The Goldsmith's Daughter by Tanya Landman

Author:Tanya Landman [Landman, Tanya]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
ISBN: 9781406339499
Publisher: Walker Books Ltd.
Published: 2011-12-01T05:00:00+00:00

They approached. Conquerors of the Otomi; destroyers of Cholula. Led by the god, perhaps, or at least one smiled on by Tezcatlipoca. Behind them, all the warriors of Tlaxcala.

If the moon had stepped from the sky and bathed in the lake, if the sun had climbed down from the heavens and walked into Tenochtitlán, it could not have amazed us so much as what came on that crisp, bright morning.

The whole city, from slave to noble, had been drawn into the streets to see them. The lake was choked with canoes that sat dangerously low in the water, so full were they of terrified onlookers. The rooftops were tightly packed, the streets near impassable. And over all this great throng hung an awful quiet that was punctuated only by the wail of a baby, the cry of a child, a soft low moan from a woman who could not contain her anxiety.

The tramp of many feet broke it. Though they were some way off, we heard their advance long before we could see the faces of those who came. I watched, feeling a cold detachment from the scene, for fear had numbed me. My father and I had walked onto the causeway to better see their progress. As the distant shapes took form, I noted that these strangers had an eye for spectacle – for drama and pageantry – that rivalled our own. Wishing to strike dread and awe into our hearts, they had arranged themselves with artful care.

At the head of the procession came four beasts the like of which neither I nor anyone in Tenochtitlán had ever seen. Creatures whose shoulders stood taller than a man. Whose iron feet struck sparks off the stones they clattered over. From whose nostrils plumed smoke as though they breathed fire. And on their backs, men with skin of an oddly pale hue, dressed in polished metal that gleamed in the sunshine. The men of the Aztec empire are smooth-faced, but these newcomers had thick beards upon their chins that were cut into a point at the end like the god Quetzalcoatl. It was easy to see how our messengers had taken them for immortals. They seemed not of this earth. Waving metal knives with blades as sharp as obsidian and longer than a man’s arm, they advanced, and people shrank back to make way for them.

As the crowds shifted and rearranged, I found myself pushed to the front. No one stood between the mighty procession and me. If I reached out a hand, I could touch them. My eyes drank in every detail. Each fresh sight pressed upon my mind, leaving an imprint as deep and clear as if my head was filled with soft wax. I found I could not feel fear, although all around me seemed to quake with it. Only a wild excitement held me. I was aware that if they came to fight, I would be amongst the first slain; but I could not bring myself to care.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.