The Bloodgate Warrior (16 page)

Where’s the danger? Where’s the real sacrifice?

Where’s the blood?

He’d said it himself.
Our magic always involves blood.
My blood opened the gate. His blood helped free the spear.

It wasn’t Luisa’s journal entries I remembered, now, but a line from her daughter’s that she’d attributed to her mother.
One drop of blood given willingly had more power than an innocent’s life, and if that blood was given for love, then the power she raised was greater than all the blood darkening Alvarado’s sword.

That was the kind of power Técun needed now.

“What—” I had to clear my throat, ignoring the rasping sandpaper sensation, “—will it feel like when Alvarado cuts out my heart?”

Técun stilled against me, his hands slowly squeezing harder and heavier on my hips. “Why would you ask such a question? Do you doubt that I can protect you?”

“Yes,” I whispered, blinking back tears. “You won’t be strong enough.”

Where before his lips had been caressingly soft, now his mouth was a hard, grim slant in the hollow of my back. Yet he didn’t rise up or even attempt to deny my words.

“You haven’t sacrificed me. Not really. You cut off my clothes, scared me a little, and then blew my mind half a dozen times. But that’s not what you need to defeat Alvarado.”

Now he did withdraw, leaving my back cold and bare to the night. “It will be enough.”

Shivering, I pushed harder. “Did you know that love conquered you before?”

He didn’t respond for so long that I twisted around, trying to see his face. He stood just feet away, his face banked in shadow where before magical lights had danced around him. A night bird made a strange, mournful sound in the distance that made chills creep down my spine. “What do you mean?”

“From the beginning, Luisa planned to use her magic to cripple Alvarado so you would win. But when it came time to use her magic against him, she couldn’t do it. She loved him too much. You died as a result of her love. Is that what you want this time? Do you want to die because you love me too much to take what you need?”

He growled out a curse so deep and low that my hair prickled with the underlying menace. “Yes. If that’s what it takes to keep you safe, so be it.”

“Then you will die again.” I let my voice break with the heartache rending me in two. “And no one will be left to keep me from Alvarado. He’ll put my heart in a cage with Natalie’s and feed off my suffering for all eternity.”

“Never!” His response came out on a raw howl. He slammed his hands down on the altar on either side of me, and the entire pyramid quivered. “He’ll never have you!”

“Sacrifice comes to the top of the pyramid.” My body trembled, but I was confident, each word stronger and louder until I shouted. “With all the love in my heart, I offer my blood to you. I’m your sacrifice! Take my blood and revel in the power I give to you!”

He snapped his teeth close so close to my ear that I jumped as much as the rope would allow. “You don’t know what you offer.”

“Whatever it is, I give it to you. Take me, Técun.”

Panting, he hovered behind me, leaning over me without touching me, but his fingertips were white with the force of his grip on the altar. His nails darkened and lengthened, talons shooting free to rend and tear his prey. Yet he quivered, fighting down the hunger that must be roaring in him.

If I were free, I’d pick up his knife and cut my thumb as he’d done at the fountain. Bound and trapped on his altar, there wasn’t much I could do to lure him into taking what he needed. I twisted my wrists desperately, jerking and fighting the rope, not for my freedom, but for my blood.

He clamped his hands on my forearms and dropped his weight against me, trying to hold me still, but I only struggled harder. I threw my head back as hard as I could, giving him a glancing blow on his chin that still managed to make him grunt. Automatically, his hands flexed on my arms, and those wicked talons pricked my skin.

Blood welled with each small puncture, and he trembled against me as violently as if he’d slit my throat.

My blood glowed in the night, thin rivers of molten rubies down my arms. Even I could smell the copper tang mixed with the tantalizing scent of vanilla, honey and musk.

My magic smelled like a woman’s desire. My desire.

“No,” he whispered, pressing his forehead to the stone beside me. “I can’t bear to hurt you, Cassie.”

I was far from hurt, though. Heat blossomed in my core. It didn’t matter how many times I’d already come tonight, because he hadn’t been inside me yet. I arched my back, lifting my hips in invitation, but a slight shift against him was all I could manage with him pinning me to the altar.

My blood slowly dropped onto the altar, pooling like a tiny gleaming lake of lava, and I burned with each drop. Pressure built inside me, a volcano threatening to tear me apart. I wanted more blood, more power to pool on the altar.

