ismenin | Inca 2 : Scourge of the Sun 26

Hello! Well, here is the part you've all been waiting for - I hope! I had so much fun doing it, you just don't know. I will be most interested to see what you make of it, as I hope it makes you feel as it made me feel. However, please remember it is set in an Alternate Reality, and you are expected, therefore, to believe every word of it! :D

Thank you, loyal readers, for sticking with it. Hugs flist to ample chest!

Grateful thanks as always, to

ladysunrope for her beta and input. Snoogles her.

Part 26 - Apotheoses

(Sext, or Sixth Hour, is a fixed time of prayer. It is consists mainly of psalms and is said at noon. Its name comes from Latin and refers to the sixth hour of the day after dawn.)

It was many minutes before Dom felt he could re-enter the tent, in case Lizhe should be awake. He wished to present to his love the calm demeanour he was far from feeling.

David, sitting beside his friend, talked quietly of mundane happenings until Dom felt he was ready to rise. He rubbed his hands over his reddened eyes, and hoped his distress had not been too obvious to the guards as they entered.

Dom saw that Lizhe was waking and went quickly to the bedside to see how his lover felt. He stopped dead in his tracks as he saw what Lizhe was cradling in his arms. It was a life-sized crystal skull - the skull that the Coya, in his dream-vision, had told him was secreted beneath the throne of Pachacutec, the man Lizhe had called father, in the Holy City.

Dom sat down hard on the chair David had pushed against the back of his legs. The young priest stared at the object, its translucence and beauty was beyond that of any glass object he had ever seen.

"What is it, Dom?" the Frenchman asked in a whisper.

Lizhe smiled, as Dom seemed bereft of speech. "It is a secret, David, my friend. It comes from the Holy City." He opened his eyes and reached a hand out to Dom, who took it and kissed it, and held the small fingers to his cheek for a moment.

"How did you get it?" Dom coughed, his throat suddenly dry. But before Lizhe could reply, the answer came to him. "You have been to the City. You fetched it from there yourself."

It was David's turn to sit heavily on the edge of Lizhe's bed. "But...but it is not possible..." his voice tailed away, as Lizhe lifted a finger to his lips.

"I did fetch it. Lord Viracocha has told me what to do. So do not fear for me - or, indeed, for any of us, mi alma - all shall be well."

There was a sound outside and Lizhe quickly passed the object to Dom, who hid it under a pile of blankets beside the bed. The thing was surprisingly heavy, and it took two hands, and some strength to lift it even that short distance.

"No-one must know it is here. No-one!" Lizhe murmured as he turned to lie flat on his belly. Michel entered, carrying a flask and a pot of salve.

"I think it is time to anoint those wounds once more," he said to Lizhe, also smiling at Dom, who had stood to welcome him. He made no comment about Dom's change of dress, but went straight to the bed and pulled down the sheet from Lizhe's back.

There was a silence so absolute that it became oppressive. David cleared his throat. The three men stared at Lizhe's back, not knowing what to say. There was a thin tracery of silvered lines on Lizhe's skin; but of the wounds that had been there only a few short hours before, there was no sign.

"God has told me I must stay here and not show myself to the enemy as yet," Lizhe remarked, as if talking of some everyday occurrence.

Michel had gone pale with shock, but Dom was the first to recover, remembering as he could not fail to do, that Lizhe had both killed him and brought him back to life in what now seemed a time beyond time, there, in the Holy Shrine.

"What? I...mon Dieu! I have never seen the like!" Michel spluttered, waving his hands distractedly, in a purely Gallic gesture that made David smile in spite of himself.

"I have," said Dom, quietly, putting a hand to his chest and feeling there the scar that daily reminded him he was Lizhe's man, Lizhe's devoted slave, and a walking symbol of the Inca God-King's mighty power.

Later he might show it to the good doctor, and tell him the story, but not yet.

