“Now you tell me.”
Even if Ren hadn’t outed Ah-Puch, I would have known it was him. The fourteen-year-old-looking dude had the same dark suit (now a few sizes too big), the same arrogant stance, and the same I’m-better-than-you expression. Except now it was grim and tight. And instead of a Thank you for traveling back in time and risking your lives to save us, he said, “That was truly dreadful.” I had some words for the god of death about how he had given up back in the labyrinth, but now wasn’t the time.
His dark eyes fell on Zotz, and for the second time I quickly explained everything that had happened.
Ren’s mouth formed a small O like she wasn’t at all surprised by Blood Moon’s deceit.
Ah-Puch looked at the sacked-out gods and snorted.
“Do you know who they are?” I asked.
“Other than the bat loser?” he said with a snarl. “I think that’s Ixkakaw, and the other one? Some minor god.”
“Louie will be happy,” Adrik said, then added, “The goddess of chocolate survived the trip.”
“This is terrible,” Pacific said, tightening her grip on the rope.
“Terrible is right.” Ah-Puch shook his head somberly. “First, I am a glorious death god, then a withered old man, and now this? What has the universe come to?”
“Probs destruction,” Adrik muttered.
“Guys,” Marco said, gesturing toward the World Tree, “shouldn’t we figure out our next play before the whole place goes up in smoke?”
“We need to crush Ixkik’,” Ah-Puch said. He waggled his thick eyebrows and added, “But I get dibs on the twins!”
Was that a zit on his chin?
Hondo harrumphed like the god of death was going to have to arm-wrestle him for the honors.
“No offense,” Marco said, “but you’re probably not going to crush anyone without your godly powers.”
Ah-Puch looked like he might lunge for the guy’s throat, but Ren patted his arm and he stood down.
She said, “The gods still have brilliant minds. They can help us strategize.”
“This is why you’re my favorite,” Ah-Puch said with a smile. “But I’d rather kill.”
Ren gave him a hard stare.
“They totally deserve it,” the god of death said defensively.
Pacific began to pace. “We will not win in open battle.”
I considered what moves we had left. I knew my friends would fight even if it meant losing, and I couldn’t let that happen. “Ixkik’ already knows we’re here,” I said.
“So what do you do when your enemy is waiting for you to make the next move?” Adrik asked.
Marco dragged a thumb over his jaw. “You make it.”
The sky darkened and the air trembled.
Everyone froze.
At the same moment, a familiar voice twisted up through the clouds, gentle and quiet like a slithering snake. “Welcome back to SHIHOM, Zane,” Ixkik’ said. “Did you really think you could hide from me?”
“We were hoping,” Adrik mumbled.
“My son Xb’alamkej is now king over all magic, over all the sobrenaturales,” Ixkik’ went on. “And he has a new queen.” She laughed lightly. “Finally, the mighty nawal is his bride, as it was always meant to be.”
Always meant to be? Just because some really bad matchmaker once put Jordan and Quinn together? Didn’t he remember that she joined a spy network just to get away from him?
Hondo sucked in a sharp breath. He looked like he might punch a second hole in the deck, but he just shook his head and whispered, “She’s lying.”
Ren patted his shoulder as my eyes darted around, searching for the source of the voice that seemed to be coming from all sides.
“We will have a new reign,” Ixkik’ went on. “A new era in which the ruthless gods will exist no more. You may choose to run or hide, but we will find you. Or you can meet my terms, and no one has to die.”
Everyone looked stricken. My throat closed up, making it hard to breathe. “We’ll never hide!” I shouted.
“She cannot hear you,” Pacific said. “Not here.”
Ah-Puch was uncharacteristically quiet as Ixkik’ released a purring laugh that sent chills down my legs. “You may have freed the gods, but they are still asleep. And my demons are hunting them down at this very moment and awaiting my signal to destroy them. So it looks like I am the victor.”
All I could think about was my dad, helpless at the murderous claws of some random demon.
“You’re a coward!” Hondo yelled with so much ferocity I thought, She must have heard that.
