what had once
been the Santa Maras stateroom. The
first, he saw with a shiver of disgust,
was Muoz, directly responsible for the
present, reduced state of his
accommodations. Second was Antn de
Alaminos, pilot and chief navigator of
the fleet. Third was someone he did not
know, a small bald man with a
somewhat battered face and a large
black bruise forming round his right eye.
It was this latter who now rushed
forward, thrusting a sheet of paper at
him.
Do you wish to ruin me, Corts? he
yelled. My slaughterhouse has been
emptied in your name and therell be no
meat in Santiago for days. None at all!
Ill be forced to breach contracts to the
army, to the government, to the
monasteries, to the taverns. In every case
theres a financial penalty. Citizens will
be up in arms and Ill be blamed. To add
insult to injury your men beat me he
pointed to his eye and paid me just
three hundred pesos three hundred
pesos, I say for my entire stock. A
look of outrage congested his face.
Which is worth one thousand five
hundred pesos at least
What? said Corts. One thousand
five hundred pesos! Thats a kings
ransom.
Thats a fair price for my stock and
your officer Daz agreed upon it. See
here Again he waved his paper at
Corts, who this time took it from him,
held it up to a swinging lantern and read,
to his horror, in a clear firm hand, that he
was indeed obligated to pay this man,
Fernando Alonso, a further one thousand
two hundred gold pesos
There came the clump of booted feet
on the stairs leading up to the navigation
deck and Sandoval appeared. Daz was
right behind him. Ah, said Corts.
Speak of the devil. Did you sign this
piece of usury, Daz? With a withering
glance he handed the paper to the tall
ensign.
Daz took it to the lantern to read it.
Yes sir, he said, I did. On your
instructions. You gave me three hundred
pesos and told me to leave a promissory
note if it wasnt enough
I know, I know, but did you not think
to bargain, man?
No, sir. Weve bought and are
loading two hundred head of livestock
and two wagonloads of fresh and salted
meats. One thousand five hundred pesos
doesnt seem excessive
The price is fair, said Alonso. You
have my stock. I wont leave your ship
until I have my money.
Corts felt cornered. Daz seemed
somehow to be judging him. Even
Sandoval was looking at him in a new
way and he felt the chill, flat stare of
Muozs dead-fish eyes on him too.
Not too late to change tack. We
wont fall out over the amount, Corts
told the slaughterhouse director
smoothly, but I dont have that sort of
cash to hand. To compensate you for the
delay Ill up the amount on your
promissory note to two thousand pesos
payable at the end of the expedition.
Were about to sail
What? Whats that? Still as a
tombstone in the shadows, emanating an
almost tangible aura of ill will, Muoz
suddenly stirred. Did you say were
about to sail?
Alonso spoke over him, directly to
Corts. You insult me, Don Hernando. I
repeat, your men have beaten me and
humiliated me. All my stock has been
stolen. I do not want your promises. I
want my money! Only when I have it
will I leave your ship.
And I demand to know what
treacherys afoot here, insisted Muoz,
thrusting himself forward, his prominent
Adams apple bobbing in his throat.
What are all these hasty preparations?
Why is the fleet about to sail? And at
dead of night without the governors
knowledge or permission, Ill warrant!
Corts turned on the friar with a snarl.
You will mind your tongue, Father, and
your business.
Muoz drew himself up to his full
height, looming over Corts. All the
business of the fleet is the business of
the Inquisitor, he thundered, and youll
not sneak away from Santiago like a
thief in the night while Im here to guard
the interests of God and Don Diego de
Velzquez.
God and Velzquez? Corts
exploded. You name both in the same
breath, Friar?
I do. Don Diego is a right holy man
and you, sir, are the devils imp. Embark
without the governors blessing and I
swear to you I will call down the wrath
of heaven on this fleet and all who sail
in it.
Corts glanced at the soldiers and
crew on the main deck and didnt like
what he saw. Those about to embark on
a sea voyage tend naturally to
superstition and, as the wind howled in
the rigging and the lanterns swung, it
was obvious the Inquisitors holy fury
was having a chilling effect. Some of the
men crossed themselves, Alaminos
amongst them. Even Sandoval and Daz
looked alarmed. Matters must not be
allowed to deteriorate further! But at the
same time Alonso was still sounding off
at the top of his voice, pacing back and
forth in front of Corts, contemptuous of
his authority and thoroughly distracting
his attention.
There was, at least, an easy way to be
rid of the tiresome butcher.
Turning his back on Muoz, Corts
swept his thick gold chain over his head,
carefully removed and placed in his
pocket the heavy gold medallion of Saint
Peter that hung from it, and handed the
chain to Alonso with a flourish. That
should more than cover your costs, he
said. And whatever surplus youve left
over, you may keep for your troubles.
In no hurry now, his expression of
aggrieved entitlement never wavering,
the slaughterhouse director examined the
chain and bit it in two places before
concealing it in some fold of his
garments. Then, without a further word,
not even of thanks, he turned his back,
clattered down the stairs to the main
deck and thence made his way by the
gangplank to the pier where his horse
was held waiting.
Once in the saddle he found his voice
again. Hey Corts, he yelled, a word
with you.
Corts was already regretting the
impulsive piece of showmanship that
had separated him from a chain worth at
least two thousand pesos, wondering if
there was some way he could get it back
and realising with a sour stomach there
probably wasnt. He looked over the rail
of the navigation deck at Alonso.
Youve been paid, he said coldly.
What more do you want?
To give you something to think about,
you knave. Before I rode over here I sent
my messenger to the governor. Thought I
should let him know his fleet is leaving
tonight in a hurry. I expect youll be
hearing from him soon.
He laughed and spurred his horse
away.
I expect you lick the governors
arse! Corts yelled after him.
At the back of his mind he was aware
that Muozs complaints, threats and
curses had never ceased and he made
three quick decisions. First the
Inquisitors loud imprecations were bad
for the morale of his crew, doubly so on
a stormy night like this. Second, he
wanted his stateroom back and wasnt
prepared to share it for a moment longer.
Third there was the matter of his dream
his fingers went unconsciously to the
medallion in his pocket which could
not safely be dismissed. Most likely it
was just a dream, but suppose it was
more? Suppose it really was Saint Peter
whod told him Heaven would not bless
the expedition without Muoz?
Corts wanted to think further on all
these matters, but first he had to get the
fleet safely out of Santiago. So he told
Daz and Sandoval to escort Muoz
discreetly along the pier to the San
Sebastin. Throw him in the brig when
you get there, he said. Hell be in good
company.
You cant do that to me! roared
Muoz.
Ive looked into it, said Corts, and
in circumstances like these I can do
pretty much anything I like. He leaned
closer, lowered his voice to a whisper.
You might unsettle the men with your
curses, but dont imagine any of them
will rush to support you. Youre not well
liked after the Crdoba expedition,
Muoz. In fact, Id go so far as to say
youre hated. He smiled pleasantly,
lowered his voice still further: Then
there was that terrible business with
your last page. An almost inaudible
whisper now. Tell me, is it true, did you
murder him to stop him witnessing
against you?
He had the satisfaction of seeing
Muozs face turn ashen-white. Take
him away, he told Daz and Sandoval.
When they were gone, Corts was
alone on the navigation deck with the
pilot Antn de Alaminos, an experienced
explorer of these waters since his youth
when hed sailed as a cabin boy on
Columbuss fourth voyage. The wind
was howling without let-up, whipping
around them, rattling the sails in the
rigging. Alaminos shrugged his
shoulders and held both his hands palm
out in a gesture of surrender. You
understand we cant sail in this, he told
Corts, it would be suicide
Buffeted by the storm, Corts knew
Alaminos was right, and yet could only
think of one thing. All tonights careful
planning and manoeuvring the
snatching of the meat supply, the foiling
of the plot with La Pea now lay in
ruins. That bastard Alonso had sent a
messenger and Velzquez was sure to act
on it. The sands were running through the
hourglass at a terrifying rate, and even
now the governor would be galloping
towards them with a strong force of his
guard to appeal to his friends amongst
the captains and stop the fleet from
sailing.
Come come, Alaminos, Corts
chided. Has easy living stolen your
courage? Youve sailed in worse gales
than this!
Chapter Thirty-Three
Tlascala, small hours of
Friday 19 February 1519
Where am I? Guatemoc asked.
This is Aztln, a mans voice
replied. Homeland of your people and
of the gods. You are in the caves of
Chicomoztoc.
Guatemoc looked around. He was in a
vast underground cavern, illuminated by
a soft but pervasive glow that seemed
diffused everywhere. The domed ceiling
overhead glittered with a thousand
stalactites of pure transparent crystal.
From the floor, made of the same
substance and towering above him,
soared a forest of stalagmites. He felt no
pain and looked down at his body to find
he was uninjured and dressed in a robe
of simple white cotton loosely belted at
the waist.
Everything about this was very
strange. There had been a fight, though
he could not remember with whom, then
darkness and now he was here.
Who speaks to me? he asked.
An arms length in front of his face,
the air of the cave rippled and swirled.
It was as though a pair of great curtains,
hitherto unseen, had been momentarily
whisked apart revealing a blank void.
And out of that dark and empty gap, out
of that nothingness, there came a blur of
wings, and suddenly a small
hummingbird with a long, dagger-sharp
beak and feathers of iridescent blue and
yellow burst forth, making Guatemoc
throw himself back with a gasp of
surprise.
I am Huitzilopochtli, the creature
said, flying a rapid circle around him,
the Hummingbird at the left hand of the
Sun. Though it was tiny, its voice was
strong and deep.
The resolute voice of a warrior.
The commanding voice of a god.
Guatemoc dropped to his knees. Lord
Hummingbird, he said. Is it truly you?
There came another shimmer of the
air, the hummingbird was gone and a
man stood before him. A perfect man in
the prime of life, beautiful and strong,
tall, with sculpted muscles and glowing
skin and golden hair and brutal soldiers
hands, wearing a blue loincloth and
armed with a long, wickedly sharp
killing knife fashioned from some deadly
metal. Yes, Prince, he said. I have
work for you to do.
Work, lord? Guatemoc glanced up to
see the god towering above him, to see
that gleaming, murderous knife raised
high, poised over his head. I am here to
serve you.
And serve me you will.
Tell me what I am to do, Guatemoc
said. The gods eyes, he noticed, were
black as night, black as obsidian, and yet
shone with a fierce inner fire.
You must return to the land of the
living, Hummingbird replied. You must
return at once.
And suddenly everything that had
happened came back to Guatemoc in a
rush. He remembered every move, every
moment, every mistake of his fight with
Shikotenka, remembered the icy chill,
the tearing agony, the fatal heaviness, as
the Tlascalans knife entered his viscera,
remembered how he had been bested
and vanquished with contemptuous ease,
as a child might be slapped down and
put in his place by a grown man. But I
was killed, lord, he said. How can I
return when I am dead?
Because this is not your time to die,
said Hummingbird. Because I have
made you live again that you might do
the work you were brought into the
world for. Because a great battle lies
before your nation, but the weakling
Moctezuma is not competent to fight it.
Then, in a flash, the gods arm came
lashing down and the blade clasped in
his huge hand smashed through the top of
Guatemocs skull, admitting an
explosion of light
It was deep night, and a big moon
feathered with clouds was riding high as
Guatemoc regained consciousness in a
pool of his own blood. Two images
superimposed themselves in his mind
Shikotenka stabbing him to death and
Hummingbird stabbing him back to life
again. Which was real and which a
dream?
He dragged himself forward out of the
cold, coagulating mass, but the effort
required to move was great and he lay
prone, gasping like a fish on a riverbank,
still uncertain if he was alive or dead, a
freshening wind blowing through the
grass and over his body. Finally he
accepted that by some miracle, perhaps
indeed worked by Hummingbird, he was
still amongst the living, that Shikotenkas
knife, which had struck him so often and
so fast, had somehow spared his vital
organs, and that he must raise the alarm.
The battle king of the Tlascalans would
not have been here, doing his spying in
person, unless something deadly and
spectacular was planned
Six bowshots down the steep slope,
almost directly beneath the hollow
where Guatemoc lay, was the camps
south gate, little more than a line of thorn
bushes drawn across the wide, lantern-
lit thoroughfare running two thousand
paces due north to Coaxochs pavilion.
Uninjured, Guatemoc could have
reached the gate and alerted the sentries
in minutes but now, as he struggled to
rise, his strength failed again. He
couldnt even get off his knees! He tried
to call out but his voice was no more
than a whisper and the wind was strong.
He had to get closer to those sentries!
It was the only way. He formed a mental
picture of the straight route to them,
lowered his head and began to slide on
his belly. The movement opened his
wounds and had him lathered in fresh
blood in an instant. More agony
followed as he slowly worked his way
downhill, now crawling, now shuffling
on his buttocks through the long grass,
unable to see exactly where he was
going, the camp a lake of light and
voices far below, always luring him on.
Guatemoc knew himself to be
savagely injured. Despite
Hummingbirds intervention whether
real or imagined he would surely die if
he couldnt reach the royal surgeons
soon; nonetheless the pain that burned
him deepest was his shame at the easy,
contemptuous way Shikotenka had
destroyed him in combat. The Tlascalan
prince wasnt just better than him. He
was massively, consummately better.
Guatemoc remembered boasting and
strutting before the fight, trying to put the
other man down. But now it was he who
was down, a crawling cripple, while
Shikotenka was free to go where he
pleased and do what harm he wished.
Swallowing his pride, Guatemoc
continued his slow, determined downhill
crawl, grateful for the steady cooling
breeze. He suffered a shattering bolt of
pain as he dropped into a shallow
crevice. He pulled himself out and lay
stretched on his back on the hillside,
glaring at the moon around which great
mountains of cloud were now gathering.
When he found the strength to lift himself
again and look down at the camp, he
realised to his horror that hed strayed
from the straight route that would have
taken him to the sentries at the south
gate. Instead, in his confusion, hed
followed a meandering course across the
slope and made his journey much longer.
Gritting his teeth, he once more turned
directly downhill. It meant he wouldnt
reach the perimeter at the south gate, but
further round to the east. The sentries
here were separated by intervals of a
hundred paces. He aimed as best he
could for the nearest of them.
As he crawled, Guatemoc dreamed of
the moment when he would meet
Shikotenka again and exact revenge for
his humiliation today. He would make
the Tlascalan battle-king his prisoner; he
would treat him as his honoured guest,
and then he would lead him up the steps
of the great pyramid and offer his heart
to Hummingbird.
He had the scene very vividly fixed in
his mind, so that it was almost more real
than real the pyramid looming above
them, the rope in his hand looped around
Shikotenkas neck, and Shikotenka
himself, daubed with white paint,
dressed in a paper loincloth, humbly
mounting the steps to meet his death. All
this was very satisfying and correct, and
Guatemoc found he was able to watch
the imaginary scene unfold in his minds
eye while simultaneously tracking his
own crawling progress towards the
sentry. Help! he tried to shout. Help!
But the word wouldnt emerge, not even
a whisper. Help! He tried again, but
Shikotenkas knife had taken his voice.
Guatemoc kept crawling. Suddenly he
was on the flat ground at the foot of the
hill and the sentry was just a hundred
paces away, while in his head
Shikotenka was still trudging up the
steps of the pyramid, the sculpted
muscles of his thighs moving under his
brown skin. As his captor, Guatemoc
enjoyed the exclusive right to
Shikotenkas thighs, which would be
cooked for him in the time-honoured
fashion in a stew with chillies and
beans. He licked his lips, then
remembered that none of this was real,
no matter how real it seemed. The great
pyramid of Tenochtitlan was two days
hard march from here. There would be
no sacrifice. He would not be feasting
on Shikotenkas thighs tonight.
He looked up through tussocks of
waving grass as the moon emerged,
redoubled in brilliance, through a gap in
the clouds. He saw the sentry clearly,
just fifty paces from him with his back
turned, his moon-shadow reaching out
like an admonishing finger. Help!
Guatemoc cried. Help!
Nothing
But then he heard footsteps in the
grass, coming on at the double. Praise
the gods, he had been found!
The sentry was beside him now,
looming over him. Drunkard, he
exclaimed in a coarse regional dialect.
Judging from the bone through his nose,
this was one of the Otomi rabble
recently hired by Moctezuma. Guatemoc
had opposed the policy but now here he
was in his time of need being rescued by
one of them! It was too much to expect
that a lowly mercenary would actually
know who he was, and he wore only a
loincloth which gave no indication of his
rank, so he tried to introduce himself:
My good man, I am Guatemoc, a prince
of the Blood. Send a messenger for Lord
Coaxoch at once.
But the words wouldnt come and the
Otomi just stared at him, finally seemed
to notice his injuries and said, What? I
cant hear you.
Guatemoc tried again. Danger! he
said. Now! Tlascalans. Coaxoch must
be told!
But still he couldnt produce the
words.
The Otomi stood straight, heaved a
great sigh of what sounded like
annoyance and called out to the next
sentry post Hey, I need help. Ive got
an injured man over here.
I am Guatemoc. Summon Coaxoch at
once.
This time the words came. Just the
faintest, croaking whisper.
But the Otomi wasnt listening.
Chapter Thirty-Four
Tlascala, small hours of
Friday 19 February 1519
While the rest of the fifty sat on their
haunches, breathing evenly after their
ten-mile night run, Shikotenka led
Chipahua and Tree to the ridge. The
moon was just off full, shedding its
brilliant silvery light through scudding
cloudbanks, and the long grass swayed
in a strong breeze as the three of them
peered downslope to the huge
amphitheatre amongst the hills where the
Mexica had set their camp. Ablaze with
flickering fires and lanterns, a chaotic
and ill-disciplined scene presented
itself. To their amazement, despite the
lateness of the hour, thousands of the
enemy were still on the move,
wandering in noisy, guffawing groups
from sector to sector of the immense
armed camp, frequenting the hawkers
stalls and brothels, bartering with
merchants for cloth, or pulque, or
tobacco.
Doesnt look like theyve found
Guatemoc, said Chipahua. Or missed
him.
Doesnt even look as though theyre
here to fight a war, said Tree. Looks
like a party.
Theyre too used to winning,
Shikotenka mused, profoundly relieved
that the matter of Guatemoc had gone no
further. The princes body must still be
lying in the grassy hollow where they
had fought. Theyve forgotten they can
lose. He narrowed his eyes, noting the
sentries spaced at intervals of a hundred
paces all round the enormous perimeter,
and the avenues of lanterns that marked
out the principal thoroughfares. These
ran northsouth and eastwest,
intersecting at Coaxochs pavilion in the
dead centre of the camp. Thats where
we have to get to He showed them
the pavilion. Any thoughts?
Fly? said Chipahua.
Wait for clouds to cover the moon,
suggested Tree, who was studying the
increasingly stormy sky. It wont be
long. Then we just go straight in. He
pointed to the southern end of the north
south axial avenue which lay almost
directly beneath them at the foot of the
hill. Pairs of sentries were stationed
along its entire length at intervals of
twenty paces.
And the sentries? asked Chipahua.
Kill them, said Tree.
I prefer stealth, said Shikotenka.
Thats what these are for. He tugged the
sleeve of his uniform, taken from the
body of a Mexica jaguar knight hed
killed a few months earlier. All the rest
of the squad were similarly attired.
They dont have enough sentries round
the perimeter, so when the moons
behind cloud well be able to slip
between them without being seen. Well
split up into small groups, blend in with
the crowds and make our way to
Coaxochs pavilion. When were all
there well go straight into the attack.
Chipahua and Tree exchanged a
concerned glance, which Shikotenka
ignored. He knew his plan was full of
holes, but he had put his faith in the gods
and there was no going back.
With the moon still bright, and dancing
in and out of cloud, Shikotenka had his
men take cover in the long grass and
crawl down the hill by the same route
hed used going up it this afternoon.
They reached the hollow where hed
fought Guatemoc and found it trampled
and flattened, scabbed pools of
congealed blood everywhere, but no
sign of the prince himself. One
particularly wide and obvious track, as
of someone crawling or sliding, led out
of the hollow and down in the direction
of the Mexica encampment.
Acolmiztli was studying the fresh
blood in the track and glaring accusingly
at Shikotenka: I thought you said you
killed him?
I thought I had. I got my knife in him
six times.
You should have made certain. Hes
still bleeding so hes still alive but the
good news is it doesnt look as if anyone
found him here. Hes on his own and
hes not been gone long. Lets get after
him.
Leaving the rest of the squad under
Trees command in the hollow, the two
of them shot downhill on their hands and
knees. Acolmiztli moved fast with a
weird, scuttling, spider-like gait and
easily stayed ahead of Shikotenka, who
caught up with him on the flat, lying low
amongst the undulating grass.
Hush! signed Acolmiztli.
Up ahead, very close, they heard a
shout over the sound of the wind: Hey, I
need help. Ive got an injured man over
here.
Shikotenka pushed his head above the
grass and saw a sentry less than a
hundred paces away. At his feet lay a
crumpled, bloodstained figure.
Another sentry charged up and
Shikotenka ducked out of sight.
There came the sound of more
shouting, the new arrival yelling at the
top of his voice: Dont you realise who
this is? Dont you even have the faintest
idea?
A mumble: Just looks like some sot
got himself stabbed.
This is Prince Guatemoc, you idiot!
More sentries had come running now,
at least five or six, and several took up
the shout: Guatemoc! Guatemoc!
Somebody blew a whistle. A drum
started to beat. Prince Guatemoc has
been attacked! Call the surgeons! Call
out the guard!
Shikotenka and Acolmiztli watched
open-mouthed as chaos deteriorated into
pandemonium, hundreds of the Mexica
rushing to where Guatemoc lay. In the
last moments before an immense mass of
cloud covered the moon, they saw to
their astonishment that even the sentries
guarding the camps principal
thoroughfares had left their posts and
were flocking to the side of the wounded
prince.
The long avenue connecting the
southern gateway to Coaxochs pavilion
appeared, for the moment, to be
completely unguarded.
Shikotenka and Acolmiztli grinned at
one another in disbelief. Then they were
running, hidden by darkness, the moon
now entirely lost to view in dense cloud.
With no need to crawl through the grass
any more, they went up the hill at a
sprint and in moments reached the
hollow where the fifty were waiting.
Tree was at the ridge with the men
ready behind him in full battle order. So
we just go straight in? he said. Like I
wanted to do at the beginning?
We go straight in, said Shikotenka
with a grim smile.
How fickle were the gods, he thought,
and how inscrutably they meddled in the
lives of men.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Tenochtitlan, small hours of
Friday 19 February 1519
As Malinals head began to clear from
the beating shed taken in the plaza, she
discovered she had somehow already
reached the great pyramid and begun to
climb the wide northern stairway. On
both sides, stationed at every third step,
were guards holding guttering torches,
and she saw she was part of a long line
of prisoners ascending between them.
She felt a helping hand pressed into the
small of her back and turned to find Tozi
right behind her. Coyotl? she asked, her
voice cracking.
Gone, Tozi said. Her chalk-white
face was smeared with blood. Ahuizotl
put him in the other line. Ive lost sight
of him.
Its my fault! sobbed Malinal.
Though she hardly knew Coyotl, the
intensity of the last hours was such that
she was overwhelmed to be separated
from the anxious, intelligent little boy,
and filled with guilt for her part in what
had happened. Ahuizotl did it to spite
me. If I hadnt been holding Coyotl, he
wouldnt have taken him.
Its not your fault that Ahuizotl is an
evil, hateful old man, said Tozi. You
gave Coyotl love. Thats what you
should remember.
They were climbing very slowly,
sometimes standing in place for a long
count before shuffling up another step or
two and halting again. The warm wind
that had risen earlier was blowing more
strongly now; overhead thick clouds
raced across the face of the moon, and
round Malinals feet a foaming, clotting
tide of human blood flowed from the
summit platform and rolled ponderously
down the steep, narrow steps. It was
slippery and treacherous. It accumulated
in shallow pools spreading out across
the plaza at the base of the pyramid. It
filled the air with a sour, terrifying stink.
Malinals stomach cramped and
heaved and bile rose in her throat.
Though the cruelty and excess of the
Mexica were nothing new to her, she
was overwhelmed by the horror and
depravity of this vast pageant of murder.
Her stomach cramped again; this time
she couldnt hold it back, and she threw
up in a hot, spattering, choking gush.
What a hero she is! yelled one of the
guards sarcastically.
How brave! sneered another. A
whiff of the knife and she spews her
guts!
There came the thumping, rumbling
sound of flesh striking stone as priests
threw a pile of a dozen bleeding torsos
over the edge of the summit platform.
They tumbled down the steps like
clumps of viscid fruit fallen from some
evil tree, trailing streamers of guts,
rolling and bumping wildly until they
came to rest in the plaza below.
Something heavy and wet had brushed
against Malinals leg as they went past,
and now her stomach heaved
uncontrollably again; she doubled over,
dry-retching, gasping for breath, to the
general hilarity of the guards.
As the spasm passed, she straightened
and spat, hatred scourging her like acid.
What a vile, vicious race these Mexica
truly were a race of arrogant, strutting,
loud-mouthed bullies whose greatest
pleasure was the desecration of others.
A race whose wickedness and cruelty
knew no bounds.
Malinal was filled with impotent
rage, wanting to punish them, to visit
retribution upon them, to make them
experience the same humiliations they
inflicted, but she knew at the same time
that none of this could ever happen, that
she would continue to climb the
pyramid, passive and unresisting as a
dumb animal on its way to slaughter, and
that when she reached the top she would
be killed.
A soldier approached, carefully
descending the steps, picking his way
through the blood. Slung round his neck
he carried a huge gourd containing some
liquid and into it he dipped a silver cup
that he offered to each prisoner in the
line.
Most drank.
When it came to Malinals turn she
asked the soldier, who had a big, plain,
honest, sunburned face, what he was
offering her.
Why its Iztli, of course.
Iztli?
Obsidian-knife water. He glanced
towards the summit of the pyramid, less
than fifty paces above them,
reverberating with the agonised screams
of the next victim. Drink! He held out
the silver cup. His tone was almost
beseeching, his eyes level and kind,
wrinkled with laughter lines. Drink,
beautiful lady.
What will it do?
He looked meaningfully again to the
summit of the pyramid, then back down.
It will dull your pain, lady.
As Malinal reached out, Tozi lunged
up from the step below and knocked the
cup aside. Its not about dulling pain!
Listen to those screams! They dont give
a shit about our pain. They use Iztli to
dull our wits. They use it to make us
docile so were easier to bring under the
knife.
The kind eyes of the soldier had
turned indifferent. Your loss, he
shrugged, refilling the cup and moving
down past Tozi to the next victim, who
drank greedily.
Malinal was thinking, Maybe I dont
mind being docile so long as theres no
pain when the knife opens my chest.
She was about to call the soldier back,
but Tozi silenced her with a glance and
whispered: No! We have to stay alert.
This isnt over yet.
Malinal looked closer and saw that
something was back in the girls eyes, a
spark, a fire, that had fled after the fade
and her subsequent catastrophic fit in the
pen.
There was another outburst of horrific
screams and the whole line, like some
monstrous centipede, shuffled two steps
closer to the summit.
What are we going to do? Malinal
asked. The heart that was soon to be
ripped from her chest was pounding
against her ribs; the blood that was soon
to be drained from her body was
coursing through her veins and beating in
her ears.
Tozi suddenly smiled and Malinal
caught a fleeting glimpse of unsuspected
depths in her strange new friend of a
sweet, otherworldly innocence beaming
through the chalk and charcoal, and
through the deeper disguise of the tough,
streetwise beggar girl in which she
concealed her witchiness. I thought all
my powers were gone, she said, maybe
gone forever. But right after they took
Coyotl, something started to come back

The line trudged another dreadful step

upward.
I dont know what it is yet, Tozi
continued. But theres something there! I
can feel it!
Will you try to fade us again?
No! Its not that.
Why so sure?
Ive tried already before we started
climbing the steps, just for a second or
two but it didnt work.
Is it the thing you call the fog?
Tozi shook her head: No, not the fog.
Then what?
I dont know! I wish I did! But
theres something there I can use. Im
sure of that. I just have to find it.
More screams went up from the
summit of the pyramid, close now,
though still out of sight because of the
steep slope of the stairway. There was
the distinct wet crack that the obsidian
knife makes when it splits a human
breastbone, followed by a high-pitched
gurgling screech and a sudden pulse of
blood gushing over the top of the steps.
Ahead of them, her swaying
pendulous buttocks pitifully uncovered
by a flimsy paper loincloth, a young
Totonac woman who had likewise
refused the Itzli suddenly turned in her
tracks, reached out her hand and gripped
Malinals shoulder. I cant bear this!
she screamed. Her eyes were rolling. I
cant stand it any more. She gave
Malinal a forceful shove, almost
dislodging her from the slippery step and
said, Jump with me right now! You and
me together! Lets throw ourselves
down. The fall will kill us. Its better
than the knife
A death chosen rather than a death
inflicted? Malinal could see the point of
that. And it would have the added
advantage of cheating the bloodthirsty
gods of the Mexica.
But such a death was not for her while
there was still hope, and Tozi had given
her hope. She swayed, pulled her
shoulder free of the Totonacs grip.
Jump if you must, she told her. I wont
try to stop you but I wont go with you.
Why not? Dont you understand what
will be done to us there? The woman
turned her face up to the summit of the
pyramid, still hidden by the gradient.
I understand, said Malinal, and its
OK. You take care of your death and Ill
take care of mine.
With groans of fear, whispered prayers,
and the slack, dull faces of Iztli
intoxication, the prisoners continued to
shuffle upwards, pausing for long
moments, then climbing again. Only
those near the very top could see the
altar and the sacrificial stone, but the
butchered torsos of women whod
climbed the steps moments before
continued to be thrown down by the
priests, a constant reminder of what was
to come.
Up a step. Stop.
Up two steps. Stop.
Though the moon was again behind
cloud, the whole summit was brightly lit
by torches and braziers, and Malinal
began to see first the heads, then the
shoulders, then the upper bodies of the
team of sacrificers on the summit
platform.
Ahuizotl was there!
How could he not be, since hed want
to gloat over her death?
Her fingers curled into claws.
Beside the high priest was Cuitlhuac
who had also shared her bed.
And there, nude, bathed from head to
toe in blood, working with furious
efficiency, his face fixed in an ecstatic
grin, was the coward Moctezuma, who
shed seen shit himself with fear.
Whack! Crack! In went the obsidian
knife again, saturating the white paper
garments of the next victim with bright
red blood in an instant. Arteries were
severed, more blood fountained into the
air, and with a horrible, rending squelch,
the heart was out.
Malinal distinctly heard Moctezuma
say, apparently to thin air: Welcome,
Lord. All this is for you. Then at once
another victim was stretched over the
sacrificial stone and the Totonac woman
climbed the final step to the summit
platform and stood waiting, watching the
killing team busy with their tasks. As the
knife rose and fell she turned with a sad
smile on her face, stretched her arms out
beside her like wings and stood poised
over the plunging stairway.
Cuitlhuac saw the danger first and
barked an order for her to be held, but as
the guards closed in she grappled with
one of them, somehow unbalanced him,
and tumbled with him over and over
down the steep stairs, rolling and
bouncing, their bodies pounded and
broken into bloody shards long before
they reached the bottom.
Malinal knew Moctezuma to be a
superstitious man.
An ignominious suicide, carried out in
his presence, snatching a beating human
heart from Hummingbirds grasp, could
never be anything other than a very bad
omen indeed one for which Ahuizotl as
high priest must surely be held
responsible. The snakeskin drum, the
conches, the trumpets all instantly
ceased their din and in the ghastly
silence that followed the only sound to
be heard came from Tozi. It was that
same soft, insistent whisper shed used
when shed faded them in the pen and
in the same way it now rose in intensity,
seeming to deepen and roughen,
becoming almost a snarl or a growl.
Ahuizotl took a step forward. His
eyes found Malinal but drifted past her.
He seemed shocked and disoriented.
Was he imagining the terrible ways
Moctezuma would punish him?
Or was Tozi getting inside his head?
Malinal was beginning to hope her
friend really had got her powers back
when she felt Moctezumas blood-
rimmed glare drill into her skull as his
four helpers grasped her by the arms and
legs and threw her down on her back
over the sacrificial stone.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Tenochtitlan, small hours of
Friday 19 February 1519
It was truly a night of the gods, torn by
winds and storm. Thunder rolled and
huge black clouds harried the fleeing
moon, sometimes reducing her to a
flicker of balefire, sometimes allowing
her furious and jaundiced face to peer
through, sometimes shutting off her light
entirely as though a door in heaven had
closed.
Moctezuma had been killing since
morning but now, in the depths of the
night, his work illuminated by flickering
torches and glowing braziers, he felt no
fatigue. He had consumed two more
massive doses of teonancatl and the
god-power of the mushrooms coursed
through his veins, making him ferocious,
vigorous and invulnerable. Far from
tiring him, each new blow he struck with
the obsidian knife seemed to animate
him further. Should the priests find him
five thousand more victims, he would
kill them all. Ten thousand? Bring them
on! There was nothing he would not do
for his god.
Moctezuma felt preternaturally aware
of everything.
Everything.
Of this world of blood and bone, and
of that other shadow world where he had
met and talked with Hummingbird.
The god had been absent for many
hours while the new batch of sacrifices
offered themselves to the knife, but now
he returned, with so little fanfare it
seemed hed always been there. He
stood between Cuitlhuac and Ahuizotl
unnoticed by them, his face sly and
amused.
Welcome, lord, Moctezuma said,
holding up a palpitating heart. All this
is for you. He threw the streaming organ
on the brazier, where it steamed and
smoked, and immediately turned to the
next victim, tore her body open and
plucked her heart out too.
Everything was going wonderfully
well, Moctezuma thought. He couldnt
stop himself grinning and cackling. And
why should he? The god was with him
again, the down payment on his price
was being made in hearts and blood, and
now he could expect divine help against
the powerful strangers. No matter if they
possessed fire serpents that could kill
from afar! No matter if wild animals
fought beside them in battle! With
Hummingbird leading the way the
Mexica were certain of victory, and
even if the strangers were the
companions of Quetzalcoatl himself they
would be vanquished! There was no
other conceivable outcome.
The dream was sweet until
Moctezuma heard Cuitlhuac shout,
Grab her! and the scuff of bare feet
behind him. He whirled round as the
bloody corpse on the sacrificial stone
was dragged aside to be butchered and
witnessed something extraordinary and
unbelievable. Instead of submissively
waiting to take her place under his knife,
the next victim was standing at the edge
of the summit platform, her paper
garments flapping in the wind, her arms
stretched out beside her like wings,
poised to throw herself down the
northern stairway. This must not under
any circumstances be allowed to happen,
for it would bring the displeasure of the
god. Moctezumas heart pounded against
his ribs and anger surged through him.
He would have Ahuizotls skin if the
woman went through with it. Time
seemed to race as guards moved
towards her. One reached her. They
wrestled on the edge of the abyss and
then slowly, with the impossibility of a
thing never seen before, both figures
tumbled from view
An awful sound broke the shocked
silence that followed an eerie, rough,
whispering snarl that had the rhythms of
magic. Moctezuma saw at once that its
source was a dirty little female with
wild hair. She was waiting second in the
line of prisoners near the top of the
stairway and staring straight at him.
Nobody looked the Great Speaker of
the Mexica in the eye!
Yet this filthy child, whose heart he
would soon cut out, showed no fear as
she calmly met his gaze.
And she wasnt alone! One step above
her stood another defiant figure. Tall,
plastered chalk-white, hair roughly
shorn, in the paper clothes of her
humiliation, this woman looked nothing
like a victim and stared him down with
the same predatory anticipation as the
child, throwing him further into turmoil.
Panic seized him as he sensed
everything falling apart. The terrible
omen of the suicide followed at once by
the bizarre behaviour of these two
females threatened to unman him
completely. He sought out Hummingbird,
fearing his anger, yet filled with a
hopeless yearning for absolution, but the
god who had been so present only
moments before had vanished again, as
silently and as mysteriously as he had
appeared.
Aaaah! Aaaah! Moctezumas bowels
cramped and loosened, cramped and
loosened, an ancient curse returning to
haunt him, but he could not evacuate here
at the top of the pyramid in full public
view. It was simply unthinkable.
He clenched, tried to bring his
emotions under control, and a renewed
surge of the god-power of the
mushrooms pulsed through him, shoving
a fist of vomit into his mouth, forcing
him to swallow and gulp like a frog. The
tall woman smiled.
Smiled!
How dare she?
Anger triumphed over fear and he
began to think clearly again. The suicide
was the worst form of sacrilege, yet
amends could be made. The god had
deserted him again, but he had done so
before and there was still hope that the
harvest of victims would lure him back.
The only answer was to put all
distractions aside and continue with the
sacrifices as if nothing had happened.
Moctezuma signalled to the musicians
to resume play as his four helpers seized
the tall woman by the arms and legs,
spun her round with practised economy
of effort, and cast her down on her back
on the sacrificial stone. He raised the
obsidian knife, gripping its hilt in both
hands, and muttered the ritual prayer
Oh lord, Hummingbird, at the left hand
of the Sun, accept this my offering.
He was about to plunge the knife
down when the voice of the god, loud
and unexpected, boomed inside his head:
No! I do not want this offering. You
must not kill this woman.
Moctezuma froze in place, the knife
poised. But, lord, you told me to bring
you hearts.
You must still bring me hearts,
Moctezuma, but not this heart. I have
chosen this woman and she must not be
harmed. I have work for her to do.
You have chosen her, lord?
Just as I chose you.
Suddenly the tenor of the divine voice
changed and Moctezuma found himself
once more in the presence of
Hummingbird. It was as though they
were both looking down on the victim
from a great height. The war gods skin
glowed white hot. Set her free, he
commanded.
Moctezuma hesitated. Was he
understanding correctly? Could there be
some mistake? Set her free? he
babbled.
The god sighed. Yes. Free. Must you
repeat every word I say?
And at the same instant, in the world
of blood and bone, Moctezuma felt
Ahuizotl at his elbow, whispering alarm
in his ear. You must not free her,
Magnificence! This woman must die!
She must die! The god will not forgive
us if she walks from the stone.
Moctezuma remembered that he alone
conversed with Hummingbird, while for
Ahuizotl and others it must seem he was
talking to himself. Be silent! he roared.
But lord
You know nothing, Ahuizotl! I will
have your skin for failing me this night.
The high priest cowered and
trembled, stammering apologies and
then, unbelievably, the woman on the
stone spoke. Her voice was rich and
throaty, somehow familiar, and she
seemed to look deep into Moctezumas
eyes: Your priest is corrupt, she told
him. He broke his vow of chastity and
took me to his bed
Lies! Ahuizotl screamed. Lies!
Lies!
But Cuitlhuac had stepped close now
and was examining the womans face,
rubbing at her chalk-white mask,
revealing ever more of her skin.
Malinal! he suddenly exclaimed. This
is Malinal, Lord Speaker! She was your
interpreter when the messenger from the
Chontal Maya brought tidings of the gods
to you. You ordered her execution.
Ahuizotl disobeyed the Lord
Speaker, the woman said. He keeps a
secret house in the district of Tlatelolco.
He took me there from your palace four
months ago. He used my body
Lies! Ahuizotl shrieked again. All
lies!
Theres more here than meets the
eye, Cuitlhuac said. He was known to
be a stickler for rules and regulations, an
enemy of Ahuizotl and a strong advocate
of priestly celibacy. The charge is
grave. We must question the woman
further and discover the truth.
No! snarled Ahuizotl. Kill her!
Moctezumas eyes darted back and
forth between the two men and down to
the prone, spread body of the woman.
Yes, he remembered her. His stomach
cramped and his bowels rumbled. She
had witnessed his shame and he had
ordered her death; yet here she was, four
months later, still alive.
How could that be if her story was not
true?
As another devastating cramp gripped
his stomach and a bubble of sour air
burst from his mouth, he made his
decision. No questions could be asked.
He would deal with Ahuizotl later, but
the woman knew his secret and she must
die with it now.
Her eyes, huge and dark, gazed up at
him, catching and magnifying the
flickering flames of the torches and the
fiery glow of the braziers, seeming to
burn into his soul. Resisting a powerful
urge to recoil, even to run from her,
Moctezuma jerked the dripping knife
above his head, felt a thrill of pleasure
as her pupils dilated with fear, and put
all his force into a killing blow.
That never landed.
That never even began.
You pathetic grubby little human,
boomed the voice of Hummingbird.
Unseen and unheard by all the others, the
god was still at his side, radiant as a
volcano. You will free this woman at
once. You will send her from this city
unharmed. I have spoken.
Moctezuma struggled, tried to move
his knife hand and discovered that it was
paralysed in place above his head.
Release her, or die, said the god. In
fact, why dont you just die anyway? I
think I prefer Cuitlhuac for your role.
Bu bu bu Moctezuma tried
to speak, but could not, tried to breathe
but could not.
Interesting, isnt it, said the god,
this business of dying? Fun when youre
dishing it out, not so nice when youre at
the receiving end.
Moctezuma gaped, his chest heaved,
and yet no breath would come. It was as
though a huge hand covered his nose and
mouth.
You are desperate to breathe, the
god continued. It gets worse. Very soon
fear will overwhelm you, you will lose
all control of your body and you will
void your bowels. Tut tut! Where will
your secret be then?
Gahhh, ahhh, gaargh
Moctezuma felt it coming now, felt
death all over him like a swarm of bees,
was shaken by another terrifying cramp
and tried desperately to signal his
surrender.
The gods smile was malevolent.
What? he said. What was that?
Gnahh, aargh
Ah. You agree? Is that what youre
saying? You will release the woman?
His head spinning, his knees rubber,
Moctezuma nodded his assent.
Hmmm, said the god. I rather
thought you would. Well, I suppose I
shall give you another chance. Grooming
Cuitlhuac to play your part would be
such a bore.
At once the sense of a hand clamped
to Moctezumas face was gone and he
could breathe again. Gasping, heaving,
his vision steadying, he turned on his
four assistants. They held the woman
stretched over the sacrificial stone,
gripping her by her wrists and ankles,
terror and confusion squirming on their
faces. Release her! he roared.
After shed struggled to her feet,
Moctezuma ordered the woman to be
taken from the pyramid, given clothes
and sent on her way out of Tenochtitlan.
The god had said she was to leave the
city. The god had said she was not to be
harmed. The god must not be denied.
Yet she refused to go!
Instead, looking him straight in the eye
as though she were his equal, this
woman, this Malinal, as Cuitlhuac had
named her, made a new demand.
I was brought here with my friend,
she said, indicating the wild-haired girl
at the top of the steps. I wont leave
without her.
Moctezuma turned to Hummingbird,
but the god had again deserted him.
He looked for Ahuizotl. The high
priest too had vanished.
He looked to Cuitlhuac, who knew
Malinal, and to the other nobles. They
stood in groups around the vacant
sacrificial stone, whispering to one
another.
Whispering sedition.
I remember our last meeting,
Malinal said quietly. She looked
pointedly at Moctezumas belly. It
seemed the royal person was unwell.
Allow me to express the hope that you
have fully recovered your health. As she
spoke, Moctezuma felt the eyes of the
womans little ragged friend on him,
heard the whisper of magic still pouring
from her lips and helplessly doubled
over as another agonising cramp struck
him.
Take her, he gasped. Take her. I free
you both.
Smeared with chalk and blood,
Malinal seemed more demon or ghost
than human flesh and blood.
Wait! she said. Theres one more
thing.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Santiago, Cuba, small hours
of Friday 19 February 1519
The man was whip-thin. Caught in the
swaying lantern light, his clever,
weather-beaten face was lined with
worry. You understand we cant sail in
this, he told Corts, it would be suicide

Melchior had gone about his masters

business soon after Alvarados arrival,
but Pepillo remained hidden in the
aftcastle, nursing his wounds. Then
Alvarado and Corts left the ship and
clattered off along the pier on horseback.
Time passed. Pepillo had some sense of
it from the gradual westward track of the
moon across the increasingly crowded
and stormy heavens. He dozed for a
while. When he awoke the wind had
grown stronger, whistling and rattling
through the rigging, and down below on
the navigation deck he heard voices
raised in anger.
With a feeling of dread he recognised
one of them as Muoz.
He heard Corts and another voice he
did not recognise. It was an argument
about money. There was a sudden bustle
of activity, heavy footsteps pounded on
the deck and down the gangplank. More
shouting it seemed the fleet would sail
tonight without the governors blessing!
then a thunder of hooves as a horse
took off at a gallop.
Taking care not to make a sound,
Pepillo crawled out from behind the
piled ropes, snaked forward on his
belly, wincing at his bruises, and found a
spot where he could look down on the
navigation deck without being seen.
Five men stood there Corts, Muoz
and three others he did not know. It was
obvious at once from the tension in their
bodies that the argument was far from
over, and now Muoz shouted, You
cant do that to me!
Corts said strongly that he could do
anything he wanted, then lowered his
voice. Amidst gusts of wind, Pepillo
heard only the words, Crdoba
expedition, terrible and page, before
Corts leaned closer and whispered in
Muozs ear. He must have said
something frightening because the
Dominican gasped, blanched and
stumbled back. Then the impossible
happened. In a tone of disgust, Corts
said, Take him, and two of the other
men leapt forward. Pepillos breath
caught in his throat and hope surged
through him as they seized Muoz by the
arms and frogmarched him from the ship.
The Inquisitors strident protests
continued but were soon snatched by the
wind and lost to hearing as he was led
off along the pier.
In this way Corts was finally left
alone with the thin, weather-beaten man,
who at once told him that to sail this
night, in this weather, would be suicide
advice the caudillo clearly did not
want to hear.
Come come, Alaminos, he said.
Has easy living stolen your courage?
Youve sailed in worse gales than this!
I have, the man called Alaminos
admitted. He looked to the troubled sky
now overcast from horizon to horizon,
the light of the moon entirely swallowed.
But were only at the birth of the storm.
Its going to get worse. Much worse.
If the month were August or
September Id agree with you, Corts
said cheerfully. But this is February,
man. February! Think about it. Since you
sailed with Columbus, how many great
storms have you witnessed in these
waters in February?
None, Alaminos admitted.
March then, or April? Even May?
Come now, be honest. Have you ever
seen a real storm hit Cuba or any of the
islands before the month of June?
Again Alaminos was forced to admit
he had not. But theres always a first
time, he said, and I have a bad feeling
about this storm, Don Hernn. A very
bad feeling. Im a pilot, and a good one

A great one! Corts interrupted.

Alaminos ignored the compliment and
pressed on: because I trust my
feelings. Thats why Ive never lost a
ship. If you insist on sailing this night
then I give you fair warning you will
sink your entire fleet and drown every
one of us with it.
Fie, man! Dont say such things!
Its not the saying that matters, but the
hearing, Don Hernn. Hear me well, I
beg you! Delay our departure until the
storm clears.
Corts walked to the rail of the
navigation deck and stared out over the
darkened harbour, across the agitated
waters, into the teeth of the wind. He
stood silent, his head held high, like a
hero of old, like a Caesar or an
Alexander. Seeing him like that,
indomitable, fearless and strong, Pepillo
believed in his heart what Alaminos
doubted that this great caudillo would
vanquish the storm in the same confident
way he had vanquished Muoz.
Im grateful for your advice, Corts
now said, still gazing into the night. It is
good advice and well meant, but mine is
the burden of command and there are
other matters you know nothing of that I
must consider. He turned and walked
back to join Alaminos, who was
standing by the whipstaff that steered the
great ship; he clapped him heartily on
the shoulders. Besides, he said,
holding up a finger to the gale, this is a
strong wind, but a fair one in my
judgement its blowing our way. Once
were free of the harbour and out on the
open sea, its going to take us straight to
the New Lands.
So we sail then?
Posthaste, Alaminos. The ebb tide
will speed our departure. Dont you see
how everything is going our way?
Alaminos still looked gloomy.
Well? said Corts. What is it, man?
Speak your mind.
Even if were not sunk, said the
pilot, you can be sure the fleet will be
scattered. I have to plot a course to a
rendezvous point and the course must be
shared with all the captains before we
sail or well never find each other
again.
Ive been giving thought to that.
There was an island you visited with
Crdoba in sight of the coast of the New
Lands. Friendly natives, you said.
Plentiful game. Sweet water. Sounds like
just the spot for us.
The natives call it Cozumel,
Alaminos answered immediately. The
island of swallows, or some such
meaning, as best we could understand it
through signs and pointing. Its a good
place.
Quick about it then! Plot a course for
Cozumel. Make copies for each of the
captains. Ill have a rider standing by to
distribute them across the fleet and then
we sail.
The ship had become a hubbub of
rapidly increasing noise and activity,
with sailors swarming in the rigging and
working together on ropes to complete a
hundred different bewildering tasks that
Pepillo couldnt understand. So far,
however, the aftcastle wasnt the focus
of any of this, so he crawled back to his
hiding place and tried to make a plan.
One thing was sure Muoz was no
longer on board the Santa Mara and
therefore posed no immediate threat to
him. Pepillo realised he could now walk
about freely, if he wished, without
risking another beating. But if he did
that, then might not he too be thrown off
the ship? After all, what use was a page
without a master?
He heard Cortss voice again, now
on the main deck, shouting for a despatch
rider. A little later a horse galloped off
and all the time the frenetic pace of
preparations continued. Pepillo knew no
way to make himself useful in any of
this, even if he werent a mass of bruises
and pain, so all in all, he decided, the
best thing he could do was stay exactly
where he was, stowed away behind the
coiled ropes.
Once out at sea he couldnt be sent
back.
He was beginning to think he might
actually get away with it, when he heard
men climbing from the main deck to the
navigation deck, heavy footsteps and a
stream of foul oaths.
Wheres those bloody ropes?
someone said.
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Tlascala, small hours of
Friday 19 February 1519
Acolmiztli and Tree sprinted downslope
to the unguarded thorn barrier and tore it
apart, opening the way for the rest of the
squad to stream through in a compact
mass.
No turning back now, Shikotenka
thought. He stretched out his legs and
took the lead, flashing past neat ranks of
tents and bivouacs ranged east and west
of the wide central avenue. Glancing at
young Tochtli running proudly beside
him, he felt for the first time the full
weight of the danger hed asked his men
to face and the threat of imminent failure.
Tlascalans were the greatest runners in
the world, and these were the best of the
best, but even they would need three
minutes or more to cover the two
thousand paces to Coaxochs pavilion.
All round them harsh shouts and cries
of alarm filled the air and torches flared
and guttered in the rising wind. The
moon, troubled by clouds, still shed
enough light to show hosts of warriors,
intermingled with a rabble of camp
followers, merchants and pleasure girls,
crowding through the tented alleys
towards the edge of the southeastern
sector where Guatemoc lay. Drawn by
the commotion, many more were surging
across the avenue from the southwestern
sector, but none seemed to suspect the
rapidly advancing Tlascalans in their
guise as jaguar and eagle knights, simply
making way for them as they pounded
past.
It was an astonishing dereliction of
duty, yet another sign that the Mexica
were falling short of the legendary
discipline Shikotenka so much admired
almost all the sentries along the avenue
had left their posts to join in the general
melee. Here and there, a few were still
in place, novices conspicuous in their
white cotton armour, who stood around
awkwardly clutching their spears and
casting anxious glances towards the
southeast. Several actually saluted the
Tlascalans and Shikotenka heard
Chipahua snigger, Mexica arseholes!
Five hundred paces out from the
pavilion, a heavy burst of rain spattered
down like an avalanche of small stones,
soon settling into a drenching, insistent
downpour, and in the same instant the
last gap in the clouds closed, completely
obscuring the moon and plunging the
camp into darkness. Perfect, thought
Shikotenka. Further evidence that the
gods indeed blessed his plan. Campfires
and torches were quickly doused to dull
red points by the squall, but the great
pavilion towered directly ahead, bright
as a beacon, its walls of thick maguey-
fibre sheeting, and its soaring conical
roof stretched over a frame of poles lit
up brilliantly from within by a multitude
of lanterns.
There was a sudden shouted challenge
and a troop of Mexica spearmen,
silhouetted against the pavilions glow,
loomed out of the dark. There were no
more than twenty of them, perhaps thirty,
all novices judging from their uniforms,
but still enough to put up a fight and
hinder the attack. Step aside, fools!
yelled Shikotenka at the top of his voice.
He disguised his Tlascalan accent and
summoned his most regal tones. Were
here to protect the Snake Woman.
Lets just kill them, hissed Tree.
Maybe we wont have to, said
Shikotenka, his mind working furiously,
and as they closed with the other group
he brandished Guatemocs macuahuitl
and yelled again: Step aside! Tlascalan
attack in the southeast quadrant. Were
here to protect the Snake Woman!
He wasnt even surprised when the
ruse worked. In this army of novices, the
uniforms of jaguar and eagle knights
commanded immense respect, and with
hair and faces hidden by their distinctive
wooden helmets, there was nothing to
identify his squad as the enemy. After
only the slightest hesitation, the block of
spearmen divided before them, some of
them raising their right arms in hasty
salutes as the Tlascalans shot through the
gap. Reinforce the southeast quadrant at
the double, Shikotenka yelled back
through the rain. Heavy fighting there.
Prince Guatemocs been killed!
Chipahua gave another snigger.
Arseholes, he said again. The word
boomed emphatically inside his eagle-
beaked helmet.
Yes, thought Shikotenka. Arseholes. A
whole host of arseholes. Come rain or
shine there should be hundreds of
sentries around the Snake Womans
pavilion, blocking every road. Instead it
seemed that Coaxoch was so confident
of his power, so secure in the midst of
this huge army, that hed not thought to
take additional precautions.

The pavilions entrance was a great
square, twice the height of a man, veiled
with gaudy curtains and approached
under an immense awning borne up on
rows of gilded wooden pillars, thick as
tree trunks. Protected from the rain by
the awning, each pillar supported a
guttering lantern; by the light of these,
Shikotenka saw that a dozen men had
taken shelter here. They wore the
distinctive yellow and black livery of
the Snake Womans personal guards and
were peering out into the storm, plainly
disturbed by the general commotion in
the camp, but apparently not yet aware
of what had happened because their
spears were held at rest and their
macuahuitls still sheathed. Better still,
Shikotenka realised, the lanterns that
made the guards so visible to him must
make him and his squad invisible to
them.
He didnt need to give orders. His
Tlascalans all knew instinctively what to
do and bore down on the pavilion at a
dead run, the sound of their footfalls
muffled by the driving rain. They were
less than twenty paces out when they
were spotted, so close the guards had no
time to deploy their weapons.
The slaughter began.
A big Mexica charged with clawed
hands, yelling defiance, his teeth bared,
but Shikotenka brought his macuahuitl
crashing down on the mans head,
spilling his brains. Tugging the weapon
free he glimpsed Tree flailing about
mightily to left and right with his huge
war club, and Acolmiztli jerking his
knife out of a guards stomach followed
by a coil of guts. Tochtli whirled his
macuahuitl in a classic training-ground
manoeuvre; he struck off another guards
leg above the knee and half severed his
neck as he fell, abruptly silencing his
screams. With fifty against twelve the
fight was over in seconds. Shikotenka
saw Etzli slip in a pool of blood and the
last Mexica still standing thrust a spear
down at him as he hit the ground. The
Tlascalan rolled to avoid the blow and,
as the guard thrust again, Tochtli sprang
into his path, deflected the spear with his
macuahuitl, drew his dagger left-handed
and stabbed the man repeatedly through
the chest.
Etzli picked himself up and clapped
Tochtli on the shoulder. Good work,
little Rabbit, he said. Youll make a
warrior yet.
Nicely done, cousin, Shikotenka
thought. To win a compliment from Etzli
was no easy task and brought Tochtli one
step closer to the recognition and
acceptance he craved.
Chipahua and Ilhuicamina were
checking the bodies of the foe. They
found three who were injured but not
dead and swiftly slit their throats.
The rain still poured down, a
torrential, rumbling flood beating on the
sagging awning overhead and on the
glowing lantern-lit walls of the great
pavilion, alive with silhouettes. From
within came the sounds of wild music
and laughter, and quite clearly and
unmistakably Shikotenka heard the high-
pitched groans and gasps of a woman
approaching orgasm.
Bet shes faking it, commented
Chipahua sourly.
Youre just jealous, growled
Ilhuicamina.
Amazingly no one inside the pavilion
seemed to have heard the sounds of
struggle at the entrance. No alarm had
yet been raised. What sounded like a
party in full swing, even an orgy, simply
continued unchecked.
Shikotenka signalled his platoon
commanders to gather round. Tree,
Acolmiztli, you and your men are with
me. We go straight in through the front
entrance and remember were here
only for Coaxoch and his sons and we
cant risk more than a two-hundred count
to get the job done. Kill everyone who
gets in our way but dont waste time on
anyone else. Same goes for you,
Chipahua take your ten round the west
side of this monstrous tent and cut your
way in. Ilhuicamina you get the east
side. Etzli you get the north. We meet
in the middle thats where Coaxoch
will be.
What if he isnt? said Etzli.
Hell be there surrounded by
sycophants and arse-lickers. Hes too fat
to miss.
Shikotenka was less sure of this than
he pretended to be. The pavilion was
massive there could be dozens of inner
rooms and it wasnt inevitable that
Coaxoch would be holding court. He
might be sleeping. He might be
fornicating. He might be taking a bath.
But it was too late now much too
late! for any such concerns.
With slow, deliberate movements
Shikotenka removed his helmet,
shrugged loose his long Tlascalan locks
and stripped off his jaguar knight
uniform until he wore only a loincloth,
weapons, waterskin and sandals. He
signalled everyone else to do the same.
No more disguises, he said. They have
to know who we are.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Tenochtitlan, small hours of
Friday 19 February 1519
Tozi understood the new power she had
found. It was the power to magnify
others fears.
She had directed it at Moctezuma and
magnified his fear that his bowels would
betray him.
She had directed it at Ahuizotl, who
feared his deceit would be exposed, and
driven him into a frenzy of terror.
But she was under no illusions about
Moctezumas decision to free Malinal
from the killing stone. It had not
happened because of anything she had
done.
In the highly charged moments that had
passed since shed attained the summit
of the pyramid, Tozi had experienced a
revelation. It was often said by the
Mexica that their Great Speakers were
in direct communication with
Hummingbird and served as his agents
and instruments on earth, but shed
always suspected such statements of
being little more than boastful
propaganda. Now she knew she had
been wrong, for her witch gift had
allowed her to see something dreadful
lurking there amongst the priests and
lords clustered round the killing stone,
something that no one except Moctezuma
was meant to see the true spiritual
source of all the horror and wickedness
the Mexica inflicted upon the world.
The war god himself.
And to see him was to witness the
apparition of ultimate evil incarnate in a
phantasm of immense beauty not a
body of flesh and blood, Tozi had
understood at once, but a vision-body,
tall and powerful with luminous skin and
a nimbus of golden hair and black, black
eyes, and a sly, cruel smile delighting in
fear and misery and pain.
Delighting even in the fear and misery
of the Great Speaker, whom he toyed
with and taunted and confused by coming
and going, slipping away through rifts in
the fabric of the night into some invisible
realm that lay beyond, only to return to
pull the strings of his human puppet
again and enforce his will upon him.
It was this demonic entity, this god of
the dark places of the human soul, who
had ordered Malinal freed, who had
held back the obsidian knife, who had
clamped his phantom hand over
Moctezumas nose and mouth and stifled
his breathing and forced him to release
her from the stone and then vanished
again as though his work was done.
Tozi would not have believed it if she
had not seen it with her own eyes. But
having seen it she was still left with the
fundamental question.
Why?
Why would such a being, nourished
by the hearts of the victims Moctezuma
offered him, have wanted anyone
released?
And why Malinal in particular?
And was Tozis own freedom, which
her friend had so courageously and
selflessly required, also part of some
diabolical plan?
Malinals manner towards Moctezuma
had been almost intimate. But as Tozi
ran to her side her voice snapped out
like a whip. Wait! she said, as though
the Great Speaker were of no more
consequence than a household slave.
Theres one more thing
Tozi was acutely conscious of how the
nobles gathered on the summit platform,
the killing crew and the priests were all
standing round with their mouths gaping
in disbelief watching this impossible
exchange.
Theres a boy, Malinal continued. A
little boy. He was imprisoned amongst
the women in error. Ahuizotl sent him to
the western stairway for sacrifice. If he
still lives I want to take him with us.
All eyes turned towards the western
altar. After the dramatic events of the
past few moments the sacrifices there
had ceased, as they had ceased also at
the eastern altar both these points
being plainly visible in the bright light of
torches and braziers, and less than a
hundred feet distant from their present
position.
A boy? said Moctezuma.
Yes, said Malinal. A boy. I would
take him with me. You must give the
order.
Tozi focussed her power and read the
squirming mind of the Great Speaker. He
was trying to guess if it was the god who
wanted this, or only the impertinent
woman whom the god had so
inexplicably favoured? He also very
much wished not to appear weak in the
presence of the nobles. He played for
time while he struggled to decide: Why
must I give such an order?
Because the god wills it, hissed
Tozi. Though unseen she felt the
presence of Hummingbird again,
horribly close, looming over her, and
heard a voice, thick and triumphant,
whisper in her ear the words, Youre
mine now. In that same fleeting instant,
a great bolt of lightning cracked down
out of the storm-tossed sky and struck the
roof-comb of the temple, bathing the
whole structure in a glory of flickering
blue flame. Tozi watched, hypnotised, as
a tongue of the witch fire licked out
towards her, touched her, and was gone,
leaving her astonished she was unhurt,
her whole body reverberating as though
she were a bell struck by some great
hammer. A colossal roll of thunder
shook the pyramid like an earthquake
and Moctezuma groaned and stiffened.
Take the boy! he shrieked. Cuitlhuac
see to it!
As Cuitlhuac escorted them round the
side of the temple towards the western
altar, Tozis breath came in short, sharp
gasps and she heard herself muttering
Gods let us be on time. Gods let us be
on time. Reflected in the evil glow of
the brazier, where a dozen hearts lay
smoking, she saw the cruel hooked nose
and sneering lips of Namacuix,
Ahuizotls deputy. Clutching a long
obsidian knife loosely in his right hand,
he stood back from the killing stone
where his assistants held a small
struggling body stretched out ready for
sacrifice.
Coyotl, Tozi bellowed rushing
forward, only to discover as she drew
closer that the victim was a young girl
whose terrified face she half
remembered from the fattening pen.
Namacuix seemed to be in a trance,
gazing up with rapt attention at the roof
of the temple where the lightning bolt
had struck, but Tozis frantic approach
snapped him out of it. He turned on her
with a roar of fury, knife raised.
Stay your blade, Namacuix, barked
Cuitlhuac. Shes not to be harmed. He
indicated Malinal: That one too.
Moctezuma himself has ordered their
release. As he spoke more lightning
flickered amongst the clouds, thunder
growling up there like some monstrous
beast, and a few heavy drops of rain
spattered down.
The anger drained from Namacuixs
face. Puzzlement replaced it. Whats
this all about? he asked Cuitlhuac.
The Great Speaker offering sacrifices
from morning to night, a suicide on the
northern stairway, the temple of
Hummingbird struck by lightning,
prisoners released. Ive known nothing
like it in twenty years as a priest.
Neither have I, my friend, said
Cuitlhuac. Neither have any of us. He
lowered his voice: Theres sorcery at
work. He looked at Malinal and Tozi
again and made a gesture of disgust.
They say they have a friend who was
brought to the western stair for sacrifice
a little boy. Hes to go free also. Have
you seen him?
Namacuixs puzzlement deepened.
The Speaker ordered only females
sacrificed. The fattening pen was
emptied. No males have come under my
knife.
His tepulli and ahuacatl had been
hacked off, Tozi snarled. Many mistake
him for a girl. Did you see such a one?
Insolent cockroach! Namacuix was
furious again. How dare you address
me?
Answer her question, Malinal
snapped, unless you prefer to answer to
the Great Speaker.
It would be wise to answer,
suggested Cuitlhuac. Could one of
your victims have been a mutilated
boy?
Namacuix nibbled his lower lip.
How can I know? he said after a
moments thought. Im here to kill them
not examine them. He pointed his knife
at a heap of butchered torsos stacked
five deep and four wide, like logs at the
edge of the summit platform ready to be
thrown down. The last ones I harvested
are still there. See for yourselves.
Tozi fell on her knees in the pool of
gore before the grisly mound of human
remains. Behind her, on the sacrificial
stone, she heard a wail of renewed
terror. Below, the captives waiting their
turn for sacrifice occupied the bloody
steps in a long line that stretched down
through the deep shadows enveloping the
lower reaches of the pyramid and
emerged beyond into the lantern-lit
plaza.
Tozi put her hands on the first of the
slick, glistening bodies a womans
body, full breasts obscenely divided by
a wide, dripping gash where the heart
had been torn out. The others next to it
were also those of mature women. She
groaned with effort and horror as she
shoved them aside to reach the layer
below.
Dont, Tozi heard Malinal say. This
is more than any human can bear.
I have to know. I promised Id
protect him Tozi bowed her head and
one by one examined every blood-
smeared cadaver, but Coyotl was not
amongst them.
When she was done she felt a gentle
hand on her shoulder. Come, Malinal
said quietly. She was holding a
flickering torch. Perhaps hes still
somewhere in the line.
As they moved to the steps,
Cuitlhuac sighed with impatience and
urged them to make haste, but Malinal
held the torch up to the tired, terrified,
sometimes defiant faces of every waiting
victim. Each time a child of
approximately Coyotls age and size was
illuminated by the flames, Tozi peered
closer, only to stand back again in
disappointment and continue the
slippery, precipitous journey.
About halfway down, the torch light
reflected in the Itzli-dulled eyes of one
of the Tlascalan girls from Xocos gang
whod persecuted Tozi since the
morning. Well if it isnt the witch, she
slurred. Walking free again, are you?
Tozi didnt explain. Were looking
for Coyotl, she said.
The girl gave a crafty, knowing grin:
You mean that little eunuch of yours?
A surge of hope. Yes. Have you seen
him?
Might have done. Then again I might
not.
Tozi moved closer. If youve seen
him, please tell me.
The girl cast a sideways glance at
Cuitlhuac. Get this great lord to free
me, she said, then Ill tell you. But
Tozi was already inside her head and
saw at once she knew nothing. Without a
backward glance she resumed the
descent.
Ive seen him all right, the girl
suddenly shouted, high-pitched, furious.
He was crying out for you! I dealt him a
few slaps but he wouldnt shut up, so I
shoved him off the steps. He fell and
died! Thats what happened to him.
Tozi ignored her, continued to
examine the faces in the line. Its not
true, she said to Malinal.
How do you know?
I just know. Its not true. She hasnt
seen Coyotl.
When they reached the foot of the
stairway there were more hideous piles
of torsos piled on both sides, the
remains of victims already sacrificed
and thrown down the pyramid. Tozi felt
drawn strongly towards the huge mound
of hundreds of bodies on their right but
Malinals hand touched her shoulder
again. There isnt time, the older
woman said, her voice urgent. Youve
done all you can but this is hopeless. We
have to get out of here, now, before
Moctezuma changes his mind.
Chapter Forty
Tenochtitlan, small hours of
Friday 19 February 1519
Cuitlhuac led Malinal and Tozi across
the plaza, where gangs of enforcers
surrounded the prisoners who had not
yet begun to climb the pyramid, keeping
them in order with goads and whips.
Malinal had held onto the torch and Tozi
insisted that these last victims, too, must
be examined by its light, but Coyotl was
not amongst them.
Huge numbers of priests were still
present, clutching their flickering orange
lanterns. No longer dancing, they stood
solemnly in place, their red-painted
faces set in expressions of bemusement,
even fear. No drums beat, no conches
blared, and even the wind, which had
blown so wildly before, seemed to have
fallen still. Indeed, since the dramatic
pause in the sacrifices, the extraordinary
behaviour of the Great Speaker, and the
bolt from heaven that had struck the
temple, a deadly uncertainty had settled
upon the proceedings.
Cuitlhuac strode directly towards the
northwest side of the plaza. He seemed
to be making for the fattening pen where
theyd so recently been held. Malinal
stiffened: Whats this? she demanded.
Were to be set free.
You will be, said Cuitlhuac grimly,
though Id prefer otherwise. If this was
my decision Id find out what you know
about Ahuizotl and then have you killed.
But Moctezuma has spoken. I have no
choice but to obey.
Why would you wish me dead,
Cuitlhuac? Dont you remember our
nights together?
I remember them to my shame. But
at least Im not a priest sworn to
celibacy.
You were dull and clumsy, Malinal
recalled.
And youre a whore, Cuitlhuac
said, a whore and a witch. You were
meant to die four months ago and you
lived. You were meant to die tonight and
yet you live again.
Tozi was walking quietly along beside
them, deep in thought. Its because the
gods will it, she now said. Dont you
know the gods always get their way?
Adjacent to the womens fattening
pen, but towering above it, was the
empty palace of Axayacatl, Moctezumas
father. It now became clear that this was
where Cuitlhuac was heading not to
the imposing main entrance, which stood
directly opposite the western face of the
pyramid, but to a small door at the
northern end of the huge building.
On either side of this door stood two
hulking spearmen wrapped in long
cloaks.
Again Malinal hesitated, still
mistrusting Cuitlhuacs intentions, and
he sighed with exasperation. You will
be freed! he repeated. I may not agree
with the Speakers decision but Im a
man of the law. You and your friend will
go safely from our city. You have my
word on it.
He snapped a command to the
spearmen, who swung open the door,
admitting them to a long, narrow
corridor smelling faintly of mildew
overlaid with copal incense. The door
closed again behind them, leaving the
spearmen outside, and Cuitlhuac
hurried forward. Quick now, he
growled. I dont have all night.
Malinal cast a sideways glance at
Tozi, who was once more lost in
reflection, her head down and her eyes
half closed. No doubt the teenager was
grieving for her lost friend Coyotl, but
she seemed to sense no danger and that
was surely a good sign. Besides, the
more Malinal thought about it, the more
confident she became that Cuitlhuac
was telling the truth. He was a dogmatic
advocate of the lawful procedures and
hierarchy of Mexica society, at the apex
of which sat Moctezuma. Others, like
Ahuizotl, might be willing to frustrate
the Speakers will, but not this nit-
picker.
Most reassuring of all, however, as
she now recalled from previous visits to
Axayacatls palace which members of
Moctezumas close family were
sometimes permitted to use for
entertaining was that a secret postern
at the rear of the grand building led via a
narrow alley directly onto the Tacuba
causeway, the principal western exit
from Tenochtitlan. It seemed that
Cuitlhuac had chosen a quick and
discreet route to get them out of the
island city.
Though kept unoccupied since
Axayacatls death, the grand banqueting
halls of the palace, its audience
chambers and countless bedrooms and
living areas were all fully furnished. A
permanent staff of servants and slaves
maintained the facilities, and it was even
rumoured that Axayacatls royal treasure
was still kept somewhere on the
premises, walled in to a secret chamber
on Moctezumas orders.
Cuitlhuac led Malinal and Tozi to the
palace kitchen, barked instructions at the
pair of elderly male retainers on duty
there and abruptly left the room, saying
he would be back within the hour. One
of the retainers scuttled off, leaving the
other watching them fearfully, but soon
returned accompanied by a team of eight
female slaves carrying huge tubs of
steaming, scented water. With eyes
averted, the slaves offered to bathe
Malinal and Tozi and plucked off their
torn and bloodied paper garments. Not a
word was said to them during the entire
process, and neither did they speak to
each other, but Malinal watched Tozi in
amazement as the layers of gore and
grime and paint were washed from her
skin and hair. What emerged was much
more than a skinny fourteen-year-old
waif. The events of the last day, she
realised, had transformed her friend into
a young woman a beautiful, fey young
woman whose dark eyes glittered with a
deep and formidable inner strength.
At all times avoiding looking them in
the face, the slaves offered them towels,
then brought in piles of skirts and
blouses of the finest quality, sturdy
sandals and heavy travelling cloaks,
signalling them to take their pick. When
they had finished dressing, they were
given backpacks filled with fresh and
dried provisions suitable for a long
journey. Finally Cuitlhuac reappeared,
raised an eyebrow at their changed
appearance, and told them once again to
follow him.
Minutes later they exited the postern
and found themselves in the darkened
alley behind the palace. The wind had
risen again and thunder still rolled
ominously overhead. Cuitlhuac gripped
Malinals upper arm. Before I let you
go, he said, I want you to tell me the
exact location of the secret house where
you say Ahuizotl kept you prisoner.
Why dont you ask him yourself?
The nobleman hesitated. I cant. He
fled the pyramid and we dont know
where he is. But if your storys true then
hes committed sacrilege.
Malinal found herself filled with
fierce pleasure at the prospect of the
terrible death she hoped would very
soon be inflicted on the high priest. My
storys true all right, she said. Hes
holding five other women captive.
Theyll back me up. Search street
seventeen in the district of Tlatelolco
about halfway along, Id say. Big house,
all of stone, three storeys, an orchard in
the garden. It shouldnt be too difficult to
find.
Cuitlhuac gave her a harsh shove and
released her arm. Whore, he growled,
as she stumbled and rebounded off the
wall of the alley. Youve been told to
leave Tenochtitlan, so leave it. Now! If
you or your little friend ever return to
our city Ill hear about it and, mark my
words, Ill have you killed. He spat,
turned his back on her, stooped through
the postern into the palace, and was
gone.
Tozi rushed to Malinals side and they
embraced. Tozi was trembling, though
whether with fear or anger Malinal
could not tell.
As they emerged from the alley and
joined the throng of human traffic
moving in both directions on the two-
mile length of the Tacuba causeway, the
rainstorm that had been threatening all
evening broke at last and a heavy
downpour began, soaking them to the
skin. The crowds commuting across
Lake Texcoco between Tacuba and
Tenochtitlan were still numerous,
despite the late hour, but now rapidly
thinned, with only the most determined
still braving the deluge. All the rest
ducked into doorways and under the
awnings of the countless shops and
homes built up on stilts along the
causeways flanks.
Sturdily constructed of stone, and
wide enough for ten people to pass
comfortably abreast, the causeway was
raised twice the height of a man above
the surface of the lake. Approximately
every three hundred paces, however,
intervals occurred where the stone
paving was replaced by bridges of thick
wooden planks. These were designed to
be removed quickly in the unlikely event
that any of the Mexicas enemies were
foolish enough to use the causeway to
mount an attack on Tenochtitlan.
Guardhouses two storeys high loomed
over every bridge. Approaching the first
of these, Malinals heart beat faster. She
reached out and clutched Tozis hand
but, as they crossed the bridge amidst a
cluster of housewives, merchants and
servants in too much of a hurry to take
shelter, they saw that all the sentries had
been driven within by the rain.
Its all right, whispered Tozi.
Youre still afraid Moctezuma will
change his mind and order our arrests,
but Ive been thinking about it and I
dont believe he will. Not tonight
anyway. He was scared out of his wits.
He had to let us go.
You saved our lives, Malinal
exclaimed, putting all the gratitude and
awe she felt into her voice. I still cant
believe what you did to him!
I did nothing, Tozi replied.
What do you mean you did nothing?
You said your powers had come back
and they did! I saw what happened. Only
magic could have done that.
Maybe so, Tozi allowed, but it
wasnt my magic. I couldnt even find
Coyotl! It was the magic of
Hummingbird that saved us.
Malinal frowned in puzzlement and
wiped rain from her eyes.
Hummingbird? I dont understand you.
He was there. I saw him. Moctezuma
was talking to him. Hummingbird
ordered you freed and he touched me
with his flame. He chose us, Malinal,
and he protected us!
But that makes no sense!
Its not easy to make sense of what
the gods do, but theres only one
possible answer. Hummingbird has a
plan for you And for me too.
Malinal fell silent, her mind reeling.
Her years in Tenochtitlan had left her in
no doubt about the nature of the Mexica
war god. He was a being of pure evil.
So if he had a plan for them, as Tozi
said, then it followed that only evil
could come of it.
The very idea made her feel nauseous,
and utterly helpless. Tozi must be
imagining all this. It could not it must
not! be real.
They came to another bridge. As they
crossed it she squeezed her friends hand
tightly, but once again there was no
challenge. Only a few people walked
alongside them now, their heads bowed
and their shoulders hunched. The rain
hissed down and the wind churned the
waters of the lake into angry waves that
beat against the solid mass of the
causeway. Thunder groaned in the
heavens, the heavy clouds flickered and
glowed, lit from horizon to horizon by
great sheets of lightning; in the distance
behind them, carried through the storm
on a gust of wind, they heard the leaden
beat of the snakeskin drum and the blare
of conches announcing that the sacrifices
had resumed.
They both turned, as though forced by
some giant hand. The hulking silhouette
of the palace of Axayacatl reared up
behind them, dark as a breach in the
night. Beyond it, dwarfing every other
structure of Tenochtitlan and blazing
with the eldritch glow of braziers and
torches that no earthly downpour could
extinguish, the summit of the great
pyramid seemed to threaten even the sky.
When they reached the end of the
causeway, they walked through almost
deserted streets into the main square of
Tacuba. The rain was still sheeting down
and, other than a few beggars hunched
beneath awnings, the square was
deserted.
As they took shelter under a
projecting roof, Tozi said fiercely:
Weve got to put a stop to it. Dont you
agree?
Put a stop to what?
The Mexica, what theyre doing. We
have to put a stop to their sacrifices or
theyll damn this land forever.
Malinal laughed, and the sound was
hollow in her ears. Stop the sacrifices?
Sweet one, you might as well try to stop
this rain, or the wind blowing, or the sun
rising tomorrow. The Mexica are
addicted to sacrifice. Its their drug. No
one will ever be able to stop them.
Hummingbird stopped us being
sacrificed today and hes the worst and
most evil of the gods
Which means he must have had an
evil reason for doing it, Malinal said,
giving voice to the fear that had gripped
her the moment Tozi had mentioned this
horrible idea on the causeway. But even
as she spoke she thought, Its not real. It
cannot be real.
Maybe so Tozi continued
oblivious. But at least it proves the
gods can stop any sacrifice if they want
to.
Well, yes I suppose they can
since its in their name that all the
sacrifices are made.
But theres one god who never
demanded human sacrifices who
condemned all sacrifices, except of
fruits and flowers.
Quetzalcoatl, Malinal said. And
suddenly she got a glimpse of where
Tozi was taking this strange
conversation.
Exactly! Quetzalcoatl who, it was
long ago prophesied, would return in a
One-Reed year to overthrow the rule of
wickedness forever.
Yes, Malinal breathed. So it was
prophesied.
And are we not now, Tozi asked
triumphantly, in a One-Reed year?
Again Malinal could only agree. The
year One-Reed has just begun, she said.
And didnt you tell me today, Tozi
continued, that the retinue of
Quetzalcoatl was seen four months ago
emerging from across the eastern ocean
to herald his return? Didnt they come
ashore in the lands of your own people,
the Chontal Maya, and isnt that why you
were called to interpret when the
messenger of the Chontal Maya came to
Moctezuma?
Yes, said Malinal distractedly,
beginning to believe this madness of
Tozis. Yes. Its true. That is why I was
called.
Moctezuma was very afraid, was he
not? Tozi gave a harsh laugh. He
actually soiled himself, I think you said.
Malinal laughed too, although her
memories of what had happened
afterwards were terrible ones. Its true.
He soiled himself with fear.
So if Quetzalcoatl were really to
return, can you imagine what would
happen to Moctezuma?
Malinal could imagine it all too well.
It would mean the end of his rule, she
said slowly, the end of human sacrifice,
even the end of Hummingbird himself.
Exactly, my dear! Exactly! Tozi
stepped out from under the shelter of the
roof and began to dance in the rain.
Surely you must see now that were
playing our parts in a great plan, that
Moctezuma too is playing his part, and
that even the wicked and deluded god he
serves must play his part.
I dont know, Malinal said. I dont
understand any of this.
You dont need to understand it,
beautiful Malinal. This is the year One-
Reed and you just have to play your
part. Tozi was half chanting, half
singing. Dont you see its not an
accident that you are of the Chontal
Maya and that those who came to herald
the return of Quetzalcoatl first appeared
in the land of your people, and in
Potonchan, the very town where you
were born? None of this is an accident,
Malinal. Thats why you must go back to
Potonchan now, without delay. Thats
why you must start your journey at once.
Malinal was dismayed. I cant go
back there, she cried. I cant ever go
back! It was my own people my own
mother! who sold me into slavery to
the Mexica. Its a long story, but if I
return to Potonchan its certain Ill be
arrested. At best Ill be made a slave
again. At worst Ill be killed on the
spot.
Tozis face was ferociously set. It
doesnt matter! she said. Dont you see,
it doesnt matter? You simply have to go
back and the plan will begin to unfold.
Trust the plan, Malinal. Trust the plan

