Don went up the temple stairs two at a time. He wore his Chosen Warrior's loin-cloth and embroidered cloak, as well as a plumed battle-mask in hammered silver which concealed the upper half of his face. The temple guards saluted him and one drew back the brocade curtain to let him pass.402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSo2RNMuI8N
Ann was standing on the terrace looking down at the city. She was startled when Don came towards her, not sure for a moment whether it was him or Yaotl. Don lifted his mask and Ann sighed with relief before frowning. "You shouldn't be up here. It's too dangerous," she said anxiously.402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡccbceIPIfc
Don dismissed her fears with a downward wave of his hand and remarked lightly that, for all the guards knew, he could just as easily have been Yaotl.402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGRRYfc7Khw
Ann wasn't convinced. "I still think it was reckless of you."402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7X3IIgf85Q
Don led her to the back of the temple behind the throne. "I came here to warn you," he confided.402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdQY4twQkAm
"About what?"402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmQKKbbwpGM
"That's just it. I don't know. But I'm convinced that Ollin and Tlaqui are cooking up something against you."402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJMcivSKEhb
Ann was shocked. "Tlaqui? I didn't know he was on Ollin's side. Our High Priest of Sacrifice seems to have the knack of bringing people around to his way of thinking," she said ruefully.402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6SvZxw0Gcn
"That's where you're wrong, Ann," Don replied. "They're all on Ollin's side."402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxnS6yzZUQs
"What about Tetzal?" she asked.402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF0hxizxRzk
"What about him?" Don shrugged. "He's reasonable, cultured, civilized in his own way, but he goes along with Ollin. You saved my life, Ann, not Tetzal. He would have let me die."402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtaJzxcDJsR
"I'm not so sure that he would now." She did her best to sound convincing as she told Don about her last conversation with the High Priest of Knowledge.402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKOuM8ZOF9A
Don shook his head. "Come to the crunch, Ann, he'll behave like any other Aztec." 402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfYYliIgCz3
Don was adamant. "Look, you simply can't fight a way of life."402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi98VS9WyH1
Ann turned away. "I don't believe this! First Dr. Smith, now you." She laughed mirthlessly. "But there's such nobility in them," she protested, "that I want to do something to save them from destruction."402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdXDomkaJHG
"There's only one thing to be done," Don said quietly to her back. "Get back into that tomb and leave them alone."402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIX8vQvclyD
Ann heard faint footsteps on the stairs. "Someone's coming up," she whispered. "You better hide."402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQuJzsUVCGJ
Don dashed to the curtain behind which he and Yaotl had held the Rain God victim. 402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUGggj85xyL
He ducked into the alcove, holding one slit of the curtain open with a finger so that he could see Ann, who had taken her place on the throne. He heard Ollin's shuffling gait as he limped over to the throne with Tlaqui at his side, holding a goblet.402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkcGh4djQmV
"We greet thee, Nenetl," Ollin said ingratiatingly.402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOupc8ZEPnW
"What do you want?" Ann asked coldly.402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaJF77Ni7sS
Ollin gestured to Tlaqui and himself. "We come before the Great Spirit in all humility," and they both bowed.402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiSx6rx9kKF
"Quiet words do you credit." Ann's eyes and mind were alert for any indication of danger.402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0c7VXf6fGj
Ollin stretched out his arm in a gesture of despair. "Have we not both spoken harsh words and had dark thoughts?" He went on to state that he was now convinced of her divinity and wished to make amends.402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaKE0aeusqU
Tlaqui echoed Ollin by begging Nenetl not to punish the High Priest for his misgivings.402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhCeyGXR2Sw
"This draught is symbolic of the blood of Huitzilopochtli." Ollin took the goblet from Tlaqui and held it up in front of Ann. "Let us share it in reverence."402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVczf4kER43
Ann took the goblet from him and raised it to her lips. Behind the curtain Don held his breath and tensed his muscles, ready to dash out to knock the goblet from her hands before she drank. Ollin and Tlaqui watched her intently.402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgM5LTtbGtG
Then, she hesitated, smiled and held out the goblet to the High Priest. "If you now acknowledge my divinity, then first both of you must drink in reverence to me." She shot a quick glance at Tlaqui who averted his eyes. "And then I shall drink in reverence to Huitzilopochtli for us all." She stood and thrust the goblet at him. 402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg5XDUyJ7tv
"Drink," she commanded.402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEx78eRzBFJ