My chest blazed hotter than Chak Ek’ and I had a terrible urge to barbecue the cruel goddess, but I couldn’t let emotion rule my mind. That was exactly what she wanted. What she was counting on.
Ah-Puch grinned, and before I could ask what he possibly had to smile about, he said, “She doesn’t know some of the gods are already awake.”
“How do you know?” My chest felt like it was collapsing under the weight of a hundred skies.
“She speaks with too much confidence,” Ah-Puch said.
Okay, so as bad as things were, we had at least one tiny element of surprise. But what good would it do us? Pacific and Ah-Puch were as young as the godborns but with no powers. The rest of the gods were asleep, the demons were hunting them down, and the World Tree was dying.
“So you choose silence,” Ixkik’ said. “It does not matter, because I know you can hear me. Now heed this: I want you, Zane Obispo, alone at the Tree.”
“And there it is,” Marco muttered. “There’s the next move.”
“But why does she want you so bad?” Adrik asked me.
“To finish what we started at the Pyramid of the Magician,” I said. She wanted to make good on her promise: Someday, when you least expect it, you’ll pay with your blood for this. My sons will show no mercy. Nor will I.
I turned to Pacific. “Is there a way I can talk to her…from here?”
Pacific opened her mouth, probably to tell me no, when a look of revelation swept across her face. “The vines,” she said. “The entire jungle is one organism. Each stone, tree, and animal is linked. Touch one of the vines and speak. Wherever she is, she will hear you.”
I squatted, placing my hand on a nearby vine. “If I come,” I said, “then I get something, too.”
There was a long and painful silence. Finally the voice said, “I don’t strike deals.”
“Then I won’t show,” I bluffed, my stomach twisting into a million tiny knots. And before she could respond, I added, “We both want something.”
Ah-Puch snorted and said, “Aren’t you glad you have experience with this sort of thing from negotiating with me for your life?” His eyes swiveled to the others. “I taught him everything he knows.”
“What are your terms, godborn?” Ixkik’ said.
“No way,” Hondo said, clenching his jaw. “If you go, Zane, she’ll kill you.”
Marco shook his head. “She’s definitely baiting him for something bigger than death.”
“What’s bigger than death?” Adrik asked, shuddering a little too dramatically.
“That kid is right,” Ah-Puch said, pointing to Marco.
“The name’s Marco,” the son of war said, trying to get Ah-Puch’s attention.
But the god of death ignored him. “Ixkik’ is playing games. She wants Zane for more than a quick—or even a slow—kill.”
“Slow?” Ren’s eyes went wide with terror.
I thought about my terms, knowing that if I asked for too much, I could blow the whole deal. She would never let the gods go, but maybe…
“My terms are that you don’t kill the gods,” I told the goddess. I was about to demand that she let my friends go, too, but I didn’t want to give away the fact that they were here.
“The rest of us could bolt,” Adrik said. “Go back to Montana.”
I took my hand off the vine and said, “Nowhere is safe. Besides, we can’t just leave
the gods and Brooks and—”
“Quinn,” Hondo put in.
Man, I felt for the guy. If Quinn really had been married off, there was nothing he or any of us could do to change it. Brooks had once told me that, in the sobrenatural world, arranged marriages meant forever, like, your-souls-are-bound-together kind of stuff. So why would Quinn agree to it?
“We need to find as many of the gods as we can,” Ren said. “Bring them here and then regroup. Figure out what to do next.”
I loved Ren for trying to come up with a nonviolent plan, but deep down I knew I had to take down Ixkik’. And the only way to do that was to face her.
Ixkik’ spoke softly, but her words were biting. “You must come and negotiate with me in person.”
Ren shoved me aside and placed her hand on the vine. “So you can kill him?”
“Ah,” Ixkik’ said. “I see you brought your godborn friends. Well, don’t count on their help. I want you and you alone.”
I didn’t even have to throw a glare Ren’s way. I could tell by her expression she realized her mistake. “I’m sorry,” she whispered, releasing the vine like it had burned her palm.