Now Tozi began to strip off her fine

clothes cloak, blouse, skirt, underwear
and hung them folded over her arm.
What are you doing? Malinal yelled
and strode out into the rain.
Im doing what has to be done, said
Tozi. Im playing my part. And you must
play yours. Go to your homeland now!
Her voice had risen suddenly to a
commanding shriek. It pierced Malinals
head like a lance and stopped her in her
tracks. Go now, Tozi said more softly.
She gestured towards the glow of the
great pyramid still faintly visible two
miles distant across the causeway. Go
to Potonchan and bring Quetzalcoatl here
and well put a stop to all that.
Taking off her sturdy sandals, Tozi
walked naked and barefoot to a beggar
girl who sat nearby, crouched under an
awning. There was a brief murmur of
conversation and then the girl, too, began
to undress.
What are you doing? Malinal cried
again. She tried to step forward to stop
this foolishness but found she was
rooted to the spot.
I told you, said Tozi, who was
already dressing herself in the girls
threadbare skirt and blouse. Im playing
my part and you must play yours. Go to
Potonchan and bring Quetzalcoatl!
And what about you? Malinal
called. Where will you go?
Back to Tenochtitlan, of course, to
work harm on Moctezuma and to find
Coyotl.
Coyotl is dead, Tozi! Any other
thought is madness. You must accept
this.
I wont accept it! Tozi said defiantly.
We didnt see his body. I dont believe
he even climbed the pyramid. Somehow
he still lives. Im sure of it.
And without a further word she
whirled and ran off towards the
causeway. Again Malinal tried to follow
and again she found she could not. The
rain was heavy in the thick darkness, and
Tozi vanished into it as suddenly and as
completely as if shed regained the
power to fade.
Only when she had gone was Malinal
once more able to move.
She turned in the opposite direction,
her mind made up.
No matter the dangers, she would do
as her friend asked. She would return to
Potonchan and the memories that
awaited her there.
And if Quetzalcoatl should appear, as
Tozi in her madness claimed he would,
then she would bring him to
Tenochtitlan.
Chapter Forty-One
Tlascala, small hours of
Friday 19 February 1519
As befitted the man who bore the official
title of Snake Woman, and ranked second
only to Moctezuma himself in the entire,
vast Mexica power structure, Coaxoch
travelled into battle in the greatest
possible luxury, surrounded not only by
the thirty-two thousand warriors of his
field army, but also by cohorts of
servants, personal attendants, clerks,
bodyguards, cooks, masseurs, doctors,
tailors, entertainers and pleasure girls.
The presence of his four sons, ranked as
regiment generals, each with their own
retinue of assistants, staff officers and
concubines, further added to the scale of
the vast mobile court assembled within
the giant pavilion that Shikotenka had
watched being assembled during the
course of the day. Consisting of acres of
heavy-duty maguey-fibre sheets secured
around a framework of poles and struts,
it formed a square cage measuring
perhaps a hundred paces along each
side. The whole edifice was roofed by
further acres of sheeting, hung and tied
over an ingeniously constructed dome of
cantilevered spars soaring to a height of
thirty feet. The delights of Tenochtitlan
might be two days hard march away, but
this vast structure somehow managed to
summon up, encapsulate and symbolise
all the pomp and ceremony of the
Mexica capital, all its boastfulness and
arrogance, all its cruelty and danger.
Tochtli was trembling but bright-eyed
at the prospect of battle and a chance to
prove himself further. Shikotenka once
again felt a moment of apprehension.
The boy might die tonight on this insane
mission. They all might die! But if they
succeeded, if they could kill Coaxoch
and his sons, they would strike a mortal
blow against Mexica pride and power
and, Shikotenka hoped, set in motion a
chain of events that would make all the
risks worthwhile.
We go, he said, right now! With
Tochtli bounding along beside him, and
Tree and Acolmiztli and the rest of their
twenty right behind, Shikotenka charged
through the front entrance of the
pavilion, hoping for a clear avenue
running north to south to the great
banqueting hall at its centre. Instead he
found himself in an eastwest corridor,
wide enough for three men to pass
abreast, confronted, as he had feared, by
a second wall of sheets running parallel
to the external wall. He immediately
raised his hand to signal a halt, his men
pressing in behind him, crowding one
another in an unruly scrum, bristling with
weapons and pent-up battle rage. He
hesitated. Seeming to emanate from
some point nearby, the barbaric sounds
of drums, stringed instruments and
trumpets were much louder than they had
been outside, while beyond the sheets
forming the inner wall of the corridor,
the groans of a woman being pleasured,
and the grunts of the man pleasuring her,
were rising rapidly to a crescendo.
Shikotenka raised Guatemocs
macuahuitl, slashed a great rip in the
sheeting of the corridor and shot through
the gap. His eyes fell immediately on
another macuahuitl and two flint knives,
all sheathed. They lay amidst a heap of
discarded clothing at the foot of a camp
bed where a hefty Mexica male,
supporting himself on his hands,
muscular buttocks glistening with sweat,
was vigorously coupling with some
slender female. The woman Mexica
also, judging from her hairstyle was
not too far gone in pleasure to fail to
notice the intrusion, and gave vent to an
ear-piercing scream as Shikotenka
brought his macuahuitl crashing down
on the mans spine, cutting him almost in
half.
Freeing the weapon with a sharp tug,
he rushed onwards across the little room
followed by the rest of his crew, slashed
open the opposite wall and burst into a
much larger chamber beyond. There he
found himself in the midst of a fragrant
mass of women forty of them at least
some naked, some dressed in revealing
tunics, some still prone amongst
cushions, some struggling to their feet,
most already standing, their confusion
and evident fear rapidly escalating into
panic as the heavily armed Tlascalans
barged into them.
The sound of so many women
shrieking in unison was deafening, and
suddenly a furious, heavy-set matron, her
face red, her eyeballs bulging, popped
up in Shikotenkas path, howling abuse
at him and wagging an admonishing
finger. Without breaking momentum he
simply bowled right over her, smashing
her to the ground. Tree then gave her a
thorough trampling, and the rest of the
gang followed as Shikotenka reached the
next wall and cut a gaping slash in it
through which they all streamed.
Gods! It seemed that Coaxoch had
assembled a whole city with its different
districts and neighbourhoods inside this
immense pavilion, for the room they now
entered was huge and quite different in
character from the outer chambers.
There were musicians on a podium and a
few dozen dancers still milling on the
floor, but all were alert, terrified, many
already running. Some armed men a
small detachment of Coaxochs guard, a
handful of nobles whod drawn their
weapons attempted resistance, but the
Tlascalans were gripped by battle rage
and cut them down in a shambles of
blood and hacked-off limbs.
Shikotenka paused to get his bearings.
Theyd entered the pavilion through its
southern portico and cut their way
northward from there, spearing towards
the centre of the huge structure where
they hoped to find Coaxoch and his
court. It was difficult to estimate how far
theyd come perhaps halfway? but
Shikotenka took it as a sign they were
headed in the right direction when he
spotted Iccauhtli, the youngest of
Coaxochs four sons, a pampered
nineteen-year-old raised by influence to
the rank of regiment general. The
brawny, moon-faced youth threw himself
to the ground, wriggling beneath the
podium, and Shikotenka went after him,
grabbed his feet and hauled him out
kicking and bawling for help. If you
want to live, he said, take us to your
father. But as he spoke he sensed a
flicker of movement out of the corner of
his eye and dived sideways on pure
instinct, pulling Iccauhtli back to the
ground with him. Some sort of projectile
whizzed over their heads and he looked
up to see a dwarf Coaxoch kept a team
of them, trained as acrobats, to amuse
his court drawing a ludicrously tiny
bow. A second arrow, no doubt
poisoned, was already notched to the
string when Tochtli appeared out of
nowhere, grabbed the halfling around the
legs, lifted him bodily and hurled him
across the room where he fell in a
crumpled heap.
Iccauhtli was struggling mightily,
lashing out with his fists. He was
heavily built and reputedly had fought
some engagements, taken some
prisoners, but he was no match for
Shikotenka, who smashed the hilt of his
macuahuitl viciously into his face as he
dragged him to his feet again. Your
father! he roared. Lead us to him.
Never! spat Iccauhtli, teeth dropping
from his mouth.
Then die, hissed Shikotenka, taking a
rapid step backward, swinging his
macuahuitl through a half-circle and
decapitating the thickset youth. As he
struck the blow he noticed five more
Mexica guards barrelling into the room,
their javelins taking flight even as the
peculiarly spherical head of their boy
general went rolling and bouncing
across the floor.
They were good these guards, steady
on their feet as they launched, and the
Tlascalans suffered their first casualties,
amongst them Tochtli, Shikotenkas own
cousin, who took a javelin in the belly.
Though such a wound was not
immediately fatal, it meant Tochtli
would be unable to flee the pavilion
after the raid and must therefore
certainly die.
Most of the Tlascalans still carried
their bows over their shoulders. In an
instant a dozen had unslung and fired,
sending a dense volley of arrows at the
guards, killing all but one of them who
emerged miraculously unscathed but
died under Trees club a moment later.
With that, all opposition in the dance
chamber ceased. Shikotenkas heart was
heavy to see Tochtli on his knees,
struggling to withdraw the spear, but
there could be no help for any of the
injured tonight, no kindness or love or
sentiment, and he rushed past his cousin
without glancing back, calling Tree and
Acolmiztli to rally their men.
It was taking too long to find
Coaxoch, who surely must know by now
what was happening, must already be
fleeing? But just as Shikotenka admitted
this depressing possibility, he heard
sounds of battle, saw an alley heading
north through the maze of sheeting and
followed it at a dead run into a great
open space in the heart of the pavilion.
There a force of the Snake Womans
personal guard had formed a protective
circle around Coaxoch and his three
surviving sons. Fewer than twenty of the
guards remained on their feet, their
numbers dwindling rapidly as they were
picked off with arrows and cut down by
the macuahuitls of the other Tlascalan
platoons under Chipahua, Etzli and
Ilhuicamina.
What kept you? said Chipahua as
Shikotenka, Tree and Acolmiztli jogged
up beside him and immediately threw
their men into the fight, bringing a
decisive advantage of numbers and
instantly transforming what had been a
battle of attrition into a massacre. In less
than a minute all the guards were down
and two more of Coaxochs sons were
dead. Ilhuicamina held a knife to the
throat of Mahuizoh, the last and eldest of
them, but, on Shikotenkas orders, had so
far restrained himself from killing him.
Coaxoch, his fat jowls dripping with
tears, was on his knees at Shikotenkas
feet, begging for mercy.
There was no mercy in Shikotenkas
heart, only the sense of time slipping
away too fast for undoubtedly many
had fled the pavilion to spread the alarm
and Mexica reinforcements must be on
the way. He pointed at Mahuizoh. Well
let that one live, he said.
Why? demanded Ilhuicamina. He
was angry, his prosthetic jade nose
giving him a strange, almost inhuman
appearance.
I want him to bear witness to what
happened here. You can cut off his nose
if you like but keep him alive.
Shikotenka turned back to Coaxoch.
You fat turd, he said. You used to be a
man once but look at you now,
blubbering like a woman. Stand up!
Stand up I say!
With great difficulty Coaxoch
clambered to his feet. What do you
want of me? he asked sullenly.
Shikotenka had been holding
Guatemocs macuahuitl loosely in his
left hand. Now he clamped his right hand
to its hilt and swung the weapon up
between Coaxochs legs with savage
force, hacking through his pubic bone,
rending his abdomen to the navel and
finally twisting the weapon as he pulled
it out so that the Snake Womans
intestines, swollen and stinking, spooled
to the ground at his feet. To his credit he
did not cry out in death, perhaps
recovering some of the warrior
composure hed been famed for in his
youth, and as he dropped to his knees a
ghastly smile stiffened his corpulent
features.
Hearing a sudden shriek behind him,
Shikotenka spun and saw Mahuizoh bent
almost double by Tree who had twisted
his arms behind his back. Ilhuicamina
loomed over the struggling general,
holding a fat knob of flesh and gristle in
his hand which he now threw with
disgust to the ground. Well, he said
defensively, you did say I could cut off
his nose.
Its the least he deserves, said Tree
as Mahuizoh roared and tried to pull free
but was unable to break his grip, the
very least.
Shikotenka swung the macuahuitl
again, decapitating Coaxoch, then
walked over to Mahuizoh, the head
dangling by its hair from his fist. Do
you remember me? he said.
An incoherent roar from Mahuizoh.
Do you remember me? Shikotenka
repeated, louder this time, and Tree
twisted the captives arms tighter,
extracting a gasp of pain.
I remember you, Mahuizoh replied,
his voice gurgling through blood and
horribly distorted. You are Shikotenka,
battle king of Tlascala. Youve killed my
father. Youve killed my brothers. Why
dont you go ahead and kill me?
Because youre more useful to me as
a messenger, sneered Shikotenka. Run
off home to Tenochtitlan now and tell
Moctezuma how the nation of Tlascala
humiliated Coaxoch and his phony
generals tonight.
Like his late father, Mahuizoh was a
big man with a torturers cruel face but,
where Coaxoch had run to fat, the son,
still less than thirty years of age, was all
solid muscle, a towering square slab
whose tunic had come awry showing
massive thighs and a heavy wrestlers
body glistening with sweat. He didnt
have Trees height and couldnt match
his enormous strength but, even injured,
with his arms bent forcefully behind his
back, he was putting up a creditable
fight.
Mahuizoh laughed a hideous, liquid,
choking sound. Youll not leave this
camp alive, he said, and when I go to
Moctezuma Ill be wearing your skin.
Over the blood pouring from the cavity
that had once been his nose his eyes
burned with hatred.
Thats right, thought Shikotenka. Hate
me. Hate me with all your foul heart.
Its exactly what I want you to do.
Tree dealt the general a stunning blow
to the temple, knocking him to the ground
while Shikotenka turned on the balls of
his feet, his eyes urgently searching the
great tented hall. Hed gambled on
Coaxoch keeping the armoury of his
personal guard close, so it was with a
sense of vindication that he spotted racks
of spears, atlatls, bows, macuahuitls,
clubs and shields stacked in neat rows to
one side. Every man grab a shield,
Shikotenka yelled, and the blood-
smeared Tlascalans, whod started the
raid armed only with offensive weapons
to maximise their speed and killing
power, scrambled to obey.
In moments they all had circular
bucklers fashioned from heavy
hardwood, covered in leather painted in
yellow and black stripes, and studded
with flint, strapped to their forearms.
Shikotenka, who had also snatched up a
long spear, reviewed his squad with
approval. The expressions on their faces
were hard to read. Well? he yelled.
What are you waiting for? The whole
Mexica armys coming our way. Time
we got out of here.
Running back south, they soon reached
the dance chamber. Shikotenka paused
by Tochtli, who had failed to free the
javelin from his belly and was curled up
in a ball around its shaft. Im sorry,
little Rabbit, he said as he gently slit his
cousins throat. You were brave tonight,
and skilful. I wish this had ended better
for you.
Chapter Forty-Two
Santiago, Cuba, small hours
of Friday 19 February 1519
Corts was striding about the main deck,
willing the storm to abate whilst
supervising the loading of the last
supplies. In his imagination he pictured
the governor and a squadron of his
guards thundering down the road from
Santiago. Should they reach the port
before the fleet sailed, all would be lost.
Yet even as he counted the minutes, he
refused to lose his nerve, and kept a
calm countenance, issuing orders
without panic or obvious hurry.
Everything must be done that should be
done for, if it was not, even if they got to
sea in time, the expedition would surely
fail.
The Santa Maras share of the pigs,
goats and cattle brought by Daz from the
slaughterhouse were already billeted in
the forward hold, squealing and bleating
in the pens hastily knocked up for them.
Meanwhile, here on the main deck, the
four excellent carriage horses that Dr La
Pea had so generously donated to the
expedition were even now being led on
board and tethered into slings alongside
the six fine chargers loaded earlier and
stamping nervously in their stalls. With
the five good mounts that Alvarado was
transporting, and three more on
Puertocarreros ship, the expedition
could field a force of eighteen cavalry.
Corts would have preferred more
fifty, even a hundred! but he was
reasonably sure the natives of the New
Lands would never have faced battle
against mounted troops. They would
likely be as overawed and demoralised
by the experience as the Indians of Cuba
and Hispaniola.
Caudillo Excuse me. Corts felt a
tug at his sleeve and turned to confront
Nuno Guiterrez, a bearded brute of a
sailor, one of the team hed ordered
moments before to prepare the Santa
Mara to be warped out from the pier.
Yes, Nuno? What do you want?
Weve found a stowaway, sir.
Stowaway? Corts glanced down,
saw that the sailors massive paw was
clamped around the small frail shoulder
of Muozs unfortunate page, and
nodded in recognition. Oh, he said.
Him. The boys nose was red and
painfully swollen, and the mass of cuts
and bruises on his skinny body stood out
like accusations in the yellow light of the
ships lanterns. Hes no stowaway. He
serves our Inquisitor. Where did you
find him?
Hiding in the aftcastle, said
Guiterrez, who had a voice like pebbles
being shaken in a sieve. Burrowed
down amongst the springlines.
Very well. Be about your business.
You can leave him with me.
Guiterrez had the peculiar rolling gait
of those whod been too long at sea. As
he moved aft, Corts saw that the boy
was afraid who wouldnt be with a
master like Muoz? but trying not to
show it.
Whats your name, lad?
I am Pepillo, sir.
And whats your opinion of your
master, young Pepillo?
A look of caution came into the boys
eyes. Im sure I cant say.
Cant say? Or wont say?
Its not my place to speak of my
master, sir.
He beats you. Do you know why?
I know nothing, sir. Im his page. I
must serve him. He may do with me as
he wishes.
Diplomatic little fellow, Corts
thought. So You were hiding in the
aftcastle, eh?
Pepillo nodded.
In which case, I expect you know
already that your masters no longer
aboard the Santa Mara.
Another nod. You sent him to Don
Pedro Alvarados ship. Was there just
the slightest hint of vindication in the
boys tone? You ordered him placed in
the brig, sir.
And do you know what the brig is?
A kind of prison, sir.
Think he belongs there?
Pepillo looked uncomfortable again,
as though he feared a trap. Thats not
for me to say, sir.
Youre careful with your words, boy.
I like that. What other skills do you
have?
I can read and write Castilian well
a note of pride and in a fine hand. I
have some Latin. I know ledgers and
numbers.
Useful, Corts thought. An idea had
occurred to him and now he voiced it
impulsively. Ill be needing a first-class
secretary on this trip. My usual mans in
Santiago and I havent the time to fetch
him to the ship before we sail. What
would you say if I were to offer you his
job?
Hope lit up the boys face like a
beacon and was immediately doused.
I dont think Father Muoz would
agree, sir
But Father Muoz is in the brig
remember?
Oh Yes.
So heres the thing. Im going to be
writing letters as our expedition
proceeds. A great many letters. Ill be
writing them in Castilian, of course, but
theyre likely to be rather long with
frequent corrections and crossings out.
Would you be able to make fair copies
of those letters in that fine hand you say
you have? Copies good enough to be
read by the king of Spain?
The boys jaw dropped. The king
himself, sir?
Yes. His Sacred Majesty, our
sovereign, Don Carlos, the most high
and powerful Caesar, ever august Holy
Roman Emperor and king of Spain.
Pepillos little frame had been
drooping for much of the interview, but
now his head was up and his eyes were
clear. I was judged the best copyist in
my monastery, sir. I believe my work
will be good enough even for the king.
Very well then. Ill give you a try.
And dont worry yourself about Father
Muoz. Ill be ordering him freed from
Don Pedros brig tomorrow, but Ill
make your new appointment right with
him first.
A huge smile broke out on Pepillos
face. Thank you, sir! Thank you! Thank
you!
Ill expect you to earn your keep.
Now run along and find my manservant
Melchior. You know who he is?
Pedro nodded vigorously. He
showed me to my masters my former
masters cabin when I first came on
board, sir.
Well thats very much to the point,
because what I want the two of you to do
now is tear down the partition that was
put across my stateroom to make
Muozs cabin. Im going to need all the
space for myself, so clear out the good
Fathers bags and possessions, stow
them somewhere dry and well transfer
them over to the San Sebastin
tomorrow. Hell be sailing with Don
Pedro for the rest of the voyage.
For a moment Pepillo just stood there
looking dazed.
Get on with it, lad! Corts said
gently. When I say I want a thing done,
it means I want it done at once.
While hed been talking to the boy,
Corts had kept his eyes and ears open.
Some expanses of clear sky had opened
up amongst the clouds, the moon was
shining through brightly and the storm
appeared to be slackening. He hurried
up to the navigation deck where
Alaminos was looking out to sea. Well,
he said to the navigator, what do you
think?
A little better, Don Hernn, but I still
dont like it. Can I not persuade you to
delay?
God hath not given us the spirit of
fear, Corts quoted cheerfully, but of
power, and of love, and of a sound
mind. He rubbed his hands together:
Gird up thy loins like a man, Alaminos!
We sail. Now!
Very well, said the pilot, and may
God save us. He barked a command to
Guiterrez and his mates who stood ready
with the uncoiled springline theyd
brought down from the aftcastle. All
business now, they looped one end of the
line round a sturdy cleat nailed to the
side of the ship near the front of the
navigation deck, while two of the team
swarmed down the mooring ropes, cast
them off and looped the other end of the
springline round a stanchion on the pier.
Holding a powerful lantern fuelled
with whale oil, a lookout named Inigo
Lancero stood waiting in the crows-nest
at the top of the mainmast. Ahoy there,
Inigo, Corts bellowed, cupping his
hands to his mouth to attract the mans
attention over the wind. Do you hear me
well?
I hear you, Caudillo, came the faint
reply.
So hear this. The fleet sails now! The
fleet sails now! Give the signal.
For a few seconds nothing happened,
then the lantern flared in Inigos hands
and the flare rapidly blossomed,
steadying and sharpening into a brilliant
effulgence that would carry for miles. At
once Corts pounded up the stairs to the
aftcastle and hurried to the starboard
rail. The crows-nests of the rest of his
fleet were visible from here, and he
stared out anxiously into the moonlit
night, waiting for the answering signals.
He counted one two three four
five six seven Before he
reached eight he saw the signal blaze to
life atop Alvarados carrack then
Escalantes, then Puertocarreros, then
Montejos, then Ordazs, then Morlas,
and then all the others in rapid
succession. It seemed that not even the
most ardent Velazquistas were using the
storm as an excuse to stay in port!
Corts pounded back down the stairs
to the navigation deck. The warping
team were applying their weight to the
springline now, pulling it rapidly round
the cleat to put leverage on the stanchion
while Alaminos leaned on the whipstaff,
turning the steering hard shoreward.
Responding to these opposing forces, the
bow of the Santa Mara began to swing
ponderously out from the pier, while
deckhands swarmed over the masts,
unleashing the flying jibs and the inner
jibs. These were immediately filled by
fierce gusts of wind, and there came a
tremendous cracking and lashing of
canvas as the foresail, too, was unfurled.
At the last moment, the two men still on
land loosed the springline from the
stanchion, leapt across the rapidly
widening strip of water between the ship
and the pier, grabbed dangling ropes and
hauled themselves on board.
That was well done, Corts said to
Alaminos, clapping the navigator on the
shoulder. But the man made no response
and was staring back to land.
Corts followed his gaze. A mounted
troop of the governors palace guard
was galloping hard along the pier. At
their head, dressed in full armour and
quite unmistakable in the moonlight for
his bulk and girth, was Velzquez
himself.
With a sigh Corts gave the order to
lower sails, there was a flurry of activity
as the crew obeyed, and the Santa
Maras forward dash slowed and
stopped.
Chapter Forty-Three
Santiago, Cuba, small hours
of Friday 19 February 1519
Pepillo could not believe his ears as he
heard Corts give the command to lower
the sails, could not believe his eyes as
the great ship wallowed to a halt, and
was utterly perplexed and dumbfounded
as the caudillo then called for a skiff to
be lowered, showing every sign of
getting into it himself and returning to the
pier where the governor and his men
waited most certainly to arrest him!
Unnoticed in the hive of activity,
Pepillo and Melchior had made their
way to the rear of the navigation deck
and now stood at the door of the
stateroom, hammers and saws in hand,
ready to demolish the partition as their
master had ordered.
Pepillo had not told Melchior that he,
too, now worked for Corts and in
such an exalted position as the great
mans secretary. He worried that the
Negro, who seemed to have a high
opinion of his own abilities, might take
the news badly. So he had stuck to the
simplest part of the truth, namely that
Corts had assigned both of them to
remove the partition.
Muoz doesnt object to you doing
this work? Melchior had asked.
Because if he does, I dont really need
your help.
Pepillo hastened to reassure the older
boy that Muoz was presently in no
position to object. He cant! While I
was up on the aftcastle, the caudillo had
him marched over to Don Pedro
Alvarados vessel and thrown in the
brig. I think hell let him out tomorrow.
He couldnt bring himself to add that the
Dominican wouldnt be returning to the
Santa Mara. Once he revealed that, he
thought, hed be more or less obliged to
cough up the rest of the story and he felt
reluctant to do so without preparing the
ground.
So there he and Melchior stood, at the
door of the stateroom, divided by a
secret, while Corts seemed poised to
hand the expedition back, without a
struggle, to the man hed been about to
steal it from. Whys he doing this?
Pepillo whispered as crewmen hurried
to lower the boat.
Melchior raised a sardonic eyebrow.
Doing what?
Returning to the pier. Delivering
himself to the governor.
No chance of that! Melchior scoffed.
Its like I told you this morning theres
an old quarrel between these two. I
expect my master wants the last word
Come on, lets watch from the rail.
The wind had risen again, adding to
the swell, and as the skiff reached the
water it banged repeatedly against the
Santa Maras towering flank. A ladder
was rolled down and Corts strode to it,
telling Guiterrez to bring the oars and
follow. Then they both climbed on
board, Corts cast off the line and
Guiterrez at once began to row towards
the pier, the little boat rolling perilously,
throwing up wings of foam as it breasted
the waves. The moonlight still shone
fitfully through the clouds, reflecting off
the angry water, and Pepillo could see
Corts gesticulating to Guiterrez, who
suddenly began to thrust back on one oar
while pulling hard with the other. The
flimsy craft turned, almost foundering in
the process, and was soon bumping
against the Santa Mara again. Thank
goodness, Pepillo thought as the ladder
was once more rolled down, the
caudillo has come to his senses.
Corts was shouting something now,
standing up as Guiterrez held the skiff in
place, pointing to the navigation deck;
pointing, it seemed, directly at Pepillo
and Melchior who were peering down
over the rail.
My master wants me to accompany
him, said Melchior, swelling with
pride.
He ran to the main deck where the
ladder was positioned, but returned in
moments with a thunderous face. Its not
me my master wants, he told Pepillo.
There was resentment and hurt in his
voice. Its you.
Come on, Corts boomed as Pepillo
climbed down into the wildly bucking
skiff. Quick about it. I need you to keep
a proper record of what passes between
me and the governor. Whats said now
will have a place in history.
Much troubled by Melchiors
reaction, Pepillo was now doubly
dismayed. I have no writing materials,
sir A plunge of the skiff all but
pitched him into the sea and he fell back
hard on a bench that stretched from side
to side across the stern of the little boat.
Corts sat down next to him. Of course
you dont have writing materials, lad! I
dont expect you to perform miracles.
But your memory will suffice. Mark
well whats said and jot it down when
we get back to the ship.
The Santa Mara had dropped anchor
about three hundred feet from the pier,
not a great distance, Pepillo thought at
first. Yet the wind was blowing strongly
out to sea and it was quickly obvious
that the skiff was making poor headway,
despite a great deal of rowing, splashing
and blaspheming by Guiterrez. What
seemed like an age passed before they
came within thirty feet and hailing
distance of the pier, and Corts at last
ordered the little boat held still, a feat
that seemed to require even more mighty
efforts and curses. Watch your tongue,
man! he snapped as the sailor took the
Lords name in vain for perhaps the
twentieth time. Were here to parlay
with the governor, not break the third
commandment.
Sorry, sir, said Guiterrez. But these
waves. Theyre terrible, sir. Like to
capsize us, they are.
Velzquez had dismounted and stood
on the edge of the pier, which towered a
full fifteen feet above the heaving
waterline. Raised up on this eminence
and silhouetted by the setting moon, his
massive, armour-clad figure seemed
monstrous in Pepillos eyes. Most of his
men, perhaps as many as twenty, had
also dismounted and stood around him,
glaring down at the little boat. Only four
remained on horseback and one of the
great beasts now reared and pawed the
air as a streak of lightning crashed
across the sky. At this Guiterrez paused
from plying the oars to cross himself a
singularly useless thing for such a
blasphemer to do, Pepillo thought. But
Corts, too, seemed moved by the scene:
Behold a pale horse, he said quietly,
and his name that sat on him was Death,
and Hell followed with him.
The governor cupped his hands to his
mouth and shouted something, but the
words were snatched away on the wind.
Get us closer, Corts ordered
Guiterrez.
Closer, sir? Im not sure thats wise.
Cortss face was set. Closer,
please.
Guiterrez heaved at the oars again,
thrusting the skiff through the waves, the
pier loomed ever higher above them and
suddenly they could hear the governor.
Why is it, Don Hernn, that you sail in
such haste? he bellowed. Are we not
friends? Are we not business partners?
Is this a courteous way for you to take
your leave of me?
Corts stood up in the lurching boat,
his feet spread wide, somehow keeping
his balance, and made an elaborate bow:
Forgive me, Don Diego, but time
presses and this was something that
needed to be done rather than talked
about. Has Your Excellency any final
commands?
Yes, you wretch, Velzquez shouted.
I command you to accept my authority
and return to shore where Ill give you
the hanging you deserve.
My deepest regrets, Excellency,
Corts said with another mocking bow,
but that is something I can never accept.
This expedition sails on the authority of
God and of His Majesty the King alone
to conquer new lands and bring wealth
and honour to Spain. I cannot permit
such high purposes to be subordinated to
the whims of a mere provincial
governor.
Then accept this, Velzquez
spluttered, and two men, previously
unseen, suddenly stepped through the
ranks of his guard and raised long
devices to their shoulders in the manner
of crossbows devices in which
smouldering embers seemed to be
embedded. Pepillo had never seen
crossbows such as these, but he felt sure
they would harm Corts, so without
further thought he propelled himself
forward, wrapped his arms round his
masters knees and knocked him down
into the bottom of the boat.
Simultanously he heard two loud
reports, projectiles whizzed and whined
through the air just above his head, and
Guiterrez began to row like a madman
back towards the Santa Mara. The
wind was with them now and they
moved much faster than they had before.
Forgive me, master, Pepillo heard
himself yelling. He felt sure he had made
some terrible mistake. His career as the
caudillos secretary was over before it
had begun.
Corts struggled upright and peered
back over the side of the skiff at the
rapidly receding pier. Then he started to
laugh. Forgive you, lad? he said. I
was having such fun baiting Velzquez, I
didnt see the muskets. I think youve
just saved my life!
Ten minutes later, the Santa Mara was
under way, every sail bending before the
wind.
The signal lights of the rest of the fleet
were visible far ahead of them, shining
like shooting stars, proceeding through
the narrow, mile-long inlet that
connected Santiago harbour to the open
ocean.
The weather had turned truly foul and,
despite the shelter afforded by the inlet,
huge waves rolled under the ship,
sending it caroming and tumbling from
crest to trough. Alaminos and Corts
both had their hands on the whipstaff,
which jumped and quivered as the racing
seas shook the rudder.
Pepillo heard banging and crashing
sounds coming from the stateroom,
where he found Melchior at work by
lamplight, demolishing the partition with
a sledgehammer, delivering every blow
with grim, focussed attention. A huge
splintered gap was now open between
what had formerly been the cabins of
Corts and Muoz, and since Melchior
had coldly refused his help, Pepillo
walked through, lit a lantern and began
to collect up various items of Muozs
property that the Dominican had set out
on the bed and the table. On the latter he
found parchment, a quill and an inkwell
and, remembering his instructions, sat
down to write out the words that had
passed between Corts and Velzquez at
the pier.
The keening of the wind in the rigging,
the crack and whip of the sails, the
alarming groaning of the timbers, the
concussion of the waves and the
increasingly tumultuous rearing and
plunging of the ship made the task
burdensome, and Pepillo realised he
was beginning to feel quite sick. Still he
persevered. He had just reached the
point where the caudillo said that the
expedition had sailed on the authority of
God and the king of Spain alone when
the Santa Mara heaved over violently
to starboard and took on a great mass of
seawater that foamed and boiled thigh-
deep across the floor of the stateroom.
Helpless to resist, Pepillo was dragged
from his chair by the flood and sluiced
towards the open door.
Chapter Forty-Four
Small hours to full morning,
Friday 19 February 1519
Shikotenka judged his squads losses to
be light. Only cousin Tochtli and three
others had died in the raid and nine more
were injured, none too seriously to
disrupt the next phase of the plan.
Alarms were being raised everywhere
and the vast Mexica camp seethed with
noise and anger, drums beating, conches
blaring, warriors boiling forth from
every quarter, responding to the threat
with all the instinctive fury and blind
aggression of a disturbed ant colony.
The Tlascalans streamed out of the
pavilions south portico to confront a
baying mob, already many hundreds
strong, illumined by the flickering glare
of firebrands and armed with spears,
macuahuitls, daggers and clubs, the
vanguard less than fifty paces away.
Shikotenka had expected worse. The
Mexica were advancing, shrieking their
rage, milling across the great southern
avenue, spreading out to left and right
into the makeshift city of tents on either
side, but they were poorly coordinated,
not yet in military order, still barely able
to believe that a strike had been made
against their leader.
The bad news was that the rain which
had concealed the Tlascalans approach
had stopped as quickly as it had begun,
giving way to a soft drizzle, and now
they had to run a gauntlet of two
thousand paces back to the camps
southern gateway before they could seek
the refuge of the hills.
The good news was that the Mexica
were in a state of obvious disorder and
confusion, with huge groups of men
visible in the shadows running in a
dozen wrong directions, not towards the
pavilion but away from it! Off to the
southeast a great glow of torchlight
showed the distraction created by
Guatemoc was still working its magic.
Detailing Tree, Chipahua and three of
the biggest, most hardbitten foot soldiers
in the squad to form the head of the
Tlascalan battering ram, Shikotenka
placed himself in the second rank
alongside Acolmiztli, Etzli and
Ilhuicamina, with the rest of the men in
eight ranks behind. As the whistling and
hooting mob surged towards them he
gave the signal, and the tight, disciplined
phalanx charged as a single, deadly unit,
the ground trembling beneath their feet.
Arrayed close and deep, shields
interlocking, bristling with spears and
macuahuitls, they hit the chaotic mass of
the enemy at a dead run, crashing into
them where they were most numerous
and ploughing brutally through them.
Right in front of him, Shikotenka heard
Tree roar and saw the muscles of his
enormous shoulders ripple and flex as he
thrust his heavy shield into screaming
faces, spraying blood, demolishing
warriors as though they were of no more
substance than baked clay, crushing
heads with hammer blows from his great
club. By his side Chipahua laughed
cruelly, swinging his shield in a scything
arc, sweeping three Mexica novices off
their feet and trampling them in the
remorseless momentum of the onslaught,
while Shikotenka and the other platoon
commanders, all armed with spears,
used the longer reach of their weapons
to kill and maim and spread the
contagion of dismay three and four ranks
deep in the disordered rabble pressing
round them. The technique here was the
high overhand jab, into an eye, into a
throat, into a belly, jerking the blade
loose again as soon as the blow was
delivered so the spear was not snatched
away. Shikotenka saw with approval
how the same tactic was being used by
the men in the inner ranks, all along the
length of the phalanx, while the outer
ranks with their shields, clubs and
macuahuitls battered aside the waves of
attackers attempting to close with them.
Still they were hard-pressed, fighting
for their lives, but Tlascalan training and
discipline and sheer bloody resolve
were second to none, and soon the squad
had broken through the press, outpaced
the pursuit and was left free to run for a
hundred count with no more
encumbrance than a few wild,
uncoordinated attacks by small groups of
warriors and desultory arrows and atlatl
darts that were easily deflected by their
shields.
These Mexica arent what they once
were, scoffed Chipahua as he struck
down a single jaguar knight who ran
yelling at him out of the darkness.
Like doing battle with babes,
Acolmiztli agreed.
And Shikotenka thought, Were going
to get away with it, his heart exultant
despite the sad loss of Tochtli, daring to
hope now that he might extract his squad
from the midst of this badly led rabble
without further casualties. Where the
Mexica should have thrown thousands of
men across their path, only handfuls
continued to challenge them, and the
howling throng theyd broken through
outside the pavilion was far behind them
now.
The distance left to run to the foot of
the hills had been cut to just five hundred
paces before the second wave of Mexica
warriors came in, a whole company of
Cuahchics this time. They had the
muddled look of men roused suddenly
from their sleeping mats, and many were
unarmed, yet they threw themselves at
the Tlascalans with suicidal ferocity,
slowing them while others hastily
snatched up weapons and joined the
attack.
The fight quickly became vicious. A
giant of a Cuahchic, whirling a huge war
club, smashed Chipahuas shield to
splinters and dealt him a hard blow full
in the mouth that shattered his front teeth
and mashed his lips to bloody pulp.
Chipahua just gave an ugly laugh and
hacked the man down with a great slash
of his macuahuitl, charging on over his
fallen body and killing a second attacker
on the upswing. Tree seemed
invulnerable, yelling defiance and laying
about left and right with his own blood-
spattered club, using his shield to batter
through a wall of Cuahchics, opening the
way for the rest of the squad to follow.
Again escape seemed within their
grasp, the hillside beckoning, but as the
phalanx rushed on, Shikotenka was
tackled by four wild-eyed young
warriors, grimly determined to capture
him for sacrifice, and Etzli died
screaming, impaled on a stabbing spear
as he came to the rescue. Now more
Cuahchics saw the prize, drawn to him
like flies to meat, and Acolmiztli and
Ilhuicamina piled in, not just out of
loyalty, Shikotenka realised, but because
they knew his survival was essential. As
battle-king of Tlascala, the plan required
that he must not only leave the field alive
but be seen to leave it alive; for him to
be taken prisoner would be the worst of
all possible outcomes. Hed lost his
spear and his shield, and his macuahuitl
was still in its scabbard over his back,
but he squirmed like an eel, the sweat
and blood covering his body making him
slick, and twisted his right arm free from
the brawny fanatic who clung to it. He
stabbed him once between the ribs with
the dagger drawn from the scabbard at
his waist, and then tac, tac, tac, punched
three holes in the next mans heart,
killing him instantly, while Acolmiztli
and Ilhuicamina slaughtered the rest of
the little knot of attackers.
Then they were running again. The
squad, which had rallied round to defend
Shikotenka, had taken terrible
punishment and was reduced, he thought,
to fewer than thirty men. But now they
were at last away, free, no Mexica able
to catch them. Not even the Cuahchics,
for all their formidable reputation, could
keep pace with trained Tlascalan
runners, and the shattered remnant, legs
pumping up the long hill above the camp,
at last began to put serious distance
between themselves and the shrieking,
howling pack that hunted them.
Though he knew that nothing could be
taken for granted, Shikotenka had
calculated that if he could stage a
sufficiently provocative raid on
Coaxochs army, then a large force
would be detached from it and sent after
him. This would be a force of sufficient
magnitude he hoped for a whole
regiment to conduct immediate and
spectacular reprisals against Tlascalan
towns and villages after it had hunted
him down. The character of the Mexica
was such that any lesser reaction was
simply unthinkable, and in this way the
great field army one of six of similar
size at Moctezumas command would
be divided and weakened, an objective
that formed the essence of the broader
Tlascalan strategy. Shikotenkas
intention all along had therefore been to
slaughter Coaxoch and every one of his
sons in a manner so insulting it would
drive the Mexica into a blind, unthinking
rage. Only at the last moment had it
occurred to him that this purpose might
be even better served if he left Mahuizoh
alive.
The eldest son of the Snake Woman
was pompous and arrogant, conceited
and self-glorifying, puffed up with pride
and accustomed to being flattered a
strutting, posturing bully whod come to
believe he would always triumph over
others, and that no man was his equal. It
was not difficult to predict that seeing
his father and brothers butchered before
his eyes, and his own nose sliced from
his face and thrown in the dust, was
likely to produce a massive reaction
especially since it was Shikotenka
himself, battle-king of the despised
Tlascalans, whod brought him to such
ignominy.
The rain had not returned, the gaps in
the cloud were rapidly widening, and the
moon burst brightly through again.
Shikotenka thought to profit from this as
he neared the top of the hill, aiming to
draw out as many of the enemy as
possible by parading his squad along the
ridge in full view of the camp. But when
he turned and looked back, he saw the
taunt was hardly needed. A vast river of
fire poured from the heart of the Mexica
army, streaming with surprising speed up
the hillside like some immense,
unnatural lava flow men running with
torches, many more than hed hoped for.
It looked very much as though half of the
whole fighting force, two complete
regiments, each eight thousand strong,
had been sent after them.
Not slowing his pace, Tree took a
swig from his waterskin. Gods in
Mictlan, he breathed. Weve certainly
got the buggers stirred up.
Yet the most dangerous part of the
game was still to come. Days of careful
planning with Shikotenkas aged father
Shikotenka the elder, the chief of all
Tlascalas civil affairs, and with
venerable Maxixcatzin who served as
deputy to them both, had persuaded the
ruling Senate of the nation by a
majority of a single vote! to accept this
risky, high-stakes gambit and grant the
men they needed to carry it through.
More men close to a hundred
thousand than Tlascala had ever before
put into the field at one time.
Enough to ensure victory in a pitched
battle against Coaxochs entire field
army.
But that victory would be all the more
certain, Shikotenka had reasoned, and all
the less costly, if the Mexica force could
be divided, put through a night of alarms
and excursions, and a great part of it run
to exhaustion, while those who stayed
behind in the main camp were distracted
and disoriented by a devastating assault
on their leadership.
There were many in the Senate who
did not believe it could be done and if
the raid on Coaxochs pavilion had
failed the whole attack would have been
called off and the Mexica brought to
battle in some other place on some other
day. But the attack had not failed. On the
contrary, Shikotenka had carried out the
first part of the plan to perfection, with
better results than anyone could have
hoped for.
Even now the spies whod taken up
position along the ridges after nightfall
would be hurrying to carry word of what
had happened to Maxixcatzin, who
should be no more than ten miles away,
advancing by forced march under cover
of darkness with sixty thousand elite
Tlascalan warriors. Other messengers,
fresh and strong, would be flying fleet of
foot across the twenty miles of
mountainous terrain to the hidden valley
where Shikotenka the elder had gathered
a further thirty thousand warriors to
destroy whichever fraction of Coaxochs
army pursued Shikotenka and his squad.
Fraction? Shikotenka thought. No one
had imagined that half the Mexica force
would be sent after him. Even so, his
fathers thirty thousand were more than
enough to annihilate them, especially so
since the Mexica regiments would be run
ragged and exhausted by the time they
reached the killing ground. The only
thing left to do to make victory certain
was to keep his squad in sight of their
vanguard at all times. Leave them too far
behind and they would lose them; let
them get too close and they would be
overtaken and engulfed a delicate
balance to maintain over such a great
distance.
The moonlight helped, for much of the
course would be run in darkness as they
slogged up the barren, snow-covered
slopes of Iztaccihuatl, that grand volcano
whose name meant White Woman, and
crossed the high pass separating
Iztaccihuatl from Popocatpetl. They
would then have to negotiate a dozen
mountain torrents and descend a long
downslope of treacherous scree before
reaching the foothills that would bring
them at last to the canyon where the
ambush had been set.
Malinal was walking fast, as fast as she
could go in fact, through a night loud
with cicadas and filled with the sweet
scents of tuberose and dragon fruit
flowers. The lightning storm was long
since over, leaving its own rich
fragrance lingering in the air, the rain
had stopped and the moon shone brightly
again in the sky from which most of the
looming cloud mass had now cleared.
There was nothing sinister about any
of this; on the contrary Malinal felt
overwhelmed by its beauty. Nonetheless,
as she made her way along the deserted
track that led from Tacuba, around the
southern shore of Lake Texcoco and
thence east towards the distant mountain
range connecting the twin peaks of
Iztaccihuatl and Popocatpetl, she
couldnt shake the unpleasant feeling that
she was being followed.
Perhaps Moctezuma had changed his
mind and sent enforcers after her to
bring her back to Tenochtitlan? Or
perhaps it was Cuitlhuac. Might he
have been so outraged and offended by
the way shed been set free that hed
overcome his natural obedience to the
Great Speakers orders and arranged to
have her killed on the road?
Yet if either of these two were
involved, then why was she being
followed in such a cautious and
secretive way? Just a scrape of a sandal
on gravel every now and then, followed
by nothing for ages but her own
footsteps, the beat of her heart and the
song of night insects. Mexica enforcers
would have taken no such precautions. If
her arrest or murder had been ordered,
theyd come after her at the double and
got the job done. They wouldnt drag it
out forever like this.
Slowly Malinal began to convince
herself that she must be imagining the
whole thing that the horrors shed been
through had made her see danger
everywhere when in fact there was none.
She flexed her shoulders under her
heavy backpack and looked east towards
the mountains, shivering at the thought of
the cold she must endure as she crossed
that high range, and at the splendid
beauty of the moonlight on the
snowcapped peaks of the two great
volcanos.
The Mexica, who could be strangely
poetic and even romantic despite their
bloodlust, believed that Popocatpetl
and Iztaccihuatl had once been a
handsome warrior and a beautiful young
princess who were deeply in love. They
had planned to wed against the wishes of
Iztaccihuatls father, who sent
Popocatpetl to war in Tlascala to delay
the marriage and then falsely reported to
his daughter that the young man had been
killed in battle. The princesss sorrow
was so great that she fell mortally ill and
died of a broken heart. Popocatpetl, on
returning victorious to Tenochtitlan,
went mad with grief, seized the body of
his beloved and carried her off to the
highlands, where he too died as he sat in
watch over her. Moved by their tragic
end, the gods turned the young lovers
into mountains and covered them both
with snow so their story would be
remembered for ever and indeed,
Malinal thought, the white contours of
Iztaccihuatl, gleaming in the moonlight,
did resemble the form of a woman
stretched out on her back, while it
required only a slight leap of
imagination to see the brooding hump of
Popocatpetl as the hunched figure of the
grief-stricken prince keeping vigil over
her.
Would she too die up there amongst
the snows? For, in her desire to stay as
far as possible from the Mexica on her
way to the coast, in this mad quest that
Tozi had set her on to seek out
Quetzalcoatl, Malinal had chosen to
avoid the easy and well-travelled
thoroughfare used by the merchant
caravans to carry the rich trade between
Tenochtitlan and the Maya lowlands.
Instead she would cross the mountain
pass between Iztaccihuatl and
Popocatpetl, within the encircled but
still free state of Tlascala, and travel
onwards to the Yucatn from there using
side roads and byways.
Not that her experiences in the
fattening pens had given her any reason
to expect help in Tlascala! But Malinal
knew from bitter experience that female
slaves were amongst the items most
prized by Mexica merchants, and that a
woman of her beauty, travelling alone,
would be at great risk. Better to take her
chances with the Tlascalans than end up
a prisoner of the Mexica again before
she got within a hundred miles of the
coast.
She was trying not to think about the
even greater dangers that awaited her if
she did get to the Yucatn and did
succeed in making it all the way back to
her home town of Potonchan dangers
posed by the Chontal Maya, her own
people when she heard a sudden rush
of footsteps behind her and someone
crashed hard into her back. She lost her
balance and was knocked flat, just
managing to get her hands under her to
break her fall. A knee pinned her
buttocks, long fingers snaked round her
neck and a face was thrust down beside
her own.
Even before he spoke she recognised
her attacker from the foul smell of his
breath and the reek of blood in his hair.
You witch, snarled Ahuizotl. Youve
ruined me. Now youre going to die.
Pepillo couldnt swim and had never
had reason to learn, but now discovered
an abject fear of drowning. Tumbling
and choking in the flood, his mouth and
nose full of seawater, he gasped for air
as he surfaced and found hed been
sluiced completely clear of the
stateroom and out onto the navigation
deck which sloped to starboard, steep as
a roof, awash with solid debris. The
water was shallower here, no more than
a couple of spans deep, but it rushed and
foamed down the slope carrying him
with it. He saw Corts and Alaminos
clinging for their lives to the whipstaff,
felt hope and absurd gratitude when
Corts pulled a hand free to grab his
sleeve, then terror as the sleeve ripped
from his jacket.
His helter-skelter plunge continued.
Some large object slammed into his side
and a barrel pitched by, rolling end over
end, narrowly missing his head before
crashing through the railings at the edge
of the deck where the roaring flood
poured back into the deep. Dazed,
numbed, helpless to arrest his fall,
Pepillo shot feet first through the jagged
void the barrel had torn in the railings.
He was swept over the streaming
precipice, and had already consigned his
soul to God, when a hand seized his hair
in a firm, strong grip and jerked him to
an abrupt halt. An instant later the
careening ship righted itself, then tilted
violently to port and spilled both him
and his rescuer back across the deck
where they ended up in a tangle of limbs,
wrapped around the whipstaff at the feet
of Corts and Alaminos.
A spasm shook Pepillos body and
seawater spewed from his mouth. Lifting
his head, he saw that the hand still
locked in his hair belonged to Melchior.
Thank you, he tried to say as the older
boy released him.
Dont think this makes you my
friend, coughed Melchior.
With a vast creaking of timbers, the
Santa Mara settled on an even keel,
shook herself like a wet dog, and
ploughed on before the raging wind
through blasts of icy spume.
Melchior jumped to his feet and
Pepillo followed, though he felt sick and
faint. Every part of his body, already
battered and bruised from the beating
Muoz had given him, was filled with
new pain from his fight with the sea.
Better get some rope and tie
yourselves to a cleat, lads, Corts
advised cheerfully. Looks like weve
got a rough night ahead of us.
Shikotenka had to admit the Cuahchics
were good. A hundred of them were
running vanguard for the Mexica
regiments and, despite the punishing
terrain, theyd reduced the Tlascalan
lead to less than three hundred paces.
Some of them were armed with atlatls
and knew how to use them, but so far
none of their darts had hit their mark
because they were climbing the steep
flank of Iztaccihuatl and the gradient
worked against them. That would change
to the disadvantage of the Tlascalans
when they came to a downslope, and
Shikotenka knew they must cross three
deep transverse gullies before reaching
the pass.
He took a long cool draught from his
waterskin. Weariness was beginning to
tell on him, to seep into his muscles and
his bones, sapping his strength. It
seemed hed been running and fighting,
running and fighting since the beginning
of the world, and ten miles still lay
ahead before they brought the Mexica to
the killing ground.
He reached a decision. Something had
to be done about those Cuahchics.
The mountainside was all loose
gravel and boulders interspersed with
ancient, crumbling lava flows, and as the
squad beat their way up, hed noticed
how their sandals constantly set off
avalanches of little stones. Might not a
greater avalanche be started? Already
the sky was lightening in the east, more
of the features of the landscape were
becoming apparent, and Shikotenka
began to look around for something he
could use.
Malinal heard the hiss of Ahuizotls
knife being drawn from its scabbard, and
felt his fingers scrabble at her forehead
and dig into her eyes as he jerked her
head back to expose her throat to the
blade. The thing she hated the most, after
all shed been through, was that she was
to be slaughtered here on her belly like a
deer in a huntsmans trap and couldnt
even spit in her killers face as she died.
She screamed with rage and defiance
but the blow never came. Instead she
heard a hard, hollow thump, like the
sound a coconut makes when it falls
from the tree, and Ahuizotl slumped
forward over her with a terrible groan.
Then someone she couldnt see dragged
his limp body to the side, not completely
clear of her but enough so she could
begin to squirm out from under his
weight, and there was another hollow
thump followed by a loud crack and a
series of ugly, wet squelching sounds.
As she sat up she saw the strangest
thing a hefty lump of rock seemingly
moving by its own power, smashing
repeatedly down on the high priests
head. Then there was a shimmer in the
air and Tozi, in her beggars clothes,
became visible out of nothingness, and
Malinal understood that she was the one
who was making the rock move,
gripping it tight between her two hands,
stooping over Ahuizotl and pounding his
brains to pulp. His evil face, turned
sideways, was already barely
recognisable, one eye hanging loose, his
skull, crushed and deformed, leaking
matter and blood.
Tozi, Malinal said after a few more
moments of this. I think hes dead.
Just making sure, her friend replied.
With people as beastly as this it always
pays to be sure. She examined her
handiwork, nodded with satisfaction and
tossed the stone aside.
Thank the gods you came, said
Malinal. She frowned. But you faded
for a long time and you didnt get sick.
Are you all right?
Ive never felt better, said Tozi. She
lowered her voice, a confidential tone:
I told you, Malinal. Hummingbird
showed himself to me on the pyramid.
He spoke to me, he touched me with his
fire, and he made me strong.
Shikotenka had found what he was
looking for a group of large boulders,
two as high as a man, three others almost
equally massive, that had rolled together
in a cluster from somewhere higher up
the lava-strewn ribs of Iztaccihuatl.
The squad had put on a sprint, opening
up their three-hundred pace lead on the
Cuahchics to somewhere closer to a
thousand. Now they came to a halt,
gathered in the shelter of the boulders,
unslung their bows and looked down at
their pursuers.
Dawn was very close; with every
minute that passed the sky grew brighter,
revealing more of the long rugged slope
below. They saw the Cuahchics moving
fast, rapidly narrowing the gap again,
and beneath them, spread out across the
mountainside, the torches of the two
pursuing regiments creating great pools
of light, yellow and sulphurous as the
fires of Mictlan. Some large groups of
warriors were hard on the heels of the
vanguard, others were as many as two
thousand paces behind them, but all in
all they were doing well, Shikotenka
thought well for Mexica, at any rate,
who could not match the level of training
in long-distance running that was so
much a part of the Tlascalan way of life.
As hed expected, rage and the thirst for
revenge were driving the mass of the
soldiers on to feats that were really
beyond their capacity. He smiled. That
was good, very good, for it meant that
many of them would be exhausted, some
perhaps even too exhausted to fight,
when they came to the killing ground.
Tree and the ten most muscular
members of the squad were already at
work rocking and loosening the boulders
as the Cuahchics below closed the
distance to less than three hundred paces
again. They threw an experimental
volley of atlatl darts, all of which fell
short technically they were within
range but, as with their earlier shots, the
incline defeated them. The opposite was
the case for the Tlascalan bows. On the
flat, the range would still have been too
great, but they had the advantage of
targeting an enemy downslope and their
first flight of a dozen arrows fell
squarely amongst the Cuahchics, leaving
three either dead on the ground or too
badly injured to rise again and inflicting
debilitating wounds on five more. A
second volley was in the air before the
first had struck and a third immediately
followed, bringing the number of
Cuahchics killed or injured to around
thirty before they were at last near
enough to unleash a storm of atlatl darts
that flew true and forced the Tlascalan
archers to duck for cover.
Now! Shikotenka yelled, and the
archers downed bows and joined Tree
and his men heaving at the boulders.
Around eighty of the Cuahchics were
still coming at them, bounding uphill in a
concentrated mass, their glistening red
and blue head-paint clearly visible in the
rising light, their war cries exultant as
they tasted victory. For a moment
Shikotenka feared hed miscalculated,
until Tree, who had squatted low, his
hands under the largest boulder, great
cords of knotted muscle standing out on
his shoulders and thighs, gave a roar of
triumph. There was an explosive sound
of rending and cracking and the huge
rock broke away from its roots in the
earth and went tumbling downslope in a
tremendous cloud of dust and debris,
closely followed by the other four which
the squad had already loosened and
which now required only a final heave
to set in motion.
The effects were stunning. As the
avalanche crashed into them, the mass of
the Cuahchics, uttering terrible screams,
were mowed down fifty or sixty of
them dead in an instant, all the rest
broken and scattered. Nor was that the
end of the devastation, for the three
biggest boulders were not stopped but
only slowed by the multiple impacts and
soon picked up speed again as they
thundered onward, tumbling and
bouncing high into the air before
smashing into the much larger mass of
warriors below and ploughing a deadly
red swathe through their ranks before
finally coming to a halt.
When the dust settled, Shikotenka
turned to Tree. What do you think? he
said. Three hundred, maybe four
hundred?
Maybe more, said Tree dourly. But
that still leaves fifteen and a half
thousand of them on our tail.
Youre right, said Shikotenka. He
looked up. Dawn had broken and,
although it would not climb over the
enormous shoulder of the volcano for
another hour at least, the sun had already
risen and was flooding the sky with
light. A thousand paces above, the
snowline glimmered and glittered. A
thousand paces below, the furious cries
of the Mexica rang out.
A new vanguard was already
streaming up towards them.
Lets go, Shikotenka yelled. No
time to be standing around gawping.
I know you told me, said Malinal, but
I didnt understand you. I thought it was
the terror weve been through that made
you say that. I thought it was the pain. I
didnt think you meant it.
I meant it, Tozi said gravely.
Hummingbird showed himself to me,
and he spoke to me, and hes as real as
you and I are, Malinal. Hes I dont
know ugly and beautiful at the same
time. Hes sly and stealthy and cruel and
he touched me with his fire, but I didnt
understand what hed done to me I
didnt really understand until I left you
in the square at Tacuba and spotted
Ahuizotl watching you from a corner. It
was obvious he meant you harm, so I
took a risk and tried a fade and nothing
bad happened to me nothing at all! It
was easy to follow him, Malinal! I just
waited for my chance and well,
you saw the rest.
It was soon after dawn and the sun
wasnt hot yet, but clouds of fat blue
flies were already buzzing industriously
around the bloody ruin of the high
priests head. Malinal felt a heavy sense
of foreboding but decided not to speak
of it.
My dear little Tozi, she said, forcing
a smile. Youre really amazing, do you
know that? You didnt even embrace me
when we parted in the square and yet
here you are, as though by magic, saving
my life again.
I know you think its bad, Tozi said
looking her in the eye, that
Hummingbird made me stronger.
I dont know what I think, Malinal
admitted. All I know is that Im glad its
me whos alive and Ahuizotl whos dead
and not the other way round. Without
another word she reached out and
wrapped her arms round her strange
friend, seeing the lice crawling in the
beggars clothes she wore and not
caring, just delighted to hold her close
again and feel her warmth and sense her
strange power.
When they stepped apart, Malinal
asked, What now? But she already
knew the answer.
Nothings changed, Tozi confirmed.
You must go to the coast to find
Quetzalcoatl and bring him to
Tenochtitlan to end the rule of the
Mexica.
And you? Are you still determined to
stay in that depraved city?
Yes, thats my part. I owe it to
Coyotl.
But its not safe there. Youll never
be safe!
Tozi smiled, a strange, lopsided
smile. I wasnt much of a witch before,
in the fattening pen, even though
everyone believed I was, but I think Ive
become one now. I know how to look
after myself.
They embraced again. Very well,
said Malinal. Ill see you in
Tenochtitlan. I promise Ill be back and,
if Quetzalcoatl exists, I promise Ill
bring him.
He exists, said Tozi. Hes already
crossing the eastern ocean. His boat
moves by itself without paddles, just as
the prophecy foretold. Its all coming
true, Malinal. Every word of it. Youll
see!
Shikotenkas lungs were tortured, his
muscles failing, his waterskin, which
hed replenished above the snowline,
again nearly empty. His squad had
already run many miles the previous
evening, fought a hard fight in the
pavilion and made a difficult escape.
The only consolation was that the
hundred highly trained Cuahchics whod
formed the new Mexica vanguard must
be in equally bad shape maybe worse.
Theyd left the camp in such a hurry that
very few carried waterskins.
Nonetheless, theyd pressed the
Tlascalans hard in the hour after the
avalanche, rarely trailing them by more
than a thousand paces and several times
drawing close enough in the rising
daylight to harass them with atlatl darts.
Shikotenka lost two more men that way,
and another two had simply dropped
with fatigue and were left to their fate
while the rest of the squad struggled on.
The punishment of the long run over
mountainous terrain had slowed
everyone the Tlascalans, the
Cuahchics and the two regiments
following behind. The five thousand
fastest Mexica were hot on the heels of
the vanguard but the rest, numbering
more than ten thousand, were now
spread out over almost three miles of the
rugged downslope on the east side of the
pass between Iztaccihuatl and
Popocatpetl. No one had any breath for
war cries so there were no more furious
hoots and whistles, just grim silence and
the scrape and slide of feet.
The dry scree of the pass was already
giving way to bushes and greenery at
these lower altitudes, and stands of
trees, at first stunted but soon
increasingly dense and tall, grew out of
folds and gullies in the land. Shikotenka
heard birdsong as he ran, a beautiful
sweet melody, strangely at odds with the
terrible business at hand, and he felt the
fresh breath of the early morning on his
face and the kiss of the rising sun.
A glance over his shoulder showed
him the Cuahchics had closed the gap to
less than two hundred paces and were
gaining ground at alarming speed.
Theyd stopped using their atlatls, no
doubt because they scented victory and
hoped to take him prisoner with what
was left of his squad, drag them back in
dishonour to Tenochtitlan and put them to
sacrifice. Mahuizohs thirst for revenge
had driven this mad chase all through the
long night, and the pursuers were so
numerous, and so confident of their own
supremacy, that it seemed none yet
suspected an ambush. Still, the prey was
very far from being in the pot. Even if
the Cuahchic vanguard could be held off
until Shikotenkas exhausted men
reached the canyon where his father
waited with thirty thousand warriors,
and even if the ambush went undetected
until then, the real danger now was the
ten thousand Mexica stragglers, who
would still be outside the killing ground
when the trap was sprung.
There was too much here for
Shikotenkas weary mind to grapple
with. He only knew that everything he
had done would be fruitless if the
Cuahchics were to overtake him.
Whatever else might unfold he could not
he must not! allow that to happen. He
looked ahead. Less than a mile
downslope the land levelled out into
thickly forested foothills; leading into
the hills, still masked by morning
shadows, yawned the dark mouth of the
canyon they sought. Yet even as he
spotted it, and his heart soared, another
of his stalwart Tlascalans stumbled and
fell, bringing down two more men, and
the foremost Cuahchics were on them in
seconds.
Pedro de Alvarado examined himself in
the costly Venetian mirror affixed to the
wall of his stateroom. Gods wounds but
he was a handsome man! Thanks to La
Peas ministrations (the doctor was
already proving to be a most useful
addition to the expedition), his broken
left arm was comfortably bandaged and
splinted, but he could still use the long,
elegant fingers of his right hand to twirl
the ends of his moustache. Dashing, he
thought, very dashing. He adjusted his
lions mane of blond hair how the
women loved it! and smiled at his own
somehow devilish reflection. A
handsome man, to be sure, a rakish and
scornful man whom no one could
upstage, but also a dangerous one. Let
there be no mistake about that!
With a last approving glance at himelf
he strolled out onto the deck of the San
Sebastin to count the distant sails of the
scattered ships all now rallying to his
signal. People talked about the calm
before the storm, but he was, on this
morning of Friday 19 February 1519,
quite content to enjoy the relative calm
after the storm. There was a fair wind
blowing, whipping up the sparkling blue
waters into little wavelets but nothing
like the gigantic rollers that had
threatened to send the entire fleet to the
bottom of the sea the night before.
It was a miracle that only one of the
eleven vessels was missing, but
unfortunately that vessel was the Santa
Mara de la Concepcin, Cortss own
flagship.
Oh dear, Hernn, Alvarado said
quietly to himself. Where have you got
to?
Tree and Acolmiztli ran to Shikotenkas
left, Chipahua and Ilhuicamina to his
right, and behind them in four thin ranks
pounded the other survivors of the
squad. Fifty men had honoured the gods
at the start of the night but now, in this
bright morning, just twenty-two were
still in the race.
Run! Shikotenka yelled. Run for
your lives!
The Mexica had their skills, no one
could deny them that, but when it came
to long-distance running, when it came to
stamina, when it came to sheer heart and
nerve, they had always been outmatched
by the Tlascalans, and so it proved now.
The Cuahchics had left the binding of the
fallen prisoners to the mass of foot
soldiers who followed them, and had
closed the gap to twenty paces, but on
Shikotenkas command his men found
resources of training and strength deep
within themselves, conquered their
fatigue and redoubled their pace, leaving
their pursuers behind. Breath drawn in
quick, harsh snatches, every muscle
trembling, faces burned out and grey,
they nonetheless soon opened their lead
to thirty, forty, fifty, then sixty paces and,
as they entered the cool, shadowed
mouth of the canyon, they were once
again close to two hundred paces ahead.
Shikotenka had thoroughly scouted the
killing ground in the days before and
knew what to expect. Narrow at its
mouth and fifty feet deep between steep
walls of weirdly striped and patterned
red rock, the great box canyon rapidly
widened to half a mile across and a
hundred feet deep, curving sharply west,
then north, before terminating after two
miles in sheer, unscalable cliffs. Flash
floods had carved out a series of criss-
crossing gullies along the midline of its
otherwise generally flat and stony floor,
but off to the sides, near the canyon
walls, there were stands of acacia trees
and brushwood thick enough to conceal
the huge Tlascalan ambushing force.
A mile in, Shikotenka drained the last
drops from his waterskin and put on a
final burst of speed, looking quickly left
and right, hoping to catch some sight of
his fathers men. Are you sure weve
got the right canyon? Chipahua croaked
through his cracked, bloody lips.
Shikotenka nodded, saving his breath.
This was the right place, but he had to
admit the forests at the foot of the canyon
walls did seem eerily quiet and empty.
He could see others in the squad casting
about anxiously, and doubt gripped him
for an instant as he ran on. Had
something gone terribly wrong?
Their painted skulls glistening in the
sun, the Cuahchics of the vanguard were
relentless, running silent and determined,
spread out across the canyon floor.
Sometimes twenty or thirty of them,
bunched close together, would disappear
into a gully, only to bound back into
view, closer than before. Next came a
block of the fastest footsoldiers from the
Mexica regiments, a few hundred at
most, followed by thousands more in a
loose, disordered throng stretching all
the way back to the canyon mouth and
filling it from side to side almost as far
as the strips of forest.
Shikotenka was too busy ensuring he
didnt stumble on the treacherous, rutted
ground to risk more than a quick glance
over his shoulder but, as the track
veered sharply north and the final
desperate leg of the race began, he saw
that perhaps half the Mexica force had
now passed through the entrance. It
wasnt enough, not nearly enough, but the
cliffs that blocked the northern end of the
canyon loomed ahead and there was no
time left.
The last half-mile passed in an
exhausted blur. Sweat poured into
Shikotenkas eyes, thirst parched his
throat, all the strength seemed to have
drained from his muscles, his legs ached
and trembled. Tree was not a man to
show weakness but he, too, looked
nearly done in, twice almost losing his
footing so that Chipahua had to steady
him with a hand to his elbow. No more
running, the big man said finally, and
staggered to a halt a few hundred paces
short of the acacia thicket at the foot of
the cliffs.
Well make our stand here,
Shikotenka agreed, stopping beside him.
It was the right place, out in the open,
and would allow the ambushers to stay
concealed until they chose to show
themselves.
If the ambushers were there.
The squad needed no orders to know
what to do next. There was just time to
make a defensive circle, bristling with
spears, before their pursuers were on
them.
Malinal felt sad and bewildered and
terrified all at once. The gods were real
in all their glamour and power. Sorcery
was real and Tozi was a witch of great
magic who could kill invisibly, and who
had saved her life.
Ah Tozi Tozi.
To her surprise, Malinal discovered
she missed her frightening little friend
already, missed her with a great ache in
her heart, and at the same time was filled
with apprehension at the undertaking
Tozi had set her on to return to her
homeland, to return to Potonchan, alone,
without magical support, to face and
overcome the demons awaiting her there.
The demon who was her own mother,
the woman who had given birth to her
yet who had nonetheless bowed to the
will of her demon stepfather and sold
her into slavery in the interests of the
demon boy the two of them had
conceived together after the sudden and
unexplained death of Malinals beloved
father, the late chief of Potonchan.
These were the demons of Malinals
own family. Of course they were not
demons at all in the supernatural sense,
but they had nonetheless destroyed her
life to steal her inheritance, and would
certainly do so again if she showed
herself amongst them, an unwelcome
reminder of the truths theyd tried to
hide, a ghost best left buried in the past.
So it was into this toxic mess, this
stew of family rivalries and danger, that
Tozi had sent Malinal, alone, relying
only on her own resources, to seek out
the god Quetzalcoatl.
Well, she thought, I shall do it. I shall
not falter. I shall not fail. Regardless of
the schemes of supernatural gods and
all-too-human demons, her story could
never be complete if she did not master
and overcome her own dark legacy.
She squared her shoulders, settled her
load more comfortably upon her back
and strode forward into the morning.
Having covered the ground before when
shed first been brought as a slave to
Tenochtitlan, Malinal had a good idea of
the length of the journey. If she could
walk all day, every day, then it would
take her thirty days, more or less, to
reach Potonchan. And even though she
must walk off the beaten track, she knew
that there were many villages along the
way, and even some great towns and
cities.
Malinal was only a woman, but she
was a beautiful woman, practised in the
arts of flattery and seduction. She would
rely on the kindness of strangers, she
resolved, and somehow she would
survive.
There was no immediate attack. Instead
the Cuahchics formed a loose ring
around the Tlascalans at a distance of
thirty paces. A few of them, winded,
actually threw themselves to the ground.
Many stooped over, gasping. All the rest
stood panting, some leaning on their
spears, sweat dripping from their
bodies, faces set and impassive.
For a two-hundred count nothing
happened, the silence between the two
groups of warriors broken only by the
sound of birdsong.
Whats their game? whispered
Ilhuicamina. Why dont they just
annihilate us with atlatl darts and get it
done with?
They want us for sacrifice, said
Acolmiztli. Obviously.
Tree summoned up the energy to
brandish his war club. Women! he
shouted. Come and get us if you have
the guts for it.
Theyre just catching their breath,
Chipahua suggested sourly. He turned to
Shikotenka. Wheres your father? he
asked. Now would be a good time for
him to show himself.
Dont expect any help yet,
Shikotenka said. He looked back down
the canyon in the direction they had
come; thousands of Mexica foot soldiers
were streaming towards them. My
father will wait until we have more fish
in the net.
If your fathers even here, Chipahua
gave voice to Shikotenkas own fears.
The forested sides of the canyon
presented a bosky scene. Birds flew in
and out amongst the treetops, calm and
unruffled. Never seen thirty thousand
warriors lie so low, Chipahua added,
his sneer horribly distorted by his
smashed mouth and the jagged stumps of
his teeth.
Theyre supposed to lie low,
objected Tree. Wouldnt be much of an
ambush if they didnt.
Shikotenka nodded. Theyre
Tlascalans, and theyre here. Count on
it.
He was surprised how sure he
managed to sound, but in the solitude of
his thoughts the worm of doubt was
gnawing gnawing.
Suppose another of Moctezumas
armies was in the field and had mounted
a simultaneous raid on Tlascala when all
eyes had been on Coaxoch? If so, his
father would have been obliged to divert
his warriors to confront it.
Or suppose the Senate had intervened
disastrously at the last moment? Half the
senators had opposed Shikotenkas
election as battle-king and voted against
this plan. Could some terrible betrayal
have been engineered in the past day and
his father overruled? No! Surely not!
Gods forbid it! He shook his head from
side to side to clear away the
unwelcome thought and asked: Anyone
got any water left?
Some of the men still had a few drops
in their waterskins, which they willingly
shared as the hundred Cuahchics, with
no more than a dozen empty skins
amongst them, looked on greedily.
Studying the members of the elite
Mexica force, Shikotenka saw just how
close to the limit of their endurance the
Tlascalans had run them, and could only
guess at the condition of the rest of the
enemy footsoldiers staggering up to
reinforce them. More than a thousand
had already reached the outer edges of
the Cuahchic encirclement, but most of
them now lay stretched out on the
ground, chests heaving in abject
exhaustion.
Tosspots! said Ilhuicamina with an
insulting gesture along the canyon.
Mexica cant run to save their lives.
Tree seemed much restored by the
water and the fury of battle was glinting
in his eyes. Women! he taunted the
Cuahchics again. If by chance theres a
man hiding there amongst you, I offer
you single combat. He stepped to the
edge of the Tlascalan circle and
smacked his club menacingly against the
huge palm of his left hand.
The Cuahchics had removed their
insignia of rank and run the final miles in
loincloths and sandals only, but it was
obvious who their commander was. A
short, squat warrior of about thirty, with
the left side of his head and face painted
yellow and the right side blue, masses of
knotted muscle standing out on his
thighs, arms and belly, he stood calmly
with his eyes fixed on Tree. Bluster all
you wish, Tlascalan, he replied, his
voice rasping like a saw cutting wood.
Well soon enough show you what men
we are.
Chipahua gave a loud belch. Men
have balls, but your breechclouts look
empty. Send your wives to us and well
show them what theyve been missing.
Around him the Tlascalan squad laughed
while the Cuahchics chafed and
murmured. Swinging his club, Tree ran
forward to stand alone in no mans land.
Single combat, he shouted again.
Single combat now.
Shikotenka reluctantly decided to see
how his friends act of bravado played
out. It was a useful distraction while the
canyon behind the Cuahchics continued
to fill up with Mexica footsoldiers at
least ten thousand of them now and
counting. Every minute the ambush was
delayed meant more of them would fall
into the trap.
As three of the Cuahchics darted forth
to answer Trees challenge, their leader
barked a command and they stopped in
their tracks while they were still out of
range of the big mans whirling club,
then slunk back to the protection of their
squad in a way that was almost comical.
Cowards! Tree roared. Three not
enough? Send six. Send twelve. Ill kill
you all!
More murmurs of fury from the enemy
ranks were answered by further stern
rebukes from the thickset officer.
Nobody fights, he was yelling, while
he held one of his men by the scruff of
the neck and knocked another to the
ground with a great blow of his fist.
Nobody dies! Not until General
Mahuizoh gets here.
Suddenly Shikotenka understood the
Cuahchics strange behaviour. Ah, he
thought as he sent Chipahua and
Acolmiztli to drag Tree back to the
Tlascalan circle. Now it all makes
sense.
Mahuizoh arrived within the hour, more
than enough time for every man of the
two Mexica regiments to enter the killing
ground. Stripped down to his loincloth
like all the rest, a thick brown poultice
covering the ruin of his nose, breathing
noisily and blowing bubbles of blood
through his mouth, pale and shaking with
pain, you had to admire the dedication of
the general, Shikotenka reflected; you
had to admire the resolve; you had to
admire the sheer violence of the hatred
that had driven him across mountains, up
and down steep gradients and along the
length of this canyon to extract
vengeance for what had been done to his
father and his brothers.
And there was no doubt his revenge
would be terrible, as cruel and as
hideous as anything the wicked
imaginings of the Mexica could devise

If the Tlascalan ambush was not in

place.
Flanked by four strutting Cuahchic
bodyguards, Mahuizoh advanced to
within a dozen paces of the Tlascalan
circle and sought Shikotenka out, fixing
him with an inflamed glare. You,
Shikotenka! he said, his voice wet and
bubbling. Tell me the name of your man
who cut me. He turned towards
Ilhuicamina whose prosthetic nose of
jade mosaic tiles glittered in the
mornings brilliance.
Hell tell you himself, Shikotenka
replied.
Ilhuicamina laughed and lifted the
mask from his face, exposing the gaping
bone beneath. I am Ilhuicamina, he
said. It was I who cut you. Do you wish
to thank me for making you as lovely as
myself?
I will thank you with this, said
Mahuizoh. He produced a long-bladed
obsidian knife from his waistband and
held it up to the sun. My gratitude will
be beautiful to behold and will require
much time to express. He turned back to
Shikotenka. I told you I will go to
Moctezuma wearing your skin, he said.
A choking cough shook him and blood
sprayed from his mouth. I will make
your own men flay you alive before I
take your heart.
Shikotenka didnt reply but turned to
his captains. When my father attacks,
he said, with more assurance than he
felt, we go straight for Mahuizoh. Cut
the heart out of the Mexica resistance.
Agreed?
Agreed, said Chipahua.
Agreed, said Ilhuicamina.
Agreed, said Acolmiztli.
Agreed, said Tree. We cut out their
heart.
Shikotenka glanced again at the strips
of forest at the base of the canyon walls
and at the coming and goings of the
birds. Once again the shadow of doubt
fell over him, but then the great war
conch blew a triumphant blast and the
birds scattered up to heaven amidst a
flurry of wings. Thirty thousand
Tlascalans erupted from their hides
amongst the acacia and brushwood to
engulf their hated enemies in a howling,
vengeful tide.
The look on Mahuizohs evil face
made every agonising moment of the last
day and night worthwhile. Shikotenka
surged forward and, as Trees club and
Chipahuas macuahuitl and the knives of
Acolmiztli and Ilhuicamina struck down
the astonished bodyguards, he closed
with the general and tac, tac, tac, tac,
tac, he took his vile and vicious life.

