The Tepanec Capital is in turmoil, with the old Emperor dead and his heirs struggling for succession.
Caught in the maelstrom, Tecpatl is trying to obey the old Emperor’s edicts, while Sakuna is doing her best to resist the forces from tearing her family apart; the same forces that are threatening to unbalance the Great Empire.
'The Young Jaguar' is the second book in the Pre-Aztec Series.
From the Great Southwest and the fall of Anasazi, with which deals the first book in the series, the action shifts to Mesoamerica, to the great pyramids, sprawling cities and the warlike Aztecs and Tepanecs.
This book is packed with action and the main characters have never enough time to get bored :)
Excerpt
“Come on. Hurry up!”
The youth swung his legs over the border stones and jumped down the wide platform. His companions were already there, whispering excitedly.
“Shut up,” he said. “They’ll hear us.”
All three peered into the night, listening intently. A gust of wind swept dry leaves across the road down below. Obviously, the night cleaners had not done their job properly. The road was supposed to be clean of anything; the Night Spirits deserved as much.
“Do we jump or do we go back?” whispered the second youth. He was taller than the rest and the plain garb of a calmecac pupil sat well upon his wide, muscled shoulders.
A drumming poured from the nearby temple.
“We jump,” said the first youth. He squinted against the flickering lights. “Just pass me the bundle when I’m down and don’t make any noise.”
The wall was not very high, but he felt the impact in his knees and it pleased him to land gracefully. Like a jaguar. One day he would make it into the elite caste of warriors, he thought. The warriors, who wore the brilliant blue cotton cloaks and were allowed to carry obsidian swords and dine with the royal family at the Palace. The finest, the swiftest, the toughest; the best of the nation. A mere handful of chosen ones, capable of defeating hordes of enemies. His father was one of them and, with a little luck, if he could excel beyond being a good student, so one of the veterans responsible for the military training would express a wish to take him along into a battle as a shield bearer, he’d be admitted into those exclusive ranks. Ah, for such an opportunity!
He could hear the flask rubbing against the cold stones, lowered carefully with a rope attached to its neck. He took it and gestured to his companions to jump. They would get into a grave trouble wandering around the city without permission. But it might be nothing compared to being caught drinking octli!
He shivered. The punishment for consuming the spicy beverage could very well result in expelling from school and maybe even worse. They would sure to get severely beaten and their heads may be shaved. Still, it was not the first time they’d sneaked out like that. Drinking octli was a tremendous fun. That, and wandering around the marketplace after the sunset.
“Let’s go,” he whispered and led the way along the stone platform.
The wall towered ahead. It was only two-storey high and belonged to a pyramid dedicated to Chalchiuhtlicue, goddess of water, a counterpart of the mighty Tlaloc. They pressed against the cold stones, feeling their way along the narrowing ledge. Shreds of conversations reached them from the wide avenue down below, the voices of passersby carrying clearly on the night breeze.
“Atolli, wait.’
The first youth did not turn his head. “Quiet!” he whispered angrily and squeezed his way past the temple.
Their destination towered a few hundred paces ahead–a temple of Coatlicue, the goddess of love and sin, located right above the western corner of the marketplace. The clamor below grew and so did the light. Torches fixed into the walls dispersed some of the darkness and the shadows danced wildly above the clusters of straw mats. Many warriors reclined upon those mats, eating and drinking, watching the women waiting upon them, laughing with each other. Some wore not even a breechcloth, sprawling drunkenly and only by their disheveled topknots one could have guessed their status. The women rushed between them, distributing pottery cups and bowls, prominent in their colorful attire.
Atolli stepped back, sinking deeper into the shadows.
“All right, boys,” he whispered. “Make yourself comfortable.”
His friends shifted uneasily.
“Come on,” he said louder, suppressing his own fear. “They are too drunk to hear us and too busy with those loose women.” He slipped along the smooth stones of the temple’s wall, wondering at its cold touch. The Goddess of Love and Sin should have felt warmer, he thought. He took out the flask. The spicy beverage rolled down his throat, smooth and warm, leaving a burning sensation in its wake.
