The Comet of Doom: A Thrilling Tale from the Time of Moctezuma

By Karen Wallace and Helen Flook

One dawn, a fiery comet appears over the city. The Great Emperor
Montezuma commands Chantico's uncle, the soothsayer, Ahcambal, to
explain the meaning of it. When Ahcambal cannot come up with an
answer, he is thrown into prison to be executed. What can Chantico do
to save his uncle? Luckily, Chantico is not an ordinary boy - he has
the gift of second sight. He uses his own skills to come up with a
cunning plan to save his Uncle. But can he do it in time?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
• Release date: Dec 5, 2011
• ISBN: 9781408153338

Karen Wallace

Karen Wallace is an award-winning author of children's books. Her first novel for older readers, Raspberries on the Yangtze (Simon & Schuster) was shortlisted for the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize. The first in her series for younger readers, The Crunchbone Castle Chronicles, published by A&C Black, was selected for the Summer Reading Challenge in 2006. The Goosepimple Bay Sagas was a World Book Day recommended read in 2008 and Li Fu's Great Aim was chosen for the recent Boys into Books promotion.

Book preview

Copyright

Prologue

On the mountainside above

Tenochtitlan, 1511

My name is Chantico and I am an Aztec. My city, Tenochtitlan, is the most beautiful place under the sky. My ancestors built it on an island in the middle of a lake. Now there are temples and palaces and thousands of painted houses. Each one has a garden full of sweet-smelling flowers and shady green trees.

When I look down from my secret place on the mountainside, I can see canals crisscrossing the city like blue ribbons and the tiny shapes of people paddling in their canoes.

I come here to write about Tenochtitlan in the word pictures of my language. My uncle, Ahcambal, who is soothsayer to our great king Moctezuma, gave me this special paper, which folds up like a map. He said it would last for ever, just like our wonderful city.

How was I to know my uncle would be wrong?

Chapter One

In some ways I live the same kind of life as any other Aztec boy of my class. My father, Tenoch, is a great warrior. He can throw his spear faster and further than anyone I know. But I’ve never wanted to be a warrior. I hated the wooden sword and shield my mother gave me to play with. I almost preferred the toy loom and apron that belonged to my sister, Tayanna. Well, almost. Being a girl isn’t much fun unless you happen to like cooking, cleaning and embroidery.

As far as my father was concerned, there was nothing more glorious than being a warrior and dedicating your life to the service of our king. He was very proud that he had captured hundreds of prisoners, who had all been sacrificed to the god of war so