The Bloodgate Warrior (14 page)

“Say
noyollotl
.”

I repeated the word, stumbling a bit over the pronunciation.

“If you need me to stop at any time, say this word. I give you my most solemn oath that you are safe in my hands. No harm shall come to you as my captive. Are you sure you still want to go through with this?”

I nodded, but I could see the need in his eyes. He wanted words. “Yes. I’ll be your captive. But couldn’t we do the ritual now? I’m sure there’s a perfectly hard and uncomfortable altar that we could use around here. I really don’t want to have to take a swim in the lake.”

“There’s no other way for me to get us quickly where we need to be.”

“I know,” I sighed. “I don’t know what I’ll do when it closes over my head. I trust you to not let me drown, but I might flake out on you for a while.”

I so did not want him to see me hysterical and sobbing like a broken woman.

“We can help with that.”

At the unexpected female voice, Técun exploded to his feet and whirled to face the threat, tucking me behind him. He moved so fast it looked like a long, wicked knife magically jumped into his hand. I had no idea where he’d been hiding it. The Rojases pulled out their weapons again, and José eased closer to the car, ready to fling himself behind the wheel and get us all to safety.

Despite the dangerous tension, I suddenly noticed the ruins looming above us. The drive had seemed endless, and I’d stared at the window at the water, dreading this moment, so I hadn’t paid attention to exactly where we were going. I had no idea there were such well-kept ruins in the area. Natalie would have wet her pants with excitement.

A lump in my throat the size of Texas tried to choke me.

“Who are you?” Técun demanded.

Then I noticed a jaguar crouched beside the woman. Black as night, it just sat staring at us, so huge that I had no idea how I’d missed seeing it before. I tensed, preparing to run, but then remembered I was bound hand and foot.

When it reared up on its hind legs, the jaguar stretched at least six foot tall. It began to blur…
into a man
.

My mouth was surely hanging open. If Técun could be real and walk out of a pool of water after invading my dreams for months, then I probably shouldn’t have been surprised that a jaguar could transform into a man right before my eyes.

“I’m the Gatekeeper of Chi’Ch’ul.” The man’s voice rumbled with the low tones of the jaguar. “It’s my great honor to assist you,
Ahau
. We must move quickly, though. The ruins are guarded by the Guatemalan police.”

Técun must have recognized the man or at least his claims, because he sheathed the knife and picked me up. We followed the strangers into the shadows of tumbled stones. “What happened here?”

“A group of scientists discovered the gates and were attempting to open First Five Sky. What they found instead was Xibalba.”

Técun sighed. “So there are more demons loose than the one I hunt.”

“I’m afraid so. They disappeared north to my mate’s lands.”

“America,” the woman added. She peered up at me, clearly wondering why I was draped over Técun’s shoulder and not protesting at the top of my lungs. She stretched up a hand, whether to help me down or what I wasn’t sure. “I’m Jaid Merritt.”

Then she noticed my bound wrists. Stiffening, she jerked to a halt. “If someone doesn’t explain why this woman is tied up, I’m going to find the biggest books in my library and start chucking them at this guy.”

“She’s mine.” Técun growled in that menacing way of his. The woman’s eyes went round. The other man crouched, his golden eyes gleaming, teeth flashing, like he was on the verge of becoming a jaguar again.

Before he could attack, I added, “I’m his captive and we’re going to raise a hell of a lot of power.”

Técun met the other man’s gaze and a dark knowledge flowed between them. The jaguar man understood exactly what Técun meant to do, yet tension still strained his shoulders. Because he feared I might be injured in some way, or something else?

“I must get to El Castillo.”

“Understood,
Ahau
.”

“Absolutely not!” Jaid retorted. “You’ve got to be kidding me!”

Instead of bracing for battle, Técun softened his stance. “This woman is my willing sacrifice whom I love above all else.”

Reaching up, I dropped my bound arms over his head and down around his neck. “I love you too, although chucking a few books at your head sounds like an interesting idea.”

“You see? All will be well,” the jaguar man said to his woman. “He’s as likely to hurt her as I would be to hurt you.”

Jaid backed down. She shot a glare at Técun. “I trust him, not you.”

“Understood, lady.” He gave a slight bow to her but turned his attention to the other man. “You mentioned an easier passage than through the lake. How is this possible?”

