Flower of War: What Might Have Been

[aithne]

10/8/1487

Year 8 Acatl, Month of Pachtontli, Trecena 1 Atl, Tonalli 5 Acatl, sunset


Jade arrived at Mantis's quarters to find that he had anticipated her, as usual. He was wearing two swords, one at each hip, with an air of perfectly leashed menace.

"Ready to go hunt a hunter?" she asked him, without preamble. She was carrying the cloak, and was armed with not only the poisoned dagger she kept at the small of her back and her sacrificial dagger, but two daggers she'd picked up from the Temple. She regretted the lack of an atlatl, but hers was ashes now and she wouldn't use one that hands not hers had made. Making one's own weaponry was an art and a point of pride among both warriors and priests; she regretted the need to carry daggers she hadn't made, but she didn't have the several days it would take for her to shape the blades and carve the handles of a new set. Knives, at least, were easier to get to know than atlatls, where accuracy often meant knowing every quirk of the spear thrower and its darts.

Mantis nodded. "I am, and you?"

"As much as I can be. Do you have any idea where specifically Blade is? I haven't picked up anything about him today."

The warrior paused, and stared through her for a moment. "She who died and was destroyed. He waited for those to search her home and now he resides there." When he stopped speaking, he shook his head slightly, and his eyes focused on Jade again.

"Died and was destroyed...Hm. Serpent, Eclipse...Midnight. Has to be her."

He nodded. "There is where he is."

"Well, I believe she lived in the rooms in the back of her shop, so I know where he is. The cloak will take care of a disguise." She lifted it briefly. "Is he the only guard?" she asked.

Mantis had gone vague again. "Magic, strong magic. Set to kill all within darkside."

"A trap on the crystal itself?"

"It draws from the crystal its power. The magic will destroy darkside and reveal all who are not what they seem within the city." there was something odd happening in Mantis's expression. It was still vague, still tuned into whatever otherworld he listened to, but in that vagueness was a focus, a power, Mantis hunting the answers to her questions.

"Do you know what the trigger for it is?" she asked.

"Only the blade and the coral can touch it. Blade carries the answer."

It was likely something he wore or was carrying, then. "Well, in that case, killing him quickly's probably the way to go. I need to call Cat, and then we can go."

He nodded, and his focus settled entirely on her once again, falling on her shoulders like a heavy cloak. "After you."

They walked together towards the Temple, Mantis silent beside her. When they arrived at the empty square by the Temple, Jade sent out a brief call to Cat. After a few minutes passed, the girl detached herself from the lengthening shadows and came to Jade. She gave Mantis a long look, then nodded to herself.

Jade said, "All right. Cat, Mantis and I are going to go in ahead; I want you to stay out of sight for the time being. We're going down into darkside. Once the guardian's dead, we have a puzzle to figure out how to disable a trap on what we're looking for. At that point, I'll call you in."

"Then what? Get out of the city after you get it?"

"Through the tunnels, and hope Spark's mages aren't watching our route out." Jade thought briefly. "I can do something to mask us, I think, but it depends on how closely they're looking right then."

"Okay. I'll wait for you," Cat said, looking relieved that she wasn't going to have to walk with Mantis. Mantis, for his part, was watching the girl with an expression that Jade couldn't read.

"Good. Shall we?"

He nodded, and Cat left them. She and Mantis walked towards darkside, and oddly, she felt more comfortable in his presence now than she had before. Now, he was a warrior like any other, with the tension and focus that preceded battle.

But not exactly like any other warrior, she reminded herself. Before they reached Midnight's house, she put a hand on his elbow and ducked into an alley. He followed, and she silently handed him the cloak. "Someone random," she said. "A guard, maybe."

He nodded and put on the cloak, his features shifting and changing like clay as the magic took hold. Then they exited the alley from the other side, and stepped up to Midnight's door. Jade dropped into her magical sight, and Mantis opened the door.

Inside, Jade immediately saw the box that had the crystal in it; it glowed brightly as a small sun. There was a dark blur behind Mantis as a form, slighter than the warrior, hurled itself at his back.

Mantis threw back the cloak and moved aside; Blade missed him. Jade spent the next few moments attempting to stay out of the way as Blade and Mantis went at each other. Mantis, as Jaguar had said, fought like a man possessed, moving almost too quickly to see clearly. Blade was obviously and quickly outmatched.

Blade pulled something out of his belt and made as if to dash it to the floor. Mantis reacted before Jade could. He whipped his blade around and took Blade's hand off at the wrist, the sword cutting through bone as if it were wet clay. He used the blade to flip the hand at Jade, who caught it. A moment later. Mantis took Blade's head. The man's neck fountained blood as he collapsed.

Jade turned the hand she held over. Her hand was stained with Blade's blood, and she opened the fingers to find that he had been holding a small clear crystal that glowed with magic.

Mantis was cleaning his sword on Blade's clothing. "Get it?" he asked.

She looked at the crystal, now smeared with blood, and tossed Blade's hand over to his body. "This was the trigger," she said, holding up the crystal. She concentrated briefly, calling Cat in.

"Good." Mantis grinned. "Dinner?"

"I'll need to give this to Cat and take care of the crystal," she said.

"Then dinner. I'm starved," he said, and Jade had to laugh.

"You and me both, actually. I keep forgetting to eat. And I'm sure Cat could probably use something to eat. She's way too thin."

"Yes, she is," Mantis said, and with a jerk of his chin indicated the door. Jade turned and saw Cat in the doorway. She was looking at the beheaded Blade, collapsed in the middle of the floor, and Mantis and Jade, who stood over the body, completely unruffled.

