Simon Levack - The Demon of the Air

“I had the feeling,” Lily went on, “that the boy was afraid of something, because he kept looking over his shoulder all the time. I wondered if it was his father.”

“Curling Mist was close enough,” I said, “along with that knife of his. He’s crazy, isn’t he? The boy would be right to be afraid. It doesn’t explain why he tried to save me, though, or why his father wants me dead.”

The explanation struck me before the words were out of my mouth. When I saw it, all the muscles in my face went loose, my eyes widened and my mouth fell open, and it was only afterward that I noticed I was staring past the woman at nothing like a slack-jawed imbecile.

“Yaotl?” she asked, alarmed. “What is it?”

“Oh, Quetzalcoatl,” I said softly, vainly invoking the god of wisdom, “I’ve been such an idiot!”

“What’s the matter? What are you talking about?”

“Young Warrior!”

“What about him?”

“That’s who he is! Of course!” I groaned. “My enemy-who else would hate me enough to want me dead?” I put my hand to my forehead and drew it down over my eyes as though clearing them of something that had obscured my vision, like cobwebs. “Young Warrior and Curling Mist are the same man!”

It was Lily’s turn to stare. “I don’t understand-I thought you said Young Warrior had left years ago-before you were thrown out of the Priest House.”

“He did. He must have come back. But it makes such perfect sense-he disguises himself as a priest because that’s what he used to be; and because under all that soot he could be anybody, so there’s no chance of me or any of his other contemporaries recognizing him. It explains why he wanted you to find out how I left the Priest House, and about Maize Flower. He’s obsessed-and he really hates me, enough to want to kill me with his own hands.”

“So why doesn’t his son want you dead as well?”

“I don’t know. Perhaps he just doesn’t hate me as his father does. Perhaps he thinks it’s all getting out of control.” There was another possibility, I knew, but the moment it occurred to me I felt the horror again, the chasms opening up around me, the accusing voice calling my name.

I could not bring myself to name that possibility out loud, but Lily did.

“Or perhaps he thinks he’s your own.”

“No,” I said instantly, and as firmly as I could for the trembling that had come over me. “No, I don’t believe it. Maize Flower told me the child wasn’t mine-she said that, remember? And Young Warrior took her with him. He’d never have done that if she was carrying another man’s child.

“He’s not mine. He can’t be. He’s not!”

Lily stared at her hands resting in her lap and I munched my tortilla absently.

The woman broke the silence by reminding me that I had not told her what I intended to do now.

“Go away, I suppose,” I said dully. “When I came looking for you it was to give you a message for your son, but that was when I thought I was fit enough to take my enemies on. Now I need somewhere to hide from them. It’s too dangerous to stay here.”

“I know.” Lily had the good grace to sound regretful.

“What about you? What are you going to do?”

“I have to see the young man again,” she said, avoiding my eyes. “I’ll have to tell him what you’ve told me-about the pleasure girl and leaving the Priest House, I mean, not the rest. I hope …” She faltered, took a deep breath and carried on: “I hope it’s enough to get Shining Light back. They can’t keep him forever, surely?”

I took a sip of water and watched her over the rim of my bowl. She looked tired, and as long as her son was away she was not allowed to disguise the deep shadows under her eyes with makeup. I wondered how much sleep she had had since he had been gone. I had seen her in so many moods in such a short time, I thought: proud, kindly, passionate, angry, distraught.

I remembered her father’s warning not to mention her son’s tastes. I sighed, realizing that if what I suspected was true then I was going to have to make her angry again. I had no choice, however: I had to know.

“What exactly is your son’s relationship with Curling Mist?”

Her expression froze.

“What do you mean?”

“I know your merchandise was taken to his warehouse. Your father told me.”

Lily let out a long shuddering breath. “Curling Mist convinced Shining Light it would be the ideal place to hide our stock. No one would ever know where it was, he said. I told the boy he was a fool, but he’s a man: it was his decision. He wouldn’t listen to me, and my father wouldn’t intervene. And he owed the man so much money. Now-it’s like living on sufferance. I don’t know where this warehouse is. Shining Light couldn’t tell me-he doesn’t know where it is himself! I just used to hope my son and Curling Mist didn’t fall out and Curling Mist would let us have enough of our own property to live on. Now, though …”

“Are Shining Light and Curling Mist lovers?”

I was not prepared for what she did next. Suddenly she was across the room with her hand in my hair and wringing it so savagely that I spat a mouthful of bread on the floor.

“Don’t you dare ask me that! Never, ever! Do you understand?”

“Yes!” Pain and surprise forced tears from my eyes.

She twisted the hand in my hair still further. “Do you understand?”

“Yes, I told you, yes!”

She let go. “Just remember what’s at stake for us. Shining Light and I were honored for his father’s sake, but that’s all over now, since … well, you know what’s happened. And now that parasite, Curling Mist, has got his hands on my son and our wealth, all we have left is trade, and until Shining Light’s back and can go abroad there’s precious little of that. If anyone outside my family ever hears that my son is … my son is a …” She swallowed, unable to say the word. “You know what would happen. If he showed his face in the city he would be burned alive and I would never be allowed to trade again.” Lily put her face very close to my face then, close enough that her breath on my cheek felt like a kiss, and hissed: “I will kill to prevent that, do you hear me?”

She resumed her place in the corner. I took one last tentative bite at the tortilla she had given me, but although I chewed and swallowed it dutifully I found I had lost my appetite.

You’re restless today.”

I had come out to sit against the fig tree but could not relax. Instead I tried to loosen up my limbs by walking around the edge of the courtyard.

Kindly felt no need of exercise.

“I wish you’d go and do that somewhere else,” he complained, “or at least walk round the other way. You’re making me dizzy!”

I turned around to limp in the opposite direction. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Constant hurrying toward the street entrance.

“Why don’t you have a drink?”

I surprised myself by refusing. “I need to think.”

“Suit yourself.”

My head was still full of the memories that had been stirred up over the last two days. Ever since they had abducted me, I had known that Nimble, at least, wanted me to tell him something, and that Curling Mist wanted me dead, but had not known why. Now I thought I could see why: if Curling Mist really was Young Warrior, and blamed me for his exile all those years ago, then he might well hate me. If Nimble was Maize Flower’s child, perhaps he wanted to find out what had happened to me, because he thought I might be his father, although it seemed strange that Curling Mist should have been willing to cooperate with him in this. If Shining Light was Curling Mist’s lover, then that could be why he had helped the other two, by agreeing to stage the farce Handy and I had witnessed on the Great Pyramid. I wondered what had happened since, and how the young merchant had changed from fellow conspirator to hostage. All Iknew about that was that it meant Curling Mist could use Lily against me, and that made my position in her house untenable.