“Am I going to drink it all by myself, you pair of silly women?”
They squatted beside him and he thrust the gourd flask onto Mecatl’s hands, smiling derisively, challenging his best friend. They had grown up together, playing on the roofs or on the adjacent grounds of their families’ estates, both sons of prominent leaders, the elite warriors, the noblest of the noble. Although Mecatl’s mother was a noblewoman of Azcapotzalco’s origins, while Atolli was born by a savage woman from the Far North his father had brought along while still a young warrior.
Atolli had loved his mother, but often had wondered why his father would not rectify the matter by taking another wife of some very exalted, preferably Toltec, bloodline. A half-brother or sister of an impeccable origin would serve him well. Mecatl had two of them. His friend’s father was sensible enough to add a Toltec woman to a collection of his numerous wives and concubines. Yet some fathers did act strangely, thought Atolli, taking another swig from the flask when it was returned to him.
“I think the Goddess will get angry with us,” murmured the third youth. He was not as well developed as the other two, his calmecac gown hanging vacantly upon his thin shoulders. He was training to be a priest and not a warrior, yet he came along on a sudden impulse, wanting to prove he did not lack his share of courage, and now was regretting the futile gesture. They should not have been out there, drinking octli and watching the warriors taking the whores of this dubious part of the marketplace. They were sure to get caught.
“Try to relax and have fun.” Atolli laughed and bent over the border stones.
Below, the warriors on the nearby group of mats, laughed loudly, obviously having gulped more than their share of the spicy beverage. The colorful garbs of the women, bringing more pottery cups, fluttered with the slight breeze. The embroidered cotton moved gracefully around their legs as they knelt in front of the drunken men.
Atolli stared at the generous cleavage of one of the woman, taking in the way the flickering light of a nearby torch reflected off the golden skin. He wished he was a warrior already.
“Take a look at this one!”
Mecatl’s hands pulled him back. “Are you insane? They’ll see you.”
Atolli laughed and wrenched the flask back from his friend’s hands. “We came here to watch, didn’t we?”
“To watch carefully!” Now it was Mecatl’s turn to lean over the edge.
“You know what I keep thinking?” he asked, turning back and squatting comfortably against the stone wall. “I keep thinking how embarrassing it would be to spot my own father among this particular crowd.”
Professional Reviews
Loved this book
I enjoyed the first book very much, but I actually liked this one even better.
Tecpatl and Sakuna's story continues 15 years later, weaving in their son, Atolli, who is a spitting image of his father. These stories are so cool because you really feel like you are back in these pre-Aztec days and it is such a unique setting I find it fascinating even just to read about what these people eat. ;) I'm going to make some tortillas and honey for the next book...heheeheh...
The story if filled with political intrigue and suspense, I kept turning pages because I wanted to see how it was going to work out w/the father & son pitted against each other and w/Sakuna as she delved into politics, and I found the romance between Atolli and the princess interesting and realistic. I guess that is what I like about this series, the realism and culture. It doesn't seem fake.
Anyway, I really love the way the culture is woven through the story and I'm on my way to read the third book. I'm really hoping there is a continuation of Atolli's story.
An awesome second of a series
I was so impressed with the first of this series that I was waiting with baited breath for this second book to be released. I love author Zoe Saadia's writing style and the manner in which she brings the characters to life. It doesn't often happen that I enjoy the second book in a series more than the first, but I liked this second even better than the first. Anyone who loves historical fiction really should take the plunge into the America's with Zoe Saaidia's books. Her writing will swooped down and drop you straight into the storyline along with the characters... and if you're like me, you'll be unable to put the book down until you've turned the very last page. Her descriptions are immaculate and the strange and fearsome customs of these people just adds that much more to these stories where there is never a lack of action, or surprise. Zoe's series also finds strong elements of romance. Though I am not a huge fan of romance, I can always read this author's form of writing romance, which comes across as genuine as can be. In my opinion, this series has something for all readers, no matter what genre you read.
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Available Now! Rated 5 ***** by readers and listeners.
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