Cat evidently decided that if the two adults didn't care about the dead man at their feet, she wasn't about to. Jade held out the crystal to her. "I believe you may need to be holding this when you open the box. Might want to check the thing for traps, though. Don't break that crystal," she added warningly.

The girl took it from her and went to the box that Jade had indicated, looking it over carefully. She opened the box very slowly, holding the crystal in the same hand. She pulled out the moon crystal, then shook her head. "Nice trap. It's basically a box with a trap on it. Only the crystal opens it and if the crystal is destroyed it goes up. It would have taken me months to get to this out."

"That trap would have pretty much killed everyone in darkside had it gone off," Jade told her.

Cat rolled her eyes. "Now she tells me." She picked up the box and handed that and the small crystal to Jade. "You can have that. What do you want me to do with this?" She held up the moon crystal.

Jade looked at it critically. "Shatter it. If we take it out of the city, someone will just bring it back in. It's too dangerous." And I don't want to have to mount yet another rescue mission for it, she added to herself.

Cat nodded and set it on the floor. Using a heavy stone statuette, she smashed the crystal. Jade watched as the magic in it leaked away into the soil. The box, too, had powered down; it would still explode if it were triggered, but it was likely to be a smaller explosion. She tucked it away in a bag she was carrying, then straightened. "Chuck the shards into the rubbish heap in the back," she told Cat. "Up for dinner, Cat? We're going to go get something to eat."

The girl visibly brightened at the mention of food. "Cool, you buying?"

"Of course," Jade said.

Cat grinned. "Good, then some place fancy."

Jade eyed her. The girl was dressed in serviceable clothing that had seen better days, her hair was tangled, and there were smears of mud on one cheek and ground-in dirt on both of her knees. "Well, it's not like they'll say anything, even if you are a bit on the smudged side, not with two advisors with you."

"Nope!" Cat gave her a cockeyed smile, and Jade chuckled. She wiped her hands on the edge of Blade's shirt, then led the way out of Midnight's shop. She had in mind a place she had been to once or twice, that served excellent meat dishes.

Dinner was a surprisingly pleasant affair; as Jade had predicted, nobody even glanced twice at the smudged child who walked between two advisors. Mantis managed to act like a normal person for most of the meal, and Cat leashed the worst of her apparent urges to tease Mantis. She ate a startling amount for someone so small, and Jade thought to herself that she should find out what sort of sweets Cat liked, so she could bring some out for her.

The three of them could almost have been a normal family. It felt very strange. She wondered, for the first time in a long time, what her life might have been like if her father hadn't died so young, if her mother hadn't gone into the House of Joy, if Jade had grown up in the normal way girls usually did. Jade's children would probably be about Cat's age now, maybe a little older, if she'd married at about the usual age.

It was an odd feeling, to think about it. She shook her head and returned her attention to her dinner companions. She caught Mantis looking askance at her a time or two, and thought that he might have caught the edges of her thoughts.

After they were finished, Jade stretched. "Mantis, could you do me a favor and get Spider? She should be in her room at the palace. Cat and I will meet you at the entrance to one of the tunnels out--the one at the northern edge of darkside."

He nodded. "She waits for your call, wondering if her threads are going to be disturbed. We will meet you." Without further word, he rose and left. Jade and Cat followed suit.

They met up with Mantis and Spider a little while later, and entered the tunnel. Jade asked Spider, "Did you have any luck with your rock?"

She shook her head, then blew her hair out of her eyes. "Nope. Want it?"

"Sure. If nothing else, I can give it to a mage friend of mine to see what he can make of it."

Spider flipped the rock to her. The magic on it was strong, and Jade frowned. Well, she could only hope that Spark's mages were not watching this particular tunnel very closely right now.

They reached the outside of the walls and walked for a few minutes until they reached a clearing. Jade stretched out her animal sense--very little large nearby, some nahuales a ways distant. Nothing dangerous. "Spider, Mantis, you both wait here. I'll go with Cat to get the equipment, and come back. It should only be a few minutes."

She and Cat made it to Walker's without incident, and Jade snagged the box. "Where's Jaguar?" she asked Walker. "He said he was going to wait here."

"Had something to do, he said he'd be back in a bit," Walker said, not looking up from the scroll he was poring over.

"Tell him I stopped by, and I'll be back in a bit," she told him. "Here, Cat, hold this, I want to have both my hands free, just in case." She handed the girl Thorn's box, and the two of them went off into the forest once more.

About halfway between Walker's and where she had left the others, there was a bright flash, and Cat staggered. Jade's senses went on full alert--that had been mage magic--

Coral was flying in the treetops above them, preparing to cast another set of darts. Jade cast a spell at the mage, hoping to take down her flight spell--yes! Coral dropped into the treetop, and Jade could hear her swear, then begin to cast another dart spell.

Without thinking, Jade grabbed Cat and curled her body around hers. She felt the impact of the darts meant for Cat into her back, wincing as they burned into her. That was going to hurt later, but had Cat taken them, it would probably have been fatal for the girl. She straightened and gave Cat a shove, hissing, "Run!", then turning to face Coral. She saw the telltale flicker of orange that confirmed that Coral was a were, and Jade began to call her, concentrating on calling the animal in her to the surface. It as something she had never done, but she thought she could.

Coral's outline was flickering, but she was fighting the forced transformation and the call, successfully. There was one thing Jade could do that would end this, and alert all of her allies in the vicinity that something was happening...

An agonized moment passed, then Jade heard Coral begin a chant. She didn't recognize the spell, but knew that it was probably not meant for Cat, but for herself.

