‘He’s got a point,’ Shield said. ‘The merchants will be all over him for what he’s doing now. If I were him, I’d be treading very carefully for a while.’
‘You’re young and your father isn’t,’ Lion said harshly. ‘You’ve got more to lose!’
But what convinced Nimble in the end was not words but force. He suddenly bolted, springing forward and darting off in the direction of the merchant’s house, but Lion was ready for that. He caught him before he had gone two steps, and held him fast, ignoring his struggles, his cries and the knife waving impotently in the air in front of him.
‘If you’re going,’ Lion grunted at me, ‘I suggest you go. Now!’
Nimble suddenly stopped writhing in his arms.
I got one last look at him before my eyes misted over completely.
‘Sorry, son,’ I mumbled brokenly. ‘I wish I’d … Goodbye!’
It was a short walk to the merchant’s house, but long enough.
Twice I stopped, standing still in the middle of the street, while canoes sailed past on the canal beside me, their occupants going carelessly about their daily business, until I had mastered my fear enough to carry on. Both times I made myself imagine Lily at the Otomi captain’s mercy, the four-bladed sword at her throat.
What are you worrying about? I asked myself, as I prepared to turn the last corner. The worst he can do is sell you. And the Emperor will have the raiment of the god back, he’ll be grateful for that …
I could not make myself believe it.
I was going to be sold for an offering to the gods. What then? I wondered. Would my flesh be charred and blistered and split in the Fire Sacrifice, or pierced and lacerated in the Arrow Sacrifice, when my blood would start from so many wounds at once it would fall like the rain the priests would pray for as I died?
As I walked through the entrance to the merchant’s courtyard, the grins on the faces of the waiting warriors told their own story.