The life-size clay model of a warrior wore a loin-cloth, sandals and a head-dress. On its chest was a small red circle to indicate the heart. Yaotl stood at the other end of the courtyard holding a javelin, which he threw with devastating accuracy into the circle. Don, who was watching with Tetzal, thought Yaotl would be a useful addition to a darts team. Yaotl swaggered over to them, his right hand on the hilt of the short sword hanging at his side.252Please respect copyright.PENANANCZi0wGPtd
"Thus shall my enemies fall," he said arrogantly.252Please respect copyright.PENANAKecy6FVi4n
"Real enemies can strike back," Don remarked quietly.252Please respect copyright.PENANAR5DNz07GnZ
"I have no fear of death," Yaotl retorted.252Please respect copyright.PENANAaemNeCBbQ1
"Maybe not. The dead never win."252Please respect copyright.PENANAdDjDmaB7lb
Yaotl looked sharply at Don. "How would you attack?" he asked.252Please respect copyright.PENANAWnTNdKRo89
"A little more cunningly," Don replied. "I'd use stealth to surprise my enemy."252Please respect copyright.PENANAuqYmG7ZOwp
"This also I can do." Yaotl spun around and when they were face to face again, the sword was drawn and the tip touching Don's stomach.252Please respect copyright.PENANA8qEG8kmBGc
Don smiled at Yaotl as the chosen warrior slid the sword back into its scabbard. Don held up his left thumb. "This is all I need," he said casually.252Please respect copyright.PENANARgG0geFM8l
Yaotl looked surprised and observed that to win a victory with a thumb would require strong magic.252Please respect copyright.PENANAhICzQCIMRR
Don shook his head. "Knowing your enemy's weakness isn't magic," he said, "it's common sense."252Please respect copyright.PENANAcubzNkGOLD
Yaotl laughed and pointed to himself. "What weakness have I that is vulnerable to your thumb?"252Please respect copyright.PENANAiuAp5U7Ptt
"You'd be surprised," Don replied.252Please respect copyright.PENANAYm9QMyh0M1
Yaotl hesitated, doubt in his eyes.252Please respect copyright.PENANAw6JbPd6t3B
"Don't worry, Yaotl, I won't kill you. Not this time." Don remained composed; Tetzal was intrigued and Yaotl bristled.252Please respect copyright.PENANAPvZHYs6oAs
"You mock the arts of war and I defy you to harm me;" he challenged.252Please respect copyright.PENANAJYDzAkzWA5
Don looked at the studded club that lay on the ground beside them. "Pick up the club, Yaotl," Don pointed at it with his left thumb.252Please respect copyright.PENANAgnrFUdSelC
Yaotl eyed Don suspiciously and then bent down to pick up the cudgel with his right hand. But he never quite reached it, as Don was astride him from behind and had clamped Yaotl's right arm in a half-nelson hold, leaving him powerless to pick up the cudgel or draw his sword. At the same time Don rammed his left thumb onto the pressure point behind Yaotl's left ear. For a few seconds Yaotl thrashed vainly with his left arm to disengage Don's thumb, and then went limp. Don released him and Yaotl slumped to the ground. Tetzal stared at Don in astonishment.252Please respect copyright.PENANAUQuK2Ko2Ub
"Give him a little time," Don smiled at the High Priest. "He'll wake up soon."252Please respect copyright.PENANArsj8FQrMZN
At that moment Ollin limped into the courtyard. "Tetzal, there is a task to be...." he stopped short when he saw Yaotl.252Please respect copyright.PENANAMl9vhwVE4r
Tetzal turned to him. "He sleeps. Nenetl's servant won the victory with his thumb."252Please respect copyright.PENANA4MoeArBP9m
Ollin looked warily at Don and turned back to Tetzal. "You saw the blow?"252Please respect copyright.PENANAjW6DTvxPBd
"There was no blow." Tetzal held up his left thumb. "He defeated Yaotl with this."252Please respect copyright.PENANA7pBwP1U9VM
"Tell him to rest until the sun has passed the zenith," Don advised as he walked away.252Please respect copyright.PENANAXuGGNkrLH7
"Where do you go?" Tetzal asked.252Please respect copyright.PENANAkmiirM6Obk
"For a stroll." Don was enjoying himself.252Please respect copyright.PENANA8GjylPXnTS
"I shall accompany you." And the two of them left the courtyard.252Please respect copyright.PENANAwFQg14uHgx
Yaotl stirred, propped himself up on his elbows, shook his head and exercised his neck muscles.252Please respect copyright.PENANA3FRwqKEvpj
Ollin looked down at him. "Could you not fight against it?"252Please respect copyright.PENANACJc9KXYJiL