By noon, when there was still no sign of
the Santa Mara, Alvarado looked out at
the rest of the fleet gathered around his
own magnificent carrack, San Sebastin,
and shrugged his shoulders.
The only thing to do, under the
circumstances, was to sail at once to
Cozumel. Corts had the coordinates. If
hed survived they would meet him
again there.
And if not well Alvarado
smiled. The expedition would just have
to find a new leader, and he was ready
to step up to the mark.
Part II
19 February 1519 to 18
April 1519
Chapter Forty-Five
Friday 19 February 1519 to
Thursday 25 February 1519
Huicton sat on his begging mat in his
usual spot at the junction where the
Tepeyac causeway branched off from the
Azcapotzalco causeway in the northern
quarter of Tenochtitlan. Invisible,
insubstantial, able to pass unseen
wherever and whenever she wished,
Tozi approached him without making a
sound and waited for a moment when
there was a suitable gap in the crowds.
Then, quite suddenly, giving no warning,
she faded back into visibility right in
front of him.
He gasped in surprise, blinked rapidly
twice and put his old hand to his chest,
but very soon recovered his composure.
Tozi! he said, with real joy in his
voice. I knew youd be back Youre
not one to give yourself up to the knife.
His brow furrowed. But how long have
you been standing here invisible waiting
to shock me? He beckoned her to sit
down beside him on the mat, rested his
hand on her shoulder. Youve not
harmed yourself with this fade?
No, Huicton, I have not harmed
myself. Ive gone through many changes
since we last met.
There was a secret that Tozi had kept
to herself during her months in the
fattening pen. Shed told Coyotl and
Malinal that her mother had brought her
to Tenochtitlan when she was five years
old; that shed died two years later,
leaving Tozi to fend for herself from the
age of seven until she was grabbed off
the street by Moctezumas catchers, who
had brought her to the fattening pen when
she was fourteen. That was all true, but
shed not told them her mother had been
murdered by a mob of commoners
whipped up into a frenzy against
witches, or that theyd have murdered
Tozi, too, if she hadnt cast the spell of
invisibility and faded for a thirty count
to escape them.
And shed said nothing about Huicton,
the poor, blind beggar with milky-white
eyes whod been there on the street
corner when it happened. After the mob
surged on in search of other victims,
hed looked for her and rescued her from
the hole shed crawled into where she
lay helpless, stunned and bleeding from
the effects of the fade.
Because Huicton wasnt really blind.
And when he passed through the
streets of Tenochtitlan tapping with his
stick, seeming to feel his way, he saw
everything that went on.
He wasnt really a beggar, either. In
that disguise, hed explained to Tozi as
he nursed her back to health all those
years ago, he served as a spy for King
Neza of Texcoco who was nominally
Moctezumas vassal but pursued many
independent policies.
How long have you known how to
make yourself invisible? Tozi
remembered Huicton asking. His voice
was low, with a strange nasal drone,
almost like a swarm of bees in flight,
and hed smiled such a nice, warm,
conspiratorial smile adding almost
shyly: A spy with such a skill would be
truly valuable.
There was something trustworthy
about him, so Tozi had told him the truth
that it was a gift shed been born with
but that it had to be harnessed by the
spell of invisibility. Her mother had
begun training her in the use of the spell
from her earliest childhood, but it was
difficult, and by the age of seven Tozi
had only succeeded in mastering it for
very short periods. Huicton had seen for
himself how close it brought her to death
when she sustained a fade for longer
than a few seconds.
She remembered the close, intelligent
way hed studied her face through his
clouded, deceptive eyes. You have
other gifts, I think? hed said finally.
She wasnt sure if it was a question or a
statement, but in the years that followed
they had often worked together. Her job
was to lead him through the streets like a
dutiful granddaughter, attracting
sympathy and alms from passers-by, and
as they walked, or sat on their mats and
begged, hed talk to her constantly about
many things. Little by little she came to
realise that these conversations were
lessons a sort of school and that
Huictons purpose was to teach her to
look deep within herself and find her
gifts. He claimed no magical abilities of
his own, but without his encouragement
and advice, Tozi knew she would never
have had enough confidence to learn
how to send the fog, or read minds, or
command animals.
He was not always with her.
Sometimes the cunning old spy would
vanish from Tenochtitlan for days on end
as completely as if he did, after all,
possess some magic. He never gave any
explanation or warning. He was just
gone she presumed to take the
intelligence hed gathered to King Neza
in Texcoco.
It had been during one of these
periods of absence, much longer than
usual, that Moctezumas catchers had
seized Tozi and put her in the fattening
pen. But now, the morning after the
terrible orgy of sacrifices on the great
pyramid of Tenochtitlan, she was back
and reunited with Huicton.
Im so sorry I was gone when you
were taken, he hastened to tell her. My
master King Neza died and problems
arose. His eldest son Ishtlil should have
become king in his place but Moctezuma
preferred the younger son Cacama and
put him on the throne instead.
Even in the fattening pen, Tozi had
heard rumours of the recent events in
Texcoco. So do you serve Cacama
now? she asked.
No! Certainly not! Cacama is a yes-
man who does whatever Moctezuma
tells him. But Ishtlil has a mind of his
own like his father. Rather than accept
the new state of affairs, he broke away,
seized control of Texcocos mountain
provinces and declared a rebellion. Hes
at war with both Cacama and
Moctezuma, and that war has grown
bloody in the months youve been
imprisoned. Huicton glanced uneasily at
the crowds passing by on the causeway
and his voice fell to an almost inaudible
whisper. I support the cause of Ishtlil,
he confided. Hes become my new
master and I do my spying for him now
A dangerous task much more
dangerous than before.
Tozi understood the need for
discretion. Numbering in their
thousands, Moctezumas secret police
walked the streets of Tenochtitlan in
plain clothes, listening and watching for
any hint of sedition. They could be in
any crowd, at any time. Even here. It
was this change of circumstances,
Huicton continued, that kept me away
from Tenochtitlan for so long and when I
returned youd been taken. An
apologetic grimace: I looked for you, I
discovered what had happened, I even
learned where they were keeping you,
but there was nothing I could do except
work for the destruction of Moctezuma.
He tried to poison Ishtlil, you know. At
least I managed to foil that plot! And I
continued to have faith in you, my little
Tozi, and to believe that somehow you
would make yourself free. You always
had great powers
Not great enough to escape from the
fattening pen! Tozi whispered. I would
have died yesterday on the killing stone
but Hummingbird saved me.
Hummingbird himself!
Consternation crossed the old mans
face. I dont understand you, child.
What do you mean, Hummingbird saved
you?
I couldnt escape from the pen, Tozi
said, no matter how hard I tried. I could
never fade for long enough, so I was
with all the other women victims brought
for sacrifice yesterday. Last night I
reached the top of the great pyramid.
Moctezuma wielded the obsidian knife.
But Hummingbird intervened to save me,
he showed himself to me, he whispered
in my ear as I whisper in yours now, he
touched me with his fire when lightning
struck his temple, and I was spared
Huictons frown deepened. What did
the god say to you? he asked.
He said Youre mine now.
Youre sure of this?
Sure as I sit here alive beside you!
The god saved me from Moctezumas
knife, Huicton, and he gave me the
power to fade whenever I wish to. I
dont even need the spell of invisibility
any more! But Im not his and I never
will be his! I discovered my purpose
when I was up there on the pyramid
and its to destroy him not to serve him.
The old man looked suddenly weary.
The road to Mictlan is paved with good
intentions just like that, he said. When
you accept a gift from the gods, theres
always a price to pay.
At any other time you would be
right, said Tozi, but Hummingbird is
just one god amongst many and his reign
is nearly over. She gripped the bent old
man by the shoulders: This is the year
that has been foretold, she whispered,
the year One-Reed in which
Quetzalcoatl will return with all his
host. Even now he journeys across the
eastern ocean to overthrow
Hummingbird and end the rule of
Moctezuma forever. I can see you doubt
me! Of course you do! I dont blame you.
But what I say is true. I have sure
knowledge of this. Human sacrifices
will end, torture will end, slavery will
end, pain and suffering will end, and we
who are alive at this time will witness
the dawn of a new age. Will you not
believe me?
You sound so certain, said Huicton.
There was hope in his voice, but also
sadness.
I am certain! This is the year One-
Reed! All those who are with
Moctezuma will fall and all those who
are against him will rise. Your new
master Ishtlil of Texcoco will rise. The
Tlascalans will rise. The power of the
Mexica will be broken.
On the busy causeway, few of the
prosperous passers-by even glanced at
the beggars who were too far beneath
their contempt to be noticed. Tozi put her
lips close to Huictons ear. I could kill
Moctezuma, she whispered. I could
enter the palace without being seen, pass
easily through the walls of his
bedchamber and cut his throat while he
sleeps.
The old man thought about it for a
while, staring straight ahead over the
waters of Lake Texcoco with his milky,
deceptive eyes. Finally, speaking so
quietly Tozi had to strain to hear him, he
said: Its tempting but I advise against
it. And for two reasons. First, you have
magic Ive always known that and I
can see that its more powerful now than
ever before. But Moctezuma is
surrounded by his own sorcerers, who
work to protect him from magical attacks
of the kind youre contemplating. Some
of them may be stronger than you have
become, even with this gift youve
received from Hummingbird
Tozi shook her head vigorously.
Their strength cannot match mine, she
said, not boasting but simply expressing
the quiet confidence she felt.
Huicton looked at her with
disapproval: Never be too sure of
yourself, he said. In this world of the
strong and the weak there is always
someone stronger than ourselves. If you
encounter such a one in your invisible
form, it might be you, not Hummingbird,
who is destroyed
She began to voice an objection, but
he held up his hand palm outward to
silence her. I know you do not imagine
this could happen, but Tozi, please
believe me when I say that it can and that
you even you! can be snuffed out like
the flickering flame of a lamp or
imprisoned in some sorcerous realm
from which you can never escape. How
then would you work for the return of
Quetzalcoatl? What then would be the
fate of the good you hope to accomplish
with your powers? Again he waved her
to silence. Besides, he continued,
theres a second reason to leave
Moctezuma alive and this is simply that
hes the worst Speaker the Mexica have
had in a hundred years. If you were to
succeed in killing him, its a plain fact
that anyone else they might put on the
throne when hes dead Coaxoch,
Cuitlhuac, even Guatemoc would do
a better job than him. If were truly to
bring the Mexica and their evil god
down, and if youre willing to use these
new powers of yours in ways you may
not have thought of yet, then
Moctezumas weaknesses and failings,
his superstitions and his fears can be
made to serve our interests
Tozi thought about it and decided that
what Huicton was saying made a strange
kind of sense.
Youre right, she agreed after a
moment. Maybe the fool is more use to
us alive than dead!
He is, said Huicton. You will see.
Now come We need to plan this
carefully. I have a place where we can
talk without risk of being overheard.
Hummingbird did not appear again after
Moctezuma freed the woman and the girl
and he began to fear that despite the
great harvest of victims he had offered
he had somehow lost the favour of the
god.
Sure proof of this was not long
coming.
On the morning of the second day after
the holocaust, a royal messenger
spattered with dirt and blood and, in the
last stages of exhaustion, stumbled into
Tenochtitlan along the Iztapalapa
causeway. He was brought directly to
the palace where he prostrated himself
on the floor of the audience chamber in
the normal manner, but was overcome by
emotion and stammered uncontrollably.
I I There has been The Lord
Coaxoch has
Speak, man! Moctezuma urged. You
have nothing to fear
The messenger sobbed and attempted
to grasp the royal feet with his grimy
hands, producing a stern rebuke from
Cuitlhuac who was also present in the
chamber.
You have nothing to fear, Moctezuma
said again. Give us your report.
It took a long while, and many such
reassurances, before the messenger was
sufficiently calm to speak. The giant
field army mobilised by the Serpent
Woman with the ambitious goal of
seizing a further hundred thousand
Tlascalan victims for sacrifice was no
more. Two of the regiments, sixteen
thousand men, had been lured away by a
clever ruse and massacred in the eastern
foothills of Iztaccihuatl. The other two
regiments, together with tens of
thousands of camp followers, had been
surrounded at the muster point and
annihilated. Inevitably some Mexica had
escaped the fighting, and were presently
limping back to Tenochtitlan, but their
numbers were not thought to exceed
three thousand. About a thousand more
had been taken prisoner and reserved for
sacrifice. It was clear, however, that the
Tlascalans primary goal was not to
accumulate captives but to kill great
numbers of their enemies on the
battlefield. In this they had succeeded.
Who were the Tlascalan generals?
Moctezuma asked, his voice sounding
strangely thin and cold in his own ears.
Shikotenka the younger, lord, the
messenger stammered, his father
Shikotenka the elder, and the Lord
Maxixcatzin.
Moctezuma sat silent on his throne.
These were no mere generals but the
three most powerful men in Tlascala, the
younger Shikotenka being the battle-king,
the older Shikotenka being the civil king
and Maxixcatzin being the deputy to
both.
And what of the Serpent Woman?
What of his sons?
All amongst the dead, lord.
Cuitlhuac stepped forward and
addressed the messenger directly. My
own son Guatemoc was with the Serpent
Womans army, he said. Do you know
his fate?
He lives, lord, though badly
wounded and, I regret to report, close to
death. Some of his men survived and
carried him away from the battlefield.
He is with them now, returning to
Tenochtitlan in a well-protected caravan
attended by surgeons, may the gods
preserve him.
May the gods preserve him, echoed
Cuitlhuac.
Seeing his brothers expectant look,
Moctezuma, too, repeated the time-
honoured formula. The truth was, though,
hed never cared for his warrior
nephew. Guatemoc was handsome,
charismatic and virile. These qualities
already made him a threat to the
succession since Moctezuma had many
daughters by his wives and many sons by
his concubines, but only one legitimate
son, the sickly boy Chimalpopoca, who
was not yet four years old. Worse, the
high esteem in which Guatemoc was
held by the public and his wild,
ambitious nature so different from
Cuitlhuacs stolid loyalty and complete
lack of personal popularity made him a
threat to Moctezuma himself. All in all,
therefore, it would have been better if
the Tlascalans had succeeded in killing
him. Still, with luck, he would die on the
journey. Youve done well, he told the
messenger. You may go.
The wretched man crawled gratefully
backwards out of the audience chamber.
Moctezuma waited until the door closed
behind him before he turned to
Cuitlhuac. You have my permission to
go to your son, he said. Meet him on
the road, speed his journey and bring
him to the royal hospital. My surgeons
can work wonders.
Cuitlhuac bowed. Thank you,
brother. I will leave at once.
Yes, yes, of course. But before you
go, Moctezuma ordered, kindly arrange
to have that messenger strangled. We
have lost an entire field army. I cannot
forgive the bearer of such terrible
news.
During the next days, as the survivors of
the carnage in Tlascala straggled back to
Tenochtitlan and the Mexica began to
count the cost of their first real defeat in
battle, Moctezuma became ever more
deeply convinced that all his problems
were connected to the powerful
strangers who had appeared on the coast
of the Yucatn four months before. They
must indeed be the retinue of
Quetzalcoatl and it must therefore be
true that the bearded god was about to
return and in this very year One-Reed,
as had long ago been prophesied. Since
the Mexica had strayed far from his
ways, it was not to be wondered that he
had given the Tlascalans so significant
and unprecedented a triumph. Even so,
the fact remained that Hummingbird had
driven Quetzalcoatl out from the land of
Mexico in times gone by and Moctezuma
clung to the hope that he would do so
again. He remembered the promise the
war god had made to him in the temple:
You have nothing to fear for I fight at
your side I will bring you victory.
It seemed unlikely that promise would
still be kept, now he had lost
Hummingbirds favour. But might there
not be something he could do, some
great sacrifice he could make, that
would win back the approval of the god?
Moctezumas attempts to meditate on
the problem and find the right solution
were constantly interrupted by the more
mundane distractions of running his
empire with all its dangers and rivalries.
On the morning of the fourth day after
the battle with the Tlascalans,
Cuitlhuac brought Guatemoc into the
city and installed him in a richly
furnished room in the royal hospital.
Moctezuma summoned Mecatl, his
personal physician, who informed him
from the floor of the audience chamber
that the upstart prince would live.
Live, you say? I heard he was close
to death.
He is young, sire, he is strong, and
Lord Cuitlhuac took three of my best
surgeons with him to meet the caravan.
The fool swelled with pride. I trained
them personally, sire. They did their
jobs. Undoubtedly the prince will live.
Come closer, Mecatl, hissed
Moctezuma.
A worried expression crossed the fat
surgeons face as he shuffled on his
knees to the side of the throne. Have I
offended you, sire?
Moctezuma ignored the question.
Know this, he said, and know your
life depends on your silence. It is better
for the peace of the realm if young
Guatemoc does not live.
Mecatl gasped. His shiny bald head
glistened. A pulse of body odour rose
from beneath his robes. Yes, sire Do
you wish me, then, to ?
Moctezuma placed his thumb and
forefinger beneath his nostrils to block
the smell of fear wafting from the
surgeon. Nothing drastic, Mecatl.
Nothing sudden. Nothing like the
haemorrhaging venom we planned for
Ishtlil. Nothing that would arouse
suspicion. Some subtle poison that will
sap Guatemocs strength little by little,
would be my recommendation, so that
his relapse is gradual, spread over days,
and his death, when it comes, appears a
natural thing. Poor boy. His injuries
were grave. He struggled mightily but in
the end he was overcome You get the
idea?
Mecatl gulped. Yes, sire.
And you can administer such a
poison?
Yes, sire, but Lord Cuitlhuac has
told us he will stay by Guatemocs side
until he has more fully recovered. He
has ordered that a bed be brought for
him into the princes chamber. His
presence will make it more difficult to
do what you ask.
We are in a time of crisis,
Moctezuma said. Lord Cuitlhuac has
urgent State duties to perform that will
stop him playing nursemaid to his son.
We will allow him that privilege today
but from tomorrow Ill see to it hes kept
busy with other things.
Thank you, sire.
I hope you understand me well,
Mecatl?
I I I think so, sir.
Do what I have commanded, work
the death of Guatemoc so it seems
natural, and I will reward you. Fail in
this task, allow anyone else to know of
our little arrangement, raise the slightest
suspicion, and you will die.
Mecatl gulped again.
Go now, said Moctezuma, still
holding his thumb and forefinger beneath
his nose. Report progress to me daily.
He felt a moment of quiet satisfaction
as he watched the perspiring surgeon
leave. He even began to hope things
would soon start to go his way again.
But within an hour his spies brought
news to the palace of the recurrence of
an omen of impending doom that had
first troubled him a year earlier a
woman had passed through the streets of
Tenochtitlan during the night, lamenting
loudly, heard by many but seen by none.
A year ago there had only been the sound
of her weeping, but last night as she
passed she had cried out in a terrifying
voice, My children, we must flee far
away from this city My children,
where shall I take you?
On the morning of Tuesday 23 February,
the fifth day after the expeditionary fleet
had made its hasty departure from
Santiago, the lookouts sighted a large
island. Those who had been here before
with the Crdoba expedition
immediately recognised it as Cozumel.
Beyond it to the west, stretching away
into the hazy distance, lay a mainland of
vast size and proportions.
Observing the prospect from the
navigation deck of his great carrack, the
San Sebastin, Pedro de Alvarado felt a
quiet sense of satisfaction. It was
unfortunate Corts was not here to share
this moment, but the fact was the
discovery of the New Lands had begun.
As to Corts, God only knew what had
happened to him. Had he been sent to the
bottom of the sea in the storm? Was he
drowned? Was he shipwrecked? Was he
lost? Only time would tell. Meanwhile
the conquest must go on, and Alvarado
intended to make certain it did.
He turned to his good friend Father
Gaspar Muoz, whom hed freed from
the brig on their first day at sea and with
whom he was now getting along
famously. Not that Alvarado cared much
for religious types but the Father was an
exception a hard man, no doubt, even a
cruel man, if his reputation was anything
to go by, but in many ways a man after
his own heart. Looking forward to your
return, Father? he asked. Im told you
converted the whole population when
you came with Crdoba.
Muoz was glaring at the island, his
eyes screwed up against the spears of
bright sunlight reflecting off the water. I
had some success when our soldiers
were amongst them, he said. But that
was last year. I shall wish to discover if
theyve stayed true to Christ since we
left.
Alvarado nodded. Hed heard how
Muoz treated converts who lapsed back
to paganism and he thoroughly approved.
You had to take a tough line with
savages. Still, he was curious. Forgive
me for asking, Father, he said, but how
can you be sure youve converted the
heathens at all when they dont speak our
language and you dont speak theirs?
You had no interpreters on the Crdoba
expedition.
Muoz gave him a strange look. It was
a look, Alvarado thought, that a lesser
man might even have found chilling.
It is a matter my order has studied, the
friar said eventually. As you can
imagine, we frequently find ourselves as
missionaries in lands where there is no
common tongue. We have developed
certain methods, certain techniques and
signs, to overcome these difficulties.
Naturally we require our converts to
destroy their idols. A fanatical glint
appeared in Muozs eye. The zeal with
which they do this or their lack of it
speaks volumes. Then there are the
symbols of our own faith. If they accept
the cross and an image of the Virgin with
glad hearts, we take it as sure evidence
of conversion and after we are gone the
sacred symbols continue to work
wonders.
So these Cozumel Indians they
were happy to destroy their idols?
Most happy. And they understood
they must desist in future from the vile
cult of human sacrifice did you know it
is the practice of the Indians throughout
these New Lands to cut out mens hearts
and offer them to the devils they worship
as gods?
So I had heard, conceded Alvarado.
I ended that abomination on Cozumel
and afterwards we had the savages
whitewash the blood from the walls of
their temple and put the cross and an
image of the virgin in the place where
their principal idols had stood. That
fanatic gleam again. It will anger me if
there has been any relapse.
It will be all the easier to detect
relapse, Alvarado offered, and make
fresh converts now we have our own
interpreter. He nodded in the direction
of the main deck, where the Indian
kidnapped during the Crdoba
expedition sat hunched in conversation
with the young ensign Bernal Daz, the
farmboy whom Corts had promoted
above his station to the rank of ensign.
Interpreter? Muoz said. His moist
upper lip retracted to expose protruding
yellow teeth as he sneered at the Indian.
That creature has no Castilian at all, so
I fail to see how he can interpret
anything.
Perhaps a slight exaggeration,
Alvarado thought. During the creatures
enforced stay in Santiago, it had
acquired a smattering of Castilian, but it
frequently misused the few words it
knew, and spoke with an accent so thick
as to be almost unintelligible. Was it
even fully human? It had crossed eyes
and long greasy hair hanging in a fringe
over a low, sloping brow. It walked with
a deep stoop, its knuckles trailing
apelike almost to the ground.
Still, it would have to serve. Muoz
might face problems getting it to convey
the rarefied spiritual notions he dealt in,
but as long as it could put the words
bring out your gold into the native
tongue, the stinking creature would be
some use to Alvarado.
The Indians name was Cit Bolon Tun
but the Spaniards those few who spoke
to him at all called him Little Julian.
This shunning of the man, and his
treatment by most as though he were
lower than a dog, partly explained why
he had learned so little of the Castilian
tongue. But there was also, Daz sensed,
a stubborn, rebellious streak about him.
Most likely he simply did not want to
learn the language of his oppressors,
preferring to sulk and slouch, his squint
eyes locked on the tip of his own nose,
watching everything but making as little
effort as possible to become useful.
Daz had done what he could to
remedy this state of affairs on the four-
day voyage from Santiago, making a
concerted effort to add to Little Julians
vocabulary this is called a dog, this
is a horse, this is a mast, those are
called waves, that bird there is a
seagull, and so on and so forth. As a
campaigner from the Crdoba expedition
himself, Daz had been present when
Little Julian was captured during a great
battle fought on the outskirts of a town
named Potonchan, but other than that
name, which stuck in his memory, and
the name of Julians tribe, the Chontal
Maya, he knew next to nothing about the
people and culture of the region, except
that they were savages who practised the
disgusting rite of human sacrifice.
During the voyage, in return for the
language lessons Daz had given, Julian
had added to this information, telling
him that the Chontal Maya were just one
part of a great confederation of Maya
tribes. The land they inhabited, the
Yucatn, another name Daz recalled
from the year before, was a very
extensive country of jungles filled with
wild beasts including deer which
Little Julian insisted were a species of
horse and panthers, as well as many
other creatures large and small, fierce
and timid, that were unknown to
Spaniards. The jungles were
interspersed by cultivated gardens and
farms where the main crop, maize, was
one that Daz had already tasted in Cuba
even before his part in the Crdoba
expedition. As he had seen with his own
eyes, there were also great towns and
even cities in the Yucatn, of which
Potonchan was one. There Julians two
wives and seven children awaited his
return, and it was his hope, Daz
learned, that he would be allowed to
rejoin his family if and when the present
expedition once again made its way to
Potonchan.
Do they even speak your language
here? Daz asked, pointing to Cozumel
now less than five miles dead ahead. It
would be their first port of call, just as it
had been the first port of call for the
Crdoba expedition.
Cozumel peoples is Maya, Julian
replied. I speak them like my own
home.
Good. Very good. Daz clapped the
squint-eyed Indian on his narrow
shoulder, then stood and walked forward
to the forecastle for a better look at the
island he had visited last year, now
revealing itself as a large, tear-shaped
landmass, narrowing to a point in the
north but a good six miles wide in the
south and twenty-five or thirty miles in
length. Densely overgrown with lush
green tropical forest, it appeared, for the
most part, to be flat and featureless, but
in the northeast a fair-sized town of
whitewashed, flat-roofed dwellings was
visible on a low hill. As was the case
with the few other Indian towns that
Daz had visited with Crdoba, a stone
pyramid surmounted by a squat dark
temple stood at the highest point.
In the Daz familys farmhouse near
the Castilian town of Medina del
Campo, there had hung a painting of the
three famous pyramids of Egypt,
inherited by Bernals father from his
great grandfather, who had in turn so
the story went inherited it from an even
more antique relative who had been on
the crusades to the Holy Land and had, at
some time, passed through Egypt.
Bernals own memory of the painting
was faint, but it was enough to confirm
for him that the pyramids of the New
Lands belonged to the same general
class of objects as the Egyptian
pyramids. The latter, however, had no
temples on their summits, which rose to
a sharp point, whereas in these New
Lands and Cozumel was no exception
all pyramids were built in a series of
steps with flat and spacious summits
often accommodating large structures.
Daz could not forget the
dismembered bodies and blood-
splashed temple walls that had
confronted him when he had first
climbed to the top of the great pyramid
of Cozumel a scene that was all the
more surprising for being so at odds
with the seemingly friendly nature and
gentle character of the islands
inhabitants. Equally terrible had been
Muozs fury at this proof not only of
idolatry but also of human sacrifice. In
view of the brutal chastisement of the
natives that had followed, it was little
wonder theyd converted so quickly and
so willingly to the faith of Christ. Daz
hoped for their sakes, now Muoz was
returning, that theyd not relapsed.
After two hours more easy sailing in a
light following wind, the San Sebastin
rounded a headland and Cozumels good
anchorage revealed itself at the foot of
the hill on which the town was built. The
protected bay edged by palm trees
presented an idyllic scene, the long,
crescent-shaped beach of white sand
packed with brown-skinned natives,
many as naked as the day they were
born, the more senior men in
breachclouts, their women in simple
blouses and skirts, and every one of
them cheering and waving as though the
Spaniards were long-lost brothers
returning to the fold.
How sweet and innocent they were!
So different from the warlike mainland
tribes of the Yucatn encountered by the
Crdoba expedition when it had sailed
on from here last year tribes like the
Chontal Maya from which Little Julian
hailed.
Daz heard a scuffle of bare feet and
turned to see the cross-eyed interpreter
had come forward silently and joined
him on the forecastle. But Julian wasnt
looking ahead at the crowded beach.
Instead he was looking back along the
ship to the navigation deck, where
Father Muoz still stood side by side
with Don Pedro de Alvarado.
A sudden epiphany afforded Daz a
glimpse of the captain and the friar as
the Indian must see them now, both of
them greedy and both hungry, the one for
human souls, the other for gold both of
them monsters who would stop at
nothing, who would have no
compunction, who would do anything,
anything at all, to gratify their desires.
Muoz placed his hand on Alvarados
shoulder and moved his fingers down in
a manner peculiarly intimate to touch the
captains broken left arm where it hung,
bandaged and splinted, in the sling
fashioned by Dr La Pea. Some
wordless communication seemed to be
exchanged, then the friar turned, strode
down the steps to the main deck and
climbed through the hatch into the hold,
the black sackcloth of his habit merging
seamlessly with the shadows below.
Above, the coarse yells and work songs
of the sailors filled the air as the San
Sebastin dropped anchor in the bay of
Cozumel. Below, in the tiny dark prayer
cell that Pedro de Alvarado had caused
to be built for him in the bowels of the
great carrack, Father Gaspar Muoz
knelt naked on the bare boards,
repeatedly flagellating his own back
with the knotted cords of a cat-tail whip,
beating himself with such force that
streams of blood poured down over his
buttocks and thighs. Lacerations he had
inflicted a few days before, and that had
begun to scab over and heal, burst open
again under the scourging, and new
wounds opened up amongst them until
his flesh was a mass of blood and
bruises.
He welcomed the pain welcomed it
and embraced it like a lover and when
it reached its crescendo he experienced,
as he always did, a sudden detachment
of soul from body, and entered into a
state of holy and mystical union with the
divine. A luminescence flared in the
darkness, spreading and opening like the
petals of some great night-blooming
flower, and out of its midst, floating
towards him and crossing in an instant
the impossible distance between heaven
and earth, appeared the shining figure of
Saint Peter.
Though gratified, Muoz was not
surprised, for the saint had chosed to
commune with him in these moments of
ecstasy, and sometimes in dreams, since
his first visit to Cozumel last year. The
purpose of their mystical encounters had
been made clear from the outset. Muoz
had been called to do Gods work in the
New Lands and the work was so
important that Peter himself, the rock on
whom Christ built his church, had been
sent to guide him.
Now, as his glowing form filled the
darkened prayer cell, the saint laid his
huge hand on Muozs head, the warm,
calloused palm bearing down, sending a
tingling vibration through the kneeling
friars tonsured crown, through his skull
and into his brain, penetrating his spine
with a liquid glowing heat that diffused
rapidly to all parts of his body and rose
to a delicious peak as it entered his
member of shame.
Are you ready, asked the saint, to
begin the great work?
I am ready, Holiness, Muoz
murmured, yet I fear I am not worthy.
You are worthy, my son. I have told
you this many times before.
But I have desires, Holy Father.
Unnatural desires. Are they not sinful?
When you do the work of God, said
Saint Peter, there is no sin in it.
Yes, Holiness. Muoz laid the
scourge by his knees on the floor and
now peered with hope into the saints
coal-black eyes. May I go out then,
tonight, and take a child?
A glint of fire sparked in the black
depths of those eyes. To take a child so
soon after the fleet has anchored would
excite suspicion even amongst your
fellow Spaniards and that would not
serve our interests. You must proceed
with stealth and be seen to go about your
normal business. Today you will inquire
into the progress of our sacred faith
since you first planted it here. You will
find it has withered on the vine while the
worship of idols and the cult of human
sacrifice have flourished in your
absence. Tomorrow you will punish
these abominations. On the third day, in
the uproar that follows, you may take a
child. Afterwards wait a day, then take
another.
Thank you, Holy Father. You are
generous.
One thing further, my son
Yes, Holiness.
I saved Corts from the storm. Even
now he makes sail for Cozumel.
Muoz was suddenly confused, his
head spinning: You saved him, Father.
Why? I had hoped I had seen the last of
him. He is not the right man to lead this
expedition! With Alvarado as captain-
general, I would be so much better
placed to do Gods work in the New
Lands.
The pressure of Peters hand on
Muozs head increased. It was as
though a great weight forced him down.
Such matters are not for you to decide,
the saint said, or even involve yourself
in.
But, Holiness, I must object
You object? Saint Peters voice
became a roar like thunder and wind.
Take care, Muoz, for you are a mere
man and you enter deep waters here.
Wade another step and you may drown

Muoz whimpered. The pressure on

his head was unbearable. He felt himself
driven down through the rough planks of
the floor. I am sorry, Holy Father. In my
zeal for God I spoke beyond my station.
The pressure was lifted as quickly as
it had been applied. You are forgiven,
my son. But you must reach an
accommodation with Corts. You and he
are my sword and my shield in these
New Lands. You have both been called
according to Gods purpose.
A man like Corts, Muoz thought,
called to Gods purpose? How can that
be?
This is not given to mortal man to
know, replied Saint Peter, from whom
nothing was hidden. It is a secret thing
that belongs to the Lord our God.
The saints glow was beginning to
fade, his immense spirit withdrawing to
heaven whence it came. Know that I
visit Corts in his dreams, he said as he
slipped away, know that I speak with
him. Know he loves me, even as you
love me. And know that all things work
together for good to them that love God

It was the afternoon of Tuesday 23

February, the fifth day since their
departure from Santiago de Cuba. Five
days! Corts thought. Five bloody days!
Alaminos had estimated that Cozumel
lay not much more than three hundred
nautical miles due west of Santiago, and
under normal conditions it should have
been possible to sail such a distance in
four days. Instead here was Cortss
proud flagship the Santa Mara, quite
alone in the midst of the ocean sea, and
with at least two days hard sailing still
ahead of her!
It was the storm on that wild night of
Thursday 18 February that had changed
everything. Miraculously all the horses,
braced in their stalls by slings under
their bellies, had lived through it without
serious injury, and only one man had
been lost; the toll could have been so
much higher! But once the wind and the
waves had died down it became clear
that the Santa Mara had been separated
from the rest of the fleet and blown very
far to the south of her original course
indeed so far south that the next morning,
Friday 19 February, she lay within sight
of the Spanish settlement of Seville on
the north coast of the island of Jamaica.
Theyd been obliged to put in to this
undesirable shanty town filled with rats,
thieves and mosquitos while the ships
carpenter, Martin Lopez, made good the
worst of the storm damage, including a
raging leak below the waterline that
would have sunk them in a few more
hours if theyd attempted to sail on.
The repairs required two days to
complete so theyd not finally been able
to put to sea again until Sunday 21
February, and in the two days since then
theyd made slow progress. The winds
on the voyage had been variable,
sometimes dropping away completely
and leaving them becalmed, as was the
case this afternoon, frustrating Corts,
filling him with impotent rage and
leaving him prey to all manner of
anxieties. His greatest fear was that the
rest of his fleet had been destroyed in the
storm, that his enterprise was therefore
already over before it had begun, and
that his remaining men might force him
to return to Cuba where Diego de
Velzquez waited to hang him.
The only refuge from these
uncharacteristically pessimistic and
negative thoughts was in sleep and, since
there was little else to do, and a dour
humour was upon him, Corts had
resorted to his hammock for what he
hoped would be a lengthy siesta this
afternoon of Tuesday 23 February.
At first, however, sleep eluded him,
and after a short while he understood
why. Although his stateroom had been
restored to its original spacious
dimensions since Pepillo and Melchior
had smashed down and removed the
central partition, the evil emanations of
Father Gaspar Muoz still clung about
the place. In particular they seemed to
arise from the friars four large leather
bags. Miraculously these had not been
washed away when seawater had
flooded in on the night of the storm, and
Corts had retained them with some
vague notion that he might return them to
the Inquisitor when and if they were
reunited.
The bags were stacked side by side in
a corner at the back of the stateroom,
where a jumble of Cortss own
belongings heaps of clothes, a rack of
hanging cloaks, assorted weapons and
miscellaneous sacks and valises
shielded them from common view. Now,
with a sigh, he extricated himself from
his hammock, strode over to the untidy
pile, pulled the bags free from their
hiding place ye gods they were heavy!
and lined them up in the middle of the
floor.
They were padlocked, but that was
scant impediment and their owner, if not
at the bottom of the sea, was too far
away to object. Corts found a short
steel dagger and, after further searching,
a slim crowbar. In less than a minute he
had the bags open.
How strange! Here were flensing
knives, slim and wicked, razor sharp;
here scalpels, each fine blade in its own
miniature leather sheath; here lancets,
here stilettos, here bone saws, here
hatchets, here a selection of butchers
knives as long as a mans forearm, the
blades of some smeared and matted with
dried blood; here cleavers, here daggers
of many different designs, and here were
instruments of torture hooks, screws,
spikes, steel garrottes, heretics forks,
tongue pliers, eye-gouges, hammers and
many more.
Corts could have believed, or could
at any rate have persuaded himself, that
all these ugly devices were possessed
by Muoz for the purposes of his work
as Inquisitor work for the Lord, it
should not be forgotten were it not for
the trophies of human skin and hair that
he also found in the bags, not even
hidden away but simply lying there in
plain view. These appeared to be strips
cut from the scalps of Indians, judging
from the hair thank God not from
Spaniards and though some were
desiccated, others seemed relatively
fresh and exuded a mephitic stink.
Holding his hand over his nose,
Corts placed everything back inside the
bags, closed them as best he could with
the broken padlocks, concealed them
once again at the rear of his stateroom
and retired to his hammock with his
mind in turmoil.
What on earth or in heaven or hell
for that matter was Muoz up to?
Even as this question crossed his
mind, sleep stole up on Corts not with
its usual gentle seduction but brutally
and fiercely and took possession of
him like an enemy seizing a prisoner. As
this happened and his eyelids fluttered
closed, he felt the hair on the back of his
neck rising, as though he were in the
presence of danger, and became
convinced at some deep level of his
awareness that something intelligent,
something that was not human and not
friendly, had entered the stateroom and
now stood over him where he lay in his
hammock.
Im dreaming, he thought. And though
he slept and absolutely knew that he
slept though his body lay paralysed
and he knew he could not move a
muscle, he also knew, with that same
sense of complete certainty, that all his
faculties of reason and memory
remained intact and could be deployed
to probe and perhaps even understand
the high strangeness of the moment. He
remembered his dream of a few days
before when Saint Peter had appeared to
him, and immediately recognised certain
similarities and a familiar flavour to the
experience, most notably the sense of
being both within a dream and an
external observer to it.
But there was nothing familiar about
what happened next.
With the peculiar, sinuous, unfolding
motion of a serpent shedding its skin,
Cortss hammock transformed itself
into a great broad table upon which he
lay immobilised by tight iron shackles
fastened around his ankles, knees, wrists
and elbows. An intense crackling,
buzzing sound filled his ears and, instead
of the timber ceiling of his stateroom, he
found himself looking up at an immense
flat object, completely covered in
intricate geometrical patterns somewhat
like a huge painting, that hung suspended
over his body and occupied his entire
field of vision. His eyes followed the
patterns which he now saw were formed
from very fine lines, or filaments, brick-
red in colour, etched into or in some
other way fixed upon an ivory
background, forming boundaries or
tracks, between which were placed
multitudes of bone-white clock faces
with strangely bent and twisted black
hands pointing to hours and minutes.
It was terrifying, although Corts
could not at first understand why, until it
came to him that this colossal,
convoluted, labyrinthine, machine-like
image was sentient and that its attention
was focussed upon him in a manner
hellish and menacing. He thought he
glimpsed a hint of eyes and of vibrating
antennae, like those of some great
predatory insect, and he began to feel
deeply uncomfortable and restless. But
he was unable to struggle against the
irons that held him in place.
Then again subtly and sinuously
the scene began to change, the giant
effigy faded from view and Corts, who
still felt himself to be both inside and
outside the dream at the same time, a
participant and yet also an observer,
caught glimpses of the space in which he
was confined. Whatever and wherever it
might be, this vast and umbral chamber,
its floor littered with the rusting hulks of
strange engines, its smoke-blackened
walls dimly lit by flickering sulphurous
flames, was no longer his stateroom, no
longer, perhaps, even of this earth, but a
place of horror where hunched fiends
darted towards him through the shadows,
chattering furiously in unknown tongues
as they surrounded the table on which he
lay prone and immobile.
Stop, Corts wanted to shout,
Please stop this! Show me no more!
But the words could not escape his
mouth. Instead, seeming to emanate from
everywhere and nowhere within the
colossal, echoing chamber, he heard a
rumbling, portentous voice, deep and
ominous, yet filled with a sort of
malicious glee, that said to him plainly
and clearly: Youre mine now. And as
though this were a signal, the figures
surrounding him fell upon him and he
had the sense that his body was nothing
more than some huge, bloated cocoon
and that these hunched, faceless beings
were all over it, tearing it apart, clawing
away lumps of matter and throwing them
aside, gaining access to the real Corts,
the hidden Corts, the demonic, sinful,
wilfully wicked Corts that he had
striven so hard for so many years to
conceal from the world.
And he thought: This is the place of
absolute truth. This is the place where
everything about me is known. This is
the place where every thought and
every deed throughout my whole life is
utterly transparent. This is the place
where I am to be weighed and measured
and found wanting. But at that very
instant, as the last vestiges of his
protective outer husk were stripped
away, Corts heard another voice clear
and pure, strong and filled with joy, that
announced in the tones of a proclamation
at court: Now the great transformation
will begin! And suddenly Saint Peter
was with him, Saint Peter his saviour,
Saint Peter his protector, Saint Peter his
guardian, and he felt himself swept up
from that hellish table and that infernal
realm into the high blue empyrean, up,
up to some immeasurable height from
which he looked down upon the green,
sparkling ocean and there, far below
him, dancing across the waves, sails
billowing in a good following wind that
must have sprung up while he slept, was
his own fair and elegant Santa Mara
speeding towards the New Lands.
Come, said Saint Peter, let me show
you that all is well for those called to
Gods purpose, and he cradled Corts
in his huge hands, and carried him off
through the vault of the firmament,
across the face of the ocean, and brought
him down in the blink of an eye to a
great green island and a sheltered sandy
bay lined with waving palms. In the bay,
safe at anchor, with Alvarados San
Sebastin in pride of place, bobbed the
carracks and caravels and brigantines of
the expeditionary fleet all ten of the
lost ships intact after the storm, though
some were wave battered, their crews
busy on deck, squads of soldiers in
armour going ashore to be welcomed
and presented with bright garlands by
great crowds of smiling and seemingly
friendly Indians.
Above the bay rose a low, wooded
hill, skirted by fields and capped by a
town of white-walled, flat-roofed
houses. At the centre of the town loomed
a great stone tower in the form of a
pyramid and on its summit squatted a
dark, ugly building. That, said Saint
Peter, is the temple of the heathens. And
this man in a trice the saint brought
Corts down to the bay again where
Father Gaspar Muoz stood on the
strand is the cure for their idolatry.
Tall and severe in his black robes, his
face shining with the uncompromising
light of faith, Muoz held aloft the cross
of Christ.
By this sign you shall conquer, Saint
Peter whispered, and in a flash Muoz,
the bay, the ships all dissolved, as
though they were no more substantial
than mist, and Corts awoke in his
hammock in his stateroom, sweat
pouring in rivulets from his body, his
heart thudding in his chest and the light
of late afternoon pouring in through the
open window.
He sensed the onward rush of the
ship, heard the creak of the masts and the
flap of the sails in a fair following wind
and knew that in some sense his dream
had touched on true things.
But what did it all mean?
What was that terrible shadowy
chamber he had found himself in, where
his soul had been stripped bare? What
spiritual horror had Saint Peter rescued
him from? And was he to understand that
not just the promise of a successful
conquest, but the price of his own
eternal salvation, was some
accommodation with that foul creature
Muoz, whose bags of blood-blackened
knives and grisly human trophies seemed
to lurk in hiding like savage beasts in
their corner of the stateroom?
Muoz had been holding up the big
wooden cross all afternoon, making it a
rallying point for the men as they
disembarked. Around a hundred and fifty
of them had assembled behind him now,
most wearing the colourful garlands of
fragrant flowers hung around their necks
by the happy crowds of welcoming
islanders. Astonishingly, these bare-
arsed Cozumel Indians were actually
singing and dancing with joy at the sight
of the Spaniards, and had already
brought basketloads of food and drink to
the beach for their refreshment. Fools!
thought Alvarado. The smiles would be
on the other side of their faces once
everything of value they possessed had
been transferred to him but meanwhile,
he had to admit, their nave gentleness
was useful and made his job easier.
The same could not be said for
Muoz, who had already commandeered
that squint-eyed ape Little Julian,
slouching near him on the sand, for what
he clearly intended to be a major
investigation of the health of the faith on
Cozumel. That was all very well, of
course Alvarado had no philosophical
objections but experience on
Hispaniola and Cuba proved that
searches of temples, the destruction of
idols and other such business of the
Inquisition stirred up resentment in these
native races, and that once resentful they
were inclined to hide their gold.
Alvarado had already assembled two
hundred soldiers, all eager for booty,
and now strolled over to Muoz and
took him aside. Ill be needing these
men, he said with an eye to the column
lined up awaiting the friars orders, and
the interpreter.
You may not have them, said Muoz
somewhat pompously. I intend to search
the temple. I must know the fate of the
cross and the icon of the Virgin I left
here last year. I cant do such work
alone.
Your search of the temple can wait
until tomorrow, Father. In Cortss
continuing absence I am captain-general
here and my need is greater than yours.
Ha! What need?
Alvarado looked up. The sun was
distinctly in the western sector of the
sky. It had taken much longer than
expected to prepare the fleet for a full-
scale landing at Cozumel and get
sufficient men disembarked. There were
now less than three hours of daylight left
and he wanted every house in the town
searched before darkness fell. Today
we look for gold, he said. Tomorrow
Ill give you all the men you need to
save souls. He rested his hand on the
hilt of the great falchion hanging in its
scabbard at his waist. Dont try to
gainsay me, Father, he added somewhat
sternly. Ill have my way on this with
your agreement or without it.
Daz could feel the atmosphere changing,
the islanders becoming more agitated
and suspicious with every passing
minute as the squads of conquistadors
went from house to house turning
everything upside down, often brutally,
with vulgarity and anger. He did
everything in his power to be polite,
respectful, even apologetic as his own
men played their sorry part in the
searches, but the fact was that nothing
like this had happened here last year and
the Indians were unprepared.
Not that everything was roses,
Alonso de La Serna reminded him.
Muoz gutted their temple and smashed
their idols and generally gave them hell.
They were the lucky ones! said
Francisco Mibiercas, whose unusually
broad shoulders and muscular arms
were the result of hours of daily practice
with the espadn, the long, two-handed
sword that hung in a scabbard at his
back. Compared with what he did down
the coast at Potonchan, he was an angel
of mercy here.
La Serna rolled his eyes. He was a
tall, clever, cynical young man with a
mop of fair hair, his otherwise handsome
face marked by the scars of an old
smallpox infection, and like all of them
he hated Muoz. Compared with what
he did at Potonchan, he said, the devil
himself would have seemed an angel of
mercy.
Daz could only agree. The three of
them had been together at Potonchan
when Muozs excessive zeal had so
provoked the Chontal Maya that they had
risen in their thousands, killed more than
seventy of Crdobas conquistadors and
fatally wounded Crdoba himself. But at
Cozumel, which Crdoba had planned to
cultivate as a safe haven, Muoz had
been kept on a short leash, and the
soldiery had been strictly enjoined
against looting.
All of which went to explain why the
fleet had been welcomed earlier today
and why looks of stupefaction, hurt and
disappointment had wiped the glow from
the Indians faces. Sprawling over the
islands only hilltop, its narrow streets
running higgledy-piggledy between rows
of simple whitewashed adobe homes,
the town of Cozumel had perhaps two
thousand inhabitants. Every one of them
men, women and children who not
long before had been hanging garlands
around the Spaniards necks now stood
by, sullen and resentful, as their simple
possessions, consisting mostly of bales
of cloth, cotton garments and wall
hangings of little value, crude ceramics,
green-stone ornaments, and a few
objects of copper, as well as a handful
of trussed turkeys, were turned out,
raked over and trampled into the dust.
God help us if Corts does not
return, said La Serna, with a nod
towards Alvarado, who was storming
through the streets, followed by his
personal crew of hardened, brutal
killers, demanding gold, gold, gold.
The blond-haired captain did not seem
able to understand that a place like
Cozumel could never be, and had never
been, rich in that substance. Im told
hes a gifted swordsman, said
Mibiercas wistfully, but hes not the
stuff of which a good captain-general is
made.
As they watched, Alvarado loudly
cursed his broken left arm which hung
uselessly in a sling, turned to Little
Julian, who was doing his best to keep
up with him, drew the big falchion he
liked to carry and dealt the interpreter a
hard blow to the buttocks with the flat of
the blade. Julian squealed and jumped
and Alvarado went after him, sheathing
the cutlass and pummelling Julian about
the ears so hard with his right fist that
the Indian fell half stunned to the ground.
Daz sighed and exchanged a weary
look with Mibiercas and La Serna. I
think Id better go and see if I can
restore some sanity to the situation, he
said.
Alvarado couldnt believe it! Hed come
all this way, braved all manner of risks,
even eschewed fifteen thousand pesos of
the bribe offered him by Don Diego de
Velzquez, only to discover at the end of
it all that there was no gold here!
It didnt bear thinking about.
But to add insult to injury, it seemed
that this monkey interpreter couldnt
interpret to save his life. Only the
hayseed farmboy Bernal Daz seemed to
have the faintest inkling of what he was
saying. As a result, and it was
intolerable, in order to communicate
with the native chief he was obliged to
state his demands in Spanish to Daz,
who would then put them into some sort
of pidgin for Little Julian who then put
them to the chief. The whole laborious
process then began again in the other
direction as the chiefs replies were
filtered through Julian and Daz back to
Alvarado and the end result was:
Humble apologies, great lord, but we
have no gold here on Cozumel.
The chiefs name, Alvarado had
managed to establish, was Balam Kuk
or some such barbarism. Not that he
cared two hoots what the tall, rangy,
straight-backed, grey-haired savage with
the hooked nose and the blue cotton
loincloth called himself. He wasnt fit to
polish boots, in Alvarados opinion, and
had confirmed this the moment they met
by throwing himself down in front of the
hovel hed emerged from, scrabbling at
the filthy earth of the street and stuffing a
handful of it into his mouth. Dear God!
Whatever next? But this was the sorry
creature in charge of Cozumel and here
he was, back on his feet again, insisting
there was no gold. In a sudden fit of
anger, Alvarado strode forward, thrust
out his good right hand and gripped the
subhuman by his scrawny throat. What
do you mean theres no gold? he yelled.
Eventually the answer came back
through Julian and Daz. There really
was no gold.
Lies! Alvarado stormed. Lies and
mendacity. He tightened his fingers
around the mans windpipe and spoke
slow and clear and loud: You, he
roared, will deliver up all
your gold by noon
tomorrow or I will burn your
miserable town to the ground and
butcher every man woman and child
Do you understand?
The threat went back via Daz and
Little Julian to Balam Kuk, who
squirmed and choked in Alvarados iron
grip.
Yes, the chief finally managed to
reply. I understand. Tomorrow at noon
there will be gold.
Early in the morning of the sixth day,
after the mass sacrifices on the great
pyramid, Moctezumas spies were back
with reports not only that the weeping
woman had been heard again but also of
a new development. Certain elders
living in different wards of the city had
been overheard speaking to one another
about identical dreams they had all
shared during the previous two nights. It
seemed these dreams touched upon the
security of the Great Speakers rule.
This smacked of treason!
Moctezuma summoned Cuitlhuac
from his vigil at Guatemocs hospital
bed and gave orders for the individuals
concerned to be rounded up and brought
to the palace. It was late morning by the
time they arrived and he had them wait
in the audience chamber while he
composed himself. How dare they
question his reign? When he was ready
he entered with Cuitlhuac by his side
and saw four wrinkled old men and three
ancient crones cowering on the floor.
They had about them the smell of age
and sickness, which he could not abide.
Since their dreams were shared, he
instructed the women to nominate one of
their number who would speak for the
rest, and the men to do the same, and
sent the others shuffling out backwards
to wait in the courtyard.
The man spoke first. He was very
small, bird-like, with thin wispy hair, a
weather-beaten, deeply lined, toothless
face and the lumps of some canker
protruding from the bones of his skull.
Powerful lord, he said in a voice that
was surprisingly loud and strong, we do
not wish to offend your ears or fill your
heart with anxiety to make you ill.
However, we are forced to obey you and
we will describe our dreams to you.
Proceed! snapped Moctezuma. You
have nothing to fear.
Know then, the old man continued,
that these last nights the Lords of Sleep
have shown us the temple of
Hummingbird burning with frightful
flames, the stones falling one by one
until it was totally destroyed. We also
saw Hummingbird himself fallen, cast
down upon the floor! This is what we
have dreamed.
Maintaining his composure with great
difficulty, Moctezuma next ordered the
old woman to speak. My son, she said,
do not be troubled in your heart for
what we are about to tell you, although it
has frightened us much. In our dreams
we, your mothers, saw a mighty river
enter the doors of your royal palace,
smashing the walls in its fury. It ripped
up the walls from their foundations,
carrying beams and stone with it until
nothing was left standing. We saw it
reach the temple and this too was
demolished. We saw the great chieftains
and lords filled with fright, abandoning
the city and fleeing towards the hills
Enough of your ravings, woman!
Moctezuma snapped. The symbolism
could not have been more obvious. He
turned to Cuitlhuac: You know what to
do.
The fate of the elders had never been
in doubt. They had, after all, engaged in
a conspiracy of dreams! Cuitlhuac gave
the command and the palace guards
dragged all seven of them off across the
courtyard. A small dungeon had been
prepared for them a mile away in the
northern quarter of the city, and they
would be kept there without food or
water until they shrivelled up and died.
Observing from a window,
Moctezuma saw that the old man whod
spoken in the audience chamber was
dragging his feet, protesting in his
astonishingly loud voice. With a mighty
struggle, revealing unexpected strength
for one his age, he brought the whole
procession to a halt as they reached the
edge of the courtyard. Let the Lord
Speaker know what is to become of
him, he harangued the guards. Those
who are to avenge the injuries and toils
with which he has afflicted us are
already on their way!
As he heard these awful words,
Moctezumas sense of impending doom
deepened. He had put on a brave face
for Cuitlhuac but it was all he could do
to control himself now.
The guards beat the old man to the
ground and carried him away, senseless,
but what he had said seemed to linger,
linger, in the sullen noontime air.
Around noon on Wednesday 24
February, the sixth day after the fleets
departure from Santiago, Cozumels
chieftain Balam Kuk presented himself
to Alvarado and Father Muoz on the
San Sebastin at the head of a
delegation of four of the towns elders.
There was much oohing and aahing,
accompanied by fearful glances cast at
the glowering Inquisitor, as the
dignitaries, ferried out from shore in a
longboat, were hauled up to the great
carrack. Though they had of course seen
Spanish ships when Crdoba called
here, it seemed they had never before
been on board, and the experience was
so overwhelming for them that they
threw themselves face down, as the chief
had done yesterday, and attempted to
gather and eat dust from the deck.
Disgusting, Alvarado thought. He
turned to Muoz. Shall I kick them to
their feet, he asked, or would you like
to have that pleasure, Father? But
before the friar could respond, the
Indians popped up again and stood there
bobbing and grinning like monkeys.
Unprompted, Little Julian said something
in the local lingo, at which Balam Kuk
stuck a hand inside his sopping wet
breechclout wet from the sea,
Alvarado hoped! and pulled out a little
cloth bundle, also wet. He proceeded to
unwrap it, revealing a yellow gleam.
The bundle contained a few trinkets of
poor-quality gold a miserable
necklace, two ear-spools, a figure of a
bird no larger than a mans thumb and a
little statue of a human being which, on
closer examination, proved to be made
of wood covered with gilt!
A sorry start, said Alvarado,
keeping his voice even. Now show me
the rest.
The usual gibbering interchange
involving Julian, Daz and the chief
followed, in which Julian looked
increasingly frantic as Daz kept plying
him with questions while the chief and
the elders answered with eyes downcast.
Finally Daz turned to Alvarado and
said, Im afraid thats all they have, sir.
All they have?
Yes, sir. Julians Spanish is very hard
to understand but hes clear enough on
this. He says these islanders are very
poor and anyway the Maya dont much
value gold.
Dont value gold, eh? Bloody liars!
With a sudden rush of anger, Alvarado
stepped in on the chief, grasped the
waist of his loincloth, lifted him
screeching from the deck, strode to the
railing, threw him overboard, and
watched with satisfaction as he hit the
water with a tremendous splash. His
only regret was that he hadnt had the
use of both hands so he could have
thrown the savage further and harder.
Father, he said to Muoz. The time has
come for you to attend to the souls of
these poor benighted bastards. God help
them, but if you find theyve turned their
backs on the Christian faith, you may do
as you wish to them and their temple,
and their gods. You have my blessing.
Muoz was in a holy rage. At last, at
last, the time had come to strike!
But it was mid-afternoon before the
three hundred conquistadors hed asked
for were mobilised and landed and the
remainder of the force deployed to guard
the ships.
Finally, with Alvarado at his side, the
Inquisitor led the way up the hill into the
maze of hovels of the Indian town. The
streets were deserted and the reason
why soon became clear. A babble of
voices, hoots and cries, drums and
whistles, was heard ahead and, as the
phalanx of conquistadors entered the
main square, a great throng of islanders,
almost the whole population it seemed,
surged forward to bar the approach to
the pyramid.
Do something about this, Alvarado,
Muoz said, and watched with approval
as the handsome captain ordered twenty
musketeers forward in two ranks, one
kneeling, one standing, and had them fire
a salvo that cut a great swathe through
the crowd and sent hysterical Indians
running and screaming in all directions.
When the smoke cleared the square was
empty but for the dead. Muoz raised his
cross, shouted, God wills it!, and the
conquistadors charged with a great yell.
The seventy-two steps were steep and
narrow one had to pick ones way with
care and as the Inquisitor reached the
top of the pyramid only a little out of
breath, he saw at once that Saint Peter
had spoken true. The Indians had indeed
reverted to their heathen abominations.
The first proof of this was the life-
size stone sculpture of a man with
leering face and jug ears that half sat and
half reclined near the edge of the summit
platform holding a stone plate across his
chest. In the plate, surrounded by a thick
puddle of blood, sat two freshly
extracted human hearts, one it seemed
still palpitating.
As the conquistadors gathered round
with expressions of horror, Muoz
pointed an accusing finger at the idol.
Who will do Gods work? he
thundered, and immediately a dozen men
put strong hands on the statue and began
to rock it back and forth. It was heavy
but, as Muoz watched with approval, it
was broken free of its plinth, lifted and
then thrown forcefully down the steps. It
rolled over and over, pieces breaking off
it, cracking and smashing, gathering
speed as it went, until it exploded into a
thousand fragments in the plaza below,
scattering the crowd that had once again
begun to gather there and evoking from
them a dreadful chorus of superstitious
howls and groans.
Alvarado had already pressed on into
the dismal, dark temple that crouched in
the midst of the summit platform like
some monstrous toad, its narrow
doorway decorated with hellish carvings
of fiends and devils. The single
rectangular room, measuring perhaps ten
paces in length and five in width, had a
beastly stink about it, and as his eyes
grew accustomed to the dim light he saw
that a huge figure that was not quite
human, arms outstretched, massy hands
and fingers curled into claws, reared up
close to the back wall. There came a
sudden, unearthly screech, and out of the
figures towering shadow darted
something hunched and capering with
naked feet and long, matted hair, dressed
in filthy black robes. Alvarado drew his
falchion in a trice and, as this shrieking
apparation plunged towards him,
wielding what he now recognised as a
long stone knife, he raised the point of
his weapon and punched it forward into
his attackers face, catching him between
the eyes so that it split his skull and
drove deep into his brain.
The Indian and it was an Indian
fell dead on the spot. So firmly lodged
was the falchion that Alvarado had to
brace his foot over the mans mouth in
order to pull the heavy blade free.
He looked again at the enormous
figure at the back of the room. For a
moment hed thought it was alive, but
now his eyes, always quick to adjust,
revealed the banal truth. It was just an
idol, ugly and malformed like any other
pagan mummery. The face, jaws and
teeth were those of some species of
dragon; the body, though scaled, was
more or less human. At its feet sprawled
the corpses of a young woman in her
twenties and a girl child of perhaps six
years of age, their breasts split open, no
doubt to extract the hearts that had sat in
the plate held by that other idol outside.
Blood pooled on the floor, was smeared
everywhere on the smoke-blackened
walls of the chamber, and a flagon or
two of it had been set aside in a large
stone basin. Also laid out were assorted
cloths, likewise sopping with blood,
certain fruits and a collection of dried
skulls and human bones.
Alvarado sheathed his falchion and
placed his right hand over his nose.
Gods! The smell of this place! He
advanced into the gloom, kicked aside a
pile of cloth to the right of the idol and
quickly picked up and pocketed three
gold objects that had been hidden there,
one resembling a lizard, one fashioned
in the form of a panther, and one
representing an erect human phallus,
rather short and thick. They were, he
observed, of noticeably better quality
than those the lying chief had brought to
him this morning.
So you have your gold? said a
sibilant, lisping voice behind him.
Alvarado whirled and saw Muoz in
his black habit silhouetted in the
doorway.
I do, Father, though precious little of
it. Have you any objection?
Oh none, Muoz said. None at all. I
am always ready to render unto Caesar
the things which are Caesars.
Daz, Mibiercas and La Serna were
conscripted, along with many more of
the soldiery, to take a hand in the
destruction of the great idol of the
temple. Daz was willing enough; he
prided himself on being as good a
Christian as any of them. Still, he
dreaded what must come next when the
Indian town rose in outrage, as he knew
it would, against the interlopers.
The business with the idol didnt go
well. Fifty men dragged it forth from the
temple with ropes, sweating and
heaving, singing verses from the book of
Numbers that Muoz had taught them:
You will drive out all the inhabitants of
the land before you. Destroy all their
carved images and their cast idols, and
demolish their high places. And ye shall
dispossess the inhabitants of the land,
and dwell therein: for I have given you
the land to possess it. With a mighty
effort, even while they still sang, the
conquistadors brought the huge heathen
statue, which must have weighed close
to a ton, to the edge of the steps, where it
tottered dangerously. Down below the
square was now packed full with
townsfolk, so that there was no room for
them to move, no space for those at the
base of the steps to flee even if they
wanted to.
Daz let go his rope and walked over
to Muoz. Father, he said, we must
wait to throw this vile thing down. He
pointed to the crowd standing in
stupefied silence, the men, the women,
the elders, the children of the town
gazing up, horrified, frozen in place. If
we throw it down, Daz added, people
are going to die a lot of people. Let me
take a squad into the square and clear the
Indians out of there. When theyre gone,
thats the time to smash the idol.
No, said Muoz, his buck teeth
protruding beneath his moist upper lip.
No, Father? Why in Heaven not?
Dont you dare invoke Heaven to me,
boy! Muoz thundered.
But this is not a Christian act, Holy
Father! We cannot simply slaughter these
innocents.
They are far from innocent! Muoz
roared. You were here with me, were
you not, when we came with Crdoba?
Daz nodded. I was here, he
admitted.
Then you know these heretics
accepted our faith. You know they
accepted the destruction of their idols.
You know they placed the cross of Christ
and the icon of the Virgin in yonder
temple behind us
Yes, Father, said Daz wearily. I
know these things.
Yet the cross is no longer there. The
icon of the Virgin is no longer there.
Instead we see this this Muoz
turned his basilisk glare on the idol
this enormity in their place, this vile
thing, this manifestation of evil. And it
is they he was spraying spittle now as
he pointed down at the massed Indians in
the square it is they alone, of their
own wicked choice who have done this.
So on their own heads be it! And with a
loathsome smile that would afterwards
haunt Daz in his nightmares, Muoz
gave the signal, and the conquistadors
gathered around the idol, laughed with
glee and gave it a final muscular heave
God save them and it was launched on
its journey down the steps, a ton of stone
tumbling and bouncing, gathering speed,
flying high into the air until it pounded
down in the thick of the screaming,
panicking crowd, smashing into a dense
knot of people and transforming them in
an instant into blood and bone and brain
matter and smearing them like some
obscene condiment over the flagstones
of the plaza.
A shocked silence fell.
Then a wail of horror.
And then, as Daz had expected, a
roar of outrage and a surge of armed men
up the steps.
There was only ever one possible
outcome to the wild fighting that
followed. The conquistadors were
armoured, disciplined, ruthless, and
equipped with vastly superior weapons,
and with Alvarado leading them, his
falchion dripping blood, they were
merciless and profligate in their anger.
By nightfall the Indians with their stone
knives and primitive bows had suffered
at least a hundred dead, large parts of
the town were in flames, and the elders
and the priests who served the temple
had been captured.
On the morrow, Muoz announced
triumphantly, they would all be burnt to
death for their sins.
Let the Lord Speaker know what is to
become of him, the old man had
warned. Those who are to avenge the
injuries and toils with which he has
afflicted us are already on their way!
Moctezuma had brooded on these
baleful words for the remainder of that
day and the long, troubled night that
followed.
Avengers? Already on their way?
In this fated year of One-Reed he
could not ignore the possibility that here
was yet another omen of the return of
Quetzalcoatl. The next day, therefore, the
seventh after the failed holocaust at the
great pyramid, he sent Cuitlhuac to the
dungeon to interrogate the elders again.
Was it men or gods who were coming?
What road would they follow? What
were their intentions?
The interrogation should have lasted
most of the morning, but within the hour
Cuitlhuac was back bringing terrible
news.
The prisoners had vanished during the
night.
Every one of them.
What of the jailers? Moctezuma
demanded.
Cuitlhuac had already caused them to
be arrested, he said, but they most
vehemently protested their innocence
and, for what it was worth, he believed
them. They were loyal men whom he
himself had appointed to the task. The
prison gates had been firmly locked and
the bars were secure. Cuitlhuac had
inspected the floor carefully but no
tunnel had been burrowed through it
and besides, the elders would never
have had the strength for such a task. The
roof was intact. In short, the explanation
offered by the jailers themselves
namely that the prisoners must have been
powerful sorcerers who had used magic
to make their escape seemed the most
reasonable one.
What is to be the fate of the jailers,
lord? Cuitlhuac asked.
Send them to kill the families of the
sorcerers, Moctezuma said. Husbands,
wives, children all are to be killed.
Theyre to dig in the places where their
houses stood until they reach water. All
their possessions are to be destroyed.
But it turned out that not one of the
elders had any living family, most were
in fact beggars, their houses were poor
places barely worth destroying, and they
had almost no possessions.
After ordering Cuitlhuac to have the
jailers skinned alive, Moctezuma fell
into a black mood and retreated to his
secret chambers in the depths of the
palace. He took with him a basket of the
sacred mushrooms called teonancatl,
Flesh of the Gods, which had proved
so helpful in facilitating his audiences
with Hummingbird.
Each day for seven days after she had
been reprieved from death beneath the
sacrificial knife, Tozi spent every
moment she could spare from her work
with Huicton flowing invisible and
undetected amongst the prisoners in the
fattening pens of Tenochtitlan, searching
for Coyotl. The womens pen where she
had been held was still quite empty,
though slowly being restocked, and it
required only a short visit to satisfy
herself that Coyotl was not there. Then
she turned to the four pens holding male
prisoners, all of them stuffed to bursting
point, and searched each one of them
systematically, but again without result.
Finally she moved on to the five further
great pens scattered around the city
outside the sacred plaza and
crisscrossed each of these repeatedly,
but never once did she see any sign of
the little boy who had been so cruelly
snatched away from her by Ahuizotl.
Yet, like a ghost who would not be
laid to rest, Coyotl continued to haunt
her.
Chapter Forty-Six
Cozumel, Thursday 25
February 1519
First light on the morning of Thursday 25
February, the seventh day since the
Santa Maras departure from Santiago
de Cuba, revealed the island of Cozumel
less than four miles ahead. Eerily, the
Indian town that perched on the low hill
on the northeast side of the island was
exactly as it had appeared to Corts in
his last dream of Saint Peter.
Exactly, that is, except for one thing
the thick pall of smoke that now rose
above the whitewashed, flat-roofed
houses like a symbol of divine wrath.
What do you make of that, Don
Antn? Corts asked the grizzled pilot
who stood by his side leaning on the
newly repaired oak rail surrounding the
navigation deck.
Alaminos shrugged. Looks like
trouble, he said.
Corts could only agree. Alvarado,
whose love of gold was only exceeded
by his love of violence, would have
assumed the position of captain-general
in his absence. And with a man like that
in charge of this great expedition
Well, anything was possible.
Worse, Muoz was also on board
Alvarados ship.
Corts looked across the dancing
waves to the pyramid that towered
above the smoking town. Stepped, not
smooth-sided like the famous pyramids
of Egypt, it too was exactly as Saint
Peter had revealed in his dream. Equally
disturbing were the squat familiar
contours of the dark stone edifice
perching on the pyramids summit. The
saint had described it as the temple of
the heathens and had made a point of
singling out Muoz as the cure for their
idolatry.
Muoz in his dark robes! Muoz with
his cross!
(And his bags of knives and
gruesome trophies!)
Was Corts never to be free of him?
Was he only to conquer, as Saint Peter
had intimated, if he made an
accommodation with that vile man?
As the Santa Mara rounded the
headland, the other ten ships of the
scattered fleet, about which Corts had
fretted for these past seven days, came
into view in the sheltered bay, with
Alvarados San Sebastin placed
closest to shore. All this, too, was
exactly as it had been in the dream, but
for the happy crowds of Indians with
their garlands, who were nowhere to be
seen on this bright morning, and that
ominous pall of smoke looming above
the town and sending down a rain of fine
ash.
Its good to be back on dry land,
Gonzalo de Sandoval said.
Still feels like the decks swaying
under my feet, replied Garca Brabo,
the tough Extremeno sergeant whom
Sandoval had begun to count as a friend
since the battle with Velzquezs guards
on the road outside Santiago harbour.
Clearing his throat noisily, Brabo spat a
copious gob of phlegm. Seas not a
natural place for a man to be, he added.
If it was, wed be born with fins and
scales like fish.
Reckon Im going to learn to swim,
said Sandoval, who had always hated
the ocean with its vast impersonal
power and its raging unpredictable
moods. Hed felt sure the Santa Mara
would go to the bottom and he would
drown, during the frightful storm that had
battered them as they left Santiago. One
great wave had washed completely over
the ship, but by then hed been clinging
for dear life to the foremast and had
survived unlike the unfortunate soldier
whom hed seen swept overboard, his
screams snatched away by the wind as
the heaving vessel somehow ploughed
on.
Dont see the point of swimming,
Brabo said after a moments thought.
Ship goes down and youre dead
anyway. Better drown fast and get it
over with than drag it out for another
day.
The two men were marching side by
side up the hill towards the burning
Indian town. Wearing his steel cuirass
and a broadsword strapped to his hip,
the caudillo himself strode a few paces
ahead, leading the way. Behind came the
other eighty soldiers whod survived the
journey from Santiago. Left to guard the
Santa Mara in the anchorage were
Cortss manservant Melchior, the young
secretary Pepillo and the full crew of
twelve sailors under the command of
Alaminos. From words exchanged with
sailors guarding the other ships, it
seemed that there had been a major
battle here in Cozumel the night before
and that Don Pedro de Alvarado and
Father Gaspar Muoz had ordered
almost the entire expeditionary force up
to the town to witness some kind of
punishment that was about to be meted
out to the local inhabitants.
As they reached the outskirts, the
smell of burning became stronger and
more pungent. There was a reek of
roasting flesh that Sandoval had been
trying to ignore as theyd climbed the
hill, but that now began to impress itself
on him forcefully. Suddenly nervous, no
longer quite so happy to be on land, he
peered ahead through wreaths of smoke.
Think were going to see any action
here? he asked Brabo as they entered a
narrow street between two rows of
simple flat-roofed houses, which
appeared to be constructed of wattle and
daub plastered over with adobe.
Nah, said the sergeant. Wed have
heard it by now if there was still any
fighting going on. Its all done and
dusted. Look there! He pointed to the
corpse of a small, thin Indian woman
sprawled half in and half out of a
doorway. Her throat had been cut. What
the hell Sandoval muttered as more
bodies began to emerge from the smoke
a grey-haired elder spread-eagled in
the middle of the street with a massive
head wound, two boys spitted by
crossbow bolts, four young men whod
been badly mauled by sword blows,
their guts hanging out, piled in a heap.
Up ahead, looming above the single-
storey native dwellings, the temple on
the pyramid came into view. Now cries
of terror and gruff Spanish jeers began to
rise up from that direction.
With me, lads, yelled Corts,
breaking into a run. At the double.
Bernal Daz was opposed in principle to
the notion of burning human beings to
death. Hed seen it done a number of
times during his career as a soldier, and
once in his youth in Medina del Campo,
the region of Castile where hed grown
up, when a group of heretics, condemned
by the Inquisition, had been burnt at the
stake. Unlike his friends and fellow
soldiers, who often relished such scenes,
Daz had always been sickened by them.
Perhaps it was because he had an over-
active imagination, whilst others often
seemed to have none, but when he
considered what was involved in death
by burning the slow, prolonged agony,
the melting of the flesh from the bones,
the body fat itself becoming fuel for the
fire he simply could not understand
why anyone would wish to inflict such a
terrible fate on others. Surely human
kindness and Christian charity required
quite the opposite that one would rush
to rescue the victims, no matter how
hateful they might be or how
disagreeable their views, rather than
stoke the flames?
So Daz felt acutely uncomfortable to
find himself amongst the small army of
conquistadors now gathered in the plaza
at the base of the pyramid to witness the
towns leaders and heathen priests being
burnt at the stake. The rest of the
population of two thousand most had
survived the night had also been
herded into the plaza and stood there
under guard, shivering and crying out in
fear.
Though Daz had refused to
participate in the lynch mob, five
wretched Indians had already been
chained and thrown into the embers of
one of the buildings set alight around the
plaza. Three of these unfortunates were
still alive, their flesh slowly roasting,
and as their screams rose to heaven
some twenty more, including the
chieftain Balam Kuk and the man
identified by Little Julian as the high
priest, were tied to stakes and
surrounded by a mountainous pile of
logs. Meanwhile Muoz marched up and
down in front of them, holding an open
Bible, loudly deploring the abomination
of human sacrifice but what was
burning at the stake, Daz wondered, if
not a form of human sacrifice? and
declaiming some pious nonsense about
how it fell to the Inquisitor to be a
physician of souls, how heresy was a
disease and how the flames were a
specific remedy for it.
Positioned at the edge of the massed
soldiery, Daz stood amongst a small
group of hardened veterans who, like
him, had sailed with the Crdoba
expedition and already knew all too
well the trouble Muoz was capable of
causing. Turning to his friend Alonso de
La Serna he whispered: Its all
happening again.
La Serna rolled his eyes: And theres
still nothing we can do about it.
Francisco Mibiercas was listening.
Maybe there is something we can do,
he offered.
Daz and La Serna both turned to him
in surprise, but Mibiercas appeared
unruffled. Were all agreed this friars
no good, right?
Hes evil, nodded Daz.
And hes going to get us killed,
added La Serna.
So lets kill him first then. Mibiercas
quickly glanced around. Not here,
obviously. Not today. But a chance will
come and when it does well take it.
As Daz registered that the
swordsman was completely serious,
there came a commotion on the eastern
edge of the plaza and a large group of
armed men spilled out of a side street
and came on at a run. At their head was
Hernando Corts. Just behind him Daz
recognised Gonzalo de Sandoval.
What the hells going on here, Pedro?
Corts demanded. He walked right up to
Alvarado and stood just inches away
from him, his right hand on the hilt of his
broadsword. He noticed that his old
friend, whose left arm was in a sling,
had likewise placed his right hand on the
hilt of his sword or rather cutlass, for
he was wearing the falchion hed taken
from Zemudio.
I would have thought it was obvious,
Alvarado replied innocently. Im
prosecuting the business of this
expedition in your absence. His blue
eyes had a cold, dangerous glint but he
smiled, showing white, even teeth.
Welcome back, by the way. Weve
missed you, Hernando.
Although Corts was seething with
rage, his mind was clear, quickly sifting
through his options and making
decisions. His intentions for Cozumel
had been entirely peaceful to win the
hearts of the inhabitants and make them
his allies so that he could fall back on
the island as a place of safety if
necessary. Instead he found himself
confronted by a scene of murder and
mayhem, with that strutting fool Muoz
about to burn a large group of Indians,
apparently with Alvarados full support.
The first and most important matter,
Corts realised, was to impose his own
authority on this situation at once,
otherwise he would lose face in front of
the men, something that he could never
allow. That meant publicly
countermanding Alvarado. He was
reluctant to humiliate such a good and
true friend, but he was left with no
alternative. Muoz would also have to
be humbled and Corts felt some
reluctance here too, on account of his
strange dreams, but again he could see
no other option.
Don Pedro, he said, speaking
formally and in a loud voice, you have
done wrong here and acted against my
wishes.
Alvarados face flushed and he spoke
in a whisper: What are you saying,
Hernn? The men are listening. Dont
make a fool of me in front of them.
Ignoring the appeal, Corts pointed to
the piles of meagre booty lined up in the
plaza, to the captive townsfolk and to the
twenty who were about to burn. This no
way to pacify a country, he boomed so
that everyone could hear, robbing the
natives of their possessions, taking them
prisoner, razing their town He turned
to Muoz who was standing frozen
nearby: And you, friar! Is it really your
plan to burn these poor Indians as though
they were Bogomils or Albigensians?
They are filthy heretics! screeched
Muoz. They accepted the faith when I
came to this island with Crdoba, but
they have relapsed.
I see no heretics here, Corts yelled
back. I see ignorant savages in need of
further teaching, in need of Christian
love and understanding, not the flames.
The Inquisitor raised the Bible and
thrust it out in the direction of the
condemned men, who gazed at him with
fear and fascination like rabbits
hypnotised by a snake. Light the fire,
Muoz screamed at a soldier who stood
by with a burning brand. Let us purge
their souls in the flames so they may
stand purified before the Lord on the day
of judgement
The soldier moved the brand towards
the kindling.
Dont light that fire, Corts warned
him. Therell be no burning today.
The soldier looked around
uncertainly.
I speak as your Holy Inquisitor,
roared Muoz. Light the fire, man!
And I speak as your captain-general,
said Corts. Light that fire and Ill see
you hanged.
The soldier cursed and stepped back
sharply, setting the brand down on the
plaza. Muoz rushed to pick it up but, at
a nod from Corts, Garca Brabo was
suddenly in his path. Not so fast, he
said. You heard the caudillo. Nobodys
getting burnt today. Muoz growled
with frustration and tried to push past,
but Brabo grappled with him, twisting
his arm so sharply behind his back that
he gasped with pain. I wouldnt struggle
if I were you, advised the lean, grey-
haired sergeant. Just do as the captain-
general says, theres a good friar.
Corts turned to Alvarado, speaking
quietly now: You were too hasty, Pedro.
You should have waited for me before
taking such drastic action, and now
youre going to have to make reparations
to put everything right.
Reparations? What on earth do you
mean? From the thunderous look on
Alvarados face, Corts half expected
his friend to challenge him, but he
pressed on. You can start by cutting
those men loose from the stakes. Itll
look better for you if you give the order
than if I give it over your head.
Alvarados handsome face contorted
in a furious grimace and his mouth
worked as though chewing on a tough
lump of meat, but at last he barked the
command and soldiers scrambled over
the heaped logs to free the elders. Corts
nodded with satisfaction. Free the
townspeople youre holding under guard
as well, please. All of them. Theres
been some killings I see?
Yes, Alvarado admitted. We burned
five he gestured towards a
smouldering building and a few score
died in the fighting last night. Its their
own fault. They should have
surrendered.
Would you surrender, Pedro, if our
home town was attacked?
Thats different. Were Christians,
theyre heathens
Heathens whom we need as allies,
not as enemies. Heathens whose
knowledge of the lands and peoples that
lie ahead is of vital importance to us.
Well have to pay blood money to satisfy
them on the dead. Work with Little Julian
to find out what theyll accept.
Blood money for savages? Have you
lost your mind?
Corts fixed Alvarado with a
withering glare. Its your madness, not
mine, that caused the problem here,
Pedro. If youd waited for my arrival,
none of this would have happened and
wed have what I want at no cost. He
smiled: But they are savages. A small
price in glass beads and shiny baubles
will likely satisfy them.
Alvarado had a brooding, sulky look,
but seemed to brighten at the prospect of
swindling the simple-minded natives.
Corts wasnt finished with him,
however. Did you find gold? he asked
suddenly.
No, Alvarado replied a little too
soon, his eyes hooded.
Come, Pedro, Corts prompted. I
know you too well.
There is some gold, Alvarado
scowled. A few pieces we found in the
temple. A few more in the richer houses
of the town. Nothing of great value. I
have them on board my ship.
I want you to give them back, Corts
said.
But
Dont beat around the bush!
Everything goes back. Every piece of
gold, every pot, every bale of cloth
Do this, Pedro, do it willingly and we
wont fall out.

As Alvarado set about his tasks, Corts
walked over to Muoz who was seated
on the lower steps of the pyramid,
guarded by Brabo and Sandoval. Thank
you, Corts said to the two soldiers.
Ill handle things from here. He
remained outwardly calm, looking round
the plaza as he waited for them to get out
of earshot. Crowds of Indians were
streaming back to their dwellings, and
the elders hed reprieved from the
flames were gathered round Alvarado
and Little Julian, engaged in what looked
like a heated negotiation. All well and
good, he thought, but what was he going
to do about Muoz? Under normal
circumstances he might have been
inclined to arrange a fatal accident for
the troublesome friar, but his dreams of
Saint Peter gave him pause.
My apologies if Ive handled you
roughly today, Father, he said, but
please understand that were here to
conquer and settle these New Lands.
This is a military expedition, I am its
leader and you are placed under my
command.
Thats not my understanding at all,
said Muoz, his face mulishly set. As I
had it from His Excellency Governor
Velzquez, we are here only to trade, to
explore and to spread the word of God.
You may claim no special powers as a
military commander, and in matters of
evangelism and heresy I have a free
hand.
You have been misinformed, Father,
Corts insisted, working hard to keep the
anger that he felt out of his voice. By all
means evangelise. I want you to do that,
and I shall help you. I share your desire
to spread the word of God in these
heathen realms. But you must never get
in my way or create unnecessary
hostility for us as you did today. No
matter what you think you know, our
mission is conquest and settlement. If
you ever jeopardise that mission again,
Ill crush you like a louse in a seam.
Big talk for a small man, sneered
Muoz getting to his feet.
The friar had such an advantage in
height that Corts almost unconsciously
found himself sidling up the first two
steps of the pyramid so they were level.
No mere talk, he insisted as he
completed this awkward manoeuvre. I
have absolute jurisdiction in all military
matters and you must defer to me.
Muoz just stared at him for a
moment, his irises absolutely black and
expressionless like two blank holes in
his eyes, then he turned abruptly and
began to walk away, his robes flapping.
Hold, barked Corts. Our business
is not done!
Muoz stopped and looked back, one
bushy eyebrow quizzically raised:
Yes?
Youve bunked on the San Sebastin
these past seven days. Kindly continue to
do so.
When the Inquisitor smiled, as he did
now, there was something of the Barbary
ape about him. No doubt you think to
inconvenience me, he said, but what
you propose was my intention anyway. I
find Don Pedros company congenial.
He would, in my opinion, make a far
better captain-general than you. Send my
page with my bags.
Alas that will not be possible. Your
bags were washed overboard in the
storm.
Corts wasnt sure why the lie had
leapt so readily to his lips, except that in
a strange way he felt pressured,
cornered, by his dreams, which seemed
to foist Muoz upon him like an
unwelcome house guest. Perhaps this
ploy with the bags was his way of
striking back. At the very least, he
hoped, it would disconcert the
Inquisitor, and he was pleased to see it
did so.
How dare you? Muoz blustered.
You evict me from my cabin, imprison
me on another ship though God in his
wisdom guided Don Pedro to release me
and now you tell me you have failed to
guard property that was essential to my
work as Inquisitor.
Corts shrugged. A great wave near
sunk us and your bags were washed
away. Nothing could be done to save
them. Sincere regrets
Muozs frown deepened, his sallow
features taking on a calculating look.
My simpleton of a page should have
protected them. Have him sent to me on
the San Sebastin.
Unfortunately I cannot oblige.
Why? Was he washed away also?
No, but hes working for me now. I
need the assistance of a secretary and he
has the requisite skills.
At this Muoz actually stamped his
foot: You cannot do this! he shouted.
Certainly I can, said Corts.
Regardless of your opinion of me, I am
the captain-general and Ill have
whomever I like as my secretary.
Muoz came pounding back now, his
sandals slapping on the stones of the
plaza, and thrust his face with his
protruding upper teeth next to Cortss
ear. Its not my opinion you should be
concerned about, he said in a strangely
triumphant tone. You will be held
accountable by a higher authority.
Corts laughed. If you mean your
friend Velzquez, I dont give a fig what
that oaf thinks or does.
Oh no, said Muoz. Not Velzquez.
He moved even closer, his breath moist
and warm. Your patron saint is Peter.
Am I not right?
Though the day was sultry, Corts felt
a shiver run down his spine. Who told
you that? he asked, taking another step
up the pyramid.
He comes to me in dreams, said
Muoz with a sinister smile. He speaks
of your love for him. Then he was gone
again, scattering the crowd, the milling
Indians stumbling fearfully out of his
path.
Crouched side by side with Melchior at
the corner of a side street looking onto
the plaza, Pepillo gasped as Muoz
turned his back on Corts for the second
time and came striding straight towards
them. Quick, said Melchior, in here.
He grabbed Pepillo by the collar,
dragged him a few paces along the street
and through the low doorway of a half-
burnt hovel. They ducked down behind
the fire-blackened wall, the sun
scorching them through a great hole in
the collapsed roof. Pepillos breath was
coming in quick frightened gasps, but
Melchior seemed calm. He held his
finger to his lips. Be quiet, he said. He
wont see us.
Corts had expressly forbidden them
to visit the Indian town when hed led
the soldiers up there this morning, telling
them they must stay with the sailors to
guard the ship. But Melchior had
different ideas. Im going to find out
whats happening, hed told Pepillo. If
theres some action, I want part of it.
Want to come along?
Matters between them had improved a
little in the seven days since the Santa
Maras departure from Santiago. It was
as though by saving Pepillos life in the
storm, Melchior had somehow restored
the dignity he felt hed lost when Corts
had appointed the younger boy as his
secretary. There was still some tension,
however, which Pepillo very much
wished to dissipate, so hed suppressed
his natural caution, put on a brave face,
and agreed to Melchiors scheme.
Theyd slipped overboard into the
shallows and waded ashore or rather
Melchior had waded ashore with
Pepillo perched on his shoulders and
made their way up the hill into a scene
of horrors. Melchior professed
indifference to the dead bodies theyd
come across, but Pepillo felt hed been
plunged into a corner of hell and had
vomited twice, receiving cuffs about his
head from Melchior for his trouble.
By the time they reached the plaza, it
was clear that Corts had wrested
control from Alvarado, and they
watched as twenty elders whod seemed
doomed to be burnt at the stake were set
free. Then all the other townsfolk were
released as well and suddenly the
streets, which had been deserted, were
filled with Indians who wept and called
out as they searched the shells of burnt
buildings and took possession again of
looted homes. Arent we in danger
here? Pepillo asked as a group of dark-
skinned youths rushed past, yammering
in their strange tongue; but Melchior
pointed to the hundreds of armed
conquistadors still occupying the square.
Were safe enough, you silly mammet,
he said.
Theyd watched, fascinated, as the
confrontation between Corts and
Muoz unfolded. There was some
shouting, though they were too far away
to hear what was said, and the postures
of both men expressed anger. Do you
think the caudillo will arrest him again?
Pepillo asked. But before Melchior
could answer, Muoz was heading their
way and they ducked out of view.
Now they heard his heavy footsteps
approach. He slowed as he reached the
door to their hiding place, then stopped.
Pepillo tensed, his stomach lurched and
he cast a terrified glance at Melchior,
who was sweating, his eyes very wide.
As though from nowhere a rusty dagger
had appeared in his right hand and the
muscles of his forearm bunched and
knotted as he clenched his fist fiercely
round its hilt.
Dont, Pepillo mouthed, shaking his
head.
Melchior ignored him, rising to a
crouch.
But then the Inquisitors footsteps
moved on, proceeding along the street
away from the square, and the sense of
looming threat lifted.
Pepillo collapsed against the wall, his
heart pounding. He felt he couldnt
breathe.
Come on, said Melchior, grabbing
him again by the scruff of the neck and
pulling him to his feet. Lets follow
him. Hes up to no good, Im sure of it.
Bernal Daz had entertained doubts
about Cortss character since the night
theyd left Santiago. The way the
caudillo had ruthlessly made use of him
to steal the entire stock of the
slaughterhouse and it would have been
outright theft if Corts could have got
away with it had disillusioned him
greatly. And the easy, charismatic
promises the man had made to him and
to Sandoval to get them out of any
trouble they faced on his behalf trouble
that could have seen them hung had
been wholly irresponsible and most
unlikely to be redeemed if the worst
came to the worst.
But the mornings events cast a new
light on everything. The fact that Corts
had personally intervened to save
Cozumels elders and priests from the
hideous fate of being burnt to death was
enough on its own to raise him high in
Dazs estimation, but hed gone much
further than that, freeing all the captive
Indians and ordering their property
restored to them with reparations made
to the families of those whod been
killed. These actions showed the
caudillo to be a man who was prepared
to do the right thing, even if he made
powerful enemies such as Muoz and
Alvarado in the process and such a
man, Daz now decided, deserved his
loyalty; indeed he would follow him to
the ends of the earth.
For some time after Muoz walked
away from him in the plaza, Daz
observed that Corts stayed where he
was, standing alone on the third step of
the pyramid, seemingly deep in thought.
But now, suddenly, he sprang into action,
summoning Brabo, Sandoval and Daz
himself. Come, friends, he said as they
gathered round him Sandoval and Daz
greeting one another like long-lost
brothers lets climb this heap of
stones and take a look at the temple these
heathens worship in. Ive a mind to make
it into a church.
We tried that before, Daz felt
compelled to offer, when we came here
with Crdoba. It didnt work. The
Indians got rid of the cross and the image
of the Virgin we gave them and went
back to their idols after our departure.
Thats why Muoz was so angry with
them.
Im not Muoz, said Corts with a
hard stare. He does everything with
anger, by force; no wonder people reject
his teachings. He shaded his eyes
against the sun and looked out,
seemingly searching for someone in the
huge crowd of Indians and conquistadors
filling the plaza. Has anyone seen
Father Olmedo? he asked after a
moment.
Sandoval volunteered to go and find
him. Olmedo sails with us on the Santa
Mara, Corts told Daz while they
were waiting. A right holy and modest
friar. He sleeps on deck with the men
doesnt he, Brabo?, sharing their
hardships and asking no special
favours.
A good man, Brabo concurred. Puts
on no airs and graces, rolls up his
sleeves and lends a hand when theres
work to be done. Would that our
Inquisitor had half his mettle.
Corts seemed preoccupied, Daz
thought, but he brightened when
Sandoval returned, bringing with him a
portly, rugged friar, aged perhaps forty,
wearing the white robes of the
Mercedarian order. Ah, said Corts,
there you are. Come with us to the
temple, Father, and well see about
planting Christianity here.
Olmedos face was broad and round
but with a strong bearded jaw and a
straight nose, giving him a somewhat
fierce look that was greatly softened on
closer inspection by humorous brown
eyes. Despite a full tonsure out of which
rose the smooth and deeply tanned dome
of his skull, his hair was unruly, reddish-
brown in colour, thick and shaggy at the
nape of his bull-like neck and somewhat
overhanging his brow. His shoulders and
chest were massive, and an ample
stomach thrust comfortably forward
through his habit. Oh dear, he said,
isnt that a job for our Inquisitor?
I fear hed rather burn men than
convert them, Corts said.
I dare say he would, agreed Olmedo,
his eyes twinkling. He struck a posture
that reminded Daz powerfully of Muoz
in mid-harangue, and retracted his upper
lip so that his front teeth protruded. Let
us purge their souls in the flames, he
brayed, so they may stand purified
before the Lord on the day of judgement

