The Crystal City Part 33

He turned to look for an interpreter, but apparently they hadn't kept up when the white men had ridden forward. No, there was one, and Austin beckoned him over. "Tell him to surrender," said Austin. "Tell him what I said."

But before the interpreter could go forward with the message, a befeathered Mexica standing on a huge litter borne by a dozen men began to speak.

"What's he saying?" asked Austin.

The interpreter listened. "He is the high priest and he thanks the people of... all these tribes ... for bringing so many fine sacrifices for the G.o.d."

Austin laughed. "Does he really believe these people came to offer sacrifice?"

"Yes," said the interpreter.

"What a fool," said Austin.

"There's a fool all right," said Bowie, "but it ain't him."

All at once, the reds who were surrounding them gave a great shout and dragged the white men off their horses. Bowie managed to get knives into a couple of them before they got him down. And Calvin was trying to work up some flames, but he couldn't get anything going before they had him down on the ground and hit him in the head with a club.

Calvin woke up in pain, and not just from his head, which was throbbing. He was also tightly trussed, and lying on a stone floor. He was also blindfolded.

He could make his bonds break apart, but he figured he ought to find out first where he was and what was going on. So with his doodlebug he worked on the threads of the blindfold and soon he had an opening he could see through. He was lying on the floor of a large dimly lighted room-a Catholic church of some kind, from the look of it, but not one that was used much. A couple of statues of saints stood against one wall, and there was an altar near the front, but everything looked shabby and dusty.

All the white men were sitting or lying on the floor, and at the doors stood heavily armed Mexica soldiers.

Calvin sent his doodlebug to see behind him, and sure enough, there were four soldiers standing over him. He was the only one of the white men with a special guard. Which meant the Mexica knew he was the powerful one. He was surprised they hadn't just killed him outright-but no, he was the prize, he was the one they'd be proudest to sacrifice.

Ain't gonna happen, he told himself.

He continued to lie still, checking the condition of the other men. It might still be possible to bring this thing off and s.n.a.t.c.h victory from the jaws of defeat.

Then a door opened, putting a wedge of light into the room, and four women came in, carrying golden cups. They began offering drinks to the men, who took them eagerly, some of them even thanking the women. Calvin almost called out to warn them that the drink was drugged, but decided it was better to deal with it himself. One by one he went into the cups and separated the water from the drug, making it sink to the bottom of the cups and stay there, under the pure water. Except for the first few who had drunk, none of the others were getting any of the drug at all.

So when they got to him, Calvin offered no resistance. He pretended to be groggy-which wasn't hard, with his head hurting so bad. Pain shot through his head when he sat up, and he wished he'd paid more attention when Alvin tried to teach him how to heal injuries like this. But after the mess he had made of Papa Moose's foot, he wasn't about to start fiddling with his own head.

They put the cup to his lip and he drank eagerly.

No doubt they'd become complacent soon, thinking that even the great white wizard was under control.

Except, of course, only the first few men were acting acting drugged. The women were beginning to be confused, talking to each other, probably wondering why most of the men were still awake. drugged. The women were beginning to be confused, talking to each other, probably wondering why most of the men were still awake.

So Calvin put them to sleep, one by one, until they all lay unconscious on the floor. That was what the women wanted, and out they went. Out, too, went the Mexica soldiers, even the ones guarding Calvin.

As soon as they were gone, Calvin woke all the ones he had put to sleep. The drugged ones, though, were another matter. It was simple to separate the drug from the water in the cups, but impossible to do anything of the kind when the drug was already in somebody's blood. So they slept on while the others sat up and looked around.

"Talk softly," said Calvin. "There are still guards outside the door, and we don't want them to hear us."

"You b.a.s.t.a.r.d," said a man.

"Don't tell us what to do."

But they talked softly.

"Are you so stupid you blame me me for this?" said Calvin. "I never claimed to be a mind reader. How should I know we were prisoners the whole way here? Did any of for this?" said Calvin. "I never claimed to be a mind reader. How should I know we were prisoners the whole way here? Did any of you you guess it?" guess it?"

No one had an answer to that.

"But I'm the reason the poison didn't work on you, once I realized the water was drugged. So don't get p.i.s.sed at me, let's plan how to get out of here."

"Better plan fast," said Bowie. "Since you're the one they plan to sacrifice this afternoon."

"I'm hurt," said Calvin. "I would have thought they'd save me for last."