"I was powerless." Yaotl rose groggily to his feet and leaned against the courtyard wall. "My strength was drained from me like that," and he snapped his fingers.252Please respect copyright.PENANA8YTRoj6oax
Ollin was disconcerted.252Please respect copyright.PENANAHMKhtwivu6
Tlaqui, a small, portly, balding Priest of Knowledge waddled, posy in hand, into the courtyard, bowed to Ollin and announced t hat the Perfect Victim desired to be admitted.252Please respect copyright.PENANArErgsMOLbN
"All his requests must be granted," Ollin replied, and as Tlaqui left he reiterated quietly, "Must be granted."252Please respect copyright.PENANAARjaleU99d
The Perfect Victim entered the courtyard. He was a handsome youth of eighteen and his white loin-cloth and cloak were hemmed with a gold thread, which had also been used to weave the eagle and coiled-snake motif on the back of his cloak. Even his sandals were white.252Please respect copyright.PENANAD7lCDQcNsQ
"You grace the Chosen Warriors' barracks by your presence." Ollin gestured toward Yaotl. "He is one who would be commander of our armies."252Please respect copyright.PENANAvRQmHJtjpK
"Yaotl, I have heard of your valor and skill," the Perfect Victim exclaimed, and then looked puzzled. "Why do you say "would be" when all know he is to be the commander?"252Please respect copyright.PENANAarEx8jDUgd
"There are some who say the accounts of his deeds and the truth are far apart," Ollin replied, looking shyly at Yaotl, who was furious.252Please respect copyright.PENANACG7SvGctrD
"No man can win against me!" he shouted.252Please respect copyright.PENANAVpJhkDSxhh
"None, not one?" Olliln sneered.252Please respect copyright.PENANAGX6AM2CpeM
"I shall lead our armies," Yaotl replied stubbornly. "It is my right to do so!"252Please respect copyright.PENANA6wVLoGmQbR
"Yesterday it seemed so," Ollin remarked dryly.252Please respect copyright.PENANAze2XJ3KDgu
Yaotl glared at him, picked up the cudgel, stomped off to the center of the courtyard and began practicing swings and blows.252Please respect copyright.PENANA2B28dZVLxT
Tlaqui looked with surprise at the High Priest of Sacrifice.252Please respect copyright.PENANA6uURovrKRH
"You would make an enemy?" he asked naively.252Please respect copyright.PENANAS4UfhzIWci
"I?" Ollin protested. "I only know that I have seen a man who could defeat him."252Please respect copyright.PENANAQEcUklmBWE
"Defeat Yaotl?" The Perfect Victim could hadly believe his ears.252Please respect copyright.PENANAGvWTyyPG7L
Yaotl stopped swinging the cudgel and turned towards tehm. "Once. And that by a trick." He pointed the cudgel at Ollin. "I tell you that face to face, I can pull the stranger down."252Please respect copyright.PENANAaIbjqtoqTC
"Maybe."252Please respect copyright.PENANA0g8EmIXj8X
"You drive the man." The Perfect Victim's voice was reproachful. "How often have you and Tetzal instructed me that small failings in a man may be his saving graces?"252Please respect copyright.PENANAEPWRvFG2qT
"But you, O' Perfect Victim, are as your name implies," Ollin replied. "When the time is ripe and you face the Gods, all failings will have dropped away. How else could you meet the gods to tell them of the Aztecs?" He paused dramatically and then raised his voice. "Should not the commander of our armies be equally pure so that his very name will strike awe and dread in our enemies' camps?"252Please respect copyright.PENANAA5Lc1m87D0
The Perfect Victim considered the High Priest's argument and nodded. "He who defeated Yaotl should command.252Please respect copyright.PENANAFoZWW79lN1
"No!" Yaotl roared.252Please respect copyright.PENANAwleKemHX38
Ollin raised a calming hand and conceded that Nenetl's servant may have won through trickery. "A second contest would resolve the matter but I cannot order it." He shrugged his shoulders and waited for Tlaqui, in his simplicity, to come to the rescue.252Please respect copyright.PENANA4rfVqTwS2Y
"The Perfect Victim's desires must be fulfilled at all times," he burbled.252Please respect copyright.PENANAUxzNkEagZC
Ollin clenched his fists in delight as the Perfect Victim went to Yaotl's side.252Please respect copyright.PENANAZ2yHNJw1Uj
"My faith in Yaotl is supreme," the young man said, "and it is my desire that the Chosen Warriors meet in contest once again."252Please respect copyright.PENANAhYJZfkdVl0
"As the sun sets, I shall arrange it," Ollin promised, and then casually expressed his opinion that the two men fought better when one challenged the other as there was less vigor in a contest made solely for entertainment.252Please respect copyright.PENANA7WYYxVlqc6