Somehow he succeeded in altering the

timbre of his own deep voice to produce
an excellent imitation of the Inquisitors
higher, more sibilant tones. Daz, whod
heard more than enough of Muoz
holding forth on the voyage, felt a
chuckle rising in his throat and tried to
check it until Corts too threw back his
head and roared with laughter. Sandoval
and Brabo joined in and Corts clapped
Olmedo on the back. Youre quite the
mimic, he said. Youve got him
perfectly.
The friar gave a little bow: One of
my many skills when a man takes himself
too seriously, as our friend the Inquisitor
unfortunately does. We should all learn
to laugh at ourselves his eyes
twinkled again lest others do it for
us.
They climbed the pyramid, sweating
in the hot sun, swords and armour
clanking, and stepped onto the summit
platform with the temple looming before
them, its door gaping like the mouth of
hell.
Daz explained that the bodies of two
sacrificed Indians, a young woman and a
child, had been found yesterday inside
the temple, their hearts placed in a plate
held across the breast of an idol that had
stood at the top of the steps.
Its beyond comprehension, said
Corts. Truly the work of the devil.
Sandovals face was pale with horror.
These are dangerous realms we enter,
he said in a hushed voice. Lets pray no
Spaniard ever suffers such a fate.
Id take my own life first, Brabo
growled.
As he led them into the single dark
room of the temple, Daz explained that
it had contained a great idol but that it,
and the other that had held the receptacle
for hearts, had been thrown down the
steps and smashed on Muozs orders.
In that at least he did well, Corts
growled. Dont you agree, Olmedo?
The shadowy, low-ceilinged chamber,
lit by guttering torches set into the walls,
smelled of blood and rotting flesh.
Holding the sleeve of his habit to his
nose, Olmedo said, I am not certain that
the immediate destruction of idols is the
best way to proceed any more than
burning priests and elders at the stake.
Such harsh actions do nothing to
convince these poor souls that our faith
is any better than theirs. If we wish them
to become Christians, we should set an
example of gentleness and tolerance, as
Christ himself would have done.
The corpses of the sacrificial victims
had been removed, but there were still
three skulls and a heap of human bones
on the floor of the chamber and the walls
were daubed with great splashes of
dried blood. How can we tolerate this?
Corts said, his voice rising. How can
we be gentle when confronted by such
wickedness?
Forgive them, lord? suggested
Olmedo quietly. For they know not what
they do?
The words of Christ on the Cross,
mused Corts. You make a good point
and Ill think on it but outside, yes? I
cant stay a moment longer in this pit of
the devil.
They stepped out of the reeking
temple into bright sunlight.
At the top of the steps stood a large
group of Indians. Most were unarmed
but several clutched stone knives, spikes
of bone and other bizarre weapons that
looked like stingray spines.
Muoz pursued an erratic, wandering
course through the streets, sometimes
peering furtively into buildings. On one
occasion he entered a group of houses,
disappeared for several minutes and
reappeared from another door. Youve
got to admit the man has balls, Melchior
said. After what hes done today youd
think hed fear assassination.
But the truth, Pepillo observed, was
that the Indians were the ones who were
afraid, giving the Inquisitor a wide
berth, scattering and running away at the
first sight of his black robes.
Whats he after? Pepillo asked as
Muoz continued his rapid investigation
of the town, sniffing at doorways,
peering through windows, darting into
alleys.
Hes like a dog after a bitch in heat,
Melchior said grimly. What do you
think hes after?
Pepillo felt his face flush hot as they
hurried along in pursuit. He guessed that
Melchior was referring to sex but didnt
really understand the details. He had to
agree, though, that there was something
hungry and animalistic about the way
Muoz kept casting around, now
hurrying, now slowing down, now
lurking at a corner looking this way and
that before moving on.
It was as though he were following a
trail But of what?
Being built around the summit of a
hill, the towns streets sloped steeply on
all sides, giving way to mixed patches of
woodland and open ground that in turn
led down to the turquoise waters of the
bay where the fleet bobbed at anchor.
Striding along one of the narrow streets
in the lower section of the town,
Muozs pace suddenly quickened and
he forked abruptly left into a side street.
Pepillo and Melchior were a hundred
paces behind and lost sight of him for a
moment, but when they charged up to the
corner where hed turned, there he was
again, still maintaining the same lead.
They also saw what had excited him,
why his body strained forward so
eagerly, why he was moving so fast.
Running just ten paces ahead of him,
crying out in fear, was a little Indian boy,
naked but for a string of coloured beads
around his waist.
Hurry! said Melchior. Pepillo
wasnt sure whether he was alarmed or
relieved to see the rusty knife in his
friends hand again as the child bolted
round the next corner and was lost to
view, with Muoz right behind him.
With an oath Melchior increased his
pace and Pepillo scrambled to catch up.
They reached the corner together and
peered cautiously round it into a maze of
hovels, some intact, some burnt and
sprawling in smouldering ruins down the
hillside to the edge of a large patch of
woodland.
It was as though the earth had opened,
swallowing Muoz and the child for
there was no trace of them. Melchior
cursed again and thrust his head into a
doorway. Pepillo apprehensively peered
into another. A group of Indians sat
inside in the gloom and stared at him,
saying nothing, with expressions he
could not interpret. He mumbled a hasty
apology, blundered out again and
followed Melchior. The next house was
burnt, the next deserted. They continued
to search fruitlessly for a little longer,
but increasing numbers of Indians were
emerging onto the devastated streets and
the atmosphere was becoming hostile.
Agreeing it would be good to be back on
board the Santa Mara before Corts
returned, Pepillo and Melchior began to
make their way downhill in the direction
of the anchorage.
Their route took them close to the
copse, dense with knotted and gnarled
strangler figs festooned with hanging
vines, growing across the slope below
the last of the dwellings. The sky
remained clear blue, as it had all
morning, but it was now early afternoon
and the heat was dense, clammy, heavy
with damp. As they skirted the wood a
flock of bright green parrots shifted and
squabbled in the leafy canopy and
suddenly, like an evil spirit, Muoz
reappeared from amongst the trees a few
hundred paces below them, raven black
in his Dominican habit, his cowl raised,
concealing his head and face. He did not
look back but strode rapidly down the
hill.
Without a word, Melchior dived into
the forest. Where are you going?
Pepillo called, hastening after him,
struggling with the rank undergrowth.
To find out what that bastards done,
said Melchior, plunging on ahead.
The going did not prove as difficult as
it had seemed to Pepillo at first, and they
found a trail, perhaps made by animals,
perhaps by the people of the town,
where they were able to keep up a good
pace. The suns light was much reduced
as they forged deeper, filtered by the
thick canopy into a dreamlike emerald
dusk, but shone through again, harsh and
dazzling, as they entered a small,
irregular clearing where the trees had
been felled leaving only rotten stumps.
God and his angels, breathed
Melchior, staring across the clearing.
Pepillo blinked, seeing nothing.
There! Melchiors voice was thick
with rage.
Pepillo looked again and this time he
did see what had drawn his friends
attention a pair of small, brown naked
feet protruding from the undergrowth
where the forest resumed.
It took them only moments to pull the
body free. Still warm, but stone dead, it
was the same little Indian boy, with the
bright string of wooden beads round his
waist, whom Muoz had been following.
There was blood on the childs scrawny
buttocks and livid bruises marked his
throat and neck. A wide patch of his
scalp extending from his crown to his
left ear was missing, crudely hacked
away to expose the white and bloody
skull beneath.
For the third time that day Pepillo
vomited, but this time Melchior didnt
cuff him.
Corts, Sandoval, Brabo and Daz all
went for their swords but were
somewhat reassured as Little Julian
shouldered forward through the thirty or
forty Indians crowded onto the summit
platform. The stooped, cross-eyed
interpreter was sweating and wheezing
from the climb. Peering uneasily from
beneath the fringe of his long greasy hair,
he told Corts: They not here crisis you
sir; they say you are buffoon.
As Corts bristled at the insult A
buffoon? How dare they call him a
buffoon? the Indians launched into an
extraordinary display. Those who were
unarmed dropped to their knees,
scrabbled at the paving stones with
which the platform was surfaced and
shoved their fingers into their mouths
whilst smacking their lips. Those who
carried weapons proceeded to slice or
skewer their own flesh in a variety of
painful but non-lethal places such as
their lips, tongues, biceps, buttocks and
outer thighs. In two cases penises were
shamelessly produced from beneath
loincloths, stretched forth and pierced
with stingray spines.
Dear God, Corts barked at Julian.
What are they doing?
Eat great fear, the interpreter said.
Honour blood.
What? Corts couldnt make head or
tail of the explanation. Does anyone
understand what this idiot is talking
about?
His Castilian is atrocious, offered
Daz, who had sailed with Julian on the
San Sebastin, pretty much non-
existent, and what little he does know he
gets all mixed up. Let me try and make
sense of this.
While drops of blood continued to
spatter down on the platform and one of
the Indians sawed a stingray spine back
and forth transversely through his penis,
with the Spaniards looking on in a
mixture of fascination, amusement and
horror, Daz talked urgently with the
interpreter. After a moment he turned
back to Corts. I think Ive sorted it out
now, he said. Hes trying to say tierra,
earth but his accents so bad he
makes it sound like terror, fear. Its a
custom amongst these people to show
respect to those more powerful than
themselves by eating earth in their
presence. Same goes for the blood.
Theyre honouring you, sir, by bleeding
themselves. They do this before their
idols as well. Its a kind of sacrifice.
Well tell them to desist immediately!
Corts snapped. Daz spoke urgently to
Julian who in turn said something in the
local language. The bloodletting stopped
at once.
By the way, Corts asked, why did
they call me a buffoon?
Daz laughed. They didnt, sir. Thats
just Julian mixing up words again. Hes
saying un gracioso a buffoon, a funny
man but what he means is dar las
gracias, to thank. The crisis bit is
pretty clear too. What it boils down to is
theyre not here to cause us trouble but
to thank us. As you might imagine, the
priests and elders are much beholden to
you for halting their execution.
Well, very good. Corts smiled. As
he thrust his sword firmly back in its
scabbard, one of the Indians, a tall elder
in a blue cotton loincloth, made his way
forward, his dignified presence only
slightly compromised by the streaks of
blood on his chin and chest from the
wounds hed made to his lower lip.
The cacique, sir, said Julian
proudly, using the word for chief that the
Spanish had adopted from the Taino
Indians of Hispaniola and Cuba. Him
name Balam Kuk. He funny you say.
During the encounter that followed,
fuelled by general goodwill but
constantly fogged and befuddled by
Julians poor grasp of Castilian, Corts
accepted the gratitude of the Indians,
who belonged, they said, to a great
confederation of peoples called the
Maya. He in turn apologised for the
cruel and unwarranted behaviour of his
deputy, Alvarado, and said he hoped
sufficient compensation had been
offered. On impulse, as an additional
gesture, he sent Sandoval down to the
Santa Mara to return with Spanish
shirts for each of the elders and a chest
containing a velvet doublet, mirrors,
small brass bells and several strings of
glass beads. These treasures Corts
bestowed upon Balam Kuk, the chief,
much to that worthys apparent
satisfaction.
Sandoval also brought a platoon of
men with him carrying parasols, wooden
stools, cushions and comfortable rugs,
and a rather fine folding chair that
Corts had asked for and now proceded
to sit in.
Once the parasols were erected to
provide shade for himself and the other
Spaniards on the summit platform, he
invited the Indians to be seated and told
them, to the limited extent that Julian
was able to convey these ideas, that their
idols were evil, not gods at all, but
devils who would only lead their souls
to hell. He would take it as a sign of
friendship between them and his own
people if they would see to it that every
idol in every temple on the island was
smashed within the next few days. At
this Olmedo whispered fiercely in his
ear, but Corts ignored him and added
that the idols must be replaced by
images of the Virgin Mary and by
wooden crucifixes which the Spanish
would supply. He had been informed, he
said, that a crucifix and a statue of the
Virgin had been placed here in the
temple when Spaniards had visited the
island before. He professed sorrow and
disappointment that these sacred objects
had been removed and insisted this must
never happen again. There was only one
God, he said, the creator of heaven and
earth and the giver of all things, and the
cross and the Virgin Mary were amongst
his most precious symbols.
As he spoke, Corts was aware that
very little of what he was saying was
being understood, but he felt compelled
to continue anyway. He had kept up a
cheerful demeanour throughout the
meeting, but the truth was that Muozs
last words to him had thrown him into
turmoil. That the Inquisitor had known
about his special feelings for Saint Peter,
and known Peter was his patron saint
these things were not in themselves
surprising. He could have acquired the
information from a variety of sources.
Much harder to explain, however, was
Muozs revelation that he too had
dreamed of Saint Peter, who had spoken
to him of Corts just as in dreams the
saint had spoken to Corts of Muoz.
This, surely, could not be mere
coincidence!
For all these reasons, Corts decided,
he was going to have to think extremely
carefully about how to handle the
Inquisitor in the future, and find an
accommodation with him as Saint Peter
required. Meanwhile, although it had
been essential to put Muoz in his place,
and prevent the auto-da-f in the plaza,
Corts also felt it was right,
notwithstanding Olmedos more cautious
counsel, that he should continue to
support and enforce Muozs policies
regarding the removal and smashing of
idols and their replacement by Christian
symbols.
He closed the meeting with a lengthy
homily against human sacrifice, a foul
practice, he told the Indians, that they
must agree to abandon at once. If they
did not do so, he warned, he might be
unable to prevent his Inquisitor a second
time from burning them at the stake.
Some further confusion resulted here,
since it seemed the chief and the elders
laboured under the misguided
impression that Muoz had wanted to
burn them as sacrifices to his God, and
Corts found it very hard to disabuse
them of this repugnant notion which, to
make matters worse, it appeared that
both Daz and Olmedo had some
sympathy with! He soldiered on,
however, patiently working round the
execrable interpreting skills of Little
Julian, making his points again and again
in different ways, until he was
reasonably sure he had been properly
understood.
What happened next convinced Corts
he was on the right track and that,
despite his harsh treatment of Muoz, he
did still have Saint Peters blessing for
his expedition.
As the elders were taking their leave,
the chief now dressed in the splendid
doublet he had been given put an arm
round Cortss shoulder, drew him to the
edge of the pyramid and pointed
northwest, towards the mainland. He
then made a short speech in his own
language, but interspersed within it was
a familiar-sounding word something
like Castilan repeated several times
and with great emphasis. As he spoke,
the chief rubbed his own hairless chin
with his fingers and pointed to the
beards of the Spaniards.
Intrigued, Corts delayed the elders
exodus from the pyramid and inquired
further. More excruciating difficulties of
interpretation followed but, bit by bit,
with Dazs help, the story was teased
out. Some days journey away on the
mainland, which the Indians called the
Yucatn, it seemed there lived a
bearded white man, much like the
Spanish in appearance. He had been
carried there a long time before in a boat
and was held captive by a lord of that
land. Apparently this white man called
himself a Castilan. He had learned the
language of the Maya and spoke it like a
native.
Could it be, Corts wondered, that
God had delivered into his hands the
very gift he now so obviously required,
namely a shipwrecked Spaniard, a man
of Castile, who might serve as a proper
interpreter for his expedition? With
growing excitement he asked the chief to
send a messenger to the Yucatn
requesting the release of the Castilan
and offering rich gifts which the
Spanish would provide in return.
The chief demurred. The men of the
Yucatn, he said, were fierce and
warlike and, moreover, cannibals; any
messenger was likely to be killed and
eaten. If Corts wished to free this
Castilan, the only solution would be to
send one of his own great boats and
soldiers there to seize him by force of
arms in which case, the chief
promised, he would be happy to assign
two Indians who knew the way to
accompany them.
Corts needed no further urging.
Sandoval, he said as they descended
the pyramid. Ive got a little job for
you.
Chapter Forty-Seven
Tenochtitlan, Friday 26
February 1519
Tozi was in the royal hospital, invisible,
standing by the bedside of Prince
Guatemoc, hating his handsome sleeping
face. She was thinking how easy it
would be to slit his throat with the sharp
little knife Huicton had provided for her,
when Moctezumas chief physician
Mecatl, a famous man in Tenochtitlan,
entered the room. He was fat and bald
and wore his ornate robes of office, but
there was, Tozi immediately detected,
something odd about his manner.
Something secretive and jittery.
He seemed nervous, but what would
he have to be nervous about in his own
hospital?
Wiping a sheen of sweat from his
brow, he peered out into the corridor,
looking left and right as though seeking
to ensure he would not be disturbed, then
closed the door behind him and
advanced on the bed, drawing a small
ceramic bottle from his robes as he did
so. He removed the bottles rubber
stopper, sniffed its contents, lifted
Guatemocs head from the pillow and
muttered, You must drink this medicine,
sire.
The prince groaned and turned his
head away. Not again! Cant you see
Im sleeping?
You must drink the medicine, lord.
Leave me alone, Mecatl. Im not in
the mood for any more of your foul
brew.
Your life depends on it, lord. Drink
now, please, I beg you. Its only a matter
of a moment and then you may rest.
Come back later, damn you! Let me
sleep!
The doctor was persistent. Im
afraid, sire, that I must insist.
Guatemocs eyes fluttered open.
Youre a horrible fat worm, Mecatl. Go
away!
I will not, great Prince. I am your
doctor, appointed by the Lord Speaker
himself. I cannot leave your side until
you drink this medicine.
Another groan. Damn it then, get on
with it if its the only way for me to be
rid of you!
Thank you, sire. Mecatl lifted the
princes head again, put the bottle to his
pale lips, nudged it between his teeth
and upended it into his mouth. Tozi saw
Guatemocs throat working as he
swallowed the draught, leaving a few
drops of what appeared to be liquid
chocolate on his chin, which Mecatl
carefully wiped away with a cloth. The
physician then restoppered the empty
bottle, placed it and the cloth back
inside his robes, stood looking down at
the prince for a few moments until his
breathing fell back into the regular
pattern of sleep, then left the room as
furtively as he had entered it.
Tozi followed.
Her connection with the stuff of the
world was different, more complicated,
when she was invisible. Her clothes and
the contents of her pockets always faded
with her, and she had learned she could
spread the field of magic to other things,
and the people around her, if she
concentrated her will. She could pick up
objects and use them if she chose to do
so, but she was also able to make herself
as insubstantial as thought and flow in
this form even through solid matter. In
every case, she had discovered, the keys
to control were focus and intention, so
she focussed now, flowed through the
wall with no more resistance than
passing through a light shower of rain,
and stayed right behind Mecatl as he
waddled along the corridor and into a
lavishly furnished office. He went to a
cupboard standing in a corner of the
room, opened it, took out a large bottle,
carried it over to a table, placed the
small bottle from his robes beside it and
refilled it from the large bottle with
more of the same chocolate-coloured
liquid. A drop spilled on the table and
he carefully wiped it up with the cloth.
Finally he placed both bottles and the
cloth back inside the cupboard and left
the room, closing and locking the door
behind him.
When he was gone, Tozi remained
invisible while she conducted a rapid
search. Laid out on the table was a fine
collection of obsidian surgical
instruments, a large mortar and pestle
and two human skulls. There were
shelves stacked with medical books
painted on maguey cloth and deerskin
and folded zigzag fashion between
wooden covers. None of this was of any
use to her but on a ledge beneath the
shuttered window she found a collection
of empty bottles. She took the smallest of
these, filled it from the larger bottle in
the cupboard, which she then carefully
replaced, tucked the smaller bottle
inside her blouse, mopped up a few
spilled drops with the cloth Mecatl had
used, and closed the cupboard. She
made a final inspection to ensure she had
left no trace of her visit other than the
missing bottle, which she hoped would
not be noticed. When she was satisfied
she flowed out through the wall directly
into the gardens surrounding the hospital
and thence back into the streets of
Tenochtitlan. Finding a patch of shadow
in a deserted alley, she re-emerged into
visibility again and began to walk
briskly northwards through the city.
An hour later Tozi and Huicton sat
together on their begging mats, talking
quietly, reviewing their progress.
Everyone knew the story of the
weeping woman whod haunted
Tenochtitlan the year before, so it had
been an obvious ploy for Tozi, shielded
by invisibility, to play that part, passing
through the streets these last six nights,
heard but not seen, seeding doubts and
fear in Moctezumas mind.
It was Huicton whod had the idea of
the dreamers, rounding up a few lonely
old tramps and invalids with the promise
of a big reward from Ishtlil, and a
comfortable retirement in the mountains,
if they could pull it off. Of course
thered been a danger that Moctezuma
would kill them on the spot, but the
elders had decided the reward was
worth the risk.
The scheme had worked better than
they could have hoped. It had been an
easy matter for Tozi to fade herself into
the dungeon, slip the sleeping draught
Huicton had procured into the guards
food, and set the prisoners free. The
guards, naturally, had not admitted to
falling asleep on duty and had told a
story of magic and sorcery that had
disturbed Moctezuma even further.
Next Tozi and Huicton decided to turn
their attention to Cuitlhuac, who was
not only the Great Speakers brother but
also his strongest supporter and closest
adviser the very man who had escorted
Tozi and Malinal from the pyramid on
the night of the sacrifices. Rumour had it
he would be appointed to the high office
of Snake Woman, now that Coaxoch had
been killed in the Tlascalan wars, so he
was an obvious target. And the fact that
Cuitlhuacs own son Guatemoc had
also been injured in Tlascala and lay in
the royal hospital seemed to offer
special opportunities for mischief.
So Tozi had entered the hospital early
this morning and waited quietly and
invisibly by Guatemocs bed for
Cuitlhuac to arrive. Surprisingly,
however, despite his sons obviously
grave condition, he had not come.
Instead there had been the strange and
sinister visit of Mecatl.
He didnt behave like a doctor, Tozi
told Huicton. Thats what made me
suspicious, so I followed him. She
pulled the little bottle from her blouse
and passed it over. This is what theyre
treating Guatemoc with, she said. Any
idea what it is?
Moctezuma was in a state of morose
despair. Despite consuming huge
quantities of teonancatl on each of the
last four nights, and sacrificing a dozen
small children, hed been unable to make
contact with Hummingbird again. The
only good news came in the daily
reports from Mecatl. Cuitlhuac was out
of Tenochtitlan on a trumped-up mission
to Texcoco and Tacuba, supposedly to
seek assurances of their continued
commitment to the alliance that united
the three cities. In his absence the poison
was being administered morning and
evening and Guatemocs condition was
deteriorating at a satisfactory pace.
Mecatl had arrived from the hospital
some moments earlier and now spoke
from his usual position, face down on
the floor of the audience chamber. Sire,
he said, I gave the prince a further dose
this morning
Good, good How much longer,
then, until he ?
The poison is subtle, sire, as you
requested, but at the present dosage I do
not believe he can survive it for more
than another eight days.
Sitting on his throne, Moctezuma
placed his index fingers together and
twirled his thumbs around each other.
That will be perfect, he said finally.
Much sooner and suspicions might be
aroused. We would not wish that. But
much later and there is the possibility
that his father will remove him from
your care. I cant keep Cuitlhuac out of
Tenochtitlan forever.
If he can be kept away from the
hospital for another two days, sire, it
should be sufficient. By then the effects
of the poison will be irreversible.
Much as Mecatl had done this morning
before giving the medicine to Guatemoc,
Huicton pulled the rubber stopper from
the bottle and sniffed the contents. Aha
he said. He took another deep sniff.
Interesting. He poured a few drops of
the liquid into the palm of his hand and
tentatively dipped his tongue into it
before spitting vigorously, leaving a
brown smear on the paving of the
causeway.
Looks like chocolate, Tozi said.
Yes. Quite clever of Mecatl, that. It
helps disguise the bitter taste. It would
probably pass casual inspection because
most medicines are bitter. But when
youve been in this business as long as I
have, you get to know your poisons, and
I think I can say with certainty that the
chief physician of our revered Great
Speaker is presently poisoning
Cuitlhuacs son.
I knew it! Tozi exclaimed. I knew
he was doing something wicked.
Huicton sniffed the bottle again and
placed the stopper firmly back in its
mouth. Wicked indeed, he said. This
is dangerous stuff. Quite rare in these
parts, by the way. Its made from the
powdered body and wings of a butterfly
that the Zapotecs call cotelachi which
means in their language the butterfly
that kills within a year. But actually it
depends on the size of butterfly you use.
A small, young cotelachi consumed
entire will take about a year to kill you,
a big full-grown one will do the job
overnight and the medium-sized ones
take ten or twelve days.
But why would Mecatl want to kill
Guatemoc?
Oh, he wont be acting without
orders from above. This whole thing has
Moctezumas cowardly stamp on it. I
think I told you he would have poisoned
Ishtlil if I hadnt got wind of the plot and
managed to foil it?
Tozi remembered.
As to Guatemoc, Huicton continued,
the Speakers motive is obvious. Easy
way to get rid of a potential rival to the
throne and make it look as if he died of
his battle injuries. Question is how
best to turn this to our advantage?
Tozi didnt have to think about the
answer. If Moctezuma wants Guatemoc
dead, she said, then we might stir up
some useful trouble by making sure he
lives.
That same night, very late, Tozi returned
to the hospital and drifted invisibly
through its gloomy passageways.
Outside Guatemocs chamber she spied
the portly figure of Mecatl leaning
forward, his ear pressed to the door,
listening intently.
Tozi slipped through the wall and by
the light of the lanterns that burned bright
within, she saw a handsome matron,
richly clad in fine linens, thick black
hair streaked with grey, leaning over the
prince, her face lined with grief and
worry. At her side, a plain and dumpy
younger woman stood crying, wiping
tears from her eyes which shed rubbed
as pink as an albino rabbits.
Silence, sister, said Guatemoc in a
weak, dry whisper. If you wish me well
then I beg you, give me no more sobs!
Your laughter will serve me better. But
she merely wailed the louder. The prince
turned to the older woman: Mother, can
you not persuade her to stop? Give me
music, give me laughter, give me dancing
girls something, anything to cheer me,
but no more tears please.
You need to be at home with us, said
his mother, instead of wasting away in
this hospital. Good food, the clear air of
our estate, the care of our own doctors
these are what will save you They
say your recovery after the battle was
almost miraculous until your father
brought you here!
This is the royal hospital! The
princes lean features were grey with
pain as he struggled to calm his mothers
fears. What better place can there be for
me? What better hope can I have? Im
under the care of Mecatl himself.
I dont trust that man, the matron
said, and I dont trust your uncle. Ahh,
gods! If only your father were here! Its
intolerable of Moctezuma to send him on
some unimportant mission of diplomacy
while you fight for your life
To bind Texcoco and Tacuba to the
triple alliance cannot be said to be
unimportant, mother.
Yes, but now? He should have sent
another
At that the door swung open and
Mecatl bustled in, coming to a halt
halfway across the room. Good
evening, Lady Achautli, he said
smoothly, feigning surprise. I had not
expected to see you here so late.
And why not? she snapped. No one
is more important to me than my son. I
cant possibly think of any better way to
spend my time than by his side.
Of course, of course, Mecatl soothed
as he turned to the younger woman. And
you, my Lady Chalchi. I am sure your
brothers strength rallies at the very sight
of you.
He certainly does not rally with any
of the treatments youre giving him here,
said Achautli.
Well, so it may appear, my lady, but
healing is a mysterious process. There
are ups and there are downs
As far as I can see its been all
downs since he came under your care!
Oh mother, please, sobbed Chalchi.
Im sure Mecatl is doing his best for
poor Guatemoc. Youre not helping my
brother with all these complaints.
The doctors expression, Tozi thought,
was a masterpiece of wounded virtue. I
understand your concerns, Lady
Achautli, he said, as he glided across
the room and positioned himself by the
bed. I take no offence, I assure you, but
the Lady Chalchi is right. I am doing
everything possible for your son and this
is why, since the hour is late, I must ask
you to leave now. Sleep is a great
restorative, and if the prince is to
recover, he must get as much rest as
possible.
Achautli spluttered an objection but
Chalchi put a hand on her arm. Come,
Mother. The doctor knows best. We must
let Guatemoc sleep.
Very well, said the older woman.
All the fight, suddenly, seemed to have
gone out of her. She stooped over the
bed and kissed her son: Until morning,
Guatemoc.
Until morning, Mother. Dont fear for
me. Im stronger than you think. Ill
recover. You have my word on it. The
prince attempted a smile but his pallor
was so bad and his skin stretched so
thinly over his skull that the effect was
ghastly.
With more floods of sobs from
Chalchi, the two women hurried out,
leaving Guatemoc with Mecatl, who
crossed the room again, peered from the
door to be sure they were gone, returned
to the princes bedside, made a show of
examining his exhausted patient and
began to change the bandages covering a
series of hideous abdominal injuries.
Tozi counted five individual puncture
marks. They were all neatly stitched but
they were suppurating and they gave off
a bad smell. There was also a wound to
his throat, but this seemed to have healed
more completely than the others, and
another on his right forearm.
The prince was wide awake, staring
up at the ceiling while the doctor
worked. Tell me honestly, Mecatl, he
said. How do you rate my chances?
I have the highest hopes for your
complete recovery, sire, thanks to the
new elixir Ive been treating you with
these past four days
That vile brew! I shudder to think of
it.
Even so, sire, it will make you well.
As Mecatl applied the last bandage he
reached into his robes, sought in a
pocket, brought forth the same small
ceramic bottle he had used that morning
and showed it to Guatemoc. The elixir
has extraordinary regenerative
properties and the power to heal every
ill of the flesh. The supply is so
restricted that I would limit any lesser
man to a single dose a day, but the Lord
Speaker has commanded that we spare
no expense to make you well
I suppose I should be grateful, but
Im not sure I can bring myself to drink
another dose tonight.
Im afraid you must, lord. It will give
you rest, numb the pain of your injuries
and work on your body as you sleep.
Watching invisibly from the corner of
the room, Tozi felt a powerful urge to
rush at Mecatl and snatch the bottle from
his hands, but she knew it would do no
good and undo every advantage she had.
Come sire, the doctor said, let me
help you. Just as he had done that
morning, he lifted Guatemocs head and
put the bottle to his lips. The prince
innocently opened his mouth and
swallowed.
There, you leech! he said with a
grimace when hed drunk every drop.
Satisfied now?
Yes, lord. Completely satisfied.
Mecatl restoppered the bottle and put it
back in his pocket in what Tozi was
coming to recognise as his usual routine.
Sleep now, sire, he said, casting a
glance over his shoulder as he walked
towards the door. Ill bring your next
dose in the morning.
Tozi remained in the corner of the room
until she was certain Guatemoc was
asleep, then she moved silently towards
his bedside. Mecatl had left the lantern
burning and, by its light, she could see
the rise and fall, rise and fall, of the
princes chest. It was obvious he had
once been heavily muscled, but now he
was weak and emaciated, indeed almost
skeletal. Strangely, she felt something
close to pity for him.
Remaining invisible, she reached out
her hand and lightly brushed his
forehead, finding it hot and clammy with
sweat. The time has come for you to
awake, she said. As Huicton had
instructed, and rehearsed with her
relentlessly all afternoon, she deepened
her voice, adding a sombre, ominous
note.
Guatemoc sighed.
Awake! Tozi said. She leaned in and
shook him. Awake, Prince Guatemoc.
He rolled away from her and
grumbled, Piss off, Mecatl, followed
by some meaningless slurred sleep talk.
You may slumber no longer, Tozi
insisted. I visit you from Aztln
Aztln? Guatemocs eyes came open
and he blinked twice. Aztln? He
appeared confused, and little wonder
since Aztln was the mystic home of the
gods the enchanted land where the
Mexica and all other Nahua peoples
were believed to have had their origin.
Still prone, he blinked again, clearing
his sight, and turned his head from side
to side. Who visits me from Aztln? he
croaked.
Veiled in invisibility, Tozi replied, It
is I, Temaz, who stands before you. I
bring you tidings from the world
beyond.
With a groan of pain, the prince
levered himself up onto his elbows, his
eyes sweeping the room. I do not see
you, he said.
Because I do not choose to reveal
myself.
Guatemoc shook his head vigorously,
in the manner of one clearing water from
his ears, and slumped back on the bed. I
am dreaming, he said.
This is no dream, Prince.
Then Ive gone mad, or you are a
phantom of the night.
I am she who is called Temaz, sweet
Prince. Do you not know who I am?
I know the name of Temaz, goddess
of healing and medicines. But you are
not she! You are a phantom a voice
without form that speaks to me from the
shadows!
I am the goddess of medicines, and
their rightful use, the patron of doctors
and of all who perform the healing arts.
That is why I have journeyed from
Aztln to bring you a warning
Guatemoc levered himself up again.
Although she knew he could not see her,
his eyes were fixed on exactly the spot
where she stood. Involuntarily, she took
a step back.
A warning? he growled. Despite his
injuries, he looked dangerous. Even if
you are Temaz, why would you bring me
a warning?
Because a doctor of this hospital
seeks your death, Tozi said quietly, and
uses a false medicine to poison you. I
cannot allow such unholy behaviour to
go unpunished, let alone to succeed.
Now she had the princes attention!
Which doctor do you speak of?
None other than Mecatl.
It cannot be! said Guatemoc, but
Tozi ignored him.
He brings you a special medicine to
drink, she said. He brings it every
morning and night. It is flavoured with
chocolate but theres a strange bitterness
to the aftertaste that is not the bitterness
of chocolate.
How can you know this? Guatemoc
asked wonderingly.
Mecatl tells you it is an elixir, Tozi
continued, that can cure all ills of the
flesh, but its real purpose is to poison
you slowly in such a way that no
suspicion will be aroused
Conflicting emotions doubt, belief,
hope wrote themselves on the princes
tortured, finely sculpted face. If you are
truly the goddess Temaz, he said finally,
then show yourself to me!
During the afternoon, as well as
discovering the exact whereabouts of
Cuitlhuac, Huicton had used his
connections to obtain a rich green skirt
and blouse for Tozi, a fine shawl
decorated with tassels, and a headdress
of cotton bands adorned with amaranth
seeds an outfit that would pass
inspection as the sacred regalia of
Temaz. He had also applied yellow axin
pigment to her cheeks, black bitumen to
her eyelids and a tincture of cochineal to
redden her lips, giving her the
appearance of a grown woman.
Satisfied she was well prepared, she
now took two further steps back from the
bed to stay out of reach and allowed
herself to fade into full visibility.
Guatemoc gasped, and something that
was not fear, but more closely akin to
awe, showed in his eyes. I see you, he
said.
And do you now believe me,
Prince?
I believe you, gracious goddess.
Then here is what you must do. In the
morning, when Mecatl comes to
administer more of the poison, you must
not drink it.
Guatemocs voice seethed with anger.
Ill kill him.
No, Prince. Nothing so hasty. The
plot against you goes deeper than Mecatl
and you must not arouse suspicion. Make
him believe you are too ill to drink the
medicine, that your stomach revolts
against it. Tell him you will attempt the
evening dose but that the morning dose is
beyond you. Convince him, until he
leaves you in peace. Then summon the
Lady Achautli, tell her everything I have
told you, and persuade her to use all
means at her disposal to have your
father, who is in Texcoco, return at once
to Tenochtitlan. Between the morning
and evening visits of Mecatl, there is
sufficient time for Cuitlhuac to cross
the lake and reach the hospital
Guatemoc nodded. And if my father
does return, then what?
He must lie in wait until Mecatl
comes to you with the poison and he
must catch him in the act of giving it to
you. Its the only way to bring an end to
this plot.
What if my mother doesnt believe
me, said Guatemoc, or if my father
doesnt believe her? What if he thinks
this story of poisoning is just a bad
dream Ive had.
The Lady Achautli will believe you
because she is your mother. But if she is
to persuade your father, you will need to
give her this
Now came the most difficult and
potentially dangerous part of the whole
masquerade. Remaining fully visible,
Tozi stepped forward, pulled from a
pocket of her blouse the little ceramic
bottle containing the cotelachi poison
she had stolen that morning and held it
out to the prince. Take it, she said. Its
the medicine Mecatl has been giving
you. The poison it contains is called
cotelachi and your mother will be able
to find a physician to verify that.
Lightning fast, Guatemocs hand shot
out and grasped Tozis wrist. For a
moment she thought he had seen through
her disguise. But then he said: I am in
your debt, Lady Temaz. For your
kindness to me this night, I swear to you
that when I am well I will make a
pilgrimage to find the lost land of Aztln
and the Seven Caves of Chicomoztoc
and speak there with the masters of
wisdom and restore virtue to the realm.
He took the bottle from her, slipped it
under his sheets and released her.
Only do as I ask, Tozi said. Defeat
this plot against you, and find the one
who is truly responsible for it.
Then impulsively she stepped close to
the bed and placed both her hands, very
gently, over the bandages covering
Guatemocs stomach.
Chapter Forty-Eight
Friday 26 February 1519 to
Saturday 27 February 1519
The storm that had scattered the fleet on
leaving Cuba had damaged several of
the ships, and their captains requested at
least a week longer in the sheltered
anchorage of Cozumel to carry out the
necessary refitting and repairs. Juan de
Escalantes carrack, with the
expeditions entire supply of cassava
bread in its hold, was in a particularly
bad way, close to sinking, and had to be
unloaded and dragged up onto the shore
to be made sound.
But two of the smaller vessels, both
brigantines, were found to be fully
seaworthy. Corts put them temporarily
under Sandovals command for the
mission to seek out the bearded white
man whom the natives called the
Castilan, and they sailed from
Cozumel at dawn on Friday 26 February.
Antn de Alaminos, who knew these
waters better than any other Spaniard,
was the pilot. Garca Brabo and the
same squad of twenty-five ruffians
whod been with Sandoval in the battle
against Velzquezs guards provided the
main fighting strength. The guides were
Yochi and Ikan, two wide-eyed Cozumel
islanders, familiar only with local
canoes, for whom the brigantines
seemed, if Little Julians interpreting
was to be trusted, as large as
mountains. Last but not least, Corts
insisted that Sandoval also take along
ten out of the expeditions complement
of a hundred ferocious war dogs whose
snarling, howling and snapping
disturbed and terrified the islanders
even though the animals, which they
described as dragons, were securely
caged on deck.
Despite their fears and bewilderment,
Yochi and Ikan, whose names meant
Hope and Star, proved to be
excellent guides. Hope was the older of
the two, perhaps in his fifties, and Star
was much younger barely out of his
teens, Sandoval thought; both were
fishermen who knew the Yucatn coast
well. Meeting with approval even from
Alaminos, they skilfully avoided
powerful currents by guiding the ships
steadily northward through the obstacle
course of small islands lying just
offshore.
During the night of Friday 26 February
and the small hours of the morning of
Saturday 27, Corts was visited again by
Saint Peter as he slept in his hammock.
The dream came upon him suddenly in
the midst of a jumble of meaningless,
inconsequential images, and took him by
compulsion to a place he did not know,
an Indian town on a great river, at the
centre of which, in the midst of a
spacious plaza where a tall silk-cotton
tree grew, stood a lofty pyramid rising in
nine steep terraces and seeming to reach
for the sky.
Saint Peter had appeared at first in his
usual form as a tall and robust man,
clean-shaven and fair-haired with the
hands of a soldier. But then, as the aerial
journey began, he transformed
mysteriously into a hummingbird,
brightly coloured with blue and yellow
feathers, a blur of wings and a long,
dagger-sharp beak. Exerting some
powerful force, some magnetism, he
drew Corts in a swirling vortex of
flight around the pyramid and whispered
in his ear or perhaps it was not a
whisper, perhaps more a thought taking
shape inside his brain I require your
presence here.
Holy Father, asked Corts, where is
this place?
This is Potonchan, said the
hummingbird that was Saint Peter,
hanging in the air. Here Christian forces
led by your predecessor Crdoba
suffered the humiliation of defeat at the
hands of the Chontal Maya.
I have heard the story, said Corts.
We all have.
That defeat must not go unavenged,
said Saint Peter. If you allow it to do
so, all your work for God in the New
Lands will fail.
And with that the scene changed and
Corts again felt himself transported
through the air with the hummingbird by
his side. He was carried over jungles
and wide rivers, crossed immense
mountains wreathed in snow and at last
found himself looking down upon a vast
green valley with a great lake at its
heart. At the heart of this lake, built upon
the water like an enchanted vision, he
saw a jewelled and shining city, and at
the heart of the city towered a pyramid
of pure gold so high and so bright that it
caught his eye by force, and astonished
him, and stupefied him with wonder.
All these things God will give you,
said Saint Peter, when you have done
the thing I require you to do.
Command me, Holiness, and I will
do it.
You must punish the wicked ways of
the Indians of Potonchan. You must lay
my vengeance upon them. You must
destroy them utterly until their dead lie
thick upon the ground. Only then will
you earn your reward.
Early on the morning of Saturday 27
February, Sandovals brigantines
rounded Cape Catoche and came in
under oar to a shallow lagoon, named
Yalahau in the Mayan tongue, which
Alaminos had visited the year before
when the Crdoba expedition had
passed a night at anchor here.
Protected on its north side from
Atlantic storms and currents by a long
narrow island that the guides called
Holbox, the five-mile-wide lagoon was
sheltered and peaceful, fringed by white
sand and palm trees and home to
tremendous populations of large and
colourful birds including species
familiar to the Spanish such as long-
legged pink flamingos and white
pelicans. On the lagoons south side,
where the Yucatn mainland stretched
away into limitless distance, several
villages were visible amongst the trees
and, within minutes of the brigantines
being sighted, great numbers of people
had emerged to line the shore.
Sandoval ordered the crews to row
closer and it soon became obvious the
villagers were hostile. There were many
women and children amongst them, but
he also counted close to a hundred men
waving spears and clubs. As the ships
came within hailing distance, several
flights of arrows soared up but fell short
into the blue waters of the lagoon. I
think well drop anchor here, Sandoval
said to Brabo, and give some thought to
strategy while were still out of arrow
range.
Good idea, sir, agreed the sergeant,
shading his eyes with his hand and
frowning at the Indians on the shore.
But, if I may suggest, a few rounds of
grapeshot fired into the midst of them
would be likely to work wonders.
Sandoval winced. Each brigantine
was armed with two small cannon, one
in the bow and one in the stern. With
barrels four feet long, these weapons
were called falconets because they fired
metal or stone balls, similar in size to a
falcon with its wings folded, weighing
about a pound and lethal up to a range of
a mile. They could also be loaded with
canvas tubes containing clusters of
smaller balls somewhat like clusters
of grapes in appearance that broke up
and spread out on firing and were utterly
devastating against a massed enemy at
close range. The Indians lined along the
shore were less than five hundred feet
away and if Brabos suggestion were
followed many of them would die.
Im not sure that will be necessary,
Sandoval said. Lets see if we can
scare them off with some ball fired into
the trees. He turned to Alaminos: Did
you use cannon when you were here with
Crdoba? he asked.
The pilot shook his head. We didnt
land so there was no need.
Well and good then, said Sandoval
and gave the order for the falconets to be
charged. Lets fire two rounds each
from all four of them and see what
happens.
That same morning, Saturday 27
February, Corts and Alvarado took
breakfast together on board the Santa
Mara de la Concepcin.
Well, Corts said with a smile, are
we friends again?
Alvarado still wore a sulky,
somewhat wounded expression. You
should not have shamed me, Hernn.
You shamed yourself, Pedro, with
your haste and your greed. Please
forgive me for being blunt but thats how
I see it. Your actions here in Cozumel
could have cost us dear
Dear? How so? The Indians were
heretics. They deserved to burn. And
their gold was ours by right of conquest.
Why should I not take it? Why should I
have been compelled to give it back?
Corts sighed. Strategy, Pedro.
Strategy By making reparations we
regained the trust that you had lost us,
and because of that trust we were given
vital intelligence. Nothing could be more
central to our interests than a proper
interpreter but I doubt the Indians would
have breathed a word about this
shipwrecked Spaniard if Id left things
the way I found them when I arrived
Alvarado sniffed. Ah yes, your
mysterious Castilan If he even
exists, which I very much doubt. Ill
wager youve sent Sandoval off on a
wild goose chase
Really? A wager? How much?
Alvarado grinned: A hundred gold
pesos.
Come come! A mere hundred?
Theres no sport in that!
Very well then, lets say a thousand.
Done! agreed Corts. If Sandoval
comes back with this Castilan youll
pay me a thousand gold pieces; if he
comes back empty handed you can take a
thousand from me.
Alvarados spirits had lightened, as
they always did at the prospect of a
gamble, but he was still visibly sulking.
A mere fraction of what you owe me,
he said. For your sake I passed up
fifteen thousand gold pieces from
Velzquez, risked my life and took an
injury. He stabbed his knife into a slice
of roast pork and glanced down at his
splinted left arm hanging uselessly in a
sling across his chest. You conveniently
forgot all that, Hernn, when you
rebuked me in front of the men.
I forgot nothing, but I am in command
of our expedition and I carry
responsibilities that you do not.
Youd have no expedition to
command if Id done what the governor
asked of me.
Corts slowly nodded his head. Im
in your debt for that, he said. I dont
deny it
And that debt is about to deepen!
Juan Escudero and the governors cousin
Velzquez de Len paid me a quiet visit
yesterday, you know. Theyve taken hope
from our quarrel on Thursday. They
cant imagine Ill ever forgive you for it,
so they fancy Im ready to join their side.
Theyre hatching some plot to arrest you
and hinted theyd offer me joint
command with Escudero if I play along
with them. Ive agreed to meet them on
my ship this afternoon to hear more
Corts laughed. Somehow, old
friend, I dont see you ever joining such
swine.
Im no Velazquista, Alvarado
agreed. It was the derisive term the two
of them used between themselves for the
clique of cavilling and complaining
officers loyal to the governor of Cuba.
And Im no captain-general, either
joint or otherwise! Appearances to the
contrary, I do know my limitations. Im
rash, hot-tempered, impatient; I like a
fight, and frankly the burdens of
command bore me. But I thought Id
string them along, find out more about
what they want and give you a full
report.
So I can still count on you, Pedro?
Despite the harsh words weve
exchanged?
The atmosphere in the stateroom
lightened further as Alvarado gave
another big grin. You can count on me,
Hernn. Ill keep the Velazquistas
guessing and strengthen your hand
against them, but I ask you this in return
respect my pride, give me enemies to
kill and dont keep me too long away
from gold!
You will have gold! More than even
you could wish for. And battles too.
Well be refitting for a few more days
here in Cozumel while Sandoval finds
that shipwrecked Spaniard and brings
him to us here
If, objected Alvarado, if
Oh, hell find him all right, and when
he does, I tell you what, I wont even
have my thousand pesos off you. You can
keep it as a down payment on the fortune
youll make in the new lands. Then well
sail the fleet north along the east coast of
the Yucatn peninsula, round Cape
Catoche where Sandoval should be
now, by the way and thence south
down the west coast of the peninsula to a
place called Potonchan
Where Crdoba took a beating?
Exactly. His defeat there sets a bad
precedent.
Some would call routing an army of
ten thousand savages with a hundred men
a victory
It was a defeat. Seventy Spaniards
died in the fighting, the survivors fled
back to their ships with their tails
between their legs before the enemy
could regroup, and Crdoba himself
perished from his injuries on the return
journey to Cuba. He was a brave man.
All who were with him there were brave
men; but, make no mistake about it, they
were defeated, and they were seen to be
defeated, and now those Indians know
we can be killed. Such reverses happen
on campaign, and they will happen to us,
but if we are to conquer here then we
cannot afford to let any reverse go
unpunished. Thats why I intend to take
revenge for Crdobas defeat and do
great harm to the Indians of Potonchan.
Ill not hold you back there, Pedro, you
have my promise. None will be spared
until I receive their abject surrender, and
we will have their gold, their silver,
their jewellery and their women for
our beds.
Bravo Hernn! roared Alvarado.
Now youre talking. His grin was
wider than ever, his teeth bared in a
wolfish snarl, and he slapped his
uninjured right hand on the table. Im
not sure about their filthy women,
though.
Like all the Spaniards on board the
brigantines, Sandoval was used to the
crashing, explosive roar of cannon fire,
to the pressure wave of the percussion
as it struck the ears, to the whistle of the
ball through the air, and to the foul,
sulphurous smell of the clouds of smoke
given off by the guns. So were the caged
dogs, trained and habituated to war, and
so also, though to a lesser extent, was
Little Julian. But Hope and Star were
completely new to the experience and
threw themselves to the deck, their eyes
rolling, their jaws slack, uttering high,
keening wails of terror which drove the
dogs into a frenzy, barking, snarling and
pawing at the walls of their cage.
On shore the effects were even more
dramatic. As the first four shots smashed
into the dense trees that Sandoval had
told the gunners to aim for, turning great
swathes to matchwood in an instant, and
as the shock of the explosions echoed
round the lagoon, a tide of hysteria
swept through the Indians, causing many
to fall on their knees or their faces and
many more to turn and run, barging into
those behind them in what rapidly
became a cascading, screaming,
desperate stampede into the jungle.
Within moments the white sand beach
was empty, but for the fallen and the
trampled, and very soon all the injured
who were able to walk or drag
themselves away were gone.
A ragged cheer went up from the
Spaniards. Looks like you were right,
sir, said Brabo with a grim smile. That
worked a charm.
Corts felt calm despite Alvarados
revelations about Escudero and
Velzquez de Len. Of course they were
plotting against him! He had spies on
their ships, and amongst the other
Velazquistas too, and knew exactly what
they were doing from day to day. Theyd
only implicate themselves further in their
foolish meeting with Alvarado this
afternoon and, when the right time came,
hed use all this evidence against them.
Thered be some hangings then mutiny
was a capital offence, after all and
Escudero would be the first to dance at
the end of the rope.
But for now there were other
priorities. Corts summoned his young
secretary Pepillo, who had seemed pale
and ill these past three days, and sat him
down at the writing table with quill, ink
and paper to take dictation of the letter
he was in the process of composing to
King Charles V of Spain. Despite
Pepillos apparent poor spirits, he was a
clever boy, and had suggested this
system of dictation, which Corts
quickly realised was an easier and more
efficient way of arriving at a first draft
than painstakingly writing it out himself.
Where did we get to yesterday? he
asked.
The fleet, read Pepillo, was
disposed according to the orders of
Governor Diego de Velzquez, although
he contributed but a third of the cost
Ah yes. Very well, we continue.
Corts, who was standing, now began to
pace about the floor of the stateroom.
And Your Majesty should also know,
he declaimed, that the third part
contributed by Velzquez consisted in
the main of wine and cloth and other
things of no great value which he
planned to sell later to the
expeditionaries at a much higher price
than he paid for them. So you might say
he was investing his funds very
profitably and that what he intended was
more a form of trade with Spaniards,
your Royal Highnesss subjects, than a
real contribution to the expedition.
Corts paused, thinking through what
he wanted to say next. Technically, the
whole enterprise had become illegal as
a result of his precipitate departure from
Cuba without Velzquezs permission.
The only way to get round this was to
win the direct support of the king, which
would require some manoeuvring and
some eloquence, to say the least! It was
therefore essential to present the
governors behaviour in as unflattering a
light as possible, while casting the best
possible light on his own. I, on the other
hand, he continued, spent my entire
fortune in equipping the fleet and paid
for nearly two-thirds of it, providing not
only ships and supplies but also giving
money to those who were to sail with us
who were unable to provide themselves
with all they required for the journey.
As Pepillos hand moved rapidly
across the page, there came a knock at
the door. Yes, Corts said with a hint
of irritation, come in.
The visitors were Bernal Daz and
Father Olmedo. Good morning,
gentlemen, Corts said, what can I do
for you?
A silence followed and both men
glanced uncomfortably at Pepillo.
Come on! Speak up!
Olmedo took the lead. Theres
trouble in the town, Hernn. It seems
two murders have been committed
both the victims are little boys no more
than six years old. One was found in the
forest on Thursday, the day of Don
Pedros ill-advised raid, and thought to
be a casualty of the fighting. We paid
blood price for him as we did for all the
others killed and injured. But the second
murder took place last night. Its hard to
make head or tail of whats going on
without our interpreter. They took me to
see the bodies and a look of profound
disgust crossed his face both were
sodomised. As far as we can tell, the
Indians believe a Spaniard was
responsible.
A Spaniard! Corts was horrified.
No Spaniard would commit the
abominable sin of sodomy.
Theres something else sir, said
Daz, stepping forward. The boys were
scalped.
Scalped?
Yes, sir. Whoever killed and
sodomised them also cut a strip of scalp
from the victims heads in both cases
between the crown and the left ear.
With a sudden lurch of nausea, Corts
remembered Muozs bags, still lying
hidden in the back of the stateroom, and
pictured their contents the knives, the
peculiar strips of dried skin and hair
and knew immediately who the murderer
was. But he fought hard to keep his face
expressionless. I dont see what this
proves, he said.
Sir, the same thing happened on the
Crdoba expedition, offered Daz with
a frown. Indian boys were murdered
then as well and scalped in exactly the
same way.
So what? Corts snapped. His heart
was pounding and he felt what was
this? almost guilty.
Daz was looking at him with
increasing puzzlement. But its obvious,
sir! It can only mean one thing. A
Spaniard who was on the Crdoba
expedition, and whos now here with us,
is committing these murders.
Almost every survivor of the
Crdoba expedition is in Cozumel, Daz,
including you yourself! Corts realised
he was shouting and lowered his voice.
Thirty men, more or less Must I
suspect all of them of sodomy and
murder?
In theory, yes, said Olmedo. All are
suspects until theyve been ruled out.
This is a serious matter, Hernn. I urge
you to authorise a full investigation at
once.
Corts paced back and forth deep in
thought. Ill do no such thing, he said
finally. Any open investigation could
throw the whole expedition into turmoil.
Look into it yourselves, if you must. You
have my authority. But do it quietly
By the account originally given of it
back on Cozumel, which Hope and Star
repeated after recovering their
composure, the town where the
Castilan was being kept was named
Mutul. It had more than a thousand
inhabitants every one of them
cannibals, sirs, translated Little Julian
and it was situated in the jungles of the
interior some five hours march south
from Laguna Yalahau.
Newly converted to the merits of
artillery, the guides urged Sandoval to
bring the falconets; there was, they
claimed, a good road cut through the
jungle over which the weapons on their
wheeled carriages could easily be
manoeuvred. However, Brabo advised
against it. Even if the roads as good as
a kings highway, sir, the cannon will
slow us down. It would be a different
matter if we had fifty Indian bearers, but
the fact is we dont and every minute we
waste on the road is a minute longer for
the enemy to make preparations against
us. I say we move fast, get there before
word of us reaches them, find our man
and get out before the buggers know
whats hit them Besides, sir, look on
the bright side! We have the dogs and
theyll level the odds. Im supposing you
havent seen them at work against men,
being as youre newly out from Spain,
but Ive seen it often enough in the
islands and believe me, its a fearsome
sight fit to turn the strongest stomach.
Sandoval glanced at the slavering
pack of wolfhounds, greyhounds and
mastiffs, still excited by the recent
commotion, pacing back and forth in the
big cage on deck. Their keeper, a sullen,
heavyset hunchback named Telmo
Vendabal and his four filthy, foul-
mouthed assistants were readying the
animals armour of viciously spiked
collars, chain mail and even steel plate.
Brabo was right, Sandoval reflected, he
had never seen war dogs in action. He
found himself hoping, fervently, that he
would not do so today. Very well, he
agreed with a curt nod of his head, we
leave the guns. Lets get on with it.
With much shouting and cursing,
frayed tempers and furious gesticulation,
the launches were lowered into the surf
from the decks of the brigantines and
Sandoval, Brabo, the twenty-five
members of Brabos squad, Vendabal
and his assistants, the ten dogs, Hope,
Star and Little Julian were all landed.
Vendabal and his men each held two
of the eager, straining hounds on chain
leashes attached to their collars, but one
of the men stumbled in the knee-deep
water as he made his way up to the
beach. With a roar a huge wolfhound
broke free, charged across the sand,
pounced on the body of an Indian whod
been trampled when the rest of the
villagers took flight and plunged its
fangs into his naked abdomen.
At least hes dead, thought Sandoval,
but then the man suddenly howled and
struggled to his feet, striking wildly at
the dogs head, hauling it up with him, its
teeth locked in his belly, blood gushing
hither and yon.
The Indian was screaming now, a
desperate, keening, pleading yowl as he
struck again and again at the furious
animal, his naked fists bouncing
ineffectually off its armoured jowls and
shoulders.
For a moment the man broke free,
leaving some great steak of his flesh in
the dogs mouth, which it gulped down
in an instant before pursuing him,
leaping through the air and attacking his
naked upper right thigh, just below his
breechclout, opening a ghastly wound
and releasing another gouting spray of
blood. The Indian went down on his
face, still howling, high pitched and
pitiful.
In the name of God and all thats
merciful, Sandoval yelled at Vendabal,
cant you stop this? but the hunchback
was watching with what looked like
amusement even pleasure.
Then Hell take you! exclaimed
Sandoval, drawing his sword and
advancing up the beach, intent on killing
the dog, only to hear a rush of feet
behind him and discover that a strong
hand gripped his sword arm while
another snaked around his neck. He
heard Brabos voice, smelt his garlic
breath. Not so fast, sir, said the
sergeant. Thats a valuable dog, sir, and
not lightly to be wasted.
His grip was iron. Unhand me,
Sergeant, Sandoval choked.
With regret, sir, sorry, I cant do
that.
The Indian was still alive, still
fighting. Somehow he tore himself loose
from the wolfhounds jaws, rolled onto
his back and tried to get his hands
around the monsters armoured throat,
but the effort was fruitless. His stomach
already torn open, blood gushing onto
the sand, the huge dog effortlessly shook
off his grasp, worked its jaws into his
belly and suddenly a heap of bloody
intestines spooled out. A moment later
the Indians struggles ceased as the dogs
massive head disappeared almost
entirely inside his abdominal cavity.
Brabo loosed his grip on Sandovals
throat. Theyre trained to relish the
flesh of the Indians, sir, he explained.
Its not a pleasant thing, but a time may
come when youll be thankful for it.
No sooner had Olmedo and Daz left the
stateroom than Corts turned to Pepillo:
Thats enough for today, he said. You
can go
Go, sir?
Yes, go and help Melchior with the
horses. Youll find him in the pasture.
Well work on the letter again tomorrow.
I have other more urgent matters to
attend to.
Pepillo stood at the writing table for a
moment, wrestling with his conscience.
He and Melchior had said nothing to
Corts about the first murder. Theyd
been off the ship against his orders and
had feared punishment. Besides,
Melchior had argued, he wont believe
us anyway. Its our word against the
word of a Holy Inquisitor. Who do you
think will win? Hed pulled out his
dagger. Well deal with Muoz
ourselves.
Which was all very well, except they
hadnt dealt with Muoz and now
murder had been done again.
Sir Pepillo said as he shuffled the
papers on the writing table into a neat
pile.
Yes? A note of irritation.
Pepillo sought the right words. It was
too late to report what hed seen Muoz
doing three days ago. But might he not
somehow hint, put an idea in the
caudillos mind? He gathered his
courage: Sir I couldnt help but
overhear Father Olmedo and Don Bernal
and Ive been thinking, sir, that Father
Muoz was with Crdoba
Whats that boy? What are you
suggesting? Cortss voice was
suddenly hard and dangerous, and his
features had contorted into an angry
frown.
And Father Muoz is very cruel,
Pepillo persisted, and and
Be silent, boy! I took your side
against Muoz but Ill not permit you to
make such vile insinuations Hes here
to do Gods work, as are we all.
Pepillos heart fell. This wasnt going
at all as hed hoped. Yes, sir. Im sorry,
sir. I dont mean to cause offence I
just thought
Youre not here to think, boy!
No sir Its just that Pepillos
voice trailed off. The fact was that he
would never convince Corts unless he
was prepared to report what hed seen
and get himself and Melchior into
terrible trouble even worse trouble,
now, than they would have faced if
theyd reported it three days ago.
Its just what? Corts roared, and
Pepillo suddenly saw something
monstrous in the caudillos usually
good-humoured features.
Nothing, sir. Im very sorry, sir, for
speaking out of turn. I mean no harm.
Get out of my sight, Corts snapped.
And with that, filled with foreboding
and self-loathing, Pepillo hurried off.
Below deck on the San Sebastin,
Father Gaspar Muoz lay naked, face
down on the bare boards of his dark
prayer cell in a state of sacred rapture.
Last night he had sodomised and
murdered a second young Indian boy.
This morning, as penance, he had
scourged himself severely, passed
almost at once into communion with the
divine, and now found himself in a vast,
celestial chamber, flooded with supernal
light, at the distant end of which Saint
Peter sat in majesty on a great jewelled
throne. The walls of the chamber were
of mother-of-pearl, its lofty ceiling of
diamonds and rubies, its floor of gold.
Heavenly music, as though of a choir of
angels, filled the air.
Approach, said the saint, his voice
booming, and Muoz felt himself drawn
forward at tremendous speed so that an
instant later he was before the throne.
Kneel, said the saint, and Muoz
knelt, his head bowed.
You are troubled, my son, said the
saint.
Yes, Holy Father.
Then unburden yourself
The boys of the Indian tribe are
dragons that lurk in hidden lairs to tempt
the innocent. I was tempted, Holy Father,
and I sinned again last night
You do the work of God, my son. I
have already taught you there is no sin in
taking your reward on the bodies of the
heathens.
I understand, Holy Father, but I am
tempted to another and greater sin for
which I seek your absolution
The saint leaned forward in his throne
and tilted Muozs head up, forcing him
to look into his eyes.
Tell me, my son
Those eyes, like black whirlpools,
seemed to suck Muozs brain out of his
head. Holiness, he said, you know my
mind already
Still I would hear you speak the
words.
As you command, Holy Father. This
matter concerns the blackamoor
Melchior, who once before tempted me
to carnal lust, and the page Pepillo. That
little Judas! My own servant turned
against me! Two days ago, when I was
seeking out the first Indian child, I
observed the pair of them watching me.
Following me! I evaded them. But last
night Melchior followed me again, this
time alone
And you evaded him once more and
took a second child?
I did, Holy Father, but I cannot allow
this spying to continue. I fear others will
soon be informed of my appetites.
Melchior harbours a deep hatred for me

Because you had carnal knowledge

of him?
To my shame, Holiness On the
Crdoba expedition, my lust for the
blackamoor was great and he tempted
me to the sin of Sodom.
The only sin is that you failed to kill
him on the day you had him! I permit you
these pleasures, Muoz, because you
do Gods work, but I expect you to be
efficient. I expect you to be discreet.
Will you absolve me then if I kill the
blackamoor now, though he is a
converted Christian? Will you absolve
me if I kill the page Pepillo, also a
Christian and reared amongst my own
Dominican brothers?
Muoz felt the familiar warmth of a
strong, calloused hand resting on his
head. Ego te absolvo, the saint
pronounced, a peccatis tuis, in nomine
Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti.
The jungle chimed and trumpeted with
birdsong and reverberated with the
grunts and roars of wild beasts, while
high above, long-haired black monkeys
swung howling from branch to branch
amongst the trees.
The road through this hostile,
poisonous, alien realm was almost as
astonishing as the jungle itself,
somewhat raised above the surrounding
ground level, two lances wide and
surfaced, Sandoval discovered on
investigation, with iron-hard limestone
stucco over a stone and rubble fill.
Brabo had joked earlier that even should
it prove to be as good as a kings
highway, it would not be practical to
bring the cannon. Yet the workmanship
of this sacbe, as Hope and Star called it
the word apparently meant white
road was far superior to any of the
great thoroughfares that Sandoval had
travelled on in Spain and surely testified
to the presence of a high civilisation
with advanced engineering skills.
He found the thought a chilling one.
The assumption had been made by
Corts that the Indians of the New Lands
must be at the same low level of culture
as the Taino of Cuba and Hispaniola; the
first encounters made by Crdoba, and
even this morning when the falconets
were fired, had seemed to confirm this.
Yet the sacbe sent a very different
message.
Through the limited interpreting
services of Little Julian, Sandoval
attempted to question Hope and Star on
the matter as the little group of
expeditionaries pushed on at a forced
march. His worry increased as he learnt
that dozens of roads, just as well made
as this, crisscrossed the Yucatn;
however, the knots of tension that had
settled at the base of his neck gradually
began to dissipate as the guides
explained that the sacbes had been built
hundreds of years earlier by the
ancestors of the Maya and that although
they were still maintained and kept free
of jungle growth, none of the tribes
possessed the skills, organisation or
technology to make such wonders today.
Why? Sandoval asked. What
happened here to bring about this
change? But Hope and Star merely
shrugged. Their ancestors, they said,
were giants, but the gods had brought
them low, and the Maya now inhabiting
the Yucatn were ordinary mortals living
simple lives, much as they themselves
did on Cozumel, amongst the mighty
memorials of their long-lost glory.
We can be grateful for that at least,
Sandoval said to Brabo, and the sergeant
nodded. Indeed, sir. Our numbers are
small. Its the superiority of our arms
and military discipline we must rely on
to bring us victory.
There was a chorus of agreement from
the men and Miguel de La Mafla, the
bright-eyed young adventurer who led
the five musketeers in the squad, said,
Dont worry, Sergeant, well see them
off for you. Judging from what happened
this morning, theyll run at the first sound
of gunfire
Just as well, Brabo grinned, seeing
as you boys cant hit a barn door at
twenty paces! He put his hand to the hilt
of his broadsword: Until your aim
improves, Ill put my trust in good
Toledo steel.
Rearing above them, the dense foliage
of the great trees, overgrown with
creepers, all but blotted out the sky, so
the Spaniards marched in a deep
emerald gloom through which the rays of
the sun rarely penetrated directly. This
made it difficult to know the time of day,
but from his glimpses of the suns
position, Sandoval estimated it must
already be an hour or more past noon.
Despite the shade there was no
refreshing breeze down here on the
jungle floor, not even the slightest
movement of air, and the heat and
humidity were becoming insufferable.
The armoured dogs, which led the
column, straining at their leashes,
panting, constantly snarling and snapping
at the unfamiliar scents and sounds, were
plainly distressed, their pink tongues
lolling, saliva dripping from their fangs.
Sandoval and Brabo came next, and
behind them the twenty-five members of
the squad marched in their customary
square of five ranks of five. Several men
had already stripped themselves of their
armour, which they now carried
awkwardly as they trudged onward, and
Sandoval, itching and sweating, was
seized by an overwhelming urge to
unstrap his own heavy steel cuirass
within which he imagined he was slowly
baking like a crab in its shell.
Stay alert, men, Brabo warned
casting a suspicious eye on the dense
undergrowth hemming in the road on
both sides. They say these savages use
poison darts
Which they bend over and blow out
their arses at their enemies, joked Diego
Martin, a thickset, powerfully muscled
crossbowman. As with the musketeers,
there were five specialists with this
weapon in the squad, and Martin had
made a name amongst them for his
accuracy and speed of reloading.
Esteban Valencia, one of the squads
two scouts, held a finger to his lips.
Lets keep it quiet, boys, he said.
Weve been marching nigh on five
hours. Cant be far to where were going
now.
Sandoval turned to Hope and Star and
beckoned Little Julian closer. Ask them
how far, he said.
Will know when get there, came the
answer after a muttered and urgent
exchange in the Mayan language. Jungle
all look same to them.
Since they were in the midst of hostile
territory, unknown except to the two
fishermen (who had seemed lost
themselves from the moment they left the
sea behind), Sandoval had decided not
to send the scouts ahead on the road.
They were, in his opinion, more likely to
be picked off than to return with any
useful information. The strategy
therefore remained much as Brabo had
proposed it at the outset move fast, hit
the enemy hard in the hope of aweing
them into the same sort of panicked
precipitous flight theyd provoked with
the falconets on the beach, find the
shipwrecked Spaniard and withdraw at
a forced march to the waiting
brigantines.
The likelihood of all this unravelling
in dangerous and unpredictable ways
was, of course, extremely high, but short
of turning up here with the entire
expeditionary force, which had never
been an option as far as Corts was
concerned, Sandoval couldnt think of
any better way to do things. He was
brooding on what might go wrong, and
constantly glancing left and right into the
undergrowth, when he thought he caught
a flash of movement deep amongst the
trees. The moment he focussed on the
spot where hed seen it, however, it was
gone. Just leaves, thick bush, hanging
creepers nothing more.
Then flash, flicker there it was
again on the other side of the road. This
time he could have sworn he saw a
human eye glaring at him out of the
foliage, felt the shock of being watched,
of a definite connection, but again when
he focussed there was nothing there.
He might have gone on doubting
himself if the dogs hadnt suddenly
started baying all at once. Vendabal
shouted a command, the handlers
stooped to let a pair of heavy mastiffs
off the leash, and with eager barks they
bounded away, one to the left, one to the
right, into the jungle. They were instantly
lost to sight, crashing through the
undergrowth, their course marked only
by swaying branches; then there came a
terrified yell, then another, followed by
a horrible cacophony of snarling and
snapping and men screaming in terror
and pain from both sides of the road.
Vendabal was standing alert, listening,
watching. It sounded as if the mastiffs
had brought two of the spies down, but
more crashing in the undergrowth
revealed others trying to make their
escape. Sandoval didnt hesitate: Put
more dogs after them, he yelled.
As the rest of the dogs sped left and
right into the jungle, yapping with
excitement, Brabo turned to Sandoval
with a knowing leer. Its like I said, sir.
Theyre trained to relish the flesh of the
Indians.
Very well, Sergeant, Sandoval said
ruefully as more terrible screams rose
up. I admit your point. Im thankful for
the presence of the dogs and sooner
than I expected to be He grimaced,
and Brabo grinned, at a particularly
hideous, gurgling cry from somewhere to
the left of the road. Well, lets get after
them and see what theyve found.
Brabo led a team of five men off to
the left, Sandoval took another five to
the right. He drew his sword and used it
to push the dense green vegetation aside,
sometimes having to hack through thick
creepers and branches to clear a path,
but the dogs and their victims were still
making so much noise they were easily
found.
There were two Indians here. The
first was already dead and being
disgustingly eaten by the two snarling
mastiffs and the greyhound that had
brought him down. The second, with
only one dog on him, a big lurcher that
had him by the shoulder, was a boy of
barely fifteen years, and still very much
alive. His thin body was naked but for a
loincloth and his moon face, dotted with
acne, daubed with stripes of green paint
and framed by straight black hair, was
contorted with terror as the beast shook
him like a rag doll. One of Vendabals
handlers surged forward yelling staccato
commands, striking at the dog with a
whip. It released the boy and stood over
him, its jaws dripping blood and saliva.
The youth was trembling, his eyes
rolling in mute entreaty, as the
conquistadors dragged him to his feet,
bound his arms behind his back and
marched him to the road. There Brabo
had already rejoined the main squad
with two more prisoners, both severely
mauled, one with his throat so badly torn
it seemed impossible he could survive.
I suppose wed better try and
question them, said Sandoval. If Little
Julians interpreting skills are up to it.
Brabo nodded brusquely. Be nice to
know what sort of receptions waiting
for us ahead. He barked an order and
the Indians were forced to their knees in
the middle of the road. Before Sandoval
could stop him, the sergeant had drawn a
dagger from his belt, seized the hair of
the boy whod been taken by the lurcher
and sliced off his left ear, producing a
spray of blood and horrified screams
from the captive.
What the hell ? Sandoval gasped.
Just letting them know we mean
business, sir, said Brabo. If you dont
have the stomach for this itd be best to
leave the interrogation to me.
With feelings of shame, Sandoval
shrugged helplessly and stood back
while the horror unfolded. Did Little
Julian even understand the questions
Brabo put to him? Did he translate them
correctly to the captives? Were they
brave men, or simply confused when at
first they didnt reply? And when speech
finally tumbled from them as an eye was
gouged out here, a hand hacked off there,
were the answers they gave truthful and
did Little Julian translate them
accurately?
Within minutes all three of the Indians
were dead and Sandoval knew what he
could already have guessed that
refugees fleeing from the coast had
brought warning of the approach of the
Spaniards, that the town of Mutul was
alert and prepared, and that two hundred
warriors, armed and ready for battle,
were waiting to annihilate them.
For a moment Sandoval considered
the possibility of flight. But only for a
moment. To return to Corts without
even having attempted to win the prize
was too shameful an outcome to imagine.
Better to die here than be branded a
coward for the rest of his life. He took a
long swig from his water bottle and
turned to Brabo. What do you reckon?
he asked.
Nigh-on thirty Spaniards and ten
dogs against two hundred painted
savages? The sergeants sneer said it
all. I reckon we march right in and kill
them all, sir.
Chapter Forty-Nine
Saturday 27 February 1519
After a mile the jungle began to thin and
Sandoval and his squad, all fully
armoured again and ready for war, soon
found themselves in open terrain
obviously cleared by human hands.
There were signs of recent slash and
burn, with blackened tree stumps still
standing out a cubit or two above the
acres of charred waste that lined both
sides of the road, but ahead lay regular
fields with the first green shoots of new
maize a crop already known to the
Spaniards from Cuba and Hispaniola
pushing through the earth.
Less than a mile away across the
fields lay the town of Mutul, consisting
for the most part of simple huts clustered
round a towering stone pyramid with
stepped sides, far larger than the
pyramid of Cozumel. At the edges of the
town Sandoval spied green patches that
he took to be vegetable gardens, and an
orchard planted with regular lines of
tall, leafy trees. What most pressed upon
his mind, however, was the great mass
of people boiling from every quarter like
ants out of a disturbed nest and, much
nearer, at a distance of seven hundred
paces, a disciplined force of about two
hundred heavily armed warriors clad in
loincloths and skins, arrayed in four
ranks of fifty, and rapidly closing on the
Spanish column.
Orders, sir? said Brabo. His voice
was terse.
Sandoval was still haunted by guilt at
the torture hed witnessed and failed to
stop, but at least the spies had spoken
true and hed had time to think through a
strategy in the last mile of the march. His
men were few in numbers, but the sheer
shocking strangeness of their
appearance, their armour, their dogs and
their science of warfare offered
powerful advantages over the Indians.
There were five archers in the squad
and their Genoese crossbows were
lethal killing machines. They had an
effective range up to four hundred paces
against unarmoured foes and, even at
two hundred paces, the steel bolts they
fired could penetrate plate armour.
Sandoval also had five musketeers,
armed with Spanish-made arquebuses
that fired lead balls about the diameter
of a mans thumb. These travelled much
faster than crossbow bolts and often
shattered on impact causing devastating
wounds, but they were rarely effective at
ranges beyond a hundred paces.
As to reloading, the muskets with their
powder and ramrods and smouldering
matchlocks, and the crossbows with
their crannequins and windlasses to
rewind the tough strings were equally
cumbersome both types of weapon
requiring about a minute between shots.
The great advantage of the muskets
today, however, would come from the
thunder and smoke of their firing. Since
there had been no landing and no fighting
when Crdobas fleet had recced Laguna
Yalahau, it was safe to assume the
inhabitants of Mutul had never faced
guns and most probably never even
heard rumour of such weapons. With
luck the effects would be spectacular.
Crossbowmen and musketeers to the
fore to form the first two ranks of the
square, Sandoval barked. Dogs and
handlers stand to the side. Crossbowmen
fire at two hundred paces, countermarch
to the rear of the square and reload,
musketeers fire at a hundred paces and
countermarch to the rear. Then release
the dogs.
As they charged closer, the enemy
began to shout war cries in their
singsong language and to whistle and
whoop in an eerie and disconcerting
manner. When they were three hundred
paces out, still beyond the effective
range of the muskets, they deployed a
weapon Sandoval was unfamiliar with
angled wooden sticks used to launch a
hail of little spears that arched up into
the sky and swooped down with
alarming accuracy on the Spanish
square. Reacting instinctively, the men in
the rear three ranks raised their bucklers
and big adarga shields to protect both
themselves and the ranks in front. The
barrage of darts, tipped with flint points,
was easily deflected. Three of the dogs
in the baying pack to the right of the
square took direct hits, but their steel
armour shattered the flint warheads
leaving the hounds themselves
unharmed. Then click whoosh the
crossbowmen let fly, and five of the
onrushing enemy tumbled screaming to
the ground, transfixed by the heavy steel
bolts. As the crossbowmen stepped back
through the square, a manoeuvre they had
practised a hundred times, the
musketeers fired a single massive,
crashing volley into the heart of the
enemy, now less than a hundred paces
distant, and quite suddenly, through the
thick clouds of foul smoke, Sandoval
saw what he had been silently praying
for, saw the Maya horde falter and
stumble, saw the fear on their faces and
their rolling eyes, heard their howls of
terror.
On a European battlefield the toll
taken by the guns would have been
confined to those actually hit, and the
charge would have continued unbroken,
but here amongst savages who had never
encountered firearms before, the effect
was devastating beyond all proportion,
almost as though the Spanish were not
mortal men but gods throwing
thunderbolts. The enemy front ranks
instantly turned and ran, while the ranks
behind, still carried forward by their
own momentum, crashed into them in a
jumbled, churning, panic-stricken scrum,
upon which, snarling and baying, teeth
snapping, armour gleaming, like demons
released from hell, pounced the ten
furious war dogs. Here a mans throat
was torn out, there the great artery in
anothers thigh gushed blood, here a coil
of guts spilled loose, there a wolfhound
clamped a face in its massive jaws. Few
of the Maya even tried to fight back
against the onslaught, and those who did
found their puny stone weapons unable
to pierce the animals armour.
Sandoval watched awestruck for a
moment as the huge beasts ravaged the
enemy, spreading chaos and terror, then
Brabo whispered in his ear, Order the
advance, sir.
We cant watch him all the time, said
Pepillo. You have your duties, I have
mine, but Muoz is free to move around
as he pleases.
I followed him last night, Melchior
admitted suddenly.
You followed him? Why didnt you
tell me?
You were working with Corts; the
chance came and I took it.
Chance! Suppose hed caught you?
Are you mad?
Melchior had a strange, sad look on
his face. No. Not mad. I wanted to stop
him doing what he does. But he gave
me the slip and sure enough he killed
again.
It was the afternoon of Saturday 27
February, and they were in the paddock
where the expeditions eighteen precious
cavalry mounts were penned. In the past
two days, shaking off the stiffness and
jitters that had afflicted them after the
storm and the long journey from Cuba,
the horses had thrived on the pastures of
rich wild grass that grew plentifully
around the foot of the low hill on which
the town of Cozumel stood.
Melchior was an accomplished rider
and spent several hours in the paddock
every day, grooming and exercising
Molinero, Cortss dark chestnut
stallion. This afternoon other
manservants were also present doing the
same work with Puertocarerros silver-
grey mare, Alvarados white stallion
Bucephalus, Escalantes light chestnut
gelding with its three white feet, and
Cristbal de Olids sorrel mare.
Pepillo watched Melchior as he
patiently brushed Molineros flank and
realised he didnt fully understand the
depth of the older boys hatred for
Muoz. Of course the friar was evil! Of
course he should be stopped before he
murdered any more Indian children! But
were he and Melchior the ones to do it,
and what had driven his friend to take
the awful risk of going after the friar
alone? Even together, what chance did
they really stand?
The only mercy, Melchior said after
a long silence, is hes not going to find
it easy to catch another child. Theres
uproar in the town after last nights
murder, and the Indians are beginning to
lose their fear of us.
Pepillo thought about this while he
held his hand under Molineros whiskery
lips and felt the horses hot breath as he
nuzzled him. He very much wanted to
learn to ride and constantly pestered
Melchior to allow him to climb up on
the big animals back, so far without
success. Muoz wont stop, he said
eventually. I saw what was in his eyes
when he was beating me and I dont
believe hell ever stop.
Youre right, said Melchior with a
fierce grimace, but hes not going to
risk a murder when the suns up like he
did the first day. Tell you what. If Corts
has nothing for us tonight well sneak out
and watch the San Sebastin. If Muoz
comes to shore well follow him.
Pepillos heart sank. Every instinct
screamed this was a bad plan that could
get them both into terrible trouble and
possibly even dead. But he had to
support his friend, didnt he? And he
didnt want to seem a coward, so he
nodded bravely and said yes.
As Sandoval broke into a run he heard
himself yelling at the top of his voice
Santiago and at them! Santiago and at
them!
Behind him, with a clank of armour
and the rasp of steel as weapons were
drawn, the square of twenty-five
seasoned veterans surged forward, every
man echoing the rousing war cry with
which Spaniards had gone into battle for
a thousand years. They fell mercilessly
upon the disordered mass of the Maya,
some retreating, some still attempting to
advance, cutting them to pieces with
swords and battle-axes, impaling them
on pikes, clubbing them down with
spiked maces and iron flails.
In the thick of it, Sandoval found
himself face to face with a bellowing
wild-eyed savage, dressed only in a
loincloth, wielding a long wooden
sword with thin flakes of some black
stone set into its edges, and clearly
ready to fight rather than run. The man
was holding the weapon in a two-handed
grip, slashing it madly through the air
with tremendous power but no balance
or style, so it was a simple matter for
Sandoval to parry and deflect, slide his
right foot forward as he had been taught,
drive the point of his broadsword into
the warriors heart and withdraw. Again
that pluck of innards on steel that hed
felt when hed killed his first man less
than ten days before, but this time there
was no remorse rather a sense of
exultation as his enemy crumpled at his
feet in a spray of blood.
Brabo shouted, Behind you!, and
Sandoval whirled into a massive blow
from another wooden sword that
smashed against his cuirass, shattering
every one of the stone flakes along the
edge of the weapon but doing him no
damage at all. The new attacker was a
lean, lank-haired Mayan youth whose
eyes locked on his in frozen disbelief as
Sandoval hacked him near in half in the
riposte.
Moments later it was over and the last
of the Mayan warriors were in full flight
across the fields. The musketeers had
reloaded and fired another volley after
them and the baying dogs charged on
towards the assembled townsfolk, who
also turned and ran uttering wails of
horror.
Don Pedro de Alvarado sat out on the
navigation deck of the San Sebastin, a
length of sailcloth rigged to give him
shade from the afternoon sun, while
Doctor La Pea examined his broken
forearm, and set about rebinding the
splints with bandages thickly coated in a
mixture of egg whites, flour and pig fat
that would harden in the next hours into a
rigid cast.
Leaning on the rail surrounding the
deck, supposedly waiting for La Peas
ministrations to various health needs of
their own, but really here to further their
other, more clandestine purpose, were
lantern-jawed Juan Escudero and his
massively bearded ally Juan Velzquez
de Len, the two ringleaders of the
clique loyal to Diego de Velzquez, the
governor of Cuba. Their approach to
Alvarado the day before had come while
he was still hurt and angry, indeed it had
come precisely because he was hurt and
angry, and they knew nothing of his
reconciliation with Corts this morning.
La Pea was also of the Velazquista
persuasion, hence the plotters
willingness to speak in front of him.
Indeed, after spending the first night of
the voyage from Santiago sharing the
brig with him, the kidnapped physician
had clung to Escudero like shit to a shoe.
Repulsive little arse-licker, thought
Alvarado. The only saving grace was
that the snivelling, deceitful, trouble-
making doctor, whose outsized buttocks
wobbled like jellies in his pantaloons as
he busied himself preparing the
bandages, was good at what he did. His
skill with casts and poultices had
undoubtedly speeded up the healing of
Alvarados broken arm and that was a
small mercy to be thankful for. How
long do you think now, La Pea? A
week? Two
The doctor made insincere clucking
noises meant, presumably, to mimic
concern. No, no, he said. Its not yet
ten days since your err accident.
Youll have to wear the cast for at least
another month. Maybe longer.
Another month! Thats damned
inconvenient. Im a fighting man.
Indeed so, Don Pedro, and one
whose prowess is legendary. But I
should refrain from battle, if I were you,
until that arm is fully healed
Its my right arm does the fighting,
Alvarado glowered.
And your left that holds the shield.
Ive gone into battle without a shield
before
As youll have to again if battle is
imminent, said La Pea. He glanced
over the rail at the peaceful bay of
Cozumel and added, But that does not
appear to be the case.
Escudero sniffed loudly and wiped a
drop of clear mucus from the end of his
long nose. Well not be fighting fellow
Spaniards, thats for sure.
Oh, said Alvarado, were we
expecting to?
All that nonsense about Pedrarias
and a rival expedition to the New
Lands, Escudero growled. Its obvious
now that Corts was lying
It was just a pretext to dupe us into
leaving Santiago in an unholy rush
without proper procedure, complained
Velzquez de Len, scratching his huge
black beard.
Without the blessing of His
Excellency the Governor, added
Escudero. He turned to fix Alvarado
with a fanatical glare. You supported
Corts in that folly, he said, and look
what your loyalty to your so-called
friend earned you. We all saw the
shameful way he treated you over the
matter of Cozumel. Thats why, despite
our differences, we thought it right to
approach you yesterday with our
proposal. I hope we were not mistaken.
Ah, yes, your proposal. But yesterday
you beat about the bush somewhat, and I
prefer straight talk therefore tell me
plainly what you want of me.
Escudero paused to peer suspiciously
around the deck and lowered his voice
to a conspiratorial whisper. Why that
you join us, of course, to save the
expedition
To make it legal again, added
Velzquez de Len, with an emphatic
thump of his fist on the rail, to bring it
back under the jurisdiction of Don Diego
de Velzquez
Your cousin, Alvarado noted.
Yes, my cousin. The tanned skin of
the big mans face turned beetroot red in
the few areas where it was not covered
by hair. But also your patron for many
years. Why, if my memory serves me
right, he even advanced you the funds to
purchase this great carrack of yours.
And besides, Don Diego is the
governor of Cuba, prompted Escudero,
the secular power throughout this
region, appointed by His Majesty the
King himself, whose will we flout at our
peril.
So, to get back in his good books,
Alvarado said, you want me to help you
arrest Corts and ship him back in irons
to Cuba. Excuse me for speaking plainly,
but do I understand you correctly on
this?
Velzquez de Len looked
uncomfortable: Well, yes More or
less.
Tsk, Tsk, from Escudero: No more
or less about it. Thats what we want
you to do, Don Pedro, and because your
role will be crucial in preventing a
rebellion amongst Cortss friends, we
offer you joint command of the
expedition thereafter. Now tell us, here
and now, are you with us or are you
against us? Are you in or are you out?
Alvarado looked at the fat doctor who
knelt at his side listening intently while
pretending to fuss with his arm. What
do you say, La Pea? Should I be with or
against this cunning plot? Should I be in
or should I be out?
Escudero bristled at once. Dont toy
with us, Don Pedro. This is a matter of
life and death.
Yes, thought Alvarado, your death if
I know my friend Hernn well. But he
answered: I never toy, Juan. Corts has
offended me mightily, as you all
observed, and Im attracted by your
offer. Im just not sure this is the right
time to strike.
Now it was Escuderos turn to flush,
quite an achievement since the mans
skin had the pallid, lifeless quality of a
five-day-dead cadaver. Not the right
time? After youve made us show our
hand to you in this way? By God, Don
Pedro, you will join us or Ill see you
dead.
Alvarado pushed La Pea aside and
stood up, his hand dropping to the hilt of
his falchion. Youll see me dead?
Begging your pardon, Don Juan, but I
think not. Even with only one arm, Ill
cut you down in a trice should you be
foolish enough to come at me.
Escudero lunged forward but
Velzquez de Len stepped in his way.
No! No! This is not what we planned,
this is not what we came here to do. Don
Pedro is our friend, our natural ally and
much wronged by Corts. If he says now
is not the right time then lets at least
hear his reasons
Fool, thought Alvarado, weak,
bearded fool. But what he said was: I
dont share your view about Pedrarias.
For all we know his fleet could be
within a days sail of us now, either to
land here and attempt to overwhelm us
or strike direct for the mainland to beat
us to its richest treasures. Either way,
until were sure of the matter, I dont
think its wise to fight amongst
ourselves.
There is no Pedrarias fleet!
Escudero was practically foaming at the
mouth. Its an invention of Cortss, a
clever fabrication, to suit his purposes.
Perhaps Perhaps not. We must
wait and see.
Escudero was muttering about
security risks, Alvarado knowing too
much, a trap, a ruse
Youll keep whats been said here
today to yourself? Velzquez de Len
said anxiously.
Yes of course, Alvarado replied.
Im the soul of discretion. Well watch
and wait for another week or two. If the
threat of Pedrarias fails to materialise,
then feel free to approach me again.
Youll find me much more amenable.
Escudero stepped forward until his
long ugly face was just a fingers
breadth from Alvarados. He said
nothing, just stood there looking at him,
then turned his back and stamped off,
followed, like a tame dog, by Velzquez
de Len.
Well, said Alvarado half to himself,
half to La Pea who was still pretending
to be busy with the plaster cast on his
arm, that was interesting.
Ten minutes later, after La Pea had
scurried off to join his masters, there
came a clump of boots and Bernal Daz
climbed the steps from the main deck.
The jumped-up farm-hand whom Corts
had promoted to ensign was followed by
the swordsman Francisco Mibiercas,
more a man of Alvarados own class,
and another young soldier named Alonso
de la Serna. All three were carrying
crossbows and quivers stuffed with
bolts.
Excuse us, Don Pedro, said Daz
without preamble, but since we wont
be sailing until the refits are finished,
and thats going to be a few more days,
wed like your permission to take a bit
of shore leave.
Raising a quizzical eyebrow,
Alvarado cast a glance across the bay
and up the hill towards Cozumel. Shore
leave? Therere no taverns in this town,
you know. No ladies of the night either.
He laughed: Unless you fancy tupping
these Maya she-goats.
We want to do a bit of hunting, said
Mibiercas, holding forth his crossbow,
but not for ewes. Were told there are
big herds of deer grazing on the south
side of the island. Thought wed head
down there this afternoon, camp out for a
couple of nights and see what we can
bag.
Not sure I should let you go. Theres
been a murder in the town.
I was told there had been two, said
Daz.
Seems the Indians are holding us
responsible. There are those who think
there might be trouble.
I doubt it, interjected Mibiercas.
The Indians dont have the stomach for
it after the beating we gave them.
Agreed! Alvarado grinned. He
pointed to the hilt of the longsword
jutting above Mibiercass left shoulder:
I hear you know how to use that, but
how do you rate it against a broadsword,
for example, or a good Toledo rapier?
I always say its not so much the
weapon that counts, as the man wielding
it, but I like the range the longsword
gives me.
Here, let me take a look, said
Alvarado, holding out his hand.
Mibiercas reached back across his
shoulder, unsheathed the weapon and
passed it over for the other man to
examine.
Nice weight, Alvarado commented.
Double fuller cross-section too, so its
strong. Good sharp point on it. You can
put it through plate armour, Id hazard?
Like a hot knife through butter, Don
Pedro.
Well, very good then. Alvarado
passed the weapon back. Perhaps well
do some sparring when this damned arm
of mine is better.
I would be honoured, said
Mibiercas with a bow.
Daz coughed. About the hunting,
Don Pedro? Do we have your
permission?
By all means yes. Be back on
Monday. Enjoy yourselves, but half of
what you bag goes in the communal pot.
By Sandovals count, some sixty of the
Mayan fighters, with varying degrees of
injury, had survived the carnage.
Menaced by the musketeers and
crossbowmen, they now sat hunched on
the ground, miserable, vanquished and
terrified, while the dogs called back
from inflicting further harm on the
fleeing women and children feasted on
the flesh and offal of the dead.
Sandoval viewed the spectacle with
disgust, but the animals needed to eat.
He turned to Brabo and asked: What
shall we do with the prisoners?
The sergeants face was
expressionless. Were still
outnumbered, he said, they might turn
on us at any time.
They dont look capable of turning on
anybody.
No guarantee theyll stay that way.
Sandoval sighed. I suppose wed
best tie them and leave them here.
A sour look. I dont advise it, sir.
The townspeople will return and free
them when were gone. They might come
after us.
So what should we do?
Well, lets get them bound hand and
foot to start with. The men will find it
good sport to set the dogs on some of
them and it wont take long to cut the
throats of the rest.
You cant be serious.
Im completely serious, sir. This is
war.
The worst of it was that Sandoval
could see the logic of Brabos position.
In many ways killing these captives was
the easiest and most sensible thing to do.
But his guilt at permitting the torture of
the spies still burned him and he was
loath to add to it. Tie their hands for
now and march them into the town, he
said in a firm tone that he hoped brooked
no dissent. Ill make a decision later.
Though it was mid-afternoon, the suns
rays could not penetrate the hot, fetid,
claustrophobic prayer cell in the hold of
the San Sebastin that Alvarado had
given Father Gaspar Muoz for his
quarters.
The friar did not object. He had
endured far worse in his rise through
monastic orders. Of course the little cell
was less grand than the accommodation
he was to have enjoyed on Cortss ship
before his rift with that vile man. But the
discomfort and the darkness were a form
of continuous mortification to say
nothing of the lasting pains from this
mornings flagellation! like thorns in
the flesh to buffet him lest he exalt
himself too highly for the great works he
was called to do.
A single candle burned in the darkness
and, by its light, Muoz repeatedly
passed first one side then the other of the
steel blade of his razor back and forth,
back and forth, across a leather strop,
from time to time testing the edge with
his thumb. When he was satisfied it was
fit for tonights purpose, he folded the
blade away into its bone handle and
tucked the instrument into an inner
pocket of his habit.
He snuffed the candle and got to his
feet.
It was time to take a stroll on deck.
Since it was Saturday he thought he
might preach a sermon for the edification
and improvement of any of the crew and
soldiers who happened to be gathered
there.
Mutul was a town of some four hundred
hovels and shanties, for the most part
consisting of a single room with walls of
wattle and adobe, and roofs thatched
with palm fronds. Even with the small
force at Sandovals command it was a
simple matter to search them all but,
except for a few of the aged and the sick,
who had clearly been too infirm to run,
every one of them was deserted. It
seemed that all the inhabitants had fled
into the surrounding jungle.
Then came a shout from Brabo, who
was investigating a group of larger
structures close to the base of the ancient
pyramid. Better get over here, sir, the
sergeant yelled. Something you need to
see. Signalling Little Julian to follow,
Sandoval broke into a run, feeling a
surge of excitement, and found himself
moments later in front of what appeared
to be a prison containing about forty
naked, ill-kempt inmates. Hope and Star
had just reached the spot, Star gripping
the bars and peering eagerly through
them. Sandoval joined him and asked in
Castilian: Is any one of you a
Spaniard? The prisoners cowered back
in terror at his voice. Is any one of you
a Spaniard? he repeated, louder this
time, but again the only answer was a
low murmur of fear.
Now Star was shouting something
incomprehensible in his language and
Sandoval saw a female prisoner looking
up. She was perhaps twenty years of age
with filthy hair and a mud-smeared body.
Star shouted again, and beckoned.
Beside him Hope also spoke, his voice
low and urgent. The woman rose to a
crouch, one hand covering her crotch,
the other placed across her breasts, and
sobbed repeatedly Ikan, Ikan Stars
name! then ran across the earth floor of
the prison and embraced the young guide
through the bars.
Whats going on here? Sandoval
asked Little Julian.
Sir, Ikan find sister, sir.
His sister?
Yes, these cannibals peoples take her
last year. Keep her. We dont come, next
big moon they eat her.
Nobody told me Star had a sister.
Oh yes, sir, she daughter of Cozumel
cacique.
Which meant that Ikan must be the
caciques son! Sandoval mentally
reviewed the events of the past two days
the all-too-plausible story about the
Castilan, the insistence that a strong
force would be required to free him,
young Ikan offered as a guide and
realised in a flash how the Spanish had
been played for fools. The wily old
Cozumel chieftain had spun a clever
web, and offered Corts a lure he could
not resist, with the sole objective of
rescuing his own daughter!
Well Ill be damned! he muttered,
restraining himself with difficulty from
striking Little Julian, who must have
been in on the scheme from the
beginning. Turning his back on the
squint-eyed interpreter he muttered, All
this way, risking our lives, for some slip
of an Indian girl.
He was half resolved to leave her in
the prison with Star and Hope for
company! and march his men back to
the brigantines posthaste when a flash of
movement caught his eye.
There!
A tall Indian darted from the cover of
one of the adobe longhouses near the
base of the pyramid, sprinted across a
patch of open ground and concealed
himself behind a second structure.
Fearing he was not alone but part of a
new attacking force, Sandoval called a
warning to Brabo and charged towards
the Indians position, skidded round the
side of the longhouse brandishing his
sword and was confronted by an
unkempt, cowering, ragged apparition
who held up large, grimy hands in
supplication and croaked some words in
his barbaric tongue. Sandoval had his
sword at the mans throat as Brabo came
running to join him. Julian! yelled the
sergeant, drawing his dagger. Over here
at the double. Weve got another spy to
question.
By now most of the conquistadors,
drawn by the commotion, were gathering
round and, as Brabo stepped in, the
cowering Indian began to speak more
rapidly, his croaking voice taking on
almost the cadence and rhythms of a
Latin prayer. How odd, Sandoval
thought. A nagging suspicion troubled
him and the more closely he looked at
the man, filthy and lean, eyes like pale
flames burning in the dark hearth of his
face, the more strange and incongruous
he seemed. He was naked except for a
single sandal on his right foot and a
squalid breechclout into which his left
sandal, which appeared to be broken,
was tied. His black hair hung lank and
greasy to his shoulders and was braided
over his forehead in the local fashion.
He was beardless, as were all the Maya,
but another peculiarity there was
heavy stubble about his jowls and these
were a people who seemed unable to
grow facial hair.
Julian trotted up and Brabo put the tip
of his dagger against the captives face,
breaking the skin under his right eye so
that a line of blood guttered out and ran
down his sooty cheek. Right, my
lovely, said the sergeant, Ive got a few
questions to ask you. He turned to the
interpreter. Julian, tell him. He answers
us straight and he dies easy, he answers
us false and he dies hard.
Wait! Sandoval was surprised by the
authority in his own voice. Not so fast.
He laid a restraining hand on the
sergeants thick wrist, drawing the
dagger down.
What now, sir? Brabo sighed. Not
more scruples, I hope? We dont have
time for scruples.
No, not scruples. I believe youre
about to torture the very man weve
come to find. Back away from him. Give
him space. I want to hear what he has to
say for himself.
The Indian stood panting, looking
round at the hard, cruel faces of the
conquistadors, the fingers of his right
hand with their cracked blackened nails
going to the cut beneath his eye, and a
moan of fear or was it something else?
Was it frustration? escaping his mouth.
Several times he seemed on the verge of
speaking, but only incoherent grunts and
stammers emerged until suddenly he
seemed to master himself and said in
clumsy, somewhat halting Castilian:
Gentlemen, are you Christians?
A shocked silence followed which
Sandoval was the first to break. We are
Christians and Spaniards, he confirmed.
The Indian burst into tears and fell to
his knees: God and the blessed Mary of
Seville! he exclaimed. I am saved.
Then, even stranger, he asked if it was
Wednesday the twenty-fourth of
February.
Sandoval informed him it was
Saturday the twenty-seventh, at which
the Indian said: I have kept a count of
the days these past eight years. It seems I
am not far out. He then dried his tears,
raised his hands and eyes and
proclaimed: Thank you, God, oh thank
you, thank you, thank you for saving me
from these infidels and hellish men.
Thank you, Lord, for restoring me to
Christians and men of my nation.
Who are you? Sandoval asked when
the odd figure had finished his prayer.
All the conquistadors gathered there,
pressed in close to hear his answer.
Sir, the man replied, I am Jernimo
de Aguilar of Ecija, and I am a castaway
in this land.
You are a Spaniard!
I am, sir. He turned towards Brabo.
I understand why you thought me an
Indian, he told the sergeant. Ive been
amongst the heathens so long that at first
I could not recall our tongue, but Im a
Spaniard born and bred and a good
Christian. As though to prove it, Aguilar
pulled from some fold of his verminous
loincloth a Book of Hours, very old and
worn, which he opened and held above
his head.
At once a flurry of cheers broke out
from the conquistadors, a hubbub of
conversation, and one by one the
soldiers, Brabo first amongst them,
stepped forward to clap the man on his
naked back.
Aguilars initial clumsy articulation of
Castilian improved rapidly as he told his
story, seeming less of an Indian and
more of a Spaniard as every minute went
by. He had been, he said, a slave of the
cacique of Mutul. He had been ushered
into the jungle with the caciques
household some hours before, without
being told the reason why, but after
hearing the gunfire and realising that
European forces must be on hand, he had
slipped away from his captors and
hastened to the town to seek his
salvation.
We were told you were a castaway,
Sandoval said, but how did you come to
be here in Mutul, so far from the coast?
By many long and bloody twists and
turns, said Aguilar. In the year 1511 I
was in Darin, involved in the wars and
quarrels and mischances of that villain
Pedrarias. I set sail for Hispaniola with
some others to acquaint the governor
with what was going on. We got as far as
Jamaica when the caravel struck on
shoals and twenty of us barely escaped
in the ships boat, without sails, without
water, without bread, and with only one
miserable pair of oars. We drifted in this
fashion for thirteen or fourteen days,
when we were caught in a current
running very fast and strong to the west
that brought us to the shores of the
Yucatn. Eight of us had died of thirst by
then, but matters only became worse.
Soon after we made landfall we fell into
the hands of a rascally cacique named
Taxmar. He sacrificed five of us to his
idols and had their flesh prepared for the
pot, making a fiesta of it and offering a
share to his friends
Dear God, Sandoval interrupted.
What horrors you have faced.
I and the six others who remained
alive, Aguilar continued, were placed
in a cage to be fattened for the next
banquet. To avoid such an abominable
death we broke out of our prison and
fled to the jungle. It was Gods will that
we should find our way to Mutul, for
Aquincuz, the cacique of this town in
whose hands I have been ever since, is a
powerful man and a mortal enemy of
Taxmar. He is no less a cannibal and a
sacrificer of humans, but I think he found
us a curiosity, and besides we had
escaped from his enemy so he
sheltered us and spared our lives, though
he kept us in servitude. One by one over
the years since then my companions
died, until no one remained but myself.
Id all but given up hope when I heard
your guns
As Sandoval and Aguilar talked, the
other Spaniards in the squad listened in,
and from time to time added comments
of their own. Hard-bitten men though
they were, they were plainly astonished
by the castaways account and filled
with fear at the thought that the people
they had come to conquer were in the
habit of sacrificing and eating men.
When the telling was done, the gates
of Mutuls prison were forced open and
its wretched inmates were permitted to
come forth. They were all, Aguilar
confirmed, to have been eaten in a
months time at the next full moon when
one of the great Mayan festivals was to
be held.
Tell them theyre free to go,
Sandoval said. He looked with more
sympathy than he would have believed
possible a few moments before on Star
embracing his sister and added
generously: Those who wish to return
with us to Cozumel may do so.
Aguilar put the offer to the freed
captives, more than half of whom
instantly said they wished to accompany
the conquistadors. The rest hurried off
towards the jungle. Most will be
recaptured before they get back to their
home villages, Aguilar said wistfully,
but theyre too afraid of you to stay.
They heard the guns we all heard the
guns! For them it was the sound of terror.
For me it was the sound of hope.
In preparation for the five-hour return
march through the jungle to the waiting
brigantines, Aguilar led the
conquistadors to the towns main water
supply. It lay in the midst of a shady
orchard and proved to be not a river, or
a lake, as Sandoval had expected, but an
almost perfectly circular sinkhole, a
bowshot across, which plunged straight
down into bedrock to a huge crystal-
clear pool fifty feet below. Such natural
wells, Aguilar explained, were fed by
underground rivers. They were called
conots and were the main source of
water for the Maya throughout much of
the northern Yucatn.
Using buckets and ropes left in place
by the townsfolk, the Spaniards drank
their fill and replenished their empty
flasks, while the dog handlers saw to the
needs of their hounds. Meanwhile, under
Hope and Stars direction, some of the
women prisoners theyd freed had
busied themselves preparing a meal of
stewed meat, cooked with chillies, and
delicious flatbreads called qua made
from freshly ground maize. Though
hungry, the conquistadors initially
looked askance at the stew, and some
asked if there was human flesh in it, but
all scruples were cast aside when
Aguilar assured them it was nothing
more than a medley of venison and
turkey, requisitioned, like the maize,
from the towns stores.
The question of what was to be done
with the Mayan fighters captured in the
battle weighed heavily on Sandovals
mind. They were, for the present, bound
hand and foot and locked in the prison.
Brabo remained adamant that they must
all be put to death.
What do you say, Aguilar? Sandoval
asked. But the tall castaway, who
claimed never to have been fed properly
by the Maya, was eating with intense
concentration, stuffing his mouth with the
rich stew which dribbled down his chin
and onto a linen shift hed taken from the
home of his former captor.
What do you say? Sandoval urged.
Aguilar gestured towards the prison.
They are savages, he mumbled through
a mouthful, but that doesnt mean we
must also be savages. Let them live.
Leave them there. He returned to his
chewing.
Theyll break free and come after us,
Brabo objected.
Aguilar considered it. You dont
know these people, he said finally. He
looked to the sun, hanging low in the sky.
Our march to your brigantines must be
done for the most part after dark and the
Maya are a superstitious people. They
dont like to fight at night when the
spirits of the dead walk abroad.
Besides, the jungle is a dangerous place,
patrolled by great beasts. Even if the
captives break free theyll not follow us
until morning
By which time well have sailed.
Aguilar was chewing ferociously. By
which time, God willing, well have
sailed, he agreed.
But what of these beasts? asked
Sandoval.
They are a species of panther. Some
are tawny, with black spots. Others
truly they are devils are all black in
colour. They are as large and heavy as
the biggest hound and theyre very
fierce. The Maya call them Balam.
They hunt by night.
Are they a danger to us? Sandoval
asked.
Aguilar shrugged: Not if we stick
together. They hunt alone, never in
packs. Besides, the dogs will scare them
off.
Still, Sandoval glanced uneasily at
the late afternoon sun, the sooner we get
on the road the better. He turned to
Brabo: Im sorry, Garca, he said, I
respect your advice but I cant bring
myself to order the deaths of our
captives. They will remain in the prison,
tied as they are but alive. Do you
accept?
Its not for me to accept or deny, sir.
Command is a lonely business, suited to
a gentleman such as yourself. You must
carry its burdens.
As the sun dropped low it swelled into a
vast orange disk, alien and somehow
menacing, streaked with smears of
cloud. Lying poised on the horizon
where the sky met the ocean it cast a
glittering path across the ripples of the
bay.
Pepillo and Melchior had been
dismissed for the evening by Corts,
who was in a foul and sullen mood.
They had made their way to shore and
found a hiding place in the thick
undergrowth of a palm grove a bowshot
from the waters edge that gave them a
fine view of the sunset and overlooked
the spot where the launches from the
ships usually came to load and unload
cargo and passengers. They were both
armed, Melchior with his long rusty
dagger and Pepillo with a small hatchet
that his friend had procured for him and
insisted he thrust into his belt. The idea
that he might actually have to use this
weapon to kill Muoz made Pepillo feel
sick, and a little light-headed. Yet this
seemed to be Melchiors only plan.
Well wait and watch here, the older
boy said, and if the devil comes ashore
well follow him and do away with him
first chance we get.
With a little luck, Pepillo hoped, the
wicked friar would not come ashore! It
was certainly beginning to look that way
since he was preaching a seemingly
interminable sermon to a few bored men
on the main deck of the San Sebastin
and had been doing so for the past two
hours at least. His loud but somewhat
fluting, high-pitched lisp had carried
across the water to the Santa Mara and
now, amongst the palms, his
proclamations against the common sins
of soldiers and sailors could still be
heard clearly: And they shall say unto
the elders of his city, this our son is
stubborn and rebellious; he will not
obey our voice; he is a glutton, and a
drunkard. And all the men of his city
shall stone him with stones, that he die:
so shalt thou put evil away from among
you; and all Israel shall hear, and fear

