Alaria shook her head. “Guerra couldn’t pick up on Magdalena’s energy signature at all when she was in jaguar form. The cat’s aura is very different in color. He could only see her rainbow aura if she morphed back into human form. Because she didn’t, Guerra thought you were both dead. And your rainbow colors would not be revealed until age four. He thought a jaguar had probably carried Magdalena’s body off during the night. This would account for why he couldn’t find her when he climbed down the cliff the next morning to make sure she was dead.”
Alaria surveyed Mace and Ana. “Guerra was right—a jaguar did carry off Magdalena. So it was a perfect way for her to hide and protect you. Afterward, she decided to live in the jungle near her parents’ home, a few miles from Aguas Calientes. Her mother, Maria, had died and he remarried.”
Ana’s mind reeled as a new realization dawned. “Don’t tell me that was Juan Sanchez? The old farmer I talked to, he said—”
“That is your grandfather. He was Magdalena’s father.”
Stunned, Ana gasped. “But Juan said that the day the hunter came… I know the hunter was my father. Why didn’t Juan recognize Guerra?”
“Because Guerra stole the body of a poor shoemaker in Cuzco and came back to Aguas Calientes in it. As a master sorcerer, one of the most powerful in the world, Guerra knew how to possess another person’s body. That is how someone like him lives for thousands of years—he just steals and inhabits a younger, newer body when the last one starts to get older. When Guerra dispossesses of a body, however, that person dies when he leaves it. Juan would not recognize Guerra in the new form he’d stolen.”
“I see.” Ana shivered. “What an awful thing to do.”
“It’s a Tupay thing to do,” Mace stated. “One of their favorite tricks. This is why there are many ancient, powerful sorcerers on earth right now. They continue to live through the ages, multiplying until there are enough of them to take over the world. They far outnumber Warriors for the Light, who would never possess another person. To do so is to rob them of their free will and kill their spirit. Both are wrong.”
“I understand,” Ana said. She now grasped why the Taqe were under such threat by the Tupay.
“Magdalena knew about the laws of spirit,” Alaria continued. “She accepted what she had to do to survive. She was desperate to get you integrated with humans and civilization. Your fourth birthday was quickly approaching, and she wanted to acquaint you with your grandfather, Ana. It was a mother’s wish for her daughter, pure and simple. She would bring you to the stream, near where her father worked in the fields during the dry season, and he got you to trust him.”
“And yet my grandfather knew nothing of what happened to his daughter?”
Shaking her head, Alaria said, “No. Guerra told them shortly afterward that Magdalena had gone off for a walk at dusk and was never seen again. Guerra told them she’d probably been killed and dragged off by a jaguar. There was no body, so Juan and his wife accepted the sorcerer’s explanation. They were, of course, heartbroken, because they’d not only lost a daughter, but they’d known about her pregnancy. They never realized Guerra was a master sorcerer. He kept his disguise firmly in place, and they never had a clue about who he really was. Maria died of a heart attack three months later. Juan remarried a year later to Juanita.”
Mace stirred and looked at Ana. “Warriors for the Light can be fooled if a sorcerer is veiled. That is our Achilles’ heel. They can take on a new body, a different aura, and we won’t know who they really are. Even though Magdalena’s parents were Taqe, they couldn’t tell Guerra was a master sorcerer.”
“Oh…” Ana whispered. “What an awful feeling, never being able to go see your parents again….” Tears burned in her eyes.
“Magdalena’s sacrifice was greater than that,” Alaria said. “At four years old, you were ready to move back with humans. You had become comfortable with your grandfather. He loved you. The one mistake, a free will choice, was that Magdalena shape-shifted back into human form just one time. She was going to leave you on the steps of her father’s hut with a note asking him to care for you. She wasn’t going to tell her father that you were his grandchild. Magdalena knew she had to keep your past a secret, to protect everyone in her family from Guerra.”
Alaria pressed her hand over her heart. “Magdalena wanted you to be with your grandfather for a while before she took you to the Village of the Clouds.”
“And once Magdalena shifted back to human form, Guerra picked up on her energy trail? That blew her cover?” Mace asked.
