Harbinger of the Storm - By Aliette De Bodard Page 0,13

of the Southern Hummingbird woven in daily layers, was more than solid. Even weakened by Axayacatl-tzin’s death, it was impregnable.

”It doesn’t need help,” I said, aloud. “They hold.”

”Observation at work once again,” Yaotl said.

No, that wasn’t the problem. “It was summoned inside the palace.”

”The star-demon?” Teomitl asked.

I nodded. I had been wrong. It wasn’t just some foreign sorcerer with a grievance against us. It had to be someone who had access inside.

To be sure, there were means to bribe palace servants, but this wasn’t just a matter of someone scouting out the weaknesses of the palace guard. The summoning had to have been done inside the wards, from beginning to end, which implied two things. First, the summoner was enormously skilled, which only confirmed what I already knew. Second, the field of suspects had just been drastically limited. The pillars of the entrance were enchanted, and a sorcerer without Court accreditation wouldn’t have been able to pass between them.

So, not just any sorcerer, but a member of the Court with access to magic. I would need to check who was on the list of accreditations.

I added this to the growing number of things I was going to need men for. I hated taking people away from the Revered Speaker’s funeral, which should have been my priority, but if there was a summoner of star-demons loose in there…

Teomitl turned, to look at the protective spells over the gates with a dubious frown.

The Storm Lord blind me, whoever had done this was extremely well prepared. Not only had they managed to find someone on the inside, but they had also been ready to do their summoning in the hours that had followed Axayacatl-tzin’s death.

I didn’t like the sound of that.

The first thing I did upon entering the palace was to go to the Revered Speaker’s rooms. I found the guards at the gates in a state of alert. I assumed they had been apprised by the She-Snake on the murder, and were holding themselves ready for anything.

Inside, the burly offering Priest Palli was watching as two dozen priests for the Dead prepared the corpse for its funeral. A quincunx of blood spread across the tiled floor, with the faint greenish tinge of Mictlan’s breath. The priests were all chanting hymns, calling on the minor deities of the underworld; except two, who were busy undressing the former Revered Speaker. Clothing was all-important: the mummy bundle that would be burnt would be made of dozens of layers of many-coloured cotton, each added with the proper beseeching to the gods, each garnished with gems, amulets and gold and silver jewellery.

Palli nodded to me when I entered, but waited until the current hymn was finished to move outside the blood quincunx. “Acatl-tzin. As you can see, we have matters well in hand.”

I nodded. The forms looked to be respected. The room itself was pulsing with a presence like a burst dam, the breath of the river that separated the underworld from the Fifth World. Everything was well taken care of. “No doubt of that.” I hesitated; but it was still something that needed to be done. “How many could you spare?”

Palli looked dubious. “I could without half, but the rituals would progress more slowly…”

”No matter,” I said. “The funeral isn’t going to be for a while anyway.” Not if the other High Priests had their way.

”It’s about the body, I assume.”

I nodded. “It looks like the summoning of what killed that man was done from inside. I need one person sent to the registers, to check up on the accreditations of all the sorcerers.”

”You don’t mean–”

”I’m not sure what I mean,” I said, darkly. “But watch your step, definitely.”

Palli nodded. “I can do that, but…”

”I know.” It was going to be a long list. Most noblemen had access to magic, if only for their protective spells. If they didn’t have a pet sorcerer, they were sorcerers themselves; and that didn’t count the numerous priests and magistrates who came here, either in the service of their temples or in the service of the Imperial Courts.

”And the others?” Palli asked.

”I want them to search the palace. If a summoning was done here, it should show.” The magic wouldn’t be washed away, not so easily. “Every room, every courtyard. There has to be a place we can find.” It was the timing I didn’t like: the murder of Ocome had taken place barely one hour after the death of the Revered Speaker. This suggested… planning. Someone, somewhere had held