I followed the narrow cobblestone road that wound down toward the parroquia’s pink spires, and all I kept thinking was Execution. Execution. Execution.
I emerged onto the plaza, where garden lights illuminated the church, casting lean shadows against its pitted walls and towers. As I walked through the little jardín to the edge of the square, Rosie materialized from a wall of smoke.
I stopped in my tracks. “Hi, girl. Nice night for a walk, huh?”
Her eyes glowed red and she bared her teeth.
I knew there was no fooling her. “You think you can stop me?”
As an answer, my dog shot fire at me. I ducked, batting the flame down to the concrete like a tossed pillow. It fizzled out. “Really?” I said.
Rosie studied my face as if she didn’t recognize me. Not completely, anyway. “It’s okay,” I said. “I’m not really D-E-A-D.”
She peered at me with her shining brown eyes, and if she could talk, I swear she would have told me she didn’t want to be dead, either. I’d never admitted this to anyone, maybe not even to myself, but I missed the old Rosie with her black spots, goofy smile, and small stature. Getting her back from Xib’alb’a had been a dream come true, but things had never been the same between us since. It was all my fault for ever letting her anywhere near demon runners.
Finally Rosie accepted me. She groaned, then pawed my shoe.
“You can’t go with me, girl. Bad things could happen, and you could get cursed….” I scratched her head, realizing she already was cursed. And maybe we needed each other now more than ever. I glanced at the tall clock at the center of the jardín. Its hands were frozen on 4:25.
Just then, Rosie’s ears perked straight up as her eyes fixed on something behind me.
I turned to see Ren curled up asleep on a bench beyond the church’s iron gates. I was torn between checking on her and backing away. The last thing I needed was for her to wake up and ask me what I was doing there. But before I could make the decision, I noticed two shadows lingering beneath the bench. Were they sleeping, too?
Nope. Slowly, the shadows rose up, lengthening as they took the shape of human figures with glowing white eyes. I stood still, thinking maybe Ren’s shadows were like wild animals and it was better not to make any sudden movements.
The good news was that they hadn’t seen us. I placed my hand on Rosie’s shoulder. Don’t move, girl. Stay quiet.
The bad news was that my dog growled and shot a short stream of fire from her eyes. What part of quiet did she not get? “Rosie! STEAK.”
Too late. The shadows were already glaring at us. They drifted toward us between the iron bars. A nervous laugh bubbled out of me. “Steak…It’s a command…. See? She stopped.”
The shadows floated closer, growing to at least seven feet, and in the blink of an eye, they joined into one figure—a skinny long-limbed man with a top hat, walking on stilts. Honest. I don’t make this stuff up, okay?
Top Hat opened his mouth and the sound that came out was like a million vibrating cicada bugs.
Clickzzclickzzclickzz
Rosie was snarling, her massive fangs glinting in the moonlight. Man, she looked ferocious.
My brain did a one-eighty. In times like these, I was super glad she was a hellhound.
“Hey, Ren!” I called. I knew she was having a nightmare and wasn’t intentionally trying to kill us, but…“Now might be a good time to wake up!”
She didn’t even stir. Typical!
I crept backward, gripping Fuego. Not that my spear would do me any good. Last time I met up with Ren’s shadow monsters, Fuego was an epic fail and sailed right through them. Rosie launched another trail of fire, which, of course, didn’t deter Top Hat, either.
“Hey, uh…” I said shakily. “I’m not going to hurt Ren. I’m her friend. Just ask her—she’ll tell you.”
But Top Hat kept gliding closer—slowly, like he wanted to prolong my terror. Rosie’s hackles stood at attention as she stepped in front of me protectively. My mind shuffled through the possibilities…tall skinny dude in a top hat with no weapon. How much damage could he do to a 98 percent dead godborn anyway?
Top Hat extended his spindly arms. They grew longer and longer like one of those stretchy action figures.
“Hold him off, Rosie.”
She lowered her chin to the ground and snarled at the shadow. Ducking, I lunged behind a trash can, out of Top Hat’s line of sight. Just as I stood to race toward Ren and shake her awake, I heard a strangled yelp. Top Hat had Rosie pinned with a stilt jammed against her throat. My hellhound writhed beneath the shadow, her eyes shooting flames that were swallowed by the darkness.