"It is best that, for now, you know nothing," Lizhe said, turning once again on his side to face the bemused physician. Then he raised his eyes to David, and grinned at him. "I am very hungry, David, and Khuno is not by. Would you fetch me some quinoa? I think Villac is keeping some hot for me in his cook-tent."

David took Lizhe's extended foot in his hand and gave it a friendly shake. "And some fruit, Lord? Tomatoes and a mango?"

Lizhe laughed. "Indeed, some fruit! But not too ripe! I still have the scent of them in my nostrils."

Michel raised his hands again and, glancing at Dom shrugged his shoulders. "I see that I know nothing of healing...nothing! If these powers could be harnessed..."

Dom pulled the sheet up over Lizhe's exposed back. He did not wish for anyone else to see it - not yet. "But, Maitre," he said quietly, as Alex was now stirring in his bundle of blankets. "They have been harnessed, as you see."

He glanced swiftly at Lizhe, who nodded. "Alex will have to know, Dom. After all, he is in attendance upon me. I cannot hide it from him."

Alex's face when he was made privy to the secret, mirrored that of the other three men. "Praise be to God! A miracle!" he cried, falling to his knees and crossing himself with a trembling hand.

"A miracle, indeed," Dom repeated, smiling softly at Lizhe. "You understand you must tell no-one, Father?"

Alex stared at Dom, shocked out of his usual calm. "Tell anyone, Eminence? Tell that pack of rabid dogs, so that they can inflict the same pain once more upon the innocent? You may trust me to keep my counsel."

Lizhe sat up in the bed and Dom placed a pillow for his love to rest his neck upon.

Suddenly they heard a voice they all recognised. Lizhe pulled the sheet up as far as he could, and Dom draped another one over his shoulders. A moment later, the Inquisitor General entered the tent with Idelfonso.

"Ah, Eminence," the Inquisitor smiled his wolfish grin. "I am glad you are here. It saves me sending to find you."

He stood staring at Lizhe as if he was a puzzle he could not fathom, then he spoke.

"We, the Inquisitors, have met in solemn conclave and deliberated long. We find the accused Inca king, guilty of heresy and blasphemy. We have sentenced him to death. He will be burnt at the stake this afternoon after sext, and thus it will be a fitting end to the work of God in this part of the vineyard."

Dom stared at the Inquisitor General with horror in his eyes. "You cannot!" The others voiced their protests.

Lizhe put up his hand to stop the clamour of outrage from those gathered in the tent. "Silence!" he said, firmly. "Such behaviour is unseemly in the presence of God."

Dom knelt by the bedside and put his head on Lizhe's hand.

"You," Lizhe continued, glaring at Benigo and Idelfonso, "have no power over me and my body, except that which I allow you. You are both false priests and will die for this blasphemy, if not for any other you have committed on my person. I do not fear you, for God is my judge and exemplar. God gives you leave," he concluded, dismissing the Inquisition from his presence.

Benigo's lips thinned. "If we have no power over your body I wonder what it was that caused the wounds to your back, little king?" he said in venomous tones. "I, who have no power over you, will slice your ears from your body, and your tongue. I will slit your belly open and feed your entrails to the dogs. I will...."

Lizhe merely looked bored. He interrupted the man's rantings without ceremony. "You may, of course, try to do so. You will die if you lift your hand against me. You will die, in any case. It is recorded in God's book that on this day, you die. I have seen it written."

Benigo stepped forward and snarled. "You have seen it written? You ignorant dog, you cannot read..."

David had come in carrying the bowl of quinoa, and Lizhe beckoned him forward, taking the bowl from him, and began to eat.

"You are misinformed, Inquisitor. The Lord Aralizhe can read very well, better, I expect, than you - if you can read at all." David's face was bland, his outward appearance not reflecting the turmoil seething within him.

The Inquisitors glanced at each other, and turned to leave. "Until sext, little king!" Benigo threw at Lizhe as he left.

Dom knelt at Lizhe's side, mainly because his legs failed to hold him upright. "Lizhe..."

Lizhe handed the bowl to David with a smile of thanks, and grasped his lover's hand. "Do you not trust me, Dom? That what I say is true?"