"They're not stupid," said Bowie. "And just so you know, they also told us-using our own interpreters-that if you didn't go willingly to be sacrificed, they'd kill all of us without even sending us to the G.o.d."

"Won't happen," said Calvin.

"The way we figure it," said Bowie, "we'll make our break for it while they're cutting your heart out."

"Good plan," said Calvin. "Of course, without me you won't know where your weapons are stored. You won't know how to get out of this room without getting caught. I think a few of you might make it as much as a hundred yards from this place."

They were thinking about this when suddenly the ground shook under them. At once, from the city outside this building, they could hear screaming and shouting.

Calvin broke open his bonds and stood up. None of the others were tied, so they also stood. But the windows were too high in the walls to see through.

The ground shook again.

"I think we ought to lie down again," said Bowie. "In case they come in and see us."

"They aren't going to," said Calvin.

"How do you know?"

"Because the guards at the door just ran away."

The door opened.

Bowie was in the middle of a snide remark about how reliable Calvin was when they realized that the man who stood in the doorway was not a Mexica. It was a half-black young man dressed like an American.

"Get ready to go," said the young man. "We got about a day to get out of the city before Popocatepetl blows."

"Before what?" asked a man.

"Popocatepetl," said the young man. "The biggest volcano. All that screaming out there, the ground shaking, it's because we just caused it to start spewing smoke and ash. And tomorrow, anybody who didn't get out of the city will be killed when the thing erupts all the way."

"Who's 'we'?" asked Bowie.

"My guess is it's my brother Alvin doing all this," said Calvin. "Cause this is his brother-in-law, Arthur Stuart."

At once there were cries of protest.

"Your brother is married to a black woman?"

"Somebody named him for the King?" King?"

"We're supposed to listen to a slave tell us what to do?"

But Arthur Stuart's voice cut through the noise. "It's not Alvin," he said. "It's Tenskwa-Tawa. He's making the volcano erupt to stop the Mexica from offering human sacrifices. It's between reds, Tenskwa-Tawa against the Mexica."

"So what are you you doing here?" asked Calvin. doing here?" asked Calvin.

"Saving you," said Arthur Stuart. "And anybody else who wants to come with us."

"I don't need you to save me," said Calvin contemptuously.

"I know you don't need me to get you out of this old church," said Arthur Stuart. "But how are you going to get out of the city? I speak Spanish, which most of the folks here speak well enough, and I also picked up quite a bit of Nahuatl-that's the Mexica language. Any of you you know how to ask for directions or food? And good luck finding your way out of this valley with all the panicky people filling the roads. Plus I reckon a lot of folks'll think you brought this down on their heads, and they won't be too glad to see you." know how to ask for directions or food? And good luck finding your way out of this valley with all the panicky people filling the roads. Plus I reckon a lot of folks'll think you brought this down on their heads, and they won't be too glad to see you."

"But why should we leave at all?" said Calvin.

"So you don't get burnt to a crisp and covered over with lava," said Arthur Stuart. "This don't take no Aristotle to figure out, Calvin."

"Don't you talk to a white man that way!" shouted a man, and a couple of others got up to do him some kind of violence.

And Calvin was perfectly willing to let them get started. Arthur Stuart needed to learn who was in charge here, and how to show proper respect.

But the men never reached Arthur. Instead, they started sliding and tripping over themselves just as if the floor was suddenly smooth marble covered in b.u.t.ter, and after a minute it became clear that anybody as started after Arthur Stuart would end up on his b.u.t.t.

The boy had really learned some makery-but not as much as he probably thought. Calvin toyed with the idea of having an all-out wizard's war with him right here on the spot, to show him just how far he had to go-but what would be the point? There was no time to waste.

"Forget him," said Calvin. "He came to save us, so great, anybody who wants to run away, go with him, right now. He's not much of a maker but he's got a knack with languages and maybe he can get you to safety. But me, I think we can turn this to our advantage. We came here to rule over Mexico, didn't we? So let's let the volcano kill the Mexica and then claim we did it and rule over the country in their place!"

"What does Steve say?" asked a man.

It was only then that they all realized that Austin was one of the ones who had been drugged.

"You know what he'd say," said Calvin. "He didn't come here to quit. He didn't come here so he could run away after a black boy who thinks he's hot stuff cause he can make a floor slippery. We came here to take over an empire and I aim to do it."

