Gargoyles Timedancer:
Bloodstone
11. 16. 0. 8. 6
I reached into the dried up cenote, my ears twitched as I heard the scittering scurrying scrabbling sound of the centipede trying to avoid my talon. I pinched the end of the creature and yanked it out of the hole.
It squirmed wildly as I held it out in front of me. My balanced mother held out a small clay jar. I quickly stuffed the centipede into the jar, and then giggled.
"Now you hold it tight, daughter," she said, handing me the jar. I could hear it scritching around inside.
"Now we shall return to ChacIxchel. Where we will teach your rookery brother how you felt."
I clutched the jar to my chest as we began moving through the canopy, making our way back to the pyramid. Not far from our home we paused, and then leapt down from the trees onto the ground. Both of our ears twitched. We could hear voices speaking a strange langue.
"Who is that?" I asked.
My mother's eyes flickered red.
"Aztecs," she said. "They are at the pyramid. Fortunately most of the clan has gone north looking for you."
"Why are they here?" I asked, shuddering slightly.
"Doubtless looking for more victims for that dark god of theirs."
I shuddered again. The Aztecs worshiped a god called Huitzilopoctli. He was often represented by a hummingbird or an Eagle. They say he consumed hearts ripped straight from the chests of their victims. The Mayans and the Toltecs considered them barbarians. It was not hard to see why.
Unfortunately they considered coatls like us to be just as sacred. As such, we were just as good a sacrifice as a human. They had been forced back a few years ago by a coalition of Mayans, Toltecs, and other human tribes in the area who had been victims of the Aztec raids. This happened before I hatched. It was also the last time in clan memory that we had allied with the humans. It was during that battle that my balanced mother met my red-skinned, blue-winged father and she had joined our clan.
The Aztecs had been beaten back, but…they were not destroyed. Merely retreated to their swamp-city. They still sent raiding parties down south hoping to find victims of their cruel god from outside our walls.
My balanced mother crept closer to the pyramid. Suddenly a pair of arms grabbed me and yanked me up. I screamed.
The human warrior was strong, powerfully muscled. If I was an adult gargoyle, he would have been no match for me, but I was still but a child.
She turned and looked at the Aztec who held me. Her face was placid, calm and collected..
"You put my daughter down this instant Aztec filth," she said calmly.
I struggled against the Aztec's arms, with little success.
"Coatl hearts are most sacred," he said in broken Quichean Mayan. "I take many back with me."
My balanced mothers eyes flickered red. She growled at the human, trying to intimidate him. It was the only time I had ever seen her eyes glow or a growl escape her fangs.
"Put her down!" a second voice declared as my chubby-mother slithered up next to my balanced mother. Both of my mothers eyes flickered red.
"You forget, filthy Aztec," my blue-skinned rookery mother who taught the hatchlings about the plants of the Green. "We coatls have many mothers and fathers"
"You threaten our daughter and you face ALL our wrath," my gray-skinned balanced mother said.
"I fear the death of the sun more than wrath of Quetzalcoatl's chosen," the Aztec replied.
I squeezed the clay jar with my talon, shattering it apart. The centipede scurried out of the shards, and up my arm.
"OW!" I yelped as it stung my arm, but then scurried onto the Aztec, who instantly dropped me. My mothers lunged for me, snatching me away from the human and pulling me close.
"Box will be back soon," Chubby-Mother said.
"She was stung by the centipede," Balanced-Mother said. She looked at my blue-skinned mother.
"Get me papaya fruit, and the purple orchids that grow in the palmapple grove," she replied. My balanced mother nodded and was off like a shot. I clutched my arm in pain, but my mothers were all focused on me. None of them were watching the Aztec warrior. None of them saw the small horde of greenish-brown Aluxo'ob launch out of the forest, and drag him away.
I could only stare at them in surprise, unable to articulate what I had seen to my mothers.
11. 1. 16. 8. 7
"Brooklyn!" I yelled. "Benuthet! It is no ordinary centipede! It is Eek' Chapaat! Each slice upon its segments will grow into a new centipede!"
"What?" Brooklyn demanded.
"Oh Jalapeña!" Benuthet swore.
I suppose I should explain that one. Apparently Brooklyn's clan uses the Jalapeño plant as a swear or oath of some sort. I'm somewhat unclear as to why, but Benuthet and I have fallen into the habit as well. It is possible that the mild flavor of the Jalapeño is not a strong enough bite for the tastes of the Manhattan Clan. Should I ever have the chance to meet them, I shall ensure that they have the opportunity to sample more potent peppers.