The man led us into one of the temples and touched the wall in a complicated pattern that I didn’t even try to follow. Stone slid out of the way, revealing a tunnel. I couldn’t help but groan. I was so sick of dark, nasty tunnels. Even drowning almost seemed like a better alternative.

“The scientists were exploring ways to create their own gate in America. We took the idea and used our knowledge to form a stable, smaller gate using the key.”

“We?”

“She knows as much about the gates as I. They’ve claimed her protection too.”

I didn’t know what that meant, or why the other man dropped his gaze and bowed his head, a meek posture for a man almost as big as Técun.

“We must guard the gates well, brother. I’m pleased that you have a helpmeet in these dangerous times.” At Técun’s words, the other man’s lingering tension evaporated. He lifted his head and took the other woman’s hand in his. “So tell me how you’ve managed to create a new gate without passage through water.”

We entered what must be the heart of the pyramid. Jaid flipped a switch and the low hum of a generator echoed off the walls. Floodlights kicked on, revealing brilliant paintings on the walls.

“Since this is Jaid’s idea, I think she should have the honor of explaining our new gate,” the jaguar man said.

“Water is an important component of your magic,” Jaid began.

Immediately, I decided she had to be some kind of professor. She had that droning, instructive tone down perfectly.

“Since Xibalba is a watery underworld, the Maya have always associated caves and water with portals, often creating their own caves beneath the great pyramids. Passage through water isn’t required, though. We experimented with different amounts of water until Ruin settled on a small basin at the four corners.”

Ruin?
Honestly, that was the jaguar guy’s name? I looked up at Técun’s face, but he didn’t seem perturbed by such a strange name. I suppose that was easier to pronounce than Itzpapalotl.

“Or Kukulkan,”
he whispered in my head. “
One of his true names is Xbalanque.
”

Okay, then. Ruin it was.

“We’ve positioned a small portal on each of the main map rooms that are still accessible and yet hidden and secure from prying eyes.” He bowed low to Técun. “With your leave,
Ahau
, I’ll adjust the rings on the altar and you may step through to Chichén Itza.”

“Guard this ancient city well, Gatekeepers. Chi’Ch’ul is precious to me.”

The woman blinked and then a startled but pleased smile spread across her face.

Both of the Rojases stepped forward, armed to the teeth with packs slung over their shoulders. “We should go through first,
Ahau
.”

“In this time, Chichén Itza is guarded and patrolled,” Ruin said. “The secret room has not been found, which should give you time to locate and eliminate the guards.”

I watched closely as the Rojases walked toward the rings painted on the floor of the room, but the design swirled in my head. I blinked to clear my vision, and they were gone. José disappeared in midstep. Then it was our turn.

Técun shifted me back up over his shoulder. I felt like a bloody idiot hanging upside down, my stomach squished against the hard ridge of muscle. Irritated that he’d done it not once but twice—and in front of strangers—I kicked out with my legs.

Which earned his big palm on my ass.

“So help me, I’m going to puke all over you.”

Laughing, he gripped me more firmly, filling his hand with my buttock. “Kick some more, captive.”

Even dangling down his back, I took note of the painted floor. He was almost there. Anxiety quickened my breathing, my heart pounding painfully fast. I didn’t know what to expect. The men had walked through without any noticeable…

My skin tingled. A sudden wash of crisp, cold water flooded my senses. Involuntarily, I struggled. My body remembered drowning and fought desperately toward the surface of some ice-cold murky lake. In seconds, though, the sensation of water disappeared. He still had me locked firmly to him, his palm searing me through denim.

“There. That wasn’t so bad, was it?”

Panting, I drooped against his shoulder. “Where are we?”

“In a secret chamber beneath Chichén Itza. The Gatekeeper’s trick saved us a swim in the Sacred Cenote.”

Cenote. Ugh. A natural cavern filled with water—two nightmares in one. I shuddered.
No, thank you.

Without the fear of water drowning my senses, all I could think about was his ritual. His big palm smack dab on my ass. My bound hands and ankles.

A different kind of anxiety made my heart pound harder than ever, but even hanging upside down across his shoulder, I couldn’t deny that I was wet. Heat blossomed in my core, melting my bones and any resistance I even thought about mustering.