More admonitions and dire warnings

followed, but then, quite suddenly,
Pepillo realised with a lurch of alarm
that Muoz was winding himself up to a
conclusion: Dearly beloved, I beseech
you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain
from fleshly lusts, which war against the
soul, and follow righteousness, faith,
charity, peace with them that call on the
Lord out of a pure heart.
Abstain from fleshly lusts! Melchior
gave a bitter laugh. Follow
righteousness! A pure heart! Thats rich
coming from a murdering sodomite! I
cant wait to give him what he
deserves.
Suppose he doesnt come? Pepillo
asked, trying to keep the hope he felt out
of his voice.
Well get our chance. Maybe not
today. Maybe not tomorrow. But well
get him sooner or later. Its just a matter
of time.
In the last of the light, the two boys
saw the friars tall, angular form stride
across the deck of the San Sebastin and
go below.
Another hour passed, the night grew
black as pitch, bloodsucking insects
buzzed and whined, lanterns were
lighted across the fleet and there came
the sounds of raucous laughter as food
was cooked and served. Some of the
men had begun drinking, bottles clinked,
a few songs were struck up, a long and
plangently beautiful guitar riff rang out, a
drunken fight got started and was equally
quickly stopped.
Listen! whispered Pepillo, nudging
Melchior in the ribs. Whats that?
Whats what, you silly mammet?
Melchior growled.
There! Dont you hear it?
Pepillo strained his ears and there it
was again a faint, almost inaudible
splashing in the bay. There was no moon
but the starlight was bright. By its
silvery luminescence, and the reflected
glow of the ships lanterns, the breaking
line of surf where the wavelets lapped
against the shore was clearly visible.
The hairs on the nape of Pepillos
neck and along his forearms suddenly
stood on end as he saw the figure of a
naked man, gleaming ivory in the
starlight, slowly and stealthily emerge
from the sea. The man carried a bulky
object a bag! and in a moment had
pulled a dark garment over his head and
all but disappeared.
Then he came padding up the shore,
taking the path that ran through the palm
grove, towards the hill and the lights of
the Indian town.
As he passed within an arms length
of their hiding place, Pepillo and
Melchior both recognised Muoz.
Lets get after him, Melchior
whispered after the friar had gone by,
heading up the hill towards the Indian
town.
Are you sure were the right ones to
do this? Pepillo asked, hearing and
instantly regretting the anxious, childish
tone in his voice.
Course Im sure, said Melchior. If
we dont do him now and he kills other
children, I for one will never forgive
myself. Well not get another chance half
as good.
In the darkness Pepillo nodded. He
was afraid, but he remembered how
Muoz had beaten and tortured him, the
madness in the friars eyes, the feeling of
his teeth and his wet lips at his ear. If
there was justice in the world the man
had to be stopped and it seemed that
Corts, for whatever reason, was not
prepared to act against him.
Melchior was already in pursuit,
hunched forward on the path through the
palm grove, running uphill in the
direction the friar had taken.
With a pounding heart, tugging the
little hatchet from his belt, Pepillo
followed.
Chapter Fifty
Tenochtitlan, Saturday 27
February 1519
Moctezuma was awaiting his dinner and
taking some comfort in the prospect.
Tonight the dishes would include one
cooked from the thigh of a delicate
young boy he had sacrificed at dawn in
an attempt to coax Hummingbird to visit
him again. The attempt had failed, as had
every other since the holocaust on the
great pyramid nine days before, but at
least he could enjoy the tender flesh of
the victim.
There was little else that gave the
Great Speaker pleasure. His stomach
was constantly disturbed, busily moving,
inclined to strange rumblings and
howlings, as though it had taken on a life
of its own. Only when filled to satiety
did it fall quiet for a short while and
give him peace.
Another problem was also beginning
to trouble Moctezuma greatly. Although
he continued to have intercourse with his
legitimate wives in the hope of siring an
heir healthier than his weakling son
Chimalpopoca, he greatly preferred the
company of his many mistresses for
solace in the bedroom. Since the
holocaust, however, his tepulli had
ceased to function as it should and
neither his wives nor even the most
appetising females in his harem had
coaxed him to an erection. Sometimes
quite often Moctezuma had the sinister
feeling he was being watched as he
attempted to perform. Hed consulted his
magicians but as yet they had been
unable to offer a solution.
He was in the spacious, high-
ceilinged dining chamber on the first
floor of his palace, seated on a soft,
richly worked stool in front of a low
table covered with a white cloth of the
finest cotton on which were laid a
selection of long napkins of the same
colour and material. To his right, at a
distance of some twenty paces on the far
side of the chamber, the three grey-
haired dignitaries who would dine with
him tonight stood with their heads
respectfully bowed.
Moctezuma decided to keep them
waiting a little longer while he gave
thought to the matter of Guatemoc. He
had received two irritating visits from
Mecatl today, the first in the morning to
announce that the troublesome prince
had refused his medicine and a second
unscheduled visit in the afternoon to
report continued lack of success. This
non-cooperation was a setback to what
had, until today, been solid progress, and
if it continued there was a danger that
Cuitlhuac would return and take his son
from the hospital before the cotelachi
had done its work. Urgent measures
were called for, and Moctezuma had not
hesitated to accept Mecatls offer to
prepare a new batch of poison from a
large cotelachi butterfly large enough
to kill Guatemoc with a single dose. It
would be best if the dose were
swallowed willingly, but if not he had
authorised the physician to use force.
Guatemoc was feeling very much better,
and far stronger than he had believed
would ever be possible again.
Perhaps it was because he had
successfully avoided Mecatls poison all
day.
But he could not get out of his mind
the incredible sensations of warmth and
healing that had filled his body, and the
instant relief from pain he had been
granted when the goddess Temaz had
placed her hands upon his wounds the
night before. Despite the exhausting
effort of fending off Mecatl without
arousing his suspicions, Guatemocs
conviction that a miracle had put him on
the path of recovery had not left him for
a single moment.
It was one of the reasons he remained
certain his encounter with the goddess in
the still of the night had been real and
not some fever of his imagination.
But the more powerful proof was the
little bottle Temaz had given him, a
physical thing quite outside the realm of
imaginings. He had passed it on to his
mother that morning, without explaining
how it had come into his hands, telling
her only that it was a medicine Mecatl
kept pressing on him, that he suspected
poison and that his father must be
summoned back at once to Tenochtitlan
to help unravel the plot. His mother had
wanted to confront Mecatl herself, but
Guatemoc had forbidden it. The doctor
was part of a wider conspiracy. They
must trap him in such a way that he could
be forced, by torture if necessary, to
reveal its instigator. Only Cuitlhuac had
the power to see such a drastic initiative
through, and until he arrived they must
give no sign of their suspicions.
The day had worn on. In the mid-
afternoon Guatemoc rebuffed Mecatl yet
again but the physician refused to leave
the room. I cannot, he said. its more
than my life is worth. The Lord Speaker
himself commands you to drink this
medicine.
My respects to the Lord Speaker,
Guatemoc replied wearily, but my body
commands me to sleep, so please go
away.
The physician had tucked the bottle
inside his robes again a good sign.
You put me in an impossible position,
sire, he said, wringing his hands.
Come back tonight, Guatemoc
replied. I will, for the Lord Speakers
sake, attempt your elixir then.
Do I have your promise on that,
sire?
You have my promise.
Very well. I will return tonight.
Shortly before sunset came the news
that Cuitlhuac had reached Tenochtitlan
and was making preparations to infiltrate
the hospital in secret with a few of his
most trusted men.
The trap was baited and set. All that
remained was to wait.
Two hours after dark, Mecatl entered
Guatemocs room, moved to his bedside,
produced the medicine bottle and bent
over him, oozing false concern. The
night is well advanced, lord. You must
drink the elixir again.
Guatemoc gave him a stony glare:
Clear off, you toad. Ive told you a
dozen times today I dont have the
stomach for it.
Against my better judgement, sire, I
have allowed you to postpone your
medication, but you promised me you
would drink it this evening.
Allowed, you say? Allowed me? You
little quack. Im a prince of the realm
and I do as I please. And with that
Guatemoc thrust out his hand from under
the covers, gripped Mecatl by the throat
and drew the doctors fat, sweating face
towards his own. Get out of my sight!
he bellowed, and tightened his grip for a
moment before shoving the other man
away.
The words get out of my sight were
the agreed signal; behind the doctor,
Guatemoc saw the door open saw his
father Cuitlhuac and three men at arms
silently enter the room. Unaware of the
threat, Mecatl straightened and gulped in
air, a look of real anger for the first time
crossing his face. Hed held on tightly to
the medicine bottle, which he now
unstoppered. I am afraid I must insist,
he said. A muscle twitched at the corner
of his mouth. The Great Speaker is
deeply concerned for your welfare. My
orders are to ensure, by any means, that
you drink the elixir.
And how, may I ask, do you propose
to do that?
Behind Mecatl, Guatemoc saw
another man slip into the room. He
recognised Acamap, Cuitlhuacs
personal physician.
Mecatl was too busy digging his own
grave to notice. If I must, he said with
more self-confidence than he usually
expressed, I am authorised to call for
assistance I will have you restrained,
young Guatemoc, and I will pour the
elixir down your throat with a funnel.
My master the Speaker requires it.
Oh does he indeed? said Cuitlhuac
in a cold, quiet voice. Rushing forward,
the men at arms pounced on Mecatl and
held him still while Cuitlhuac prised
the medicine bottle from his hand.
My lord. A note of hysteria had
entered the doctors voice. This is an
outrage.
Yes, I agree, said Cuitlhuac. It is
an outrage that you threaten my son with
violence.
The noble prince is stubborn, lord.
What am I to do when he refuses
medication that will save his life?
Ignoring him, Cuitlhuac passed the
bottle over to Acamap, who sniffed its
contents and made a sour face.
Well, said Cuitlhuac. Do you
recognise it?
One moment please, said Acamap.
He poured a drop of the liquid onto his
finger, very cautiously tasted it with his
tongue, spat violently, rinsed his mouth
with water from a flask at his hip and
then spat again. It is cotelachi poison,
he said. A very strong dose much
stronger than the sample your lady wife
asked me to test this morning. Had the
prince drunk the entire contents of this
bottle, he would have been dead in a
few hours.
His face contorted with rage,
Cuitlhuac turned on Mecatl. What do
you say to that?
I say it is a lie, Excellency. This
medicine is an elixir of wondrous virtue
that I prepare for the Lord Speaker.
Then you will no doubt be happy to
drink it yourself.
Mecatls face drained of colour. I
he said. I No, sire. I prefer not to.
Force his mouth open, growled
Cuitlhuac to the men at arms.
Mecatl struggled, with surprising
strength, Guatemoc thought, but the
soldiers were all over him. Soon enough
they got a dagger between his teeth and
levered his mouth open, wounding his
lips and cheeks in the process. As blood
spattered down his costly robes and
pooled on the floor at his feet, he let out
a stifled sob and shook his head wildly,
cutting himself further on the blade.
Cuitlhuac loomed over him holding
the bottle. So whats it to be? he said.
Death by this Zapotec butterfly poison
you were going to kill my son with? Or
you tell us whos behind all this and
maybe we let you live?
Moctezumas stomach rumbled as a
zephyr of delicious aromas wafted from
the adjoining kitchen, and he glanced up
to see four serving girls, selected from
the daughters of the nobility for their
cleanliness and beauty, enter the dining
chamber carrying a large, deep gourd.
As they approached they did not dared
not! look at him, but kept their eyes
downcast, ladled water from the gourd
onto his outstretched hands and skilfully
caught the overflow in special basins.
None of the water was allowed to drop
to the floor; it was considered bad luck,
punishable by the death of the offending
servant, if any did. Taking the greatest
possible care, the girls then towelled his
fingers dry as two more noble daughters
entered, bringing him white maize cakes.
Finally the women retired and a host of
male retainers, all chosen for the honour
from amongst the nobility, entered the
room carrying thirty earthenware
braziers on which were arrayed three
hundred small red and black ceramic
dishes heaped with a fantasia of cooked
fowls, turkeys, pheasants, partridges,
quail, tame and wild duck, venison,
peccary, marsh birds, pigeons, hares,
monkeys, lobster, shrimp, octopus,
molluscs, turtles, thirty different
varieties of sea and river fish, a dozen
different vegetables and, in pride of
place, seasoned with salt and chillies,
little cubes of meat sliced from the thigh
of the sacrificed boy.
When the feast had been set out, all
the retainers withdrew, with the
exception of Moctezumas steward
Teudile, a man of the most refined noble
birth who, because of his proximity to
the ruler, stood amongst the highest lords
of the land, ranking seventh after
Moctezuma himself, the Snake Woman (a
position still unfilled since the death of
Coaxoch), Cuitlhuac, the lords of
Tacuba and Texcoco, and the new high
priest, Namacuix. Tall, gaunt and hollow
cheeked, Teudiles temples and brow
were shaved, his long grey hair gathered
in a top-knot at the back of his head and
his cherished personal dignity enlarged
by the star-spangled robes of office that
he alone was permitted to wear in the
presence of the Great Speaker. He held
sole responsibility for all matters
concerning the running of the royal
household, and at dinner it was his
particular honour and privilege to
describe the dishes to the Speaker and
hand him whichever took his fancy.
First, however, he drew a gold-inlaid
wooden screen around Moctezuma so
that his three dinner guests, who were
now invited to draw close, could not see
him eat.
This was the part that Moctezuma
always enjoyed the most for tradition
required that the guests must be barefoot,
must remain standing throughout like
beggars at his gate, must speak only
when he spoke to them and might eat
only if he chose to offer them a morsel of
this or that from behind the screen. It
was an excellent system for reminding
the nobility of their subservience to him
and to keep them at each others throats
by bestowing honour on one and
humiliation on another.
Even as he sampled the first juicy
chunks of the sacrificed boys inner
thigh, however, Moctezuma looked
down and saw with horror that a drop of
water had somehow splashed to the
ground at his feet while his hands were
being washed. It was a terrible omen,
and as though in immediate fulfilment of
it he heard the familiar voice of
Cuitlhuac, not in Texcoco as he was
meant to be but at the door to the
chamber and speaking loudly and
urgently to the guards. The names
Guatemoc and Mecatl were both
mentioned.
With a roar of anger Moctezuma threw
his plate to the floor and dismissed his
guests and Teudile.
This could only be about one thing.
Chapter Fifty-One
Cozumel, Saturday 27
February 1519 to dawn
Sunday 28 February 1519
The route Muoz had taken led through
an area of terracing on the lower slopes
of the hill where the Indians of Cozumel
grew vegetables for the town, and
although well camouflaged in his black
habit, the friar had left deep sandal
prints in the rich red earth that were easy
enough to follow in the starlight.
Quick, said Melchior, hes too far
ahead of us. Were going to lose him if
we dont get closer.
But not too close! Pepillo felt
compelled to warn. If he hears us were
done for.
Silly mammet! hissed Melchior,
increasing his pace. Weve got to get
close to kill him.
Pepillo scrambled after his friend,
doing his best to keep quiet even though
he was already panting with the effort
and his heart pounded frightfully against
his ribs. You must be mad, he said to
himself as he ran. Youre going to get
yourself killed. Every rational instinct,
every bone in his body, every straining,
terrified nerve urged him to turn and
slink back to the ship. But he couldnt do
that, could he? Because if he did he
would let Melchior down in the worst
possible way and reveal himself for the
coward he was.
They were out of the terraces now,
speeding up an open grassy slope.
There! Ahead! A surging column of
darkness deeper than the rest. That had
to be Muoz! Melchior had seen him too
and raced faster, fairly pounding up the
hill, widening the gap between himself
and Pepillo who was thinking, Even if
we do kill him, what then? Wont my
soul be damned forever for the murder
of a religious? And he heard inside his
head, like a drum roll, a deep,
portentous voice that seemed to say over
and over again, Damned! Damned!
Damned! and Murderer! Murderer!
Murderer!
A hundred paces above them loomed
the ominous, massy gloom of a swathe of
woodland, and with a chill Pepillo
recognised it as a different quarter of the
same wild copse in which theyd found
the body of the murdered child two days
before. The shadow that was Muoz
slipped amongst the trees and was gone.
Melchior! Pepillo wanted to shout
as he ran. Stop, for pitys sake! We dare
not follow him there. And he thought
It would be like tracking a lion to its
den. But he couldnt call out for fear of
giving their pursuit away, and to his
horror he saw his friend, so far ahead
now that he too seemed little more than a
shadow, making straight for the spot
where the friar had vanished.
Twenty seconds later Pepillo reached
the edge of the trees and skidded to a
halt.
By the uncertain glimmer of the stars
he saw the entrance to a path, no wider
than the span of his arms, leading deep
into the wood.
He squinted but he couldnt see
Melchior.
In fact he couldnt see anything!
The darkness amongst the close
packed, thickly tangled trees was near
total. Worse still, although the forest was
alive with all manner of strange and
frightening crepitations, rustlings, clicks,
squawks and snuffles, he couldnt
identify any sound that was obviously
Melchior pushing ahead through the
undergrowth.
God help me, Pepillo whispered,
and felt he was about to be sick as he
took his first step on the path.
Immediately something clutched his face
and he slapped it away, gasping with
horror before he had time to register it
was nothing more than a creeper hanging
down from above. The urge to vomit
grew stronger, but the fear of being
judged a coward by Melchior, and
worse still the fear that his friend might
be in danger and in need of his help, was
stronger than the fear of what lay ahead,
so he pressed on, carefully testing the
ground at his feet with each step, sensing
the soft detritus of fallen leaves, feeling
the brambles tugging at his ankles. On
both sides now the trees seemed to close
in and when he looked back he found he
could no longer see the start of the path.
He held tight to his hatchet, pushing
branches and thick clusters of rough
leaves and clinging tendrils aside as he
walked. Then with no forewarning he
heard a slow, vibrating whirr very
close! and something about the size of
a small bird flew right over the top of
his head, disturbing the air with the flap
of its wings. There were bats here, the
sailors said, that drank human blood
yet surely such creatures were the least
of his worries when a true monster like
Muoz lurked in this terrible close
darkness, and when Melchior, on whose
strength and courage he depended, was
nowhere to be seen.
Melchior! he hissed, risking all.
Where are you?
Nothing.
Deciding he would take ten more
paces before making his way back to the
ship, Pepillo began to count one
two three four when suddenly he
heard what? A footstep? A crackle of
branches compressed under a heavy
sandal?
Melchior? he croaked. Melchior?
Icy terror gripped his bowels and a
strangled whimper rose in his throat. He
turned to run but a strong hand fell on his
shoulder out of the night and held him in
place.
Ahhhh! Pepillo shrieked. Let go, let
me go. He struggled desperately, flailed
and lashed out but it was useless.
Please, he begged, please, Father,
dont kill me.
A hand was on his other shoulder
now, shaking him, and he heard a deep,
familiar chuckle. Dont shit yourself,
you daft mammet, said Melchior. Its
only me. Muoz has gone. Were not
going to catch him tonight.
In an instant Pepillo was wildly angry,
and planted a kick on his friends shin
that sent him hopping amongst the
bushes. You swine! he yelled at the
older boy, you scared me. Creeping
around like that! What were you thinking
of?
Just a jape. Dont take on so!
A jape? A jape? Youd jape about
this? Pepillo felt indignant, foolish and
furious all at once, but most of all, he
realised, he felt relieved. Come on, he
said, lets get
He didnt finish his sentence.
Something came whoosh out of the
darkness, there was a solid clunk and he
sensed rather than saw Melchior
crumple to the ground beside him. A
second of mute incomprehension
followed, and then a moment of sudden,
horrific realisation before a blow
crashed into Pepillos jaw, lifted him off
his feet, exploded bright lights inside his
head strangely reminding him of the
time, years before, when hed run full tilt
into a stone wall and plunged him,
finally, into absolute, enveloping
blackness.

As he swum up into consciousness,
Pepillo couldnt at first remember where
he was or understand why he was lying
naked on a surface of broken branches
and leaves, on his stomach, gagged, with
his knees bent, his wrists and ankles
bound together behind his painfully
arched back, and a noose around his
neck seemingly connected to the tether at
his ankles so that any attempt to struggle
or straighten his body brought on
immediate strangulation. It was very
dark but the flicker of some faint light
nonetheless reached his eyes. He heard a
mans voice, lisping, horribly familiar
Muoz! and the events of the night
came back to him in a stupefying flood.
A great cry burst from his throat, only to
be stifled by the thick bundle of foul-
tasting rags that stuffed his mouth.
The Dominican was speaking in an
almost pleasant, conversational tone.
See blackamoor! Your young
accomplice awakes to witness your
punishment. By the time I have him hell
be oozing with fear.
Pepillo thought Have him? Have
him? What does that mean? and heard
an incoherent, choking roar which he
understood must be Melchior, gagged
like himself. He thrashed his head left
and right, tightening the noose, coughing
and wheezing, as he strained to find his
friend whose own struggles he could
hear somewhere behind him.
But he saw Muoz first, sitting two
paces away on the thick trunk of a fallen
tree, his hand resting on a Bible, his
black habit drawn up exposing the knobs
of his knees and his face hellishly
illumined by the quivering gleam of two
altar candles positioned on either side of
him.
Ah, the friar said, allow me to
oblige. Suddenly standing, he loomed
over Pepillo, raised a foot, placed the
sole of one heavy-duty sandal on his
shoulder and gave him a powerful
shove, spinning him round half a turn on
his belly until Melchior came into view,
facing him, also naked and hogtied.
Unlike Pepillo, the older boy showed no
fear, only a brooding anger that burned
through the reflected candle flames in his
eyes and contorted his proud features.
With a strange chuckle Muoz
crouched and put his mouth close to
Pepillos ear the same ear hed bitten
in Santiago, brushed now with the same
soft heat of his lips. See how your
friend hates me, he said. Casually he
placed his open hand between Pepillos
hunched shoulder blades, moved it
slowly down his body, caressed his
trussed wrists and brought it to rest on
his buttocks, making him flinch as though
burned with a hot iron. Why do you
think he hates me so? the Inquisitor
continued.
Because youre a wicked sodomite,
Pepillo would have said if he wasnt
gagged, but Muoz clearly didnt expect
an answer. He hates me, he mused, his
voice instantly raised to a shout and
ringing in Pepillos ear, because I had
him for a peso in my cabin when we
sailed with Crdoba. Hed do anything
for coin when he was a slave wouldnt
you, blackamoor? but now hes free
the poor boy cant bear the shame.
Another furious roar from Melchior,
who was struggling desperately,
hopelessly, against his bonds, the noose
biting so hard into his neck it had drawn
blood.
Thats why he wants to kill me,
Muoz sneered. With this. He held up
Melchiors rusty dagger, then pushed his
mouth closer to Pepillos ear. I expect
he told you otherwise, yes? Some high-
principled story about defending the
Indians? Was that what brought you out
here tonight? Well, now you know the
truth, boy! Now you know the truth!
He cast the dagger aside and suddenly
he was on his feet again, pacing about
the clearing where hed obviously
dragged both of them after knocking them
out, shadows dancing across his coarse
features as the candles glimmered. The
great dragon was hurled down, he said,
his voice rising, that ancient serpent
called the devil who led the whole
world astray. As he spoke he strode
close to Melchior and kicked him twice
in the ribs with such incredible violence
that Pepillo distinctly heard something
crack followed at once by a terrible
groan of pain. You are tempters, Muoz
boomed, tempters, I say, who have
wickedly tempted me, and the flesh is
weak. He raced across the clearing,
drew back his foot and Pepillo winced
and moaned as two kicks now thudded
into his own ribs. He felt a gush of vomit
rising up his throat and bit it back,
fearing he would choke and die.
But of course he was going to die
anyway. They were both going to die, he
and Melchior, here in the dark woods at
the hands of this evil madman.
Muoz was muttering to himself, and
this was even more frightening than his
shouts and yells. In that day, he intoned,
the Lord with his sore great and strong
sword shall punish leviathan the
piercing serpent, even leviathan that
crooked serpent, and he shall slay the
dragon. Through the tears pouring from
his eyes, Pepillo saw the friars hand
disappear inside his habit and emerge
holding a straight razor. Then in a single
step he surged back to Melchiors side,
planted a hand in his thick hair and
flicked the razor open so that its long
steel blade glittered in the candlelight.
A man who lies with a man, he said,
has committed an abomination and shall
surely be put to death.
As he placed the blade at Melchiors
throat there came a rush of footsteps and
a huge sword lanced in seemingly from
nowhere, pierced the Inquisitors back
and emerged through his belly. The man
wielding it was tall, bearded and
powerfully muscled. He dipped the hilt
of the weapon and, holding the friar
impaled, forced him screaming to his
feet.
Mercy, Muoz shrieked. Mercy! In
Gods name.
Two other men had closed in around
him, their faces grim. They held daggers
which they now used to stab him
repeatedly, while he still wriggled on
the sword blade like a gaffed fish.
It took some minutes, and a great deal
of blood, before he was finally still.
The bearded, hard-eyed soldiers who
had killed Muoz were Bernal Daz,
Alonso de La Serna and Francisco
Mibiercas, the latter being the owner of
what Pepillo would ever afterwards
think of as the sore great and strong
sword. Although they sailed with
Alvarado, Pepillo remembered Daz
from his visits to the Santa Mara, most
recently over the matter of the murders
in Cozumel, and it seemed that Melchior
knew all three men from the Crdoba
expedition.
The first thing they did after they had
cut the boys free and allowed them to
dress was very strange. Are these
yours? asked La Serna, holding up
Pepillos hatchet and Melchiors dagger.
They admitted ownership of the
weapons.
And what did you plan to do with
them?
Melchior looked at Muozs gashed
and bleeding corpse lying face down on
the forest floor. We followed him here,
he said. We were going to kill him.
Why? asked Daz.
We hate him, said Pepillo. He is I
mean he was a murderer. Two days
ago we saw him track and kill an Indian
child. He killed another last night and he
he
The three soldiers shared meaningful
glances.
He was a filthy sodomite, said
Melchior.
He said he was going to have me,
Pepillo added, after hed killed
Melchior.
La Serna held out the dagger and the
hatchet. Right, boys, he said. Take
your weapons and do what you came
here to do.
What do you mean, sir? asked
Pepillo. The hatchet weighed heavy in
his hand. Heavier than hed
remembered.
You came here to kill him, said
Mibiercas, who was cleaning the blade
of his sword on Muozs habit. Nows
your chance.
But hes already dead, sir, Pepillo
objected.
Just do it, growled Daz. Do your
part.
Melchior needed no further urging.
His breath was already coming in short
fast gasps, low moans rising in his
throat, and now he fell on Muoz in a
rage, burying his dagger over and over
again in the friars inert, bloodied back.
Pepillo saw tears running down his
friends cheeks and great sobs racking
his chest. Before he was done La Serna
nodded. You too, boy, he said.
Me, sir? Pepillo asked in a small
voice.
Do you see any other boys here?
snapped La Serna.
Pepillo turned to Daz and Mibiercas
but there was no give in their eyes.
Feeling sick, he joined Melchior by the
body, knelt and raised the hatchet but at
first couldnt bring himself to strike a
blow. Do it! Melchior snarled, his face
so livid with violence and fury that
Pepillo started back in shock. Do it if
youre my friend!
Suddenly something broke inside
Pepillo and he chopped the hatchet down
into Muozs shoulder, then again
hack! hack! into his neck, feeling the
vertebrae separate, and finally, in a
frenzy himself now, into the back of the
friars head until the bones of his skull
splintered.
Good enough, said Daz. He stood
behind Pepillo and Melchior, put his big,
strong hands under their arms and lifted
them to their feet. As he did so the
swordsman Mibiercas favoured them
both with a grim smile. Well done,
lads! he said. Were all in this together
now.
The world spun. Pepillo doubled
over, clutching his stomach, and
vomited.
A few moments later, still feeling faint,
Pepillo sat on the trunk of the fallen tree
where Muoz had perched triumphantly
not long before, and watched as
Melchior helped the three soldiers tidy
various items away into a knotted canvas
sack lying empty and open on the ground.
When hed waded naked through the sea
from the San Sebastin, it was
presumably inside this sack that the friar
had bundled his habit, his sandals, his
bone-handled razor, his Bible, several
coils of rope of different lengths and the
two altar candles hed used to illuminate
the scene. Now one by one, with the
exception of his slashed and blood-
sodden habit, which was left to cover
his body, they all went back into the
sack.
Did he know you were going to
follow him up here? Daz asked.
Pepillo and Melchior both shook their
heads. He couldnt have known. We
didnt tell anyone what we were
planning.
He must have been onto you, said
Daz, coiling away the last of the lengths
of rope, because he came prepared
right down to candles so he could see
what he was doing.
Pepillo felt a shiver run down his
spine. How did you know wed be
here? he asked.
We didnt, said La Serna. We were
waiting for our chance and tonight was it
which was good luck for you boys.
We were with Crdoba, explained
Mibiercas. A lot of good men died
because of Muoz. He had this coming
to him.
And more good men would have died
if wed let him live, added Daz. At
least now Corts can run this expedition
the way it should be run, and make us all
rich, without having to take a meddling
Inquisitor into account.
Does Corts know about this?
Pepillo asked.
No, lad, he knows nothing, said
Daz. And he must not learn of it. What
happened tonight didnt happen. You
will never speak of it again and we will
never speak of it again.
Mibiercas, his great sword now slung
in its scabbard across his back, was
more emphatic. If word of this gets out,
he said, glaring at Melchior then shifting
his gaze to Pepillo, Ill have your
heads. Remember that.
Word wont get out, sir, said
Pepillo. Were truly grateful to you for
saving our lives and well keep our
mouths shut.
Melchior nodded his agreement: Its
like you said, Mibiercas. Were all in
this together and we all have to watch
each others backs.
Pepillo was impressed by Daz and his
friends, and not only because of the
rescue. They could have left Muoz in
the clearing but they wouldnt do so
because the Indians of Cozumel would
certainly be blamed if he was found, and
another bloodbath might result. Instead
theyd decided to dump the corpse in the
sea off a remote headland theyd
reconnoitred more than a mile away
from the fleets anchorage. Its better
we have a mystery than a murder, La
Serna explained with a lopsided grin.
Most of the night had passed and
dawn was beginning to lighten the sky in
the east by the time they reached the
headland. Gulls wheeled and squawked,
waves crashed and burst against jagged
rocks with a strange booming echo, and
a strong wind was blowing as the
soldiers gathered heavy stones and used
the ropes from the canvas sack to tie
them securely to Muozs body.
Anyone want to say a few words on
behalf of the deceased? asked Daz.
He was a wicked man, said La
Serna. May his soul rot in Hell.
He asked for mercy, said Mibiercas,
that he never showed to others.
We gave him a bad death, said Daz,
and he must account for himself before
his maker now. When were judged for
what weve done, as we surely will be
when our own time comes, I pray the
Lord does not deal too harshly with us.
Just before they rolled the corpse into
the deep water, Pepillo caught a glimpse
of Muozs broken skull and pale,
blood-smeared face.
The friars black eyes were wide
open and they seemed to glare back at
him with a fierce and living hunger.
Chapter Fifty-Two
Tenochtitlan, Saturday 20
March 1519
Ive had a report from my informant in
Cuitlhuacs household, Huicton said.
It seems Guatemoc makes daily
offerings to the goddess Temaz for her
miraculous intervention. Would you
consider paying the prince another
visit?
Tozis heart raced at the thought. She
could not forget poor, lost Coyotl but she
had ceased her fruitless search for him
and during the twenty days since the
dramatic events in the royal hospital,
Guatemoc had been more on her mind
than she cared to admit. Pay the prince
another visit? she asked, feigning
nonchalance. What would be the
purpose? We achieved our goal of
disturbing Moctezumas household.
Suspicion is everywhere now. A rift has
opened between him and his brother that
can never be mended.
We must think ahead to when
Moctezuma is gone We must look to
his successor.
Quetzalcoatl will succeed him.
So you believe. But we must live in
the real world of men where gods do not
descend from the sky every day. I pray
youre right, but I must plan for the
possibility that youre wrong.
Im not wrong, Huicton! Youll see.
Very well, Tozi. Youre not wrong.
But humour me. Imagine for a moment
that Quetzalcoatl does not return but that
we succeed in driving Moctezuma mad
and so far we have done rather well
and bring about his downfall anyway.
His son Chimalpopoca is sickly and,
even if he lives, will be too young to
take the throne for many years. There
will be a struggle for power
And surely Cuitlhuac will win it,
Tozi said begrudgingly. She disliked any
line of thought that didnt involve
Quetzalcoatl.
Cuitlhuac may not want power. Hes
not a natural leader and theres every
sign he knows his own limitations. If
Moctezuma falls, Guatemoc will become
a contender. Lets take this opportunity
to make him our man
Guatemoc? Our man? That puffed-up
Mexica bully? You must be even crazier
than Moctezuma if you think we can do
that!
Far from it, Tozi! Huicton rested a
gnarled hand on her shoulder. Recent
events have put us you! in a unique
position of influence. Not only did you
foil Moctezumas plot but also my
informant tells me that the prince holds
you responsible for the healing he has
experienced. After the goddess Temaz
warned him of the poison, it seems she
placed her hands on the battle wounds
Guatemoc received fighting the
Tlascalans. He felt a warm glow suffuse
his body. At once his injuries, which
were of the utmost seriousness, began to
close up, as though by magic, and within
days the sepsis had vanished. He is still
in a great deal of pain, I am told, but his
doctors say he will make a complete
recovery and he attributes all of this to
you
To Temaz you mean!
Theres no difference. You are Temaz
in his eyes! Go to him again in the
regalia of the goddess. Appear to him.
Work your way deeper into his
affections and into his trust so we can
use him for our own ends when the right
time comes.
That all sounds very clever, Tozi
said, but it could easily go wrong.
Suppose Guatemoc sees through my
disguise? Catches me out in some way?
Then instead of making an ally well
make an even worse enemy.
I dont see why you should get
caught, the old spy said. Youre
confident of your invisibility now?
Yes, completely confident!
More to the point, Im confident of it
after what you did with Guatemoc,
Mecatl and the poison. When you make
yourself invisible no one can see you, no
one can seize you. So if anything does go
wrong you simply slip into invisibility
and escape.
Seeing her chance, Tozi admitted:
Theres something I havent told you.
Oh? Despite their milky opacity,
Huictons eyes could sometimes be very
expressive and now was one of those
times.
It isnt just what I was able to do at
the hospital thats made me confident,
Tozi said. Ive been going into
Moctezumas palace as well. She
giggled. Ive watched him a few times
while hes been eating his meals. Ive
even been in his bedchamber!
Youve what? Huicton looked
startled, and genuinely angry. I told you
to stay away from the palace. Its too
dangerous there.
Well you were wrong. Tozi stuck out
her lower lip. And I was right. You said
Moctezuma had sorcerers who might
magic me but theyre useless. Ive
slipped past them and they havent
noticed a thing and Ive been there with
him, right beside him without anyone
knowing and Ive been torturing him,
Huicton!
Torturing him? Whatever do you
mean?
The gift Hummingbird gave me. To
magnify my enemies fears? Ive been
using it on Moctezuma the same way I
used it that night on the great pyramid.
Tozi giggled again. Hes troubled by his
bowels and Ive been working on that.
Quite a lot actually. His stomach never
gives him peace. Oh, and Ive stopped
his tepulli working
His tepulli? Huicton was choking
with surprise. What do you know of
tepullis, young lady?
What do you mean, young lady?
Tozi asked scornfully. Girls of my age
are married with children. Of course I
know what a tepulli is! Another giggle:
And I know what they have to do if
theyre going to work!
Huicton just looked at her through his
cloudy eyes.
They have to stand up! Tozi
shrieked, and Ive made Moctezumas
tepulli as limp as a little worm so he
cant enjoy his wives and mistresses.
They mock him behind his back. Hes
very upset about it.
Huicton was laughing now, a great
rumbling, rolling guffaw of sheer
pleasure. Oh Tozi, he said, wiping a
tear from his eye, you are a prodigy.
She didnt want to admit she didnt
know what a prodigy was so she said:
About Guatemoc? When do you want
me to start?
Chapter Fifty-Three
Potonchan, Sunday 21 March
1519 to Wednesday 24 March
1519
It was the auspicious morning of the
Vernal Equinox, Sunday 21 March 1519,
when Alaminos piloted the Santa Mara
into the wide bay at the mouth of the
Tabasco river and Corts gave the order
for the fleet to drop anchor. He would
require no work of the men today, only
prayer. Tomorrow, Monday 22 March,
they would sally forth against the town
of Potonchan to punish the Chontal Maya
as Saint Peter required.
Not that the men knew of Cortss
dreams! Hed kept his real motive
secret, even from Alvarado, and sold the
planned attack on Potonchan as a
reprisal for the humiliation of the
Crdoba expedition the year before.
Most of the survivors of that debacle
were here, after all, and itching for
revenge; many others whod lost friends
and relatives were equally enthusiastic;
for the rest, the pride and honour of
Spain and the hope of treasure provided
ample incentives.
Much had happened in the twenty days
since young Gonzalo de Sandoval had
returned in triumph to Cozumel with the
shipwrecked Spaniard Jernimo de
Aguilar. After eight years spent amongst
the Maya, the castaway knew their
language with complete fluency and
quickly began to prove his worth as an
interpreter. Even his skills, however,
which allowed a thorough interrogation
of the chief and notables of Cozumel
and in due course almost the entire
population of the island could not
solve the mystery of the sudden
disappearance of Father Gaspar Muoz.
The Inquisitor had preached a sermon
on the deck of the San Sebastin on the
evening of Saturday 27 February. He had
then gone below to a small cabin
Alvarado had ordered constructed for
him in the hold and thereafter had not
been seen again. Since his habit and
sandals, his Bible, two altar candles, his
razor and other small personal items
were missing from his cabin, it was
presumed he had left the ship of his own
volition, something he was known to
have done on the night of the 26th when
he had told the sentries he was going to a
secluded spot on the island for
contemplation and prayer. On the night
of the 27th, however, no one had
witnessed his departure.
Had he somehow slipped by the
watch, made his way to shore no doubt
to sodomise and murder another child,
Corts surmised and ended up being
caught and killed by the Indians instead?
This seemed the most likely solution, but
there was absolutely no proof and no
hint of any Indian involvement to be had
from the interrogations. Indeed Aguilar
had made it clear that in his opinion the
islanders were not hiding anything.
So perhaps Spaniards had been
responsible? This could by no means be
ruled out. The Inquisitor had many
enemies amongst the conquistadors after
his part in the disaster of the Crdoba
expedition. The page Pepillo also had a
legitimate grudge, and for a while Corts
had even suspected him and his friend
Melchior the boys were behaving
strangely and both had bruises and cuts
on the morning of 28 February which
they claimed, unconvincingly, were the
result of a fight between themselves. But
again proof was lacking and, on
reflection, the notion they would have
been capable of murdering a grown man
like the Inquisitor seemed absurd.
It was an unsolved enigma, and when
the repaired and revictualled fleet sailed
out of Cozumel on 6 March, a week after
Muozs disappearance, Corts had
already concluded it was for the best if
it remained unsolved. Two weeks later,
anchored in the bay at the mouth of the
Tabasco river, he felt Saint Peter by his
side as he prepared to lay his vengeance
on the Mayan town of Potonchan, and
conjured in his minds eye an image of
that infinitely greater city whose name he
did not yet know, that jewelled and
shining city with its golden pyramid,
built upon the waters of a far-off lake,
surrounded by lofty mountains wreathed
in snow, that beckoned to him from his
dreams.
All these things God will give you,
Saint Peter had told him, when you have
done the thing I require you to do.
And what the saint required, right
here, right now, was the humbling, the
punishment and the utter destruction,
until their dead lay thick upon the
ground, of the Chontal Maya of
Potonchan.
It was on the day of the great spring
festival, when the hours of light and
darkness are equal and the sun rises due
east on the horizon, that Malinal at last
came within sight of Potonchan.
Approaching from the south on the broad
white road running through fields of
young maize, she hardly recognised the
town of her birth from which she had
been expelled five years previously,
betrayed by her own mother, cast down
from her noble lineage, and sold as a
slave to a passing Mexica merchant.
Compared to the massive scale,
elegance and complexity of the Mexica
capital where shed spent the intervening
years, it was, she saw at once, nothing
special. But compared to the Potonchan
of her memory just a few dusty streets,
a market and her fathers palace this
town that now loomed before her had
grown very large, and sprawled for a
great distance along the bank of the
Tabasco river. She might have thought
she had lost her way and arrived at some
other place entirely, had it not been for
the nine sheer terraces of the ancient
pyramid that soared up out of the central
plaza and towered unchangeable over
the warren of streets and houses. The
pyramid had been built by King Ahau
Chamahez in the long ago, so long ago
that no one could possibly remember; yet
his archaic prestige still shone down on
Potonchan like the rays of the sun and
made it a place of sacred pilgrimage to
all the Chontal Maya, eclipsing even the
greatest towns of the region, for the
special celebrations of spring.
The sight of the monument reminded
Malinal of that other infinitely greater
pyramid, dedicated to the Mexica war
god Hummingbird, where she had come
so close to losing her life and yet been
reprieved at the last moment, through the
mysterious intervention of the war god
himself. She did not know exactly how
long she had been walking at least
thirty days, she thought, perhaps a little
longer since she had left Tenochtitlan
behind on that night of horror. But her
bruised and aching feet bore witness that
there had not been a single day since
then when she had stopped moving, not a
single day when she had allowed herself
rest, as she put ever greater distance
between herself and the cruelty and
madness of the Mexica.
Dusty, battered and travel-stained
though they were, she still wore the
embroidered blue cotton blouse and skirt
and sturdy sandals she had been given on
leaving Tenochtitlan. The heavy, fur-
lined travelling cloak shed also been
given of little use to her after shed
come down out of the mountains into the
tropical lowlands had been exchanged
for food twelve days before and her
backpack was gone too, its contents
bartered and consumed. The journey had
burnt her courtesans skin brown and
taken such a toll on her expensive
clothes and general appearance that
shed long since ceased to stand out
from the countryfolk and other travellers
she met along the way. And now she was
almost home and found herself amidst
pilgrims flocking into Potonchan for the
spring festival, which must already have
been under way since the previous night
and would continue for another three
days. As she had many times on her long
and hazardous journey, when shed
avoided bandits, or Mexica patrols, or
found unexpected shelter in the midst of
a storm, or been given a bed for the night
by a kindly family, or found a willing
guide when she was lost, Malinal
remembered Tozis claim that some
divine plan was unfolding in which she
had been chosen to play a part. Her
return here exposed her to great danger
from her own family, a risk she had
decided she was prepared to run, but the
joyous crowds seemed like yet another
gift from the gods, making it so much
easier for her to blend in, anonymous
and undetected, while she sought tidings
of the god Quetzalcoatl.
As she drew closer, however, she
began to realise that something was
amiss. Although multitudes were indeed
still making for the town, equally large
numbers had begun to pour out of it,
heading south in the direction from
which she had come. Judging from their
style of dress, most were visitors who,
for some reason, were hurrying away
before the festivities could even have
got into full swing, but it was also
obvious there were some residents
amongst them. As more and more of the
travellers in both directions crossed
paths and exchanged words, she saw that
increasing numbers of those heading for
Potonchan were turning back.
Puzzled, she stopped a family on the
road mother, father, grandparents, five
children and asked them what was
happening. The grandfather, grey haired,
lean, bent, supporting himself on a
walking stick, made her heart leap when
he told her: The white strangers have
returned.
White strangers? she asked, masking
the excitement she felt. Who are they?
The old man gave her a hard look.
The same strangers we fought with
before, of course! Where have you been,
girl?
Ive been away. Ive been five
years in the lands of the Mexica.
His expression softened. Then you
wont have heard because it was just
last year the strangers came to
Potonchan. They came in huge boats that
move by themselves without paddles.
They demanded our food, our gold and
tried to make us worship their god. They
even burnt some of us on great fires! So
in the end we went into battle against
them. They were few but they possess
fearsome weapons and they killed many
before we drove them off. Now Muluc
urges us to resist them again but anyone
with any sense is leaving.
Malinal hid the instant surge of anger
that the name Muluc evoked in her. You
say the strangers tried to make you
worship their god but the way you
describe them makes them sound more
like gods than humans themselves. Do
you not think they are gods?
The elder kept silent as he appeared
to consider her question. Some believe
that, he answered finally, but they eat
like men, they shit like men and they
smell like men, so I would say they are
men, even though they seem very
different from us.
As he plodded off with the rest of his
family, Malinal called after him. These
strangers are they in the town
already?
Theyre in the bay in their great
boats, the old man answered. But they
will come. You can be sure they will
come. Take my advice and leave while
you still can.
Malinal pressed on, hardly registering
now how many other large parties of
pilgrims all around her had begun to turn
back. She was so completely absorbed
in the news she had been given that she
was trembling although whether it was
with joy or with fear, she couldnt say.
Through all these days of hard
walking, it had been the hope planted in
her by Tozi that Quetzalcoatl and his
retinue of gods were about to return that
had kept her going. Even so, part of her
perhaps the larger part had continued
to doubt the whole story. But after what
she had just heard, how could she doubt
it any longer?
And how could she doubt Tozis other
assertion that she, Malinal, must in some
special way be part of the gods plan?
For not only had they made their first
appearance in Potonchan, the town of
her birth, but now they had returned here
on the very day that she too had returned
after five long years of absence.
Such a conjunction, she thought, could
hardly have come about by accident. It
must have been fated. It must have been
written in the stars and by the hands of
the gods themselves, long ages before.
She was so deep in these reflections
that she failed to notice how close to the
town she had approached and that she
was no longer one amongst many now
that almost all the other pilgrims had
turned back. But suddenly her flesh
crawled and she looked up with a start
to discover two soldiers from Mulucs
palace guard drawing a temporary
barrier of thorns across the road less
than a dozen paces in front of her.
Hey you, said one of them, the
younger of the two, a gangling youth with
bad acne. Where do you think youre
going?
Malinal stared him down. Into town
for the spring festival, of course.
Well youre wasting your time.
Havent you heard? The festivals been
cancelled.
Since when?
Since now. Mulucs orders. Theres
an emergency.
The older of the two soldiers, who
had wattles of wrinkled skin hanging
loosely from beneath his chin like a
turkey, was studying her closely, a
calculating look in his hooded eyes.
Dont I know you? he asked. He had a
distinctive, croaky voice.
Malinals heart was racing. I dont
think so, she said. Im from Cintla. She
named the regional capital two hours
walk to the south through which she had
passed earlier. Ive never been to
Potonchan before.
Are you sure of that, my pretty?
Because you look very familiar to me
somehow.
Yes, quite sure, and I suppose Id
better be getting back now since you say
the festivals been cancelled.
She turned and began to walk in the
direction she had come, resisting the
urge to break into a run, keeping her
pace slow and measured as the soldiers
talked urgently behind her. She knew
exactly where turkey-neck remembered
her from had known the instant he
spoke to her. His face had aged a lot in
the five years but she couldnt forget that
voice.
Come back here, my pretty
She ignored him, kept on walking.
Hey you! Halt!
There was a scramble of running feet
and in a moment they were on her.
Youre Malinal! turkey-neck said as
he grappled with her. The slyness in his
eyes had turned to triumph.

The soldiers brought Malinal straight to
the palace and insisted on showing her
to Muluc in person. Well get a good
reward for catching this one, said
turkey-neck, whose name was Ahmakiq.
I was there five years ago when they put
her into slavery handed her over to the
merchant myself. They sold her to the
Mexica to be sure shed never come
back. Princess of the blood like this
she could have caused them a lot of
trouble.
Well shes back now, said Ekahau,
the younger soldier.
Exactly! And thats why theyll be
grateful we caught her.
Waiting in the palace courtyard for
Muluc to appear, Malinal found herself
reliving the events of five years ago.
Her beloved father, Kan-U-Ueyeyab,
the late chief of Potonchan, had died
suddenly and unexpectedly when she
was fourteen years old. She was his only
child and should have succeeded to his
position when she was sixteen.
Meanwhile her mother Raxca ruled as
regent and swiftly took a lover, the lord
Muluc, whom she equally swiftly
married. Shortly after Malinals fifteenth
birthday, the couple had a child, a boy
they named Nacon, and from the moment
of his birth Muluc doted on him and
detested Malinal. His influence on
Raxca was very great, for she was
besotted and weak, and he conspired
with her to get rid of Malinal so that in
due course Nacon could inherit the
chieftainship. Raxca had baulked at
having her own daughter murdered, the
solution Muluc preferred; instead
Malinal was sold to a Mexica slave-
trader and taken off to Tenochtitlan, that
city of terrors from which none who
were sent in bondage ever returned.
Now no longer an innocent girl but a
woman of the world herself, Malinal felt
quite certain her mother must have been
intimate with Muluc long before her
fathers death. Worse, it was
depressingly obvious that Kan-U-
Ueyeyab had been murdered, most
probably poisoned, by the pair for he
had been strong and radiant with health
until the very moment a mysterious
affliction struck him down, brought
blood pouring from his nose and mouth,
plunged him into unconsciousness and
killed him within a day.
And all this for what? Was absolute
power in Potonchan, and putting Nacon
in a position to inherit it, really worth
such betrayal, such scheming, such
wickedness?
Malinal looked up. The palace was as
she remembered it, with two storeys and
a floor area of a dozen or so rooms. She
had once thought it big and impressive
and it was, indeed, very much larger
than all the surrounding buildings.
Accustomed to the beautiful and
luxurious dwellings of the Mexica
nobility, however, she now saw her
childhood home for what it really was
the rude and rustic seat of a minor tribal
chief.
A womans voice raised in anger
could be heard within, a child crying, a
man speaking in indistinct, urgent tones.
Shuffling to attention, Ahmakiq and
Ekahau tightened their grip on Malinals
arms and she prepared herself for the
first sight of her mother in five years.
She supposed she had loved her once
doesnt every child love her mother?
but all that had long ago been burnt away
and she was surprised to discover she
felt nothing for her, not even hatred any
more, not even curiosity, just cold and
disdainful contempt. All the rage she felt
was focussed on her loathsome
stepfather! Hed got the better of her five
years ago and most unfortunately it
appeared he was going to get the better
of her again today.
However, it was not Muluc who
emerged from the door of the palace but
the worried-looking steward whod
been sent to fetch him, closely followed
by Raxca whose attention was focussed
on a bawling babe swaddled in her
arms. Trailing behind, and gripping a
fold of Raxcas skirt tightly in his
chubby fist, was a fat and exceptionally
ugly little boy he took after his father!
with the sniffles and a smear of snot
drying on his upper lip. He looked to be
about five or six years of age and could
be none other than the usurper Nacon.
Despite the danger of her
predicament, Malinal enjoyed that
special pleasure that sometimes comes
from anothers discomfiture as her
mother looked up from the babe. Clearly
the steward had summoned her without
daring to mention who was at the door,
but now she gave a startled shriek and
stepped back sharply, standing on her
sons foot and eliciting a high-pitched
yowl of protest. Gods! she gasped.
Once thought a great beauty, Raxca
had grown plain and dumpy, with greedy
eyes and the puffed-up cheeks of an
agouti. Her jaw trembled and her
complexion turned fish-belly pale as
guilt, shame and fear fought a brief
skirmish on her face. Is it Malinal? she
asked over the sniffles and incessant
grizzling of Nacon.
Yes, mother, Malinal replied
wearily, Ive come back to haunt you.
She wasnt sure why she said that,
except that she did, somehow, feel like a
vengeful ghost returned from the dead.

It was a bizarre situation. Malinal had
been sent into slavery by Raxca five
years before, yet here she was, in her
mothers audience chamber on the first
floor of the palace, drinking a bowl of
chocolate with her in the late afternoon
as though nothing had happened!
Well, not quite nothing, perhaps,
because there were guards at the door
and Raxca was in the process of making
it very clear that Malinal remained a
prisoner. We shall have to wait until
Muluc returns, then we will decide.
Mother, let me go! Malinal said
urgently. I have no interest in the
chieftainship of Potonchan. Nacon may
have it when he matures, for all I care.
Im no threat to him, or you, or your
darling Muluc. My only interest is in
these white men, or gods, or whatever
they may be.
Well Muluc is interested in them too,
Raxca said severely. The colour had
returned to her chubby face, which was
set in its usual mode of fanatical
devotion to her husband. Hes making
plans to attack them if they dare to come
here. I dont think hed want you to
contact them directly. No. Im afraid you
must stay, my dear.
She had been breastfeeding the baby,
but now Nacon stamped possessively to
her side and pawed at her teat, and to
Malinals amazement she hugged the
little boy close and allowed him to
suckle too. Raxca smiled as she settled
back on the couch, cradling her children.
Tell me about Tenochtitlan, she said, as
though Malinal had returned from a
sightseeing trip instead of five years of
slavery and prostitution. Ive heard its
a very beautiful city.
Little by little as the afternoon wore
on, and Raxca steadfastly refused to be
drawn into anything other than small
talk, Malinal began to realise something
she had never fully appreciated as a
child that her mother was a very
stupid, small-minded, parochial woman.
No wonder Muluc had found it so easy
to manipulate her to his own ends!
Shortly after nightfall he stormed into
the audience chamber, as ugly as she
remembered him, muscular and scarred,
with beetle brows and bulging eyes,
dressed in full war regalia of body paint
and feathers. You! he said pointing a
finger at Malinal. How dare you show
your face in my palace!
I wouldnt have done so, she replied
modestly, if your guards hadnt arrested
me and brought me here by force. They
seemed to think youd reward them well
for doing that. I cant imagine why.
With a few harsh words, Muluc sent
Raxca and the children from the room.
Tell me your purpose here, he said
when they were gone. Surely you cant
imagine youve any claim to the
chieftainship after all this time.
I have no claim, said Malinal, and
no interest.
Then what do you want?
Malinal saw no need to tell the whole
truth to this oaf. I was sent from
Tenochtitlan, she said, to make contact
with the strangers
But how could anyone in Tenochtitlan
know the strangers would be here? They
only returned in their boats today
The Great Speaker heard of their
visit to Potonchan last year, Malinal
said carefully. He believes they are
gods in the retinue of Quetzalcoatl and
wonders if Quetzalcoatl himself is about
to return. He sent me to find out more

Mulucs mouth twisted into a sneer.