I hear the clash of steel-on-chitin exoskeleton, as Brooklyn swung at the centipede. I myself was wildly slashing away at the centipede lunging at me. I glanced over towards the boys. I did a double-take. It was hard to tell in this pitch blackness, but for the briefest of moments, I thought that Brooklyn was in two places at once.
Naturally, as nocturnal creatures, we coatls are blessed with superior night vision. But no creature can see in absolute darkness, which is what we stood in now. A trick of the shadows of the darkness, no doubt.
With a thrusting motion, I buried my blade deep into the head of yet another giant centipede. That's when I heard my mate cry out in absolute pain. His eyes burned bright white. Enough light to illuminate his section of the cavern to my light-sensitive eyes. The centipede was clamped down on his stomach.
My own eyes lit up red, and abandoning my blade I lunged across the cavern, leaping onto the back of the giant centipede. My talons struck the head of the creature, and tore through the chitin like it was stone. I ripped everything I found in the creature's head out, and it collapsed to the ground, dead.
"Aarrrgh!" Benuthet screamed again, his pain quite evident.
I heard the striking of flint on steel, and a moment later Brooklyn approached with our torch relit. I could see his sword still embedded into the head of his own centipede.
"Jalapeña that looks bad," Brooklyn said. There was a massive red welt on Benuthet's stomach where he was stung. I lunged down and grabbed Benuthet's satchel, snatching it from his left shoulder where it usually hung.
I rapidly rifled through it and yanked out the other Orichalcum crystal and pressed it against the wound.
"ARRRRGH!" he roared clearly in excruciating pain. He grabbed the crystal and flung it across the cavern. I turned and looked back at my mate in shock.
"Orichalum…is…pure magic…In crystallized…form," he wheezed. "Under ordinary circumstances…it will regenerate damaged tissue…by default...unless... mentally…focused…to…do…otherwise…But…this venom…is magical in nature…the magic…won't…naturally regenerate…instead, it will…transform into more venom…making the wound worse."
"Jalapeña!" I exclaimed. "What can we do, my love?"
He winced.
"It is magical centipede venom," he confirmed. "But likely still centipede venom, thus it will have the nature of centipede venom."
"Then stone sleep should still purge it," I commented.
"Isn't that still a good six and a half hours away?" Brooklyn asked, looking at me worriedly.
"Yes," I said grimly. "That much venom might take his life before that happens."
"Are there any plants that could help?" Brooklyn asked. "That's your clan's specialty, right?"
I nodded. "The juice of the papaya fruit can be used to cure centipede bites. It was used on me when I was a hatchling and was bit by an ordinary centipede. Purple orchid helps speed the process."
"Go," Brooklyn said. "I'll keep an eye on him. Find the fruit."
"Take Kebechet with you," Benuthet said quietly. "She is swift of foot. When you find the fruit, she might be able to get back here faster than you can alone."
I nodded, whistling sharply. Kebechet darted to my side, and sat at attention. I grabbed Benuthet's satchel.
"I will place the plants in Benuthet's satchel and hang it around Kebechet's neck," I said. "If she gets here before I do, squeeze the juice into the wound, and hold it in place with the orchid petals, do you understand?"
Brooklyn nodded.
"Be…Careful…My love," Benuthet said.
"I love you," I whispered. "Kebechet, heel."
Fu-dog whined.
"No Fu," Brooklyn said. "I need you to stick with me. I want your eyes if there are more surprises in here.
I darted out of the temple, ducking under the ordinary centipedes dangling over the entrance. I snatched my obsidian sword from the head of the Eek' Chapaat I swung the blade and knocked the centipedes from their perches. They scampered off into the jungle.
Then, like lightning, Kebechet and I darted into The Green.
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I took stock of what was in Benuthet's satchel. A carnivorous tree seed. Why did he keep that? Is he planning to grow one? I thought. The silver helm of Nabu, a Babylonian god. His mammoth ivory wand. A large chunk of ivory eggshell. A jeweled elephant goad. The serpent's crown. A couple of vials of dried leaves and dust. An Egyptian scroll I could not read. A large chunk of ice.
