Aztec Treasure Ch. 01-10

Author's Note: Aztec Treasure continues the Treasure, Buried Treasure, and Claiming Treasure book series. You can read it stand-alone if desired. This book does not have a high content of explicit sex.

Maria Meztli's POV
Sinaloa State, Mexico

"Maria, can you do something with Maritza? She won't stop crying, and it's keeping the others from sleeping."

"Sure, Aunt Celia." I walked over and took the six-month-old baby from her. I rocked the crying baby in my left arm while pulling the sling over my neck with my right arm. I could smell her diaper didn't need changing. "Is she hungry?"

"She just had a bottle ten minutes ago."

"I'll take her for a walk." I put the crying girl to my left shoulder and started to rock her side to side.

"Stay away from the courtyard. The men are doing business and don't need to hear a crying baby either."

"We'll walk the fence," I replied as I walked out the door. The Sons of Tezcatlipoca meeting site was at President Tupoc's home in the hills outside El Pozo. The estate was surrounded by high walls, beyond which were fences, steep hills, and jungle. It had taken them an hour to travel along the rough trails to get here. I reached the outside door, where a human member stood guard with an AK-47. "I'm trying to calm her down," I told him.

"Stay where I can see you," he said.

I nodded, moving on as I felt his eyes looking me over. He had no chance with me, though he didn't know it. My family would never pair me off with a human. I was seventeen years old, soon to be of mating age, and my father was dead. Denver Chapter President Pedro Meztli left home two weeks ago, heading to a meeting with the other Chapter Presidents of the Sons of Tezcatlipoca Motorcycle Club. A few days later, my father's severed head was hanging from the border fence with the United States, and the FBI and DEA were arresting every member they could find.

My mother didn't stick around. She cleaned out his bank accounts and his secret safe and grabbed the fake passports and documents he'd prepared for us in case we had to run. I packed almost everything I owned into two suitcases, leaving behind my phone, computer, and anything that could identify us. The registration on the Ford Explorer we drove was in her new name, and the fire she set burned everything we left behind. Four hours after we knew Dad was dead, we were miles away from our life in Denver. In cities across the country, other Jaguar mates and families did the same thing. We would seek shelter with our kin in Mexico.

We had listened to news radio the entire way down. The raids on the Sons of Tezcatlipoca clubhouses across the country had wall-to-wall coverage, and the body counts were high. I was a Club Princess, I'd visited many of these Clubs with my father, and the Presidents and senior leadership were all related. We were Jaguar Shifters, tracing our lineage to the time of the Aztecs.

The Goddess Tezcatlipoca gave our ancestors our dual natures, the cat that coexisted in our bodies with our human side. Jaguar shifters can shift from birth, walking on four legs within weeks. I can shift instantly between forms when I want. My cat has been my constant mental companion, and we look out for each other.

Werejaguars are superior to humans in every way. My nature gives me superior strength, balance, and grace in human form. My eyesight is sharp, and I can see in the darkness that would leave a human helpless. If I got hurt, I could heal much faster than humans; broken bones mended in two days, not six weeks. I learned to hold back most of my strength to keep from hurting my human sparring partners. It was no wonder that Werejaguars controlled the motorcycle gang; no human could stand up to us in a fight.

Compared to the werewolf pack in the Denver area, our group was smaller and more dangerous. Jaguars are stronger, quicker, have razor-sharp claws, and better reflexes. We are at home in trees and water. The werewolves had advantages in numbers, speed, and endurance. One on one, we would win, but the wolves rarely fought alone. We stayed out of each other's way.

I thought about our family's future as I walked along, singing to Maritza until she fell asleep. When I was sure she was down, I moved her to the sling and started walking back. "Maria, come to the courtyard now," my mother sent.

"I'll drop Maritza off at the nursery first. She just fell asleep."

"No, come straight here." Whatever it was must be important, so I walked past the cars parked under the trees directly to the gate leading to the courtyard. Inside, the remaining leaders of the Sons of Tezcatlipoca sat around a long table filled with food. There were only nineteen Jaguar leaders left to gather together.

"Mama?" She was standing near my uncle at the head of the table as the others watched.