"I shall challenge the stranger," said Yaotl.252Please respect copyright.PENANAD6qgLqGCQN
"Let it be so," the Perfect Victim said, and left the courtyard with Tlaqui.252Please respect copyright.PENANAiJaDRK7Ggs
Ollin limped to Yaotl's side and whispered in his ear. "This I promise you: all honor and glory shall be yours if you destroy him."252Please respect copyright.PENANAw7WfuoRMIO
Dr. Smith and Zuma were in the garden looking at the flowers and plants. Dr. Smith touched a leaf and asked her what it was.252Please respect copyright.PENANAgmwpZ0JY6P
"It is herbal and the sap of the stem is used by those who practice medicine to induce sleep."252Please respect copyright.PENANA3o98wVV39h
"I think I know of it," Dr. Smith replied, straightening up. As he did so , he scratched the back of his hand on a thorn of the maguey cactus plant which grew beside the herb. "Ouch!" He put the back of his hand to his mouth. Zuma laughed and suggested that Nenetl's aged servant might care to sleep until the wound healed. Dr. Smith declined, smiling, and they walked on along the path.252Please respect copyright.PENANAJ2bsTaAFTp
"What do you call yourself?" Zuma asked.252Please respect copyright.PENANAvVdzHULxBW
"Zachary Smith, the Doctor of Many Things, at your service, my dear."252Please respect copyright.PENANAdeC3o9657a
Zuma was puzzled. "Doctor? You are a healer?"252Please respect copyright.PENANAc9MbMrWXwz
"A healer? Oh, heavens no. I am a scientist, an engineer, a builder of things."252Please respect copyright.PENANALFJ0UTb7fL
"Now I understand your interest in the pyramid and the temple."252Please respect copyright.PENANAh9SieMH4kd
Dr. Smith admitted that there were several details concerning the interior that intrigued him and this time came straight to the point.252Please respect copyright.PENANAQmXURTrkSF
"Nenetl's tomb, for example, is sealed, but surely the builder, now, what was his name....ah....ah....."252Please respect copyright.PENANArmid5QEufA
"Atl," Zuma said.252Please respect copyright.PENANAHwf92goKcg
"Yes, of course," Dr. Smith replied. "Surely he devised a way of opening it."252Please respect copyright.PENANAc6RaaktMaK
Zuma admitted that her knowledge of the pyramid was insufficient to answer his query, but she was sure Atl's grandson would know the answer.252Please respect copyright.PENANAeClN3rln6u
Dr. Smith stopped and sniffed an exotic flower. "Such a fragrance," he murmured and added that he didn't want to pry into what might be a family secret.252Please respect copyright.PENANAughmkwLg1d
"No one could think that of you," she replied. "When shall the meeting be?"252Please respect copyright.PENANAwrSwwOrPRG
"Oh, any time." Dr. Smith was nonchalant. "Today?"252Please respect copyright.PENANAYce0wFSqm9
Zuma observed that an interested mind brooked no delay.252Please respect copyright.PENANAE9n9zWP9EL
Dr. Smith looked at her and smiled. "I'm sure that's true of you, Zuma."252Please respect copyright.PENANAxqdSKk36wA
She blushed. "I was once. Now I'm content to pass the time of day here like the others."252Please respect copyright.PENANAb4bndT8C5U
"Their minds are old, dear lady, something yours shall never, ever, be," Dr. Smith protested.252Please respect copyright.PENANAbe7oPa2R4u
Zuma smiled. "Your heart too is young, Dr. Smith." She touched his hand and said she would go and see the builder's grandson at once.252Please respect copyright.PENANAl17SIsFbDS
As she hurried away Dr.Smith sighed. He had a sense of guilt because, much as he liked Zuma, he knew he was using her. And does the end justify the means, he asked himself. In this instance, definitely, yes; the thought was resolute, but the guilt still niggled.252Please respect copyright.PENANAGRzrIbOT4B
Ann received the High Priest of Sacrifice in the temple. Seated upon the throne, she was determined to draw on all the divinity she could muster. She looked down at Olliln and waited for him to speak.252Please respect copyright.PENANAOGflsrQud5
"The High Priest of Knowledge will question you."252Please respect copyright.PENANA8qTvLOz1Ys
"And if he finds that I am the Spirit of Nenetl returned, what then?"252Please respect copyright.PENANAj8nJWUyk2I
"I will remember the words of the High Priest of Sacrifice."252Please respect copyright.PENANACII1g58AYk
"I shall beg forgiveness of the Gods for my unworthy doubts."252Please respect copyright.PENANA4MWIsnFXsB