“Listen well, Zane,” Ixkik’ said. “I know how fast you can move when you want to. So I will give you ten minutes to reach the Tree. For every minute you are late, I will kill a god.”
“Wait,” I told Ixkik’. “I—”
Marco cut me off. “There has to be a way to trick her. Let her think she’s won and then—”
“We go in for the kill,” Ah-Puch interjected.
At the same moment, Adrik cried, “Look!” He inched back, his face drained of all color.
Our gazes followed his trembling finger to the World Tree in the distance.
Two god lights on the trunk sputtered haphazardly before winking out.
“NO!” I screamed. What if one of those lights had belonged to Hurakan?
A grunt of shock flew from Pacific’s mouth.
“I just want to make sure you understand what’s at stake,” Ixkik’ said. “To ensure you do not question my intentions and power. Don’t try to run away, and don’t resort to any tricks. Any plan you think you have is a foolish one, I can assure you.”
“I understand,” I said, the words choking my windpipe. “Just let me…let me think for a minute.”
“If she wants you this bad”—Ah-Puch paced the deck—“it means you are of great value to her. There is still a part of her plot that hasn’t been completed, and it won’t be until—”
“She has Zane,” Pacific added.
“You’re the ace in the hole,” Marco said like I had won some kind of trophy.
“Rosie and Brooks will find the gods,” Hondo suggested. “And we can…we can split up. We can look, too.”
“Even if we could,” Ah-Puch said, rubbing his chin, “we wouldn’t be able to reach them all in time. Demons are excellent hunters.”
“We have to try!” Ren cried.
This wasn’t happening.
This. Was. Not. Happening.
I felt like my legs had been swept out from under me. I took my hand off the vine. “I have to go to her,” I said. Because what choice did I have?
But then I remembered how her mist had extinguished my fire skills at the Pyramid of the Magician, how it had held Brooks in place. How could I go up against a goddess with that kind of power? A goddess I had never even seen in the flesh.
“And then?” Adrik asked, rubbing his forehead anxiously.
I didn’t have an and then. I didn’t have anything but my determination to keep the gods and my friends alive, and right now the clock was winding down on both.
“Look,” I said, “we didn’t go all the way to 1987 to give up now.”
Ren gripped my hand and squeezed. “Zane, no. There has to be another way.”
“There is none,” Marco said. “Blood Moon knows she’s calling the plays.”
Ixkik’ added, “I have eyes everywhere, and I will know if you are not alone. And if you betray me? More gods will die. The choice is yours. Are you ready?”
“She is a vile creature,” Pacific said, white-knuckling her rope.
“Can’t you just stop time?” Adrik asked the goddess.
“I already tried,” Pacific said. “It’s tied to my power, which isn’t working.”
Ah-Puch stroked his chin, avoiding the zit. I knew that look. He was plotting, and when the god of death plots, it definitely means Run for your life. “Let us do ground control, Zane,” he said. “We’ll find as many gods as we can and bring them back here.”
“But the demons,” I said. “You have no power to go up against them.”
A looming clawlike shadow grew above Ren’s head. “We have our godborn powers, Zane.”
I grabbed the vine again and said, “I’m ready.”
“Because I am fair and just,” Ixkik’ continued, “I will start a clock to time your journey.”
A loud sound filled the forest, grating on the last of my nerves.
Tick. Tick. Tick.
Marco gripped my shoulder. “There’s no more time to huddle, Zane, so…so…uh, call a great play when you get there.”
“Right.” He means well, I thought. But he’s about as useful as a single chopstick.
“We’ll find as many gods as we can,” Pacific said, tugging up her hood.
“Remember,” Ah-Puch said, “Ixkik’ doesn’t want to kill you. Well, at least not yet. So try to learn all you can about her plan, why she wants you so bad.”
“Okay, but when you find the gods,” I said, “promise me you’ll get them out of here.”
Look, I didn’t have some sudden affection for the gods (at least most of them), but there is an order and a balance to the universe and they’re part of it whether I like it or not.