Jade reached into the bag she was carrying and pulled out the box that had held the moon crystal. She dropped the control crystal to the ground, positioned her heel over it, then threw the box as hard as she could into the tree that Coral was clinging to.

She brought her heel down onto the crystal, thinking, This is going to hurt--

The box exploded. The tree seemed to disappear into flame, and the concussion knocked Jade off of her feet and flung her backwards. She came down hard, unable to tumble to cushion the worst effects of the fall, and as she hit she fought desperately to hold on to consciousness.

She lost.

Mantis was crouched over her when Jade opened her eyes again. She tried to sit up, but there was something stopping her. His hand on her shoulder, holding her still. "What happened? Is Cat all right?" she asked him, trying to look around as best she could.

"Your box blew up. Coral ended up under the tree, we found her struggling to get out. I killed her, she was dying anyway. A limb had gone through her stomach and out the back. Don't sit up too quickly. Your leg is at a funny angle." He glanced down at her right leg, and Jade suddenly realized that she hurt, a kind of generalized agony that with a bit of effort she found was centered in that leg. "Cat is all right. She is not good, but she will live," he added.

Jade gingerly pulled herself up on one elbow, and shuddered to see her leg. It was a nasty break in the lower leg, bone showing white through the bloody mess of her leg. She swallowed and lay back down. "Oh. I wondered what hurt," she said, then felt a bit lame for it.

Mantis rose and went to crouch by her leg. "Hold still, Jade," he told her. He took hold of her knee with one hand, and her ankle with the other, and began to pull the two apart.

Jade felt the bone slide back into her leg, a wave of pain passing over her, and surrendered to the wave of blackness that followed it.

She woke once more to find, surprisingly, that the pain was gone. She felt hands on her leg where the break had been, and propped herself up on one elbow to see Mantis wiping the blood on her leg away with a wet cloth. Beneath the blood, the skin was whole and unbroken.

She wiggled her toes experimentally; everything seemed to work. She eyed Mantis thoughtfully. "Thank you. I didn't know you were a healer."

He shook his head. "I'm not really. Not in the way you would know."

"Then what did you just do?"

Mantis shrugged, finishing washing the blood from Jade's leg. "I took the wound upon myself, and I heal faster than normal."

Jade blinked and sat up all the way. She looked and saw that both of Mantis's legs were whole. "Faster than normal? Faster than anything I've seen without magical help."

"Yes, that is true."

She looked around, frowning. "Where are Spider and Cat?"

Mantis gestured. "Spider is attending to Cat with Walker."

"I should go see how she is. I'm afraid I'm not going to be much help--I lost all of my spells when I got knocked out."

"Me either. My ability lies in the physical. I have never been able to take magical damage from another. I do heal from it rapidly myself, but at a slower pace than just physical damage."

"Jaguar should be around somewhere. He can help." She shook her head regretfully. "I should have left her behind, sent her home."

"She lived. No permanent harm has come to her," Mantis said, holding his hand out to her. She took it, and he pulled her to her feet.

"She still could have been killed. She's still a child, and she's only caught up in this because she seems to like me." Jade blew out a sharp breath. "Ah, well. You're right. She's still alive."

"Don't blame yourself. She has a long life in front of her. These actions will shape what she is to become."

"You know, I'd ask you what that is, but I'm probably better off not knowing."

A brief smile touched Mantis's lips. "Yes, you are."

Jade caught sight of the burned tree, with Coral beneath it. "I'm not entirely certain how I'm going to explain this. I'll think of something, though."

"Tree fell in the woods?" he suggested.

"Coincidentally exploded under her?"

He shrugged. "Call them, Jade. Have them take it away. What can't be found doesn't need to be explained."

"True enough. if she just disappeared...I wouldn't have to know. Thunder is waiting for news of the crystal so he can tell Teal about Coral, but I'll think of something to tell him."

"Coal will investigate and find no body. Push to conclude that Coral left because Aziuhoatl died."

"And everyone thinks she's just left. Convenient." Jade began to search out the nearby nahuales, and then paused. "You may want to be out of sight when I do this," she said, remembering what Mantis had been doing.

He had a speculative look on his face. "Coral is dead. She can not control anyone anymore. Is there a reason for the talon to remain?"

"Yes, but only if you're all right with me being able to track you. If not, I can take it out and be done with it." Jade smiled. "Spider, I think, will want hers out."

"You have before, Jade, it will harm no one. I will go, then." He paused then, looking directly at her as he so rarely did. "Don't fear Jaguar, it will only bring you pain."

He turned then and left, disappearing into the forest silently as sunset. Jade looked at the place where he'd disappeared, muttering quietly to herself, "I don't think I fear him. It's myself I don't trust."

Is everyone I know going to take an unseemly interest in my personal life? I swear. She sighed, closed her eyes and concentrated on the nearby nahuales. There were some nearby, and she called them briefly, trying to make it more a request than a command.

They were ones she recognized, of Cat's clan. "Brothers and sisters, I have a favor to ask of you." She gestured at Coral. "That body needs to disappear, never to resurface. Preferably in pieces. Could you do that for me?"

The three of them nodded. They picked up Coral's body, grunting with the effort it took to get her body off of the tree limb that had impaled it, and carried the corpse into the woods. There were rending noises, and then silence.

I really need to do something nice for the ocelot clan. They've been nothing but helpful. I wonder what sort of thing they'd appreciate? I'll have to ask Cat, or maybe the old one. She walked towards Walker's, where Mantis had gestured when she'd asked about Cat. Cat was wrapped in a blanket, shivering. She had Thorn's box on her lap, Jade was happy to see.

