Sky Knife (10 page)

A slow smile spread across Bone Splinter's perfect features. “I don't believe so,” he said.

“Besides, with Kan Flower watching them, they won't be able to work any more bad luck magic against us,” said Sky Knife. He yawned. Now that the light of day was dimming, and the excitement of the ceremony wore off, he remembered he hadn't slept at all last night. His eyes were dry and gritty. He rubbed them wearily.

“You there, boy!”

Sky Knife looked around for the source of the shout. A purple-clad nun strode across the plaza, ignoring the curses of the merchants as her long skirt disrupted their wares. Salt cakes and obsidian blades fell to the plaza in her wake. The blades smashed against the tiles with bright, sharp sounds.

“Who's going to pay for these?” shouted the obsidian merchant.

The nun ignored him. The merchant half-rose, then apparently thought better of confronting a nun who could curse him with the power of Ix Chel, and sat back down, muttering.

“Yes, priestess?” said Sky Knife as the woman approached.

“Come to the temple,” she barked. “The High Priestess wishes to see you.”

“Then perhaps she should find a messenger with manners,” said Sky Knife. He resisted the urge to turn his back and ignore this rude woman.

The nun stopped in front of him. She frowned. “Come along, boy,” she said. “Who are you to say no to the High Priestess of Ix Chel in any matter?”

Bone Splinter stepped forward, but Sky Knife waved him back. “I am Sky Knife,” he said. “A representative of the King of Tikal, and a priest now, in the Temple of Itzamna.”

Bone Splinter's eyes widened at that. The nun seemed unimpressed. “You are a temple attendant,” she said. “Who apparently has ambitions beyond his years or his station.”

Sky Knife considered walking past the nun and ignoring her. But if the High Priestess knew anything that could help him, he should go to her and see what she had to say.

On the other hand, he didn't necessarily have to go with this particular nun.

“I am very busy,” he said. “And you have offended me. If the High Priestess wishes to see me, she can send another messenger.”

“I don't think so,” said the nun. “Come with me or…”

“Be very careful about what you say next,” said Bone Splinter softly. “He is under my protection.”

“I've had quite enough of this,” said Sky Knife. He fought to suppress a yawn. His anger helped chase away some of his weariness. “I will go see the High Priestess.”

The nun smirked.

“But I shall report your unseemly behavior to her,” said Sky Knife.

The nun tossed her head, sending braids flying around her shoulders. “My mistress will put you in your place, boy.”

“We'll see,” said Sky Knife. He stepped down from the patio and strode toward the Temple of Ix Chel. Bone Splinter walked just behind him, but the nun had to struggle to keep up. She was panting by the time they reached the temple.

Bone Splinter stepped ahead and drew aside the purple curtain. Sky Knife walked in without announcement.

“No, wait,” called the nun. She jogged the last few steps into the temple. “You can't just come in here like this.”

“I can go anywhere I wish,” said Sky Knife, though he didn't move from the room. He might have the king's permission, but he certainly didn't have Ix Chel's leave to wander the inner recesses of the temple.

Turtle Nest strode into the room. “Thank you for…” she began. Then her eyes widened and she stepped back, hands at her throat. “Oh, Ix Chel!” she whispered. “Is it true? Is it really a rainbow serpent?”

“It is,” said Sky Knife. “It … it seems to like me.”

“A rainbow serpent?” asked the rude nun. She looked around the room, at Bone Splinter and Sky Knife. “Where?”

“What luck,” said Turtle Nest. She walked forward slowly, eyes never leaving the
chic-chac.
“You have brought luck to my temple. Thank you.”

Sky Knife didn't know if she spoke to the snake or to him, so he kept silent.

“This man was most rude to me,” said the nun. “I had to ask him several times to come. He claims to be a priest instead of an attendant, too.”

Turtle Nest blinked and stepped back, her gaze thoughtful. “Foolish girl,” she said. “What do you think is in that bag at his waist? If he bears the Hand of God, he must be a priest.” She looked into Sky Knife's eyes. “Stone Jaguar, I assume, plans to use whatever luck you can bring for his own temple, and so has elevated you. Congratulations.”

“You mean he
is
a priest?” asked the nun. “He doesn't seem like one to me.”

