“No, I haven’t called the police! That’s the last thing we need. We’ll have to find him ourselves, I suppose.”
She kicked off her shoes and put her feet up on the ottoman. “Do we really have to find him at all? He was such a useless bore.”
Avery squinted his eyes. “Now, see, that kind of talk makes me think that you did have something to do with his disappearance.
She chuckled. “Oh, yes. I’ve murdered him and hidden him in the basement.”
Avery sighed. “Well, our shifters are working on it. We’ll just have to wait and see if he surfaces.”
You have no idea how right you are, Avery, she thought.
“At any rate,” he said, “I suppose there’s nothing we can do about it now. So let’s move on to more pressing matters.”
“Yes, let’s.” Victrixa suddenly found herself wishing there was some form of alcohol in her juice.
“I want to know where that cenote is,” Avery said, “and I want to know now.”
“I was under the impression that finding the cenote was my little project, especially since none of you actually believed it existed. And now that I’ve found it, you’ve come to stake your claim. Is that it?”
“You know very well that I always believed it existed. Our first experiment at Chichen Itza may have failed, but the demons we raised proved their existence to every naysayer in Toltec. I think you’ll find everyone is on board.”
“Well, that’s a relief.” She laughed and took another sip.
“Trixa, I’m warning you. You may not mind confronting me in your living room, but the whole of Toltec’s leadership is waiting on this.”
So let them wait.
He leaned forward. “Well, I can see this is getting us nowhere.”
“I agree,” she said in a happy tone. “It seems to me that I’m holding all the cards here. What will Toltec do if I don’t share my good fortune? Kill me? Do that, and they’ll never find the cenote.”
Avery frowned. “I don’t understand. Are you using it as some sort of bargaining chip?”
“To get what? I have all I need to get everything I want.” And now that she did, she wasn’t about to share it with anyone.
“Not sharing this vital information will be considered tantamount to a permanent split from the group,” he said. “And there are things we can offer you, Trixa.”
“Really? I can hardly wait.”
“Protection, for one. Only we have enough shifters to protect the cenote and see that it remains a secret.”
“Now why would I need to protect something no one knows about?”
“Careful, Trixa. Don’t underestimate Richard and his minions. They aren’t the same group they once were. He has more than just shifters in his little band now, and a few of them are quite powerful.”
“I’ve got that under control for the time being.”
“What? More demons? So you’ve been doing the rituals on your own?”
“Possibly.” Victrixa held out her free hands and studied her long, red nails. This was getting tedious.
Avery stood up. “I have an appointment in Merida. I wish this had gone better, Trixa. For your sake.”
“Oh, all right, all right. Follow me.” She stood up, set the glass down, and started walking in the direction of the back hallway.
“Where are we going?” Avery asked suspiciously.
“To the cenote. Obviously. You wanted to know where it is.”
He raised his eyebrows in surprise. “Yes, I do.” He followed her down the hallway to the door to the wine cellar. “It’s in the house?”
“That would be one way to put it. Under the house is probably more accurate.” She started down the cellar stairs.
“You had this house built on top of it?”
“More or less. Come behind the stairs and help me move this wall.” She stood back and let him push the fake wall open, then she followed him through.
He stopped in his tracks. “Amazing! It’s more incredible than I ever imagined! You were right. No one is going to find it down here.” He walked over to the altar and looked at the ritual tools. “As I suspected. You’ve been calling more demons. I hope you’ve been discreet about it.”
“The people here are superstitious,” she said. “They already believe such things exist, anyway.”
Avery turned back to face Victrixa. “And have you been using them to attack Richard’s compound?”
“Well, maybe…only once or twice.”
“Do you really think that’s wise? Why not wait until we see how much power we can truly gain from the cenote before alerting the other side?”
Ah, Avery. Always so cautious, so thought out. So annoying.
Avery walked down the steps to the side of the pool, noting the towels stacked on the edge. “It’s as we suspected. You’ve been using Kan as part of the ritual.”
“I don’t think it would work otherwise. Keeping that in mind, tell me, Avery. What are Toltec’s plans for me now that you have the location of the cenote? Will you just tie me up somewhere and let me wait around until you need Kan for your own rituals?”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” he said. “You would be an integral part in discovering how it can be used.”
“Really? You all weren’t planning on getting rid of me once I showed you where it was?”
“Getting rid…what on earth are you talking about?”
“Come, now, I have my spies, too. Did you think I wouldn’t find out what you had planned for me?”
“You really must learn some trust, Trixa. To my knowledge, there’s never been any such plan.”
Victrixa walked down the steps and stood directly behind him.
“Don’t you know?” she purred. “They were planning on destroying me once they got what they needed. It seems they felt I was a bit of a troublemaker. Which, of course, I am.” Taking the obsidian knife out of her pocket, she drove it hard into Avery’s back. As he gasped, she put one foot on his backside, pulled her knife out, and pushed him down into the cenote.
“There,” she called after him. “Go have a drink with your buddy.”