Dom's eyes filled with tears. "I trust you, Lord - it is myself I do not trust. Forgive me for my lack of strength."

The tent flap was dragged back and Tobé was carried in by two hefty Swiss guards. They settled him in a chair that was carried in by a third guard and quickly saluted themselves out.

"I could not stay after those dogs told me what they intended, Lord. I have plans...I..."

Lizhe smiled at Dom's father. "Do not fear for me, Don Cristobal. I have plans of my own. I beg you keep your plans in abeyance until mine have run their course. I think you will find there will be no need for you to fret. All shall be well."

Tobé studied Lizhe's face for a long time, and then sighed. "I do believe you know what you are doing, Lord..."

"Lizhe, if you please. You do not call your son, Lord, after all. I would be equal to him in your eyes."

Lizhe bit into a tomato. "You will forgive me for eating, I trust. I am rather hungry."

Tobé started to laugh. "You are a priceless man, Lord King....Lizhe. I am called Tobé by our little group. I would be glad to hear it on your lips, also.”

Lizhe ate another tomato, and nodded. "I cannot tell you of my plans, Tobé. I have told no-one, not even Dom. You will have to trust me - all of you." His gaze fell on each of the men in turn. "Do you trust me?"

Dom felt the heavy knot in his belly loosen. "I trust you as I have always done. I see no reason to doubt you now."

Will entered the tent accompanied by Amaru and Khuno. Will was pale with shock, but before he could speak, Lizhe said quietly, "you must trust me, Will, as do the others here. I see you have heard of Benigo's intentions. Remember the Holy Shrine and rest in your mind, content. God has his hand on the rim of the world - I promise you."

Will knelt opposite Dom. "If you say it is so, then I trust you. After all, I have seen what you can do..."

Lizhe put his hand on his friend's shoulder. "Enough for now. Visit Villac and ask if he is prepared. I will..."

There was a disturbance at the tent flap, and David went to see what was the problem. It was an old soldier - a man nearing sixty. He held in his hand a small, steaming pot, a cloth bound tightly about its handle.

David ushered him to Lizhe's side for the man seemed overawed by Tobé's august presence, and intimidated by the others.

He cleared his throat. "I have brought you a cup of a posset my mother used to make when we were sick, " he began in a tremulous voice. He stopped as he saw Lizhe was eating tomatoes. "I thought it might help...but I see you are well, Lord."

Lizhe put down the tomato on the cloth David had wrapped them in. Everyone in the tent was silent.

"Why did you do such a thing? You do not know me. I am a false God according to Benigo and Idelfonso."

The man winced. "I know courage when I see it, Lord. I do not know if you are a king, or a god or not - but I do know you are a man. I am right glad to see you improved. I'll throw this away - you have no need of it."

Lizhe reached up his hand for the pot. "I will be glad of it. It is warm, and my belly needs warming."

Dom stifled a strong impulse to prevent Lizhe from drinking. He wanted to ask the man to drink from it first, but he did not speak. He knew Lizhe as no other man present knew him. Lizhe drank.

The man grinned. "I thought at least you'd ask me to sip it," he said, his gap-toothed smile lighting his face. "Why should you trust me?"

"It is very good. You may make me some more, if you would - for tonight. Enough for two."

The man paled. "Lord...but..."

"You will see what you will see, then you may make the posset. I thank you, Juan Miguel, for your kindness. I shall meet you again, tonight."

The man nearly dropped his pot. "You know... my... name?" he stuttered.

Lizhe smiled. "I know everyone's name. I am God," he said, simply.

The man picked up Lizhe's hand, kissed it quickly, and fled.

There was silence in the tent whilst every man there thought his own thoughts. Then Dom spoke.

"It lacks only two hours to sext," he remarked, consulting his watch. "I would be grateful to spend the time alone with my...with Lizhe."

The tent cleared. Will returned briefly to report that Villac was indeed, prepared, and then the lovers were left in peace.