The Great Speaker sent you? he
laughed You? A mere slave?
Im a slave no longer, Malinal
bluffed. Ive been gone five years and
much has changed. She was making up
the lie as she went along. I work for the
Great Speaker now.
So youre what? His ambassador?
Show me your papers and insignia then.
I have no papers and insignia.
Ha!
I have no papers and insignia
because Im on a secret mission to treat
with the strangers.
I wonder why I dont believe you?
said Muluc. He laughed again. You
know, you should stop wasting my time!
Just admit you came back to oust me, but
you got caught and now youre making
up stories about the strangers to try to
wriggle out of the trouble youre in.
Ive told you already, Malinal
protested, Im not here to oust you. She
tried flattery. I know I have no chance
against a powerful man like you.
Muluc rolled his eyes. I dont have
time for this, he said. Ive got a full-
blown emergency on my hands. He gave
a loud whistle and the two guards
Ahmakiq and Ekahau marched into the
room. Put her in the palace jail tonight,
he told them. Ill review her case
tomorrow.
Have a care before you go into battle
with the strangers, Malinal called over
her shoulder as they dragged her out.
Why? scoffed Muluc.
Because if they are gods they will
kill you all.
Bah! said Muluc. Im not afraid of
them. Weve killed them before and
proved theyre just men like us. If they
choose to fight, theyre the ones who
will die.
The Spaniards rowed upstream against
the swift current of the Tabasco river,
sweating in the close morning heat and
fending off clouds of tiny bloodsucking
insects. The river was broad and
smelled of rot, winding in serpentine
fashion between banks lined with the
stunted swamp trees called manglars in
the native Taino language of Cuba and
Hispaniola. Sprouting from multiple
exposed roots, like interlinked tripods,
these ugly trees were filled with gaudy,
shrieking birds and grew promiscuously
in thick clumps out of rich, glistening,
silty mud. Amongst them, with angry
glowers, uttering hostile whoops and
yells, moved immense crowds of
Indians.
An arrow struck the deck of the
brigantine but failed to penetrate the
stout timbers. It bounced, slid and
skittered to a halt at Cortss feet.
Curious, he picked the little projectile
up, studied its head of brittle obsidian
quite shattered by the impact and threw
it dismissively overboard. He
considered for a moment firing a few
rounds of grapeshot into the massed foe
but relented. King Charles would expect
more restraint from him than that and,
besides, if he wished to engage the
Indians, he was legally obliged to read
them the Requerimiento, a tedious piece
of bureaucratic nonsense that gave them
the option of avoiding battle by
accepting the authority of the Spanish
crown.
He was certain there was going to be
a fight in part because that was exactly
what he had come here for, but in part
also because these savages, in their body
paint and feathers, armed only with
crude weapons, seemed completely
unafraid of the invaders. And little
wonder! They knew the Spanish were
mortal, having given Crdoba such a
sound thrashing last year, and thousands
of them had mustered here on this
morning of 22 March to repeat their
victory ten thousand, at least, visible
on the river banks alone, and God alone
knew how many more were waiting in
the hinterland.
Crdoba had come here with a
hundred and ten men and left with forty.
Although Corts had five hundred
men, hed only been able to bring two
hundred with him this morning because
the river wasnt deep enough for
navigation by the carracks and caravels
which he had therefore been obliged to
leave at anchor in the bay, with most of
his army still on board. The two
brigantines did have a sufficiently
shallow draught and were, in addition,
superbly manoeuvrable under oar-
power, so he had crowded fifty soldiers
onto each, taking temporary command of
one himself and giving charge of the
other to Alvarado. The rest of his flotilla
consisted of five good-sized longboats,
borrowed from the largest ships, each
carrying twenty soldiers.
Until a beachhead could be
established and reinforced, the odds
werent much better than Crdoba had
faced, but mistakes had been made in the
debacle of 1518 that wouldnt be
repeated in the event of a massed enemy
attack today.
Most notably, Crdoba had been ill
equipped, being able to bring only two
small, outdated cannon to bear on the
foe, whereas Corts had loaded five
good falconets, and their gun carriages,
on each of the brigantines, and had many
more besides waiting to be ferried out
from the ships in the bay. He had also
brought along Vendabal with the first
thirty of his armoured war dogs
Crdoba had none and these, Sandoval
assured him after the battle he had fought
to rescue Aguilar, would terrify the
Maya.
Potonchan lay less than three miles
upstream, where a long straight stretch
of the river began; even battling against
the current, the Spanish flotilla came in
sight of it before noon. Alarmingly the
town was large far larger than the
Crdoba veterans had remembered it,
unless it had grown enormously in the
past months. Sprawling for more than a
mile from west to east along the bank
and half a mile inland to the south, it
consisted, Corts estimated, of some
twenty-five thousand houses. Although
these were for the most part built of
adobe thatched with straw, he spied
many substantial stone structures
amongst them, including a towering
stepped pyramid standing at the heart of
a great ceremonial plaza.
He turned to Sandoval, Brabo and
Aguilar who stood by him on deck.
Looks quite impressive, he said. One
might almost imagine these people
possess a culture.
Not as we know it, Don Hernn,
Sandoval replied. As Ive come to
understand the matter, their ancestors
were indeed civilised, with many great
achievements of architecture and
engineering, but the Maya of today have
fallen far from that high estate
They are brave enough warriors
though, added Aguilar, pointing to a
fleet of thirty large canoes, each with ten
armed men on board, paddling down
towards them. I dont suggest you
underestimate them.
The Indians surrounded the Spanish
boats while they were still almost a mile
west of Potonchan. Again Corts was
tempted to disperse them with grapeshot
and again he decided to wait. Let them
make the first move.
Amidships the largest canoe, a tall
painted warrior now got to his feet.
Aged about forty, he had an air of
authority. He was dark and muscular,
with many scars on his body, straight
hair falling in braids over his prominent
brows and fierce, rather bulging eyes.
He leaned on a long spear and shouted a
harsh challenge up to the brigantine
where all the conquistadors were at
action stations, lining the rail, swords
drawn, muskets and crossbows levelled.
What does he say? Corts asked
Aguilar.
He wants to know our business here,
the castaway replied. He says we look
like the men who tried to force the
Chontal Maya to worship their god last
year. He says the Chontal Maya dont
want any gods except their own, so they
put those men to flight. He asks if we
would like them to teach us the same
lesson.
Cheeky bugger, said Brabo.
Tell him I heard a different story,
said Corts. Tell him we know the
Spanish were few yet it was they who
put his people to flight.
Im not sure thats wise, Don
Hernn, said the interpreter.
Tell him.
He says lets not waste time talking
about past events, Aguilar translated
when hed received the warriors reply.
If we wish to force our god on them
again, and test their mettle, then theyre
ready to fight us now and we will see
who flees and who stands at the end of
the day.
Corts frowned. When this is over he
will accept our God! But dont tell him
that yet! Tell him instead we are only an
advance party and that we have many
more men and much larger ships out in
the bay. He knows this already but I
want you to tell him anyway, and tell him
if were attacked that the rest of our
force will fly to our aid. Tell him not to
start a war or hell be sorry, but also tell
him and convince him of this, Aguilar!
that we dont seek battle. Youre to say
weve been long at sea and we require
only provisions fresh water, for the
river here is salt, and meat for our men.
Tell him well gladly pay for these
things.
A long exchange followed and at the
end of it the Indians applied themselves
to their paddles and the canoes shot back
towards the town.
Well ? said Corts.
Ive persuaded Muluc thats the
spokesmans name that theyll have
more to lose than gain by fighting us,
Aguilar replied. Hes gone to put the
matter to their chief. He says were to
anchor midstream and wait for their
return.
Right! said Corts, rubbing his
hands. The riverbank here, so close to
the town, had been cleared of manglars
and was more sandy than muddy, with
flat fields of young maize growing
beyond. There were crowds of Indians
about but it looked a good place to set
up and fortify a camp. He ordered the
brigantines and longboats into shore and
the cannon unloaded.
Theyll attack us, Aguilar advised.
They dont want us to land.
Im betting they wont attack, said
Corts. I think Crdoba hurt them last
year more than they want us to believe,
but if Im wrong, he raised his voice so
it carried to the soldiers on deck, were
ready for a scrap, arent we, men?
A ragged cheer went up.
The Indians did not attack but drew back
a few hundred paces from the bank as
the Spanish made their camp. Two hours
later a small fleet of canoes put out from
the town and paddled down to them. The
fierce-eyed warrior Muluc exchanged
angry words with Aguilar but the upshot
was that small quantities of food were
delivered some of the delicious maize
flatbreads called qua, a few turkeys and
some fruit all in all, hardly enough to
feed more than a dozen men. This, Muluc
said, was a gift.
Corts gave thanks but pointed to his
two hundred self-evidently rough and
violent soldiers, every one of them
armed to the teeth, who were now
fortifying the camp. He reminded Muluc
that hundreds more like them waited in
the big ships out in the bay. In view of
their great hunger, he said, these few
fowls and fruits are not enough if my
men are to go away satisfied. Some
might even see such a gift as an insult.
I prefer to think, friend, that you have
simply not understood our needs but I
give you fair warning I cannot be
responsible for the actions of my
warriors if you do not bring us adequate
provisions soon. We will do you no
mischief if you simply allow us to enter
Potonchan to purchase everything we
need there.
Attempt such a thing, Muluc replied,
and every one of you will die. We have
fifteen thousand warriors already
arrayed for battle and thousands more
have been summoned from neighbouring
towns. We will destroy you.
Perhaps, said Corts. Or perhaps
we will destroy you. But such threats are
a waste of your breath and mine. Only
bring the provisions we need and well
leave your town alone.
While this was being put into the
Mayan tongue, Alvarado, who had been
supervising the emplacement of cannon,
strode to Cortss side and interrupted
Aguilar. Tell him our needs include
jewels and gold as well as food, he said
to the interpreter. He rested his hand
menacingly on the hilt of the heavy
falchion he now often wore.
Don Pedro, you go too far, Aguilar
protested.
No, said Corts. Don Pedro is right.
Tell Muluc that we Spaniards suffer
from a disease of the heart that can only
be cured by gold. When he brings us
food he must also bring us gold and
jewels, or we will be forced to enter
Potonchan.
As Aguilar translated, the Mayan
warriors face contorted with rage and
he took a sudden step forward, putting
both hands on his spear as though about
to thrust. In the same instant Alvarado,
whose left arm was still in a sling, had
the falchion out of its scabbard. Come
on, my lovely, he said. Just you try it.
Seeing the joy of battle dancing in his
friends eyes, Corts put a restraining
hand on his shoulder. Not yet, Pedro,
he said quietly. Not yet. Youll get your
chance.
Aguilar and Muluc spoke in raised
voices for some time and then the Mayan
delegation returned to their canoes and
paddled furiously away.
That night, Monday 22 March, Corts
used the cover of darkness to reinforce
his beachhead, sending the longboats
back in relays to ferry out more cannon,
supplies and soldiers from the carracks
and caravels. The new arrivals,
numbering more than a hundred,
included all the remaining crossbowmen
and musketeers. Corts also sent Brabo
out with a small scouting party to gain a
thorough sense of the lie of the land
between the camp and the town, which
lay about a mile to the east. In the small
hours of the morning, the sergeant
returned with vital intelligence. As well
as the obvious approach, more or less
directly due east along the bank and into
the western side of Potonchan, he had
found a good track that led inland
through the fields, and then through
dense brush, and eventually looped back
into the town on its east side. When the
time came, therefore, a squadron could
be sent along this path to attack the town
from the east while another marched
straight up the bank to attack from the
west. Brabo had also been able to
reconnoitre the river, observing the
currents, and recommended the
brigantines be used to land men on the
waterfront on the north side of the town.
Such a three-pronged attack, if properly
timed, was likely to be devastating. It
would leave an escape route to the south
for refugees, but this was surely better
than forcing the enemy into a corner and
a desperate last stand in which many
Spaniards might also die.
Corts congratulated Brabo on a
nights work well done, but the sergeant
admitted it had been easy. The Indians
werent keeping proper watch, sir. They
were too busy evacuating their women
and children.
Sounds like they definitely mean to
put up a fight then.
Id say so, sir, yes.
Muluc returned soon after first light on
the morning of Tuesday 23 March.
This time he brought eight plucked
and dressed turkeys and some maize, but
only enough to feed ten people. He also
brought some carved green stones and a
gold mask of good quality, thickness and
weight. The masks features, which were
finely worked, seemed to be a mixture of
human and feline perhaps some
species of lion. This should be worth a
pretty penny melted down, Alvarado
announced as he held the piece to his
face and glared out through the eyeholes
at Muluc.
How much, do you think? Corts
asked.
Five thousand pesos, said Alvarado.
Maybe a little more The stones are
worthless though. He picked up one of
the carvings, shaped like a small axe
head, and skimmed it out across the
river, eliciting a gasp of horror from
Muluc as it bounced and sank.
Whats the matter with you?
Alvarado challenged. Filthy monkey!
Even though he could not understand
the Spanish words, and Aguilar chose
not to translate them, it was clear Muluc
knew he had been insulted. Shaking with
anger, he told Corts through the
interpreter that the Spanish must now
leave.
Certainly not! Corts replied. He
cast a sour glance at the little heap of
provisions. You can see I have a
hundred more mouths here to feed than I
did last night, but instead of offering us
friendship, which would be wise, you
offend us with these paupers rations. As
to the gold, he took the mask from
Alvarado and weighed it in his hands,
its a pretty enough piece but quite
insufficient for our needs.
The turkeys had been carried in two
large baskets, four carcasses to a basket.
Corts ordered the birds removed for
cooking, picked up the empty baskets
and thrust them at Muluc. If you dont
want us to come into your town to trade,
he said, you must fill both of these with
gold and bring us four hundred more
birds, twenty deer no, make that thirty
and sufficient maize to feed all my
men, not only those you see here but
those who remain on my great ships. If
you refuse to offer us that hospitality,
then we will enter your town in force
and help ourselves.
When Aguilar had put all this into
Mulucs tongue, the Indian laughed. It
was a harsh and bitter sound. We do not
wish to trade with you, he said, and we
have no more gold. Ill see to it that you
receive some more food from us
tomorrow, the last we will bring you.
After that you must leave our land or we
will kill you all.
After dark, Corts sent out three
scouting parties, but all returned within
the hour to report a large Indian force
massing in the fields between the camp
and the town. He therefore sent the
longboats back to the bay to bring out
further reinforcements, several more
pieces of artillery and all the remaining
dogs, leaving little more than a hundred
of his soldiers with the fleet. Although
he would have liked the option of using
cavalry, Corts judged the riverbank at
the temporary encampment too steep to
land the precious animals, which were
stiff from the long voyage, so they, too,
remained on board ship.
Posting a strong guard, Corts slept in
his armour and ordered all the men to do
the same. It meant a night of great
discomfort, but the whispers of the
Indians taking position in the fields were
menacing enough to banish all
complaints.
For two days Malinal had heard sounds
of increasingly frenetic activity from the
palace, and the shouts and footfalls of
huge numbers of people on the move
throughout the town. Neither Raxca nor
Muluc visited her, and she remained in
solitary confinement in the jail, largely
ignored even by her guards. When they
pushed food through the bars and took
out her toilet slops, they spoke only a
few harsh words, refusing to tell her
what was happening or give her any
information on the whereabouts or
activities of the strangers.
But now, when her third night as a
prisoner was already well advanced,
Ahmakiq and Ekahau came for her and
dragged her out into the courtyard.
Dozens of torches fixed to the walls
and in the hands of retainers lit up the
night, and Malinal saw that all the
palace slaves, numbering more than fifty,
had been gathered as bearers for the
portable treasures of the household,
which were already being apportioned
amongst them. Beautiful statuettes,
pectorals, earspools, ornamental
weapons, face masks, belts, plates and
serving vessels, all carved from the most
precious jade, a few small gold and
silver ornaments, fine ceramics, costly
wall hangings, bales of rich fabrics,
heaped jaguar skins, and much else
besides, were hastily wrapped and
placed in bundles on the shoulders and
backs of the slaves. No doubt to make
certain none of them attempted to
abscond, and to protect the treasures
wherever they were about to be taken, a
hundred warriors wearing Mulucs
personal livery stood watchfully around,
armed with spears and obsidian-edged
macanas the Mayan version of the
deadly weapon known by the Mexica as
the macuahuitl.
Ahmakiq and Ekahau gripped Malinal
firmly by the upper arms as they
marched her across the yard, almost
lifting her off the ground in their haste,
and now manoeuvred her round the pile
of treasures to a corner under a
flickering torch where, with something
of the manner of a dragon guarding its
hoard, Muluc himself stood watching.
He was once again dressed for war and
his muscular body glistened with oil and
paint.
Ah, he said, Malinal! I dont
believe your story about working for
Moctezuma. The white men certainly
arent gods and the Great Speaker of the
Mexica wouldnt be such a fool as to
imagine they are. All in all I think youre
here to cause me trouble
She tried to protest but Muluc held up
a large, grimy hand to silence her. No! I
dont have time to listen to any more of
your lies and excuses. Count yourself
lucky Im not ordering your execution
youve your mother to thank for that
but tomorrow Im going to destroy the
white men and then well send you back
to Tenochtitlan with the next Mexica
trader who passes through. Theres one
visiting Cintla now who always pays a
good price for ripe female flesh. He
laughed as though hed said something
funny, and Ahmakiq and Ekahau
sycophantically joined in. Meanwhile,
as you can see Mulucs tone was
becoming pompous Im rather busy!
Weve decided to evacuate the palace
ahead of the fighting and send some
things of value down to Cintla, so I
thought I might as well put you to use as
a bearer with the rest of our slaves.
I am not, Malinal said very slowly
and deliberately, your slave.
Youre whatever I say you are, said
Muluc. He gave her an appraising leer:
Including my bed mate, should I give
you that privilege.
I imagine my mother might oppose
such a privilege, Malinal said
acidly.
Mulucs hand shot out and grasped her
left breast as though it were a piece of
fruit on a tree. Your mother, he said
rubbing his thumb roughly over her
nipple, respects my needs.
Well I dont, Malinal yelled. Thirty
days of walking had made her lean and
strong. With a twist of her body she
broke free of Ahmakiq and Ekahau,
clawed Mulucs face and felt a rush of
satisfaction as her long nails raked deep
through his flesh. He yelped and jumped
back, releasing her breast, then surged
forward again and punched her hard in
the belly. As she doubled over he took
her by the hair and dragged her to the
ground, roaring with rage.
Muluc! It was Raxca, wailing from
an upper window of the palace. You
promised she wouldnt be hurt!
On the morning of Wednesday 24 March,
Muluc was back. Four parallel scores,
deep and still bloody, disfigured the left
side of his face. Looks like hes had an
argument with his wife, said Alvarado.
Corts laughed and asked through
Aguilar: Are you well, Muluc? You
seem to have been in a fight.
The Indian ignored the question and
again presented eight turkeys and a small
amount of maize. He pointed to the fields
now seething with Mayan warriors,
thousands of whom had approached
within a few hundred paces of the camp.
Go now, he said, or die.
As Aguilar translated this, Alvarado
drew his falchion and showed Muluc the
edge of its heavy steel blade. Do we
look like the sort of men to take orders
from a bunch of savages like you? he
said.
The Mayan emissary didnt flinch.
Leave our land, he insisted.
Come, come, said Corts. Where
are your manners? Where is your
hospitality? I tell you what if you
allow us to enter Potonchan, and provide
food for my soldiers in your homes, Ill
give you good advice and teach you
about my God.
We dont need your advice, Muluc
replied stiffly, we certainly will not
receive you in our homes, and we heard
enough about this god of yours last year
to know we prefer our own.
Ah, but you dont know what youre
missing, Corts said. If youll only
listen to me, youll prosper. Besides I
have to enter your town. Its my
responsibility to meet your chief so I
may afterwards describe him to the
greatest lord in the world
And who is this great lord? asked
Muluc with a sneer.
He is my king, replied Corts, who
sent me to visit you here. He desires
only peace and friendship with your
people.
If that is what he desires, replied the
Indian, then you should leave and not
play the bully in our land.
Enough! barked Alvarado. Lets
stop sparring with this fool.
Im nearly done, said Corts quietly.
Make certain all the cannon are primed
and loaded with grapeshot. Alvarado
grinned. As he set off around the
perimeter, where a dozen falconets now
pointed towards the advancing Indians,
Corts repeated his offer of peace and
friendship, knowing it would be refused.
He had prepared carefully for this
moment. The expeditions hundred war
dogs were caged below deck, fifty on
each of the moored brigantines. Their
barks and howls echoed through the
camp but it was clear the Maya had no
idea what sort of animals were
producing these sounds. Vendabal and
his assistants had orders to bring them
ashore after Mulucs departure.
Earlier Corts had put a squad of fifty
soldiers on board each of the brigantines
and placed them under the command of
Daz and Sandoval. Men were ready at
the oars to row the boats upstream to
Potonchan as soon as the dogs had been
disembarked. Each brigantine was also
armed with three falconets, one
amidships, one at the bow and one at the
stern. Corts had given firm instructions
to Daz and Sandoval to set human
feelings aside and use all six cannon to
enfilade the town with two full salvos of
grapeshot before landing.
Once again, as hed expected, Muluc
refused to accept the perfectly
reasonable request that the Spanish be
allowed to enter Potonchan peacefully.
On the contrary, the stubborn Indian
turned his back and stalked down to the
rivers edge, where his retinue waited in
a small fleet of canoes. They paddled
out to midstream and held still, then
Muluc put a conch to his lips and blew a
mighty blast.
It was, as Corts expected, the signal
for a general attack. Giving vent to
chilling shrieks, yips and ululations, the
massed Indian ranks surged across the
fields, unleashing slingstones and
spears, some of which reached the camp
despite the extreme range. What Corts
had not expected was the second large
force in canoes concealed amongst the
manglars on the opposite side of the
river that simultaneously put out into the
water and began to paddle rapidly
towards them.
Even so, correct form had to be
followed. With a yell, Corts summoned
the expeditions notary, Diego do Godoy,
and ordered him to begin reading the
Requerimiento.
Chapter Fifty-Four
Potonchan, Wednesday 24
March 1519
Moored by the steep bank below the
Spanish camp, Bernal Daz was in the
foremost of the two brigantines
commanding fifty soldiers. His force
included five musketeers and five
crossbowmen. He had three falconets on
board, each cannon loaded and fired by
a two-man crew. Sandoval, who also
had three falconets at his command, was
right behind him in the second brigantine
with an identical force. Their task, after
disembarking the dogs from their cages
below decks, was to row the mile
upstream to Potonchan with the greatest
possible despatch, bombard it from the
river with the falconets and then force
entry. Meanwhile, Corts would lead a
charge of the main land force of some
two hundred men, supported by the
armoured dogs, directly along the bank
into the towns western suburbs. Pedro
de Alvarado and Alonso Davila would
lead a subsidiary force of a hundred men
on a flanking manoeuvre through the
fields to the south of the town and then
round behind it into its eastern suburbs.
This was the theory.
But as he heard the loud blast of the
conch, Daz realised that Muluc had
seized the initiative and that matters
would not be going to plan. As though
conjured into sudden existence by some
sorcerer, a thousand howling Indians in a
hundred canoes were on their way
across the breadth of the river, homing in
shockingly fast on the port side of the
brigantines. Already spears and arrows
were arching up out of the canoes and, if
they were falling short now, they would
not do so for much longer.
At this range, a broadside of
grapeshot from his three falconets, and
the same from Sandovals three, would
sweep the river clear of attackers in an
instant. Unfortunately, however, all the
cannon were arrayed on the starboard
side of the ships, ready to enfilade the
town, and while their crews swivelled
and moved them, losing precious
seconds, Daz ordered the rest of his
force to port to repel boarders, and the
muske-teers and crossbowmen to open
fire immediately. A glance from the
corner of his eye showed him that
Sandoval had done the same and the ten
muskets roared almost simultaneously,
with the crossbows firing a second later.
Sandoval had reported the almost
magical effects of gunfire during the
rescue of Aguilar from the town of
Mutul, but Daz had no such expectations
here. The Indians of Mutul had never
faced firearms before, whereas these
devils of Potonchan had not only faced
muskets and cannon but had faced them
down and driven Crdobas forces, Daz
amongst them, back into the sea.
Corts was not Crdoba, however.
His army had fifty musketeers, against
Crdobas lowly seven, and fifty
crossbowmen against Crdobas five.
Another crucial difference was artillery.
Crdoba was able to deploy only two
ancient hand cannon, whereas Corts
had eighteen of the small, mobile
falconets and three great lombards
designed to demolish castle walls.
As the musket balls whirred amongst
the Indian canoes, ploughing through
flesh and blowing heads apart in
explosions of blood and bone, the awful
boom of the percussion rolled and
echoed. It was gratifying, despite having
knowledge of guns, that hundreds of the
attackers panicked at once and threw
themselves into the water or wheeled
their canoes and began to paddle
furiously upstream towards the town.
Even as they did so, however, there
came a gigantic rolling crash from the
shore as the twelve falconets defending
the camp were fired in a single barrage
at what target Daz could not
immediately see. The effect of these new
detonations, a thousand times louder than
any musket, and of the accompanying
eerie whistle of grapeshot, was to
disrupt and bewilder even further the
attack the Indians were attempting to
mount from the water.
Still enough of them came on to
overrun the ship. Daz drew his
broadsword.
Godoy didnt finish reading the
Requerimiento, and of course there was
no time for Aguilar to translate any of it
into Maya. After the notary got to the
part explaining how Pope Alexander VI
had given all the lands and peoples of
the New World to Spain and Portugal,
the Indian horde charging across the
fields was at point-blank range and
really had to be stopped, so Corts was
obliged to order the falconets fired.
As the smoke began to clear, he
surveyed the harm done to the massed
enemy and felt inspired to offer a short
prayer of gratitude for the incredible
advancement of science that God had
permitted to the European powers.
Without their twelve small cannon, the
Spanish in the camp might easily have
been overwhelmed by the five thousand
homicidal savages who had poured in on
them. But now, instead, the front ranks of
that vast attacking force had been
transformed by the maelstrom of
grapeshot into an eerily silent, bleeding
ruin of mangled bodies cut down in
swathes before the guns, the fallen lying
in indiscriminate heaps of guts,
dismembered limbs and shattered skulls,
the living stumbling dazed and addled
over the dead, and great smears of gore
splashed through the young maize as
though by some giant paintbrush.
The Indians battle experience against
Crdobas two pathetic little hand
cannon hardly stood them in good stead
for this! Seized by panic, the middle
ranks, though quite unscathed, had
dissolved into a full and chaotic retreat,
yet the numbers committed to the attack
had been so great, and the mass and
momentum of their charge so huge, that
the rear ranks were still coming on. A
fearsome, tangled collision ensued
across a wide front, from which piteous
screams rose up as hundreds were
trampled and crushed.
It was, Corts thought, as though the
horsemen of the apocalypse had
descended upon that place and the last
days of the world had come. Even
Alvarado, falchion in hand, was
impressed. God in heaven, he said,
thats as fine a sight as ever I saw.
Still there were thousands of
survivors, most already in flight along
the riverbank back to Potonchan.
Wanting to press home his victory at
once before they had time to regroup and
mount a proper defence of the town,
Corts whirled towards the brigantines.
Vendabal! he yelled, as he grasped the
extent of the parallel attack that was
under way there, Get those dogs
amongst the enemy!
His eyeline into the camp obscured by
the steep riverbank, Daz had only the
haziest idea what was going on there and
little time to care. More than a hundred
Indians, plumes of bright feathers in their
hair, their bodies and faces fearsomely
striped with black and white paint, had
boarded the brigantine and hand-to-hand
fighting raged all across the deck.
Ducking low, as a swarthy, sweating,
wild-eyed savage swung a huge club at
his head, Daz backhanded the edge of
his broadsword across the mans naked
belly, spilled his guts, stepped in and
trampled him down. Now two more
were coming at him, flanking him. He
felt something strike his right thigh hard
and sharp, ignored the pain, cut the legs
out from under the man on his left, put
the point of the sword neatly through the
second mans chest, and with a roar
shoulder-charged a third, sending him
cartwheeling over the rail and into the
river.
In a second of breathing space he saw
that not a single Spaniard was down.
Although hard-pressed they were
winning the fight! The enemy were for
the most part naked but for loincoths,
and their flint daggers and wooden
batons edged with obsidian were little
better than childrens toys, quite unable
to penetrate the plate and chain mail
with which the Spanish were armoured
and no match for Toledo steel. He saw
Mibiercas wade into a mass of the
enemy, ignoring spear thrusts that slid
harmlessly off his cuirass, swirling his
great longsword before him, hacking left
and right, left and right, cutting a man
clean in half here, taking an arm off a
shoulder there. Right behind him came
La Serna, whod snatched up a pike and
was jabbing its vicious point down
overhand into the faces of the attacking
warriors, piercing one through the eye,
tearing the throat from another.
To me! Daz yelled, to me! Avenge
Crdoba! And in twos and threes his
men rallied to him, formed up almost
automatically into a square bristling with
steel and harm, and swept forward along
the deck in an armoured mass. The
Indians still outnumbered them, but they
lacked coordination and were already
wavering, on the brink of panic, when
Vendabal appeared like an evil genie
from the hold with fifty of his armoured
dogs streaming before him. Hed starved
the animals the night before and now
Daz understood why. As they leapt,
snarling and baying upon the enemy, as
lions upon lambs, the huge animals
spread the contagion of utter terror
amongst them, tumbled at least a dozen
on their backs and began at once to
devour them. All the courage and
bravado drained out of the rest in an
instant. With howls of despair they threw
themselves overboard onto the muddy
bank and into the water, where Corts
and a hundred conquistadors from the
camp waited with swords drawn to
slaughter them.

In the rush, Corts had forgotten his
buckler; he fought with a dagger in his
left hand, a broadsword in his right. He
had also lost a sandal somewhere on the
riverbank, but hardly noticed it as he
closed with a glowering, barrel-chested
savage, chopped off his arm at the elbow
with a firm downward sword slash and
slit him open from groin to navel with
the dagger. The man gave a horrible yell
and lurched forward absurdly still
trying to grapple with him! but Corts
contemptuously swept him aside and
advanced through the cloying mud
towards a slim, long-haired Indian youth
who stood hip-deep in the river with his
back turned. Armed with a sling and a
bag of stones, this veritable David had,
in the past few moments, singlehandedly
brought down three conquistadors on the
deck of Sandovals brigantine, where the
last of the boarders were still being
dealt with. The youth was whirling the
sling above his head again,
concentrating, taking careful aim,
inexperience making him oblivious to
danger, when Corts hacked the edge of
the sword into his neck where it joined
his shoulders, releasing a spray of
arterial blood. As the muddy water
blossomed red around him, the boy
turned and sank down into it, still
gripping the sling, his eyes rolling in
horror.
Corts stalked on in search of new
prey, but the fight had become a
mopping-up operation. Those of
Vendabals dogs that could be separated
from the Indians they were eating on
Dazs brigantine now joined by the
other dogs from Sandovals hold had
been set on the fleeing remnants of the
very large force that had attacked the
camp. They would pursue them to the
outskirts of Potonchan before Vendabal
finally called them off. The last of the
Indians whod infested Sandovals
brigantine had also been killed.
As Corts searched for and retrieved
his lost sandal from the mud, he resolved
to press home the attack on the town at
once. Mulucs pre-emptive strike across
the river had taken him by surprise and
caused some disruption to his plans, for
which indignity he intended to make the
inhabitants pay dearly.
Action at last, thought Alvarado as he
led his force of a hundred men at the
double through the fields of the dead.
The effects of the cannon fire on the
enemy had been spectacular, but there
was no substitute for cold steel and the
press of battle. He grinned as he
remembered the surprised faces of the
five Indians hed cut down in the fight
around the boats the heavy blade of the
falchion was perfect for the brutal
slaughter of such foes with their puny
stone weapons and no concept of the
science of warfare. But his blood was
up now and he was in the mood to kill
more.
According to Brabos scouts, the track
he was following would lead first to a
point about three miles south of
Potonchan and then a mile to the
northeast across fields before looping
back again a further two miles or so
through dense forest and brush into the
towns eastern suburbs. Alvarado was to
begin his assault there as soon as the
sounds of muskets and cannon told him
the other two prongs of the attack from
the river to the north and along the bank
to the west had begun. To avoid the
danger of Spanish troops being hit by
their own guns, it had been agreed that
the falconets on the brigantines, and with
Corts, would fire only two salvos
before the offensive was pressed home
simultaneously on all fronts.
Alvarado had marshalled his men into
two columns of fifty, each consisting of
ten ranks of five, but had them bunch into
a defensive square of ten ranks of ten as
the track approached a major
thoroughfare. Here, some three miles
due south of Potonchan, and close to a
range of low hills, they encountered
large groups hundreds of Indians in
disorganised bands, many injured and
bleeding, some missing limbs or so
badly wounded they must be borne on
stretchers, evacuating the town. A few of
the refugees carried pathetic bundles of
belongings, none offered any challenge,
and those who were able broke into a
shambling, panicked run at the sight of
the Spaniards. Alvarado was tempted to
give chase and kill as many as possible
before they could shelter in the hills, but
Alonso Davila, to whom Corts in his
wisdom had given joint charge of the
flanking party, dissuaded him. Theres
no honour in it, Pedro, he said, and its
not what were tasked with. Lets press
on.
A mile further on, having turned
northeast, the track left the open fields
behind and narrowed sharply as it
entered the forest Brabo had warned of,
obliging the conquistadors to break
formation into double and even single
file in places. Here the enemy might
easily come at them unseen out of the
undergrowth, ambuscades were to be
expected and Alvarado ordered a full
alert. Yet still there was no attack.
Cowards! he said to Davila. They
dare not confront us.
Judging from those refugees, said the
other man, their spirits broken Still,
the real test wont come till theyre
forced to defend their town.
Two hours hard march from the
Spanish camp, the track emerged from
the forest and the eastern outskirts of
Pontochan came into view across a strip
of cleared land two hundred paces wide.
There was no sign of any defending
enemy forces, absolute silence reigned,
and the empty streets leading due west
towards the ancient stone pyramid and
the rich structures around it in the main
square beckoned Alvarado to gold and
glory. You know what? he said to
Davila. Why dont we just go in and
seize this shithole ourselves before the
others get here?
As he spoke they both heard the sound
of distant musket fire.
For speed of movement, Corts made the
difficult decision to leave all but two of
the falconets in camp with fifty men and
twenty of the dogs to guard them. He
gave Alvarado and Davila a head start
of more than an hour because of the long
indirect route they would have to follow
to get their flanking party into position,
then set Daz and Sandoval on their way
upriver in the brigantines and ordered
his own force of two hundred men to
advance the mile directly along the bank
to the western edge of the town.
At first the Indians were silent, and it
seemed they might all have fled, but
soon a great mass of warriors, some two
thousand or more, rushed out to meet
them, shrieking their war cries. As they
ran they sent up clouds of arrows and
spears, which seemed fearsome but
could effectively be ignored since they
did little damage against Spanish armour
and shields and were no match for the
riposte that Corts had prepared. Ten
musketeers were on the brigantines, and
ten with Alvarado, but the remaining
thirty out of the expeditions entire
complement of fifty were with him.
Shouting rapid orders, he brought the
infantry square to a halt and arrayed the
musketeers to the front with one rank of
fifteen kneeling and one rank of fifteen
standing. As the enemy closed, both
ranks fired simultaneously into their
midst, shattering their charge, and
stepped back into the protection of the
square to reload while thirty
crossbowmen strode forward, fired and
likewise retreated. The foe were
increasingly used to gunfire, and not all
broke and ran when the muskets crashed,
but, as Corts ordered the square into
motion again, those hundreds who came
on were met and utterly destroyed by the
massed pikes, swords and axes of his
disciplined and unbreakable infantry.
Corts himself was fighting in the front
rank of the square, using his buckler to
protect the man to his left just as the man
to his right protected him. A huge
warrior came at him, brandishing a flint-
tipped spear, but before he could get
close a pikeman in the rank behind
reached over Cortss head and killed
the attacker with a thrust to the chest.
Two more of the enemy rushed in. Corts
smashed one away with his buckler,
knocking him dazed and bleeding to the
ground, and ran the other through with
his broadsword as the square surged
onward, trampling over both of them and
many others who had fallen, reducing
them to broken, bloody pulp.
Now the musketeers and
crossbowmen had reloaded. Picking
their aim carefully over the shoulders of
the infantry, they began to fire
independently from within the moving
square which Corts realised must
seem like some great armoured beast to
the Indians, a myriad-legged monster
spitting fire and death. And at its very
heart, trundled along by their gun crews
on wheeled carriages, were the two
falconets those even more terrible
instruments of destruction and with
them eighty war hounds, still leashed
and held in check by Vendabals
handlers, but baying and barking
furiously, maddened by the smell of
blood.
Neither dogs nor cannon would be
needed, Corts decided, until the next
stage of the assault, but this would come
very soon. The initial fury of the Indian
attack had already been broken, and
moments later he smiled with
satisfaction as the survivors turned in a
mass and fled back along the bank,
taking shelter behind crude barricades
and fences of heavy timber set up to
protect the town.
As he brought the infantry to a halt a
hundred paces from the enemy, slingers
darted out through gaps in the defences,
sending a hail of stones towards them,
and he saw two of his men drop stunned
and bleeding from heavy blows to their
helmets. Shields! he shouted,
Shields!, as flights of arrows and
spears followed. Again there were a few
injuries, none of which looked fatal.
Shrugging off the hail of missiles, he
ordered the falconets loaded with ball.
Following Daz in the lead brigantine,
Gonzalo de Sandoval scanned the banks
of the river for more fleets of canoes, but
perhaps through fear of the cannon only a
handful came out against them and these
were easily kept at bay by musket and
crossbow fire. One that approached too
close was ploughed under the water by
the bows of Dazs ship and all the
Indians in it disappeared from view;
another became tangled in Sandovals
starboard oars and managed to unleash a
few futile arrows before its crew were
shot to pieces.
In this way, facing little opposition,
the two brigantines drew level with
Potonchan and dropped anchor
midstream, from where they observed
Cortss square break the massed attack
of the Indians and come within striking
distance of the towns western limits.
Sandoval studied the waterfront
where he and Daz must soon land their
forces. It was thick with Indian warriors
carrying their primitive weapons,
blowing trumpets and conches, beating
tattoos on their drums and yelling defiant
war cries. He felt almost sorry for them
in their nave bravery, for even having
seen and experienced the deadly effects
of cannon they seemed not to have learnt
their lesson and were obviously intent
on stopping the Spaniards getting ashore.
Defended from a hail of arrows,
spears and slingstones by a line of
soldiers carrying big adarga shields, the
gun crews on the bank were now rolling
Cortss two falconets forward. Though
their target was concealed from him by
rows of simple native houses, Sandoval
had a good view of the crews and saw
they were feverishly unloading canisters
of grapeshot from the barrels of the
weapons and reloading with ball. He
would not do the same with his own
three cannon since he judged grapeshot
unfortunately for the savages to be the
right ammunition to clear the waterfront.
He was about to signal to Daz so they
could order their crews to fire
simultaneously when he noticed that
Corts, again braving arrows and
spears, had walked in front of his own
guns with another conquistador
Aguilar! and seemed to be attempting
to address the foe within the town.
What in heaven was the caudillo
doing?
A few more moments passed and the
salvos of cannon fire that were to signal
the general attack on Potonchan had still
not been heard. The muskets had also
fallen strangely silent. Damn it! said
Alvarado. Lets take this town while the
others are dallying.
No, Pedro, Davila insisted. He was
handsome and daring but argumentative,
with a habit of disputing every point.
You know Im as eager as you are for a
fight but we must wait. Well end up
getting our men killed by our own guns if
we go in now.
In war, said Alvarado, it does not
pay to hesitate. Think, Alonso! What if
the other attacks have run into
unexpected trouble? Our assistance may
be needed.
Davila was biting his lower lip, his
hand resting on the hilt of his sword.
Bide awhile, Pedro, he said finally.
Those are our orders. Well hear the
signal soon enough.
Bah! Orders!
Twenty of the hundred conquistadors
in the flanking party, top-flight
swordsmen every one of them, belonged
to Alvarados personal squad. He called
them to him and, without another word to
Davila, led them out of hiding in the
undergrowth and across the open ground
to the eastern edge of Potonchan. They
had not gone fifty paces into the town,
however, when war cries rose up all
around them and Indian warriors,
grimacing furiously, burst forth from the
adobe houses on both sides of the
seemingly deserted street.
From his position, Corts could see both
brigantines clearly with Daz and
Sandoval on deck. All that remained
was for him to fire his own guns and
they would enfilade the town with
grapeshot.
But he hesitated.
Despite an intense, restless desire to
inflict mayhem on Potonchan, as Saint
Peter had commanded in his dreams, it
troubled him that Godoy had not finished
reading the Requerimiento before the
earlier engagement and that there had
been no time for Aguilar to render the
text into the Mayan tongue. His Royal
Highness and Most Catholic Majesty
King Charles V of Spain was known to
be a stickler for such matters and,
without the monarchs support, the
conquest would ultimately be doomed.
Godoy had the Requerimiento in his
possession and had remained in camp,
now almost a mile behind them, but
Corts wanted to be able to claim
justification for the harm he intended to
do. Since Aguilar had accompanied the
infantry, though not in a fighting role, he
therefore summoned the interpreter to
join him in front of the guns.
A slingstone whizzed past Aguilars
head as he came ducking and weaving
forward, and one of the curious darts
launched from the clever little spear
throwers with which the Maya were so
handy smacked into the earth between
the two men. Tell them, Corts told the
interpreter, gesturing towards the
feathered and painted Indians who could
be seen in dense ranks peering through
gaps in their hastily erected defences, to
let us enter their town, buy water, buy
supplies and speak to them about God
and His Majesty.
Theres no point, Caudillo! Aguilar
protested. Theyre determined you will
not come in.
Tell them anyway.
The interpreter raised his voice and
bellowed a few sentences in Mayan,
which were answered by laughter, hoots
of derision, drum beats and more flights
of missiles from behind the barricades.
With considerable force, an arrow
bounced off Cortss helmet and three
infantrymen came forward with adarga
shields to offer protection.
Corts waved them back. He would
not show fear or weakness. Tell the
Indians, he said to Aguilar, we are
going to enter their town whether they
like it or not. If they attack us, and if in
self-defence we have to kill or hurt more
of them, it will be their fault not ours.
Aguilars speech was met by a
renewed hail of slingstones and both
men were hit about the body, though their
armour protected them. Very well, said
Corts, taking the interpreter by the arm
and leading him back behind the
falconets, I commend their souls to
God. As the Indian drums beat more
wildly, conches blew and the howls of
the warriors went up in a continuous
wall of sound, he called Vendabal and
the dogs forward and ordered the
gunners to fire.
An instant after the first salvo from
Cortss two falconets, Sandoval
signalled to Daz on the forward
brigantine, received his answering
signal, and both men simultaneously
ordered their crews to fire. The wheels
of the gun carriages had been jammed to
stop the weapons careening back across
the deck, but Sandoval, who had his
hands pressed to his ears to shut out the
mighty sound, felt the whole ship rock
under his feet with the recoil. Fire and
smoke belched from the barrels, the
smell of sulphur filled the air and the
murderous barrage of grapeshot, like
some deadly hurricane, spread out as it
whistled the two hundred paces across
the river and tore into the enemy ranks
massed on the waterfront, reducing them
to blood and offal, shredding the adobe
walls and thatched roofs of the houses
beyond and bringing many down to their
foundations in a whirling avalanche of
dust and masonry.
There was no time to conduct more
than the most cursory assessment of the
damage. Cortss orders were clear that
a second barrage must follow as closely
as possible upon the first. Already the
sweating crews had covered the fuse
holes and the ends of the falconets
barrels to suffocate any residual burning
matter. Now, with huge bursts and hisses
of steam, they pushed damp sponge rods
into the barrels to cool them and clean
out any hot debris. Next, bags of powder
were forced down to the base of the
barrels with ramrods, then the clusters of
grapeshot in their canvas tubes and,
finally, after the weapons had been
aimed again at the shore (and no great
precision was required at this range),
new fuses were inserted and lit, and
with a tremendous roar the killing wind
burst forth again upon the unlucky Indian
town and its doomed inhabitants.
To shore! yelled Sandoval to the
rowers as the anchor was pulled up, and
the brigantines surged across the current
to the devastated waterfront, piled high
with the broken and dismembered dead.
Alvarado cursed his broken arm that
meant he could not hold a buckler and
fell automatically into the swirling
Talhoffer style of messer combat hed
learned in Zurich years before and
practised many times on board ship
since hed set himself the task of
mastering Zemudios falchion. Though
crude, with the weight of a battle-axe,
the heavy steel blade offered a skilled
user such as he had become! all the
flexibility and speed of response of a
sword, and he used it now to carve a
broad, bloody path through the heaving
mass of filthy Indians whod surrounded
his twenty and who continued to pour
out, in vast, unexpected numbers, from
the adobe houses lining both sides of the
street.
Hed made every one of his men an
expert with the sword in the years theyd
been with him; they were all heavily
armoured and, though they were
outnumbered at least ten to one,
Alvarado was confident they would win
through. He delivered a killing blow
slanting right to left, cutting an opponent
down from the base of his neck to his
ribcage, then immediately reversed the
blade and slashed another mans belly
open, brought the point up in a ferocious
lunge into the face of a third, withdrew
and began a new cycle of blows with a
clean decapitation of a fourth. Yes! he
yelled, yes! as he saw his foes backing
warily away from him. This is what I
live for!
He was enjoying himself so much that
hed completely forgotten about Davila
and the other eighty men hidden in the
undergrowth, but now there came a
tremendous crash of musket fire. Bullets
whirred through the air, passing
perilously close to the Spaniards,
ploughing into the mass of their attackers
and predictably! causing
consternation amongst them. What was it
with these Indians, Alvarado wondered,
that made them so afraid of a few loud
bangs? The actual killing power of the
muskets was, in his opinion, fairly
negligible; they were hard to aim and
they took an unconscionably long time to
reload, but their terrifying effect on the
natives could not be denied.
A few well-aimed crossbow bolts
followed, and then Davilas men,
coming on in a compact square, hit the
Indians from the rear with all the force
of a battering ram.
Alvarado killed and killed again, the
remaining Indians fled, and suddenly
there was no one left to fight. Davila
swaggered over wearing an I-told-you-
so look.
Well? said Alvarado.
Got yourself in a bit of a tight spot
there, said Davila disapprovingly.
Ive been in tighter.
Perhaps, a sneer but Id say its
just as well the rest of us were here to
get you out of this one.
Pompous fool, thought Alvarado. Hot
words rose to his lips but, before he
could utter them, Davila held up his hand
and gestured: Listen.
There could be no mistaking the
rumbling roar of the cannon salvo that
echoed forth from the western side of
Potonchan.
As they broke into a run, their men
streaming after them, the guns fell silent
and shouts and musket fire carried to
them on the sluggish afternoon breeze.
Then the falconets boomed again,
signalling the start of the general attack.
Santiago and at them! yelled Alvarado.
Santiago and at them! yelled Davila.
Santiago and at them! yelled their
hundred men in unison, now at a full
charge towards the distant sounds of
battle.
Corts had watched with satisfaction as
his falconets billowed fire and the pair
of one-pound balls exploded into the
centre of the barricade, smashed apart a
section of heavy fencing and transformed
it into a deadly weapon from which a
hail of lethal splinters and shrapnel tore
into the enemy ranks and plunged them
instantly into ferment.
Followed by the infantry in a
disciplined mass, the gun crews
hurriedly wheeled the cannon forward,
swabbed out the barrels and reloaded
while the musketeers and crossbowmen
picked off milling, terrified Indians
through the breach. Amidst clouds of
smoke and the fearful din of battle, the
second volley from the falconets, now at
point-blank range, demolished two
further segments of the defences and set
off a terrified, stampeding retreat.
Santiago and at them! Corts yelled
at the top of his voice. His men
wrenched apart what remained of the
Indian defences and he led the charge
into a broad street beyond. At the end of
it, a hundred paces distant, stood another
row of barricades, barely waist-high and
much flimsier than the first, behind
which, and atop the neighbouring houses,
the Indians poor fools that they were
had rallied.
There was no time or need to bring up
the falconets. As the infantry square once
again formed and surged forward,
Corts gave the signal to Vendabal, and
eighty ferocious war dogs raced ahead.
Some, following their noses, found entry
to the houses that lined the street, from
which wails of terror were immediately
heard; others leapt the barricades and
tore into the defenders, snarling and
snapping like demons from hell. The
infantry followed, swords flashing,
pikes and battle-axes gleaming in the
sun, and fell upon the scattered and
broken enemy, squads peeling off to root
them out of the houses, others tearing
their miserable barricades apart.
As quickly as it had formed, the
square disintegrated into ever smaller
units, each pursuing separate objectives
in what seemed to be a generalised rout
of the enemy, when suddenly a trap!
fresh war cries were heard and a
thousand or more Indians converged in
great masses from three different side
streets and charged down on the
conquistadors, seeking to exploit their
temporary loss of coherence and
pressing them hard.
Square! Corts yelled, Square!,
making himself a focal point in mid-
street to which his men could rally, but
also attracting the attention of dozens of
the enemy who seemed to recognise him
as the Spanish captain and surrounded
him with single-minded intent, jabbing at
him with spears and knives. For an
instant he stumbled and nearly fell as a
great wooden club smashed into the side
of his head, but surged up with a roar,
rammed his buckler into his attackers
face, hacked the edge of his broadsword
at the mans knee and killed him with a
thrust to the heart. As more of the enemy
closed with him he heard a voice Im
with you, Hernn and his friend Juan
de Escalante fought his way through the
melee, long black hair hanging loose to
his shoulders, broadsword dripping with
blood, to stand at his side.

Precious time was lost mooring the
brigantines, detailing skeleton crews to
guard them, and disembarking the rest of
the men as the sounds of battle from the
western sector of town into which
Corts had led the main attack grew
fiercer and more urgent. Santiago and at
them! Bernal Daz was at last able to
yell, and led the charge across the
waterfront though at first the Spaniards
struggled to make headway, so high and
so tangled were the heaps of dead and
dying Indians left by the ships guns.
During the action this morning, Daz
had been shot in the muscle of his right
thigh by an Indian arrow. He had pushed
the barbed head through, broken off the
shaft and extracted both pieces of the
little missile, so he was reasonably sure,
if he could dress the wound cleanly in
the next few hours, that there would be
no infection. Meanwhile he ignored the
pain, as he had long ago learned to in the
heat of battle, and let his ears and sense
of direction guide him towards the
sounds of heavy fighting, charging
through Potonchans deserted main
square and past the looming stepped
pyramid into a maze of mean alleys and
small adobe houses. Finally, rounding a
corner with Sandoval at his side and
seasoned troops behind him, he saw
Cortss infantry barely a hundred paces
away at the convergence of four streets.
By some misjudgement or accident they
had lost their formation as a proper
fighting square and were beset by a large
Indian force. Santiago and at them!
Daz yelled, and at the same moment, to
his immense relief, he heard the ancient
battle cry of his forefathers echoed not
only by Sandoval and his own men but
by another Spanish contingent
Alvarado and Davila! charging into the
fray from the east.
In an instant the tide turned and the
enemy, losing heart, fled in a mass
towards the south.
Daz heard Corts shouting, Get me
prisoners! and saw a dozen warriors
whod not yet broken out of the melee
tackled and brought down. Exulting in
their sudden victory, a large squad of
conquistadors set off in hot pursuit of the
rest, but the caudillo called them back.
He looked strong and cheerful though
blood dripped from beneath his helmet.
Weve done enough for one day, he
said. Well finish this tomorrow.
Corts strode into the main square of
Potonchan as the afternoon shadows
lengthened and brought his troops to a
halt before the forbidding terraces of the
pyramid where a giant silk-cotton tree
grew. Pointing to it he asked Aguilar if it
had any significance, and the interpreter
replied that it was sacred to the Maya.
For them it is the tree that connects the
underworld, the earth and the heavens.
Pretty idea, said Corts thoughtfully.
He looked up into the branches for a
moment, made certain that Godoy, the
royal notary, whom hed summoned at
the double from the camp, was present to
witness the act, then drew his sword and
slashed three deep cuts into the trees
broad trunk. Speaking loudly, and in a
firm voice, he said: I have conquered
and I now take possession of this town,
and this land, in the name of His Majesty
the King. If there is any person who
objects I will defend the kings right
with my sword and my shield.
Huge shouts of Hear, hear! followed
from the mass of the men, passionately
affirming that he did right and that they
would aid him against any challengers.
But, he noted, some of the friends of
Diego Velzquez, lead by the glowering,
lantern-jawed Juan Escudero, had
gathered in a tight group and were
plainly offended that Corts had failed
so conspicuously to mention the
governor. See the upstart, he heard
Escudero bark, who usurps Don
Diegos rights. Something must be done
to stop this treachery. The man had
made no attempt to lower his voice, but
the other Velazquistas around him,
including Diego de Ordaz, Cristbal de
Olid, and the governors cousin Juan
Velzquez de Len all averted their eyes
when they saw they were observed.
Corts smiled cheerfully and
pretended nothing was amiss, but a
reckoning was coming and not only
with the Indians. Sensing trouble, his
own close allies, Pedro de Alvarado,
Juan de Escalante and Alonso
Hernndez Puertocarrero came to stand
on either side of him as, in the distance,
from the surrounding countryside, they
all heard the sound of drums and the
ululations of warriors. The town is
ours, Corts said, clapping his friends
on their shoulders, but it seems our fight
here is far from over. Time to bring the
horses ashore and get them exercised.
Ill wager well have need of them
tomorrow.
Chapter Fifty-Five
Tacuba, Wednesday 24
March 1519
Four days after agreeing the plan with
Huicton, Tozi left Tenochtitlan and
crossed the Tacuba causeway amongst
busy early evening crowds. She was
visible, but invisible, a dirty beggar girl
of no consequence who came and went
as she pleased. No one noticed as she
made her way into the warren of side
streets off Tacubas main square,
blending in amongst the other beggars.
With night falling she followed a
narrow, dark alley choked with rubbish
and came at last to a green gate in a
wattle fence. She knocked and the gate
swung open. Looking neither left nor
right, Tozi passed through the gate,
nodded a greeting to the burly middle-
aged woman who admitted her, made her
way across a yard where sheets,
blouses, loincloths and a threadbare
cotton cloak hung drying and entered the
simple dwelling. A lantern flickered in
the single large room that served as
bedchamber, kitchen, dining area and
parlour, and here Huicton was waiting,
seated at a rough-hewn table sipping
from a cup of pulque.
So, Tozi, he said. Are you still
willing to charm Prince Guatemoc?
Ill do my best, she replied.
An hour later she was ready, dressed
up in the finery of the goddess Temaz,
her cheeks painted with yellow axin
pigment, her lips reddened with
cochineal, black bitumen applied to her
eyelids.
Gods! said Huicton. I myself could
believe you are Temaz. You have the
look of a woman of twenty a wise and
beautiful woman! not a girl of fourteen.
You know what to say? You know what
to do?
Youve prepared me well, Huicton.
Ill go to Cuitlhuacs estate at
Chapultepec, wait until after midnight,
enter the mansion, climb to the second
floor and find Guatemocs room in the
south wing. Ill do all I can
Hes deeply estranged from
Moctezuma after the attempt to poison
him. It shouldnt be too difficult to work
on his mind and detach his loyalties
further.
Ill do everything in my power
The only thing I ask you, Tozi
She frowned. Weve been through
this already. You dont want me to speak
of Quetzalcoatl. But why should I not?
She was aware her lower lip was
sticking out in a stubborn, childish way.
It would be too soon. It might scare
him off.
Tonight I am a goddess, she said. I
will speak of what I wish.
Huicton shrugged. You know my
mind on this; I can only pray that you
will listen to me. He leaned forward
and embraced her. I wish you luck, little
Tozi.
So Ill see you on the fourth day
then?
The arrangement, unless anything went
radically wrong, was that Tozi, in her
disguise as the goddess Temaz, would
visit Guatemoc tonight and for the two
nights following, returning to
Tenochtitlan to report to Huicton on the
fourth day. But that had changed.
Huictons arrangements often changed.
I regret not, little one, he said. Ill
be gone when you return. My master
Ishtlil has entrusted me with a mission.
Im to go to Tlascala and meet the
famous battle king Shikotenka.
Tozi made a face: I met many
Tlascalans in the fattening pen when I
was waiting to be sacrificed. I didnt
like them at all.
No one likes the Tlascalans! Theyre
fierce, prickly, downright difficult, but
theyve kept Moctezuma at bay until now
and for that reason Ishtlil intends to
make an alliance with them.
Make an alliance or dont make an
alliance either way Moctezuma is
going to fall. Quetzalcoatl is coming,
Huicton. Hes coming right now. So
youd better tell those Tlascalans to be
with him not against him.
Huicton cupped her face in both his
hands and kissed her on the nose. I
believe you, he said, about
Quetzalcoatl. But no one else will until
they see proof of it. Thats why its best
to keep quiet about him for now.
Like you want me to keep quiet with
Guatemoc?
Exactly! Quiet as an owl in flight.
Will you promise me youll do that,
Tozi?
I promise, Tozi lied.
Chapter Fifty-Six
Wednesday 24 March 1519
Melchior had been sullen and
uncommunicative since that night on
Cozumel when theyd taken their part in
murdering Muoz and disposing of his
body. Pepillo thought he knew why. It
was the Inquisitors claim to have had
Melchior for a peso surely also
overheard by Daz, Mibiercas and La
Serna that had shamed him and made
him withdraw so far within himself.
Pepillo now had a clear idea of what
having someone meant, and it was
horrible and disgusting, but even if
Melchior had once allowed Muoz to do
that abominable thing to him, he could
not and would not look down on his
friend because of it. God alone knew
what other indignities he must have
suffered as a slave, but he was good and
brave and true and this was all that
mattered.
Throughout the long voyage, hugging
the coast from Cozumel to Potonchan,
Melchior had gone about the work that
Corts had assigned to him without any
of his usual laughter, bravado and
cynical jokes, and whenever Pepillo had
tried to talk to him hed responded with
a yes or a no or a grunt, or simply
said nothing, but now, suddenly, there
was a change in him.
Again it wasnt difficult to work out
why.
Since anchoring at the mouth of the
Tabasco river on Sunday 21 March, the
caravels and carracks of the fleet, the
Santa Mara amongst them, had sat idle
in the bay while the brigantines and
longboats ferried soldiers, guns and
supplies ashore to reinforce a beachhead
that it seemed Corts had established on
the riverbank near Potonchan. Pepillo
had learned what he could by listening to
the talk of the men as they came and
went, but had been able to establish
nothing first-hand because he and
Melchior had been confined to the ship
with nowhere to go and nothing to do
except attempt, as best they could, to
exercise the stiff, torpid, fearful horses
on the bobbing deck. In a curious way,
Pepillo thought, the condition of the
horses seemed to mirror Melchiors own
depressed inner state.
Since this morning, however it was
Wednesday 24 March all on board
ship had heard the distant sounds of
cannon and musket fire that spoke of a
sustained battle, and now, as evening
drew in, a longboat had come out from
Potonchan. Its crew brought news that
the town had been captured, and orders
from Corts to prepare the ropes,
pulleys and harnesses to lower the
horses into the brigantines, which would
follow directly. Pepillos heart leapt
when he heard that he and Melchior
were to accompany the horses, he
bringing parchment, quills and ink for
there were certain matters the caudillo
wished set down in writing and
Melchior paying special attention to
Cortss own mount Molinero. With a
flash of insight Pepillo realised it was
his friends sense of being needed again,
the prospect of action and, last but not
least, freedom for his beloved horses,
that had brightened his dark mood.
With the deck of the Santa Mara the
height of a man above the deck of the
brigantine, lowering the horses was
difficult and risky work. Fortunately the
sea was calm and the big moon, just past
full and still bright in the clear sky, made
lanterns almost unnecessary. Still
Melchior fussed like an old maid over
Molinero and cursed the crew like a
trooper as one by one they cinched all
ten of the great destriers into their
leather harnesses, raised the derricks
and swung the quivering and blindfolded
animals down to the close-moored
smaller vessel.
Bundles of long cavalry lances
followed, their lethal steel warheads
enclosed in leather sheaths, and finally
several large, very heavy wooden chests
that had to be handled with almost as
much care as the horses themselves.
While this was being accomplished,
the second brigantine collected the five
horses from Alvarados San Sebastin
and the three from Puertocarreros Santa
Rosa, together with more lances and
chests, and finally the two ships made
for shore.
Pepillo saw how Melchior stayed
with Molinero, stroking his sweating
flanks, calming him with whispered
endearments as their brigantine entered
the mouth of the Tabasco and rowed
steadily upstream. There was an
atmosphere of hushed expectancy on
board and the musketeers and
crossbowmen who had come along as
guards watched the banks fiercely as
though they expected an attack at any
moment. Thickets of manglars, weird
and otherworldly in the moonlight,
pressed down to the waters edge,
transforming the wide river, in Pepillos
eyes, into the haunt of devils and spirits.
No one talked and for a long while the
only sounds to be heard were the
splashes of the oars, the nervous
whinneys of the horses, mysterious
shrieks rising and falling from all
quarters of the night, and the distant,
spine-chilling thunder of a thousand
native drums.
What do the drums mean? Pepillo
asked Melchior. What are those cries?
They mean trouble, his friend
replied. We heard them when we were
here with Crdoba just before the
Indians threw ten thousand men at us.
Pepillo looked down at the deck. It
was obvious the brigantine had seen
action earlier because the moons glare
showed smears of blood and arrows still
embedded in the planking. Looks like
theres been plenty of trouble already,
he said.
Melchior shrugged. Sure. Theres
been a big fight for Potonchan and
Corts won. But the enemy have towns
and villages all over this region,
hundreds of thousands of people, more
warriors than you can imagine. Theyll
be gathering their men and then theyll
be back.
So we could die here? Pepillo
wondered.
Melchior seemed not to have heard
his question and fell silent for a long
while. Then abruptly he spoke. About
Muoz, he said, but so quietly that men
even a few paces away would not hear
him. Theres something I want to tell
you.
Alvarado was in a furious bad temper as
he crashed, lantern in hand, through the
empty, echoing rooms, devoid even of
wall hangings and furniture, of the big
two-storey building identified by the
prisoners as the chief of Potonchans
palace. Like the shrine on top of the
pyramid, and the three stinking temples
hed already searched in the plaza, there
wasnt a single item of value in it. The
Indians had used the time while Corts
had been strengthening his beachhead to
remove all the treasures from the town!
Not only that, but as the prisoners had
revealed through Aguilar, the painted
savage called Muluc whod presented
himself merely as an emissary of the
chief was in fact the chief himself!
These swine had a sort of low cunning
that Corts had not anticipated, and had
taken liberties that they must not be
allowed to repeat.
Feeling murderous, Alvarado stormed
out of the palace, across the plaza, back
to the spot under the silk-cotton tree
where Corts was still patiently
interrogating the prisoners and
announced: Nothing, Hernn! Not a
jewel, not a ring, no gold plate. Nothing
at all! They stripped the town bare
before they left.
Ah well, said Corts mildly, its as
I expected. But dont be put out, Pedro,
our work has just begun. Ive learned
theres an even larger town to the south
called Cintla where the chief of the
whole region a far more important man
than Muluc has his seat. Im certain
when we take Cintla that great wealth
will fall into our hands.
He turned his attention back to the
prisoners whom, to Alvarados horror, it
appeared he was about to set free. Go
to Cintla, he said, speaking through
Aguilar, and tell its chief I know the
truth of many great mysteries and secret
things of which hell be pleased to hear.
Tell him we do not want war. Tell him
we sorrow at the injuries and death
weve been forced to inflict on the
people of Potonchan. We would rather
not have done so, but it was their own
fault because they attacked us and gave
us no choice. Tell him we come in peace
to teach him about our God who has the
power to grant him immortal life.
Youre not really going to let them
go, are you? said Alvarado.
Yes I am, so the big chief in Cintla
can have the opportunity not to repeat the
mistake Muluc made in Potonchan
today.
And what if he chooses not to seize
that opportunity? sneered Alvarado.
To be quite honest with you, Pedro, I
am gambling that he will not because
then, by the rules of war, we have the
right to destroy him. Today we faced
thousands, yet the cost to us was small.
Twenty with slight injuries some hit in
the head by their slingers, a few with
spear or arrow wounds, but theyll all
mend soon enough. Not a single man
killed, Pedro! Not one! And tomorrow
well put horse in the field and teach
these savages a lesson theyll never
forget!
Footsteps. The sound of clothing being
adjusted. A hoarse whisper: Don
Pedro! A word with you if we may.
Alvarado had walked out from the
campfires for a piss and now found
himself flanked in the moonlight by two
other men, all likewise clutching their
privy members Juan Escudero to his
right, Velzquez de Len to his left.
Gentlemen! Alvarado commented as
he sprayed a great arc into the bushes,
this is passing strange.
Nothing strange about a full bladder,
muttered Velzquez de Len through his
beard as he too made copious water.
Escudero had so far summoned forth
not even a dribble. You seem to be
having some trouble there, Juan,
Alvarado observed.
Im not here to piss, replied the
ringleader of the Velazquistas, his voice
seething with resentment. When we last
talked you gave us to believe you were
ready to join us, yet I saw you stand by
Corts tonight.
And Im standing by you now, Juan,
am I not? Alvarado shook his member,
being sure that a few fat drops flew up to
hit the other man in the face.
With an oath Escudero stumbled back,
but to his credit retained his composure.
Weve been watching you, Don Pedro,
he said. You found no gold in the palace

No gold anywhere, Velzquez de

Len added.
Its clear Corts has brought us here
for reasons of his own, said Escudero.
Which would be what? Alvarado
asked.
Power? Glory? Personal
aggrandisement? Revenge? Who knows?
But certainly not the interests of this
expedition. These are primitive savages
were fighting and it seems they have no
treasure. Were wasting blood and
strength here for nothing. Crdobas
reconnaisance last year showed richer
and easier pickings further inland
So you want me to do what?
Alvarado asked. Turn on Corts now,
when were surrounded by the enemy?
Arrest him? Truly, gentlemen, I do not
think this is the right moment.
On this we agree, said Escudero.
Corts has made this bed for us and we
must lie on it. But when were done
here, if God gives us victory over these
barbarians, then the time will come to
choose. Corts is not the right man to
lead this expedition. You know it in your
heart, Don Pedro, and we ask you to be
ready to join the friends of your friend
the governor of Cuba and help us return
this expedition to legitimacy.
Whats in it for me? Alvarado asked.
Gold, Don Pedro. All the gold a man
could possibly want. Put this expedition
on the right side of the law, win over
Cortss supporters to our side, and
well make you a rich man.
Ill think on your offer, said
Alvarado. He was already walking back
towards the light of the fires. Out of the
corner of his eye he saw Escudero and
Velzquez de Len walking in opposite
directions, one to the left, the other to the
right. Soon both disappeared amongst
the shadows.
Last night, after Malinal had gouged
Mulucs face, Raxcas intervention had
saved her from a beating at his hands,
but had not stopped Muluc forcing her
into the column of his household slaves
carrying the palace valuables from
Potonchan to the safety of Cintla. The
slaves had reached the regional capital
in the small hours of the morning where
theyd been put to work in the great
palace of Ah Kinchil, the wizened and
ancient paramount chief of the Chontal
Maya. Malinal had been assigned lowly
duties in the kitchen under the watchful
eye of Mulucs steward Ichick, who had
roped her ankles and allowed her no
possibility of escape.
Muluc himself had turned up in Cintla
early that evening and since then had
been ensconced with Ah Kinchil in the
dining chamber of the palace. Malinal
had not even considered appealing to the
paramount chiefs sense of justice, since
he was Mulucs uncle and had been in on
the plot to displace her five years
before. But the kitchen adjoined the
dining chamber and the two men talked
loudly enough for her to eavesdrop their
conversation even when she wasnt
shuffling in and out with their dinner
dishes.
It seemed the white strangers the
companions of Quetzalcoatl as it was
Malinals habit to think of them had
resoundingly defeated Mulucs forces in
Potonchan. But in the time bought by the
negotiating and fighting there, Ah
Kinchil had called in tens of thousands
of additional warriors from Cintla,
Xicalango and other neighbouring towns.
As a result, a new force, a truly
exceptional force of more than forty
thousand men, was now mobilised and
stood ready for battle. With such
numbers, Muluc crowed, we will
devour them.
So long, Ah Kinchil corrected him,
as they are not gods.
They are not gods!
Yet their weapons seem not of this
world, Muluc, the old chief said in a
voice dry as bones. I have been hearing
accounts all day of what they did to the
men you left in Potonchan after you
yourself fled.
I did not flee, uncle! Muluc
blustered. I fought hard and remained in
the field until the end.
Ah Kinchil waved a hand as though
dismissing him. I am told they have fire
serpents, he continued, that spit flame
killing hundreds at a single blast. I am
told ferocious beasts whose skin cannot
be pierced by arrows obey their
commands and tear out the throats and
bellies of our warriors. I am told these
white men or gods are themselves
impervious to our weapons and cannot
be killed. Is none of this true?
They have powerful weapons, that
much is true, but we have known since
last year they are men who can be killed,
just as we can be killed, and their
weapons are of this world though made
with great skill and cunning. We
defeated them before and we can defeat
them again!
You defeated them before but it
seems these new ones are more
dangerous even than their predecessors.
If you are mistaken about their powers it
could cost us dear.
Malinal, who was bringing a steaming
bowl of chocolate to the table, saw a
glint of triumph in Mulucs eye. The evil
toad, she realised, had something up his
sleeve. I am not mistaken, uncle, he
said. Last year when the white men
came to Potonchan they captured one of
our warriors and carried him away in
their boats to certain islands they have
occupied that lie far off our shores.
Islands? Ah Kinchil seemed almost
offended. I know of no white men living
on our islands.
I dont speak of the nearby islands
we can reach in our canoes, uncle. I
speak of the faraway islands of legend
where the people called Taino and
Arawak are said to live. It seems the
legends are true, for the white men found
those islands twenty years ago. First they
destroyed the Taino and the Arawak and
seized their lands, then they brought in
countless settlers from their own even
more distant country far off across the
great ocean, and now theyve come here
intending to inflict the same doom on
us.
I dont understand how you can know
this. Ah Kinchil sounded peevish but
also, Malinal thought, afraid.
Looking repulsively pleased with
himself, Muluc clapped his hands, the
outer doors opened and a short man of
middle years with a pronounced stoop,
long unbraided hair and crossed eyes
entered the chamber, made the
obeisances appropriate to great lords,
and came padding barefoot across the
floor. This is the warrior the white men
stole from us last year, Muluc
announced proudly. His name is Cit
Bolon Tun.
He doesnt look like much of a
warrior, Ah Kinchil said.
Perhaps not, uncle; but with respect
that is not my point.
Well, what is your point then?
Muluc sighed. My point is that Cit
Bolon Tun has spent many months living
with the white men! They taught him
their language, always intending to use
him to communicate their wishes to us.
They kept him under guard, but this
afternoon in the confusion of battle he
escaped and returned to our side. It is
because of what he has told me about
them that I know these white men are not
gods. I ask you to hear him.
Now it was Ah Kinchils turn to sigh.
Nephew, he said, I am confused In
all your reports about the white men
before tonight, you have said that one of
them is a fluent speaker of our language
and that it is through him you talk to their
chief. Now suddenly you present this Cit
Bolon whatshisname to me and say that
he is their interpreter. Which is true?
Both statements are true, lord,
interrupted Cit Bolon Tun, making
further obeisances. The white men did
kidnap me when they came here last
year. They did take me back to the
islands they have seized from the Taino
and the Arawak. They did attempt to
teach me their horrible language. And
they did bring me to serve as their
interpreter. But on their way here they
heard that one of their own, a man named
Aguilar, was living amongst the Yucatec
Maya
How can that be? asked Ah Kinchil.
Eight years ago a boat of theirs sank
in the great ocean and this Aguilar was
washed up on the northern shores of the
Yucatn. He became the prisoner of
Acquincuz, the lord of a small town,
who kept him as a slave. The Spaniards
that is the name by which the white
men are called heard of this and sent
some of their soldiers to seize Aguilar
from Acquincuz. They succeeded and he
became their interpreter, displacing me.
When we came finally to Potonchan I
sought the first opportunity to escape,
took off the Spanish clothes they made
me wear and hung them in a tree, fled
away naked and sought sanctuary with
Lord Muluc
I see, said Ah Kinchil, rubbing his
chin, I see. His rheumy eyes were fixed
on Cit Bolon Tun. Very well, he said,
tell me about these Spaniards.

That thing Muoz said about me
Melchiors voice was so low as to be
barely audible, even to Pepillo who
stood right by his side.
He was lying! Pepillo whispered. I
know he was lying
Another long silence from Melchior
and then: Well, no he wasnt. Not
exactly. Thats what I want to tell you.
You may want to tell me, Pepillo
thought, but Im not sure I want to hear.
We dont need to talk about this, he
said. We dont need to talk about
Muoz! He was evil but hes dead and
hell never hurt anyone again.
Melchiors face shone in the
moonlight and he shook his head as
though denying something. The fact is,
he continued, the bastard was telling the
truth. He did have me. But it wasnt for
pay, like he pretended. It wasnt for a
peso! A great sob heaved in his chest
and he struggled for a moment to stifle it.
They beat me half senseless, he said
finally, and then they both had me.
Pepillos face was suddenly burning
and his head reeled. What in heaven was
Melchior telling him. They? he asked.
Who were they?
Why Muoz and his page, of course,
the devil. His name was Angel! Can you
believe that? He was a year older than
me. Bigger too. Muoz had corrupted
him and they worked together, hunting
down Indian boys for the Inquisitors
pleasure. They kept after me after my
arse but I always managed to give
them the slip. Then the Maya killed
seventy of Crdobas men here in
Potonchan. That was Muozs fault, too,
burning lapsed converts. Poor souls!
How could they have been converted to
anything when he could only speak to
them in signs? And if not truly
converted, then how could they be said
to have lapsed? He pushed these people
to the limit in his zeal for God, so no
wonder they attacked us in the end.
There were barely enough of us left
alive to sail the fleet back, and most too
sick or injured to notice what was
happening with the high and mighty
Inquisitor and his rat-faced bastard page.
We were eighteen days at sea, long
enough for mischief to be done. One
night, when no one was looking, they
dragged me into his cabin, beat me until
I could not stand and held me down over
his table. That was how Muoz had me!
And when he was done Angel had me
too.
Pepillo felt a great ache of
compassion. Oh Melchior, he said.
Now I understand! No wonder you
hated Muoz so Without thinking he
reached out to touch his friends arm.
Wait! Melchior said, shrugging him
off. I dont want your pity and theres
more to tell. After they raped me I
wanted revenge and I swore, Pepillo, I
swore to everything thats holy, that I
would kill them both or die in the
attempt. Two nights later we were far
out to sea I found Angel on his own on
the aftcastle. We struggled but my anger
made me strong and I threw him
overboard. No one saw it happen, just as
no one saw what happened to me.
Pepillo gasped. But you told me
You said
That Muoz had killed his page? Yes,
when Angel disappeared thats what
everyone on the expedition believed and
I saw no need to correct them. But they
were wrong! I was the one who killed
him, and proud of it too! As for Muoz, I
didnt get the chance on the rest of that
voyage and I thought I might have to wait
years before fate crossed my path with
his again. So when I heard hed been
appointed Inquisitor to this expedition, I
couldnt believe my luck
Pepillo was thinking things over,
vividly reliving the events of the past
weeks. The way that Muoz had
behaved, the way Melchior had so
obviously hated him, the way he himself
had been drawn into the plot to kill the
Inquisitor, all made perfect sense in the
light of what he now knew.
Well, said Melchior, as the
brigantine slowed and the lantern-lit
waterfront of Potonchan loomed ahead
on the bank of the dark river, Ive given
you the truth. I owed you that after nearly
getting you killed. I wont blame you if
you think the less of me.
I dont think the less of you, Pepillo
said. I think youre brave and youve
righted an injustice and Im proud to
count you as my friend. He hesitated,
turned his gaze to the great dark shape of
Molinero standing quietly nearby and
added: You did nearly get me killed,
though so the least you can do is teach
me how to ride a horse.
Eavesdropping from the kitchen, Malinal
heard almost every word of Cit Bolon
Tuns story.
She found herself rebelling against it
and at the same time was persuaded by
it.
Perhaps, she supposed, even though
she had always doubted, this was
because some other part of her the part
still deeply connected to Tozi did very
much want to believe that these white
men, these Spaniards, were indeed the
companions of Quetzalcoatl, returning to
right all the injustices of the world, and
that perhaps their leader could even be
Quetzalcoatl himself.
Her mind was in flux on the matter.
First she had joyfully abandoned her
doubts when she recognised the hand of
the gods in bringing her back to
Potonchan at the exact moment of the
strangers own return. But now, as she
listened to what Cit Bolon Tun had to
say, all her scepticism flooded in on her
again with renewed force. This was
because the men he described were
undoubtedly men, not gods, who had
taken him to their island where he saw
many strange and wondrous things that
were, nonetheless, quite clearly the
work of men very clever men, very
cunning men, but certainly not gods. And
when Cit Bolon Tun related how these
strange-looking white men had seized
that island twenty years before from its
native inhabitants, a people known in the
legends of the Maya as the Taino and
seemingly still called that today, her
blood ran cold for rather than bringing
peace, harmony and progress with them,
the Spaniards had inflicted terrible
massacres and tortures upon the Taino,
burnt them to death in fires, stolen all
their lands and all their possessions, and
for the most part obliterated them from
the earth, except for a few survivors
whom they kept as slaves.
She did not think Cit Bolon Tun was
lying about any of this. His words had
the ring of authentic experience and
truth.
Moreover the powerful, remarkable,
incredibly dangerous weapons of the
Spaniards were just that weapons,
made by human artifice and not
godlike devices endowed with
unknowable supernatural properties. The
shining skin that the stone-tipped
spears and arrows of the Maya could not
penetrate was nothing more than armour!
There was nothing godlike about it, and
without it, or if struck in vulnerable,
unprotected parts of their bodies, the
white men could be killed like any other
men. Both the Maya and the Mexica used
armour made of padded cotton, so there
should be no surprise or awe here. The
only difference was that the Spaniards
armour was better, harder, stronger
because it was made of metal. It was not
even as though the Maya and the Mexica
did not know of metals, because they
did, and boasted skilled workers in soft
copper and bronze. It was just that the
metallurgy of the white men was far
more advanced than theirs and extended
to exceptionally hard and durable metals
called iron and steel, which their clever
artificers were able to fashion not only
into armour but also into axes, spear-
tips, arrowheads, daggers and the
terrible long knives they called
swords.
Then there were the weapons spitting
flame and death that Ah Kinchil thought
were Xiuhcoatl the deadly fire
serpents with which, according to
legend, the gods of both the Maya and
the Mexica were armed. Once again, Cit
Bolon Tun explained, there was nothing
godlike about these white mens
weapons, which were called guns.
They were certainly not fire serpents! In
fact these guns were not so very
different from bows and arrows which
the Spaniards, indeed, also possessed
or from atlatls used to launch darts. Like
bows, and like atlatls, guns were simply
weapons designed by men to send
projectiles flying through the air over
long distances at high speed. They took
the form of metal tubes and, instead of
using the tension of a bow-string, or the
leverage of an atlatl, they achieved their
objective by means of a black powder
which exploded when lit, produced great
force and propelled balls of various
sizes made of metal or stone into their
enemies bodies.
As to the ferocious war beasts of
which Ah Kinchil had received reports,
these were of two types, and Cit Bolon
Tun had taken the opportunity of his time
with the white men to study both closely.
The first were about the size of
jaguars and appeared to be unnaturally
large and ferocious members of the dog
tribe. They had huge jaws and sharp
teeth and they went into battle dressed in
metal armour like the white mens own.
This was why Mulucs warriors had
been deceived into believing that the
beasts could not be killed by spears or
arrows. Untrue! Remove their armour, or
strike some part of their bodies that was
left unprotected, and they could indeed
be killed in the same way that jaguars
which the Maya knew very well how to
hunt could be killed. However, there
was one thing that made these dogs far
more terrible than any other beast, and
this was that they were trained by the
Spaniards to obey their commands and
execute their will. They were fleet of
foot, had an exceptionally sharp sense of
smell, and could detect the presence of
their prey by scent alone, so that even if
a man had fled far away and concealed
himself in some remote place, dogs
would be able to follow his scent over
the ground, find him and kill him. Cit
Bolon Tun had witnessed horrible
scenes in which, for nothing more than
their own amusement and sport, the
Spaniards had arranged for native Taino
of the islands to be hunted down and torn
to pieces by their dogs.
The second type of war beasts were
about the size of large deer and were
called horses. The Chontal Maya had
not yet met them in battle, but it was only
a matter of time before they did because
the leader of the Spaniards, whose name
was Corts, was a great expert in their
use and Cit Bolon Tun had often heard
him boast how the Maya would be
unable to stand against them.
Like the dogs, these horses wore
metal armour, and if the dogs ran fast,
the horses ran even faster, as fast as the
wind, as fast as an avalanche. What was
more amazing was that the white men
knew how to mount themselves upon the
creatures backs and attack their enemies
from there, at terrifying speed, using
their lethal spears and swords. You
must prepare our warriors, Cit Bolon
Tun urged Muluc and Ah Kinchil, for
the shock of encountering the enemy
mounted in this way. I myself have yet to
see the Spaniards use their horses in
battle, but I have seen them ride them in
practice often enough. The air thunders
with the beat of their hooves, the ground
trembles as they charge, and the massive
weight and momentum of the beasts is a
weapon in itself, capable of smashing
down any who stand in their way. Our
men will lose courage at the very sight
and sound of them and this will be all
the worse if they are deceived into
believing they confront supernatural
beings, part-man, part-deer, as I myself
believed when I first saw them. They are
frightful, they are formidable, they are
something quite beyond any foe the
Maya have ever encountered before in
battle, but they are not supernatural.
They are men mounted upon the backs of
creatures, and like other men and other
creatures, they can be killed.
As these words were spoken, Malinal
came into the dining chamber with
beakers of water and tobacco tubes for
the men to smoke. There was a sheen of
sweat on Cit Bolon Tuns face
undoubtedly from the effort of
communicating all the terrible things that
he knew. Mulucs mouth gaped. Ah
Kinchil sat staring blankly straight
ahead, as though he had seen a ghost.
How many? the old paramount chief
asked Cit Bolon Tun eventually.
How many what, lord?
How many of these horses? How
many of these infernal Spaniards? And
what do you advise me to do about
them?
The face of Cit Bolon Tun was grave.
My lord, I advise you to fight them night
and day, without mercy and without fear
while they are still few enough in
number to be destroyed utterly. I have
counted their horses. They have only
eighteen! I have counted the white men
and their entire force does not much
exceed five hundred soldiers, of whom
some have been left to guard their boats
and some have undoubtedly been injured
today. I very much doubt if the lord who
is called Corts will be able to put more
than four hundred of his warriors into the
field.
The ghastly triumphant smile that
Malinal so hated was back on Mulucs
face. Four hundred! he chortled. Four
hundred! When we have forty thousand.
He turned to Ah Kinchil: There, uncle!
You see! It is as I said. These are not
gods but men who have come so
boastfully into our lands and
tomorrow, when we meet them in battle,
we will devour them!
Chapter Fifty-Seven
Cuitlhuacs estate,
Chapultepec, small hours of
the morning, Thursday 25
March 1519
The moon, waning but still close to full,
cast its light through the open window of
Guatemocs bedchamber where the
prince lay on his back, his eyes open,
staring up at the ceiling. Though his
recovery had been remarkable (his
doctors described it as a miracle), his
wounds still pained him deeply and he
was wide awake, thoughtful, his mind
restless.
Everything that had happened since
Shikotenka had expertly ripped him
apart on that hillside in Tlascala all
those weeks ago had been extraordinary,
wondrous and inexplicable.
He had met Hummingbird, the god of
war, and been told that it was not his
time to die.
And he had met Temaz, the goddess of
healing, who had brought him back to
life.
Impossible to believe these two
divine encounters were not connected!
A great battle lies before your
nation, Hummingbird had told him, but
the weakling Moctezuma is not
competent to fight it.
While for her part the Lady Temaz had
urged him to defeat the plot against him
and find the one who was truly
responsible for it.
Well, he knew the answer to that now!
It had been Moctezuma himself who
had sought to poison him. Mecatl had
merely been a puppet in the royal hands.
Of course his uncle had responded with
feigned outrage when Mecatl revealed
the truth under torture. Hed ordered the
fat physician flayed alive and presented
his skin to Guatemoc as though that
could possibly make any difference.
No one dared challenge the Great
Speaker, but the truth was the truth and it
could not be divided. The only question
now was what was to be done about it.
As Guatemoc lay on his bed, silent
and still, for the first time in his life
seriously contemplating rebellion, a
voice spoke to him out of the darkness.
How fare you now, Prince? the
voice asked. The voice of a goddess.
Better than I could have hoped,
Guatemoc replied, not allowing the
sudden excitement he felt to reveal itself
in his tone. Perhaps better than I
deserve.
The moonlight traced a bright path
across the floor and in the midst of it
there came some disturbance of the
night, some ripple and sway of the empty
air. A small, slim form emerged from
nothingness, a hand reached out to touch
him and he felt once again the mysterious
radiance of divine power.
There was a moment of communion,
almost of bliss. So this was what it
meant to be caressed by a goddess!
Guatemoc attempted to raise himself on
one elbow, but soothing warmth was
pouring into his body in a great flood
and he groaned and lay back.
Rest, Prince, said Temaz. Do not
struggle. I bring you the gift of healing.
You must only accept it.
For a long while he felt her working
on him, first removing his bandages, then
delicately probing and touching with her
fingers, all the while sending this
incredible glow, this splendour, this
tingling, revivifying heat into his
wounds. She did not speak but sang
softly under her breath, half a whisper,
half a chant, as she continued these
gentle ministrations and, little by little,
trusting her utterly, he fell asleep.
When he awoke, hours had passed, the
moon was set, grey dawn was breaking
and the Lady Temaz was gone.
Leaving Guatemoc asleep, Tozi had
returned to the safe house in Tacuba and
now lay stretched out on a reed mat on
the floor as the lakeside town awoke
noisily to the new day.
She had gone to the prince intent on
talking to him about many things, and
most of all about Quetzalcoatl, though
she had promised Huicton she would
not. But when she had seen Guatemoc in
the moonlight, seen how wounded and
vulnerable he still was despite his
remarkable recovery from poison and
from his dreadful injuries, she had
known she must help him first before any
talking was done.
And shed known she could help him.
The healing spell had come to her
unbidden, from some hidden depth of her
heritage, and she had sung it for him in
the moonlight all the night long.
It was strange. Hated Mexica prince
though he was, scion of a cruel and
murderous family, a killer and a
sacrificer himself, she nonetheless found
she was strongly, indeed almost
irresistibly, drawn to Guatemoc. She
realised now that the attraction had
begun the moment shed first set eyes on
him weeks before when he lay gaunt and
wasted in the royal hospital, on the edge
of death. Shed wanted to cut his throat
but had ended up saving his life.
There was good in him, that was why!
She must have known it, she must
have seen it, even then.
And since there was good in him, she
resolved, it was her job to nurture it and
turn it to the cause of Quetzalcoatl.
A thought crossed her mind as she
drifted off to sleep. This attraction she
felt for the prince, with his handsome,
hawk-like face and his beautiful copper
skin so warm under her hands? It wasnt,
was it, that foolish attraction a woman
sometimes feels for a man?
Gods forbid! Tozi muttered, her eyes
fluttering closed. She had no time for
such nonsense.
Chapter Fifty-Eight
Thursday 25 March 1519
Thursday 25 March was the day of the
Feast of the Annunciation of the Blessed
Virgin and it started badly.
After a night loud with the drums and
whoops of the very large Indian force
massing in the countryside south of
Potonchan, an uncomfortable night
during which the Spaniards once again
slept in their armour with their swords
by their sides, Corts rose before dawn
to inspect the horses and found them
stiff, listless and not yet fit for battle.
Theyve been too long on board ship,
Melchior complained from his perch on
Molineros back, and we couldnt
exercise them properly last night in the
dark. Give us a few more hours to run
them and get some more of this good
grass into them and well have them
right for you.
The good grass in question was, at
least, plentiful amongst the fruit trees of
the walled orchard now heavily
guarded that extended five hundred
paces from the rear of the chiefs palace
to the river. Already all the other grooms
were up and about their business, some
brushing down their masters horses,
some leading them by their reins, some
riding. Young Pepillo was there, too,
following Melchior around as usual the
way a puppy follows its master. Ill
have secretarys work for you tonight,
Corts told the boy. King Charles must
be informed of what weve
accomplished for him here.
Im ready, sir, replied Pepillo. And
sir would you object if I were to
try a ride on Molinero while were
exercising him?
Corts laughed: Its not my
objections youll need to worry about,
lad! Molinero has a mind of his own.
Hell have the final say in the matter.
Leaving the orchard as the sun rose,
and hurrying back through the palace to
the main square where the men would be
mustering, Corts was stopped by
Gonzalo de Sandoval, who brought him
the mornings second piece of bad news.
Little Julian had not been seen by anyone
since the capture of the town yesterday
afternoon, but during the night a sentry
had found the interpreters shirt and
Spanish breeches draped over the
branch of a tree. Eventually the matter
had been reported to Sandoval and now
here he was reporting it to Corts.
Looks like hes gone back to his own
people, Sandoval guessed.
Corts felt a surge of anger. Damn!
he said. I should have anticipated this
and had the squint-eyed cur killed weeks
ago. He was a useless interpreter
anyway, but all these months hes been
learning our strengths and our
weaknesses, counting our numbers, and
now we let him just prance back to the
Maya and tell them everything he knows.
They couldnt hope for a better-informed
spy.
Most unfortunate, said Sandoval.
What do you think the damage will be?
Less fear of us, better understanding
of our weapons and our tactics. Hell
tell them about our cavalry, which I
would have preferred to have been a
surprise.
If theyve never seen heavy horse in
action, Don Hernn, no amount of telling
will prepare them for the shock.
Corts laughed, his mood suddenly
improving, and clapped the younger man
on the back. Lets hope youre right! he
said and then asked: How is it you
dont own a horse yourself, Gonzalo?
Cant afford one, said Sandoval
honestly, but I grew up on horseback
before my family fell on hard times.
Youve trained with the lance?
Youve practised the charge?
I have, Don Hernn, more often than I
can count.
Well, who knows? You may find
yourself in the saddle again before too
long.
With just twenty soldiers now assigned
to guard the ships in the bay, made up of
a few who had fallen sick and a dozen
too badly injured to go immediately into
battle again, the troops mustered in the
main square of Potonchan numbered
some four hundred and eighty
determined, filthy, bearded men, formed
up in sixteen ranks of thirty at the base of
the pyramid. After they had heard Father
Bartolom Olmedo say Mass, Corts
reminded them it was the feast of Our
Lady, thanked them fulsomely for their
efforts the day before, which had been
crowned with success, and told them to
look forward to an even greater victory
today. Cupping his hand to his ear at the
drums and ululations of the Indians
beyond the town, he said: Hark to the
noise the heathen make! We gave them a
beating and they ran but now theyre
back full of bluff and bluster, building
their courage to attack us again. I say we
dont stay cooped up here to await their
assault but take the battle to them
instead. Do you agree, men?
There was a ragged cheer, some of the
soldiers thumped their spear shafts into
the ground, others beat their swords
against their bucklers.
Very well, Corts continued. For
those who missed the activity last night,
our horses are all offloaded from the
ships he gestured towards the palace
and put to pasture to get the aches out
of their joints. Theyll be ready for
battle in a few hours I expect by noon.
Meanwhile I want two companies of a
hundred men each volunteers all! to
conduct reconnaissance in force and
learn the number and dispositions of the
enemy.
From the reports of his spies, whod
been out around the campfires during the
night, Corts knew that some of the
Velzquez faction had been busy
sprinkling the wormwood of fear and
doubt on the courage of his stalwart
troops. Juan Escudero in particular had
been working on the faint of heart,
suggesting that further action against the
Maya was ill-advised, that there was no
gold to be had from them, and that it
would be better to move on elsewhere
rather than risk annihilation here. But
Corts had also been doing the rounds
during the night and was reassured that
the majority of the men were still solidly
with him, their caudillo, and believed
his leadership would bring them victory,
honour and wealth. He therefore felt
inspired to end his address with some
verses from the eleventh psalm.
In the Lord I take refuge, he recited,
sending his voice ringing out across the
square:
how then can you say to me: Flee
like a bird to your mountain.
For look, the wicked bend their
bows; they set their arrows against
the strings
to shoot from the shadows at the
upright in heart.
When the foundations are being
destroyed, what can the righteous
do?
The LORD is in his holy temple; the
LORD is on his heavenly
throne. He observes everyone on
earth; his eyes examine them.
The LORD examines the righteous,
but the wicked, those who love
violence, he hates with a passion.
On the wicked he will rain fiery coals
and burning sulphur; a
scorching wind
will be their lot.
There was no shortage of volunteers for
the reconnaissance in force. Appointing
Alonso Davila to lead one company and
Alvarado the other, Corts summoned
Francisco de Mesa, his chief of artillery,
a short, stocky, middle-aged man with
thinning hair, a spade beard and a broad,
unemotional, sunburned face. After the
horses had been brought ashore last night
he had taken a brigantine out to the bay
and returned with two of the lombards
and sixty Taino slaves who would be
needed to move the heavy cannon into
battle positions. Mesas expression was,
as usual, deadpan: I expect youll be
wanting me to arrange the fiery coals
and burning sulphur to rain down on
those wicked violent Indians, he said.
Bernal Daz, who judged the wound in
his thigh to be superficial, had refused
evacuation to the fleet and felt moved
enough by the caudillos speech to
volunteer for Davilas hundred.
Mibiercas and La Serna came with him,
for what La Serna described as a breath
of country air.
Well, it was proving to be a great deal
more than that. About three miles from
Potonchan, the great northsouth
highway they were following skirted an
outcrop of low hills, concealing them
from the town, and a mile further south
they were approached and attacked by a
band of a thousand howling warriors.
Huge numbers of arrows, darts and
slingstones began to hail down on their
armour and shields and they soon found
themselves completely encircled.
Having tasted Toledo steel the day
before, Daz understood why the Indians
were avoiding hand-to-hand combat and
preferred to harm the Spaniards from
afar. Moreover, the strategy was
working, since half a dozen men already
bore minor injuries and one, knocked
senseless by a stone, had to be carried
by his comrades, slowing everyone
down. Making a virtue of necessity,
Davila brought the square to a halt, had
ten of his twenty musketeers move to the
flanks and ordered them to fire on the
enemy. Every bullet found its mark but
what was noticeable, and worrying, was
that the flash and roar of the heavy
muskets had nowhere near the same
terrifying effect on the circling horde as
it had yesterday. To be sure ten fewer
Indians were now on their feet, but that
still left nine hundred and ninety of them,
none of whom were running away as
Daz had hoped!
Further volleys from the muskets and
crossbows produced no better results
and the arrows, spears and slingstones
continued to pour in.
Damn, Daz heard Davila mutter.
We should have brought a pack of
hounds. Indeed the idea had been
discussed and turned down in favour of
mobility. Too often the dogs would stop
to eat their prey and it took time, and
kicks and blows from their handlers, to
call them off.
Let us be the dog pack, Mibiercas
yelled to Davila. Let me take a flying
squad and get in amongst them.
Davila nodded and, moments later,
after another crashing volley from the
muskets, Mibiercas, Le Serna, and ten
others drew their swords and sprinted
towards the mass of Indians. Too slow
for such a mission because of his thigh
wound, Daz felt faintly guilty as he
watched his friends go.
Since Davilas squad had marched
south, Alvarado reconnoitred towards
the east. He passed for about a mile
along the same forest track hed used to
enter the town the day before, but where
it looped back towards the south he left
it and continued, as Corts had ordered,
in an easterly direction. For some
hundreds of paces his men had to cut a
passage through heavy bush with their
swords. By the time they emerged into
the open again Alvarado was itching to
impale a few Indians with his new
Nuez rapier, which hed strapped on
today for the first time since besting
Zemudio back in Cuba.
Annoyingly, however, there seemed
no immediate prospect of running anyone
through. Extensive fields of young maize
stretched ahead, vanishing in the
distance into the morning haze, with not
a single enemy formation visible
anywhere.
Alvarado yawned with frustration.
Overnight he had removed the splint and
cast from his left arm and confirmed to
his relief that he could move the limb,
though it was somewhat wasted from a
month of inactivity. He made a fist.
Gods blood! He was weak! But he had
sufficient grip to hold the reins of
Bucephalus for the cavalry attack that
Corts had promised for this afternoon.
And just as well, he thought, since
there was no action to be had here. After
advancing a further mile through the
fields he was so thoroughly bored that he
decided to do his reconnoitring in force
elsewhere and turned his men back the
way they had come.
Where the falconets fired ball or
grapeshot weighing about a pound, the
lombards fired ball or grapeshot
weighing up to seventy pounds. Not for
nothing, thought Corts, were these
heavy smoothbore cannon called
wallbreakers! He had brought three of
them as the main artillery of the
expedition, and of these two now stood
in Potonchans main square. Alongside
them were the eighteen falconets that had
already seen service against the Maya
the day before, but whereas the latter
could be fired, and even moved if
necessary, by their own two-man crews,
the lombards were so unwieldy that each
required teams of thirty bearers to haul
their massive carriages and transport
their prodigious ammunition and bags of
gunpowder.
Id stick to the falconets if I were
you, Mesa was saying. This countrys
too broken with irrigation ditches to
move the big cannon especially with
bearers as reluctant as these. He jerked
his thumb towards the sixty Taino slaves,
who were sitting under the silk-cotton
tree in their loincloths looking sullen and
stupefied.
I know, said Corts, its going to be
difficult, but my minds made up on this.
Well be badly outnumbered today, and
the Indians have already seen the
falconets in action. I want something
thats really going to surprise them and I
expect the lombards to do that.
Ball or grapeshot? asked Mesa
without comment.
Oh both I think, said Corts. You
know, horses for courses
Mibiercass flying squad hit the circle of
Indians in wedge formation and Daz
saw his friends start the work of killing:
Mibiercas, the angel at the east of Eden
with his flickering, whirling espadn, La
Serna beside him, his gleaming
broadsword licking out to taste the
enemy. A huge Indian, transformed into a
piebald demon by the striped paint of his
face, came at Mibiercas with a long
two-handed weapon, one of those batons
edged with sharp flakes of obsidian that
Daz had encountered the day before.
They seemed equally matched in size
and strength but Mibiercas was a master
of the longsword, a man who had made
this weapon his lifework, and he fell
upon his foe like a landslide, split his
skull from crown to chin with a single
blow, snatched out the glittering blood-
smeared blade and cut down two more
men before the first yet knew he was
dead.
In this way the twelve valiant
Spaniards, confronting the enemy hand to
hand at last, wrought havoc amongst
them, while the archers and musketeers
of the main squad reloaded and let fly
another devastating volley. Yet Daz saw
that the Indians had courage and
determination in no smaller measure than
the Spaniards, and they did not fall back,
despite their losses, but rather rallied
and pressed all the harder around
Mibiercas and his men, who all of a
sudden seemed like rocks hemmed in on
all sides by a rushing, roaring murderous
tide.
Seeing that they would soon be
engulfed, Davila yelled, Santiago and at
them, and led the whole squad pounding
across the field to their rescue. Dazs
thigh pained him as he ran, the ground
beneath his feet rough and uneven, filled
with the brittle stalks of young corn.
Santiago and at them! he bellowed
raising his sword. Santiago and at
them.
Melchior hauled Pepillo up in front of
him and, with a click of his tongue, set
the huge stallion to a walk. Unnerved by
the peculiar, rocking gait, Pepillo looked
down. The ground seemed very far
below!
Hold on, said Melchior as they
passed beneath a tree. Pepillo sensed his
friends heels knock once, twice, against
Molineros sides and suddenly the
animals progress became even stranger,
bumpy and uncomfortable, nearly jolting
Pepillo from the saddle as its back
dropped between steps, rose rapidly
with the next, and dropped again. Thats
called a trot, Melchior said, nice for
the horse; not so nice for the rider. His
arms extended forward on either side of
Pepillo, his hands loosely holding the
reins. Now well try a canter. His
heels urged Molineros flanks again and
at once they were moving much faster,
Molineros hoofs hitting the ground in a
staccato three-beat rhythm, Pepillo
clinging tight to the pommel at the front
of the saddle, feeling nervous but at the
same time excited, wanting to laugh.
Theyd crossed to the side of the orchard
during the trot and there was now a clear
avenue ahead of them between the wall
and the trees as far as the river. Want to
try a gallop? said Melchior.
Yes! shouted Pepillo, for the wind
was already whipping past his ears.
Melchior moved his hands, still
holding the reins, and lifted Pepillo a
little. Then here we go, he said. The
horse surged forward and all at once
they were flying.
Flying!
All the jolting unevenness went out of
the ride and the great destrier tore
towards the river at unbelievable speed,
so fast that the trees and the wall blurred
as they shot by, so light and free and
boundless that joy bubbled up in
Pepillos chest and he couldnt stop
himself whooping and yelling his
excitement to the wind. Then before he
knew it the muddy brown expanse of
water lay ahead and he thought for a
moment they would soar across it like
winged Pegasus, until he felt Molinero
hesitate a fraction, lean into an
exhilarating, sweeping turn, then
straighten again in the wonderful mile-
eating four-beat gait of the gallop, the
river flashing past beside them. In what
seemed no more than seconds, the other
wall loomed up; Melchior gently
twitched the reins, letting Pepillo drop
back into the saddle, and the horse
slowed its pace through canter and
bumpy trot and came to a halt.
My goodness! said Pepillo after a
moment to catch his breath. So thats
riding!
Melchior was stepping down. It is
what I who was a slave truly call
freedom. Holding the reins he began to
adjust the stirrup. Stay in the saddle if
you like.
Pepillos heart, already thudding, beat
a little faster. On my own? he asked.
Yes, silly mammet. Is anyone else up
there with you? Melchior moved round
to the horses other side and adjusted the
second stirrup. Use these. Ill lead you
for a bit.
Pepillo lodged his small feet in the
huge iron stirrups and found that by
pushing down he could raise himself up
in the saddle as Melchior had done for
him when they galloped. Whispering
encouraging, gentle words to the
stallion, Melchior moved to the front of
the enormous animal and began to lead
him forward by the reins.
Looking down at Molineros great
head, ears twitching, long chestnut mane
flapping a little with each step, Pepillo
felt a tremendous rush of excitement and
pride. He was riding! The smell of the
horse was in his nostrils and he thought
there was no finer scent in all the world.
He reached forward to pat the animals
powerful neck and suddenly, offering no
explanation, Melchior thrust the reins
into his hands and stepped away.
What? asked Pepillo, as the horse
continued to amble forward. Why?
Melchior grinned. Stay on as long as
you can, he said, and slapped Molinero
on the rump.
Blood ran freely from a deep cut in
Mibiercass face, he and La Serna were
desperately holding off a mob of Indians
who sought to capture and draw away a
fallen man, and the rest of the small
group of Spaniards were struggling to
form a defensive circle when Davilas
full squad reached them at a run, rapidly
absorbed them, reformed as a square and
turned back towards Potonchan, which
lay four miles to their north, concealed
behind the range of low hills they had
passed. The Indian attack did not cease
but pressed on all the harder, hundreds
it seemed thousands howling their
monstrous war cries, vicious spears
jabbing at exposed faces and legs,
obsidian-edged swords slashing, while
the pikemen fought mightily to thrust
them back and the musketeers and
crossbowmen at the centre of the square
hurriedly reloaded.
Daz was in the front rank, buckler
defending the man next to him,
broadsword arching down over the
shield of the man to his right, his
muscles aching with the strain of the
unrelenting effort, sweat soaking his
shirt and breeches beneath his armour as
he hacked and stabbed at foes so close
that the alien odour of their dusky bodies
filled his nostrils. The square continued
the fighting retreat towards Potonchan,
but it was slowing with every pace,
losing momentum like a carriage mired
in thick mud, when all the muskets
crashed again at point-blank range.
Discouraged by this, or perhaps at some
command from their captain, the Indians
seemed to lose their taste for the close
melee and broke away to a safer
distance, where they began to put up a
great din of drums, trumpets, whistles
and shouts and at once resumed their
barrage of slingstones, arrows and
wicked fire-toughened darts, launched
with great force from spear-throwers.
More of the enemy could be seen
across the fields, flocking to reinforce
the attackers, and it seemed to Daz the
worsening odds made it impossible for
the Spaniards to fight their way back to
Potonchan. There was a real danger they
would all lose their lives here unless
Corts came out to relieve them a
prospect made improbable by the stunted
hills that blocked the view and a strong
breeze blowing steadily from the north
carrying the sounds of battle away from
the town. Because they were fully
encircled, there was no question even of
sending a fast runner to summon help,
but a large, barn-like structure standing
in the fields to their east at a distance of
six or eight hundred paces seemed to
offer some hope of respite. Although
somewhat in ruins it was built of stone,
its thatched roof was still largely intact
and it looked defensible, so it was with
a renewed sense of hope that Daz heard
Davila shout the order and the whole
square wheeled ponderously and
charged towards it under the unceasing
and implacable hail of missiles.
The next ten minutes it could not
have been much longer passed like an
hour for Daz, the agony of his injured
leg slowing him, his breath heaving in
short hot gasps as the square fought a
running battle against the massed foe,
forcing every footstep through the rough
impeding growth of the young maize.
Three times, large companies of Indians
swung in towards them, making
concerted efforts to close and stop their
flight, but Davila had the shooters
working in continuous relays, five
musketeers and five crossbowmen along
each flank now, moving in and out to fire
and reload, fire and reload, so although
the attacks hindered their progress, they
could not stop them, and at last, all
winded, two score at least bleeding from
flesh wounds, they reached the shelter of
the building. A few dozen Indians had
already occupied it, but the Spaniards
ignored their spears and arrows, crashed
in on them and slaughtered them in a
frenzy of pike and sword thrusts.
It was a large, bare rectangular
structure theyd taken possession of,
twenty paces in length and ten wide with
an earthen floor and transverse rafters
supporting the thatched roof at about
twice the height of a man. The walls
were of stone, badly broken on the north
and south sides, offering good cover for
the shooters but unfortunately
dilapidated enough to allow sufficiently
determined attackers, should they choose
to come on in overwhelming numbers, to
break through. There were also many
window slits, the remnants of ten each
amongst the rubble on the north and
south sides, five more to the east side
and a wide, unprotected gap where a
door had once stood on the west side.
All in all, a good, naturally defensible
position. It would have served, Daz
thought, as an excellent fortress when it
was intact, and still offered the
Spaniards a refuge that they might hope
to hold for many hours at little cost to
themselves and great cost to the enemy.
Davila had already ordered musketeers
and crossbowmen to take up positions at
every breech in the masonry, through
which it could be seen that all around,
just out of range, the Indians had drawn
to a halt. Daz found Mibiercas and they
joined Davila at the doorway while Le
Serna with two musketeers and
crossbowmen and a few others climbed
up into the rafters, cut through the thatch
and forced their way onto the roof.
Reinforcements had been joining the
foe all morning. How many do you
see? Davila called up.
Counting, La Serna shouted back.
They heard him moving around over the
thatch.
Still counting, he said a moment
later.
How many? Davila insisted.
Two thousand, said La Serna finally,
and you know what? Absent a miracle,
were all dead men.
Even as he spoke the drums of the
enemy, which had fallen silent, began
beating again, their trumpets and
whistles blew in a violent cacophony
and the front ranks surged forward with
blood-curdling screams.
Davila ordered a volley fired, ten
muskets, ten crossbows, and the men
began to reload feverishly as the second
volley crashed out.
Potonchan was seven miles north of
Cintla and fast messengers, who could
run that distance in less than an hour, had
been scurrying back and forth all
morning to keep Muluc and Ah Kinchil
fully informed. For some perverse
reason of his own, Muluc seemed to
want Malinal to witness the humiliation
of the white men, whom he insisted on
calling your precious so-called gods,
so he kept her in attendance in the main
audience chamber of the palace.
She knew as a result that no all-out
attack had yet been ordered. During the
night, ten thousand warriors had been
camped in an arc less than a mile south
of Potonchan, but around dawn Ah
Kinchil had drawn them back to Cintla,
leaving only a few thousand skirmishers
in place to harry the white men should
they attempt to push along the sacbe
towards the regional capital.
Malinal couldnt help thinking, with
so dangerous an enemy as these
Spaniards, that she herself might have
suggested a different strategy for
example, massive, overwhelming force
right from the start. But Muluc, for all
his bravado, was cautious, even
cowardly, and Ah Kinchil was old,
indecisive and deeply afraid of the white
men, whom he still in his heart believed
might be gods, despite the advice Cit
Bolon Tun had given him.
So their decision was to wait and see
what the Spaniards would do.
What they did was surprising and
contradictory.
On the one hand they had released
prisoners, captured during the battle for
Potonchan, and sent them to Cintla in the
night with a message of peace for Ah
Kinchil, to whom it appeared they
wished to offer immortal life.
On the other hand, an hour after dawn,
a tight, disciplined unit of the white men,
a hundred strong, had marched out of
Potonchan along the sacbe obviously
spoiling for a fight. They had been
engaged by skirmishers about four miles
south of the town just three miles north
of Cintla itself! where the Xaman hills
concealed them from the Spaniards
main force.
Do these hundred have the weapons
called guns that make a great noise
and kill men at a distance? Ah Kinchil
had asked the messenger. The answer
was yes, but not, it seemed, the terrifying
big guns on wheeled carriages deployed
the day before. Even so, the white men
had defended themselves well with their
smaller guns and their long metal knives.
The skirmishers, for their part, had kept
their nerve and called in reinforcements.
When the messenger had left the scene,
the hundred Spaniards had been fought to
a standstill and were completely
surrounded in open fields by two
thousand Mayan warriors.
Muluc and Ah Kinchil argued for a
long time about what they should do
next. Ah Kinchil was convinced it was a
trap. These hundred must be bait
intended to provoke him into committing
his main force, which the Spaniards
would then destroy. But Muluc reminded
him of Cit Bolon Tuns information. The
army of the Spaniards did not exceed
five hundred men, of whom not many
more than four hundred would be
available for combat today and they had
no reserves to call on. So if a hundred
of them had failed to overcome two
thousand skirmishers, it stood to reason,
regardless of whatever desperate trap
they might hope to spring, that four
hundred even five hundred! must fall
like the ripe maize at harvest if Ah
Kinchil would only throw his forty
thousand warriors against them, now, in
one massive blow.
Malinal had to admit she could find
no fault in Mulucs reasoning and was
not surprised, in the face of his insistent
bullying, when the paramount chief
eventually gave way. Being too old to go
into battle, Ah Kinchil seemed almost
grateful to pass command to the younger
man and agreed to travel with the
rearguard as an observer only.
Before he hurried from the audience
chamber to lead the army of the Chontal
Maya north in a great mass towards the
fields of Potonchan, Muluc turned on
Malinal. Remember that Mexica trader
I told you about, he said, the one Im
going to sell you to? He smirked as he
saw her face drop. Well, youre about
to meet him.
Malinal thought she had never seen
her stepfather look so pleased with
himself.
Having returned to the passage theyd
cut through the bush, Alvarado led his
men onto the track hed followed in
yesterdays flanking manoeuvre. It
continued through forest for about
another mile, and then a further mile
through open fields to a point about three
miles south of Potonchan, near a range of
low hills, where it intersected with the
great highway that Davilas squad were
reconnoitring today. He had it in mind to
cross the highway and head west
towards the coast and the manglar
swamps to see if there was any sign of
the enemy there but, soon after emerging
into open fields again, with the long
white strip of the highway in sight, he
began to hear musket shots. The sounds
were coming from somewhere further to
the south, beyond the hills, and reached
him faintly at first because of an adverse
north wind. Still, there was no doubt in
his mind. That smug bastard Davila,
whod rescued him yesterday, had run
into trouble with the Indians.
Alvarado ordered his squad to turn
south across the fields. Proceeding
through the maize at a forced march, and
skirting the hills, he soon had a better
idea of Davilas predicament. Half a
mile ahead, somewhat to the east of the
road, stood a large building completely
surrounded by a great horde of the
enemy. The crash of musket fire was
unmistakable now, so too the mad
discord of drums and pipes with which
the Maya liked to accompany every
attack, and snatches of wild yells
reached him between gusts of wind.
Keep low, men, Alvarado ordered.
Lets see how close we can get without
being seen.
It was uncomfortable bending over
almost double, carrying weapons and
running through the maize, but well
worth the effort. The enemy, and there
were thousands of them, had their backs
turned and were so intent on the waves
of assaults they continued to throw
against the well-defended building that
they remained for a long while perfectly
oblivious of the squads fast, stealthy
advance.
Alvarado raised his arm and brought
his men to a halt less than five hundred
paces from the outer ranks of the enemy
encirclement. A small force of Spaniards
still held the roof of the beleaguered
building, shooting down on the attackers
at point-blank range, pushing them back
with pike thrusts, and seemingly as
unaware as the Indians themselves of
Alvarados approach.
Keeping his voice low, he called his
twenty musketeers and twenty
crossbowmen forward and ordered them
to spread out into a single skirmish line
with the rest of the square formed up
behind them. Pick your targets, he said,
and at a hundred paces, sooner if they
spot us, put a volley into their backs, all
the muskets and all the crossbows
together, then countermarch at the double
back into the square and draw your
swords.
What about reloading, sir? one of the
shooters asked.
Were going to cut our way through
and join Davilas men. You can reload at
your leisure once were inside that barn
theyre defending.
Alvarado drew his rapier and slashed
its blade satisfyingly through the air. He
rather wished hed brought the falchion
after all. This Nuez steel was too good
for riffraff like the Maya.
The Indians were getting better at timing
their charges in the intervals between
musket and crossbow volleys, Daz
realised. He was defending a gap in the
masonry on the south side and this was
now the sixth or seventh wave of
attackers who had hurled themselves
furiously against weak points all around
the structure and repeatedly tried to
scale the walls whence they were
thrown back by the shooters and
pikemen on the roof. Again came the
hideous shrieks and yells of the
attackers; again strong hands scrabbled
at the crumbling blocks, tearing down
the wall stone by stone; again snarling
painted faces loomed up through the
breach, their rank breath reaching Daz.
He gave a hard thrust with his sword,
saw it smash a mans front teeth in a
burst of blood, felt it slip through the
void of his mouth and catch as it severed
his spine. Another suicidal warrior was
already climbing over the back of the
first, offering his face to the blade, and
Daz withdrew and stabbed again.
A great weariness began to
overmaster him. From the position of the
sun he guessed the time at around eleven
in the morning, which would mean
theyd been marching and running and
fighting for only four hours.
Four hours! It felt more like four days!
Yet how much longer could they hold
out before the sheer numbers of the
enemy overwhelmed them?
Already a new charge was coming in
but, as the Indians ran screaming
towards the walls, Daz heard excited
shouts from the roof and the sweet sound
of muskets roaring, not from within the
beleaguered structure, but from
somewhere to the northeast outside the
encircling ranks of the attackers.
Thank God, he breathed as he killed
another man. We are saved.
From a hundred paces the twenty musket
rounds and twenty crossbow bolts tore
into the backs of the surprised Indians
with devastating force and a huge gap
opened in the circling mass. The
shooters retired within the square and
Alvarado led the charge with his
personal squad of practised swordsmen
thirsting for blood right behind him in
the front ranks.
The Indians milled in dazed panic as
the armoured square hit them at a run,
Toledo blades carving limbs and heads
from bodies with no more difficulty than
slicing bread. In moments a hundred
two hundred! of the enemy were down,
stone dead or writhing on the ground,
trampled underfoot by the advancing
squad and stabbed by the pikemen as the
Spaniards found themselves traversing
the circle of clear space encompassing
the building.
This way, this way! Alvarado heard
men shout as grinning faces peered
through gaps in the masonry and the
defenders on the roof beckoned his men
round to the west side of the redoubt.
Groups of Indians whod been assaulting
the walls tangled with them and were
mercilessly despatched, then they
rounded the northwest corner, climbed
heaps of the enemy slain by the
defenders and poured in through the
ragged breach in the west wall where
once a door must have stood.
Ho there, Davila! said Alvarado to
the exhausted, blood-smeared captain
who came forward to greet him. I see
youve got yourself in a bit of a tight
spot here. Just as well my men and I
happened along to get you out of it.
Touch, admitted Davila with a
weary smile. To Alvarados surprise the
other captain then stepped forward and
embraced him warmly.