That made sacrifice number two. He was giving her a headache, anyway.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Sitting in the field within sight of Akil’s favorite brook, I began pulling up wildflowers and making a small bouquet. I thought again of Akina as she held the beautiful bouquet of flowers in the field in the Otherworld. Akina, the sister I had and lost so long ago. “I have to go back soon,” I said aloud.
Akil, who was lying in the grass nearby, sat up. “You’re going to go back? Why? You’re already changing, Maya. You haven’t even slept since we came here.”
I laughed. “Well, maybe I’ll just have to make good use of my extra time.” But he wasn’t laughing. “What’s wrong? Akil?”
“I’m sorry. I just…I just assumed that you’d want to come home.”
“This is my home.”
He stood up and started to pace back and forth. “But, you’re not meant to be here,” he said. “Can’t you see that? This isn’t your world. Our world.”
“I don’t understand. Why do I have to choose between two worlds?”
“It’s not natural, Maya! It’s like the innocents in Valladolid. Remember how they knew I didn’t belong here? If they know, then why can’t you see it? I thought after all this time you would have changed. After all the terrible things that have happened to you here, I thought you would want to come home to the Otherworld.”
“Everything that’s happened here? What about what happened there, Akil. What about losing Akina? They destroyed her because she helped someone that needed her. How could I live where compassion isn’t tolerated?”
“It wasn’t compassion, Maya! She was young and didn’t know any better. She hadn’t lived through the great wars with the Manticores. She didn’t know what they were truly like. She made a mistake, and she paid for it with her life. But we have to move on.”
“Move on
to what? Just reading about the planet I was born on in this life instead of living on it? What kind of life would that be, Akil? Is that what you would want for me? Always lonely? Always unhappy?”
He sighed and sat back down. Then he leaned forward and looked into my eyes, searching. “To me. You would move on to me.” He took my face in his hands and kissed me softly.
“Wait!” I pulled away. “What are you doing?”
“Am I so repulsive to you?”
“I…no—Akil, that’s not the point. I’m mated. I’m with Matt.”
“Ah, yes, the shifter. The shifter and the goddess. That makes sense.” I could hear the sarcasm and disappointment in his voice. He shook his head. “The two of you chasing one another through time unending. That’s happiness to you?”
“What do you mean ‘through time unending’?”
“You can’t possibly be this naïve, Maya! It only started at Cozumel. You’ve been together in so many lives since then. You keep reincarnating together. He didn’t just suddenly become a shifter. His soul’s been evolving through the ages so he can be with you. It makes no sense for you to be together, but for some reason, your souls just won’t give up! Don’t you see how unnatural that is?”
“I…I…no, I guess I don’t.” People followed their mates into the phase all the time, right? How was this any different? Because I’m a goddess, I thought.
“Open your eyes and look around you,” he said. “Look at all the humans you’ve affected by your energy by being with them for too long.”
The twins.
“I know that your power comes from the earth,” he went on. “I know you’re drawn to the earth. But you can’t keep living this way.”
I stared down at the grass, watching him make sparks with his fingers out of the corner of my eye. I could feel something coming to me, but I couldn’t seem to wrestle it out of my foggy memory. And then…
“You’re lying. You’re lying to me.”
“What?” He looked like he didn’t have the slightest freaking idea what I was talking about—but it was an act. It was all an act! And I suddenly remembered something. “You used to make sparks like that whenever you were lying about something.” And something else occurred to me. “Wait…so you lied about the necklace, too! You may have been surprised in Valladolid, but that was because you were afraid I was with Matt again. Wasn’t it?”
“I have no idea what you’re talking—”
“And the roof at the compound.” More was coming back to me now. “You weren’t worried about me! You were spying on us!”
“I wasn’t!”
“So, Akil, what else are you not telling me?”
“I’ve told you everything.”
I crossed my arms and glared at him.
“All right, all right. After Akina was gone, you came here to earth. It was how you dealt with losing her. You stayed on Cozumel to seek solace, to feel closer to her. Eventually you found Matias.”
I stood up. “I know all this!”
“I…I dealt with losing her by falling in love with you.” His chest was heaving now. “And I couldn’t bear to lose you! Not after what happened to Akina. I went to Cozumel to look for you. I intended to tell you how I felt.”
“And instead you found me with Matias.”
“You could have had me,” he said, “and instead you fell for a human! I didn’t know what to do. I was beside myself, but I waited. I waited until after Matias’ death and I professed my love to you then. But all you wanted was him. Even in death.”
I looked at his once lovely face. Now it was contorted with anger and bitterness. “And then? What did you do then, Akil?”
“Nothing. I…” His face was tortured, his eyes looked at me without seeing me. It was as if he were remembering something from long ago, something unspeakable. Then he came back to the present. “I didn’t mean it! You have to believe me!” He fell to his knees in front of me.
“No, I don’t have to believe you.” My voice was cold. I looked at him kneeling in front of me, but I felt no pity for him, not even for the tears running down his cheeks. When he looked up into my eyes, I knew.
“No!” I shook my head, “It can’t be. You couldn’t have!” My nightmares about the village weren’t dreams at all. They were memories. Oh, God. Suddenly I couldn’t breathe. My whole body went numb, and I had to bend over to keep myself from keeling over.