Dom, uncaring of the guards outside, lay beside his love. "Are you strong enough for what lies ahead, mi caro sposo? You have not yet risen from your bed."

Lizhe gently kissed Dom's furrowed brow, then his lips. "I am here because the Lord Viracocha commanded it. I do not question his commands, as you must not question mine, mi corazon. I hear and I obey. Do you the same."

Dom rested his head on Lizhe's shoulder. "I will do so. I have seen what you can do.... What shall you do when they come for you?"

Lizhe caught Dom's hand as it lay on his breast. "I will go with them, of course. But it will not be as they expect. You will see. Peace, now. Let us lie here, in silence and enjoy each other's warmth and the comfort of our enduring love."

They were both sleeping when Will came to call Dom away. "Your Da wishes you to dress in his tent, Dom," Will said, apologetically. "It is near sext, and he would have you ready."

As Dom was leaving the tent, so Villac was approaching carrying a huge bundle wrapped in blankets. A soldier was with him. It was Sancho.

"The Inquisitor has given permission for the Inca to be dressed in his own clothing," he told the guards.

"Does Lizhe know what he is doing?" Sancho whispered to Dom, as Villac entered the tent.

"I trust him with my life, Sancho. So must you trust him with yours."

The Spaniard patted Dom's shoulder, and followed Villac in.

*****

Dom was fretting at his father's side. "Have patience, Dom. The Inquisitor will send for us when he is ready. You do not think he wishes to miss one moment of your distress, do you? He thrives upon it!" Tobé said from the chair to which Will had had the camp carpenters add carrying handles.

The poison Tobé had ingested had meant to kill, and it had greatly affected his legs. He was growing stronger by the day, but he did not wish the Inquisitors to think that his physical weakness was due to fear.

Dom fiddled with the buttons of his soutaine. He could not wait to be rid at last of it. It seemed to him that Lizhe might believe that he stood with the Inquisitors, rather than with the Inca - and it was not true. It was manifestly not true.

Soon the call came. It was Sancho. "The Inquisitor General asks that you come now to see justice done," the captain said, cold as ice. "Damn his heart to Eternal Flames of torment!"

Dom was seized with a germ of an idea, and delayed their departure whilst he searched amongst his father's boxes for what he needed. He stuffed them into the pockets of the voluminous black silk cloak, and strode out into the late afternoon sun.

*****

Dom walked slowly beside his father's chair until they arrived at the place where Benigo and Idelfonso stood waiting outside the tent where Lizhe was confined. All the camp - soldiers, ostlers, cooks, servants, and the Inca slaves - was gathered in the dip below. In the midst of them stood a pile of sticks surrounding a pole. Dom looked away: he could not bear to even glance at it. On this pyre his Lizhe would be burned...unless...unless. Dom prayed for a miracle - that Lizhe was right. "I have been counting, Dom," were the last words his love had spoken to him. Dom wondered what it meant. Counting what?

Benigo and Idelfonso bowed to them both. Tobé merely stared at them through hooded eyes, and Dom ignored them completely. Behind Benigo stood a group of soldiers with arquebus resting upon their shoulders. They were expecting some resistance, then? But Lizhe had been adamant. "Do nothing untoward," he had said, earlier. "Leave it to me. I know what I must do."

Dom glanced around him. All were present. Will, David, Michel, Khuno, Sancho and four of the other five captains. But not Amaru or Villac. Villac was with Lizhe, he surmised. Dom was glad he was not alone.

Then Benigo sent two of the Dominicans into the tent to fetch Lizhe. If he expected the Sapa Inca to come out bound, he was mistaken. The two priests backed out of the tent, looks of dismay and consternation on their faces as they moved as far back into the huddled group of their brother priests as they could - hiding themselves from view.

Villac was the first to appear. He wore the red skirt of the High Priest, and was hung about with gold and precious jewels. He wore the headdress of the Inti - the golden rays of the sun standing high above his head, making him seem over seven feet tall. His presence was daunting. The priests shuffled nervously on their feet.