His hands clenched on my wrists, fighting to keep his body locked and controlled. He could hear my thoughts as his own, so I deliberately used that against him.
I want you wild, howling at the moon, thrusting inside me deep and hard until this pressure explodes and gives you the power you need.

Sweat trickled into my eyes. So hot, I was burning, fire crisping my flesh and melting my bones, but still he refused me.

“Please!” I howled, twisting and fighting beneath him. Ropes chafed my wrists and stone gnawed at my skin, adding more of my blood to the sacrifice. Red throbbed and pulsed in my head, my heartbeat slamming behind my eyes in a frantic tempo of thunder. “Técun!”

He let out a rumbling bass call so deep and low that I couldn’t really hear it, but it vibrated through me, shaking the altar so hard something cracked. The pyramid groaned beneath us. Or maybe that was my own pleading cry. He arched against me, a spasm racking his mighty frame, and something stroked over my back like downy feathers.

He gripped my chin in a brutal hold with those long wicked talons digging into my throat. “Is this what you want? Is this what you drive me to do?”

“Yes.”
I wasn’t sure if I answered him aloud or not. My ears rang with the relentless pounding of my blood. I couldn’t make my mouth work. Words beat inside my head, trapped and rattled by the thunder of my pulse.
“Please. Técun. I love you. Sacrifice me.”

“You are mine forevermore.”

He thrust into me so hard my hips ached, bruised against the stone altar. But already my body sang with joy, pleasure pouring out of my throat on a long, high scream that likely made every animal and person in a ten-mile radius jerk awake. Buried inside me, he pressed a talon to my throat. My skin flexed and finally gave way to the tumult roiling inside me.

My blood splashed onto the altar, a shining red ribbon that blazed in the night, dimming his golden-green magic. He clamped his mouth over the small puncture and my whole body lit up like I’d touched a million-volt live wire. The sun burned inside me, a blazing star that obliterated everything in its path, and with every swallow of my blood, he drank that power, soaking in my pleasure through his pores.

Every barrier inside me dissolved. All the walls I’d put up to protect myself over the years. The doubts and insecurities, growing up never knowing my father, dealing with the tragedy of my mother’s suicide. Everything melted away, leaving my heart wide open.

For him. He raked my hips and flanks with his talons, but there wasn’t pain. Or rather, the stinging in my flesh only blended with the pleasure surging through my veins. He thrashed against me, lost in a frenzy of blood and lust. But my blood anchored him, even as I poured that life into him.

I am the sun, the sacrifice blazing at the top of the pyramid.

He roared with release and stone crashed down somewhere close. For all I knew, we were bringing the entire pyramid down with us. My blood blazed higher, a wildfire that raced down the carved serpent railing and shot up into the night sky like fireworks. My blood, my power, and I gave it all to him. Everything. I sank into him, dissolving through skin and feathers until his heart cradled mine. He was inside me, over me, around me.
“Now we are one heart, one body, one spirit. Soar with me,
noyollotl
.”

Wind rushed against my face as though we were flying. A strong rhythmic beat thumped so deep and low it vibrated my bones. At first, I thought it was his heartbeat, but feathers tumbled about me.

Wings.

“Great Feathered Serpent.”
I let the thought fill my mind, confident he would hear every word. “
There had better not be any scales.”

His laughter rolled through me like a rumbling purr.
“Don’t look at my body, then.”

I glanced down at his arms locked about me, and they gleamed like rubies and emeralds. I ran my hands over his forearms, tracing the whirls of color.
“Beautiful.”
I’d never imagined such a glorious creature.

“You have returned me to my full power,
noyollotl
. I can wear my true form thanks to your sacrifice.”

Green rolling hills passed beneath us. Brilliant blue sky stretched around us without a single cloud. A gleaming sun drew my gaze, burning at the peak of a tall obsidian pyramid. For months, this was where he’d taken me in dreams, until I’d finally opened the gate and brought this magnificent warrior through to my world.

He landed on the peak and the mighty pyramid trembled at his strength. Lifting me high above him, he let out a roar that thundered through the sky. “My sacrifice!”

