Feathered Dragon - Douglas Niles [112]
“You’re right,” he said, turning back to Chical. “We’ve got *° get those ships sailing. How can we free Cordell, though? It wouldn’t make sense to attack Don Vaez’s force. They’re not the real enemy.”
“Still, your presence here can only be described as fortuitous,” replied Chical. “And it has given me an idea…”
As the warrior explained his plan, they saw it for the desperate scheme that it was. Still, none of them could think of any alternative. They asked questions and finalized details
of timing. Finally, when Chical again took to The air, they knew what they had to do.
They rested only briefly through the darkest pan of the night, and by moonrise, which occurred several hours be-fore dawn, the entire force had resumed the march toward Ulatos. They pressed forward through a long, hot day. Halloran again bore the burden of his wife’s unconscious form
At sunset, none of them showed any inclination to rest Spurred on by the knowledge that the city was nearby, Halloran desperately wanted to get Erixitl to the sanctuary of the temple. In addition, their plan with Chical required them to reach the open fields around Ulatos during the dark of the night.
It was nearly midnight when Halloran and Gultec, in the lead, broke from the fringe of the jungle and saw the torches of the Payit city glowing across the fields.
Accompanied by the Jaguar Knight and the priest of Qotal, Halloran left the bowmen of Tulom-Itzi, the dwarves, and the Little Men in the savannah beyond Ulatos. They knew their part in the plan and immediately.started gathering dry wood, collecting it in hundreds of different locations.
Meanwhile, the trio took Erixitl into the city to seek the temple of Qotal. As the marching column made camp under a moonless night sky, the three companions hurried through the city streets toward the pyramid. Though the torches they had seen earlier flickered around them, they saw no one awake or active at this hour.
Finally Coton led them to a whitewashed adobe building beside the dark, vine-covered pyramid.
“Wake up! Wake up in there!” Halloran cried, pounding on the temple door.
After several moments, they heard footsteps shuffling inside. “What is it? What in the name of the brings you here at this hour?”
The door flew open, revealing a plump, clean-faced priest in a white gown. “Yes? What do you want?”
“My wife needs care, and she needs a comfortable place “ rest. We’ve traveled far, and our mission is extremely
important-important to the himself!” Halloran pushed through the door, Erixitl in his arms, as the priest stammered his objections. “Why do you bother me?” he asked indignantly. “Who
just then the priest caught sight of Coton lingering behind the others. “F-Forgive me. Patriarch! I did not know- By all means, bring the lady in! Follow me!”
Halloran dogged the footsteps of the suddenly obsequious priest, with a grateful look back at the enigmatically smiling Coton. The young cleric led him to a warm chamber, small but with a thick mattress of straw,
“Here-she can rest here,” he explained. Halloran pushed past him and laid his wife on the mattress. Her chest rose and fell slowly from the movement of her breathing, but this was the only way he knew that she lived.
Her face had a dreadful pallor, and her eyes-those impossibly beautiful eyes, so deep and rich and dark-remained closed.
He wondered if he would ever see those eyes again.
The door to the shed opened, and a wash of yellow lamplight illuminated the dreary cell. Cordell blinked, waking quickly, and saw Rodolfo enter, followed by several brawny swordsmen. The time was some numberless hour past midnight
“Hey! No one’s allowed in here after dark!” objected one of the guards, climbing sleepily to his feet and standing in the navigator’s path.
The guard said nothing further as the metal gauntlet of one of Rodolfo’s companions crunched firmly into his jaw. The man collapsed while his two companions