"How are you feeling?" Jade asked.

"Oh, like I got hit with a tree. How did you do that?" Cat asked, her eyes bright.

"What, the explosion? Remember that box Coral had the crystal in? I used that."

"That was a cool explosion." The girl grinned. "Too bad you don't have another one. You could just blow up all the advisors."

Jade chuckled. "Unfortunately, Coral's not going to be making any more of them, and I'm no mage." She glanced at Spider. "Besides, there are some advisors I'd like to keep around."

Cat grinned again. "Ah well, maybe I will change professions and become a mage."

Mantis's words drifted back over Jade. These actions will shape what she is to become. She glanced at Walker, who was standing silent by his door, and then looked back at Cat. I think I get it, she thought. Aloud, she said, "You know, I think a number of mages get into it with the thought that exploding things is fun. You'd be in good company." She transferred her gaze to Spider. "Now that Coral's dead, she can't use the talon to control you. I can still remove it though, if you want."

"You can still track me, right?" Spider asked.

"Yes," Jade replied.

"How much can you see?"

"Depends on what I ask and what I'm looking for. Thorn pretty much knows what you're doing and what you're thinking at all times. I only tend to use it to try to find you, on occasion."

"Right, take it out." Spider smiled.

"I thought so." She held out her hands, and Cat handed her Thorn's box. She opened the box and said, "Evening, Thorn."

"Evening Jade."

She motioned Spider over, who peered into the box, fascinated. "Where's the talon in Spider?"

"It is in the rounded area on top of her legs in the back."

Beside her, Spider choked with laughter. Jade smiled. "Well. We might want to step out of sight, Spider. The place where the talon is needs to be exposed to Thorn so he can touch it with his claw."

"Great. I am going to let some thing in a box grope me."

"Well, it might be better than the alternative," Jade suggested.

The twitchy woman made a face. "Definitely." She gestured at Cat and Walker. "All right, shoo. I want to get this over with."

Walker took Cat's elbow and marched her inside. Jade watched them go and said, "And now I'm really curious as to Coral might have gotten that into you."

Sourly, Spider said, "I probably sat on it."

"Seems likely enough, unless you slept with someone who had ties to Coral recently."

"No, I do pretty thorough check on the people I have had sex with. I try to make sure it can't come back to haunt me. She did try to recruit me a few times back."

Jade raised an eyebrow. "You turned her down, I take it?"

"Well yes, I was working for Cinder already." She shrugged. "But it doesn't matter now anyway, she is dead. Because if I were a spy, I wouldn't admit now."

Jade hid her smile and reminded herself to ask Thorn about Spider, later. "Somehow, I don't think you were. Anyway, shall we? Just expose the area Thorn mentioned and we'll do this."

Spider shrugged and exposed her buttocks. A minute later, the thorn came out of Spider and fell to the ground, and Jade said, "There we go, it's done. Thank you, Thorn." She began to close the box when she saw words scribing themselves in the sand.

"Jade, a moment if you would, before you go."

She paused in confusion for a moment. What under the heavens? She heard Spider rearranging her clothing as she took a few steps away and said, "Of course. I need to check on a couple of people anyway." She crossed the clearing and sat down with the box. "What is it?"

"Smoke may be in trouble."

A chill crossed Jade's shoulders. "What's happened, do you know?"

"Boa has found her."

How serious was this? "Can you tell what Boa's intentions are?" she asked.

"She is considering options. She seems to think that selling the information to Ocelot would reap the most benefit."

Oh, no, no, this is not good. "What are her other options? Maybe I can make them more attractive for her."

"Doing nothing and letting it go, or going to her father was considered, though dimly. She has decided to discuss it with her lover Panther."

There was one of her missing answers about Boa; she did indeed have a lover. Panther was an advisor, one reasonably highly placed. "Another advisor. Damn, I wish I could talk to Mantis through you. I'd get him to intercept her. But this means that Smoke needs to be moved, and quickly."

"Mantis has unblocked his passage. I can let you speak to Smoke, or Mantis."

She stared; Coral's death had accomplished more than she'd known. "Coral's death changes things, does it?"

"No longer a second controller, only one. The rules do not apply."

"Ah, good. I need to speak to Smoke, then."

"Go ahead."

She cleared her throat. "Smoke, this is Jade. You're currently in a very large amount of danger. You need to move, quickly."

The words that wrote themselves in the sand were clear and heartbreaking. "I can't. Mountain's men are closing in. If we move, we are caught."

She swore. "Damn. You've been found by a woman named Boa, who is taking the matter to an advisor whose allegiances I don't know. I'll see if I can head her off."

"I don't suppose you can get Mountain to lay off, then we can move."

Maybe. If I burn that favor I owe him, maybe. "I'll do what I can," she said.

"Hurry."

"I will. Altering her tone, she said, "Thorn, I need to speak to Mantis." After receiving acknowledgement, she said, "Mantis, this is Jade, as you probably already know. Boa's found Smoke. She's going to talk about it with her lover Panther. Do you think it would do any good for you to intercept her and talk to her?"

The answer was swift and sure. "No. If I talk to her it would make her more likely to whatever she shouldn't be doing."

Jade had expected nothing more, but it had been worth asking. "I thought so. Any idea whose side Panther is on?"

"Yes, two cats, different colors, same side."

It would have been too much luck to have Panther not be working for Ocelot. "All right. I need to work on this from the Mountain side, then. Thank you, Mantis." Once again, she turned her attention to Thorn. "I need to speak to Thunder, now. Thunder, this is Jade. The moon crystal has been destroyed. Coral is gone, though."