"Everybody already knows it's Tenskwa-Tawa's doing," said Arthur Stuart. "His people are already here, they said when the smoke would start coming, and it came when they said."

"But Tenskwa-Tawa ain't going to come down here and rule over Mexico, is he," said Calvin. "No, I didn't think so. Well, somebody's gonna do it, and it might as well be us. And after this is over, and we're telling folks that it was my brother Alvin who was telling Tenskwa-Tawa what to do, and they've left me here to see to it Steve Austin is made emperor of Mexico..."

"Anybody who wants to get out of this valley alive, come with me now," said Arthur Stuart.

"I'd rather die than trust a slave for anything!" shouted one of the men he had put on the floor.

"That's the choice," said Arthur Stuart.

The ground trembled again, and then again, and a third shock was so strong that several of the men fell down.

"You're not doing that, are you?" Bowie asked Calvin.

"I can do it whenever I want," said Calvin.

"You're such a humbug," said Arthur Stuart. "It took a council of shamans a year to get this volcano at the point of eruption. Even Alvin couldn't make a volcano erupt whenever he wants."

"Maybe there's things I can do that 'even Alvin' can't do," said Calvin.

Arthur Stuart turned to the rest of the men. "How fast can any of you run? How far do you think you'll get? When Popocatepetl blows up tomorrow, it won't matter where you are in this valley, you'll be dead. Do you understand? If we leave today, now, we'll make it out of here in time. If If you have me to help you move fast enough and get far enough. As for him-do you think he cares whether you live or die? Do you think he has the power to save you from a volcano? He'll be lucky if he can save himself." you have me to help you move fast enough and get far enough. As for him-do you think he cares whether you live or die? Do you think he has the power to save you from a volcano? He'll be lucky if he can save himself."

A few of the men were wavering. "We can't take over Mexico if we're dead."

"We can do it from outside this valley."

Calvin laughed. "You saw what I did back in True Cross, didn't you? Have you forgotten who and what I am? This boy is no wizard, he's nothing, my brother keeps him like a pet, to do tricks." And with those words, Calvin made the door behind Arthur Stuart fly from its hinges and burst outward onto the street. And then he made a wind that picked up Arthur Stuart and flung him through the door.

"Anybody who wants to," said Calvin, "is free to follow him. Seeing how he has so much power."

Arthur Stuart appeared in the door. "I never claimed to be more powerful than Calvin. But all his power doesn't give him a single word of Spanish or Nahuatl. And he knows nothing about the red man's way of running faster than a man can run. Come with me if you want to live. I can get you back to True Cross, and from there you can get safely home. Look at him! He doesn't care about you!"

"All I care about," said Calvin, "is the lives of these men." Now he started talking to the men directly. "You trusted in me and I will give you what I promised-Mexico. All the gold and wealth of Mexico. All the people as your subjects, all the land as your estate. And when you hear of us ruling in splendor, while you sit in your miserable cabin on a bayou in Barcy, then make sure you thank this boy for saving you."

Jim Bowie strode toward Arthur Stuart. "I know this boy," he said. "I'm going with him."

Calvin didn't like that. Bowie had enormous prestige with the other men.

"So it turns out Steve Austin couldn't rely on you after all," said Calvin.

"He's asleep," said Bowie, "and as for you, you're the one got us into this place. Who all is coming?"

"Yes," said Calvin, "who are the cowards who refuse the chance to rule an empire?"

"Now," said Arthur Stuart. "No second chances. Come now, if you're coming with me."

About a dozen men got up and came over to join, not Arthur Stuart, but Jim Bowie.

"What about the ones they poisoned?" asked one man.

"Their bad luck," said Bowie.

But Arthur Stuart looked at the men near the door, the ones who drank first and were drugged. And as he gazed at them, one by one, they woke up.

Calvin was mortified. This stupid knackless boy had somehow learned how to counter the poison in their blood. And now he had to show off and rub Calvin's face in it. Didn't he know that Calvin could have learned how to do anything if he had wanted to? But why should Calvin bother learning how to wake up men who were stupid enough to get themselves drugged?

In the end, though, not one of the drugged ones decided to go; in fact, one of them was able to persuade his brother not to leave with Arthur Stuart and Jim Bowie. So when the boy left, he had ten men with him. The others all stayed in the church. With Calvin.

"Now all we've got to do," said Calvin, "is find out where they took our weapons."