The High Priest took a step backwards. Ann came down from the dais and turned to Tlaqui. "You'll sip it in reverence to me, won't you?"402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡORLu5t8oX6
The balding, pudgy little priest shook his head and edged his way towards the curtained entrance to the temple. Holding the goblet at arm's length, Ann went with him. As he reached the curtain Ann looked at him icily. "You defile this temple. Get out of my sight." She threw down the goblet, which smashed at his feet, and Tlaqui fled.402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdlg1cQJNAb
Ann turned back to face Ollin who looked at her apprehensively. "Well?" Her voice was expressionless.402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC65zEpT6aR
"We meant only to test you."402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqwq7sH5H0h
"With poison?" Still she betrayed no emotion.402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzJFBp8swCc
"Nenetl would have lived as true gods are immortal."402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkoQNNiyvNC
"Well, I would have died."402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0xnFAgwqb1
Ollin's eyes widened in triumph.402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjYNYsjualM
"I am not Nenetl."402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoQcOpE0DQQ
He pointed at her. "False! You are a false god. As I have known since I first saw you."402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKFNH0m12kz
"And who will believe you?" Ann's eyes hardened. "I warn you, Ollin. Say one word against me to the people and I shall have them destroy you. Now, go!"402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTUc6gRBsoT
The High Priest of Sacrifice stared malevolently at her for a few seconds. Ann met his eyes with a steady gaze, then he muttered the word "false" again, and limped from the temple.402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYr66IHFJIk
As soon as he was gone Ann began to tremble. Don came quickly from behind the curtain and put his arms around her. Ann closed her eyes. "W-w-we m-m-must get away, Don," she stammered. "I can't p-pl-play this r-r-role much longer."402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3xpm9etGd4
"We will, Ann, we will," he reassured her, but he didn't know how they would do it.402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjycMfIIJYD
It was early afternoon. The two High Priests and Tlaqui had eaten their midday meal of roast pheasant, hot spicy pancakes, and fruit, all of which had been prepared by the women who served in the temple. The three of them sat on cushions around the table rinsing their hands in the finger bowls which had been placed before them.402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbg8otkpZka
"What progress do our pupils make at the seminary, Tlaqui?" Tetzal dabbed his mouth with a dampened corner of his napkin.402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡloZVVXP4LB
"All are diligent in their studies," Tlaqui replied.402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFEmC9Veq5h
"And Nenetl's handmaiden?" Tetzal asked.402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ0ESxs22hM
Tlaqui raised his arms. "Her intelligence far exceeds that of the others. And she has knowledge of things known only to the Priests," he added, clearly impressed. 402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfT982QwZNR
"But are you surprised? She also serves the gods," Tetzal reminded him.402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2ctEtaNJtc
"Other gods than ours," Ollin growled.402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS00Ma2FSX3
Tetzal sighed and asked when the High Priest of Sacrifice would cease to doubt Nenetl's divinity.402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEjE5yBGC33
"Never, for I know she is false," he snapped, and was on the point of telling Tetzal about the poison but realized that they had tried to give it to her without his knowledge. "She has come among us, intent on destroying us." He slammed his fist onto the table.402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1Ga0bA247B
"Or saving us," Tetzal replied quietly as he stood up and went to his cell to rest.402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1nEnlJkaJM
Ollin flicked crumbs of food off the table. "Do you share Tetzal's conviction?" he asked Tlaqui.402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHpIjysLDhs
"I do not know to whom I should listen." Tlaqui nervously remembered the goblet exploding, splashing the poisoned draught over his feet.402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAxLyL4A66V
"She is false, she told me so herself," Ollin said but saw the doubt in Tlaqui's eyes. "And when I have the proof you will hear only my voice which will be like thunder in the sky." He cleaned his fingernails with the tip of a knife. "But where is my proof? How shall I obtain it? She is very clever." He put down the knife and studied his fingernails, then looked at Tlaqui. "The handmaiden, alone in the seminary, tell me about her."402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp2hdFaRwXN
Tlaqui shifted uncomfortably on his cushion. "She is, as I have said, very intelligent, but self-willed."402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9tzO3NAgJT
"In what way?" Ollin leaned across the table.402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZsNwmYcV3s
"One day, in the presence of the High Priest of Knowledge and myself, she said she would only marry someone of her own choosing."402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhbtwVOAcRj
"She would not be wed by arrangement, not for honor?"402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSYC8Md3g6L
Tlaqui shook his head. "On this she was firm. She would choose her husband." A plan had already formulated in Ollin's mind. "Then we must find a suitable one for her, 402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXm8FLjjSZL
Tlaqui," he said briskly and put a forefinger to his lips. "The false god's weakness lies not in herself but in her servants," he observed as he picked up the knife and stuck it into the table.402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzxbt5UgjOR
A prospective husband was the last thought in Penny's mind was she stood, bored almost to tears, at the entrance to her cell, looking out onto the cloister. Behind her was Tetzal, the ever-present posy in his hand.402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡApMOWuBXjD
"In the annals of Cuauhtitlan there is the myth of five suns in the sky," he intoned. "Name them." Penny took a breath and reeled them off in a monotone.402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhDvzYmJ0My
"The first was known as Four-Tiger, the second the sun of Air, the third the sun of Fire and Rain, the fourth the sun of Water and, finally, the present one, the sun of Man."402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHccOtU3zT2
Tetzal was delighted. "Excellent, Penny, excellent!"402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9WlxTcMsXj
Penny resigned herself to the next question but it was never posed. Suddenly Tlaqui and the Perfect Victim were standing beside the doorway.402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJDgmSLvEaz
"I greet you, Tetzal," Tlaqui said.402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCsK1enMn3C
The High Priest's face fell when he saw the Perfect Victim.402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtvjSHZusDZ
"As I do also," the young man said, smiling at Penny.402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpat96ZE3yB
"You honor us with your visit," Tetzal replied. "How may we serve you?"402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOd9Lu05BWb
"It is my wish to look upon her."402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRx3eXYyhEN
Penny was puzzled, Tetzal troubled and Tlaqui amused.402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEwBo31TBcv
"Do you know how she is?" Tetzal asked.402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡipifH62HlU
The Perfect Victim smiled. "Does she know who I am?"402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5rHsox9ODN
"No."402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvGNa0pUQ1J
"Then tell her."402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEFw6pLBPgr
"In two days, when the sun is at its zenith, darkness will full upon the land," Tetzal said.402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHmhGGgA4Tp
"All great Hutizilopochtli's light will be hidden from our eyes," Tlaqui added mystically.402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRc9i1NdG23
"You mean it'll be a total eclipse?" Penny was enthusiastic and remarked that, although she had seen several partial eclipses, she had never seen one where the sun was completely hidden by the moon. "It'll be interesting to watch."402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8Gpm0AUvQE
Tetzal shifted uneasily. "At the moment when all is in darkness, a human sacrifice will be offered to the Sun God and this young man...."402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3Himbc9Pqa
Penny's hands flew to her face. "....is to be the victim?" she blurted out in horror. "But that's revolting!"402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8S9srL1hVh
The young man looked at her uncomprehendingly. "What greater honor is there for me than to be chosen as the Perfect Victim and to join the gods?" His voice rang with pride. Then he announced he would take Penny as his bride.402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ69ALUl3hly
She gaped at him in utter incredulity before giving vent to her feelings. "Bride!" she pointed at him. "He think's I'll marry him?! Well, if he's mad enough to let himself be sacrificed because of a stupid eclipse I suppose he's mad enough to believe anything."402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡocwX8gk1P1
Tlaqui protested that since the young man had been chosen as the Perfect Victim, all his desires were granted. "That does not include me!" Penny was furious. "Let him die if he wants to, but don't expect me to marry him."402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMx3ON9EJoi
"It is the Aztec law, Penny," Tetzal chided her.402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqnqEQHzoHm
"Then your law is barbaric and I won't obey it. I won't!" Penny shouted. "You're monsters, all of you are monsters!" She ran from the cell onto the cloister.402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1McFQTzFxh
Tlaqui looked at Tetzal. "She has broken the law," he said. "Ollin must know of this."402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF0BlMF29Gr
"Let her be severely punished for denying me," the Perfect Victim added.402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAOFOCANXfU
Tetzal looked from one to the other. "So be it," he murmured.402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8jnvYPn9cF
With tears streaming down her cheeks, Penny ran halfway around the cloister before collapsing against a pillar.402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmkaI5sTEoB
"Uncle Zachary, Uncle Zachary," she sobbed. "Please, help me."402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4h2zlFqaU0
402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG3JRnfiC8k