"Dead or just gone?"

"Dead, though the official story is likely going to be that she left because of Aziuhoatl's death."

"I understand. I haven't said anything to Teal."

"Might be best not to, at this point. I just wanted to let you know how things turned out. I've got something urgent to do, but I'll talk to you later," she said, the urgency of Smoke's situation weighing on her.

"All right, Jade."

She let out a slow breath, and spoke to Thorn. "Thank you. I'll probably be back out tomorrow."

"Goodbye, Jade," the words in the sand wrote.

She closed the box and carried it into Walker's house. He had Cat with him, talking to her about something. The girl was still wrapped in her blanket, shivering, and Jade wished fervently that she could do something. But she was spell-less, without even the ability to heal a knife cut right now. She stashed the box in its usual place and said to Walker, "I apologize for the intrusion. I didn't mean to bring Spider out here, but I was a bit unconscious."

Anything that Walker might have said to her in return was interrupted by a knock on the door. The door opened, revealing Jaguar on the other side. Jade smiled briefly. "You missed all the excitement."

He gave her a rueful smile in return. "Sorry, let's see if I can help with the aftermath."

"That would be helpful, thank you. After that--Smoke's in danger. I need to go see if I can head trouble off for her. Mantis displayed some abilities I didn't know he had, earlier. So I'm fine now, but Cat isn't."

When she had mentioned Smoke, Jaguar's eyes had gone dark. "I can fix that. Go, Jade. Smoke is more important. I can heal Cat."

"Thank you." She paused a moment, wondering if there was something else she needed to say, then simply nodded to all three of them and walked out the door. She gestured to Spider. "I'm heading back to the city. Coming?"

Spider nodded and fell in beside her. After a few moments, she said, "You travel with a lot of strange people."

Jade chuckled. "I appear to collect them, actually. Which ones in particular were you referring to?"

"Oh, let's see." She ticked them off on her fingers. "Jaguar, the leader of the rebellion. Walker alone is legend in darkside. Mantis actually talks to you."

Jade shrugged. "I think I mentioned before that Jaguar is an old friend. I met Walker a few days ago, I thought by chance. And Mantis...is not nearly as crazy as everyone thinks he is. I'm trying to help him, but I don't know how much good I'm doing."

"He seems more lucid than ever."

"Well, I might be helping some. I think I may be acting something like how water can sometimes be used to make light narrow down. Giving him a direction."

Spider pursed her lips thoughtfully. "It's possible, I suppose. He tends to focus fully on what he is doing."

Jade nodded. "I'm trying to give him something to focus on. Show him the path I'm traveling."

"I hope it works." Spider shook her head. "Strange man."

Slowly, Jade replied, "I'm...not exactly sure the word man covers what he is. He's something that the gods themselves can't figure out."

"All right, that just makes him creepier."

Jade stepped over a gnarled root in her path and made a gesture that encompassed the forest. "For some reason, I don't find it creepy. It just is. He's sort of like a mountain, or a river."

"Just there?"

"Basically. I'd probably feel differently if he didn't seem to like me, but he does."

Spider ducked under a low branch and then nodded. "Best to be on that side of the sword and not the other. If he hated you, you probably wouldn't live long."

"Exactly. Fortunately, I seem to have gotten on his good side. He's been very helpful, if unsettling a lot of the time. The things he says sometimes are a bit out there." She paused, then added softly, "I do like him, though."

"That's good, well the city wall is coming up." She gestured ahead. "I will head around to the north gate. Best not to be seen too often together."

"I'll see you later, Spider," she said, and paused to watch Spider move off into the dark swamp, following a narrow path. She passed through the gates herself, Walking into the west side of the city, heading towards the palace.

She slowed as she approached darkside. There were a lot of city guards here, all Mountain's men. They were stopping people going in and out of the market, questioning everyone who went past.

Well, it looked like she may have found Mountain. She went up to one of the guards and asked, "Where can I find Mountain?"

"Inside, honored one," the guard answered, pointing into the heart of darkside. She stepped forward and he waved her past without question.

Jade's steps quickened as she searched for the heart of the activity. She found Mountain with a detachment of men going house to house on one block of darkside. She came up the Mountain and said, "Mountain, can I have a word with you in private? I wouldn't interrupt you, but it's urgent." He looked at her then nodded and took a few steps away from his men, Jade following. "I take it you're looking for Smoke?" she asked.

"Ocelot's orders," he replied.

She took a sharp breath, hoping that what she was about to do would work. "I have a favor to ask of you. I need you to not find her."

"Why?"

A very hard question to answer. She opted for a short version of the truth. "It's a long and complicated story, one that I don't have time to tell right at the moment. It more or less boils down to the fact that I think she's the best heir to the throne. Much better than Ocelot."

"The boy is the heir. Ocelot going to change that?"

She shook her head. "The boy is Ocelot's son. Not Aziuhoatl's. As far as I know, Ocelot will kill him, probably after he marries Stream. He will rule at first through Stream and then probably kill her, as well."

Mountain's eyes were narrowed. "False heir, then. Smoke is the only true heir?"

"As far as I know, yes." Well, the other true heir was still in the womb, and I killed it just now.

He looked at her for a moment, then nodded. "I hope you are right, Jade." He walked over to the men who were doing the searching and yelled, "Pack it up and move out. We have a confirmed sighting outside the city."

Jade watched as the men formed up, letting a sigh of relief out of her lungs. It looked like Mountain wasn't going with his men. After they were gone, she stepped over to him. "I probably owe you the rest of the story, don't I?"

