Tetzcoco, the second city of the Aztec realm, is a bustling, cosmopolitan town; a city of poets, artists and legendary kings. It’s also a place torn by unrest, as rival claimants fight over the throne, and spies and assassins stalk each other through the streets. It is here that Yaotl seeks refuge from his master, the Aztec Chief Minister. Lord Feathered-in-Black has decided to rid himself of his disobedient slave, and plans to have Yaotl sacrificed in the most gruesome manner possible - provided he can catch him first. Yaotl’s former lover Lily is in Tetzcoco too, on a mission of her own. A mission that goes badly wrong, with the discovery of a bloodsoaked corpse - and Lily’s arrest for murder. Yaotl faces a desperate race against time to find the evidence that will prove Lily’s innocence - and save her from execution. But the wily slave’s search for the truth will lead him into a lethal trap, laid for him by his most pitiless and implacable enemy …

Tribute of Death by Simon Levack Mexico, 1518: Aztec slave Yaotl learns of a tragedy. A friend's wife has died in childbirth. According to Aztec belief, her remains must be protected from warriors and sorcerers who would use them as a talisman, before her soul is transformed into a demon. But the body goes missing and Yaotl gets the blame. Only by finding out for himself what has happened can he avert the bereaved husband's wrath. He soon finds there is more to the affair than meets the eye. An associate of the dead woman's may not be all that he seems, and her family seems strangely reluctant to help Yaotl investigate him. Then a series of violent deaths leaves the wily slave wondering whether he is hunting a thief - or a killer is hunting him.

"Hooked me in five pages. The main character is fascinatingly complex and unusual."---Conn Iggulden, author of The Field of Swords Mexico, 1517.Emperor Montezuma rules the known world. Daily canoes and trains of sweating bearers carry tribute to his island capital, Mexico-Tenochtitlán, while squadrons of ruthless warriors enforce his will. Gold, silver, cotton, jewels, and precious feathers change hands in his markets. The temples run with the blood of human sacrifices. All seems well, but Montezuma is troubled. Mysterious strangers have appeared in the East. Are they men or gods? Visions and rumors disturb his dreams. The soothsayers he turns to for guidance give him only enigmatic answers, and he knows he cannot trust his advisers---especially his chief minister, the unscrupulous Lord Feathered in Black.Yaotl, the chief minister's slave, is troubled, too. He was ordered to escort a sacrificial victim up the steps of the Great...

Mexico, 1517. The Aztec capital is awash with fear and rumors. A strange figure has been seen running through the streets. A being with the face of a snake, his body covered with glittering green plumage: Quetzalcoatl—-the Feathered Serpent. Is it an omen? Or is it the god himself, come to warn of impending disaster? Yaotl, the chief minister's slave, has more immediate matters to worry about than omens and portents. Engaged in a desperate search for his son, he's on the run from his vengeful master, the all-powerful Lord Feathered-in-Black. If the chief minister catches him, Yaotl can expect a grisly fate. Attempting to escape his master's bloodthirsty warriors, Yaotl stumbles upon a dismembered, unrecognizable corpse. As he pieces together the clues to who the dead man was and how he died, Yaotl finds himself drawn into an affair of greed, jealousy, and lust among the ancient, secretive society of the feather workers, the Aztecs' foremost craftsmen. And,...