Cheers echoed all around us, great whoops and shouts carrying from what seemed like miles away. They went on and on, male and female, rising in a crashing crescendo. The sun blazed so brightly that I couldn’t see, the clamor so loud I couldn’t hear. My senses were reduced to one thing only.

Técun.

He shouted, “My heart!”

Chapter Thirteen

February 21, 1524 Xicoténcatl Tecubalsi
Translated into Spanish by Leonor de Alvarado y Xiotenega Tecubalsi
Translated by Carla Guzmán Gonzales, 1970

It is done.

The Red Sun met the Quetzal in the Valley of Olintepeque on the grasslands of El Pinal. Though Técun Úman led thousands of his finest warriors against a few hundred white invaders, their superior weapons spelled the end for the K’iche’ empire. After mighty Tenochtitlán fell, how could we expect anything else but defeat? The warriors stood firm and strong while as many people as possible fled, scattered before the four winds, though none stood as tall as Técun Úman.

He bought our people’s lives with his blood.

Mighty wings rent the air. Talons scored the earth. Dust clouded the valley as thick as smoke, and when it cleared, the Quetzal lay bleeding on the ground.

The Red Sun’s famous spear pierced Técun’s breast.

I could not use my magic to destroy the demon who stole my heart. Yet I can use my magic to protect the great warrior who is destined to destroy that demon. A god walked in the flesh for one purpose—to save us all—and I failed him.

I failed us all. Curse my weak and foolish heart.

Thus I bind my entire line to him in service, so one day a daughter or granddaughter of mine may right this injustice.

Great Feathered Serpent, I beg you, take my last willing sacrifice and use it in your appointed time to save this world I damned. Wipe out this scourge upon your people. Cleanse the earth of evil.

Forgive me for loving the man I was sent to destroy.

* * *

I stirred, trying to pry open my eyes, but my eyelids were as heavy as an iron portcullis. I tried to lift my head, but instead, it flopped helplessly to the side. A big, warm palm caught my cheek and gently shifted me back. Smooth, hot skin pressed against my face and I inhaled his scent. So good.

“Cassie,” he whispered, his breath stirring my hair. “Are you well?”

“Mmmmm.”

He chuckled, his chest rumbling against me. “I regret that we cannot linger here in comfort, but the release of that much power has certainly alerted the demon that we’re here. He might arrive at any time.”

Técun might as well have dumped a bucket of icy water on my head. I jerked up so hard I almost cracked his nose. I was still on the altar, but at least now I was upright. He’d transformed back into the Mayan priest. “Are you strong enough to face him?”

“I was always strong enough to face him.”

Only to die again. A flood of tears threatened, so I pushed up to my feet. I swayed, dizzy and weak. I wondered how much blood I’d lost. I glanced at my forearms but only white marks remained where his talons had scored my skin. He’d healed me.

He steadied me, holding my hips. “What will be, will be, but you have given me a chance that I never had before. The last time I walked this earth, I was the hero doomed to sacrifice my life as a demonstration of how a warrior should stand no matter the odds. This time, the odds will be on my side. I have the spear that killed me, yet more, I have you.”

Bracing my hands on his shoulders, I stared into his eyes. I squeezed that heavy ridge of muscle so hard my fingers cramped. “If you die and leave me, I’m going to open that gate to your world so I can kick your ass.”

His lips quirked but he nodded solemnly. “I understand, Cassandra Gonzales. Challenge has been declared.”

“Challenge.” As sharp and painful as a knife, the voice came from everywhere, echoing in the temple.

In a heartbeat, Técun was on his feet, tucking me behind him. He scanned the area, turning slowly, searching for the source.

“Fool. Last time I killed the great warrior Técun. This time, you allow me to kill Great Feathered Serpent in all your glory. You will never rise again, Kukulkan. I shall bathe in your holy blood before you can proclaim your Return.”

To me, Técun whispered, “He cannot enter until I allow it. We’re safe for the moment. Dress, Cassie, and let us prepare for the battle.”

There were so many things I wanted to say. I wanted to clutch him and beg him not to fight. I wanted to slam my fists into that powerful chest and scream at him not to even think about leaving me. I wanted to bury my face against him and sob. But I did none of those things. If the worst happened and he was forced to return to his world, I didn’t want him to remember me sniveling like a baby.