"Ah, Maria," Carlos said. "Your mother is joining my household; I will treat her as a second wife, and with Tezcatlipoca's blessing, I will give her a male child to carry on your father's line." I looked at Mom, who was still grieving her mate's death. Her face showed only her resignation to her fate.

"Am I joining your home as well?"

"No. You will go to Nogales with Hector. At first, you will be his nanny and help take care of Maritza for them. When you come of age, he will mate you, and you will become his second wife."

As a second wife? My eyes got wide; I would have no legal rights, and his wife would rule me too. I was merely a breeder and side lover for the Nogales Chapter President. "I will not find a mate of my own?"

"We don't have enough males left for the women, and our numbers are dwindling in this war. For our kind to survive, we must all make sacrifices. Each man at this table is taking in widows and children of those who have fallen. It will take generations to rebuild our numbers, but we must do it."

"The Cartel does not hesitate to take out families, Maria," Hector said. "We cannot leave you without protection." I nodded; like many things in my life, I had no choice in this. He handed me a key. "Move your belongings to my car, and settle Maritza in the car seat. We leave shortly."

"Yes, sir." There was no fighting it, and I could see why they were doing this. The Sons were under pressure from all sides; with the US chapters decimated, the Cartels who killed my father were cleaning up on this side of the border. It was not safe to be without protection, and the only males who could do that were at the table.

I walked back out of the courtyard to the car we'd driven here to find safety. I first went to the passenger door, retrieving my small purse that held my new identification papers and emergency cash. I looped that over my left shoulder, then hit the button to open the hatchback. I took the two bags out and walked past the other cars until I found Hector's Infinity Q45. Using the remote, I opened the back of his car and placed my bags next to theirs. Closing the rear door, I opened the side door to get the car seat ready.

I was moving the straps aside when there was a bright light, followed by an explosion. I turned away, bending down to protect the baby, when a second explosion came, this one even closer. The blast knocked me to the ground, and I curled up around Maritza as things started falling around us. Small rocks and other objects rained down on me as I covered my face with one arm and the baby with another. When it stopped, my ears were ringing, and I could barely see through the dust and smoke. "Mama," I sent. The bond to her was gone, and I knew she was dead.

I felt movement as Maritza shifted into her young Jaguar form. Frightened out of her little mind, she ran away from me. I pushed myself to my hands and knees as I watched her disappear through the gate, heading for the safety of the jungle. I would retrieve her later; the little cat would not go far.

I stood up and turned to look at the home, finding only smoking ruins. The second floor had collapsed, and I could smell the blood in the courtyard.

I stumbled towards the ruins, listening to the screams of the survivors. When I got to the courtyard, I wished I hadn't. There was a crater in the center from the explosion. There was nothing recognizable from what was left, not even the people who had surrounded it. Beyond that, there was a second explosion in the home.

Moving carefully around the rubble, I found my guard. The wall had collapsed, crushing his legs and hip. He begged for help, but there was nothing I could do for him except end his suffering. I shot him in the head, and the compound got eerily quiet. I had to see if any other Jaguars survived. I found nothing but crushed and dismembered bodies.

A few minutes later, my ears picked up the sounds of diesel engines approaching. I caught a glance through the trees of military vehicles coming our way.

I had to leave now.

I ran out of the compound, following Maritza's scent leading into the jungle. When I was far enough into the trees to remain hidden from the approaching troops, I stopped and pulled my shoes and dress off, placing them in the sling with my purse. Calling forth my cat, I shifted into my jaguar form. I only took a minute to find Maritza hiding in a tree. I called her down, and she crawled into the sling as I lay there waiting.

I moved off silently through the jungle, the sling carrying the only other survivor of the attack with me. I headed west as I tried to figure out what to do.

Ch. 2

"Maria, you have to get as far away as you can from this," I told myself as I picked my way through the mountainous terrain. I could hear the sounds of the troops arriving at the scene of the explosions behind me. Whistles were sounding, men were shouting, and diesel engines were straining to get up the hill.

I was sure that they would send patrols out to look for survivors as soon as they had the property under their control. I felt bad for anyone who had survived; I hadn't sensed any had, but maybe they would find someone under the rubble.

