Chapter 17 #2
Seeing Chaac in person made it real for the first time after weeks of preparation.
The thick man sat easily on an old wrought-iron chair.
He wore dark slacks and a button-down shirt that looked out of place in the tropical setting, even with his sleeves rolled up.
His ridiculous wingtip leather shoes made me feel warm just looking at them.
He held a newspaper loosely, alternating between reading it and joking with his companions.
To his left sat another man, taller and darker than Chaac.
His swarthy features looked more European than the indigenous features of the locals, but what did I know?
At least he wore more appropriate clothing: a light linen shirt and gray linen pants, thick leather sandals showing off long, narrow feet.
He gesticulated when he spoke, but while the rumble of his deep voice carried, it wasn’t loud enough to understand.
A tiny woman sat a few feet away, her long dark hair reaching the middle of her back.
She wore a shirt with oversized red flowers and a deep blue skirt barely covering her knees.
She sat barefoot, with one leg crossed over the other, casual yet effortlessly elegant.
While the two men chatted, she was engrossed with her phone.
The fourth person swam laps in the swimming pool. A woman, strong and lean, she moved through the water with powerful strokes. I fluffed my feathers and looked at my partner.
Do you know the other three people?
Yes, he replied after a long pause.
Now would be a good time to tell me about them.
The second pause was even longer, but the men spoke too quietly for us to catch more than a few words, and the women were occupied with their tasks. My Monster spoke eventually.
Micheline and Rune are the husband and wife you’ll recognize loosely from your readings as Ixchel and Itzamna. And the swimmer is Ixtab.
My eyes went to Ixtab, the Mayan goddess of honorable suicide.
She was considered a fallen goddess, known for trapping men under the ceiba tree, seducing them, and then strangling them with thorny vines.
Many Mayans still believed in her. She wore her tall body with confidence, as if she considered herself royalty.
This is her manor house.
Ixtab’s?
Yes.
Does she go by another name?
She changes it so often, I don’t know what it is now.
Why are you troubled?
He looked at me.
Okay, more troubled than normal. And yes, I can sense it. It’s practically radiating off you.
Micheline and Rune have always been supporters of the arts and the closest of my kind to my way of thinking. It is troubling to see them in conference with Chaac. I had hoped for an ally or two.
Wasn’t that just great? It’s not too late to head back.
He shuffled closer to me and began grooming my feathers with his beak.
One of the benefits to shape-changing was that with each change, we got a perfectly clean body, free from any aches and pains, as well as dirt.
As if the DNA reset came with a new body.
So, why was he picking at imaginary bugs and dirt?
I tipped my head and looked right into the eyes of all three people down below.
They were watching us. Of course, they were.
Doing my best nonchalant parrot act, I pretended to enjoy the attention of my mate, making a warbling sound that could’ve meant any number of things.
Then again, just because they had lived for millennia on this earth didn’t make the people watching us experts on parrots.
I fluffed up my feathers, giving him better access, and settled in.
Maybe a parrot wasn’t a bad bird to be, especially since they wouldn’t expect the hermit to come with a sidekick.
The next time I glanced down, they had gone back to ignoring us, but we wouldn’t be able to get any closer without arousing serious scrutiny. What was our next move?
Are they the only ones of your kind? Or are you expecting others?
It took a while for him to answer. There will be others, I am sure, the Bacab brothers, Kukulkan, since our kind are nosy and can’t stay out of each other’s business.
But to answer your question, I am not yet sure who will be here.
Sensing my dissatisfaction, he interrupted me before I had a chance to respond.
These are the four I had been expecting.
As the day heated up, Chaac and the Creator God power couple went inside. Ixtab followed quickly behind them, toweling off her long, perfect body, walking into the house practically naked, and leaving the towel on the ground where it fell.
Our parrot friends had deserted the tree across from us, and Camazotz led us deeper into the surrounding jungle. He hadn’t said anything more to me, and I didn’t push, even as his agitation grew.
He landed near the top of a massive tree. A nod of his bright green head had me looking down at rows of neatly planted trees of various sizes.
Ixtab has an extensive orchard filled with all kinds of fruit-bearing trees, but it is only safe to steal the fruit at night. During the day, she has people watching, and I am sure they are paying extra attention now.
Since they expect you to come in as a bird.
You don’t have to be so negative, Corvus. I like you better when you are focused on finding solutions.
You can’t find a solution until you identify the problem. And the problem now is you’re behaving exactly how they expect you to.
You cannot possibly know that. Besides, I am going in there tonight as a bat.
The Bat God going in as a bat—what a shocker.
He growled in my head. If I hadn’t already trusted him with my life, I would’ve been frightened.
They never called me a Bat God. That was the Mayans. Huracan isn’t actually capable of dropping hurricanes on the earth, Corvus, and these people have never seen me turn into a bat.
Fine. Let’s turn into bats. Go ahead, do your stuff, and I’ll copy you.
You are not turning into a bat. You have never been one before, and it isn’t as simple as changing into a bird. That was a lot easier, and how long did it take you to learn how to fly?
Pretty sure I picked it up in a day.
Oh, you were an expert flyer in a day, were you?
How would you know? And why are we wasting time arguing? Let’s get on with this already.
He was pissing me off, and having this argument with a fucking parrot wasn’t helping. He looked friendly and cute, while there was nothing cute or friendly about Camazotz. Especially not now.
You are not changing into a bat. The echolocation takes a lot of getting used to, time we do not have. You are going to steal some fruit for us, so I won’t have to do that when I come back.
I was practically bouncing on my branch from irritation. Fine, if he wouldn’t help me, I’d figure it out on my own.
No, you won’t. Hear me now, Corvus. This task is too important, too deadly for you to become a liability right now.
I will turn you into a rock if you try to follow me.
Then, if something ends up happening to me, you will live forever, unable to move or speak until someone decides to use you to build a house or dam, or something.
I wanted to scream or at least bite off his face. He took a step back and stared as menacingly as it was possible, considering his form.
Don’t cross me, Corvus. I need you to be my partner, not my enemy.
Did he sound a little contrite? Probably just my imagination. When had he last felt bad about something hateful he said? This wasn’t getting us anywhere, and the last thing I wanted was for him to doubt me. He should know better.
I am not your enemy.
Are you going to stay here and get us some fruit while I get a closer look inside the house?
Will you stay in contact with me? I’m not kidding. I need to know you’re okay.
Fine.
Fine.
He nodded once before changing into a small dark bat and flying off into the late afternoon sky.
The transformation was so quick I missed my chance to watch what he did.
Not like when he turned into a falcon and then a parrot.
That sneaky Monster had planned this ahead of time.
He had let it slip a few times he wanted me to experience being a bat, but he had never made the time to teach me, back when we had nothing but time.
And now he’d flown away before I had the chance to hold his feet to the fire and make him promise to keep me informed.
I did do that. I will hold up my end if you hold up yours.
I’m going to get fruit; I told you I would. Where should I meet you?
Find a tree that will keep us hidden for the day. Don’t worry, I will find you.
We had spent so much time together recently that I had forgotten how easy it was to find each other, but as he said it, I felt its tug telling me which direction he had gone.
Okay, fine. Be careful.
Always, Corvus. Be smart. Be safe.
With a sigh, I narrowed my sights on the rows of trees down before me.
Maybe I could change into a crow to fit in better with the gently darkening night.
The task he left me gave me something to occupy my mind with, something other than worry, because I could still sense his fear.
My ruthless Monster being afraid told me all I needed to know.