Clash of Star-Kings by Avram Davidson Read Free Book Online Page B

copal-incense. The Hermit stood beside the fire and spoke in a clear and vigorous voice, but antique language and although he was standing and those whom he addressed were sitting, he and they were on a level of eye to eye. When Luis saw these others, saw their massive bodies and massy limbs, their strong broad noses and strong full lips and their heavy-lidded eyes with pupils of burning gold, he recognized who and what they were. And he fell upon his knees and bowed his brow down into the cool dust of the ground before the Great Old Ones, the demigods of the Toltecs and Moxtomí, who had calmly and benevolently ruled over the land before the coming of the cruelty and incessant bloodletting of the Aztecs.
    And who had now returned….
    The Hermit (or he-who-had-been-known-till-now-as-The-Hermit) paused in his speaking. And another voice broke the sudden silence, a voice like a great and deep-toned bell of gold and bronze, saying, in the Moxtomi language, “One moment, you who have so long and so faithfully been the Guardian of the Entrusted Thing; one moment only….” The ground shook slightly with the great and measured tread and huge, beautifully proportioned hands took hold of Luis and lifted him to his feet. Dazed, delighted, stricken still with awe, he gazed into the great golden glowing eyes and heard the great golden voice say, “Younger Brother, what is in your heart?”
    Luis heard his heart beating, his ears rang, he drew a shuddering breath. “Great Old Ones. Is it you whose lights have been seen on Popo?”
    “It is so. And then?”
    “I … Ah! There are so many things in my heart to tell you, to ask you … I …”
    The lips of the giant figure parted in a faint smile. “Not now, Younger Brother. Not yet. Take this — ” Something was pressed into his hand. He felt a cord of maguey fiber and something metallic, with an embossed surface. “ — take health, take rest, and at another time, Younger Brother, it may be that we may listen … and answer.”
    The disappointment was like the falling away of ground beneath Luis. All day long he had sped and toiled from place to place, asking only to be listened to. But Santiago Tuc and Domingo Deuh had been too busy to listen to him, Jacobo Clay had been too busy to listen to him, and now the astonishingly returned Great Old Ones were too busy to listen to him! Anguish ate at him like acid — but for a moment only. And then sleep, of the most delectable sort as is usually felt only when one knows that awakening is imminent, sleep now wrapped its arms around him. The circle of serenely joyful Moxtomí about the (he now recognized) sacred fire, the still all-but-totally-mysterious figure of the Hermit/Guardian, the titanic figures of the sapient and potent and benign Great Old Ones, all began with a swift slowness to dissolve into the golden mists; and Luis smiled and Luis slept.
    • • •
    The Clays slept, too, in their Krazy Kat style house in the back patio, with barely a straight line let alone two parallel ones in the whole structure, and each room painted in different bursts-of-color tones: restaurant-pea-green, imitation-soda-pop orange, do-not-leave-within-the-reach-of-children-shoe-pol-ish-purple, whorehouse-madam-red, and so on … all, presumably, the work of a previous tenant defined by Señora Mariana only as
El Español
. Why does the roof leak so much, Señora? El Español punctured it vigorously, Señor. Why are the holes in the gas stove burners mostly plugged up, Señora? Because of the unwholesome foods cooked upon it by El Español, Señor. Why does the wall in the third room not meet the ceiling in the corner, thus letting in the wind, Señora? Thus did El Español occupy himself, Señor, — Ai, the malevolent one! But take no concern, Señor, we will make all these reparations, excellently. Ah, good, Señora — and when? Mañana, Señor! Mañana!
    It was Sarah who awakened first … from a dream in which she sat bound hand and foot in