“I didn’t mean to, Maya.” His voice sounded like it was coming from far away. Years and miles, millennia and continents away.
But I was hardly listening to him. What I was seeing was the burning ceiba of my nightmares, the children with their swollen bellies, and the old woman…who had realized I was a goddess and was begging me for help. Then it all clicked. “The sun god!” I pointed at him. “You’re the sun god. You burned the sacred ceiba trees at the heart of the villages. You caused droughts so the children starved.” A wave of nausea hit me.
“I was angry. I wasn’t thinking!”
“They were human beings, Akil. Innocents! What, the Elders just didn’t care about them? Didn’t care what you were doing? They killed Akina for helping an enemy, but they couldn’t be bothered about a few mortals?”
“Oh, they punished me.” His voice was filled with bitterness.
“What?”
“They all combined their power,” he said, “and they condemned me to the Underworld. I was damned.”
The Underworld. Xibalba. Where had I heard about that? Then the real meaning of the myth came to me! Akil was who the Mayans called Toltex. His actions had caused chaos on earth. He had been banished.
I looked more closely at him. “Is that why your wings are black? Are you even able to go back to the Otherworld, Akil? Is that what all this is really about? Do you love me or do you just need me to get home?”
I couldn’t believe anything he said. Yes, I loved him, but I couldn’t trust him. He was going to say whatever he needed to say to get what he wanted.
“No! Maya, that’s not true. I love you.” He stood and cupped my cheek in his hand. “Please, Maya. Please?”
I removed his hand from my cheek and kissed his palm gently. “Good-bye, Akil.”
And in a gleam, I was gone.
***
I stood in the shadows in the darkness of our room, watching Matt sleep. He was restless, and I knew he could feel the chaos going on inside me even as he slept. He sat up suddenly and peered through the darkness, trying to focus.
“Maya!” He jumped out of bed and across the room. He sat me down on the edge of the bed and tried to wipe my tears away.
“Shh,” he murmured, “it’s okay, it’s okay.” He pulled me out of my filthy clothes and wrapped me in the quilt, then pulled me into his lap and rocked me for what seemed like ages. I didn’t want him to ever stop.
“I’m right here, babe. I won’t let go.”
“Hold me forever.” I laid my head against his chest. When I had calmed down enough, he let go of me just long enough to get me a glass of water. After gulping it down, I told him the whole story. (Yes, even the kiss with Akil.) I told him about my powers, about the Otherworld, about Akina and Akil. The telling took the darkest hours of the night. He listened and didn’t ask questions or interrupt, but I could feel his strong emotional reactions, especially when I told him that he and I had been together before. (Surprise!) At last, as I finished with my revelations about Akil and his punishment by the Elders, he spoke.
“I’m so sorry,” he whispered. “Losing them both so tragically. I wish your past wasn’t so full of pain.”
“At least I finally know who I am,” I said. “And now I’m with you, where I belong.” I ran my hands behind his neck, and kissed his forehead, his eyelids, even the tip of his nose.
“I’m just so glad you’re safe. Do you think you could get some sleep now?”
“You know, I think I could.” We crawled under the covers and got into our favorite spoon position. It felt so good to have his arms around m
e again. I felt truly safe and loved. And it came to me again that home wasn’t in this world or the next. Home was where my mate was. Home was with Matt.
I woke up to the sounds of breakfast prep in the kitchen. I looked around. Matt was already dressed and sitting in the chair, studying some kind of map.
“Since when are you up at breakfast prep?” I asked him.
“Since it’s lunch prep.” He grinned and kissed my forehead.
I groaned. “How long did I sleep?”
“Close to nine hours. You must have needed it.”
“What I need is a shower.”
“I wasn’t going to say anything, buuut—”
“Hey!” I smacked his arm, then pushed myself out of bed and went into the bathroom. I looked in the mirror. Wow, I had lost some weight. And my hair was in a giant knot. I gave up on my reflection and hopped into a hot shower. I walked out of the bathroom and got dressed just in time for lunch.
Lyssa screamed the minute she saw me in the hall. “Maya! You’re back!” She ran to me and threw her arms around my neck. I turned around, pulled her up into a piggy back, and walked us into the living room.
I was so stunned, I almost dropped her. “Whoa—Holy Command Central, Batman.”
Lyssa laughed. “I know, right?”
I let Lyssa down. “Didn’t we used to have a living room?” I asked.
Damian grinned and gave me a hug. “There’ve been a few changes,” he said.
“Not the least of which would be your new man,” Lyssa said, fluttering her lashes at her twin.
Damian smiled. “Maya, this is my boyfriend, Nate.”
“Wasn’t Nate the tutor?” I whispered to Lyss. Jeez, you’re gone a few days and…
Nate walked over and extended his hand. “I still am the tutor, actually. It’s nice to finally meet you, Maya.”
“You, too.” I made an excited face at Damian and he flushed. Okay, change the subject. “So what’s up with all the technology, you guys?”
“We’re basically tracking information from around the globe,” Damian said, pointing to one of the screens. “So that we can be sure if there are any demon reports, we know about them.”
Jaguar Moon (Jaguar Sun Series Book 2) Page 14