Turtle Nest frowned and turned to her nun slowly. “Look at this man and tell me what you see around his neck.”

“Nothing but an old braided cord,” huffed the nun.

The High Priestess walked toward her nun, the grace of the jaguar in her movements. “Oh, it is not a cord,” she said, her voice silky and low. The sound of it sent a shudder up Sky Knife's spine.

The nun stepped back, surprised. “What?” She glanced from Sky Knife to Turtle Nest. “What's going on?”

“You slut!” barked Turtle Nest. The nun's jaw dropped open in shock and horror. Turtle Nest slapped the nun. The nun shook her head and tried to speak, but her High Priestess slapped her again. The nun fell down into a sobbing heap. “Get up!” screamed the High Priestess. She kicked the nun, whose wails grew ever louder.

Several other nuns ran into the room. They stopped in surprise when they saw their High Priestess kicking the nun on the floor. “Who is he?” shouted Turtle Nest. “Who is he? Who made you forget your vows to Ix Chel?”

Sky Knife bit his lip, suddenly understanding. The nun had lain with a man—she was no longer consecrated to Ix Chel. She was defiled. No wonder she couldn't see the snake—she lived in a terrible state of dishonor, without repentance, without remorse.

The gods, even Ix Chel, might forgive. But only if a person repented, and offered penance.

“Ix Chel curse you,” said the High Priestess. “You have no honor. You have no name. You are nothing. At the moment the sun dies on the horizon tonight, you shall join him in the underworld, where the beasts shall burn your dead flesh with their cigars and roast your heart for their supper.” Turtle Nest turned her back on the nameless woman. “Take her away,” said the High Priestess. The other nuns rushed forward and dragged their former sister out of the room. The screams of the defiled nun echoed down the narrow corridor.

Turtle Nest turned to Sky Knife. “Xibalba shall be her next home,” she said. “For any insult this nameless woman gave, I offer my apology.”

Sky Knife nodded.

Turtle Nest cocked her head. “You find something amusing, warrior?” she asked.

Sky Knife turned to Bone Splinter. The taller man looked as though he were swallowing a laugh.

“I was thinking that, in the House of the Warriors, if a brother were found to be defiled, we should take his life's blood then and there, without bothering to curse him or make a speech. But I think the curse is appropriate. She will carry it into Xibalba with her like a tattoo.”

Turtle Nest nodded. “Even so. She has failed the temple, Ix Chel, me, her sisters, her parents—everyone.”

Sky Knife cleared his throat. “There was a reason you sent for me?” he asked.

Turtle Nest sighed. “Yes, although now my heart is weighed so heavily with sorrow, I almost forgot. I was going to tell you that I burned
copal
today and petitioned Ix Chel to send me a sign in the smoke. I asked her to tell me who brought evil to Tikal. And she answered.”

“Yes?” asked Sky Knife. His body quivered in excitement. “Who is it?”

“The goddess does not give names, young priest,” said Turtle Nest. She smiled. “But she does help those who are faithful. In the smoke, I saw a tall man with a dark heart. An ambitious heart. I could not see his face. At first, I thought I wouldn't tell you—a dark heart is scarcely something one can just go out and look for. But perhaps you will find a way. You bear luck with you at your throat, luck enough perhaps to outweigh your name.”

Sky Knife lowered his gaze. “My mother said she was told by Itzamna himself to name me after the Knife of Stars,” he said. He glanced back up at Turtle Nest.

The priestess nodded. “I thought it might be something like that. A woman just doesn't go looking for bad luck for her child without reason. Perhaps for you, the name is good luck—it should be, if it's Itzamna's choice. If Itzamna wants you named after the Knife of Stars, then you and your name may be good luck, not only for yourself, but for Tikal as well. And now you have an ally in the
chic-chac.
Do not underestimate that.”

“Providing the snake stays with me,” said Sky Knife, hoping what Turtle Nest said about his name and Itzamna was true. Turtle Nest's duty was to Ix Chel, not Itzamna, but she was more familiar with the ways of the gods than Sky Knife. She might be right.