The sling was the savior for me. Little Maritza stayed in her cat form, her head sticking out to see where I was carrying her. If she had been a human baby, she would be hitting her marks if she could sit up and was mixing in solid food with breast milk. Right now, she'd be crying her head off, leading pursuers right to us.

My baby jaguar charge could walk, climb, and hide on her own. If you looked closely, you could see the differences between her and a wild jaguar cub. Her head was almost comically big on the twenty-pound body, her neck heavily muscled to hold the weight up. Her eyes were slightly different, richer in color than a wild cat. She knew enough to keep quiet and use her senses as I ran through the trees and underbrush. A born predator, she was silent as we moved; at most, she would make a noise that was a combination of a screech and a whine.

I was so focused mentally on staying out of sight as we neared the crest of the mountain that I didn't hear it first. Maritza let out a soft screech, causing me to freeze near a tree. I froze, tilting my head up, and I heard it too.

A helicopter.

It was coming in fast, and around here, only the military would be flying them. Panicked, I looked around for a hiding place. Spotting a downed tree, I turned and sprinted over, crawling underneath just before the helicopter flew over me. I kept the big, rotting trunk between us and the aircraft until it was well down the valley.

Crawling back out, I knew I needed to put more miles behind me before dark. My Dad taught me about how authorities could use drones and helicopters to search for and track people. "Infrared doesn't do shit for them during the day," he told me. "The sun heats the pavement, rocks, and everything else. Because of that, it's normal eyeballs and cameras that get used. If you can stay below trees and buildings, they won't see you. Whether it is day or night, it's your motion that stands out. Stay still, and you're tough to pick out among all the noise. "

"And at night?"

"Exactly the opposite. Everything cools off, and warm-blooded creatures stand out. Whether you are moving or still, you light up infrared like a flare. Normal vision and cameras don't do anything in low light, so it's all about hiding your heat signature. Hot engines and hot bodies are like beacons, so unless you hide them among other hot things, they will see you. If you hear an aircraft or helicopter, get under the thickest, densest cover you can and pray to Tezcatlipoca to keep you safe."

I thought about his words as we crested the hill. I could see a small village in the distance to the south; if I could make it before dark and find a hiding place, I might be safe. I had no idea if they knew I was running or if anyone else escaped, so I assumed the worst.

As I changed course to the south, I stayed below the ridgeline to avoid being silhouetted by the sky. I kept to the opposite slope from where the military would be searching for me. I'd learned my lesson, so I kept my ears open for more aircraft. I had to stop and hide four times, almost getting caught in the open once when one suddenly crested the mountain from the east. I pushed through the late afternoon sun, picking up speed as the downhill run continued. My luck held out, and I was crouching in the treeline above the fifteen or so buildings comprising El Gasimal at sunset.

My stomach was empty, and I looked down at the animal pen and plotted my next move. The farmers were in their home, the lights on bright, while the pigs and goats settled in under the galvanized steel shelter. I had a choice; I could go down as a jaguar and kill my meal, or I could walk down as a human and try and buy one.

One way could get me shot, and the other could get me killed.

In the end, it was Maritza that made that decision for me. She crawled out of the sling, relieved herself in the shrubs, then shifted back into her human form. As she lay on her back and kicked her feet in the air, I removed my dress from the sling and pulled it over my head. I put on my sandals next, then hung my purse and the sling from opposite shoulders. I only had one spare diaper in the bag, so I put that on the girl as she lay there, then settled her into the sling. She was hungry and dehydrated, and she started to cry as I walked towards the road.

By the time I reached the first farmhouse, Maritza was in full-blown meltdown. The baby's crying got the attention of the older woman cleaning the kitchen. She opened the door to see what was going on. "Are you all right?"

"No," I said as I started to cry. "I've been walking for hours, and my baby is hungry."

"Come here," she told me as she rushed out. "I am Concita."

"Sofia Hernandez. Tianna is my daughter." I took her out, holding her to my shoulder as I tried to calm her down.

"What are you doing out so late?"