"I will remember the words of the High Priest of Sacrifice."252Please respect copyright.PENANALp8kaU140B
Ollin leaned towards the throne, his impenetrable eyes glistening. "Remember this also." His voice was a menace. "While your divinity is in dispute, only those who serve the temple may approach you."252Please respect copyright.PENANA3DoaY77XaV
"My servant also," Ann protested.252Please respect copyright.PENANAiUzU3MnkOq
"No!" Ollin spat out the word. "You are to remain alone."252Please respect copyright.PENANAMVvb6V4laW
"For what reason?" Ann enquired calmly.252Please respect copyright.PENANAtBerS9Guy2
"A false god's servants would conspire against us," Ollin said accusingly. "Such a danger we are unprepared to tolerate."252Please respect copyright.PENANAtpxICLrCar
"Then let my servants be told they may not enter here," Ann replied evenly.252Please respect copyright.PENANAYY2APUqVdm
"As you command, Nenetl," Ollin replied and limped out of the temple leaving a very disquieted Ann behind him.252Please respect copyright.PENANAlwh2MUaoq0
Zuma was walking along the broad avenue on her way to the barracks when a messenger approached her. He bowed respectfully and said that Yaotl, the Chosen Warrior, sought her counsel. Zuma smiled and replied that she would go directly to his quarters.252Please respect copyright.PENANAWvbTIMnjhV
She came into the courtyard and went over to Yaotl's door, which was open. She called his name and Yaotl invited her in.252Please respect copyright.PENANA92KeOea77e
The quarters consisted of three small rooms. On one side of the main living area was the bathroom, essential to most dwellings, as the Aztecs, with the exception of High Priests of Sacrifice, bathed two or three times a day. On the other side was the bedroom with a woven straw mattress on the floor and two wicker-work trunks for Yaotl's loin-cloths and cloaks. His head-dresses were kept on a shelf, his sandals underneath it. The main room had a legless square wooden table with a cushion at each side. Yaotl pointed to a cushion and Zuma sat down. Yaotl sat facing her.252Please respect copyright.PENANAMWdajkMZBM
"I was told you wish to see me, Yaotl."252Please respect copyright.PENANAn71alIv4Qp
"I would seek your advice, Zuma."252Please respect copyright.PENANATDNZi4OsJt
"If I can give it, I shall," she replied.252Please respect copyright.PENANARWHzTFOyaw
Yaotl rubbed behind his left ear with his thumb and asked what she knew of magic.252Please respect copyright.PENANA8yppL7t3lG
"Nothing," Zuma admitted. "Though it is my belief I knew one who does."252Please respect copyright.PENANA22rSBNJBcw
Yaotl leaned forward. "What name has this person?"252Please respect copyright.PENANAEs5GAxxP4b
"He is known as Zachary Smith and is the aged servant of Nenetl."252Please respect copyright.PENANAAOTihfT04O
Yaotl dismissed the suggestion with a wave of his hand. "An old fool with a strange name is of no use to me."252Please respect copyright.PENANASajlRyQtCg
"Ah, but you may be of service to him," Zuma said. "He seeks an interview with you."252Please respect copyright.PENANAZg6jd2qcM0
Yaotl was curious. "To what end?"252Please respect copyright.PENANARsFCJaqd2P
"He is interested in your lamented father's father's work. In particular the temple," she added.252Please respect copyright.PENANAkAki27Hh4w
Yaotl ran his hand across his face. "Does he know my name?" he asked abruptly.252Please respect copyright.PENANAY3FjyW8K9q
"No."252Please respect copyright.PENANAecy7VW3I5T
"Do not reveal it, but say that I shall meet him." His voice was casual.252Please respect copyright.PENANA8ogIgmPJAS
"Where?"252Please respect copyright.PENANATZj962OlAG
"Does he not spend his day in the temple garden?"252Please respect copyright.PENANAj7I4PwabhN
Zuma nodded.252Please respect copyright.PENANA4XpAFElHGl
"Then there, I shall pass by after the sun is over the zenith and my food has been brought to me." He stood up and helped Zuma to her feet.252Please respect copyright.PENANAQmk8iUHhOm
"I shall deliver those words, Yaotl." She felt pleased to have been of service to the Doctor, as she liked his company.252Please respect copyright.PENANAS6GVSU6QWY
"Be mindful not to reveal my name," Yaotl called to her from the doorway as Zuma crossed the courtyard. Then he went back into the room chuckling. There was no better way to destroy one's enemies than to let them destroy themselves.252Please respect copyright.PENANAfmibqBso9M