The low murmur of male voices washed over me, but I didn’t listen to their words. I didn’t really care. I smelled an earthy dank odor of yet another godforsaken tunnel, but he strode so quickly that I didn’t even have time to register the fact before warm, humid night air filled my lungs.

In quiet rustles, our men spread out to find the guards. I hoped no one would be hurt, especially us. I wouldn’t have ever found Técun without José. I still couldn’t tell the Rojases apart, but they followed Técun faithfully. For that alone, I would trust them with my life.

Still in shadowed darkness, we waited. Técun kneaded the backs of my thighs, his fingers so strong it could have almost been pain. Almost. Instead, it made me moan, which made him knead harder.

“Soon,
noyollotl
.”

Finally, we were moving. He ran, incredibly light on his feet, not even jostling me on his shoulder. Weaving through the trees and buildings, he made his way across the plaza to the famous pyramid of Chichén Itza. A huge moon lit the plaza almost as brightly as day. He powered up the wide steps of the pyramid, his shoulder lurching beneath me like a ship surging over waves.

I tried to hold on, but with my hands bound, all I could do was grip the waistband of his jeans. It was so bright—what if a guard happened to look up and see a wild man carrying a helpless woman up the pyramid? What if they saw whatever ritual Técun was going to re-create at the peak? I laughed out loud only to keep from blubbering like a baby, but it came out more of a groan because of the muscles squishing my air out of my belly.

“Don’t worry about the guards. Once I begin, we’ll be veiled from prying eyes. Nothing will approach or pierce my magic without my knowledge.”

At the top, a small temple awaited its priest. Moonlight streamed in through the doorways, spotlighting the altar for a sacrifice.

For me.

Chapter Twelve

February 19, 1524 Xicoténcatl Tecubalsi
Translated into Spanish by Leonor de Alvarado y Xiotenega Tecubalsi
Translated by Carla Guzmán Gonzales, 1970

I left my wounded heart in Tlaxcala with my priest. I never thought it would beat for another man, let alone the wicked Spaniard to whom I’ve been given.

I fail, Great Feathered Serpent. My tears pour like rain, my cries like the hurricane winds tearing the earth. Despite this man’s many sins and the countless deaths of my people at his hand, he has claimed my heart for his own. I’m heavy with his child. He sets me above his white wife and takes me with him everywhere he goes. Always conquering, always torturing and killing and stealing.

He’s a demon, the Red Sun my people all across the nations fear. The worst denizen of Xibalba would welcome him with open arms.

I hate myself, yet I cannot help the foolish love in my heart.

He loves me.

How can I hate him when he touches my stomach and laughs with joy at the thought of the son or daughter growing inside me?

Wretched misery is mine, Great Feathered Serpent, for I know what purpose you gave me. I set myself aside for sacrifice. In my pride, I would be the one who conquered the Red Sun Alvarado with the fire of my passion and the magic in my blood. Yet I am conquered by that passion. My magic pulses higher—powered by love, not hate. I should have known that hate would not fuel my spells. That has never been our way.

Yet love betrays me.

My love betrays the great warrior who would stand against the conquistadors and expel them from our homeland once and for all. Técun Úman pays the price of my love with his life. Our people die for my love.

Because I could not bring myself to use my magic and cripple the man I was sent to destroy.

* * *

Thankfully, Técun didn’t drop me onto the stone altar immediately. My courage might have deserted me before he even started. Instead, he set me down carefully against the wall along with his leather pack holding the spearhead. Moving to the center of the small room, he unsheathed one of his mysterious knives. When we were all safely out of this mess, I was going to strip his clothes off item by item just so I could figure out where he was hiding all these blades.

Framed in the ancient stone doorway, he stood illuminated in moonlight and raised a knife to the sky. I thought he’d pray or chant some spooky ritual. I never expected him to cut himself.

At first I thought he’d cut his cheeks, but he’d actually sliced his earlobes. Blood dripped onto his shoulders. Now, he chanted, his voice echoing like thunder, rising louder until the air vibrated with energy. The sharp tang of lightning filled the air and the hair on my arms rose. Light streamed about him, not the soft silvered pearl of the moon but green and fresh, warm and golden, like sunshine in the depths of the rainforest. A deep gong rumbled and the pyramid beneath us shook.