The big man nodded. "Yes, I would like to know what's going on."

She glanced around, then said, "We should probably find Coal. He's figured some of it out, I think, but he should probably hear the rest." She started towards the palace, Mountain following her.

Coal was, fortunately, in his quarters. She knocked on the door and was admitted along with Mountain. "Coal?" she said, suddenly feeling a bit uncertain. "I have some things I need to tell you and Mountain. I apologize in advance for not doing so before, but when you hear the story, I'm guessing you'll agree that I had my reasons for not telling anyone."

The two men exchanged a look, and they both sat. Jade pulled up a chair facing them. She was suddenly feeling immensely tired; the day had been long, and an injury like the one she had taken and been healed of earlier would knock even the fittest warrior down for a bit. She rubbed her temples gently, realizing that she was not only exhausted, but feeling a bit nervous. This could end up going very badly for her.

She took a long breath. "This all started for me a few days before I became an advisor. My god came to me and told me that the sacrifices I have been doing most of my life did not turn the sun, and did not accomplish anything at all other than slaughter. He also took me to the place where we keep the sacrifices and pointed out three people. Smoke. Her lover Onyx. And the leader of the rebellion, Jaguar. He told me those three needed to be saved. I was behind the escape of the sacrifices, obeying the will of my god. I am as much of a heretic as Jaguar is. Simply one who's managed to keep my position. As I went along, trying to keep them safe, I've found out any number of things about what Ocelot's probably planning to do. I know for certain that Stream's son is Ocelot's child, not Aziuhoatl's. He is not the heir. The only true heir that I know about is Smoke." She frowned. "Ocelot wants the throne, I know. This goes quite a bit beyond temporal power for him--but that's really my fight, not anyone else's."

Jade wound down; that was the basic outline of her true purpose. Mountain's face was unreadable. Coal was shaking her head. The dark man said, "Busy few days, eh?"

She shrugged. "It has been. But I keep moving partially to keep ahead of the nightmares that follow me."

"I had surmised some of this. I knew you were deeper in than you were letting on."

She smiled faintly. "I thought you might. I wasn't sure until recently if I could trust you enough to tell you, though."

"I can understand that." He paused, his eyes suddenly wary. "By now, you have discovered my relationship to Ocelot. It should have made you pause."

"It should have. But it did not." She shook her head. "Sometimes, my intuition speaks quite loudly indeed, and nothing I've learned about you has made me think that there is much love lost between the two of you."

Coal's mouth twisted. "None at all."

There was honest conviction in his voice. Jade nodded. "I believe you, Coal."

"Thank you," he replied.

She smiled. "So, yes, I'm in this quite deeply indeed." She transferred her attention to Mountain. "Well. Are you going to arrest me?" She spread her hands. Because if you are, now's the time to do so, when I am without my spells and exhausted. I'd have no ability to fight, now.

Something subtle shifted in Mountain's expression. "No, I don't think so. You spared my life, when you could have killed me. I am not sure that I believe the suggestion that without the sacrifices the sun would continue to turn, but I trust you and am willing to see this played out."

At the words I trust you a thread of fire shot down Jade's spine. She felt immensely grateful, as if she had been given something very precious indeed. She inclined her head to Mountain, with a wry smile. "I could probably arrange to have Huitzilopochtli himself explain it to you, if you want. He likes you."

Was it her imagination, or did he look a bit daunted by the prospect? "That's good. I would probably be dead if he didn't."

"Let me know, and I'll talk to him about it. He's...not quite what you'd expect." She sat back, addressing both men once more. "The reason I came to you, Mountain, was that you had Smoke pinned down. Boa had found out where she was, and took or is taking the information to Panther, who I'm guessing will relay it to Ocelot. Without your men hunting her, she'll move and vanish again."

Mountain gave her a brief smile. "I knew she was there somewhere. Ah well, a little jungle work will make the men sleep better tonight. Panther is on Ocelot's side as well. He meets with him regularly."

Jade frowned. "He may become a problem. And it worries me that Boa's his lover. Boa's inherited the thing Mantis has, I believe. Oh, and Coal, I managed to get and destroy the moon crystal. So that bit's closed."

Coal said, "Ah, good. Mantis's thing? His craziness?"

She shook her head. "It's not actually madness. He has visions. True ones, as far as I've been able to tell, no matter how strange they sound sometimes."

"If you are sure. He sounds crazy to me."

Jade smiled. "He's starting to sound less so."

"That wouldn't be hard," Coal said, skeptical.

"Everything he's ever said to you was probably true, if garbled, no matter how weird it was," she told him.

"I suppose. I try not to talk to him, it's disturbing."

She shrugged. "I've had a lot of exposure to him in the last few days. Anyway. If Boa has inherited his...talent, if that's what it is, she probably sees a lot of things which may or may not make sense to her. If she can make more sense of them than he's able to, and she's the lover of one of Ocelot's allies, I can see trouble ahead. I'm not certain what's to be done about her, if anything, really. I can't tell if she's an innocent in this."

Coal nodded. "Yes, if Mantis is as accurate as you say, if you kill her Mantis may turn against you."

"I know he would. So that won't be my path," she said."

Mountain spoke up. "Then I might have a suggestion for you. When Ocelot is out sleeping around, Teal turns to Panther for some comfort. If Ocelot knew, Panther might not be around very long. This information might convince Panther to leave and take Boa with him."

Jade blinked. Was everyone openly cheating on each other in the upper echelons on the advisors? "A little blackmail?" she asked. "Or simply letting Ocelot know in a way that ensures that Panther knows he knows?"