Bernal Daz stood at the doorway poised
for the breakout with Mibiercas and La
Serna by his side. Funny how things
turn around, said La Serna. One minute
youre looking death in the face, the next
a long life beckons.
Were not home and dry yet,
observed Mibiercas softly as he ran a
whetstone down the edge of his blade.
The long diagonal cut on his cheek was
still dripping blood.
I fancy our chances though, said La
Serna. That Alvarados a tough one.
What do you reckon, Bernal?
Well make it, Daz grunted. He had
the shakes, something that didnt usually
afflict him no matter how tough the fight.
You OK? La Serna asked him,
concerned.
Not so good, Daz gestured to his
thigh which was now so swollen hed
had to cut the seam on his breeches.
That arrow you took yesterday?
Yes. Didnt think much of it at the
time. Daz shivered again. Some kind
of fever setting in.
Bad day for it, said La Serna. He
was just stating facts.
Ill get through.
Half of Davilas squad were injured,
but all except maybe me, Daz thought
were fit enough to march. Even those
stunned by the pestilential slingstones
had regained their senses, and none,
thanks be to God, were dead. For their
part, Alvarados men were fresh and in
high spirits. Better still, a quick
inventory had found that the musketeers
and archers in his squad had sufficient
powder, ball and bolts to replenish the
near-exhausted stocks of Davilas
shooters.
So La Serna was right, Daz thought.
Whereas a fighting retreat drawn out
over the four miles to Potonchan had
been out of the question just moments
before, it was now, thanks to Alvarados
timely intervention, a viable option.
Indeed it was not too much to hope that
the combined strength of both squads,
with forty archers and forty musketeers
amongst them, would be sufficient to
drive off the few thousand Indians
surrounding them.
Water skins were passed around,
powder and ammunition were shared
and checked one last time, a few men
muttered prayers and then, with a great
roar, the two hundred Spaniards burst
forth from the stone shelter and set out at
a jog across the fields.
Every jolt was agony for Daz, but
hed withstood far worse than this in his
soldiering career. As the hail of Indian
missiles began to pour down again he
kept his buckler above his head, set his
teeth and ran on.
Pepillo had fallen off Molinero four
times, and was bruised from head to
foot, but he thought at last he was
beginning to get the hang of it. Well
make a rider of you yet, Melchior said
with a grin.
They hadnt seen Corts since dawn
but around noon a messenger came from
him with orders that Molinero was to be
barded at once. The caudillo expected to
have need of him within the hour. All
across the orchard, similar instructions
were being delivered to the other
grooms.
Whats barded? asked Pepillo.
It means armoured, said Melchior.
Barding is armour for horses plate
and mail and boiled leather; it protects
them from arrows and spear thrusts and
sword cuts and such Its the barding
that was in those sea chests we
offloaded last night. Come on, you can
help me.
They led Molinero over to the south
side of the orchard, directly behind the
palace, where all the chests brought
from the ship were lined up. Melchior
went directly to one of these. This
belongs to Corts, he explained, adding
proudly, he stores his personal armour
in here as well. Its my job to keep it and
Molineros barding polished and free of
rust. With a flourish he sprung the
chests catch and opened the heavy lid.
The sun, directly overhead now, shone
down on the dazzling contents of
gleaming steel.
Well start with the champron,
Melchior said. Thats what protects
Molineros head and eyes though he
doesnt like it much, do you, boy? He
stroked the stallions quivering neck then
reached into the sea chest and pulled out
a fearsome-looking steel mask.
Its a sort of helm, but for horses,
Pepillo said.
Thats right. Muttering soothing
words, and with many gentle clicks of
his tongue, Melchior strapped the
champron over Molineros head. It ran
from his ears to his muzzle, with hinged
extensions covering the jowls. There
were holes, protected by flanges, for his
eyes, and a great spike, like a unicorns
horn, now projected from the centre of
his forehead.
Melchior returned to the chest and
extracted a set of segmented steel plates.
These are called the crinet, he said to
Pepillo. Go to the other side. Were
going to put them over Molineros neck.
Once in place and fixed by straps to the
champron, Pepillo saw how the plates
of the crinet would protect the stallions
neck and throat not completely,
because there were gaps between them
to make the armour flexible and allow
him to move his head freely, but enough
to ward off most attacks.
Melchior was pulling out more large
sheets of plate armour. Now the
peytral. Its heavy youll have to help
me again; there, take that side but
Molineros so strong he hardly notices
the weight. Working together they
buckled the peytral, which was designed
to protect Molineros chest and extended
back almost as far as the saddle, to
straps hanging down from the crinet.
The last and largest piece of armour, a
cunning combination of steel and leather,
was called the croupiere and protected
the hindquarters of the great war horse.
There you are, boy, Melchior said
when he was done, standing back to
examine the stallion. Now you look
fearsome!
As though he understood the words,
Molinero responded with a whinny,
blew air from his nostrils and pawed the
ground.
He did look fearsome, Pepillo
thought.
Gazing up at the huge animal decked
out in his gleaming armour and ready to
charge into battle, he could hardly
imagine that he had ever sat upon his
back.
The trader, Malinal immediately saw
from his clothing, belonged to that elite
stratum of Mexica society, ranked just
below the nobility, known as the
Pochteca. As well as being the principal
traffickers in exotic slaves, these
Pochteca merchants dealt in chocolate,
jaguar pelts, quetzal plumes, metals and
other luxury items from the most far-
flung tributaries of the empire, and from
more distant lands like the Yucatn that
were not subject to the Great Speakers
rule. Such long-distance commerce, over
much of which they exercised a strict
monopoly, had made the Pochteca
extremely rich, though they were
forbidden to flaunt their wealth in
Tenochtitlan or other cities of the empire
except within the confines of their
secretive guildhalls. They travelled in
large caravans with hundreds of servants
and bearers, well protected from
marauders and outlaw bands by
detachments of seasoned Mexica
warriors, and were themselves
frequently highly skilled in the martial
arts. Many, in addition, cultivated
connections with foreign rulers and
served Moctezuma covertly as spies and
intelligence-gatherers.
Many, thought Malinal, such as this
one, Cuetzpalli by name, to whom Muluc
planned to sell her on the morrow and
who would take her back to Tenochtitlan
just as she had been taken there five
years previously by another visiting
Pochteca. This afternoon, however,
Cuetzpalli was evidently in the mood for
a spectacle, not business, having been
invited by Ah Kinchil to witness the
destruction of the white men by his great
army of forty thousand warriors. Like so
many Maya chiefs, Ah Kinchil was in
awe of the power of the Mexica and
would go to great lengths to please and
impress their representatives in the hope
he would never be obliged to pay tribute
to them. While no doubt providing some
grand entertainment to the influential
Pochteca, therefore, the looming battle
was clearly also being taken as an
opportunity to demonstrate to him and
thus to Moctezuma whose spy he most
certainly was the full extent of Mayan
military readiness.
Cuetzpalli meant lizard in the
Nahuatl language and, with his hooded
gaze, long perfumed hair and slithery
manner, this merchant was, Malinal
decided, aptly named. She did not know
him, since her services in Tenochtitlan
had been reserved exclusively for the
higher nobility, but he was much younger
than those few in the guilds with whom
she had come into contact, being no
more than twenty-seven or twenty-eight
years of age. No doubt, since
membership of the Pochteca was
hereditary, he had inherited the position
from his father. He had a long, narrow
face, prominent nose, high cheekbones,
good teeth and a strong jaw and would
have been the very image of classic
Mexica comeliness were it not for the
furtive, sliding-away quality of his gaze,
which had never quite met her own since
Ah Kinchil had required her to serve as
his interpreter on this seven-mile jaunt
down to Potonchan.
Both men were being carried
shoulder-high in comfortable, cushioned
litters and had their bodyguards a
dozen Mexica Cuahchics in the case of
Cuetzpalli arrayed around them.
Malinal walked between the litters,
translating the occasional formal
pleasantries and observations of the
wizened old chief and the smooth young
merchant, but with her mind hardly on
the task. What preoccupied her instead
was the coming confrontation with the
white men and her hope, still in part
touched by Tozis prophetic zeal, that
something extraordinary was about to
take place. She could sense Ah Kinchils
nervousness and uncertainty even while
he boasted to Cuetzpalli of the ferocity
of his warriors who marched just a mile
ahead in five regiments of eight thousand
men each. Their forty thousand pairs of
feet had stirred up a dust cloud so vast it
seemed to stretch from horizon to
horizon. Despite the Xaman hills, which
lay in the way, this immense cloud must
surely be visible from Potonchan, now
barely five miles from the advance units.
In her imagination Malinals mind
soared up over the hills and flew to the
side of the leader of the white men. She
felt sure, after everything she had heard
Cit Bolon Tun say the night before, that
he must indeed be a man, like any other
man
And yet and yet
The lookouts had called Corts to the
top of the pyramid around noon when
Alvarado and Davilas squads, united in
a single large square, had emerged from
behind the cover of the hills three miles
south of Potonchan and proceeded at a
forced march towards the town, harried
by a large mob of enemy skirmishers.
Although Corts could not understand
why the two squads were now together
when theyd set out on separate
missions, they did not seem to be in any
danger of being overrun and were
proceeding in good order. Hed sent out
a hundred men to reinforce them anyway,
but the Indians had immediately
disengaged at the sight of the new force
and fled back towards the hills. In the
past half-hour Alvarado and Davila had
crossed most of the remaining distance,
joined up with the relief column and
were already approaching the southern
outskirts of the town. It was obvious,
now, that theyd fought a major
engagement, since there were many
injured amongst them, but though
bloodied they appeared to have suffered
no losses.
Of much greater concern was the huge
cloud of dust that had begun to form
much further south while Corts had
been watching Alvarado and Davilas
progress. He couldnt see details
because the range of little hills blocked
his view, but he estimated that the
clouds leading edge was presently
about five miles from Potonchan and that
it stretched back at least a mile from
there, almost as far as Cintla. It could
only be the product of a great army on
the move, an army tens of thousands
strong, advancing to make war on him.
The good news, after a mornings light
exercise, was that the horses were frisky
and full of grass, all the stiffness gone
from their limbs. Corts had already sent
orders for them to be barded for battle.
He turned to the artilleryman, Francisco
de Mesa, who stood at his side. If we
bring the lombards up here, he said,
indicating the wide platform at the top of
the pyramid, what will their range be?
Mesas eyes widened. Up here, Don
Hernn?
Yes, you heard me, up here. Put those
sixty slaves to work!
Mesa raised his eyebrows. Well, I
suppose it can be done. He looked
speculatively at the advancing dust
cloud. And from this altitude, with the
barrels at maximum elevation, I judge
well be able to put ball into the midst of
enemy formations anywhere up to two
miles from the town.
Corts whistled. Two miles, eh?
Couldnt ask for better! Well, get on with
it then, Mesa, and at the double. Were
very short of time.
Corts had already decided who would
ride with the cavalry today, and they
were not in every case the men who
owned the horses. For example Ortiz,
nicknamed the musician and Bartolom
Garca both owned fine destriers that
were presently exercising in the orchard,
but both men were poor riders; their
mounts would go to Miguel de Lares,
whom Corts knew to be a superb
horseman, and to Gonzalo de Sandoval,
whose story of a lifetime in the saddle
before his family fell on hard times rang
true. Likewise, Diego de Ordaz owned a
fast grey mare, but it would be ridden
today by Pedro Gonzalez de Trujillo
not, in this case, because of any lack of
horsemanship skills on the part of Ordaz,
but because Ordaz, despite his
Velazquista sympathies, was
undoubtedly the best officer to take
command of the infantry in the coming
engagement while Corts himself led the
cavalry. Ordazs field experience in the
Italian wars was second to none and he
was, in addition, an excellent
swordsman. Besides, Corts hoped,
giving him this important role, which he
had accepted with pleased surprise this
morning, might help to detach his
loyalties from the pro-Velzquez clique.
As he reached the foot of the pyramid
Corts had Ordaz put out an urgent
summons for an immediate muster of all
the men and, while he waited for them to
fall in, and for Alvarado and Davila to
arrive, he gathered the rest of his
selected corps of cavalry around him
Cristbal de Olid, Alonso Hernndez
Puertocarrero, Juan de Escalante,
Francisco de Montejo, Juan Velzquez
de Len, Francisco de Morla, Miguel de
Lares, Gonzalo Dominguez, Pedro de
Moran, Pedro Gonzalez de Trujillo, Juan
Sedeno, Jernimo Alanis, Pedro de la
Mafla, Juan Rodriguez de Salas and
young Gonzalo de Sandoval. Moments
later Alvarado and Davila, both
excellent horsemen, joined the group,
while the two hundred men they had led
in this mornings skirmishes, and the
hundred from the relief column that
Corts had sent out to support them,
milled in the square. Alvarado and
Davilas men were evidently grateful to
be out of danger, even if only
temporarily, attending to their injuries,
eating and drinking from their packs and
telling the rest of the gathering force
what had happened to them.
Corts now climbed eight steps up the
stairway of the pyramid, where Mesa
was already organising his Taino slaves
to carry the first of the two great cannon
to the top, and called to the men for
silence, which fell instantly, without
complaint. Even the Velazquistas, it
seemed, were willing to hold their
tongues at this grave moment.
Ill make this brief, said Corts. As
some of you whove been up the
pyramid in the last half-hour already
know, a huge force of Indians is heading
our way. Ill not put any gloss on this
Id say were facing thirty thousand
men.
At the figure of thirty thousand, which
Corts knew in his heart to be an
underestimate, a gasp of alarm passed
around the square. But this is not like
facing thirty thousand battle-seasoned
Moors on the plains of Granada, he
continued, waving the men to silence
again, or thirty thousand of any
European army. These are thirty
thousand savages, armed with stone
weapons and with no concept of the
science of warfare. In addition to our
discipline and esprit de corps, which
they lack, we have three outstanding
advantages that we will turn against
them. First, our cannon. He pointed to
the huge barrel of the lombard in its
cradle of ropes, supported by a team of
thirty slaves, now halfway up the steep
steps of the pyramid. Second, our
hounds a gesture to Vendabal and his
assistants who were busily cinching the
armour to the snarling dogs. And third,
and I believe the factor more than any
other that will tip the balance in our
favour, our cavalry. He waved at the
group of horsemen gathered at the base
of the steps.
Turning back to the infantry, Corts
paused, saying nothing, for ten twenty
thirty seconds. It was a technique of
oratory he had long ago mastered, the
effect of which was to cause all the men
to lean slightly towards him, anxious to
learn what was coming next. I know, he
said at last and in a deeply sympathetic
tone, that some of you brave fellows
have fought hard already this morning,
risked your lives, taken wounds, and I
know I ask much to expect you to go out
into the field, surrounded by
overwhelming numbers of the foe, and
do it all again this afternoon.
Nonetheless, this is what I ask of you!
For if we do not all fight for our very
lives today, with every bit of our
strength, then we will perish here.
Another pause: But we will fight, and
we will not perish!
A great cheer arose from the men.
We will fight and we will not perish
because we are courageous men, heroes
all, and because God and His saints and
all His angels fight on our side this day!
There came another cheer, more
rousing than the last, and Corts saw
how many of the mens eyes gleamed
with emotion as they fixed their gaze on
him, relied on him, counted utterly on
him as their leader who would bring
them salvation, and God willing
victory.
So here is what we will do, he said.
Our enemies approach us from the south
at a fast march. They will be upon us in
a little more than an hour but we will
have a trap prepared for them. The
infantry will be the bait of this trap and
the artillery and cavalry will form its
two jaws.
He beckoned to the stocky, bearded
figure of Diego de Ordaz who was
standing nearby in a chain-mail tunic, his
broadsword hanging from a baldric and
a grim look on his face. Ordaz nodded
and climbed the steps to stand beside
him. I will lead the cavalry today,
Corts continued, and Don Diego here
will lead the infantry. You will march
out at once, pausing only to gather all
necessary supplies of powder,
ammunition and water, and you will
challenge the enemy by blocking their
way one mile south of the town. Eight of
the falconets will remain here in a
battery to kill any of the foe who may
slip past you, but the other ten will go
with you, and all the dogs, and there you
will stand and there you will fight while
the Indians fall upon you in their
thousands.
Corts paused again. Close to five
hundred strained, dirt-streaked, in many
cases blood-smeared faces leaned
towards him. While you hold and
engage the enemy, Francisco de Mesa,
our artilleryman he pointed to Mesa
who was overseeing the progress of the
second lombard on its way up the
pyramid will be preparing a
bombardment the like of which these
Indians cannot possibly conceive.
Yonder lombards fire seventy-pound
balls a distance of two miles, and when
Mesa sees that the enemy are closing in
on you he will begin firing over your
heads and into the depths of their ranks,
spreading terror and panic amongst
them. Many will seek to flee to the south,
back towards Cintla where they have
come from, but at this point they will
find our cavalry behind them for we
will have gone out by the east side of
town and worked our way south from
there following the same track that
Davila and Alvarado took yesterday
and we will hit them at a full charge and
destroy them utterly.
As he dismissed the men to a
resounding chorus of cheers, Corts
wished he felt as confident as he had
sounded, and wished he could persuade
himself of the merits of his simple plan
as successfully as he seemed to have
persuaded everyone else.
For the truth he knew at the bottom of
his heart was that this plan of his had
been hastily stitched together and was as
full of holes as a threadbare sock. There
were at least a dozen ways in which it
could rapidly unravel, leaving his men
and his cannon horribly vulnerable to
being flanked and overwhelmed, and his
precious cavalry cut off from all support
amidst numberless foes.
Offering up a silent prayer to Saint
Peter, who had so often promised him
victory in dreams, Corts turned with a
smile to his cavalrymen. Brothers, he
said, ours will be the first charge of
horse ever witnessed in these new lands.
Today we make history.
Chapter Fifty-Nine
Thursday 25 March 1519
Corts feared the lombards on the
pyramid would be vulnerable to a sneak
flanking attack by the Indians after the
infantry had marched out of Potonchan
and taken up its position as the bait in
his trap. Yet if the enemy were to be
drawn into a fight that would last long
enough to expose them to the jaws of
the trap (his cavalry to their south,
Mesas lombards to their north), he
couldnt afford to reduce the strength of
the infantry squares.
The Taino slaves who moved the big
cannon could not be relied upon
indeed they would be more of an
impediment than an asset so there was
no point in looking to them to help solve
the problem. But more than fifty of
Davilas men had been injured in the
mornings heavy skirmishing and Corts
now had Mesa choose the forty who
were most badly hurt, the ones whod be
the least use to Ordaz on the plain, to
garrison the pyramid. He also put eight
falconets under Mesas command and
told him to use them either to support
Ordaz or for the defence of the lombards
as the need arose.
Does he need eight falconets?
growled Ordaz. When the fight gets hot
well wish we had them with us.
Nothings more important than
protecting the lombards today, Corts
insisted. Without them our trap will fail.
Besides, youll have ten falconets with
you, a good number, and the eight with
Mesa can be turned on any enemy units
that get between you and the town. I
think in the end youll be glad of them
here.
Ordaz made a sour face but nodded
his agreement.
I have a question, said Mesa. How
long do I continue the barrage with the
lombards? I dont want to hit your
cavalry, Don Hernn.
Corts laughed. Believe me, Mesa, I
dont want you to hit us either! His
expression became suddenly grim. Do
the maximum harm you can to the enemy.
Stop when you see us amongst them and
not a moment before.
He turned back to his cavaliers who
were waiting nearby. Gentlemen, he
said. Shall we to horse?
Watching the eighteen cavaliers dress in
their armour, strap on their swords and
remove the scabbards from the warheads
of their lances was, for Pepillo, like
witnessing the romance of Amadis de
Gaula come to life. Here was chivalry!
Here was adventure! Here were heroes!
He might easily imagine that Corts was
Amadis himself, the Knight of the Green
Sword, on his way to kill the giant
Endriago whose monstrous body was
covered with scales that courteous,
gentle, sensitive but invincible Amadis,
who emerged victorious from every
battle, drenched in his enemies blood.
Corts was already wearing a steel
cuirass but, with Melchiors help, he
unbuckled and removed its breast and
back plates, donned a hauberk a shirt
of chain mail that fell to his thighs
reaffixed the cuirass over it and belted
on his sword. Although the hauberk had
mailed sleeves, additional items of steel
plate were now added pauldrons to
protect his shoulders and armpits,
rerebraces to protect his upper arms,
articulated metal joints called couters to
protect his elbows, forearm guards
called vambraces, and gauntlets made of
a cunning combination of plate, mail and
leather to protect his hands. Next
Melchior turned to the caudillos legs,
attaching cuisses, articulated poleyns
and greaves to protect his thighs, knees
and shins, and strapping mailed
sabatons over the toes of his boots.
Finally he fixed a gorget of multiple
articulated steel plates around his
masters throat and handed him his
gleaming open-faced helmet, called a
sallet, with armoured flaps at the side
and back to protect his neck.
While all this was done Corts, who
was in high good humour, laughed and
joked with the other knights, pausing
from time to time to explain the names
and functions of the different pieces of
armour to Pepillo, who felt his eyes must
be as big as saucers as he looked on.
Then, mounting Molinero, the caudillo
placed his sallet on his head, reached
down to take the twelve-foot lance that
Melchior now passed up to him and
leaned it jauntily over his right shoulder.
All around the other knights were doing
the same.
Corts was looking at the boys. Well
win the fight today, he said, but theres
a risk the enemy may try to infiltrate the
town before its over. If that happens I
dont want the two of you ending up in
their cooking pots! He laughed, but
Pepillo could see that at some level he
was serious. So get yourselves over to
the pyramid, he continued. Make
yourselves useful to Mesa and see if he
cant find you a weapon or two to
defend yourselves with.
I have my knife sir, said Melchior.
Corts nodded. Keep it handy, but get
Mesa to arm you with a spear.
He turned to Pepillo: How about you,
boy?
Im not armed, sir.
Then take this. Corts reached into
the top of his boot and pulled out a
small, wicked-looking dagger.
Wont you need it, sir?
I carry a second, said Corts, patting
his other boot. He passed the knife to
Pepillo. Use it on yourself if you have
to. With a raised finger he mimed the
motion of a man cutting his own throat.
Believe me, it will be better than letting
the Indians capture you.
Pepillo gulped. On myself, sir?
Yes, if you have to. A confident
chuckle: But you wont have to! Well
win today, youll see. I want you to
observe everything that happens the
top of the pyramid will be a good place
for that and tonight youll help me
write to the king.
The rest of the squadron had already
formed up two by two behind him, their
armour glittering in the sun. Corts
waited for Alvarado to fall in at his
side, raised his left hand above his head,
signalled forward and nudged
Molinero into a trot.
Holding the little knife, testing its
keen edge, Pepillo stood dumbfounded
at the thought of taking his own life with
it as he watched the riders file out
through the gate of the orchard and
clatter across the square. They increased
their pace to a gallop, scattering dust,
and turned onto the main avenue leading
east out of Potonchan.
Ah Kinchil and Cuetzpalli had decided
to watch the battle from the Xaman
Hills, really nothing more than a fold or
a wrinkle in the plains. The tallest peak
in the little range was barely a hundred
feet high, but offered an excellent
vantage point across the maize fields that
stretched three miles north from here to
the outskirts of Potonchan. There was a
copse of ancient ahuehuetl trees on the
summit to provide shade, and even a
little bubbling spring. All in all it could
hardly have been more idyllic.
We will devour them, said Ah
Kinchil, echoing Mulucs comment of the
night before.
I dont doubt it, Cuetzpalli replied.
Having been carried up here by their
sweating litter-bearers, the two men
were now standing side by side at the
edge of the copse with their retainers
gathered nearby and Malinal placed
between them to translate their every
word. Ah Kinchil had detached two
hundred warriors from the rearguard of
the immense army Muluc was leading
into battle, posting them around the base
of the hill and keeping his personal
bodyguard on sentry duty amongst the
trees. Mulucs steward Ichick was
present primarily, Malinal suspected,
to keep a close eye on her and make sure
she had no opportunity to escape before
being sold to Cuetzpalli tomorrow and
sent on her way back to Tenochtitlan. All
twelve of Cuetzpallis Cuahchics were
in attendance, along with a scribe and an
artist whom he had instructed to keep a
record of the main events of the battle.
Malinal was unable to imagine any
way in which the situation could fail to
be utterly hopeless for the white men
unless they really were gods. Their
entire army, which they had divided into
four small square formations of a
hundred men each in ten tightly bunched
ranks, had marched one mile south of
Potonchan and taken up position
between the town and Mulucs
advancing army. Each of the squares
looked to be about thirty feet wide and
thirty deep and even though they were
divided one from the other by horizontal
gaps of approximately twice that width,
their entire combined front still stretched
no more than three hundred feet across
the fields. Moreover Malinal realised
that the little squares were not even
deployed in a single formidable row, but
in two pairs, with the second pair some
distance behind the first and offset
diagonally, creating a front that was
staggered rather than straight. Why, she
wondered, would the Spaniards have
adopted such a vulnerable formation?
Surely being divided like this into four
tiny, isolated units would only make it
easier for Mulucs men, who formed a
block two thousand feet wide and a
thousand deep, to surround and devour
each one? Indeed each of the eighty
Mayan ranks contained five hundred
men, thus alone outnumbering the entire
Spanish force!
It was almost as though the white men
were offering themselves for sacrifice!
Out of the corner of her eye, Malinal
noticed Cuetzpallis artist rapidly
sketching the scene. Here they were on
the Xaman hills with Mulucs army a
mile and a half to their north, marching
rapidly across the open fields and
already manoeuvring into a vast convex
formation to flank and engulf the
Spaniards. Approximately half a mile of
empty fields came next and then
appearing even smaller in the painting
than they did in real life the four
squares of the unlucky Spaniards.
Her first intimation that things might
not go the way that numbers and common
sense suggested came a moment later
when she saw five clouds of dirty grey
smoke rise up a little distance in front of
those tiny squares. This interesting
phenomenon was followed almost
instantly by some ripple or perturbance
in the Mayan front ranks; though she
could not see the cause, it was obvious
that men had fallen. Finally, a fifteen
count after the smoke had appeared, she
heard a tremendous rolling, crashing
blast, a sound like the thunder of doom,
and knew she was witnessing in action
the weapons the white men called
guns.
Well, Mulucs men were prepared for
this. They now knew for the
intelligence Cit Bolon Tun brought had
been passed to every one of them that
there was nothing supernatural about
these guns; they were just weapons
like any other, albeit very dangerous
ones. After they had been fired they had
to be reloaded, which took time, and
during the intervals the white men would
be vulnerable.
As she had expected, the entire Mayan
force, which had been approaching at a
fast march, surged forward into a wild
charge. Immediately, five more clouds of
dirty grey smoke rose up from before the
squares.
Had Cit Bolon Tun been lying?
No, Malinal thought. The more likely
explanation was that the Spaniards had
ten guns and were reloading the first
five while the second five were fired.
Again she saw that mysterious
perturbance in the Mayan ranks more
noticeable this time than before; it
seemed that many men had fallen and
that these powerful weapons worked
their harm not only on those directly
facing them but in long narrow strips
extending five or even ten ranks back
into the charging mass. Even so the
charge did not break and it still had not
broken after a fifteen count when the
devastating reverberating roar of the
guns reached her.
What was becoming obvious,
however, was a distinct closing-up, a
definite compression, of the forty-
thousand-strong army. To Malinals eye
it seemed that the front ranks had slowed
their onward rush somewhat while the
rearmost ranks had, if anything,
increased their pace, and the result was
that the whole force had now become
more dense, compacted into a space
somewhat less than a thousand feet deep,
as it bore down in a mass on the white
mens squares.
That was when Malinal saw two
much larger clouds of smoke billow
from the top of Potonchans ancient
pyramid and sensed a blur in the air as
two objects, moving incredibly fast,
crashed into the very heart of Mulucs
army.
What was this? She blinked, trying to
make sense of what she was seeing.
There! And there! Two glinting objects
bouncing and rolling with unbelievable
force, mowing down hundreds
hundreds! of Mayan warriors amidst
bright splashes of blood, spreading
disorder and rampant terror amongst
them. Cuetzpalli gasped and leaned
forward, shading his eyes with his hand;
Ah Kinchils face turned grey and his
toothless jaw sagged.
And then came the sound
A sound beyond imagination and
nightmares.
A sound like the end of the world.
Pepillo pulled his fingers from his ears,
shook his head to clear the infernal
ringing that had set in and surveyed the
damage that the first two seventy-pound
balls from the lombards had done to the
massed enemy. Already visibly
discomfited by the ten one-pound rounds
from the falconets, he saw they were
now in a state of some distress, not
exactly falling apart but definitely
lacking the aggressive certainty and
cohesion theyd shown moments before.
He and Melchior had very little to do
and looked on in amazement as Mesas
gun crews worked like demons,
swabbing out the big barrels and loading
new charges. Down on the plain the
enemy front line, still manoeuvring from
a block into a horned formation, was
quarter of a mile from the four Spanish
squares and coming on at a full run. But
the falconets had been reloaded and now
Ordaz fired all ten at once, a
concentrated salvo that smashed through
the advance, cutting deep swathes into
the ranks, raising screams of confusion
and terror, causing some men to halt and
others to turn back, transforming the
Mayan army almost instantly from an
organised coherent force into a melee.
Meanwhile the crews were reloading the
little cannon and, from now on, Melchior
explained, they would fire grapeshot at
point-blank range, doing terrible
damage.
But the Maya did not lack courage and
large elements of their wavering front
line still pressed forward, now less than
a thousand feet from the Spanish
squares. Behind, in a seething,
tumultuous, curving band, seven hundred
feet deep and two thousand wide, the
rest of the huge force struggled with
itself, some advancing, some retreating
a giant flux of close to forty thousand
men into the midst of whom, keeping the
seventy-pound balls as far from the
Spaniards as possible, Mesa must
concentrate his fire.
The lombards were ready again.
Melchior and Pepillo returned their
fingers to their ears.
Ah Kinchil, Cuetzpalli, the scribe, the
artist, the Cuahchics, Ah Kinchils
guards and retainers, Malinal, even the
litter-bearers, in short everyone on the
hilltop regardless of rank or station, had
now pressed forward to the edge of the
trees and stood silent, riveted in place
by the events unfolding on the plain
below. Whereas moments before it had
seemed certain that Mulucs army must
sweep the white men away like saplings
before an avalanche, it was now obvious
that the forty thousand Maya warriors
were in some kind of serious,
unprecedented, unknown trouble.
Malinal saw the smoke plumes that
told her the ten guns in front of the
Spanish squares had fired again, all of
them together this time, felt in her
viscera the hammer blows that struck the
Mayan front ranks, making them reel
back, and sensed the shock waves
radiating rearwards from there through
the whole army, causing men far from the
impact to stumble and fall as though
pushed by giant, invisible hands while
others thousands! turned in blind
panic and ran.
Fight! Ah Kinchil croaked, Fight!
as if anyone could hear him; as if it
would make any difference if they did!
But perhaps in some way the paramount
chiefs feeble command had got through,
for those who ran on towards the
Spaniards, Malinal realised, still far
outnumbered those attempting to desert.
Cuetzpalli was whispering urgently to
his artist Paint everything! The Lord
Speaker will reward you! when
Malinal saw two huge plumes of smoke
rush up again from the top of the distant
pyramid and, in the same instant, with
intimations of horror, witnessed the
same shimmer in the air she had seen
before, presaging the same mysterious
phenomenon of shining metallic spheres
tearing through the Maya ranks, bowling
over whole rows of men twenty or thirty
deep, crushing some, decapitating or
dismembering others, bouncing high,
crashing down, bouncing and rolling
again.
Fight! Ah Kinchil was still
screaming, spittle running out of his
mouth and down his chin. Fight for the
honour of the Chontal Maya! Cuetzpalli
looked on, his fists clenched so tightly
that the knuckles had turned white.
Malinal saw that the chaos in the midst
of the ranks was multiplying out of
control as the metal spheres spread their
doom and those running away collided
with those running forward. Yet so huge
was the army that tens of thousands at the
front were still swept onwards by the
vast momentum of the charge onwards
like some great ocean wave that must
crash down on those tiny, seemingly
defenceless Spanish squares and wipe
them utterly from the face of the earth.
Bernal Daz knew he should have stayed
behind with the injured men assigned to
defend the pyramid, but his pride and his
infernal sense of honour had got in the
way when Mesa made his selection.
Instead of admitting he could hardly
walk, let alone stand and fight for hours
on the plains, hed kept his head down
and let the dour chief of artillery choose
others, fitter than himself, for the
garrison.
Worse still, hed said yes when Ordaz
had picked him to lead the hundred men
in the westernmost of the four squares.
Well, how could he refuse? Most of the
officers were away with the cavalry
and where the hell was the cavalry,
come to think of it? leaving precious
few with enough experience to command
large groups of infantry.
Ah, pride! Ah, honour! Daz winced
and closed his eyes for a moment against
a wave of dizziness as another stabbing
pain ran the length of his throbbing,
hugely swollen leg. When he looked
again the onrushing mass of Indians, like
some turbulent, surging tide, was just
five hundred feet away, their shrill cries
and whistles and the terrible beat of
their drums ringing in his ears, and he
saw Ordazs sword come slashing
down, the signal to the gunners, and the
ten falconets ranged in front of the
squares again fired in unison amidst
clouds of smoke, their coughing,
booming roar echoing forth, their
charges of grapeshot spreading out and
tearing into the massed enemy, cutting
them to bloody ribbons as though a
thousand keen-edged knives had been
hurled at them. The attack faltered but
did not break and the gun crews wheeled
the little cannon back on the double,
three into the protection of Dazs
square, two into the next, three into the
next and two into the last, just ahead of
the Indian front rank, which threw itself
against the Spanish pikes with suicidal
fury.
Gods! Daz thought, sweeping aside a
spear thrust and hacking his broadsword
into a screaming, painted face. Are these
men or devils? And suddenly his square
was engulfed all the squares were
engulfed by countless thousands of the
enemy. The fighting was so intense, so
furious, so close that Daz forgot the
crippling pain of his leg, forgot the fever
and nausea that shook him, and fought
like a madman for his life, aware as he
parried and thrust that the crews of the
three falconets inside his square were
feverishly reloading.
Musketeers! he yelled. A volley! A
volley now!
Corts was finding it difficult to stay
calm. For the past quarter-hour he and
his riders had been hearing cannon fire,
yet they still remained stuck on the track
that ran east and then south out of
Potonchan, curving through forest and
dense bush for two miles before
reaching open fields. There had been no
musket fire, which meant the Mayan and
Spanish front ranks were not yet
engaged, but he knew the clash could not
be delayed much longer. He cursed
under his breath as, for the seventh or
eighth time since leaving the town, the
whole troop was forced to dismount in
order to clear trees that had been felled
across their path.
This was a bad development.
Alvarado and Davila had both made use
of the track yesterday, and Alvarado
again this morning, and they had
reported it narrow but free of obstacles
and passable by horses riding in single
file. It followed that the enemy Corts
could not guess how many had
penetrated the forest within the past few
hours. Might there be enough of them to
stage an ambush? The dismounted riders
were vulnerable. Or might they be
planning a flanking attack on the town?
Both possibilities loomed large in
Cortss imagination; however, the
greater worry was the time it was taking
to get his cavalry into the field far, far
longer than anyone had anticipated!
Once battle was joined in earnest in
front of the town, the foot soldiers could
not hold out indefinitely against the
overwhelming numbers of the Maya.
Cannon might delay the inevitable but
only a decisive charge of heavy horse
could swing the balance and demoralise
the enemy completely enough to give
victory to the hard-pressed Spaniards.
Sandoval and Escalante wrestled
aside the last of the felled trunks and the
troop mounted up again.
I dont like this, said Puertocarrero,
glancing nervously into the dark mass of
trees pressing close to the track. Forest
is no place for cavalry.
Who cares whether you like it or
not? growled Alvarado, touching his
heel to Bucephaluss flank and causing
the white stallion to surge forward into
the rump of Puertocarreros silver-grey
mare.
Silence, gentlemen, please, said
Corts. In the distance they all heard the
bark of muskets.
Where was the cavalry? This was the
question at the forefront of Dazs mind.
Despite the carnage wrought by the
cannon, the gigantic, howling torrent of
Mayan warriors had engulfed all four of
the squares, flowing round them as a
river in spate flows round islands in its
midst, hammering at the Spaniards on
every side. He smelt them rank, fetid,
like dead meat; saw their furious eyes,
their bared teeth, filed to sharp points,
their brown skin glistening with sweat,
their lean, painted bodies, the barbaric
splendour of their plumes and standards,
the flash and gleam of their primitive
stone weapons here an axe, here a
dagger, here a spear lunging and
battering at his men, breaking against
armour, deflected by good Spanish
shields. He was sorely tempted to
unleash the twenty-five war hounds held
barking and straining at the centre of his
square, but the signal Ordaz had
arranged, three blasts on the bugle, had
not been sounded, and there was more
work yet for gun and sword.
Responding to his command, his
twelve musketeers had pushed their way
forward, three on the north, three on the
south, three on the east, and three on the
west side of the square, and now fired a
volley in unison, tearing holes in the
press of the enemy, creating points of
weakness and confusion into which his
swordsmen charged, hacking and
slashing wildly. The madness of battle
was on him, the agony of his leg wound
dulled, and Daz found that he too had
surged out of the protection of the square
to attack the disrupted enemy ranks,
shield in his left hand, sword in his right,
a lunge to a mans throat, a slash across
a bare abdomen, smash his shield into
anothers face, hack down with his blade
to take off a leg at the knee
Then suddenly he was cut off, alone,
surrounded by a wheeling knot of the
foe, and he felt a spear thud and shatter
against his cuirass. In the next instant a
flint knife somehow found a way through
his pauldron and embedded itself in his
left armpit with a shock of intense,
burning pain, and some great club
smashed against his helmet, knocking
him sick and dizzy to the ground, stars
flashing before his eyes.
What was this? What was this? Dirty
bare feet, hairless brown legs, a mans
crotch bound in a breechclout, strong
hands gripping his upper arms, dragging
him away, excited voices jabbering in
the barbarous tongue of the Maya.
The realisation dawned on Daz that
he was being taken. Dear God! Theyll
sacrifice me! Theyll cut out my heart!
But just then he heard a great roar of
Santiago and at them!, saw an Indians
head go thumping and rolling, the stump
of a neck gushing blood, long black hair
cartwheeling, saw a hand sliced off, an
arm amputated at the shoulder, saw
another painted warrior hacked clean in
half as Mibiercas, like the angel of
death, did terrible butchery with his
longsword, yelling furious insults with
every massive blow, clearing a wide
space into which La Serna and three
others charged and bore Daz aloft and
carried him back into the square.
There was no let-up, the press of the
enemy resumed at once, but then
someone shouted Now! and Daz
sensed rather than saw the three
falconets trundled forward to the edges
of the square, heard the roar of their
percussion and the whistle of grapeshot
and the terrible screams as their tempest
of fire was unleashed.
At point-blank range, the effect of the
shrapnel storm was calamitous for the
Maya. Huge gaps a dozen men wide
opened up in their ranks into which,
once again, poured the flying squads of
Spanish swordsmen, Mibiercas to the
fore. They hacked mercilessly at their
dazed foes until they began to form up
again and then withdrew to the
protection of the squares.
Ignoring the thudding pain in his leg,
ignoring the hot blood dripping from
under his left arm, Daz was on his feet
near the middle of the square where his
friends had set him down, using his
height to get a sense of the ebb and flow
of the battle. He saw that wherever the
Maya kept their discipline and dashed in
good order against the outer ranks of the
Spanish formations, they were met by
solid walls of shields over the top of
which long spears and pikes were thrust
into their faces from the ranks behind,
while the men directly confronting them
gutted and hamstrung them with sword
blades. Meanwhile the musketeers and
crossbowmen, firing sequentially in
groups of six, kept up almost continuous
withering volleys that tore yet more
holes in the Mayan ranks, which were
again exploited by groups of swordsmen
until the falconets were once more ready
to fire, restarting the whole cycle of
death and destruction.
Daz felt proud of his comrades, so
proud that tears leapt to his eyes and his
breath caught in his throat. They were
men of the finest mettle, men who
refused to break, no matter what
fearsome odds they faced, men who
would not give way, men who did not
know the meaning of defeat.
Yet even men such as they could not
possibly survive this terrible onslaught.
Had they killed a thousand of the enemy
with their cannon and muskets and
swordplay? Two thousand? It did not
matter. They could kill three thousand or
even five thousand and the odds would
still be close to a hundred to one and the
final outcome certain.
Unless the will of the foe broke and
only the cavalry, Daz was sure, had the
power to bring that about.
Mesa was ready to fire the lombards
again and Pepillo put his fingers back in
his ears. He could see the shots were
becoming more difficult for the
artilleryman now the enemy swirled so
close to the Spaniards. Still, they were
legion, stretching back in a disordered
mass at least five hundred feet south of
the squares.
The two huge guns bellowed flame
and smoke, sending the lethal seventy-
pound balls whistling low to crash down
amidst the Mayan ranks just a hundred
feet south of the Spanish formations.
My goodness, thought Pepillo, that
was a close thing! But again the cannon
balls and the massive roar of the big
guns had a stunning effect on the enemy,
causing even those locked in direct
combat with the squares to pause and
look up.
Some were pointing at him! Then his
eye was caught by a horde of warriors, a
thousand strong, leaving the centre of the
battle and pouring north across the
intervening mile directly towards the
town.
Directly towards the pyramid.
Captain Mesa! he yelled. There!
Look there!
Seeing the threat, the artilleryman
scrambled to crank down the elevation
of the barrels as the gun crews
frantically reloaded.
Malinal watched spellbound as the
battle unfolded. If they were not gods,
she thought, these Spaniards were
certainly proving themselves to be brave
men with exceptional, indeed almost
superhuman, fighting skills. Against all
logic and reason, their squares would
not break before the overwhelming
numbers of the Maya, and somehow
continued to hold out against them in the
midst of the ferocious scrum of hand-to-
hand combat.
Look, Ah Kinchil suddenly gibbered
to Cuetzpalli. Look! Despite his great
age the paramount chief of the Chontal
Maya was far-sighted and was now
dancing up and down with joy and
pointing towards Potonchan. My
warriors go to recapture the pyramid of
King Ahau Chamahez from the invaders!
The white men there will die! Their
terrible weapons will be thrown down!
Stupid old fool! thought Malinal.
What do you know?
Weirdly she found her loyalty to the
Maya had become so detached she
actually wanted the Spaniards to win!
Well, why not? What had her own
people even her own mother! ever
done for her? They had sent her into
slavery and humiliation and danger and
when she had returned they had slaved
her again! They deserved the punishment
the white men were inflicting on them.
They deserved to lose this battle!
Except it still did not seem possible
that the huge Mayan army could lose,
even in the state of chaos the white
mens guns were reducing it to, because
Ah Kinchil was right. At least a
thousand warriors had formed up into a
block and were pouring across the open
fields north of the battleground and
making for the town. It wouldnt take
them long to reach the pyramid and the
white men on its summit.
In minutes they covered half the
distance. Malinal watched anxiously
with her knuckles pressed to her mouth,
daring to hope that more Spaniards might
usher forth from the town to intercept
them; but none appeared and Mulucs
triumphant words echoed in her head
they have no reserves! It seemed that
nothing could stop the attack on the
pyramid when the guns on its summit
billowed smoke again, and she almost
cheered as glittering death crashed down
amongst the charging warriors, pounding
them, crushing them, annihilating them,
scattering the survivors like chaff.
Yet, even as she admired the
Spaniards, she could not suppress the
pride she felt in her own peoples
courage when she saw that some of the
shattered column still ran on towards the
pyramid, while others picked themselves
up from the ground and followed.
Good shooting, Captain Mesa! yelled
Pepillo. Though it had been worth the
attempt, hed doubted the artilleryman
could hit the fast-moving Mayan column
with even one of the huge cannon, but in
the event both had been perfectly on the
mark, causing bloody mayhem.
Even so, hundreds of enemy warriors
were still coming on and were now so
close less than quarter of a mile away
that the lombards couldnt be
depressed far enough to target them.
Mesa had placed four of his eight
falconets around the base of the pyramid,
deploying the other four to the southern
outskirts of Potonchan, overlooking the
battlefield. It was unlikely theyd be
enough to stop what was left of this
attack completely, but the Maya must be
demoralised by the colossal losses
theyd already suffered, and anything
was possible. The guns were hidden
from Pepillos view by the buildings at
the edge of town, but now he heard their
choking roar and saw the onrush of the
enemy falter as the four one-pound balls
smashed into them.
Dozens of men went down but not
enough, not nearly enough. Reload!
Pepillo found himself shouting. Reload
with grapeshot! But just then Melchior
came charging by, grabbed Mesa by the
elbow and pointed east.
Just minutes away, their war cries
already audible as they approached
along the eastwest avenue running
through the centre of Potonchan, was
another band of Indians, at least two
hundred of them, armed with spears and
clubs and obsidian-edged longswords.
Mesa bellowed a warning to the
falconet crews around the base of the
pyramid, called to arms the squad of
forty injured men waiting in the shade of
the little temple on the summit platform
and led the way down the eastern stair.
Somewhere Melchior had found two
round wooden bucklers and two eight-
foot spears and thrust one of each at
Pepillo. Know how to use these? he
asked.
Pepillo shook his head dumbly.
Well youd better learn fast, said his
friend.

At last, after throwing aside three more
hurdles, Corts led his cavalry out into
the open fields. Though they had several
times caught glimpses of painted
warriors moving amongst the trees, no
attack had materialised perhaps
because the steel-clad horses and riders
appeared so alien and menacing to the
Indians. What was certain, however,
was that Potonchan was entirely
unprotected at its east side and that the
force mobilising in the forest must be
there to attack the town. For the
hundredth time, Corts found himself
wishing he had left Mesa with more than
forty men every one of them injured!
to defend the lombards. But the
Spaniards were stretched so thin hed
been unable to spare a larger number
and now the only hope for all of them
was a stunning coup by the cavalry.
Corts saw the battle raging just two
miles to the northwest, where the
Spaniards were perilously hemmed in on
every side, but the fields here at the edge
of the forest were broken and
treacherous, cut through by irrigation
ditches that the horses couldnt leap
without risk of serious injury. Any
charge attempted across such terrain was
doomed to failure. Cursing inwardly, he
ordered the troop to ride another mile
due west to the foot of a ridge of low
hills where the track intersected the main
highway running into Potonchan from the
south.
From there, finally, they would be
able to bear down unimpeded on the
enemy masses where they swarmed, and
now threatened to overrun, the four
beleaguered Spanish squares.
Malinal had watched the thousand
Mayan warriors charging across the
fields to Potonchan reduced to
hundreds when the big guns fired down
on them from the pyramid. Moments
later they were struck again as plumes of
smoke revealed four smaller guns
positioned at the southern edge of town.
Finally they were struck a third time in
some devastating way that felled almost
all the survivors, leaving barely a
hundred to press home the attack as she
lost sight of them amidst the streets and
houses.
She heard an urgent sound, like the
rapid beat of some great drum, and a
gasp from one of Cuetzpallis Cuahchics
who babbled in Nahuatl the words men
of silver as another said, deer-men!
She turned towards where they were
looking, a little to the east on the plains
below the hill, and her eyes fell on
something extraordinary, something
unbelievable, something enchanted with
the most powerful magic, something
truly belonging to the world of the gods.
This something, which she could barely
comprehend, took the form of fifteen or
twenty giant figures in a tight group
racing at supernatural speed towards the
Xaman Hills, and the figures moved on
four legs, with an appearance somewhat
like white-tailed deer, except their
bodies were three times the height of the
largest stags of that race, and rising up
from the midst of their backs though
whether seated upright upon them or
actually one creature with them it was
hard to be certain were gigantic human
forms. Both the human and animal parts
of these beings, which must be the
horses Cit Bolon Tun had spoken of,
were covered from head to foot in some
metal that shone brighter than burnished
silver, and they held in their human
hands long lances with tips of the same
shining stuff.
Ah Kinchil had been growing steadily
more deranged all afternoon, but now he
uttered a high-pitched scream and threw
himself to the ground, covering his head
with his arms while his skinny legs
kicked and thrashed. The Cuahchics,
who usually knew what to do in any
situation, seemed bewildered and
confounded in ways wholly out of
keeping with their status as ferocious
warriors. The artist had stopped painting
and stood gazing, not exactly in fear,
more in awe and in puzzlement, at the
onrush of the strange group of beings.
Cuetzpalli was stumbling back into the
shelter of the trees, apparently trying to
get out of sight as quickly as possible,
his handsome face filled with horror,
and the slippery, evasive quality of his
gaze transformed into frank, unabashed
terror. Taking their cue from him, Ah
Kinchils guards lifted the paramount
chief bodily and ducked into the
undergrowth with him, followed by his
retainers and Mulucs steward Ichick.
The guards at the foot of the hill had fled
and it seemed there was nothing to stop
the metal beings charging right up the
steep slope and destroying everyone.
Malinal stayed in the open, refusing to
hide. Come to me! she shouted. Come
to me! I am here because of you! And it
seemed to her for a moment that the
leader of the beings had heard her
words, for he turned his metal head
towards her and she saw his white,
bearded face the face of Quetzalcoatl!
and his eyes fixed on her and filled her
body with fire, and rooted her to the
spot.
But then in a roll of thunder and a
storm of dust he was past, they were all
past, and they turned onto the sacbe and
charged north along it towards
Potonchan, their lances levelled before
them.