“Get off my dog!” I screamed. I took off running toward the monster, instinctively launching Fuego through the air before my limp returned and my knees buckled. Just like last time, my spear sailed right through the form and looped back to me. I drop-rolled to the ground, swiping at Top Hat’s remaining stilt with my leg. I connected with nada.
I think Top Hat might have chuckled.
The shadow reached for me. I tried to scramble away from his grasp, but in a flash, he caught me, clutching my ribs so tightly I couldn’t move or breathe. He was so distracted with me, Rosie was able to break free.
As my lungs were being crushed, I realized that even with death magic, I could die.
“AWAY!” Ren’s voice was the best thing I’d ever heard.
Instantly, the shadow vanished with one last hair-raising clickzzclickzz.
“Zane!” Ren rushed over with Rosie right behind her. “Are you okay?”
I got up onto all fours, gasping for air. Rosie patted my back with her giant paw as I caught my breath. “Ren…you…really”—gasp—“need to stop”—wheeze—“having nightmares that want to kill everyone!”
“I wish I could…. I’m sorry. I think…” Ren looked frantic. “I think they are like guardians, like they somehow protect me?”
“Well, they’re doing a really good job, but maybe you could tell them I’m not a threat?”
“Good thing Rosie woke me up.”
“Good thing only sobrenaturals can see your shadows.” I couldn’t imagine some innocent person out for a morning stroll only to be shocked when a shadow gutted them.
“What’re you guys doing out here, anyhow?” she asked.
“I could ask you the same thing.” Awkwardly, I got to my feet. White spots floated in my vision, and my bones felt like burned rubber. If this was what it was like to be almost dead, I hated to think how awful being totally dead would feel.
“I couldn’t breathe in that El Grito place,” Ren said. “The house gave me the creeps, so I went for a walk after everyone went to bed, and I guess I fell asleep out here.” She studied me, shaking her head. “You look terrible, Zane. Are you sure you’re okay?”
“I don’t feel as bad as I look,” I said. “You should…er…get back to the house.” I didn’t have time to chat with Ren, not now.
She narrowed her cool eyes. “I don’t believe you.”
“I swear.” I held up my hands. “I feel fine.”
“That’s not what I meant. I don’t believe you told us everything the Red Queen said. I’m pretty good at sensing stuff. How do you think I sniff out fake alien reports?”
Were there any other kind? I stroked Rosie’s neck, thinking how much I hated Ren’s sixth sense. “I told you everything and, uh, I gotta go.”
“Where?”
“On a walk. Clear my head.” I started to move away, hoping she wouldn’t follow. I just needed to get to the bus station before the gateway closed, and I figured I only had about twenty minutes to get there, thanks to Top Hat.
“I’ll go with you,” Ren said. “The sun will be up soon. Aren’t we supposed to leave at dawn?”
“Right,” I said, trying to think fast. “But I, uh…I sort of wanted to light a candle. You know, say a prayer before we take off.” Man, I was such a mentiroso. And in front of a church, too! Mom would have a lot to say ab
out that.
“I’ll pray with you.”
“Ren, I have to go somewhere alone…and you can’t follow unless you want to be cursed.”
She didn’t even flinch. Actually, she seemed to be somewhere else and not listening to me at all.
“I need to tell you something.” Ren tugged on her shirt. “It’s really important, and I can’t say it in front of everyone else. Not yet.”
“Okay, but, uh, how about later? Like I said, I gotta go.”
She looked up at me with tears in her eyes. “It’s awful, Zane.”
If anxiety had claws, it was shredding my insides. I sighed, giving in. “Okay…how about we walk and talk?”
Ren picked at a cuticle as we headed down a winding road toward the bus station. She hesitated, like she was trying to get the words just right. “Remember when I told you my abuelo said I had magic in my blood? That it was part of my heritage and destiny?”
“Yeah.”
“On my dad’s side…we come from a bloodline of brujos that I guess…the Maya gods thought had croaked. Or at least that’s what Ixtab told me.”
