The word sounded strange from her lips. Like an omen instead of the honor she knew Qori thought it was. Nina looked at the door again, the urge to touch it so strong she felt her feet shift toward it.
“There are creatures beyond those doors, Nina,” Qori murmured. “They will devour your body and spirit. We are kept in here for our safety. Do not think to test the patience of Mamakuna Dusi, for you will find yourself filled with regret.”
I already am, Nina wanted to say. The threat of hungry creatures didn’t scare her. Limac was bordered by a large sea on one side and a dense forest on the other, both filled with creatures that, unless bothered, mostly kept to themselves. But Nina was familiar with the outside world, with life away from the acllahuasi. Though she had lived in Limac her whole life, she knew the taste of freedom and the truth of myths made up to coax children into behaving.
The only dangerous creatures she had come across were the men who had put her here.
Without another word, Qori turned and continued past the front door and through a doorway, into a large room lit with more candles than Nina could count. A number of girls turned in silence to stare at her, but Nina was too distracted to absorb the weight of their attention.
At the front of the room was an altar, where statues of several gods sat. Viracocha, the creator god, in the center. Inti, the sun god, to the right. Killa, the moon goddess, on the left. There was Cocha, the goddess of the sea; and Illapu, the god of rain; and Ekeko, the god of fortune.
“And Pachamama?” Nina asked quietly, her eyes still searching for the god her own people served.
Qori only shook her head in answer and extended a cup to Nina. “This is our daily tea. We drink, and then we pray.”
Nina brought it closer and peered into the steaming liquid. At the bottom, she saw the blackened leaves she had been given by the emperor’s men. The back of her mouth tingled with the memory.
A cold hand covered hers on the cup. Qori’s eyes bore into her earnestly. “Youhaveto drink it, Nina. There is no choice. It brings us closer to the gods, which allows us to complete our duties with faith.”
Nina was familiar with duty. It was her responsibility to her siblings that landed her there, but none of it had requiredfaith. If anything, the lack of it would ease the transition. Holding on to hope would only serve to disappoint, and what she wanted was to forget. To be forgotten, left alone. More than that, she wanted to return home and see her family again.
The leaves had tasted awful, nothing like the ones from home, but they had dulled the passage of time and the pain of distance. They had given her a kind of reprieve that she hadn’t anticipated, and a part of her craved it once again. Nina would obey, but she would do it for her own reasons.
Instead of sipping the tea, she gulped it down in one fell swoop. It burned her throat and made her eyes water, and then, moments later, she felt less of everything.
Less hot, less angry, less aware of who she was and what she wanted and why she was there.
Qori smiled and led Nina to the front of the room, where several girls shifted to allow them space. Some were as young as Lali, their small faces cast in firelight. The oldest looked younger than Nina’s seven and ten, eyes wide and innocent and watching her with uncertainty. She reminded Nina of Sacha, but when Nina smiled, the girl turned away.
There were no sacrifices being made in the small altar room. No drinks poured or dead animals laid at the base of the dais. Nina wasn’t sure what she was meant to do as she sat cross-legged on the cold stone floor, and she felt a distant twinge of alarm with the uncertainty. But it was only a fleeting feeling. A slight break in the fog that had settled over her mind. In the next moment, she was captivated by the dancing flames of each candle, delightfully filled with a yawning emptiness that wiped away all her worries.
4
Kasik had convinced himself that if everything went according to plan, he could be at the acllahuasi in two weeks’ time, back at the kancha in four weeks, and then reunited with his men in time to celebrate Inti Raymi. It was a small price to pay for the freedom Maicu had promised.
But everything did not go according to plan.
To start, the rain was relentless, leaving the ground a sogging mess. The achipumas despised the rain, and though they were sure-footed, their mood was rancid. It became too dangerous to ride, so he walked beside them, coaxing them forward with each step, murmuring encouraging words over the claps of thunder that made his ears ring.
All the while, he held the silver cylindrical case close to his chest. The temptation to open it was strong, his curiosity almost winning as he navigated the muddy path. Perhaps if he better understoodwhyhe was being sent to collect a random girl—a randomwife—he could reconcile the effort in his mind.
In the end, it was his unfailing loyalty and inability to go against a command that stayed his hand, even if resentment simmered beneath. Even as the days dragged on in misery.
It was on the sixth night of his travels when Kasik found himself watching a group of bandits sneak upon his camp. He had left the achipumas lounging beneath a thick, canopied tree so that he could hunt, and when he returned, he found three men pawing through his bags. There was nothing valuable in them, only extra clothing and the tea he was supposed to give the girl.
The silver case was safely in his breast pocket, and his bow andarrows were slung across his back. Kasik crouched low and watched as one man approached Illari, the smaller achipuma meant for the girl, and carefully held out his hand. The achipumas were large and ferocious looking, but they were docile. Protector more than predator. They didn’t typically attack or eat a human unless provoked, and it was clear Illari didn’t feel provoked as she gladly took whatever was in the man’s hand.
Capac, on the other hand, had been Kasik’s companion since childhood and wouldn’t let the men get near. Though Capac didn’t rise from his prone position beneath the tree, he hissed and lashed his tail when one of the men got too close. Kasik smiled proudly, and then he glowered as Illari was easily led away.
There was nothing to be done. It wouldn’t do him any good to be murdered by a pack of bandits, even if the itch to start a fight was strong. When it seemed as though no other shadows would emerge, he carefully picked his way down the slope and back to Capac. The achipuma slanted his eyes at Kasik as if to say,Wherewere you?
“I know. It couldn’t be avoided.” Kasik ran his hand down Capac’s glossy neck. “No unnecessary fighting. It’ll be easier this way, just you and me. Illari was holding us back.”
All was forgiven when Kasik produced the hares he had caught, and Capac got two instead of one. Eventually, they were both able to relax. The rain continued, so no fire was made, and Kasik ended up tossing his dinner deep into the woods, hopeful that his continued sacrifices would be enough to keep the forest creatures at bay.
There were only stories of them, but they were terrifying enough that he followed their instructions. Some said the beast-like animals, with wings the span of a man and talons as sharp as blades, were only appeased by blood. Others said it was intention that pleased them. Depending on which ayllu you visited, they were minions of one god oranother. Kasik thought it safer to pray to all the gods, to offer bloodandintentions and disturb the woods as little as possible.
Capac came to join him on the forest floor, as if he knew Kasik needed the warmth and company. They waited for morning to come, and for another day to be done and gone.