She pushed me into the small kitchen, sitting me at the table as she went to get some goat milk. "It's my fault. I caught a ride on a truck to Culiacan, but the driver was a pig. He pulled off the road and demanded I sleep with him in exchange. I refused, and he left me by the side of the road. I saw the lights and kept going until you saw me."

"Bastard! Who can do that to a mother with a child? I hope your husband finds him and cuts his throat." I started crying even more. "Oh, Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. Where is your husband?"

"He disappeared last year while I was pregnant," I said. "I've been warned not to ask questions." That was a way of saying the Cartel had killed him. The Sinaloa cartel controlled everything in this province and killed anyone who got in their way.

A gray-haired man, his weathered skin freshly cleaned, came into the kitchen. "My husband Eduardo," she told me as she introduced me. He held out a callused hand, shaking it gently as Concita explained what had happened to me. He was shocked, but many bad things happened on the roads these days. "I am taking food to the markets in the morning; you may ride in with me. We leave at four."

"Thank you."

He offered to hold Tianna while I ate the tamales, rice, and refried beans that Concita heated for me. Concita poured warmed milk into a sippy cup she found in the back of a cabinet, and Maritza drank at it greedily. "Can she eat solid foods?"

"She just started."

I mashed some of the rice with my fork, mixing it with some of the beans. Eduardo fed it to her as I ate, and Tianna fell asleep with her full belly. "You look exhausted," he told me. "Concita is preparing the extra room for you. Get some sleep, and I'll wake you for breakfast."

I took Tianna back and gave the old farmer a hug of thanks. "You're so kind," I told him.

"No baby should go to bed hungry," he said. He led me to a room where Concita was preparing the bed.

"I don't have a crib, but I emptied this drawer out and put blankets in it for you," she told me. "I found these diapers that my daughter didn't use. They might be big on her."

"I'll make it work," I said. "Thank you." I set the girl into the makeshift crib, covering her with a thin blanket.

She patted my shoulder and left. I pulled off my dress, laid down on the bed, and was asleep moments later.

I woke to shouts and pounding on the door. "POLICE! OPEN UP!"

I leaped out of bed, pulling on my dress and donning my purse and sling. I would grab Maritza last, praying she would remain asleep while I figured out a way to escape. I heard Eduardo open the door to talk to the men as I opened the bedroom window quietly.

"We're looking for men who may have escaped from a Cartel safe house in the mountains," the man said. "Have you seen anyone?"

"No, of course not."

"We have to check." It was another snap decision to make. Run for it, or trust these good people to protect me. I dove back under the blanket and pretended to sleep.

"Please, our daughter and her baby are in there. She had a bad night, so don't wake her."

The officer quietly opened the door to the small room, looking around to verify no one else was there. I pretended I was asleep, not letting out a breath until he closed the door and moved on. "If you see anything suspicious, call us immediately." The police moved on to the next home.

Concita opened the door a few minutes later. "They are gone. Go back to sleep."

"Thank you," I told her. She closed the door, and I closed my eyes. It took a while for my heart to slow down enough to go back to sleep.

Ch. 3

My cat woke me as the door opened, but she relaxed when we scented Concita coming in. It was still dark out. "It's time to get going, Sofia," she said to her, using the fake name Maria had given her. "Eduardo will be leaving in fifteen minutes."

I thanked her and got up, my motion causing Maritza to awaken and start crying. I gathered her things and changed her before going out to the kitchen. Concita handed me a sippy cup of goat milk, and I started feeding Maritza with it. "My husband is outside loading the truck. Take this," she said as she gave me a shopping bag. Inside were some clothes, a container of goat milk, water, and a breakfast burrito. "Eat on the way there. May God bless you, Sofia."

"I can't thank you enough, Concita," I said as I hugged the matronly woman. "May God bless you both." She walked out of the small house and over to the old flatbed truck. The rails were in place, and a cage holding two pigs sat in front of the baskets of produce. I settled Maritza into the sling for the drive, as the old truck didn't have seatbelts.

Eduardo pulled out into the pre-dawn darkness, heading southwest to the markets in Culiacan. I ate my breakfast while Maritza finished the milk, then nodded off to sleep again. "Where do you need to go in town," he asked me as I washed down the burrito with the water.