Rosie trotted ahead. I picked up the pace.
“Okay, so you’re a godborn with witches in your family….” Then her words hit me. The Maya gods thought had croaked. Why did I have the feeling that something really bad was coming next?
“Ixtab told me that if the gods found out my family line was still around, they’d murder us.”
“Let me guess.” I thought my head might explode. “Because the gods don’t want anyone else to have any power.” Which is why they hate us godborns so much. If I didn’t know any better, and if Quinn hadn’t told me the gods didn’t have the power, I’d think they were the ones behind weakening all the sobrenaturals.
Ren dragged her boots as she walked. “I mean, I knew about my family’s magic, or at least as much as my abuelo had told me. I bet that’s why my dad never wanted to talk about it. He was trying to protect me.” She grunted in frustration. I knew how she felt. It was terrible to be hunted for something you didn’t even do, just because of the family you were born into.
“But what’s the big deal?” I said, trying to make sense of it. “I mean, the gods don’t have any problem with other sobrenaturals, like nawals and seers and stuff. Do they just have a thing against brujos?”
Ren looked up at me with her wintry blue eyes. “My dad’s side of the family is Mexican.”
I wasn’t following. “My mom’s Mexican, too. Why does that matter?”
“It’s different for me….” She stared at the ground. “Our blood is…” Her voice trailed off, and in that tiny fraction of a life-stopping moment, she stopped and gasped. Her gaze was glued on something up ahead. “What. Is. That?” she whispered.
I looked up.
Rosie let out a deep, murderous growl.
About thirty yards away, a hunched figure emerged from a dark alleyway. Its shape flickered in and out of view, here one second, gone the next. It limped toward us, its bald head hanging so far to the left I thought it was in danger of rolling away. The figure’s pale, grayish skin looked sickly in the fading moonlight. Terror gripped me so tightly I couldn’t manage a single breath.
I jerked Ren into a dead-end crevice between two buildings, and we bunched together in the tight space. I peered around the corner. He kept coming. That’s right—he.
Every atom in my body ignited.
Ren clutched my arm. Zane?
It’s…him.
Who?
I couldn’t even get the name out telepathically.
Who, Zane?
It’s Ah-Puch.
WHAT?! Ren screamed in my head. The god of death? The guy you killed? Or obvs not, but how…? Are you sure? Look again.
I was sure. Even though the viejo looked nothing like Ah-Puch, I knew. I could feel it in the tremor in my bones and the burning in my blood, and even though the scar had vanished months ago, my wrist ached like those skeleton eyes he’d planted in me were still there.
It was magic-button time. Itzel had said all we had to do was twist a button on our enchanted clothes to camouflage ourselves. I didn’t waste any time. Bam! I looked down and no more legs and body—only a lime-green building with gum wads.
Twist a button! I ordered Ren.
While she followed my lead, I pressed my other hand against Rosie’s neck. Girl, you need to disappear. We can’t let him see or smell you. My hellhound blinked at me with her murderous red eyes. I knew it was in her nature to fight, but now wasn’t the time. What good would it do me to light Ah-Puch on fire (which obviously hadn’t worked the first time) only to have him reappear in some other, more dangerous form tomorrow or the next day? I just needed to hope he hadn’t seen us. Stay close by, though, I said as Rosie vanished in a stream of smoke.
Zane! My buttons aren’t working! Ren’s telepathic voice was all terror and panic. She was right. I could still see her. Ah-Puch stood in front of our hiding spot only ten feet away. He hadn’t seemed to notice her. Yet.
At the same moment, three moon shadows peeled themselves from the ground and wrapped themselves around Ren until she disappeared. Her hand squeezed mine.
I told the shadows to hide me, she said. But now I can’t see anything. Is he still coming?
I pressed myself against the wall. He’s just standing there. His image continued to flicker like a broken television screen. Here one second, gone the next.
What do we do?
My pulse pounded in my ears. Stay very still.
Ah-Puch sniffed the air. I could sense Rosie nearby, but that did nothing to stop the horror that was rising inside me like a ferocious tide.
Ren squeezed my hand again. What’s he doing?