"I think the direct approach may be best. Leave and take Boa with you, or we tell Ocelot. Hand him some jade and he will be gone. He likes life way too much to let risk a confrontation with Ocelot."

She thought about it. "And that would get Boa out of the city, which Mantis tried to do but failed."

Coal nodded. "We can blackmail him with Boa too. She would be put out to know. I would never tell her but just the suggestion may make him bolt with her."

Jade said, "I don't know Panther. Either of you know him, at all? I can do this, but I'm not sure if I'm the best one for it."

"Might be best coming from all three," Coal suggested. "You talk, Mountain looks impressive, I can just give the wry smirk."

"Sounds like a plan to me," she said, nodded. "Shall we, gentlemen?

Panther's rooms were comfortably appointed, and the man himself was tall and whip-thin, strong features well-arranged on his face. He let them into the rooms, but did not invite them to sit, and did not seat himself. Jade had carefully hidden all evidence of fatigue in her expression, putting on what she thought of as her priest mask, the priest in her who carved out hearts and never flinched. "What can I do for you?" Panther asked.

Jade's smile was slow and deliberate. "You've been being a very naughty man, Panther," she said. "Teal comes and cries on your shoulder when Ocelot's out with his lovers. You've taken to comforting her quite...directly."

The accusation hit home, and Panther's shoulders straightened defensively. "And?" he asked, challenging.

"Ocelot's allowed to step out on Teal. But what's good for the cock isn't good for the hen, is it?" she answered. "I'm sure Ocelot would be less than pleased to know what Teal's been up to. Tell me, are you so attached to her that you'd fight him for her?" She saw him pale. "And Boa. She'd be quite put out to know what you've been up to, wouldn't she? I hate to think of her knowing..."

Panther's voice shook. "Who else knows?"

"A number of people. Certainly enough to ensure that both Ocelot and Boa get the message."

"What do you want, then?" Panther asked, obviously recognizing the blackmail for what it was.

Jade hefted the bag she was carrying in one hand. She felt the presences of Mountain and Coal behind her, and was glad they were there. "You leave. Take Boa with you. This is enough jade to ensure a comfortable life elsewhere, and you'll never return to Tenochtitlan. Return, and it suddenly becomes common knowledge that you have a habit of sleeping with Teal."

He looked from her to Coal to Mountain, then nodded. "I will leave right away, and take Boa."

She silently handed him the jade, and escorted him out of his room. He walked down the corridor and away into the night.

Mountain said, "I believe we have some more to discuss. My office?" She and Coal nodded, and they made their way there.

Jade sank gratefully into the chair. She tried not to slump, but she was keenly aware that her body was protesting being made to stay awake after all she'd put it through today. She thought she caught a flash of concern on Coal's face, and straightened. "There are people among the advisors that I don't know anything about, and I'm hoping you gentlemen know more than I do. At least, what you know will give me a place to start. Mountain, Coal's mentioned that you know Wind. What do you know about her?"

The big man nodded. "Old friend. She and I grew up on the same street. We kept over the years as she went to study to be a mage. She became part of the advisory council. The mages on the council tend to be very competitive, she was attacked several times, and I hold no illusions that she started none of the fights. She made her way to the second advisor position, and recommended me as guard captain."

"Would she be open to joining us, do you think, or is she better friends with Ocelot than with you?"

"She tends to have her nose in a book and only pops up to say hello once in awhile. I doubt she even knows Aziuhoatl is dead," he said, a little fondly.

"So she's an unknown?"

"Not really. She will help me if I ask her but she likes hard facts."

A confession from Stream that Aziuhoatl the younger is Ocelot's child should do it, she thought. "Prove to her that the current heir is Ocelot's child, and she might side with us. All right. Either of you know anything about Flame?"

Coal replied, "After Ocelot and probably you, next best cleric. Claims allegiance to Quetzalcoatl. Probably false. She hung out with Mirror some. One of Ocelot's for sure. she always defers to him."

One for the other side, then. "Almost certainly a Tlaloc cleric, then. How about Winter?"

Coal said, "Winter is an unknown. She is fighter, a good one. Not on Mantis' level but good. She openly debates Ocelot but usually ends up voting with him in things. Favors a strong hand in dealing with the masses."

"So she could go either way, or she could have been bought already and the debate is just for show."

"To be safe, count on the latter."

Jade nodded. "That's what I'm thinking. Jasmine is one I know just a very little bit about--she has bought poppy on at least one occasion from someone in the market. Other than that, I know nothing about her."

"Once? She snorts that stuff by the pound. She is a mage, a good one. Raven turned her onto the stuff and she is basically a non-threat to anyone. She hated Ocelot before her addiction but is pretty much useless now." Coal's voice held disgust and scorn.

Jade frowned. Was there anything she could do about a poppy addiction? Perhaps. She remembered something, but she'd have to ask Jaguar about it. "Too bad," she replied. "Though I might have to look into ways of breaking addictions. How about Sun?"

Coal shook his head. "Pretty boy, no brain. I think he was put on the advisory council to make his lover Bear happy. Bear is an Ocelot fan."

"So the two of them are probably both counted as Ocelot's." She mentally worked her way down the list. "Serpent's dead, how about Rain?"

"Rain, good question." Coal shrugged. "Only one she talks to is Spider, if anyone at all. She is only concerned with her area, which is weather."

Jade nodded. "Spider might know more, I'll ask her. How about Distant?"

"Distant is much like his name. He travels a great deal from city to city, getting a feel for Aziuhoatl's popularity, and is mostly concerned with the poor. I doubt much that he would be an Ocelot follower but you would have to promise him something to get him to join us."