Then the flap opened again and Lizhe stood in the aperture. He was dressed in the blue skirt of kingship, cinched about his waist by a wide gold belt, and embroidered with golden suns around the hem. On his chest he wore the Golden Inti, quite five inches across, and on his head the holy llautu decorated with the sacred coraquenque feathers, the golden beaded fringe of power resting on his forehead. Under his knees, but above his calf were golden chains hung with bells and jewels that tinkled as he walked, his feet shod in slippers of gold brushed vicuna. Over his shoulders the pure white condor feather cloak hung to his feet, and trailed on the grass about him. He was magnificent in his majesty and power.

Dom heard men gasp behind him, but no-one moved. Lizhe stopped before him, and Dom fell to his knees, as did Will, David, Khuno, Michel - to Dom's surprise - and all the Inca present.

Villac cried in a clear voice, "Here stands before you, God, the Mighty Aralizhe Pachacuti Inca, Lord of the Earth and Sky - the Earthshaker, the Sapac Intiq Churin - Holy Son of the Sun, and Son of the Father Viracocha. Shield your faces from the light of his blessed countenance. Make a prayer unto Inti, for he stands before you, by the Grace of his Father, God of all the World."

Idelfonso broke the spell. "Blasphemy!" he shouted. "You will die for this - you and your false priest!" He turned to the armed men behind him and commanded, "shoot the Inca priest!"

But no-one moved. A conch shell horn had sounded and from within the trees surrounding the camp there appeared, as if by magic, Inca warriors - over three thousand of them - and every third one carried an arquebus - the weapon of war. It became apparent that they knew how to use them, as several soldiers nearest to the perimeter began to fire at them and were cut down like ripe wheat. Others had muskets which were held by forked sticks they had pushed into the ground, and every Spanish soldier must have felt his life was theirs for the taking.

"Hold!" Villac cried, in Spanish, and every soldier was silenced. "If you wish to live, you will put down your weapons!"

The soldiers were no fools. They could see they were outnumbered four to one - and, moreover they were weak in body due to the systematic drugging by Villac and his accomplices. They had no heart for a fight. They wished to go home.

Sancho came forward, a serviceable pistol in his hand. The four other captains were similarly equipped, and Benigo paled as did Idelfonso, as he approached them.

"You are a disgrace to the church, and to Spain and to your king. You will cede your authority in this camp to Don Cristobal immediately. If you do not, I will shoot you dead."

Idelfonso blustered. "I see there are only five of you. Where is the other captain?"

Sancho stared at the priest. "I killed him - as I will kill you if you do not cede. What say you?"

Benigo answered. "We surrender our powers to the Prince of Aragon." Sweat had broken out upon his face although he seemed outwardly calm.

Now Dom, glancing at Lizhe for approbation, and receiving it, stepped forward, and taking the objects from his pocket, handed one to David and one to Alex, who stood beside him.

Alex lit the candle and David rang the bell. Dom opened the book in his hand and closed it with a snap as Alex blew out the candle and David held the clapper of the bell.

"Benigo Idelfonso and Francis Xavier Idelfonso, brothers in crime as well as in blood, we separate you, together with your accomplices and abettors, from the precious body and blood of the Lord, and from the society of all Christians; we exclude you from our Holy Mother, the Church in Heaven and on earth; we declare you excommunicate and anathema: we judge you damned, with the Devil and his angels, and all the reprobate, to eternal fire, until you shall recover from the toils of the devil and return to amendment and to penitence. So be it."

Idelfonso fell to his knees with a wail, but Benigo stood firm. "You have no power to do this!" he snarled at Dom.

Dom merely smiled. "Oh, but I have, Benigo, as has every bishop in the church with twelve good men at his back. You are excommunicate. I hand you, therefore, over to God. May he be just to you, for you deserve his justice."

Lizhe stepped forward as Dom disappeared into the tent followed by Villac. "You are dead men," he said in firm, carrying tones. There was perfect silence around them, and all the soldiers present sat on the ground as if their legs would no longer hold them upright.