“One cannot rule the desires of a serpent's heart,” said Turtle Nest. “You can only hope it will stay for a few days before returning to
chun caan.
”

Sky Knife nodded. Turtle Nest bowed slightly to him. “Go in peace, priest of Itzamna. My temple shall continue to serve in whatever way we can.”

“Thank you,” said Sky Knife. He turned and walked out of the temple. The sun was low on the horizon. Sky Knife didn't watch it go down, didn't want to be reminded of the nameless woman who had shed her duty, her honor, and now, her life.

Sky Knife stumbled back to his quarters and dropped onto his bed, the wails of the nameless woman still ringing in his ears. But the warmth of the
chic-chac
burned away the screams until only pleasant thoughts, and untroubled dreams, remained.

II

EAST

W
HERE
K
NOWLEDGE
B
EGINS

9.0.0.0.1

9 I
MIX
14 C
EH

10

Sky Knife woke slowly. The first thing he did was put his hands to his neck. The
chic-chac
was still there. Its feather-soft tongue touched his hand. It tickled. Sky Knife felt relieved, and honored, by the snake's favor.

The cotton blanket had slipped to the floor, and the paint on his arms and legs had flaked off. Sky Knife poured some water over his head and ran his fingers through his hair. He took a towel and scrubbed off the bits of paint that remained on his skin, then scooped out some fresh paint with his fingers. He hesitated, but went ahead and painted himself with four stripes on each arm and leg.

Bone Splinter lay on a bench in the corridor outside. As soon as he saw Sky Knife, he sat up. The warrior ran his hands through his hair and patted it down close to his scalp. His earlobes, bare of the ear spools, dangled in loose hoops around his chin. Bone Splinter retrieved the ear spools from a fold in the cotton blanket on the bench, and fitted them back onto his ears.

“Let's get something to eat,” said Sky Knife. “And then visit the merchants Kan Flower has detained. Unless you've heard of more bad luck in the city?”

Bone Splinter stood and stretched. “No,” he said. “No bad luck seems to have occurred since Kan Flower rounded up the merchants.”

“And Red Spider is not among them?”

“No.”

Sky Knife nodded and wandered toward the back of the acropolis, where the cooks would have prepared the morning meal. He stepped outside into the cooking yard and took a deep breath. The scent of the jungle mixed freely with the smoke of the cooking fires and the dry, sweet smell of ground corn.

The women in the yard used their round
manos
to grind the corn on heavy granite
metates.
The granite had to be imported from the highlands for the local stone was too soft to grind corn with.
Metate
merchants always made a good living.

Sky Knife walked into the yard, but Peccary Spine barred his way.

“Sky Knife,” said Peccary Spine with a small bow. “I will get you something to eat.” The man's eyes never left the snake around Sky Knife's throat.

“That will not be necessary,” said Bone Splinter before Sky Knife could say anything. “I'm sure this priest of Itzamna has better things to do this morning than look at your face.”

Sky Knife bit his lip, embarrassed, but at the same time, a malicious glee crept into his heart. Peccary Spine had tormented him for years. Now, suddenly, with Sky Knife's fortunes improved, the man couldn't torment him any longer.

“Sky Knife!” called a deep voice. Sky Knife turned around. Death Smoke stood in the door of the acropolis.

“Yes, Death Smoke?”

“Move your things to Blood House's room,” said Death Smoke. “You're not to sleep back here with the attendants any longer.”

“Of course, Death Smoke,” said Sky Knife. A slight tremor ran up his spine. The bad luck that had come to Blood House could still be lingering in the room. Sky Knife didn't want to move there. He didn't want to be reminded of finding Blood House's body. He didn't want to think about Yellow Chin entering the room.

The
chic-chac
squeezed his neck slightly, then relaxed. Sky Knife breathed deeply. The snake seemed to be telling him he didn't need to fear. It was probably right. The good luck of a rainbow serpent had to be more than enough to outweigh the bad luck of Blood House's untimely death.

A woman brought Sky Knife and Bone Splinter some cornbread and water. Sky Knife accepted the food and ate it quickly, as did Bone Splinter. The woman took the empty bowls when they had finished the water.

Sky Knife went back to collect his things. Bone Splinter took the paint jar and water bowl while Sky Knife carried the cotton throws.