Aim for their faces! Corts yelled.
Spit them but dont waste time spearing
fallen men. Just charge them and keep on
charging them, put the fear of God into
them, break up their formations, scatter
them and ride them down!
He glanced at the smooth white
surface of the road flying by beneath
Molineros hooves, saw his brave
cavaliers flung out in a fighting wedge
behind him, every one of them burning
for battle, urging their mounts onward at
a tremendous pace. They had covered
the ground in a matter of minutes and the
huge mass of the foe sprawled just five
hundred feet ahead, already in a state of
turmoil, boiling with confusion at the
havoc wreaked by the lombards. These
now belched fire for the last time from
the top of the pyramid and sent a pair of
seventy-pound balls into the midst of the
enemy, bouncing and crashing, mowing
men down like ripe wheat before the
thresher, even as the falconets sewed
death in their front line from the shelter
of the squares.
The Maya were so preoccupied with
the fight ahead, which they were close to
winning by sheer numbers despite their
terror of the cannon, that none of them
even seemed to have noticed the doom
that was bearing down on them from
behind. Santiago and at them! Corts
bellowed as Molinero thundered across
the rapidly closing gap, and then, with a
fearsome crash, the wedge ploughed
deep into the already chaotic enemy rear.
He felt the jolt as his lance took a turning
man in the side of his face, and was
filled with brutal joy at the terrified
howls and screams that rose up all
around him and at the shockwave that
passed through the milling throng ahead.
He jerked the lance free, speared
another man, and spurred Molinero
onward, the great destriers iron-clad
hooves trampling the fallen, Alvarado
riding Bucephalus roughshod over the
huddled foe to his left, Escalante to his
right, and there was Puertocarrero, and
there Lares, there Olid and there Morla
on his dappled grey, there was Montejo
and there young Sandoval, a spearhead
of armoured men sweeping out a great
swathe in the very heart of the Mayan
army, painted warriors fleeing away
from them in all directions in panic-
stricken mobs. Again Cortss lance
struck; again he pulled it free as he
smashed his heavy iron stirrup into an
enemys face and impaled another so
hard through the chest that the lance
protruded a yard from the mans back
and for a moment he thought he might not
retrieve it
Alvarado saw Corts struggling to
withdraw his lance. He had already lost
his own, buried in a savages head
somewhere in the fray, but he didnt
care. As they were arming in the
orchard, hed once again set aside his
Nuez rapier, not at all a suitable
cavalry sword, and brought along the
falchion instead. Good choice! he
thought, good choice! for what a
weapon the long heavy cutlass was
proving to be in this pounding, trampling
charge through the dense mass of a
hopelessly undisciplined foe. Most were
utterly demoralised and fleeing in every
direction, but some, he was pleased to
discover, pressed round him and still
had the guts for a fight. He slashed left,
opening a screaming warriors face in a
great bloody gash from cheekbone to
jaw, slashed right, taking a mans head
half off his shoulders, felt some pitiful
stone blade shatter against his armoured
thigh, hacked down the enemy who had
wielded it and laughed out loud in sheer,
mad, murderous joy as he urged
Bucephalus forward
Gonzalo de Sandoval saw the
excitement, the sheer pleasure on
Alvarados face and knew that he did not
and never would love killing in that
extraordinary, murderous, almost insane
way. Although he had killed no men at
all until a few weeks ago, Sandoval
found himself surprisingly calm and
collected as he killed again now, not
because he wanted to, not because there
was any satisfaction or relish in it, but
simply because it was the job at hand,
the job he was born to do and, now that
the caudillo had given him his chance, it
was a job he was determined to do well.
He thrust forward, impaling a man
through the throat, snatched the lance
free in a single fluid movement and
wheeled the chestnut mare to strike
another warrior, plunging the tip of the
weapon vertically down through the soft,
vulnerable flesh between his neck and
collarbone and into his heart.
Sandoval had practised such
manoeuvres a hundred times in training
exercises, when his Hidalgo family still
had some remnants of wealth and power,
and was amazed at the way everything
was coming back to him now. The extra
height that one gained on the back of a
great destrier accorded the rider
exceptional advantages over the foot
soldier and especially over foot
soldiers such as these Indians who had
never before faced mounted men, who
indeed had never even seen horses
before and were for the most part in a
blind, superstitious funk.
Not all of them though! Twenty paces
away, two wild, half-naked savages,
who seemed to have identified Corts as
the leader, were swarming him in the
midst of a dense pack of the enemy; one
had leapt up behind him and was sawing
at his throat with a flint dagger but
getting nowhere because of the steel
gorget he wore while the other clung
to his left arm and sought to pull him
down. Sandoval spurred his horse to a
gallop, scattering groups of the enemy
left and right, levelled his lance and
killed the warrior on the ground with a
massive thrust which swept him away,
while Corts, his left arm now free,
reached inside his boot, pulled out a
dagger and used it to stab the man on his
back through the eye, drawing a gush of
blood.
Well done, Sandoval! Corts
shouted. As he stood in his stirrups to
throw down the dying man, whose blood
poured in gouts over the shoulders of his
armour, his elevated view showed him
all four of the Spanish squares, the
nearest only a hundred paces away, still
beset on all sides, and all but
overwhelmed, by great mobs of Indians.
But now a bugle sounded and, out of the
squares, held back until this critical
moment, baying and snarling like so
many demons released from hell, raced
the four packs of dogs. The steel armour
of the hundred furious, ravening animals
glittered, and their great mouths, filled
with jagged teeth, gaped wide, spraying
saliva, as they fell baying and snarling,
maddened with bloodlust, upon the press
of the dismayed foe. Throats were
snatched out in an instant, bowels
worried from naked bellies, thighs and
groins seized and ripped open, heads
clamped and crushed.
His lance levelled, Corts charged on
towards the squares, vaguely aware of
the other horsemen around him, smashing
down and trampling groups of Indians in
desperate flight away from the dogs
Indians who, indeed, no longer
constituted a proper fighting force
anywhere across the battlefield.
Quite suddenly, as though
communicated by some mysterious
telepathy, their spirit had broken, and
what had begun as a fight, and come very
close to total victory for the Maya, was
ending as a rout.
Ah Kinchil, Cuetzpalli, Ichick and the
guards and retainers emerged from their
hiding places in the trees soon after the
men of silver had thundered past.
Thereafter, Ah Kinchil sat slumped,
spittle drooling from his mouth,
seemingly aware of nothing, but
Cuetzpalli very soon regained his
composure and watched the final stages
of the battle keenly, giving a running
commentary to his scribe and his artist
who industriously set down everything
that happened.
When it was clear, against all the
odds, that the Spaniards had won the day
and the immense Mayan army was in full
flight across the battlefield, pursued,
charged and speared at will by the
terrifying silver beings, Cuetzpalli stood
up, brushed grass and a few leaves from
his rich tunic, and snapped his fingers
for his litter to be brought. Give the
paramount chief my regrets, he said to
Malinal with a gesture to Ah Kinchil,
and tell him I could not stay. Pressing
business calls me back to Tenochtitlan.
A sly smile: Tell him I much
appreciated the afternoons
entertainment. It has been how can I
put this? most instructive. I am sure the
Great Speaker of the Mexica will be
eager to hear of these events.
As the merchant turned to go, Mulucs
steward Ichick thrust himself forward,
dragging Malinal by the wrist. But lord,
do you not want to buy this woman? You
had an agreement with my master to take
her off his hands.
Your master, said Cuetzpalli coldly,
led forty thousand men into battle
against four hundred and lost. Quite
an incredible achievement, wouldnt you
say? He has dishonoured the name of the
Chontal Maya and, if he lives, which I
rather doubt, he should kill himself.
Entirely his choice, of course, but either
way my agreement with him is void.
With that he stepped into the litter and
was carried off down the hill in the
direction of Cintla, his Cuahchics
jogging protectively along beside him.
Ah Kinchil remained in a stupefied
state, but his retainers wasted no time
bundling him into his litter too. On
Ichicks orders Malinals hands were
tied, a noose was placed around her
neck and two soldiers were detailed to
guard her. Then, in great haste, the whole
column wound its way off the hilltop,
also heading south to Cintla.
There was no time to lose, for below
on the plains the defeated Maya were
likewise fleeing south in their thousands.
Casting a last glance back, Malinal saw
the men of silver abruptly break off the
chase and turn away, thundering towards
Potonchan. Come for me, she
whispered as she lost sight of their
leader in the dust cloud of their charge.
Come for me.
So vengeful were his cavalrymen, so
furious in the wild hunt, that Corts had
great difficulty persuading them to break
it off. But the battle was won and he
feared for the men in Potonchan. There
had been firing from the falconet battery
hed left with Mesa, but the guns had
fallen silent and now, ominously, he saw
Indians swarming up the flanks of the
pyramid.
The squat figure of Ordaz was before
him, sword mired to the hilt with blood,
a look of triumph on his face as he
surveyed the rout of the enemy. Corts
reined in beside him, pointed with his
lance to the pyramid. Its not over yet,
he yelled. Bring two hundred men.
Bring them fast! As he spurred forward
again he saw Vendabal and swerved by
him. Dogs! he shouted. I need dogs
now. Tear them loose from the foe and
bring them to the aid of our comrades.
Vendabal followed his gaze to the
pyramid, his eyes widened, and he
bellowed for his assistants.
Corts urged Molinero to a full
gallop, furious to see Alvarado and
some of the other cavaliers hanging
back, so keen to punish the thousands
fleeing the battlefield that they were
oblivious to the danger in the town. But
Escalante, Puertocarrero and Morla on
his left, Sandoval, Velzquez de Len
and Dominguez on his right, had seen
what he saw, and others were wheeling
away to join the charge.
Santiago and at them! Corts yelled,
thrusting his lance forward. Santiago
and at them!
Darting here and there behind the line,
Pepillo saw everything and could do
nothing. He saw a black-and-white
painted warrior, his face twisted with
hate, exploit a gap in the thicket of spear
points, bound up the last three steps and
break his stone dagger against a bearded
soldiers mailed hauberk, while to his
right another of the foe also found his
way through, somehow grabbing the
ankles of a defender and tugging wildly
to unbalance him. Both attackers were
dead within seconds, the first with a
dagger thrust to his heart and a shove
that sent him rolling and tumbling down
the side of the pyramid; the second with
a thudding blow from a war hammer that
split his skull and spilled his brains.
Following Melchiors example,
Pepillo held the heavy buckler above his
head to ward off the missiles arrows,
fire-hardened darts, slingstones that
showered down constantly on the summit
platform as he dashed to and fro, his
heart drumming, ready to spear any man
who broke through the line.
It had all happened suddenly. One
minute he and Melchior had been
spectators only, safe on top of the
pyramid watching the lombards rain
death on the enemy, the next minute
Melchior had spotted two hundred
Indians approaching the square from the
east and Mesa and his troops had
charged down to stop them. But no
sooner had they placed the falconets to
enfilade the attackers than the crews of
the other battery, positioned on the south
side of town, had appeared in the
square, hotly pursued by a further
hundred of the foe, the remnant of the
large column that had approached from
the south and been torn apart though
unfortunately not completely destroyed
by the lombards. This changed
everything and Mesa was only able to
get off one salvo of grapeshot towards
the east before abandoning the little
cannon, wheeling his men to the defence
of the fleeing gunners and fighting a
desperate retreat up the pyramid steps
against the combined force of the two
Indian bands.
In addition to himself and the Taino
slaves, whod been herded into the
temple and would not take part in the
defence, Pepillo counted sixty-four
defenders now ringing the summit
platform forty injured soldiers, sixteen
gun crew from the falconet batteries, six
further gunners who had fired the now
silent lombards, the artilleryman Mesa,
and Melchior.
Despite the many injuries theyd
already suffered in this mornings
battles, they held the high ground and
were better armed and equipped than the
far more numerous Indians attempting to
storm the summit platform. Morale was
high, too, because even as they fought
with all their strength to prevent the
summit from being overwhelmed, and
thus save their own lives, all the
defenders had seen the huge Maya army
out on the plain break and fall apart as
Corts and his cavalryman entered the
field and the war dogs were unleashed
from the squares. Then a great cheer
went up and someone shouted: The
caudillos seen us! Hes coming. And
another man said: God be praised, I
knew Corts wouldnt leave us in the
lurch.
Five minutes more, Mesa bellowed
as he lunged his twelve-foot spear into
the face of another attacker. Five
minutes more and the cavalry will be in
the square and then well have these
devils on the run.
Pepillo watched the infantryman next
to Mesa on the south side of the platform
swing a great double-headed axe,
sending two more of the Indians hurtling
and screaming down the steep steps to
the ground far below. I do believe, said
Melchior, that we may live through this
after all. But just then, perhaps because
they too had seen what had happened on
the plain, the Indians redoubled their
assault, huge numbers of them pressing
up the steps at once, and the defenders
on the west side suddenly buckled and
gave way; an infantryman with a
bandaged leg was pulled down and a
crazed savage burst through, stabbed
another man in the neck with his flint
knife and opened a gap for more
attackers to follow. In an instant a knot
of half a dozen Maya fighters gained the
summit, screaming ferocious battle cries,
laying about themselves mightily with
clubs and obsidian-edged blades.
Melchior didnt hesitate but ran at
them with his spear and thrust it under
the ribs of the warrior whod first
broken the line. He hit him with such
force that the man was thrown back over
the lip of the summit and tumbled out of
sight, taking the spear with him, even as
another lean Indian, smeared with blood
and paint, forced his way forward.
Melchior drew his knife and two more
attackers closed with him, stone blades
flashing. For an instant longer Pepillo
stood frozen with his back against the
wall of the little temple at the centre of
the platform, his hands shaking; then the
spell was broken and he dashed
forward, thrust his own eight-foot spear
at the mob of invaders and felt the
impact as its tip hit bone and it was
snatched from his grasp. Where was
Melchior? For a moment, in the
screaming, bellowing scrum, amidst the
press of bodies, he couldnt locate him,
but then he saw he was down, grinding
his rusty old dagger between the ribs of
a long-haired warrior who straddled and
stabbed at him repeatedly with a flint
blade. Pepillo sensed a rush of feet and
heard the roar of Mesas voice as men
from the south side, where the line still
held, charged in to throw the invaders
back, but his only thought was for
Melchior. As he hurtled across the
intervening space at his friends attacker,
Cortss knife gripped in his fist,
something huge and heavy smashed with
dreadful force into the side of his head
and he tumbled instantly into darkness.
When Pepillo awoke, blinking, with the
taste of blood in his mouth and the
sounds of screams flooding back into his
ears, he didnt know how much time had
passed, or even, for the first few
moments, where he was. He sat up
groggily to see a massive wolfhound
feasting on a dead Indian whose throat it
had torn out. Other dogs were here, and
more fallen Indians most dead, some
wounded; they were the ones doing the
screaming. He recognised Sandoval, in
armour, a bloodied broadsword gripped
in his hand, talking quietly to Mesa. And
there was Corts, his armoured back and
shoulders drenched in gore, crouched
over a sprawled, still form.
Melchior!
Dread seized Pepillo as he crawled
and clambered over bodies, shoved a
snarling mastiff out of his way and
dragged himself to his friends side.
Melchiors eyes turned towards him.
Pepillo! he whispered. You did well. I
saw you spear that Indian
I tried to get to you, Pepillo sobbed.
Something hit me in the head, knocked
me out. But thank God, youre alive.
Melchior reached out his hand, rested
it on Pepillos arm and held him in a
fierce grip. Silly mammet! he said. Of
course Im alive. Who else is going to
teach you to ride?
Chapter Sixty
Thursday 25 March 1519 to
Sunday 18 April 1519
In the aftermath of the battle, though he
had won an astounding victory against
overwhelming odds, though he had
destroyed the Indians of Potonchan
utterly, as Saint Peter had required him
to do, Corts was seized by an immense
weariness and a fall in his spirits. It was
almost, he thought, like the feeling one
has after sex, when one has anticipated
the joys of a womans body, seduced her
at great length, got her between the
sheets and finally spent ones seed in her
only to discover, when all is said and
done, that the act was a little less
pleasurable than one had imagined it
might be.
A sense, somehow, of anticlimax
rather than culmination.
A sense of melancholy and a vague,
restless, gnawing hunger for something
more
Something better.
In this mood, leaving Alvarado in
charge of the mopping-up operation, not
pausing even to wash or take supper,
Corts threw himself down on his bed
soon after nightfall in the former palace
of the chief of Potonchan, now
commandeered as his own headquarters,
and fell immediately into a deep sleep.
Deep, but not dreamless.
For it seemed very little time passed
no time at all before the beloved figure
of a tall strong man of middle years,
very handsome and commanding, with
golden hair and dazzling bright skin,
appeared to him and drew his soul out of
his body and lifted him, high, high, into
the evening sky under the flickering stars
and carried him off over the field of
battle where countless thousands of the
enemy lay dead. The Lord God smiles
upon you, Saint Peter said. He
celebrates your victory. We all do.
You all do? Corts asked.
We the saints, and the congregation of
angels. The Lord is pleased with you,
Corts. I am pleased with you. We are
all pleased with you.
And it was true. The keeper of the
keys of Heaven, the very rock upon
whom Christ built his church, beamed
with joy as they descended to the
battlefield and walked together, their
feet bathed in blood, amongst the heaped
and mutilated dead. Look, Corts, Saint
Peter chortled, look what you have
done for your God. Look there, and
there, and there. And he showed him the
bodies, some ripped apart by the fangs
of the war dogs, others trampled by the
horses, some hacked and stabbed to
death by the swords and pikes and
spears of the Spaniards, others with their
heads blown off, many torn limb from
limb or burst apart into unrecognisable
fragments of flesh and bone, where
storms of grapeshot and musket rounds
had struck them or where the heavy
cannonballs fired by the lombards had
bounced lethally through their ranks,
striking them down in swathes. You
have won, said the holy saint, a great
and terrible victory over the heathen;
you have laid my vengeance upon them
as I asked, and now your reward
beckons.
An image took shape in Cortss mind
of the city in the lake surrounded by
mountains that Saint Peter had shown
him weeks before, the jewelled and
shining city built upon the water with an
immense pyramid of pure gold towering
at its heart.
Yes, said the saint, smiling
encouragingly, thats the one. Thats
your prize. Shall we go and take another
look?
Yes, Holy Father, you have read the
secret yearnings of my heart.
You have no secrets from me, for I
know all your yearnings, all your hopes,
all your dreams, and in the fullness of
time I will satisfy every one of them. So
saying, the saint swept Corts up into the
sky again and showed him the way, a
hundred miles and another hundred, and
yet another hundred, and a hundred miles
more across jungles, across rivers,
across snow-capped mountains, between
two immense volcanoes and down into
the distant, verdant valley beyond and
the gleaming lake that lay at its centre
and the shining city that stood in the
midst of the lake, and the massy pyramid
looming at the very heart of the city.
But what was this?
The pyramid is no longer of gold,
Holy Father, Corts protested, as you
showed me before.
Oh, said Saint Peter, is it not?
Well, see for yourself, said Corts,
hearing the disappointment in his voice
as he pointed to the hulking structure
beneath them. Though splendidly made,
and monstrous huge, it was of common
stone with its four levels painted
respectively green, red, turquoise and
yellow.
Ah, said the saint. You are quite
correct.
Then what, Corts wanted to ask, do
you propose to do about it? Part of his
plan for keeping the demands and
insurrections of the Velazquistas in
check had involved the golden pyramid.
To be able to offer them a share of such
a bounty, at the right moment, would
have quieted all dissent. But a pyramid
of stone? What use was that to him or
them?
There is gold here aplenty, said
Saint Peter, as ever reading his thoughts.
Gold in the treasure houses of the
emperor, gold in the temples, gold
around the necks of the nobles, gold in
the emporia of the merchants more than
enough to satisfy the greed of your
opponents, more gold than you can
possibly imagine and all of it I will
make yours.
An emperor rules here? Corts
asked.
A great and wealthy emperor, whom I
give you leave to plunder for the glory of
the Lord, whose temples you must bring
low, whose idols you must destroy,
whose pyramid you must take apart
block by block.
But why, Corts asked, did you
show me the pyramid of gold when in
truth it is made of painted stone?
The saints smile was somehow
fearsome, and his black eyes glittered.
Therein lies a great mystery, he said,
and it will be your fate to discover its
meaning.
There came a clap of thunder, the
heavens split, darkness descended upon
the scene like an inkblot and Corts
awoke in his commandeered bed in the
midst of the night and for a long moment
he had no idea where he was.
Tozis second visit to Guatemoc in his
bedchamber at Chapultepec began much
as the first. Entering the darkened room
after midnight she emerged into form and
offered him healing.
He seemed childlike in his trust. She
said turn here, and he turned; she said
face there, and he obeyed, all the while
groaning with relief as her fingers gently
caressed and probed his wounds.
It was not until close to dawn that the
encounter became scary and
unpredictable. Tozi thought him asleep
and was about to leave him to his rest
when suddenly he reached out to her and
drew her close. Is it permissible, he
asked in that soft, aristocratic drawl of
his, for a mortal man to kiss a
goddess?
She was flustered, afraid, her whole
body was trembling, sweat broke out on
her brow. It was all she could do not to
render herself invisible at once and fade
away like smoke between his hands.
No, Prince! she exclaimed. Such a
thing is impossible. You would be turned
to stone!
I think I would be willing to endure
that fate, he said, and remain eternally
a statue, in return for one taste of your
sweet lips.
He was, Tozi had to admit, very
persuasive. She felt the heat of his body,
felt herself blush. Thankfully it was still
too dark for him to see. But he mused:
What is this? Even a goddess
trembles?
I tremble that you do not die for this
sacrilege! Release me at once, Prince, or
never see me again!
Guatemoc nodded. So slim, he
whispered, so warm His forehead
rested against hers before he let her go.
So moist So very human
Feeling his hands unclasp from her
waist, Tozi stepped back sharply from
the bed and faded into invisibility.
And yet not human, she heard the
prince add as she disappeared, for
surely no human has such powers.
Who else is going to teach you to ride?
Those words, so full of hope and
promise, were the last Melchior spoke.
Moments later he slipped into
unconsciousness, his fierce grip
slackening, and did not wake again.
Pepillo sat vigil with him through the
night in the makeshift field hospital that
Dr La Pea had set up for the injured,
but as dawn was breaking his friend
drew a final laboured breath and died.
Hes gone to a better place, lad, said
Bernal Daz, who lay on the next mat, his
right thigh swollen and septic where an
arrow had struck him two days before,
the left side of his chest bandaged and
seeping blood where a knife thrust in
yesterdays fighting had got past his
armour.
Whats so good about being dead?
Pepillo shouted angrily. Nothings
better than being alive! Then he
remembered that if it hadnt been for
Daz he and Melchior would both have
been dead, killed by Muoz, weeks
before. Im sorry, he sniffled. I didnt
mean to shout.
And Im sorry youve lost your
friend, said Daz. He was a good lad
and a brave one. He didnt deserve this.
He was teaching me to ride, Pepillo
said. Suddenly, the emotions he had held
in check all night, trying to be strong,
trying to be a man, overwhelmed him,
and he found himself doubled over,
sobbing disconsolately, snot running out
of his nose. He put me on Molineros
back. Yesterday! Just yesterday, Don
Bernal. And we rode, and we felt so fine
and Melchior was so happy. Even after
what Muoz did to him the bad
memories, the horror, the pain hed
overcome all that. I know hed
overcome it, and he was smiling again.
And he loved his horses, Don Bernal.
He loved his horses. He told me how
hed been a slave and how riding like
the wind was the true meaning of
freedom for him. And now hes dead.
Just dead! Its not right! Its not fair!
What kind of God would allow a good
person like Melchior to die in such a
way?
The same kind of God that let an evil
person like Muoz live for so many
years, said Daz quietly. Pepillo looked
up and saw only kindness and concern in
the ensigns eyes, but when he looked
down again, nothing had changed, for
there was Melchior, cold and still.
Outside morning had broken and a
new day had begun.
During the night after the battle, Ah
Kinchil recovered his wits and refused
Mulucs request to raise another army
from surrounding towns to do battle with
the white men again.
Are you mad? the old chief spat at
him incredulously as Malinal served
them an early breakfast in the palace in
Cintla. I saw what happened. I saw how
they defeated us. Dont forget I was
there, Muluc! I witnessed the whole
battle, from beginning to end, and it was
unbelievable. Something impossible
even to imagine. Whether they are men
or gods, its obvious we cant fight
them.
At that moment, Cit Bolon Tun, the
cross-eyed former captive of the
Spaniards, was brought in by the palace
guards. The mans nose had been broken
by some brutal blow and was still
bleeding freely.
There you are! said Ah Kinchil.
You knew theyd beat us and you told us
to fight them anyway. I call you a traitor!
A traitor, do you hear? It was you who
misled us and brought this disaster down
on our heads. Without your advice I
would never have gone to war.
Im no traitor, sire, said Cit Bolon
Tun, falling to his knees and sobbing
pitifully, drops of blood from his nose
spattering around him on the polished
floor. The Spaniards are very
dangerous. I made no secret of that! But I
gave you my best, most honest, most
truthful advice when I urged you to fight
them, while they are still few in number.
Wait a few more months and there will
be many more of them. Wait a year and
there will be thousands. Our only chance
was a swift, decisive victory now
Liar! roared Ah Kinchil, spraying
spittle. We had no chance at all! I say
you knew that all along.
No, sire. I swear it
Ah Kinchil gave a curt nod to one of
the guards who pulled a long dagger
from his belt, walked up behind Cit
Bolon Tun, wrenched the wretched
mans head back by his long hair, and
sawed the blade back and forth across
his throat as one might slaughter a deer.
Blood spurted freely as the major
vessels were severed, the victims
horrible screams and gurgles were
abruptly silenced as his vocal cords
were cut, and the guard didnt stop until
hed decapitated the poor man. The
whole procedure took about a minute.
When it was over, Ah Kinchil turned to
Malinal and the other serving girls.
Well? he said. What are you waiting
for? Clear this mess up at once.
Not surprisingly, Mulucs plans for a
further battle with the white men
evaporated like mist after that and he
readily agreed to Ah Kinchils
suggestion that he should go to
Potonchan at once at the head of a peace
delegation, seek out the Spanish leader
Corts and present him with the abject
and total surrender of the Chontal Maya.
He will require gifts, said Muluc.
Take him gifts, said Ah Kinchil with
a lofty wave of his hand. You may
empty the palace treasury.
The gods only know why, said
Muluc, but these white men have a
particular lust for gold.
Then take them all we have, Ah
Kinchil replied with a sniff. The smell
of Cit Bolon Tuns blood was thick in
the air. Not that it amounts to much.
Another sniff: Why would they want
gold anyway?
They say its the specific remedy for
a certain disease of the heart they suffer
from. Silver also seems to help it.
I hope they will not be angered that
we have so little of both. Ah Kinchil
turned thoughtfully and directed his
ancient rheumy gaze at Malinal, busy
scrubbing the floor. This women is
quite fetching, he said. I suggest you
take her as well. In fact, take twenty
women, the most beautiful you can find,
and present them all to the Spaniards.
All men, and even gods, suffer from a
certain need a lecherous, toothless
grin and women are the specific
remedy for it.
You said you returned to us to meet the
white men, Muluc told Malinal
gleefully, so now youre going to get
your wish and good riddance to you; I
hope youre as much trouble to them as
youve been to me.
Malinal found it hard to conceal her
joy. She had walked all the way from
Tenochtitlan to find these white gods,
only to be diverted from her quest by
Muluc yet fate had now conspired to
make him the very instrument that would
put her into their hands!
The peace delegation, with the twenty
women in its midst, and bearers carrying
fifty heaped bundles of jaguar skins, two
hundred bundles of embroidered textiles
and three large treasure chests, was
ready to depart by midday and reached
Potonchan, seven miles to the north,
three hours later. The route, following
the sacbe, led directly across the
battlefield between the Xaman hills and
Potonchan itself, and Malinal was now
able to see close up the effects of the
devastation shed witnessed from afar
the day before.
The Spaniards guns had torn men
limb from limb, smashed them, crushed
them, turned them inside out. Those grim
glittering spheres launched from the top
of the pyramid had cut long lanes of
carnage through the Mayan ranks here
ten, twenty, even thirty warriors in a row
had been mowed down; then there was a
gap where the ball had bounced into the
air, then another lane of demolished
corpses, all rotting already in the hot
afternoon sun. Closer to where the
Spanish squares had stood there were
countless sword and axe and spear
wounds. And everywhere there were
men whod been ripped to bloody
ribbons, their guts dragged out of their
bellies in stinking, slimy, flyblown piles,
by the Spanish war animals. Some
species of dog, Cit Bolon Tun had
hazarded? Some species of demon or
dragon more like, Malinal thought,
judging from the dreadful butchery of the
wounds.
And what of the animals, like deer,
called horses? The huge beasts on
which Malinal had seen the Spanish war
leader and his troop thunder past the foot
of the Xaman hills on their way to
battle? The hoofprints of these creatures
were everywhere, in the churned-up soil
and imprinted on the bodies and faces of
fallen men, and where they had charged
into the thickest press of the Mayan
ranks, crowds of corpses lay hunched
and heaped one upon the other, as many
killed as theyd fled in blind panic as
had been struck down by the weapons of
the Spaniards.
The trail of bodies led all the way
into Potonchan, through the narrow
streets and up towards the plaza, where
the ancient pyramid overlooked the
sacred silk-cotton tree. Long before this,
the Mayan delegation had been
shadowed and flanked by Spanish
scouts, hard-faced, bearded, pale-eyed
men wearing metal armour, carrying
metal swords and spears some of the
terrifying guns, too, Malinal noted
but Muluc had shown by signs that his
intentions were peaceful and the caravan
had been allowed to proceed.
Now at last, in the mid-afternoon, they
came into the square and, up ahead, in
the shade of the silk-cotton tree, seated
regally on a throne, looking relaxed,
confident, handsome gods he was
handsome! the Spanish leader awaited
them. Malinal recognised him at once
and felt again the special connection
shed felt with him yesterday as shed
watched him ride into battle. The way he
had turned his bearded white face
towards her then, the way his eyes had
seemed to fix on her and root her to the
spot, had filled her with hope and a
strange yearning, and she now had a
sense, as shed had so often in the past
month, that she was swept up in some
divine scheme and that her fate was
about to be fulfilled.
But how to talk to him? This was the
problem. How to communicate to him
her special purpose? How to let him
know that she was the one who had been
chosen by the gods, and spared from
death, to bring him to Tenochtitlan and
end forever the cruel and gluttonous
reign of Moctezuma?
Strangely a blow to Malinals
conviction that a divine plan was about
to unfold this man, if he was a man, or
god if he was a god, this Corts, did not
even acknowledge her existence as she
stood roasting in the sun with the other
twenty women, amongst the bearers of
the treasures and jaguar skins and
textiles, while Muluc alone entered the
shade of the silk-cotton tree. Through the
intermediary of the black-bearded
interpreter Aguilar, whom Cit Bolon Tun
had spoken of, and who sat on a stool at
Cortss right hand, a long conversation
then ensued. Very long. Malinal was
only able to grasp snatches of what was
said, as her hated stepfather was made to
grovel and squirm. At one point another
Spaniard even more beautiful than
Corts himself, a man who it seemed
was called Alvarado, but who
resembled the sun brought down to earth
with his yellow beard and hair, stepped
forward and beat Muluc about the
buttocks with the flat of his huge metal
sword.
All this was very enjoyable and
diverting, but it still brought Malinal no
closer to Corts, the avatar, she yet had
reason to hope, of the god Quetzalcoatl,
whom she had travelled all this way and
risked so many dangers to see.
The solution, of course, was the
interpreter Aguilar. Malinal must simply
speak to him in the Mayan language,
which he appeared to have complete
mastery of, tell him of her mission, and
he would immediately translate what she
had said into the language of the
Spaniards and Corts would understand.
She leapt forward. A Spanish guard
got in her way but she bowled him aside,
swords were drawn all around her
swish, swish, swish and she found
herself on her knees at the very feet of
Corts, strong hands holding her, forcing
her head down.
How dare you, woman? Muluc
shrieked, reaching out to strike her, but
his hand was kicked aside by the
Spaniard Alvarado, who stood over him,
hand on the hilt of his sword, his pale
eyes glittering, saying incomprehensible
words in his strange language. Youre
to leave her alone, Muluc, snapped the
translator Aguilar. Back off! My
masters want to hear her.
Snarling and snapping, Muluc backed
away.
Whats your name? said Aguilar in
faultless Mayan.
Who, me? asked Malinal.
Yes, you. Who else?
I am Malinal.
Very well, Malinal, state your
business here.
I must speak with the Lord Corts,
she said. I have been seeking him out
these last thirty days. I have walked all
the way from Tenochtitlan to find him. I
we my friend and I, we believe he
is the Lord Quetzalcoatl, returned to
claim his kingdom. I have come to guide
him to his home.
His home? His home is in Spain.
No, lord. We believe him to be the
human manifestation of the great god
Quetzalcoatl, whose rightful home is
Tenochtitlan, capital city of the Mexica. I
am here to guide him thither. I am here to
help him to overthrow the usurper
Moctezuma and claim back his throne.
Nonsense, woman. You are talking
complete and utter nonsense!
I have heard, Malinal said,
desperate now for anything that would
sway this dog-faced translator on whose
good graces she depended utterly to
speak to Corts, that you Spaniards
have a great need for gold. Well, you
will find precious little here amongst my
people the Maya, for whom gold holds
no meaning. If you want gold, whole
rooms full of gold, a city of gold, then
only allow me to lead you to
Tenochtitlan and I will place in your
hands all the gold you want. Please, I
beg you, Lord Aguilar, convey what I
have said to the Lord Corts.
Aguilar seemed to think about it. A
muscle twitched in his bearded cheek.
His upper teeth appeared and nibbled
his lower lip. Do you, he asked, speak
the language of the Mexica?
I speak it fluently, Malinal replied,
like my mother tongue. And through me,
and through you, Lord Aguilar, the Lord
Corts also may speak to the Mexica,
and convey to them his commands. You
will put what he says into the Mayan
tongue and I will put it into the language
of the Mexica. I will put what they say in
reply into the Mayan tongue and you will
put my words into Spanish. It is a good
plan, is it not?
No, said Aguilar cruelly, its a
terrible plan, its a stupid plan and Ill
have nothing to do with it. Abruptly he
turned to Corts and spoke to him at
length in Spanish, and the next moment
guards took rough hold of Malinal and
dragged her out into the sun again, and
threw her down, sprawling amongst the
other women, while from the shade of
the silk-cotton tree Muluc leered at her
in triumph.
What followed was, if anything, worse.
Despite the connection she felt certain
they enjoyed, that special connection that
had drawn him to her and her to him as
he rode into battle, the Lord Corts
continued to ignore Malinal
completely, as though she did not even
exist for the rest of the afternoon.
His primary interest was the treasure,
and truly he did not even seem greatly
interested in that. The bales of
embroidered cloth and jaguar skins
meant nothing to him. He looked at them
as though they were excrement.
Only the three wooden chests
attracted his attention, and when they
were opened he rifled through their
contents before giving a great sigh and
turning away in disgust. Behind him
followed the Spaniard Alvarado who, if
anything, seemed even more angered and
frustrated by Mulucs gifts.
That was when the pair of them
noticed the women again. They walked
over, fingered the girls, squeezed their
breasts, slapped a buttock here or there,
all the while speaking to one another
harshly and cruelly in their mysterious
foreign tongue. Then other Spaniards
gathered round, lean men, hungry men,
who looked on the women as vultures
might look on carrion, and there was
much laughter and nudging and lewd
gestures, all of them perfectly
comprehensible to Malinal.
This was about sex now, that eternal
obsession of men.
Finally the women were divided up,
this one to that man, this one to another.
Corts still showed not the slightest
interest in Malinal and gave her finally
to a vulgar beast with a bushy red beard.
She learned soon enough that his name
was Alonso Hernndez Puertocarrero.
Melchior had died during the night, as
Corts had known he must the moment
hed seen his injuries, and was buried
just hours later on the morning of Friday
26 March. Four good Spaniards whod
also lost their lives on the plains of
Potonchan were buried alongside him in
a moving ceremony, at which Corts
gave a reading, attended by all who
were fit to walk. The death toll was
small, all things considered, but more
than a hundred of the men had been
wounded in Thursdays great battle, a
few so severely that even the best efforts
of Dr La Pea would not save them.
Still, there was much to be thankful for,
Corts decided. Hed faced down and
defeated a giant army while his own
small force was still almost entirely
intact.
That same afternoon of Friday 26th, a
delegation of Indians appeared, led by
the creature Muluc, whom Corts now
knew to be the chief of Potonchan
though hed pretended otherwise. He
came bearing the seal of Ah Kinchil, the
paramount chief of all the Chontal Maya,
to offer a complete, abject and
unconditional surrender, which Corts
was happy to accept. His men had taken
a hammering over the past few days and
badly needed time to rest and
recuperate.
As a token of the peace, Muluc
brought twenty fine, clean women to
serve the Spaniards as slaves or, he said
with a lewd grimace, for any other
purpose you wish. Amongst them,
Corts noted, was the same striking,
graceful beauty whom hed seen the
previous afternoon, watching the battle
from the hills south of Potonchan. Hed
been strongly drawn to her then, her
magnetism reaching out to him as hed
thundered by on Molinero, and he felt
her spell again now, but resisted it even
when she rather dramatically threw
herself at his feet and yammered away at
Aguilar in her exotic tongue for some
minutes.
She was, the interpreter assured him,
completely mad. It seemed she was
convinced he was some pagan god! In
Aguilars opinion she was best ignored
if he did not want trouble. Corts was
tempted to take the matter further, but
ultimately decided against it. With
rebellion brewing amongst the
Velazquistas it was important to keep his
friends sweet, and a sex slave as
decorative as this was an easy way to
satisfy Puertocarrero, who loved women
at least as much as he loved gold.
On the matter of gold, the peace
offerings presented by Muluc were less
satisfactory. Other than the heaped skins
of some unknown animals, and two
hundred bundles of embroidered textiles,
costly but inferior to silk, he brought
only three chests, admittedly large,
packed in the main with little statues,
face masks, pectorals, belts, ear and lip
decorations, ornamental weapons, plates
and serving vessels, all made of the
curious, somewhat translucent green
stone that had been offered before at the
riverside in Potonchan. There were in
addition a good number of pearls,
various gemstones resembling rubies,
cornelians, emeralds, agates, topazes
and the like, but pitifully little gold
four diadems, some ornaments shaped
like lizards, two shaped like fish with
finely worked individual scales, five
resembling ducks, a handful of earrings
and necklaces, two gold soles for
sandals and a few items of silver, pretty
to look at but of small value. Alvarado
thought the gold, silver, pearls and gems
worth less than fifteen thousand pesos, a
sum he declared with a sour face that
was by no means worth the battle fought
to obtain it. He suggested they put Muluc
to torture and burn the town of Cintla
where Ah Kinchil had his seat. Its the
only way were going to part these
swine from their treasure.
But Aguilar disagreed. The Maya
dont share our idea of treasure, he said.
They place little value on gold. He
pulled a carved green stone from the
chest. It was similar to the piece, shaped
like an axe head, that Alvarado had
thrown in the river some days before.
This is the stuff that matters to them.
They call it ik, and they regard it as
precious beyond any jewel or metal. It
speaks to them of breath, fertility, the
maize crop, vitality. Its their ultimate
symbol of wealth.
Looks like shit to me, said
Alvarado. Lets burn some towns.
Theyll show us their gold soon enough.
When questioned, Muluc protested
that the chest contained all the gold of
Cintla and Potonchan. There was no
more to be had in either place, and while
other towns and villages in the region
might be able to offer some pieces, they
would be of poor quality and the
quantity would not be great.
Well see about that, Alvarado
growled.
Muluc then launched into a lengthy
account of another people, a people
called the Mexica who were ruled by a
great emperor named Moctezuma and
whose capital city, Tenochtitlan, stood
on an island in a lake at the heart of an
immense green valley hundreds of miles
to the northwest, protected by ranges of
huge, snow-capped mountains.
Corts was at once entranced; he sat
forward, listening intently as evening
drew in and the first stars appeared in
the darkening sky.
Mexica traders, Muluc continued,
frequently visited the Maya, and some of
the Maya had made the journey to
Tenochtitlan. Indeed Muluc claimed to
have made a visit to it himself. It was, he
said, a city of fabulous wealth and
power. If the Spanish wanted gold, that
was where they should go, for its
temples and treasuries were stuffed with
gold and every other precious item they
desired. Indeed, all the gold ornaments
he had brought as gifts today had been
acquired by the Maya who had no gold
mines of their own through trade with
the Mexica.
Hes lying, said Alvarado, just
trying to send us on a wild goose chase
to get us away from here.
But when the Mayan delegation had
been dismissed to return to Cintla, and
the Spaniards sat down to their supper,
some taking to their beds soon after to
enjoy the women theyd been given,
Aguilar confirmed Mulucs story to be
essentially true. Even the distant part of
the Yucatn where he had been held as a
slave was occasionally visited by
Mexica merchants. It was generally
understood that the far-off land from
which they came was enormously rich
and that their emperor, Moctezuma, ruled
over huge territories populated by
millions and commanded a vast army.
Tozi was filled with trepidation as she
entered Guatemocs bedchamber in
Chapultepec for the third and final night
her last chance on this present mission
to make the prince our man. She wasnt
sure exactly what Huicton had meant by
that strange phrase, but she was
determined to achieve something, to
make some breakthrough before
returning to Tenochtitlan tomorrow to
resume her haunting and torture of
Moctezuma.
As she stood watching Guatemoc in
the moonlight, his eyes closed, his chest
rising and falling evenly with his
breathing, looking so much stronger than
he had on the two previous nights,
indeed positively glowing with health
and vitality, it occurred to her that she
had perhaps already achieved much. She
had, after all, given the prince healing
and freed him from the pain of his
wounds and won his trust, and these
gains might surely be bartered to some
valuable advantage when the right time
came.
She moved silently to the bedside and
faded into visibility, watching Guatemoc
uncertainly for a moment longer before
waking him. His attempt last night to kiss
her had taken her by surprise but had not,
she had to admit, been entirely
unwelcome. He was a stunningly
handsome man, even beautiful in his
way, and she was flattered that so
powerful and important a personage
should be attracted to her at all.
Although, of course, she had to remind
herself, it was not her, Tozi, he was
attracted to, but her in her guise as the
Lady Temaz, goddess of healing and
medicines a completely different
matter. A prince who might abase
himself and do foolish things to win the
attentions of a goddess would not even
spare a glance at a little beggar girl!
Feeling a burst of annoyance and
indignation, she reached out her hand
and touched his muscular naked
shoulder.
Hello, sweet goddess, he said
immediately. I was waiting for your
visit. He opened his eyes and in a single
graceful movement sat up, swung his
bare feet over the side of the bed and
arranged the sheet just so to cover
his manly parts.
Ha! So he hadnt been asleep after all.
Just pretending. He was tricky, Tozi
realised. She would have to be careful.
You must not, she said, attempt to kiss
me again.
Or youll turn me to stone?
Was he mocking her?
Not I, Prince, but the universe itself
will punish you if you transgress the
sanctity of the gods. Now lie down
again, please. Let me complete the work
of healing.
No, he said. Not yet. I want to talk
first.
We can talk as I work.
Oh, very well, he grumbled. I can
hardly object.
He lay on his back. He wore no
bandages tonight. His wounds were
clean and dry with no sign of infection.
As she ran her fingers over the jagged
scars for the last time he asked: Why
are you doing this for me?
A great battle is coming, she said.
The world as you know it will cease to
exist and a new world will arise to take
its place. You are a powerful figure
amongst your people, Prince Guatemoc,
an important figure, one to whom many
look up. It will be good if you are on the
right side.
Strange that, said Guatemoc. He
paused: Shikotenka of Tlascala gave me
these wounds. He moved his hand down
to touch her fingers where they rested on
the series of great puncture marks across
his belly. Afterwards, as I lay dying on
a hillside, the war god Hummingbird
appeared to me and he too told me that a
great battle is coming.
Tozis mind was in turmoil.
Hummingbird, who had reprieved her
from death on the sacrificial stone and
touched her with his fire! And
Shikotenka of Tlascala, the very man
with whom Huicton had been sent to
negotiate an alliance! Both brought
together in this single utterance of
Guatemocs! It could hardly be chance.
I suppose, Guatemoc said, it is your
privilege, Lady Temaz, to see the face of
Hummingbird every day in the council of
the gods?
I have seen him, said Tozi, and I do
not like him. He is a cruel god with a
lust for suffering
Whereas your work is healing?
I heal the wounds that war makes
Guatemoc seemed to ignore her.
Hummingbird told me, he continued,
that Moctezuma is a weakling, not
competent to fight the battle that
confronts us.
That is true, Tozi agreed.
And he told me I think he told me
he had brought me back from the dead to
fight that battle in Moctezumas place.
Tozis mind was racing. It was I, not
Hummingbird, who brought you back
from the dead, she exclaimed, and I am
here to tell you another thing
The prince looked at her expectantly.
The god of peace is coming, Tozi
continued, the god Quetzalcoatl, the
Feathered Serpent. It is with him and his
retinue of gods that Moctezuma will very
soon find himself at war, and Moctezuma
will lose that fight and be cast away
forever. You must not, Guatemoc, you
must not place yourself in opposition to
Quetzalcoatl! You must be on the right
side. You must be on the side of peace.
Peace? The prince seemed genuinely
puzzled. Peace? I am a warrior, my
lady. I can never be on the side of peace.
Besides, a sly look crossed his
handsome face, what sort of god of
peace would fight a war in the first
place? Surely if he wishes to rid the
world of Moctezuma he will find a way
to do that by peaceful means?
Tozi thought about it. It made sense!
But it would never work. Moctezuma is
evil, she said, and sometimes evil
overwhelms good, and when it does it
cant just be wished away peacefully. It
has to be fought and it has to be stopped,
and thats what Quetzalcoatl is returning
to do.
So Quetzalcoatl, then, is a god of
war, just like Hummingbird?
No Yes!
Which is it to be, my lady? Is this
Quetzalcoatl of yours a god of peace? Or
is he a god of war? The prince laughed.
He cant be both!
Then he is a god of war! But his war
is against Hummingbird himself, the
wicked ruler and authority of the unseen
world, who contaminates and pollutes
everything he touches with evil and
darkness, whose puppet Moctezuma is,
just as the physician Mecatl was
Moctezumas puppet in the plot to
poison you So the question you must
ask yourself, Guatemoc, is this will
you, too, be Hummingbirds puppet in
the great conflict that is to come, or will
you fight on the side of the good and the
light?
Guatemocs lean, handsome face was
serious. Lady Temaz, he said, if you
are asking me to fight against Moctezuma
then I will tell you now I am ready to do
so! He is a weakling and a fool and he
sought to murder me! But if you are
asking me to fight against Hummingbird,
my lady well, that is quite another
matter and by no means so easily done.
The time will come, Prince, when
you will have to choose, Tozi said. I
can only hope you choose wisely. She
pressed her fingers one more time
against the wounds that scarred his lean,
naked belly, sending healing warmth into
his body. I will see you again, she said,
straightening, relinquishing the contact,
but now I must return to Aztln.
Quick as a striking snake, Guatemoc
sat up on the bed and threw one arm
around Tozis waist and another around
her neck. Not so fast, Lady Temaz, he
said. I still want my kiss.
Well you shall not have it, foolish
boy! I am a goddess and you a mere man.
Do you wish to be turned to stone?
Ill take that risk, said Guatemoc,
and pulled her face down to his,
crushing his lips against hers. Her mouth
was open, perhaps with shock, perhaps
something else. She felt his tongue enter,
pass the barrier of her teeth, and what
was this? her own tongue responded!
For an instant she was lost in a
delicious, roiling, wet warmth, tasting
this man, smelling this man, melting into
him, and then she remembered herself
and focussed her intent and whoosh,
with a whisper of reluctance she
dissolved into smoke and vanished and
left him embracing empty air
In the few seconds she remained
invisible in the room with him, she saw
him look with astonishment at his hands,
at his arms, and press his fingers to his
lips.
Well at least, he said finally, she
didnt turn me to stone.
Guatemoc stood by the open window of
his bedchamber in the dawn light,
listening to the chorus of morning birds
amongst the trees of his fathers estate.
What just happened? he thought. Who
is she? A goddess, as she claims? Or
something else?
He touched his lips again, glowing,
alive, tingling with sensation. But when
he brought his fingers away he saw they
were smeared with red.
He frowned. What was this? Blood?
He tasted his lips with his tongue. No!
Not blood! Something else. Something
familiar.
He found an obsidian mirror and
examined himself. This red stuff,
whatever it might be, was not confined
to his lips but smeared all round his
mouth. He tasted it again and suddenly
he had it. Tincture of cochineal! Rare
and exotic, yes, but quite definitely a
womans makeup.
What would a goddess need with
makeup?
As the sun rose on a new day he
pondered this question, but could come
to no definite conclusion.
As the sun rose on the new day, Huicton
was ushered into Shikotenkas presence.
The battle king of Tlascala, he was
pleasantly surprised to discover, had no
pretensions whatsoever. Rather than
insist on meeting him in some overblown
audience chamber in the royal palace,
hed invited him to his home where his
beautiful young wife Zilonen, doe eyes,
high cheekbones, bee-stung lips, silky
dark hair hanging to her waist, pert
bottom, perfect hips, was personally
cooking breakfast. Your eyes are
clouded, father Huicton, she said,
noticing his scrutiny, but I think you see
everything.
So not only stunning to behold but
clever, feisty and direct as well!
I see, he replied, everything I need
to.
Shikotenka entered the room. He wore
only a colourful length of cloth wrapped
around his waist that covered his legs to
just below his knees. His black hair hung
in knotted braids around his broad
shoulders. His eyes were shrewd and
intelligent, weighing his guest up. He
was not handsome in the way his wife
was beautiful, but there was a roguish
forthrightness and charm about him, and
his hard, muscular body was inscribed
with the pictographs of a hundred old
scars all to the front, Huicton noticed,
none at all on his back. Deduction: this
was a man who stood and fought. This
was a man who did not run away.
Good morning, Ambassador
Huicton, said Shikotenka. To what do
we owe this honour?
Huicton decided to be honest. To
your remarkable success in your recent
battles with the Mexica, Lord
Shikotenka. Your destruction of the great
field army of Coaxoch has attracted the
attention of my master Ishtlil of Texcoco.
He would like, if you are willing, to
propose an alliance between your
people and his.
You say his, not ours. Can I take
it you are not a Texcocan yourself then?
I am Mexica.
Yet you work for Ishtlil against the
interests of your own people?
As I worked for his father Neza
before him. I do not see myself as
Mexica, or Texcocan, but as a citizen of
the one world, and in that capacity I
strive honestly, I strive truly, I strive
with all my heart, for balance. For a
generation now, the power of the Mexica
has been too great. It has introduced
distortions into the one world. It has
created a nation of cruel and arrogant
bullies in Tenochtitlan. I have done my
best, played my part such as the gods
allow, to restore that balance.
And this is why you now seek an
alliance with Tlascala?
My master Ishtlil seeks that alliance.
I am merely his messenger.
Zilonen had laid out a stack of maize
cakes on the table and a bowl of richly
spiced venison in which green chillies
floated. There were goblets of foaming
chocolate and plates of succulent fruit.
Sit down, she said, break your fast.
No good business gets done on an empty
stomach.
Huicton licked his lips. Very true, my
lady. He took his place at the table,
broke off a handful of bread and
gathered up an ample mouthful of stew.
Ah, excellent, he commented as he
chewed, smacking his lips. Truly
excellent.
So this alliance, Shikotenka asked,
whats the purpose of it?
Why, to defeat Moctezuma, of course,
once and for all. Even for his most loyal,
arselicking vassals, an apologetic
glance at Zilonen, his endless demands
for human sacrifices have become too
burdensome for any reasonable person
to stand. And you in Tlascala, who have
never submitted to vassaldom, have
borne the cruellest burden in the
incessant wars and raids of the Mexica
until, that is, you smashed Coaxochs
army. Huicton helped himself to another
dripping mouthful of stew. That, I can
tell you that gave Moctezuma
something to think about!
So much to think about, Shikotenka
said, that our Senate does not believe
well be troubled by him again for many
a long year. Which raises the question
if weve got Moctezuma off our backs,
why do we need a pact with Ishtlil? As
you know, Huicton, we in Tlascala go
our own independent way. Weve never
been very keen on alliances.
Huicton chewed in silence for a
moment. He would not speak of Tozi and
her prophetic utterances. He could
hardly expect a pragmatist like
Shikotenka to believe any of that. But he
didnt see now how he could avoid the
subject of Quetzalcoatl. It was
impossible to understand Moctezumas
motivations, and his insatiable quest for
ever more sacrificial victims, without
taking the legends of the plumed serpent
and his return in a One-Reed year this
very year! into account.
Im afraid, Shikotenka, it is not so
simple. Not nearly so simple. And I
much regret to inform you that your
victory over Coaxoch will not be an end
to the matter for many a long year, as
your Senate naively imagines. There is
another factor at work, one you may not
even be aware of, but I have reason to
believe that because of it you and your
people will face more not fewer
attacks from the Mexica in the months
ahead, and the same will unfortunately
be true for Ishtlils people and for many
others. So, contrary to your
commendably proud and independent
stance, the truth is there has never been a
time when an alliance would be more
expedient or more worthwhile for
Tlascala than it is today
Shikotenka took a long draught of
chocolate and wiped his mouth. Very
well, old man, Im here to listen.
Huicton dipped another handful of
bread into the stewpot and transferred it
to his mouth, smacking his lips with
satisfaction. Its a long story, he said,
and Im an old man, as you rightly say,
and much given to prolixity, so please
bear with me while I tell it
Melchior had been buried with full
honours alongside the four Spaniards
also killed in Thursdays fighting. The
graves lay in a shady corner of the
orchard behind the palace, the same
orchard where the horses had been
exercised before the battle, and on the
morning of Saturday 27 March Pepillo
returned there carrying the little dagger
Corts had given him. He knelt,
whispered, I miss you, Melchior, and
then very carefully carved four words
onto the wooden cross that bore his
friends name. The words were:
RIDE IN GREEN PASTURES
A fitting epitaph, said a gruff voice
behind him, and Pepillo turned to see
Bernal Daz standing there leaning on a
stick. The ensigns thigh looked less
swollen than before and the bandages
around his chest were clean. He was
holding a hessian sack with some object
inside it.
Pepillo, whod been crying again,
sheathed the knife and rubbed the back
of his hand across his eyes. Don Bernal.
Im happy to see you on your feet.
Dr La Pea has done well by me,
Daz replied with a smile. He tells me
Ill be fit for battle in no time.
Pepillo shuddered. I hope therell be
no more fighting!
Im afraid there will be, lad, its
what were here to do Now, look
Something moved in the sack he was
holding and he glanced down at it.
Theres a kindness you could do for a
poor orphaned creature If youre
willing.
A kindness, sir? I dont understand.
It concerns the war dogs. Another
wriggle of the sack. Amongst them
when we sailed from Santiago was a
pregnant wolfhound bitch. She gave birth
to a litter of six pups on the voyage and
was nursing them, but Vendabal dragged
her away from them on Thursday and put
her into the pack for battle. She was one
of his best fighters, so he said, but she
was killed. The pups are barely weeks
old, too much trouble to feed by hand, so
Vendabal and his handlers destroyed
them all
Pepillos face fell.
Except this one, which I managed
to save. I was thinking you might have
time to rear him. Goats milk, Im told,
is a good substitute to feed an orphaned
pup when its dam is lost. And, well, we
have plenty of goats on the hoof with us.
A veritable farm! I should know, since I
requisitioned them from Santiagos
slaughterhouse the night we sailed!
Here, take a look.
And with that the ensign hobbled
forward, reached into the sack and lifted
out by the scruff of its neck a
surprisingly large, furry, brindled puppy,
which opened its toothless jaws in a
yawn and licked him with its pink
tongue. Here, lad, hes yours if you
want him, Daz said, passing the animal
over. Hes not a purebred wolfhound.
From the look of him Vendabal says he
was likely sired by a greyhound.
Pepillo cradled the puppy. It was
quite heavy, as long as his forearm and
wonderfully warm. He could feel its
heartbeat. It gave another yawn and a
small contented whimper.
Well? asked Daz. Will you keep
him?
Oh yes, sir!
And what will you call him?
Pepillo already knew the answer to
that question. Melchior, he said
fiercely. He stroked the soft hair of the
puppys head. His name is Melchior.
Sunday 28 March was not a day of rest
for Corts. After an early mass he left
Potonchan two hours before dawn with
two hundred men, proceeded at a forced
march and reached Cintla by sunrise to
pay a surprise visit to Ah Kinchil. Both
the paramount chief and Muluc were
detained under armed guard and the
royal palace was ransacked. Other than
a few small items of little value,
however, no gold was found.
It was the same story in every other
town and village searched during the
days that followed lean pickings or
nothing at all. Gradually, after Corts
had given Alvarado a free hand to use
torture (Muluc had been blinded in one
eye with a hot iron, and Ah Kinchil had
died, foaming at the mouth on an
improvised rack), it became clear, even
to Alvarado, that the Maya must either
be extremely brave, stubborn and good
at hiding their treasure, or more likely
they were telling the truth and had
none. This, anyway, was what Aguilar,
who grew increasingly distressed at his
role as interpreter during the
interrogations, had been saying all along.
The Maya were, in his view, a fallen
people, whose once great and
prosperous kingdoms had lapsed into
obscurity, poverty and barbarism
hundreds of years before. Nothing now
remained of their former glory, except
the mighty pyramids and temples, many
already in ruins, they had inherited from
their ancestors.
With the Velzquez faction
complaining bitterly that the whole story
of the rival Pedrarias expedition had
been a trick to procure a hasty departure
from Santiago, and demanding to know
why they were wasting their time in this
godforsaken, gold-bereft land, Corts
began to feel the lure of the fabled,
indeed almost legendary, empire of the
Mexica ever more strongly. Why, it was
rumoured to possess so much gold that
even its childrens toys were made of the
precious metal! Moreover, although the
mysterious city of Tenochtitlan, standing
in its lake beyond snow-capped
mountains, was always spoken of as far
away, repeated questioning of traders
made it clear that it could in fact be
reached by forced march within as little
as thirty days.
And there was something much more
important, much more significant, much
more meaningful to be considered.
From the moment under the silk-cotton
tree when Muluc had first spoken of it,
Corts had known it was Tenochtitlan
that Saint Peter had revealed to him in
his dreams. The mountains wreathed in
snow that must be crossed to reach it,
and its distinctive location in the midst
of a great lake at the heart of an immense
green valley, left no room for doubt.
This was the jewelled and shining city
that was to be his reward.
Even while Alvarado rampaged far
and wide across the lands of the Chontal
Maya in the fruitless quest for gold,
therefore, Corts sent his friend Juan de
Escalante out in his carrack to conduct
reconnaissance. Although Tenochtitlan
lay deep inland, it was said to possess
certain vassal states and tributary towns
along the coast one of which,
Cuetlaxtlan, had been settled by the
Mexica and was ruled by a governor
who, the Maya said, had been appointed
directly by the great Emperor
Moctezuma himself. Several Potonchan
merchants knew Cuetlaxtlan well and
Escalante took two of these with him,
who claimed they would be able to
identify the town from the sea.
While he was gone, Corts redoubled
efforts he had already begun to fulfil
Gods will by converting the Chontal
Maya to Christianity. To this end,
speaking through Aguilar, he preached
several lengthy sermons to the
assembled populations of Potonchan and
Cintla, urging them to destroy their idols,
which were not gods but evil things and
images of Satan. From now on, he said,
they must worship the Lord Jesus Christ
and believe only in him. Soon
afterwards, perhaps expedited by
Alvarados activities, which had spread
great fear throughout the region, there
was a general destruction of idols, with
those of stone being rolled down
pyramid steps and smashed while those
of wood were heaped up into fires and
burnt. Several hundred people, many
leading nobles amongst them, also came
forward for baptism at the hands of
Father Olmedo, who conducted the
ceremonies but nonetheless confided in
Corts that he did not think their
conversion would last. Were moving
too fast, he said. They act out of fear of
us, not because the faith has taken root in
their hearts.
What then would you have me do,
Father?
Teach them by example. Show them
the meaning of Christian love.
Corts cast a glance at the crowd of
converts. What we have achieved here
will have to serve for the present,
Olmedo. These New Lands are vast,
time presses, and this is but the
beginning of our conquests. Praise be to
God, all things will prosper for us, and
wherever we go we will spread the
word.
After a voyage of just eight days,
Escalante returned. Although the Maya
said twenty days were required to reach
Cuetlaxtlan on foot, through the dense
jungles of the Yucatn, the journey by
sea proved much shorter. Escalante did
not land, but observed the well-ordered
streets and grand buildings of the
Mexica town from the deck of his
carrack, and judged it to be rich, far
more prosperous than Potonchan and
Cintla, and linked by good roads to
several other equally impressive
settlements further along the coast.
Corts embraced his friend. Well
done, Juan, he said. This is welcome
news!
So, shall we go there? Escalante
asked.
Corts nodded. By God, yes! And
from Cuetlaxtlan we march on those
good roads you saw to the golden city of
Tenochtitlan!
Indeed the news had come just in
time. During Escalantes absence, the
Velazquistas never stopped bellyaching
and spreading dissent and the men had
grown mutinous with inaction,
complaining that Corts had brought
them across the sea to fight battles with
savages for no pay. Now, at last, he had
a target to distract them and the gold of
the Mexica to dangle before their eyes.
It was Thursday 15 April. We sail on
Sunday, Corts said.
It would be Palm Sunday. An
auspicious day.
Puertocarrero rolled over in his sleep,
flung out a hairy leg, mumbled
incoherently and let rip another colossal
fart, filling the bedroom that Malinal
was obliged to share with him in the
palace at Potonchan with a hideous,
miasmic stink. When shed first been
given to him, part of her had still been
open to the possibility that he and his
fellow Spaniards might be gods, but
shed since learned better. Indeed, even
if it were not for Puertocarreros uncouth
manners and his constant demands for
sex, she would have known from the
smell of his farts alone that he was a
man, as they all were, with every
weakness, folly and stupidity to which
the male sex was prone. To be sure, they
looked very different from the Maya or
the Mexica, and their language which
Malinal had already begun to learn
was quite unlike any other she had ever
heard. Admittedly, also, their customs
and behaviour were strange, they were
unusually disciplined and determined,
and their weapons and trained animals
were extraordinary. Nevertheless, when
all was said and done, they were men
and nothing more than men and, as such,
no matter how fearsome and alien they
might seem, they could be understood,
manipulated and managed.
All of them, that is, except their great
war leader Hernn Corts, who spent
much of his time out of Potonchan, often
in the company of his cruel but
handsome second-in-command Pedro de
Alvarado. Malinal soon learned from
servants Muluc had sent to work for
them in the palace that they were
ransacking all the towns of the region for
gold, which seemed to obsess them as
much as it obsessed the Mexica. It was
even said that Ah Kinchil and Muluc had
been tortured to surrender stores of gold
the white men believed they had hidden
but of course they had none to give.
Malinal neither knew nor cared if these
reports were true; the two chiefs had
conspired to ruin her life and, in her
opinion, deserved whatever bad things
came to them.
When not hunting for gold, Cortss
other favourite activity to which he
showed great dedication was
destroying the idols of the gods in the
temples and preaching to the people of
Cintla and Potonchan about his own
strange and incomprehensible religion.
Since everyone was terrified of him, he
won many converts.
On the occasions when he was not
preoccupied with these activities,
Malinal several times asked Aguilars
help to approach Corts and speak to
him. As he had done on the very first
day, however, the Spanish interpreter
continued to rebuff her.
This evening, for the first time, shed
understood why.
Corts had made an announcement to
the assembled army, which Aguilar had
been required to translate for the benefit
of all twenty of the female slaves who
would be accompanying them, that the
Spaniards had concluded their business
with the Chontal Maya and would soon
be moving on to the lands of the Mexica.
They would go first by ship to the
coastal town of Cuetlaxtlan everyone
must be ready to embark in just three
days time and from there they would
strike inland to Tenochtitlan, the Mexica
capital. This they would seize by force,
take its Emperor Moctezuma dead or
alive, and help themselves to the vast
hoard of gold his empire was reputed to
have amassed.
Reputed? Malinal thought. Reputed! If
shed been allowed to talk to Corts, she
could have told him weeks before that it
was not just a matter of reputed. The
Mexica were the richest people in the
entire world, Tenochtitlan overflowed
with gold and Moctezumas treasuries
were stuffed to bursting point with it.
Clearly Aguilar had acted so strangely
because he knew Malinal was fluent in
Nahuatl which he spoke not a word of
and could see she was clever enough
to learn Castilian and learn it quickly.
The foolish man must fear, since it was
inevitable that the Spaniards lust for
gold would sooner or later lead to the
Mexica, that she would then usurp his
privileged place at Cortss side. While
not actually lying to Corts about the
fabulous wealth of Tenochtitlan, the
interpreter had therefore done all he
could notably by keeping Malinal
away from him to divert and delay this
important intelligence and prevent him
from discovering how indispensable she
might prove to the Spanish cause.
Perhaps Aguilar had even hoped the
slaves would be left behind when the
Spaniards continued their journey, but
this evenings announcement had put
paid to that! There was no way
Puertocarrero or any of the other officers
whod been given women were going to
do without their all-purpose cooks,
cleaners and bedroom companions, and
Corts had made a point of confirming
they would accompany the army in its
advance on Tenochtitlan.
So once again Malinal realised that
she had been reunited with her fate. Very
soon Corts would meet the lords of the
Mexica and find he was unable to talk to
them. When he did, no matter how
Aguilar might try to block her, she would
be there to take her rightful place in
history.
It was Palm Sunday, 18 April 1519, and
Pepillo stood with Corts and the pilot
Alaminos on the navigation deck of the
Santa Mara de la Concepcin as the
great flagship raised sail under scudding
clouds and led the fleet north out of the
bay at Potonchan.
It was exactly two months to the day,
Pepillo realised, since hed left Cuba on
a night of storm to begin the journey that
had brought him to this place and this
time.
He remembered how hed imagined
the journey would be a noble quest
through faraway lands in the company of
gallant warriors to achieve a sacred
purpose. Yet in reality hed taken part in
the murder of a wicked friar, seen
chivalry thrown to the winds in the lust
for gold, and found a true friend only to
have him snatched away again so cruelly
he thought his heart must never mend.
That journey had ended at Potonchan.
The quest had never been noble,
chivalry was dust and Melchior lay cold
and dead in the ground, but the slap of
the waves against the keel, the whistle of
the wind through the rigging, and the
crack and whip of the sails spoke
through Pepillos sorrow to an adventure
that had only just begun.
Well, lad, said Corts. What do you
think? This great Emperor Moctezuma
were going to see commands an army of
two hundred thousand men. Can we beat
them?
Pepillo fondled the ears of his new
Melchior. Part wolfhound part
greyhound, the pup had thrived on goats
milk, was already eating flesh with his
new sharp teeth and had grown beyond
all recognition in the past three weeks.
He was proving to be a fine companion
strong, brave, endlessly inquisitive
and loyal and Pepillo was determined
he would never be put to war with the
rest of the pack.
He was thinking about the question.
Glimpses of the Corts hed met on the
road to Santiago harbour could still be
seen from time to time, but the caudillo
had grown harsh and cruel since then,
with sudden dark moods and dangerous
rages. It was not always wise to speak
the truth to him but rather to divine what
he wished to hear and say that instead.
Let there be two hundred thousand
men, sir, Pepillo answered finally, or
twice that number. It makes no
difference. You lead the army of God
and even the greatest empire of these
lands will not stand against it.
For a moment Corts seemed lost in
thought. But then he nodded his head. I
may have to deal with Moctezuma
severely, he said quietly, almost to
himself, but when we do Gods work
Im told there is no sin in it. Would you
say thats true, Pepillo?
Im certain it must be true, sir,
Pepillo replied. For if God is good then
surely no evil can be done by those who
serve him?
It was the right thing to say.
Time Frame, Principal
Settings and Cast of
Characters
Time Frame and Subject Matter
War God: Nights of the Witch unfolds in
the two-month period between 18
February 1519 and 18 April 1519. The
book deals with the opening events of
the Spanish conquest of Mexico. Five
hundred Spanish adventurers led by
Hernando Corts pit themselves against
the might of the Mexica (Aztec) empire.
The empire is ruled with an iron hand by
the feared Moctezuma, who has two
hundred thousand brutal and experienced
warriors at his command.
Principal settings
(1) Tenochtitlan, capital city of the
Mexica (Aztec) empire of ancient
Mexico, 1325 to 1521. Built on an
island in the middle of a huge salt lake
(Lake Texcoco) in the Valley of Mexico.
The Valley of Mexico is ringed by
distant snow-capped mountains. At the
heart of the valley is Lake Texcoco. At
the heart of Lake Texcoco is the island
on which Tenochtitlan stands, accessed
via three huge causeways (varying in
length between two and six miles),
extending to the southern, western and
northern shores of the lake. At the heart
of Tenochtitlan, surrounded by a vast
walled enclosure (the grand plaza, or
sacred precinct), is the Great Pyramid,
which is surmounted by the temple of
Huitzilopochtli (Hummingbird), War
God of the Mexica, to whom tens of
thousands of human sacrifices are
offered every year.
(2) Santiago, capital city and principal
port of Cuba during the early period of
Spanish colonisation of the New World.
It is from here that the expedition to
Mexico embarks.
(3) Mountain country within the borders
of Tlascala, an independent principality
at war with the Mexica. Tlascalans
captured in raids and battles are a prime
source of sacrificial victims for the
Mexica.
(4) Cozumel, island off the northeast
coast of the Yucatn Peninsula, Mexico.
First landing point of the Spaniards in
their conquest of Mexico.
(5) Potonchan, town on the southwest
coast of the Yucatn Peninsula, Mexico.
Second landing point of the Spaniards in
their conquest of Mexico and site of
their first major battles. Their opponents
in these early (and brutal) pitched battles
are not the Mexica but the Maya.
Point-of-View Characters
(1) Tozi. A witch. Age, fourteen. We
meet her amongst the victims being
fattened for sacrifice in the womens
fattening pen at the edge of the grand
plaza in Tenochtitlan. Tozi never knew
her father. Her mother was a witch but
was cornered and beaten to death by a
mob when Tozi was seven, at which age
Tozis own training had just begun and
her powers were not fully developed.
She survived as a beggar on the streets
of Tenochtitlan for the next six years
until captured and placed in the fattening
pen at the age of fourteen to await
sacrifice. Tozi has certain magical
talents, of which the most important is
the ability to make herself invisible.
However, at this point of the story she
lacks skill and experience, and if she
attempts to maintain invisibility for more
than a few seconds she suffers
catastrophic physical consequences.
Tozis origins are mysterious. Her
mother told her they came from Aztln,
the fabled homeland not only of the
Mexica but also of the Tlascalans and
other related Nahua peoples who speak
the language called Nahuatl. But Aztln
is a mythical and legendary place, the
home of the gods, where masters of
wisdom and workers of magic are
believed to dwell; although the Mexica
say their forefathers came from Aztln,
no one knows where it is any more, or
how to find it.
(2) Malinal. A beautiful courtesan and
sex-slave of the Mexica. Age, twenty-
one. Malinal is Maya in ethnic origin
and is fluent both in Nahuatl, the
language of the Mexica, and in the
Mayan language. We meet her in the
fattening pen in Tenochtitlan where she,
like Tozi, has been imprisoned awaiting
sacrifice. How and why she is there
becomes clear to the reader as the story
develops. When we understand the roots
of her intense hatred for Moctezuma and
the Mexica, we understand why, when
she escapes the fattening pen, she travels
to the Yucatn, where Corts has landed,
intending to use him as her instrument to
destroy Moctezuma.
(3) Pepillo. Spanish, fourteen years of
age. An orphan, he was given shelter,
reared and taught numbers and letters by
Dominican monks, who brought him
from Spain to the New World, first to the
island of Hispaniola and then to Cuba,
where he worked as a junior bookkeeper
and clerk in the Dominican monastery.
When we meet him he has just been
appointed page and assistant to the
mysterious Father Gaspar Muoz
(POV character number 8) the
Dominican Inquisitor who will travel
with the expedition of Hernando Corts
(POV character number 9) to Mexico
referred to as the New Lands on a
mission of conquest and evangelism.
(4) Moctezuma. Emperor his official
title is Great Speaker of the Mexica.
Age, fifty-three. We meet him performing
human sacrifices on the summit platform
of the Great Pyramid in front of the
temple of the War God Huitzilopochtli
(Hummingbird). These sacrifices take
place in full view of the fattening pen, at
the edge of the grand plaza, where
Malinal and Tozi are imprisoned
awaiting sacrifice. Moctezuma
frequently enters a trance state induced
by the use of hallucinogenic mushrooms
in which he communicates directly with
the War God demon Hummingbird.
The demon, whose purpose is to
maximise human misery and chaos on
earth, urges Moctezuma on to ever
crueller and more brutal mass sacrifices.
(5) Shikotenka. Battle-king of Tlascala,
sworn enemy of the Mexica. Age, thirty-
three. We meet him concealed on a
mountainside in Tlascala (two days
march away from Tenochtitlan), spying
on a gigantic Mexica army gathering to
attack his people. The army is there to
capture thousands of Tlascalans as
victims for human sacrifice. Shikotenka
has a plan to stop them.
(6) Guatemoc. Prince of the Mexica.
Age, twenty-seven. Nephew of
Moctezuma (he is the son of
Moctezumas brother Cuitlhauc).
(7) Pedro de Alvarado. Age, thirty-
three. Close friend and ally of
Hernando Corts (POV character
number 9). Alvarado is handsome,
excessively cruel a charming
psychopath. He is also a brilliant
swordsman and a notorious lover of
gold. When we meet Alvarado he is with
Diego de Velzquez, the governor of
Cuba, who is attempting to bribe him to
betray Corts. Velzquez wishes to
remove Corts from command of the
expedition to Mexico and replace him
with Pnfilo de Narvez, who is more
amenable to his will. He seeks
Alvarados help in this scheme.
(8) Father Gaspar Muoz. Age, late
thirties. Dominican friar who has been
appointed (by Diego de Velzquez) as
Inquisitor on the expedition to Mexico.
Munoz has a reputation for burning
heretics to death on the slightest
pretext. He is also a sadistic paedophile
and serial killer and exploits his
position as Inquisitor to indulge his
perverse appetites.
(9) Hernando (Hernn) Corts.
Commander of the Spanish expedition to
Mexico. Age, thirty-five. A brilliant
military commander and political
operator, he is clever, Machiavellian,
manipulative, utterly ruthless, vengeful
and daring, but with a paradoxical streak
of messianic Christianity. He hates
Diego de Velzquez, the governor of
Cuba, whom he has conned into giving
him command of the expedition and
whom he intends to betray. Some years
earlier, Velzquez imprisoned Corts on
trumped-up charges to oblige him to
marry his niece Catalina. Corts went
through with the marriage to escape
prison, but has been plotting his revenge
on Velzquez ever since.
(10) Bernal Daz. Age, twenty-seven.
Down-to-earth, honest, experienced
Spanish soldier on the expedition to
Mexico. From farming stock, no
pretensions to nobility, but literate and
keeps a diary (even though he self-
deprecatingly refers to himself as an
illiterate idiot). Admires Corts, who
has recognised his potential and
promoted him to ensign rank.
(11) Gonzalo de Sandoval. Age twenty-
two. From Hidalgo (minor nobility)
family but fallen on hard times. New
recruit to the expedition to Mexico.
Promoted to ensign in same ceremony as
Daz. Unlike Daz, Sandoval has a
university education and military and
cavalry training but no personal
experience of war.
Supernatural characters
Huitzilopochtli (referred to throughout
the novel as Hummingbird), war god of
the Mexica. The full translation of the
name Huitzilopochtli is The
Hummingbird at the Left Hand of the
Sun. Like all demons, through all the
myths and legends of mankind, the
purpose of this entity is to multiply
human suffering and corrupt all that is
good and pure and true in the human
spirit. He appears to Moctezuma when
the Mexica emperor is in trance states
induced by his frequent consumption of
hallucinogenic mushrooms. A tempter
and a manipulator, Hummingbird
deliberately stokes the flames of the
conflict between the Mexica and the
Spaniards, and ultimately backs the
Spaniards because he knows they will
make life in Mexico even worse than it
has been under the Mexica. It is a
historical fact that within fifty years of
the Spanish conquest, the indigenous
population of Mexico had been reduced
through war, famine and introduced
diseases from thirty million to just one
million.
Saint Peter, patron saint of Hernn
Corts. As a child, Corts suffered an
episode of severe fever that brought him
close to death. His nurse, Mara de
Esteban, prayed to Saint Peter for his
salvation and the young Corts
miraculously recovered. Ever
afterwards, Corts felt he enjoyed a
special relationship with this saint and
believed he was guided by him in all the
great and terrible episodes of his adult
life. Like Moctezuma, Corts encounters
Saint Peter in visionary states in his
case, dreams.
Quetzalcoatl, The Plumed Serpent,
the god of peace of ancient Central
America. Described as white-skinned
and bearded, an age-old prophecy said
he had been expelled from Mexico by
the forces of evil at some time in remote
prehistory, but that he would return in the
year 1-Acatl (One-Reed), in ships that
moved by themselves without paddles
to overthrow a wicked king, abolish the
bloody rituals of human sacrifice and
restore justice. And as it happened, the
year 1519 in our calendar, when Corts
landed in the Yucatn in sailing ships
that moved by themselves without
paddles, was indeed the year One-Reed
in the Mexica calendar. Whether this
was pure chance or whether some
inscrutable design might have been at
work, Malinal would eventually teach
Corts how to exploit the myth of
Quetzalcoatl. What followed was a
ruthless and spectacularly successful
campaign to dominate Moctezuma
psychologically long before the
Spaniards faced him in battle.
Whether in some mysterious sense
real, as I rather suspect, or whether only
imagined by Moctezuma and Corts,
Hummingbird and Saint Peter played
pivotal roles as agents of mischief in the
events of the conquest, while the
prophecy of the return of Quetzalcoatl
was equally fundamental.
Secondary Spanish characters who
appear frequently in the story
Melchior. An African, aged about
sixteen. Formerly a slave. Freed by
Hernn Corts and now his manservant.
Becomes Pepillos close friend and ally.
Diego de Velzquez. Age, fifty-five.
Governor of Cuba. Appoints Hernn
Corts to be captain-general of the
expedition to Mexico (which he has
jointly financed), but has a change of
heart and plots to remove Corts before
the fleet departs from Santiago and to
replace him with Pnfilo de Narvez, a
man he can manipulate more easily.
Zemudio. Expert swordsman and
bodyguard to Diego de Velzquez.
Garca Brabo. Age, forty. Tough
sergeant who leads a squad of men
dedicated to Hernn Corts. He does
Cortss dirty work whenever required.
The Velazquistas. The name Corts
gives to senior figures on the expedition
to Mexico who remain loyal to his
enemy and rival Diego de Velzquez, the
governor of Cuba. Corts must either
bribe, manipulate, or force members of
the Velzquez faction to change sides.
They include Juan Escudero (ringleader
of the Velazquistas), Juan Velzquez de
Lon, cousin of Diego de Velzquez,
Francisco de Montejo, Diego de
Ordaz and Cristbal de Olid.
Significant allies of Corts on the
expedition. In addition to Pedro de
Alvarado (POV character number 7)
Corts can rely on Alonso Hernndez
Puertocarrero and Juan de Escalante.
An additional figure, Alonso Davila, is
at least neutral; he does not like Corts
but he does not like Diego de Velzquez
either.
Alonso de La Serna and Francisco
Mibiercas. Soldiers on the expedition.
Friends of Bernal Daz (POV character
number 10).
Dr La Pea. Doctor hired by Diego de
Velzquez to drug and kidnap Corts.
Instead Corts captures La Pea and
kidnaps him to serve as the expeditions
doctor.
Antn de Alaminos. Pilot and chief
navigator of Cortss fleet.
Nuno Guiterrez. Sailor.
Father Bartolom de Olmedo.
Mercedarian Friar, a gentle, good-
hearted man who participates in the
expedition to Mexico. Opposed to
forced conversions.
Jernimo de Aguilar. Spanish castaway
in the Yucatn. Spent eight years as a
slave amongst the Maya and became
fluent in their language. Rescued by a
squad sent by Corts and led by
Sandoval, Aguilar joins the expedition
and becomes Cortss first interpreter
and, later, Malinals rival for this role.
Francisco de Mesa. Cortss chief of
artillery.
Diego de Godoy. Notary of the
expedition.
Telmo Vendabal. Keeper of the
expeditions pack of one hundred
ferocious war dogs.
Secondary Mexica, Tlascalan and
Mayan characters who appear
frequently or have prominence in the
story
Coyotl. Little boy, six years old,
castrated in infancy. Held in womens
fattening pen with Tozi and Malinal
awaiting sacrifice. Protg of Tozi.
Ahuizotl. High priest of the Mexica and
devotee of the war god Hummingbird.
Namacuix. Deputy high priest of the
Mexica.
Cuitlhauc. Age, forty-eight. Younger
brother of Moctezuma and father of
Guatemoc (POV character number 6).
Coaxoch. Age late forties, holds title of
Snake Woman. Second most senior
Mexica lord after Moctezuma himself,
and the most important general in the
Mexica army. We meet Coaxoch leading
a massive force of thirty-two thousand
men into Tlascala to snatch victims for
human sacrifice. This is the force that
Shikotenka (POV character number 5)
plans to destroy.
Mahuizoh and Iccauhtli. Eldest and
youngest of Coaxochs sons. All four are
generals in the Mexica army, but
appointed above their skills through
nepotism.
Acolmiztli, Chipahua, Tree, Etzli,
Ilhuicamina. Commanders in
Shikotenkas squad of Tlascalan
warriors whom we meet as they are
about to mount an attack on Coaxoch.
Tochtli, Rabbit (Shikotenkas cousin).
Also in the squad that will attack
Coaxoch.
Shikotenka the Elder. Civil king of the
Tlascalans (Shikotenka, his son, is the
battle-king).
Maxixcatzin. Deputy to both
Shikotenka and Shikotenka the Elder.
Huicton. A spy working to destroy
Moctezuma. Huicton is in his sixties
and passes unnoticed through the streets
of Tenochtitlan disguised as an elderly
blind beggar. However, he is not blind.
He is the mentor and protector of Tozi
(POV character number 1).
War God and History
War God is a novel about an
extraordinary moment in history but it is
not a history book. Rather it is a work of
fantasy and epic adventure in the
tradition of Amadis of Gaul, the post-
Arthurian tale of knight-errantry in
which the conquistadors of the early
sixteenth century saw their own deeds
reflected as they pursued their very real
and perilous quest in the strange and
terrible lands of Mexico. Wherever I
felt it served the interests of my story, I
have therefore not hesitated to diverge
from a strict observance of historical
facts. Let me give a few examples.
Malinal (who was also known as
Malinali, Malintzin and La Malinche and
whom the conquistadors called Doa
Marina) was more likely a Nahua
woman of the Mexican Gulf coast who
had learned the Mayan language than a
Mayan woman as I have her who had
become fluent in Nahuatl. On the other
hand, her biography as I relate it
daughter of a chief, disinherited and sold
into slavery by her own mother after her
fathers death (because her mother
1
favoured a son by her second marriage)
conforms to the facts as they have been
passed down to us.
Likewise, while I write of the
disastrous Crdoba expedition that
visited the Yucatn prior to Corts, I
make no mention it would have been
too cumbersome to do so of the second
expedition, under Juan de Grijalva, that
also preceded Corts. I have, however,
conflated some details of the Crdoba
and Grijalva expeditions, and in doing
so I do not think I stray far from the
spirit of the facts.
In a similar way, and for similar
narrative reasons, I have telescoped the
story of the departure of Cortss fleet
from Cuba into the single dramatic night
of 18 February 1519, when in fact it was
a more long-drawn-out affair. The fleet
did leave Santiago precipitously,
Velzquez did try to prevent this, and
Corts did confront him from a small
boat, much as I describe these events.
The story that I tell of Velzquez sending
a messenger cancelling Cortss
command and putting another man in
charge, together with the killing of this
messenger en route by one of Cortss
allies and delivery of the papers he was
carrying to Corts himself, is well
attested in historical sources. The same
goes for the raid on the slaughterhouse
and seizure by Cortss men of all the
2
meat and livestock on the hoof.
However, these events did not occur on
18 February 1519 but on 18 November
1518, Bernal Daz does not admit in his
memoirs to leading the raid on the
slaughterhouse, and the killing of the
messenger was not done by Alvarado
(although he was certainly capable of
such an act and responsible during his
lifetime for many like it), but by Juan
Suarez, another of Cortss close
associates. It is correct that the fleet did
finally leave Cuban waters on 18
February 1519, as I state in War God,
and that it was that night scattered by a
storm, but it had first spent three months
sailing around Cuba, evading
3
4
5
6
Velzquezs authority by various means
while Corts collected further supplies,
men and horses. I saw no need to burden
my story with these details and
complexities.
Other similar examples could be cited
here (for instance Guatemoc was
probably Moctezumas cousin, not his
nephew) but, by and large, while
responding to the narrative needs of a
fantasy adventure epic, I have worked
hard to weave my tale around a solid
armature of historical facts. This is not
to say that the fantastic and the
supernatural are not prominent themes in
War God because they are! but there
is nothing unhistorical about this. Such
concerns were of prime importance both
to the superstitious Spanish and to the
Mexica. Indeed Mexico-Tenochtitlan
has, with good reason, been described
by Nobel Prizewinner J. M. G. Le
Clezio as the last magical civilization.
Take the case of Tozi the witch, one of
my central characters. Some might think
that an obsession with sorcery, animal
familiars (even transformation into
animal forms), the ability to make
oneself invisible, the concoction of
spells and herbal potions by women and
the persecution of women for such
practices were purely European
concerns; but in these matters as in so
many others the Spanish of the
7
sixteenth century had much more in
common with the Mexica than they
realized. Witchcraft was widespread in
Central America and endemic to the
culture of the region.
Then there is the matter of human
sacrifice, a recurrent theme throughout
War God. Do I make too much of this?
Do I dwell on it at a length that is not
justified by the facts? Honestly, no, I
dont think I do. The facts, including the
fattening of prisoners and their
incarceration in special pens prior to
sacrifice, are so abhorrent, so well
evidenced and so overwhelming that the
imagination is simply staggered by them.
In saying this I recognise that the prim
8
hand of political correctness has in
recent years tried to sweep the
extravagant butchery and horror of
Mexica sacrificial rituals under the table
of history by suggesting that Spanish
eyewitnesses were exaggerating for
propaganda or religious purposes. Yet
this cannot be right. Let alone the mass
of archaeological evidence and the
surviving depictions of human sacrifice,
skull racks, flaying and dismemberment
of victims, cannibalism, etc, in Mexica
sculpture and art, we have detailed
accounts of these practices given to
reliable chroniclers within a few years
of the conquest by the Mexica
themselves. Both Bernardo de Sahagn,
in his General History of the Things of
New Spain, and Diego Duran in his
History of the Indies of New Spain,
based their reports upon the testimony of
native informants, and both give
extensive descriptions of the grisly
sacrificial rituals that had been integral
to Mexica society since its inception,
that had increased exponentially during
the fifty years prior to the conquest, and
that the conquistadors themselves
witnessed after their arrival. The
historian Hugh Thomas sums up the
matter soberly in his superb study of the
conquest. In numbers, he writes, in
the elevated sense of ceremony which
accompanied the theatrical shows
9
10
11
involved, as in its significance in the
official religion, human sacrifice in
Mexico was unique.
Political correctness has also tried to
airbrush out the Quetzalcoatl mythos of
the white-skinned bearded god who was
prophesied to return in the year One-
Reed, and Cortss manipulation of this
myth, as largely a fabrication of the
conquistadors but this too cannot be
correct. Again Sahagns immense
scholarship in his General History
contains too much detail to be ignored.
But there are many other sources too
numerous to mention here, and we
should not forget the universal
iconography of the Plumed Serpent
12
13
throughout central America. Some of it
for example at La Venta on the Gulf of
Mexico is very ancient indeed (1500
BC or older) and is associated with
reliefs of bearded individuals with
plainly Caucasian rather than native
American features.
Other fantastical aspects of my story,
such as Moctezumas visionary
encounters under the influence of
hallucinogenic mushrooms with the war
god Huitzilopochtli (Hummingbird), and
Cortss conviction that he was guided
by Saint Peter, are also thoroughly
supported in numerous historical
sources.
14
Last but not least, there is the matter
of the incredible disparity of forces the
few hundred Spaniards against vast
Mayan and later Mexica armies and the
apparent miracle of the conquistadors
triumph. But, as I show in War God, this
miracle was really science. The guns
and cannon the Spaniards were able to
deploy, their terrifying war dogs, and
the stunning impact of their cavalry gave
them decisive advantages. No dogs
larger than chihuahuas had previously
been known in Central America, and
whereas European infantry had
accumulated thousands of years of
experience (and had developed
specialized tactics and weapons) to
15
withstand charges of heavy horse, the
armies of Mexico were completely
unprepared for the seemingly demonic
beasts and supernatural powers that
Corts unleashed on them.
But there was something else,
ultimately more important than all of
this, that brought the Spanish victory.
If Moctezuma had been a different sort
of ruler, if he had possessed a shred of
kindness or decency, if there had been
any capacity in him to love, then he
surely would not have preyed upon
neighbouring peoples for human
sacrifices to offer up to his war god, in
which case he could have earned their
devotion and respect rather than their
universal loathing, and thus might have
been in a position to lead a united
opposition to the conquistadors and to
crush them utterly within weeks of
setting foot in his lands. But he was none
of these things, and thus Corts was
almost immediately able to exploit the
hatred that Moctezumas behaviour had
provoked and find allies amongst those
the Mexica had terrorised and exploited
allies who were crucial to the success
of the conquest. Of particular note in this
respect were the Tlascalans, who had
suffered the depredations of the Mexica
more profoundly than any others and
who were led by Shikotenka, a general
so courageous and so principled that he
at first fought the Spanish tooth and nail,
seeing the existential danger they posed
to the entire culture of the region, despite
the liberation from Moctezumas tyranny
that Corts offered him. Only when
Corts had smashed Shikotenka in battle
did the brave general finally bow to the
demands of the Tlascalan Senate to make
an alliance with the Spaniards, an
alliance that soon put tens of thousands
of auxiliaries under Cortss command
and set the conquistadors on the road to
Tenochtitlan
These events, and many others even
more remarkable, will be the focus of
the second volume of this series, War
God: Return of the Plumed Serpent.
References
1 See, for example, Hugh Thomas, Conquest:
Montezuma, Corts and the Fall of Old
Mexico, Simon & Schuster Paperbacks, New
York and London, 1993, pp. 6162 and 702.
2 Ibid, pp. 141142.
3 Ibid, p. 141.
4 Bernal Daz, The Conquest of New Spain,
translated by J.M. Cohen, Penguin Classics,
London, 1963, p. 49.
5 Thomas, Conquest, p. 141.
6 Ibid, pp. 157158.
7 J. M. G. Le Clezio, The Mexican Dream: Or
The Interrupted Thought of Amerindian
Civilizations, translated by Teresa Lavender
Fagan, The University of Chicago Press,
Chicago and London, 2009, p. 41.
8 See for example, Jan G. R. Elferink, Jose
Antonio Flores and Charles D. Kaplan, The
Use of Plants and Other Natural Products
for Malevolent Practices amongst the
Aztecs and their Successors, Estudios de
Cultura Nahuatl, vol. 24, 1994, Universidad
Nacional Autnomo de Mxico. See also
Daniel G. Brinton, Nagualism: A Study in
Native American Folklore and History,
MacCalla and Co, Philadelphia, 1894. And
see David Friedel, Linda Schele and Joy
Parker, Maya Cosmos: Three Thousand
Years on the Shamans Path, William
Morrow and Co., New York, pp. 52, 181,
190, 192193, 211, 228. See also Le
Clezio, The Mexican Dream, pp. 104108
9 Fray Bernardo de Sahagn, General History
of the Things of New Spain (Florentine
Codex), translated from the Aztec into
English by Arthur J. O. Anderson and Charles
E. Dibble, School of American Research,
University of Utah, 1975. See for example
book 12, chapters 6, 8 and 9.
10 Fray Diego Durn, The History of the
Indies of New Spain, translated by Doris
Heyden and Fernando Horcasitas, Orion
Press, New York, 1964. See, for example,
pages 99102 (from where the oration given
to sacrificial victims in chapter 28 of War
God is quoted), pp. 105113, 120122,
195200 and many other similar passages.
11 Thomas, Conquest, pp. 2427.
12 Ibid, p. 27.
13 Sahagn, General History, see for example
chapters 2, 3, 4 and 16.
14 See for example Graham Hancock and
Santha Faiia, Heavens Mirror: Quest for
the Lost Civilisation, Michael Joseph,
London, 1998, pp. 3842.
15 An excellent source on the conquistadors
use of dogs trained for war is to be found in
John Grier Varner and Jeannette Johnson
Varner, Dogs of the Conquest, University of
Oklahoma Press, 1983.
Acknowledgements
First and foremost I am grateful to my
wife and partner Santha, my fiercest
critic and constant companion who has
read every word of this book and of the
two subsequent volumes that follow it
and who never lets me get away with
any short cuts. My children Sean, Shanti,
Ravi, Leila, Luke and Gabrielle, as well
as my son and daughters in law Lydia,
Simone, Jason and Ayako, have all also
been helpful and inspiring presences,
reading draft after draft and offering
encouragement and advice.
Others who have read and been kind
enough to comment on the manuscripts of
the evolving War God series and who
have given me much valuable advice,
but who are of course not responsible in
any way for the shortcomings of what I
have written, include Chris and Cathy
Foyle, Luis Eduardo Luna, Father Nicola
Mapelli, Jean-Paul Tarud-Kuborn, Ram
Menen and Saad Shah. Im grateful to
each and every one of these good and
true friends of mine for their generosity
with their time and their many
constructive suggestions.
My editor Mark Booth at Coronet has
been brilliant as ever, seeing what
needed to be done at each stage of the
writing process and keeping me on the
right course with amazing
professionalism and insight.
My communities on my Facebook
author page
(www.facebook.com/Author.GrahamHancock
and on my Facebook personal page
(www.facebook.com/GrahamHancockDotCom
and also my website community
(www.grahamhancock.com) have been
incredibly supportive of me through the
several years of my life that War God
has dominated my writing and my
creativity.
Last but not least I want to put on
record my appreciation for those
Spaniards and Mexica of the sixteenth
century who were caught up in the events
of the conquest and wrote about it at first
hand, leaving accounts luminous with the
spirit and terror of the time that I have
been able to draw on in creating this
book sometimes even putting the exact
words of the individual concerned into
the mouth of his or her character in my
story. A number of modern scholars have
also written important works on the
events of the conquest without which I
would not have been able to develop a
full appreciation of the period and again
I am grateful for the tremendous job they
have done. Needless to say none of them
are responsible in any way for the
shortcomings of War God but if the book
has strengths it is in large part owed to
them. Many more works of reference on
which I have drawn could be cited here,
but I list in particular the following texts
to which I have most frequently had
reference as primary and secondary
sources for this first volume of the War
God trilogy:
Primary sources
Hernan Cortes, Letters from Mexico,
Translated and with a new
Introduction by Anthony Pagden, Yale
University Press, New Haven and
London, 1986.
Bernal Diaz, The Conquest of New
Spain, Translated by J.M. Cohen,
Penguin Classics, London, 1963.
The Bernal Diaz Chronicles, Translated
and Edited by Bernard Idell,
Doubleday, New York, 1956.
Fray Diego Duran, The History of the
Indies of New Spain, translated by
Doris Heyden and Fernando
Horcasitas, Orion Press, New York,
1964.
Patricia Fuentes (translator), The
Conquistadors: First Person
accounts of the Conquest of Mexico,
The Orion Press, New York, 1963.
Francisco Lopez de Gomara, Cortes:
The Life of the Conqueror by his
Secretary, Translated by Lesley Byrd
Simpson, University of California
Press, 1966.
Fray Bernardo de Sahagun, General
History of the Things of New Spain
(Florentine Codex), translated from
the Aztec into English by Arthur J.O.
Anderson and Charles E. Dibble,
School of American Research,
University of Utah, 1975.
Miguel Leon-Portilla (Ed), Broken
Spears: The Aztec Account of the
Conquest of Mexico, Beacon Press,
Boston, 1990.
Secondary sources
J.M.G. Le Clezio, The Mexican Dream:
Or The Interrupted Thought of
Amerindian Civilizations, Translated
by Teresa Lavender Fagan, The
University of Chicago Press, Chicago
and London, 2009.
David Friedel, Linda Schele and Joy
Parker, Maya Cosmos: Three
Thousand Years on the Shamans
Path, William Morrow and Co., New
York, 1995
C. Harvey Gardner, The Constant
Companion: Gonzalo de Sandoval,
Southern Illinois University Press,
1961.
John Eoghan Kelly, Pedro de Alvarado,
Conquistador, Kennikat Press, Port
Washington, N.Y., and London, 1932.
William H. Prescott, History of the
Conquest of Mexico, The Modern
Library, New York.
Karen Sullivan, The Inner Lives of
Medieval Inquisitors, University of
Chicago Press, 2011.
Hugh Thomas, Conquest: Montezuma,
Cortes and the Fall of Old Mexico,
Simon & Schuster Paperbacks, New
York, and London, 1993.
Hugh Thomas, Whos Who of the
Conquistadors, Cassell & Co.,
London, 2000.
John Grier Varner and Jeannette Johnson
Varner, Dogs of the Conquest,
University of Oklahoma Press, 1983.