Alaria nodded grimly. “Yes, it did. Guerra instantly felt Magdalena unveil. He followed her energy signature to where she lived in the jungle near the Sanchez farm. He then realized that not only was Magdalena alive, but so was his daughter.” Alaria gazed sadly at Ana. “And he came to kill both of you.”
“Oh.” Ana ran a hand over her damp forehead.
“All Magdalena had wanted to do, Ana, was let you spend a few precious days with your grandfather. It turned out to be a terrible mistake, but understandable. In her human form, in the jungle, she held you, kissed you, rocked and sang to you. And then she shape-shifted back into her jaguar form and led you to the edge of the field. You were toddling out toward your grandfather when Magdalena spotted Guerra in his black hunter’s costume and a different body. Because she’d had sex with him, she could tell who Guerra really was. An intangible connection occurs between people who share sex. Guerra couldn’t identify her, but Magdalena could recognize him, because of this connection. He was a stranger to Juan Sanchez, but Magdalena knew him, no matter what he looked like. In order to save your life, Ana, your mother ran out in front of you and took the bullet meant for you.”
Ana buried her face in her hands. She was barely aware of a chair scraping across the floor. The next thing she knew, Mace was standing behind her, caressing her shoulders. Just his touch took away some of the searing pain, shock and grief rolling through her.
Finally, Ana mastered her emotions. Mace handed her his handkerchief and she blotted her eyes. Grandmother Alaria patted her hand. Ana felt healing energy move through her aching, broken heart, and more grief lifted. Mace never left her side, his hands resting gently on her shoulders. Gratefully, Ana looked up at him and murmured her thanks. She then thanked the elder for the healing.
Alaria sighed. “Guerra was confident he’d killed both of you with that one shot. But he didn’t want to risk being identified by Juan, so he ran off before he could be positive. Your grandfather rescued you, Ana. He took you to his hut, cleaned you up and gave you clothes to wear for the first time. Your foster-grandmother had no idea who you were, either. And Juan never told her about the plan or about Maria being an Incan princess.”
Mace sat back down in his chair, his gaze pinned on Ana. Her lower lip trembled and it tore at him. How badly he wanted to hold her, to protect her from the terrible truth, but he could not.
“That night,” Alaria told Ana softly, “after Juan took you to the Cuzco orphanage, I sent him a lovely dream to lift some of the terrible guilt he felt about leaving you there.”
“Thank you for doing that,” Ana whispered brokenly, wiping her eyes. “He’s such a kind person. Now I know why I was so emotional around him, why I wanted to hug him. I didn’t want to leave, either. Now it all makes sense.”
“Yes, he was your grandfather, but we had to get you out of Peru and away from Guerra. The council agreed to an intervention, something done only in extreme cases. We were allowed to cloak you so that Guerra couldn’t pick up your signature and track you down again. We arranged for your adoptive parents to visit Cuzco, where they met and fell in love with you, Ana. John and Mary are not Warriors, but they are good-hearted people of strong moral fiber. They gave you high standards and values to live by, and brought out the Light in you as a result.”
“But then,” Mace said to Alaria, “that means Ana never received the training to shape-shift as she should have had from childhood onward.”
Alaria nodded. “That’s right. And it was the reason the council ordered the intervention. I knew her lack of metaphysical education could be remedied in the future, whenever Ana felt driven to come back here to Peru to search for her real parents.” She reached out and grasped Ana’s hand. “We weren’t sure that Magdalena’s ultimate sacrifice would ever have a happy ending, but it does. You are one of us now, Ana. You are a Warrior for the Light, and your mission, my child, should you decide to embrace it, could make a huge difference in this world. It may mean we have a chance to create that thousand years of peace, even though the legend has been changed by human intervention and free will.”
Mace kept his feelings hidden. Ana didn’t need to know the depth of suffering he felt for her. Her shock at the old woman’s story was written across Ana’s very readable features. And when Alaria turned to study him, he realized she was going to reveal his origins to Ana.
His gut clenched and he tasted fear. Afraid of losing Ana because of the raw honesty that would come from the elder’s lips, he tried to wrestle his feelings into submission.