"Wonder what it is he'd want? Hm. I'd have to ask him."

"Probably something do with money for the poor or better food or something like that. He works with Talon a lot."

Huitzilopochtli's words came back to her, then. Look, Jade, and see what needs to be changed and do it. Too many people out there are trying not to get noticed and let things happen that shouldn't be happening. She nodded. "His interests and mine may dovetail, then. I can dig up things on Talon, I might get more on Distant then, as well. Last one I don't know anything about is Water."

Coal shook his head sharply. "Don't go there. She is evil straight through. She has no love for Ocelot because she wants his position, she will kill him soon as look at him. But if you offer her something for killing Ocelot, she is more likely to go to him and ask for more for betraying you. I rank her right up there with Mirror in terms of absolute evil."

"She sounds like a good candidate for a knife in the back and a shallow grave. Or perhaps the altar, while it still exists." It would be an open declaration of war, to have Water at the altar stone. But perhaps a declaration was what she needed.

Coal nodded. "Yes, she would be better to all dead rather than alive. Spark is Ocelot's, but you knew that. And the rest we can account for on our side or dead."

Jade blinked, remembered that neither of these men would know about Coral. "Coral is gone, by the way. And won't be coming back."

"Good, no loss there. So that means the three of us, Spider, Mantis kind of, against the rest?

She shook her head. "Shale is mine, as well, and he's currently guarding Stream and Cinder. Thunder is...not as much on Ocelot's side as it might appear."

He gave her a sharp look. "Are you positive about that?"

"Absolutely. He and I have the same teacher."

He gave her a questioning look, but didn't ask. "All right, then. Any more that you can get on our side, do you think?"

Mountain said, "Wind will. And she has the power to back it up."

Jade thought. "Jasmine, maybe. I may be able to break her of her habit, at least temporarily. Distant, almost certainly, especially if he is the person you say he is. His interests and my orders overlap. Cinder is on our side, though I'm not certain how much practical help she'll be."

Coal shook his head. "Not a lot, royalty thinks more than acts. So it's about even."

"We might get Teal. Maybe. It depends on what Ocelot does." An idea occurred to her; if she could somehow develop the part of her talent that she'd tried on Coral, force-changing nahuales, she might back Teal into a bad enough corner that she might have to defend herself from Ocelot.

"Long shot that I wouldn't count on. Distant, Rain are the unknowns and probably on our side." Coal nodded. "Need to talk to Talon?"

She grinned briefly. "I will. But first, I'll need to read his thoughts some."

Coal blinked. "You can do that?"

"Not to everyone. I got my hands on Coral's scrying box, you see. Talon's one of the people who has a bit of the creature inside of him in it. If I ask the right questions, I can get a read on what he's doing, feeling, and thinking. But the box isn't in the city at the moment, and I don't think I'm up for the walk outside right now." Jade shook her head. The fatigue was hitting her harder now, and the bones in her leg were aching with remembered pain.

Evidently, her fatigue was showing. "It's late, Jade, go to bed. I will post a few more guards around secretly. Ocelot can't be that dense that he doesn't know what's going on."

No, I imagine that he has a very good idea of what's going on right now. Why he hasn't struck yet, I don't know. "I'll be heading back to the Temple, since my room here is still, last I checked, pretty much destroyed. I'll be sure to post guards there."

Coal nodded. "Good. Try to sleep, Jade."

Jade gave him a tired smile. "I don't, much, these days. But I will try, if my ghosts let me. Goodnight, gentlemen." She rose then, nodded to both of them, and walked out.

To pass from the palace to the Temple, she had to go through one of the great halls. It was decorated, as many places were, with the brightly painted ritual calendar, to remind everyone who passed of the sacred cycles of life in Tenochtitlan.

She looked at the calendar, her eyes finding the current week and then daysign. It was the week of Water, a time of uncertainty and trouble; it was certainly living up to its promise. Today's daysign was Reed, the day of authority.

Her eyes slid automatically over to the next daysign. It was Ocelotl, the sign of the Ocelot and the Jaguar. A good day for doing battle, the day of the warriors of Tezcatlipoca, who sacrificed their lives to keep the Elder Flame burning forever. Her heart skipped a beat. She had wondered why Ocelot had not struck before; if he were the priest she thought he was, this was most likely the reason. He was biding his time, waiting until the calendar was right. The day of the cat would be a good one for him to make his move.

She frowned and looked at the daysign for the day after. It was Cuauhtli, the Eagle. The lore filled itself in around the sign in her mind. This was the day of the warriors of Huitzilopochtli, of those who sacrificed their lives to keep this age moving forward. It was the day of rebirth, of seedlings bursting from seeds, an excellent day for invoking the gods.

My day.

If she could choose a day to confront Ocelot, that was the day she would choose. So. She should expect an attack tomorrow, she decided, and she should work to protect her allies. But if she could hold her own attack until the day after, she should do so. The week of Water was an uncertain, shapeshifting thirteen days; only those of the purest hearts were free of the influence of the reversals of fate that Water inflicted. Had this happened in another week, the outcome of this would have been far more certain.

Jade smiled. The outcome of battle was never certain. She would go into it with a fierce heart and her god's name on her lips. Whatever happened then...it would be up for the skills of herself and her allies, and those opposing her, to decide. And I may have a surprise or two or Ocelot, as well.

But before she could fight, she needed to sleep, and to spend time in prayer so she could be granted her portion of her god's divine fire. She turned from the calendar and walked toward the Temple, feeling, oddly, a measure of peace. She could see her path, though not where it led. She would follow it until it ended...