I held my breath, watching helplessly. Ah-Puch was supposed to be burning in a stormy inferno. A terrible metallic taste filled my mouth and throat. How in Xib’alb’a had he gotten out? How was he alive? Oh my god! Had the Empty finally disintegrated? Was my dad…?
ZANE! Ren urged.
He’s looking at the ground, and…
And what?
And his head is tilted like he’s listening for something. Oh crap.
WHAT?
I didn’t want to tell Ren that Ah-Puch glanced up just then and inhaled the air like some kind of wild animal hunting its prey. I held my breath.
He walked toward us. Three heart-stopping seconds went by. Then five.
Zane?
My legs trembled close to a ten on the Richter scale. I gripped Fuego tightly. I didn’t care how helpless Ah-Puch looked, I was ready to use my spear. Then I remembered how weak he’d been when I let him out of his prison all those months ago. His crony, Muwan, had brought him a blood sacrifice to restore his strength. But she was dead now, so how was he going to…?
He was within five feet of us now, his head hanging low and his breathing labored. His bony chest rose and fell with a faint rattle. He wore a stretched-out white T-shirt and baggy gray pants, a far cry from the fancy suit he’d worn when I first met him.
I froze.
Zane…tell me what’s happening!
An avalanche of panic crushed my chest. Ah-Puch lifted his gaze. His eyes shimmered a sickly yellow. He inched closer, lifted his bony chin, and sniffed the air again. A slow smile crept across his wrinkled mouth. “Zane Obispo,” he breathed. “Finally, we meet again.”
Maybe he couldn’t see me, but clearly he could smell me. So much for stupid death magic! I admit it—I wanted to stay invisible. If Hondo were there, he would’ve told me to take away what he calls “the bully factor” and just face the god of death. Man, Hondo’s advice always sounds so much better when you’re not choking down fear.
And if I wanted to get to that gateway, I had to go through Ah-Puch. With shaky hands, I twisted the button again, and instantly my camouflage disappeared. It took every ounce of willpower I had to force any trace of terror from my body language. I released Ren’s hand and stepped out from the crevice and into the road, planti
ng Fuego firmly in the ground between us.
Ah-Puch was no taller than five feet—as opposed to his previous six feet five—and his skin was shriveled like a rotten apple. Three, maybe four, long, wispy hairs poked out of his bald head. Okay, this was not the Ah-Puch I remembered, but that didn’t make him any less terrifying or dangerous. Like I told you before, what you see in the Maya world is not always what you get. Remember that.
“Aren’t you going to say hello?” His voice was raspy and weak.
“Last time I saw you”—I forced the words, channeling my uncle’s fearlessness—“you were a snake.”
Ah-Puch nodded and blinked slowly. “I didn’t…wouldn’t choose this pathetic form unless it was absolutely necessary.” He paused like he was waiting for me to ask the next question, or maybe he was just catching his breath. “Your magic is quite impressive, by the way. You look good wrapped in death.”
“How…how did you know?”
“I am the god of death,” he said, as if I needed reminding. “The only god the magic doesn’t work on.”
I risked a glance at Ren—or the shadows that completely enveloped her. Apparently Ah-Puch couldn’t see her. I had to wonder, why weren’t the shadows doing anything? Like attacking Ah-Puch. Smothering his ugly face! Where the heck was Top Hat now? Then I realized the monsters only came to life when she was asleep.
Rosie reappeared next to me, baring her massive fangs as black smoke trailed from her nose and eyes. I could tell she was just itching to tear Puke Face apart.
His eyes widened in surprise. “Ixtab let you keep the hellhound? How sweet.”
Ah-Puch’s apparent weakness gave me more confidence as I patted Rosie’s neck. “Why are you here? How are you here?”
He walked a few feet toward the building and leaned against the wall. “A part of me is still spinning in that blasted inferno you trapped me in.” He shook his head and closed his eyes, like the exertion of speaking was too much. “The Empty is growing weaker, and I managed to find a tiny fissure in its slow destruction, enough to free as much of myself as I could.” He coughed a few times, then took a wheezing breath. I was relieved that the Empty wasn’t gone completely. That meant Hurakan was still alive.
The Fire Keeper Page 18