“Ana, you need to know that Mace was deliberately conceived by two Warriors for the Light to undertake a very unique mission of his own. We knew that if Guerra mated with a Tupay woman, the legend would be fulfilled. We could then lose the world to the Dark Forces. The council approved a plan to stop Guerra. We asked Mace’s parents, both Taqe, to volunteer to bring back a strong, spiritually elevated old soul. We needed Mace born into this dimension, and they agreed. From the time he was four years old, he was trained by his parents for this mission.”
“The mission being to kill me and Victor?”
“That’s right,” Alaria said. “Mace is one of a handful of hunter-assassins we have among us. In the days of the Incas, they were referred to as jaguar warriors. Mace’s skills are necessary. You don’t combat evil with a smile and goodwill. Sometimes you have to approach the evil ones on the field of battle. That is the only power they understand, unfortunately—brute force. And that was Mace’s mission—to find you and Guerra. And by finding one, he would be led to the other. When you flew to Peru, Mace’s jaguar guardian alerted him to your arrival. When you made the decision to find your real parents, the council lifted your protection. At that point you were unveiled, Ana, and Mace thought you were Tupay.”
Alaria frowned. “We did not tell Mace differently, Ana. If we had, it would have spoiled our efforts to find Guerra, who was cloaked and hiding. We had to use Mace, just as he used you, in order to find the master sorcerer. I feel badly that it had to be done that way. We wished for more options, but there were none available.”
Mace sighed. “It makes sense you wouldn’t tell me, Grandmother.” Glancing at Ana, he said in a low tone, “Ana, I never felt anything but good energy around you. I kept fighting my own instincts about you. I’d been raised to think you were evil. But when I met you on the airplane, I sensed you were anything but.”
“It must have been very confusing for you,” Ana whispered. “To think I was one thing, and yet feel I was another.”
Alaria nodded. “Mace has paid a heavy price in all of this, too, my child. Everyone has suffered. We had to let him do the work he was trained for, and locate Guerra. And when the sorcerer did unveil himself, we had to act.”
Alaria pulled the emerald sphere from her pocket and placed it on the table. “You see, Ana, you were one of three couples whom we hoped would find the Emerald Key. Another legend said that you would one day string all seven emerald spheres into a necklace and place it around your neck. And when you did so, the thousand years of peace would have a chance to unfold.”
Ana loved the energy throbbing and glowing around the sphere. It quieted her angst and grief. She watched as Mace’s heavily lined features softened and relaxed, as well. “The nustas guided me to the sphere in the lunar temple. I had no idea what it was,” she told the elder.
“We knew that. We never expected Guerra to find you there, by the way. Mace had an impossible mission to carry out.” Alaria gave him an understanding look. “He was focused on the sorcerer, and yet, when he realized you were not Tupay, he wanted to protect you. So his mission became either to kill Guerra and eat his heart, or save you instead.”
“Eat his heart?” Ana felt nauseous.
“The legend said that the heart of the Dark Sorcerer must be torn out and eaten by the Light in order to transform it and neutralize the Dark Forces.” Mace’s mouth quirked. “I didn’t quite do that. Instead, I leaped, took a swipe at him and sliced open his jugular vein.”
Ana felt her anxiety mount. “But if you didn’t eat his heart, what does that mean?”
“It means,” Alaria said, “that when Mace shape-shifted into human form to try and save your life, Guerra disappeared. Even though he died physically, his heart was saved. He is now alive and well in the Other Worlds, Ana. That means that although your father is not in a physical body anymore, he’s just as dangerous, and in fact more powerful than ever. Guerra will gather legions of Tupay from around the world to battle us shortly.”
Ana stared at Mace in silence. His eyes were turbulent and shadowy. She felt his anger, helplessness, grief, and something else she couldn’t define. “You decided to try and save me instead of finishing your mission.”
Mace’s eyes fixed on hers. “I made a choice, Ana. I tried to save you and I blew my mission in the process. Free will in action. I’ll live to see the results of my decision. And so will everyone else.” Flexing his fist, he muttered, “And the war will begin shortly.”
Holding up her hand, Alaria said, “My son, no matter how thorough your training, you are a Warrior for the Light. You live by your heart. You were taught that love and compassion trumps hatred, anger and prejudice every time. When you saw Ana wounded, you made a choice that probably would have been made by anyone else from the Light. It is in your genes, your heritage, to save those who are helpless and at the mercy of the Tupay.”