Wait…A large chunk of ice? Why was my mate keeping that in his satchel? I pulled it out, and immediately recognized what was frozen within the chunk of ice. It was a box of the German cacao sweets. My heart melted. He was using his magic to keep them chilled so that they wouldn't melt, and presumably he was keeping them for my sake, since he knew my fondness for cacoa no matter what form it takes.
My lips quivered. I needed to find that papaya fruit fast. Kebechet suddenly began growling.
I glanced over to where her nose was pointed, and a saw a tiny creature poking its head out of the brush. It was small, and reminded me of a cross between one of those lemur creatures from Madagascar and a frog. It was green and blue and brown with a large bulbous head. It was an Alux.
The Aluxo'ob were a race of tiny magical men who had the power to help crops grow, in exchange for sweets. They were tricky, but mostly benevolent. I had seen a few over the years as a hatchling, and they had always been helpful and even protective of me, without even the promise of sweets.
"Hello, Alux," I said, bending down. It scampered back. Strange. The Aluxo'ob never shrank from me before. As a hatchling they often approached me, but shirked by rookery siblings. At the time, I had assumed that it was because they sensed I would be kinder to them then many of my crueler siblings.
Now I had misgivings. I inched closer. The Alux scampered back even further.
"Come now," I said. "I won't hurt you. I need your help."
It looked at me terrified.
I glanced down at the ice chunk in my talons. The Aluxo'ob love sweets. And cacao is usually reserved solely for royalty. It was likely that the Aluxo'ob never had it before.
I cracked the ice apart with my talons and opened the box. I took one of the chocolates out and placed it on the ground in front of me. The Alux eyed it suspiciously, but then darted forward and grabbed it, gobbling it up. It looked absolutely shocked. Then squeaked loudly. Suddenly, I found myself surrounded by a dozen of the little creatures.
"Jalapeña!" I exclaimed. Instantly the original Alux was off like a shot. Moments later returning with a Jalapeño pepper.
"You…" He handed me the pepper. I stared at it blankly. Then at the other Aluxo'ob.. I quickly began pulling chocolates from the box and placing them in front of the little people. One by one they gasped in shock. Then began squeaking happily.
"That's all I have," I said, fishing out an empty glass jar and placing the jalapeño pepper in the jar, before sliding it into the pockets containing my mate's other plant samples including the dried leaves and carnivorous tree seed.
They squeaked loudly and happily again.
If it worked with the jalapeños…
"I need papaya fruit and purple orchid," I said. Like a shot from the guns of the Conquistadors the Aluxo'ob darted back into the underbrush. Moments later they returned, each carrying either a papaya fruit or a flower blossom.
I smiled. I fished out the helm of Nabu and turned it upsidedown. I placed the flower blossoms and papaya fruits within the helm and placed it on the top of the satchel, resting the helm in the groove of the sheepskin containing the Serpent's Crown. I hung the satchel around Kebechet's neck.
"Go to Benuthet!" I instructed. Kebechet yipped, but then shot into the Green from the direction we came. About half of the Aluxo'ob took off with her.
I turned to follow, when I heard the panther-like screech of a female gargoyle nearby. I glanced in the direction that Kebechet had gone. Of course I was worried about my mate. But I trusted Brooklyn would take care of him.
And I needed some answers. Answers that I was certain would not be found back at that temple.
I glanced down at the Aluxo'ob. "Can you take me to whomever screeched?"
They all squeaked and shot into the underbrush. Rapidly shaking plants along a path rather violently. I shot up the trunk of a tree, and then glided after them.
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I came to a small encampment surrounding a rather large freshwater cenote. There was meat hanging from lines strung along trees. A pot of poison dart frog poison was boiling over a firepit. Several arrows were dipped into the pot, soaking the deadly toxins into their tips.
I could also smell honey and bees nearby, and suspected a rather large hive in one of the trees.
I glanced around. The Aluxo'ob seemed to have disappeared.
I bent down, examining the ground near the fire, cloaking my wings. I suddenly felt something cold and sharp pressing into my back.
"Who are you?" a female voice demanded.
I held up my talons and slowly got to me feet. If I was right, my questioner had a poison tipped arrow pressed against my back.
"I am called Zafira," I said. "May I turn around?"
She grunted, which I took as affirmation. I slowly turned. My captor was a coatl. She was armed with a bow and a quiver full of arrows. She had a reptilian face, and white feathered wings. Her skin was cobalt blue, and she was dressed similar to myself. She wore a black jaguar-skin loincloth and poncho-top.
