Page 73 of Queen Takes Checkmate
Isat on a bench in front of a red-granite obelisk that marked the heart of the ancient city of Heliopolis. Ra’s earthly temple had once stood here. The Isador book said it had once been Egypt’s most radiant temple. The floors had been polished so well that the evening sky was reflected on its surface. Two giant pillars had marked the entry to the temple. Like two scales, they represented balance and order.
It was fitting that only one obelisk still stood. Ra had lost his balance long ago. His extreme order and fanatical drive to wipe out the goddesses’ children would be his downfall.
I was here to spread chaos in his own backyard.
I’d chosen to wear a simple, light cotton dress in white, the color mankind had come to associate with virginity and innocence. Plus, it’d show the blood well. I had to look weak. Defenseless. Defeated. Nothing showed that better than a pretty woman in a torn, dirty, stained white dress, and I’d play to every single one of Ra’s biases to defeat him.
The sky lightened on the horizon. It was almost dawn. I felt my Blood approaching their locations across the sprawling city. Far to the south and west, my dragon flew toward the pyramids. The rest of my Blood were closer, though still miles away. All except Xin, who stood silent behind me.
Rik hadn’t said a word to him as he left. Xin knew full well that he was the only one close enough to help me with Huitzilopochtli if I had any issues with him.
The former Aztec sun god sat beside me as silent as my invisible Blood. One of my guys had lent him some jeans and a simple black T-shirt. He sat easily, his hands relaxed on his thighs. I had no idea what he was thinking. He hadn’t made a single objection to my plans, even though coming back to Heliopolis might mean his death again. Or worse. Ra would certainly enjoy torturing us if I failed.
“Before I was captured, Citla used to sit in the noonday sun and tell me things,” he finally said softly. At least we could understand each other now, though I wasn’t sure if I was drawing on Tlacel’s gift with language, or if the former god’s power had returned. “She told me she carried my child. She couldn’t wait for me to return and take her back to Aztlan. The thought that she died, believing that I had abandoned her, is a worse torment than anything Ra ever did to me.”
I touched Mayte’s bond.:Do you mind if I tell him about you?:
I felt her half the world away, her daughter clutched in her arms, with her Blood pressed tightly around her. They lay in a dark place. The basement of her house, I thought, where she’d hidden Xochitl from me when I’d first arrived. Good. A place of darkness would be best. In case…
I refused to even allow the thought to cross my mind. I couldn’t fail. Xochitl would never know about the breeding grounds and sun demons. Never.
:It’s alright if you tell him,:Mayte replied, her voice trembling with emotion.:Will you close my bond too?:
:Yes, I must. If I fall, I don’t want him to have any way to reach back to you.:
Aloud, I whispered, “Citla did carry your child. A daughter. Her name is Mayte.”
Huitzilopochtli jerked his head toward me, his gleaming eyes wide with shock. “She lives? Citla lives?”
“No,” I replied quickly. “But she did live long enough to deliver your daughter. She believed in you right up to the end. She tried to reach you through the cenote.”
The light died in his eyes to grim sorrow. Lines bracketed his mouth. “My poor love. My Citla. Perhaps she waits in Coatepec for me with the Mother of the Gods.”
I hadn’t seen anyone but Coatlicue at Snake Mountain, but that didn’t mean Citla wasn’t there, waiting for him to return. “You accomplished what Ra could not.”
His head tipped slightly. “Oh?”
“Mayte is a queen, and she has also delivered a queen of her own. You rejuvenated her house’s line.”
His face softened, and he laughed quietly, though I could hear the heaviness of sorrow still in his voice. “Two queens with the blood of Hummingbird walking the earth. Ra was right after all. Tenochtitlan rises once more.”
As we waited for the sunrise, I told him about my queen sibling and her daughter, the princess of unicorns. But all too quickly, the sun peeked above the horizon. Vivian said the best time to open the portal was when the first rays of light touched the top of the obelisk.
It was almost time.
Dawn waited for no queen.
Tears trickled down my cheeks. I sent one last surge of love through my bonds, straining to reach them all, even Frank back in New York City. My rat. My crow. My beloved grove.
:I will return.:
And then I closed myself off from them all.
Silence filled my head, blanketed by Nevarre’s gift of Shadow. Soft and cool and dark.
I stabbed the silver-tipped nail of my index finger deeply into my wrist and tore a nice deep slash. Huitzilopochtli quivered slightly, a quick inhale telling me he smelled my offering. But he didn’t move. Not until I lifted my wrist toward him.
“Forgive me, lady. This won’t be pleasant after so long.”