Mace shrugged, “I know all that, Grandmother. Believe me, I’ve run the scenario through my head a thousand times.” As he held Ana’s gaze, Mace said flatly, “And you know what? I’m not sorry I made the choice I did, Ana. I wanted you to live.” He turned to Alaria. “I know I failed my mission, Grandmother. I let the master sorcerer escape. Right now, he’s building his Tupay army. I can feel it. I know you can, too.”
“Yes, Guerra grows stronger by the hour,” Alaria agreed. Sitting a little straighter, she gave Mace a sympathetic look. “My son, in the eyes of the council, your free will choice is not considered a failure. Rather, at the last moment, you returned to your heart. We feel you did the best you could in an unexpected situation that none of us fathomed.”
“At least you saved Ana,” Mace whispered to the elder, unable to meet Ana’s gleaming eyes. “Something good came out of this botched mission, after all.”
“Mace,” the Alaria chided, “you saved Ana. Oh, you think it was the emerald sphere or my presence? It was your love that called her spirit back.”
Shaken by Alaria’s words, Mace held the elder’s narrowed gaze. Then he glanced in Ana’s direction. The look on her face was one of sudden awareness. Did she realize now that he loved her? Wanted no woman but her in his life?
Mace was uncertain. Only the coming days would give him that answer. But honesty had to come first. The question was, could Ana forgive him and allow his love for her to be unveiled?
Chapter 13
Mace drove his beat-up Land Rover toward Cuzco, where he and Ana would catch a plane for Quito, Ecuador, later in the evening. They had left the Village of the Clouds portal early that morning. By traveling swiftly between the dimensions, they’d found themselves back on Machu Picchu, at the Temple of Balance. Mace had made a call to his Cuzco office to leave his Land Rover in Ollantaytambo. From there, it was easy to catch one of many red tourist buses going down to Aguas Calientes. They then caught a local train to Ollantaytambo, where Mace had his car parked. His assistant proje
ct manager had smoothly taken over his drilling projects and Mace didn’t have to worry about that, as well.
The road from there to Cuzco was rugged and daunting in some spots. The morning was clear, the sky a light blue. Only a few ragged white clouds hung low over the drab brown slopes of the Andes. Ana sat buckled into the passenger seat, the map laid across her knees.
Mace tried to keep his aching heart quiet, but it was nearly impossible. Ever since Grandmother Alaria had informed Ana of his mission, his dishonesty toward her had been like a wall between them. Not that he blamed Ana for her feelings toward him. He had lied to her, stalked her and used her to get to her sorcerer father. He had admitted his love for Ana, but he wasn’t at all sure she loved him.
During the past week of her training at the Village of the Clouds, he’d seen Ana studying him, her gaze questioning. Mace had deliberately walled off the psychic connection between them. It was too soon for them to be together in the way he wanted. He’d also received confirmation that their kiss had connected them to one another for this lifetime. Grandfather Adaire, Alaria’s husband and the other leader of the sacred village, had explained to him why he and Ana could feel one another’s emotions and thoughts so quickly.
Mace didn’t want to intrude into Ana’s space right now. She had a lot on her plate, and she didn’t need to deal with a relationship, too. What with discovering her father’s history, her mother’s murder and the truth about Mace, Ana was overwhelmed.
Despite all those emotional shocks, she had obviously thrived at the village. She had readily absorbed Alaria’s tutelage of paranormal skills and had begun to learn the rudiments and protocols of shape-shifting. Ana was like a thrilled child, discovering that within herself. Mace had laughed and celebrated in that joyous moment with her, and been touched when Ana had reached up and impulsively kissed him on the cheek.
When Adaire and Alaria sat down with them midweek to tell them that Mace and Ana had to go to the Vesica Piscis Foundation in Quito to meet the rest of their team, it was one more brick upon Ana’s load. Mace had been trained from birth in the paranormal realms and its heavy responsibilities. She had not. Now she was playing catch-up of the most stressful kind. Because he had not taken Guerra’s heart when he should have, the master sorcerer was building his army on both sides of the veil, and time was of the essence. Mace knew if he’d completed his task, they wouldn’t be hurrying off to Quito after only one week recuperating at the Village of the Clouds.
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