She was rather strikingly beautiful, actually. I couldn't deny that she made my head turn, despite being happily mated. I wondered if I might get the chance to introduce her to Brooklyn. It would be nice to both end his loneliness and give all three of us a lovely bit of eye-honey for future legs of the Timedance.
I shook off my lustful thoughts quickly. I had more pressing matters, after all.
"What are you doing in my camp, Zafira?" Cobalt Blue demanded. "How did you get past my Aluxo'ob guards? I keep them well fed on honey to ensure their loyalty."
"Ah," I said. "I'm afraid that I offered them a treat that was better than honey and they've shifted allegiances."
"Traitorous little imps," she muttered.
"I mean you no harm," I said.
"You're not here to take me back to CamazotzKukulkan?" she inquired.
"You are from CamazotzKukulkan?" I asked, frowning.
She nodded grimly. "Yes, and unfortunately I caught Obsidian's eye. I had no choice but to leave."
"I think he may have shifted his affections towards myself," I said, remembering the leering eye he had given me over the course of the day.
"That is unfortunate for you," she said coldly.
"Why is everyone afraid of him?" I asked. "He's not actually done anything threatening towards anyone."
"He never does," Cobalt replied. "But he is still insidious. He was fascinated by u meyah xwa'ay at a young age. The village waay took him on as apprentice. This was when it started. He mastered it very quickly. And then his master died under mysterious circumstances."
"Mysterious circumstances?" I asked.
"A jaguar attack that killed, but did not eat him," she continued.
"I see…"
"Then he was chosen as second in command, for his skilles with u meyah xwa'ay. A week later, the leader died under mysterious circumstances. A centipede bite. Obsidian then began to rule the clan, and the village with an iron fist. Any who did not conform to his rule of law, found themselves dead under strange circumstances."
"You think he used magic to keep the village and the clan in line?" I said. "Through murder?"
"He does not like being told 'no'," Cobalt replied. "He chose me for a mate, but I was courting another male. I told him I was uninterested. Normally this is the end of such a conversation. Not for Obsidian. I told him 'no', and he could not stand that. The male I was courting…"
"Died under mysterious circumstances," I said, completing her sentence.
"I knew I wasn't safe with the clan," she said. "I took to the Green. The Aluxo'ob hate him, because he uses their kind for magical experiments. With bribes of honey I've kept him and his beasts away. His specialty. He can use u meyah xwa'ay to call the worst beasts of legend up from the depths of Xibalba. They follow his every command. He uses Huay Chivo to control the villagers. Threatening their crops. As he doesn't turn to stone thanks to the Obsidian pendant, they have no defense against his rule of law."
A chill went down my spine.
"I think he just tried to kill my mate," I commented. "We sought the Huay Chivo not but a few hours ago, but instead encountered Eek' Chapaat. Who only stung my mate."
"He does NOT like being told no," Cobalt Blue replied. "My worst fear is that he will find my camp during the day, when I sleep. The Aluxo'ob can only give me warning. They cannot fight his minions."
"I have a better chance with this," I said, absently touching my Orichalcum pendant. "My mate is a waay too. He crafted this pendant for me. It mimics the properties of the sun-amulets."
Without warning, Cobalt suddenly snatched the pendant from my neck, and darted up a nearby tree.
"I am sorry Zafira," she called out. "But I cannot let this opportunity pass."
"No!" I yelled. "You cannot!" But she was already leaping from tree to tree like a howler.
"The magic is not permanent!" I called after her, desperately trying to keep up pace. "I will fade in a matter of days!"
Suddenly the branch I was on snapped. I tumbled from the tree and onto the ground. I didn't hit hard, I used my wings as an airfoil to cushion my descent.
But I landed next to two more coatls. One was a gorgeous light-blue beaked female whose clan of origin I could not discern. Standing next to her, however, was Brooklyn and Fu-dog. Only…Brooklyn was dressed differently than he was when he had arrived. He wore some kind of armored breastplate and had an additional sword of a style identical to the female gargoyle standing next to him.
The three of us ogled each other in dead silence for several moments.
"I take it you're not the Brooklyn that I arrived here with," I commented quietly. "But rather his future counterpart."
The female gargoyle smirked.
"Uh-oh," Brooklyn sighed. "Busted."
To Be Continued…