“We won’t let you down,” Ren said as I stepped into the hole, hugging the trunk.
“Zane,” Hondo said. Our eyes met. “Be careful out there.”
Nodding, I stepped onto a platform below and summoned my cane. The platform unfolded into a kind of moving escalator, and a cool mist wrapped its arms around me. Someone seemed to be rolling out the red carpet for me. With Fuego’s help, I ran down the steps and burst into the jungle.
At the same moment, a brilliant golden light flashed above.
It was so sudden I shrank back, shielding my eyes.
But just as quickly, the light vanished.
I kept heading for the Tree.
Tick. Tick. Tick.
The sound was even louder on the ground. I picked up my pace, weaving between the foliage. A rustling sound drew my attention upward. A few miniature monkeys crisscrossed the trees. I felt their eyes following my every move as they swept across the branches like ghosts.
“Thanks a lot,” I grumbled. “Everything is getting ready to blow up and you’re still looking for something to steal….” My words trailed off as I realized I was chewing out a bunch of primates that had just lost half their home.
I rushed through the jungle, letting the fire inside me guide me to the World Tree. What was I was going to find there? More dead gods? A goddess I wouldn’t even recognize? A death trap? All I knew was that I had to buy my friends enough time to find as many of the gods as possible. But somehow even that plan felt like a defeat.
Tick.
Terror settled into my gut.
Tick. Tick.
Sombras pressed in on me from all sides.
Tick. Tick. Tick.
I came to the edge of the field and stopped, taking a few deep breaths. My eyes skimmed the silent meadow and landed on the World Tree.
The árbol was a contorted black monster with thick shiny webs choking its branches. Its god lights barely flickered.
I tried to keep a firm grip on my cane, but my palms were slick. Then came the familiar cold tug in my gut that made me nauseous. Two tall figures emerged from the tree line on my right, about twenty yards away.
Jordan and Bird.
And all
I could think was These guys again?
They weren’t in their hairy bat guises. They were in their six-foot-five, athletic human forms, muscles bulging under their identical black tracksuits. But they didn’t impress me. I preferred monsters who looked like monsters.
“Zane Obispo,” Bird said, dragging a thick rusted chain.
Clink. Clank.
My eyes followed the shackle until I saw…it was connected to a dragon’s throat.
Itzamna!
My heart slammed into my spine. “Let him go!”
The dragon was cat-size and pale gray, his withered skin nearly translucent. His eyes were hollow, his cheeks gaunt, and his mouth sagged as he lumbered behind the twins with his head hanging low.
“But he makes such a good pet,” Bird said with a sneer.
My anger pulsed hotter than lava, and I wanted to launch a million rivers of fire at these jerks. But I had to stay cool. I had to find out what Ixkik’ had planned.
Half a dozen blue-skinned demons emerged from the trees behind the twins, their reptilian eyes unblinking as they all drilled their gazes into me.
Instinctively, a ball of fire ignited in the palm of my hand.
Jordan snorted, but he stopped a good fifteen feet away from me. I could see dark circles under his eyes. Was he sick and tired of being manipulated by his mother? “Relax,” he said. “No need for pyrotechnics.”
“Unless you want more gods to die,” Bird said.
“Oh, I get it,” I said, still feeling waves of acid in my gut. “Ixkik’ sent you to do her dirty work. Too scared to come out herself?”
Itzamna lifted his gaze. He blinked slowly as he sent out his weak telepathic voice across the field. Zane, it’s over. Run. Save yourself.
“Shut up, old man,” Bird said to the dragon, jerking the chain. Jordan and Bird cut up like they had missed their favorite brand of entertainment: cruel and twisted.
“Leave him alone!” I shouted.
A sudden movement caught my attention. I glanced at the Tree to see a sliver of mist wind up the massive trunk like a snake.
Ixkik’.
“Sorry you couldn’t make it to the wedding,” Jordan said, adjusting the collar of his jacket.
“You mean the one where you forced Quinn to marry you?” I said, trying to keep my anger in check.
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