"You laid hands upon God and put him to the torment. No man may lay hands on me and live!"

Amaru approached from the side, his hand grasping the neck of an Inca, who walked slowly forward, head bowed.

"This is the traitor who betrayed us to the Spanish," Lizhe said to Benigo as if he did not know. "He is a lover of the traitor Tupac, whom I remember seeing at the Holy City. Amaru and Khuno found him cowering in a nearby tent, and now I execute judgement upon him."

The Sapa Inca brought his gaze to the man's face. "Look at me!" he commanded. The man reluctantly raised his head and stared into the blue eyes.

"You have caused, by your actions, the innocent to be ravished, tortured and slain, villages to be razed, temples destroyed. You brought conflict and violence to the Land and its People. You have plotted against me, your God and king, and for this you must die. You understand this?"

The man lowered his head. "I know it. I sought what I thought was justice for my lover, but I was wrong. There is only justice within the laws of God."

Lizhe nodded. "Because you admit this, of your own free will, your death will be merciful. You will not suffer impalement and starvation as the law demands. Look at me again. Do not take your eyes from mine. Do you understand?"

"I understand, Lord," the man said quietly, raising his eyes to Lizhe's once more.

After a few moments the man clutched at his chest, then his head, and without a word or sound fell to the ground, dead.

Idelfonso looked aghast. "What manner of man is this who can bring death with a glance?" he cried, pitifully.

"This is not man, but God," Villac said, casting a scornful glance at the priests. "It is to your sorrow that you did not divine this sooner."

Then Dom strode from the tent. He had cast aside his red soutaine and was wearing the garb of a shaman. A feathered headdress and a cloak of softest fur. His face was painted with dark stripes and dots, and in his hand he carried a staff adorned with brightly coloured feathers and a small decorated gourd was tied to it. He wore the same blue skirt as did Lizhe, but with a silver fringe and moons about the hem instead of suns. About his neck a large silver quarter-moon rested upon his chest, and his arms were hung with jewel-studded silver.

Don Cristobal, for a moment, did not recognise his son.

Then Lizhe spoke. He had handed a bundle he had taken from Villac to Sancho, who grasped the heavy object with both hands. Now he beckoned to Sancho to follow him, and took Dom's hand as the three of them walked around the camp to face the seated soldiers.

The sun was bright, still, above the mountains behind Lizhe's head. He spoke to the assembly, and his voice carried loud amongst the people.

"This is the Auqui Inti Huayna Capac, the Splendid Youth of the Sun. He is my bonded spouse and Ray of Inti. We are as one in thought and deed."

"This Land is my domain, and over it I rule with absolute power. I have command over the earth and sky, over moon and sun, over river and stream, over mountain and valley."

Benigo and Idelfonso stood as if frozen by fear. They did not understand what was happening. Neither did Tobé, but he trusted Lizhe. Deep within his heart there was a place that felt warm and safe. Lizhe would not harm his friends.

Lizhe threw off his cloak and turned his back to the crowd. Men gasped. Some cried out in fear, crouching on the ground now suddenly damp beneath them - for all had seen the whipping, and the bloodied welts on Lizhe's body. Now there was nothing.

He gestured to Sancho, who with difficulty undid the bundle and hefted the weighty object into Lizhe's hand. It was the crystal skull. It shone in the afternoon sun as a diamond in the light. The Inca held it as comfortably as he would an apple, and lifted it above his head with ease. It rested on the flat of his hand, his fingers bent backwards, his straightened arm steady and firm.

He waited a few seconds, settling his feet apart upon the ground, and then, taking in a deep breath, cried in a loud voice, "Inti!"

The light from the burning sun struck the skull and light blasted through its eye sockets and landed on the crowd before him, and grown men wept, and cowered, pleading for mercy, covering their faces in fear.

The Inca warriors and all Lizhe's people knelt, but they were not afraid - this was their God, and would not harm them.

"This is my Land," Lizhe cried out, in a voice at once loud and terrible. "It obeys me. By the strength of my will I rule it. The Land rejects the Intruders who come to rape and despoil and steal. The Food poisons you, the Water taints you, the very soil beneath your feet rises up against you."

Lizhe stamped his foot once upon the earth and a rumble was heard far off in the mountains. The men cowering before him wailed with fear.

Lizhe smiled at Dom standing strong at his side. "Place your hand upon the skull, my love, and we will chant together."

Dom lifted his hand and as his fingers touched the crystal, the light emanating from it changed from gold to white and the sight of it became even more terrible in men's eyes. Idelfonso and Benigo suddenly fell, twitching, in the dirt, and their followers ran, screaming, from the compound. No-one prevented them.

The chanting began. It was other-worldly, fierce, hypnotic and compelling.

On the edge of the group, Lizhe's attacker, Lope del Castro fell dead, and the Dominican who had whipped Lizhe, stopped running, and fell also, together with a few more soldiers who had laid hands upon the Inca God-King.

Then Lizhe stamped his foot again, and the whole earth trembled, and rocks tumbled from the mountains, scattering down like rain in the woods behind him.

"Mercy!" the soldiers cried. "Do not slay us, mighty one!" The smell of fear surrounded the camp, and Tobé raised a handkerchief to his sweating brow, and was glad in his heart that Lizhe's power - and the power of his son - was not aimed at him.

Then the chanting stopped, and Lizhe spoke again.

"You will leave this Land, and tell all who will listen to you that to all, except its People, it is accursed. You will bear witness to it. If you attempt to deny it, you will be struck dumb and die just as those who once walked amongst you died. Understand this, for it is God's will and judgement. Disobey me - attempt to lie - and you will die. That is all. God gives you leave. Go!"

Lizhe lowered his hand and the light went out. He handed the skull, once more, to Sancho, who nearly dropped it because of its weight, and from fear of the powerful thing, as he quickly wrapped it in the cloth, looking for someone to take charge of it.

Villac came forward and took it off him, and Sancho wiped his sweating face in relief.

"Well, what do you wait for?" one of the captains shouted at the stunned men. "We are going home! Break camp, and swiftly as you can, pack your things. We will be gone to the ships by sunset!"

"Come, my love," Lizhe murmured to Dom. "We will go to our tent and rest."

He turned to Sancho. "Order someone to bring back the other bed, and tell Tobé and the others that we would be alone, now. We will gather in the morning to explain things to him those things that can be explained. Thank you, Sancho, for your loyalty and your trust."

Sancho bowed. "There is no need for thanks, Lord. Today I have witnessed miracles! I will dispose of the bodies of the condemned dead. What would you have me do with them?"

Lizhe thought for a moment, but it was Dom who spoke. "I do not wish them to lie in the ground, polluting our Land. Burn them on the pyre they meant for Lizhe. That will be justice."

Dom grasped Lizhe's arm, for he saw his love was pale with weariness, as indeed, he was himself. He turned once more to Sancho as they left.

"Tell Juan Miguel we are ready for the posset - both of us!" he said, smiling at his love.

Sancho stared after the retreating couple and, slapping his thigh with a hand far from steady, laughed aloud with pure joy.

Current Mood: accomplished
Current Location: yup, still here!
Current Music: Mozza

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

silvermere.livejournal.com

I have failed to comment so far because I so love to read several chapters of AUs together so that I can live in that alternative world for a while.

Now that I have caught up I am speechless! The whole story has been brilliant, but this chapter..... powerful, visual, emotional, where shall I start.....

Thank you.

From:

laeliacatt.livejournal.com

YAYAYAYAYAY!!!! Lizhe can certainly pack a punch, can't he? :D What a fitting end to those evil, arrogant men who thought they were superior to the "savage" Inca. Oh, Issi, this was magnificent. Whatever Tobe had planned paled in comparison to this.

Lizhe's healed back, the Crystal Skull, all of it was more than I could have hoped for. Wonderful!!!

From:

Inca 2 : Scourge of the Sun 26

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